M.D. Neu's Blog, page 27

Author Shout Outs

Happy Wednesday fellow Scribblers. This week I wanted to do some shout outs to follow Author:  J. Scott Coatsworth and J.P. Jackson, both books deal with magic in unique ways. 

J. Scott Coatsworth has just released of his new book The River City Chronicles.  There are three things that excite me about this new novel.  First, it has magic in it. Second, it takes place in Sacramento, CA, which is just two hours from where I live.  I’m very familiar with the area and I can’t wait to see how Scott weaves the story in and around our state capital. Third, it was the number one Gay Book for it's release week. You know it’s gonna be amazing and it should be a lot of fun to read.

I love Scott’s writing and I can’t wait to get my copy.

Here is the blurb:

A group of strangers meets at Ragazzi, an Italian restaurant, for a cooking lesson that will change them all. They quickly become intertwined in each other's lives, and a bit of magic touches each of them.

Meet Dave, the consultant who lost his partner; Matteo and Diego, the couple who run the restaurant; recently-widowed Carmelina; Marcos, a web designer getting too old for hook-ups; Ben, a trans author writing the Great American Novel; teenager Marissa, kicked out for being bi; and Sam and Brad, a May-September couple who would never have gotten together without a little magic of their own.

Everyone in the River City has a secret, and sooner or later secrets always come out.

Buy it here.

Up next and because there is never too much good news to share. I have another shout out to mention.  Coming out on June 29, 2018 fellow NineStar Press Author J.P. Jackson will be releasing his new book Magic or Die.  I had the please of reading several chapters of the story while J.P. was working on it and I can’t wait.  I know it’ll be amazing.  Just check out this great cover art:

Here is the blurb:

James Martin is a teacher, a powerful Psychic, and an alcoholic. He used to work for the Center for Magical Research and Development, a facility that houses people who can’t control their supernatural abilities, but left after one of his students was killed, turning to vodka to soothe his emotional pain. The problem is he still has one year left on his contract.

When James returns to the CMRD to fulfill the rest of his contract, he finds himself confronting the demons of his past and attempting to protect his new class from a possible death sentence, because if they don’t pass their final exams, they’ll be euthanized.

James also discovers that his class isn’t bringing in enough sponsors, the agencies and world governments who supply grants and ultimately purchase graduates of the CMRD, and that means no profit for the facility. James and his students face impossible odds—measure up to the facility’s unreachable standards or escape.

Pre-order it here: 

As always it’s easy to share the love with others who you think might enjoy these wonderful novels that deal with magic or just want something amazing to read.  Click the share button below.  Until next week, have a great week.

Blog RSS

Permalink

Discrimination and Hate

Happy Pride Month Scribblers.  This month I wanted to focus on all thing Pride, including the wonderful #PrideReads we have going on over at Twitter (you need to check it out, click here), but with the decision from the US Supreme Court I wanted to address discrimination and hate.  I want to talk about this because it’s ugly and not who we should be.  As I tried to have a level head about the ruling, I found I was getting increasingly angrier.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about click here this is disturbing because I like to believe we, as a people, we are better than this.  That somehow in my Pollyanna world, we don’t treat others this way. But we do! It’s disgusting! And I’m getting tired of it.

Before this ruling came down, I was talking to a Blogger whom I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over these last few months.  She’s a wonderful person and I find that I respect her. I love seeing her notes and so forth pop up on my news feed.  Anyway, she mentioned that a few days ago she and her Relator were looking at a home when someone called the police on them.  The officer showed up and sat in the cop car until this Blogger and Relator left.

How many times have we heard stories about this happening?  Too many. It seems to be happening more.

Then we got this ruling from the US ‘Freaken’ Supreme Court that it’s okay for a Baker in Colorado to refuse a wedding cake to a gay couple.  Yes, I read the ruling. Yes, I understand all the circumstances. And yes, I understand that there are more cases in the pipeline and with luck the Supreme Court will fix this. Is that real issue?

The problem is you can’t legislate what’s in a person’s heart.  You can’t keep people from hating you.  It’s impossible. And that is at the bottom of all discrimination; hate.

Not surprised, well duh, I’m not saying anything that any rational person doesn’t already know.  But here’s the thing these people claim to be ‘rational’, ‘good Christians’, ‘good Muslims’ ‘good Jews’ ‘good Citizens’, ‘good People’, guess what? You’re not.  You’re a Hate Monger.  Plain and simple.

Typically, when I get home, Eric greats me with a kiss, or I stalk after him till I get a kiss. When the ruling came down I walked in and the first thing we said to each other was, “have you heard the news?”

Why is this important? Because, Eric, doesn’t pay attention to the news and rarely gets phased by it.  He’s my rock. I’m the one who gets a little dramatic about the news.  But not then because we were both shaken by what happen with the court ruling.

Not only did we talk about the ruling but we talked about discrimination. Seth MacFarlane summed it up when this hit the news. He said, “It’s a shorter walk than we think, particularly today, from ‘I won’t bake them a cake because they’re gay’ to ‘I won’t seat him here because he’s black.’…” for the whole article click here he got called out for his remarks but I think he responded perfectly. When asked if he would bake a cake for a Trump supporter. His response was, “yes, you bake a cake for one. You bake a cake for all.” How long until we see other minorities refused services?  I bet it will be sooner than you think. 

And that is part of my point. How we treat one person is how we should treat everyone. “Equal under the law.” But we’re not. Are we getting there? Slowly, but even than you can’t legislate the hate in someone’s heart. My Blogger friend had the police called on her because they are black, and Eric and I can’t buy a wedding cake because we’re gay. Like Mr. MacFarlane suggests where does it stop?

