Book BLURB:
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), one
of the greatest violinists who ever lived and rumored to have made a pact with
the devil, has somehow transferred unique powers to another…
When violinists around the world mysteriously vanish, 16-year-old Emma Braun takes notice. But when her beloved violin teacher disappears… Emma takes charge. With Sherlock Holmes fanatic, not to mention gorgeous Corey Fletcher, Emma discovers a parallel world ruled by an ex-violinist turned evil sorceress who wants to rule the music world on her own terms.
But why are only men violinists captured and not women? What is the connection between Emma's family, the sorceress, and the infamous Niccolò Paganini?
Emma must unravel the mystery in order to save her teacher from the fatal destiny that awaits him. And undo the curse that torments her family—before evil wins and she becomes the next luthier's apprentice…
When violinists around the world mysteriously vanish, 16-year-old Emma Braun takes notice. But when her beloved violin teacher disappears… Emma takes charge. With Sherlock Holmes fanatic, not to mention gorgeous Corey Fletcher, Emma discovers a parallel world ruled by an ex-violinist turned evil sorceress who wants to rule the music world on her own terms.
But why are only men violinists captured and not women? What is the connection between Emma's family, the sorceress, and the infamous Niccolò Paganini?
Emma must unravel the mystery in order to save her teacher from the fatal destiny that awaits him. And undo the curse that torments her family—before evil wins and she becomes the next luthier's apprentice…
BIO:
Award-winning author Mayra Calvani
has penned over ten books for children and adults in genres ranging from
picture books to nonfiction to paranormal fantasy novels. She’s had over 300
articles, short stories, interviews and reviews published in magazines such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal and Bloomsbury
Review, among others. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, she now resides in
Brussels, Belgium.
Guest Post:
“Writing Style – Writing Voice: What is the Difference,” by Mayra
Calvani
What is the
difference between style and voice?
Style is the particular manner of writing
individual to an author, the unique way an author puts his words together.
Different authors have different writing styles and sometimes their
styles are directly related to the type of book they write. For example,
historical writers may write in an old-fashioned, archaic style; romance
writers may write in a rich, florid style; an experimental writer, on the other
hand, may write in a clipped or minimalist style. Each style has its own flavor
and none is better than the other, though some styles may become more popular
or ‘accepted’ than others depending on the times. For example, until Hemingway
arrived to the scene, the accepted style was more embellished and convoluted,
with an overuse of description and adjectives and adverbs. But Hemingway made
his simple, straight-forward, plain style so popular, a lot of writers started to
imitate him and began to shun the earlier, more elaborate Victorian approach.
Sometimes an author’s style depends on his main character. For
instance, if a protagonist is a crazy person and the novel is written in first
person POV, then the narrative and style would have to reflect the deranged
thoughts and speech patterns of that character.
Though the terms ‘author’s style’ and ‘author’s voice’ are sometimes
used interchangeably, the truth is they are two separate concepts. The term
‘voice’ is evasive, even more evasive that ‘style,’ especially for beginners.
While an author’s style relates to words and the way he puts them
together, an author’s voice is the way the author looks at the world, a unique
sensibility that pertains to that particular author. An author’s voice comes
deep within the soul and heart of that author.
Besides an author’s style and voice, there’s also the voice of your
main character. You must have heard it from agents and editors: “We want a
strong character voice.”
While style applies to the whole book and the way it is written, a
character’s voice is the way the author narrates the story through the eyes of
that character, or the way the character’s behavior, thoughts, mannerisms and
dialogue are expressed in the story. You can have different voices for your
hero and heroine. Through their particular voices, their personalities come
alive. You can have different voices in different books depending on your
characters. Many times, though not always, the character’s voice matches the author’s
voice.
An author can have different character voices in different books,
yet his writing style may be the same. Take Hemingway, for example. His writing
style was always the same—minimalist, straight forward, unadorned—but each of
his characters had different voices in his different books.
Let’s take another example: Anne Rice. Her style is rich and
embellished. As you heard her say in the previous lesson, she will use 50
adjectives if she has to to get her point across. She loves going to excess.
However, the voice of her characters is different in each of her books. In
Interview with the Vampire, her main character Louis is gloomy and depressing.
His voice permeates the manuscript throughout, affecting the tone of the story.
In The Vampire Lestat, however, Lestat’s voice is defiant and willful, and the
tone of the book is affected accordingly. Lestat’s voice infuses the text with
his own particular energy. In both books, the voice is strong, but in a
different way because both characters have different ways of looking at
themselves and at the world around them.
But what about her author’s voice?
Rice has an author’s voice that is independent of her writing style
and of her characters’ voices. She has a unique way of looking at the world.
She is an utter romantic, and by this I don’t mean romantic in the sense of a
‘love story’ or sentimentalism but romantic in the way Beethoven was a
romantic, by believing and expressing deep emotion. She goes deep where the
pain is, where the pleasure is. She has an immense regard for art, history,
music, philosophy and theology. She has an almost obsessive love of beauty and
learning, a almost morbid obsession with death, and all of this comes across in
her books in one way or the other.
“Style can be the downfall of many otherwise talented writers,”
states Noah Lukeman, author of The First Five Pages, but he goes on to say that
“When handled well, style can add a new dimension to the text that nothing else
can, give it an unnamable charm; when handled expertly, it can go so far as to
advance the overall message of the text.”
The truth is, most beginning writers feel intimidated with style and
voice. They don’t trust their own vision and in trying to develop a strong
style and voice, they try to force it to make their manuscripts appear more
original. This almost always doesn’t work and the result is that the writing
comes out unnatural and exaggerated.
Whether you style is embellished or minimalist, a strong, compelling
style is usually about contrast—the combination of long sentences with
medium-length sentences with short, clipped sentences.
We all have our own styles and we all have our voices because we’re
all different people with different backgrounds and experiences. But what
happens is, we often lack the confidence necessary to trust and follow our own
vision. If you still feel frustrated because you don’t think you have a
distinct, definite style or voice yet, experiment with different ones and see
what happens. But do your best to have trust in your self and talent and avoid
imitating other writers, though this is also fine when you’re starting.
Sometimes the learning process starts by imitating until you find your own
unique way.
“To set your voice
free,” advises Donald Mass, author of Writing the Breakout Novel, “set your words free. Set
your characters free. Most important, set your heart free. It is from the
unknowable shadows of your subconscious that your stories will find their drive
and from which they will draw their meaning. No one can loan you that or teach
you that. Your voice is your self in the story.”
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