Quick update
My health has taken a funky turn. Nothing life-threatening, just annoying. That’s why I’ve been scarce.
I’ll have surgery in a couple of weeks, so won’t be around here much or posting until after my recovery.
Blessings,
Monica
What I Think About Reviews
I joined Goodreads and started fixing up my profile and what not a few weeks back. This includes rating books I’d read.
I was faced with pages and pages of books. I have read all sorts of books from all sorts of genres in the past. I marked the ones I read and gave them five stars if I didn’t remember actually hating the book. Authors I know, I gave five stars for good karma. One can argue that injudicious five star ratings makes ratings meaningless, but ratings have meaning only for the raters rating them anyway. Who can say what criteria another person judges their books by? Lately, what I want from a read is to be entertained. If I read a book and it entertains me for that time–it held my interest until the end and I cared about the characters…five stars. Why the hell not? It did its job.
My personal review criteria at this moment is this: If I bother to rate it, you got five as long as I don’t hate it. No, it’s not a system worth bragging about, but I don’t defend myself either. It is what I’m comfortable with right now, so it is what it is. Here is the second part: If I do hate it, I probably won’t rate it.
I do notice reviews if a lot of people say a book sucks or is fantastic, so consensus matters. But I notice consensus tends to attract more of the same, like a tumbleweed.
I read reviews for something that piques my interest. I read a review of Anne Tyler’s latest on NPR this morning, The Beginner’s Goodbye. If I see that in the library, I’ll pick it up and give it a read based on the review I read. The review had no rating. Ratings convey very little. What the reviewer says about how the book affected them is what matters.
If I were only a reader, I’d probably be a far harsher critic and not sprinkle five star ratings around so liberally. Frankly, it is the rare book I remember long after I’ve read it. I can think of none in recent memory. So, I can count real five star books in my life on my fingers. These are books I remember years afterward, books that resonated with me so deeply, their echos never fully fade. There were more five star books when I was young. I remember reading books that excited me for a long time afterwards. Discovering those fantastic worlds of imagination was new back then. It’s too bad you don’t really appreciated being young until you’re older.
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Celebrating the AA Book Niche
I saw the Hunger Games last Friday. It was wonderful. I also read the books. I appreciated that some of the major characters were black and that they were presented in the same way as the other characters.
The black characters evoked as much emotion as white characters do. This is a rare thing in popular American entertainment. Very rare.
It is so rare, that even though Rue and Thresh were described as dark-skinned in the book and from District 11 (the agricultural district located in the South and populated by mostly dark-skinned characters) some majority Americans (or Americans that relate only to the majority) did not envision Rue and Thresh as black. (Cinna could have been any color according to the book. It was not specified).
Oh boy, were they upset. For every one who took to Twitter and expressed their displeasure, there were probably dozens who said nothing. (25 most racist tweets about the Hunger Games)
The majority is shocked, shocked, I tell you, at this open racism against blacks.
Heh. I’m not even surprised, much less shocked.
That’s is the reason why romance featuring black protagonists does not sell to the majority. The exact reason.
Many of the majority (or those who want to identify with them), do not want to read or watch black characters evoking emotion. This is because they feel blacks are inferior and not as human as they are. They do not want to fantasize and imagine they are that character if the character is a black person. A black character evoking romantic or sexual emotion is even worse. Can you imagine their reaction over that if they got upset over caring about Rue in the Hunger Games?
This is why romance is segregated and will remain segregated. There is nothing to do about it because it’s a money thing and you can’t force people to spend their money on what they don’t like.
I used to believe that it was wrong to segregate by race and silly to segregate books. I still think segregation is a symptom of profound racism. But that is the way it is in America. It isn’t going to change soon. Since it is the way it is, book segregation serves black authors and black readers. Some black readers want to read romance with characters that match their race. Even some of those who prefer to fantasize about the culturally popular white/nonblack hero want to read heroines that are black.
