Marissa Farrar's Blog, page 14
December 13, 2011
Day 2 of Creepfest! Meet author, Ruth Barrett!
Today I would like to welcome the very lovely Ruth Barrett! Ruth is the author of the novel 'Base Spirits', a traditional ghost story set in an old Yorkshire house. I was most impressed to learn that Ruth studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA). She's now turned her hand to writing, though her book contains influences from her love of the theatre.M.F. Hi Ruth, can you tell us all what inspired 'Base Spirits'?
R.B. I was in a Jacobean play-- 'A Yorkshire Tragedy'-- based on the true story of a nobleman murdering his family. I had a chance to visit Yorkshire during the rehearsal period, discovered Calverley Old Hall where the tragedy took place, and was given a tour and a book by a local historian. I found it creepy/cool that you can actually rent the Hall for vacations... and there are a few ghost stories about the place. I just thought it would make a great novel.
M.F. I love novels that are based on fact! Have you been writing for long and do you have any current WIPs?
R.B. I've always written stories ever since I was a child. I've published a number of short stories over the years, and am working on and off on a few projects including a novel about a Victorian revenant and a character-driven mystery series with a dark comic twist.
M.F. What are your thoughts about the recent trend for authors to 'go indie'.
R.B. It's the Wild West at this stage. A lot of people are jumping in and tossing undercooked work up onto the websites before honing their manuscripts or having them properly edited. Your name is on that book-- surely you owe it to yourself and your readers to present it in its best form! A lot of others are seeing this as a way to get their writing out and find an audience instead of waiting for a publisher's gatekeeper to decide what is read. In the end, the serious folks with good books will find a good readership base with a slow steady effort, and the ones who are hoping to cash in and become overnight millionaires will give up. Overall, it's very positive for serious writers who are frustrated with the traditional process. I also find that indie authors are a friendly, supportive bunch and that is always encouraging!
M.F. I totally agree. Too many people are commiting career suicide by putting out work that hasn't been through an editor. Unfortuntely, it's authors doing that that gives the rest of us a bad name! Your novel is a traditional ghost story - have you ever experienced a Christmas Spirit (or ghost of any kind!)
R.B Not a Christmas ghost, but yes... there have been a few incidents over the years ranging from an 'icky' feeling that something is in the room with me to actual sightings of full figures.
M.F. Ooh.. that sounds like a story I'd like to hear more of! What are you plans for this Christmas?
R.B. A few local parties with friends, and a quiet Christmas Eve in with my dashing and delightful male companion...!
M.F. Merry Christmas Ruth, and thanks for stopping by!
Head over to her blog Spirited Words to find out a bit more about Ruth and her work. Her novel, 'Base Spirits' is also available to buy from Amazon for $2.99.In 1605, Sir Walter Calverley's murderous rampage leaves a family shattered. The killer suffers a torturous execution… but is it truly the end? A noble Yorkshire house stands forever tarnished by blood and possessed by anguished spirits.
Some crimes are so horrific, they reverberate through the centuries.
As an unhappy modern couple vacation in the guesthouse at Calverley Old Hall, playwright Clara, and her scholar husband, Scott, unwittingly awaken a dark history. Clara is trapped and forced back in time to bear witness to a family's bloody saga. Overtaken by the malevolent echoes, Scott is pushed over the edge from possessive husband to wholly possessed…
Inspired by a true-life drama in Shakespeare's day, this is itself a play within a play: a supernatural thriller with a historical core.
Only one player can survive.
December 12, 2011
12 Days of Creepfest! Come join the fun!
Today is the start of Creepfest; a special blog tour for Christmas from a whole heap of authors who like things a little more on the creepy side!Each of the 12 days, I'll be hosting other authors on the hop and giving away copies of my books!
Here are just a few of the other blogs taking part. I hope you'll stop by and hopefully pick yourself up some goodies just in time for Christmas... or is it Creepmas???
