H. Leighton Dickson's Blog, page 6
January 22, 2014
Bayview Magazine: An Author's Journey
An author's journeyt
Lisa Sandham
Imagine a future where humans no longer exist. A tale spun conjuring visions of lions, tigers and wolves that walk amongst snow covered mountains. Through written page a fantastical world is born where the influences of dynastic China, ancient India and feudal Japan spring to life.
Such a world exists and is the brainchild of local author H. Leighton Dickson. Her first novel To Journey in the Year of the Tiger was the start of Heather’s journey. Subsequent novels in this series followed with To Walk In The Way of Lions and Songs In the Year of The Cat. Now with three successful self-published novels under her belt Dickson is in the midst of writing her fourth novel, Cold Stone & Ivy. Her new novel is brewing excitement within the literary world and last year she signed on with the prestigious Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York City. Both Penguin and Baen Publishing are expressing interest. It is an exciting time for this author and it marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life.
Working along side her photographer husband Alan Dickson she admits their household is a creative one that has inspired and encouraged her writings. “When the kids were little, we would sit by the fire and I would read novels aloud to them, complete with different voices and accents for different characters.” Her enthusiasm for art and literature evolved at a very early age with her parents encouraging her to explore her many talents. “My mom was an art teacher and my dad an architectural technician, so I have drawn, written and painted ever since I could hold a crayon. I guess it’s in the genes.”
At the tender age of 13 she wrote her first full-length novel and had an offer to publish from KidsCan Press but to this day cannot explain why she did not pursue it. During university she continued to write and draw and was selected along with a good friend for DC Comics New Talent Showcase. Her talents allowed her to pencil comic books and the income assisted with some of her tuition.
It was while she attended university that the idea of To Journey In The Year Of The Tiger first presented itself in the form of a graphic novel. After penciling out the first chapter Heather decided that it would serve better as a novel. Her first draft once completed consisted of a 1,000 page novel. She approached agents who were very encouraging and suggested she create two novels from the draft. Thus To Walk In The Way of Lions was born.
As Heather explains, “This was the summer of 2012 and Amazon was beginning to make a mark in the publishing world, in the form of Kindle e-books. I really didn’t know anything about publishing but I thought this might be a good way to see if I had what it took to entertain a reader. I put both books up on Amazon and they started selling immediately. Also, almost immediately I had people asking for more in the series. I was getting fan mail!” Her fan base continues to grow by proof of her ranking among Amazon’s Best Sellers in their Kindle Store and reviews left by readers world-wide testify to the originality of her characters and innovative story telling.
After attending the University of Guelph where she studied zoology and then a two-year equine study program in New Liskeard, she took a position as what she describes as a “scullery maid” in a great house in Lancashire, England. This experience would ultimately be the seed of inspiration for her current novel Cold Stone & Ivy. “The Great House where I worked became the estate of the Mad Lord of Lasingstoke and is an integral part of the storyline. Both my editor and agent have commented how they felt like, while reading, they were living in Victorian England because I related the sense of place – the smells, the sounds, the textures.”
Having always been inspired by such classic authors as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Alexandre Dumas and Arthur Conan Doyle, Dickson describes her new novel has a Victorian steampunk thriller in which the greatest mystery of that era serves as an anchor to the plot. “Given that I love all things Victorian and have always been a reader of the great Victorian writers, I thought it was simply natural to set my mystery in the Victorian era. And what was (and still is) the greatest unsolved mystery of that era? Why, the identity of Jack the Ripper of course!”
H. Leighton Dickson admits she has learned much on her journey having self-published her first three novels and now embarking on a more traditional route with her new novel. She considers herself “a hybrid” having experienced both worlds. Although both offer benefits to a writer there is much to consider. “I’ve learned that both markets are very different and sort of antagonistic toward each other. Self-publishing is much more instantly gratifying. But somehow, being a part of the ages-old tradition of publishing, being validated by a signing agency, of making the cut and ultimately seeing your work in a bookstore that is very gratifying.”
When asked what advice she would give to other aspiring authors she puts emphasis on the fundamentals: grammar, sentence structure, pacing and tension but is also quick to point out that there are no short cuts to achieving a great plot and characterization. Hard work and dedication are required. “Edit it. Chop it. Lengthen and strengthen it. Then leave it and percolate for a while and see if you can think of ways to give the ending more of a wow, make the characters more complex, give the story a twist and write your way out of it. Think, “What would I do if this happened to me?” and then have your character do it.”
As winter slowly settles in I can’t help but ask this writer a simple question. Does living in the North influence creativity? Her response is enthusiastic. “Actually, I think we are very creative here in Northwestern Ontario. The country here really affects us. We see, smell, hear and feel things very differently and I think there is something to be said for harsh climates and the creative fire. I think the connection to environment has given me the words to create a sense of place, of being somewhere very different, and then the emotional response that goes along with it.”
Most evenings H. Leighton Dickson can be found at home typing away on her laptop, sitting by a warm fire and enjoying a glass of red wine. She is an author who dares to dream big and is excited about the potential of her latest novel. She envisions Cold Stone & Ivy on the big screen and is currently making plans to travel to Vienna, Strasbourg and Paris for research for a follow up novel. Experiencing the cultures, sites and sounds of these stunningly beautiful cities will again inspire this gifted writer to weave yet another tale. As her journey continues it will serve as the inspiration that will delight and entertain readers for years to come.
To learn more about H. Leighton Dickson and her novels please visit: www.hleightondickson.com.
Lisa Sandham is an interior designer, home designer and freelance writer. Contact her at www,lisasandham.com
Lisa Sandham
Imagine a future where humans no longer exist. A tale spun conjuring visions of lions, tigers and wolves that walk amongst snow covered mountains. Through written page a fantastical world is born where the influences of dynastic China, ancient India and feudal Japan spring to life.
Such a world exists and is the brainchild of local author H. Leighton Dickson. Her first novel To Journey in the Year of the Tiger was the start of Heather’s journey. Subsequent novels in this series followed with To Walk In The Way of Lions and Songs In the Year of The Cat. Now with three successful self-published novels under her belt Dickson is in the midst of writing her fourth novel, Cold Stone & Ivy. Her new novel is brewing excitement within the literary world and last year she signed on with the prestigious Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York City. Both Penguin and Baen Publishing are expressing interest. It is an exciting time for this author and it marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life.
Working along side her photographer husband Alan Dickson she admits their household is a creative one that has inspired and encouraged her writings. “When the kids were little, we would sit by the fire and I would read novels aloud to them, complete with different voices and accents for different characters.” Her enthusiasm for art and literature evolved at a very early age with her parents encouraging her to explore her many talents. “My mom was an art teacher and my dad an architectural technician, so I have drawn, written and painted ever since I could hold a crayon. I guess it’s in the genes.”
At the tender age of 13 she wrote her first full-length novel and had an offer to publish from KidsCan Press but to this day cannot explain why she did not pursue it. During university she continued to write and draw and was selected along with a good friend for DC Comics New Talent Showcase. Her talents allowed her to pencil comic books and the income assisted with some of her tuition.
It was while she attended university that the idea of To Journey In The Year Of The Tiger first presented itself in the form of a graphic novel. After penciling out the first chapter Heather decided that it would serve better as a novel. Her first draft once completed consisted of a 1,000 page novel. She approached agents who were very encouraging and suggested she create two novels from the draft. Thus To Walk In The Way of Lions was born.
As Heather explains, “This was the summer of 2012 and Amazon was beginning to make a mark in the publishing world, in the form of Kindle e-books. I really didn’t know anything about publishing but I thought this might be a good way to see if I had what it took to entertain a reader. I put both books up on Amazon and they started selling immediately. Also, almost immediately I had people asking for more in the series. I was getting fan mail!” Her fan base continues to grow by proof of her ranking among Amazon’s Best Sellers in their Kindle Store and reviews left by readers world-wide testify to the originality of her characters and innovative story telling.
After attending the University of Guelph where she studied zoology and then a two-year equine study program in New Liskeard, she took a position as what she describes as a “scullery maid” in a great house in Lancashire, England. This experience would ultimately be the seed of inspiration for her current novel Cold Stone & Ivy. “The Great House where I worked became the estate of the Mad Lord of Lasingstoke and is an integral part of the storyline. Both my editor and agent have commented how they felt like, while reading, they were living in Victorian England because I related the sense of place – the smells, the sounds, the textures.”
Having always been inspired by such classic authors as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Alexandre Dumas and Arthur Conan Doyle, Dickson describes her new novel has a Victorian steampunk thriller in which the greatest mystery of that era serves as an anchor to the plot. “Given that I love all things Victorian and have always been a reader of the great Victorian writers, I thought it was simply natural to set my mystery in the Victorian era. And what was (and still is) the greatest unsolved mystery of that era? Why, the identity of Jack the Ripper of course!”