I write heroines who are black. I do it without thinking about it much, the same reason white authors often write heroines who are white. The only way I can write black heroines and have my books marketed and sold to majority readers is to 1) Not be black and write books with heroines mostly acceptable to the majority (not black ones). An author can get away with writing an occasional black heroine if they are established writing majority heroines and already have a readership that will buy their books. 2) Write commercial fiction with magical Negro types supporting white characters such as The Help. 3) Write literary fiction. This works only sometimes–the author must be acclaimed and deemed universal. Universal means you are stamped good enough for white people to read.
Most authors want to be read by readers of their genre, not only by readers of their genre who match their race. But it’s not going to happen if you write romance or commercial fiction targeted toward women with black heroines, because these characters have to evoke sentimental emotion and caring. You could possibly write action adventure thrillers or detective stories with a black protag as long as many of the supporting characters are in the majority. Odds of it happening are lower if your black characters evoke genuine emotion such as Rue, and aren’t magical or cartoonish, no matter the genre, because majority readers don’t want to read such characters. They will see them as white as they saw the characters in Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games.
I’m speaking of the collective, the majority, not individuals. So, saying, “I’m willing to buy books with black characters who evoke my emotions,” is meaningless. Corporations add up the numbers and look at the total money spent. The numbers say the majority won’t do it.
The corporations care about money. Americans aren’t going to consume black protagonists the same way they consume protagonists they feel free to relate to, identify with, and fantasize about. This is simple fact.
An author can do well in the black niche. It’s full of voracious and appreciative readers who spend a lot of money on books. Frankly, the black niche is more comfortable and better for one’s blood pressure if you’re a black author. You can write real people and not think about race–just like majority authors get to do all the time. Our readers want to be able to find the books they prefer, while the majority wants to avoid them. The black book section with the black character(s) on the cover is the solution. It works.
Today, in 2012, that’s is the way things are. I can take comfort things are better today than they were for a black person born in 1912. Maybe by 2112, things will be even better. I hope so.
Until then, Viva the AA Book Niche! I join the ranks of those who support the black or African American book niche. It has only existed since the early nineties. I’m happy it exists because there is now so many books featuring black people as real people who evoke all sorts of emotions. I’m not that old and I remember when we didn’t have that.
The Hunger Games reaction to Rue, Thresh and Cinna by the vocal few and the silent majority, illustrates the reason why the black entertainment niches are necessary.
The black book niche is a step forward and a reason to celebrate, not criticize. So is Tyler Perry. This entertainment is new, sure. There’s room to improve and we will. We have only existed for a short while. But we are here and we are working and creating. That’s a wonderful thing.
Editing, Schmediting
I’ve been busy! I have been editing my books and working on others. I’m working with a wonderful editor. I think all writers need another pair of eyes on their words–and not always only a beta reader, because it’s easy to get caught up in the story and miss the jacked up punctuation or some such thing. Every time I go over a collection of words, especially one as long as a novel, I find a new error. An editor should have a knack for not only seeing the big picture, but be able to step away from the story and catch all those errant errors.
I do need beta readers though. Send me a note if you’re interested. Proofreaders too. Proofreaders are like M&Ms; one is not enough and you often want more than you have.
Now, I’m seeing adverbs. Lord, the adverbs I’ve abused! I kill them, keeeeeel them! They are sneaky bastards. See, there’s one in the sentence in the previous paragraph. Frick you, adverb, and die!
Don, my ex-agent, once said there was no reason to use the word had. I think had is useful in some cases, as is that, but probably over used. Gotdarn it, another adverb. Jesus Christ, they’re like cockroaches. Anyhoo, had passifies your words. Passive is not good. Active is better. Usually. Sometimes, it’s better to stand your adverbs alone, like solitary soldiers, and then it appears it has more balls. It is also not advised to make up words such as passifies and use them in your prose–no matter now good the word would be if it were real.
Your writing can be improved by killing the adverbs and strengthening the verbs. A good verb needs no adverbs. Adverbs are clutter.
Romance writers should eschew adverbs because our writing is dogged enough as it is.
I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances ‘full of rape and adverbs’. ~ Elmore Leonard
Adverbs can be fun in sex scenes, but we should resist them. Are sex scenes hotter without adverbs? Someone should take a survey. As much as I want to declare there should be no writing rules, there are rules. If you break them, they should be broken in a brilliant way. That’s the biggest rule of all.
