The tickle of curiosity. The gasp of discovery. Fingers running across the keyboard.

The tickle of curiosity. The gasp of discovery. Fingers running across the keyboard.

The World of Iniquus - Action Adventure Romance

Showing posts with label Chaos Is Come Again. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chaos Is Come Again. Show all posts

Monday, August 3, 2015

Are You Thinking of Co-authoring a Book? Info for Writers

Writing
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A few years ago, I met English ex-pat John Dolan on Twitter, of all places. He had doffed his Henry Higgins cap to explain to me the retweet concept when I was meandering around the Twittersphere as a newbie. Our personalities clicked, and we decided in short order to write a novel together via the Internet.

I thought I might lay out some of the barrels we needed to leap in order to help you make decisions should you ever find yourself wanting to co-author a work. If you are a reader you might appreciate the behind scenes foibles

Timing
I thought the hardest part of this experiment would be time. John and I had our personal constraints as well as the timing issues of a 9 hours difference between EST where I live and Dubai time where he was living. But that was the least of the issues. Technology issues were our #1 headache.

Trusting.
If either of us threw up our hands before we were done, then months of work would be down the drain. Make sure you have an exit strategy should one of you need to stop.

Picking a language.
John speaks British-English, and I speak American-English. Word choices, phrases, even spelling can become confusing, even if you are from different regions within a single country. Here’s a real-life exchange between John and I that actually made it into our book:

John: "Dagenham Dave" was a 'wide boy' in an Ian Dury song.

Fiona: OK I think this is fine but have no idea what a 'wide boy' could mean besides someone who enjoys too many pastries.

John: Continues Fiona's education in matters British: A 'wide boy' is someone who is an insincere person, a con-man, a snake-oil salesman, someone obsessed with making 'loads of money'. OK, Elisa? Yours, Henry Higgins.

Fiona: Thank you, professor. Can I take the marbles out of my mouth now?

Writing Style
I am a writer who has the characters and plotline basics in her head, and then lets the story unfold organically. John is a plotter extraordinaire. He kept sending me spreadsheets. To be honest, the first time I opened one, I broke out in hives. He had to coax me, like a wounded animal, into opening any others.

Specialties
Combining fortes produced what we think is a really interesting and unique work. I have a background in psychology, weapons, CSI, and fighting. John is a Shakespearean actor, musician, poet, who works with laws and numbers. We each wrote our strong points and did tutorials for the other. Once I even “killed” one of my adult children over Skype with a black magic marker. John needed to understand how the move worked and the victim's body mechanics. My kid #2 is a trained martial artist so she knows how to take a convincing fall.

A Meeting of the MindsBecause we discussed plot holes, characters, settings and all of the issues that make writers have to dump whole scenes, when we actually sat down to write, our first draft was pretty clean. We did do some rearranging and tweaking, but for the most part, we had already ironed the wrinkles out of the major issues.

Co-authoring CHAOS IS COME AGAIN with John Dolan was a fabulous experience. I had the most fun. I laughed so hard when we were working together that my sides hurt. Chaos Is Come Again is a psychological suspense, a mystery, and a love story, packed with irreverent humour, and viewed through the lens of obsession. You’ve probably never read anything like it
.







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Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.
Cheers,






Saturday, November 15, 2014

"Sin on a Plate" A To-die-for Chocolate Cake Recipe

___________________________________________
Those sentiments are understandable. I’ve had days like that myself. It’s a very human reaction, I think,” Avery said.
Sean smiled. “Was today one of those days?” 
Canting her head, Avery asked. “How did you know?”
Sean rubbed his index finger at the corner of his mouth. “You have a little chocolate icing, just there.”


In Chaos Is Come Again, Lola Zelkova can do little to make her friend Avery's life any easier. Lola's solution? A sinfully rich chocolate cake. It can cure almost anything that ails you. Here is her recipe.

I will warn you at the outset:
* This cake takes forever to make (but 
   I'll give you options along the way)
* This cake is HIGHLY ADDICTIVE
* Once you make this cake, no other 
   cake will ever be good enough. 
   Yup, this cake will ruin you for all
    cakes from here on in. 
* If you share this cake with others, they
   will insist on this cake to feel loved.
  
