Auralee Wallace's Blog, page 6

I think I need a stern talking to…

I was originally going to say that someone needs to yell at me, but I really don’t like being yelled at, so let’s stick to the stern talking to.

Why am I inviting this upon myself?

I’m procrastinating…again. Unoriginal I know.

(I’m not sure this .gif really fits, but I love me a little Batch)

All signs are currently pointing to a productive work day. My darling husband is wrangling the kids. The entire day is free of appointments. My eyebrows are neatly plucked. In fact, the only tasks left to me include foraging through my refrigerator for a nice bit of cheese and checking and re-checking the internet to see if anybody loves me today. (Spoiler alert: nobody does…yet.Maybe I should go refresh some pages.) So with all this spare time, you would think I would be writing up a storm. But therein lies the rub. If you are as intimately acquainted with the dark arts of putting things off as I am, you know that only makes things worse.

That being said, the terrifying yawn of time available to me is not the real source of the problem. You know what is?

I’m almost done a manuscript.

That’s right. There’s just a little more to go. But that little bit…well, it just seems horrifying, doesn’t it?

Hence the talking to. I know I’m going to get it done. I won’t procrastinate forever. I might, in fact, even enjoy getting it done…someday…and I know I’ll LOVE it when it is done. Then I can start showing it off to people with the near delusional pride of a parent toting a newborn.

All this is true. I know it’s true. And yet when I sit down to write, this happens:

Okay, so who’s up for the challenge? Who would like to let me have it (probably because he/she/your choice are procrastinating themselves?) Come on! There’s a little comment box just below.

Oh dear, did I just invite the internet to yell – scratch that – give me a stern talking to? Maybe I should change my request to “What do you do when you’re procrastinating?” Nah. I like living on the edge.

Auralee

Side note: I promise my next post will not be on procrastination. I think it will be on something I love, like Stephen King (unoriginal, I know), purple prose and/or pulp, but I got to finish this damn manuscript first!

Five Perplexing Questions That I Absolutely Must Answer Before I Write Today…or a study in procrastination

I have so much to do today. There’s a family road trip to pack for, a house to clean (for the cat-sitter – nobody needs to know how we really live), a lawn to mow, and, well, a book or two to write, buuuut, I’m plagued – plagued, I tell you! – by these very important questions making it impossible to do anything but mull over possible answers. If you have the answers, please comment. Save me from myself.

1) Why do so many writers LOVE Supernatural? 

First, I should note that I have watched almost every episode. I’m not sure if I Fangirl love it, but I do keep going back for more. Now, aside from the image of the beautiful brother sandwich that occasionally pops into my head (I swear, I don’t ask it to. It just shows up sometimes), what is it that has so many writers coming back season after season? The music? The car? The ever-giving plot-line? (After all, there are always more monsters to fight.) What is the secret to the Supernatural sauce?

2) Why is it that when your children get into your bed (bad dream or whatever) they always end up horizontal? 

Seriously. Do they have magnetic poles on their heads and feet that force them to make both parents equally uncomfortable? I had about two hours sleep last night…which in part probably explains this meaningless post.

3) If I gave David Tennant a million dollars, do you think he’d role play The Doctor with me for a week and tour the British countryside?

We could run through little towns clutching hands like we’re running away from something…yeah, that would awesome.

4) Where can I get a million dollars?

5) Should I stop using .gifs in blog posts?

This is only the second time I’ve done it, but it makes me feel kind of dirty. I mean what kind of blogger do I really want to be?

I’m going to go nap now and hopefully dream about a Doctor Who/Supernatural mash-up that would make the most prolific of erotic fanfiction writers blush.

 

 

Well, this is exciting…

I can’t take any credit for it though. I owe it all to the Escape Cover Fairies…

Why I probably shouldn’t play soccer against twenty-something year old boys…

Sometimes I think I’m as delusional as Bremy…

…it turns out there are some really nice people on the internet.

About two months ago, I posted my very first blog entry expressing my reluctance to, well, blog because I was concerned that there may, in fact, be mean people on the internet. Well, colour me surprised, but it turns out that even though I have spotted the odd troll in the distance, most of the people I’ve met since my electronic debut have been really…nice.

Last night, I had the pleasure of participating in a podcast for The Book Cave to discuss SIDEKICK. Being the generally hysterical person that I am, I had myself convinced that all sorts of terrible things would come of this experience. In fact, most of yesterday, I was fairly certain that I would develop sudden onset aphasia (much like I did this morning when the receptionist at the doctor’s office asked me my telephone number, and for the life of me, I could not tell her what it was – I blame that on my two year old and lack of coffee), but as is often the case, it turns out my fears were completely unfounded. Ric and Art, hosts of The Book Cave, were simply wonderful, and I had a great time chatting with them.

