R.J. Blain's Blog, page 64

Upcoming Releases, Summer Sales, and More!

This is a State of the Blain address. Fasten your seat belts, because this is going to be one hell of a ride. If you want to read about the personal stuff, scroll down towards the end of the post.

News From the Witch & Wolf World

I’ve been pretty quiet on the writing front since the double release of Shadowed Flame and Karma. I needed some time to recharge, I’ve been pretty busy on the personal front, and two books one day? Wooooooowie, I needed a ‘smoke break’ after that craziness.

In 2014, when I first released Inquisitor, I never thought the Witch & Wolf world would be so popular. The series has made me, as far as I can say I’ve been made. I’m grateful people enjoy my take on werewolves and witches.

When I finished Winter Wolf, I was almost ready to walk away from the series and world. Winter Wolf was a tough book for me. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. There were problems with my editors–all three or four of them. The problems with my editors were outside of anyone’s control. Not their fault, not my fault–life’s fault. Life sucks sometimes.

I recovered, plowing into Blood Diamond, determined to at least leave the series with some form of general sense of satisfaction and closure for me. For a while, I didn’t think I’d ever actually get to Silver Bullet.

Beneath a Blood Moon was my ditch effort to get over the hell that was Winter Wolf and have fun with the Witch & Wolf world. Pack Justice as another one of those stories–one that took a life of its own and demanded to become a mini series. (Two or three books, uncertain still on total length.)

Karma was me pursuing the type of story I really like to tell, written as much for me as for my readers.

Shadowed Flame? I don’t want to talk about that, but I will. It was Winter Wolf 2.0. I love the character. I love the idea.

Writing her was a struggle each and every word of the way. I put myself so far outside of my comfort zone on this book I ended up having to fight tooth and claw to finish it. It was a hard book to write. I bled on the page for this book.

I regret writing it, but at the same time, I’m glad I did. I look at it, and I am able to acknowledge I can do it–even when it’s hard. And Shadowed Flame was so, so hard.

I am 58,000 words into Silver Bullet.

For fans of the series, Silver Bullet is both a beginning and an end. Blood Diamond began the final battle between Basin and the Inquisition. Silver Bullet finishes it.

However, Silver Bullet heralds in a new stage for the witches and wolves of the world to dance on. Yes, a new main series is coming. I expect the first book to be ready and released by the end of the year. Some of you might be a little alarmed and appalled by this announcement. After all, I have Nature of the Beast and Balancing the Scales to write, right?

Don’t worry. They aren’t being forgotten or abandoned. They’re my fun stories, my ‘take a break and let loose’ series, and something I use to escape work. I love Sean and Karma, and I look forward to writing their stories. Realistically, both of these stories are 2-3 book sets. Karma might end up longer than Sean’s story, but in reality, I had a general idea where I wanted to go with them, and I’m halfway there for Nature of the Beast and about a third of the way there on Balancing the Scales.

Karma will have anthologies with short stories and novellas to continue her adventures with Jake, including tales from before and after the Balancing the Scales story.

Witch & Wolf Summer Sales and Free Book Days!

Let’s get onto the good stuff, eh? Inquisitor is now $0.99 until the end of August, so if you haven’t had a chance to dive into the series, now is your chance. Pack Justice is also $0.99 until the end of August.

July 1-3, 2016, Pack Justice will be free.

July 14, 2016, Shadowed Flame will be free.

July 14, 2016, Beneath a Blood Moon will be free.

July 27, Karma will be free.

August 1, 2016, Beneath a Blood Moon will be free again.

August 4, 2016, Shadowed Flame will be free again. Yeah, I’m determined to get this book around. I bled for this one, damn it!

About Those Print Books…

Coming Soon. Literally. Beneath a Blood Moon should begin the proofing process later today type coming soon. My cover artist is hard at work preparing the cover art for the books. Once the proofs are done, I’ll launch Beneath a Blood Moon and send the unsigned copies to their new homes. I’m expecting three weeks for Beneath a Blood Moon to be finalized and ready for sale.

Beneath a Blood Moon will be priced at $13.99 for a paperback copy.

Memento Mori: A Step into a Brand New World.

I have made mention of working on a new series. It is entitled Memento Mori, and it follows one Harrison Godfrey, a World War III survivor–and I don’t mean a veteran. When he was a newborn, less than a minute old, a nuclear bomb detonated over his home in New York City.

Millions died. The survivors became supernatural, and Harrison is one of them.

In a world where nuclear bomb radiation either kills you or turns you into the supernatural, just about anything is possible. Twenty-five years after the end of World War III, life has gone on.

I’d just like to take a moment to state Memento Mori is not a dystopian.

Instead of crumbling to a dystopian wasteland, society has adapted. The supernatural have found their place in the world, and so have the unsoiled, purebred humans.

Someone wants to change that, and that is where the story begins.

I have no idea when Memento Mori will release, but it is coming–and considering how addicted I am to Harrison and his world, it’ll be coming sooner than later.

Onto the Personal Stuff

We’re still waiting on our interview to get my husband’s green card / work visa. There was a delay in our paperwork. The US government failed to forward a document to itself, so my signature expired.

