S.E.’s Comments (group member since Jan 16, 2013)

S.E.’s comments from the S. E. Lund - Author group.

Wendy wrote: "Hi and Thanks for the invitation."

Hi, Wendy and welcome! Jump right in!

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote:ts all Clive - I love cats - and he was awesome - he was the best part of the book for me - that scene when he goes for the Russian girlfriend....roflmao .."

Meow! Yeah that was a ROFL part...

Speaking of which, my ex plays in a band that had a didgeridoo in it and the singer used to mimic the sound of it... he was already a terrible singer and sang almost every note off key, but when he mimicked the didgeridoo, he sounded like a cat in heat!

Wendy wrote: "By the way I didn't mean your books weren't spell-checked, sorry if you thought I did!"

Oh they were Wendy but even with four sets of eyes on them, we still missed a number of typos and formatting problems, but have been cleaning them up when we find them. I should post a thread for typos and have people post to it if they spot any. ;)

I worked for the Premier of a province in Canada -- equivalent to a State Governor -- as a writer for a while after I was married and used to write his memos and talking points and letters and once, a letter address to the wrong person went through me, my editor, her boss and his chief of staff. He found it and sent it back. OY!

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "Wow - I think my dad was more like the dominant controlling, heavy handed - no humor, create fear in the kids kinda dad! - needless to say we haven't spoken in years - he disowned me right before I turned 18 - his loss

your dad sounds neat and fun - glad that some people can have neat parents (2 of them Vs just one like me) "

So sad to hear that, Paris. That is the wrong kind of dominance to exhibit and so sad to not have a father in your life and to lose a beloved mother.

My father was pretty good natured with us kids. He grew up with 5 brothers and so was at a loss how to deal with a family made up entirely of females. He used to say even our cat and dog were female (I have one sister) He was very indulgent in some ways and not so indulgent in others. But always very supportive of anything we did -- except party, smoke pot and drink and have boyfriends that is!

Cherish wrote: "I loved that I didn't get what I was expecting and, believe me, I wasn't disappointed."

Glad you did, Cherish. I'm a big suspense fan, thriller fan but for me, there isn't enough romance or sex in most of the straight suspense or thriller novels. I want it all -- explicit sex, romance, suspense, thriller plots. Heck, I want history and fantasy as well. That pretty much is what I hoped to write with the D series...

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "I like your dark writing, and hope that what did happen won't change things ( I watched that thread unfold and choose to stay out of it - it was ugly) "

Yeah, mea culpa... I don't seek out comedy novels, but Wallbanger was an exception because I read the excerpt and laughed out loud. Laugher is the best medicine as they say so I bought it. I may need to crack it open tonight just for a good belly laugh. Need one. ;)

Cherish wrote: "It's interesting, basically dividing all different sexual preferences into various "houses" all in the worship of Kushiel. It's a world similar to ours, yet with decidedly different mores and tradi..."

I always wanted to read KD -- just put it on my TBR pile...

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "Cherish wrote: "It's interesting, basically dividing all different sexual preferences into various "houses" all in the worship of Kushiel. It's a world similar to ours, yet with decidedly different..."

Your mother sounds like she was so amazing, Paris! My mother is the wife of a fighter pilot. She has a keen mind and reads several books a week. She laughed her way through FSOG because she said she was married to Christian Grey except for the sadism and the extreme wealth. But the Dom nature and competence and confidence? Yep. Fighter jocks, as they like to call themselves, have to be extremely confident to fly at the speed of sound etc. "High performance fighter jets" as they call them... LOL growing up with him was something.

Wendy wrote: "I liked not knowing exactly what I was getting into S.E. I prefer that in my reading, but hey, just call me adventurous ;)"

Hi, Wendy -- I understand that some readers are very sensitive to certain content. I do not shock easily and like my romance to be very explicit and dark - LOL - since that's what I write, but I can enjoy comedy and light romance depending on the book. Not much insults me so I rarely have to worry about that.

Some readers want formula reads as their way of relaxing and I understand that. They want to know they will get what they expect and are not happy when they don't. So, Michel's former occupation as a priest is going to be included now in any blurb on Amazon and Goodreads.

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "I will say that my work password right now is made out of the name Dominion...how's that for showing my withdrawals"

It was very embarrassing when the IT guy had to take my laptop into the shop and needed my password... OMG talk about a very red face! He just smiled indulgently and rolled his eyes. I changed it right away to something less obvious. ILoveDamonS4Ever!

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "I will say that my work password right now is made out of the name Dominion...how's that for showing my withdrawals"

HAHA! Yeah I use those kinds of passwords too - whatever is brewing on my mind at the time, usually some very hunky man...

Cherish wrote: "Hello all :)
Glad to be part of the group. Found my way to Goodreads through Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy Book Club (yes, that's what it's called *g*) and, now, I've been introduced to so many fin..."