So hand out the slices with caution.

Start with the chocolate mousse because this is a lovely dessert in and of itself. If you only get this far, it's all good - just pipe this into a martini glass add a garnish and call it a day.




RUM CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
12 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c dark rum
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon flavorless, granulated gelatin

Directions

THE COLDER THE BETTER
* Chill 1 1/2 cups heavy cream in refrigerator. 
* Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in freezer.

* In top of a bain marie, combine chocolate chips, rum, and butter. 
* Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. 
* Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. 
   Burned chocolate is nasty and ruins the mousse. 
* Allow to cool to room temperature.

* Pour 1/4 cup heavy cream into a pyrex bowl and sprinkle in the
     gelatin. 
* Allow gelatin to "bloom" for 10 minutes. 
* Carefully heat by stirring in a bain marie. A bain marie is just
    simmering water in a pot so the heat is diffuse. 
* Do not boil or gelatin will become a gloopy mess. 
* Fold into the cooled chocolate and set aside.

* In the chilled mixing bowl, beat cream to medium peaks. 
* Fold some of your whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to 
    lighten it. 
* Fold in the remaining whipped cream in two batches. 
* Do not overwork the mousse.
* Stick your bowl in the fridge.

RASPBERRY DRIZZLE




This too can be an excellent dessert in and of itself. Once made, you can spoon it over brownies, ice cream what-have-you.

* Mix one small jar of raspberry jam and a mini bottle of 
  Chambord. 

Tah dah!

Wasn't that easy?


CHOCOLATE RUM CAKE




Ingredients

1 cup room temperature butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup dark rum
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 





* Beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until
   fluffy; gradually add sugar, beating well. 
* Add eggs, beating until blended after each addition. 
* Add rum; beat until blended.
* Combine flour and next 5 ingredients sift into sugar mixture 
* Add hot water and vanilla
* Beat at low speed until blended.

* Prepare pans by spraying with non-stick spray then dust with
    cocoa powder.

* Pour evenly into 2  9" pans then give a shake to smooth tops and
   release air bubbles.
* Bake at 350° for 27 minutes (cake will be slightly under done). 
* Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. 
* Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Whew! Almost there. Did you give up? Slice the cake, drizzle with raspberry sauce, and add an ice cream scoop of mousse, garnish with chocolate shavings. 

But if you're still hanging in there...

Chocolate Rum Frosting




1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup  unsalted butter, room temperature
18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 tbs rum (you knew I'd have to do it)




DIRECTIONS

* Sift together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and salt. 
* With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese
   and butter until pale and fluffy.
* Add sugar mixture 
* Mix in melted and cooled chocolate and sour cream
* Beat until smooth. Leave out on the counter so it is room
   temperature.

Okay ready for the great construction -
Boo! The video failed us! But I know you can follow from these instructions


You need to make sure your cake is cool, and you work quickly to keep the mousse firm.
1. You have 2 cakes. Slice each one in half to form what will be
    four layers. You can use a serrated
    knife or dental floss if you don't have a cake cutter.
2. Place the one of the layers smooth side down spongy side up on
      your cake plate. 
3. Use strips of waxed paper of aluminum foil around the edge so
    your plate is clean when you're done icing.
4. Stab your sponge side with a fork. and spread 1/3 of the 
    raspberry mixture onto the cake. Stabbing your cake means the
    Chambord will seep down into the cake and infuse it with 
    moisture and flavor.
5. Add 1/3 of your mousse spreading it to the edges.
6. Repeat until you place your top layer sponge side down smooth
    side up.

CHILL - to firm up your mousse

FROST - 


Please note: This is not a smooth pretty frosting. It is more a thick layer of chocolate deliciousness that wants to look a little wild and free. The kind of cake that you can slice right into and don't need to remark of its beauty. Nope this is just a decadent gluttonous cake that needs to lay on your plate and be spooned into your mouth.

It's like crack. One taste, and you'll be addicted. This is your warning. Make this cake at your own risk.

And if you do. 

Well, you are entirely welcome. 

Read all about the Lola's chocolate cake panacea in our new novel CHAOS IS COME AGAIN.




Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Is that Even Possible? A Writing Experiment: Chaos Is Come Again with John Dolan and Fiona Quinn

First, a Scientific Question

Could two writers who had just met on Twitter come together and write a novel? 

Hmmm.

Some considerations:
* The writers had never met, never even spoken to each other. Only
   tweeted. Though the question was posed in an e-mail. 
* They write in different styles.
* One writes in English- English; one writes in American-English.

   And thus, spelling, vocabulary, and phrasing differences - some
   of them quite significant - some quite funny.
* One writer lives outside of D.C. in the U.S. and the other is an
   English ex-pat splitting his time between Thailand 
   and Dubai so a time difference of 11 or 9 hours respectively.
* They were both very busy. Dolan was running a power company,
   and Quinn was homeschooling her brood. Both were already
   working on their own writing projects. 
* One was a plotter who has a love of spreadsheets, the other a
   pantser who actually broke out in hives the first time she saw a
   Dolan-spreadsheet.

The catalyst for the science experiment.

Fiona Quinn, a newby to Twitter, meets John Dolan, a Twitter proficient, because she did not understand what an RT was. 

This lead to Dolan putting on his much doffed Henry Higgins cap as he tried to explain the workings of Twitter. 

And then, there was a Twitter exchange of a story - line by line - which lead almost immediately to the question - is this possible in a larger format? Could we write a novel?

Background Research

* First, each subject had to read each other's work and see if
   they felt their possible writing partner could string more that 140
   characters together in a cogent fashion.
* Then there was the Skype session - to actually "meet."
* This was followed by ideas thrown about to see if the minds
    could interact as a team.

Hypothesis

Two strangers from different backgrounds and different parts of the world can bring their own talents and knowledge to the table to create a unique and interesting work of fiction.

Test Your Hypothesis

Fiona Quinn
Quinn and Dolan began the experiment in the spring of 2013. Within a couple of months of daily Skyping and numerous emails, they had constructed their characters and plotline. Dolan took time off on a sabbatical, and they came together to finish the project spring of 2014.

Decisions were made about spelling, language, and process and all were documented ad nauseum into spreadsheets (that Quinn had to be coaxed into opening).



Language/cultural barriers were broken down with exchanges such as these:

Dolan - You are a cheeky cow.
Quinn - I'm a cow? 
              I think we could start with a dictionary of weird
              English words - Yonks, Cow, Fanny, Shag, Twee,
              Loo... 
Dolan - The "cow" thing btw. In English the term "cheeky cow" (of
              which "cow" is a shortened version) is almost a term of
              endearment directed at someone who has made a comment
              which is critical but in a non-threatening/insulting way.
              Just so you know.
Quinn - I took it with a spoonful of endearment.

and...

Quinn - How do you envision Sean?
Dolan - * He's not a homeschooled vegetarian
             * He doesn't like anchovies
             * Size 9 feet
Quinn - Size 9 feet? That's unfortunate.
Dolan - Why?
Quinn - Oh... Hmm... Well there seems to be a mythological 
             correlate --
Dolan - I have size 9 feet
Quinn - ACH! I'll stop typing.
             NO WAIT!
             You have size 9 feet in European size?
Dolan - Yes. Well UK size
Quinn - Okay then I'll finish. A correlate between the man's foot
              size and his uhm “endowment.” And here, size 9 is rather 
              small...
Dolan - Ah, but my foot is only a size 9 when it's not aroused. 
             Whenever my feet get excited, they bust out of my shoes.
Quinn - Too early! I just woke up. 
              That's a frightening thought, Mr. Dolan.
Dolan - It's like a scene from Alien.
Quinn - OK, that's enough thank you. I'm off to wake the kiddos.
              L8r G8R.

There were lots of technical difficulties - a typical exchange.

