Author: jaymountney

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September reading and viewing

October already! Reporting on my reading and viewing has made me much more aware of my habits. I’ll continue this monthly review to the end of the year but I think from January I will only write notes about the things that really appeal to me. Meanwhile…

Reading:

3Sep E Irregulars***** – a fabulous anthology of four stories by well known m/m writers set in a shared magical world. The Irregulars of the title police interactions between humans and others. (In some respects the premise resembles the basic plot of Men in Black.) The stories are well written, full of detailed world building and rich description. The characters are fascinating and their adventures are gripping, filled with unexpected violence, secret crimes and different ways of looking at the world. The romances are unusual and compelling: goblins, fae and humans returned from ‘fairy’ realms abound. One major character plays a minor part in another writer’s tale. I wanted to read more about the world created, and was really sad to finish the book. Happily, the writing was so dense and packed with interest that reading took quite a while, and of course I can always read it again. Kimberling, Lanyon, Amara and Hale have written a delightful and intriguing collection of stories. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys adult ‘fairy’ tales.

10Sep E Warhorses of Letters*** -Marie Phillips and Robert Hudson. I initially heard this as a radio series which I adored, and I subscribed to the publication by Unbound Books. When I read the whole thing, complete with extra footnotes etc., I was slightly disappointed. It purports to chronicle a love affair (by letter) between Marengo, Napoleon’s horse, and Copenhagen, Wellington’s horse. Obviously a lot of the plot is humorous  – not to the horse characters, who are in earnest, but to the human reader. However, in the text, the humour overwhelmed the pathos and excitement that came across in the radio presentation so that the horse characters seemed somehow distanced and less important than the attitude of the writers. I was also sorry that the story simply stopped, rather than having any kind of historical ending. That was fitting, perhaps, for something that was supposed to be based on scraps of old letters, but it was unsatisfying to the reader. I told all my friends to listen to the radio series but sadly, would not recommend them to buy the book.

10Sep P The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life ** – Erving Goffman. This was quite a dense book in the sociology/psychology genre about the way we present ourselves to others and the way we understand their presentations. It was first published in 1959 and the author died in 1983 but I expected more insights and more to interest me. Unfortunately, Goffman used examples that were drawn almost wholly  from American society at the time of writing. His few examples from Britain were either very ‘dated’ (and in some cases based on nineteenth century society) or based on an outsider’s observation of life on one of the Shetland Isles. As a result, I found the examples, meant, one assumes, to illuminate and expand the text, to be less accessible than the text itself, and they therefore hindered rather than helped my understanding. I struggled through the book but would probably have got just as much from a synopsis. I am not convinced that Penguin should have reprinted this book and I am sorry I spent so much time on it.

14Sep P The Last Templar** – Michael Jecks. This was an irritating historical detective story, based on meticulous research. The author should have stuck to non-fiction. The points of view were all over the place, sometimes from one short paragraph to the next, which led to confusion. There was far too much repetition. both of thoughts and of voiced speculation about the various murders. Not an author I would read again.

16Sep P The Dead Zone**** – Stephen King. King is a brilliant writer – detailed characterisation and a plot that drags you into his world even when it doesn’t initially interest you. I’d heard of The Dead Zone and was intrigued by the idea of Johnny Smith, the unwilling psychic. The story was well told and I couldn’t stop reading. It was also sad and in some ways I wished I hadn’t read it. There were moments of horror – King excels at horror – and moments of sweetness. I wouldn’t read it again but it was very well done.

19Sep E Psycops****– Jordan Castillo Price. The  Psycops series is set in a world where psychics and supernatural creatures abound. The world building was good and I liked the main detectives, Victor and Jacob, who end up having an affair and then moving in together. I have  the whole series, up to Book 12, having bought them as a ‘bundle’. Most of them are are novellas, and the character building for Victor, the psychic cop, is fascinating. I can’t tell you about the plots as anything I said would be a huge spoiler for anyone who decides to read the stories! I would give five stars if any of the books were longer – I really do prefer crime stories to be novel length; somehow the pacing is more satisfying. The ‘shorts’ (romance focus) are less interesting than the longer stories which are dominated by paranormal crime. I understand there are more books to come. I will definitely read the longer ones. I would feel cheated if I spent any money on the shorts.