R.L. Treadway's Ink
Julie Jansen: Science Fiction and Horror Writer
Jason Darrick's Fear in Words
Wrestling the Muse
No Vacation from Speculation
Thea Gregory's Zombie Bedtime Stories
The Zombie Bible
The Manicheans
Welcome to the Darkness
A Diamond in the Dark
Kraftmatic Adjustable Blog
Word Webbing
Patti Larsen: My Writing Life
Writecrastination
And to get the blog hop going, today I'm going to give away an e-copy of my novel, Alone! Just leave me a comment, or tweet or facebook about the hop to be in to win! And don't forget to leave your email address so I can get hold of you if you win!
Happy Hopping everyone!
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December 8, 2011
The Arrival of KDP Select: What Does it Mean for Authors?
I woke up this morning to do my usual routine of sales checking, but when I logged onto Amazon KDP (the digital publishing platform that allows authors to publish eBooks direct to Amazon) I found a big sign with gold letters announcing '$500,000 available for December' staring back at me.
My first thought was that I'd won some kind of Amazon lottery (honestly, that's what the sign looks like - and I suspect that is not accidental!) but then realized that probably wasn't the case, so I looked into things further.
Basically, Amazon Select is a lending library set up through Amazon. To enrol books, the titles must be exclusive to Amazon for at least 90 days. They're allowed to be published in paperback and sold elsewhere, but not in digital format. The publisher of this book will then receive a percentage of the amount of money in the pot (for December it's $500,000, but next year they say it will be $6 million) according to the number of times a customer has borrowed the book.
So, the good points:
Hopefully more money. It's another avenue in which to make royalties. Here is how Amazon explains it (though I think they've aimed high).
For example, if the monthly fund amount is $500,000 and the total qualified borrows of all participating KDP titles is 100,000 in December and if your book was borrowed 1,500 times, you will earn 1.5% (1,500/100,000 = 1.5%), or $7,500 in December.
You'll also be allowed to make your book free for 5 days, so introducing your work to a whole heap of new readers (that is, if you don't already have free books on Amazon). The exclusivity is only for 90 days, after which time your book will be able to be sold on other site.And here are the bad bits.
First of all, there's the exclusivity thing. I've often worried about the amount of control Amazon already has on an author's income. As it gets bigger and bigger, Amazon is effectively becoming a super-publisher, just without the quality control of acquisitions or editors. If something happened to Amazon (or it suddenly decided to pull all of my titles) I'll have lost about 75% of my income. Creating exclusivity only gives Amazon even more power. A member of Kindle Owners Lenders Library will only be able to check out ONE book a month. This tells me the customer is going to be pretty picky about which title they choose. Are they really likely to chance that one title on a newbie, indie author? Will it affect sales in the regular kindle store? If people can borrow the book for free, are they less likely to fork out the money to buy it?Once you sign up, you've got 3 days to change your mind, but then you're tied in for 90 days. Amazon then automatically re-signs you up for another 90 days once the first period has finish, UNLESS you go in a check a box on your bookshelf to say you don't want this to happen. Amazon does say they will send you an email 15 days before renewal, but we all know how easy it is to miss these things.So what have I decided to do? Well, I'm in the lucky position of having numerous titles, two of which are new this month and as of yet (other than Amazon) are only available to buy on Smashwords. So this morning I've unpublished them from Smashwords and enrolled them in Amazon Select. This isn't too big a deal for me because sales on Smashwords are always small. The titles I've enrolled are two short story collections--one in my Marissa Farrar name, and one in M.K. Elliott. Choosing short story books could work against me. People are probably less likely to borrow the short story titles than if I'd enrolled my novels, but I didn't want to take that kind of risk just yet.
For now it's just a case of 'wait and see'. To be honest, I'll be surprised if I get many people borrowing my books at all, but I guess it depends on what my competition is. Either way, I'll be sure to report back and let you all know how it's going and whether it's worth enrolling in KDP Select.
~*~Marissa Farrar's dark vampire 'Serenity' series, is available to buy from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Just click on the links to purchase the first in the series, 'Alone', for only $0.99.
