I’m sure you’re probably getting sick of seeing my reviews, but I do have another quick one to share. From WickedlilPixie at Writings of a Wicked Book Addict:
Unholy Ghosts is the first book in Stacia Kane’s Downside Series & it was phenomenal! It is one of the most grittiest, in your face Urban Fantasies I’ve ever read & I loved it…If you read one new Urban Fantasy series, make it Unholy Ghosts.
So something I’ve been thinking about for a while, as you guys know, is what urban fantasy truly is as a genre, and where it’s going, and how my books fit into it. (Remember the The Books Are Out There post?
And of course we’re now exactly one week away from the official release date of UNHOLY GHOSTS. And I’m wondering how people will respond to it, whether they’ll love it or hate it, whether the darkness will be too much for them, whether they’ll accept a drug addict as a heroine, all of those things that I worried and wondered about even as I wrote it.
But here’s the thing. I feel like urban fantasy has, as a genre, been somehow relegated to the “Girl” section. It’s been dismissed as “Girl books.” And many guys really do seem to think this way. I’ve seen a lot of them in various places referring to UF as “just paranormal romance with a little more action,” or “hot girl in leather solves mystery, sleeps with paranormal creatures.”
And honestly? I think to some extent that’s true. No, hear me out. Other worlds and paranormal creatures do tend to be a big part of urban fantasy. The heroines often have sex (mine certainly do) and it’s often with paranormal creatures (Megan sleeps with a demon, for example, but in Chess’s world the only paranormal creatures are ghosts, and they don’t really make good bed partners, what with the trying to kill you and all). Read the rest of this entry »
Okay. I’ll be doing a regular blog post tomorrow, but I wanted to quickly post these videos. They’re both from Dragon*Con 2009; the first is me reading Chapter Two of UNHOLY GHOSTS, and the second is me discussing how “Downspeech” came about.
The first video is about 20 minutes long, so just be aware! (The second is only a couple of minutes.) I hope you enjoy them both; and since I hate the way I photograph and especially how I look on video, please be kind!
First, I have a new review to share with you for UNHOLY GHOSTS, from LOCUS magazine:
“Chess is an intriguing character, a powerful Church witch with magic tattoos, but also a serious drug problem… She’s not your usual heroic protagonist, and this isn’t one of your humorous urban fantasies, but rather a lively thriller, full of action and ghostly encounters.”
Next, thanks to everyone who downloaded the 5-chapter sample of UNHOLY GHOSTS, and emailed me or contacted me on Facebook or Twitter to let me know how much you enjoyed it! For those of you who haven’t yet read it, why not? UNHOLY GHOSTS sample (The link is also permanently up on the UNHOLY GHOSTS page on the site, where the description and blurbs are.
Which brings me to today’s topic (see how neatly that was done?)
A while ago someone asked me in comments about blurbs, and last night I got an email asking about them again, which reminded me that I wanted to blog about them. Keep in mind this is my experience, and my thoughts, as always. Read the rest of this entry »
And I’m starting to freak out a little, to be honest. Eep!
So I have some stuff to share with you about UNHOLY GHOSTS, but first, this morning my Faerie had her preschool graduation, which was a big teary deal for Mommy. She’s been going to a Baptist preschool nearby; a Baptist school because A) it’s close; B) it’s not as expensive as most of the other schools; and C) most importantly, when we went to take a look at the place the staff were so friendly and charming and non-judgy, and they were so kind to Faerie, and she liked it so much. I haven’t regretted it once, although I admit it’s a tad weird when she starts asking questions about religion etc. etc. I’m happy for her to learn about religions, though, and about different people believing different things, and the school is seriously fantastic. Her official last day is Friday and I know I’m going to be a gibbering mess.
Aaanyway. Graduation was this morning, and the kids gave a little concert, which is awesome. Awesome not just because, you know, it’s our baby on that stage, but because there’s always that one boy who refuses to play along. At the Christmas concert he just stood and stared at the audience the whole time, leading the hubs and I to invent dialogue for him, such as “I don’t trust you people,” or the classic Buscemi-on-SNL-inspired, “You’re all dead and you don’t even know it.” Today he played along a little more, but when the kids sang how God is watching and knows everything, he stood there arms akimbo rather than doing the hand movement; the rest of the class was happy in the knowledge that God knows everything, but Surly was berating us. Warning us. Informing us that we’re not going to get away with shit, so we shouldn’t even think about it. Surly is awesome. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, okay, not show you because I have no pictures. But I can tell you about it, in quick little bites.
