Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 286
January 14, 2013
WORLD OF SYMBOLS by Michelle Snyder
(The illustration
is a study by me from the Book of Kells, and is a depiction of a two month
calendric; note the two heads.)
The origin of the intricate Celtic knot begins thousands of
years ago when our ancestors watched the skies, measured the movement of the
sun, moon, and stars, and recorded their findings with dots and lines. Around
8000 BC they saw and named seven planets (then including the sun and moon), and
named the days of the weeks after them. They ordered the names of the days by
calculating the speed of the planets through their orbits. Megaliths were built
to increase the accuracy of their observations. The tools they used to lay out
these great stone observatories were strings and rods.
Women were spinning and using thread tens of thousands of
years ago. Cords and threads were made by hand, and had many uses other than
making their clothing. Cords were used for measuring, and were divided into
specific lengths by knots (Duncan-Enzmann). The sections of strings were used
to calculate how to divide a circle, to measure time from the passing of stars,
and thus to predict the seasons. The patterns created with cords became
2D representations of the same equations.
Since then knots have acquired many symbolic meanings, and are also used
as an information system. For centuries knots have symbolized engagement
because knots, like engagements, are binding. In the Celtic, Hindu, and Chinese
cultures, knots are designed into wedding garments, representing continuity,
longevity, and eternity. Sending messages through love knots is popular in many
cultures.
Knots are used in heraldic design, the most famous of which
is the Bowen knot – or more accurately an “unknot,” a symbol of the family
name. Weaving the string over and under creates intricate patterns, which are
used to represent the genealogy of monarchies and nobles. The actual design of
the knot is likely inherited from generations of families who were involved in
navigation, textiles, or stone masonry.
Another similar function of string, cords, and ribbons is
the Maypole. You must have three or more to braid. Maypoles have three, four,
five, six, and more ribbons which are woven in and out, over and under by the
dancing children. The songs that accompany the dances in ancient times were
meant to help children remember how to read the stars, remember the four
directions, the eight winds, and to measure time. When the weaving is finished
the ribbon is removed from the pole and flattened, and the knot that remains is
a physical representation of a mathematical equation necessary to know how to
divide a 360 degree circle into single degrees, to find longitude.
Celtic knots are a graphic form of mathematical processes
which derive mostly from calendrics. There are countless beautiful decorative
letters in the illuminated manuscripts, all designed to preserve the knowledge
of how to divide a circle, use the Venus clock, and find longitude. It is easy
to see how the woven line which makes these intricate, beautiful patterns could
be done with strings, especially if you have ever played cat’s cradle. Take a
string, make a loop, and see if you can remember this intricate
"childhood" game.
is a study by me from the Book of Kells, and is a depiction of a two month
calendric; note the two heads.)
The origin of the intricate Celtic knot begins thousands of
years ago when our ancestors watched the skies, measured the movement of the
sun, moon, and stars, and recorded their findings with dots and lines. Around
8000 BC they saw and named seven planets (then including the sun and moon), and
named the days of the weeks after them. They ordered the names of the days by
calculating the speed of the planets through their orbits. Megaliths were built
to increase the accuracy of their observations. The tools they used to lay out
these great stone observatories were strings and rods.
Women were spinning and using thread tens of thousands of
years ago. Cords and threads were made by hand, and had many uses other than
making their clothing. Cords were used for measuring, and were divided into
specific lengths by knots (Duncan-Enzmann). The sections of strings were used
to calculate how to divide a circle, to measure time from the passing of stars,
and thus to predict the seasons. The patterns created with cords became
2D representations of the same equations.
Since then knots have acquired many symbolic meanings, and are also used
as an information system. For centuries knots have symbolized engagement
because knots, like engagements, are binding. In the Celtic, Hindu, and Chinese
cultures, knots are designed into wedding garments, representing continuity,
longevity, and eternity. Sending messages through love knots is popular in many
cultures.
Knots are used in heraldic design, the most famous of which
is the Bowen knot – or more accurately an “unknot,” a symbol of the family
name. Weaving the string over and under creates intricate patterns, which are
used to represent the genealogy of monarchies and nobles. The actual design of
the knot is likely inherited from generations of families who were involved in
navigation, textiles, or stone masonry.
Another similar function of string, cords, and ribbons is
the Maypole. You must have three or more to braid. Maypoles have three, four,
five, six, and more ribbons which are woven in and out, over and under by the
dancing children. The songs that accompany the dances in ancient times were
meant to help children remember how to read the stars, remember the four
directions, the eight winds, and to measure time. When the weaving is finished
the ribbon is removed from the pole and flattened, and the knot that remains is
a physical representation of a mathematical equation necessary to know how to
divide a 360 degree circle into single degrees, to find longitude.
Celtic knots are a graphic form of mathematical processes
which derive mostly from calendrics. There are countless beautiful decorative
letters in the illuminated manuscripts, all designed to preserve the knowledge
of how to divide a circle, use the Venus clock, and find longitude. It is easy
to see how the woven line which makes these intricate, beautiful patterns could
be done with strings, especially if you have ever played cat’s cradle. Take a
string, make a loop, and see if you can remember this intricate
"childhood" game.
January 13, 2013
Book Tour Blast: REPUBLIC by Charles Sheehan-Miles
Republic
Ken Murphy is a 45 year-old National Guard Colonel and senior manager at a computer chip manufacturer in quiet Highview, West Virginia. In this future history featuring frightening parallels to our present, the local economy is thrown into a tailspin when the plant is suddenly shut down, even as the nation is thrown into turmoil by a deadly domestic terrorist attack. Murphy, like everyone else in his town, is suddenly thrown out of work, with no way to pay for medical care for his son.
Karen Greenfield, a young captain in Murphy's National Guard battalion, faces a devastating choice: how does she serve the Constitution she swore to protect when the danger comes from the federal government itself? After witnessing the senseless death of a co-worker, she begins to question the foundations of everything she has ever believed.
The conflict escalates from Charleston, West Virginia to the halls of Congress. Politicians on both sides refuse to back down or compromise, bringing open armed conflict closer and closer to reality.