22Sep P Company of Liars***** – Karen Maitland. I couldn’t put this down. The subtitle is ‘a novel of the plague’. A group of ill-assorted travellers are on the move through England during the time of what is now known as the Black Death, the plague that ravaged Europe in the fourteenth century. The group have various reasons for their travel but have banded together on the road and are heading north and inland to try to outrun the plague. They fail, but none falls victim to the pestilence. Instead, there are various fates in store for them but not until they have told their stories, some of them retellings of legends, and some of them dark secrets of their lives. The structure of the book echoes The Canterbury Tales because of the group, the travel, and the stories. There is a hint of magic although everything that happens can be explained by the psychology and religious ideas of the middle ages. Many of the events are tragic and gruesome, and the gradual disintegration of the group reminds the reader of the death and decay of the population and the resulting devastation of the countryside. The ending seems merely sad and then there is a twist that leaves the reader shocked and unlikely to forget the story. Excellent historical research and skilled writing make this a fascinating novel. It would be hard to re-read it, knowing how things turn out for some of the characters, but I would certainly recommend this to anyone who enjoys either historical novels or tales of the macabre. I will also be looking for the author’s other works.

29Sep P The Judgement of Caesar** – Steven Saylor. I read a couple of Saylor’s Roman ‘mysteries’ some time ago and was not impressed. They were nowhere near as good as Lindsey Davis’ Falco books. I had just about forgotten why Saylor’s work annoyed me and as he’s so highly thought of and well reviewed I gave this story a try. Now I know. The writing irritates me. There are huge ‘info dumps’ and characters frequently tell each other, at some length, things they must already know, in order to inform the reader. There are artificial plot devices – Gordianus the Finder is placed as an eyewitness at many historical events through an unbelievable set of coincidences, thus allowing history to be related by a ‘common man’. So I was already inclined to dislike the book before I realised that the mystery didn’t even arise until two thirds of the way through. I liked the characters of Gordianus’ family and once I had started reading I ploughed through the novel to find out their fates and the explanation of the crime that was committed. The story takes place against the backdrop of Caesar and Cleopatra, at the beginning of Cleopatra’s reign. (The main thread of the novel starts with the death of Pompey and ends with the death of Ptolemy.) I did not particularly enjoy myself and will not read one of this author’s works again. The historical research is interesting and detailed, and is deservedly praised, but maybe Saylor should stick to text books?

29Sep E The Etymologicon*** – Mark Forsyth. This is a stroll through the English language looking at where words come from, how they are related, etc. Some of it was quite entertaining but at times the author’s sense of humour was a little heavy-handed. It’s a book to dip into rather than to read all at once. I might have tried harder with the quiz section at the end if I’d had a printed version – I find moving to and fro within a book on my Kindle unsatisfying which is why I don’t often use it for non-fiction.

So – a disappointing month but  Irregulars and The Company of Liars were highlights, and I read plenty of good fanfic, too.

Viewing:

Not much to report this month, because I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries, and have started watching some series that won’t be finished for some time either because of TV schedules or because my DVD watching will take some time. (Dr. Who, Inspector Montalbano and The Legend of the Seeker.)

10Sep Sherlock Holmes. A Game of Shadows***** – the second of the Robert Downey Junior films. I think I was possibly slightly less impressed than by the first film, but was it was still stunning. The special effects, the acting, the humour in the script… I think it far surpasses the BBC Sherlock series, though I enjoy that too. The effects, and some of the filming techniques were brilliant in this ‘sequel’. especially some of the slow motion sequences. Downey makes the perfect Holmes, and Jude Law is a fascinating Watson. The supporting cast were great, especially Stephen Fry as Mycroft. Altogether marvellous and highly recommended.

14Sep The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.***** – a sparkling cast, beautiful locations and direction, and a gentle plot full of humour and melancholy. A group of retired people go to India to a hotel in Jaipur. Life is never the same again for anyone. A lovely film.

27Sep Monsters Vs. Aliens*** – a Dreamworks ‘cartoon’ style of film with the latest computer graphics etc. A rather worthy and ponderous plot in which a young woman becomes a ‘monster’, saves the world, and decides she doesn’t need to return to normality. To be fair, it was made as a children’s film, but I was glad it was only 90 minutes…

30Sep Fierce Creatures*** – John Cleese and Michael Palin plus other well known stars. Farce set in a zoo that is due for closure. Some funny moments but generally ordinary.

Anybody read or watched any of the above?

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Writing fanfiction

Today I was reading my copy of Writing, a magazine about writing and publishing I subscribe to. It’s a very UK-centred magazine which has quite a few useful articles and links. It has an online presence at https://www.writers-online.co.uk/ and is worth checking out even if you live elsewhere in the world.

Anyway, in one of the letters a subscriber who was generally in favour of fanfiction said they admitted it was ‘a lazy way to write’, saying that fan fic writers had the characters ready made for them and didn’t need to work hard to develop them.

