Daley Downing's Blog, page 47

Pre-Launch News!

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Note: This is not the final cover. The final cover reveal will be happening next week!

So, today I bring you long-awaited NEWS! The printing is complete on Masters and Beginners: Volume 1 of The Order of the Twelve Tribes! The official launch date is April 21st, meaning that on the 21st and afterwards, copies will be available for sale!

My ever-so-patient reviewers will be receiving their copies soon, complete with a mini-subscription box. The boxes shall be a limited quantity (seeing as I am not made of money, nor time), so they are being offered on a first come, first serve basis. And the boxes are a bit more expensive (sorry, but remember the not made of money part?). Each box includes: a signed copy of Volume 1, three free gifts, and a letter from one of the characters. (Just for setting that truly ambient feel…)

I’ll also be in contact with my launch team with all the details for launch day! And I’m hoping I haven’t talked this up too much already (hang on, this is my blog, right?), but here’s a brief summary of the first edition of my life’s work:

Title: Masters and Beginners (Volume 1 of The Order of the Twelve Tribes)

Author: Daley Downing

Publisher: The Invisible Moth

Genres: YA (ages 12 and up), fantasy, contemporary

Summary: When Sophie Driscoll’s grandmother dies, her parents take over running the Annex, a warehouse facility that stores magical artifacts and documents proving, and protecting, the existence of faeries. Sophie and her brothers, Flynn and Cal, happily adjust to a new house, new friends, and a new way of living, joining the ranks of generations who have kept the fey and mortal realms separate for centuries. Before the first month of their new life is over, they’ll encounter romance, elves, talking cats, ancient secrets, and potentially lethal danger. What could possibly go wrong…

I will also be arranging two giveaways later this spring, one U.S. and Canada only, one international only. Stay tuned to this frequency for more on that!

Any questions/comments/musings/notions can be sent to daley.downing@gmail.com!

Thank you, as always, and forever, for all your encouragement and support, moths!!

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Can I Get A Do-Over?

This is going to be a sort of introspective, slightly melancholy post, for which I apologize ahead of time — and yet, it’s a topic that my mind keeps coming back to, and I truly feel it’s something that needs to come into the light.

Usually, I don’t write about the more negative impacts of having autism; I try to encourage the positives (and there are a lot of advantages to being different — yes, there are — to being able to see the world in a less conventional way). But unfortunately there are also far too many people who don’t agree with this. They view anything different than what they see as “normal” as “wrong,” and they fight to force us to conform to their way of thinking and living.

The reason this bothers me so much is the fact that I feel I can’t be myself — in the community, around other parents, in church, in public in general, and sometimes even at home. This same thing has happened to my son, not to the same degree that I’ve faced, but it’s still an issue. Our “problem” is not that “average” people don’t understand us — it’s when they refuse to understand.

There’s a massive difference — and the crux of the biscuit — between simply not knowing about something, and not wanting to learn about something. This is where I consider willful ignorance unacceptable. I don’t think refusing to broaden your horizons shows the signs of civilization or intelligence that some seem to feel it does.

Throughout so much of my life, I’ve been told that I needed to learn to be like everyone else. That’s simply impossible. I was born on the spectrum, and if I repressed all of those traits, then I wouldn’t be me, period.

If I’m truly to believe that God doesn’t make mistakes, that God knows the end from the beginning and that nothing surprises Him, then I think it makes sense to believe that God not only knew I was going to have autism, He may even have counted on it. Maybe I am the way I am to teach others a lesson, to bring something to the world that it’s currently lacking.

But some days, it’s really, really hard to go on feeling that way. To look for the bright spots. To find the strength to stay on my current path.

When you’re on the spectrum, you’re marginalized, ostracized, put in a corner, labeled (negatively), and often forced to conform. You’re encouraged to keep your “quirky habits” to yourself (like stimming, or the minor obsession with dragons). Most of the people in your life will even say they wish you weren’t autistic. They’ll remind you of all the things you’re missing out on by not wanting to have tons of friends or go to new places or try new foods. All they’ll see is how your life won’t be everything it could be.

Here’s why that hurts so much — we can’t help the need to stim, the social anxiety, or the overstimulation. We don’t feel we’re missing out on anything, because we don’t see the need for crowded sports arenas or owning a lizard or wearing perfume every day to be in our lives. We don’t want the same things that other people do. Why does that have to be a burden, a loss?

And yet, more than once (twice, a dozen times), I’ve felt like I was missing out on something. Maybe it was just because people told me I was, and I couldn’t understand that sentiment, and so I strove to understand it. That’s what really logical brains do. (“It is not logical, Captain.”) There’s a lot to be said for approaching life in the most practical manner. Emotionally-driven decisions have the potential to backfire every time.

So we keep our emotions on a tight leash. And sometimes that makes us behave in ways that mean people don’t “get” us. They think we’re being cold, or insensitive, or too controlling.

And, sometimes I don’t know, maybe we are? I swear, I’m not trying to hurt you. I just don’t want to be hurt. And let’s face it, the chances of that are much more likely.

So, what’s the answer? I’m honestly not sure.  I wish other people understood autism better. I wish I didn’t have autism. I wish I’d known sooner. Paradoxes are not logical. Paradoxes are very real.

If I’m going to be totally honest, I do wish I’d known sooner, or that most of my life was a dream that I eventually woke up from, and that was why so much of it didn’t make sense. And yet, since realizing that this fact explains everything, I feel a great sense of relief, of peace.

