Boo!

I didn’t get a chance to do a costume. So that’s me, my 12-year-old psyche in the body of a 50-year-old. I’m busy as as the proverbial bee, finishing up a WIP, fighting lethargy from newly diagnosed Lymes Disease and underactive thyroid (so much for making fun of Oprah, dang). Still trying to think of how I can dress up the poor cat without annoying it beyond belief. Hope your Halloween is lots of fun! I’ll be in touch when I dig out.

Ebooks/small Press vs. New York

I know, I know, this is an old topic, dog-eared and yellowed with age. I’ve never been a big defender of the quality of ebooks, because there is so much diversity, I’ve been hard pressed to make a sweeping generalization such as “Ebooks are as good at NY books.”

Because of the little quarterly contests I run here, and some reviewing I do, and some judging I’m now doing, I’m increasingly struck by one statement I want to make when I read an ebook. “This could easily be on the shelf with NY-pubbed books.” I’ve been able to say that about the last six or seven ebooks I read.

I think the tide may have turned. I should say, I also still go to the bookstore and pick up books published by the big romance publishers. So I do have some room for comparison.

Sure, there are exceptions. But by and large, I find as many wallbangers, perhaps more, among the big publishers.

What do you think? Are epubbed books stacking up against NY these days? My bias may be that I enjoy books that don’t fit a NY “mold,” and the freshness, out-of-the-box plots or genre bending may appeal to me more than some.

HQN: I Can’t Get Past the Past

I have friends who write for Harlequin. Acquaintances would be more accurate, I suppose. I have not read a single HQN in decades. I’m not exaggerating–decades. I tried to read one a few years ago, but it was a wallbanger. So do I need to break this bias that runs deep? Perhaps when I’m finished current projects, I’ll try to review a number of them. I don’t like me some: sheiks, tycoons, Greeks (okay, I like Greeks, I lived in their country for eight years, but you know what I mean), Highland boneheads, Nascar heroes…

Do you have a recommendation for me? I love to write category length, but…read it? Is it okay for me to think these books are…what? Uncomplicated? Shallow? Tell me what I’m missing, please! Name your favorite.

Not So Smart He Can’t Step in It

You know, sometimes, there’s not much to say about a piece of news. One must read the entire article to get the full scope of this man’s world. I work in a building filled with people who conduct research in this man’s field. I wouldn’t be able to find a soul who could come close to uttering such horrific things. I’m not really into political correctness, but I am into morality, decency, and truth. One of my heroes died for me today.

If you have high blood pressure, you might not want to read THIS.

When it Stops Hurting, On Reviews

I’m stunned. I don’t think it necessarily that the meds are working overtime today, or that I like Fridays.

I was cruising around the Web and realized I hadn’t visited a certain publisher’s loop in a while. I saw a few reviews for my books. They were fine, but the number of stars/hearts/fleur-de-lis, whatever they were, were sort of average. That used to pain me to no end. I’d whine, “The Reviewer seemed to like it, what the hell kind of score is that?”

Today, I read the reviews, kinda shrugged, and thought, “those are good.” What’s happened? I think I’ve crossed into some new phase of writing. Where I actually “get” in a very real way that a review is one person’s opinion. These weren’t reviews for the Great American Novel, but for Wizard of Time, an erotic comedy fantasy novella. The reviewers said it was funny, and that they enjoyed it. It’s not that my standards have dropped, it’s that my lebensangst seems to have dropped. I’ve knocked myself around over a few things recently, and it taught me to keep my eye on the bigger picture. How about you? Anyone else feel their hackles unhackling recently?

The Best of Times?

I enjoyed Rachel Caine’s comments on the state (as much as we can tell what it is) of book sales statistics and the affects especially from the perspective of new writers. It brings up the somewhat worn-out topics of “whether small press publishing helps you get to New York” and the burgeoning epublishing industry, warts and all. Comments there and other spots, such as Romance Divas and EPIC loops, range from the “hell no, I’d never stoop to epublishing,” to “I love my small press career, it’s all I want.”

My question to new and aspiring writers is this: Do you adjust your goals to suit the market? On Romance Divas, a number of writers were of the hell-no to epublishing variety just over a year ago. Some of those same writers are now very happily announcing their e-contracts. Still, most seem to see small press and epublishing as a door to something bigger, and presumably better.

In the meantime, as more and more writers are able to become published, the competition is…well, somewhat disturbing. I’ve been writing for perhaps four years. Some critics might say I should be “further along” by now. Meaning, why haven’t I gotten something into NY. I really haven’t tried seriously, haven’t written the book I think it marketable to those editors.

During the same period, I’ve watched my readers become published writers, watched the number of writers at small publishers grow exponentially, and wondered if I’m not in a glutted market. Has small press/epress publishing become as competitive in a way as New York?