Another friend of mine, she is Jewish (possibly the most discriminated group in human history), she reminds people about the Holocaust.  It didn’t start with gas chambers. It started with small things and the inaction of people.  Are we heading that way again?  Are Eric and I going to be rounded up and taken away. Is my Blogger friend going to be pulled out of her home in the middle of the night never to be seen again? Is my Jewish friend going to one day vanish?

I hear you shaking your heads and rolling your eyes. “That could never happen, we’re in America.” Well…

What about all the undocumented Immigrants, they are already being rounded up? Children pulled from their parents. Families separated. That’s happening right now. (Okay, before you go off on a tangent, yes the argument can be made that they are breaking the law and are criminals, but to separate children from the parents um… no.  That is a little to Germany 1940 for me.) 

So, who’s next?

Am I sounding like a Paranoid Alarmist.  Perhaps. But, I don’t know?  What I want everyone to think about is how much farther is this discrimination going to go?  How much longer is all the hate in people’s heart going to last? When do we stop hating each other?

Oh, and just to be clear this isn’t a liberal vs. conservative thing, because I’ve seen hate from both groups that should make everyone ashamed.  I come from a family of conservatives and you will never know a nicer more giving tolerant group of people in your life, so don’t for a minute think I’m pitting one side against the other.  Because I’m not. Both Democrats and Republicans caused what we are seeing now. They feed off it, and hold on to power by putting us against one another. 

My point. Hate hides behind many faces: Religion, Nationalism, Conservatism, Liberalism, Racism, Sexism, and any other ‘ism’ you can come up with.

The worst thing, for me, is that I think hate is part of who we are. We’ll never be rid of it, which means we’ll always have discrimination which is heartbreaking.

All I can ask is for you to think about what I’m saying, even if you don’t agree. Also, when you’re out and about please be kind to one another. Please respect each other. Help each other. Be there for one another.  When you see hate, confront it.  Don’t stand for me.  Don’t let hate (in any form) win. We might not control what happens everywhere, but we can control what we say and do. Where we spend our money.  Don’t propagate hate by spending your money in places that discriminate. We can control how we treat each other. If we treat one person like second-class citizens then we’re all second-class citizens, because someone will find a way of discriminating against you. Trust me.  Hate will find a way.

What do you think?  Do you think I'm over reaching here?  Let me know in the comments below.

Don't forget it you know people who might be interested in this Blog post or any of my posts, books, or poetry, share this it in the link below.

Blog RSS

Permalink

Author Interview with CH Clepitt

A few months back I invited CH Clepitt to my Scribble page to share her Fantasy Bookshop with you (click here to see more about her Fantasy Bookshop).  Today, I’ve invited CH back for an interview to share more about her writing, her life and her new book Curtain Call.  Let’s get going shall we:

Welcome CH to my Scribble page. 

Hello, and thank you for having me.

Of course.  Before we get started congratulations on the new book.

Ah Thanks.

Now, if you don’t mind how about you refresh folks on who you are and your writing.

Well, I'm C H Clepitt and I write across multiple genres in a variety of story lengths.  I don't like labels, and therefore find it really hard to label my books!  I will say that if you like one of my books, you will likely enjoy the rest.  The thing they have in common is realistic characters that you can relate to, humor and a serious message.  I also write a mean action scene, even if I do say so myself!

Does this mean you enjoy writing action scenes?  Personally, I find them really difficult to write.

I love writing action scenes. I used to do Judo (before I became old and broken) and I played a lot of sports, so I have a good understanding of movement and meles, and can write a pretty good action scene.  I know what works and what doesn’t, although most of my characters are fitter and more bendy than I ever was!

(Laughs) I can relate. My 'bendy' days are far behind me too. You mentioned that you don’t like labels but we all have genres we fall into so how and why did you chose your genre?

I don't really have a genre.  I write what I like, and label it because I have to!! I have written SciFi, Fantasy, Comedy and everything in between!  My stories tend to genre hop, though, so don't get too comfortable, or bogged down in the label, just appreciate them for what they are.  I write the kind of stories and characters that I would want to read, and hopefully, other people will want to read them too!

Considering how talented you are I'm sure finding readers isn't too hard. Like you, I cross genres’, so getting pigeonholed into one genre can be tough. So, let’s keep them guessing.

If people spent less time worrying about the labels and just looked for things they might enjoy, everything would be much easier! Ah well, we don’t rule the world, do we?!

Sadly we don't. Now, let’s talk about Curtain Call its your latest book, tell us about it.  Where did you get the idea for the book?  What excited you about this story?

Curtain Call is interesting.  It's not at all the usual sort of story I would write.  There isn't a single vampire or monster in it!  A friend and colleague, A. M. Leibowitz was doing an anthology call.  The brief was "women who love women within the theatre".  I know, pretty specific, right?  Anyway, I wanted to support their project, so I set about writing a short story.  It turned out my short story was four times longer than all the other short stories... yeah... awkward... and I still felt it had more to say, so I withdrew it from the anthology selection process and turned it into a novella.  All in all the process took me about three months.

Wow! Three months?

I know, it is the quickest I have ever written a book!  Once I started writing it, the characters completely took over, and I couldn't stop writing.  I really enjoyed rereading, editing and improving it, too.  That was exciting. 

That is so cool.  I love when the words and the characters jive.  It makes for a great story and a fun writing experience.

This was almost like an addiction. I had to spend every spare minute on it until it was done.