I write vanilla sex scenes. I’m going to read Fifty Shades of Gray and maybe get inspired, but the submissive thing doesn’t appeal to me, and so is not something I’d write. Neither does pain. Who was that author who wrote all that anal sex in her romances, and then wrote in her blog she didn’t like anal sex that much? I can’t remember. How does that work? How can you write hot sex if it’s an act you don’t like? I think an author should relish the sex acts she writes about.
I have sex in Too Hot to Handle, vanilla sex, and no more than in the usual romance. But I think it’s good sex.
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Rethinking the Eastman series
A Magical Moment is the second book of the Eastman series, mainly because the heroine is the best friend of the protag in the first book of the series, Kara Smith.
But, the heroine of A Magical Moment, Taylor, is portrayed in Heart’s Desire as a true psychic. So, that book takes on a paranormal and suspense tone that is out of keeping with the other books in the series. It’s been like that for years, but now that I have my own eye on the bottom line, I’m thinking that this is not a good thing.
I’m going to pull A Magical Moment out of the Eastman series and make it a standalone for now. Later, I want to write slightly paranormal (more X-Files than vampires, fairies, or shapeshifters) suspense-filled romance stories, revolving around Taylor and Stone’s ESP Agency, Emerson Protection and Surveillance.
I made The Look of Love a standalone because the characters were only tenuously connected to the Eastmans, and the theme of that book, weight, body-image, self-esteem, love, and romance were themes that I really felt the urge to explore more fully in other books, including Jasmine’s story. Jasmine has never had a weight problem, but she depends on her looks and exterior persona to deal with men and romance and thus has held true love at bay. She learns that real love is more than how her body looks, which is the message Carmel had to realize in The Look of Love. Body image isn’t just about being overweight.
I’m also considering Too Hot to Handle, a book written when chick lit was at its height, with a definite chick lit tone. I’m examining how I can increase the emotional interaction between the hero and the heroine to raise the romance stakes, while toning down or deleting some of the other supporting character threads.
Finally, I’m working on a huge redux of my Kwanzaa book, a sales bust by any measure. For the first thing, I don’t think Kwanzaa is that big with many people. This book has a nice suspense thread with a married couple romance. What if I delete the holiday theme? What if this book was an interracial, after all the other IR romances end, and takes place long after the wedding? What if the betrayal and revelations happen then? What lengths will the heroine go to salvage her marriage? What lengths will the hero go to regain her trust? It’s a much more interesting trip. With all the cutting and tightening, I’m not sure this is novel length anymore. I’m adding quite a bit also. I’ll see, and in a bit, so will you.
Getting Old
I had to ask my daughter what “Twerk” meant. She referred me to a video. I watched, fascinated, and then attempted to do it in a mirror with little success, because I figure thigh fat jiggling and twerking are two different thangs.
The singer sang about twerking surrounded by other women who shook their abundant asses with enviable skill. They vibrated it, they stood in place with their it moving like it was on batteries, they isolated those muscles, they could probably make the damn thing cook dinner and clean up afterwards. I waited for the singer to twerk her rather slim (in comparison) ass. There was nary a twerk from her. That didn’t work well.
I surfed on to a different video by the singer, because being nasty is a feminist skill if you see it like that, and she had it down pat.
I was baffled and dismayed. My writer’s mind screamed, Noooooo. No, not because of lack of twerk, her bad extensions, or by the green (or was it yellow this time?) lipstick, but by her words. Not the bragging on her pussy, I think all women should brag about their pussies if they feel so inclined, and I applaud a woman bold enough to take ownership of her sexuality. But My Pussy Be Yankin’? Does she have any idea, and I mean any idea whatsoever how close that is to My Pussy Be Stankin’?
Just sayin’.
Sigh, my non-twerking hind end is gettin’ old.
For the Love of Story
For me to find a book compelling, to rate it a five star read, boils down to one thing–the story.
A great story can enthrall me so I overlook other flaws and inconsistencies, carried by the tale. The story is why readers often tolerate Mary Sue or generic characters if their story expectations are satisfied. A great story is what makes me sigh as I lay down my e-reader, or with far less frequency lately, my book.