Say what?

Yeah, apparently your signature can expire for immigration documents… and the shelf life seems to be three months. Go figure.

So, we’re waiting. My stress levels are pretty much maxed out thanks to all this hurry up and wait crap.

I’m really hoping this is the worst of it, and we’ll be able to start the next stage of our life in California soon.

Also, ARRRRGGGGHH.

That’s the sound I make when everyone interrupts me, which is basically what is happening today.

(Yes, that is all the personal stuff I got right now. I have no life.)

 

Dear Fans: An Open Letter

(c) JordyR (Creative Commons – Flickr)

Fans are the lifeblood of any television show, movie, author, or… just about anything in the entertainment world. This letter is to every fan, no matter how you rate your obsession, love, or interest in the thing you like, appreciate, or utterly obsess over.

Dear Fans,

We have a problem.

You might be puzzled over why I think ‘we’ have a problem–or who ‘we’ actually is. We is you, the fans, and us–or me–the creator. Together, just by being what we are–fans and creators–have a problem just from existing. That sounds a bit harsh, doesn’t it? I, like every other author, actor, director, publisher, or other creative type, rely on you to survive.

Without you, we’re nothing.

This is where our problem begins.

I have been watching the current meltdown between Paramount and the fans of Star Trek with a mix of dread and resignation. Before you go get your pitchforks and gather your lynch mob, give me a few minutes to explain.

Creators need you, the fans. We need your love, your enthusiasm, and yes, your dollars. We need your energy, your dedication, and your interest. No one is denying that.

However, we have a problem, and this issue with the Star Trek fan films has merely brought it to the lime light and gave an opportunity for discussion.

Fans, we love you, but there is a point where your love and obsession turns into something invasive and downright terrifying. You take our creations, and you make them your own. I appreciate a diehard fan, but sometimes, you get scary–really scary. You get ‘give an author a dead bird after dressing it up to match a scene in a novel’ scary–and yes, that has happened. (Not to me, though. And no, I never want this to ever happen to me.)

Let’s face facts: you didn’t create Star Trek or any other franchise you so love. You want more of it–that’s amazing. It really is. But it’s not yours.

It’s not yours to do what you want with.

It’s not yours to change.

It’s not yours to sell.

It’s not yours.

So many of us love Harry Potter, and we want to go to Hogwarts. We want to experience the magic for ourselves. We want to explore, and we want to capture that sense of wonder Rowling gave us all when she wrote those books.

So many of us love Star Trek, Firefly, and Star Wars, shows and movies that broke through the barriers separating us, bringing us together under the banner of shared, obsessive interest.

So many of us love Game of Thrones, cringing at each episode to see who is going to die next. I’m not a fan of Game of Thrones, but I understand the sense of community that comes along with being a fan.

I love Pokemon. I love Jurassic Park, it’s runty sequels, and the glory that was Jurassic World. I love Guardians of the Galaxy. I really love Indiana Jones. For a long time, I wore a felt fedora just like his, because the entire franchise caught my imagination and made me want to grab a whip and explore the world.

I wore that hat out, and I longed to have a whip of my own, because I wanted to be someone just like Indy, who would go temple diving, artifact chasing, and hell, yes, tomb robbing–to put it in a museum, of course.

I understand you, but we have a problem.

There is a line between the fans and the creator. It’s invisible, but trust me, it’s there. It’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed, but it is all the time.

It is the line between fans and fans running off with someone’s creation, taking it for their own, and feeling entitled to do whatever they want with it.

The Star Trek fan film is a symptom of this problem.

It’s okay to love something. It’s okay to love something so much you want to dress up as them, be like them, and want to be assimilated. It’s okay to thrive within the community of other fans.

It’s not okay to steal.

Intellectual Property is a big deal to creators like me. I work really hard to bring something to life for you to enjoy. Copyright theft and intellectual property theft is a sword to the heart. Our creations are how we, as creators, thrive.

Scale doesn’t matter.

Yes, Star Trek is a huge, profitable fandom, but let me take you aside. Let’s remove the scale.

Let’s assume Star Trek isn’t a huge, profitable fandom. Let’s assume that it’s a Mom-and-Pop franchise,s something made out of someone’s home, in their garage, with the help of friends.

You might say a fan film should only bring more attention to the real franchise–to that couple who created Star Trek. You might argue a fan film is the highest form of flattery.

There were so many people who loved Star Trek they wanted to get together and show that love for the show/movie.

Wrong.

Brand integrity is a big deal. If a creator sanctions something like a fan film, without setting guidelines, without granting permission for their work to be taken and used, they’re setting a standard–one that takes away their legal right to own their own property.

Now, I’m not saying the Star Trek thing hasn’t gotten out of hand. It has. It’s gotten a bit ridiculous on all sides. However, there is a point when we have a problem.

We want you to love our stuff so much you want to be a part of our community. We want you to love our work so much it ignites something in you and makes you want to dress up like our characters. We want your love, fans.

But we want your respect, too. We want you to respect what we’ve worked so hard to create. We want you to understand that there is a line between you, our beloved fans, and what we’ve created.

