Susan Elizabeth Curnow's Blog, page 9

Why?

I've never fully been able to answer the question: Why do you want to be
published? Not to my own satisfaction anyway. Not when it is such a
heartbreaking industry in general. I am guessing it is simply the need to share
what I write. If it were merely an ego boost, to have folk say, boy, she's good,  I would be shouting from the treetops about how wonderful I am and that if you  don't read my next book well, you really aren't on my radar.


The thing is, it is the content which matters, not necessarily the person who
wrote it. And yes, it does have to be good. It has to capture the imagination on
several visceral levels. It has to be well-written enough that a reader doesn't
stop to think about the writing so much as 'fall' into the story. It has to have
characters you can't live without or characters you want to kill. It has to have
a voice you recognize, a world you can live in for a short time, and sometimes
an escape from reality in whatever genre you choose.


If you ask readers why they read, including myself, most times they will say
it is to escape 'real life'. It's just a quieter method than TV or movies or
computer games.


The best books are those where inside your mind you are there. Totally and
utterly wrapped within so that your mind sees the characters instantly and knows
where they are. Where you cry when they are hurt and laugh when they find joy
and yell out loud at the 'enemy'.


I've found that in many books, and if I were to answer that question above, I
hope you can find it in mine. Because it was all those books I've read
that made me want to write and share, so that you might, for just a brief time,
fall into another world, another place, other minds.

Live. Laugh.


Today's photo - somewhere in the Rockies - Susan Curnow

Why Bats? (Or why Sue is batty)

She looks like she should be dancing.

I said in a previous post what inspired me to write "The Warriors of the Land", but it was also pictures of bat skeletons. They vary a lot but really, underneath that furry exterior, they aren't so different from us. If their evolutionary path wandered away from ours, it still remains pretty close. Their wings for example are merely the extension of hands. They've been around since the dinosaurs and you can successfully combine their blood with ours. At least, it has been done for medical research. Another question I asked when researching was, can they walk upright? Well, yes, some of them can, kind of. Mr. Demodus, our wonderful vampire bat does so when feeding, the delightful creature. He's about the ugliest thing you've ever seen, too. There are some cute ones, though. Take the Indonesian fruit bat with his six foot wingspan and his bright eyes, and mop of fuzzy red hair, and the teeny tiny little pipistrelle, which weighs less than a ten cent piece. A bat for every location and situation. Neither are they 'blind' as myth suggests. They are very clever with their echo-location however.

So, since science fiction is very often about the 'what-if' factor I took the premise of, what if you combined the two, and, why would you want to? Which produced about twenty four thousand words on why I thought someone should. *G*

Yes, all right, I have a  weird imagination, but a couple of things (subjects) tickled me here. How close bats were on the evolutionary scale to humans, and genetic manipulation. Such a touchy subject that one. Fiddling about with genes; creating the 'perfect' human, or mix and matching to create some kind of hybrid. What is scientifically possible and impossible.
Throw in some 'rights'. I mean, who does have the right to own a world? Humans are very arrogant, and they don't change, well, not an awful lot. That could be because we are the most efficient killers out there, or one of them. We are at the top of the chain and to stay there we don't always do nice things.

No such thing as 'can't' in my book. But if you want to find out why someone decided to play with genes, you will just have to read "Warriors". In "The Voice of the Land" I take a physically perfect clone and throw him to the wolv...er bats. Indoctrinated from birth to obey his makers, he must make a decision. And that decision might alter the whole human race.

Today's photo comes from the Natural History Collection.

Questions

This is Henna wondering if I am edible, and, yes, it was before I dyed my hair :)

Okay, I have some questions. Since I have a new novel coming out in April, I admit to still floundering around with the promotion/marketing thingy. Although I do take it very seriously, I still refuse the 'buy my book mentality', so here are some questions for you:

When searching for a new e-book or physical book to read, how do you go about it? Is it purely by word of mouth? Great cover and blurb, or price? Or a combination.

What kind of giveaways most draw you to pick up a new read?

Shiny things, a free book, or... insert what makes you wish to buy from a particular author.

How often do you actually go to an author's website to read about them?

