PREVIEW OF "CRUEL HARVEST" BY FRAN GRUBB

 Here's a book that's sure to stir up your emotions. Remember to have tissues nearby for this one. I'll be reviewing Cruel Harvest by Fran Grubb next month, right here, so mark your calendars.

See the website

Mixed News if You Self Publish

Anyone could have seen this coming. In fact, it's nothing new, publishers have always invested more into hardcover versions of books with the reasoning that readers collect them.

Now they've gone all out with book covers in hopes of luring readers away from eReading devices. I think publishers are on the right track, although if most readers are anything like me, they collect hardcover books and still buy the digital versions as well.

The major drawback is for self-publishers who cannot afford nor do they have the resources to produce these kinds of covers. I've asked CreateSpace if they're going to print uncoated, or matte (not shiny) book jackets or give the option to coat portions of the cover or offer embossing, but they have no plans to offer these options in paperback or offer hardcover versions. Hopefully that will change.

I think the main problem is obviously the cost factor. Hardcover books offered by outfits such as LULU, are already too costly and I doubt they'll be adding premium printing options such as embossing, coating, and gold or silver foil to their covers.

So what does this all mean to independent publishers like you and me? We're screwed for now but all things in life are subject to change, hopefully for the better.

Click on the Title for the whole story.

Was Shakespeare a Fraud?

Here's an idea that's been floating around for some time. Were the works of Shakespeare really his own words?

Who's to say? I don't think the movie will answer the question either, but it's going to be interesting to see how it tries.

Why Emily Dickinson? Protagonists We Love

(Emily Dickinson, circa 1863)



Ever wonder where the fascinating characters in your favorite novels come from? Protagonists in particular can sometimes pique our interest especially when we see ourselves reflected in these characters, or even better, when we want to become these characters. It’s an exercise in vicariousness that readers live by.

Whenever I read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I always put myself in Finn's shoes, or lack thereof, and imagine what it would be like to be Huck Finn. This is the real reason we read. We want to become someone else for a time. It’s the perfect escape into another world—-another time and place. We want to live another life in someone else’s shoes and walk around in their skin, as Atticus Finch would say, which begs the question, who was the star in To Kill a Mockingbird anyway?

Forgive my digression, but it seems to me it was Scout who led the way in the book and in the movie version, although Atticus, played by Gregory Peck, was clearly in the lead role, it was his daughter, Scout, who the story centered around for the most part. Having seen the movie as a young boy, I naturally identified with the young, curious, and feisty tomboy that dominated most every scene.

That’s the same effect I tried capturing when I created my main character, Virginia Mae Mercy in A Death for Beauty. First, I thought, Virginia had to be a complex woman. A confident woman with many personality quirks, but also, someone with a vulnerable disposition. Because what good is a strong main character without faults and insecurities?

For the most part, I modeled Virginia after both, a common and uncommon woman of the mid nineteenth century. Modern women can certainly identify with Virginia’s feminine traits, her needs and wants as a woman who takes care of herself and someone who aspires to be something more than she is. A woman in search of herself. I think most women can relate to that.

Virginia’s flip side is less predictable, however. While she often comes across as surefooted and resolute, in the same breath, she questions everything around her. She’s never certain of anything. This wavering is what makes Virginia human. It’s what readers empathize with above all else and what they connect with. In essence, it’s the one trait, which drives her character forth and propels readers into the story. They want to care and they want to follow her along her journey.

Multifaceted characters are what makes stories resonate and can sometimes take readers by surprise, but again, that’s what readers enjoy and what they expect from interesting characters. Aside from Virginia’s quirky personality, I had to tap into a voice that fit. At first, during my research for part two of the story, where the Sioux tribe absorbs Virginia into their culture, I couldn’t get the voice of Fanny Kelly—-the woman in the true story—-out of my head so Virginia sounded very much like Fanny. But once I decided to include Emily Dickinson’s poetry, for some reason, I thought Emily Dickinson’s tone of voice, her manner of writing, was more fitting and almost inescapable from my point of view.

The rhythm of Dickinson’s poetry (featured in chapter openings) was more than an accompaniment to the writing, it was for me, a melody of words that set the tone for the whole novel, so giving this voice to Virginia was as natural as including the poetry itself.

I think I can safely admit that Virginia Mae Mercy’s personality has shades of Emily Dickinson. They certainly share a fierce and witty style all their own and writing that kind of dialogue was a lot of fun.