You don’t own our work. You aren’t entitled to it. You can’t take what is ours and pretend it is yours to do whatever you want with.

It’s not yours. You aren’t entitled to it. It isn’t yours to do what you please with.

Sorry.

Some fandom activities are commonly ignored, because so many creators love the fact we inspire you. Fanfiction is one of these activities. However, there comes a point when fanfiction goes too far–when fans go too far.

Enter Fifty Shades of Gray.

Once upon a time, Fifty Shades of Gray was a fanfiction piece based on Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight. I’ve read the original fanfiction. There is zero doubt it was a fanfiction piece based on Twilight.

EL James crossed the invisible line. She took something that didn’t belong to her and made it her own.

She then went on to sell it. There is a lot of controversy regarding Fifty Shades of Gray, but I think one thing stands out to me: lines were crossed, and fans never really even realized it.

We have a problem, fans, and only you can fix it.

We creators love you, but you need to respect us and our work–without acting like you’re entitled to do whatever you want with what we’ve created. There needs to be limits on just how far things go.

We need you to survive, but without us, you wouldn’t be fans.

Think about it for a little while. Think about it before you steal from creators. Think about it before you try to take ownership of something that doesn’t belong to you–our creations.

It is one thing to discuss a work, dress up in costumes, and learn to speak an imaginary language.

It is another to take creating derivative works and taking them to the extreme. We want you to love what we’ve made.

We want to share our worlds with you, but we want to be respected. We want our livelihoods protected. We want to put food on our tables, take care of our family, homes, and pets, and we want to be able to keep creating.

That means you, the fans, need to wake up and take a long look around.

There is an invisible line, and we, as creators and fans, need to make it visible, make everyone aware it exists, and respect it.

It is the line between a creator’s intellectual property and a fan’s desire to be a part of a community. Think of it as skin. When we shake hands, our skin touches, but your blood doesn’t touch mine. Your muscles don’t touch mine. That’s the way it should be.

We warm each other through the contact, but the boundary between fan and creator remains intact. We, as creators, want to touch you and feel your warmth, but we want that boundary to remain intact.

When fans take our work and run away with it, stepping over that line, you’re invading the skin of the fandom’s creator, mixing your blood with theirs, and going beyond the reasonable limitations of touch.

We want to touch, but we want to do so in a way that protects us both. Skin to skin, but no deeper.

Derivative works will always be contested.

I want people to draw pictures of how they envision my worlds or characters. I want people to feel a part of the community, such as it is. I want people to play pretend and imagine what it might be like to live in my world. I don’t even mind fanfiction all that much, as long as the boundary between my ownership of my creation is respected.

It’s not a matter of judging you for your love. We want you to love us. We just want you to respect us while you do it.

Without creators, there are no fans–without fans, writers, actors, movie producers, and all other entertainers are basically weirdos with overactive imaginations. Hell, most of us weirdos are fans, too.

We need you. You need us, too.

Let’s try to get along, eh?

Sincerely yours,

A creator.

Two Novels Nominated for Readfree.ly’s Top 50 Self-Published Novels Worth Reading List!

I never really thought the day would come that I would be writing a blog post like this. While I have a morning ritual of getting up and checking if I somehow magically became famous, I never actually hold my breath or hope to make any form of shortlist for a top anything list or competition.

So, it came as a complete surprise when two of my books were nominated for ReadFree.ly’s Top 50 Self-Published Novels Worth Reading in 2016 list. When I found out, I was stunned. There are around 100 books in the final vote for the list, and two of them I wrote. I may not make the final list, but this really, really made me happy.

If you’ve read or liked the books, please vote for them! Hell, if you’ve wanted to read the books and haven’t had a chance to yet, please vote for them. Tell your friends to vote, too.

To vote, please click the links below, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and select the book from the list. You’ll have to give a name or twitter handle and an email address to vote. You can select up to three books in each category (so 30 votes in total for the entire list.) There are some great titles in the running, including Grace Draven’s latest work! (You can find her book in the fantasy category.)

Beneath a Blood Moon (RJ Blain) was nominated under the Paranormal category for the Top 50 list.

The Dawn of Dae (Trillian Anderson) was nominated under the Sci-Fi category for the Top 50 list.

Voting closes on July 1, 2016.

There are a Lot of Good People in the World.

(c) qisur (Creative Commons – Flickr)

There are a lot of good people in the world. Today, I’ve seen a lot of people on facebook and other social media sites scorning the Stanford Rapist, with everyone trying to remind everyone else how to become a good person.

Maybe people are angry. Maybe they’re tired of hearing about the bad people in the world. Maybe they’re wanting to find something they can look towards as a compass and good example–something, anything–to show society hasn’t gone completely to hell in a pretty basket.

There are bad people in the world, but I think it’s so very easy to forget about the good people in the world, too.

We’re so busy looking for the evils in the world that we often don’t appreciate those around us–those who try to do good. It’s so easy to get caught up in the relentless negativity of our society.

This is particularly true during elections when people don’t care about each other, so focused on their side being right, on their particular interests. It’s important to people, and that brings out the worst in us all.