From the author of the Amazon bestselling author of Just Remember to Breathe, Republic is a surprise bestselling dystopian novel (more than two years on the Amazon Alternate History bestseller list) described by readers as "breath-taking," "riveting," and "haunting."
Purchase on Amazon.
About the Author
Charles Sheehan-Miles served in combat with the 24th Infantry Division during the 1991 Gulf War, and was decorated for valor for helping rescue fellow tank crewmen from a burning tank during the Battle at Rumayla. He is a former President and co-founder of the National Gulf War Resource Center and later was executive director of Veterans for Common Sense.
Follow on:
Website | Facebook |Twitter | GoodReads
Tour Prize $50 Amazon gift card open where ever you can use an Amazon GC. Fill out the form below to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
January 11, 2013
Review: SATURDAY NIGHT CLEAVER by Karen Cantwell
5 of 5 starsI've read all the Barbara Marr mysteries and "Saturday Night Cleaver" is the best one yet! Poor Barbara - all she wants is a nice quiet existence in Rustic Woods and for her husband, Howard, to be well again. He was injured on his last assignment before retiring from the FBI. He's been moping around the house while his leg has been healing and he's been falling down on his husband duties. This does not make Barb happy and to work out some of her frustration, she takes the family dog for a walk in the woods behind her house. What happens next sends Barb on another rollicking adventure!
Ms. Cantwell has a true comedic voice that shines through Barb. Some of the passages had me laughing out loud. It's also good to see some of the regulars from Rustic Woods make an appearance in this story. I especially love Barb's Mom. She's quite a character and Barb's reaction to some of the things her Mother does is just priceless. If you're looking to escape into a fun and thoroughly entertaining mystery, this book is just what the doctor ordered. Highly Recommended!
January 10, 2013
Book Tour Blast: DESIRES UNLEASED by D.N. Simmons
Desires Unleashed (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles Book One)
Desires Unleashed is the first novel in the riveting, highly-addictive and sexually-charged Knights of the Darkness Chronicles. Experience the heart-pounding thrill of the chase in this electrifying page-turner as you uncover the mystery behind the series of gruesome killings that have been terrorizing the citizens of Chicago.
When a grisly decapitated corpse pops up on a Chicago Street, drained of blood, the highly-trained, government-funded special police force assigned two of their best detectives to the case. S.U.I.T. Detectives Warren Davis and Matthew Eric delve deep into their investigation to discover just who or what is leaving mutilated bodies in public places. They soon realize that the killer or killers is one step ahead of them and if they are going to stop the menace before another innocent human is viciously attack, they are going to need help.
Natasha Hemingway liked her life just the way it was... normal and supernatural-free. The vampires and shape-shifters were just where shewanted them to be--far away from her. All was going well until an unfortunate accident landed her in the hospital. It was then that she discovered she had an ability that could help her save countless lives. All of a sudden, she finds herself thrust into the dangerous and alluring world of the supernatural and into the arms of two very sexy and deadly vampires.
Original, gritty and sprinkled with just the right amount of humor and wit, the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles will suck you in and take you for a ride you won't forget.
You don't want to miss out on this amazing series!
Purchase Desires Unleashed on Amazon.
Follow D.N. Simmons
Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads
The author is giving away a $100 gift certificate and a Knights of the Darkness Chronicles Tshirt. Fill out the form below to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Follow the Book Tour!
Interview with Ira Nayman
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yY27VyaAfFo..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yY27VyaAfFo..." width="201" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> According to my publisher, Elsewhen Press, “This hilarious
science-fiction comedy novel follows the first case for Noomi Rapier, rookie
investigator with The Transdimensional Authority – the organization that
regulates travel between dimensions. When a dead body is found slumped over a
modified transdimensional machine, Noomi and her more experienced partner,
Crash Chumley, must find the dead man’s accomplices and discover what they were
doing with the technology. Their investigation leads them to a variety of
realities where Noomi comes face-to-face with four very different incarnations
of herself, forcing her to consider how the choices she makes and the
circumstances into which she is born determine who she is.<br />
<br />
“Ira Nayman’s new novel is both an hilarious romp through multiple dimensions
in a variety of alternate realities, and a gentle satire on fate, ambition and
expectation. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Welcome to the Multiverse
(Sorry for the Inconvenience)</i> will appeal to comedy fans who have been
bereft of much good science-fiction fare these last eleven years. Ira’s style
is at times surreal, even off-the-wall, with the humor flying at you from
unexpected angles; he describes it as fractal humour. Anyone who has read his
Alternate Reality News Service stories will know how funny Ira is. The
characters we meet from around the multiverse deserve to become firm favorites
with all fans of science fiction comedy.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">This is the first Transdimensional
Authority book. Audience willing, there will be more.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you have a favorite character?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You want me to choose among my
children? What decent parent would do that? Okay, having made my
objection, I will say this: although he doesn’t play a major role in the novel,
the lurker in the shadows of the alleyways behind the eyes of inmates in asyli for
the awkward will return!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that
change the direction of the novel at all?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Funny you should ask that…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">My main science fiction project is
the Alternate Reality News Service (ARNS), which sends reporters into other
dimensions, and has them write news articles about what they find there. It has
been described as “a science fiction version of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Onion</i>.” I have self-published three books in that series (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alternate Reality Ain’t What It Used To Be</i>,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What Were Once Miracles Are Now
Children’s Toys</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Luna for the
Lunies!</i>), and will be putting out two more in 2013. The Transdimensional
Authority was part of a throw-away line in a couple of articles in those books.
So, you could say the entire novel is an evolution from a minor idea to a major
one!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wycn2XnPNoo..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wycn2XnPNoo..." width="200" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like
silence?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Music all the way. Silence is
creepy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I outline. I don’t think I have ever
written a narrative where I didn’t know what the ending would be before I
actually started. I couldn’t stand the suspense.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Did you hire a graphic artist for your book cover? Were you actively
involved in the creation of the cover?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">For my first two self-published
books, I went through a company (iUniverse and Eloquent Books) that hired their
own artists. However, I sent the companies a rough description (including stick
figure drawing) of what I wanted and their artists executed it very well.