* OK, I've been through it and accepted all your yellows and put a couple of red expansions. Wanna
    talk about the big blocks of green under Sean and Teagan?
* 2:00pm Quinn - yup.
* 2:02pm Dolan - On video? 15 min warning: I need to get something to eat shortly, OK?
* 2:03pm - John missed a call from you.
* May 24 - You missed a call from John.
* 2:04pm Quinn -  try again  it didnt ring.
* May 24 You missed a call from John.
* 2:05pm Dolan -retrying
* May 24 You missed a call from John.
* May 24 John called you.
* May 24 John called you.
* May 24 John called you.
* May 24 You missed a call from John.
* May 24 You missed a call from John.
* May 24 John missed a call from you.
* 2:10pm Dolan - 1 more try
* 2:10pm Quinn -  k u go
* May 24 You missed a call from John.
* 2:11pm  Dolan - Tried. It's not playing. Let me eat and we'll try later if that's OK with you
* 2:12pm Quinn -  Yup

* 4:07pm Dolan - You try
* May 24 You called John.
* May 24 John called you.
* May 24 You called John.
* May 24 John called you.
* 4:09pm Quinn - one more time for good luck - you or me?
* 4:10pm Dolan - you call but give me 1 min first. I thought I'd try headphones and see if it makes a
               difference. OK ready
* May 24 You called John.
* 4:14pm Quinn -  Whoop! I can see you... BOO! I can't hear you.
* 4:15pm Dolan - Can you see my lips moving?
* 4:15 pm Quinn - Sigh. Maybe the book will just write itself????

Description of Outcome:
In Chaos Is Come Again, authors John Dolan and Fiona Quinn step away from their usual writing styles to create a twisted dark comedy for the Internet generation. Pulling back the curtain on the messiness of their characters’ issues, the authors take a satiric look at the juggling act of modern life.

In America, dread propels literary agent Avery Goodyear out of bed each morning. She’s panicked about losing her job if she doesn't get Travis Bishop – the coke-addicted author of the blasphemous Nosferatu, the Lost Gospel – to complete his sequel.

In England, Sean’s schizophrenia meds aren’t doing their job, and the voices in his head are getting louder. To make matters worse, he is being harassed by a predatory girlfriend, and a conspiracy nut who thinks the way to catch the London serial killer is through the magic number 23.

A chance meeting on Twitter connects Sean and Avery. As their relationship deepens, they each try to conceal the chaos that defines their lives. But secrets can be deadly.


 For readers who enjoy works such as The World According to Garp and MASH


Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion

* I am holding the end result in my hand. 
* It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.   
* Words form sentences, sentences form
   paragraphs which in turn form chapters.

Yes, by jove! 

I do believe that this experiment produced a book!







Commnicate Your Results

This is what people are saying:

“Readers, get ready for a hysterical, wild, whacky read that
  will keep you biting your nails till the end. ” 

“The characters in this book are diverse, complicated and
  fascinating.”

“The ending will simply blow you out of the water.”


and Quinn's personal favorite:

"A book this weird shouldn't work, but this one does, magnificently."


To read all of our reviews click on this LINK 


Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.


Sunday, November 2, 2014

Okay, I'll take a stab at it. Knives in Your Plot Line: Info for Writers with Hannah Jayne

__________________________________________

Fiona - 
Hannah Jayne
Hi Hannah, can I just say that it's not every girl who lets me stab her at the first meeting.

Hannah -
And it's quite rare that I let anyone stab me! We have a rare kinship!

Fiona -
Thank you so much for coming on ThrillWriting, let's get right to the point. Ha! Today is all about knives in fiction.

Can you tell folks about your more dangerous proclivities and why no one should ever leap out at you on a dark night? (or a clear day for that matter...)

Hannah - 

Early on in college, I decided I would take tae kwon do. I enjoyed it and liked feeling empowered, but it never completely clicked for me. I kept up with some martial arts and street fighting training for years when an author friend of mine said, "hey, you want to learn sword fighting with me?" because that is the kind of questions authors ask each other. We actually missed the first class and ended up in a beginners daggers class. I fell in love. It was so fun and so much action. The next day I came back for long swords, then added side sword training... and I've been stabbing things ever since.

Under a Spell by Hannah Jayne
Handmade knife by Baird Tarr

As for sneaking up on me... just the other day I considered leaving a note on the door for the boyfriend that said, "if I am asleep when you come home, please wake me from a safe distance."

Fiona - 
As well he should.

I have some bad stories of friends who (are out of their minds) have thrown a play punch at me and my pull back was just shy of... well it would not have been pretty.