My first thought was that I'd won some kind of Amazon lottery (honestly, that's what the sign looks like - and I suspect that is not accidental!) but then realized that probably wasn't the case, so I looked into things further.
Basically, Amazon Select is a lending library set up through Amazon. To enrol books, the titles must be exclusive to Amazon for at least 90 days. They're allowed to be published in paperback and sold elsewhere, but not in digital format. The publisher of this book will then receive a percentage of the amount of money in the pot (for December it's $500,000, but next year they say it will be $6 million) according to the number of times a customer has borrowed the book.
So, the good points:
Hopefully more money. It's another avenue in which to make royalties. Here is how Amazon explains it (though I think they've aimed high).
For example, if the monthly fund amount is $500,000 and the total qualified borrows of all participating KDP titles is 100,000 in December and if your book was borrowed 1,500 times, you will earn 1.5% (1,500/100,000 = 1.5%), or $7,500 in December.
You'll also be allowed to make your book free for 5 days, so introducing your work to a whole heap of new readers (that is, if you don't already have free books on Amazon). The exclusivity is only for 90 days, after which time your book will be able to be sold on other site.And here are the bad bits.
First of all, there's the exclusivity thing. I've often worried about the amount of control Amazon already has on an author's income. As it gets bigger and bigger, Amazon is effectively becoming a super-publisher, just without the quality control of acquisitions or editors. If something happened to Amazon (or it suddenly decided to pull all of my titles) I'll have lost about 75% of my income. Creating exclusivity only gives Amazon even more power. A member of Kindle Owners Lenders Library will only be able to check out ONE book a month. This tells me the customer is going to be pretty picky about which title they choose. Are they really likely to chance that one title on a newbie, indie author? Will it affect sales in the regular kindle store? If people can borrow the book for free, are they less likely to fork out the money to buy it?Once you sign up, you've got 3 days to change your mind, but then you're tied in for 90 days. Amazon then automatically re-signs you up for another 90 days once the first period has finish, UNLESS you go in a check a box on your bookshelf to say you don't want this to happen. Amazon does say they will send you an email 15 days before renewal, but we all know how easy it is to miss these things.So what have I decided to do? Well, I'm in the lucky position of having numerous titles, two of which are new this month and as of yet (other than Amazon) are only available to buy on Smashwords. So this morning I've unpublished them from Smashwords and enrolled them in Amazon Select. This isn't too big a deal for me because sales on Smashwords are always small. The titles I've enrolled are two short story collections--one in my Marissa Farrar name, and one in M.K. Elliott. Choosing short story books could work against me. People are probably less likely to borrow the short story titles than if I'd enrolled my novels, but I didn't want to take that kind of risk just yet.
For now it's just a case of 'wait and see'. To be honest, I'll be surprised if I get many people borrowing my books at all, but I guess it depends on what my competition is. Either way, I'll be sure to report back and let you all know how it's going and whether it's worth enrolling in KDP Select.
~*~Marissa Farrar's dark vampire 'Serenity' series, is available to buy from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Just click on the links to purchase the first in the series, 'Alone', for only $0.99.
December 1, 2011
NaNoWriMo done and dusted!
Well this years NaNo ended with the third book in my Serenity series at 50,046 words! Hurrah! I didn't write quite as much as I'd hoped (I was aiming for 60K) but as a lovely person I've recently met on twitter says, 'Aim for the stars and you'll land in the tree tops'! I guess that's what I did--I aimed big but got what I needed, so I'm happy with that.
For now, I'm taking a break from writing and I'm back to editing. Weirdly enough, after a month of pretty much no editing, I'm actually looking forward to getting back into it. My editor for The Dark Road, Shontrell Wade, sent me her edits back at the end of November and I feel bad that I've only gone through a few chapters of them. However, now NaNo is over, all my attention will be going on Dark Road edits and I'm still hoping to have the book out for the Xmas rush. Apparently there are going to be six million Kindle Fires sold this Xmas. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about what that means for eBook sales!
