M.B. Feeney's Blog, page 17
November 25, 2013
To Be Loved - Andrea Goodson - Cover Reveal
It is finally time to share the cover for To Be Loved which will be availableDecember 26th, 2013 on Kindle!
To Be Loved is a mature, YA novel intended for readers 16+. *Warning* Contains some strong language and realistic references relating to sexual situations, drug use, and alcohol consumption.Avery Brooks is 16 years old and thinks she has everything she'll ever want. A nice house, a wealthy father, and a fast-paced social life complete with the best parties a girl could ask for. After her world changes when her father demands she go to live with her mother in the small town of Elkins, West Virginia, Avery finds that having it all might be something different than she originally thought.
She settles into life in Elkins fairly easily. Getting along well with her mother, making new friends, and setting her sights on the most desired boy in her new school, Graysen Bennett, seem like a pretty good plan to straighten herself out and get back at her father for making her come to the small town.
Avery quickly finds herself the center of Graysen's attention and things are working out just as she had planned, at least it seems that way. What else could she possibly need than To Be Loved?
ExcerptGreen. That’s all that laid before me, as far as the eye could see. Nothing but a long, rolling landscape of trees that were so closely put together you could barely discern one individual trunk from a hundred, yet so individual in their own beauty you could hardly compare one to the other. It was one of the most crowded and mountainous landscapes I had ever laid my eyes on and, though I had been here before, I didn’t remember it looking this way. I suppose as a young child I had my thoughts set on other things. Excitement about seeing my mother, the adventure of being in a new place. I wouldn’t have noticed the change in my surroundings as much as I did now.
The silence deafened my ears and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as the hum of the car’s engine continued to beckon the cozy lull of a much needed nap. But I knew I was due to arrive at my destination soon so sleep wasn’t exactly an option at this point. My father sat in the driver’s seat next to me, blankly staring at the road. Occasionally he would shoot an angry glare in my direction, yet he remained speechless. It had been this way for the past 9 hours, the longest 9 hours of my life.
My heart pounded with uncertainty and doubt. The anxiety I felt over what was happening was enough to keep anyone wide awake so I wasn’t sure exactly why I felt I could sleep anyway. I didn’t have a clue why my father chose to drive me here rather than flying. Affording a few plane tickets wouldn’t have been a stretch for him and definitely would have made the trip easier on us both. I sure would have appreciated a quick journey to my new home rather than the longest silent treatment I had ever endured. I had to figure that was probably the reason why, that he wanted it to be long, drawn out, and uncomfortable. Sort of a punishment for me and my shenanigans from the past weekend I suppose.
The interstate traffic was busy. No doubt because it was a Monday morning, just reaching the top of the hour at about 8:00am. But it seemed that even the busiest traffic atop the solitary mountain top we traveled upon wasn’t even a fraction of what the calmest part of the driving day was like back in Chicago.
We had been in the car all night with only two stops for bathroom breaks. He hadn’t even asked if I was hungry, most likely hoping I would die of starvation and put his mind at ease. He had made it abundantly clear that he was sick of ‘dealing with my crap’ and wasn’t going to do it anymore.
My weekend had been pretty wild, as most of my weekends were and this unexpected road trip that I now found myself venturing upon had been a result of, as my father had put it, ‘the last straw’. Once he had realized that I had, yet again, thrown another party at his house on Saturday night, he kind of snapped out. The normal argument ensued. Him stating how irresponsible and ungrateful I was while I defended myself and let him know exactly how much I resented him and his ridiculous rules. Though, in secret, I could understand his anger. After all, there were a few valuable items missing from the house and some drunken kid from school had broken one of my step-mother’s favorite antique vases. But I wasn’t about to let on in anyway that I felt guilty. Had he been aware of that detail he woulkd have run with it as far and fast as he could. No, I was the poor kid whose Dad was a real drag and I was sticking to it.
After all of the screaming eventually ended, he chucked my cell phone against living room wall, smashing it into a thousand pieces. Quite honestly, that upset me much more than his random lecturing. I was so pissed off that I went to my room, promising to never speak to him again but knowing it wasn’t true. I told myself that this situation would end as all of our arguments usually did. I would falsely promise to be good and follow the rules and he would pretend to believe me. He would eventually get me a new phone and all would be well again. Well, at least until the next time I got caught, which wasn’t very often. But, to my surprise, that wasn’t at all how it played out.
Well done, Dad.
After about 3 hours of uneasy sleep, I was rudely awoken by his loud demand on Sunday morning to get up, pack my stuff, and be ready to leave by 8:00pm that night.
I don’t know why it bothered me so much that I was apparently no longer welcome to live in my father’s house. I really didn’t even want to be there anymore anyway. We hadn’t been getting along for months and although I always liked Deena, lately she had really taken on the appearance of the wicked stepmother in my eyes. It seemed she always had something to say about how I dressed, where I went, who my friends were, what my grades were. Blah, blah, blah. Deena’s favorite line was ‘I only want what’s best for you’, and she used it every chance she got. After being told countless times that I had to be respectful of my father or be careful of how I dressed because I didn’t want to attract the wrong people, her best intentions quickly became unwelcome. The wrong people? What was she even talking about? Deena had begun to seem more and more snobbish with each passing day and though I hadn’t said it, I was secretly glad to get away from her, no matter how good her intentions had been.
Dad on the other hand was another story. We used to get along pretty well until the past year or so. Then, we suddenly transitioned from about 16 years of laughter and sharing everything with each other to a relationship in which I desperately tried to avoid even being in the same room with him. He always made such a huge deal out of everything. Yes, everything. Even the smallest infraction, say a detention at school, had the ability to push him right over the edge. He would start going on and on about responsible behavior and the next thing I knew, we would be in a full blown fight with each other.
Was he never a kid himself? Did he never make any mistakes? What was the big deal anyway? My father always acted toward me as if I was throwing my life away or something. I was an honor student, I ran cross country, I did what was expected of me, usually at least. So what if I partied when I had the chance? Work hard, play hard, right? Isn’t that what kids do? So If I was doing everything I thought I had to, what was the big deal if I screwed around a bit on the weekends? I really just didn’t get it. I understood he was peeved about me partying in the house. He went on and on about how he could lose his license to practice law and if I were to get in any legal trouble, that if we were caught by the police he could be charged with providing alcohol to minors because we were in his house. And he absolutely, under any circumstances, would not tarnish his stellar reputation just to bail me out. He had said countless times that he just wouldn’t be able to do that, as if anyone had ever even asked him to do such a thing. And my favorite, my absolute be all end all statement was ‘Avery, you’re 17 years old. You just don’t get it.’
No shit.
I guess he was right, I didn’t get it, I still don’t. I wasn’t a drop out, I wasn’t a drug addict, well, not as far as he knew anyway. I wasn’t pregnant, the closest I had even come to having sex was a quick rendezvous with Joe McCall in the bathroom at my friend Sarah’s house. That incident ended with him walking away from me, obviously disappointed that I wouldn’t give in to his desire and me laughing up his absolute awkwardness with Sarah on her back porch while smoking a joint.
Dad didn’t know about that. In fact, Dad didn’t know about most of the things I did. He had only ever caught me in about a quarter of my lies, so I really couldn’t understand why he seemed to think I was so bad.