Hannah -
Why would someone punch you?! Idiots! But I did mistakenly put my next door neighbor in a chokehold when she sneaked up on me at 5am. It wasn't a pleasant scene, and it was quite an awkward. "Hey, sorry about the whole...choke hold..."

Fiona - 
Ha!
So tell me, since this is such a part of your background, do you often put knives in your heroines' hands?

Hannah - 
The Dare by Hannah Jayne
Handmade knife by Baird Tarr
Sophie Lawson, the heroine in my Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles books fights with everything from an enchanted sword to a bejeweled dagger--both because they are the necessary for (her) story and because she's afraid of guns. There is also a quick fight scene with a plate full of Boco burgers but that is neither here nor there. When choosing your character's weapons--particularly if there is no magic/lore involved and she's grabbing something from the counter--keep in mind the heft of the knife and the part of the body where the blade will be thrust. It's not as easy as you see on TV. Also note that blades bend, break and--worst of all--hands slide down blood-slick blades. Gross, but true. 

Fiona -
One of my favorite knives has a holster that goes on my upper arm or around my calf in my boot. Let's talk about NOT putting a knife in your heroine's purse. Where can a cute chick stick her knife so it's accessible?

Hannah - 
Under the Full Moon
by Hannah Jayne

Handmade knife by Baird Tarr
I have a thigh holster and I love it! It does take particular knives (with flatter handles/grips rather than rounded ones) to wear on the person but they are definitely more accessible. The one on my thigh is an actual holster that's been rigged for one of my knives; I also have a hip sheath but I have a deep love for everything deep fried or chocolate covered, so it's tough to have enough room around the waist/in the jeans for a sheathed knife.

Fiona -
Let's kill some bad guys.

Hannah -
I've got one in mind... (Ok, that should probably be edited, lol)

Fiona -
* grin

First, what does not work when your heroine has a knife in her hand and is trying save her life from the maniac? Ineffectual strikes that have you rolling your eyes?

Hannah -
Crazy, over the head 
Psycho-type strikes kill me!  

If you're doing an overhead strike you are more than likely going to stab someone in the head or shoulder, the blade will likely bounce off without piercing. 

I also hate when a heroine is described as meek and waify yet she drives a knife "through his heart." I always want to scream, "You know the heart is well covered by the ribs, right?" 

The best way for that to actually happen is for your heroine to make the blade horizontal (--) rather than vertical (I), but that is never mentioned.

Fiona -
So let's say your heroine has had some training and is not a waif. There is no way in this world that that Zombie is going to get his chompers on her lovely skin. Tell us how to take down the monster. How does she hold the knife? And where does she aim her strike?

Hannah -
First, she'd make a fist with her fingers facing down, thumb pointing toward her, right at about her belly button. That way the handle of the knife is close to her gut and the blade is extended (horizontal) toward Mr. Deadmeat. 

From that position she can do any easy gut-cut (plunging the blade just above his right hip and pulling across). Gruesome but effective.

Of course, if she's a crazy psycho over-hander that can keep her range in check, she can do a vertical plunge in the little mushy "V" where the base of the neck meets the collarbone. Of course, if it's a traditional zombie, she'll need to move the gut-cut to the base of the throat to cut the head off. That's the zombie-stopper right, head off?

Fiona -
Mr. Deadmeat, LOL

Hannah -
I'd also like to point out that we're having this conversation while I'm wearing pink pajamas with sheep on them and watching Jessie on the Disney channel...

Fiona - 

So you're trying convince me you're a marshmallow? Hardly.
Let's talk about stabbing. It's probably not what people make up in their minds. 

We, for example, trained on hanging hams. Putting that knife into someone should not come easy for your heroine if she is not trained. 

Can you tell us about the cringe factor?

Hannah -
Haha! Cringe factor--definitely! You see people stabbing on TV and it goes in so smoothly...then your crazed killer kindly slides the knife out and goes again. 

In real life, there's junk there--bone and fiber, muscle, fat, sinew, etc. Going in is easy if you're naturally strong or the adrenaline is pumping, but it's not always easy to get the knife back out--and rule number one is never leave your knife! 