I wanted to write back but I knew my thoughts would probably be too long for a letter to a magazine so I thought I’d explore them here. As you know, I read and write fanfiction – I sometimes jokingly call it my ‘other’ hobby – and I would take issue with the letter writer!

So the characters from films and TV shows (and from books, too) are ready made and therefore easy to write about? Would the letter writer say the same about historical figures? Characters such as Emperor Claudius, Napoleon, Henry VIII, the Borgia Popes, Jesus, are all ‘ready made’ in the same way but serious writers gain praise for their new explorations of these characters. It is perhaps harder, in some ways, to write something new and original about a character who has existed in history or on the screen. The fanfic writer (or the writer of tie-in novels for that matter) must be very observant and pay great attention to detail. The ‘voice’ of the character has to come across to readers who already have well-developed expectations and will pounce on errors. Dialogue needs to sound likely, and must not contain any errors e.g. Americanisms for Brit characters or vice versa. If the show is set in a particular era it is necessary to check small details such as finance (were Euros in use?), types of communication (computers? mobile phones?) and even things like the types of sweets or snacks available. Readers who are fans of the original will notice anachronisms.

The settings of TV shows and films are also ready made. This doesn’t mean the fanfic writer needn’t do any homework. The online information about the setting needs to be meticulously researched, and the good writer will look at all kinds of resources, not only the original screen works, to check that the backgrounds for their fics are acceptable. This involves just as much work as for an original novel, which might well be set in the author’s own home town and be less taxing. Besides, a new story about the same characters needs some new locations and these will also need research. I once ordered tourist publicity for a town in America to enable me to place my story accurately – I think the tourist board decided I was a likely visitor and ‘spammed’ me with invitations to book hotels or tours for ages. Wikipedia is my first stop, but its information needs to be independently checked; it isn’t always either correct or adequate.

There are also, of course, the minor characters who people the fics. Whilst many shows have a supporting or ensemble cast that can be utilised, there will always be a need for extras, for instance shopkeepers or villains, or simply new characters who form part of the plot, who will be invented by the writer but will need to fit seamlessly into the world the main characters already inhabit. This can be harder work than inventing a new group of characters from scratch.

For many excellent fanfic writers there is great pleasure in transposing characters from their original setting or period into another and asking how they would have behaved under very different circumstances. Some of the best stories I have read have put, for example, modern detectives (e.g. The Professionals) into Regency London, or a world of space ships or the film industry. The reader gets pleasure from the exploration of the essence of the character in what is known as an AU (alternative universe), whether it is fantasy, or merely historical or just different. In these cases the characters need close study that is far from lazy, and of course the alternative settings need research, too. There are also ‘crossovers’ where, for example, the heroes of a TV series (e.g. Supernatural) appear in a totally different setting such as Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, and have magic to contend with. Writers of crossovers have two sets of fans to satisfy!

Books can be harder to deal with in this way simply because the plot is often more thoroughly ‘closed’ at the end, though there are often minor characters whose stories have not been told to the complete satisfaction of readers, and of course the characters can also be placed in different settings. There are also series which allow for extra stories. Sometimes writers will ignore the ending of a novel; again, to take Harry Potter as an example, people write stories with the label EWE meaning Epilogue? What Epilogue? and take the characters beyond the book in all kinds of different directions, ignoring JKR’s vision of their later lives.

Of course there are fics written in a lazy fashion but then I have read many published original stories that are dull, derivative or otherwise badly written. The best fanfic avoids these problems; the worst is not much worse than the drivel some publishers offer. One reason for this is the instant feedback given to fanfic. If I write original fic and publish or self-publish it, I am unlikely to hear from readers for some time unless or until I gain fans on my website.  The day I post fanfic on an archive I get feedback, some of it detailed, and not necessarily always friendly. There is room for discussion and indeed heated debate. Most sensible fanfic writers use beta readers who will save them from really bad mistakes in characterisation, plot, etc. as well as from mechanical problems with spellings and typos. But even the best beta group can’t guarantee there will be no problems at all. This keeps fanfic writers on their toes.

Some fanfic writers ‘file off the serial numbers’ and publish their work as original fiction. It is usually impossible to tell when this has been done unless one has read the fanfic version. This suggests that fanfic has more in common with original fic than the letter writer thinks.

I strongly suspect the letter writer has only read or written fics that fall into what some of us call the ‘episode’ category, in which an episode of a TV show is rewritten from another point of view, or with extra scenes inserted. This type of fanfic, which fills in the gaps we all notice in our favourite shows, is only one kind of fanfic. Some of it – and only some – can be so closely based on the original as to give the impression  – and only the impression – of lazy writing. But there is plenty of fanfic out there that goes on to expand the original show or the original characters way beyond anything the producers intended. And even the ‘episode’ fic requires keen observation and a lot of imagination.

