Happy birthday to GHOST PLANET (with giveaway of THE OPHELIA PROPHECY)

One year ago today, Tor released my debut novel, GHOST PLANET. I ate cupcakes, drank champagne, signed books while impaired, and wore a gigantic gold tutu.

See, I wasn't kidding.

What a year it's been! Some of the highlights include (as close as possible to chronological order):

• GHOST PLANET's cover appeared in an RT Book Reviews list of cool covers for upcoming releases.
• Authors Linnea Sinclair and Kat Richardson endorsed the book with glowing reviews. 
• In my first ever printed review, Publishers Weekly called it: "an absorbing and exciting story full of science, sex, and intriguing plot twists."
• RT Book Reviews gave it 4.5 stars and said "thoroughly impresses ... a pitch-perfect balance of a cohesive scientific vision with poignant, naked emotion."



Jack-O-Lantern approved

• Co-bloggers Laurie and Donna joined me in Seattle for my first release party. (Too far for Pippa - a hop, skip, and a GIGANTIC jump.) 

• The book was nominated for the 2013 RWA RITA Award for best first book, ON MY BIRTHDAY.
• The book was named the main pick for April of the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout book club (created by actress/producer/writer Felicia Day) - also ON MY BIRTHDAY. 
• Veronica Belmont (also of VF book club fame) named the book a suggested read for The Sword & Laser book club. 
• The VF gals gave the book a super positive review on YouTube. I ate more cupcakes. 
• The book was named one of the "best of 2012" by Regina Small, senior editor and reviews coordinator for RT. 
• My agency sold audio rights to Audible.com (for GHOST PLANET as well as my other two upcoming titles). 

Wow, what a great run. And we're just getting started! An audio book to come, and I'm still waiting for that movie deal. ;) 

My second book from Tor (THE OPHELIA PROPHECY) is due out in less than six months, and I'm working on revisions for a third book (ECHO 8). (Have a brand-new project in the works as well - stay tuned for more on that.) 

OPHELIA is a post-apocalyptic biopunk romance about some sexy transgenics and an archivist with a dangerous secret. E8 is a near-future, multiverse romantic suspense that explores possible connections between quantum physics and psi (also a Bermuda Love Triangle between a parapsychologist, an FBI agent, and an energy vampire). 

Thanks for joining the party! We have a door prize: Leave a comment for a chance at winning a signed ARC of THE OPHELIA PROPHECY (official release: April 1), hot off the presses. SO hot the only person in possession of one at this point is Jessica Subject, who won it in my first giveaway. [Usual fine print on this one: US and Canada only, so as not to require me to apply for a loan to ship it. And DON'T FORGET to leave your email address in your comment if you want to be included.]

Good luck! 

Tor Books - April Fool's Day, 2014

For Aspiring Authors - My First Mistake

It's confession time. When I first finished my debut novel Keir, I didn't have a clue about publishing. No, really! I was totally and utterly clueless. Faced with either sticking my MS in a drawer or doing something with it, I decided to look into publication. I didn't know where to start, so I looked up things on the internet.
And one of the very first things I did, and soon realized was a mistake, was request a brochure from a publishing company interested in all types of fiction and non-fiction.

Y'see, I'd never heard of vanity press (sometimes calling themselves subsidy publishers, but generally making out they are some kind of legitimate publisher like the Big 5 - they aren't!). Luckily, I recognised my mistake on receiving the brochure and having done some more research. A writing site had guided me toward the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, the must-have guide for aspiring authors in the UK (I was going to say at this point - get it! But I've seen via Writer Beware that vanity presses like Author Solutions are now being allowed to promote in this once great institution, so I will no longer recommend it. A damn shame. Use Preds & Eds instead). Go to Writer Beware and check out agents and publishers on the Preditor and Editor website too. But now that company had my phone number, and for several months after they persisted in ringing and emailing me, pushing for me to contact and submit to them. Eventually they quit it, and I've steered well clear of any since, being somewhat the wiser.

So when I woke at an annoying 4.30am one Tuesday morning to find an email from another vanity press in my inbox, I was livid. These parasites had discovered I'd registered my latest novel at the Library of Congress, and 'offered' to publish it for me (apparently this is now a regular occurence if you register a manuscript - check out this Writer Beware post here - that's exactly what I got, and luckily I knew exactly what kind of company they were). The bloody nerve of it! The email also said at the bottom that I'd agreed to receive their emails. No I didn't! I'd never contacted them at all.

I know how vanity presses work, and I'd heard about this one. So I knew to steer well clear (although the MS in question is already published, so they're way too late). But the email reminded me of those days when I knew nothing. What if I'd got that kind of email then? Full of self doubt and ignorance, I'd have been flattered to be approached by what looked like a bona fide publisher. I might have responded. And if I might have done, so might others.