Stop and take a moment to really think. We are a society where we color things in the extremes. We showcase the complete filth of our society–the Stanford Rapist, for example. (And yes, I know his name. I don’t really feel like humanizing the filth of our society, so I won’t.)

But here’s the thing: we so often overlook the little good people do. We expect heroism. We expect over the top good. We expect showcase examples of what it is to be human.

As an author, I enjoy writing about good people who have to do big things. Some of those characters want to hide in the background. Others are at the front lines. But, I try to make the lead characters genuinely good people. Some of them do bad things–and often.

But at the end of the day, they are usually good people with happy endings. They lead heroic lives matching what we hope to find in our world. Sometimes the road to get to their happy ending is long and treacherous, but they’re there. Sometimes it is as bitter as it is sweet, but there are happy endings to be found.

This, too, plays into the basic human desire to find good in the world. I write about it instead of seeking it out in our real world–I write about it, because we’re taught that the only good we should acknowledge is the one that is done by the rich, the famous, or those who do truly heroic things.

Stop. Take a look around you. There is a lot of good to be found. Did someone slow their car so you could merge? That happens often. That’s a little bit of good in the world. (Plus safe driving.) Did someone hold a door for you?

Did you hold a door for someone?

Did you smile at someone who looked like they’re having a bad day?

Sometimes, a smile can be the highlight of someone’s day. To us, that smile is insignificant. After all, we’re just moving our lips, right? But no, to someone who is having a bad day, to someone too shy and afraid to connect with others, that smile can be a treasure.

Stop looking for the ‘big’ good in the world and notice all the little ones. They’re out there, and they’re far more numerous than most people believe.

You don’t have to be Mother Theresa to do good in the world. You don’t have to live big to live well. You don’t have to be an example for the whole world. People too often look at celebrities to be their shining stars in the darkness.

So many are upset when a celebrity does something bad and the illusion of wealth making people good is shattered. So many are upset when justice isn’t served when someone does something truly horrific.

Instead of looking for a light in the darkness, be the light in the darkness.

You don’t need a Captain America when you can be that superhero to someone else. I think we all forget that we have the capability of being that hero to someone. You don’t need magic to be a Wonder Woman.

You need a heart. That’s it.

Right now, society is staggering in the aftermath of the Stanford Rapist case, aware of the ‘rape culture’ of America. Many feel hopeless. Those who have been raped, assaulted, and abused see the dark pit of despair opening.

The Stanford Rapist walked. Justice wasn’t served, not to the young woman who will carry scars we can’t see for the rest of her life. But, there is an opportunity here, if you are willing to take it.

Unless you’ve been raped or assaulted, it’s very difficult to understand what it is like to have someone hold so much power over you. Many women in our society have been raped or assaulted. If you put twenty women together in one room and ask how many have been raped or assaulted, it’s not going to be just one or two hands raised.

It may be four, five, six… or more.

Women are taught to be shamed if they have been ‘tainted’ by a rape. Men are taught to be shamed–or worse, that they are entitled to a woman’s body.

This is rape culture.

We try to hide the dark truth and look to celebrities to give us an example of what is good–and then we use them as examples of what is bad when they fall.

Instead of celebrities, look at yourself. Your family. Your friends.

Change begins at the home, with you.

Instead of being afraid of the discussion of sex with your children, embrace it. Teach your sons and daughters rape is wrong. Teach them how to be good people. Morality isn’t found in the church.

It isn’t found in a steeple. It isn’t found in the government.

It’s found at home, and it starts with you.

There will always be bad people in the world, but there are so many good people, too. For that stranger you held a door for, bought a coffee for when they were sad, dinner for when they are hungry, you are the hope in their world. For that person you saw on a bench and sat down next to, and offered your ear without judgment, you are their shining light.

There are good people in the world. Instead of looking for the Emma Watsons of the world, take a long look in the mirror.

Be that good person you’re looking for. Then you’re the example you want to set. You don’t have to be wealthy, popular, or outgoing to be a good person. Be one, and take the time out of your busy life and notice the world around you and all the little things people do to be good to each other–things people do without expecting praise, reward, or acknowledgment.

If you can’t find the good people in the world, be that person. It’s not hard. Open a door. Offer someone a smile. Buy a homeless person a lunch and listen to their story.

You don’t need to move mountains to make a difference.

This again? Books, Readers, Piracy, and Theft.

The drama of the week is flavored in book theft, and I, like so many authors, are stepping up to talk about it. In a way, I feel like Cardeth and Zero. The ‘city’ of the literary world is smoking around us authors, and the rioters are…

… people who like what we do?

Look, I like reading as much as the next person, and because I’m an author, I can’t afford to buy many books. I cherry pick the books I want to have. I buy them. I respect others who are in my same situation, and if I can’t afford to have it, I live without it.

Suck it up, precious little snowflake. There are a lot of ways you can get books for free without paying a cent and still respecting the authors who wrote them. Let me teach you how.

Go to Amazon. Click on the genre you like. Go to ‘Top 100 Free.’ Buy all the fucking books. Come back every day. There will be new books there, because many books are only free for up to five days every three months.