Virginia:

“I love you Darlin, let’s go. Birdy would never forgive me. Besides if he were here he’d knocked the old croaker galley-west.”

Better World Books - A Better Way to Buy Books

Here's a great way to feel even better when you buy books. Maybe it's just me, but when I indulge in a book buying spree, I feel a little guilty about it. (probably for good reason) but buying from Better World Books has changed all that. Now I can go nuts and buy all the books I want because for every book I buy, Better World Books donates a book to someone else. Plus shipping is free.

That's a pretty good deal and a great business model, which I'm sure will catch on and keep spreading throughout the world. We can credit Kelsey Timmerman with that business innovation, at least its publicity, as he's sold millions of shoes that way too. Toms.com

BWB is now matching that business model with great fanfare. Check out their books here: See the Green Video (bottom, right) Better World Books

Subtext in Literary Fiction -- It's Good for You

Fans of literary fiction have a dirty little secret. At least I’d like to think they do. I’ve heard derogatory remarks about fiction from comedians and the scientific crowd, all denouncing how fictive stories are a waste of time and that if they wanted the real truth they’ll seek it elsewhere. I suppose they could find it in a non-fiction title or the KJV Bible perhaps?

What critics of literary fiction—or any other type of fiction for that matter—don’t realize is that the truth about anything is always hard to find, regardless of the medium. Even the King James Version of the Bible can be a bit confusing at times and finding the truth within its pages, a labyrinth at best.

What critics are missing is that fiction is about the truth. The secret is that writers cloak the truth in a veil of mystery, comedy, and tragedy. But that’s what makes literary fiction so fascinating.

For example, let’s take Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” If comedic intellectuals can’t find any truth in that story, they certainly are missing the point altogether. What is the point? Well, let’s see … how about that the world is a dangerous place, filled with uncertainties and fatal pitfalls at every turn, and that unless we’re careful or hyper vigilant, it’s just a matter of time and place, and we’re all in for a surprise, sooner or later.

I think that sums up the status quo very nicely. O’Connor’s story is a statement about many things, many truths that lie dormant in society, dormant until they appear in the headlines and remind us what the truth really is—that the ugly truth lurks in plain sight.

It’s like searching for sex offenders in your neighborhood. You can’t see them because they don’t parade the dirt roads in shimmery hot-pants or stand on street corners waving colorful signs that read: “Hello neighbor, I’m a sex offender and I want to snag your little princess, or your little boy.”

That sounds absurd, but when you search your local sex offender’s database, you’ll be surprised to learn that all those little red dots, like buckshot scattered around your town, each represent a registered sex offender in your precious neighborhood. If that isn’t the truth, I don’t know what is, but that’s truth enough for me, and reason enough to believe that fictive stories are in fact plausible and can indeed represent the hidden status quo—the truth beneath the surface.

And that my friends, is the beauty and the ugly truth, all wrapped up in one neat little package writers call, literary fiction. So the next time you’re searching for the truth and you need a break from the KJV, dive into some good old-fashioned literary fiction and enjoy the ride because the words between those salient covers, are just as good for your soul.

DIY Author 101

Last time I checked, America was still a capitalist society. Want something done right? Do it yourself, of course. After all, commissions and incentives only go so far.

It amazes me when people suddenly realize something that has been around since the founding of this nation. In a word, "Capitalism." What's wrong with that anyway? What's so bad, so evil and so deviant about being a capitalist? Isn't that how America was born over 200 years ago and still thrives today? These are rhetorical questions, folks. Don't bother trying to formulate an answer for each and every one.

The answers are quite simple. YES, to all the above.

Okay, but what does capitalism have to do with writing books? Yes, another annoying rhetorical question.

Want to build your author platform? Sure you do, but what does that mean? Well, you know, you want to become a well-known writer who has something interesting and important to share with the world.

You want to be known in social circles as an authority in your field. You want to be top dog because people believe, follow and buy from the top tier, and more importantly, they want to associate with them, on their level, which makes them feel and appear just as relevant and important. They want to belong to and be part of the best because that kind of status could bring them fame and fortune when their Amazon ranking skyrockets due to a spike in book sales.

Got all that?

If you don't and you'd like an in depth, professional take on author platforms, I'll defer to Alan Rinzler, who offers an insiders scoop. Unless you want to take my word for it, here's all you need to know: Get the most attention, be controversial, witty, be attractive, and for the love of God, write a damn good book. Leave any one of those elements out, and you're SOL.

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/

Can You Hear That Fantastic Whooshing Sound?