For the most recent book, I worked with an artist I found on Twitter; it
was a very satisfying experience. I currently have two different artists
working on the covers for the next two ARNS books.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Welcome to the Multiverse</i>, the publisher hired an artist. There was
a month of back and forth before we were satisfied with a basic design, then
another month of picking at details until we were all satisfied with the cover.
For myself, I am very pleased with it – I do believe it is unique.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Covers are really important – they
are the first thing a potential reader will see of your book. If it doesn’t
grab the reader’s attention, they may not look at it to read your stellar back
cover prose, or lead through it, or read the excerpt on Amazon. I find a lot of
current book cover design bland and uninspired, and like to have as much input
into the covers of my books as possible to make sure that they are original. So
far, I have been lucky to have had that input (especially with Elsewhen Press;
professional presses are under no obligation to get a writer’s input on
anything other than the manuscript).</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You need to know how to market
yourself. And, when it comes to marketing, I’m still learning. I hope I’m
getting better, though…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you
involved with for promoting your book(s)?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I am on Twitter (as ARNSProprietor)
and Facebook (under my own name). I also have a Facebook writer’s/fan/whatever
page called “Ira Nayman’s Thrishty Freidnishes” (some day, I’ll explain what
that means…probably). My Web page, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les
Pages aux Folles</i> (which celebrated its 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary last
September), is updated with new writing and cartoons (yeah, I do that, too)
every week; I don’t consider it a marketing tool per se (as opposed to a
publishing medium in its own right), but it is a public way readers can connect
to me. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your
current book and writing your next book?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Not really. I find I have a limited
amount of time in the day when my subconscious talks to me and I can be
creative; I do as much promotion as I can around those hours. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What advice would you give a new author just entering into the
self-publishing arena?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Building an artistic career is a
long-term prospect. It takes time to build an audience. It takes time to master
the necessary skills and develop your voice. I recommended to my students (I
used to teach part-time at a university in Toronto) that they need to be
thinking of a commitment of 30 or 40 years. For this reason, you should only
become an artist if you really, really, really, really, really love creating
art (and, that’s five reallys, so you know I’m serious about it). There’s no
point devoting yourself for that long to something you have no passion for. On
the other hand, if you toil for that long and you never become well known, at
least you’ve spent your life doing something you love, and very few people can
say that.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yY27VyaAfFo..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yY27VyaAfFo..." width="201" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> According to my publisher, Elsewhen Press, “This hilarious
science-fiction comedy novel follows the first case for Noomi Rapier, rookie
investigator with The Transdimensional Authority – the organization that
regulates travel between dimensions. When a dead body is found slumped over a
modified transdimensional machine, Noomi and her more experienced partner,
Crash Chumley, must find the dead man’s accomplices and discover what they were
doing with the technology. Their investigation leads them to a variety of
realities where Noomi comes face-to-face with four very different incarnations
of herself, forcing her to consider how the choices she makes and the
circumstances into which she is born determine who she is.<br />
<br />
“Ira Nayman’s new novel is both an hilarious romp through multiple dimensions
in a variety of alternate realities, and a gentle satire on fate, ambition and
expectation. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Welcome to the Multiverse
(Sorry for the Inconvenience)</i> will appeal to comedy fans who have been
bereft of much good science-fiction fare these last eleven years. Ira’s style
is at times surreal, even off-the-wall, with the humor flying at you from
unexpected angles; he describes it as fractal humour. Anyone who has read his
Alternate Reality News Service stories will know how funny Ira is. The
characters we meet from around the multiverse deserve to become firm favorites
with all fans of science fiction comedy.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">This is the first Transdimensional
Authority book. Audience willing, there will be more.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you have a favorite character?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You want me to choose among my
children? What decent parent would do that? Okay, having made my
objection, I will say this: although he doesn’t play a major role in the novel,
the lurker in the shadows of the alleyways behind the eyes of inmates in asyli for
the awkward will return!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that
change the direction of the novel at all?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Funny you should ask that…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">My main science fiction project is
the Alternate Reality News Service (ARNS), which sends reporters into other
dimensions, and has them write news articles about what they find there. It has
been described as “a science fiction version of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Onion</i>.” I have self-published three books in that series (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alternate Reality Ain’t What It Used To Be</i>,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What Were Once Miracles Are Now
Children’s Toys</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Luna for the
Lunies!</i>), and will be putting out two more in 2013. The Transdimensional
Authority was part of a throw-away line in a couple of articles in those books.
So, you could say the entire novel is an evolution from a minor idea to a major
one!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wycn2XnPNoo..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wycn2XnPNoo..." width="200" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like
silence?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Music all the way. Silence is
creepy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I outline. I don’t think I have ever
written a narrative where I didn’t know what the ending would be before I
actually started. I couldn’t stand the suspense.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Did you hire a graphic artist for your book cover? Were you actively
involved in the creation of the cover?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">For my first two self-published
books, I went through a company (iUniverse and Eloquent Books) that hired their
own artists. However, I sent the companies a rough description (including stick
figure drawing) of what I wanted and their artists executed it very well.
For the most recent book, I worked with an artist I found on Twitter; it
was a very satisfying experience. I currently have two different artists
working on the covers for the next two ARNS books.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Welcome to the Multiverse</i>, the publisher hired an artist. There was
a month of back and forth before we were satisfied with a basic design, then
another month of picking at details until we were all satisfied with the cover.