Considering how easy Curtain Call was to write. I’m not even going to ask what was the hardest part. However, for you, what is the hardest part about writing in general?

The hardest part is finding a concept I like.  I'll sit and stew on it for a while before I come up with the right idea.  Then I need to come up with a title.  I can't start writing without a title, and this rarely changes.  I don't know if anyone else comes up with the title first... 

Really, you come up with the title first.

I didn’t with my first book, A Reason to Stay. I wrote that the traditional way, plotted it, edited it, redrafted it and agonised over the title. Ever since that I have come up with the title first, and I find it much easier.

Wow.  I don’t think I ever know what the title of my book is going to be until after I write the thing and even then I’m never totally sure.

I think that’s because titles are tough.  Like blurbs. Selling your own stuff is hard.

Boy tell me about it, but that is a topic for a different day. Okay, moving on. Including Curtain Call how many novels/books/short stories do you have out there?

Er... good question... *counts on fingers*... 15... yeah, that's more than I have fingers... is that a lot?

Fifteen. That’s great.  I think it’s a lot, but I only have three out there so far.  So, compared to me that is a lot.  How long have you been writing?  When were you first published?

I think I’ve always been writing. I published A Reason to Stay in 2011, though.  Before that I’d written articles, done some community and music journalism.

Community and Music Journalism that pretty cool. Okay, I’ve got to ask which author(s) have inspired your writing? In what ways?

I think everyone you read inspires you in some ways.  I read a lot of fantasy, because I like the escapism.  I love Phillip Pullman, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.  I really like the classics, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Bronte Sisters. I think everyone who wants to be a writer should get a good grounding in the classics.  Also, modern classics like Virginia Woolf and Silvia Townsend Warner.  I like to read a voice I can relate to.   I also love Sarah Waters writing, she makes me want to be a better writer, although I've had to stop reading The Little Stranger because I have a horrible feeling that the dog dies.  Who does that? A dog will never die in any of my books.  People, sure, but never a dog...

Yep, I agree.  I don’t think I could ever kill off a dog, or any pets.  That’s just mean.

Yes, yes it is.  And unnecessary!

Well on that happy thought tell us what do you have in the works?  What's new?  What's exciting? What are you currently reading? 

In the works?  Well, I'm working on a new story.  It's Urban Fantasy and it's called My Dream Woman. I'm quite excited by it because it's completely different from most everything else I've written.  It's first person present tense.  I usually hate present tense, but it just seems to fit the style somehow. I am also in the process of turning all my books into audio.  If you visit Amazon you will see a few of them are already there.  I have a great team of narrators, some of whom are working on series with me, so we are getting the audio done almost as soon as the book is released.

I would love to get my books turned into an audio book.  I think that would be amazing.  I’m going to have to work with my publisher on that. Anything else?

I have an enormous to be read pile. I will choose a new book this weekend... eeek, decisions!  You can follow the reviews section on Newsnibbles (click here) if you want to see my most recent reads and what I've made of them.

Well, that was my last question.

Whew! We made it! Thanks!

Yep, that’s it. Not too bad I hope?

No, this was fun. Thanks for having me!

Of course.  Well Scribblers, I hope you got to learn a little more about the amazing CH Clepitt, the Grumpy Badger herself, and her new book Curtain Call.  You can find it here.

Bio:

C H Clepitt has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the University of the West of England. As her Bachelor’s Degree was in Drama, and her Master’s Dissertation focused on little known 18th Century playwright Susannah Centlivre, Clepitt’s novels are extremely dialogue driven, and it has often been observed that they would translate well to the screen.

Since graduating in 2007, she gained experience in community and music journalism, before establishing satirical news website, Newsnibbles in 2010 (click here). In 2011 she published her book, A Reason to Stay, which follows the adventures of disillusioned retail manager, Stephen, as he is thrust into village life and the world of AmDram. Clepitt’s feminist fantasy, The Book of Abisan not only crosses worlds, but confuses genres, and has been described as a crime drama with magic. She has often said that she doesn’t like the way that choosing a genre forces you to put your book into a specific little box, and instead she prefers to distort the readers’ expectations and keep them guessing. Her 2016 work, I Wore Heels to the Apocalypse does just that, as just like the characters, the readers won’t know what’s going on in this laugh out loud satirical scifi.

Social Media Links:

For Kindle click here.
For Lulu click here.
Find her at Twitter here.
Find her on Facebook here.

Click here for her website and learn about all her amazing works and everything else she is up to.

Blog RSS

Permalink

Random Wednesday (Continuation)

Back in May, I tried something a little different on my Scribble Page.  I shared five random facts about myself (here is the link if you missed it). All you Scribblers seemed to enjoy it.  Today, I thought I would share five more personal facts. Things you may, or may not know.

Fact Number One:
As some of you may have figured out, or guessed, or even know, when I’m not writing I work for a non-profit here in San Jose.  The non-profit is one of the largest multi-service agencies in the county and we serve upwards of 40,000 clients a year.  The work our agency does is life changing for many people and I enjoy my ‘day job’ even though it can be difficult.

Even though my passion is writing. Working for this organization is an amazing experience and has allowed me to meet some compassionate people.

The best part about my job is that even with as challenging as it is (and trust me it can be challenging) when I leave for the day, I’m done.  Which allows me to focus on my writing in the evenings and on the weekends when me and my hubby aren’t busy.  
 