For now, I'm taking a break from writing and I'm back to editing. Weirdly enough, after a month of pretty much no editing, I'm actually looking forward to getting back into it. My editor for The Dark Road, Shontrell Wade, sent me her edits back at the end of November and I feel bad that I've only gone through a few chapters of them. However, now NaNo is over, all my attention will be going on Dark Road edits and I'm still hoping to have the book out for the Xmas rush. Apparently there are going to be six million Kindle Fires sold this Xmas. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about what that means for eBook sales!
November 26, 2011
Feeling Like a Fake...
I love my social networking sites. I love all the new writers and readers I've been introduced to through twitter and facebook, and all the new authors I've met and great reads I've discovered. Blogging has been a great way to meet other writers and I think all of the advice and tips I pick up on various sites or through other authors have helped my writing and promotional skills no end.
However, there are times when reading about how other authors work really makes me doubt myself. I read about authors who start with twenty-page outlines before they even write the first line. There are others who divide their stories into sub-plots and themes, and edit accordingly. There are more who understand every single grammar faux pas there is to know!
For me, I simply write the story as I go. Sometimes I don't even write the story in the right order; I just write the scenes that are shouting loudest to me at that time and re-jig it all around later! I started this month's NaNoWriMo with a single page of roughly scribbled notes and I haven't even stuck to that!
I know every writer writes in a different way, but there are definitely times when I wonder if I really have any clue if I know what I'm doing. I read all about how organised other authors seem to be, plotting every step of the way, when I've really no idea what my characters are going to do from one chapter to another, and I do get intimidated. The problem is, I honestly wouldn't know where to start when it came to plotting a novel. How are you supposed to write down what's going to happen, when it hasn't actually happened yet!
So what about you? Are you a writer? Can you not live without everything going exactly the way you planned it, or do even the super-organised find that their characters lead them astray sometimes? Is there anything out in the social networking world that leaves you doubting your own ability?
However, there are times when reading about how other authors work really makes me doubt myself. I read about authors who start with twenty-page outlines before they even write the first line. There are others who divide their stories into sub-plots and themes, and edit accordingly. There are more who understand every single grammar faux pas there is to know!
For me, I simply write the story as I go. Sometimes I don't even write the story in the right order; I just write the scenes that are shouting loudest to me at that time and re-jig it all around later! I started this month's NaNoWriMo with a single page of roughly scribbled notes and I haven't even stuck to that!
I know every writer writes in a different way, but there are definitely times when I wonder if I really have any clue if I know what I'm doing. I read all about how organised other authors seem to be, plotting every step of the way, when I've really no idea what my characters are going to do from one chapter to another, and I do get intimidated. The problem is, I honestly wouldn't know where to start when it came to plotting a novel. How are you supposed to write down what's going to happen, when it hasn't actually happened yet!
So what about you? Are you a writer? Can you not live without everything going exactly the way you planned it, or do even the super-organised find that their characters lead them astray sometimes? Is there anything out in the social networking world that leaves you doubting your own ability?
November 22, 2011
A New Release - 'The Company of the Dead'!
Hi lovely people! Today is release day for my latest collection of short stories, 'The Company of the Dead'! It's currently only available through Amazon, but will shortly be on Smashwords and then the other eBook stores in a couple of weeks.
This collection is most definitely of the horror variety. Here's the blurb...
A teenage girl living with a horrific birthmark down one side of her face discovers the cure may be worse than the affliction in 'Stained'. A team of men digging the channel tunnel hit a coffin-like box buried deep under the ocean. Will opening it unleash the end of mankind? 'The Tunnel'. A drug addict wakes to find herself trapped in a room of her worst nightmare, in 'The Tortured Room'. A young girl suffering abuse at the hands of her father find solace in a porcelain doll, but the doll is out for revenge, in 'Adeline'.A woman suffering the loss of her husband in a car accident discovers her reality isn't all it seems in 'The Sickness of Grief'.A hitchhiker gets the lift from hell in 'Thumbing it.'
