C. Ellis-Massey's Blog
April 27, 2013
"Let Me Explain," in my Kevin Hart voice
To the person that wrote me a review that explained how DNA work and made the subject of the review "poorly researched." Go away. I don't want your review. I don't want any review like yours. I don't want readers such as you.
In my Kevin Hart voice, "Let me explain".
1) I wrote my book geared to adolescents and older people who like books like that.
2) I didn't read your review because I STILL DO NOT CARE how DNA works. I have a general understanding and I think it's fine for me and other people who don't want to read boring pages filled with the information I assume is in your review.
3) I write fiction (this is a big point for you to understand) so I can make up stuff as I want, as long as it makes sense in the world I created (am I wrong about this?)
That's enough. I suggest you go back to your science textbooks with your type A personality and continue to live a lonely, self-serving life.
I'm still proud of my book, even after your review that had nothing to do with the story. Go Immunity! Immunity
In my Kevin Hart voice, "Let me explain".
1) I wrote my book geared to adolescents and older people who like books like that.
2) I didn't read your review because I STILL DO NOT CARE how DNA works. I have a general understanding and I think it's fine for me and other people who don't want to read boring pages filled with the information I assume is in your review.
3) I write fiction (this is a big point for you to understand) so I can make up stuff as I want, as long as it makes sense in the world I created (am I wrong about this?)
That's enough. I suggest you go back to your science textbooks with your type A personality and continue to live a lonely, self-serving life.
I'm still proud of my book, even after your review that had nothing to do with the story. Go Immunity! Immunity
April 15, 2013
Thug Kitchen
First off, let me say that I am sending out so many good thoughts to the people that were injured in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Near the finish line though? What if you had run 26 miles and then a bomb went off. Would you be able to run? It's a good setting for a book. But things like that shouldn't happen in real life. But they do. So now I am sending my good thoughts into the world. I hope they help somehow, some way.
Thug Kitchen... This is my new favorite place to get ideas for what I should cook. And no, I am not a Vegan. I am not even a Vegetarian. I have friends who are Vegan and friends who are Vegetarian, so I think it is a cool lifestyle. I just like meat. But sometimes, I eat a meal without meat, and this is website makes being a Vegan sound absolutely delicious.
Please visit this website. http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/thug%20k...
Yummy. I am going to make something soon.
I have not mentioned my writing once. Why? Because I am enthralled with Thug Kitchen right now, and am also watching coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Real life sometimes takes precedence.
Near the finish line though? What if you had run 26 miles and then a bomb went off. Would you be able to run? It's a good setting for a book. But things like that shouldn't happen in real life. But they do. So now I am sending my good thoughts into the world. I hope they help somehow, some way.
Thug Kitchen... This is my new favorite place to get ideas for what I should cook. And no, I am not a Vegan. I am not even a Vegetarian. I have friends who are Vegan and friends who are Vegetarian, so I think it is a cool lifestyle. I just like meat. But sometimes, I eat a meal without meat, and this is website makes being a Vegan sound absolutely delicious.
Please visit this website. http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/thug%20k...
Yummy. I am going to make something soon.
I have not mentioned my writing once. Why? Because I am enthralled with Thug Kitchen right now, and am also watching coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Real life sometimes takes precedence.
April 4, 2013
Reviews and Marketing
I honestly think that better titles to my blog posts get more people to read them, but I can't come up with anything today. I am not in a creative mood, which doesn't bode so well for my writing.
I stopped reading reviews. I honestly write for me, and I don't want the negativity that comes along with other people reading my work. I also like to share. It's a conundrum!
Marketing is the most difficult part of being an indie author. I wouldn't share my book if I didn't want people to read it. I don't want it to just sit, unseen by anyone, on Amazon! My marketing skills are below par. Far below par. I tweet, I have a Facebook page, I have an email, I have this blog, I am present on Goodreads... Honestly, what else can I do? Any suggestions?
I mostly just wing it. I think, just as it has always been in life, that word of mouth is the best marketing tactic. But since I don't read reviews (anymore), I don't know what people are thinking! Ahhh. What to do, What to do!?
I stopped reading reviews. I honestly write for me, and I don't want the negativity that comes along with other people reading my work. I also like to share. It's a conundrum!
Marketing is the most difficult part of being an indie author. I wouldn't share my book if I didn't want people to read it. I don't want it to just sit, unseen by anyone, on Amazon! My marketing skills are below par. Far below par. I tweet, I have a Facebook page, I have an email, I have this blog, I am present on Goodreads... Honestly, what else can I do? Any suggestions?
I mostly just wing it. I think, just as it has always been in life, that word of mouth is the best marketing tactic. But since I don't read reviews (anymore), I don't know what people are thinking! Ahhh. What to do, What to do!?
April 1, 2013
The Young Man broke his leg like Joe Theismann
The title to my blog post here might be confusing to anyone who doesn't watch basketball or doesn't know who Joe Theismann is.
