Book recommendation: Receiver of Many

It's been a while since I did an Author's Spotlight, and it gives me no small amount of pleasure to introduce a talented fellow author, Rachel Alexander! Recently, she released the first book in a duology based off the myth of Hades and Persephone (gods, I do love that myth!)

Receiver of Many is rich in prose and image, and the story itself is written fantastically. I have written a more complete review of the book over at Amazon and Goodreads. I can say in all honesty that if you enjoy the myth of Hades and Persephone, this book should not disappoint you.

The second book in this duology, Destroyer of Light, comes out next year. It is one book that I am having a hard time waiting for, given how much I enjoyed Receiver of Many. She also has a third book to be released, 'Thrice Plowed Field' which ties in with her duology.

 

All links open in new windows for ease of navigation.

My Amazon review

And mirrored over at Goodreads

Ms. Alexander has other websites you can also follow, including her own Goodreads.

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Ghostwriting

As both an author and as a reader, I have to say that I have a low opinion of ghostwriting. Whatever its intent, I feel it is a dishonest practice. When I was little, I read Babysitters’ Club, Goosebumps, and Sweet Valley. I enjoyed these books, and thought at the time, that these were actually written by the person whose name was on the cover of these books. It was not until years later that I learned that these books were farmed out to various people who would churn out these titles month after month. (I did wonder how Francine Pascal was able to write so many series of Sweet Valley books – at least four monthlies that I know of/remember, plus various specials.

It’s not the worst thing to happen in this world, to be certain, but when I was little, I honestly believed that the authors who had created these universes wrote these stories themselves, and to discover that these books were done by basically anonymous authors in need of a few bucks.

Recently I obtained two books by the author Vince Flynn from my nearest Little Free Library. I really enjoyed both books (military/government thrillers) so I decided to go online and do a bit of research. To my dismay, I found that he had died a couple of years ago from cancer. He was relatively young, and he had a lot of talent and a knack for storytelling.

I was saddened to discover that his books are being continued through a ghostwriter. It doesn’t matter how much a ghostwriter studies an author, NO ONE can ever imitate an author. Some can try, some might get close, but no one is perfectly imitable. I still plan to read more Vince Flynn books because I enjoyed his work and stories, but I have no interest in reading the ghostwritten books.

It’s one thing if an author dies with an unfinished book, and someone else finishes that book with whatever the author was able to finish, plus any notes he may have left for the unfinished part. Even then, I feel that such books need to come with a disclaimer, in a foreword or some such, explaining that the book was completed by someone else due to the true author’s demise. After that, an author’s works and name need to be frankly, left the fuck alone.

Unfortunately, thanks to greedy, unscrupulous publishers, agents, and/or family members, some authors can’t count on their name and dignity being respected after their death. One prime example is V.C. Andrews, author of Flowers in the Attic. At the time of her death, she had seven published novels, plus several others that had been written, but not picked up by a publisher. The IRS declared that her name was a valuable asset that could be taxed, and her family went to town on it, hiring a ghostwriter who has since then written over 70 books under her name. In the beginning, he did a decent job, and was able to complete the few manuscripts she had left uncompleted, but after that, her notes and material ran out, and the books he has been writing have gotten steadily worse and worse, with cliched plots, nonsensical stories, repetitive phrases, and an overall lack of effort.

He’s written more books under V.C.’s name than his own, because he is a lackluster author in his own right, and he knows that if he publishes his own stories under the VCA name, he is guaranteed more profit and readers than if he put his own name on his stories, just because of the weight that VCA’s name carries (and the poor woman has been dead for almost 30 years!)

