Molly O'Keefe's Blog, page 21

how do you find new authors?

I love my kindle. Because I have it, I read more, buy more books and am open to buying new authors, because of book deals and downloading samples. And certainly we've seen an explosion in self-publishing bestsellers because readers have access to authors in a way we've never seen before in publishing. 
But it's also opened up a new problem. With more choices than my little mind can comprehend, how do I choose? 
I used to walk through the bookstore and choose based on authors I'd read, covers and back blurbs. So basically I let the publishers choose for me, better shelf placement definitely caught my eye. A gorgeous cover - a better chance I'd walk away with the book. 
There are lots of books out there for great prices, $1.99 even $.99 but I only have so much time to read, so the entertainment value of a book always heavily outweighs the price. So now I rely on a couple of key websites to tell me what I should be reading, along with recommendations from friends. 
So Dear Author and All About Romance have become must see websites for me, because they're honest and I trust their opinions. There are a lot of review websites out there that give nothing but great reviews, and those I stopped checking a long time ago. I won't always agree completely with Dear Author, but she does come across as completely unbiased, which is really important. 
I also check Entertainment weekly's books sections and that's sort of where it ends for me. I know I'm missing some sources, and I've love some recommendations. It's a great time to be a reader right now, but I need something to help me sort through the noise out there. 
How do you choose what books to buy? Who do you listen to in this new publishing world?

Carrie and Brody... those two crazy kids.

Okay, so I know I’m like a year late with Homeland. But I just got Showtime for free and as Eileen was talking about on Tuesday I am definitely a gobbler. While I adore my cats they don’t really offer the kind of insight into shows that I would like so I can’t really count on them for analysis. Which means I gobble freely and love it.I watched the first two seasons in about two weeks and if I could have melted the shows down like heroine and injected them into my veins I would have done it.

Why? Because despite being a great action/spy/thriller type show… it is at its heart a romance.Brody and Carrie, and their relationship, drives that show. And how twisted is that! SPOILER ALERT – if you haven’t seen the show and want to don’t read past this point.

He’s a spy, he’s married and he’s killed people. She’s bipolar and her mission is to stop him. I mean seriously I should not want them to end up together. But the whole time I watched season one, I wanted it to work out between them. Then when I didn’t think it was possible in season two, somehow the writers decided to go there anyway. It brought me back to messy heroines and heroes and why I love them. I mean NOBODY is more messed up than these two. I can’t think of a couple that has as many obstacles to a happy ending. It’s why I love it. Because through it all the power of their love keeps bringing them back together.

Or they are secretly manipulating each other for their own ends. Hard to know. But I LOVE that too!I really think it is love. I think it’s the one thing they are both holding onto to keep them sane.

It’s an amazing dynamic. One I really hope to steal (because I’m a dynamic thief) sometime in the future. But this show brings home to me the more messed up the characters are, the more impossible the  situation is, the higher the stakes, the better story you end up with. Here is to Carrie and Brody hoping those crazy lovebirds can somehow find a way to work it out!

The Great (or Terrible?) 3D Oz

Oh, how I wanted to love this movie. And oh how it disappointed me.

I've been trying to put my finger on why and here are a few thoughts:

1) This is a movie that used 3D in the worst kind of way. I love how movies over the past few years (notably Hugo, Pina, Avatar) used 3D to put you in the scene with the characters (or with the dancers in the case of Pina). And how they used the technology to make the world seem more real. Awesome.
But this movie uses it to make things come out of the screen toward the audience. In that respect it reminded me of all the really bad 3D movies from the past. Or Joe Flaherty in a vampire costume moving his face toward the camera in old SCTV sketches.



Fast fwd to about the 2 minute mark to get the first example of what I'm talking about. These old sketches were hilarious. But long... Oh, 1970's Canadian TV.
Back to Oz:  It felt as if the action sequences were planned with the central question being: How can we maximize the number of objects that shoot out into the audience's faces? Rather than: How can we make this scene exciting and further the plot?

2) The film felt really juvenile. Now, I get that people probably want to take their kids to this movie. But really little kids will be terrified. Big, scary-toothed flying gorillas coming out at you from the screen... (And I thought there could be nothing scarier than flying monkeys...) And yet the tone and dialogue and character development felt like it was aimed at 5 year olds. Or 4 year olds. I've seen movies aimed at 5 year olds which entertained me more than this did...


