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To Offer Her Pleasure
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
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February 2022 Group Read #2 with Guest Author, Ali Seay
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I'm along for this one, been meaning to read it for a while and Brad Proctor had it as one of his best novellas of 2021, so this is good timing.
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The description has me curious. Just ordered this one, and planning to join in.
Hi all! I'm so excited to be here and to discuss TOHP with you and answer any questions you may have about poor Ben's downward spiral. :)
Austrian wrote: "I'm along for this one, been meaning to read it for a while and Brad Proctor had it as one of his best novellas of 2021, so this is good timing."I saw that. I was very happy to make Brad's list. I'm sure it's no surprise that it also made his top cover list. That cover by Don Noble is absolutely perfect for the book.
Kristin wrote: "Welcome. This sounds really good!"Thanks, Kristin!
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Kenneth wrote: "Ali, can you give us a little background on how this story came about?"Absolutely! TOHP is very much a product of those weird surreal first few weeks of quarantine in 2020. Time started to become elastic. Keeping track of days and all that was sometimes quite a challenge. One of the things my fiancé and I did a lot those first few months was walk. Usually I’m the one running my mouth the whole time, but there was one day that Jason was the one telling stories.
A few of the strange little bits in the book are stories from his childhood. The shack, the pond, the bunker. I basically said, “where the hell did you live!?” but over the course of a few weeks my brain started to stitch some of those little strange things into a bigger story. We have an enormous amount of old books in this house that I had recently been sorting to donate, give away, keep, and sell. So the book sort of came to life via that activity. The woman, she just appeared on her own...
Kasia wrote: "Definitely joining this one, hard to resist! The mix of the title with the cover alone is a yes, sign me up."Excellent :) That cover is by Don Noble and gets a lot of love. For obvious reasons!
I just got my copy today,and can't wait to get into it. The cover is beautiful.
October wrote: "I just got my copy today,and can't wait to get into it. The cover is beautiful."Happy reading :) Looking forward to your thoughts.
Happy Friday!
( Light spoilers)I really enjoyed this one. It felt like a dark fairytale and that he had wondered into different plains of existence at times , especially the shack, tunnels and pond.
Now seeing those were stories from your fiance's childhood, I'm also wondering where the heck he grew up, lol.
I really was expecting/ hoping a stay away from my cat scene would happen, but I'm glad that whatever happened to Solace we don't see it.
I also have went back and forth with myself if I believed the dad was there or he was having a fever dream type thing or if the woman was just using a illusion of his dad.
I really enjoy when books make me think and question after I've read it.
About 35 pages in and am very intrigued. Definitely would want to go through Daddy's library.
Up to chapter 16, I am really enjoying this so far. Love stories about old books so much. I also love the cat's name. Probably stealing that the next time we get a new fur baby.
October wrote: "( Light spoilers)I really enjoyed this one. It felt like a dark fairytale and that he had wondered into different plains of existence at times , especially the shack, tunnels and pond.
Now see..."
Thanks so much for your feedback, October. I'm always glad to hear thoughts on my stuff. I'm glad TOHP worked for you. :)
Like me, Jason's coming of age years were the 80s. It's not so much where you grew up and more like was anyone paying any attention at all to what you were doing and where you were going. lol.
Sally wrote: "Up to chapter 16, I am really enjoying this so far. Love stories about old books so much. I also love the cat's name. Probably stealing that the next time we get a new fur baby."Well, if you do you'll *absolutely* have to tell me! Glad you're enjoying it. :)
About to finish, the descriptions throughout the book of this entity (woman, mother, demon, God, still not sure) are stellar. She sounds terrifying but just hot enough to still make someone want to do bad things for her. Ugh, why am I always attracted to the female demons?! Also, a comment on growing up in the 80's. Same here and I think that's why all of us Gen Xers are so feral. Nobody paid much attention to what we were up to so we were able to wonder our towns and find really cool shit.
Sally wrote: "Also, a comment on growing up in the 80's. Same here and I think that's why all of us Gen Xers are so feral. Nobody paid much attention to what we were up to so we were able to wonder our towns and find really cool shit."Funny, I’m on the leading edge of gen-X, and I thought it was just my family! Yeah, nobody really paid attention - helicopter parenting was not in style.