My love of story is why I will probably never be able to get into literary fiction. That genre is about other things than story, good things, I’m sure, but story is what flips my switch.
This TED speaker, film maker Andrew Stanton, breaks down storytelling. It’s worth the watch.
People on the Cover Redux
I’m putting people on the covers. Oh, the joy of being able to change my covers! I want people because
1) I think readers like people covers better for romance.
I know I do. I really like it when the images resemble the character(s) I’m reading about.
2) It helps readers identify the subgenre and content of the book.
I underestimated how important it is. I did as some of my cohorts have done, wanting artistic or nonpeopled covers to broaden the market for my work. This is so majority readers are more likely to pick up the books, read them, and possibly discover a new author they like.
This is a mistake. I’ve discovered it is a big mistake. I hope I’m big enough to admit I was wrong. Yes, the big legacy publishers had it right on the AA niche all along.
What an author needs is for their readers to be able to easily identify and discover their books. My core readers want to find and identify my books quickly and it behooves me to help them do so.
Those other folks? Not my core readers. It is far more likely that readers new to my sub genre will become upset when they read something other than what they might expect.
I want my readers to find and read my books! So to make it easier for my readers to find me, and those who aren’t my readers to avoid me–I’m putting people on my covers!
People that become upset when they find something other than they expect from my sub genre usually will never, ever buy a romance with a different sort of person on the cover. It’s win-win, really.
I was sick of my bland and simple new site, so made another new site to showcase my new peopled covers.
A Real Life Romance Hero
From the New York Times about John Fairfax, who recently passed away.
For all its bravura, Mr. Fairfax’s seafaring almost pales beside his earlier ventures. Footloose and handsome, he was a flesh-and-blood character out of Graham Greene, with more than a dash of Hemingway and Ian Fleming shaken in.
At 9, he settled a dispute with a pistol. At 13, he lit out for the Amazon jungle. At 20, he attempted suicide-by-jaguar. When the planned confrontation ensued, however, reason prevailed — as did the gun he had with him. Afterward he was apprenticed to a pirate. To please his mother, who did not take kindly to his being a pirate, he briefly managed a mink farm, one of the few truly dull entries on his otherwise crackling résumé. In recent years, Mr. Fairfax made his living playing baccarat, the card game also favored by James Bond. Baccarat is equal parts skill and chance. It lets the player wield consummate mastery while consigning him simultaneously to the caprices of fate.
A stunning life, just stunning.
Boring Sex Will Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease
Okay, I made that up. But every other week I read about something else that may cause Alzheimer’s. Bad sleep. Walking slow. The flu. Eating too much. I feel sorry for gluttonous, sauntering, flu-ridden, insomniacs, because now they are destined to lose their minds too.
You can see the baby-boomer wave crest into their late fifties and sixties with the near-hysteria going on about Alzheimer’s, a terrible disease I wouldn’t wish on anybody. But the disease isn’t new. I’m on the tail-end end of the baby-boomer wave and I don’t want it either, so I guess that’s why I notice the articles.
My grandfather’s side gets senile dementia, but not until their eighties and it is a more pleasant benign, non-diaper-wearing type, depending on how deeply one has worn the habit grooves in the brain. So far, my mother’s side, all baby-boomers on the other side of the crest, hasn’t lived long enough to tell the dementia patterns, but that time is coming.
Staying in one place and doing the same thing year after year wears those habit grooves more deeply. I saw my grandfather going through the motions of his habits even when he couldn’t understand why and he recognized few people. He’d do his morning bathroom routine, put on his coffee in the old fashioned percolator, eat cereal and milk, go get the paper, and then sit in his chair with the coffee and paper. I’d see him holding the newspaper upside down sometimes, staring at it as if he were reading it, because that is what he did every morning for decades. Those habits were worn deep in his brain. If he couldn’t find his clothes laid out for him to put on in the morning as my grandmother did, he’d take a bath. Whenever she wanted him to bathe, she’d hide his clothes. So he stayed out of a nursing home for a long time because he could take care of himself far past most people with so few neurons firing because of his strong habit grooves. Habits rule.
RIP Grandpa.