He had said something to my mother yesterday when he called her. Apparaently he thought it decent to give her one day’s notice that I was moving to Elkins to live with her. His exact words were “Good luck, Melanie.”
When I had overheard him say that to her on the phone, that comment instantly set me on fire. As if this entire situation was my fault! Sure, I had a party, and an amazing one at that, and it was at his house while he and Deena were out. So what? A few things went missing which obviously wasn’t my fault. There was booze there but I hadn’t been drinking that night. I didn’t do anything wrong at all that night as a matter of fact. Not that I didn’t drink on other occasions. But in my own house? I would have been stupid to do something like that. It wasn’t as if I was aiming to get busted. A lot of my friends were drinking that night, but how was that my fault? If he wasn’t so uptight all the time about everything I did, maybe I wouldn’t have to try and sneak parties in when I could.
So when I heard that statement that he had said to my mom, I made a decision.
Call it anger, call it revenge, call it whatever you want, but I was immediately bound and determined to make sure that my Mom had all the good luck he had wished her. That same day, the day he told me I was moving to the small, rural town of Elkins, West Virginia, I decided that I wouldn’t cause any trouble for my mom. Not one bit. Not because I didn’t want to, because I think everyone knows, I like to party. But just to prove him wrong. Just to make him feel as stupid as I did for having to leave my house in Chicago. I would show him that perhaps he was the problem, not me. That his rules and anger were just as damaging as my so-called irresponsible behavior. And not once did I ever concern myself with whether or not that was the actual truth.
Truth can be a funny thing. Though my existence on this planet has been short, a mere 16 years, I’ve noticed that humans are capable of making the truth what they want it to be. Like, there is no definite…anything. Dad always said the truth was black and white. Something was either 100% true or 100% false. Though I do believe that and I see where he’s coming from, I’ve found that bending the truth is quite easy. I could tell my mom the truth, but say it in a way that made me appear practically blameless. And she’d believe me. I didn’t consider that lying. I would tell her exactly what happened, just as my father had. But once she heard it from me, once she saw the look on my face that I could so easily summon, she’d be on my side in a heartbeat. Why? Because she would want to believe it. She’d want to believe that Dad failed at his job and that she could do it better.
My mom is a good woman. She’s not manipulative or selfish, but she’s a mom. And every mom wants to be needed. Every mom wants to think that no one can do her job better than she can. That’s how my mom must feel. That’s how all of my friend’s moms were and once I arrived and explained the situation to her, I was sure I would gain her sympathy. Then Dad can deal with that. That would show him just how effective this creative punishment of his was.
As far as I was concerned I hadn’t done anything wrong at all. Dad was wrong. Dad and Deena. And they would soon see that, I was going to make sure of it.
Look for it on Kindle December 26, 2013!Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win a $10.00 Amazon Gift card and a signed paperback of To Be Loved!Click here to enterTo find out more about Andrea Goodson's books you can visit her website, Twitter, or Facebook for exciting news, giveaways, and contests!
November 24, 2013
Sneak Peek Sunday - Sydney Logan
Today's Sunday Sneak Peek is from Sydney Logan. She's back with another holiday short story that is sure to put you in the holiday spirit. Be sure to enter her giveaway for an Amazon gift card and a handcrafted Christmas bracelet!
Coming November 29Exclusively on Amazon Kindle
It’s Christmas Eve, and Justin Banks is on the hunt for a last-minute gift for his wife, Megan. With the help of a homeless man and the beat of a drum, Justin stumbles upon the one thing Megan has always wanted. The one thing money can’t buy.It's amazing what we can hear if we just take a moment and really listen.
There’s something really beautiful about my wife, and it is a quality that a lot of people never have the chance to witness. There is a certain look in her eyes and a particular expression on her face that lets you know she's made a decision, and you’re an idiot if you even try to stand in her way. I have seen her work her magic on stubborn clients, deadbeat dads, and arrogant attorneys. This kid doesn't stand a chance.
Megan drops to her knees in front of the little boy, right there on the dirty ground.
“Luke, I just made some homemade chili. Do you like chili?”
He nods quickly.
“I also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Justin loves them, and I always make a bunch extra. Do you like peanut butter and jelly?”
Luke licks his lips, and my heart breaks.
“Why don't you come home with us? You can help Justin eat his sandwiches, and later, we'll try to find your parents.”
I can see the indecision on his little face. He doesn’t want to say no. That’s another incredible thing about my wife. Telling her no is virtually impossible.
“My mom told me to stay here.”
“But it's so cold, Luke,” Megan murmurs, her voice breaking with emotion.
“I'll be okay.”
Megan lowers her head, and for just a second, I worry that even my amazing wife has met her match. But then I hear her quiet sniffles, and Luke's face falls when he realizes she’s crying.
He steps closer to her. “Why are you crying, Megan?”
She lifts her head and gazes into the little boy's eyes. “Because I'm going to worry about you tonight. I'm afraid you'll be hungry and cold.”
I hold my breath as he reaches for her, pressing his dirty little hand against her face. Megan doesn’t even flinch.
“I'll go home with you, Megan. Please don't cry.” Luke then looks up at me. “Can I bring my drum?”
“Of course you can.”
Megan sighs with relief and rises to her feet.
With a smile as bright as the stars, the little boy takes my wife's hand. She takes mine, and the three of us walk out of the cold alleyway.
Available November 29 Exclusively on Amazon Kindle
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Website
Sydney Logan holds a Master's degree in Elementary Education and lives in East Tennessee. With the 2012 release of her novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. Her second book, Mountain Charm, was released in 2013. She is also the author of three short stories. When she isn't writing, Sydney enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.Visit her website at www.sydneylogan.com.
November 22, 2013
The Northern Gate - J. C. Clarke - Cover Reveal
Today we have a cover reveal for J.C. Clarke's debut release:
The Northern Gate This is book one of The Edelyn Legacy.
Title: The Northern GateAuthor: J.C. ClarkeGenre: Fantasy/RomanceRelease Date: December 06, 2013
Summary:
According to the Bible, God created the world in seven days, but what if the beginning happened before Humankind documented it for posterity?
Humans didn’t see everything clearly, because they didn’t understand. They turned away in fear, forgot the beings that had come to Earth and, over time, the Seraphim became nothing but a legend, a bedtime story. Corruption and greed, bred from hatred and evil, spread across the face of the earth as Humans evolved and developed. It was in this filth, and amongst the seven deadly sins, that Tabitha Morgan was born and kept alive, hidden in plain sight from the darkness.
For seventeen years, Tabitha thrived under her grandmother’s guardianship, living a normal life and not knowing the truth about her heritage or the roots from which she came.
That all changes the day a handsome stranger named Nathan walks into her life. Will the ancient secrets he holds be enough to earn her trust? Is it the Light, or does Darkness await them beyond The Northern Gate?
Add it to Goodreads HERE.
And now for the cover reveal . . .
designed by: J.C. Clarke
About the Author:
J.C. Clarke lives in the heart of the New Forest in England with her husband and four children. Never a dull moment, her full house provides no shortage of inspiration which fuels her writing. She loves reading and writing a variety of genres in addition to dabbling with graphic art to create book covers, swag and more.
