E.C. Blake's Blog, page 12

Coteau Books Spring 2014 catalogue features Book 1 of my OTHER YA fantasy series

The launch of my back-from-the-dead YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, written as Edward Willett, grows ever nearer: Coteau Books has released its spring 2014 catalogue (download the whole thing here) which features Song of the Sword, book one in the five-book series which will continue with Twist of the Blade (currently in rewrites) this fall…with two more as-yet-untitled-and-unwritten books to follow in 2015 and the final book, at least in the initial five-book story arc, to follow in 2016.

It won’t be long now!

Some thoughts on reviews

One of the…um, eye-opening…things about having novels published (and at this point, under both this name and others, I’ve had quite a few) is the realization, as the reviews start to come in (if you’re lucky enough to even get reviewed), that not everyone thinks you have written the most amazingly wonderful book of all time. Some people will sing its praises, to be sure. But some will be lukewarm about it, and some will absolutely despise it.

Some authors simply do not read their reviews. My ego does not permit me to be one of those authors. It’s exciting to find out what other people think of something you’ve labored over essentially in solitude for months. It’s gratifying when a reviewer reacts exactly as you hoped readers would react when they were finally exposed to the prose that has had such a long gestation.

But, of course, it is considerably less than gratifying when a reviewer is bored by the book, or dislikes the main character, or objects to this or that plot element…sometimes violently.

I’d prefer everyone like my books, of course, but I understand you can’t please everyone. I would prefer the reviewers that hate the book were a little less forthright in their judgements (“toilet paper” seems a bit harsh, and also impractical: I really don’t think books today are printed on paper absorbent enough, or soft enough, to be made use of in that fashion…not without running considerable risk of irritation). But setting aside my immediate murderous thoughts on reading those kinds of reviews and donning my Mr. Spock air of cool detachment, I am beginning to see what elements of Masks, in particular, elicit strong negative reactions in a (thankfully small) number of readers, and am finding it intriguing.

I’m not linking to any specific reviews in this post because…well, you just can’t argue directly with reviewers as the author. I did stick my nose in one comment feed on one review just to answer a very specific question, but otherwise, I have thus far resisted the urge to answer each and every negative review point by point. It’s a natural reaction to defend yourself, and it’s the entirely wrong reaction that, especially on Goodreads, often results in a violent backlash. You don’t want to end up a cautionary tale in Publishers Weekly.

What I’m really doing below is thinking out loud: my reaction to readers’ reactions to Masks. I appreciate all the reviews (will, almost all), even the less-than-positive ones (well, most of them) because they are at least a sign that people are reading my books.

 

WARNING: The comments that follow contain mild spoilers for the novel.

First, in overview, something I’ve said before: some of the interesting reactions to this book arise from the fact that it both is and isn’t a YA book. It is, in that the main character is 15. It isn’t, in that the book was not published as a YA book, but as an adult fantasy book of the type DAW is well known for. Plenty of reviewers think it’s a great YA book (School Library Journal, for example) and treat it as such. But I’ve seen a couple of reviewers who are taken aback by its content in the context of a YA book. On the flip side, those approaching it thinking it’s going to be George R.R. Martin will definitely be disappointed. It doesn’t have that level of complexity: for one thing, it’s relentlessly single-viewpoint. Aside from the prologue-flashback, we experience everything through the eyes and mind of Mara. It is what it is: both YA and not-YA, and I think that has confused some reviewers.

One strain of dislike appears to arise from the nature of Mara herself. Mara has just turned 15 and has been torn from her loving and rather idyllic childhood home and exiled to a slave labor camp. She is uncertain and confused and frightened and yes, she makes some really dumb decisions as the story proceeds. Some reviewers find her too unheroic for their taste; others appreciate the fact that she is not an instantly capable heroic figure, but stumbles her way through her terrifying new life just trying to do the best she can and discover what she is capable of…rather like most of us do as teenagers. I find both reactions interesting, and since I know what’s coming for Mara over the next two books, I’m going to be even more interested in reactions going forward.

Now, on the next complaint I confess to being of two minds. Here’s the thing: I often say I’m a fantasy writer with the mind of a science fiction writer. I like writing fantasy, but I have a hard time not thinking about the nuts and bolts of how things work. This is one reason that the magic system in my Lee Arthur Chane novel, Magebane, makes passing nods to the laws of thermodynamics–in the world of Magebane, you need an energy source to perform magic, so the Palace, which uses a lot of magic, also has huge coal-burning furnaces to provide the energy for it–and why in Masks, magic is something that can be mined and collected like a precious metal or crude oil, and there are hints that the black lodestone that is essential to collecting and storing it arrived in Aygrima in the form of an asteroid strike in prehistory. That’s the SF writer in me poking through the fantasy.