I write both fanfic and original fic. They are different in the sense that they are largely for different audiences and are posted or uploaded in different places, and in that only original work can hope for financial reward. They are also different in that they are in response to different stimuli. They both require hard work from the writer. The skills needed for both bleed into each other – work on plot, characterisation, locations, and language use.   I think, on balance, fanfic is slightly harder work if it is to satisfy its audience, because it is more difficult to write convincingly in someone else’s universe than in one’s own. It has certainly never struck me as in any way a ‘lazy’ activity.

I know some of you read fan fiction. What do you think?

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To a gamer. A poem.

I wrote this in a mood of frustration, a couple of years ago. I spent quite a lot of time on online gaming (role playing games or RPGs) but was eventually persuaded by a friend who also played that I was not a gamer but a writer who entered games for the purpose of story development. The game was never enough in itself. But at the time I was immersed in the story and the character I was playing and hated it when the game folded, as they so often do. I stopped playing eventually – a kind of self-preservation.

To a gamer who is moving on.

(Sometimes the organiser of an RPG will abandon their game before others are ready to leave.)

We played hard.
Through woods and mines, into cities of frozen stone,
And vast graveyards of polished bone,
We took our swords, two-headed axes and sharp spears,
All down the years.

Our hearts beat
With the heroic cyber pulse of might and story,
Making us virtual wizards of dread and glory,
Pumping your writing out along our veins,
Singing our names.

We stayed close,
Playing the game, fighting the fight, killing monsters that haunt dreams,
Defeating ghouls that emitted eldritch screams.
We never questioned whether you were true.
We trusted you.

Now you turn
Away from the roles, the play, shelving those who served so long,
Abandoning soldiers who, for you, were strong,
Telling your friends in a voice that hints of shame,
‘It was just a game.’

Who would say,
Compared with friends or kin in London, Paris or Rome,
Compared with loved ones here at home,
That we who kept the faith are not, at the end,
At least as real as them?

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August reading and viewing

Reading

Aug 5 E The Wise Man’s Fear***** – Patrick Rothfuss. This is the sequel to The Name of the Wind. They are the first two books in The Kingkiller Chronicle and I am looking forward to the next. Excellent world building, and characters (even the minor ones) so detailed and three dimensional I couldn’t help caring deeply about them. There are stories within the story, which itself is told as a story to a Chronicler at an inn. Intricate and enthralling fantasy, beautifully written.

Aug 7 E The Gallows Tree**** – RJ Scott. An American, fleeing an abusive relationship, comes to England and gets involved with a ghost story and a local man. The ghost element was hard to follow at times but the story was well written and charming.

Aug 8 E Hot Head* – Damon Suede. Basically porn, dressed up as a very lightweight story about New York fire fighters. It also had very strange dialogue punctuation. I hated it.

Aug 10 E Renfred’s Masquerade*** – Hayden Thorne. An intriguing YA novel of magic and mystery. I’m pretty sure teenagers would love it but although the plot hooked me the characters didn’t. I felt distanced from them and never really lost myself in the story as a result. Ghosts, magic, and mechanical marvels abound. I know the author (and indeed she has done incredibly helpful beta work for me) and I admire her YA stories but most of them don’t really appeal. For this one, she deserved a better editor – there were a lot of typos and similar errors. She has changed publishing houses and it shows.

Aug 12 E Riptide Rentboys Collection * – Various authors. I bought this because I know one of the authors well and she was excited about her new publisher. I reviewed her contribution a couple of months ago, The stories were acceptable though not special. The formatting, however, was appalling, which really annoyed me, because there is so much said about how publishers, such as Riptide, give the readers good formatting, unlike self-publishing… One story in the collection was unreadable, because the file was corrupt. The others had elementary formatting errors which kept interfering with reading enjoyment. I will pass on my comments via my friend, and I am unlikely ever to buy from this publisher again.

[Update: I contacted the publisher and was able to download another copy of the story. It wasn’t worth the effort but the publisher was polite and helpful. Also, I got a mobi download this time and the formatting was much better, so .pdfs can clearly be a problem.]

Aug 13 E In search of saints**** – Harper Fox. As usual, Harper Fox’s research and location were mind blowing and beautiful, but this time I felt that the story deserved a novel and this was only a novella. A fascinating tale of rival archaeologists and a discovery that needs to remain hidden, side by side with an m/m romance. True to form, the author introduces paranormal elements with a light touch. A lovely book, but one that should have been longer.

