R.C. Hancock's Blog, page 2

Rowling Vs. Green

The literary world is constantly evolving. (Or devolving as the case may be.) PubCrawl recently posted an insightful article about the disturbing trends of sexual violence in books written for young adults. You can see from the comments that the public is split as to what teens really need and more importantly (sarcasm) what they’ll spend money on.

So I’ve pitted two best selling novels, comparing content and sales, in an effort to determine what teens really want in their books.

(Yes, they’re different genres and this is an oversimplification, but it’s my blog, so deal with it.)

  VS   

FAULT: 315 pgs – published 2012

POTTER: 870 pgs – published 2003

FAULT: Main Character’s age – 16

POTTER: Main Character’s age – 15

FAULT: Hazel and Augustus go to his hotel room and have sex. Mention of removing clothes being awkward because of her oxygen tank and his fake leg. Mention of “condomy problems” and that it wasn’t too painful or ecstatic. 1

POTTER: Harry and Ron try to enter Hermonie’s room. “A loud, wailing, claxonlike sound” starts and the stairs turn into a slide. “‘Er- I don’t think we’re allowed in the girls’ dormitories,’ said Harry, pulling Ron to his feet and trying not to laugh.”

FAULT: “Do you know what Dom Perignon said after inventing champagne? He called out to his fellow monks, ‘Come quickly: I am tasting the stars.’” (p. 163 Before the “cool” enabling adults facilitate underage drinking.)

POTTER: “You know what?” Ron murmured, looking over at the bar with enthusiasm. “We could order anything we like in here, I bet that bloke would sell us anything, he wouldn’t care. I’ve always wanted to try firewhisky–”      “You — are — a — prefect,” snarled Hermione.”     “Oh,” said Ron, the smile fading from his face. “Yeah…” (pg. 337 before they order non-alcoholic butterbeer.)

FAULT: 

20 + sh**
5 Hell
Bas**rd
9 godda**
1 bada**
2 bit**
2 a**hole
1 a**clown
2 a**
1 fu**

POTTER: 

2 damn

FAULT OF OUR STARS: Total books sold -10.7 million
ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: Total books sold – 55 million

 

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How much is too much for kids?

One of the writing blogs I follow recently published an insightful article about how much ‘grit’ kids can handle in their literature.

I spent a good while composing and posting my thoughts on the subject, so I thought I’d share it here as well:

Many recent YA contemporary novels, if made into a movie (with dialogue and graphic content intact) would be rated NC-17 or even higher.

WIs it different to read through dozens of ‘F’ words? Why do we have the move rating system in the first place? (clue: it’s not because a bunch of outdated prudes want to keep kids from knowing the truth about life.)

It’s no secret that the bar for protecting children from “realistic” content has dropped and shows no sign of slowing. Many would rather congratulate themkselves on finally achieving free speech and liberating young minds than face what this “realistic” conditioning is actually doing to these liberated minds.

Until about their twenties, children’s brains are not fully developed. The last thing to develop is the frontal lobe (which helps with determining what it socially acceptable.) Funnily enough, a stroke in this area will release foul language.

So big deal, right? Teenage swearing and sex is a part of growing up.

What about bringing guns to school? What about murder? Now, I don’t believe that kids who read Forgive Me Mr. Peacock will set out to murder their father. And I don’t believe kids who read bad language in books will necessarily began to speak that way themselves.

The problem is that with their immature frontal lobes, they’re still trying to figure out what is right and wrong, healthy ways to deal with problems, and what is normal.

Although most gritty books have some sort of moral lesson at the end that the kids may or may not pick up on or agree with, the more sure (conscious or subconsious) lesson they are getting through this deluge of realism is that it’s normal to sleep with your classmates, to use the F (or C) word in everyday conversation, to use violence to deal with your problems, to abuse others, to commit suicide, to shoot up your school as a revenge for the way you’ve been treated.

Adults reading this may think me absurd. Whether they believe underage drinking is the norm among teens (It’s not, only a small percentage do) or that no one actually graduates high school a virgin, adults understand that the other problems I mentioned are certainly not normal or even common.

But adults know this because they have a fully developed frontal lobe. They (most of them) understand how to seperate their morals and decision making from what they read in their free time.