Author Blog I Legacy Blog
Twitter I FacebookGoodreads I Wattpad
Coming December 06, 2013 to Amazon
******If you are a blogger, and are interested in participating in The Northern Gate blog tour Dec 1-16th, please follow the link below to sign up:
Blog Tour Sign Ups
The Northern Gate This is book one of The Edelyn Legacy.
Title: The Northern GateAuthor: J.C. ClarkeGenre: Fantasy/RomanceRelease Date: December 06, 2013
Summary:
According to the Bible, God created the world in seven days, but what if the beginning happened before Humankind documented it for posterity?
Humans didn’t see everything clearly, because they didn’t understand. They turned away in fear, forgot the beings that had come to Earth and, over time, the Seraphim became nothing but a legend, a bedtime story. Corruption and greed, bred from hatred and evil, spread across the face of the earth as Humans evolved and developed. It was in this filth, and amongst the seven deadly sins, that Tabitha Morgan was born and kept alive, hidden in plain sight from the darkness.
For seventeen years, Tabitha thrived under her grandmother’s guardianship, living a normal life and not knowing the truth about her heritage or the roots from which she came.
That all changes the day a handsome stranger named Nathan walks into her life. Will the ancient secrets he holds be enough to earn her trust? Is it the Light, or does Darkness await them beyond The Northern Gate?
Add it to Goodreads HERE.
And now for the cover reveal . . .
designed by: J.C. Clarke
About the Author:
J.C. Clarke lives in the heart of the New Forest in England with her husband and four children. Never a dull moment, her full house provides no shortage of inspiration which fuels her writing. She loves reading and writing a variety of genres in addition to dabbling with graphic art to create book covers, swag and more.
Author Blog I Legacy Blog
Twitter I FacebookGoodreads I Wattpad
Coming December 06, 2013 to Amazon******If you are a blogger, and are interested in participating in The Northern Gate blog tour Dec 1-16th, please follow the link below to sign up:
Blog Tour Sign Ups
November 21, 2013
Melting the Snow - Cover Reveal
Renaissance Romance Pulishing have a new Christmas holiday anthology being released soon and I am late with the cover reveal. So, without further ado, here are the covers, the summaries and details about the authors included.
Holiday Cure for the Cursed Summary:Daniel Digby is cursed by his good looks. After years of sexual harassment, he’s convinced wearing a wedding ring is the answer to fending off unwanted attention.CiCi Newport is cursed by her family’s money. When men look her way, all they see are dollar signs. After two years, her “no dating” rule is still in place.
After a chance meeting, they’re entwined for the holidays. What starts as attraction might just be the holiday cure they’re looking for.
Lindsey Gray’s Biography and Links:
Lindsey Gray dreamed of several different careers as a child. On the short list were doctor, chef, and actress. None held her attention like putting pen to paper and creating her own world through words. Since 2010, she has published three novels and one short story with The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House. In 2013, she went on her first self-publishing adventure and produced her novella, "Fireworks".A mid-west native, Lindsey enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, rooting for the Green Bay Packers, reading whatever she can get her hands on, and making life interesting at every turn.
Link List:
Blog: http://lindsey-gray.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/LindseyGray11
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindseyGray11
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4505542.Lindsey_Gray?from_search=true Amazon US Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Lindsey-Gray/e/B004MSX224/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Amazon Germany Author Page: http://www.amazon.de/Lindsey-Gray/e/B00D2CJVOE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 Amazon France Author Page: http://www.amazon.fr/Lindsey-Gray/e/B00D2CJVOE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1380236557&sr=8-1 Libboo Buzzboard: https://www.libboo.com/buzzboard/lindseygray11Frozen Moments Summary:The Sentinels live in our future and are the Keepers of Time. Sentinels have the responsibility of guarding the once gifted and proclaimed golden-children of the greatest government’s scientific communities. With the collapse of the world, they now hide and try to correct the downfall that nearly led to the end of life.A team of technically-altered humans race through frozen landscapes to save those they can and try to correct the flawed outcomes that threaten to create the catastrophic future. They’re faster, stronger, and more agile than those living in the time period. These unknown heroes live on low income jobs while they report to Melanie Shepherd, who freezes time to assist them in their endeavors.Is an event ever too big for them to stop?
Michele Richards Biography and Links:
Michele Richard is an author and the CEO of Renaissance Romance. Michele wrote the “Mocked by” series including Mocked by Destiny and the Mocked by Faith trilogy. She writes what comes from the heart. Raised in Maryland, Michele currently resides in the Boston area. When Michele is between books, her days are filled with family and friends. Her greatest passions are traveling and learning new languages. She is currently learning French, Spanish and ASL, and one day hopes to be fluent in them. She has never met a language she didn’t like. In 2012, Michele opened Renaissance Romance Publishing with her partners, Lisa Bilbrey and Laura Braley. Together, the three run the day to day workings of a small press. BIBLIOGRAPHY“Mocked by” series:Mocked by DestinyMocked by FaithMocked by Faith ~ Healing the FaithMocked by Faith ~ Affirming the Faith Parasouls: Divine Intervention Anthologies:Changes of the Heart (Life is More Than Candy Hearts)10 Days to Love (Harvest Treats)The Roommates (Sugarplum Dreams) Novellas: 10 Days to LoveChanges of the HeartThe Roommates Where to Michele:Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MicheleA.RichardBlogger: http://michele-richard.blogspot.com/Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michele-richard/31/516/203Twitter: https://twitter.com/M_A_RichardTwylah: http://www.twylah.com/M_A_RichardGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4573125-michele-richardYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheMicheleRichardTumblr: http://www.michele-richard.tumblr.comPurchase Michele’s books on:Amazon: http://amzn.to/H3JGGTBarnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/miche...itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michele-richard/id461078709?mt=11Renaissance Romance Publishing: http://www.renaissanceromancepublishing.com/
October 30, 2013
Honour is now on sale (2 days early!)
Because I am paranoid about being late in anyway, I uploaded Honour to Createspace and KDP a little early. Yep, the paperback was put on sale within a matter of 2 hours. typical. It's cool. Here are the buy links. I'm waiting for the Kindle version to go live.
The world is filled with people destined to help and to serve. Doctors, nurses, police, and firefighters—each and every day, these special people work to help others in times of need. Often, this means putting their own lives at risk in order to do their jobs. They give of themselves to benefit society, and they do it without any expectation of thanks.And then there is the military…
These are the men and women who don’t head home to their families and safe homes to relax at the end of a shift. They are on the front lines, far from home and often fighting someone else’s battles because it is the right thing to do. Military families struggle to cope with the constant worry and the long periods of separation, staying strong to support those who serve in everything they do, and often are left to pick up the pieces when the highest price is paid.
Servicemen and women are heroes in the purest sense of the word. Even when the world’s gone mad and their hearts are breaking, one thing remains unchanged.
They have honour.
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Createspace
October 28, 2013
Honour Pic Teasers Rounds 5 & 6
As I am such a scatterbrain, I forgot not one pic, but 2. I posted both to my fb page yesterday and now I am only just getting round to posting them here.
The first is from the 5th story, Night Terrors.
This 2nd is for the 6th and final story, Welcome Home.
Well, that's it. Nothing now until release day on Friday 1st November. Eeek!
The first is from the 5th story, Night Terrors.
This 2nd is for the 6th and final story, Welcome Home.
Well, that's it. Nothing now until release day on Friday 1st November. Eeek!