Want more than those top 100 free books? Go to search. Pick a keyword you like. Sort by pricing “Low to High.” Buy all the free books. There are thousands of them there.

Don’t return the books because you believe you’re a precious little snowflake who deserves to have everything without paying it. Feel that way? Come to my house and clean it. I’m not going to pay you. I’m not going to give you a free pizza or beer for your work and effort, either.

Don’t like that? Got offended?

That’s exactly what you’re asking me to do when you steal my books. You’re expecting me to go hungry while you benefit from my hard work.

Here’s some other ways you can get free books:

Become a book reviewer. You not only get the book for free you get it in advance. You will be expected to review the book honestly.
Go to free book sites (NON PIRATED) that are promoting giveaways. Freebooksy is a good example of one of these sites.
Create a Netgalley account, review books.

Don’t be a thief. Taking a book for free is theft, no different from me walking into your home and taking your television because I want to watch something and don’t have a television of my own. Oh, don’t like that, do you?

That’s theft, and that’s what you’re doing to authors.

I give most of my titles away several times a year, so you don’t have to steal from me to enjoy my books.

 

Teas of the Day Plus Bonus Random Rambles

I like tea. I really like tea. I’m going to have to just go out on a limb and state I’m an addict. I’m not a snob–I don’t care how people have their tea, so long as they enjoy what they’re drinking. I like talking about tea, too.

Today, I’m going to showcase (with pictures!) four of the teas I’m drinking today. I make them in 16 oz iced tea batches. One is therapeutic in nature. It helps with my allergies and sinuses, even when iced. The others are pure bliss.

I’ll start off with the one I’m currently drinking, which also happens to be my therapy tea. It’s called ‘Organic Cold 911‘ and is produced by David’s Tea. Actually, all four teas I’m showcasing are by David’s Tea. Cold 911 is available in a kosher blend as well as the organic blend.

It’s made with peppermint, apple, and juniper berries, as well as eucalyptus and orange. This one has no calories or sugar when steeped, which is perfect for my ‘abandon sugar addiction’ bandwagon!

I really like this tea, but it’s really strong, so by the time I’m done my 16 oz of iced tea, I’m kinda done with it for the day. This is definitely a once per day tea for me unless I’m really sick… then I’ll have it hot, if you please.

Next up is Forever Nuts. Like Cold 911, this is a tisane. (Herbal.)

This is what I fondly refer to as “Nutty Apple Pie” tea. This is one of my absolute favorites, and I could probably drink four or five 16 oz servings on ice a day, easy. This one is going to bankrupt me, I’m certain of it.

This one is as simple as it is delicious. It’s made of apple, almonds, cinnamon, beetroot, and my absolute favorite ‘artificial flavoring.’

I like my teas pure, but I like taste better… and if they put cyanide in this puppy, I’d probably drink it happily. Give me more!

Yeah, I know. I’m being lame, but I really DO love this tea that much. If I ever develop a nut allergy, it will a painful time in my life. Very painful. Much pain.

The next tea on my list is a proper tea, and it gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s called Pura Vida, and it tastes like a Pina Colada. I shit you not, this tea tastes like a non-alcoholic Pina Colada. It’s my go-to morning tea. It’s a green tea (ignore the fact I put it in a pink tin. I like the color pink, okay? If you don’t like pink things, more pink things for me.

Pura Vida is a kosher tea. However, unlike many of David’s Tea products, it contains sulfites. So, if sulfites are one of your allergies, beware.

This lovely tea is made with pineapple, green tea, apple, coconut, mango, chamomile, and natural ingredients. Not quite as yummy as artificial ingredients, but hey, can’t have perfection in this tea… or can you?

I got a bit artsy-fartsy with the picture on this one, but I wanted you to se all the glorious bits of everything in this tea, from the cut green leaves to the strips of coconut, the curled dried apples, and the chunks of pineapple.

This tea smells as fantastic as it looks, and it tastes even better. I really can’t sing the praises of this one enough.

Last on my list, but certainly not least, is Mango Madness. I love mango, yo. If you want to lure me into a white van and kidnap me and hold me hostage in your basement so you can force me to write novels for you, I’m pretty sure all you’d have to do is hold out a mango tied to a stick. I’d probably just follow the mango, drooling like a zombie with a serious case of brain cravings. I mean, it’s mango. I freaking love mango.

Mango has such happy memories for me. When I was in school, I had a friend named Elizabeth. Liz was one of my very first real friends. She was this absolutely lovely Asian girl, and she was truly one of the sweetest people I ever met.

One day, she invited me over to her house. I had no idea Liz’s family was seriously rich until my mom dropped me off at her place. Her parents liked me (boy, did I have them fooled…) so I got constantly invited over. I loved it, Liz loved it, and we had a great time. Liz and I were attached at the hip right up until we went away from college. Her parents introduced me to mango. It was my first time having it, and it was one of those fruits my family simply couldn’t afford.

Whenever I visited, they made a point of having a mango or other interesting fruits around. They were those type of people. They understood the little things.

I miss Liz, and I hope she has had a happy life–we lost touch, and I wasn’t able to find her again over the years… but I think about her whenever I have anything dealing with mango, and they’re happy memories.

