Writers' Choices #amwriting

This above all, to thine own self be true.
--Act 1, Scene III Hamlet

Polonius may have been a pompous windbag full of cliches, but his advice in this case stands worthy of respect. This has been on my mind a lot recently as I've been writing Blood Prophecy and the Vasilije and Sasa short story. I made up my mind easily on my choices for Blood Prophecy once I realized that was what I truly wanted to do, but the Vasilije and Sasa short has been a bit more difficult for me.

You see, Vasilije is deep in his heart a male who works on one very simple principle: he does as he wishes. If that means killing, so be it. If that means fucking, all the better.

I have always loved writing Vasilije, I think because he's secretly who I so wish I could be. He is pure pleasure, mainly because he's never been bogged down by the constraints that other characters have. He doesn't pretend to be moralistic. He couldn't be bothered. What he does or doesn't do is based on what he desires. He is pure Alpha, not some diluted version of an Alpha or a beta pretending he can measure up. He's not broken, and he requires no fixing.

He is everything he chooses to be. Nothing less and nothing more.

I've taken some hits in reviews because of this. Reviewers who impose their moral systems or wishes for a different story are in no shortage on the blogs. Vasilije has been taking shots for almost a year from women who are scared to death men like him truly exist. I'd never thought much about these reviews since I find most are more an expression of the reviewer's life than a discussion of the actual book and almost entirely opinion.

But somehow, those shots got into my head as I was writing him again in this short, and the character he'd always been morphed into some kind of kindler, gentler Vasilije. In truth, he pushed against this with every word, but I pushed back, giving him more the Saint or Terek treatment than his own true nature.

I was not being true to my writing. I was kowtowing to opinions of people I don't even know. Then the other night I gave myself a huge WTF and shook that nonsense right the hell out of my head.

So here it is, folks. You don't like Vasilije? Okay. Go find a beta. Go find a pretend Alpha. Whatever makes you happy. You do like Vasilije as he was in Blood Avenged? That's cool. You might like the short story.

You see, in the end, a writer can't spend their time wondering if people will like their work. A writer writes. It's what we do. We would like people to enjoy our stories, but we can't make everyone happy.

So we damn sure better be making ourselves happy with our work. If not, then why do it?

I'm much happier now with the Vasilije and Sasa short as it's turned out. That character who's always been so strong and memorable is back, and Sasa better be on top of her game because he's none too damn happy he caught her drinking from another man.

Hallows Madness Today

Happy Friday, everyone! Today is extra special because it's not only the Paranormal Fall Fling but on this stop of the Fling I'm at Readaholics Anonymous for their Hallows Madness 2012 celebration!  Whew! Say that three times fast! LOL

I hope after you enter the Fling giveaway that you'll stop over there for another giveaway and my post about how mythology plays into the Sons of Navarus series.

Two giveaways and a Friday too? What could be better?

Meet The Stars of Blood Spirit

I'm over at an old friend's today with an interview with both Terek and Ilona. The Enchanted Book is a gorgeous blog, so stop over and find out a little more about the stars of Blood Spirit. And remember to enter the Paranormal Fall Fling too!  Even after you leave a comment and do all the Rafflecopter choices, you can come back each day and get more for posting on FB and tweeting about the giveaway. Those points can really add up!

Today is the last practice SAT for my son before he takes the test on Saturday, so I'll be busy with that for a while and then it's polishing up the Vasilije and Sasa short I'm almost ready to release.

Happy Thursday!

#WIP Wednesday and The Fling

I'm over at Page Flipperz with an interview for today's stop on the Paranormal Fall Fling, so if you want to know all the deep dark secrets about me, head on over. :)  And be sure to enter for this week's swag giveaway and the grand prize giveaway in the Fling!

Onto WIPs...I've been focusing on Vasilije and Sasa's short and plan to post it on my website later this week. It's been an interesting process writing about Vasilije again because in some ways he's changed since he's become a secondary character in Blood Betrayed and Blood Spirit. He's more official and often more expressive toward Sasa.

Readers who have read Blood Spirit know that the couple has encountered problems recently, and this has caused me to look at him and see some different things I'd forgotten. But I'm always happy writing Vasilije. Who wouldn't be? He's pure pleasure.

Blood Prophecy has presented me with some decisions recently. I've always said this would be a turning point in the series, and the path I've begun to take will definitely make this clear to readers. I have no release date for this book yet, though.