H. Leighton Dickson admits she has learned much on her journey having self-published her first three novels and now embarking on a more traditional route with her new novel. She considers herself “a hybrid” having experienced both worlds. Although both offer benefits to a writer there is much to consider. “I’ve learned that both markets are very different and sort of antagonistic toward each other. Self-publishing is much more instantly gratifying. But somehow, being a part of the ages-old tradition of publishing, being validated by a signing agency, of making the cut and ultimately seeing your work in a bookstore that is very gratifying.”
When asked what advice she would give to other aspiring authors she puts emphasis on the fundamentals: grammar, sentence structure, pacing and tension but is also quick to point out that there are no short cuts to achieving a great plot and characterization. Hard work and dedication are required. “Edit it. Chop it. Lengthen and strengthen it. Then leave it and percolate for a while and see if you can think of ways to give the ending more of a wow, make the characters more complex, give the story a twist and write your way out of it. Think, “What would I do if this happened to me?” and then have your character do it.”
As winter slowly settles in I can’t help but ask this writer a simple question. Does living in the North influence creativity? Her response is enthusiastic. “Actually, I think we are very creative here in Northwestern Ontario. The country here really affects us. We see, smell, hear and feel things very differently and I think there is something to be said for harsh climates and the creative fire. I think the connection to environment has given me the words to create a sense of place, of being somewhere very different, and then the emotional response that goes along with it.”
Most evenings H. Leighton Dickson can be found at home typing away on her laptop, sitting by a warm fire and enjoying a glass of red wine. She is an author who dares to dream big and is excited about the potential of her latest novel. She envisions Cold Stone & Ivy on the big screen and is currently making plans to travel to Vienna, Strasbourg and Paris for research for a follow up novel. Experiencing the cultures, sites and sounds of these stunningly beautiful cities will again inspire this gifted writer to weave yet another tale. As her journey continues it will serve as the inspiration that will delight and entertain readers for years to come.
To learn more about H. Leighton Dickson and her novels please visit: www.hleightondickson.com.
Lisa Sandham is an interior designer, home designer and freelance writer. Contact her at www,lisasandham.com
September 17, 2013
Review Session with Author Bard Constantine
I love talking to fellow authors about books, publishing and the process of writing. Here is an interview I did with fellow fantasy author, Bard Constantine, writer of SILENT EMPIRE, the Troubleshooter series and an upcoming fantasy novel (hush hush). Take a peak into my wild and wooly world!
"It’s always a pleasure to chat with an author that you greatly admire. Today it is with H. Leighton Dickson, author of the Tales of the Upper Kingdom fantasy series and the upcoming Victorian adventure novel Stone Cold and Ivy. I’m a huge fan of her fantasy novels with sweeping adventure, dynamic characters, and unique blend of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian culture and myth. I had a lot of questions for her regarding her novels and the state of the publishing business. I’m sure you’ll enjoy her answers as much as I did.
Let us know a little about your journey to become a writer. What is it that compelled you to write this fantasy series?
Um, good question. I’ve always written. Even when I was a little kid, I wrote. I actually wrote a book when I was thirteen – a full-length novel loosely (okay, not so loosely) based on CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London. I received an offer to publish from a Canadian publisher but my parents thought I was too young! I’m also an artist and penciled my way into New Talent Workshop with DC Comics, where I started TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER as a graphic novel. I had the whole story plotted out years ago.
That’s very cool to get an offer so young. You could have been the first Christopher Paolini! Let’s talk about the setting of your novels. Your story combines various elements of Eastern cultures and mythology. What is it about that particular region that fascinates you?
I’m not sure. It did morph from a more Western Fantasy base into the very Eastern-influenced culture that it became, but I honestly don’t know when or why that happened. I think I had always had the title in my mind and at one point, it was a light-bulb moment. “Duh, Year of the Tiger is Asian!” My son is also an anime buff (I was too, back in the day when Star Blazers was ‘Japanese cartoons’)As I got older, I began to enjoy the complexities of Asian cultures, and when I started writing Tiger again as a novel, it began in the Himalayas and just grew from there.
Your series features animal/human hybrids as main characters. Did your background in zoology have an effect on your creations?
Absolutely. My specialty is predators. I know how they think. I’ve wrestled tigers (okay, she was tame, but still), I was chased by lions, I hand-fed foxes. I used to love the film series of the Planet of the Apes (original – yes, I know I’m dating myself!) and would often think about how the chimps, gorillas and orangutans were portrayed as different archetypes. That stimulated me to think about how cats would be as human hybrids. Lions would be noble, but a little vain. Tigers would be all-around good chums. Cheetahs would be sexy and aloof. You get the idea. Plus, I’ve never seen a good werewolf in a movie. I could SO do a good werewolf.
What stands out the most about your writing is the fascinating character development, in my opinion. How did you approach your character creation, and is it a conscious effort to create such dynamic clashes of personality?
Ooh, really good question! No, I don’t think I ‘set out’ to write tension. I think I just have a really good handle on the characters. I see them as people. I have actors cast in my mind. I hear their voices, see their body movements and build conversations around that. Throw two or three of them in a conversation or situation, and they just take it and run. Sometimes, I would surprise myself with how things would end up, but literally, it is a case of the characters writing themselves. A perfect example is Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie. Throw all of those characters in a room and write what happens. It won’t be tea and crumpets.
Do you purposely create flaws in your characters, or is that more of a subconscious thing?
Again, ditto the above statement. I didn’t intentionally create flaws but all people have flaws. I love the flaws in people – I am a true Captain Kirk at heart. It’s what makes us human. And I think it’s the humanity in these cat people that is the most appealing thing about the series.
Do you have a favorite character? If so, who is it?
Mmm, I do love them all but for me, I loved Kirin the most. I loved his journey, from Mr. Perfect, having it all, to the man he becomes through all of it. I feel at home writing him, although I am far more like Kerris or Fallon at heart. I loved how Rah (Sherah, but I call her Rah) grew on me. I loved to write her. And Ursa. She was the most fun by far. My inner moral compass is Sireth, always right and knowing it. But Kirin, poor Kirin, wonderful, strong, noble, tightly-wound Kirin. Yep, probs him.
I think Kirin was my favorite character as well. In a way, the entire ‘journey’ was his own as far as his growth as a character. Speaking of which, there are many surprises for the reader in this series, but what caught me off guard was the surprisingly brutal climax of book two. I haven’t been that shocked since reading Game of Thrones. When it comes to writing such scenes, do you find any level of difficulty?
I kind of knew how I wanted it to go and I didn’t want to shy away from the brutality of what happens to the characters. At the same time, I wanted the reader to feel it, feel the horror and then the healing that begins and how. I think I was careful not to be crude or shocking for the sake of shock but I really put myself into those particular character’s shoes (or boots!) and wrote with subtlety and emotion. People live with all manner of trauma and I admire the strength of the human spirit, the deep inner drive to survive no matter what the obstacles (there – another Captain Kirk moment!). Also, I wanted to see what it would be like for a character like Kirin to begin to live with what he might call a handicap, and not only live, but triumph.
There is a science fiction twist intertwined with the story that you pull of quite nicely. Did you intend to include that from the beginning?
Yes, even back when I had penciled the first pages of what was then a graphic novel, Sireth was being awakened by a satellite. I always thought that was a cool concept.
What was the hardest part about writing this series?
Honestly, the Sci-Fi! I can totally write the fantasy elements, the sociology, the philosophy, the zoology, but the tech? I’m so not a tech person! I depended on my vast history of sci-fi movies, and my son and a good friend who are tech geeks! Although, while writing Songs in the Year of the Cat, I began to get into it and sort of regret not spending more time in NorAm with the Ancestors. It was my first experience with a deadline, and I missed having months and months to mull and create. We will definitely correct that in Bones.
I know I’ll look forward to that, although I have a feeling the Ancestors will bring a whole new batch of problems. The third book leaves the door open for more installments. When can readers expect a sequel, and where will the story go from here?
Whoa, what a segue! Yes, I have 6 novels (so 3 more)planned in the series, then two prequels if I can find the time. The story will involve a large battle for the right to be free, basically. Free of the Ancestors reins and yokes. I’m really big on social equality and justice issues.But when? Eek, I really need, I must, I must, see COLD STONE & IVY finished, polished and in Jennifer Udden’s capable hands before I can even think about Bones in the Year of the Dragon.
Questions on the Industry
You self published the Upper Kingdom series, but you’re now represented by a literary agent for your next novel. Tell us a bit about the pros and cons of both avenues.
It’s been a very interesting road, that’s for sure! I tried for a long time to get an agent with the Upper Kingdom series, but I guess they were just too different for traditional publishing. (With the exception of Pyr, but that’s a long story!) And I was hearing interesting stuff about self-pubbing, so I decided to put them up, to see if people would actually read something like this. And I was pleasantly surprised at the sales. Slow at first, but building steadily and steadily until I was able to start paying for bathroom fixtures and little trips with my earnings. But still, a part of me really wanted the validation of being traditionally published.