Despite the suckiness of his recent books, books under her name continue to sell because of the fame and success she earned with the books she wrote under her own name (although older books sell better than more recent ones, which are received more negatively) To this day, many people still believe that the original V.C. Andrews is still alive and writing, and the publishers even push this illusion by putting on the blurh “from the bestselling author of Flowers in the Attic” on recent books.
I can’t imagine anyone ever using my name for things they write. I don’t care about their skill level; if they’re confident that they can do a good job, they should also have the confidence that they can be successful under their own name (whether it be their birth name, or a pen name)

As for authors who are alive, and allow others to write under their name, I can’t say that I have much, if any respect for them. I wouldn’t be bothered if a series had the name of the individual who actually wrote it somewhere in the book (and not in a spot where they would try to hide it) so that readers would know exactly who wrote said book, and how many different authors there are for any series. When you look at a TV show, you have writers for each episode, and you can find their information in the credits. A book shouldn’t be any different.

I certainly don’t want anything that’s not mine, to be credited to my name, especially if that work is lackluster and shoddy. The sad example of V.C. Andrews, among others, should give authors pause in how they want their legacy to be handled after their deaths. I have stated before, and I will state again publicly, that I never have, nor will I ever, give anyone permission to write under my name in case I become ill or die. I would never want to leave behind a legacy that could be tarnished by someone else, especial in the name of profit. Anyone who wants to write, needs to stand on their own feet instead of mooching off someone else’s name and hard work.

Facebook

Due to a psychotic ex-friend/fan who filed a false report against me to Facebook for using a "fake name", my old account went kibosh even after I explained to FB that I was not using a fake name, but a pen name, and showed them my Amazon page and other evidence of my author persona. I can no longer access/run my old FB community page, so I had to create a new one.

Please unlike any of the old pages I created, this is the new/official FB fan page.

 https://www.facebook.com/MM-Kin-1487803744867049

 I can be contacted at ememkin@gmail.com. I am no longer posting links to my personal FB profile, from now on I am only posting links to the fan page. If you were my friend on my old account, understand I did not ban or unfriend you - that account is kibosh and is not showing up anywhere - not on friend lists or anything like that, if you try to click on a link to it, it will say the page is broken/unavailable. If you had been my friend on my old account, email me so I know who you are, and can link you to my new personal profile.

Author Spotlight - Kathryn White

Today, my author’s spotlight falls on Kathryn White!

I have enjoyed Kathryn White’s books, and like me, she writes in different genres, with a little bit of different things, to create a collection that I really enjoyed. I would say that my favorite out of her books is Being Abigail, but I have enjoyed her other books. She has a style of writing that I really enjoy, with a nice mix of serious and humor, both applied at appropriate moments within her books. She just released a new book, Everybody Hates Abigail, , and will be releasing another book, Poison Ivy, which I am more than eager to read. Give this author a try – you will not be disappointed!

Kathryn has a blog where she reviews books http://kathrynwhiteauthor.blogspot.com/
Her FB page https://www.facebook.com/kathrynwhiteauthor
Her Amazon, where you can find her books in paperback and e-book http://www.amazon.com/Kathryn-White/e/B00BZQMN26/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Her Goodreads page http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5208758.Kathryn_White

Some book recommendations

Being a huge fan of Hades and Persephone, and having written my own trilogy based off this enthralling myth and with plans to write more stories based off mythology, it is only inevitable that I take interest in other author's takes on myth. I would like to showcase two authors, who each have told their own versions of much-loved myths.

First off is Elly Green.and her Erato's Musings series. I have read the entire series so far, and really enjoy them. So far she has written a book of 4 collected stories, and two separate short stories. All of them can be found on Amazon.

I do need to warn, that these stories are written as erotica, and definitely not recommended for children... but I still highly recommend them!!! Ms. Green obviously has done her research here, and touches on lesser-known Greek myths in her collection. The backstories are interesting, and the sex scenes are rich and varied, so you don't feel like you're reading the same story over and over when you move from one story to another. If you enjoy an adult take on Greek mythology, you will not be disappointed! 