October 17, 2013
Honour Cover Reveal
M. B. feeney is excited to present the cover for her upcoming release, Honour. A collection of 6 short stories with a miltary theme.
Due for release on 1st November in rememberence of those who have given their lives as part of their job to protect others in times of unrest.
Summary:
The world is filled with people destined to help and to serve. Doctors, nurses, police, and firefighters—each and every day, these special people work to help others in times of need. Often, this means putting their own lives at risk in order to do their jobs. They give of themselves to benefit society, and they do it without any expectation of thanks.
And then there is the military…
These are the men and women who don’t head home to their families and safe homes to relax at the end of a shift. They are on the front lines, far from home and often fighting someone else’s battles because it
is the right thing to do. Military families struggle to cope with the constant worry and the long periods of separation, staying strong to support those who serve in everything they do, and often are left to pick up the pieces when the highest price is paid.
Servicemen and women are heroes in the purest sense of the word. Even when the world’s gone mad and their hearts are breaking, one thing remains unchanged.
They have honour.
Don't forget to add Honour to your 'To read' shelf over on Goodreads
About the Author:
M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. Currently at university studying for her BA (Hons) in primary teaching, she procrastinates on her assignments by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open. She is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has a novel under way whilst Honour, a compilation of her own military based shorts, is due for release 1st November 2013. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.
Author Links:
Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Amazon UK * Amazon US * Tumblr
M. B. feeney is excited to present the cover for her upcoming release, Honour. A collection of 6 short stories with a miltary theme.
Due for release on 1st November in rememberence of those who have given their lives as part of their job to protect others in times of unrest.
Summary:
The world is filled with people destined to help and to serve. Doctors, nurses, police, and firefighters—each and every day, these special people work to help others in times of need. Often, this means putting their own lives at risk in order to do their jobs. They give of themselves to benefit society, and they do it without any expectation of thanks.
And then there is the military…
These are the men and women who don’t head home to their families and safe homes to relax at the end of a shift. They are on the front lines, far from home and often fighting someone else’s battles because it is the right thing to do. Military families struggle to cope with the constant worry and the long periods of separation, staying strong to support those who serve in everything they do, and often are left to pick up the pieces when the highest price is paid.
Servicemen and women are heroes in the purest sense of the word. Even when the world’s gone mad and their hearts are breaking, one thing remains unchanged.
They have honour.
Don't forget to add Honour to your 'To read' shelf over on Goodreads
About the Author:
M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. Currently at university studying for her BA (Hons) in primary teaching, she procrastinates on her assignments by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open. She is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has a novel under way whilst Honour, a compilation of her own military based shorts, is due for release 1st November 2013. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.
Author Links:
Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Amazon UK * Amazon US * Tumblr
October 15, 2013
My thoughts on P2P
Earlier this year, I was asked to answer some questions about my thoughts regarding the Pull to Publish (P2P) debate that is ever present online as part of a dissertation by a woman studing for her MA in Publishing. She very kindly gave me permission to post my responses here on my blog as I thought some people may be interested. It's a bit lengthy, but here they are:
Writing Fan Fiction 1. Please talk a bit about your background as a fan fiction writer. What inspired you to begin writing fan fiction? How many stories have you written in total, and where did you initially publish them? Are they mostly canon or AU? Had you written stories before you started writing fanfic?
I discovered fanfiction completely by accident after I had been sucked into the Twilight vortex. I had joined a few Facebook groups looking for others who’d enjoyed the books and found a link to a story someone had written and posted up onto fanfiction.net. I read it, curious and realized it was really bad. I’d always written stories, but hadn’t written anything for almost 15 years, but thought I could do better, so I started to write a New Moon from Edward’s point of view. It was TERRIBLE and was deleted.
I ended up writing a number of stories that are posted up on fanfiction.net. They are mostly canon (with a couple non-canon) and are all AU/AH as I would have forgotten that Meyer’s vampires don’t eat or sleep, plus I felt I had more creative freedom with writing the characters as human. I had over 20 stories posted at one point, mainly one shots (one chapter stories), but I have pulled a number from the site, but those that I would never consider reworking for publishing are still up for people to read.
2. Besides writing fan fiction, are you otherwise actively participating in the fandom (e.g. running/reading blogs, going to fan events, etc.)?
I used to be. I used to review and recommend fanfiction for a couple of blogs that are now defunct. I actually met one of my now best friends via one of these blogs as we were the only 2 Brits that ‘worked’ for the one site.
The Twilight fandom actually led me to another fandom. 100 Monkeys was a band that one of the actors from the film, Jackson Rathbone (Jasper) was part of. I was extremely active in this fandom by working on an update account with a friend which afforded me the opportunity to interview the band in December 2012 whilst they were in Europe touring. Unfortunately, the band broke up shortly after, but I am still a huge fan of their music.
I actually walked away from the Twilight fandom and fanfiction almost 2 years ago once I decided to stick to writing original fiction.
3. What has your fan fiction writing experience been like so far? Do you interact a lot with your readers and other writers? Do you participate in forums? (How) has this influenced your writing? Do you use social media to promote your stories or engage with readers?
Fanfiction was an amazing stepping stone. It not only got me writing creatively again, but it also gave me the confidence to share my work with complete strangers. I was glad, at first, to hide behind my username online.
I never had a huge reader base or following, but the readers I did have were wonderful. The reviews I did get were always positive and, if needed, constructive. I was what would be classed within the fandom as ‘small-fry’, but looking back, I’m happy about that. I don’t think I could have coped with the attention that ff writers who have thousands upon thousands of readers clamouring for the next update. Yes, the review count would have been wonderful, but I was able to write and update my stories as and when I wanted to.
I used to be a member of many fanfiction groups on Facebook (it astounded me just how many there are. Specific groups for different kinds of stories, character, and genre – it’s overwhelming) and I used to post the link to stories in there and I was involved with contests and discussions with other writers/readers.
4. Are there any other fan fiction stories/writers which have fundamentally influenced or inspired your writing?
I wouldn’t say any particular stories have impacted on my writing, but I have made a few good friends who have influenced my writing. In particular a friend in Australia, who I am still in daily contact with, helped me begin to realize and accept that I’m actually quite a good writer and she gave me the confidence to put myself out there a little more.
Other friends gave me the courage to move away from cliché and predictable storylines which is quite possibly the best thing that could have ever happened. The amount of fanfiction (and original fiction) out there that is a rehash of something I’ve read many times before makes me want to cry (not literally) because it seems as if people are unable to think for themselves and have an original idea or even put an original twist on a common story idea.
5. Do you include disclaimers in every chapter? Have you thought about issues relating to copyright infringement and possible legal repercussions? Do you personally consider internet fan fiction to count as copyright infringement/violation of moral rights or as fair use, why?
When I was still writing fanfiction, I would include a disclaimer in an author’s note at the beginning of every story/chapter I posted. I think this was more because it was expected rather than a way to cover my own stories.
Since leaving fanfiction and moving into the writing of original fiction, I have begun to consider copyright much more. I’m starting to see legal repercussions around every corner and have to be very careful with the use of anything that is trademarked.
In my own personal opinion, internet fanfiction is a huge grey area. Many authors have placed a complete ban on any of their books being used, such as Anne Rice, and they will physically seek legal advice if anything is found online, whereas authors such as JK Rowling actively encourage fanfiction. Personally, I don’t see it as wrong either legally or morally whilst it remains for fun. As soon as it is being used for monetary gains, as fanfiction, then that is when things can get a bit dangerous.
