Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
Josh wrote: "Thoughts on mpreg? Anybody?I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fiction and only..."
Only if it is the way the person's physiology worked.
I loved Alien Nation when George was pregnant. But that is the way it is with that species. And it took three individuals to conceive.
Now with that out of the way, NO!!! !
I have every faith that you could make anything you write work, but NO.
Although, to be honest, i haven't read any mpreg, it does seem like fanfic territory. Not at all interested.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fic..."
No. It would definitely not work for me, not least because I don't like children in my stories. :-D Now and then, a kid crops in, but mostly my stories are child-free. Like my life.
(Not counting the kidlings, who I do love dearly.)
I do find it fascinating. Or rather the popularity of it and the fact that I was unaware of the popularity of it. I imagined it would be this very tiny, obscure thing simply because I had not heard of anyone writing it outside of fan fiction. And to my surprise, it's huge.
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Josh wrote: "Haldis wrote: "Josh wrote: "Thoughts on mpreg? Anybody?I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something pop..."
There are like a million and a half mpreg stories available on KU which makes me think(unfairly or not) that it's just self published fanfic.
Josh wrote: "Thoughts on mpreg? Anybody?I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fiction and only..."
I think it has become a kind of sub-genre within the shifter genre (if there is any such thing). But there are also m-preg books which aren't shifter stories. I quite like a good mpreg shifter story but that is because I like shifters. Mpreg stories seem to have developed a life of their own though.
Skin After Skin (PsyCop 8) cover reveal, the book will be out in one month, around the same time there will be a paperback!http://mailchi.mp/psycop/psycop-8-cov...
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..."
LOL. What's the logic behind that?"
Actually, it was mystery and science fiction, not romance. And the logic is that there isn't as much money in it and the readership isn't as large, as compared to mainstream/general fiction. The nice thing about the chapter though, is that while he advises not going into either genre, he admits the writer needs to do what they need, and want, to do. And thus, he has included some great tips on writing in both genres. He did start out in Sci-fi after all. I paused the book this morning right before starting the mystery section of that chapter, in fact, so I can't speak to his mystery tips yet, but I got a lot out of his SF thoughts. Enough to get my brain off my current novel and thinking about my SF piece. lol.
I know Dean goes on and on about how the book is outdated and he didn't know what he was doing when he wrote it... blah blah blah. You look at the marketing chapters as an interesting time capsule. The rest of it, the real how-to-write chapters hold a lot of valuable information written in a very accessible way that I have yet to find in other places.
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I know. She's really the classic librarian. Beneath the quiet exterior..."
*blushes*
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fiction and only..."
I once read a fantastic fanfic that involved mpreg. It was written so well it was believable. Sadly, the story was also very dark, and the author was nervous about it's reception and quit writing halfway though and then deleted everything she'd written. I don't even remember her name. I tried to convince her to keep going. It was such a great story.
My sci-fi involves aliens with mpreg, sorta.
But I have to state, mpreg MUST be done right and done well, in order for me to read it. None of the cutsey, let's have mpreg in the story just so the guys can have their own babies because it's cute! nonsense.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something pop..."
I didn't think it was written outside of fanfic either. I wouldn't have thought mainstream audiences would have bought into it. But, what do I know? (view spoiler)
You know, it's funny, I can't stand little kids. But I like writing about them sometimes. I never wrote about babies, but older kids 6-8ish, used to make it into my slash fanfic years ago. I still like rereading them on occasion. Though I doubt they were very realistic for their age. My one kid was pretty badass for a six year old. :-)
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Yeah, babies in M/F is a NO, for me. lol. I'm just weird.
Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "Thoughts on mpreg? Anybody?I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fic..."
I've never read any mpreg. I always saw it as, like Jordan says, a cutesy gimmick, which did not appeal at all. I imagine there's mpreg out there that isn't like that, though (recs, anyone?). If a favourite author wrote it, I would certainly give it a try. Though I'm another one who's not really into children in books.
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..."
LOL. What's the logic behind that?"
Actually, ..."
Oh for sure! The writing advice is not something that would ever go out of date. The elements of great story telling have never changed since bards sat around plucking their harps and telling tales of glory.