Actually, rule number one is don't get in a knife fight

People also don't realize that knife blades are relatively thin pieces of steel/metal/etc.--they bend. They break. They release from the handle.

The ew factor is pretty big, too, because there's the...oozy...feeling. That's the best way I can describe it--the knife goes into cold meat (the hams), and it's just...oozy. 

Then the juice spurts and that's gross. 

Then you're dealing with something slippery on your handle. 

Knife work is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Fiona -
Ooze. Exactly. 

So there you and I are at a cocktail party, and we're chatting about knife techniques. I am telling you that when I'm all dressed up, I'd opt for stab technique "A" versus "B", because I don't want to get blood-squirt on my pretty dress. 

If our author is writing a scene to leave the biggest visual impression where would they aim? 

Where is our heroine's go to jab and run place? 
And while I'm on the topic - can you please talk about why people always write a throat slit and why that's not practical?

Hannah -
I'm a big fan of the plunge and twist, especially at the jugular--but you have to know where it is! Throat slits sound nice and slick and quick--but they are none of those things. Think of the length of a throat--about 4 inches from chin to chest, let's say. Not all of those 4 inches will cause a kill. The slice has to be deep enough, long enough, and in the right place to actually accomplish the fake movie kill. If it's done wrong, it can be completely ineffective, or take hours to achieve a kill. And the part I do hate about the jugular shots is that they are squirters. Absolute dress ruiners unless your fast.

I also like eyeball popper-outers for ease, but they will only slow, not kill attackers.

Wow. I sounds straight up depraved, huh? I'm not! I have kitties and bake cookies! lol

Fiona -
That's so gross. Did you use knife work in your latest novel?

Hannah -


In the last Underworld novel, yes--not a ton, just a single quick knifing scene. In my latest young adult novel (called THE ESCAPE and will come out from Sourcebooks in 2015), the knife is used more for intimidation purposes. Like I said, for knife work to be effective, you have to lay out a character with some sort of skill or training. Otherwise, your killer will look like one of those training hams! 

Fiona -
Let's talk about that - it's a big point (ha!) that I keep pressing. 

Your heroine CAN NOT suddenly have skills. There must be a reason for them. How did your heroine gain skills? What are a few easy ways that a normal everyday kittie-loving cookie-baking girl could gain skills?

Hannah
Under the Gun
by Hannah Jayne

Handmade knife by Baird Tarr
Sophie Lawson actually learns to knife and dagger fight from her teenage vampire deadbeat roommate Vlad in UNDER THE GUN; he was taught in Paris before he was turned. 

As for a sweet, unassuming cookie baker? I was lucky enough to have Davenriche School for European Arts in the 'hood. 

If you're not one of my neighbors, there are training programs all over and if you're just at it for the literary aspect, study the human body. Figure out where good target spots would be. Actually hold a knife in your hand. And yes, when ready, plunge it into a ham. Or a vegan ham if that's your thing.

Fiona - 
What should a character do if she is stabbed? 

Hannah - 
Grab the knife, not the attacker. Keep the knife wherever it is and run. 

***Rule of thumb, each time you give an attacker back his knife, he'll give it back to you--pointy end first. 

Also, keeping a knife in a mortal wound can save your life as it keeps the blood in!

Fiona -
Oh good one!

Hard to run while holding the knife steady though.

Speaking of stab-and-run, can you tell me your favorite scar story?

Hannah -
All my really gnarly scars are cooking related rather than fight related! I got six stitches from a wine glass and half that from a mandoline! I'm pretty safe with my weapons!

Fiona -
Lastly, for getting the knife away (before it goes in) do you prefer kick or hand work?

Hannah -
Hand work. If the knife is close enough to go in, it can be hard or nearly impossible to get a kick in, especially with long, elegant gams like mine. (I'm totally lying because I have Vienna sausage legs) But I really do prefer to dislodge a knife with my hand so that I end up with the weapon accessible to me.

Thank you so much for visiting , Hannah!
If you would like to read Hannah's master knife work in action, you can get a list of Hannah Jayne's books  HERE
Catch up with her on Facebook HERE
Her Twitter handle is @Hannah_Jayne1



Also, If you want to read about how I use the knife in my work you can read my novel Chaos Is Come Again 

Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.