It is scientifically documented that kids cannot. So before you call me a censoring prude, or a blue-nosed a**hole (as did Cory Doctorow) ask yourself if you want your teenage daughter to subconsiously think cutting herself is a common, legitimate way to deal with her emotional problems.

What adults read is of no concern to me. (Well, that’s not entirely true, pornographic content leads to violent sex crimes, and trafficking of children, but that’s a debate for another day.) But is it realistic for us to ask teens to keep their language and behavior clean at school, while we fill their books with deviant behavior? No wonder they’re confused.

Yes, kids can easily get their hands on adult novels, but when you package and market a book specifically for young minds, you’re sending them a very clear idea of what is acceptable. Children should learn about the problems of real life eventually (when they are emotionally mature), but from a parent or responsible adult and not glamorized as entertainment.

 

 

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THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING by Krista Van Dolzer … new release!

My blogger friend’s book is finally out and it’s got some rave reviews. You definitely need to check this one out. (Thanks, Krista for all your help with Blue!) And thanks to Brenda Lee Drake for this ready-made post.

Buy it at one of these reputable establishments:

AMAZON | B&N | BAM | INDIEBOUND | !NDIGO | POWELL’S | TKE (signed!) | GOODREADS

About the book …

Twelve-year-old Ella Mae Higbee is a sensible girl. She eats her vegetables and wants to be just like Sergeant Friday, her favorite character on Dragnet. So when her auntie Mildred starts spouting nonsense about a scientist who can bring her cousin Robby back to life, Ella Mae doesn’t believe her–until a boy steps out of the scientist’s pod and drips slime on the floor right before her eyes.

“But the boy is not Robby–he’s Japanese. And in California in the wake of World War II, the Japanese are still feared and mistreated. When Auntie Mildred refuses to take responsibility, Ella Mae convinces her mama to take the boy home with them. It’s clear that he’ll be kept like a prisoner in that lab, and she wants to help.

“Determined to do what’s right by her new friend, Ella Mae teaches him English and defends him from the reverend’s talk of H-E-double-toothpicks. But when the boy’s painful memories resurface, Ella Mae learns some surprising truths about her own family and, more importantly, what it means to love.”

Blurbs …

“Brimming with empathy, humor, forgiveness, and wisdom about what it means to be truly, fully human”

–Tricia Springstubb, author of MOONPENNY ISLAND

“Ella Mae is a scrapper in the tradition of Harper Lee’s Scout”

–Publishers Weekly

“A remarkable effort that explores stereotypes, family, and friendships that transcend the 1950s”

–Booklist

“Perfect for classrooms and book clubs, as it definitely offers a lot of material for discussion”

–VOYA

“Recommended to fans of historical fiction who enjoy a mix of history and ethics”

–School Library Journal

About the Author …

 

Krista Van Dolzer

Website | Twitter

Krista’s a stay-at-home mom by day and a children’s author by bedtime. She lives with her husband and three kids in Mesquite, Nevada, where she watches too much college football and looks for her dead people online. She’s the author of THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, May 2015) and DON’T VOTE FOR ME (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, August 2015).

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And now for something completely different…

I’ve started rearranging LDS primary songs. If you’re into that sort of thing, check out my new BPP page.
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Prank Texting

A few weeks ago I got a text from someone I didn’t recognize… well, what would you have done?

It was only a matter of time before they realized I wasn’t who they thought I was. (Wrong. They didn’t even get it when I tried to explain it!)

 

That was a lot of fun. Someone needs to start a non-profit organization to help the elderly use technology. Here’s another one that happened  a few weeks earlier with my wife. It’s shorter, but still engaging.

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How to Raise Daughters Without Eating Disorders

I wasn’t always as smart as I am now. For instance, photoshopping my wife in our engagement photo was probably not the best thing for our budding relationship.

I told myself it was so she’d feel confident sending them out to everyone we knew, but in reality it was for me. I wanted my friends to see how hot my fiancé was and be impressed with my fishing ability.

As it turned out, confidence was not to be a byproduct of my blunder. In fact it was not to be found in our house for a long while.

Nine years and four kids later, I’m just starting to learn how to help my wife have confidence in herself. (Hint: it doesn’t involve buying her beauty products.)

