Category Archives: What I write about

I will always be her little girl

Posted on by

So I mentioned last time that I gave the galley copy of Silver Blade to my husband to help me look for errors, well I also gave it to my mom. Now it’s not polite to ask a woman her age and I don’t really want to tell it either, but lets just say that I’m in my 40s and my mom is in her 60s. No one would ever describe my mother as shy, quiet or easily embarrassed, so I have to say I was a little surprised at today’s conversation. (No mom, this wasn’t the exact wording, but close enough.)

“So I read parts of your book,” she said.

“Parts? Why didn’t you read the whole thing?”

“Well…”

“Well, what?”

“I couldn’t read the sex stuff. I started to but then I just couldn’t.”

I could actually hear the embarrassment in my mom’s voice coming through the phone line.

“I kept wondering how you knew some of that stuff.”

OMG MOM!! My book is not erotica; my book didn’t even make it to the HOT rating. My book made it to the SPICY rating which is “at least one full sex scene with description of foreplay, intercourse and climax”

Add to this that I’m in my forties, been married twice, read lots of books (of all ratings), and have seen my share of explicit movies. I wanted to laugh. In fact, I think I did. Then she threw the line out that many mothers use: “Well what if your daughter…”

I thought back to the Toronto Romance Writers’ meeting the other weekend where we sat in a circle discussing different words for penis. It was a small (no pun intended) meeting due to the snow storm, and I think a third of the writers there wrote erotica.

What would my mom do if I wrote erotica?
What would she do if I wrote murder mysteries?
And what about Stephen King’s mother? The poor woman.

A review of reviews

Posted on by

There has been a lot of writing on one of the blogs I follow about reviews. About how devastating it is for an author to receive a bad review, especially a new author. Some of the responses say to ignore it. Some say different strokes for different folks. Some point out how cruel it is for the reviewer to be so negative. And some say that even a bad review can generate interest.

I know for a fact that I don’t like to leave anything less than a four star review. Now that doesn’t mean I lie about a book, it just means that I won’t leave a review if I’m going to give it less than four. I don’t leave bad reviews because honestly, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. As a soon-to-be-published author, I know how much of my heart, and soul, and time goes into a book.

I do, however, think less than stellar reviews are necessary. First, if a book is really bad, as a reader I’d like to know. Second, if the reviewer is any good, they might have some constructive criticism that may help the writer with their next book.

For books that are published through any sort of press (as opposed to self-published), the book is read by at least one experienced editor. If the book was a real stinker, would it even make it pass the editor’s desk? We all know the answer is ‘yes’ because we have all read stuff before that we did not think deserved publishing.

And think about movies. Millions (and millions) of dollars go into making a movie. Hundreds of people are usually involved in the process. You would think with all that money invested and all those fingers in the pot that it would be impossible to make a stinker. But, again, we all have seen a few really bad movies.

I follow every movie I want to see on a site called rottentomatoes. I want to know what others think about a movie before I spend $$ to see it. However, I also know that my type of movie is not everyone’s cup of tea. The more action, blood, and explosions in a movie, the better. The more romance and comedic dialogue, the further down the list it goes. (Sounds strange for a romance writer, eh?) So even with a dozen or so bad reviews, a high action movie that is sitting at 50% might get my money, while I pass on a movie like Les Mis that is sitting at 70%. Even as I write this I’m contemplating seeing Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters which is sitting at 17%. Why? Because reading the comments they talk about more action than story. They also compare it to Van Helsing which I very much enjoyed.

The point is… as long as the good reviews exceed the bad, is the book still worth reading? Definitely.
If a person writes a bad review should that be the end of the author’s world or a definitive reason for you not to read? Certainly not.
Will I cry if Silver Blade receives a bad review? Certainly. Definitely. Yes.

Series vs non-series

Posted on by

The first books I remember reading as a kid was a series of Felicia Cartwright books in my teens. Yes, I’m sure I read books before those, but they are the first ones I remember. My grandmother would buy these for me at Christmas and birthdays, and sometimes I would take a bus ride with her to the book store to pick out the next new one I wanted. Of course back then, you couldn’t just look them up on the web and read a blurb about what was avialable.

I read a lot of series books today, too. Authors like Gena Showalter and her Lords of the Underworld series, and Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series. There is comfort in reading a series because you know what to expect; you know the style of the writer and you know the characters.

In the case of The Daughter who isn’t a big fan of reading, when I find an author she likes, I buy every book that author has written. Hence how I had an excuse to buy and read The Hunger Games and Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamer series. (Having a teenage daughter is a bonus…because, of course, I’m buying those books for HER not for me. Right?)

But to write a series?….no way! I don’t know how they do it. Maybe it is because I’m restless by nature. I don’t just have one craft on the go right now, no…I’ve started a quilt, I’m one-fifth of the way through a cross-stiitch, I’m crocheting a scarf, and I’m about to begin to knit my first pair of socks. And when it comes to getting stuff done on the weekend, I’m doing this-that-and-theotherthing all at the same time, and cannot understand why The Hubby can’t multi-task. (Side note: some of us mom’s at volleyball last night were discussing how it is that most men can’t figure out that multi-tasking thing! but maybe that is fuel for another blog.)

That “restless by nature” is also why I find short e-books very appealing. (I did mention I’ve written a novella, right?) Sometimes if I can’t get a book read within a couple of days, I put it down and move on, sadly forgetting about the book and the characters. Series books are like taking a long vacation, while non-series books are like a day at the spa, and novellas are like a long bubble bath or going to get your nails done. Sometimes we don’t have the time or money for the longer stuff, and there is certainly nothing wrong with a “little” pampering. Even a little goes a long way.

Speaking of a little…I really need to go and get my nails done.