Auryn Hadley's Blog, page 5

Why I love giving my books away.

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I’m sure anyone who follows an author on social media has seen one of these. You know, those nearly ranting posts about how hard we as authors work to make the stories for you to love? Typically, they’re followed with a rational and almost sensible sounding argument about how it, therefore, doesn’t make sense to give our books away?

Yeah, I disagree.

You see, I work hard on my books. I put everything into them, often disappearing from the world for weeks on end, only resurfacing when my frie...

The Confusing Life of a Woman

[image error]As an author, gender roles are something I need to think about. I have to be wary of the easy traps that are cliche, and the sexist roles that can harm my characters. The society driven desires that are mandated don’t necessarily ring true to the readers, and this means my story will be the one to suffer.

Luckily, I’ve lead a life that defies most of those, while making me a little bit “girly”. My husband loves that part the most. He adores my addiction to fingernail polish and my love affair...

Female Villains and Heroes

[image error]Today, I was inspired by comments to a somewhat innocuous quote. Someone mentioned that they wanted female villains who were not inspired by a heartbreak or jealousy. To me, that’s a good thing to want. But the comments!

While many people were agreeing – or mentioning great literary examples that would qualify for this – a large group was complaining that there’splenty of lady villains out there. Here’s my question. So?

I’m pretty sure that in our entertainment, there are not 50-51% of the ar...

My Version of Politics (Iliri style)

[image error]When writing a series of books that includes dealing with rules and laws, an author has to figure out the politics. Throughout the Rise of the Iliri books, rules and governing have been a key point of contention – mainly about the fairness of the laws for the iliri. Well, in book #6, things get even more convoluted.

The Parliament of the Conglomerate of Free Citizens is at the center of this story. As fans of the series will know, the Representatives of that country are a diverse group. Some...

Publishing Contests confuse me

[image error]Ok, recently on facebook, I’ve been seeing a slew of “Enter this contest, and the winner will get their book published!” type posts. Previously, I’ve seen this sort of thing on Twitter, as well. It’s everywhere, and I’m afraid I just don’t get it.

First off, why would you want to fight to win the right to be published by some small press? What can they offer you? How will your royalties look compared to your other options? How much are they going to invest in promoting YOUR book? These are al...

When Science and Fantasy Collide

[image error]The classification of Speculative Fiction is a very broad one. Inside that, the most common genres are science fiction and fantasy. Most readers think of these as “spaceships” and “magic”. But what about those of us who like spaceships with magic?

Take steam punk as an example. In recent years, its popularity has skyrocketed. You get the social constrictions of history with the possibilities of the future, all rolled up into an interesting concept that has endless amounts of potential.

For me...

Why I write

[image error]Like I mentioned previously, most authors claim that writing is in their blood, that they just can’t remember a time when they didn’t write. I, on the other hand, grew up as a reader. I can’t remember a time I didn’t read. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to end up a writer. Books were a way to escape, something I was offered like a gateway. They were never a creative outlet for me.

Then, as an adult, I became the victim of online bullying. Now, it’s a very strange situation t...

How books affect us

[image error]Ask any author and they’ll tell you how writing has always been in their soul. Every bio has some anecdote about writing stories in elementary school, on a hidden notebook, or such. So many of these writers act as if those childish scribbles were important somehow.

Now, don’t get me wrong. For a writer, any and all writing feels important, but if it’s junk, it doesn’t really count. Anything we write as an 11-year-old kid counts as junk. It’s part of the learning process, and precious for that...

Eventually, it catches up

[image error]I am a very driven person. I always have been. No matter how many times people tell me to slow down, take it easy, or smell the roses as I pass, I just can’t. I need a goal.

And not some pie in the sky goal. I need a path to work toward, so that once I reach it, I can set a new one. Maybe it’s like a map to life? Honestly, I couldn’t explain it in a way that makes sense – I know because I’ve tried. But this is me. This is how I operate. It either drives people crazy or makes them impressed. R...

There’s something to be said for giving things away.

[image error]When I decided to give away the ebook version of BloodLust, I thought it was just a cool way to say thank you to all those fans who have no interest in posting/following, or such. I figured I might get a few new fans from the people who stumbled upon the sale.

Instead, I’ve been the one winning. Having new readers contact me to say they really liked it, or others who let me know that they’ve never come across a story like this? It gives me that push to keep writing the rest of the books I’m w...