I also need to mention that I was introduced to these fine gentlemen through Tom Johnson, pulp author, historian and collector (check out his site here). Tom contacted me after seeing a guest post I had written for my blog tour involving some superheroes from the Golden Age – a shared interest. Tom then proceeded to introduce me to the pulp community. It seems Tom is just one of those writers who supports other writers because, well, it’s a nice thing to do.

Then, as if these experiences weren’t enough to make me question my initial stance, I received another really nice email out of the blue a little while later. You see, during my tour, a blogger asked me for the names of some authors I had enjoyed recently. I provide a small list of names which included Jonathan Janz (I had read the first installment of his very horror-rific and very cool SAVAGE SPECIES.) Well, not long after, I got an email from Jonathan Janz thanking me! Imagine that! He took the time to write an email just to say thank you.

All in all, I think perhaps I may have been too quick to judge, well, all of humanity. So here’s to the good guys on the internet! I’m so glad you’re out there.

Auralee

Why I Write in Stereotypes – and a new revelation

My husband and I met on an internet dating site. The forum alone makes it an interesting experience. All you have to make an initial romantic assessment of someone is his/her/(your choice) picture and brief bio. Talk about snap judgments. Well, my snap judgment of my husband brought a lot of my prejudices to light. I saw a “brown” male, and I’m not going lie, I initially wondered if he was Muslim and what that meant in terms of how he treated women. Once I read his profile, I saw that he was Catholic. Well, I made a whole new set of judgments based on that. My husband, on the other hand, made his own set of assumptions. In particular, when I made, what I thought, was a sarcastic comment about my “daddy” buying my car (something I was embarrassed about), my husband assumed I was a spoiled princess. Luckily, both of us persevered past our initial snap “stereotyped” judgments, found true love, and lived happily ever after (with three children, one of whom is still sleeping in between us in bed ensuring we never touch – ah, romance,).

I had a similar experience when I met my best friend. I met her in the cafeteria of one of my first jobs. Her friend at the time went out of her way to welcome me, while my later BFF stood a foot or two back, scowling. I don’t think I made any particular judgment about her race (Caucasian/Jamaican), but who knows? Sociological studies have shown that the power of stereotypes can be immediate and unconscious. (They also show that we are all prejudiced – a theme which I can’t seem to stop writing about.) I did consciously assume, however, she was anti-social/misanthropic (now I’m thinking she may have been the inspiration for Queenie…hmm). My friend, also, made all sorts of assumptions about me. You see, my father was one of the bosses, so, yes, I got the job in large part through nepotism. I’d kind of hate me too. Luckily, my friend has an incurable need to help people when they are in need, and as I floundered my first couple of days on the job, she took pity on me, and put me under her protection. She eventually decided I wasn’t half bad.

These were two pivotal experiences in my life which I think, in part, explain why I write the way I do. Every character in Sidekick makes offensive and/or stereotyped assumptions about every other character in my book. They do so in such an over the top way that, I hope, it is both shocking and therefore to some degree uncomfortably funny. The plan, however, is for these characters to get to know each other on a deeper level…and then form a Scooby Gang and save the world. Bremy St. James, my stereotyped dumb, blonde, rich girl is offensive. She is meant to be offensive. But my hope is that her offensiveness is forgivable because it is based on ignorance and she is willing to learn. The one problem I have run into is that I can’t explore every relationship in the first book. I always intended Sidekick to be a series, so some of the stereotyped characters have to be put on hold – a dangerous notion because I have left some stereotypes hanging, but I do think there has to be a balance between the story and the messaging.

So that, in a nutshell, is why I write in stereotype. Now onto my new revelation. I did it again. I made assumptions. I assumed that everyone would read my book the way I intended (Suddenly I can hear millions of authors all over the world laughing hysterically). I thought everyone would get where I was coming from. Admittedly, that was a pretty arrogant assumption. I thought my offensive jokes were so over-the-top offensive that everyone would know, that I know, they’re offensive. What I didn’t take into account, maybe, (I’m assuming again), is that many people regularly do face over-the-top discrimination so my over-the-top jokes/satire/parody would fit right in. Also, there is the possibility, that for some, my writing just doesn’t do a good enough job of getting the point across. Totally fair.

Here’s the thing. I still plan to write in a way that reflects my experiences/point of view of the world. Sometimes I will get it right. Other times I will not. I would like to say that I do hope people relate to where I’m coming from, but I appreciate that that is not within my control.

Thanks for reading!

Auralee

 

I Was Promised a Writer’s Cave…

Me running to my cave with my cat.

Okay, so nobody ever promised me a cave, but I had imagined one, and it was cool. I envisioned my own little retreat where I could just let my imagination run wild on the page. When I had finished a manuscript, I could then leave it at the rocky mouth for a pterodactyl (Oh my God, I just spelled pterodactyl correctly without spell-check’s help! I’m awesome!) to take it away to the publisher.