Mango is happiness.

Mango Madness is a full leaf white tea. (See that gorgeous full leaf in the picture? DO YOU SEE IT?!) It’s made with apples, white tea, orange peel, pineapple, mango, orange slices, tangerine, safflower petals, strawberry, marigold blossoms, and my favorite ‘flavoring.’

Let’s face it. Like peach, mango is a really difficult flavor to hit at in a tea. Mango doesn’t really dry well, it loses a bunch of its flavor. So, to mimic mango, you need mango… and you need a lot of other things that taste kinda like mango when put together.

That’s what this is. It’s mango with mango flavoring so you can taste the mango. It’s also white tea, which is my favorite type of tea.

These are the drinks that fuel my writing, and they are delicious.

You Don’t Have to Steal My Books to Read Them

I’m friends with a lot of really amazing authors. Some of them are bestsellers, some of them are just plain popular without having made the bestseller list, and some of them are like me, somewhere near the middle of the pack.

Many of us share one thing in common: we’re plagued by book thieves. These are people who buy a book, read it, and return it once they’re done reading. Sometimes, they download the file, grab the mobi from their device, and then return it as ‘an accidental’ purchase. Sometimes, they give a different reason.

Some of these book thieves have gotten really bold. Some of them leave reviews complaining they loved the book but they had to buy it. This happened to one of my friends. To add insult to injury, it was a 1* review, where the reviewer praised the book and went on to bitch about the price tag.

The cost of the book was $2.99.

I have had this happen to me. Amazon limits how often a reader can return books. So, when the latest culprit started to buy and return, I watched my stats. Sure enough, right around the time the return limitation expired, a new one of my titles would be returned.

I recently ran a large free book promotion for Beneath a Blood Moon. I gave the book away. A lot of people took advantage of this, too. Which is fantastic.

I want people to be able to read my books. That’s why I give them away. First, it introduces people to my titles. Some people decide to read more of them. That’s fantastic. I’m grateful.

Then there are the book thieves, who discover my book after the promotion. They buy the book, then they return the book. It makes me really angry. Why?

I give my books away frequently. Most of my titles are put up for free at least once every three months. I encourage people to approach me about ARCs for reviews. I want people to read.

I don’t want to be stolen from, however. I give my books away for free, and I encourage Amazon’s KU library, because $9.99 a month for a huge collection of books is really reasonable, and I’m paid quite well for it.

My promotion for Beneath a Blood Moon has caused a storm of returns. There isn’t a problem with the book file. I’ve asked those who recently got it to make certain. Amazon hasn’t contacted me about major problems, either. (There were two typos that were immediately corrected.)

Here are my stats for May 2016, to show the surge of returns:

I gave away almost 3,000 copies of Beneath a Blood Moon. I’ve ‘sold’ 62 copies, 9 of which were returned. One of the returns was part of the return spree by the suspected singular reader. (You can see the titles that were affected in the Units Refunded column.)

It started when I gave Inquisitor and Winter Wolf away last month, and has carried over to this month. It’s pretty annoying, really.

If you’re someone who buys books and returns them so you can keep reading, would you work at a fast food joint for free? Would you go to your cushy office job and work for free? Try it sometime. You probably won’t like it.

Those books are my career. When you steal from me, you’re taking directly from paying my bills, putting food on the table, and so on. I give away books to introduce people to my writing. It’s a calculated risk, and it’s something I do because I want people to be able to read.

Don’t steal from me. You wouldn’t like it if I came into your home, rummaged through your fridge, and took your food. You wouldn’t like it if I wandered in, grabbed your kid’s shoes, and made off with them. How about your computer? Or your television? How about your collection of DVDs/Blu-Rays?

That’s basically what you’re doing when you take a book someone is selling it, read it, and refund it because you’re a cheap thief.

Just because I give books away free sometimes doesn’t mean I’m an all access pass.

(P.S.: If you’re going to steal my shit, at least leave me a glowing review telling people why you loved my book. Maybe then, at least, the write-off isn’t as heartbreaking. Or, better yet, have the basic common decency to wait for when the book is free and I’m giving it to you because I want you to read.)

Write What You Like. Read What You Like, Too…

(c) Jo Naylor (Creative Commons License – Flickr)

/RantOn

I started writing this post over two months ago. When I started it, I noticed a trend in social media conversations. I don’t remember which book had caused the latest fuss–probably Twilight or Fifty Shades–but it was the same old shit, different day.

I have an opinion, it’s a very blunt one, and I’m going to share it. I’ve been sitting on this for so long because I didn’t want to offend people. Well, fuck it. I’m going to go ahead. If I offend you… well, think it through, because if you’re in the group that’s going to be offended by this, there might be an issue, and it might not be with me.

Here’s the brief summary of the situation: A bunch of egotistical elitist assholes were judging some new readers (some of these were teenagers) about their choice of books. They were judging these people because they didn’t enjoy ‘proper’ literature. These were new readers who loved a book others didn’t approve of.

I have a few words to say to those who have ostracized others for loving a book.

Fuck you, sir or madam.