3) They had too many character arcs. I feel like the witches' stories got badly short changed. I get that it was a story about how the wizard of Oz ended up in Oz... but they why try to tell the wicked witch creation story at the same time? It just didn't work. Now that I'm typing this, I realize there have been tons of films where the writers successfully told both a hero and villain creation story in one (just about any comic book movie, for example) but this one did not succeed. Maybe because they spent too much time trying to be cute. Or giving us winks to things. Don't know. But the transformation of the Mila Kunis character from good to evil seemed like an incredible wasted opportunity. And I'd have loved to know more about the Rachel Weisz character too. And the politics of the good vs wicked sides of the witch world... And why witches are in charge in Oz etc. etc. So many interesting things, unexplored.

4) I've decided James Franco can't act. This might be heresy, but it's how I feel at the moment. I remember seeing him in that James Dean biopic years ago and being blown away. And the critics and everyone from that point on seemed to take it as fact that he was the next coming... But looking back on his filmology, I think he's annoyed me as many times as I've been impressed. It's like squinting and talking through his teeth, which worked for Dean, is the main tool in his actor's chest. Now... I did love him in 127 Hours... And I do admit that the Oscar hosting gig, when he acted like he was so above it all, might have turned me against him. But it does say something that I reached this, "Huh, Franco can't act," conclusion in the middle of watching Oz. I almost felt like he thought the entire movie was a big goof. Like I was watching Franco on SNL or something, doing a spoof on an Oz prequel, rather than watching him as a character in a movie.

5) Bad romance. Wow. I just thought of this while composing this post. But it was another big problem. First, they start to develop a romance with the Mila Kunis character. And we start to care about her and them. And see problems on the horizon for their relationship because clearly she's more invested in him than he is in her (which fits his philandering character to this point). So those of us who like romance subplots are rubbing our hands together thinking, this could get interesting! And then we're yanked out of that romance subplot. And another witch is tossed in his path. And for no reason other than they're on the same side in a fight, and she looks like a girl he tossed aside back in Kansas, (and she's blonde?) we're supposed to believe he's going to fall in love with her. And her with him. Insta-love. Does not work.

So, in spite of all the above, I actually didn't HATE this movie. And I thought some things were really cool. (like the way they eventually create the Oz illusion.) But overall, I was disappointed.

Has anyone else seen it?

Feel free to disagree. :)

Is sharing better?

So as a family holiday gift, we re-subscribed to Netflix's streaming service. We'd canceled our service a few years ago because we just weren't using it. There was lots of stuff on TV and if we wanted a movie, chances were it was on demand somewhere.

It is awesome. I can prop my iPad up while I'm straightening my hair and watch something entertaining. It's the perfect complement to being able to read while I blow-dry. I can watch something diverting while I'm doing the dishes or sorting the laundry or cleaning the bathroom. Because my gym has free wi-fi, I can even plug into my iPad while I'm on the elliptical!

The first thing I did was gobble through the first seasons of Downton Abbey. I've since moved on to Doc Martin and a few other things. I have been waiting patiently for a certain someone with more techno ability than me to hook up the little Roku box thing on the big TV in the living room so we can actually use it there.

Here's the problem. I have discovered and started watching several series that I think that same certain someone who also enjoy. The BBC Sherlock series. The Netflix House of Cards series. SyFy's Lost Girl series. I've watched the first episode or so of each and am DYING to watch more. We only have so much time for TV in the evening. It could be months before we get to all of them.

Here's the thing, though. My techno-savvy sweetheart has, over the years, become more and more willing to discuss shows and dissect them with me. I'm pretty sure that they'll all be more interesting if I wait and share them.

So which do you think is better? Gobbling them up on one's own (and potentially losing weight because it keeps me on the elliptical longer)? Or sharing them with someone who will obsess over them with one?

DABWAHA

It's DABWAHA time and for those of you who don't know what it is - it's a Tournament of Books, set up like the March Madness College Basketball Tourny. This is the brainchild of Dear Author and Smart Bitches and for about a month, the authors that make it into the tournament trash talk each other in good fun, bribe voters and generally not behave like the polite and respectful writers most of us are! What this really is and has always been (in my mind) besides a lot of fun and a great way to highlight some great books in our genre - it's a community builder. Not just for the readers, but the writers. And I am so thrilled to be included in this years Contemporary Romance Bracket!! There are lots of Storytelling Rules friends here - Laura Florand (who is going DOWN! See...trash talk) Cecilia Grant, Ruthie Knox, Sarah Mayberry, Simone St. James and plenty more fantastic authors. Right now, if you're interested in playing, everyone gets to write in a finalist for the coveted eight spot in each category.

Check it out, make your bracket and vote! For me!





