Lorel Clayton's Blog, page 5

What would you do if you became obsolete?

“The publishing industry is reeling today after news broke this morning about Kindle Author, Amazon’s new service that  generates high-quality fiction using complex software algorithms.

It’s like Build-A-Bear for ebooks. The reader tells Kindle Author what they want in a story, and then Kindle Author automatically generates the book….For many authors and publishers, news of Kindle Author confirms the industry’s worst fear that Amazon is on a mission to commoditize books and turn authors and publishers into tenant farmers tilling Amazon soil.  Now Amazon is cutting out the author – the ultimate middleman – by making the reader the author.”

It’s a curse to skim read as I too often do in this time-poor world, because I fell prey to that April Fool’s joke from the Smashwords blog. In my defense, the date of the blog post was 31 March and I’m a day ahead in Australia, so I actually received it in my inbox on 2 April, and I tip my hat to the detail of the prank, such as going into the science behind the computer algorithms and citing the 2000 plot and sub-plot variations that all stories are based on, etcetera…. Because I had skim read just before work and didn’t make it to the end about it being a joke until I got back to it at lunch time, I spent about half a day thinking that my passion in life, writing, could be obsolete, because maybe a supercomputer can do it better. It has happened before. Think of all the artisan craftsmen, the shoemakers, cabinetmakers, blacksmiths… all those professions in history that were destroyed by the introduction of the assembly line, the factory, and machines that could mass produce what they labored a lifetime learning to do. 

I now understand the Dutch workers who threw their shoes, sabots, into the machines to destroy them. The history from which the term ‘sabotage’ was born. I thought of all the people who once labored at a craft they loved, be it farming or painting, and whose lives have been diminished by the massive farming machines or sweatshop painters in third world countries. Not that I expect being an author to be a money-making business in this day and age, anymore than my husband, who is a classically trained artist, can make a living at what he loves. Creativity and individuality is not valued above mass produced goods. People will pay $800 for an iPhone, but balk at paying that for a painting that is unique in all the world and the culmination of months of work and a lifetime of training and honing natural talent. Some people complain about paying $3.99 for an ebook, of which only a dollar or two goes to the author, who spent years learning their craft, months writing those particular words, laying awake at night imaging those plots and characters, forsaking time with family, or in my case sleep, in order to create it… only to have someone blithely spend that same amount of money on a fast food cheeseburger that is inhaled and forgotten.

I’m not so naive that I expect what I love to be of value to anyone but a few. And that is the fact I clung to as I imagined authors being made irrelevant. A machine will never have my particular voice or experiences, and even if a supercomputer can churn out Dan Brown Bestseller knock-offs, it doesn’t keep me from having something to say. I never wrote for any reason other than the need to do it, the love for it, and that won’t change.

I also began to think of all those people now working in factories or offices, doing boring jobs while machines are the ones building cars or children’s toys. How much richer would everyone’s life be if they could be creators rather than simply consumers? What if everyone created some homemade jam after buying some strawberries from the farmer’s market, or built wooden toys on the weekend to give their grandchildren, or knitted scarves for their friends…. anything to create rather than simply buy? Wouldn’t everyone feel more fulfilled? And maybe one day, we could take all our creations to a local market and exchange them with one another. Here, I’ll give you a copy of my book for some of those preserved peaches. Wouldn’t that be nice if we could all start valuing one another again? What would such a world look like?

 

Thanks for reading! More posts on books, film, and writing can be found on my website at Lorel Clayton Author.

Versatile Blogger

Thanks so much to JeriWB for passing on the Versatile Blogger Award! I always need a kick in the butt to write a blog post, so here goes. I’ll tell you ten interesting facts about myself and then pass this on to 10 interesting bloggers.

#1 – I live in Sydney Australia! Ok, that’s not very interesting to other people who live in Sydney, but I came here from America almost 18 years ago so I’m a long way from home. Here’s a picture of me with the city in the background from when I walk/jogged in the 14 km “City to Surf” years ago. As I stopped for a photo, you can tell I wasn’t trying to make good time.

 

#2 – My marketing job can sometimes be fun. Just last week I was filming a commercial for the charity where I work, and we had the most realistic fake baby for a birth scene. The below pic is of real midwives checking out the doll. They loved it!