So. There’s this thing that never gets talked about in heroic fantasy, or hardly ever: where do people go to the bathroom? In Masks, I made a decision early on to be upfront about that problem. Mara is thrown into a holding cell. There’s a bucket, and there’s no privacy, and both of those are one of the earliest examples of just how drastically her life has changed (you’ll notice there’s no mention of bathroom arrangements until that moment). Once having decided to talk about that, though, I felt I needed to keep talking about it. So no, I don’t describe every time people have to relieve themselves, but I do mention it more often than you’ll probably see in most novels. To me, it was a way of grounding my fantasy very firmly in reality. It also provides a few humorous moments and is handy to the plot. Some reviewers have really latched onto this and find it odd. I’m of two minds about it because it is entirely possible I overdid it a bit, but once you start mentioning bathroom arrangements, you pretty much have to keep mentioning them. (And yes, in Shadows it comes up again, though not nearly as often: it doesn’t figure into the plot as much. I’m still writing Faces, but I think it will hardly be mentioned at all in the third book. Perhaps the characters relieving themselves less often will, ironically, relieve reviewers more.

Finally, there’s a thread running through Masks that some reviewers object to, and that’s the threat of sexual violence against Mara and others. “This is not a YA book,” one reviewer proclaimed, primarily because of that. Another thought it was the “easy” choice and seemed to find it sexist that rape was one of the biggest threats the female characters faced instead of other, more heroic challenges. But once again, the nuts-and-bolts let’s-make-this-as-real-as-possible writer in me was telling me that that threat had to be there.

See, when the Mask fails, Mara literally ceases to be a person in the eyes of her society. At one time, a Mask failing was an instant death sentence. The only reason the unMasked are kept alive now is to serve as slave laborers in the mining camp to which Mara is exiled. That camp is run by male Warden and an all-male staff of guards. The women in the camp are non-people. When I envisioned that, it seemed clear to me that women would be sexually threatened at all times. They have absolutely no power, no legal resource, no one to turn to. They are literally at the mercy of men who have absolutely no reason to show them mercy. I think the threat of rape that runs through the book is entirely realistic. (And far from the “easy” choice, I actually debated it quite a bit–especially one particular scene where Mara disposes of an attacker in gruesome fashion.)

But, yes, it does make the book rather dark, although to those who think it too dark for YA readers I can only say, “Have you actually read any YA recently?”

(Ironically, in view of all this, another strain of complaint is that nothing really bad happens to Mara in the book: she escapes being scarred, her friend suffers the attentions of the camp guards but she doesn’t, etc. Since in my mind the whole book is nothing but bad things happening to Mara, and there’s worse to come in the next two books, I don’t quite know what to make of that complaint…except urge the complainers to read the next book and see if they still feel that way.)

The reviews for Masks continue to show up (I saw a positive one last night, a very negative one this morning). Shadows is on its way. So is my new YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur (written as Edward Willett) from Coteau Books, with both the first book, Song of the Sword, and the second, Twist of the Blade, coming out this year, along with the (as-yet untitled) sequel to my science fiction novel Right to Know, published by Bundoran Press.

With four novels coming out this year alone, and three that I know of for sure (and maybe more) in 2015, I suspect I will continue to find plenty of reason to remind myself of that old adage, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.”

School Library Journal says Masks encapsulates “the best features of a good teen title”

School Library Journal gives a good review to Masks. Kathy Kirchoefer of Henderson County Public Library in North Carolina writes:

“Encapsulating the best features of a good teen title, Masks is sure to resonate with readers…With an intriguing setting and a suspenseful story line that will hook readers, Masks is the first of a promising new series.”

I’m excited about this review because I really want more YA readers to find the book even though it’s not strictly published as YA. Here’s hoping this helps by getting the book into more school libraries!

Masks a Locus Magazine “New and Notable” book

Locus Magazine, the leading news magazine of the science fiction and fantasy field, named Masks one of the “New and Notable Books” for January 2014:

“A young woman’s masking is supposed to confirm her as a Gifted magic uses, but instead sends her to slave in the mines in this powerful fantasy novel, the first book in a series that should appeal to both YA and adult readers. Blake is a pen name for Edward Willett. ‘‘Blake brings his fantastic world to life through offbeat links between magic, nature, and human behavior in a caste-ridden society.’’ [Faren Miller]“

 

Masks makes Sci-Fi Chick’s list of the best of 2013

I was very pleased to see Masks on Sci-Fi Chick’s list of the Best of 2013. In her review, she wrote:

“ Masks is a fresh and original take on a coming of age story. Fantasy fans will want to check this one out. I loved the concept of the masks that hide everyone’s faces, yet revealed any traitorous motives. Mara is an interesting central character. She has a tender heart, but is forced into difficult situations. And she has a power that she can’t yet control. Well-paced, intense, and dramatic – the story is completely captivating. And the characters are vivid and engaging. I couldn’t put it down. This is first in a new series that I will definitely be following.”

YA or not YA? Qwillery review of Masks hits on a salient point

I haven’t been posting about all the reviews Masks has been getting because there have been quite a lot of them–more than I’m used to, and a function, I think, of this being my first hardcover release and getting some early favorable attention from the likes of Publishers Weekly and RT Book Reviews.