So I took up the NaNoWriMo challenge and started a new work in November 2011, wrote over 50,000 words in a month, and just kept going. It was a really strong story – over 165,000 words (that’s like a 700 page novel!) I sent the first chapter off to Erica Orloff, a professional editor and she went bananas. Literally, she loved it. With her help, I was able to draft a pretty great query and synopsis and within months, I had an offer of publication from a small Canadian press and offers galore from agents. I chose Jennifer Udden because she’s a girl geek like me, and she works with Donald Maass, pretty much a legend in sci-fi/fantasy agents.
It’s very different from self-pubbing, probably a little more frustrating, as it takes sooooo long and so much revision and so much thought and so much ‘compromise’ but then, I believe I have now an incredible book ready to be shopped, as opposed to a really good one. I have to make myself trust her and trust the industry, which is difficult when you have an indie spirit like me. (Go indie or go home!) But I do know that being a hybrid is the best way to be (allusion to cat-people hybrids unintended but taken) and once COLD STONE & IVY hits the markets, readers will go, ‘Hmm, what else has she written?” flock to Amazon with their crazy 70% royalties, after which I get wildly rich and buy a sailboat.
That is the plan. =)
It sounds like a great plan to me. Do you think there’s a different perception of female writers in the fantasy genre, or has the playing field been leveled?
I would have said the field has leveled before this week, when I received a rather sexist review on Amazon. It made me very angry, so angry that I blogged about it. (http://ow.ly/oRfgP) The reviewer basically said that since the characters began to fall in love, and there were ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements’, that is was a romance and thus, a very good read for female readers. I argue that ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements’ are a part of the human experience and they in no way eclipsed the plot or story arc, which is ultimately, racism, bigotry and prejudice. There is still prejudice in all human experience, writing included. It’s frustrating and stupefying but I choose to defy it in my own way because that’s also the human experience. Thank you, Captain Kirk!
Anyway, all ranting aside, I do think the field is better, especially with the recent successes of female writers like Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Claire, and of course trailblazers Meyers and Rowlings. A story is a story. If it’s good, it shouldn’t matter who writes it.
Did you follow a particular plan for promoting and marketing your books?
Honestly, I don’t do anything except alternate the books on KDP’s free promotions. Three books are great because if someone buys one and likes it, then they’ll most likely buy the other two. They could, of course, wait for them to go free as well, but honestly, what reader wants to wait for a book for an unknown amount of time just to save $3.00! Readers are voracious hoarders. Works for me. =)
What’s your view of the future of publishing? Do you see self-publishing eventually taking over, or will the best option be a hybrid approach like your own experience?
I have no idea what the future of publishing is. It has to change. Amazon is not going away and they have totally changed the industry, for good I believe. It is just like globalization. You can slap tariffs on something from China but in the end, you just have to offer a different and better product if you want to compete. Originally, the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals were small, indie events, eclipsed by Cannes, the Oscars and Golden Globes. Now, who DOESN”T want to be seen at Sundance, or TFF? Indie is cool and smart and trendy. But the market IS a global one, and it’s very ‘free market’ minded. It is the American way, isn’t it? Good is good, and will rise. Of course, crap is popular too. It will always be. It is, after all, the way of things. =)
Any advice for up and coming writers?
Um, this might not be popular, but get better at writing. Learn grammar, sentence structure, pacing, tension. Learn, learn, learn. And take your time. Don’t write, ‘The End’and slap it up on Amazon. It is quite likely very bad. Reread and reread and reread. Fix it. Edit it. Chop it. Lengthen and Strengthen it. Then leave it and percolate for a while and see if you can think of ways to give the ending more Wow, make the characters more complex, give the story a twist and write your way out of it. Think, ‘what would I do if this happened to me” and then have your character do it. Don’t take short cuts because your writing will be false.
That sounds like sound advice to me."
Thanks Bard for taking the time! Always happy and more than willing to talk shop. And books. Or talk books and shop...
"It’s always a pleasure to chat with an author that you greatly admire. Today it is with H. Leighton Dickson, author of the Tales of the Upper Kingdom fantasy series and the upcoming Victorian adventure novel Stone Cold and Ivy. I’m a huge fan of her fantasy novels with sweeping adventure, dynamic characters, and unique blend of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian culture and myth. I had a lot of questions for her regarding her novels and the state of the publishing business. I’m sure you’ll enjoy her answers as much as I did.
Let us know a little about your journey to become a writer. What is it that compelled you to write this fantasy series?
Um, good question. I’ve always written. Even when I was a little kid, I wrote. I actually wrote a book when I was thirteen – a full-length novel loosely (okay, not so loosely) based on CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London. I received an offer to publish from a Canadian publisher but my parents thought I was too young! I’m also an artist and penciled my way into New Talent Workshop with DC Comics, where I started TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER as a graphic novel. I had the whole story plotted out years ago.
That’s very cool to get an offer so young. You could have been the first Christopher Paolini! Let’s talk about the setting of your novels. Your story combines various elements of Eastern cultures and mythology. What is it about that particular region that fascinates you?
I’m not sure. It did morph from a more Western Fantasy base into the very Eastern-influenced culture that it became, but I honestly don’t know when or why that happened. I think I had always had the title in my mind and at one point, it was a light-bulb moment. “Duh, Year of the Tiger is Asian!” My son is also an anime buff (I was too, back in the day when Star Blazers was ‘Japanese cartoons’)As I got older, I began to enjoy the complexities of Asian cultures, and when I started writing Tiger again as a novel, it began in the Himalayas and just grew from there.
Your series features animal/human hybrids as main characters. Did your background in zoology have an effect on your creations?
Absolutely. My specialty is predators. I know how they think. I’ve wrestled tigers (okay, she was tame, but still), I was chased by lions, I hand-fed foxes. I used to love the film series of the Planet of the Apes (original – yes, I know I’m dating myself!) and would often think about how the chimps, gorillas and orangutans were portrayed as different archetypes. That stimulated me to think about how cats would be as human hybrids. Lions would be noble, but a little vain. Tigers would be all-around good chums. Cheetahs would be sexy and aloof. You get the idea. Plus, I’ve never seen a good werewolf in a movie. I could SO do a good werewolf.
What stands out the most about your writing is the fascinating character development, in my opinion. How did you approach your character creation, and is it a conscious effort to create such dynamic clashes of personality?
Ooh, really good question! No, I don’t think I ‘set out’ to write tension. I think I just have a really good handle on the characters. I see them as people. I have actors cast in my mind. I hear their voices, see their body movements and build conversations around that. Throw two or three of them in a conversation or situation, and they just take it and run. Sometimes, I would surprise myself with how things would end up, but literally, it is a case of the characters writing themselves. A perfect example is Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie. Throw all of those characters in a room and write what happens. It won’t be tea and crumpets.
Do you purposely create flaws in your characters, or is that more of a subconscious thing?
Again, ditto the above statement. I didn’t intentionally create flaws but all people have flaws. I love the flaws in people – I am a true Captain Kirk at heart. It’s what makes us human. And I think it’s the humanity in these cat people that is the most appealing thing about the series.
Do you have a favorite character? If so, who is it?
Mmm, I do love them all but for me, I loved Kirin the most. I loved his journey, from Mr. Perfect, having it all, to the man he becomes through all of it. I feel at home writing him, although I am far more like Kerris or Fallon at heart. I loved how Rah (Sherah, but I call her Rah) grew on me. I loved to write her. And Ursa. She was the most fun by far. My inner moral compass is Sireth, always right and knowing it. But Kirin, poor Kirin, wonderful, strong, noble, tightly-wound Kirin. Yep, probs him.
I think Kirin was my favorite character as well. In a way, the entire ‘journey’ was his own as far as his growth as a character. Speaking of which, there are many surprises for the reader in this series, but what caught me off guard was the surprisingly brutal climax of book two. I haven’t been that shocked since reading Game of Thrones. When it comes to writing such scenes, do you find any level of difficulty?
I kind of knew how I wanted it to go and I didn’t want to shy away from the brutality of what happens to the characters. At the same time, I wanted the reader to feel it, feel the horror and then the healing that begins and how. I think I was careful not to be crude or shocking for the sake of shock but I really put myself into those particular character’s shoes (or boots!) and wrote with subtlety and emotion. People live with all manner of trauma and I admire the strength of the human spirit, the deep inner drive to survive no matter what the obstacles (there – another Captain Kirk moment!). Also, I wanted to see what it would be like for a character like Kirin to begin to live with what he might call a handicap, and not only live, but triumph.
There is a science fiction twist intertwined with the story that you pull of quite nicely. Did you intend to include that from the beginning?