For myself, I am very pleased with it – I do believe it is unique.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Covers are really important – they
are the first thing a potential reader will see of your book. If it doesn’t
grab the reader’s attention, they may not look at it to read your stellar back
cover prose, or lead through it, or read the excerpt on Amazon. I find a lot of
current book cover design bland and uninspired, and like to have as much input
into the covers of my books as possible to make sure that they are original. So
far, I have been lucky to have had that input (especially with Elsewhen Press;
professional presses are under no obligation to get a writer’s input on
anything other than the manuscript).</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">You need to know how to market
yourself. And, when it comes to marketing, I’m still learning. I hope I’m
getting better, though…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you
involved with for promoting your book(s)?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">I am on Twitter (as ARNSProprietor)
and Facebook (under my own name). I also have a Facebook writer’s/fan/whatever
page called “Ira Nayman’s Thrishty Freidnishes” (some day, I’ll explain what
that means…probably). My Web page, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les
Pages aux Folles</i> (which celebrated its 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary last
September), is updated with new writing and cartoons (yeah, I do that, too)
every week; I don’t consider it a marketing tool per se (as opposed to a
publishing medium in its own right), but it is a public way readers can connect
to me. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your
current book and writing your next book?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Not really. I find I have a limited
amount of time in the day when my subconscious talks to me and I can be
creative; I do as much promotion as I can around those hours. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">What advice would you give a new author just entering into the
self-publishing arena?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Building an artistic career is a
long-term prospect. It takes time to build an audience. It takes time to master
the necessary skills and develop your voice. I recommended to my students (I
used to teach part-time at a university in Toronto) that they need to be
thinking of a commitment of 30 or 40 years. For this reason, you should only
become an artist if you really, really, really, really, really love creating
art (and, that’s five reallys, so you know I’m serious about it). There’s no
point devoting yourself for that long to something you have no passion for. On
the other hand, if you toil for that long and you never become well known, at
least you’ve spent your life doing something you love, and very few people can
say that.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>
January 9, 2013
Book Tour Blast: LESSONS LEARNED by Sydney Logan
Lessons Learned
A young girl needs to spread her wings, but a young woman needs roots.
High school teacher Sarah Bray never thought she’d return to Sycamore Falls, but a traumatic event at her inner-city school leaves her desperate for the sanctuary of her childhood home. Orphaned as a teenager and raised by her grandmother, she had severed all ties with the people of her hometown –including her best friend, Aubrey – in hopes of leaving everything behind her. By returning to her roots, an older and wiser Sarah hopes to deal with the demons of her present and confront the ghosts of her past.
While visiting the local hardware store, Sarah meets Lucas Miller, a history teacher who has recently transferred from New York. She discovers a kindred spirit in him and learns that he is battling demons of his own. As the newest faculty members of Sycamore High School, they form a friendship – bonding through Lucas’s culture shock and their mutual desire to build new lives in the secluded town. When they begin to open their wounded hearts and share their secrets, their friendship effortlessly evolves into romance, giving each of them hope that maybe they aren’t so wounded, after all.
Their newfound love is put to the test when Matt Stuart, the quarterback of the football team, shares his deepest secret with Sarah. Fearing the painful incident that drove her from the city has followed her to Sycamore Falls, Sarah grows fiercely protective of her student. Determined that history will not repeat itself, Sarah stands by Matt’s side as he faces the ridicule of his church, his teammates, and the school administration. When the conservative community finally learns his secret, Sarah and Lucas – along with the town of Sycamore Falls – are schooled in the lessons of acceptance, tolerance, and love.
Website: www.sydneylogan.com
Twitter: @SydneyALogan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyLoganAuthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sydneyalogan/
Tumblr: http://sydneyloganauthor.tumblr.com/
Sydney Logan holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and makes her home in the hills of East Tennessee.With the 2012 release of her first novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. She has a very unhealthy obsession with music, and her iPod is filled with everything from Johnny Cash to Eminem. When she isn't reading or writing, she enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her front porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.
Please visit her official website at www.sydneylogan.com.
Purchase at The Writer's Coffee Shop
Book Tour
January 10 - BLAST
11
http://nikita-mattes.blogspot.com
http://mommyreadstoomuch.com
14
http://www.craftymomof3.com
http://3psinapod.org
15
http://booktester.blogspot.com/
http://savingfor6.blogspot.com/
16
http://coziecorner.blogspot.com
http://inspirationsbysimone.blogspot.com
17
http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com
http://www.whatutalkingboutwillis.info
http://identitydiscovery.net excerpt
18
www.jamericanspice.com
http://takingtimeformommy.com
http://www.snifferwalk.org excerpt
http://morefrommom.com
The author is giving away a $10 Amazon Card, a signed copy of Lessons Learned, and a Lessons Learned tote bag. Fill out the form below to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
New Release: WELL OF THE DAMNED by K.C. May
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Book Description:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Having banished the demon released from its prison by his defeated nemesis
Ravenkind, Gavin Kinshield faces new challenges: a magical barrage by
Ravenkind's grieving mother and an age-old mystery whose time has come to be
revealed.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">A former member of an elite
battlers' guild, Cirang Deathsblade has a dark past. She sits in gaol, awaiting
the new king's sentence for her terrible crimes... but she's not who he thinks
she is. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
In exchange for leniency, Cirang leads Gavin to a centuries-old, hidden journal
that holds the secrets of ancient kings and a magical wellspring with its own
dark past... and an even more terrible future.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buy Links:</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASOMVZU&q... />
Smashwords: <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view... />
B&N: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/well-... />
Kobo: <a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Well-o...
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 27.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Author bio:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i> </i></b>K.C. May was born in Chicago and grew up in the mid-western
USA and in Hawaii, attended University of Colorado in Boulder and graduated
with a B.A. in Russian from Florida State University. In 1985, she moved to Taiwan
to teach English and study Mandarin Chinese. She also lived in the Arizona
desert for 24 years, where she founded and ran a non-profit Rottweiler rescue
organization, studied Ken-po karate, went backpacking, tried sky-diving,
dabbled in bodybuilding, did some downhill skiing, renewed her interest in
motorcycling, and spent some time on the shooting range. In 2010, she retreated
to cooler, greener Georgia. She earns her living as a full-time writer.</span></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>
January 8, 2013
Book Tour Blast: BRING DOWN THE FURIES by Parker Francis
Bring Down The Furies
Sherman’s troops burned it the first time. Now a serial arsonist threatens a small South Carolina town and private investigator Quint Mitchell is caught in the backdraft. When Quint follows the “Heartthrob Bandit” to the hamlet of Allendale, he finds himself in the crossfire of an ugly cultural war between an ultraconservative minister and the scientist who may have discovered proof of the oldest humans ever found in North America.