There’s also a long-standing bit of advice to authors to never respond to bad reviews, which has precluded my saying what I’d really like to say to a couple of reviewers who hated the book and gave me the first truly nasty reviews–as opposed to simply negative reviews–I’ve ever received. I confess I’m somewhat puzzled why anyone would even finish a book they hated as much as these reviewers hated Masks, much less then expend two or three valuable hours of their lives writing an insulting review, but then, although I tried writing book reviews on a regular basis myself a couple of years ago, I quickly found I didn’t want to take the time to write a thoughtful review even of books I liked. Perhaps I’m simply not constitutionally cut out to be a reviewer.

Having said that, though, I appreciated a recent review of Masks on The Qwillery where the reviewer wrote:

I’ve read some complaints by other reviewers that Mara is a bit whiny in the book and it drove them away. I think it’s important to talk about the target audience for this book. The publisher has categorized it as General Adult/Grades 12 & Up, however based on the character’s age and the plot, I see it as more of a Young Adult book. I think some adult readers will find Mara on the whiny side, whereas older teenagers may not find it annoying, since they’re still exploring the world around them as well as exploring the same inner emotions and learning how to deal with their world. Mara is true to this and does spend time thinking about what she has been forced to do.

He finishes his review with:

Masks is a strong first book in a promising new series, however, I hope the author finds his target audience by the second book. I’d recommend Masks to older young adults, and adults who enjoy Fantasy and Dystopian fiction with teenage characters or anyone who likes unique magical systems.

He’s hit, I think, on a point that has led to some of the less-favorable reviews. Masks is essentially a YA book published by a publisher that doesn’t have a YA line. If you read it as a YA book, the 15-year-old-girl attributes that some reviewers object to (uncertainty, naivete, bad decision-making, etc.) become a feature, not a bug. If you read it as a fantasy epic on a par with, say, fellow DAW author Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind…well, one of these things is not like the other.

I’ve taken to calling it a “YA/adult crossover novel.” Penguin’s publicists have tried to bring it to the attention of the YA world, but it’s also a fantasy novel from DAW, one of the top publishers of fantasy for adults, which means in bookstores and libraries it’s more likely to be in the adult section. My hope is that it finds readers in both worlds…

…even readers who hate it and write insulting reviews of it. Because personally, I’m enough of a contrarian to read a book that threw a reviewer into a spittle-spewing rage just to see for myself if it was really that bad. And from the author’s point of view…either way, I bought the book.

Masks named to Fantasy Faction’s list of best fantasy novels of 2013

This is nice: Masks has been named to Fantasy Faction’s list of the top 25 fantasy novels of 2013. And I get compared to Garth Nix, which is an honour anytime. Marc Aplin writes:

Masks is a book that took me by complete surprise. Not since the likes of Lirael or Sabriel have I enjoyed a YA with a female protagonist to the extent I did Masks . E.C. Blake breaks the trend of setting YA in an urban environment and goes for a straight coming of age tale in a fantasy world. Our female protagonist is so loveable and innocent that when she is thrown from society – for she puts on a mask designed to tell if one would plan/is planning treason – we share her feelings of pain and – as adults – are disgusted by the injustice of it all. As with Garth Nix’s aforementioned novels, the World is dark, overrun by evil forces and seems to set our protagonist an impossible task. The result is a novel that will emotionally touch you and leave you reeling through it.

View the whole list.

Good review for Masks in Locus Magazine

Locus Magazine, the news magazine of the science fiction/fantasy field, has a good review of Masks in its December issue. The review isn’t online, but Faren Miller begins:

“Masks, first in a fantasy series by E.C. Blake…chronicles the trials of a Gifted though largely untrained teenage heroine in an exotic, perilous world of magic, after her apparently assured future collapses in one awful instant. This may sound like fantasy targeting young readers, but it soon goes off in quite different directions…Blake brings his fantastic world to life through offbeat links between magic, nature, and human behavior in a caste-ridden society…

The review ends:

“The series should provide much more, as it entwines Mara’s story with the struggles of a culture that would like to set itself in stone (Masks of enchanted clay, at any rate), along with further insights into the strangely raw, natural forces behind this world’s magics.”

Cover Art Reveal: Song of the Sword, first book in new YA fantasy series starting in May

Here’s the cover art for Song of the Sword, first book in my new five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur (written under my other authorial name, Edward Willett) being published by Coteau Books beginning in May. I like this cover a lot, as does my resident authority in YA fiction, 12-year-old daughter Alice, who says the target audience will definitely find this attractive.

It’s already available for pre-order on Amazon!

Ten autographed copies of Masks on sale for charity at Patrick Rothfuss’s website

The estimable Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times-bestselling author of the amazing fantasies The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, with whom I share the honor of being published by DAW Books, has a long history of selling signed books and other artifacts through his website to raise money for charity.

Right now, among the items you can buy are autographed copies of Masks. The cost is $40, with the money going to Worldbuilders, which raises funds for Heifer International.

If you’d like to buy an autographed copy of Masks for a good cause, you can do so here. And be sure to check out all the other cool things Pat has on offer.