Yes, even back when I had penciled the first pages of what was then a graphic novel, Sireth was being awakened by a satellite. I always thought that was a cool concept.
What was the hardest part about writing this series?
Honestly, the Sci-Fi! I can totally write the fantasy elements, the sociology, the philosophy, the zoology, but the tech? I’m so not a tech person! I depended on my vast history of sci-fi movies, and my son and a good friend who are tech geeks! Although, while writing Songs in the Year of the Cat, I began to get into it and sort of regret not spending more time in NorAm with the Ancestors. It was my first experience with a deadline, and I missed having months and months to mull and create. We will definitely correct that in Bones.
I know I’ll look forward to that, although I have a feeling the Ancestors will bring a whole new batch of problems. The third book leaves the door open for more installments. When can readers expect a sequel, and where will the story go from here?
Whoa, what a segue! Yes, I have 6 novels (so 3 more)planned in the series, then two prequels if I can find the time. The story will involve a large battle for the right to be free, basically. Free of the Ancestors reins and yokes. I’m really big on social equality and justice issues.But when? Eek, I really need, I must, I must, see COLD STONE & IVY finished, polished and in Jennifer Udden’s capable hands before I can even think about Bones in the Year of the Dragon.
Questions on the Industry
You self published the Upper Kingdom series, but you’re now represented by a literary agent for your next novel. Tell us a bit about the pros and cons of both avenues.
It’s been a very interesting road, that’s for sure! I tried for a long time to get an agent with the Upper Kingdom series, but I guess they were just too different for traditional publishing. (With the exception of Pyr, but that’s a long story!) And I was hearing interesting stuff about self-pubbing, so I decided to put them up, to see if people would actually read something like this. And I was pleasantly surprised at the sales. Slow at first, but building steadily and steadily until I was able to start paying for bathroom fixtures and little trips with my earnings. But still, a part of me really wanted the validation of being traditionally published.
So I took up the NaNoWriMo challenge and started a new work in November 2011, wrote over 50,000 words in a month, and just kept going. It was a really strong story – over 165,000 words (that’s like a 700 page novel!) I sent the first chapter off to Erica Orloff, a professional editor and she went bananas. Literally, she loved it. With her help, I was able to draft a pretty great query and synopsis and within months, I had an offer of publication from a small Canadian press and offers galore from agents. I chose Jennifer Udden because she’s a girl geek like me, and she works with Donald Maass, pretty much a legend in sci-fi/fantasy agents.
It’s very different from self-pubbing, probably a little more frustrating, as it takes sooooo long and so much revision and so much thought and so much ‘compromise’ but then, I believe I have now an incredible book ready to be shopped, as opposed to a really good one. I have to make myself trust her and trust the industry, which is difficult when you have an indie spirit like me. (Go indie or go home!) But I do know that being a hybrid is the best way to be (allusion to cat-people hybrids unintended but taken) and once COLD STONE & IVY hits the markets, readers will go, ‘Hmm, what else has she written?” flock to Amazon with their crazy 70% royalties, after which I get wildly rich and buy a sailboat.
That is the plan. =)
It sounds like a great plan to me. Do you think there’s a different perception of female writers in the fantasy genre, or has the playing field been leveled?
I would have said the field has leveled before this week, when I received a rather sexist review on Amazon. It made me very angry, so angry that I blogged about it. (http://ow.ly/oRfgP) The reviewer basically said that since the characters began to fall in love, and there were ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements’, that is was a romance and thus, a very good read for female readers. I argue that ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements’ are a part of the human experience and they in no way eclipsed the plot or story arc, which is ultimately, racism, bigotry and prejudice. There is still prejudice in all human experience, writing included. It’s frustrating and stupefying but I choose to defy it in my own way because that’s also the human experience. Thank you, Captain Kirk!
Anyway, all ranting aside, I do think the field is better, especially with the recent successes of female writers like Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Claire, and of course trailblazers Meyers and Rowlings. A story is a story. If it’s good, it shouldn’t matter who writes it.
Did you follow a particular plan for promoting and marketing your books?
Honestly, I don’t do anything except alternate the books on KDP’s free promotions. Three books are great because if someone buys one and likes it, then they’ll most likely buy the other two. They could, of course, wait for them to go free as well, but honestly, what reader wants to wait for a book for an unknown amount of time just to save $3.00! Readers are voracious hoarders. Works for me. =)
What’s your view of the future of publishing? Do you see self-publishing eventually taking over, or will the best option be a hybrid approach like your own experience?
I have no idea what the future of publishing is. It has to change. Amazon is not going away and they have totally changed the industry, for good I believe. It is just like globalization. You can slap tariffs on something from China but in the end, you just have to offer a different and better product if you want to compete. Originally, the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals were small, indie events, eclipsed by Cannes, the Oscars and Golden Globes. Now, who DOESN”T want to be seen at Sundance, or TFF? Indie is cool and smart and trendy. But the market IS a global one, and it’s very ‘free market’ minded. It is the American way, isn’t it? Good is good, and will rise. Of course, crap is popular too. It will always be. It is, after all, the way of things. =)
Any advice for up and coming writers?
Um, this might not be popular, but get better at writing. Learn grammar, sentence structure, pacing, tension. Learn, learn, learn. And take your time. Don’t write, ‘The End’and slap it up on Amazon. It is quite likely very bad. Reread and reread and reread. Fix it. Edit it. Chop it. Lengthen and Strengthen it. Then leave it and percolate for a while and see if you can think of ways to give the ending more Wow, make the characters more complex, give the story a twist and write your way out of it. Think, ‘what would I do if this happened to me” and then have your character do it. Don’t take short cuts because your writing will be false.
That sounds like sound advice to me."
Thanks Bard for taking the time! Always happy and more than willing to talk shop. And books. Or talk books and shop...
September 11, 2013
Of Sexism in Fantasy and Other Horrible Things...
Sexism Alive and Well and Living ‘Out West’
Today is the twelfth anniversary of 9/11 - the day the world was awakened to the depth and breadth and fervour of religious hatred. Last year in New Dehli, a woman was raped to death on a bus. Today, four of the six offenders were pronounced guilty, with prosecutors are calling for the death penalty. We shake our heads and wonder how people can live ruled by base prejudices, inhumanities and fears. For the most part, it is not the Way Things Are.
I am a writer. Small miracle, I know, but finally, I can say this with pride and a sense of accomplishment. I have three books on Amazon and one with my agent in the process of traditional publishing. The ones on Amazon are doing quite well and I must admit, I love getting reviews. I love hearing the feedback of readers, what they liked, what intrigued them, who their favourite characters were and why. Even when a review contains criticism, I make myself read it over and over, looking for the truth in the review and adjusting course accordingly. I really do appreciate constructive criticism. I am a good learner that way.
I am also lucky to never have been trolled. They’re really not the kind of books to attract trolls. I figure, if you’ve bought them, you’re interested and I will always give a reader the benefit of the doubt in every case.
Until this.
“This book has an intriguing premise: A society of anthropomorphic felines based on an amalgam of Asian cultures. Throw in some human efforts at surviving some mysterious catastrophe and both tech and evolution gone awry and you should have the elements of an interesting story. And it was, for the most part. The thing that disappointed me was a story that began as a 5.8 on my fiction scale became a 3.5 by the end of the book (see my profile for an explanation of the fiction scale). The mystery and the quest and the action began to be eclipsed by the jealousies and romantic entanglements of the characters. I began to lose interest about three chapters from the end. I candidly recognize this as a gender factor. This is a female author writing about things that are thrilling to her and not so much to me. The book is well written and the culture fully realized in a marvelous display of world building. I just wish that either a) the author had stuck to the story she set out to tell at the beginning, or b) I had not been misled into expecting a story she really wasn't interested in telling.
I believe that most female fantasy readers will find this book to be exceptionally good.”
Now again, I am looking for the grain (or vein) of truth here, and in the reader’s defense, I can see that he or she was not looking for a character-driven novel, preferring action and world-shaping events, perhaps a more hard-core sci-fi realm of technology or a fantasy realm of magic. Everyone has a preference and I will not dismiss this review because it wasn’t his or her cup of tea. What I do object to is the blatant sexism and belittling of the human experience into gender stereotypes.
I am a fifty year old woman but when I write the Upper Kingdom series, I step out of myself and into Kirin’s boots, breathe deep his love of Bushido, of honour and truth and the life of a warrior that makes him bigger than just a soldier who yearns for things he cannot have. I think that rings a bell with many readers and interestingly enough, most of my readers are men. I know this because they contact me, whether by facebook or email, by website or review. Often they tell me that, in the end of TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS, they cried. It’s okay. I cried too. Still do.