Fact Number Two:
Continuing with the ‘work’ theme.  In the late 90s and the early 2000s, I worked in International Marketing for two different start-ups (not at the same time).  It was an amazing time, however, 75% of my time was travel and there were months were I wasn’t home for weeks.  This got exhausting over the years. However, the experience was priceless and if you haven’t guessed most, if not all, of the locations in my books are places I have been.

During this time I traveled to Asia and Europe, all over the US, and parts of Canada. I wouldn’t trade this time for anything, but I’m glad it’s behind me.  If I had continued that path, I would not have had time to write and bring the stories in my head to life.

Fact Number Three:
Something I’m not proud of is I have a rather large addiction to potato chips.  I love them.  The salty and the crunch. Yum.  An open bag, around me, is an empty bag.  I try not to keep them in the house, but that doesn’t always happen. Eric, calls me I’m a chipaholic.  I have to agree. I suppose it’s better than smoking or alcohol.

Fact Number Four:
Back in the day, some friends and I used to play AD&D.  I loved it.  We had so much fun.  Yes, that makes me a nerd, but I don’t care.  We had the best time. We played well into our early twenties.

My character was an Elf. He was a mage/assassin and could kick some serious butt when he needed to. I got lucky. He never died, which says more about our Dungeon Master than my playing skills.

Along with AD&D, we played a Star Trek RPG and Masquerade the Gathering. Like I said we had a blast and I miss it.  However, I still play card and dice games with family and friends. It’s not the same thing, but we still have a good time.  

Fact Number Five:
Last, for this week.  I mentioned last time my love of Disney. Well, not only do I love all things Disney but also I love Halloween.  It’s the most amazing time of year.  I have a huge Halloween Village I put up for the season and for Halloween we decorate the entire front of the house as a graveyard. We don’t go as crazy as some people, but we do our house proud.  Typically, I will get dressed up and sit on the front porch and pass out candy.  It’s a blast.

Also, during the Halloween season we’ll host a Halloween Party or a Masquerade Ball. It doesn’t happen every year, but we try to have one when we can.  They are a ton or fun and everyone seems to get into the spirit.

Well, there you go. Five more facts about what makes me tick.  I hope you enjoyed.  As a reminder if you know anyone who you think might enjoy my writing send them the links to my books (click here)?  Let me know what questions you may have in the comments below.  Until next week have an amazing week.

Blog RSS

Permalink

Author Takeover Provided by Gillian St. Kevern

Happy Wednesday Scribblers.  As promised, this week I step aside and allow fellow author Gillian St. Kevern to take over my Scribble Page and talk about her new novel Morgen Prince and share a little about her gender and sexually ambivalent character Duhywynt.

Without further ado, take it away Gillian.

Thank you, M.D. Neu, for hosting me on your blog! I’m especially glad you invited me to talk about my experiences writing about a character who is ambivalent toward his gender. As you’ll find out, writing Morgen Prince was something of a personal milestone for me. Being able to share that means a lot. 

A little background: Morgen Prince is the fourth book in my Deep Magic series, an urban fantasy set in North Wales and blending the magic of story telling with the world of morgen, Welsh sirens. While the first and third books focus on the relationship between a human witch and a morgen prince, this is the first book narrated by Duhywynt (commonly known as Dewey), the aforementioned prince’s younger brother. 

Dewey prefers hanging out with seals to interacting with people, finds dresses more comfortable to swim in than jeans, has a complicated friendship with Myfanwy, the newest witch on the cliffs and the only human he finds tolerable, and has a deep distrust of romantic relationships due to being starved of affection by his cruel grandfather, an evil King. In the five years since Deep Magic, Duhywynt’s been forced to attend school and received a crash course in human customs and societal expectations--and frankly, he’s having none of it. He would still prefer to be living in the ocean, hanging out with seals. 

I expected writing Morgen Prince to be a lot harder than it was. This story has been coming ever since Duhywynt splashed his way onto the pages of Deep Magic. He is blunt to the point of rudeness, easily outraged, suspicious and dismissive of anything he doesn’t immediately understand, and clings to his erroneous assumptions, but underneath his hard exterior, he retains this wonderful kindness and innocence, and is fiercely protective of his animal friends.

Deep Magic was published in 2015. Morgen Prince written late 2017, and I’m only publishing it now, after a long period of dithering. Why did it take so long? Well, I got a bit hung up on the fact that Duhywynt is ambivalent about his gender and sexuality, and I wasn’t sure where exactly he fit on the spectrum. I wanted to get the experience right so much that fear of messing it up made me procrastinate on the story. When I finally decided I had to write what was right for Duhywynt, everything came together really quickly. There were a few sticking points, a few dead ends, but they had more to do with Duhywynt’s emotional development arc, than his identity. Actually, Duhywynt was incredibly easy to write.

As it turned out, that should have been my first clue. After I tidied up the first draft of Morgen Curse and sent it to an editor, I got caught up in the usual end of year nonsense complicated by a birthday, a lot of dog-sitting, and a chance encounter with a critique group. The woman leading it looked at me, looked at the other person present and said, ‘wow, we’ve inadvertently formed an all-queer critique group.’ The immediate feeling of relief was overwhelming--and really unexpected. I identify as bisexual and asexual, but neither label really feels like it fits me. As I never expected to act on either one, I didn’t feel like I was queer enough to be allowed to call myself queer. Although I’d never shared my sexuality with her, this woman’s comment freed me, unlocking something for me, and set me off on a journey, questioning how well I knew myself. 

The edits on Morgen Prince came back during this period, and I was astonished by how much of my own gender ambivalence and ambiguity about my sexuality was present in the story. In writing Duhywynt’s struggles, I’d been grappling with my own truths. It’s always a little scary when you realize how much of you is in your writing, but I think it’s important to be able to put yourself out there at times. 