There’s a theoretical rule about time travel — that to undo certain events would alter the course of the entire future, perhaps of a whole universe, and not for the better. So there are particular facts you don’t attempt to undo, much as you might want to. I’m not a Time Lord, but I’ve been accused of being an alien, and if we’re talking Vulcan, I’ll proudly claim that lineage. So, here’s to the rule of drawing the line at not wrecking the whole world by altering one individual’s destiny.

It’s all for good, right?

Changing Your Mind About Books (and TV shows)

The title is pretty self-explanatory. It is a big deal because: we are book bloggers, or bookdragons, we read blogs about authors/novels we love because we are fans, and it can be anywhere from frustrating to soul-crushing when we change our minds about something we previously had intense love for.

And this does happen, and trust me, it is heartbreaking. By nature, we book dragons tend to be rather passionate about our reads, and what fandoms we devote our lives — ahem, our free time to. So, when we receive a major blow from an author) we thought we could trust with our fragile hearts and minds, there is a lot of hell to pay — and unfortunately, it’s mostly by us, the reader.

Before I go any further, I do want to say that I understand authors can decide to make whatever changes to their work that they want to. They do not have to take their readers’ hopes and dreams into account. (But it would be nice…)

So, here are some upcoming or recent releases that I have very mixed feelings about. (And later I’m going to mention TV shows, because, hey, related.)

The Dire King (Jackaby #4): This truly breaks my bookdragon heart. To say I loved books 1 and 2 is an understatement. But by the time I got through the 3rd in this series, I felt so…wet and floppy inside. Yeah, I know, couldn’t I come up with a better metaphor? It just felt…contrived to me. The grand conspiracy theory felt rushed, forced, and not even necessary to the story. It really deflated my enthusiasm for the whole thing. I’ve already decided not to even read the concluding novel, to save what’s left of my extra-sensitive Vulcan heart…

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Number one, knowing this is a play inspired by the 7 novels that J.K. Rowling wrote, and not an actual sequel by said creator herself, tipped me off that it would probably not be my thing. Now, I can appreciate that Ms. Rowling thought it was fine, she didn’t consider this envisioning of her work to be wrong or “non-canon,” so, cool for her. And cool for the fans who did enjoy it. But for me it shall be a no. I prefer to stay “canon.”

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab: Here’s why I am apprehensive about this one — I have not read the first and second of this series! And am apparently the last person in the world who has not. It’s not even that I wouldn’t like to read it; I just feel a little…nervous, because this trilogy has a massive appeal, and…what if I don’t like it? I will feel like the biggest loser of fantasy fandoms. So, it’s a bit painful…

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman: This one I actually feel guilty about, too! Because I like Neil Gaiman; every time I see he has a new publication out (juvenile or adult), I give it a try, because I love his style, and the way his narrators often feel so personable, like you’re having a conversation with a friend. But I am just…not feeling a retelling of Norse mythology right now. I’m certainly not writing this one off, I may give it a go in the future, but these days…eh…

     

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater: I am a bit on edge here, as both these authors have let me down/thrilled me to pieces in the past. Yes, both of those, just on different works. I do intend to read these once they’re released — I just truly hope I can survive afterwards.

And now, a note on television programs… 

Last week, the series finale of Grimm premiered. I was on pins and needles. For all 6 seasons, I followed its ups and downs, its overarc-ing story line for each season, and sat through some honestly bad episodes. According to what I found on the internet (so, remember, take it with a grain of salt), ratings were way down after season 4, so rumors of cancellation abounded. Supposedly, the showrunners decided that they were going out with a bang. (If that’s true, good for them.) They did put together a final storyline that tied up some loose ends, and gave all the characters a happy ending. I love happy endings. I also think it is not too much to ask for. (Several weeks ago, I wrote a whole post about that.) The plot twist that the writers used to make everything peachy keen was a bit common, but it didn’t feel cliche. (No spoilers, I promise.) The spin felt right to the heart of the show, and the epilogue was downright perfect and I adored it. Take note, folks — this is how you end a series that fans have poured their soul into for several, physical years.

On the other side of the coin, I have officially decided I am done with Supernatural. After getting into the first few episodes (and I mean ever, going waaaay back here), I was really on the fence by the end of season 1, and I just popped in now and then to see what was happening until about halfway through season 7. There were far too many plots I couldn’t get on board with, secondary characters I really didn’t care about, and the gore got intense for me at some points. As much as I liked Castiel and Crowley, I was ready to write it off (and without much regret, I might add; the demise of Bobby Singer was about the last straw).

Then the Winchesters discovered the Men of Letters bunker, and, and — WOW, just WOW. I was completely in love by the end of season 8. For the last few years, Supernatural has made me laugh and cry more than any other show I’ve ever watched (except for Doctor Who and Warehouse 13).

By the season 10 finale, I was an emotional wreck, and wondering how in the world they were going to outdo themselves next. Then…season 11 happened. I am quoting Paper Fury here, when she said on Twitter: “What was that? I feel like standing in front of the Impala and getting run over.” (Thank you in advance for that great image, Paper Fury, my girl.)

By 3 or 4 episodes into season 12, I was literally fuming. Again, no spoilers for anyone else; but, suffice it to say, I am done, and not happy about it.

So, what did happen? Well, I think it’s clear the show has now been going on too long. The writing is tired, the directing nothing new, even the actors seem as worn out as their fictional counterparts. I don’t have a lot of free time, so I won’t waste it on something I’m not enjoying. So Supernatural and I are parting ways.

(And I know they will never see this, but this is my advice to the directors, producers, and the network: Don’t be afraid to let go when you see the end coming. Stop trying to unnaturally prolong something that is finite. For the sake of the fans, the writers, the actors, who have poured so much into this project, wrap it up well, give it a fitting ending, and then move on. Trust me, you’ll be thanked in the long run.)