As the heat grows more intense, arson turns to murder, and Quint is embroiled in a growing firestorm that threatens to destroy Allendale for the second time. A media frenzy surrounding the clash of faith and science whips emotions to a fiery crescendo. With time running out, Quint is the only man standing between a vicious killer with nothing to lose and his plan to bring down the furies on Allendale and Quint.
Purchase Bring Down The Furies on Amazon.
About Author Parker FrancisParker Francis is the pen name of author Victor DiGenti. As Parker, I write gritty, fast-paced mysteries filled with murder, violence and laced with humor. The first in my Quint Mitchell Mystery series was MATANZAS BAY, an award-winning adventure set in the nation's oldest city. The second in the series, BRING DOWN THE FURIES, takes PI Mitchell to Allendale, SC where he becomes embroiled in an ugly cultural war and comes face to face with a serial arsonist.
In my first life I worked for the Public Broadcasting stations in NE Florida with diverse duties that included public affairs producer, director, reporter, fundraiser and producer of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. My first three books were written using my real name. They were adventure/fantasies with a feline protagonist. The WINDRUSHER trilogy won multiple awards and attracted readers of all ages.
Parker (aka Vic) lives in NE Florida with his wife and their rescued cats who tolerate them as long as their bowls are filled and litter boxes emptied.
Follow the Author:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
The author is giving away $50 Amazon gift card, $25 Barnes and Noble gift card and autographed copies of the two Quint Mitchell Mystery books, MATANZAS BAY and BRING DOWN THE FURIES. Fill out the form below to enter!
Follow the Tour
a Rafflecopter giveaway
January 7, 2013
Interview with Warren Adler, author of WAR OF THE ROSES
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I9WyDAcfk2I..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I9WyDAcfk2I..." width="250" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Warren, you have been a part of the
literary scene for nearly half a century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the age of 84, you are one of the elder statesmen for the publishing
industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where do you see the
book industry heading?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> As I have
been predicting ever since I first digitalized all my work more than a dozen
years ago, and as I said when I introduced the SONY reader in 2007, as the
first stand-alone reader at the Las Vegas Electronics Show, the publishing
business will morph massively to cyberspace and considerably shrink the number
of stores selling printed books, all of which has come true. What I did not
foresee was the number of self-published books that would hit the marketplace and
offer hard competition for traditionally published books. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What is coming long-term,
in my view, is a massive number of fiction books available on the Net, where it
will be a challenge for any writer of fiction to be discoverable. Even major
stars in fiction will find that they will have to work doubly hard to keep
their brand in the eye of the reading public. Many will eventually lose their
luster. The traditional publishers will not spend the marketing and advertising
money to create new branded authors, although they are hoping, by publishing their
first novels, to test the waters for their future brands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be many flash-in-the-pan
authors who will not warrant future investment in their careers. Indeed,
authors of non-genre fiction like myself will be better off investing in their
own branding, especially in today’s marketplace of fading print stores. Being
discoverable as an author will not cut it without finding ways to penetrate the
reading marketplace. This will grow more and more expensive as competition
accelerates. There will be many frustrated novelists with hopes and dreams of
fame and fortune.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You have tried traditional publishing,
Amazon exclusives, and self-publishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Which method works best?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The publishing method that works best
is the one where the marketing is intense and repetitive. Traditional
publishers cannot afford it. Amazon, too, will hope that their various methods
of discoverability will work for its authors. The joker in the deck of course
will be the mystery of “going viral”. In the end it is always word of mouth
that will boost readership. For the non-genre author who dreams of being the
next Hemingway, Faulkner or Fitzgerald, the stakes are higher than ever. The
literary filters that brought their works to the general public are
disappearing and what is taking their place is too scattershot, too numerous,
too diffused. Information is too massive. Opinions do not have the same power
as they had when media and information was limited. Indeed, the best shot an
author might have of being publicized and discovered is if his novel is adapted
to a mega-hit movie. My conclusion is that the only real hope today for an
author is if he takes the reins of his own career and attempts to find a
marketing solution to attract readers. For a totally unknown author the best outcome
will be the satisfaction of becoming a novelist, a small following among
friends and relatives and a hands-on approach with signings in the locality in
which the author lives. Beyond that, he or she will have to trust to luck and
the prospect of spending a great deal of money for marketing. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">How would you describe your body of
work?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> This is a tricky question. I
write about love, erotic love, father and children love, grandparents and grandchildren
love, love between siblings, and the vast gulf between aspirations and
fulfillment and how it frustrates people who dream but cannot come to terms
with the failure of their dreams. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Serpent’s Bite,</i> the female character becomes a monster out of frustration
over her failed obsession to become a movie star, a direct slap at the
celebrity culture. I have always been interested in power and coping with its
loss. A number of my books do not end happily e.g. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of the Roses, The Serpent’s Bite</i>. In Hollywood I have been
dubbed a “relationship writer,” whatever that means. Actually, many of my books
end with a coming-to-terms with life’s adversity, and reaching a kind of
philosophic calm, accepting life with all its problems, unfairness and
cruelty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My focus is the
human condition in all its joys and failures. Many of my books, including my
mystery series, are written from a female point of view. I am in awe of the
strength of women in general and many of my books show these strengths as well
as their weaknesses. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s
Bite</i> I believe I have created a monstrous female character who gets her
just reward at the end. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Over 50,000 books are published weekly
in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does one need to
do to stick out and get discovered?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> They
need to do exactly what I am doing: Banging the drum as loud as I can. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard for today’s author to get
heard and discovered amid enormous competition, less shelf space, short
promotional span, and an avalanche of competition on the internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am setting the standard for such an
approach but the outlay of money will do nothing unless there is a substantial
backlist that might benefit the author. In my case the overspending on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s Bite</i> is designed to
attract readers to my 32-book backlist. Nevertheless I trust to luck that the
book will find its audience. In my opinion, it will be the harbinger example of
what’s to come in establishing the non-genre writer’s career.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But
discoverability is merely the opening gun. If word of mouth does not kick in
all the promotion in the world will make no difference. Also, when you talk of
50,000 books, you are generalizing. Non-genre fiction is between a quarter and
a third of all books on the Net. I write non-genre fiction, which further
reduces the fiction numbers. Genre writers have the advantage especially if
they are “factory” books, meaning books turned out by Patterson, Cussler and
numerous romance novelists. These writers don’t write their own books anymore.