It’s also incredibly important that we tell stories and share experiences from all over the LGBTQ spectrum. I didn’t see any experiences like mine in the media, fiction or even social media I consumed, and so I came to the conclusion that my experiences were less valid than other peoples or so not representative of being queer that I wasn’t helping anyone by sharing them. I now hope Morgen Prince will empower and encourage people still exploring their identity.  

Author Bio: 

Gillian St. Kevern is the author of the Deep Magic series, the Thorns and Fangs series, the For the Love of Christmas series, and standalone novels, The Biggest Scoop and The Wing Commander's Curse. Gillian currently lives in her native New Zealand, but spent eleven years in Japan and has visited over twenty different countries.
 
As a chronic traveller, Gillian is more interested in journeys than endings, with characters that grow and change to achieve their happy ending. She's not afraid to let her characters make mistakes or take the story in an unexpected direction. Her stories cross genres, time-periods and continents, taking readers along for an unforgettable ride. Both Deep Magic and The Biggest Scoop were nominated for Best LOR story in the 2015 M/M Romance Groups Member's Choice awards. Deep Magic also received nominations in Best Cover, Best Main Character and Best Paranormal, while The Biggest Scoop was nominated for Best Coming of Age. 

Morgen Prince Blurb: 

Duhywynt’s only weapon against the world will cost him everyone he cares about.
 
Duhywynt plans to spend his summer catching the legendary Ceffyl Dŵr and swapping make-up tips with his best friend, Myfanwy—until he discovers his older brother has traded his morgenau heritage for mortality. Worse, Myrhydion is far more concerned with Duhywynt’s lack of social life than his own untimely demise.Duhywynt will do anything to avoid losing him for ever, even if that means faking a friendship with Drew, a tourist.

As Drew’s fascination with Duhywynt grows, the prince discovers the deadly legacy of his morgenau heritage, emperilling his relationship with Myfanwy—a relationship with depths he is just beginning to understand. Can he overcome centuries of pain and embrace the unknown, or will his morgenau heritage claim another victim?

Get your copy by clicking here.

Social Media Links:

website click here.
Blog click here.
Facebook click here.
Twitter click here.

Blog RSS

Permalink

Book Announcements for Some Amazing Authors

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. This week I’m excited to share a couple of really cool authors with you.  They both have new novels ready to come out or will be coming out in the next couple of weeks:

Author CH Clepitt has a new Lesbian contemporary fiction book that just came out this week.

Title:                    Curtain Call
Release date:    May 6, 2018
Genres:               Contemporary fiction, Lesbian Fiction
Synopsis:

C H Clepitt has a knack for creating real, relatable characters, who face adversity with humour and humanity, and Curtain Call is no exception.

When an assistant to the director role turns into P.A. to her favourite film star, Jen can’t believe her luck. Eleanor Francis is charming, kind and funny, but she has a secret, and when tragedy strikes, things threaten to unravel at an uncontrollable pace. Despite being out of her depth Jen has to adapt to her new role quickly, to protect Eleanor, with whom she is rapidly falling in love.

This is a sweet, understated story that will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. If you’ve enjoyed C H Clepitt’s other books then this is not to be missed.

More information can be found here.
More about C H Clepitt can be found here.

Author Hans M. Hirschi has a new book coming out in a couple of weeks that promises to be a feel-good book. 

Title:                    Returning to the Land of the Morning Calm
Release date:    May 21, 2018
Genres:               Contemporary fiction, LGBT, Feel-good
Synopsis:

Martin is eighty-four years old, a Korean War veteran, living quietly in a retirement home in upstate New York. His days are ruled by the routine of the staff. In his thoughts and dreams, Martin often returns to the Seoul of his youth, and the lost true love of his life.

Two close friends urge him to travel back to search for that love. What awaits Martin in Korea, more than six decades after he left the country on a troop transport back to the U.S.?

Returning to the Land of the Morning Calm is a story of friendship, love, and family, in all its many shapes, across time, generations and cultures.

More information can be found here.

Both these authors are amazing and if you haven’t checked out their novels than you really need to.

Lastly, for the week. I want to update you all on some changes coming to my website and on the new privacy laws coming out of the EU, The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).  In fact you should have all gotten an email from me asking you to update your contact information and to re-subscribe. I know it’s a total pain in the butt, but I have to do it. So, if you haven’t seen the email or responded to it please do so.  It’s important not only to me, but to you as well.  The other change is actually to my website. I now have a Privacy Policy that you can find a link to on every page.  Just so you all have seen it.  Here it is:

Privacy Policy

M.D. Neu is an author. M.D. Neu may collect your data, upon your consent, to send you marketing updates. Your data will never be sold to third parties. Your data will be stored electronically on the data processor of choice (currently Mailchimp).

Your email will be used to get in touch with you in regards to blog updates, project updates, new releases, and limited offers by email only.

You can edit your profile by visiting your profile page by clicking the link in the footer of the email, or you can contact info@mdneu.com. You can unsubscribe from this list at any moment by hitting the Unsubscribe button on the emails you receive or you can email info@mdneu.com. You can also request for your data to be deleted by emailing info@mdneu.com

Well that’s all for this week. Next week I’m excited to welcome fellow author Gillian St Kevern (for more info click here). she will be jumping in and taking over my Scribble Page and it promises to be amazing.  Until next week have an amazing week.