Six short stories of horror; ghosts, vampires and demonic dolls. This collection total 25K in length or approximately 65 pages. Several of these stories have been previously published in the anthologies, 'Masters of Horror: Damned if you Don't'; 'Their Dark Masters: Extreme Vampire Horror'; 'Demonic Dolls: Satan's Toybox'.
It's now available to buy from Amazon for only $2.99, so just click on the link here for your copy!
November 14, 2011
NaNoWriMo - Almost at the Halfway Mark!
Hi fellow NaNoWriMo peeps. How is November treating you? Are you racing on ahead with an amazing word count that makes your counterparts turn green with envy, or are you, like me, playing catch up?
So far, this month's been a difficult one for me. I've had the whole family down with a sickness bug, I've had our second car written off which means I've had to cut back on childcare for my youngest, and I've had no internet for a few days (although that last one probably helped my word count!). But hey, we've all got lives going on outside of the madness that is NaNo and the glorious idea of holing ourselves up inside our offices, bashing away at our computers with no interruptions from the outside world simply doesn't happen.
This morning I'm at 21K and I'm aiming to hit 23K (or just short of) by the end of the day. For those who don't know, my NaNo project is the third book in my 'Serenity Series', 'Captured'. Because I plan to have this book out in the first quarter of next year, it's been important for me to make sure the book is in good shape the first time round. I haven't turned off my 'inner editor' as much as I did last year, but I think this is a good thing. I want to have 50K at the end of the month that I'm not going to need to edit 25K out of! For me, writing 25K of fluff simply isn't good time management!
'Captured' will be the last in the 'Serenity Series' but I am planning a YA spin-off series, using one of the characters from the 'Serenity' books. The first book has the working title 'Enchanted' and will be all things witchy! I've not written YA before so I'm hoping to hook up with some fellow YA writers as crit partners. I'll need to find my YA voice and release my inner angsty teen (believe me, she was never far beneath the surface, and I was the epitome of the angsty teen when I was younger). It's going to take some hard work on my part but I'm looking forward to trying something new. Who knows where a new direction will take me and stretching my skills will only help make me a better writer.
So far, this month's been a difficult one for me. I've had the whole family down with a sickness bug, I've had our second car written off which means I've had to cut back on childcare for my youngest, and I've had no internet for a few days (although that last one probably helped my word count!). But hey, we've all got lives going on outside of the madness that is NaNo and the glorious idea of holing ourselves up inside our offices, bashing away at our computers with no interruptions from the outside world simply doesn't happen.
This morning I'm at 21K and I'm aiming to hit 23K (or just short of) by the end of the day. For those who don't know, my NaNo project is the third book in my 'Serenity Series', 'Captured'. Because I plan to have this book out in the first quarter of next year, it's been important for me to make sure the book is in good shape the first time round. I haven't turned off my 'inner editor' as much as I did last year, but I think this is a good thing. I want to have 50K at the end of the month that I'm not going to need to edit 25K out of! For me, writing 25K of fluff simply isn't good time management!
'Captured' will be the last in the 'Serenity Series' but I am planning a YA spin-off series, using one of the characters from the 'Serenity' books. The first book has the working title 'Enchanted' and will be all things witchy! I've not written YA before so I'm hoping to hook up with some fellow YA writers as crit partners. I'll need to find my YA voice and release my inner angsty teen (believe me, she was never far beneath the surface, and I was the epitome of the angsty teen when I was younger). It's going to take some hard work on my part but I'm looking forward to trying something new. Who knows where a new direction will take me and stretching my skills will only help make me a better writer.
October 27, 2011
Head on Over to Something Wicked!
Hi guys, just a quickie today to let you know that to celebrate both Halloween and the release of 'Buried', I'm giving away copies of 'Alone' over at Something Wicked.
I hope you'll stop by and tell me all the fun stuff you love to do at Halloween!
I hope you'll stop by and tell me all the fun stuff you love to do at Halloween!
October 21, 2011
'Buried' is now Available to Buy!
