Rebecca A. Demarest's Blog, page 10

Writing Prompt!

You know that spot in your favorite book where they character doesn’t do what YOU think they should do? Fix that. Go back and rewrite it to your satisfaction.

That Point When You Know an Author Too Well…

When I heard that Kim Harrison‘s new book was coming out, I immediately placed it on hold at the library. Of course, this also meant that I had to wait for two weeks cause I was far from first in line. But as soon as The Undead Pool arrived for me, I sat down to start reading. Not even five pages in, our favorite witch lets of a pithy remark and I immediately snort and say, “Ya think?” Imagine the ensuing hilarity when I turn the page and Jenks says the exact same thing to her. This is the point at which I know I love an author.

But besides being entirely in sync with Harrison on expressing doubt at Rachel’s understatement, The Undead Pool did not disappoint on any level. The writing was quippy and clean, the character development hits the “About time!” meter perfectly, and you’re left with the uneasy sensation that even though things in this book got bad, they’re going to get even worse in the next one. One of my favorite parts of Harrison’s writing is that she is not afraid to let her writing, her characters, and her world evolve the way some other genre writers are. The Rachel Morgan who we follow in this book is miles and away more mature, more talented, and more accepting than the Rachel we first met in book one. Her world is constantly changing on her and she’s learned to just take it in stride with minimal complaints and get her job done. Its so refreshing to find books where the author is willing to take the risk of changing for the more satisfying rewards rather than play it safe and write the same characters over and over again (*cough* Janet Evanovich *cough*).

That being said, my only complaint with this book is the cover. They’ve been steadily getting worse and now the cover looks like some trumped up romance novel, with Rachel in a teensy miniskirt and corset (which appears nowhere in the book, unlike the white leathers of another cover). Granted, there are some racy bits that correspond with that “Well, FINALLY!” I was speaking of, but this is much closer to a gritty urban fantasy novel akin to The Dresden Files than it is a supernatural romance. This is why I am so happy I can design my own novels and don’t have to rely on what a marketing team decides will sell…

Writing Prompt!

You get a chance to sit down with your favorite author and interview them. This is a dialog exercise, so, based on how they write, try and extrapolate how they would answer your questions.

Crazy Awesome News!

Today’s post was delayed because I wanted to be able to give you guys a full update, which wasn’t possible until I just got off the phone. As some of you may have known, I’ve started a website called The Speculative Craft, which launches next month, focused on the craft of writing science fiction, fantasy, [insert here]-punk, and every other form of speculative fiction you can think of. It will feature craft articles, interviews, journal spotlights, and classroom resources to help facilitate the teaching of speculative fiction in the classroom.

I can now inform you that the first edition will contain an interview with none other than Tamora Pierce, author of the Tortall and Emelan series, on how she approaches writing, and a spotlight on Black Treacle, a fantastic online journal. Now, if you have subscribed to the mailing list, you’ll get these awesome things on May 15th. However, if you haven’t subscribed, you’ll see this content go up on our website on June 1st. Which means you should probably subscribe now to find out what Ms. Pierce said, just that much sooner!

Writing Prompt!

Using Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age for inspiration, how do you see the English language evolving? What words will change, what will get added, and what will be lost?

The Age of the Illustrated Primer

I read Snow Crash ages ago, and had always intended to come back to Neal Stephenson and read more. I just didn’t get around to it until now. My boyfriend purchased me a copy of The Diamond Age, sure I would love it, and he was right.

The Diamond Age is a story not only about the coming of age of several young women of different societal statures, but also of invention, individuality, and the importance of education, all presented in a cyberpunk futuristic world with digital paper and cybernetic horses.

Now, one of the most interesting things about this book was the fact that it was originally printed in 1995 but the tech that he talks about in this book became a reality in 1997 when E Ink spun off of the MIT Media lab, and with the debut of interactive books for the iPad just a couple years ago, we are pretty darn close to the primary Maguffin of this book: A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer. All that is missing is a slightly more advanced AI that can adapt the story to the reader’s environment. Our Print to Voice technology is almost good enough to handle the read aloud component as is.

This makes this trippy, tribalistic future that much more realistic, which is both frightening and exciting. Imagine being able to adapt every child’s education to their individual experiences. The kind of creativity and advancement this could foster would be incredible.

But, enough about what this book talks about. Suffice it to say that the alternate future it plays with is just about as odd as the one in Snow Crash and just as fun to read about. The writing itself is flawless. Engaging and unique, as all of Neal’s books are, it also takes a chapter or two before you get used to the language he uses. He has a whole new vocabulary he introduces to deal with his fractured society, and it takes a little bit to understand what everything is, but that adjustment period is entirely worth it. Once you get past the first 12 pages, you’re golden.

So, if you’d like a not-quite dystopian conversation about the importance of education and individuality, The Diamond Age is definitely the book for you. Just have patience with the opening, Stephenson rewards you in time.

Writing Prompt!