They supervise their branded names and make enormous sums of money. Romance
fiction is churned out by thousands of writers and follow strict formulas based
on the needs and preferences of their readers. Sorry, that is not my goal or my
interest. For me, the joy is in the work, which is everything. If a reader gets
into my mindset and becomes a faithful reader what more can I ask? When all is
said and done the novel is a one-on-one communication system. I have been lucky
as hell making it a career. But then, one must consider that I did suffer
through endless rejections of my work until I was 45 years old, when I was
finally able to interest publishers. I immediately quit my business interests
to concentrate on my writing career exclusively with single-minded devotion. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">What advice would you offer a
struggling writer?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I can only give
advice to a “real” writer who puts his work above all other forms of activity.
For him or her, the issue is not necessarily making a living but it is in the
artistry, satisfaction and joy of the process. I do not agree with Samuel
Johnson about only writing for money. A real writer writes because of his
artistic need above all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Warren, you’ve been married for over 60
years to the same woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did
you come to write a book like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of
the Roses,</i> which is not only about divorce, but the nastiest breakup of all
time?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is the work of the
imagination. Writing novels is creating a parallel world out of one’s
observations, experience, insight and imagination. It is very difficult for
people who do not write fiction to understand. Most people are literal minded
and have no understanding of how the subconscious works. Some believe that
these characters are created by literally basing them on real people going
through these experiences. Not really. They are amalgamations of the writer’s
conscious and subconscious world. Sets and props to indicate locales, just like
the movies, and provide the backgrounds, but the characters are created out of
whole cloth within the writer’s imagination and are as real to the writer as
the people he meets in his daily life. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One of the reasons you are publishing
new books at a torrid pace is that you want to establish your legacy, your
authorial voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You released five
new books simultaneously in an Amazon exclusive last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now you are self-publishing a new book
this fall with plans to release two new books per year over the next 4-5
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are people amazed at how
prolific you are?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I guess it does
surprise people, but if you write seven days a week for most of the year, your
output is rather startling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
the input stops, I stop. As Lewis Carrol said, to paraphrase, “Start from the
beginning and go on until the end, then stop.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is my mantra. When it ends, I will stop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You already have over two million words
in print.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much of writing
comes naturally to you vs. it being a labor?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you edit much or do you stick with your first draft? </b>The
secret of writing is rewriting. I rewrite constantly, over and over again until
I am reasonably satisfied. I usually can’t tell if I got it right until I’ve
written one hundred pages or so. It is at that point that I either abandon the
book or slog on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Everyone has hopes and dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In your new book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s Bite</i>, it appears that if unchecked, one’s ego or lust
for success and fame can threaten people and those around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is everyone searching for their
victory, even if at the expense of others?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Not everyone. But the thirst for recognition is a powerful motivator,
e.g. Facebook. For many people, the thirst for the unattainable is a
destructive force for human nature. We are now deeply immersed in a celebrity
culture and the uncelebrated yearn for the transient ego satisfactions of being
“known by many” and “celebrated”. On top of the charts is the person who longs
to be a movie star and how this longing and obsessive pursuit totally destroys
one’s moral sense. In the case of the woman in my book, she will do anything it
takes, including the murder of her father and brother to achieve what she
believes is her ultimate goal. She is the epitome of evil. Another character in
the book, the illegal Mexican wrangler, will also do anything to better his
position. These characters illustrate the dangers of desperation. It is not
easy to find the balance required to come to grips with compromising one’s
goals and ambitions and reaching some personal truce, the so called “philosophic
calm.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Serpent’s Bite</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> takes its title as a play on the famous William
Shakespeare quote that was uttered by King Lear: “How sharper than a serpent’s
tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Your book reveals two children who believe
they deserve more from a dad who has offered love, guidance, and millions of
dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How hard is it to cut off
a child?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a parent, I believe that there is no greater, more
obsessive love than for one’s progeny. As a committed father the protective
role for one’s children is built into the human condition. A child who grows up
without a father is missing a decisive link in his upbringing. A father who
dismisses or ignores his progeny is depriving his offspring of something
profoundly important. It is, of course, a two-way street, as King Lear and
millions of others have discovered. A child who disrespects or dismisses his
parents is also missing out on a profound relationship. I am a father who would
never, under any circumstances abandon his children. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Serpent’s Bite</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> deals with the taboo subject of incest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though you show the dangers associated
with it you also scripted several erotic sexual scenes that, if you forgot for
the moment are between brother and sister, stimulate the reader, leaving one
just as conflicted as the characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you expect people to be repulsed or engaged by this?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both.
Incest is a recognized and much publicized aberration. There are numerous
novels written with incestuous characters and thousands of porno sites that
offer the subject for erotic stimulants. In today’s world few things are taboo.