I'm thrilled to announce that the sequel to 'Alone' (or the second book in the 'Serenity' series), 'Buried', is now available to buy from Amazon!I'm offering the book at an introductory friendship price of $0.99 for the first two weeks so everyone out there who has already read 'Alone' and has helped me by blogging, reviewing, or simply mentioning the book to their friends, can pick up a copy ultra-cheap. Of course, if you haven't read Alone and would like to, that book is also priced at $0.99 to introduce new readers to the series. Just click here for the link!
I'm also really pleased to say that Alone has now sold about 340 copies so far this month which means I will be proud of my donation to the charity, 'Refuge'! (I'm donating 25% of the revenue from sales). The novel has been in the top 100 best seller list for contemporary fantasy on Amazon and I'm hoping it will stay there!
Here's the blurb to Buried.
***Warning contains spoilers if you haven't already read 'Alone'.***
Four years after the horrific murder of her husband, Serenity is living a new life and finally putting the terrifying events behind her. Though now a stronger person, her heart craves the vampire who gave her the strength to change her life.
Desperate to forget Serenity, Sebastian hides away in the underground tunnels of Goreme, Turkey, and has thrown himself into an existence of darkness and blood.
But rumours are abound of something unnatural existing, something with the strength of a vampire but can walk in the light.
And a murderer is on the loose in Angeles Forest, someone who is killing with the ferocity of a beast. The killer is moving closer and closer to the city, searching for something...
I hope you'll get reading! For those who are interested, I'm working on the third in the series, 'Captured', which I hope to have out early 2012!
October 1, 2011
Giving Something Back: Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month in the States.
Domestic abuse can happen to anyone; whether the abuse is physical violence, controlling behavouir, or threats. In the UK, two women a week are killed by abusive partners and in the US, three women a day are killed by their spouse.
Even celebrities can be affected by domestic violence. In 2009, the world was shocked when pictures of the young pop-star, Rihanna, were leaked to the public. She'd been beaten up by boyfriend, Chris Brown after a Pre-Grammy party. Her injuries were bad enough to make her cancel her own performance at the event.
Rihanna's experience got the world talking, but the truth is that thousands of women live with domestic violence every day, and for the most part the public turn their heads. One in four women in the States report being involved in some kind of abusive relationship at some point in their lives, and those are just the women who will talk about it! Many women refuse to admit or speak about what they are experiencing at home.
When I was younger, I was in a controlling relationship. The guy in question cheated on me and I found out. After I forgave him, (more fool me) he completely changed, turning the tables on me. All of a sudden, I was the one who he was suspicious of. He berated me with constant accusations and threats. I ended up never wearing make-up and always wearing baggy clothes to avoid the endless questioning about who I was dressing up for. I stopped going out or seeing my friends.
I'm not a weak person by any means. I'm outgoing and confident, yet this person managed to get around all my defences and I didn't even realize what was happening. It wasn't until he threatened, 'If I ever see you with someone else, I'll kill him and then I'll come after you' that something clicked. It was like someone took blinkers off my eyes and I remember thinking, 'hang on, this isn't normal. This isn't right!'
I was lucky. We weren't living together and I had a great support network around me so it was easy for me to give him the boot. But I can totally understand how another woman who might be married to this type of person, who has children and their lives tied to them, would struggle to make the break.
A while ago, I ran into my ex standing in front of a local supermarket. My reaction... I hid. I ducked down behind the nearest car and then crawled between the vehicles to get into my car and drove away. Even after several years, the person created an instant reaction in me. I'm normally someone who doesn't take any shit, but from this man, I fled.
The main character in my novel, Alone, is a woman trapped in an abusive relationship. She was a challenge to write because most female characters in urban fantasy novels are strong, snarky, kick-ass heroines. My character, Serenity, was none of those things. She's tortured, both physically and mentally, by her abusive husband, Jackson and can't see an escape.
Serenity was difficult to write because I wanted the reader to be on her side without thinking she was a weak person. Her inability to leave comes from years of abuse and it's all she's ever known. She doesn't know how to exist in a life without a controlling man. I wanted to make the reader understand how it feels to be in her shoes and empathise with her as opposed to dislike her for not having the strength to tell her ass-hole husband where to go.