Aug 18 P Revelation*** – C.J.Sansom. This is a volume in the writer’s much-hyped Tudor detective series. The historical research and background details were fascinating and the plot was at times gripping but… First of all, the whole thing was too long and could well have been cut to about two thirds its length with some good editing. It was full of repetitions, ponderous info dumps and clumsy (though grammatical) sentence structures.  The crime element of the story, whilst exciting, never quite convinced me, and some of the sub-plots simply petered out though of course they might re-emerge in future volumes. I was  transported into Tudor England by the descriptions of everyday life and the effect was both haunting and lasting, but I won’t be reading any more books by this author. Disappointing in some ways.

Aug 20 P The Safe House*** – Nicci French. Another crime story, this time set in present day Essex. Gripping plot with a lot of twists but whilst I was caught up in the story while I read, the whole thing didn’t quite convince me when I wasn’t reading. A very unsettling ending, and I don’t think I’ll be reading any of their other books (the author is a husband and wife team).

Aug 24 E Point of Knives***** – Melissa Scott. A lovely addition to the Astreiant series which deals with ‘police’ work in a fantasy world. When Melissa Scott’s partner and co-writer died, fans of the books thought there would be no more but she has finally given us this novella which bridges the two previous books, and she is promising us another later in the year. Beautifully written, with interesting characters and detailed world-building. This story could probably stand alone but would benefit from being read after Point of Hopes. Recommended.

Aug 28 E Love Ahead*** – Madelaine Urban and Abigail Roux. Two long novellas with a modern m/m romance theme. The stories were pleasant but not particularly memorable, and the writing, whilst good, was full of American dialect and cultural references that left this Brit reader at times bewildered. I read books like this to check out the competition. I don’t think I’ll be in the same competition as these.

Viewing

Aug 9 Third Man Out** – One of the Donald Strachey mystery series. Poor acting and poor filming.

Aug 14 Shelter** – very lightweight m/m romance made film length by the addition of a lot of surfing scenes and a great deal of unmemorable music.

Aug 19 Page Eight**** – beautifully directed and acted made-for-TV spy film with Bill Nighy and Michael Gambon plus a sparkling supporting cast. Reminiscent somehow of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I was disappointed by the ending which I thought was left slightly ambiguous for some kind of ‘art’ reason.

Aug 21 The Boat that Rocked*** – Nighy again, and Kenneth Brannagh, both of whom were somewhat wasted in this film. The story of UK’s pirate radio stations was one that needed to be told but the film couldn’t make its mind up over whether to be serious or comic, true to the facts or just a generalisation. It was too long for the story it ended up delivering, and was too lightweight, I thought, for its theme. The music was included in short snatches which were tantalising but unsatisfying. I have heard the CD which was better. The star-studded cast must have felt strongly about the subject matter in order to go ahead with this project. I found it disappointing.

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Tax problems on the way to being solved!

The internet is a wonderful thing.

Writers are generous and supportive of each other!

My last post garnered a response from a very kind complete stranger (Martyn V Halm) who gave me a link to this article:

http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/02/24/non-us-self-publisher-tax-issues-dont-need-to-be-taxing/

It seems I’m not the only one suffering angst over these issues and other people have bravely gone before, tested the system and posted about their experiences so that the rest of us can de-stress! There is a method of obtaining a tax number, via a phone call to the IRS people, which can then be used for all e-publishing firms. Whoever worked it out and tested it deserves a medal!

If you’re at all interested in the tax problem, on your own behalf or for anyone else, go and read the article and the numerous comments which extend the initial research.

I think the thing I need now is Skype. I did have it installed on my old PC but then my microphone broke and as I wasn’t really chatting to many people I never bothered to replace it. I could do with a new headset and will buy one of the combined headset/microphone things but that might have to wait till I get back from our next trip to Portugal so that I can order the kind I want and have some chance of being here when it arrives. Skype will prevent the cost of phone calls to America becoming as astronomical as any notary expenses…

Once I can call cheaply I shall follow all the instructions given in the article and let you (and the authors) know how I get on. That will probably be some time in October.

Meanwhile, I’m extraordinarily grateful to Martyn, a Netherlands based author who has taken the time to reassure me and point me in the right direction. His WordPress blog is http://amsterdamassassin.wordpress.com/ if anyone wants to have a look at what he writes – sounds interesting.

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The hidden cost of publishing on Kindle and Smashwords

To be strictly fair, it costs nothing to publish on Kindle because Amazon don’t charge for their publishing service.