Publishing Experience 6. Please talk a bit about the story which you ended up publishing. What is it about? What was it called? Does it contain explicit sexual content? When did you start writing it? How big was its following at the time?
The story I decided to P2P, Just Like in the Movies, came about when I was ill. I was sat in bed watching the film Letters to Juliet, when I realized that most romance films like this follow a formula. Girl meets boy, they hate each other, begin to get on, get separated, then realize they actually love each other, get back together. It’s a formula that we all know and never seem to be bothered by the predictability of. I started to write a story following this formula using the pairing of Alice/Jasper with a couple of the others as backups.
It was about Alice, who was in a relationship that wasn’t satisfying her, going on holiday and meeting Jasper. They rub each other the wrong way and really don’t get on. There was no sexual content as that wasn’t, and still isn’t, something I felt comfortable writing. I’m no prude, but there’s only so many ways you can write ‘insert tab a into slot b’ without it reading like a sex ed manual. Also, I’m a big believer that plot is more important than sex.
As with all of my stories, it didn’t have a big following when it was posted online, and I stalled with the writing after posting 6 chapters.
4. What made you decide to “properly” publish it, and how far into the writing process did you make this decision?
When I decided to pull Movies from fanfiction.net, it was for various reasons. A) I knew I was never going to finish it as a fanfiction and it had been left online incomplete, B) I wanted to submit a novella to an open call based on stories with a beach theme, and C) I really wanted to see where the completed story would go.
It was a conscious decision from as soon as I decided to submit, and once I made that choice, I didn’t look back at all.
5. What feedback did you receive when you pulled your story/announced that you would publish it?I only told a couple of people and they were all extremely supportive of my decision. I didn’t make a big song and dance production about it. I simply deleted it from my online account and began to work on it.
6. How extensive were the changes that you made to it after pulling it? Did you change the title?Considering that there were only 6 chapters posted online, and each chapter was roughly 300 words I started in stages. Stage one was a basic find/replace of character names, stage two was to combine 2 chapter into one creating 3 chapters from the original 6 and then fill them out a bit, and stage 3 was to finish the story. As I always set my stories in the UK, I didn’t need to change any location which was a big help.
I decided to keep the original title as a working title whilst I wrote as I’m not the type of author who worries about a title before writing a story. Once I had finished, there wasn’t anything else that really fit the story so I kept the same title. I think that because I didn’t have a following of any decent size, it hasn’t been so much of an issue.
7. Did you self-publish or approach publishers? How did you experience this process of getting your story published? What were your hopes and concerns?
As I had already had a novella published previously as part of an anthology by a publishing house, I followed the same tack. As mentioned, Movies was pulled as I wanted to submit it for an open call hosted by the publishers I was already signed up with so the experience wasn’t a new one and the relationship I already had with the publishers was already established and was a decent working relationship as well as a growing friendship with them and the other authors.
8. Through which sales channels can your book be purchased? Did/Do you do any kind of marketing/promotion?
The book is available as a solo ebook and that is available on all the usual ebook channels such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords etc, the anthology is available as both an ebook and in print.
Promotion tends to consist of social media. I have a Facebook page that I use on a regular basis, not just to advertise my books, but also to attempt to build a rapport with any readers I may have. This page is linked to my twitter account and also to a Tumblr account (which I don’t use that often).
As someone who reads a lot, I refuse to spam people with constant posts that link to where my books can be bought as when I see that, I tend to unfollow or hide that person’s posts as it irritates me. This is quite possibly detrimental to my own sales, but it is simply something I can’t do.
Also, upon release, there is a blog tour during which anyone who has a blog or website is able to host an author for a day. This can either be a review, a guest post written by the author, a promo post (which details the summary, info about the author and an excerpt from the book), or an author interview. These blog tours can be very effective as some blogs have a huge amount of followers and those followers may just become a reader.
9. Are you considering publishing again, either fan fiction or an original story? Is there anything that you would do differently?
I am currently working on an anthology of my own short stories which are themed around the military. I am self publishing this as I not only want to test those waters, but also because the entire thing is still quite short and not many publishers would consider it. These stories are a mix of original pieces and pulled fanfiction one shots that I have reworked.
I’m also drawn to the self publishing side as I feel a little tethered by a publishing house as I have no control over being able to view my own sales in detail and then I have to wait every three months for any royalties I have earned. I will probably still submit novellas to the house, but I may keep up a mix of traditional publishing and self publishing if this goes well.
10. With regards to publishing and selling your story in book-form, has copyright infringement and potential legal action been a concern?
It hasn’t been a concern as I have done a complete rework of the story so that it retains very little similarities to the original fanfiction. Also, my editor used to work as a legal clerk and still has contacts in the law firm she used to work at so she is able to steer us authors in the right direction when dealing with copyright.
The Pulled-to-Publish Trend 11. In the past year, many fan fiction authors have (self-)published their stories. Three of the Big Six (Random House, Penguin and Simon & Schuster have) have picked up stories which originated as fan fiction. Do you think this is a sign that fan fiction is moving more into the mainstream and gaining credibility, or a momentary trend? Do you know other authors who have published their stories?
This is a subject I have discussed with friends and fellow authors quite a lot in the last 12 months or so. There are many fanfic authors that I either know or know of who have P2P their fanfiction. Most have either gone with indie publishing houses that are known for signing ff authors, or they have self published. I think that those who go about it without creating a fuss are doing it simply because they have always wanted to be a published author and are perfectly happy plodding along. Then there are those authors who want the attention that comes with P2P. These are, in my opinion, the authors who are jumping on a bandwagon to make a quick buck.
12. With regards to the increasing popularity of pulled-to-publish fan fiction, what role, do you think, does Fifty Shades of Grey play in all this?
As mentioned in the previous question, there is a current trend when it comes to P2P. BDSM stories are the current flavor of the month, and while I have no problem with authors writing about the subject, it truly doesn’t appeal to me. I have a good friend who is in the middle of releasing a BDSM trilogy which started out as fanfiction. She has reworked it so much that the 1stand 3rd books have nothing from what was posted online in them at all. She has taken a lot of time to ensure the characters, locations and other details have no relation to anything from Twilight. I feel that she is in the minority.
The erotica market is being flooded by books with BDSM-esque books that are cobbled together from an original fanfiction, with a quick find/replace of names and locations before being self published. These authors have seen the success that EL James and the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy have had and want in on the action. I have seen books started and then within 2-3 months are for sale. They haven’t been edited properly and the authors simply don’t care. This is aggravating to someone who works hard and takes their time to get things right.
Then, success is handed to the author who cuts corners rather than the author who takes pride in their work. This is something James is responsible for.
13. Why do you think, is it almost exclusively Twilight fan fiction that is currently being pulled to publish?
As I haven’t really read much fanfiction from other fandoms, I don’t know of any other fandoms going through P2P. I think the Twilight fandom has become bigger that Twilight itself and many of the fanfiction writers feel as if they deserve a publishing deal because their fanfiction had lots of readers/reviews. These are the authors that, after being turned down from a publishing house who then self publish without the help of an editor.