Google “incest” or “novels about incest” to see what I mean. But of all the
taboos incest is still looked upon as the worst of all, hence my use of it to
illustrate Courtney’s evil character. In my opinion it is not only legitimate
to discuss but it is probably widely practiced. In the context of my novel it
is just one manifestation of Courtney’s dysfunction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Your books don’t seem to have happy
endings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that contradictory to
what most people expect or want?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">
Maybe so, but some of the greatest books ever written have not had happy
endings. Life, itself, does not have a happy ending. I can cite hundreds of
books with no happy endings that have stood the test of time e.g. Madame
Bovary, Anna Karenina, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actually a number of my books end happily, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Random Hearts</i> for example, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight
Child</i>, for another. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If nothing else, does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s Bite, War of the Roses</i><u>,</u>
and your other books have the reader feeling better about their lives as a
result of seeing these reckless, violent, and angry characters play out lives
of destruction and division?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Yes,
people see them as cautionary tales. I cannot tell you how many people have
come up to me to say that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of the
Roses</i> changed their lives by informing people it is better to compromise
about material things in a divorce than let it get out of hand. </span><br />
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I9WyDAcfk2I..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I9WyDAcfk2I..." width="250" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Warren, you have been a part of the
literary scene for nearly half a century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the age of 84, you are one of the elder statesmen for the publishing
industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where do you see the
book industry heading?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> As I have
been predicting ever since I first digitalized all my work more than a dozen
years ago, and as I said when I introduced the SONY reader in 2007, as the
first stand-alone reader at the Las Vegas Electronics Show, the publishing
business will morph massively to cyberspace and considerably shrink the number
of stores selling printed books, all of which has come true. What I did not
foresee was the number of self-published books that would hit the marketplace and
offer hard competition for traditionally published books. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What is coming long-term,
in my view, is a massive number of fiction books available on the Net, where it
will be a challenge for any writer of fiction to be discoverable. Even major
stars in fiction will find that they will have to work doubly hard to keep
their brand in the eye of the reading public. Many will eventually lose their
luster. The traditional publishers will not spend the marketing and advertising
money to create new branded authors, although they are hoping, by publishing their
first novels, to test the waters for their future brands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be many flash-in-the-pan
authors who will not warrant future investment in their careers. Indeed,
authors of non-genre fiction like myself will be better off investing in their
own branding, especially in today’s marketplace of fading print stores. Being
discoverable as an author will not cut it without finding ways to penetrate the
reading marketplace. This will grow more and more expensive as competition
accelerates. There will be many frustrated novelists with hopes and dreams of
fame and fortune.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You have tried traditional publishing,
Amazon exclusives, and self-publishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Which method works best?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The publishing method that works best
is the one where the marketing is intense and repetitive. Traditional
publishers cannot afford it. Amazon, too, will hope that their various methods
of discoverability will work for its authors. The joker in the deck of course
will be the mystery of “going viral”. In the end it is always word of mouth
that will boost readership. For the non-genre author who dreams of being the
next Hemingway, Faulkner or Fitzgerald, the stakes are higher than ever. The
literary filters that brought their works to the general public are
disappearing and what is taking their place is too scattershot, too numerous,
too diffused. Information is too massive. Opinions do not have the same power
as they had when media and information was limited. Indeed, the best shot an
author might have of being publicized and discovered is if his novel is adapted
to a mega-hit movie. My conclusion is that the only real hope today for an
author is if he takes the reins of his own career and attempts to find a
marketing solution to attract readers. For a totally unknown author the best outcome
will be the satisfaction of becoming a novelist, a small following among
friends and relatives and a hands-on approach with signings in the locality in
which the author lives. Beyond that, he or she will have to trust to luck and
the prospect of spending a great deal of money for marketing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">How would you describe your body of
work?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> This is a tricky question. I
write about love, erotic love, father and children love, grandparents and grandchildren
love, love between siblings, and the vast gulf between aspirations and
fulfillment and how it frustrates people who dream but cannot come to terms
with the failure of their dreams. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Serpent’s Bite,</i> the female character becomes a monster out of frustration
over her failed obsession to become a movie star, a direct slap at the
celebrity culture. I have always been interested in power and coping with its
loss. A number of my books do not end happily e.g. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of the Roses, The Serpent’s Bite</i>. In Hollywood I have been
dubbed a “relationship writer,” whatever that means. Actually, many of my books
end with a coming-to-terms with life’s adversity, and reaching a kind of
philosophic calm, accepting life with all its problems, unfairness and
cruelty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My focus is the
human condition in all its joys and failures. Many of my books, including my
mystery series, are written from a female point of view. I am in awe of the
strength of women in general and many of my books show these strengths as well
as their weaknesses. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s
Bite</i> I believe I have created a monstrous female character who gets her
just reward at the end. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Over 50,000 books are published weekly
in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does one need to
do to stick out and get discovered?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> They
need to do exactly what I am doing: Banging the drum as loud as I can. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard for today’s author to get
heard and discovered amid enormous competition, less shelf space, short
promotional span, and an avalanche of competition on the internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am setting the standard for such an
approach but the outlay of money will do nothing unless there is a substantial
backlist that might benefit the author. In my case the overspending on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s Bite</i> is designed to
attract readers to my 32-book backlist. Nevertheless I trust to luck that the
book will find its audience. In my opinion, it will be the harbinger example of
what’s to come in establishing the non-genre writer’s career.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But
discoverability is merely the opening gun. If word of mouth does not kick in
all the promotion in the world will make no difference. Also, when you talk of
50,000 books, you are generalizing. Non-genre fiction is between a quarter and
a third of all books on the Net. I write non-genre fiction, which further
reduces the fiction numbers. Genre writers have the advantage especially if
they are “factory” books, meaning books turned out by Patterson, Cussler and
numerous romance novelists. These writers don’t write their own books anymore.
They supervise their branded names and make enormous sums of money. Romance
fiction is churned out by thousands of writers and follow strict formulas based
on the needs and preferences of their readers. Sorry, that is not my goal or my
interest. For me, the joy is in the work, which is everything. If a reader gets
into my mindset and becomes a faithful reader what more can I ask? When all is
said and done the novel is a one-on-one communication system. I have been lucky
as hell making it a career. But then, one must consider that I did suffer
through endless rejections of my work until I was 45 years old, when I was
finally able to interest publishers. I immediately quit my business interests
to concentrate on my writing career exclusively with single-minded devotion. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">What advice would you offer a
struggling writer?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I can only give
advice to a “real” writer who puts his work above all other forms of activity.