This sounds like a fun read, I’ll start it right after my current one!
Sally wrote: "About to finish, the descriptions throughout the book of this entity (woman, mother, demon, God, still not sure) are stellar. She sounds terrifying but just hot enough to still make someone want to..."I think back to what I got up to as a kid/teen and wonder how I'm still here. It's why I *always* knew where my kids were. Much to their dismay. lol
Ali wrote: "Sally wrote: "About to finish, the descriptions throughout the book of this entity (woman, mother, demon, God, still not sure) are stellar. She sounds terrifying but just hot enough to still make s..."Exactly, I think a lot of this generation became the helicopter parents because of how we grew up. I can't imagine letting my kid just leave with her friends and not see her until dark.
I’m starting this today - the “before” is a great hook, as is the cover, already mentioned so many times. For some reason it makes me think of La-Bas, but there’s no logic to that other than demonic vibes.
Just started reading this today, presently at page 35. I love the writing style. Concise, but not lacking in details or insights.
It's interesting knowing for a fact that folks are reading your book. I hope y'all enjoy and happy reading! 💀 🖤
Thanks Ali! Last little bit for me - all good stuff!
I know enough about Ben now to like the character and start worrying for him. A little over half-way through the book now (page 73, Chapter 17) and things are getting hotter. (view spoiler)
I really enjoyed it! The characters were sharply rendered and the build up was great. I thought I found a typo or two that threw me for a sec, or I may have simply misread and moved on too quickly. (view spoiler)
Daniel wrote: "I really enjoyed it! The characters were sharply rendered and the build up was great. I thought I found a typo or two that threw me for a sec, or I may have simply misread and moved on too quickly...."You might have found the same typo I did, but it wasn't hard to figure out the actual meaning. Page 66: "Ben looked over his shoulder, "Yeah. I think I have it. Come on." Just replace that with Steve.
Michael wrote: "I know enough about Ben now to like the character and start worrying for him. A little over half-way through the book now (page 73, Chapter 17) and things are getting hotter. [spoilers removed]"Thanks, Michael. A book like that can't have normal old illustrations, now can it? :)
Daniel wrote: "I really enjoyed it! The characters were sharply rendered and the build up was great. I thought I found a typo or two that threw me for a sec, or I may have simply misread and moved on too quickly...."Like a lot of the stuff in the book, there's no real answer. Even I was never 100% sure if Ben's dad was real or if he was a tool/illusion used by the woman or just Ben's unraveling. All are valid in this scenario and all are possible.
When I write supernatural stuff I tend to shy away from too many concrete answers. Or, I should say, my brain does. The supernatural books that fail for me the hardest are where everything has a hard and fast rule or answer. There has to be some mystery. On the other hand, too much mystery can be infuriating lol. It's a fine line to try and walk.
Michael wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I really enjoyed it! The characters were sharply rendered and the build up was great. I thought I found a typo or two that threw me for a sec, or I may have simply misread and moved ..."Alas, somehow at least one always leaks through. lol.
I finished reading today. Thanks for entertaining us, Ali!My relatively spoiler-free review is here . . . . .https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Some questions for Ali (don't read them if you haven't finished the novella yet - - it could easily spoil it for you) . . . . . .(view spoiler)
There seems to be a key omission in one of the middle chapters. Was that deliberate? (view spoiler)
Ali wrote: "When I write supernatural stuff I tend to shy away from too many concrete answers. ”That’s interesting… I’m hoping to try my hand at a short story or two. (I haven’t started as I expect the result will be disappointing and I don’t quite have the bravery to face it.) I’m drawn to worldbuilding - the structure of an alternate reality - which might destroy any mystery. Thanks - food for thought.
Daniel wrote: "Ali wrote: "When I write supernatural stuff I tend to shy away from too many concrete answers. ”That’s interesting… I’m hoping to try my hand at a short story or two. (I haven’t started as I expe..."
