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Writers and Politics (and a 99 cent sale on Rider’s Revenge)

13 Friday Jan 2017

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First, let’s get the “good news” out of the way.  The ebook of Rider’s Revenge is on a 99 cent sale through Tuesday, so if you are somehow reading this blog and haven’t yet bought it, now is the time to buy it for a nice discount.  That link above should take you to a page that will get you to any of the major stores anywhere in the world, but if it doesn’t work you can try the Rider’s Revenge page on here which also has the U.S. links on it.

Alright, now down to the topic of the day: writers and politics.  (I figure most of you reading this blog have already read Rider’s Revenge, so it’s not very nice to come on here, announce some sort of sale, and then not give something to people kind enough to support me, but if you’re sick of political talk of all stripes then carry on and apologies.)

Obviously, this past six months has led to lots of people talking about politics.  And lots of reaction against creative types who’ve poked their nose in and voiced an opinion one way or the other about what’s happening these days.

I used to have the rule that you should never talk religion or politics because it never ends well, but my personal Twitter and FB pages these days are pretty heavy on sharing and RTing political news. That started happening about three months before the election because I wanted the people I knew to be informed.

I try to keep it off my author sites, because that’s not why folks are there, but a little slips through on Twitter and for that I apologize.

But what’s most interesting to me is that it doesn’t matter if I post or tweet or blog about my politic views.  Because they are there all throughout my books.  At least thematically.  Issues like women’s rights and how women are treated based on how they dress or act.  And my belief that for evil to be done requires the support of thousands–not just the person who orders the act but those who make it happen and those who stand by and let it happen and those who go along rather than resist.  And so so many other ideas.

By writing and putting my words out there I can’t help but address politics and religion and psychology and economics (another strong theme in the Rider’s books) and how people relate to one another and all those other things that make a world real.

I’m sure there are books out there that manage to avoid those subjects (the Shopaholic books come to mind), but I’m pretty sure I’m not capable of writing one of them.  And that most authors aren’t.  I loved Tolstoy’s books when I was younger but that man had whole paragraphs in there about his religious beliefs.

And in times like these I think that will become even more prevalent for all authors.  Writing is how we tackle what’s floating around in our minds.

For example, after I finish the last Rider’s book I have a book I want to write about the different forms of resistance and how we judge one another for our chosen way to resist.  (Of course, if I do my job right, that will all be there, but for most readers it’ll also just be a good entertaining story.)

Same with movies and t.v. shows.  We live in a certain environment and it impacts where we focus our attention and the stories we choose to tell.

Anyway.  Hope you’ve enjoyed the Rider’s books so far.  Book three is coming along nicely.  Still aiming for a mid-June release.  (And need to hit it because pup and I are going to take a road trip that includes a two-week out-of-state writing workshop and then, hopefully, touring the dog parks in the region afterwards.)

About Reviews

27 Friday May 2016

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So, first, in case anyone is wondering, book two in the series is coming along amazingly well.  Cover artist is hard at work on the new cover which I hope will be even better than the first one and I’m chugging along on edits.  Well, writing and edits, because I did a pretty significant overhaul of the first draft.

Also, Rider’s Revenge is in the self-publishing fantasy blog-off and it made the first cut in its group of thirty being reviewed by Pornokitsch.  So, yay!

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today.

I’m here to talk about reviews.

A couple weeks ago I had a lovely woman reach out to me about Rider’s Revenge.  She’d just finished it and loved it and wanted to tell me and ask when the sequel would be out.  Which, by the way, MAKES MY DAY every single time it happens.  To think that someone read something I wrote and liked it enough to tell me about it is just wonderful.

Never hesitate to reach out to an author if you loved what they wrote.  Sometimes those little moments of encouragement are all we have to keep us going through until the release of the next novel.

(Having said that, I’m not that kind of reader, so never feel obligated.  But if the urge hits you, do it.)

Anyway. I wrote her back and thanked her and said I’d noticed that she’d left a wonderful review of it and I was so pleased with that.  She responded with a comment that sort of pooh-poohed her review because she wasn’t as good a writer as me.

