Indie Bookstore Charge for Author Events . . .

In this article by the NY Times, indie bookstores say they have no choice but to charge admission to author signings or at least require a book purchase. There are so many ways this could go, but I know as an author, I would never limit my readers. What about the old grannies on a fixed income or the college student struggling to buy a textbook? I certainly won’t turn that customer away just because they bought an eBook.

There could be room for both. I know that there are nights I go to Barnes and Noble or my favorite indie bookstore, “Blue Dragon Books” just for the feel of it. There’s this old leather chair in the back by the classics where I can sit and peruse. This is something I will always do. Brick and mortar stores can provide ambiance, the coffee, the venue that no online store can ever provide. I think that is where they need to focus their attention.

If anything, what they will do is get the business of the people who would buy the books and lose out on the business that might be brought in by that signing’s foot-traffic. There are a lot of times I go into a bookstore and can’t come out empty-handed. Perhaps I am the odd-man-out.

Would you go to a signing where you had to buy the print book? How would it make you feel to get a ticket? I suppose it isn’t much different than a music concert, except that with a book you can take the concert with you and experience it over and over. This is what makes it worth it to pay for a concert and not a book signing.

Cross-genre Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

While some of us call the combination of Science Fiction and Fantasy “Speculative Fiction,” I don’t know what to call it when more than two genres get together. The truth is, I don’t really care. This is my favorite type of writing. I want more if it. I believe this type of novel is the next big thing, with Steampunk leading the way. And finally, someone else agrees with me.

This blog takes the point of view that women have not felt smart enough to read science-related material. I know women are certainly beginning to move into the male-dominated careers. Still, when I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry, most of the classes were men. Now, a generation later, I think it might be different.I also think that Science Fiction has been mostly written my men. One of the best selling authors of all Science Fiction was Anne McCaffrey. She was a brilliant author. I think the female touch in her novels related to women everywhere and helped endear women to her novels. I am going to do my first review of the very first McCaffrey novel I ever read–in her honor. In fact, she was the inspiration for my first novel. If there was one person I would want to meet in the whole world, it would be her.

Kansas Writers Association-Sensory Description

. . . had a great meeting on Saturday and it was fun to get to know some authors in this area. We discussed setting, senses, and how to immerse your reader into your world, even if it is a common one. I like to refer to the thesaurus for sensory words that are more vivid, and there are some on the internet like this one.

My favorite thing to do is: whenever I begin a new novel, I make lists of my own whenever I use a new sensory word. Then I have a reference of what I’ve used so I don’t overload on one word. It isn’t brilliant, but when your short term memory is as bad as mine, it really helps.

When possible, the setting needs to have a life of its own, be a character all its own, so that the reader can get to know it, love it, and interact with it the same way you do as the author. While this idea came to me as I was writing my first novel, it is not a new concept at all. Doing a search tonight I found a really good article by Kaye Dacus on the subject. It makes me feel less original, but my humility is a small sacrifice for this advice.

Animals With Intelligence

He could be smart, right?

I was talking with a friend yesterday and realized something amusing. I dislike stories where the main characters are intelligent animals. Perhaps it is a kind of prejudice, but I really don’t like bunnies who have the heroism Richard Adams gives them. And don’t even get me started on Bambi.

What is amusing is that the animals in my story have intelligence, a higher level of humanity that comes from their genetic and telepathic links with their companions, or human counterparts (as a result of genetic manipulation and generations of refinement). It made me feel like quite a hypocrite. And yet I continue to justify it.

Science Fiction or Fantasy?

To quote Antony Jones from SFBook.com, “Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible.”

I like this definition. It is concise yet understandable. You can check out his reviews at the above website. He says that Speculative fiction is a crossing of genres. I suppose that is what my books do. I never can seem to color inside the lines.

The Painful Truths of Writing

There is no way of writing well and also of writing easily. ~ANTHONY TROLLOPE, Barchester Towers

I wish the opposite was true: that if it wasn’t easy, then it must be good. But, alas, I find that it is always difficult and still rarely worthy. It is a good thing that I don’t mind hitting the delete button for those chunks of pages that need to be cut. In fact, while it is painful to lose so much raw material, it is also exciting to know that there is something better that makes it worth it.

The Exploding Head

Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head, so many plot lines, characters that need to be discovered. My life requires that I live it, but there are times I could lock myself in a room with my laptop and write for days. (The longest my family has ever let me do this is 38 hours with a bowl of cereal and a twelve pack of Sunkist.)

Thank God for family.

Acknowledgements

Sorry for the length of this post, but these things are necessary. There are so many people that have helped me, but there are some in particular that have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

First is my editor, Villate. She has a true gift.  Not only is she able to see inconsistencies in plot and characters, she has the ability to pull ideas out of me that I never knew were there. And she makes the perfect lunch partner.

Next is my mom. She reads my work, but rather than tell me how great it is, she still treats me like I’m in college and points out all the flaws she can see. She’s never babied me when it came to my writing. I believe her philosophy is that, she will always love me. However, if I showed my negative potential to the world, they might not be as forgiving.

I would like to thank Patrick (my husband of nearly nineteen years). Rather than echo my doubt, he has always shown faith in my abilities. He has designed my website, spent hours deciphering computer jargon, and never complained.

My kids have been great. They know I love to write and encourage me, even back when my manuscripts were awful. My daughter has done a lot of Photo Shop for the website and designed my book covers. Another has taken my photos and helped provide suggestions for a lot of my work. My son lets me never forget how important it is to be a mother first.