Did that wake you up? Offend you? Make you stop and go ‘what the actual fuck?’ I hope so, because I have exactly one goal here: I want people to realize how incredibly stupid and horrible it is to judge someone for a book they love to read. I want people to realize how incredibly repulsive it is for someone to mock another person for loving a book.

I’m an author. Books are my lifeblood. I love to read, I love to write. I hate some books, but I never, ever hate someone for loving a book. If someone hates my books, that’s okay. My books are not for everyone.

What do I do now when someone says they hate my books? I ask them what they love. If I know a book in that genre / writing style, I suggest they read that one, because they might enjoy it.

I have something to say for those new readers who have been laughed at, scorned, or criticized for enjoying a book, be it Twilight, Fifty Shades, the Hunger Games, or the Complete Works of Shakespeare:

Keep loving that book.

Fuck those who can’t accept you have a mind of your own. Fuck those who can’t accept that book resonated with you. Fuck those who can’t appreciate the fact you love a book they don’t approve of.

I’m a bit opinionated about this. I don’t like Fifty Shades–that’s evident in my commentary during my unfinished Play by Play. I actually don’t mind Twilight, although there are some things that make me go whaaatttt?!

Here’s the deal: It doesn’t matter what I think about any book. If you like it, that is a great thing. You’re reading.

I’ve had a difficult time keeping my temper in check when I see people ratting at the fans of a book. Go ahead, beat down the book all you want. But, when someone says they love a book you hate… shut your fucking mouth and let them love that book. Don’t berate them for loving a book.

Don’t turn these people off on loving books. Think that through really, really carefully. I hear it all the time. These elitist asses want people to read good ‘literature’ and mock those who read genre fiction or ‘bad’ books.

Gateway books are novels that teach someone the love of reading. When you mock their love of a book, you’re not helping anyone. You’re just proving you’re an insufferable asshole. Go ahead, say how much you dislike the book. That’s more than okay. But, don’t mock the person who loves the book. There’s a big difference there–and it’s a very hurtful one.

You don’t have to understand why someone loves a book. They just do. When you mock someone for loving a book, all you’re doing is telling them their interests and love are worthless.

That’s a pretty repulsive act in my book. Why?

Because I truly love books, and other readers are my people. I’ll defend someone’s right to love a ‘bad’ book until my dying breath. To them, that isn’t a bad book. It’s a beloved one, and they deserve to be treated better than being mocked for loving a book.

/RantOff

Old Authors, New Worlds…

I was reading a review recently on goodreads, and I was intrigued by its content. The reviewer was hoping for a whole new world in the new series. (Sorry, Balancing the Scales is in the Witch & Wolf world. It does introduce a new species of supernatural in the same way Pack Justice did, but it is still in the same comfortable alternate Earth the rest of the books take place in.)

It made me think.

To date, I’ve created three independent worlds. Technically, four, but one crosses over with one world… I’ll explain below. Since I’m going to go to the effort of writing out all the books I’ve written (and am planning to write in the near future), I’m going to put the books in chronological order for you.

Finally, right?! So, bear with me.

World #1: High Fantasy (Arasanor)

Series: Requiem for the Rift King & Related Works

In chronological order:

Rider of the Sun Horse (Standalone)
Storm Without End (Requiem #1)
The Eye of God (Fall of Erelith #1)
Storm Surge (Requiem #2)
Royal Slaves (Fall of Erelith #2)
The Tides of War (Requiem #3)
Genocide (Fall of Erelith #3)
Requiem for the Rift King (Requiem #4)

You might be looking at this in a state of what the actual fuck?! Yes, The Fall of Erelith is the same world as Requiem for the Rift King. Yes, the stories happen at almost the exact same time. Yes, if you look carefully, you can identify how the two continents interact with each other and how the events from one half of the world affect the other half of the world.

Yes, it’s complicated, which is why I’ve very much kept The Eye of God as it’s own thing without drawing much attention to the relation of these two series. Yes, I’ll probably write Royal Slaves before I release the Tides of War, but it’s dependent on a lot of factors.

No, don’t panic. You do not need to read both series if you find the Fall of Erelith series too brutal. It is a brutal story. Of all the characters I’ve ever written, the Fall of Erelith ones face the hardest challenges–but they stand to gain the greatest rewards.

They aren’t just fighting for their lives, but for their freedom, for justice, and for a lot of things we take for granted that has been taken from so many in that world under the tyrant reign of Erelith’s Emperor.

There will be more standalones and short series in this world, although I won’t be working on them for a while.

World #2: The Witch & Wolf World (Alternative History Earth.)

Series: Witch & Wolf, Nature of the Beast, Balancing the Scales, Standalones…

In chronological order:

Tales of the Winter Wolf
Winter Wolf (W&W #1)
Inquisitor (W&W #2)
Pack Justice / Dual Nature (Nature of the Beast)
Blood Diamond (W&W #3)
Beneath a Blood Moon (Standalone)
Case Files of Karma Johnson (Some stories will be during the series in later anthologies)
Karma / License to Kill (Balancing the Scales)
Silver Bullet (W&W 4)
Shadowed Flame (Because of Chapter 2. Hahahahaha… err..)
Wolf Hunt (New Series, Follow up to Witch & Wolf main series, Coming after Silver Bullet)

Some important notes: Nature of the Beast and Balancing the Scales are side stories within the world, but they don’t involve characters from the main W&W series. In Beneath a Blood Moon, you’ll recognize characters and references from Tales of the Winter Wolf, Winter Wolf, and Blood Diamond. People commented that this makes Beneath a Blood Moon not quite as standalone as they liked.