So I wanted to address that for her and for anyone else who ever doubts themselves.

First, when it comes to a review, I, as a reader  and as a writer, am never going to judge anyone by how they construct their sentences or what words they choose or whether they place their commas in the correct place.  And anyone who does do that is not someone you should spare a moment’s thought for.

Because it’s not the words you choose that matter to me, it’s the sincerity of the emotion behind what you say.  Good or bad, love it or hate it, if how you really felt shines through in what you say, that’s the best possible review.

We may not agree.  I’m sure there are people who’ve hated books I loved. (War and Peace, anyone?)  But I’d rather we disagree and you put out there something real and authentic than that you don’t speak at all or write something forgettable but agreeable.

Let me also say that, as a writer, I’m not going to judge a review by the number of stars you give. You can like a book enough to review it and not think it’s five-star worthy and that’s okay.

As a matter of fact, sometimes people don’t trust a book that has all four or five-star reviews.  They think it’s just the author’s friends putting up reviews.  So put up whatever rating you want.  It’s your opinion and that’s what counts.

And for anyone who does review my book, thank you.  Not only for taking the time to read something I wrote, but for taking even more time to share what you thought about it.  I don’t directly respond to reviews, because I think that’s something for readers to share with one another, but I do appreciate every single one.

So if you ever are motivated to review a book, don’t hesitate.  Do it.  It’s valuable to the author and it’s valuable to other readers.

Writing As Weaving

02 Saturday Apr 2016

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So the first draft of the sequel to Rider’s Revenge is done and sitting for a while so I can come back to it fresh, hate everything about it (or maybe just half of it), tear it apart, fix it, and send it out to my betas for a reaction.

It’s hard to write a sequel, because I know that anyone who reads it will be coming from Rider’s Revenge and expect some continuity and a smooth flow from the first story.  Which means I can’t exactly rip the book apart and go off in some completely new direction.  There is an issue that needs to be resolved and that has to be the focus of the book.

While the draft is sitting, it’s by no means fully out of my mind.  I keep thinking about the story lines and how they flow and work with one another.  (SPOILERY TALK FOLLOWS)

Like Badru.  He’s lost everything now.  His entire identity is gone.  And he has to deal with that.

But at the same time K’lrsa is moving forward because she needs to save her family.

And then there’s the politics running through the story.  Just because K’lrsa can see the harm that comes from trading with the Daliphana doesn’t mean that everyone agrees with her.  Some think that the benefits of trade–like medicines and metals–outweigh the decay in their old way of life.

And then there’s Herin and Lodie seeing one another for the first time since Herin sent Lodie away.

And K’lrsa’s mother and brother reacting to her taking off with no word about where she was going or why.  (Turns out maybe it wasn’t as obvious to them what happened…)

All these separate threads have to come together to make a cohesive whole.

Every time I write a novel I think of it as weaving the various story threads together.  If you think of them as different colors, then there has to be a balance between the different threads.  You can’t have a batch of blue in the top left and then never see it again.

But at the same time the colors all have to work together to form something beautiful and worth reading.  So not only must there be balance but they also all have to create a whole that is more than each individual piece.

So as I sit here waiting for enough time to pass until the next draft, I mentally weave the different threads of story together in my head and ask myself if I like what they create.  After a first draft, the answer is almost always no.  But that’s what revision is for.

Two Days Until Release

27 Sunday Sep 2015

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The release date for Rider’s Revenge is only two days away.  Wow.  That’s…scary.

I love this book.  I do.  Just look at this gorgeous cover:

Riders Revenge Proof Copy RR Proof2

But the thought of having my book baby out there in the world scares me to death.

Oh well.  This is part of the process, right?  I write something that appeals to me and then I send it out into the big bad world with the hope that it will appeal to others.  After that it’s out of my hands.  (Other than making some effort to get people to give it a shot, that is.)

Well, if nothing else, I know my mom liked it.  (And she’s not the type to hold back if she didn’t.)

Taking That Leap

11 Friday Sep 2015

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I put Rider’s Revenge up for pre-order on Amazon and all the other retailers today.  LOVE my cover, by the way.  Kirk did such an amazing job with it and I’m so glad I reached out to him to see if he’d take me on.