But the delivery and the pacing have certainly changed. I mean as much as readers love a nice thick meaty book, you don't find a lot of people sitting down with Vanity Fair for a beach read. :-) I do think our attention span is getting shorter and shorter, and that's got to affect reading and writing both.
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I don't think it's weird! OR maybe I'm weird too. ;-D
I think children are a complication that some readers enjoy and some don't. For me -- and maybe this comes from teaching for so many years -- I find the idea of children tiring and worrying. It's too much real life, I guess, for the type of stories I want to tell.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something pop..."
I do think a good author can pull almost anything off, but in the end it just comes down to what readers enjoy. I don't like kids, I don't like books set in prison, I don't like torture, I don't like stories set in the Middle East... I have a lot of little finicky likes and dislikes as a reader. And I don't think I'm unique in this. :-)
So it's kind of a toss-up as to whether I'd read mpreg from Nicole Kimberling or Ginn Hale. I love their work, but I don't like babies. :-D So it's that kind of thing.
***editing to add that I have NO reason to think Nicole or Ginn would be writing mpreg, I was just thinking of who I know that writes fantasy books I love.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fic..."
Oh my God. She DELETED it????
Yeesh.
I mean...you lose nothing by hanging onto those files.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fic..."
You know, as we're talking about this I suddenly remember that early on when I stumbled into M/M a writer of sci fi had written an mpreg and I read her excerpt and was startled at how really good it was and how plausible.
I can't remember her name, but I know she passed away a year or so later. I think that was my sole experience with mpreg -- I have the impression it was all but unknown outside of fan fiction at that time.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fic..."
Yes. Which would make sense.
Although I saw a conversation on Facebook where someone was requesting non-fantasy mpreg. And of course, my immediate thought was THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! :-D :-D :-D
Oh so very wrong.
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as ..."
Maybe?
I don't know though.
Publishing is so crazy-competitive now. Everybody seems to be trying to find a niche where there's a little room left. Hence all these "mysteries" that are maybe at most romantic suspense?
When I saw all those titles, my first thought was a WAY LOT of readers find this fun and relaxing.
It's fascinating to me how there seem to be more and more and more very specific sub-sub-genres -- and that there is readership for all of them. Maybe not a huge readership, but you don't need huge to earn a nice living, you just need dedicated.
We just could never have had this in the old days of publishing. The business model did not work like that.
Josh wrote: "Thoughts on mpreg? Anybody?I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fiction and only..."
No! NO NO NO NO!
NO!
Not ever. Ugh.
Antonella wrote: "Skin After Skin (PsyCop 8) cover reveal, the book will be out in one month, around the same time there will be a paperback!http://mailchi.mp/psycop/psycop-8-cov......"
I cannot WAIT!!! And that is a gorgeous cover. Jordan has amazing Photoshop skills.
Babies in fiction. I'm ok with it mostly. When I first read romance in the 90s it seemed every single book. Every. Single. Book. ended up with marriage and a baby. That actually turned me off the genre for a few decades until I got my first Kindle and got my feet wet again in romance reading. Things had improved by then, mostly.But I don't mind kids if it's a big family setting. I also have a soft spot for m/m that involves unexpectedly having to take care of a kid, either the mother (mc's sister) dies or it's an adoption situation. Those are fun if they don't get too saccharine. The thing I like about it is the navigating of how to make the family work.
Which is weird because I am not very family oriented myself. My brother lives a block away and I barely see him. My family from Ohio and my half brother in Atlanta only see me on Facebook. I think it comes from growing up as an Army kid and moving around all of the time. We didn't put down roots, and family was always at a distance.
So anyway. Yeah kids are ok if not over done. Mpreg.. just no.
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My kids just end up as mini-adults, probably. I'm not good at writing real kids. Which was fine in fanfic. My readers had no problems with my kids.
I am, actually, working on a sci-fi mm with alien mpreg, sorta. It's "sorta" mpreg only because the baby grows in a floating bubble outside the body. Well, there's a whole bit about how it works, but I won't bore you with the details here. I've been working on it for years, and it's on the back burner to my older fantasy novel at the moment, but I would like to get back to it soon.