I've had some complaints from readers about the violence in the book and how it made them 'uncomfortable'. Good. Domestic abuse should make people feel uncomfortable. For me, these comments simply mean I did my job right and portrayed domestic violence as it should be – cruel, unnecessary and horrific.
The character in my novel does change and she also finds someone who will help her (in this case, a vampire!) but many women remain trapped in these relationships.
To give a little back, for the month of October I've decided to donate 25% of all revenue earned from the sales of Alone to the charity, 'Refuge'. It might not add up to much, but at least it's something and I hope everyone else out there will take this month to think about all the women (and some men) trapped in violent and abusive relationships and maybe even give a little something to help.
'Alone' is available to buy from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for $0.99.
Domestic abuse can happen to anyone; whether the abuse is physical violence, controlling behavouir, or threats. In the UK, two women a week are killed by abusive partners and in the US, three women a day are killed by their spouse.
Even celebrities can be affected by domestic violence. In 2009, the world was shocked when pictures of the young pop-star, Rihanna, were leaked to the public. She'd been beaten up by boyfriend, Chris Brown after a Pre-Grammy party. Her injuries were bad enough to make her cancel her own performance at the event.
Rihanna's experience got the world talking, but the truth is that thousands of women live with domestic violence every day, and for the most part the public turn their heads. One in four women in the States report being involved in some kind of abusive relationship at some point in their lives, and those are just the women who will talk about it! Many women refuse to admit or speak about what they are experiencing at home.
When I was younger, I was in a controlling relationship. The guy in question cheated on me and I found out. After I forgave him, (more fool me) he completely changed, turning the tables on me. All of a sudden, I was the one who he was suspicious of. He berated me with constant accusations and threats. I ended up never wearing make-up and always wearing baggy clothes to avoid the endless questioning about who I was dressing up for. I stopped going out or seeing my friends.
I'm not a weak person by any means. I'm outgoing and confident, yet this person managed to get around all my defences and I didn't even realize what was happening. It wasn't until he threatened, 'If I ever see you with someone else, I'll kill him and then I'll come after you' that something clicked. It was like someone took blinkers off my eyes and I remember thinking, 'hang on, this isn't normal. This isn't right!'
I was lucky. We weren't living together and I had a great support network around me so it was easy for me to give him the boot. But I can totally understand how another woman who might be married to this type of person, who has children and their lives tied to them, would struggle to make the break.
A while ago, I ran into my ex standing in front of a local supermarket. My reaction... I hid. I ducked down behind the nearest car and then crawled between the vehicles to get into my car and drove away. Even after several years, the person created an instant reaction in me. I'm normally someone who doesn't take any shit, but from this man, I fled.
The main character in my novel, Alone, is a woman trapped in an abusive relationship. She was a challenge to write because most female characters in urban fantasy novels are strong, snarky, kick-ass heroines. My character, Serenity, was none of those things. She's tortured, both physically and mentally, by her abusive husband, Jackson and can't see an escape.
Serenity was difficult to write because I wanted the reader to be on her side without thinking she was a weak person. Her inability to leave comes from years of abuse and it's all she's ever known. She doesn't know how to exist in a life without a controlling man. I wanted to make the reader understand how it feels to be in her shoes and empathise with her as opposed to dislike her for not having the strength to tell her ass-hole husband where to go.
I've had some complaints from readers about the violence in the book and how it made them 'uncomfortable'. Good. Domestic abuse should make people feel uncomfortable. For me, these comments simply mean I did my job right and portrayed domestic violence as it should be – cruel, unnecessary and horrific.
The character in my novel does change and she also finds someone who will help her (in this case, a vampire!) but many women remain trapped in these relationships.
To give a little back, for the month of October I've decided to donate 25% of all revenue earned from the sales of Alone to the charity, 'Refuge'. It might not add up to much, but at least it's something and I hope everyone else out there will take this month to think about all the women (and some men) trapped in violent and abusive relationships and maybe even give a little something to help.
'Alone' is available to buy from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for $0.99.