 

#3 – I’m actually a mad scientist…muh ha ha! Well, not mad I hope, but my training is in science. I have a PhD and did cancer research for about 15 years, before my son was born and I decided to switch to a more stable job. It’s tough being a scientist when government grant funding is so uncertain. Below is a ‘mad cook’ photo my husband mocked up in Photoshop. Cooking and science can be quite similar at times.

 

#4 – I was at the dentist during the dust storm. Several years ago we had a massive dust storm sweep through Sydney carrying red dirt from the outback. It looked like the end of the world! Of course now I know how I’ll take the end of the world: I’ll just keep going as normal. I didn’t even miss my dental appointment.

 

#5 –  Halloween is my favorite holiday! I would convert all of Australia to the practice if I could. A few people celebrate, so you can find costumes, pumpkins and candy, but trick or treating locations are hard to come by and organized by willing neighborhoods. Because the seasons are reversed in Australia, it’s always so hot here, but I still carve my pumpkin, get dressed up and do something whenever I can. I really miss the chilly autumn Halloweens in Idaho when I was a child. Those were the best.

 

#6 –  I love animals. I was studying to be a vet before I switched my major in college. I’ve done wildlife rehabilitation, helping wounded wild animals like deer and hawks, and I love pets. I have a sweet ginger female named Pumpkin, who likes to sleep on my head and, strangely enough, likes to eat pumpkin.

 

#7 – I get horribly seasick. Even standing on a dock I get queasy. I get queasy when I walk in one of those long underwater tubes at the aquarium. The one day I went out on a commercial  salmon fishing boat with my husband and his father in Oregon, I ended up in a near-coma. I remember vomiting, laying on the deck to rest, and then I passed out with my eyes wide open. My husband had to pinch me awake as we were pulling back into the bay.

 

#8 – I’m a fan of Darth Vader (original movies). Of course I root for Han and Luke, but Darth Vader is the best villain ever!

 

#9 – I studied ancient Greek at university. One semester anyway. I dreamed of being a classical archaeologist like Indiana Jones I think. I did find it helpful when I traveled to Greece, as I was able to find the bus station!

 

 

#10 – I have the two most gorgeous boys in the world: my husband and my son. They mean more to me than anything. Aren’t they just the sweetest?

 

That’s a peek at me!

Now, I’m passing this award on to:

Elizabeth Spann Craig

DL Hammons

A Million Blogging Monkeys

Just Jemi

Anne Riley

Cherie Reich

Lynnette Labelle

Heather McCorkle

Organized Chaos

Elana Johnson

 

Wow that took a while! I better spend some time writing now…

 

Thanks for reading! More posts on books, film, and writing can be found on my website at Lorel Clayton Author.

Murder on the Orient Express

Agatha Christie is a must read if you love mystery. She set the cliches. And she was always innovating. I was watching the 1974 movie version of Murder on the Orient Express as research for the next Eva Thorne novel. I wanted to remind myself of a few of those trendsetting and memorable ideas later immortalized in cliche, so I could turn a few on their head for the funny. It’s obviously been a long time since I read the book, because I didn’t see the ending coming. I won’t give it away, but simply say Agatha had a tremendous sense of humor. I think this one must have turned a few mystery tropes on their head in her day. If you haven’t read the book, read it. Whether or not you’ve read it, watch this movie again (or for the first time). There are some very recognizable actors in there like Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Jacqueline Bisset (who at a young age was a double for Elizabeth Hurley), and Vanessa Redgrave that are a delight to watch. I think Gary Oldman’s Dracula must have taken hairstyle and fashion tips from the Princess in this film, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Psycho whenever Anthony Perkins was onscreen, which made him a fantastic suspect. I went into it as research but came out with the satisfaction of having watched a thoroughly entertaining movie!

Thanks for reading! More posts on books, film, and writing can be found on my website at Lorel Clayton Author.

A Dame to Kill For

I know I said I’d be watching “Casablanca” next. I’m so ashamed. But “Sin City: A Dame to Kill” For was out on iTunes, and I said “What the hell. It’s noir.” Sin City is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I won’t say I’m a fan. Overall, I never find them an enjoyable experience, but I do love the black and white style interspersed with vivid colors used to lend a character a bit of…well ‘character’ is the word. I also like an over the top protagonist or villain now and then. The characters are all over the top in Sin City, which is why the whole suffers, but a few quirky or truly hate-worthy evil characters are great to liven up a story. The gem I found in this particular installment was the “Dame” from the title. “Now that’s a femme fatale,” I said when I was watching Eva Green. So manipulative, so able to twist men around her pinky finger, and so totally insane you have to love her. I especially loved her poor aim with a gun. Every “goddess” needs a flaw.

