Even a quick glance at popular books, movies, and streaming series says it all-- a skillful application of tropes sells stories. That's because tropes create a foundation between the audience and the action. I'm not suggesting we slap a few tropes together, and call it done. I'm talking about twisting tropes to create characters that fans can't stop thinking about to increase story conflict. How do we do that? By digging down into the functions of tropes. But isn't a trope just a trope? What do secret baby, road trip, and revenge have in common? Conflict. Conflict. Conflict. The Trope Thesaurus explores tropes common in romance, mystery, suspense, thriller, science fiction, and fantasy. It also features a listing of tropes with their definitions, along with some ideas about how to use them more effectively to craft stronger stories. New and established writers will appreciate this different take on a craft topic in the quest to become a fan favorite.

"Even a quick glance at popular books, movies, and streaming series says it all-- a skillful application of tropes sells stories. That's because tropes create a foundation between the audience and the action. I'm not suggesting we slap a few tropes together and call it done. I'm talking about twisting tropes to create characters that fans can't stop thinking about to increase story conflict. How do we do that? By digging down into the functions of tropes. But isn't a trope just a trope? What do secret baby, road trip, and revenge have in common? Conflict. Conflict. Conflict. The Trope Thesaurus explores tropes common in romance, mystery, suspense, thriller, science fiction, and fantasy. It also features a listing of tropes with their definitions, along with some ideas about how to use them more effectively to craft stronger stories. New and established writers will appreciate this different take on a craft topic in the quest to become a fan favorite"--Back cover.

He's got everything except the one woman he can never have,even though she's temptingly within arm's reach.True love is hell on earth. Got your attention, didn't I?You love tropes. I love tropes, and most importantly, every romance reader adores tropes!Let's dive deeper into how tropes keep your reader up way past their bedtime because you've just given them that most delicious of all things---an unputdownable book.As authors, we know romance readers have their favorite tropes---forbidden love, forced proximity, and protector are three popular ones.But what makes tropes so addictive?Because tropes are about relationships, that's why fairy tales and folk tales are still with us centuries later. We crave stories to show us how we're all connected.Dozens of tropes can be twisted to tell your story, so learn how to apply these building blocks to give your romance conflict-ridden characters. Study over sixty romance tropes definitions, examples, and suggestions for using tropes. Then dig into ten romance subgenres and learn specific ways to apply them to create your best romance novel. Go #teamtrope!

There are only, in my humble opinion, two kinds of readers. Readers who love your books. and… Readers who don’t know they love your books yet. But how do you reach those readers in the second category, no matter what kind of writer you are? The answer to that question is… Universal Fantasy Universal Fantasy is why my sales tripled when I “accidentally” wrote three books that landed in the Amazon Top 100. Universal Fantasy is why some authors get gobs of gushing reviews and some authors who write “way better” get crickets. Universal Fantasy is the answer to many of the questions you might have thought were unanswerable or simply up to luck, like… • Will this sell? • Why is that selling? • Why didn’t this sell? • Will readers like what I am writing? • Why do I love the TV shows/books/entertainments I do? • Why did I buy that thing I bought when I didn’t intend to buy it? BE WARNED…once known, Universal Fantasy cannot be undiscovered. Leave this book be if you’re truly satisfied with your current writing life. But if you’re not afraid—if you’re ready to know the secret hidden inside all bestselling stories, open this gift and find out how to use UNIVERSAL FANTASY to write and market books that SELL to ANYONE.

Over 150 schemes and tropes with definitions and examples created by the author.

Comparing various fantasy fiction stories, this book shows that it is not the tropes and cliches that make a story good or bad but how the author applies them. The book also explores the concept of text versus meta-text--that is, when the story's world and character actions contradict the reader's expectations based on the tropes being used. Covering authors from Mercedes Lackey and Brandon Sanderson to Christopher Paolini and Stephenie Meyer, the author finds that it is the nature of tropes and the language used that make a fantasy story, for bad or good.

'What I want is an off the shelf sex partner. I want to be able to use a woman whenever and however I want. And when I'm tired or bored I simply want to put her away.' - Leonard Lake Jeffrey Dahmer who was obsessed with dead animals when he was younger, later got sexual satisfaction from eating his victims as he felt like they became a part of him. John Wayne Gacy toured the children's wards in hospitals, dressed in a clown costume of his design, but beneath the exterior, laid the killer of 30 boys and men. Rose West met Fred West when she was 15. Even before marrying in 1972, violence, rape, incest, torture voyeurism and paedophilia were already part of a normal day for the couple. Chambers of Horror is a study of the warped thinking that went into some of the world's most macabre crimes, as well as a clinical examination of the purpose-built rooms, hidden spaces, and soundproof dungeons prepared for victims, including quotes from the criminals. From the massive 'Murder Castle' once used by Dr. H. H. Holmes to prey upon those attending the 1893 Chicago World's Fair to the hand-tooled box under the bed where Cameron Hooker kept his 'sex slave', Chambers of Horror covers famous cases of the past along with many from the modern age. John Marlowe takes the reader on a disturbing journey through a world of murder and mayhem, providing insight into evil and the motivations of monsters.