Even if the author is little known - a newbie - what is it that draws you to try their writing?

Thank you in advance. I really appreciate your input.

Today's photo, Henna, Jelmer and me - Richard Curnow

Cover For Anthology

The theme of this anthology is mythical Celtic creatures.  It is open
for submissions until the last day of February, 2013.


Thus far, we have the following contributors:
•Henry Szabranski, author of  "The Unforgiven Dead"
•C.N. Lesley, author of "The Seventh Child" and "The Hurdy Gurdy Man"
R.J. Marie, author of "Now Shall the Battle be Won"
•Susan Elizabeth Curnow, author of "Undine"
•Crash Froelich, author of "Beware the Morrigan, my child"
May-Lin Iversen Demetriou, author of "The Thief"


The word count for submissions should range from 2-5K.  You may write in
any style of fantasy except children's stories and erotica. If your story
gravitates toward horror, please make it more intellectual than gory.  

So, there is still room for more stories if you are so inclined. Please contact Artema Press if you wish to be send a story for consideration. This is a high-quality anthology, so only send your best :)

Up and Coming News

I am delighted to say that I will have two more books published this year. The first is the "Magic Creatures from Celtic Mists", an anthology in which my story 'Undine' is within. That will be in April.  I will post the cover and a list of fellow authors as soon as I know them. Suffice it to say, there are some stunning stories within.
Around May, the first of a science fiction trilogy will be released, which already has the blurb here on my website under 'Warriors of the Land", and that will be "The Voice of the Land". Many more details about that to come along. The trilogy is not a conventional trilogy where one story follows upon another but is set five hundred years apart, to follow the development of several species. So each book is a stand alone.
I had fun doing research for this one, learning about genetics and bats. Closest I can compare it to is Martha Wells' 'Raksura' stories, although this is sci fi and not fantasy. Or you could simply call it 'speculative'.

The blurb for the first book is thus:

Could a world be sentient? Cavan's natives think so and are prepared to
defend their belief.

When one of Victor Grantham's clones commits suicide, he sends another
to the world to discover why.

Bred to be a killing machine, Steven Carogan discovers a world that
will transform him, both physically and mentally.

On Earth, there are those who believe Cavan and its resources belongs
to them. The Cavalana believe otherwise, but how will they persuade Carogan to
break through years of indoctrination to prove it?

Very excited about both of these books!

I'm Baaaack!

The flower epitomizes Hawaii. That glorious abundance of green things, flowers and an amazingly deep turquoise sea. It was a wonderful trip. To go from negative temperatures to the balmy winds of Oahu. From dressing like an Inuit to wearing shorts and sleeveless t-shirts and the occasional sarong. My goodness yes, I did wear a skirt and I didn't even feel uncomfortable doing so.
Our hotel was excellent. Hale Koa was built for the US military to have R & R and many take advantage of it. Yes, of course we went to a Luhau and we went to pearl Harbour, but otherwise she just toured, drinking in the scenery and drinking mai tai's on the beach listening to music and watching people dance. Very relaxing, although my body insisted on waking between 5 and 6 a.m every morning. Which just gave me more time to enjoy everything.
No, I didn't like the abundance of people, but then, I never have. I hated the streams of folk at Pearl Harbor simply because somehow it took some of the dignity away from the memorial, but, of course, everyone had as much right to be there as I had. And they should see it as a reminder of what war can do. Uncanny to see a rusting ship resting on the bottom of the harbor, and,yes, the oil does truly still rise. Almost like the spirit of those who were trapped below.
Tearful moments at the Luhau because of course, a military place, the announcer decides to do a tribute to fallen soldiers and there are Laurel and I holding a candle with tears streaming down our faces, but, it was all good.
Best parts were simply watching the crashing waves and listening to such happy birds singing in paradise. Plus meeting the author, Kate Elliott for a coffee. Such a nice lady.
Would I go back? heck yeah, but probably to one of the smaller islands with less hustle and bustle. I barely touched a computer, which was actually a good thing. We had very limited access and I couldn't handle Laurel's Mac in any case. Horrors, it didn't have a mouse and very sensitive touch system. and I am such a creature of habit.
Nice, though to forget about stuff for a while, which was the whole point. Did miss my dh like crazy, and the animals. My horse just about ate me, the cat is sucky as hell and Makoiyi was just so pleased to be back where he belongs.
Will get back to the writing thing later, I promise. I am stillb asking in my tan