Permalink

What is the Hardest part about Writing a Book – The Marketing

Recently I was asked; What is the hardest part about writing a book? Without hesitation, my answer was marketing. This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about. I’m not the only one either. Most authors consider marketing in one form or another. Especially after your book has been out for a while. Sales start to drop off and all the excitement of the launch has worn away. So now what?  How do you continue to get your book noticed?

There is no one answer and things can be even more challenging for non-romance gay books.

Here’s the thing. How do you market a non-romance gay book? Gay Romance is a huge market and everything gay seems to be lumped under that umbrella. Last week I found out that my book The Calling is 96th on the Best Gay Vampire Book list (click here), which is part of Best M/M romance featuring gay vampires… um what? I thought my book was a vampire book, not an M/M romance.

Don’t get me wrong, this is exciting and I’m so thankful and grateful especially since I’m a new author with only a few works published. You can find them all here. This free publicity is amazing and I’m hopeful it will be helpful as well, especially with marketing.

However, anyone who has read my book knows it isn’t a gay romance. That’s not what I wrote, yet that is how it is classified. This is a bit of an issue because there is this thing called false advertising and I never want to be criticized for that.

How do I market a non-romance gay book?

I did a Google search asking that question. All that comes up is how to market a gay romance and if straight authors should write gay romance. It definitely defeated the purpose of the question.

So, I went back to the Vampire lists, and I found other lists. Such as Best Vampire Books from “New” Authors, (click here). The Calling is 482nd. Go me! One of the other lists that made me chuckle is Great Vampire Books that Aren’t Twilight (click here). The Calling is 382nd. Also, The Calling is 23rd on the January 2018 MM Releases list (click here).  So, I’m using this news to create a bit of a buzz about my book. I’ve sent out a Facebook post to see if I can get more people to vote for The Calling on those lists. On May 1st I sent out an email blast to my subscribers to see if they would vote for The Calling on these lists.  All to move my book higher on these lists.

Notice, I’m only talking about The Calling and not A Dragon for Christmas or The Reunion. That is because I’m trying to figure out what works so I can duplicate it for these books. This might also be an issue. Should I be marketing all three together?  I’m not sure.

Now back to these Goodreads Lists. Why are they important (or why do I consider them important)? Because to be lumped in with such books as; Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles), Dracula, the Sookie Stackhouse Series, ‘Salem’s Lot, and, even the Twilight Series? Tells potential readers that this book has substance. It also means that The Calling (and soon to be The Calling Two) even though they have a gay main character are of the same caliber as these amazing works and not a vampire sexcapade. This is a difficult stigma to break considering that Gay Romance and Gay Erotica are so popular. It is also what most people imagine when you mention you write LGBTQA Fiction. Ugh... but that whole topic is for another day.

Why these lists, well they are some of the best free marketing, they can help drive sales, and they get my book noticed.

The Calling being number one in any of these categories or being in the top 100 allows me bragging rights and is something I can advertise. Trust me, I will be.  Right now I’m working on ads to capitalize on these lists and this news.

Some additional marketing strategies I’ve been doing: Getting more reviews. Lining up interviews and speaking opportunities. Having fellow Authors on my Scribbles Page. Trying to be more engaging on Social Media (not talking about my books but other topics). Joining Author Groups were we share ideas about marketing and public relations.  

So, yes, the hardest part about writing a book is the marketing. It’s not the writing or the publishing (although both take time and are a lot of work).

Do you have any suggestions on ways to market non-romance gay book? Do you know anyone who loves vampires and witches send them the link to my book (click here)?  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  Until next week have an amazing week.

Blog RSS

Permalink

April Writing Updates

Scribblers!  I hope you’re all doing well today.  I figured I would provide a few updates today and see where this takes us.

Update Number One: Last week as some of you may have seen I was a guest on WROTE Podcast.  We had a great conversation about writing, marketing non-gay romance books, and how gay is cross culture, cross race and cross economics.  If you haven’t checked it out click here to go to the show.  It was a lot of fun, so go listen to it you’ll enjoy it.

Update Number Two: This last weekend I finished the first chapter of The Calling – Book Two. What you haven't read The Calling yet (click here to get your copy) As a special treat for you today here are the first four paragraphs for you to sink your fangs into.

I sat with a glass of brandy between my hands focusing on the fire in Juliet’s office. The oranges, reds and yellows danced around the logs releasing a warmth that barley penetrated my worried exterior. The crackling sound tickled my ears as the scent of burning oak lingered in and out of my conscious.  A knot tugged the back of my neck. What was this new vision? Worse yet, what did it have to do with me. Not to mention Juliet, Kirtus, Gregor, and the other Immortals.

“What are you thinking?”  Juliet’s gentle voice pulled me from my thoughts.

How long had I been like this? A minute, a day, a year. I wasn’t sure.  I turned from the fire.  Kirtus sat next to me on the sofa his coat removed, replaced by an air of worry. Gregor’s tall solid frame blocked one of Juliet’s bookcases. All of Juliet’s tombs and books, several of them personal journals of her long life, sat there. Would they be able to unravel this new vision? This new mystery.  They were little help last time. I sipped my brandy hoping it would take the chill from my soul.

I caught Juliet out of the corner of my eye: patient as always. She sat with her ivory pant clad leg crossed and a glass of red in her hand, but deep in her eyes there was unease. Despite her worry, in moments like this, she seemed so young. Nevertheless, behind that façade of youth was the power of an Immortal who had been around for 1650 years. No one should ever underestimate her.

Keep in mind this might change and, of course, I had to remove spoilers from the last book. You never know know who might be reading. I suggest you keep an eye out because I may share more of the story as I write it.