For him or her, the issue is not necessarily making a living but it is in the
artistry, satisfaction and joy of the process. I do not agree with Samuel
Johnson about only writing for money. A real writer writes because of his
artistic need above all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Warren, you’ve been married for over 60
years to the same woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did
you come to write a book like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of
the Roses,</i> which is not only about divorce, but the nastiest breakup of all
time?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is the work of the
imagination. Writing novels is creating a parallel world out of one’s
observations, experience, insight and imagination. It is very difficult for
people who do not write fiction to understand. Most people are literal minded
and have no understanding of how the subconscious works. Some believe that
these characters are created by literally basing them on real people going
through these experiences. Not really. They are amalgamations of the writer’s
conscious and subconscious world. Sets and props to indicate locales, just like
the movies, and provide the backgrounds, but the characters are created out of
whole cloth within the writer’s imagination and are as real to the writer as
the people he meets in his daily life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One of the reasons you are publishing
new books at a torrid pace is that you want to establish your legacy, your
authorial voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You released five
new books simultaneously in an Amazon exclusive last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now you are self-publishing a new book
this fall with plans to release two new books per year over the next 4-5
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are people amazed at how
prolific you are?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I guess it does
surprise people, but if you write seven days a week for most of the year, your
output is rather startling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
the input stops, I stop. As Lewis Carrol said, to paraphrase, “Start from the
beginning and go on until the end, then stop.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is my mantra. When it ends, I will stop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You already have over two million words
in print.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much of writing
comes naturally to you vs. it being a labor?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you edit much or do you stick with your first draft? </b>The
secret of writing is rewriting. I rewrite constantly, over and over again until
I am reasonably satisfied. I usually can’t tell if I got it right until I’ve
written one hundred pages or so. It is at that point that I either abandon the
book or slog on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Everyone has hopes and dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In your new book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s Bite</i>, it appears that if unchecked, one’s ego or lust
for success and fame can threaten people and those around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is everyone searching for their
victory, even if at the expense of others?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Not everyone. But the thirst for recognition is a powerful motivator,
e.g. Facebook. For many people, the thirst for the unattainable is a
destructive force for human nature. We are now deeply immersed in a celebrity
culture and the uncelebrated yearn for the transient ego satisfactions of being
“known by many” and “celebrated”. On top of the charts is the person who longs
to be a movie star and how this longing and obsessive pursuit totally destroys
one’s moral sense. In the case of the woman in my book, she will do anything it
takes, including the murder of her father and brother to achieve what she
believes is her ultimate goal. She is the epitome of evil. Another character in
the book, the illegal Mexican wrangler, will also do anything to better his
position. These characters illustrate the dangers of desperation. It is not
easy to find the balance required to come to grips with compromising one’s
goals and ambitions and reaching some personal truce, the so called “philosophic
calm.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Serpent’s Bite</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> takes its title as a play on the famous William
Shakespeare quote that was uttered by King Lear: “How sharper than a serpent’s
tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Your book reveals two children who believe
they deserve more from a dad who has offered love, guidance, and millions of
dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How hard is it to cut off
a child?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a parent, I believe that there is no greater, more
obsessive love than for one’s progeny. As a committed father the protective
role for one’s children is built into the human condition. A child who grows up
without a father is missing a decisive link in his upbringing. A father who
dismisses or ignores his progeny is depriving his offspring of something
profoundly important. It is, of course, a two-way street, as King Lear and
millions of others have discovered. A child who disrespects or dismisses his
parents is also missing out on a profound relationship. I am a father who would
never, under any circumstances abandon his children. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Serpent’s Bite</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> deals with the taboo subject of incest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though you show the dangers associated
with it you also scripted several erotic sexual scenes that, if you forgot for
the moment are between brother and sister, stimulate the reader, leaving one
just as conflicted as the characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you expect people to be repulsed or engaged by this?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both.
Incest is a recognized and much publicized aberration. There are numerous
novels written with incestuous characters and thousands of porno sites that
offer the subject for erotic stimulants. In today’s world few things are taboo.
Google “incest” or “novels about incest” to see what I mean. But of all the
taboos incest is still looked upon as the worst of all, hence my use of it to
illustrate Courtney’s evil character. In my opinion it is not only legitimate
to discuss but it is probably widely practiced. In the context of my novel it
is just one manifestation of Courtney’s dysfunction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Your books don’t seem to have happy
endings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that contradictory to
what most people expect or want?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">
Maybe so, but some of the greatest books ever written have not had happy
endings. Life, itself, does not have a happy ending. I can cite hundreds of
books with no happy endings that have stood the test of time e.g. Madame
Bovary, Anna Karenina, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actually a number of my books end happily, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Random Hearts</i> for example, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight
Child</i>, for another. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If nothing else, does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent’s Bite, War of the Roses</i><u>,</u>
and your other books have the reader feeling better about their lives as a
result of seeing these reckless, violent, and angry characters play out lives
of destruction and division?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Yes,
people see them as cautionary tales. I cannot tell you how many people have
come up to me to say that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of the
Roses</i> changed their lives by informing people it is better to compromise
about material things in a divorce than let it get out of hand. </span><br />
</div>
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January 5, 2013
Review: THE ORPHAN FACTORY by Lance & James Morcan
3 of 5 starsTHE ORPHAN FACTORY is the second book in The Orphan Trilogy. After having read the NINTH ORPHAN, I was eager to read this book in the hopes that it answers questions I had about Nine, the elite assassin of The Omega Agency. This book is the prequel and does indeed fill in the reader on Nine's early childhood, but it's filled with too much exposition that slows down the action especially in the first half of the book.
I found that I could put the book down several times before it started to pick up the action in the second half of the book. That's when things picks up. The early chapters focused on the early day of the Pedemont Project, a project that birthed 23 orphans with superior genes. The project trains these young kids into lean, mean fighting assassins for the sole use by The Omega Agency. The Agency plans to use the assassins to force worldwide outcomes favorable to them. I would have liked to see the early chapters condensed and have the book focus more on the 18-year-old orphans instead. This would still give readers the background on Nine while keeping the action and suspense moving forward. The chapters involving Nine's early assignments were definitely exciting. Fans of the NINTH ORPHAN will certainly find the ORPHAN FACTORY an enjoyable read that answers the questions the first book left hanging.