Its time for a genre mashup! K.B. Spangler liberally mixes cyber-punk with procedural drama for a unique storyline in A Girl and Her Fed as well as her two spin-off novels, Digital Divide and Makerspace. Now you get to take two of your favorite genres and create a story that makes liberal use of components from each side!

Patchwork Flight – Judge’s Choice!

My flash fiction piece, “Patchwork Flight” was chosen as a Judge’s Choice for the 3-Minute Future’s Contest for To the Best of our Knowledge, a Wisconsin Public Radio program. It beat out over 750 other submissions! Too bad it didn’t win a dramatization, I really would have loved to have a few less degrees between me and my idol, Gates McFadden, but it’ll do…

Hop over to their site to read my story!

To Review or Not Review

I hadn’t been aware of this until recently, but, apparently, there is a problem with ‘review bullying’ on places like Amazon and Goodreads whereby authors and fellow reviewers suffer at the hands of angry people and trolls who use the review section as their bully pulpits. The most recent and egregious example would be a young romance author that received multiple one star reviews before her book was even out with people heaping on the abuse, including rape and death threats. And, when this story went public, a lot of people rallied around her, but there were still a bunch of people who continued to heap on the abuse in reaction to her supporters. As of now, this author has declined to publish her book…ever.

Now, there are two groups rallying around authors to try and stop this kind of behavior: Horror Writers Association and a Change.org petition signed by many high-profile authors. The two groups, however, are taking radically different approaches to the solution of this problem.

HWA has proposed, in an open letter to Bezos at Amazon, that they update their policies in regards to flagging and removing reviews that

indicates the customer has not read the book, but only a small portion of it, such as a free electronic sample;
includes spoilers which, once revealed, could significantly reduce interest in the work;
includes negative personal remarks about the author; and/or
is focused on the work’s price rather than its content.

The petition, on the other hand, is calling for an end to anonymity in Amazon reviews, allowing only people who had verified their identity to be allowed to post reviews. They feel this will remove the mask of anonymity that most trolls thrive behind and lead to more honest reviews.

After reading the evidence and the various commentaries, I have to say that I think HWA is headed in the right direction, and the petition is entirely wrong. The anonymity of the internet not only allows more freedom of expression (sometimes for the worse) it also protects users. I choose, on forums like Reddit, to use my real name as I also promote my writing on that site and it would be easy enough to figure out who I was anyway. But there are people who have difficult personal histories who may not want someone to stumble across their review of a book or product and then be able to find them. The petition is reactionary and not entirely thought out. By trying to stem the trolls in this manner, they are also punishing people who do not feel safe in having their identities hanging out there for all to see.

Thankfully, at this point, I have not suffered any of the kinds of abuses other authors have, but I know in due time I will receive those scathing and vitriolic comments and reviews. I hope when this happens, Amazon and Goodreads will have updated their policies to better enforce a community which protects the content creators from the angry people who are only there to make trouble and try and tear other people down.

Do You Wanna Build a Cyborg?

I am an avid fan of K.B. Spangler, what with A Girl and Her Fed and the first tie-in novel, Digital Divide. That’s why I got super excited for Maker Space, the sequel to Digital Divide. It came out not too long ago and immediately downloaded it for my Kindle. I jumped in and was not disappointed. Its another fast paced cyber crime thriller, only this time it touches on a cultural phenomenon close to my heart (and my day-job): Makers.

After a massive bomb rocks downtown D.C., Agent Rachel Peng is given a task force and autonomy to work outside the official investigation to ensure that nothing is missed. Her investigation brings her into contact with a community of Makers working out of a decrepit office space nee warehouse that they have turned into a Maker think tank of sorts. Makers are a newly identified kind of human, the kind who revels in constructing marvels of technology and art from otherwise basic components.

Makers tend to be open-sourced and concerned with the betterment of humanity…and having a lot of fun. I’m looking at you, Maker-Faire participants! They are an incredibly strong and welcoming community of people that I have the privilege of working with as an illustrator at O’Reilly Media. We used to publish a magazine called Make that has now spun off as its own company that produces the magazine, how-to books, and even kits to help beginning makers get started. We still help Make publish their books, so I still get to see all the designs for the fabulous projects they have created and are helping others learn how to become master builders in their own right.

But enough on the Makers themselves and my glee at seeing them featured in such a prominent role in a fiction novel. Maker Space turned out to be well worth the wait. It is eloquent, gripping, and exceedingly well-paced. I do have to admit, I was thrown a little bit by the fact that the Boston Marathon Bombing was mentioned in passing when a few characters were discussing preparation for events such as this. It is still so fresh in everyone’s mind out here in Beantown that it was just weird seeing it mentioned in a fictional novel.

Regardless, if you are looking for an excellent procedural cybernetic drama, I highly advise you to pick up both Digital Divide and Maker Space. They don’t rely on any knowledge from the web comic (though I highly suggest going and giving that a try, too, cause there are some excellent inside jokes) and Spangler presents a wonderfully fresh take on crime dramas and cyberpunk. I just wish I’d had the cash to spring for an O.A.C.E.T. badge during the kickstarter….