Update Number Three: Next week (May 1st) I’ll be taping an interview with the guys over at How Authors Work.  Check out their recent podcast here.  It should be a lot of fun. We’ll be talking about the writing process, publishing, and all that. I will keep you posted on when the show airs.

Update Number Four: I’ve been invited to take part on a panel of LGBTQ authors for Pride Month. The event will be on June 25th. County Supervisor Ken Yeager is slated to kick off the event. It should be a lot of fun and as the event gets closer I’ll be sharing more information.  If you’re in the area I hope you’ll be able to stop by.  Again, more details to follow.

Update Number Five: Over the last several weeks I’ve been working on some marketing materials for The Calling.  I can’t wait to share these with you. I think they are turning out great.  So, again more info to follow.

Update Number Six: On a personal note I wanted to share with you all that I’ve picked up two new books to read. I can’t wait to dig into them.  One is 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson and the others is Bones and Bourbon by fellow NineStar Press author Dorian Graves. This is Dorian’s debut novel so go check it out (here is the link) we’ve been chatting about her book and I’m excited to read it.  Once I finish her novel, I’ll be giving it a full review here. In addition, I want to see if I can get Dorian over to do an interview. Here is where you can find Dorian, go show her some love, she’s amazing find her here. 

Well Scribblers, that’s all for this week.  Have a great week.  Did I miss something?  Is there something you wanted me to mention but didn’t?  Let me know down in the comments below.  Also, I was thinking about doing another ‘Five Things About Me’ blog.  Lastly, give me a heads up if that is something you want me to do again (here is the last one) and if you have any personal questions for me.

Blog RSS

Permalink

My Review and Thoughts on Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Love Simon

Hey Scribblers, I know it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted anything.  Sorry about that.  I got hit by the flu that is going around and between dragging my butt to work and trying to get better I didn’t have the time or the energy.

And of course I pick Tax week (well if you’re in the US) to return. Maybe, I should have stayed away a few more days? Ah well.

Just a quick announcement before we dive in.  This week I will be a guest on WROTE Podcast (check them out here), we are going to talk about marketing a LGBTQ book when it’s not romance or erotica, reminding people that gay is cross-cultural, gender, and economics, and I’ll share some of my own journey as a writer.  It comes out this Friday. I will keep you posted.  

Now let’s jump into this week’s topic. One of the things I did manage to do while I was under the weather was read the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.  I also went to see the movie Love Simon before it leaves theaters.  It was nice to read the book first then see the movie and see what was changed.  

Below is my review of the book and after that I’ll talk about the movie.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The book is an LGBTQ Young Adults story.  It’s about Simon a ‘straight’ teen who is struggling with coming out and facing his gayness.  Simon is surrounded by an amazing family, school, and friends.  His struggle is more internal than external.  The book starts with Simon being blackmailed by another student, Martin, who read and took photos of Simon’s email exchange with another gay student only known as Blue.  The story focuses on how Simon deals with the blackmail while trying to navigate his own emotions and his developing online relationship with Blue.

This was a well written story.  It flowed nicely and was a quick read. However, in my opinion, there were many ignored opportunities in the story and I found it missing the mark in many places (his relationship with his family, his standing in school, his relationship with his friends, and even his relationship with his teachers). When the book ended I was left with neither a positive feel for the book nor a negative feel for the book. Maybe, I’m jaded. I don’t know, but what I do know is, this book reflected nothing of what life is like. There was an opportunity here for the writer to dive in deeper to the issues of coming out, what it means to Simon and Blue and what it means to their families, but we got none of that (in a way that is nice, but still not realistic). Perhaps, this lack of realism is what people want when it comes to the LGBTQ community and its youth. I’m not sure. Still, considering how much everyone loves this book I’m probably in the minority with my thoughts.

Basically, this story reads to me like an old ABC After School Special.  Where everything is perfect and by the end the world is changed but life is still great for the characters and everyone could have a nice hug afterwards.

I wanted to fall in love with the characters and I wanted to feel for them, but they all lived in this ideal world were even the drama that was created fell flat for me. I had to ask myself what kind of life did the author live? Did she even know any gay teens, gay men, or gay women? Not even the Blackmailer was very nasty. Did she really live in this wonderful world where everyone reacted the way they should and no one was trying to be mean or hurtful? 

Because I want to live there too.

Regarding the main character Simon. Ugh, here we go again. Simon is this perfect jock type (even though he’s not a jock) who doesn’t know what it’s like to suffer through the underbelly of High School. His friends all adore him as does his family. I loved seeing a well adjusted gay teen character, but he like the rest of this world that Becky Albertalli created was unbelievable. Honestly, I swear, I didn’t want an emo character filled with self-loathing who was being tortured, but it would have been nice to see him based in a little more reality. Ah well.

Overall, I couldn’t believe in the characters or the story.  It was just too impeccable for me and nothing about it struck home.  All this said. I didn’t hate the book I gave it:

Now, let’s talk about the movie Love Simon.  The writers of the movie took this lack luster book and amped up the drama and tension.  Simon was still this perfect character with the perfect family but when it came to his suffering and drama (even the Blackmail) the reactions seemed so much more real to me.  The characters were kind of what I pictured them to be and the seemly perfect world they all lived in was somehow I little more believable. I enjoyed the character interactions and I even enjoyed how the characters reacted to all the events that unfolded in the story.  The movie, to my surprise, felt more real and honest than the book.  I even enjoyed the ending of the movie more than the book and that really surprised me.

In this rare case, the movie was far better than the book.