Josh wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "Granted, I've never understood the attraction of babies in M/F either. All those romances with secret babies or accidental pregnancies. Just not interesting to me. Maybe..."Absolutely true! Imagine Adrien with a kid. Either Adrien is so sucked up in parenting, that it's difficult to explain, how he has time to go sleuthing of his own and to manage the bookshop or he will be reported to the police for child neglect.
Josh wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "hough I think there's a chapter near the end that specifically says writers should stay far away from mystery and romance genres,..."
LOL. What's the logic behind tha..."
Josh wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "hough I think there's a chapter near the end that specifically says writers
For sure the attention span is getting shorter and shorter. If you watch a series or movie, all five minutes has something to happen, so that the audiences don't switch to another series or movie.
I have a relatively high attention span or ability to concentrate. That is why people at my work sphere think I am much more intelligent as is true, I am only good and fast to process long text. :-D
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fic..."
Tell us how you really feel, Susinok! :-D
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I've had many, many requests for Adrien and Jake to have a baby, and...if there is a character I know well, it's Adrien. He would not want a baby. As much as he loves Jake, as much as he loves Emma, he is not father material.
Why would I do that to a character I love so well? ;-D
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..."
LOL. What's the log..."
LOL Those of us with long attention spans will rule the world in the coming years.
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My kids just end up as mini-adults, probably. I'm not good at writing real kids. Which was fi..."
Honestly, I'm just curious about it. There is no judgment here -- too often I have jumped to some conclusion, only to find out that I'm the one out of step. :-D
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fiction and only..."
No! NO NO NO NO!
NO!
Not ever. Ugh."
LOL. My thoughts exactly. :-) And I can't even explain why, really.
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I was so disappointed when Harper Fox added a baby to her Tyack and Frayne series that I haven't been able to read them since.
Kirsten wrote: "I was so disappointed when Harper Fox added a baby to her Tyack and Frayne series that I haven't been able to read them since."I was really bummed out about that too, but I keep up with the series still.
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Harper pulls this off beautifully. I think she could get me on board with almost anything. Well, probably not with mpreg. ;)
I was lucky enough to review The Furthest Station which is the latest story in the Peter Grant series. It is due to be published in September. It is a novella and in the time line takes place after Foxglove Summer but before the Hanging Tree. It is all about ghosts on the Metropolitan Line. I enjoyed it. I really like this series because it is just so creative and the narrator is one of the best I have ever listened to. So something to look forward to if you follow this series.
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I know. I love and admire Harper, but adding a kid to the adventure just spoils it for me. Which is totally about me -- that I concede.
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Harper pulls this off beautifully. I think she could..."
HA. I think I will throw that challenge at her. :-D
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Yes! In the event of an apocalypse, Adrien would certainly step up. :-D But that's about what it would take.
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"BTW, if by chance you read the final version from the point that the draft version ended (after Chapter 20) — go back NOW and re-read the final version of that chapter. :)
In previous chapters I noted only a few, very minor, changes in wording, but Chapter 20 is significantly different in content and tone in the two versions... there is a significant and lengthy passage in the final version that isn't in the draft version."
Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I was lucky enough to review The Furthest Station which is the latest story in the Peter Grant series. It is due to be published in September. It is a novella and in the time line t..."Oh joy, they are so much fun! And Kobna Holbrook-Smith has to be one of the best narrators out there.
I don't mind kids in the stories, but mpreg just squishes me out. If you want the protagonist to be pregnant, write a female for heaven's sake! Or a very alien alien. That might work, but then we are beyond ordinary genders anyway, so.
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"BTW, if by chance you read the..."
Thanks, Karen!
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Oh, me too! Or at least start them. I'm back to reading Cask Strength, the second book in a trilogy. I enjoyed the first book, but got distracted by other May releases (The Monet Murders for one) just about the time I started reading this one. And the book opens with one of those "hot" scenes that made me question my fond recollection of book one. ;)
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I've had two readers during the last month ask if I would ever consider writing an mpreg book.
I think of something mpreg as something popular in fan fiction and only fan fiction, so out of curiosity I went to see what was happening on Amazon.
What. The. Hell.
There are, like, hundreds and hundreds of mpreg books!
So then I mentioned it to a friend of mine, and he was just the tiniest bit defensive about the fact that he loves to read it ( which was a lesson for me right there).
You guys are always way ahead of me on this stuff. What is up with mpreg?