I know some folks aren’t going to like this, but here’s the deal: When characters have the power to change the world, and someone interesting comes along, they’ll show up. Wolves are curious beasts, and where trouble goes, they follow. Their lives and jobs involve keeping the supernatural world monitored and under control.

Then, you might ask, why didn’t they show up in Nature of the Beast? Simple. The supernatural world is, at that point, recovering from the plague. Packs are fragmented, broken, and rebuilding. There are bigger fish to fry than a lawyer with a cat for a guardian angel.

You might ask the same of Karma & Shadowed Flame, but once again, there are bigger fish for them to fry, and the players in Karma (especially) are capable of changing the world entirely fine on their own. In Shadowed Flame, while you can’t see any of the consequences of Silver Bullet, they’re present in the absence of these characters.

World #3: Alternate Earth, Cross-overed with Witch & Wolf Universe

The Witch & Wolf world was never meant to be infinite. It ends–at least, on Earth. I got tired of Earth one day, and decided the planet had to go. So, off it went in a blaze of glory.

The Fenerec, their witches, and many of the supernatural become a grand experiment on space survival. One day, their story might continue, but they become the pioneers of Terrans exploring space when Earth goes to hell in a handbasket.

The stories in this world are not about the Fenerec. No, they’re about the humans left behind, what became of Earth’s magic when they left, and what happens to Earth.

Project Zeta (buh bye, Earth!)
Zero
Evolulite

No, I won’t tell you how these science fiction stories connect. That would ruin my fun.

World #4: Alternate Earth, Sci-Fi Edition

Series: Dae Portals (Trillian Anderson)

The Dawn of Dae (DP #1)
Unawakened (DP #2)
Chameleon and the Hound DP #3)

This is the most traditional form of series I’ve ever done. The books are released in chronological order, and there probably won’t be many (if any) side novels. There are a lot of stories about Alexa and Rob, though. So, that’s something, right?

I will say this much about this series: I love Alexa. I love how she changes, develops, grows, falls on her face, makes mistakes, adapts, adapts some more, falls prey to her own demons, and changes the world, all without any real magic of her own.

The covers of the Dae Portals novels were specifically chokes for a reason, reflecting Alexa’s changes and state of mind during the series. In the Dawn of Dae, she learns to stand on her own, but Rob’s there every step of the way, making sure she can stand back up when she falls down.

In Unawakened, she believes she stands in Rob’s shadow and wants to be his equal. This cover shows her back… but it’s not because she’s actually in his shadow.

It’s because she’s guarding his back as much as he’s guarding hers. I saw the picture when browsing stock images, and thought it was perfect for their relationship.

In the next four covers, you’ll notice Alexa is standing on her own. Her appearances change drastically. Why?

You’ll find out, eventually.

World #5: Coming Soon.

Happy Book Birthday, Karma & Shadowed Flame!

It’s my birthday today, and for some reason, I thought it’d be a great idea to release not one, but two books today. Yeah, I’m crazy. Happy book birthday, Karma & Shadowed Flame! Both books are available for $3.99 over at Amazon. If you want an epub version, please email me with a copy of your receipt to blain . rj @ gmail . com (remove the spaces!)

About Karma…

Karma Johnson has spent her entire adult life working to become a member of FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. She’s earned her transfer to CARD, but when she’s caught up in the kidnapping of an infant from a festival, she learns what it’s like to be the victim. Pretending she’s a teen keeps her alive while trying to get herself and the baby to safety.

But the kidnapping only scratches at the surface of a far more nefarious scheme, one that will test Karma’s skills, her patience, her sanity, and her beliefs.

About Shadowed Flame…

Matia Evans has it all, except for one thing: she can’t see color. With an adopted family who loves her, a company she helps her father run, and more prospects than she knows what to do with, she’s in no place to complain that her world is limited to shades of gray, black, and white.

Her inability to perceive color isn’t the only strange thing about her: all souls have shadows, and she can see them. Unfortunately, there are humans who are worse than monsters. Worse, there are real monsters in the world, and they view humans as prey or as mates.

If Matia doesn’t want to become a victim, a pawn, or a trophy bride of the supernatural, she must use every bit of her strength and cunning. Her freedom and survival depend on embracing the darkest parts of her soul, but if she does, she risks becoming the newest—and most dangerous—monster of all.

In other news, Beneath a Blood Moon is on free promotion today. Come grab your copy now!

This is how I party. There are also a few other titles free today, so hit one of the links and grab them if you don’t already have them! Happy birthday to everybody!

Finally, the facebook party beings at 12 EST / 9 PST, and will run until 9 pm EST / 6 pm PST. Come along at any time during the day, participate in games and discussions, and get a chance to win a prize or ten!