Second is Kaitlin Bevis, author of the Daughters of Zeus trilogy. Unlike Elly Green, Ms. Bevis' own trilogy is geared at the YA audience, with a very different, but just as thoughtful, and well-researched take on Greek mythology. This is a very creative retelling of the Hades and Persephone tale, and is now one of my favorite versions out of the various retellings I've read. Her books can also be found on Amazon.

I am happy to do cross-promotions, just contact me at ememkin at gmail dot com!

An Open Letter To My Readers

I have received a wide variety of feedback on my trilogy. Most of it was positive, a few were negative, and some offered valuable bits of constructive criticism (including one complaint several people made) which I have applied to while editing Seeds this last month. I’ve also noted a few observations, and now that Seeds has been out for a while, I’d like to address these observations and criticisms.

A few readers took issue with some of the dialogue in Seeds, saying it was too contemporary. I honestly never intended this. It was obvious to me to not use modern-day slang so I wasn’t going to have the gods call each other ‘bro’ or anything like that, but other words were a bit of a gray area. When I used the word ‘okay’, I was trying to use it as a way to signify a more casual form of speech, since some people may speak differently in a more formal situation, such as at work, and use a few different words at home when around family and friends. Of course this varies from person to person, and I was trying to convey a certain mood when I used the word ‘okay’ or a couple of other more casual/slang words such as ‘sure’. Ultimately, I decided to delete the several ‘okay’ in Seeds and replace them with more appropriate words, and ended up replacing a few other words throughout the trilogy as well.

I wanted to make Seeds a rich story, instead of merely focusing on the romance. I’ve read other novels about Hades and Persephone that focused on the romance and left out or minimalized other aspects of the tale. I’m not saying that this in itself is bad – some people like romance books, and there is nothing wrong with a Harlequin-esque story (I enjoy them myself sometimes!)

I could have cut out certain parts of the trilogy, like Demeter’s time in Eleusis, or the backstory that was set up in Book 1. This might even have made Seeds easier for me to write, if I had chosen to neglect these parts. However, I didn’t want to. The writer in me rebelled against that, and I am the kind of person who likes the whole story. Not each book needs to be written like this, mind you, and I am just fine with short stories, but for Seeds, I had to do what felt right to me, and Seeds would have felt incomplete without these parts that I mentioned, among others.

What about the erotic scenes? I will admit that this was partly in response to 50 Shades of Gray. I will be honest – I did not like that book and found it the opposite of sexy, and the characters to be totally unappealing. I always intended for Seeds to be a mature book, not a YA book, and I did my best to make the steamy scenes varied and fun to read.

I put each scene into Seeds for a reason – romance, action, drama, erotic, and so on. I thought long and hard about each scene and edited Seeds about five times, several scenes were deleted and others added since the first draft of this tale. Not everyone is going to like my books or the way I write them, and I accept that, and I will not change my voice. I wanted to make Seeds different from all the other novelizations and retellings of the Hades and Persephone myth, and I am rather pleased with the result.

Seeds 3, and some writing tips

The final book in the Seeds trilogy is now out, and I still feel all tingly and disbelieving about the fact that I've managed to get three books published! It's almost surreal.

Amazon (print and Kindle) Barnes and Noble (Nook)

So I thought I would take the time to share some writing tips, because unfortunately, through my voracious reading habits I have come across some terrible books along with good ones. Putting all the tips in one entry would be so long, so I've decided to just share what I feel are a couple of really important ones.

--- Research is key. This tip is absolutely non-negotiable if you want a quality book. If you're writing a book that requires a lot of technical information or background, such as a detective/police novel or a novel about a doctor and/or hospital, you absolutely need to research what procedures the characters in your book use. This includes bureaucracy, paperwork, standard operating procedures, and all that. Of course, each novel will vary in how much of these details are actually outlined within the book, this is up to the writer how technical they might want to be. This depends on the target audience, if you're writing a light romance novel where one of the characters is a doctor, this won't require as much technicality as say, a medical thriller, as the audiences for these genres do not often overlap. And of course, it's not just police and medical work that need research, each career field has its own rules and procedures, so even if you're writing a book about a model, research the modeling/fashion industry! Not only will your story be more well-defined, but you'll learn a few new things! Knowledge is power!

