In the lead up to the publishing of The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett, (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431), I pretty much kept it a secret from nearly my entire family. I wasn't ashamed of my work at all, I just have a very awkward relationship with my family. They tend to be a touch judgmental...okay, REALLY judgmental and it drives me nuts. I had a multitude of concerns with them reading my work. It's pretty far out there for uptight Christian retirees. One thing I wasn't prepared for (and really should have been) is that they would read a deeper meaning into absolutely every aspect of my book.
So, my daughter spilled the beans to them that I wrote a book. Yay. They read it. Yay. They never did tell me whether they liked it or not. What they have done is make slights toward me whenever possible. "So, you killed us in the first chapter."
No. It's a work of fiction. The main character isn't me. You're not in the book.
Nope. It was too late. Two months after reading it they continue to bring up characters in the book and telling me that they absolutely know for a fact who certain people in the book are in real life. It's been bad enough that I actually sat back and reflected as to whether I did subconsciously put people I knew into the book...but, since I don't know any evil telekinetic children who want to watch the world burn or little old ladies bent on world destruction I think it's safe to say that the book is a work of fiction.
Still, it is awkward and lingers on.
I am seriously considering asking them not to read my next novel, because I don't want to be dealing with this every 10-12 months during a new book release cycle. Those are stressful enough to deal with and I really don't need upset parents continuing to guilt me over every little insecurity in their own lives.
Anyone else find themselves dealing with this when they release a book? I would love to hear some thoughts on the subject.
Feel free to vent away.
__________
The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett
FREE with Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 on eBook, and only $12.99 in Paperback on Amazon
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Brigid's Song
From the East
oh with nomadic sounds
bustles of man lay vacant
as the January morn'
Head and heart
with intentions abounds
Spring thoughts run rampant
green garland adorns
from many to few
as so many wish
for paths taken
endings from humble starts
from frost to dew
from ice to mist
I will awaken
beneath the moving stars
_______
Spring fever has struck here in mid-Michigan. The weather has begun to tease us with days above freezing and the daffodils are beginning to poke through the melting snow, which typically doesn't happen for at least another month.
So here I am staring out my window on a Sunday morning, a week from Imbolc, and trying my best to keep my anticipation of warm summer weather in check. Michigan typically throws us a curve ball and whacks us in March and April if we have a warmer than normal January and February.
On this slightly warmer than normal mid-Winter morning I will simply settle for a brief daydream of what's to come and pay tribute to the approach of Spring. This time of year it's easy to become depressed and thinking about life returning to the world, soon, brings hope. The days are getting longer and the sun carries a bit of warmth on the rare occasions when it peeks out from behind thick snow clouds.
Head down for a few more weeks and when I look up again, may flowers fill the fields.
oh with nomadic sounds
bustles of man lay vacant
as the January morn'
Head and heart
with intentions abounds
Spring thoughts run rampant
green garland adorns
from many to few
as so many wish
for paths taken
endings from humble starts
from frost to dew
from ice to mist
I will awaken
beneath the moving stars
_______
Spring fever has struck here in mid-Michigan. The weather has begun to tease us with days above freezing and the daffodils are beginning to poke through the melting snow, which typically doesn't happen for at least another month.
So here I am staring out my window on a Sunday morning, a week from Imbolc, and trying my best to keep my anticipation of warm summer weather in check. Michigan typically throws us a curve ball and whacks us in March and April if we have a warmer than normal January and February.
On this slightly warmer than normal mid-Winter morning I will simply settle for a brief daydream of what's to come and pay tribute to the approach of Spring. This time of year it's easy to become depressed and thinking about life returning to the world, soon, brings hope. The days are getting longer and the sun carries a bit of warmth on the rare occasions when it peeks out from behind thick snow clouds.
Head down for a few more weeks and when I look up again, may flowers fill the fields.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Age Ratings and Trigger Warnings: The Hot Potato of the Writing Industry
I've read a lot of discussion over the past week about how many folks really desire to see some sort of trigger warning or age-safety rating on books. My knee jerk reaction was to say "Well, we have book categories -- aren't those good enough?" I mean, if someone sees a book listed as Adult Horror shouldn't they expect upsetting material as a part of the experience when reading that work?