I would suggest NOT searching the internet to try to find out exactly what these leg breaks look like, if you haven't seen them. Picture an extra joint, like an elbow or the knee, in the middle of the bone in between the ankle and the knee. That's what it looks like. Except that this "flexibility" is caused by a horrific break of the bone. This young man is 23 (I believe, he may be 22) anyway, he plays (played?) for Louisville Men's basketball program and broke his leg in this way. Joe Theismann immediately tweeted his condolence.
The Louisville players, and coach had tears in their eyes (after gagging and nearly vomiting at the sight I hear). Kevin Ware gathered his team around him and told his team to not worry about him and win. Take a moment and think about the emotions running through your body about that.
This happened last night. Later on, the Louisville Women's basketball program played. Now most people don't watch the Women's game, unless they know someone playing, they are a women's basketball player, or there is ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER MALE SPORTING EVENTS ON. I swear, people will watch a poker match before turning on Women's basketball.
I however, am a former baller. So I tuned in. Louisville Women played Baylor Women. Baylor women's team got the overall number 1 seed in the women's NCAA tournament. They won the championship last year and were the favorite to win the championship this year. They have a 6'8 player who is considered the best in women's basketball. And Baylor lost. Louisville won. Biggest upset in women's basketball ever in my opinion. I was cheering a clapping and hooting and hollering. It was an amazing game, and I just don't want to spend this entire post going into details. Because the point is that this is a blog about my trials and tribulations as a writer.
I am having trouble continuing to write the prequel to my debut novel Immunity. I love basketball and am just consumed by the games. I sit in front of the TV for hours. (I promise that is dissimilar from my regular TV habits of maybe two 1 hour shows per week). I have the computer in front of me, with my hands poised, and I type. Maybe 10 words a day. It's horrible. March Madness (can I write that in a blog? They are so selfish with the term which is why you see March Mayhem or some other equivalent somewhere).
How am I ever going to get another book done at this rate? I do not have writer's block. Far from it. When I think about writing, I know exactly what I want to happen. I probably shouldn't even be composing this blog post, but I don't want to neglect this too.
So, what I am trying to say that, there are maybe 10 more days that I have left of being a neglectful writer. Then the warm weather follows shortly thereafter. Sigh. I can't win.
Be patient. The prequel is in the works (however slowly.) Until then, enjoy
!
I would suggest NOT searching the internet to try to find out exactly what these leg breaks look like, if you haven't seen them. Picture an extra joint, like an elbow or the knee, in the middle of the bone in between the ankle and the knee. That's what it looks like. Except that this "flexibility" is caused by a horrific break of the bone. This young man is 23 (I believe, he may be 22) anyway, he plays (played?) for Louisville Men's basketball program and broke his leg in this way. Joe Theismann immediately tweeted his condolence.
The Louisville players, and coach had tears in their eyes (after gagging and nearly vomiting at the sight I hear). Kevin Ware gathered his team around him and told his team to not worry about him and win. Take a moment and think about the emotions running through your body about that.
This happened last night. Later on, the Louisville Women's basketball program played. Now most people don't watch the Women's game, unless they know someone playing, they are a women's basketball player, or there is ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER MALE SPORTING EVENTS ON. I swear, people will watch a poker match before turning on Women's basketball.
I however, am a former baller. So I tuned in. Louisville Women played Baylor Women. Baylor women's team got the overall number 1 seed in the women's NCAA tournament. They won the championship last year and were the favorite to win the championship this year. They have a 6'8 player who is considered the best in women's basketball. And Baylor lost. Louisville won. Biggest upset in women's basketball ever in my opinion. I was cheering a clapping and hooting and hollering. It was an amazing game, and I just don't want to spend this entire post going into details. Because the point is that this is a blog about my trials and tribulations as a writer.
I am having trouble continuing to write the prequel to my debut novel Immunity. I love basketball and am just consumed by the games. I sit in front of the TV for hours. (I promise that is dissimilar from my regular TV habits of maybe two 1 hour shows per week). I have the computer in front of me, with my hands poised, and I type. Maybe 10 words a day. It's horrible. March Madness (can I write that in a blog? They are so selfish with the term which is why you see March Mayhem or some other equivalent somewhere).
How am I ever going to get another book done at this rate? I do not have writer's block. Far from it. When I think about writing, I know exactly what I want to happen. I probably shouldn't even be composing this blog post, but I don't want to neglect this too.
So, what I am trying to say that, there are maybe 10 more days that I have left of being a neglectful writer. Then the warm weather follows shortly thereafter. Sigh. I can't win.
Be patient. The prequel is in the works (however slowly.) Until then, enjoy
!
March 21, 2013
So you want one of my characters to die?
I haven't exactly been reading my reviews. So I don't know word for word what they say. However, a friend of mine, someone who read my book as I was writing it as my beta reader, said, "Someone feels the same way I do about Kim! They said they wanted to reach into the screen and choke her." My friend, while she was reading, kept saying, "When are you going to make Kim die? I don't like her."