Even if you're writing in fantasy or science fiction, two genres which give the author much more leeway in what they can do in their worlds, some research is still necessary. Say you're writing a fantasy novel where one of your characters is a knight or paladin or some such. You want to research the types of armors and weapons and their strengths and weaknesses. For science fiction, depending on what your story is about, you want to do research in technology that we currently use, so you have a good background for whatever things you might invent for your science fiction world. And that leads into the second tip...

--- Avoid handwavium. (Wikipedia article) This can appear in any genre of work, but often appears in fantasy and science fiction, as well as post-apocalyptic or dystopian fiction. It can appear in various forms such as a deus ex machina, or a piece of magic or technology that can solve any problems presented in the story. While fantasy and science fiction gives the author a lot of creative power that can not be wielded in most other genres, it can also lead to sloppily-done conclusions or logical fallacies. Some authors might use handwavium without meaning to, so this is something that needs to be watched out for, because you want to be known for an intriguing story, not some lazy plot device.

---- World-building is not easy as it seems. Well, at least quality world-building is not as easy as it seems. If you're writing a novel set in a historical or current setting, refer to Tip 1, so the place you're writing about feels real to your readers and they can learn a thing or two about a place that already exists.

If you are making up a city or place that exists within our world, such as a small town in the South or a village in medieval times, again refer to Tip 1, and research what it is like near the area you're making up. Make sure the name of the place fits in, as well as the mores and rules of that place. What was appropriate at that time/place? Language, gender roles, laws, and so on and so forth. If someone from your fictitious place traveled to a nearby place that actually existed at that time, would he or she fit in? If your fictitious setting is different (such as it is controlled by a cult, for example) there are still things and historical accuracy to consider.

Fantasy and science fiction world-building can be easier, yet at the same time more difficult. You don't have to worry about the things I mentioned in the preceding chapter because you can make your own world from scratch. However, this in itself can be daunting because you do not have the framework of our world to start with. Of course, you can still use real-life for inspiration, especially if the book is set in the future/is post-apocalyptic/dystopian. But you still need to be consistent, so you want to imagine and make notes about your world before you start a novel. Points to consider are...
-Social strata. Some strata are determined by wealth, others by ability or birth, or education, or gender, and so on. Sometimes there can be multiple forms of strata in one society.
-Technology (or magic) level. Keep in mind that this can vary from one social strata to another.
-Value of various items, such as metals, stones, food, magic, technology, or dry goods. Even sex can be used as a form of bartering/trade.
-Gender roles
-Government structure
-Treatment of weaker members (children, disabled, elderly)
-How does this world-structure and technology or magic level affect the conflict in the plot (i.e. war, terrorism, famine, slavery, subjugation of one gender)
-There are many other things to consider such as the education system, fashion, food choices, and so on and so forth.

Depending on your story and what it is about, you can focus more on some things than others, and some things can even be barely mentioned or bypassed. Again, it depends on what kind of story it is, as each story requires a different combination of ingredients to be successful.

Another thing to consider when world-building is to avoid the info-dump. This is where the writer fills up pages with information about the world, without any interaction from the characters. The author may think that by explaining his or her world to the readers, they're making it more accessible to the reader. While understandable, a info-dump can scare off some readers and present too much information all at once.

The best way to present a world is through the interaction of the characters, and if explanations are needed, it is best to break them up into smaller parts that are more relevant to what the characters are doing at that time. This can be done via the character's thoughts and perceptions, or via other devices such as journal entries, news stories, or quotes from background or deceased characters, as is appropriate for the story. In this way, you can build the world through the book, which I find to be more successful than one big info-dump at the beginning.