All my novels are high concept yet character driven, and TIGER, LION and CAT are if anything, about racism and prejudice in social systems. When I read, “This is a female author writing about things that are thrilling to her,” I bristle. Yes, the struggle for social equality is thrilling to me, but it is not a ‘female’ issue. It is a ‘human’ issue, as important to men of all cultures as well as women. I wonder if that is something that, as a civilization, we have forgotten. When I think about the woman on the bus, I wonder if it is something we have never known.
So what do I make of that review?
You see, without sounding preachy, all prejudice has its start somewhere and here, I see sexism in juvenile form. A joke, a comment, a generalization or in this case, a review. The terms, ‘male’ and ‘female’ are actually adjectives, meant to describe a noun, not be one. Used as nouns, they convey an objective perspective, as if the reader is beyond such petty things. As a zoologist, I can assure you that we use ‘male’ and ‘female’ as a scientific form of address for a specimen or a study animal. People are by chromosomes male and female, but as nouns, men and women. The terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ imply personhood. Not so, male and female.
I read a blip on the web yesterday: “An American study suggests that fans of the ‘Harry Potter’ book and film series tend to be more politically tolerant, politically active, open to diversity, less authoritarian and less likely to support of deadly force or torture.”
Written by a woman just like me, J.K. Rowling had to de-feminize her name in order to be taken seriously in this genre. Within the seven books, there were smaller, human-interest stories, containing ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements.’ Relationships made up parts of the big story, contributed to it and embellished it, but did not take away from the overarching story of Harry and his destiny. Women’s literature or Homerian epic storytelling?
There are ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements’ galore in George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series but I don’t think anyone would dare to call it chick-lit.
Twelve years ago, nineteen men flew two planes into two towers, making it a terrible horror story authored by men. Does that make it a ‘male’ issue? Thousands of men and women died, hundreds of men and women risked their lives to help and the entire world was changed in its wake.
Racism, sexism. prejudice and social equality are not ‘female’ issues, nor are jealousies and romantic entanglements a woman’s domain. Male or female, we all lose if we don’t understand that we can be a better people than who we are, if we don’t reach for something a little bit higher and lift each other up in the process.
And maybe one day a woman can ride the bus in New Dehli and not be afraid.
(http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandol...)
Today is the twelfth anniversary of 9/11 - the day the world was awakened to the depth and breadth and fervour of religious hatred. Last year in New Dehli, a woman was raped to death on a bus. Today, four of the six offenders were pronounced guilty, with prosecutors are calling for the death penalty. We shake our heads and wonder how people can live ruled by base prejudices, inhumanities and fears. For the most part, it is not the Way Things Are.
I am a writer. Small miracle, I know, but finally, I can say this with pride and a sense of accomplishment. I have three books on Amazon and one with my agent in the process of traditional publishing. The ones on Amazon are doing quite well and I must admit, I love getting reviews. I love hearing the feedback of readers, what they liked, what intrigued them, who their favourite characters were and why. Even when a review contains criticism, I make myself read it over and over, looking for the truth in the review and adjusting course accordingly. I really do appreciate constructive criticism. I am a good learner that way.
I am also lucky to never have been trolled. They’re really not the kind of books to attract trolls. I figure, if you’ve bought them, you’re interested and I will always give a reader the benefit of the doubt in every case.
Until this.
“This book has an intriguing premise: A society of anthropomorphic felines based on an amalgam of Asian cultures. Throw in some human efforts at surviving some mysterious catastrophe and both tech and evolution gone awry and you should have the elements of an interesting story. And it was, for the most part. The thing that disappointed me was a story that began as a 5.8 on my fiction scale became a 3.5 by the end of the book (see my profile for an explanation of the fiction scale). The mystery and the quest and the action began to be eclipsed by the jealousies and romantic entanglements of the characters. I began to lose interest about three chapters from the end. I candidly recognize this as a gender factor. This is a female author writing about things that are thrilling to her and not so much to me. The book is well written and the culture fully realized in a marvelous display of world building. I just wish that either a) the author had stuck to the story she set out to tell at the beginning, or b) I had not been misled into expecting a story she really wasn't interested in telling.
I believe that most female fantasy readers will find this book to be exceptionally good.”
Now again, I am looking for the grain (or vein) of truth here, and in the reader’s defense, I can see that he or she was not looking for a character-driven novel, preferring action and world-shaping events, perhaps a more hard-core sci-fi realm of technology or a fantasy realm of magic. Everyone has a preference and I will not dismiss this review because it wasn’t his or her cup of tea. What I do object to is the blatant sexism and belittling of the human experience into gender stereotypes.
I am a fifty year old woman but when I write the Upper Kingdom series, I step out of myself and into Kirin’s boots, breathe deep his love of Bushido, of honour and truth and the life of a warrior that makes him bigger than just a soldier who yearns for things he cannot have. I think that rings a bell with many readers and interestingly enough, most of my readers are men. I know this because they contact me, whether by facebook or email, by website or review. Often they tell me that, in the end of TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS, they cried. It’s okay. I cried too. Still do.
All my novels are high concept yet character driven, and TIGER, LION and CAT are if anything, about racism and prejudice in social systems. When I read, “This is a female author writing about things that are thrilling to her,” I bristle. Yes, the struggle for social equality is thrilling to me, but it is not a ‘female’ issue. It is a ‘human’ issue, as important to men of all cultures as well as women. I wonder if that is something that, as a civilization, we have forgotten. When I think about the woman on the bus, I wonder if it is something we have never known.
So what do I make of that review?
You see, without sounding preachy, all prejudice has its start somewhere and here, I see sexism in juvenile form. A joke, a comment, a generalization or in this case, a review. The terms, ‘male’ and ‘female’ are actually adjectives, meant to describe a noun, not be one. Used as nouns, they convey an objective perspective, as if the reader is beyond such petty things. As a zoologist, I can assure you that we use ‘male’ and ‘female’ as a scientific form of address for a specimen or a study animal. People are by chromosomes male and female, but as nouns, men and women. The terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ imply personhood. Not so, male and female.
I read a blip on the web yesterday: “An American study suggests that fans of the ‘Harry Potter’ book and film series tend to be more politically tolerant, politically active, open to diversity, less authoritarian and less likely to support of deadly force or torture.”
Written by a woman just like me, J.K. Rowling had to de-feminize her name in order to be taken seriously in this genre. Within the seven books, there were smaller, human-interest stories, containing ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements.’ Relationships made up parts of the big story, contributed to it and embellished it, but did not take away from the overarching story of Harry and his destiny. Women’s literature or Homerian epic storytelling?
There are ‘jealousies and romantic entanglements’ galore in George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series but I don’t think anyone would dare to call it chick-lit.
Twelve years ago, nineteen men flew two planes into two towers, making it a terrible horror story authored by men. Does that make it a ‘male’ issue? Thousands of men and women died, hundreds of men and women risked their lives to help and the entire world was changed in its wake.
Racism, sexism. prejudice and social equality are not ‘female’ issues, nor are jealousies and romantic entanglements a woman’s domain. Male or female, we all lose if we don’t understand that we can be a better people than who we are, if we don’t reach for something a little bit higher and lift each other up in the process.
And maybe one day a woman can ride the bus in New Dehli and not be afraid.
(http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandol...)
June 7, 2013
Thoughts on the Death of a Bird
It is a sad thing to wake up and look to the nest outside your window, only to find it overturned and empty. I am surprised, actually, at how sad it is.
Last summer, a pair of robins built a nest in the beams of our pergola. It was just above our deck table, and it was just high enough to avoid our two cats who sat eagerly below, or the three dogs who enjoyed pestering the cats. We spent many warm evenings watching the parents build and tend, feed and feed and feed. And feed. We watched with glee as the little heads soon appeared, all wide yellow beak and scrawny neck. There were three chicks and we chronicled them as they grew from skeletal reptiles with wisps of sticky feathers to pretty little plumplings, taking their first daring hops from the nest along the beams. One morning, we found one dead under the nest and the mom sitting tight on the other two. The next morning, the rest of them were gone and the nest sat empty. Crows, I figured. We have a lot of them in the trees around our house. It was so sad, seeing the nest without the robins so we took it down, hoping to encourage them to choose a better, more sheltered place next time, and gradually, we forgot about them ourselves. It was, and always has been, the way of things.
This spring, this same pair found a better spot. A large white pine and from our balcony window, we had a literal bird’s eye view of the nest. It can’t be more than six feet away, nestled against the trunk, all but hidden, save from our vantage point. We watched the round mamma and sleek pappa built the nest out of dried grass, watched them weave and pack, weave and pack. Then we had the privilege of watching her lay, although we couldn’t tell how many of those remarkable blue eggs she dropped. Over the next few weeks, we watched them take turns sitting, turning, sitting again and finally, when we thought it might never end, a return of a parent with a moth in its beak.