However…

In order to publish on Kindle you need to open a publishing account with Amazon. You have to fill in a form that details things like your name, address, bank account, etc., all of which is fine, and then you have to have an exemption certificate (as a foreign writer) from US taxes. Amazon send you to an IRS site that tells you how to get a certificate.

You have to send documentation, preferably a copy of your passport (but there are other things that will serve if you don’t have one). Fine.

However…

Your copy of your passport has to be certified by a notary. (Well, unless you fancy sending your passport to America by post and hoping it will return within three months… They don’t advise that, by the way.)

This is where the costs start to mount. To begin with, notaries are few and far between so wherever you go it will probably take you at least half a day to make the round trip. (There are none in my local town.) Then, they charge. I did some research. They are, most of them, quite reticent about their charges but a few make some general charges public, whilst pointing out that there might be further expenses in any particular job. (Note that I think it’s quite reasonable that they should charge for doing work – I am not criticising notaries in any way.)

It seems the minimum would be £140. If I wanted two certificates – and I would need one for Amazon and one eventually for Smashwords – it would probably cost more. Possibly not twice as much, but still more. Plus, for some reason I can’t apply for one for Smashwords until I earn a certain amount and then get a letter from Smashwords so that could mean two separate outlays of £140.

Now, if I paid that out,  even working on Amazon’s (and Smashword’s) generous royalty rates, I would have to sell about 200 books to break even. That’s right. I would effectively earn nothing until I had sold 200 books.

In a niche genre such as m/m fiction, a new writer is unlikely to sell this many straight away, if at all. So publishing with Kindle begins to look like vanity publishing for a non-American author.

I already knew about the requirements and the possible costs from Smashwords. There is, however, a huge difference. Smashwords do not ask for an exemption certificate ‘up front’ so you can wait and see how your book is doing before deciding to spend a lot of money getting one. And even if you don’t, Smashwords imply that the only problem will be that they will have to withhold 30% of any money due to you unless and until you provide the certificate. That reduces your earnings considerably but you would still be earning. Amazon won’t let you create an account until you have the certificate.

I feel really disappointed. I could, in theory, afford to get a certificate. But is there any point? This isn’t false humility by the way, just realism. Yes, I believe in my work, but I know that sales in the genre are not that high whether authors are self-published or published by a publishing firm. Yes, I have more than one book to publish, but it could still take a long time to see any return on my ‘investment’. I’m just not convinced I could justify it to myself. It sounds, as I said, too much like vanity publishing. Of course, I could offset the costs against each of the books I have ready, and it doesn’t sound so bad when I break it down like that, but I’m still not sure whether it’s really justifiable, with no ‘track record’ or whether I’m just indulging in wishful thinking about publication. The figures are further affected by the conversion rates from dollars to pounds and the 20% tax rate in UK. I would end up earning about £1 per copy at best, even before the notary costs or the withholding of tax by Smashwords. I really wonder if it’s worth it!

To add insult to injury, I had looked at Amazon’s formatting after posting here about it, and it wasn’t really so different from the Smashwords variety. The biggest difference is that you upload a filtered web page instead of a word.doc. and the table of contents has to be generated before you start rather than after you’ve uploaded. So I spent the afternoon playing with formatting, had the thing ready for Amazon, felt really proud of myself, and then went into the account set-up only to be faced with the costs I have outlined.

Oh yes – and it can take a minimum of two months before the IRS send you a certificate of exemption so it would be November at the earliest before I could realistically hope to upload to Amazon. And that’s if I could get an appointment with a notary before we go back to Portugal in the next couple of weeks. It would be more likely to be early next year.

Free and simple self-publishing? To say I’m disillusioned is the understatement of my year. I’ll be sticking with Smashwords for now, and as I’ve sold one copy of my novella at $2.99 I don’t think I’ll be contacting a notary any time soon.

Any comfort, encouragement or commiseration gratefully received…!

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Summer writing and procrastination

I have been lazy about posting – some kind of summer doldrums, perhaps. I have not been idle, but have been writing more fanfiction than original fiction, and have been involved in beta work for other people. None of this activity ever seemed appropriate to write about for this blog, which is intended to be where I discuss original writing.

The novella I published on Smashwords – Silkskin and the Forest Dwellers – has not done well. Once I ended the free period (after a month) and set a price ($2.99), the downloads came to a complete halt. This made me stop worrying about applying for a US tax exemption for foreign writers, and also made me postpone reformatting for Amazon, though I should probably do that. The US tax forms look threatening, and I am dreading trying to work through them.