Why not just write it? It's a fun process and it will be a great exercise. Nobody says you have to share it. If it doesn't meet your standards, you still got to practice. Personally, I love the writing process but I don't like the rest: revisions, edits, submittals, etc.
Michael wrote: “Why not just write it?”Rationally? That’s the thing to do. Yet… Perhaps there is a deeper block, but I can’t find it to work through.
Michael wrote: "Some questions for Ali (don't read them if you haven't finished the novella yet - - it could easily spoil it for you) . . . . . .[spoilers removed]
There seems to be a key omission in one of the ..."
SPOILERS AHEAD (not sure how much will show once I hit enter ;) )
The scene is written that way because I shy away from too much gruesome stuff in a row. I think you can inundate readers with so much gore that they can become immune to it and therefore start to tune out as they read. At least I can. It's the same reason a really good chase scene in a movie is fun but a chase scene that goes on for ages gets boring. Yes, we get it. Cars go fast. Bad guys are coming. lol
The bunker is of a size that Ben's fashioned spear is enough to start the job. A hack job if you will. It's hard to 100% convey the size of a bunker and the distance between the boys. If I remember correctly, upon writing it, my intention was Ben starts the job and to a degree Steve finishes it. All off "camera" due to the scene that preceded it. Not sure if that helps! :)
Daniel wrote: "Ali wrote: "When I write supernatural stuff I tend to shy away from too many concrete answers. ”That’s interesting… I’m hoping to try my hand at a short story or two. (I haven’t started as I expe..."
I had a really hard time with supernatural stuff for ages. TOHP is the first long supernatural I've ever finished. Then I went on to write 2 more novellas that are being shopped around. Sometimes, just forcing yourself to is what breaks the barrier.
Just write it, I say. Go with what comes out. The first draft fast and furious. Things can be fixed, tweaked, moved, and deleted after the fact. No one is going to see it but you. Just stop thinking and start writing :)
The “just do it” approach. I’ll give it a shot.In one review of TOHP, someone noted that Steve’s magazines were an anachronism in the era of modern cell phones. My brain clocked that when I was reading it, but I wasn’t sure of the timeframe of the story and appreciated the nostalgia, so I barely noticed. Was this set in the era of flip phones?
When I got married in South Africa, we went to the beach and there was all this confetti like stuff everywhere. On closer inspection it turned out somebody had torn some “adult magazines” into small, but still recognizable pieces. It was sort of surreal and kind of amusing, even if I didn’t like the littering.
Daniel wrote: "Michael wrote: “Why not just write it?”Rationally? That’s the thing to do. Yet… Perhaps there is a deeper block, but I can’t find it to work through."
I understand. I haven't gotten back to my fiction writing for over a year, so I know your feeling. When it's the right time, you and I will get right back to it. If you're not doing this to create an income generator, then all is well.
Ali wrote: "Michael wrote: "Some questions for Ali (don't read them if you haven't finished the novella yet - - it could easily spoil it for you) . . . . . .[spoilers removed]
There seems to be a key omissio..."
Yes, I'm satisfied with that answer. Sometimes leaving some things for the reader to imagine works even better.
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[spoilers removed]
There seems to be a..."
I agree completely.
Daniel wrote: "The “just do it” approach. I’ll give it a shot.In one review of TOHP, someone noted that Steve’s magazines were an anachronism in the era of modern cell phones. My brain clocked that when I was r..."
It's set in modern day with smart phones but there are two reasons I included the adult magazines. Firstly, some people, despite modern technology, still approve of having hard copies of things. Steven strikes me as this kid. Stashing his important possessions in his own sacred space. Secondly, it was a nod to what author Chuck Palahniuk calls "box of porn in the woods" speculating that we have all, at some point, found a stash of porn in the woods (or an abandoned building or in your case a beach). This was my own little porn in the woods for my own amusement.
Thanks - congratulations and thanks for writing such a great book. Looking forward to the other novellas you mentioned!
Daniel wrote: "Thanks - congratulations and thanks for writing such a great book. Looking forward to the other novellas you mentioned!"Thanks so much for chatting, Daniel :)
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