Hawaii

Tomorrow, I am going here:

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Koa Hotel is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Therefore I will probably not be blogging, although I may go on the internet now and then :)

One of my best friends decided that I should go. So I am. Let us hope the beautiful Hawaiian sunsets will give me plenty of inspiration and that I come back rested and roaring to write!

Behave yourselves while I am away

Ha!

Well. As I said the other day, I entered Nathan Bransford's competition for a bit of fun.

Here: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/

So please go along and vote for your favourite, because there are many to choose from.

Today's picture is Castel del Monte, the castle which inspired "Vicadia" and thus the opening paragraph. credit for the picture goes to Heritage Sites

Do You write From the Heart?

You don't need to know everything about an author. In fact, oft times, people don't even want to. They just want to read a book and not have even a picture of an author to colour their thoughts.
But I wanted to say a couple of things because it has been playing on my mind.
The handsome young man on the left is my son. He passed away near a couple of years ago at the age of 25. Not in combat, but certainly doing his duty. For a very long time I couldn't write at all.
The reason i bring this up is actually kinda funny. For a bit of fun I entered a competition for 'first lines', and it was merely a bit of fun, honing the craft so to speak. And one thing I noticed immediately was how many people opened their novels with death.
I'm afraid you join a special club when you lose someone close to you, especially someone so young and who is your son. Yes, I write about death, too, but for most (thank goodness) it belongs in the realms of fiction.
I remember years ago a kid at my youngest son's school, when Richard, in the picture above, went to speak to the children about being a soldier. Inevitably the first question a kid asks is, "Have you killed anyone?" because the misconception is that this is what soldiers do. And it is a misconception. A soldier defends his country. If he must lift his gun to do it, he will, but it certainly isn't his first priority.
And within the realms of fiction there are heroes who do just that. They defend what they believe in, and sometimes that results in a death. Although it is fiction, if that doesn't touch you, then you shouldn't be writing it. It doesn't matter at what age a person dies. It hurts. And I saw so many times in those opening lines that people really didn't understand that. They saw it as drama, as shock value, as a way to pull people in. Instead of being an integral part of the story.
I guess with all the vampires and zombies people often don't see death as real. And maybe it is because I have another perspective that I even see this at all. Maybe other people won't even care about what I care about. But, death is a last resort, not an opening salvo. It is when all other avenues have been walked down. So when writing about it, feel it, don't trivialise it.

Books I've Read - Jan

A round up of books I've read during January and a bit of February.








The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells - I discovered Martha Wells through another writer's blog and boy was I missing out. I picked this up because I wanted to start at the 'beginning'. I wasn't disappointed. I love this lady's writing.

A Bullet for Carlos - Giacomo Giammatteo - This one surprised me, so well-written. The surprise was because I am not a mystery reader, but this kept me riveted.

Black Tiger - Greta van der Rol - read because I wanted to support Greta's cause to help save the tiger. Again, I'm not a huge romance reader but this was sheer fun. Just like her sci fi romances.

Shards of Honour - Lois McMaster Bujold - People go on about Bujold so I began at the beginning. I have read later novels by the lady but it is interesting to begin with a debut novel. I enjoyed it a lot.

The Siren Depths - Martha Wells - Third in the Raksura trilogy. Enjoyed as much as the others, what can I say?

Call of the Herald - Brian Rathbone - I picked this up because it was being blasted over twitter and I was curious as to what is out there. Not bad, although I would have loved to have seen what a good editor might have done. I found it a bit preachy and everyone was terribly nice while they were saving worlds.

Midnight at the Spanish Gardens - Alma Alexander - Picked up because of someone's review and because the lady was kind enough to do an interview for me. I am only halfway through. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this. Not my usual 'cup of tea', but now I am hooked. I'll let you know when I finish it.