The “Eva” in my Eva Thorne mysteries is nothing like this dame, but I kept thinking “Ilsa now…”. Eva’s evil twin sister could borrow a few foibles from Ms. Green’s character. I’ve got to use that gun thing, or the equivalent in a fantasy/mystery setting, which is probably poor aim with a crossbow. On to writing Eva Thorne book 2 now. This is going to get fun…

 

More on Sin City at IMDB

Thanks for reading! More posts on books, film, and writing can be found on my website at Lorel Clayton Author.

Genre-Blending: Is It Safe?

I’ve sub-titled my website “Genre Blending Fun” because I’m not afraid to embrace my indecision. I mean my complexity as a person. I understand the marketing appeal of a genre. It’s easy to know your target audience and their expectations–and meet them. But what if your audience is like me and wants the unexpected? I am a complex person whose interests range from sci-fi and fantasy to mystery, horror, thrillers, paranormal romance and more. I even like to read the classics. Dickens anyone? Plato? I know too much genre-blending would make anyone motion sick, but how much can you take before you need to get off the ride?

Once upon a time the paranormal romance genre didn’t exist. Harlequin format was the standard. That has changed in a big way.

Who would have thought a sci-fi Western could work? Many people like me were happily surprised by Firefly and Serenity and became avid fans.

Dean R. Koontz and the supernatural thriller introduced me to a genre that I once only associated with nuclear weapon threats and male characters who knew their gun parts.

Now one of my favorites, which is a shameless plug for my new Eva Thorne series, is the fantasy/mystery mash up. The fantasy/hard-boiled detective combination to be more precise for those who know their mystery sub-genres. I was introduced to this with Glen Cook’s Garret PI series. Like most people, Cook’s weird and wacky cover art threw me off at first, but the stories themselves were engaging and fun. I love fun!

Now I’ve written one of my own–with a twist. The femme fatale turned detective. Plus there’s a touch of Steampunk (Arcanum to be specific if you’re a video game lover), a touch of romance, a touch of humor, and a touch of horror–the being locked in a room with an almost-zombie sort, so don’t worry, I’m sure you can take it.

I think the mystery and detective formats work well as the plot structure in a number of genres. Look at Kim Harrison’s Hallow series or Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. The protagonist may not declare themselves a ‘detective’ but that’s what they are. These stories focus on an intriguing main character presented with obstacles and clues that require a bit of thought and a lot of footwork to deal with. This is a departure from the journey/quest-focused plot of classic high fantasy. Which I also love by the way.

What mash ups have you enjoyed reading or watching? Did you realize they were breaking genre taboos? Did you care?

Thanks for reading! More posts on books, film, and writing can be found on my website at Lorel Clayton Author.

Another 1941 Masterpiece

I re-watched The Maltese Falcon and realized I hadn’t remembered a thing form the first time I saw it thirty years ago. My memory is slipping. At least it was like getting to watch it new!

I loved the detective, Sam Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart. He was always surprising me. I couldn’t be in his head as you’d be in a novel, a I kept wondering just how low could this guy go? He robbed his femme fatale client blind, extorted more money from the bad guy she was hiding from… and then put them in a room together!

The femme fatale was great too. At first, she seemed like a non-entity to this 21st Century gal, but then the extent of her unending and compulsive lying became clear, and I gradually came to see how interesting she was. Plus she was tough. The whiny henchman for the bad guy regretted being left alone in a room with her for two minutes, I can tell you. I think she shed more blood in the movie than anyone.

What most impressed me about The Maltese Falcon was the ending. Sam stayed focused on what mattered–his partner’s murder–and he turned out to be even more complex (or not, depending on whatever assumptions you might have made about him) than expected.

Next in my film noir nostalgia tour… Casablanca!

 

More on The Maltese Falcon and IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/

Don’t forget the author! The Maltese Falcon is based on the same-titled book by former PI Dashiell Hammett https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16927.Dashiell_Hammett

 

Thanks for reading! More posts on books, film, and writing can be found on my website at Lorel Clayton Author.