This morning, as I have every morning for the past 6 weeks, I went to the window, to the balcony overlooking the white pine. The nest was overturned, upended and propped against the trunk. Empty. I went outside to look for signs of life or death, of splintered shells and struggling chicks, of blood or feathers or anything that might be a clue, but there was none, only the nest in the tree, overturned and still.
Tonight I saw a yearling moose just down the road from my house. Spotted white-tailed fawns will be trotting through my yard soon as well, ready to dine on cedar and hosta and columbine. And even the squawk and flap of baby crows will be a sweet and comical reminder of the unrelenting, unsentimental, unilateral focus of life. That yearling moose may die on the road, but he lived through a very hard, long winter and a horrible, miserly spring. The fawns have plenty now but there are so many of them, and soon, the wolves will follow, keeping their number at a manageable levels. And those crows - well, not much can threaten the survival of a crow. And there are still many robins.
My oldest daughter is coming home. She has been in Australia for six months and has finally decided to embark upon a career as a support worker for children with Autism. My son graduates next week from Grade 12 and is thrilled to be taking a lovely young woman to the dinner/dance in two. My youngest, the wild young thing, student council president and force of nature, is graduating as well, but from Grade 8, from Elementary into High. Big changes for my children. Big changes for me.
Every morning, I will see that empty nest. I will stop and think and be sad, but I’m a zoologist. LIfe is hard and then you die. But I am also an optimist. Life is a fleeting gift, precious and sharp and beautiful and rich. I hope I’ll look with clearer eyes at everyone and everything because of those robins, with just a little more care, just a little more wisdom and an unending, unquenchable, cup-overflowing supply of hope.
I can't wait to see their nest next year.
Last summer, a pair of robins built a nest in the beams of our pergola. It was just above our deck table, and it was just high enough to avoid our two cats who sat eagerly below, or the three dogs who enjoyed pestering the cats. We spent many warm evenings watching the parents build and tend, feed and feed and feed. And feed. We watched with glee as the little heads soon appeared, all wide yellow beak and scrawny neck. There were three chicks and we chronicled them as they grew from skeletal reptiles with wisps of sticky feathers to pretty little plumplings, taking their first daring hops from the nest along the beams. One morning, we found one dead under the nest and the mom sitting tight on the other two. The next morning, the rest of them were gone and the nest sat empty. Crows, I figured. We have a lot of them in the trees around our house. It was so sad, seeing the nest without the robins so we took it down, hoping to encourage them to choose a better, more sheltered place next time, and gradually, we forgot about them ourselves. It was, and always has been, the way of things.
This spring, this same pair found a better spot. A large white pine and from our balcony window, we had a literal bird’s eye view of the nest. It can’t be more than six feet away, nestled against the trunk, all but hidden, save from our vantage point. We watched the round mamma and sleek pappa built the nest out of dried grass, watched them weave and pack, weave and pack. Then we had the privilege of watching her lay, although we couldn’t tell how many of those remarkable blue eggs she dropped. Over the next few weeks, we watched them take turns sitting, turning, sitting again and finally, when we thought it might never end, a return of a parent with a moth in its beak.
This morning, as I have every morning for the past 6 weeks, I went to the window, to the balcony overlooking the white pine. The nest was overturned, upended and propped against the trunk. Empty. I went outside to look for signs of life or death, of splintered shells and struggling chicks, of blood or feathers or anything that might be a clue, but there was none, only the nest in the tree, overturned and still.
Tonight I saw a yearling moose just down the road from my house. Spotted white-tailed fawns will be trotting through my yard soon as well, ready to dine on cedar and hosta and columbine. And even the squawk and flap of baby crows will be a sweet and comical reminder of the unrelenting, unsentimental, unilateral focus of life. That yearling moose may die on the road, but he lived through a very hard, long winter and a horrible, miserly spring. The fawns have plenty now but there are so many of them, and soon, the wolves will follow, keeping their number at a manageable levels. And those crows - well, not much can threaten the survival of a crow. And there are still many robins.
My oldest daughter is coming home. She has been in Australia for six months and has finally decided to embark upon a career as a support worker for children with Autism. My son graduates next week from Grade 12 and is thrilled to be taking a lovely young woman to the dinner/dance in two. My youngest, the wild young thing, student council president and force of nature, is graduating as well, but from Grade 8, from Elementary into High. Big changes for my children. Big changes for me.
Every morning, I will see that empty nest. I will stop and think and be sad, but I’m a zoologist. LIfe is hard and then you die. But I am also an optimist. Life is a fleeting gift, precious and sharp and beautiful and rich. I hope I’ll look with clearer eyes at everyone and everything because of those robins, with just a little more care, just a little more wisdom and an unending, unquenchable, cup-overflowing supply of hope.
I can't wait to see their nest next year.
May 30, 2013
Reviews in Space
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space." Douglas Adams
Space is big. So is Amazon. In fact, I didn't really know how big until I went to the Writers Digest Conference this April in New York and sat in on Jon Fine of Amazon talk about authors, about self-publishing, about so many ins and outs of the steamroller that is Amazon that I went away thinking two things. One was 'Um wow, big', and the other was 'What do you mean it doesn't all connect???' To that, I was referring to the variations of Amazon through which we sell our books, dot.com being the biggest but not the only.
Each of those domains, the dot.ca, the dot.co.uk, the dot.de, etc all have different sites for our books. They do not cross pollinate. They don't really like to talk to each other either and I see that as a bit problematic. For example, if someone chooses to drop in on Amazon.ca and look for TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER, he or she will find a small limited site with no Author Central page and hugely different rankings based on the one five star review. (http://ow.ly/lyWdl.) If he or she goes to Amazon.com, he or she will find a larger site with Author Central page and many more five star reviews, making the book more desirable for purchase. (http://ow.ly/lyWjb) It's the same with the other domains, causing the splintering of reviews, likes and rankings, which should ideally work together for the marketability of the product. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to find reviews that I never knew existed, and I'll share two of them with you below! So, pros and cons right? Still, unity is good (just ask Spock), splinter cells are bad, and in the BIG picture, I do tend to like good better...=)
Customer Reviews
To Journey in the Year of the Tiger
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Romp!, Jan 20 2013
By
Northern David (Canada) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: To Journey in the Year of the Tiger (Paperback)
This book is a delightful romp. It has excellent characters and character development as well as excellent character interplay. It starts a bit slowly, rather like a roller coaster, but is worth hanging in there for the wild ride that ensues :-) The back cover compares it to Roger Zelazney, but I found it more akin to Robert Jordan both in content and character development/interaction.
If you like Fantasy/Sci-Fi with a solid story plot, characters you can love and hate, and finding yourself questioning whether you'd chop the wicked witch's head off, give her a shot at redemption, or use her to further the cause until you do cut her head off you'll love, "To Journey in the Year of the Tiger". I'm off to order the next book in the series :-)
and
To Walk in the Way of Lions
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, Feb 8 2013
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: To Walk in the Way of Lions (Tails from the Upper Kingdom) (Kindle Edition)
Fun, fresh and enjoyable. Take yourself away from the everyday humdrum of weapons, war, and disaster to a world of everyday giant cats trying to make their way in a world they didn't create. Lots of humour and well written. Thanks!
Space is big. So is Amazon. In fact, I didn't really know how big until I went to the Writers Digest Conference this April in New York and sat in on Jon Fine of Amazon talk about authors, about self-publishing, about so many ins and outs of the steamroller that is Amazon that I went away thinking two things. One was 'Um wow, big', and the other was 'What do you mean it doesn't all connect???' To that, I was referring to the variations of Amazon through which we sell our books, dot.com being the biggest but not the only.
Each of those domains, the dot.ca, the dot.co.uk, the dot.de, etc all have different sites for our books. They do not cross pollinate. They don't really like to talk to each other either and I see that as a bit problematic. For example, if someone chooses to drop in on Amazon.ca and look for TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER, he or she will find a small limited site with no Author Central page and hugely different rankings based on the one five star review. (http://ow.ly/lyWdl.) If he or she goes to Amazon.com, he or she will find a larger site with Author Central page and many more five star reviews, making the book more desirable for purchase. (http://ow.ly/lyWjb) It's the same with the other domains, causing the splintering of reviews, likes and rankings, which should ideally work together for the marketability of the product. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to find reviews that I never knew existed, and I'll share two of them with you below! So, pros and cons right? Still, unity is good (just ask Spock), splinter cells are bad, and in the BIG picture, I do tend to like good better...=)
Customer Reviews
To Journey in the Year of the Tiger
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Romp!, Jan 20 2013
By
Northern David (Canada) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: To Journey in the Year of the Tiger (Paperback)
This book is a delightful romp. It has excellent characters and character development as well as excellent character interplay. It starts a bit slowly, rather like a roller coaster, but is worth hanging in there for the wild ride that ensues :-) The back cover compares it to Roger Zelazney, but I found it more akin to Robert Jordan both in content and character development/interaction.