Information about how to vote and set up your bracket is here DABWAHA

Buzz and great reviews

It still seems as though publishing is in such turmoil. E-books are still throwing everyone off and pricing is a huge topic of discussion. Should E-books be cheaper? What is the magic price, and watching authors create E-book bestsellers has been pretty fascinating, but incredibly hard to define. 
In all of it though, some great books and authors, seemed to have, gotten lost in the shuffle. I loved the Meljean Brooks series of steampunk books. I have no idea what her sales numbers were, but to me she should be a much bigger name based on the strength of those books, and the reviews certainly agreed with me. 
Some others that come to mind are Cecilia Grant, (drunk writers Molly, Maureen, Stephanie and Eileen are also included in this list), and Michele Sagara, who is a new author to me, but her Fantasy novels are amazing. 
I don't know sales numbers, but I watch book stores to see what books they highlight, and there don't seem to be any really new authors breaking through that aren't erotic, or self-published new adult that are breaking into the lists. 
I remember reading Madelyn Hunter's first trilogy because of the amazing reviews and sure enough, her next few books really propelled her into bestselling status. Sherry Thomas also seemed to really get a huge sales kick based on her amazing reviews, but lately I'm not seeing the same connection. 
Am I wrong on this? I'd really love to hear about some books that seemed to get a real boost from great reviews and positive buzz. Anyone have any sense of who the next JR Ward, or Eloisa James will be? 

I Don't Know What I'm Doing... Seriously.

So An Act of Persuasion is out now in stores. Let me take some time to promote…Please buy it... Only if you want to...  There I’m done. This is my fifteenth book for Harlequin if I’m counting a novella I did and as I’m reading the reviews, some really good, others not so good, it occurs to me that I really don’t know what I’m doing.

Some folks on Goodreads have said nice things like my characters are multifaceted. Some have said they simply can’t connect with them. And as I’m writing my next book (the final book in the Tyler Group series) I told myself to take in that criticism and try to work on it. Leave the good parts, fix the bad parts and maybe I’ll have a book EVERYONE loves. Which I know isn’t possible. There is no such book that can fit everyone’s taste.

But still I do believe in trying to improve. Better writing, better story, better characters. Except honestly truly, I really don’t know how. Which I know is the lamest thing ever. I could read books on craft. I could attend more workshops at RWA. I could think about my art and edit more. After doing this for so many years though I have to say it just comes out. I think getting feedback from critique partners has made a tremendous difference. I think working out plot issues with people has helped rather than rely solely on my decisions. But at the end of the day, the book is the book. The characters are the characters. Sometimes people are going to love them and sometimes they are not.

I wrote the Doctor’s Deadly Affair and like all my books I really liked it at the time I was writing it, but there wasn’t anything I felt that set it apart other than maybe I took a little more risk. But that book got nominated for a RITA! How did I do that? I want to be that good again. Molly recently read my last WIP for my book out this October. She said it was the best thing I’ve ever done for Harlequin. How is that possible! I didn’t change anything, or do anything different than any time I’ve done it before. In fact going through what was the worst time in my life, I have no idea how I managed to produce anything.

Now I’m on to another book, and I’m struggling, and I’m behind. And I think it’s dreck. In my head I think, make these people more relatable! Do a better job! Improve! But I’ve given my heroine freaking amnesia. Who the heck can relate to amnesia? And I know in my heart that I could read a hundred books on craft and maybe it will help a little… but in the end… the book will be the book. I feel slightly guilty confessing this on a blog that’s aimed at breaking down the craft of storytelling. But if someone asked me how it was that I wrote a book that got nominated for a RITA and a book that at least two people have said they couldn’t even finish it… and what makes them different… not a clue.

Because I have no idea what I’m doing.

On Mothers in Fiction

For most women, one of the most important and sometimes difficult relationships in their lives is with their mother.

She's the one we first love, on whom we depend, the one who teaches us our first important lessons and the one who makes us the most crazy when we are teens. Even once we are adults, the relationship isn't an easy or straightforward one because as grown up and successful we might become in our lives, we are still that baby she nursed, or that toddler she scolded.

For this reason, I think a lot of authors, especially in genre fiction, avoid exploring mother/daughter relationships. When I first started writing, I remember a workshop or article I read that suggested we find ways to remove parents from our stories. And in young adult fiction, unless the story is about the mother relationship, usually one or both parents are also absent.

Now, I think the reasons aren't just avoidance or laziness... I think the idea in, say, the romance genre, is to remove the heroine's most obvious source of support, with the aim of making her life more difficult. And in YA fiction it's definitely to avoid having a parent solve all the story problems. If a teen has functioning, effective parents at her disposal, why wouldn't she just run to them when problems arise? She'd seem dumb if she didn't, and YA fiction is about the teens driving the stories and solving the problems...