Normally I avoid wading into comments sections on social media posts but I made an exception here and read the thoughtful (and surprisingly polite) conversations on these threads. It opened my eyes to a whole perspective that I had never considered... and this comes from someone who has battle depression and associative trauma from a divorce nearly a decade ago. These folks have very valid concerns about what they read and don't want to unknowingly wander into something that could be severely detrimental to their mental health.
Now on the other side you have authors who like to reserve certain parts of their books for the element of surprise, especially when a particularly triggering-type event could have a major impact on the plot. Plainly labeling that the book contains such material could potentially damage the reader's experience, removing the shocks and twists.
I have seen people clamoring for a rating system very similar to that of video games. My problem with that is video games tend to be dynamic, shifting, often open world experiences where the player dictates the action. When people watch movies or read books the reader isn't in control, the author is. Another fundamental flaw with suggestions for movie rating-like book ratings for content is that, whether we want to admit it or not, those ratings do take something away from the experience of watching the film. Unfortunately, a film is such a massive media event that it really is impossible to handle the marketing of a movie's rating in any other way. A whole family can watch a movie together, a whole family rarely reads a book, though. Literature is a far more intimate experience. It's personal, in your face and in your head in a way that few films ever will be.
So, again, what can we do about it?
Aside from the spoiler aspect, providing detailed content warnings on literary works would be very expensive. A certified third party organization would eventually be involved to verify the content of the book. Authors would end up eating the cost of this in a lot of cases -- not only independent and small publisher authors but don't think that even a large publishing house would be willing to eat that cost for all of their authors. If the authors don't pay for it, it will get built into the cost of a book -- making it more expensive. However you boil it down there would be damage to the literary industry. Also, films are subject to editing in order to be released. Would we really want to go down the rabbit hole of censorship in literature? Stores could only want to stock non-triggering material and that could lead to publishers and agents who are unwilling to include some content in books -- demanding that it be edited out before publishing.
That would be the death knell of the literary arts.
Yet, we must absolutely not disenfranchise people who are susceptible to psychological harm from our works.
So, I believe that (in an imperfect world) the least imperfect solution should be left in the community of readers. I would encourage readers to build forums to communicate with one another and even do their own logging of triggers contained within books to share with one another.
Also, I would HIGHLY ENCOURAGE readers with questions about content to seek out the author of the work in question (either through their social media page or via publisher) and just ask if something might be contained within the book.
Authors are surprisingly generous and communicative with their readers. We love the fact that people take an interest in our work and would have absolutely no problem taking time out of our day to alleviate your concerns. This way you can put your head to rest and we can preserve the integrity of our work.
It's not a perfect solution, but these ideas could go a long way to preventing someone from stumbling upon something in their reading that could be damaging to their psyche.
I am really interested in hearing thoughts on this.
Normally I avoid wading into comments sections on social media posts but I made an exception here and read the thoughtful (and surprisingly polite) conversations on these threads. It opened my eyes to a whole perspective that I had never considered... and this comes from someone who has battle depression and associative trauma from a divorce nearly a decade ago. These folks have very valid concerns about what they read and don't want to unknowingly wander into something that could be severely detrimental to their mental health.
Now on the other side you have authors who like to reserve certain parts of their books for the element of surprise, especially when a particularly triggering-type event could have a major impact on the plot. Plainly labeling that the book contains such material could potentially damage the reader's experience, removing the shocks and twists.
I have seen people clamoring for a rating system very similar to that of video games. My problem with that is video games tend to be dynamic, shifting, often open world experiences where the player dictates the action. When people watch movies or read books the reader isn't in control, the author is. Another fundamental flaw with suggestions for movie rating-like book ratings for content is that, whether we want to admit it or not, those ratings do take something away from the experience of watching the film. Unfortunately, a film is such a massive media event that it really is impossible to handle the marketing of a movie's rating in any other way. A whole family can watch a movie together, a whole family rarely reads a book, though. Literature is a far more intimate experience. It's personal, in your face and in your head in a way that few films ever will be.
So, again, what can we do about it?