Two Authors Stick it to The Man!

Gotta love it folks. Authors like J.K. Rowlings and Seth Godin are finally taking control of their intellectual property and raking in big cash in the process. The process of digitizing their own books, that is.

The beauty of capitalism is that it works for one and all. Rich or poor, young or old, it doesn't matter. If you know how to market yourself and how to present your products, there's no one to stop you from making a good profit.

And that whooshing sound? That's the gust of wind from millions of authors rushing to do the same thing.

Right. The man's been sticking it to you. It's time to turn the tables.
Here are the articles:

J.K. Rowlings Cashes in: (Titles are mine.)

Seth Godin Sticks it To The Man--Hard!

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BOOK TOUR ALERT: "A DEATH FOR BEAUTY" VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR STARTS THIS OCTOBER (Unless I change my mind again, which I doubt because I'm not getting any younger. Besides, with all this "sticking it to the man" going on, I'm inspired too.)

The Death of Pulp Books? Please.

You can feel it coming. Everywhere you look, headlines scream from mountaintops. “Paper and ink books are dead!” Really? At some point, I’m expecting the coroner from The Wizard of Oz to officially declare it. “The wicked book is undeniably, most certifiably dead!”

Seems to me that certain people want to see the demise of the printed book. Could it be a group of environmentalists leading the cause to bury pulp books so they can save more trees. Or could it be a handful of manufacturers who’ve conspired to put the old, tired, pulp fiction six feet under and profit from the newest trend of e-gadgets?

Is the printed book really dead, or are electronic reading devices the equivalent of microwaves? Ovens are still around, you know. Nobody shouted from mountaintops about the demise of the oven back in 1945. Microwaves were just a new, faster way to cook.

Hmm, maybe it’s a given that reading devices will some day replace printed matter altogether. So, we should get over it. Let’s not forget the dwindling newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Have you seen a copy of the Sunday newspaper lately, or the thinning monthly magazines? They look more like flimsy pamphlets on crash diets these days. Remember when the Sunday newspaper was part of your muscle toning routine? Whatever happened to that? Heck, the Kindle only weighs about ten ounces, and the iPad isn’t that much heavier. Bummer.

One thing’s for sure. The days of rolling up newspaper and bitch slapping your Chihuahua when it pees on your imported Oriental rug, are most definitely over. And what’s one to do when you need to level your dining room table with a good hardcover book, wrap yesterday’s fish, or soak up that oil stain from your garage floor?

Yes. If you ask me, we still need paper books and monstrous Sunday newspapers. They’re still useful for something.

All I know is that electronic gadgets don’t work as well for any of that other stuff. Not even when all their wondrous electronic components have inexplicably failed.

Believe me, I’ve tried.

The Orphan Book Rescue Society

It's a crying shame, but there it was. That poor book stood proud among the other rejects and misfit books in the Dollar Store bargain bin. It had a magnificent cover, an intriguing title, and a great story concept. What's wrong with this book, I wondered?

I turned to the back cover and read all the glowing reviews, opened to the back flap and saw the Random House logo in all its glory, along with the author's photo and short bio. Everything was certainly in place and the book was in pristine condition. No remainder marks, no stains, no dents, no curves, a straight spine. It was a brand new hardcover book in perfect condition.

I flipped to the first chapter and began reading. Sounds like a good story, a strong opening, filled with intrigue. Nice first chapter cliffhanger. Gotta have it. WTF! Why is this book in the bargain bin? Beats me. I've never heard of it though, or its author. What gives?

Then it hit me. As an author, peddling my own literary mystery novel, is this what I have to look forward to? Uh, yeah. Why should I expect my story to do any better, especially these days? Can things possibly get any worse than for a great book to wind up in the bargain bin of a Dollar Store? I thought the Dollar Store was already a bargain.

Hey, it's not all that bad though. The books weren't tossed about like yesterday's trash. They were neatly stacked and displayed with a good measure of dignity. They just looked like lonely orphans waiting for someone to rescue them. They seemed helpless. I rescued all 37 of them and took them home where they stand tall in my library. I'll keep my favorites and give the others away as gifts.

Come to think of it, some day I hope to reach this level of success in today's publishing world. The Dollar Store dollar bin. Heck, might even be a step above self-publishing.

You see, I knew there was a bright side, after all.

But, the real question is. What's an "emerging author" like me doing at the Dollar Store anyway? Oh, I get it. I'm not the next James Patterson. Right.