I know of ff writers such as this. They are of the impression that because their fanfiction got a decent reaction, that they will be the next EL James. Sadly, they are often let down.
14. For a long time, one of the ground rules of fan fiction writing has been that it was for the fandom’s enjoyment only and should not be commercially published. What are your thoughts on this?
I’ve only ever seen this rule applied to RPFs (Real Person Fics). No one crosses the 4thwall by sending links to the person the fic is about or to family, friends, or anyone who knows that person. This is extremely monitored in the One Direction fandom. I can understand why, in these cases, this unwritten rule is policed so to speak, but I think with fanfiction revolving about books and TV programmes, it’s left down to the author and their discretion.
Obviously, as someone who has P2P, I’m not going to condemn anyone doing the same, but I do get a bit angry when someone doesn’t put in the work to transform from ff to of.
15. One of the things fan fiction is primarilycriticisedfor is its reliance on another author’s work and lack of originality. Where do you stand on this? What constitutes originality (in fan fiction writing) for you?
I think this is a fine line that blurs very often.
Many fanfiction stories are not original in that they are rehashes of the same thing over and over again. Edward and Bella meet in High school, fall in love after 5 minutes and so on… then there are the completely AU fanfiction.
A good example of this is a story called Emancipation Proclamation by Kharizzmatik. It had a HUGE following in the same way as Master of the Universe (Fifty Shades). It was all human, set in Chicago and was as far removed from Twilight as you could get. The author has since gone ahead and self published it under the title of Sempre and the published version is unrecognisable from the original fanfiction.
In this kind of instance, I believe it no longer relies on another author’s work as even when it was posted online, other than the descriptions and names, the characters were the author’s own truly and completely.
16. Right now, the legal consensus seems to be that as long as it is fairly transformative, meaning a writer takes several key elements from the original work and then subverts them or somehow adds to them; it is not considered copyright infringement. Would agree with this definition?
I would have to say I agree. As someone who really took their time to make Movies as unTwilight as possible, I feel that as long as a book isn’t simply published after a find/release of character names, it can be changed to something completely original.
There are still many people that disagree with P2P in its entirety, and I can understand why. I have read P2P that has simply gone through a name change and published via KDP. It still reads as fanfic, is set in fanfic locations and is basically a fanfic under a new name. (I’m looking at Fifty Shades here among many).
Then there are fanfics that are completely reworked and unless you know about them before publication, there is no way of knowing that it began life as a fanfic.
As long as any recognizable aspects are dealt with, copyright shouldn’t be so much of an issue, so as far as I believe it’s not an infringement.
17. As you may know, Amazon has launched Kindle Worlds, an online platform through which authors can publish their fan fiction legally, based on TV shows, books, movies, music, etc. to which Amazon has acquired the rights. Fan fiction authors as well as original rights owners are paid royalties (although these are lower than those paid when self-publishing with Amazon). Submitted stories need to be authorised and Amazon has introduces quite strict guidelines for authors, e.g. here are no crossovers possible, and sexually explicit or violent content is not permitted. What do you think of this business model? Do you think it will "work" for the fanfic community, and will be used by authors?
I haven’t looked much into Kindle Worlds, but I am personally staying away and when it was announced, I saw many friends who still write fanfiction who have said the same. This is when I get alarm bells ringing as people are making money from someone else’s work. Yes, these people have given permission for these stories to be written and the strict guidelines will put people off as many people got into fanfiction for the sexual content.
The idea of being paid royalties for fanfiction leaves a funny taste in my mouth, but I can’t seem to put my finger on why.
18. Other comments:I want to say that I have nothing against about P2P even before I did my own, because at the end of the day, regardless of how the story came about, it is the author’s intellectual property. My issues are with those lazy authors who have seen the success of Fifty Shades of Grey and the newer Beautiful Bastard books. They pull their fic that had a) the most sex, b) the most reviews and c) the most buzz and decide to publish it. That is when, as an author who has pride in what I release, I get angry with both authors and readers for not wanting quality.
Writing Fan Fiction 1. Please talk a bit about your background as a fan fiction writer. What inspired you to begin writing fan fiction? How many stories have you written in total, and where did you initially publish them? Are they mostly canon or AU? Had you written stories before you started writing fanfic?
I discovered fanfiction completely by accident after I had been sucked into the Twilight vortex. I had joined a few Facebook groups looking for others who’d enjoyed the books and found a link to a story someone had written and posted up onto fanfiction.net. I read it, curious and realized it was really bad. I’d always written stories, but hadn’t written anything for almost 15 years, but thought I could do better, so I started to write a New Moon from Edward’s point of view. It was TERRIBLE and was deleted.
I ended up writing a number of stories that are posted up on fanfiction.net. They are mostly canon (with a couple non-canon) and are all AU/AH as I would have forgotten that Meyer’s vampires don’t eat or sleep, plus I felt I had more creative freedom with writing the characters as human. I had over 20 stories posted at one point, mainly one shots (one chapter stories), but I have pulled a number from the site, but those that I would never consider reworking for publishing are still up for people to read.
2. Besides writing fan fiction, are you otherwise actively participating in the fandom (e.g. running/reading blogs, going to fan events, etc.)?
I used to be. I used to review and recommend fanfiction for a couple of blogs that are now defunct. I actually met one of my now best friends via one of these blogs as we were the only 2 Brits that ‘worked’ for the one site.
The Twilight fandom actually led me to another fandom. 100 Monkeys was a band that one of the actors from the film, Jackson Rathbone (Jasper) was part of. I was extremely active in this fandom by working on an update account with a friend which afforded me the opportunity to interview the band in December 2012 whilst they were in Europe touring. Unfortunately, the band broke up shortly after, but I am still a huge fan of their music.
I actually walked away from the Twilight fandom and fanfiction almost 2 years ago once I decided to stick to writing original fiction.
3. What has your fan fiction writing experience been like so far? Do you interact a lot with your readers and other writers? Do you participate in forums? (How) has this influenced your writing? Do you use social media to promote your stories or engage with readers?
Fanfiction was an amazing stepping stone. It not only got me writing creatively again, but it also gave me the confidence to share my work with complete strangers. I was glad, at first, to hide behind my username online.
I never had a huge reader base or following, but the readers I did have were wonderful. The reviews I did get were always positive and, if needed, constructive. I was what would be classed within the fandom as ‘small-fry’, but looking back, I’m happy about that. I don’t think I could have coped with the attention that ff writers who have thousands upon thousands of readers clamouring for the next update. Yes, the review count would have been wonderful, but I was able to write and update my stories as and when I wanted to.
I used to be a member of many fanfiction groups on Facebook (it astounded me just how many there are. Specific groups for different kinds of stories, character, and genre – it’s overwhelming) and I used to post the link to stories in there and I was involved with contests and discussions with other writers/readers.
4. Are there any other fan fiction stories/writers which have fundamentally influenced or inspired your writing?
I wouldn’t say any particular stories have impacted on my writing, but I have made a few good friends who have influenced my writing. In particular a friend in Australia, who I am still in daily contact with, helped me begin to realize and accept that I’m actually quite a good writer and she gave me the confidence to put myself out there a little more.
Other friends gave me the courage to move away from cliché and predictable storylines which is quite possibly the best thing that could have ever happened. The amount of fanfiction (and original fiction) out there that is a rehash of something I’ve read many times before makes me want to cry (not literally) because it seems as if people are unable to think for themselves and have an original idea or even put an original twist on a common story idea.