Hi, Cherish! Welcome to the group! So glad you enjoyed D and A and hope you enjoy R! Goodreads is so amazing for readers -- and authors!

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "Well I won't spoil for you on Down to you - I enjoyed it, but there's just something I can't yet put my finger on - just finished it this morning..I almost think I like the first book better..this ..."

Oh, I'm looking forward to finishing reading UTM then -- moving it up to the top of my pile. Anytime a reader has an epiphany, I'm loving it.

On another group, there is a discussion about PNR, and what ratio of PN vs R readers prefer. The OP made a comment in particular about whether authors should flag that their books contain BDSM.

As far as my view goes, I think books should be appropriately labelled when they are listed for sale or on discussion groups like Goodreads. If the book has erotic elements, if it has elements of kink, if it has other genre elements that readers look for -- that is part of good marketing and very important to how your book is placed on bookshelves and presented to readers in search engines.

Of course, the degree of these elements varies from one book to another and all a general tag will do is warn off those who absolutely cannot tolerate any of that content.

Two books labeled erotic might have very different amounts of erotic content. Some may be filled with explicit sex scenes while others may be very mild with only a few or even scenes of a non-sexual nature that may be disturbing and not for those under 18.

The same goes for BDSM / kink. BDSM may be there as a theme but not depicted in any explicit manner or may be depicted through full out dungeon scenes and various forms of play and be aiming for verisimilitude - depicting the lifestyle as accurately as possible. Some readers may tolerate only mild kink elements, others may want full out scenes and situations. The label of BDSM alone or the description of "kink" will only say so much to the reader. There is a certain degree of discovery that will inevitably exist for readers when opening a book and delving inside.

Still, I do think that books should be accurately labeled so that readers can find your book on appropriate shelves or in search engines. It only makes good marketing sense.

Labelling is not warning. It is simply a way to categorize your book appropriately.

I think on my blog post from yesterday, some of the participants were missing each other's points. I was talking about the kind of warning Cherise posts about BDSM and using that kind of warning for other elements, such as religious themes or other themes that might not be to a particular reader's taste. I see labelling and categorization of a book to be where people can go to find what they want to read. I don't think each book needs lengthy disclaimers and warnings about content in order to convey when there is sensitive material contained inside.

It is so hard sometimes to avoid misunderstanding when all we have is text and a few emoticons.

For traditionally published books, the publisher determines how a book is categorized and it is largely done by those involved in marketing. For indie authors, it is up to the author themselves to label / describe / categorize the book appropriately.

Even if you take care to label your book carefully and describe it carefully to include all the major elements of the novel, there may still be some material contained within the book in which some readers may take offence. For example, religious themes, racial themes, violence, political themes.

Heck, one of my readers was seriously pissed that I included Eve's cats in the narrative when I only mentioned them a few times and they were left alone a lot. I also only mentioned her father a couple of times... poor soul is rotting away somewhere in a mental hospital!

So OF COURSE I support accuracy in categorizing your novel for sale so it's placed in the store or shelves or search engines properly and so that readers can find what they like.

I don't approve of deliberately misleading readers about content.

But its impossible to anticipate every element in which a reader might take offence. Offence taking is very subjective and varies by time period, age of the reader, etc. What might be offensive today may be considered un-offensive next year or in a decade.

There is a certain amount of discovery involved in reading books. You aren't certain how a book will turn out when you buy it, despite glowing reviews, a clear blurb with good description of the plot and characters, accurate category labels, and a neat cover.

Despite all those clues, a book can still be a real stinker or just plain not to your taste.

For example, a reader took offence that Michel was a priest and was acting in a sexual and sacrilegious manner. I am now editing the blurb on my Goodreads and Amazon page to include reference to his being a former priest in the description of his character. I don't have to include a warning, as that should be good enough so that those readers who might balk at reading about the sex life of a fallen vampire priest can steer clear.

Being a indie author responsible for all the marketing and promotion, (along with my editors) I'm learning as I go.

So, did you find Dominion to be adequately labelled? What labels would you include to make it more accurate if not?

I appreciate your feedback so I can improve my books presentation and placement on shelves. :)

Thanks Paris - I'm reading three books right now -- only one is PNR - Raphael and it seems as if it's right up my alley. Also still reading Up to Me and not yet sure about how I feel except that I do love Cash! Finally, reading Wallbanger which has been hilarious and hot so far. So busy with writing, it's hard to get time in for reading. Usually read late at night before bed!

Ask away but I will start by saying my favourite food is chocolate ... And sponge toffee. Even better is chocolate-covered sponge toffee!

Please feel free to invite your friends to join - the more the merrier!

Discuss what books other than the Dominion Series are you reading here. Cuz, I know you are and I am too!

Want to discuss paranormal romance in general? Book recs and links welcome!

Feel free to post questions, points of confusion and general feedback about Ascension here.