I have to say, this was one of the scariest things I’ve done in a long time.

It’s not the first title I’ve self-published.  I’ve put up about eighty titles give or take across a variety of pen names and in various genres.  Mostly shorter works.  And I’m proud of every one of them and wouldn’t have written them and put them out there if I didn’t think they were worth reading.

But this one.

This is the one that matters to me.  I’ve spent hundreds of hours on this novel.  And it’s the type of thing I love to read.  An adventure featuring a strong but not perfect main character.  Some crazy twists and turns that I didn’t see coming until they happened.  Focused on the individual experience of the characters but with larger issues at play.

And if I can’t write what I love to read, what good am I?  Right.

So I sit here, now that it’s too late to take it back, and worry.

What if people hate it?  What if no one even reads it?  What if I put it all out there and…crickets.

Well.  There’s only one way to know and that’s to just go ahead and do it.

So here goes.  Time to leap off that cliff and hope it turns out well.

September 29th.  That’s the day of reckoning.  Wish me luck.  Let’s hope I can actually fly after all.

Why Are So Many Characters In Books Orphans?

18 Tuesday Aug 2015

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I look back at the books I’ve read over the years and so many of the characters are orphans.  Or they’ve lost a spouse or sibling or child or best friend or everyone they ever loved.  (Looking at you GRRM.)

It never bothered me too much.  (Except for how NCIS seems to kill off a strong secondary female character every time they need a little extra juice in their story line.)  But it was something I noticed.

When I started writing, I really had to think about this.  Because when you first start writing you want to be unique and different and not do the same thing a hundred people before you have done.

But, see, here’s the deal.  Loss equals change.  Especially traumatic loss.  It shakes us out of our every day and forces us onto new paths we wouldn’t have taken otherwise.

And those orphans?  Well, there aren’t any parents around to protect them or save them.  They have to face challenges on their own because they have no other choice.  There also aren’t ties to bind them to home so they can run away at a moment’s notice.

Walk up to a lonely, isolated orphan and say, “Want to get away from here and save the world and be the hero and be adored by everyone?” chances are the answer will be yes.

Walk up to a child who is well-loved and well-protected with a strong family and strong community around them and ask the same question and they’ll either want to ask their parents’ permission (who will say no) or they’ll pass.  Because why risk everything they have on some potentially catastrophic adventure?  And when it does go bad (as things must in all good stories), why not just turn around and go back home?

The best characters, the ones who persevere and push through challenge after challenge, are the ones who have nothing to go back to or are so driven by their loss that they can’t imagine stopping before the end.

So, that’s why I think so many main characters are orphans.

Hello world!

13 Thursday Aug 2015

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Well, here we go!  I have to say this is probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life.

What is that you might ask?

I’m going to publish my novel, Rider’s Revenge, on October 1st.

It’s not the first thing I’ve ever published, but it’s the first time I’ve decided to go “all-in” on something and really put it all out there.  I’ve found someone to do the cover, it’s been reviewed too many times to count, and in six weeks’ time, I’ll publish it and hope that a bunch of people I don’t know actually want to read it and give me a chance to challenge and entertain them.

There’s so much to worry about it’s not even funny.

Will the cover come out well?  (I hope so.  The cover artist I found is even doing a photo shoot for it to get it just right!)

Will people like my writing?  (It’s epic fantasy but written in a more fast-paced YA sort of way.  Personally, I find I like shorter paragraphs and scenes these days, but will others?)

Will it be too feminist?  (I like to think it’s a great coming of age adventure story with a kick-ass heroine, but the main character is a strong woman who has some opinions about the crap place she finds herself and how women are treated there.  I hope I didn’t overdo it, but I won’t know until I see those reviews come in.)

Will the people who might like it even see it to know it’s out there?  (So many books are published these days, it’s easy to just sink into nothingness even if you do have a good story to tell.)

AH!  Scary times.  But exciting, too.

Fingers crossed it goes well and this is just the first of many posts in my publishing career.