Aside from the spoiler aspect, providing detailed content warnings on literary works would be very expensive. A certified third party organization would eventually be involved to verify the content of the book. Authors would end up eating the cost of this in a lot of cases -- not only independent and small publisher authors but don't think that even a large publishing house would be willing to eat that cost for all of their authors. If the authors don't pay for it, it will get built into the cost of a book -- making it more expensive. However you boil it down there would be damage to the literary industry. Also, films are subject to editing in order to be released. Would we really want to go down the rabbit hole of censorship in literature? Stores could only want to stock non-triggering material and that could lead to publishers and agents who are unwilling to include some content in books -- demanding that it be edited out before publishing.
That would be the death knell of the literary arts.
Yet, we must absolutely not disenfranchise people who are susceptible to psychological harm from our works.
So, I believe that (in an imperfect world) the least imperfect solution should be left in the community of readers. I would encourage readers to build forums to communicate with one another and even do their own logging of triggers contained within books to share with one another.
Also, I would HIGHLY ENCOURAGE readers with questions about content to seek out the author of the work in question (either through their social media page or via publisher) and just ask if something might be contained within the book.
Authors are surprisingly generous and communicative with their readers. We love the fact that people take an interest in our work and would have absolutely no problem taking time out of our day to alleviate your concerns. This way you can put your head to rest and we can preserve the integrity of our work.
It's not a perfect solution, but these ideas could go a long way to preventing someone from stumbling upon something in their reading that could be damaging to their psyche.
I am really interested in hearing thoughts on this.
Monday, January 6, 2020
Maestri: The Second Act
When I wrote The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett my goal was to create a tight, claustrophobic atmosphere filled with suspense, despair, hopelessness. I knew it was going to be a lot, trying to write my first book, and I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. I wrote in first person and limited the scenes and settings to keep a tight, claustrophobic feel to the story. Everything in there is laid out like a journal as David descends into a strange reality that tears his mind and body apart. There were only a handful of characters in the story to help me keep the story focused and heading in the proper direction. I am incredibly proud of what I accomplished. It was exactly what I set out to do.
As I set out to write out the loose follow-up, Maestri, I had dreams of a grand universe that I wanted to fill with creatures and scenery both beautiful and horrifying. There are emotionless beings perfectly suited to be cold blooded killers, or to be more humane than the most soft-hearted human.
Act 2 sees us leaving the human world behind and the story moving from a horror story with an odd set of characters to where it is now opening up to this incredible universe populated with wondrous features. I have spent a lot of time world building. I even spent two weeks creating detailed outlines and character sheets for a set of a half dozen characters that would appear in precisely one scene in the book, spanning just a few pages. This story is serious to me.
MFoDB was just the introduction to this universe. Maestri pulls back the curtain and allows us to peek behind the veil and get a good look at the Concentric Worlds around our own.
I hope you join me on this splendid journey into the bleak unknown as young Arabella matures and makes her way into a universe that she never new existed, learning exactly who and what she is and why she is the target of multiple factions who want her -- either alive or dead. When her power comes to fruition, to what master will it serve?
Maestri - coming summer 2020.
Read The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett (Concentric Worlds, book 1) out now on ebook and in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431 FREE on Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 to own on ebook or $12.99 with free prime delivery in beautiful paperback with wrap-a-round artwork on the cover.
As I set out to write out the loose follow-up, Maestri, I had dreams of a grand universe that I wanted to fill with creatures and scenery both beautiful and horrifying. There are emotionless beings perfectly suited to be cold blooded killers, or to be more humane than the most soft-hearted human.
Act 2 sees us leaving the human world behind and the story moving from a horror story with an odd set of characters to where it is now opening up to this incredible universe populated with wondrous features. I have spent a lot of time world building. I even spent two weeks creating detailed outlines and character sheets for a set of a half dozen characters that would appear in precisely one scene in the book, spanning just a few pages. This story is serious to me.
MFoDB was just the introduction to this universe. Maestri pulls back the curtain and allows us to peek behind the veil and get a good look at the Concentric Worlds around our own.
I hope you join me on this splendid journey into the bleak unknown as young Arabella matures and makes her way into a universe that she never new existed, learning exactly who and what she is and why she is the target of multiple factions who want her -- either alive or dead. When her power comes to fruition, to what master will it serve?
Maestri - coming summer 2020.
Read The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett (Concentric Worlds, book 1) out now on ebook and in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431 FREE on Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 to own on ebook or $12.99 with free prime delivery in beautiful paperback with wrap-a-round artwork on the cover.
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