If you like Fantasy/Sci-Fi with a solid story plot, characters you can love and hate, and finding yourself questioning whether you'd chop the wicked witch's head off, give her a shot at redemption, or use her to further the cause until you do cut her head off you'll love, "To Journey in the Year of the Tiger". I'm off to order the next book in the series :-)
and
To Walk in the Way of Lions
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, Feb 8 2013
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: To Walk in the Way of Lions (Tails from the Upper Kingdom) (Kindle Edition)
Fun, fresh and enjoyable. Take yourself away from the everyday humdrum of weapons, war, and disaster to a world of everyday giant cats trying to make their way in a world they didn't create. Lots of humour and well written. Thanks!
May 16, 2013
Interview with a Lion
There is some buzz a-generating once again with TIGER and LION, with a recommendation for publication from PYR books and LION topping the charts at #1 in its category. I am stunned and excited as yet another request for an interview crossed my screen from Free eBooks Daily, a site run by authors for authors. You can click to the site here or take your time and scroll down here: Either way, make sure you have a cuppa tea or a glass of port, pull up a chair and get cozy.
TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS is the second in the powerful Original Series by H. Leighton Dickson and picks up where TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER leaves off. This is a sweeping post-apocalyptic tale of genetically altered lions and tigers, wolves and dragons in a world that has evolved in the wake of the fall of human civilization. Half feline, half human, their culture blends those of Dynastic China, Ancient India and Feudal Japan where humans are legend and kingdoms have risen in their stead. Fans of Tolkien, GAME OF THRONES, REDWALL or Japanese anime will be entertained in these intelligent and beautifully written pages in a blend of science, fantasy and zoological speculation.
Author Q&A
Why do you think readers are going to enjoy your book?
TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS is the second in a series for intelligent readers who love scifi/fantasy stories with grand world building and deep characterization. It is surprisingly funny in some parts, nerve-wracking in others and it shows how sometimes the most human of characters aren't entirely human.
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I've had the idea for almost 30 years and predates the time I was penciling for DC Comics. It's just morphed from graphic novel format to novel and gotten better along the way.
Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
Kirin Wynegarde-Grey is my favourite character. He is also the main character. He is outwardly perfect, in physical appearance, in social status, in profession. But ultimately he is the most deeply flawed of the six and his journey is a painful but brilliant one.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I think the chapter entitled "The Dry Provinces" was my favourite. It is very complex and sets events into motion that lead to disastrous consequences. You are also 'inside' each character's head at some point (shifting POVs) for most of the chapter and you see their motivations and reasons for doing even the most surprising things. There's great action and deep emotion in that chapter.
Is there a message in your novel you want readers to discover?
It sounds cliched but this is a novel about self-discovery. Each of the six characters discovers strengths they didn't know they had and weaknesses they wished they didn't. Even though it is a fantasy, it's about prejudice and racism, class structure and freedom - things society has been struggling with for thousands of years. And, on a personal level, that perhaps people are more perfect when they are not perfect at all...
Character Interview - Captain Kirin Wynegarde-Grey
Tell us a little about yourself, C. How would you describe your appearance?
I am a lion. That should be enough description, I suppose, but I understand you wish to know more. I am tall for a lion and my eyes are blue, like my father's. My mane has grown to my waist and is as gold as a field of wheat in summer. I wear armour of Imperial gold as well and bear both long and short swords as proof of my Shatyriah class. I am a lion among lions, a warrior by blood and by choice. I follow the Bushido, a code of honour among warriors and I take it seriously.
Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?
I take the first step in the first story, TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER, and it is a high one, to the very top of the One Hundred Steps. I love my Empire, I love my Empress, I love my job as Captain of her personal guard. There is nothing I will not do for her, including travel across our Kingdom to find an Ancestor, a human who has managed to awaken after they have long gone. I may have to kill him.
What time period do you live in?
Not yours. Very far in your future, I am led to believe. Perhaps five thousand years.
Where are you from? Do you live in the same place now?
I grew up in the House Wynegarde-Grey in the mountains outside DharamShallah and I work in the Palace of Pol'Lhasa. My story is still unfolding, so yes, I am currently back in Pol'Lhasa, although I am not sure what fate awaits me there.
Tell us about your past. Can you share one really good experience and/or one really bad experience?
I have served the Empire since I drew my first breath, 24 summers ago. A very good memory for me was when I first met the Empress. I had four summers, she two. She was accompanied by peacocks and she pushed me down and sat on me. I have loved her ever since. A very bad memory is of the time Kerris killed our father by calling lightning out of the sky. I will never forget that day.
How do you feel about life now. What, if anything, would you like to change?
I am sad, now. I have only 24 summers, but after everything that has happened in the Year of the Tiger, I am sad. Changed. Not perfect anymore. If I could change anything, I would not have tried to kill my brother. I would have thrown the sword on the ground and left him. Then, I would not have fled and as a result, lost everything.
What special skills or abilities do you have? How do they affect your part in the story?
As I said, I am a lion and of the Shahtyriah caste. That is saying much. I carry the two swords, katanah and kodaichi and I know how to use them. I am skilled in fighting, in diplomacy, in the leading of men. This is all I know. They shape how I think and how I act. It is the Way of Things.
Who is the most important person in your life? Tell us about them.
The Empress is the most important person in my life, but truth be told, she is the most important person in any cat's life. She is iron and steel, silk and song. She is the colour of night with eyes as golden as the sun at midday. She is my life and she knows it.
How does that person impact you and your life?
I will do anything for the Empress, including travel to the very edges of our Kingdom, which spans from your China to your Middle East. I will sacrifice everything that I stand for to protect the Kingdom and, over the course of one terrible year, I do.
What do you see in your future?
Duty. Only duty. If the future continues to play out as it seems, there will be huge changes for our Kingdom and that will be bad for all of us. But I do hope and I trust in the Bushido to guide me onto the correct path.
Will you encourage your author to write a sequel?
Her fans have encouraged her to do so, and she is already 3/4s of the way to completing the third in the series, SONGS IN THE YEAR OF THE CAT. I must admit I was rather pleased at the turn of events.
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Thanks to the gang at Free eBooks Daily for that great interview! Kerris will bring them back a pearl and some shark teeth from his next adventure!
TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS is the second in the powerful Original Series by H. Leighton Dickson and picks up where TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER leaves off. This is a sweeping post-apocalyptic tale of genetically altered lions and tigers, wolves and dragons in a world that has evolved in the wake of the fall of human civilization. Half feline, half human, their culture blends those of Dynastic China, Ancient India and Feudal Japan where humans are legend and kingdoms have risen in their stead. Fans of Tolkien, GAME OF THRONES, REDWALL or Japanese anime will be entertained in these intelligent and beautifully written pages in a blend of science, fantasy and zoological speculation.
Author Q&A
Why do you think readers are going to enjoy your book?
TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS is the second in a series for intelligent readers who love scifi/fantasy stories with grand world building and deep characterization. It is surprisingly funny in some parts, nerve-wracking in others and it shows how sometimes the most human of characters aren't entirely human.
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I've had the idea for almost 30 years and predates the time I was penciling for DC Comics. It's just morphed from graphic novel format to novel and gotten better along the way.
Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
Kirin Wynegarde-Grey is my favourite character. He is also the main character. He is outwardly perfect, in physical appearance, in social status, in profession. But ultimately he is the most deeply flawed of the six and his journey is a painful but brilliant one.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I think the chapter entitled "The Dry Provinces" was my favourite. It is very complex and sets events into motion that lead to disastrous consequences. You are also 'inside' each character's head at some point (shifting POVs) for most of the chapter and you see their motivations and reasons for doing even the most surprising things. There's great action and deep emotion in that chapter.
Is there a message in your novel you want readers to discover?
It sounds cliched but this is a novel about self-discovery. Each of the six characters discovers strengths they didn't know they had and weaknesses they wished they didn't. Even though it is a fantasy, it's about prejudice and racism, class structure and freedom - things society has been struggling with for thousands of years. And, on a personal level, that perhaps people are more perfect when they are not perfect at all...
Character Interview - Captain Kirin Wynegarde-Grey
Tell us a little about yourself, C. How would you describe your appearance?
I am a lion. That should be enough description, I suppose, but I understand you wish to know more. I am tall for a lion and my eyes are blue, like my father's. My mane has grown to my waist and is as gold as a field of wheat in summer. I wear armour of Imperial gold as well and bear both long and short swords as proof of my Shatyriah class. I am a lion among lions, a warrior by blood and by choice. I follow the Bushido, a code of honour among warriors and I take it seriously.
Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?
I take the first step in the first story, TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER, and it is a high one, to the very top of the One Hundred Steps. I love my Empire, I love my Empress, I love my job as Captain of her personal guard. There is nothing I will not do for her, including travel across our Kingdom to find an Ancestor, a human who has managed to awaken after they have long gone. I may have to kill him.