I have put a lot of effort into making the formatting as good as possible, and have been shocked at the low standards achieved in this respect by some professional publishers. The widespread criticism of self-publishing  for poor editing and formatting is not, I think, deserved, and seeking so-called professional help is not necessarily the way to go. There are good and bad examples on both sides.

My heart sinks at the thought of the different formatting rules for Amazon. It probably won’t be so bad once I get down to it. Lots of people manage it without problems so why shouldn’t I? Smashwords was an uphill struggle at first, but I now feel confident so Amazon shouldn’t be any different. And once I’ve done it all for one story, the others should be easy. Right?

My heart also sinks at the thought of needing to advertise. I don’t have (and frankly don’t have either the inclination or time to have) either a Facebook or Twitter account. I lean towards longer posts and conversations, and more personal privacy. But some researchers are beginning to suggest that too much self-marketing can be counter-productive. I hope they’re right!

What I do think I need to do is get my Amazon edition sorted and then format the other stories I have ready so that I have more chance of attracting attention. Research also claims that writers do better with a number of stories for sale. The stories are there – written, edited, and ready to go. I have some kind of publishing block which is as unconstructive as writer’s block must be.

Meanwhile, I continue to write fanfic, at least partly because I can post it easily (to AO3 – Archive Of Our Own) and get feedback. And yet I have a lot of original stories to tell!

Have any of you got advice or encouragement to offer?

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Birthday – a poem

 

Birthday.

While I wait, the clock chimes.
I note time’s passing and the hour
Of  bewitchment nears,
Weaving the magic of years.

Can a single second add maturity,
Or responsibility of a sudden kind?
Does the right to roll home drunk and appear on the electoral roll
Depend upon a minute’s passing?

Is there a difference
(Like day and night, like dark and light,
Like sweet and sour, like here and gone,)
Between this moment and the next one?

I  have been powerless to show my love
Until the new day proves you adult,
Just turned sixteen (and sweet, unkissed);
But soon we can consumate our dream.

What if the striking hour should turn you back
Into an ordinary man,
Available at last, no longer charmed?
Could that enchantment fade so fast?

Before we find out, before time has had time
To trick our senses, plays with our love like a wanton god,
At exactly midnight I shall kiss you and say,
‘Happy Birthday.’

I ought, perhaps, to point out that I am British and in UK the ‘age of consent’ (for both men and women) is 16. The voting age is, however, 18. I should also make it clear that this was written with a particular story in mind, and both protagonists in the story are teenagers – the narrator is not intended to be me! I had been reading about the tragedy of teenagers placed on the sex offenders’ register because they dared to love each other at just the wrong age, and their parents not only objected but called down the full force of the law. I think most police forces and prosecutors are more lenient today, but this was written a few years ago.

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July Reading and Viewing


Reading

3July E Savage City**** – Sophia McDougall. The final part of the Romanitas trilogy. Excellent and gripping writing but… During the first two books I got incredibly attached to some of the core characters. Now that I know their fates and futures (some dead, some on unexpected  paths) I don’t think I will ever be able to re-read the first two parts. That saddens me in some ways because I adored those books. The third – well, clever and satisfactory but not quite as special.

4July E Beneath the Neon Moon** – Theda Black. I usually like werewolf stories but this was strange. Two guys, strangers to each other, are kidnapped and chained together in a cellar. One is bitten and will soon ‘change’; the other is intended as his first prey. They have to trust each other in order to escape though the bitten one will still be a werewolf. Unsatisfactory.
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5July E Blind Items*** – Kate McMurray. Forgettable, though well written, m/m romance between a left-wing journalist and the son of a conservative senator.

6July E Blind Space*** – Marie Sexton. Space pirates. Some rather dubious non-consensual sex, fetishes, justifications of piracy, and insufficiently developed characters. I was sufficiently interested to read to the end, and the actual writing was quite good but I wouldn’t recommend it wholeheartedly.

7July E Human for a Day**** – edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Jennifer Brozek. An intriguing anthology of stories where something or someone becomes human for twenty four hours. There are swords, cities and statues as well as robots and zombies. As usual in an anthology the quality was varied but there were more memorable stories than poor ones.

7July E Are You There, Blog?*** – Kristen Lamb. This was an attempt to show authors how to use social media to sell themselves and their books. Despite the blurb, I learnt nothing new, and found the style (and humour) too American to read happily. I’m sure I probably ought to be on Facebook and Twitter but for now I won’t be following the advice. But it might inspire me to post about it…

8July E Forgotten Soul*** – Natasha Duncan Drake. Another story by this author who is a friend. I can admire the writing and plotting but as I am less than enamoured of most vampire stories I am unlikely to read the sequels.