Over the weekend we saw Cinderella.

Although we enjoyed it, the experience was somewhat tainted by the recent controversy. While I don’t agree that the princess’s passivity sets the clock back (not every single female character has to be equally strong and independent) the other cry from the critics got my attention. (The emphasis on that waistline.) As a teenager I might have told all the wacko feminists they need to get over the fact that they’re fat and ugly and let us appreciate true beauty.

But for nearly a decade I’ve worked every day to help repair the self-esteem of the most important person in my life, and I’ve come to realize something. Images and attitudes that wash over us every day in the form of movies, TV, and pop culture DO change our perceptions. They affect how we view ourselves and others. This is especially true of women, who are so often portrayed as objects primarily to be gawked at.

My quarrel is not with Lilly James or the size of her waist.

Her body is her own, and it’s not my place to comment on it. My quarrel is not even with the producers of Cinderella. (They did make a half-hearted attempt to go deeper. The prince at one point says something like, “She’s pretty but there’s something else about her.” And near the end the narrator says, [paraphrasing] “The hardest thing you will ever do is let people see you how you truly are.” These noble sentiments lose their efficacy when you learn the filmmakers gave their lead actress a dress she couldn’t fit into without going on a liquid diet.) But as I said, I don’t blame them. Their job is to make money and give the public what they’re accustomed to: our increasingly warped idea of beauty.

Do I sound fanatic?

Check out these statistics.

• The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females.

• 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures.

• 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.

• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.

• Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives.

• The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate associated with all causes of death for females 15-24 years old.

So do we just start putting aside money for the day when our daughters need a therapist?

No! It’s not to late for our children. But there are things we can and should be doing to combat the destructive messages. Your greatest tool will be this non-profit organization:

My wife discovered this website on her own, and since then has used it as a kind of antidote for the poison eating away at her self-esteem. Invariably, when she neglects reading her BR articles, the media steps in and fills the gap, resulting in depression and bad self-image.

Beauty Redefined has compiled 10 years worth of body image research in 5 manageable steps.

This is the real deal, people. Read their material. Hear them speak if you can. They aren’t trying to convert you to feminism, they want to help you avoid subtle dangers and give you tools to overcome your issues and raise healthy, confident kids.

Also, check out Intuitive Eating if you or someone you love are already caught in the dieting trap.

(It is a trap, 95% of all dieters will gain their lost weight back within 5 yrs. 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full-syndrome eating disorders).

So why rant about this on my author blog?

It’s remarkable how much my stories and characters have changed as I’ve progressed in my journey. In my very first story, THE EXITOR (never published) I wanted to do something “new.” So I created a thin “pretty” who was extra nice because she used to be fat. Later I changed it and kept her overweight, highlighting the prejudice she suffered. In An Uncommon Blue, the main character becomes infatuated with a girl solely because he finds her attractive. In a later rewrite, I tried to make up for it by having him help another (“less attractive”) girl feel better about herself. And finally, the main theme of the novel I just finished is DON’T TREAT PEOPLE AS OBJECTS, which also touches on the dangers of pornography. (Which incidentally if you have an addiction to, you should go here. If you want to support the anti-porn movement check out #FightTheNewDrug.)

It was never a conscious decision to try to reform society through my writing. It simply became increasingly important to me as I supported my wife through her trials.

However, in my effort to show the seriousness of the self-image problem, I’m afraid I may have painted my wife as a helpless basketcase who falls apart without her sensitive, brilliant husband to hold her together. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Jaida is amazing and despite her struggles, continues to be an example of strength and unconditional love. She is my superior in every way but one. (I love her more than she loves her.) But with a little hard work and a lot of help from Heavenly Father, I’m confident we can change that.

For more on what Heavenly Father thinks of all this see 1 Samuel 16:7.

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Launch Recap and Sales Update

As you may have deduced from this late post, it has been a busy few weeks. But they’ve been even more exciting than I expected.

One month ago today, An Uncommon Blue officially launched.

A few days later, launch parties in Heber and Gilbert, AZ went smashingly. (I sold out at B&N.) Thanks to all the friends and family who stopped by. And a special thanks to the drama students from Gilbert High. They all did an amazing job. (But I must confess that Veronique was my favorite.)