5. Do you include disclaimers in every chapter? Have you thought about issues relating to copyright infringement and possible legal repercussions? Do you personally consider internet fan fiction to count as copyright infringement/violation of moral rights or as fair use, why?
When I was still writing fanfiction, I would include a disclaimer in an author’s note at the beginning of every story/chapter I posted. I think this was more because it was expected rather than a way to cover my own stories.
Since leaving fanfiction and moving into the writing of original fiction, I have begun to consider copyright much more. I’m starting to see legal repercussions around every corner and have to be very careful with the use of anything that is trademarked.
In my own personal opinion, internet fanfiction is a huge grey area. Many authors have placed a complete ban on any of their books being used, such as Anne Rice, and they will physically seek legal advice if anything is found online, whereas authors such as JK Rowling actively encourage fanfiction. Personally, I don’t see it as wrong either legally or morally whilst it remains for fun. As soon as it is being used for monetary gains, as fanfiction, then that is when things can get a bit dangerous.
Publishing Experience 6. Please talk a bit about the story which you ended up publishing. What is it about? What was it called? Does it contain explicit sexual content? When did you start writing it? How big was its following at the time?
The story I decided to P2P, Just Like in the Movies, came about when I was ill. I was sat in bed watching the film Letters to Juliet, when I realized that most romance films like this follow a formula. Girl meets boy, they hate each other, begin to get on, get separated, then realize they actually love each other, get back together. It’s a formula that we all know and never seem to be bothered by the predictability of. I started to write a story following this formula using the pairing of Alice/Jasper with a couple of the others as backups.
It was about Alice, who was in a relationship that wasn’t satisfying her, going on holiday and meeting Jasper. They rub each other the wrong way and really don’t get on. There was no sexual content as that wasn’t, and still isn’t, something I felt comfortable writing. I’m no prude, but there’s only so many ways you can write ‘insert tab a into slot b’ without it reading like a sex ed manual. Also, I’m a big believer that plot is more important than sex.
As with all of my stories, it didn’t have a big following when it was posted online, and I stalled with the writing after posting 6 chapters.
4. What made you decide to “properly” publish it, and how far into the writing process did you make this decision?
When I decided to pull Movies from fanfiction.net, it was for various reasons. A) I knew I was never going to finish it as a fanfiction and it had been left online incomplete, B) I wanted to submit a novella to an open call based on stories with a beach theme, and C) I really wanted to see where the completed story would go.
It was a conscious decision from as soon as I decided to submit, and once I made that choice, I didn’t look back at all.
5. What feedback did you receive when you pulled your story/announced that you would publish it?I only told a couple of people and they were all extremely supportive of my decision. I didn’t make a big song and dance production about it. I simply deleted it from my online account and began to work on it.
6. How extensive were the changes that you made to it after pulling it? Did you change the title?Considering that there were only 6 chapters posted online, and each chapter was roughly 300 words I started in stages. Stage one was a basic find/replace of character names, stage two was to combine 2 chapter into one creating 3 chapters from the original 6 and then fill them out a bit, and stage 3 was to finish the story. As I always set my stories in the UK, I didn’t need to change any location which was a big help.
I decided to keep the original title as a working title whilst I wrote as I’m not the type of author who worries about a title before writing a story. Once I had finished, there wasn’t anything else that really fit the story so I kept the same title. I think that because I didn’t have a following of any decent size, it hasn’t been so much of an issue.
7. Did you self-publish or approach publishers? How did you experience this process of getting your story published? What were your hopes and concerns?
As I had already had a novella published previously as part of an anthology by a publishing house, I followed the same tack. As mentioned, Movies was pulled as I wanted to submit it for an open call hosted by the publishers I was already signed up with so the experience wasn’t a new one and the relationship I already had with the publishers was already established and was a decent working relationship as well as a growing friendship with them and the other authors.
8. Through which sales channels can your book be purchased? Did/Do you do any kind of marketing/promotion?
The book is available as a solo ebook and that is available on all the usual ebook channels such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords etc, the anthology is available as both an ebook and in print.
Promotion tends to consist of social media. I have a Facebook page that I use on a regular basis, not just to advertise my books, but also to attempt to build a rapport with any readers I may have. This page is linked to my twitter account and also to a Tumblr account (which I don’t use that often).
As someone who reads a lot, I refuse to spam people with constant posts that link to where my books can be bought as when I see that, I tend to unfollow or hide that person’s posts as it irritates me. This is quite possibly detrimental to my own sales, but it is simply something I can’t do.
Also, upon release, there is a blog tour during which anyone who has a blog or website is able to host an author for a day. This can either be a review, a guest post written by the author, a promo post (which details the summary, info about the author and an excerpt from the book), or an author interview. These blog tours can be very effective as some blogs have a huge amount of followers and those followers may just become a reader.
9. Are you considering publishing again, either fan fiction or an original story? Is there anything that you would do differently?
I am currently working on an anthology of my own short stories which are themed around the military. I am self publishing this as I not only want to test those waters, but also because the entire thing is still quite short and not many publishers would consider it. These stories are a mix of original pieces and pulled fanfiction one shots that I have reworked.
I’m also drawn to the self publishing side as I feel a little tethered by a publishing house as I have no control over being able to view my own sales in detail and then I have to wait every three months for any royalties I have earned. I will probably still submit novellas to the house, but I may keep up a mix of traditional publishing and self publishing if this goes well.
10. With regards to publishing and selling your story in book-form, has copyright infringement and potential legal action been a concern?
It hasn’t been a concern as I have done a complete rework of the story so that it retains very little similarities to the original fanfiction. Also, my editor used to work as a legal clerk and still has contacts in the law firm she used to work at so she is able to steer us authors in the right direction when dealing with copyright.
The Pulled-to-Publish Trend 11. In the past year, many fan fiction authors have (self-)published their stories. Three of the Big Six (Random House, Penguin and Simon & Schuster have) have picked up stories which originated as fan fiction. Do you think this is a sign that fan fiction is moving more into the mainstream and gaining credibility, or a momentary trend? Do you know other authors who have published their stories?
This is a subject I have discussed with friends and fellow authors quite a lot in the last 12 months or so. There are many fanfic authors that I either know or know of who have P2P their fanfiction. Most have either gone with indie publishing houses that are known for signing ff authors, or they have self published. I think that those who go about it without creating a fuss are doing it simply because they have always wanted to be a published author and are perfectly happy plodding along. Then there are those authors who want the attention that comes with P2P. These are, in my opinion, the authors who are jumping on a bandwagon to make a quick buck.
12. With regards to the increasing popularity of pulled-to-publish fan fiction, what role, do you think, does Fifty Shades of Grey play in all this?
As mentioned in the previous question, there is a current trend when it comes to P2P. BDSM stories are the current flavor of the month, and while I have no problem with authors writing about the subject, it truly doesn’t appeal to me. I have a good friend who is in the middle of releasing a BDSM trilogy which started out as fanfiction. She has reworked it so much that the 1stand 3rd books have nothing from what was posted online in them at all. She has taken a lot of time to ensure the characters, locations and other details have no relation to anything from Twilight. I feel that she is in the minority.