9July E The Only Gold***** – Tamara Allen. Unusual thriller with an m/m sub-plot, set in nineteenth century New York banking circles. Pinkerton’s agents end up chasing bank robbers through one of the worst ever snow storms which paralyses the city. Interesting and well written.

10July E City Falcon***** – Feliz Faber. Intriguing m/m romance based around the research into using birds of prey to control bird strikes at airports.

11July E The Book of Dragons* – E. Nesbit. Collection of Nesbit’s short stories about dragons. I vaguely remembered enjoying her children’s books but this irritated me. The narrator voice was omnipresent and alternated between condescending and coy. Even at the time these were written this must have grated on a large part of the readership.

12July E Floaters** – Joe Konrath and Henry Perez. A short and competent thriller. Konrath is a good writer but in his attempts to have lots and lots of ebooks available I feel he has lost the interest of this reader at least. This story, co-written with Perez and involving both writers’ detectives, never really gets into the character of either.

13July E Hammer and Air** – Amy Lane. This was intended as an m/m fairy tale but I thought it was heavy handed and had far too much explicit sex for the genre.

14July E A devil’s own luck**** – Rowan McAllister. Competent and entertaining m/m version of a typical Georgette Heyer style Regency novel.

15July E The Song of Achilles** – Madeline Miller. A disappointing retelling of the Trojan Wars which got rave reviews (which was why I bought it). Unlike other modern versions of old legends and ancient history this was too short, and it was impossible for me to become sufficiently involved in the story to forget the ending. The narrator was Patroclus and he was an interesting character but Achilles never really became three dimensional.

17July E His Hearth** – Mary Calmes. Forgettable story of a demon hunter who needs a ‘hearth’ or human to ground him.

19July E Enlightened* – J.P.Barnaby. An unlikely tale of teenage m/m romance. Very American and very annoying as it turned out to be the first part of a serial, not a series as the title page suggested. I won’t be reading the rest.

21July E Kill for me***** – Karen Rose. The third part of a story started in Die for me, though the books can be read alone. Excellent convoluted thriller, which, as usual for this author, has the reader on edge until the last minute.

26July E Stolen Moments** – Ariel Tachna. Long and boring story detailing the difficulties of a gay relationship in the southern states of America. I felt sympathy for the characters but kept wanting to yell at them to emigrate to Europe. The writing was good and I’m sure the author had the best of intentions. Maybe the book just wasn’t directed at me.

I read more original fiction than usual this month, perhaps because I was in Portugal with no TV, magazines, etc.  Unfortunately, the books I had loaded on my Kindle didn’t include many ‘keepers’.

Viewing

24July The Prestige**** Interesting film, with some good acting by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bayle. The story concerns the deadly rivalry between two stage magicians at the end of the nineteenth century and moves between England and America. The insights into stage magic were fascinating. The plot was occasionally impenetrable.

25July The Bridge***** Final part of the Swedish/Danish TV thriller based around police co-operation between the two countries after a body is discovered on the centre of the bridge between them. Some excellent acting and suspense – this was a ten part story with each part taking an hour. Subtitles.

31July Mirror Mirror**** An interesting take on the story of Snow White. The plot is tweaked slightly to good (and feminist) effect. Some lovely special effects and clever fight scenes. I adored the monster. Some of the humour was rather heavy handed. Altogether a pleasant experience but not a film that I would bother rewatching.

Fewer films etc. than usual, because in Portugal we can only get news channels on TV and I hadn’t taken DVDs.

For anyone who’s wondering, the photograph is of a wall of cut plaster work in Alsfeld, Germany.

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While our music gently plays – a poem

I’ve been somewhat absent – our Portuguese internet provision is erratic to say the least. The lemons in our garden are erratic too. Now I’m back in the UK and back online. So to get another post in before the end of the month I thought I’d share a poem I wrote some time ago, originally for a gamer who was also a musician.

While my music gently plays.

There are goblins playing in our streets tonight;
Sharp teeth snapping,
Thin hands clapping,
While my guitar gently sings.

There are ogres creeping past our gate tonight;
Large ears swivelled,
Huge feet muffled,
While your drums gently thrum.

There are orcs standing at our corner tonight;
Fierce arms folded,
Wild faces calmed,
While my pipe gently thrills.

There are elves travelling on our road tonight;
Bright eyes laughing,
Wide mouths grinning,
While your accordion gently hums.

There are warriors knocking at our door tonight;
Shields held proudly,
Swords shining boldly,
While my cymbals gently clash.

There are creatures pasing through our town tonight;
Filling your dreams,
Playing my games,
While our music gently plays.