Be wary of things like this. I don't want to preach to aspiring authors, but I certainly don't want anyone's publishing dreams to become nightmares with predators like these on the prowl. If they have free access to resources like the copyright office, they can contact anyone. So when you get emails like this, be suspicious. I always say research is one of those essentials for authors, new or experienced. Check the company out. Ask around. If, for whatever insane reason you decide a vanity press is the way you want to go, be clear on what you're paying for and what you're liable for. Their aim is to make themselves money, not the author. They won't care if you go into debt rather than profit. If you complain your book isn't doing well, chances are you'll just be offered another overpriced package of more or alternative marketing. And seriously, you're better off finding those services elsewhere and self publishing your work. Find a good editor, get a decent book cover, and go indie. Don't use a vanity press. I can even recommend some way better resources for you to use if you want me to. Find and join writing groups. Try the Kindle Boards or CritiqueCircle.com, or look for indie publishing/book groups on Facebook. Don't believe the claims or testimonials on the publisher's page - I always, always go by personal recommendations by people I trust - friends, fellow authors and work collegues.

Things to watch out for -
1. Someone contacts you out of the blue, offering to make you a published author, even when you haven't looked into becoming published.
2. No example or given terms for the contract you'll be offered.
3. The mention of promotional or publishing packages that you'll be 'offered'.
4. No online store of their own.
5. They will publish ANYTHING. What, even without seeing your MS? Plus most small presses focus on a main genre, like specualtive fiction or romance and its sub-genres. The Big 5 generally have separate imprints that focus on specific genres, and these often work as separate divisions.

There are other things to look out for, but I strongly recommend you go to the Writer Beware website and read up. Be careful out there.

Pippa's Journal

I am close to strangling my muse. After completing my Halloween story, I started work on a winter solstice story (inspired by one of the pre-made covers created by the talented Gayle Ramage here), only to then be distracted by an undead/zombie story. This is once more taking me from my scifi homeland into new and somewhat scary territory. Of course, it won't be a horror story - I'm not into frightening or gory - but at the moment, straying into new genres like this is both exciting and terrifying for me. Despite its zombie theme, this will not be horror. Although how exactly I can market a non-horror zombie story is a conundrum...

Happenings

Military SF writers: Apex is accepting submissions through Nov 31 for new anthology War Stories http://t.co/vQ8BOJ491q #scifi #writers

Brigader Kimber An has started a new book review site...and science fiction romance is one of the topics! The site officially launches on the 1st November, but you can check out her wish list of books here.

This week a digital format of my YA scifi Gethyon and a $10 gift card are up for grabs at Long and Short Reviews here. The giveaway ends on Friday. From next Monday, it's anti-bullying month, and for the whole of November I will be donating all royalties from the sales of Gethyon to Childline, a UK charity that provides support to children being bullied and abused. Since my MC is bullied at the start of the book, it seemed fitting, especially since my eldest child went through two years of being bullied at school.

Ping Pong

Laurie, loved the post on command presence. There are people who can walk into a room and speak in a soft voice who command more and instant respect than someone who marches in and shouts. Maybe I should try cultivating that attitude with my little monsters. :D

Donna, I've never read Card, and in light of recent revelations, I'm not sure I want to, or to see the film. Which is sad, but sometimes I can't close out the personal aspects of an author from their work. Hubs is planning to take our eldest boy to see it, and that's fine because I believe in letting them make their own choices. Will be interesting to hear what they make of it, and if that will change my mind.

Characters With Command Presence

Years ago when I attended police academy, my instructors had a phrase for the quality that allows an officer to step up and take charge of a difficult situation--command presence. They encouraged their students to develop this trait in how they deal with the public, suspects and victims in the line of duty. 

More recently I've drawn on this training to incorporate these traits into characters. Write what you know, indeed. :)

Command presence can manifest as a personality trait in an MC, a secondary character, even a villain, in how their words, actions and attitudes are framed. It isn't haughtiness, superiority or conceit. It's more about how a character projects themselves and how it's perceived by others. 

A person who demonstrates command presence instills confidence and trust in their companions. They control the situation in the face of threat or disaster and in the presence of a threatening foe, or even a superior. He/she is looked to as the natural leader, the go-to person, or the one who calls the shots, even though they may not be the highest ranking person present.

Often, the sense of command presence is established by a calm and

unruffled tone that demonstrate "grace under fire." Occasionally it has to be backed up with a show of force, either physically or strategically. 

Command presence often involves "command voice," which is assuming a calm, confident tone that radiates authority in times of stress or jeopardy. 


Command presence doesn't mean a character is too perfect, only that they have the ability to emote leadership. But it's much like acting. No character can be on stage indefinitely. His/her vulnerabilities will (and should) eventually show. So command presence is akin to turning on a light when it's needed, and knowing how long it should shine to accomplish the goal...and when it needs to go dark.

I have a few 'go to' characters that I invoke when writing scenes where my hero or heroine must exhibit command presence. For males, two favorites are Captain Jean Luc Picard (Star Trek: TNG) or Captain Ramius (Hunt for Red October).
  


For females, I often draw on Ellen Ripley (Aliens) or Ana Lucia Cortez (LOST).



Here are a few examples of other well-known characters with command presence drawn from cinema and television. Each of these characters are perceived as leaders or authority figures, though each demonstrates these attributes in very different ways. 

