I do like adding a picture to a post, but the problem is, with two science fiction books written, and only three covers to show, it rather limits the range – and the last thing I want to do is put people off with images they’ve seen a dozen times already.
So I thought I’d try and spruce up my posts with some small versions of the banner pictures I use on my blog (because they are gorgeous).
We’ve been talking a bit about characters who take off on their own occasionally, going their own way, bending the rules, arguing with the author, changing sides, telling their own jokes or insisting on a higher degree of professionalism, even if it causes logistic problems for the writer (me).
Okay… so, I have an absolute monster brat of a kid in Va’el (introduced in book two, The King’s Sacrifice). As an older character, Va’el will make a pretty vicious individual, but here he had to make an appearance and his age right now is ten. He surprised me when he immediately threw a tantrum amid much shouting and throwing things and whacking his butler. Actually, he was so obnoxious, he made me laugh – so I kept him with everything exactly as it erupted.
Sometimes I surprise myself, I sit at my computer and start off hoping to put into place another piece of the plot, only to find instead that something remarkable happens – some doorway opens and what flows out are scenes and actions I did not expect to write, beautiful expressions and nuances that were not in my head only a moment before.
Where does it come from? As I frequently put writing problems on the back burner of my mind, I suspect it’s my subconscious throwing forward solutions. It’s also likely where my plot-wandering-off-on-its-own comes from. I have long learnt to trust such things (the wandering off inevitably leads to a better story), but I do marvel at how spontaneous such creation can be.
Artistic people are frequently wide open to the emotional tides around them – writers, artists, actors, all who work with emotions as tools of their trade and the fabric of their universe, ebb and flow along the currents that inspire them, that carry them, that sometimes control them.
Is it because we explore emotions so thoroughly that we are susceptible? I suspect so. As a writer, I will speak from a writer’s perspective, but it is true across the board (you’ll each recognize it in your own art). We enter the field willingly – we weep when our characters weep, if we did not, how can we create the scene? The best writing is written from inside the event, not outside, so inside we must be or our words are hollow and our readers will feel nothing for our characters, nor for our effort. We feel and we want our readers to feel, so we climb inside the fence line and run with our heroes and villains and strive to capture the essence that is each one of them.
Yet what we create has repercussions in our own lives, too, and we sometimes return from our adventures exhausted. Whether we capture our desires on paper successfully or not, we lived the events in the arenas of our minds.
People are by nature curious, intelligent and problem-solvers. We pick up books or watch movies that give us a break from our own problems by allowing us to indulge in solving someone else’s problems. It’s fun. It’s what we do so well. Sometimes we are looking for solutions to our own problems through books and films and, if it gives us a spark of an idea, so be it. We like challenges. Challenges inspire us.
So… that means books and films are about challenging situations, dramatic events and as many twists and turns a writer can put in there to keep up the tension and excitement.
Artistic people, therefore, splash around a great deal in the emotional playground of creativity.
I’ve been waiting to show you this, another glorious cover thanks to Laura of The Book Cover Machine, who again so wonderfully captures the flavor and emotion of my next book, and makes it pretty clear that my brand of science fiction is far from old and dry – I might even say my brand of science fiction is unique because I don’t limit the richness of human character, I keep my stories full, fast and true, and – perhaps most importantly – I don’t follow the style of anyone else, I never have.
You’ll either love my style or hate it – I vote for love (what’s not to love? I have attitude and everything). 😛
Interestingly enough, last week, during my 5-day only giveaway of The Khekarian Threat on Kindle, I noticed many more people followed the links when I referred to the untrained and inexperienced young psychic (the main character) who is striving to escape the clutches of an exiled Khekarian prince desperate to return to power and with an axe to grind – okay, so I didn’t mention the axe, but the point is, the psychic grabbed attention to the extent that it prompted me to change the description of the book on Amazon and make me wish I’d done it earlier. Unfortunately, the change kicked in after the giveaway was over.
I like the change because it presents a more personal perspective, and will undoubtedly help prevent a repeat of the “this isn’t science fiction because it’s got a psychic in it” review (I say prevent because, presumably, people so opposed to the subject won’t pick up the book in the first place – I’m assuming here that folk actually read the description before deciding to download).
So, why is there a psychic in my science fiction?
The Khekarian Threat giveaway reached over 200 people, so a big THANK YOU to all who downloaded a copy of this near 600 page sexy psychic sci-fi adventure story – yes, it really is all that, and more – but for those who missed out, the cost for this read on Kindle is only $4.95 (USD) and worth much more (personally, I object to Kindle books being as expensive as, or dearer than, paperbacks, and priced mine accordingly).
For all who have read The Khekarian Threat and enjoyed it, I will point out that book two of the series, The King’s Sacrifice, is out now and available at the same price – $4.95 on Kindle and $19.95 as a paperback (USD plus shipping).
Each book in The Khekarian Series is a stand-alone book – meaning you don’t need the whole series to enjoy each book. A series is not a serial. That means each of my books has a climax and a conclusion and can be read alone.
So, what would you do if you were a seventeen year-old untrained and inexperienced psychic, caught up in the power struggle of an exiled Khekarian prince desperate to return to the heart of an aggressive empire? Don’t think that her age makes this a teenager’s book, it’s very adult with explicit sex, coarse language and violence – and the fears of a girl wanting to escape a threatening situation.
This giveaway of The Khekarian Threat on Kindle ends at midnight (USA Pacific Standard Time) on Friday, 23rd August (2013).
What if you don’t have Kindle? No problem there, with a free Kindle reader app, you can still download The Khekarian Threat and read it on your PC, smartphone or tablet.
You don’t need a Kindle to enjoy this sci-fi, sexy, action, adventure freebie, Amazon has downloadable reader apps (free), so you can enjoy your free version of “The Khekarian Threat” on your PC, smartphone or tablet – it’s a meaty read (near 600 pages – that’s a lot of book), fast-paced and professionally written – Mature readers, please, meaning those not adverse to realism, explicit sex, coarse language and violence.
This free offer expires at midnight 23rd August, 2013 (USA Standard Pacific Time), and won’t be back for three months, so grab a copy while you can.
Only the FIRST of these two books, The Khekarian Threat is currently going out for free on Kindle or to a Kindle reader app for your PC, smartphone or tablet, downloadable free from Amazon (see links posted below) – the free download of The Khekarian Threat lasts until midnight (USA, Pacific Standard Time), Friday, 23rd August (yes, 2013, for those who find this post somewhere in the distant future – don’t worry, I’ll do it again).
I’ve had only six reviews so far, and they are excellent, four of them were 5 stars, one was 4 and one was 3 (that’s hot!).
The second book shown here, The King’s Sacrifice, is also collecting some reviews – two so far, both for 5 stars – a big THANK YOU to the people who read it and loved it enough to comment. I cannot express how much that means to me. Seriously, it’s not the writer’s view that is important (we all think we’ve got a brilliant story, or we wouldn’t publish it), it’s the readers’ views that count, so thank you for taking the time and communicating your thoughts to other readers.
Bloodstone Sci Fi 