The problem, of course–supply and demand. Small press publishers can be more selective, and so can readers. I would love to see statistics on the number of electronic romance titles circa 2004 vs. today. I think in fact that despite claims to the contrary, the standards are going up (not everywhere of course) for these small presses, which is a great thing for readers. One can make a case it’s a great thing for writers too. Get your chops in order.

Writers, are you disheartened by things? Do you find these trends confusing? Is your target moving? Are you comfortable where you are? What’s next for you?

Is She a Liberal, or is She NUTS?

I had to come out of the writers’ cave (you would not believe who I met in there) for a rant. This is the THIRD time this nutcase and her Socialist logic have pounded my inbox. This time she wants Princes of Anfall (to sell on eBay). I quote “You an author and you guys are rich so it won’t hurt you to give me a free book.” Well, I live in a small apartment, if I’m rich a lot of things would be different (most noticeably my hair color would probably be done professionally).

I would refuse a cup of water in the desert before sending a book to this leech. She’s already won one of my contests, and the book went up on eBay immediately, signed (by the way, I fought back by posting my own signed copy at a lower price), and I’m still doing that.

What do the rich owe the poor? I’m not rich, and I don’t write Donald Trump (okay, he’s probably going into bankruptcy again soon) or Nora demanding free stuff. Oh, wait, doesn’t our government do that too? Damn it, I worked hard to get into this awful tax bracket that eats up every raise I get. I bet this woman is leaching off me already. Can you tell I’m a Libertarian? I have a heart, it beats, etc. I’m just a purist in some areas. I won’t go on about the charitable work I do. Just trust me that not all conservatives are heartless, war-mongering bigots.

I’ll give this woman one thing, she has balls. But more and more, I just don’t like giving away my writing.

The Rumors of My Demise

I’m still in my little cave. That’s not quite accurate, as I’m at work now. But when I’m home, well, I’m still working on my Mayan Nights sequel. Hope you’re having fun, wherever you are!

I’m Afraid of Caves

What is the writer’s cave? I’ve heard talk about an isolated spot, where nothing interrupts, where there are no pets that need food, no husbands needing attention, no sick relatives, no dust, nothing but a powerful wizard who makes your fingers fly and you creativity flow. I think what people really mean is a place offline. A place where the gossip of the day, the reviews that aren’t yours, the checking of dismal stats…all that stuff is verboten.

I’m going in, to emerge only when I have a very good handle on my WIP. I’m finishing the sequel to Mayan Nights, and I have been doing that for many months. A paragraph here, a chapter there. I get tugged away on other adventures of the imagination. Now it’s time to fix this relationship that’s gone astray, to solve the puzzle, to excise without mercy all adverbs, to kill junk words, to purge exclamation points, to go where I haven’t gone before…offline.

If I don’t come back in a few, please come looking for me. In the meantime, go buy Unholy Vows at Samhain. ;o)

Too Much of a Good Thing

One of my all-time favorite bits comes courtesy of Danny Kaye, circa 1995 in The Court Jester:
Hawkins: I’ve got it! The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right?
Griselda: Right! — but there’s been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace…
Hawkins: They broke the chalice from the palace?
Griselda: …and replaced it. With a flagon.
Hawkins: A flagon?
Griselda: With the figure of a dragon.
Hawkins: Flagon with a dragon.
Griselda: Right.
Hawkins: …but did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle?
Griselda: No! The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
Hawkins: The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon, the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.
Griselda: Just remember that!

I often review romances (when the muse isn’t speaking to me, or has taken to mumbling). Once in a while, I come upon a fantasy or paranormal romance that makes me feel like poor Hawkins. I often know that I’m going to have a tough time with an author who puts the “k” on “magic.” I’m no anti-Pagan. I swear on my Celtic ancestors. Sometimes, however, I really need the Pagan playbook. When things get wyrd, I get weary. Fae this and fae that. I’ve written about wizards, sometimes seriously and sometimes giving them a Danny Kaye twyst. Fantasy is my first reading love, and I’ve devoured stories of all sorts of creatures, with all sorts of powers. But the devil is in the details, and when the details get overwhelming, the story dies for me.

I’m reading a book now for review that is chock-full of references that mean absolutely nothing to me. There’s an index, but I’ve been out of school for ten years…cough…or so. I don’t want to have to turn to an index to understand what kind of spell is being cast. Leave that to Robert Jordan, may he rest in peace. The main characters can’t get together because they have different magickal DNA or some such. Can’t one be a dwarf and one be an elf or something? (Although, I got a lecture once about the different types of elves. I don’t want to go through that again.)

I’ve read some pretty heady stuff in my day. I’m about as smart as the average bear. I’m simply suggesting that authors who want to widen their readership might also want to lighten up on the lingo. Because at the end of the day, I really just want to make sure the girl gets the guy. Or the guy gets the guy. Or whichever. Now, I’d better get back to my analysis of Mayan rituals and cosmology…no one will have trouble with this book…