+ Aragorn (LoTR)

+ George McClintock (McClintock)

+ Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly/Serenity)

+ Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)

+ Lindsey Brigman (The Abyss)

+ Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Aliens)

+ The Fonz (Happy Days)

+ Sarah Connor (Terminator 2)

+ Jack Riley (Patriot Games)

+ Glinda (Wizard of Oz)



What other stand out characters can you think of who exhibit command presence? Leave a comment to tell us about some of your favorites from books, TV, movies...or life. If you're a writer or author, feel free to share a snippet from your work of a character exhibiting command presence.

GAME-CHANGING FICTION: ENDER WORTH A RE-READ

It has taken more than 25 years for film technology to catch up to Orson Scott Card’s original vision of the Battle Room. The brilliant three-dimensional scope of Card’s SF space training simulator, the kernel of the idea of the Nebula- and Hugo-winning Ender’s Game, will finally become visible on movie screens November 1, as the film based on the novel debuts at last.  Those of us who write even glancingly of battles in space should be taking notes.

Forget for a moment what you might think of the author himself.  Card has become mired in a self-made swamp of controversy over the past few years, thanks to his ultraconservative views on gay marriage and President Obama (among other things), and his strident expression of those views.  (Yes, people are entitled to their opinions, but they should hardly be surprised when the targets of their vitriol get offended.)  The controversy has even spilled over into this latest project, leading Ender’s Game studio Lionsgate to discreetly step back from the author (who is also a producer of the film) lest a threatened boycott by LGBT groups solidify.

So, okay, let me be clear.  I don’t agree with anything Orson Scott Card has said politically in years.  And yet he has written a most amazing book, an earth-shaking, ground-changing book.  I thought so in 1985 when I first read it.  I imagine I’ll think so when I re-read it this time. I’m setting out to do that because I think the book deserves a fresh look in light of the film.   And I’m recommending the book to my 12-year-old grandson, a boy with an old soul who is going through a rough time right now.

One thing the book did not have in 1985 was the author’s introduction, which was added in 1991.  Since my original copy of Ender’s Game has long since disappeared, I had to hie myself to the bookstore for another.  This is the updated version, published in 1991 (to take into account the fall of the USSR, etc.), with the intro. What a revelation.  I imagine if Card himself read it now, it might be a revelation even to him.

The idea of the Battle Room that is so central to Ender’s Game came to Card at the end of a logical thought progression that started with Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, an SF classic which Asimov admitted owed much to Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  Foundation was the young Card’s favorite SF series, and it set him thinking.  About how human nature worked in the past, and how that would translate into the future.  About whether humans could actually learn to be different, or were stuck in their age-old patterns no matter how advanced their technology was.

Card longed to write stories that made others think the way Asimov’s did, but despaired that he was not a scientist.  He loved history, particularly military history.  How could you use that [insert sneer here] liberal arts discipline to write the science fiction he also loved?

To make a long story much shorter, Card’s musings eventually brought him to the question of how the military leaders of the future would train their troops for combat in space.  It’s difficult enough to train for air combat, where enemies may come at you from all directions, but gravity and the drag of friction are still factors. What would it be like to fight a battle where those were not factors, but other principles of physics still applied—action/reaction, momentum, mass/energy conversion, etc.?  That’s when the idea of the Battle Room first popped into his head, almost fully formed.

But to Card’s everlasting credit—and this should have “Secret to Crossover Success” pasted all over it—he realized the idea that gave birth to his story would not be enough. From the introduction:

But, having thought of the Battle Room, I hadn’t the faintest idea of how to go about turning the idea into a story.  It occurred to me then for the first time that the idea of the story is nothing compared to the importance of knowing how to find a character and a story to tell around that idea.  Asimov, having had the idea of paralleling The Decline and Fall, still had no story; his genius—and the soul of the story—came when he personalized his history, making the psychohistorian Hari Seldon the god-figure, the planmaker, the apocalyptic prophet of the story.  I had no such character, and no idea of how to make one.

Years passed before Card found his hero in young Ender Wiggin, and a way to build the story around his wonderful SF idea.  He started with a novella, which won the Hugo in 1977, and expanded it to a full novel in 1985, which won both Nebula and Hugo prizes.

At another point in his introduction, Card says, “In science fiction . . . the whole point is that the ideas are fresh and startling and intriguing; you imitate the great ones, not by rewriting their stories, but by creating stories that are just as startling and new.”  Orson Scott Card certainly succeeded in that with Ender’s Game.

And isn’t that what we are trying to do with the entire subgenre of Science Fiction Romance?

Cheers, Donna

Discoveries

If you haven’t completed your tour of all the blogs participating in the “If You Like . . .” campaign to introduce new readers to SFR, then get on your spaceship and ride!  Find the list of bloggers making their recommendations for great reading material at The Galaxy Express post introducing the campaign.   And check out my own recommendations in last week’s post in case you missed it.

Just for good measure, if you liked Ender’s Game, then you’ll like a book I recommended last year, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  A game-playing genius teen saves the world (or at least, its soul) and wins the girl.  Much more lighthearted than Card’s classic, but the young heroes have much in common.