BUT... all that said. With competent adults as protagonists, adding a mother to a story can add another dimension, not just of support, but of conflict. But it's difficult conflict to mine for many of us, because it forces us to dig deep into our own relationships with our mothers... It can be painful and show pieces of ourselves some of us would rather keep hidden. :)

And that's why I admire authors, like Eileen, who are willing to explore these complicated relationships as part of their bigger story and/or series. And Melina's ongoing relationship with her mom adds a richness to this fabulous series as well as complications.

How about you?

Readers: Do you like when mother/daughter relationships are included in stories?
Writers: Do you include your protagonists' moms in your books?

Book Launch Party!

I had my book launch party this past Friday night at the Avid Reader in Davis on Friday night. It was great fun. We had a fabulous crowd.

My mom and my youngest son made it.


We sold tons of books. Had a great time. I should have had one (or possibly two) more bottles of red wine and could have used one (possibly two) less bottles of Prosecco. Also, I would have liked not have turned into Marco Rubio during my speech. I can't decide if the room was that hot because it was crowded or if I was having a hot flash. At any rate, I was glowing a little more than I would have liked. Other than that, it was great! I wish you all could have been there!

Writing a series, mythology and research or some Questions for Eileen....

I can't believe I haven't asked Eileen these questions about the Messenger Series before but I think in large part I've been so charmed by Melina, so swept up in Eileen voice that the usual questions of construction haven't even occurred to me. But In Dead Letter Day they occur to me, not because Melina is any less charming or fascinating or heart-rending, because she's only more so. And Eileen's voice is as warm and inclusive and funny and smart as ever.

But the world takes a turn, in this book and now...now I've got some questions.

1. Let's talk about research and your bad guy selection...I love that each book has sort of a Mythology of the week vibe, I think it's FASCINATING. And I realize how perfectly set up the world is to do this and I need to seriously tip my hat to you!!! How do you choose which mythology to use? Because it is obscure stuff. Do you know all this stuff? Or is there tons of research?


It's really one of the great things about setting the series in northern California. There really isn't an ethnicity that didn't make its way here at some point in time or another. At least, not that I can think of off the top of my head. So . . . how do I choose? The pathway to the Chinese vampires in the first book was so convoluted that I'm not entirely sure how I got there now. I know there was a lot of time spent clicking links from one web page to another until the kiang shi jumped out at me.

For Dead Letter Day, I know exactly when I settled on Norse mythology. It was seriously something my spin instructor said as we walked out of class one night. He's very into Norse mythology and he brought up something I'd never heard of and couldn't even spell. It went steamrolling from there. In terms of research, the internet really is a vast and amazing place. I'm amazed at how much is at our finger tips and how much time I spend looking at cat videos rather than learning.


2. How much planning went into this series in terms of Melina's character arc/storyline? You've thrown some pretty delicious curve balls at us, even from the first book - how much of that did you know going in? How much more do you have planned out? Planning and selling a series is one of the hardest things to do - seriously, I'm amazed at all the balls that have to be kept in the air. Can you tell us a little about that process for you?


I actually didn't conceive of it as a series. I had the idea for the first book, wrote the synopsis, wrote some pages and sent it all to my agent who said that we needed to pitch it as a series. That meant I needed to come up with idea for at least two more books, none of which we've actually used, by the way. There were somethings I knew going in. There's a bit of a love triangle at the beginning of the first book. I didn't want to keep revisiting that. I get a little irritated with heroines of series who still haven't made up their minds 7 or 8 books in. I didn't want her to keep dealing with the same issues over and over.

I am forcing her to grow up fast. Part of it is not wanting her to tread water in one place. Part of it is not knowing how many books I'll have to tell her story. Part of it is, in the words of Stephanie Doyle, the need to throw my heroine in her personal Dumpster.

I get a little nervous sometimes because I don't want to contradict the rules of my own universe. I realize it should be easy to avoid that pitfall, but I don't always remember every little thing I've said in the previous books. A lot of authors talk about creating a "bible" for their series. I wouldn't even know what to write down. Something that's a throw-away line in one book can become a more serious issue in another. Since I've often written another type of book in-between Messenger books, I don't remember every little detail.


3. Can you tell us what's next - even the mythology?


I think I know what I want to do with Melina's personal life. I'm toying with some Filipino mythology right now, but I don't know enough about it yet to commit. We'll see.

FILIPINO MYTHOLOGY?!!! I'm in, Eileen. I'm in. Wherever you're going to go - I'm with you.