 

Well, it turns out writing isn’t quite like that. I have to market myself, and I’m not particularly good at it.

A friend of mine just asked me what I thought of a book synopsis, and I replied, “I don’t know. I’d want to see a sample chapter.” She then replied, “Do you have sample chapters up on your website?” Friends are such terrible people sometimes.

Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I have put the first chapters of both SIDEKICK and CAMP MURDER up for all to read. SIDEKICK, is now available through Escape Publishing and can be purchased from: Escape Publishing / Amazon Kindle/ Amazon Kindle UK / Amazon Kindle Canada / Kobo / Nook / Google Play / Apple / ebooks . CAMP MURDER is my current WIP along with SIDEKICK RETURNS…more details to follow.

Enjoy!

Friday Inspiration

The Tiger Woman

First appeared in Crack Comics #9 (January, 1941), Publisher: Quality Comics, Created by Art Pinajian

I got to say I’m partial to The Tiger Woman. First, she’s a ruler of a jungle kingdom. I think I’d like to be ruler of a jungle kingdom. I could sit on a throne. Tigers could lounge by my side. I’d dress in lots of gold jewellery…but I digress. The point is jungle kingdoms are cool. Second, her revenge fantasies are not based around men. It seems The Tiger Woman is a little annoyed at Westerners for plundering her artifacts – and I say, As well she should be! So after one particular group steals some treasure, she travels to America to kill each and every one of them. How? you ask. Well, she blows deadly powder into her victim’s faces petrifying him or her instantaneously. You have to admit. That’s pretty awesome. Finally, even though The Tiger Woman travels with an entourage, she likes to do the dirty work herself. That’s my kind of woman.

DANGER! Stereotypes ahead!

If you have read SIDEKICK, you have probably noticed that my writing is bursting at the seams with stereotypes.

I recently wrote the following rational for this use in an interview for SIDEKICK’s Blog Tour:

Every character in my book at first glance is a stereotype to some extent.  I build up the expectations of that stereotype only to spin them around and violate them, hopefully, when the reader least expects it…and hilarity, again, hopefully, ensues.

Granted, this type of humour isn’t for everyone, and, for the author, it is fraught with danger. The potential to offend lurks around every paragraph.

That being said, I am not a fan of some of the alternatives. One being that I have all my characters be of my race, gender and socio-economic class. That’s just silly and certainly doesn’t reflect my life…or anyone else’s for that matter. Another alternative is to write every character who is of a minority or disenfranchised status as a paragon of humanity. I also think this is silly…and damaging. I’m much more of a tackle-issues-head-on kind of gal.

I wanted to add a few more thoughts to this…what? Explanation? Justification?

First, my intention is certainly not to offend of upset anyone. My main goal is question stereotypes and their power.

Second, if there is one thing my sociology class taught me, it is that everyone is prejudiced to some degree. I include myself in this characterization of human nature and my main character, Bremy St. James (the embodiment of the dumb blonde, rich girl stereotype). In fact, I intentionally depict Bremy’s struggle to come to terms with a world that is unrecognizable to her given her privileged white  upbringing. She will not always get it right – nor, will I for that matter (as I discussed in the interview I left my gay waiter stereotype hanging – something I plan to work on in the next book) – but, again, I would rather face the danger of offense than live in the safety of denial that these issues (and stereotypes) exist.

Third, I do use and will continue to use tropes from the comic book world. These tropes are in no way meant to reflect reality. My hope is that these tropes are both enjoyed and questioned – but that is out of my hands.

Finally, I would like to say that I appreciate and welcome a reader’s right to question the social responsibility of my work. I would like to think I will be open to hearing criticism with good grace. Please know, I am treading into this territory lightly. Believe me, I’m terrified the entire time!

Auralee

 

 

Sidekick – Auralee Wallace BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY

auraleewallace:

Interview at my friend Penny’s!

Originally posted on Penny Dreadful Book Reviews:

SIDEKICK – BLOG TOUR STOP

It was clear that I had no real skills or abilities when it came to crime fighting, but I had gumption. And wasn’t gumption worth more than anything else? Why would reality TV lie? – Sidekick

No one ever said being a superhero would be easy…

Title: Sidekick

Author: Auralee Wallace
ISBN: 9780857991591
Series: Sidekick (Book #1)
Published: June 1st 2014 by Escape Publishing
Format: eARC
Genre: Fantasy/Superhero
Word Count: 73,818
Source: Tour Operator

Heroes meets Kick-Ass in this brilliant and hilarious debut about a girl who just wants to save the world…

Bremy St James, daughter of billionaire Atticus St James, has been cut off from the family fortune and is struggling to survive in a world that no longer holds its breath every time she buys a new outfit. To make matters worse, her twin sister is keeping secrets, loan sharks are circling, and the man…

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