The erotica market is being flooded by books with BDSM-esque books that are cobbled together from an original fanfiction, with a quick find/replace of names and locations before being self published. These authors have seen the success that EL James and the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy have had and want in on the action. I have seen books started and then within 2-3 months are for sale. They haven’t been edited properly and the authors simply don’t care. This is aggravating to someone who works hard and takes their time to get things right.
Then, success is handed to the author who cuts corners rather than the author who takes pride in their work. This is something James is responsible for.
13. Why do you think, is it almost exclusively Twilight fan fiction that is currently being pulled to publish?
As I haven’t really read much fanfiction from other fandoms, I don’t know of any other fandoms going through P2P. I think the Twilight fandom has become bigger that Twilight itself and many of the fanfiction writers feel as if they deserve a publishing deal because their fanfiction had lots of readers/reviews. These are the authors that, after being turned down from a publishing house who then self publish without the help of an editor.
I know of ff writers such as this. They are of the impression that because their fanfiction got a decent reaction, that they will be the next EL James. Sadly, they are often let down.
14. For a long time, one of the ground rules of fan fiction writing has been that it was for the fandom’s enjoyment only and should not be commercially published. What are your thoughts on this?
I’ve only ever seen this rule applied to RPFs (Real Person Fics). No one crosses the 4thwall by sending links to the person the fic is about or to family, friends, or anyone who knows that person. This is extremely monitored in the One Direction fandom. I can understand why, in these cases, this unwritten rule is policed so to speak, but I think with fanfiction revolving about books and TV programmes, it’s left down to the author and their discretion.
Obviously, as someone who has P2P, I’m not going to condemn anyone doing the same, but I do get a bit angry when someone doesn’t put in the work to transform from ff to of.
15. One of the things fan fiction is primarilycriticisedfor is its reliance on another author’s work and lack of originality. Where do you stand on this? What constitutes originality (in fan fiction writing) for you?
I think this is a fine line that blurs very often.
Many fanfiction stories are not original in that they are rehashes of the same thing over and over again. Edward and Bella meet in High school, fall in love after 5 minutes and so on… then there are the completely AU fanfiction.
A good example of this is a story called Emancipation Proclamation by Kharizzmatik. It had a HUGE following in the same way as Master of the Universe (Fifty Shades). It was all human, set in Chicago and was as far removed from Twilight as you could get. The author has since gone ahead and self published it under the title of Sempre and the published version is unrecognisable from the original fanfiction.
In this kind of instance, I believe it no longer relies on another author’s work as even when it was posted online, other than the descriptions and names, the characters were the author’s own truly and completely.
16. Right now, the legal consensus seems to be that as long as it is fairly transformative, meaning a writer takes several key elements from the original work and then subverts them or somehow adds to them; it is not considered copyright infringement. Would agree with this definition?
I would have to say I agree. As someone who really took their time to make Movies as unTwilight as possible, I feel that as long as a book isn’t simply published after a find/release of character names, it can be changed to something completely original.
There are still many people that disagree with P2P in its entirety, and I can understand why. I have read P2P that has simply gone through a name change and published via KDP. It still reads as fanfic, is set in fanfic locations and is basically a fanfic under a new name. (I’m looking at Fifty Shades here among many).
Then there are fanfics that are completely reworked and unless you know about them before publication, there is no way of knowing that it began life as a fanfic.
As long as any recognizable aspects are dealt with, copyright shouldn’t be so much of an issue, so as far as I believe it’s not an infringement.
17. As you may know, Amazon has launched Kindle Worlds, an online platform through which authors can publish their fan fiction legally, based on TV shows, books, movies, music, etc. to which Amazon has acquired the rights. Fan fiction authors as well as original rights owners are paid royalties (although these are lower than those paid when self-publishing with Amazon). Submitted stories need to be authorised and Amazon has introduces quite strict guidelines for authors, e.g. here are no crossovers possible, and sexually explicit or violent content is not permitted. What do you think of this business model? Do you think it will "work" for the fanfic community, and will be used by authors?
I haven’t looked much into Kindle Worlds, but I am personally staying away and when it was announced, I saw many friends who still write fanfiction who have said the same. This is when I get alarm bells ringing as people are making money from someone else’s work. Yes, these people have given permission for these stories to be written and the strict guidelines will put people off as many people got into fanfiction for the sexual content.
The idea of being paid royalties for fanfiction leaves a funny taste in my mouth, but I can’t seem to put my finger on why.
18. Other comments:I want to say that I have nothing against about P2P even before I did my own, because at the end of the day, regardless of how the story came about, it is the author’s intellectual property. My issues are with those lazy authors who have seen the success of Fifty Shades of Grey and the newer Beautiful Bastard books. They pull their fic that had a) the most sex, b) the most reviews and c) the most buzz and decide to publish it. That is when, as an author who has pride in what I release, I get angry with both authors and readers for not wanting quality.
October 12, 2013
Honour Weekly Picture Teasers, Round 4
No-one reminded me yeseterday to post this week's teaser pic. Shame on you (I'm waggling my finger at you all).
Anywho, let's get over that. Here it is!
This is for story 4, Letters to No One. This is the story that started me off on this CRAZY journey!
Anywho, let's get over that. Here it is!
This is for story 4, Letters to No One. This is the story that started me off on this CRAZY journey!
Take a Gamble - N. Wood - Cover Reveal
Blurb:
Each Friday night, a mysterious man enters Blackjack’s Bar, orders the same drink, and sits in the same seat in the furthest corner. His presence is a welcome sight for Isaac Anderson, a regular bartender at Blackjack's. There's just something mysterious and intriguing about Caleb Miller that Isaac can’t ignore. Perhaps it's his pale and sickly appearance, or the smart way in which he dresses. Isaac just can’t put his finger on what makes this man so different. Another thing he can’t do is stop staring at this fascinating, special person. Encouraged to take a gamble and to get to know this quiet stranger, Isaac invites Caleb to watch a rock band with him. All seems to be well, until Caleb suddenly makes a mad dash for the door.
Caleb doesn’t know what to think when Isaac Anderson pursues him that night. A lifetime of rejection has taught him to expect the worst, but the attractive and warm bartender’s response to him confuses him. Isaac sees him at his worst, and Caleb is prepared to protect himself from judgment and heartache. He is shocked when he is instead given kindness and compassion. As Isaac continues to reach out to him, Caleb struggles with the choice to trust the new man in his life. Even if Isaac wants to build a relationship with Caleb, there are other people in their lives who would be happier if they stayed apart. And even if he allows Isaac into his heart, it still may not be enough for Caleb to learn to accept himself.
Anger, judgment, distrust, and violence all threaten Isaac and Caleb’s newfound love. Their relationship faces too many challenges for either man to overcome on his own. Will taking a gamble pay off, or do they both stand to lose everything?
Author Info:
N. Wood is a budding young author living in Cornwall, United Kingdom. She developed an interest in writing when her poetry was first published at the age of nine. Since then, she has moved onto writing both short stories and novels focusing on gay romantic themes. Also by N. Wood: “Woodshed Wishes,” Fall Fires Anthology
Blog: http://nwoodstories.blogspot.co.uk/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWoodstoriesTwitter: https://twitter.com/WhitlockWoodAmazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/N.-Wood/e/B00B3HBE8G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6897888.N_Wood