What time period do you live in?
Not yours. Very far in your future, I am led to believe. Perhaps five thousand years.
Where are you from? Do you live in the same place now?
I grew up in the House Wynegarde-Grey in the mountains outside DharamShallah and I work in the Palace of Pol'Lhasa. My story is still unfolding, so yes, I am currently back in Pol'Lhasa, although I am not sure what fate awaits me there.
Tell us about your past. Can you share one really good experience and/or one really bad experience?
I have served the Empire since I drew my first breath, 24 summers ago. A very good memory for me was when I first met the Empress. I had four summers, she two. She was accompanied by peacocks and she pushed me down and sat on me. I have loved her ever since. A very bad memory is of the time Kerris killed our father by calling lightning out of the sky. I will never forget that day.
How do you feel about life now. What, if anything, would you like to change?
I am sad, now. I have only 24 summers, but after everything that has happened in the Year of the Tiger, I am sad. Changed. Not perfect anymore. If I could change anything, I would not have tried to kill my brother. I would have thrown the sword on the ground and left him. Then, I would not have fled and as a result, lost everything.
What special skills or abilities do you have? How do they affect your part in the story?
As I said, I am a lion and of the Shahtyriah caste. That is saying much. I carry the two swords, katanah and kodaichi and I know how to use them. I am skilled in fighting, in diplomacy, in the leading of men. This is all I know. They shape how I think and how I act. It is the Way of Things.
Who is the most important person in your life? Tell us about them.
The Empress is the most important person in my life, but truth be told, she is the most important person in any cat's life. She is iron and steel, silk and song. She is the colour of night with eyes as golden as the sun at midday. She is my life and she knows it.
How does that person impact you and your life?
I will do anything for the Empress, including travel to the very edges of our Kingdom, which spans from your China to your Middle East. I will sacrifice everything that I stand for to protect the Kingdom and, over the course of one terrible year, I do.
What do you see in your future?
Duty. Only duty. If the future continues to play out as it seems, there will be huge changes for our Kingdom and that will be bad for all of us. But I do hope and I trust in the Bushido to guide me onto the correct path.
Will you encourage your author to write a sequel?
Her fans have encouraged her to do so, and she is already 3/4s of the way to completing the third in the series, SONGS IN THE YEAR OF THE CAT. I must admit I was rather pleased at the turn of events.
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
Thanks to the gang at Free eBooks Daily for that great interview! Kerris will bring them back a pearl and some shark teeth from his next adventure!
May 13, 2013
Giver of Grand Advice
Believe it or not, I've been asked twice in the last week for advice from young novelists who are just beginning to wrap their heads around the notion that they might actually have this addiction/disease called writing. Oddly enough, they have both asked me the same question. It's a question I never asked anyone, partially because I think I am such a solitary soul that I just wrote, never bothering to validate my work with anyone along the way. I salute these two young writers for having the guts and the presence to do what I did not, and I sincerely hope that I can give them some advice that encourages them along their curse/addiction/gifting/path/guilty pleasure. Maybe I will be in one of their acknowledgement sections one day. I hope so. Story-telling is a beautiful thing.
Here is the first one, from Jon T, a brilliant song writer and musician in his own right, now forming a world of words of a different sort. Here's a snippet of our first conversation:
Jon T:
Hi Heather!
I've been rolling a story around in my mind for a couple of years and I have most of it worked out. I'd like to ask you a million questions about writing, but I think I'll restrain myself to this one: I'm fairly sure the writing will take a lot of time if I want to do a good job, so how did you make sure you had time to do it?
Heather Dickson Hey cool! Go for it! Writing is something that is very hard to escape if it's been on your heart. For the longest time, I 'stole' time - at night, during weekends, on days off, but now, with it actually becoming something that I am doing as a sideline occupation and soon-to-be actually published novels, it is becoming more and more legit, time-wise.
There are two pieces of advice that I've heard over and over, and have seen proven true in my own life. 1) Dedicate 20 minutes a day. If you can do more, great, but like exercising, it is a discipline and is best to start slowly and build as your strength improves, and 2) make sure your spouse is on board. If Kathleen doesn't get it, it will be hard. If she is supportive, then carving that 20 minutes will be a blessing for both of you.
I'd be happy to answer more questions! This has been a brilliant journey for me, and I'm still at the start, but encouragement is my gift so I'm eager to help out a fellow writer!!!
And the second came just tonight from a young woman I've know since birth, Hannah Leila. Here's how this has started:
Hannah Leila T.Hey!
First of all I would like to say that I finally have time to read your novels and I am already hooked!! I have not forgotten my promise to review them on Amazon. I was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice about writing? What are your tips for a first time novelist who is slaving over their computer, equal parts loving every minute and trying to keep her head off the desk?
Any help you can offer would be SO appreciated.
Hannah
H. Leighton Dickson - AuthorI think the best advice would be discipline. Try to write 20 mins a day. Think of it like exercise. 20 mins to start. Soon, you will be building your writing muscle and writing more each day, until you will need to schedule days when you do not write, so your brain can rebuild!
Also, be okay with revising and editing. After you write a chapter, leave it for a few days and then reread and edit as you go. After a few months, reread the entire thing from start to finish and edit as you go through that as well. be okay with changing things. Have an idea of where you want to go but be okay with getting there by a completely unexpected route than previously imagined. Your novel will start telling you what, when, where and ultimately why. Be okay with that. Let your characters become independent of you. They will write their own story and sometimes, you will read something you've written and go, wow, did I write that? That is genius at work. Interesting, isn't it? The storytelling is a part of us all, but the writer's craft isn't. That is something we need to learn and sharing that process is one unexpected and amazing part of this literary journey that make me so happy. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my personality. Either way, I love to talk writing. The world needs more story-tellers. If you have questions, comments, criticisms or anything else that starts with a 'k' sound, shoot it my way and we'll engage. I'm game. It's all about the journey. Let's get
talking!
Here is the first one, from Jon T, a brilliant song writer and musician in his own right, now forming a world of words of a different sort. Here's a snippet of our first conversation:
Jon T:
Hi Heather!
I've been rolling a story around in my mind for a couple of years and I have most of it worked out. I'd like to ask you a million questions about writing, but I think I'll restrain myself to this one: I'm fairly sure the writing will take a lot of time if I want to do a good job, so how did you make sure you had time to do it?
Heather Dickson Hey cool! Go for it! Writing is something that is very hard to escape if it's been on your heart. For the longest time, I 'stole' time - at night, during weekends, on days off, but now, with it actually becoming something that I am doing as a sideline occupation and soon-to-be actually published novels, it is becoming more and more legit, time-wise.
There are two pieces of advice that I've heard over and over, and have seen proven true in my own life. 1) Dedicate 20 minutes a day. If you can do more, great, but like exercising, it is a discipline and is best to start slowly and build as your strength improves, and 2) make sure your spouse is on board. If Kathleen doesn't get it, it will be hard. If she is supportive, then carving that 20 minutes will be a blessing for both of you.
I'd be happy to answer more questions! This has been a brilliant journey for me, and I'm still at the start, but encouragement is my gift so I'm eager to help out a fellow writer!!!
And the second came just tonight from a young woman I've know since birth, Hannah Leila. Here's how this has started:
Hannah Leila T.Hey!
First of all I would like to say that I finally have time to read your novels and I am already hooked!! I have not forgotten my promise to review them on Amazon. I was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice about writing? What are your tips for a first time novelist who is slaving over their computer, equal parts loving every minute and trying to keep her head off the desk?
Any help you can offer would be SO appreciated.
Hannah
H. Leighton Dickson - AuthorI think the best advice would be discipline. Try to write 20 mins a day. Think of it like exercise. 20 mins to start. Soon, you will be building your writing muscle and writing more each day, until you will need to schedule days when you do not write, so your brain can rebuild!
Also, be okay with revising and editing. After you write a chapter, leave it for a few days and then reread and edit as you go. After a few months, reread the entire thing from start to finish and edit as you go through that as well. be okay with changing things. Have an idea of where you want to go but be okay with getting there by a completely unexpected route than previously imagined. Your novel will start telling you what, when, where and ultimately why. Be okay with that. Let your characters become independent of you. They will write their own story and sometimes, you will read something you've written and go, wow, did I write that? That is genius at work. Interesting, isn't it? The storytelling is a part of us all, but the writer's craft isn't. That is something we need to learn and sharing that process is one unexpected and amazing part of this literary journey that make me so happy. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my personality. Either way, I love to talk writing. The world needs more story-tellers. If you have questions, comments, criticisms or anything else that starts with a 'k' sound, shoot it my way and we'll engage. I'm game. It's all about the journey. Let's get
talking!