Go here and here to see the other scenes.

It was also great to see some of my author friends.

 Brock reading from his novel Healing Stone

L to R: Shersta Chabot (Stars, Stockings, & Shepards), some weirdo in a tie, Randy Lindsay (The Gathering), and Michael Bast (Death’s Academy).

Steve Sterling striking a pose. (Author of Persona Non Grata and father of Linsdey Stirling.)

Blue sales have been very good so far. And I’ve been getting postitive feedback from bloggers and friends alike.
And some REALLY exciting news, my book was picked up by a few more retail stores. Maybe you recognize some of them:

                        

                         

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Pierced by Love Blog Tour

Since I’m not a huge fan of romance, I allowed my wife to hijack Telesphore to participate in a blog tour. Take it away, Jaida…

Hi! I’m excited to be part of the Pierced by Love blog tour. I received a e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

About the book:

Noelle Jensen doesn’t want to like Pierce Logan. After her boyfriend breaks up with her for her sister, Noelle is done with love. Plus Pierce Logan has commitment issues because of his parents’ divorce and a strained relationship with his dad. But as Pierce and Noelle inadvertently help each other to open up their hearts, they also rediscover the importance of family and love.

About the author:

Laura Walker grew up in southern Arizona. She met her husband, Rob, at Northern Arizona University where she earned her bachelor degree in Elementary Education. She and Rob are raising their six children. Her hobbies include water aerobics and sewing. At the end of the day, Laura loves to curl up with a good book or write one of her own. Pierced by Love is her first published novel.

My take:

Although the characters are Mormon (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) anyone who loves a good romance will enjoy this. But if you have any questions about some of the references, you can ask an LDS friend or call the missionaries.

Noelle and Pierce are very likeable and I enjoyed the refreshing message of forgiveness and the importance of family. The writting felt a little stilted at times, or rough around the edges, but it didn’t distract from the real characters and engaging plot.

Part of what is so engaging about the story is that it is totally realistic.  Things like this actually happen in real life.  Without telling any spoilers, I’ll just say that there was one point in the book where the discomfort of the situation made me feel so bad for the character.

I’d recommend it to anyone who loves LDS romance.

 

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Blog Tour is LIVE!

I’ve been excited to see what people (not friends and family) think about my book. So far the reviews have been encouraging!

Although it’s going on now, If you’re a fast reader and interested in participating in this blog tour, please email Cedar Fort or leave a comment here.

About the book: In a society where the color of a person’s palm determines their social class, Bruno goes from favored to fugitive when he kills a Royal Guard to save a boy’s life. If he wants to survive, Bruno has to learn to accept the lower colors.

“An Uncommon Blue” blog tour schedule:

December 10: Wishful Endings • GeoLibrarian • Laura Walker

December 11: I Love to Read and Review Books • Bloggin’ ’bout Books • This Great Perhapsless

December 12: Mel’s Shelves • My Book a Day • Literary Timeout

December 13: Reading for Sanity

December 14: I Want to be the Pig of Happiness

December 15: The Phantom Paragrapher • Author Tracker • The Art of Infiltration

December 16: Fire and Ice

December 17: Deal Sharing Aunt • Book Club Sisters •  Crossroad Reviews

December 18: Mom Loves 2 Read

December 19: Bookworm Lisa

December 20: Readalot

December 21: Read For Your Future

December 22: Katie’s Clean Book Collection • Jorie Loves a Story

December 23: Author Jodi Woody

December 24:

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Blue is LIVE – Win a copy!

Blue is OUT and December is the month for GIVEAWAYS!
1. The  giveaway is going on now and ends Dec 8th at midnight.  Enter here.
2. The wildly popular  is giving away three of my books and several of a fellow author friend, Janette Rallison (aka CJ Hill.) Enter on the blog before Dec 10th.

 

(Thanks Rachel Brown for these awesome pics of my book!)
3. On Dec 9th (Release Day!) blogger friend and fellow author, Krista VanDolzer is giving away three copies of Blue on her blog.

 

And if you fail to win a copy, you can always attend one of these events later in the month to get your own copy and get it signed.

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