And I've been keeping this on the down low, but I'm working with a producer to make Blood Avenged into an audio book! It has been such a learning experience. The narrator I'm working with is fantastic, and I love his voice. But be forewarned:  I didn't request him to do it because he sounds like Vasilije. His voice was perfect because it had the right tone for the book. I don't know when it will be available, but as soon as it is, I'll be screaming it from the rooftops!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

A Son Talks and His Recipe

Today I'm featruing two great blogs on the Paranormal Fall Fling! I'm at I Smell Sheep with another Alpha Male Diner recipe, this time for Terek. Delicious! (For a look at the Vasilije and Saint recipes, click HERE) And Terek is over at Riverina Romantics letting readers know a little more about him. I hope you'll stop over at both!

We're into the second week of the Fall Fling giveaway, so that means a new prize. The Blood & Dreams eBook Box set was won by Krissy, and now the new giveaway is a Sons of Navarus swag pack. For all you swag lovers out there, listen up. There are signed cover flats from Blood Avenged, Blood Betrayed, and Blood spirit, along with signed bookmarks from all three books and a series bookmark. And there are trading cards from the first four heroes in the series, Vasilije, Saint, Terek, and Ramiel (whose book is next!).  Finally, I'll be throwing in a surprise or two sure to please any swag lover.

I'll choose the winner on October 8, so head on over and leave a comment, along with doing as many of the Rafflecopter entries since they go toward the even bigger grand prizes, including a $50 Amazon gift card.

Have a great Tuesday and remember that you can earn extra entries toward the grand prizes every day if you post about the giveaway on FB or tweet about it!

Paranormal Fall Fling-Week 2

Hi everyone and welcome to the beginning of October!  The Paranormal Fall Fling is still going strong, and if you haven't entered yet for Week One's prize, be sure to make a comment over at the Fling page to be in the running for the Blood and Dreams eBook Box Set I'm giving away tonight! And while you're there, check out the Rafflecopter for all the chances you can get to win the grand prizes at the end of the Fling.

I'm over at author Elizabeth Morgan's blog today doing the Twenty Questions thing with her. Elizabeth asks some great ones, so be sure to stop over and check it out.

And tomorrow I'll be at the great blog I Smell Sheep (love that name!) with a Terek recipe for the Alpha Male Diner. I've done recipes for Vasilije and Saint, so be sure to check that out. And I'll be at Riverina Romantics...well, more accurately, Terek is there tomorrow giving readers a little insight into the kind of man he is. Don't miss it!

Happy Monday all!

The Casual Vacancy

J.K. Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy, was released the other day to howls of disappointment for the price (something she has no control over being a traditionally published author) and the content. I'm not concerned about the price here but instead about the content issue. It seems the world is full of people who think authors must write the same book all the time. Who are these people?

Now I will grant you that from what I've read it might have been a good idea to change her name for this book since it's so different from the series that shall not be named. Here's the reality, though. This is her name. Why should she have to change it to suit a world filled with narrow-minded people?

I've been looking at the 1 star reviews on Amazon and over and over again they sound like children who've been given the wrong flavored lollypop. They're kicking and screaming about it not being like the series that shall not be named, with the biggest problem being that she dropped the F-bomb.

Are they fucking kidding?

I do admit I'm a bit jaded since I write in the genre I do, but are all these people stunted, stuck in some sanctimonious pre-teen haze?  Rowling repeatedly said before the release that this is a book for adults. Why the hell would readers buy a book described that way and then bemoan the adult content? 

The problem is that there are readers who honestly believed this woman should stay in one stale place for the rest of her life because they've never moved in theirs. I feel like I need to be honest here. I've never truly read the series that shall not be named. I tried to make it through the first two books and that was like a cross between a hot knife through butter and slogging through knee-deep oatmeal. As they're children's books, they held little for me, but the writing wasn't what I'd expected so it was rough going. My friends told me to keep reading as they promised they got better. I did, but it's been spotty, at best. From what I've seen, the woman knows her craft, but in the end, they're children's books and I don't read that genre.

The movies were great, though.

Back to the point. Unfortunately for Rowling, she's learned that readers aren't any better than any other group of people. No matter how many people say it, they don't like change. It unnerves them, upsets their very boring yet very stable apple carts. She was supposed to be THAT J.K. Rowling for the rest of time, just like they'll be whoever they've been FOREVER. Even the vaunted NY Times reviewer can't help but compare this book to the other series. The problem is that it was never supposed to be happy and touching like the series that shall not be named. Why is this idea so hard for all these people to grasp?

I applaud Rowling for growing as a writer, and while I had no plans to ever purchase The Casual Vacancy, I have to admit all this screaming and hollering from these people has made me rethink that choice. I won't buy it at the current price, but I think I will give it a try in a few weeks. I hope that the histrionics by those disappointed fans will do the same for others like me. The book may not be good, but all this bitching by the masses tells me that I might want to give it a chance.