***

With all this said.  I want to add, that my husband both loved the book and the movie. He didn’t understand why I was just meh on the book.  So, even in my own home I’m on the outside. I will say this for both the book and the movie I’m happy to see that both did so well and became popular, making a big splash in the main stream media. That says a lot. It is something that we should all celebrate.

I would love to hear what you all think of the book and the movie.  Leave your comments below and tell me how far off I am. I don’t mind, I’ve been on the outside a lot when it comes to movies and books.

Until next week have a great week.

Blog RSS

Permalink

Happy Good Friday, Passover, Caesar Chavez Day, Easter and April Fool’s Day… did I miss anything?

It’s Good Friday, the start of Passover and Caesar Chavez Day. What an amazing trifecta.  Also, this Sunday is not only Easter but it’s also April Fool’s Day.  In the span of three short days we are cramming together five holidays.  It’s nuts, but what that means for me is I’m going to be busy. So, I’m posting this special Blog post on my Scribbles page today.

Firstly, I want to wish everyone a wonderful Good Friday and Easter. I hope you all get to spend some time with your family and enjoy the break if you get one.

Secondly, to my wonderful Jewish friends out there.  Happy Passover. May this week-long celebration bring you joy and time with family.

Thirdly, don’t forget to remember Caesar Chavez and reflect on all the wonderful work he did. Especially when it comes to improving the health and safety of our agricultural industry works today.

Lastly, with April Fool’s Day right around the corner beware.  You never know what ‘friends’ are planning. 

As a special treat today, an author friend of mine CH Clepitt (check her out here) asked if she could jump over and do a mini blog takeover today to announce a couple of fun items she has coming up and to share some amazing books.

Take it away CH

Thanks, MD here goes:

My Fantasy Bookshop

People have fantasy sports teams, fantasy movie casts etc., well, I have a fantasy bookstore. If I had unlimited money I would set up a bookstore to feature all of my favorite indies.  So many writers I have discovered through writing groups and social media are just brilliant, and it is a constant battle to get the word out for them.  The market is saturated by so much utter trash, how do you sort the good stuff from the just plain terrible?  Hopefully my fantasy bookstore has done a bit of the work for you.  There are so many brilliant indie books to choose from, and Marvin did tell me not to go crazy on words, so I’m just gunna do my front display table of books I’ve particularly enjoyed.

On display I would have:

Jade by Rose Montague (click here ).  Awesome urban fantasy, strong MC, funny and fun.Darkly Dreaming by Chloe Hammond (click here ).  Brilliant take on Vampires, not young and sexy. Well written, smart and funny, check it out.The Rose Thief by Claire Buss (click here ). If you like Terry Pratchett you’ll love this. Very British humor, fab story, very funny.Fracture: Divergence by Erik Schubach (click here ). In an interview I said that this was the best thing I’d read this year, and whilst it’s only March, it’s still an endorsement.  It’s not great literature in any way shape or form, but it’s fun, fast paced and very entertaining. No matter what genre Erik turns his hand do he does it well, and he writes women very well. I enjoy his books much more than I thought I would!My Name is Not Alice by Angelika Rust (click ). Young Adult fantasy which makes you think.  Also, there’s magic.The Werewolf Whisperer Series by Camilla Ochlan and Bonita Gutierrez (click here ) - strong female characters, humor and werewolves, what’s not to like?

Obviously, I would also include my book, I Wore Heels to the Apocalypse (click here), which is fun, funny and has badgers.  It’s also free this Easter Weekend on Kindle, if you fancy grabbing it!

People who say authors are competition for each other have no clue how the indie community works.  The community of indie authors that I am a part of are so kind and supportive. Just check me out, doing a guest post, cos I asked and stuff… Really no clue what else I’m going to say… other than… oh… yes… I’m taking part in an Easter Egg hunt this Easter weekend! Eggciting. A group of fellow authors and moi (that’s me in French - didn’t know I was multilingual, did you? What do you mean, you’ve never heard of me?) will be hiding a series of clues across our websites.  Each egg will contain a letter, and the first person to unjumble the letters, and tell us what the word is, will win a real Easter Egg, and a bundle of eBooks from some fantastic authors! And that’s not all. Everyone who takes part gets the eBook of their choice, just for turning up.  Everyone’s a winner! The hunt starts here!

About CH Clepitt

C H Clepitt has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the University of the West of England. As her Bachelor’s Degree was in Drama, and her Master’s Dissertation focused on little known 18th Century playwright Susannah Centlivre, Clepitt’s novels are extremely dialogue driven, and it has often been observed that they would translate well to the screen.

Since graduating in 2007, she gained experience in community and music journalism, before establishing satirical news website, Newsnibbles in 2010. In 2011 she published her book, A Reason to Stay, which follows the adventures of disillusioned retail manager, Stephen, as he is thrust into village life and the world of AmDram. Clepitt’s feminist fantasy, The Book of Abisan not only crosses worlds, but confuses genres, and has been described as a crime drama with magic. She has often said that she doesn’t like the way that choosing a genre forces you to put your book into a specific little box, and instead she prefers to distort the readers’ expectations and keep them guessing. Her 2016 work, I Wore Heels to the Apocalypse does just that, as just like the characters, the readers won’t know what’s going on in this laugh out loud satirical scifi.

I won’t be posting anything this upcoming week, well maybe some poetry, but I will be back the week of April 9th. Remember if you want to help both Claire and I out, please like and share this post. Let me know how you celebrated all these holidays.  I would love to hear from you

Blog RSS

Permalink