Cordelia Kingsbridge's Blog, page 12

with news of the new bostonverse coming soon... got me thinking again. what if officer cardona responds to a complaint about two kids messing around in a car at the park late at night, just to find out riley is one of them? :3c

Ooh, I love it! Sounds like a scenario ripe for fanfiction. ;-)

How does it work with reviews on sites like Amazon etc as an author of a book? Do you get notified of them or do you actively have to go and read them?

No, Amazon doesn’t notify you - but I don’t read my reviews anyway! The only reviews I read are the ones from professional trade publications like Publisher’s Weekly. Reader reviews are for the sake of other readers, not for the author. Honestly, I don’t think any authors should be on sites like Amazon and Goodreads to check reviews on their own work - I’ve only ever seen it cause trouble.

That being said, I do greatly appreciate it when people leave reviews, because it helps bring in other readers so that the book can potentially find a wider audience. And I love talking to readers who reach out to me with their thoughts on my works - to me, that’s a much different context. It’s the distinction between being invited into a conversation and eavesdropping on one.

idk if you've heard but tumblr is starting a purge of all nsfw content creators. are you worried about how your blog might be affected? do you have plans to move to a new platform?

Oh, I’ve definitely heard, and I’m both appalled and exhausted by it. The purge shouldn’t affect my blog directly, because written erotica is explicitly excluded from the ban, and as far as I can remember, I don’t have any images on here that would violate the new draconian rules.

That being said, as a matter of principle, I don’t want to continue using Tumblr if they really do go through with this. I’m currently debating other options, but regardless, you can always contact me via Twitter and Facebook!

Hi! I have a couple questions- 1. is the upcoming Boston verse you are working on a continuation of that one chapter where Andres and Riley were discussing a scene party in a restaurant? And 2. I've been super super busy and I forgot to update my tier- if

Yes! I’ve been working on the next installment of the Boston ‘verse (The More the Merrier) for two years, LOL. A while back, I shared a sneak peek of it on Patreon. At the time, I didn’t realize how crazed things were going to get for me, and I thought I’d be able to finish it sooner. That sneak peek is still on Patreon, though I don’t have it linked in my masterlist, so you’d have to dig back a bit to find it.

And a yes to your second question as well - whenever you pledge to a certain tier on my Patreon, you get access to all of the content for that tier that I’ve ever posted. They’re not one-time deals! 

Some are time-sensitive in that they involve reader participation, like the Character Q&As. But in those cases, the finished product remains permanently available after the participation stage has ended.

I have a masterlist of the Bonus Features in the intro section of my Patreon that will be updated every month, so new patrons at that tier can easily access past content. I’ll be doing the same kind of masterlist for the Cordelia’s Workshop content as well, though I haven’t gotten to that yet.

This is a really great question, so the next time I update my Patreon’s intro section, I’ll include a clarification about this. Thank you!

Hello! Do you attend cons or book events? I would love to have an opportunity meet you and have you sign one of my books! I love your work :) I hope you are having a nice day!

Hi! That’s very kind of you, thank you so much. :-)

To date, I haven’t attended any industry events, for the simple reason that I don’t have the financial resources to do so. But it’s something I’d love to do in the future if that changes (or if there’s one close to where I live). If I ever do plan to attend an event like this, I’ll definitely publicize that on social media well ahead of time. Thanks again!

Hi! I recently discovered your Boston series and love it so much. I was wondering if you have plans on continuing it?

Thank you! I do plan on continuing the Boston ‘verse - in fact, I’m hoping to get the next installment out sometime this month, because it’s actually holiday-themed.

What I’m doing now is re-reading the ‘verse from start to finish, to refresh myself on the canon and reacquaint myself with the characters’ voices before I try to dive back in. December’s Patreon Bonus Feature will also be a Character Q&A with Riley and Andres, which should give me added inspiration for the next installment.

how’s your krav training going ?

I’ve actually been taking a break from Krav. I stopped going when my depression got really bad, and even though I’m feeling better now with treatment, I’m still struggling to get certain aspects of my life back on track. 

One of the most stubborn symptoms of depression for me is “will paralysis”, where I know I need to do something - I may even want to do it - and I just can’t. Like, literally can’t make my body move to do it. Anything that involves leaving the house still causes me problems there. But I do take my dog Molly on several long walks a day, so at least I’m getting some exercise for the time being!

I along with many others associate you with probably setting the bar when it comes to writing different cultures/races with respect and diversity. Someone has commented on one of my online stories, saying that describing the male dark skinned character as

That’s very kind of you to say, thank you! And the fact that you apologized to the reader, and are now seeking advice and education, is a great sign.

Without having read either the story or the reader’s comment myself, one thing I can say for sure is that “hulking” is not the best word choice in this situation. It has a lot of negative connotations. You want to portray the character as a gentle giant and not a brute, but the truth is, when I hear the word “hulking”, I do associate that with qualities like brutish, menacing, clumsy, lumbering, etc. I can’t think of any positive connotations for the word at all. So I’d certainly suggest removing it!

As for more specific advice, however, it’s important to remember that I’m still a white author. Advice on writing characters of color ideally comes from authors of color! There’s a great resource right here on Tumblr: Writing With Color. Check out their FAQ and their Navigation page for some very in-depth discussions on this subject. You can also ask them questions directly, but be sure that you read their guidelines first, because they do get a ton of asks.

Best of luck, and happy writing!

Where did you study in Pittsburgh?

The University of Pittsburgh! Haha. I have an undergraduate degree in anthropology and linguistics from Pitt, and I got my MSW from the same university’s School of Social Work.

I just wanted to say, I'm an opera singer, and your description of opera through Desi's eyes in the latest Assistant Verse made me tear up a little. It's exactly how I feel, and it's rare that people feel the same way, when it's not their livelihood (in my

Wow, that’s amazing!! I’m so happy and relieved to hear this, because (confession time) I’ve never been to an opera myself. *hides*

I spent an entire morning researching the emotional effects of opera from the perspective of people in that community - I knew I wanted the performance to sweep Desi away, so I wanted to make sure I knew how a person would respond to an opera vs., say, a symphony orchestra. I’m thrilled that the description had an emotional impact on you, and thank you so much for sharing your reaction with me.

Also, now I really do want to go see Samson et Dalila!