These comments made me smile. You might wonder why. But the answer is simple. As an author, a writer, I WANT a character that my reader feels strong emotional attachment too. (Hate can be a strong emotional attachment). It isn't like they were saying, this character has no point, so why is she so prominent in the story. They were saying that they didn't like her. And I was happy because my readers aren't supposed to like her. They are supposed to not like her. That was the purpose of that character.
Kim, to be honest, was the character that I spent the most time developing. So when people write so-called "negative" comments about her, I am happy.
I think it is easy to write a character that readers like and it is easy to write a character that it is so obvious that the readers are supposed to dislike. I think it is harder to write a character where the reader has a "what the heck!" moment and then wants to choke them. They are thinking about my character, what happened earlier in the book to that character, what is happening now, what is going to happen next. They are thinking about my story!
What writer doesn't want someone to think about their story?
I wish I could insert an emoji so that anyone who bothers to read this would know how happy I am. Picture me doing a football touchdown dance. That's how I feel.
Did you read Immunity? If so, did you want to choke Kim, or desire some other craziness to happen to her?
These comments made me smile. You might wonder why. But the answer is simple. As an author, a writer, I WANT a character that my reader feels strong emotional attachment too. (Hate can be a strong emotional attachment). It isn't like they were saying, this character has no point, so why is she so prominent in the story. They were saying that they didn't like her. And I was happy because my readers aren't supposed to like her. They are supposed to not like her. That was the purpose of that character.
Kim, to be honest, was the character that I spent the most time developing. So when people write so-called "negative" comments about her, I am happy.
I think it is easy to write a character that readers like and it is easy to write a character that it is so obvious that the readers are supposed to dislike. I think it is harder to write a character where the reader has a "what the heck!" moment and then wants to choke them. They are thinking about my character, what happened earlier in the book to that character, what is happening now, what is going to happen next. They are thinking about my story!
What writer doesn't want someone to think about their story?
I wish I could insert an emoji so that anyone who bothers to read this would know how happy I am. Picture me doing a football touchdown dance. That's how I feel.
Did you read Immunity? If so, did you want to choke Kim, or desire some other craziness to happen to her?
March 17, 2013
Success
I would say my three day promotion of Immunity was a success! 398 downloads. Always a positive.
In other news I am hard at work on the second book to Immunity. I am hesitant to specify a number of books in this series, but the second one is planned.
Any ideas what it is going to be about?
My blog posts have been rather short lately. I promise the next one will be more interesting.
In the meantime I'll direct you to this link:
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayin...
While I intentionally wrote a piece of fiction (also my knowledge of actually science and biology is sketchy at best) the fodder for my story came from things that are truly happing in this world. Scary. I like my story, but I hope the whole, living indoors thing doesn't come true. That's all I am saying.
In other news I am hard at work on the second book to Immunity. I am hesitant to specify a number of books in this series, but the second one is planned.
Any ideas what it is going to be about?
My blog posts have been rather short lately. I promise the next one will be more interesting.
In the meantime I'll direct you to this link:
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayin...
While I intentionally wrote a piece of fiction (also my knowledge of actually science and biology is sketchy at best) the fodder for my story came from things that are truly happing in this world. Scary. I like my story, but I hope the whole, living indoors thing doesn't come true. That's all I am saying.
March 14, 2013
Gift
Today I am in a giving mood! So I am giving a gift to the world. My book Immunity is free through March 16. Even more exciting? It has been duly edited since it was released and has significantly less errors. I would like to say error free but I will just say I haven't heard any complaints recently, since editing.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
March 4, 2013
Sulking and Surviving
I have been sulking because I received a one star review on Amazon. Hey, I am only human. I was waiting for it, and even expecting it but still you can never know exactly what a review will say so it still hurt. Eh, it mostly centered around my horrible editing. (oh the horror of a DIY, home-project-liking, I don't need any help, I rely on me, person).
So I sulked. And I wondered what I could do about it. (Do a more thorough job of editing would be the obvious answer and whoopee I have already done that!) But I want to do more. So I am thinking sequel (maybe prequel). Where to begin, where is it going to go? It is exciting that there are an infinite number of possibilities.
I am not sure how quickly I could possibly get this done, especially because I have so many ideas about what could happen!
I am going to try not to sulk anymore. I am moving on to Surviving.
So I sulked. And I wondered what I could do about it. (Do a more thorough job of editing would be the obvious answer and whoopee I have already done that!) But I want to do more. So I am thinking sequel (maybe prequel). Where to begin, where is it going to go? It is exciting that there are an infinite number of possibilities.
I am not sure how quickly I could possibly get this done, especially because I have so many ideas about what could happen!
I am going to try not to sulk anymore. I am moving on to Surviving.
February 25, 2013
Reading
I am still at a loss for what to do next with my passion for writing. I have mostly just been reading because there are so many great things out there to read. It's amazing how the same general idea can be reworked by different people and be fresh and interesting. People have such creative imaginations! I think that indie publishing is the best thing that ever happened to my reading experiences. Go indie!