First, though, some news! I got word yesterday morning that UNHOLY GHOSTS has already gone for a second printing!! Hopefully this means people are preordering it and hearing about it and getting excited about it–well, yeah, obviously it does but you know what I mean–which is extremely exciting. So have you preordered your copy yet? Because, you know, you wouldn’t want to get to the store and not be able to take one home, would you? Especially not when next week I’m going to talk about some special giftie thingies we’re doing for those who buy the book, either preorder or at the store. You don’t want to miss out! (Um, at least I hope you don’t.)
I’m going to be posting a lot of excerpts here, and I’ll be all over the internet with interviews and all that good stuff. Can you believe we only have three weeks until release day?
Anyway. As you all know I’ve been all over the Northeast in the last week and a half, starting here in GA and heading up to MA to see Caitlin. I rented a car for the drive, and I have to give huge credit to Hertz, because that car was awesome. It was one of those Chevy XXRs, the ones that look kinda like PT Cruisers? Really fun to drive and I got the satellite radio with it, which was awesome. They have stand-up comedy stations; I listened to those a LOT and had a blast. (See, I’d reserved the cheapest economy car, but my location didn’t have one, so I got the XXR and the satellite for free. Plus, they were great when I turned the car back in just a tad later than I was supposed to. Anyway. Go Hertz!) Read the rest of this entry »
Fans of urban fantasy will find themselves sleep deprived after they start this new series. It’s that hard to put down. Characters with larger-than-life personalities rule against a dark and dangerous backdrop. This is an exciting world you’ll want to escape into again and again. Don’t worry, the next will be out in July!
I also have some VERY IMPORTANT NEWS. Due to some seekrit behind-the-scenes-y bookstore-and-publisher stuff, the release date for UNHOLY MAGIC, the second Downside book, has been delayed by two weeks to JULY 6TH. (Unless something changes, this means you Australia/New Zealand folks will get the book one week before the US, Canada, and the UK/Ireland. Yay you, you get to be the first ones finally, how cool!) Anyway. I apologize to everyone but about the delay but I swear it’s for a good reason and we just might have some stuff here to at least make the waiting easier. So make sure you check back!
First of all, oops. Remember how Ann Aguirre came and did that awesome guest post, with a contest? Well, see, I thought Ann was going to pick the winners, and Ann (quite reasonably) thought I would. So she emailed me the other day to ask who her winner was, and I of course felt stupid. Anyway. Again using my tried-and-tested-very-scientific-method of having my child pick a random number, I have now selected a winner, and I apologize to Ann and to all of you for the delay. The winner is: Commenter #26, Caitlin U!!
Caitlin, please email me your info, and I’ll forward it on to Ann ASAP.
Now, do I have something cool to show you guys!! HarperVoyager, who are publishing the Downside books in the UK and Australia, have put together a promotional video to celebrate their fifteen years of publishing the best fantasy/urban fantasy/all things kickass. (And seriously, they do; I have shelves of Voyager books from when we lived there.)
This video is AWESOME, guys. Seriously. I was all excited and giggly when I saw it, especially the bit with My Books. So check it out; it’s not superlong but it is supercool:
What Stace had to say on Saturday, March 27th, 2010
Since I’m just in the mood, I decided to post a new Sneak Peek from UNHOLY GHOSTS. We’re juuuust about 8 weeks away from release day, can you believe it?
The back cover copy:
THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.
The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen and constantly attack the living. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch and freewheeling Debunker and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing the human liars or banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot and dangerous water.
Chess owes a murderous drug lord named Bump a lot of money. And Bump wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust with a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.
This is from Chapter Six, and it’s Chess’s initial visit to a family whose haunting she’ll be Debunking.
I’m in a release day frame of mind lately, what with DEMON POSSESSED being released last week. See, it’s not just that that book was released, it’s also that it means UNHOLY GHOSTS will be out soon. Well, soonish, lol; three months.
And like any other writer with a book coming out, I’m thinking about promo. See, I want you to buy the book(s). I want you to get all of your friends to buy the book(s). I want to sell thousands and thousands and thousands of copies. I want to hit the NYT list, or the USA Today list, or the Publisher’s Weekly list, or Bookscan or whatever. Lists make writers happy, you see. And they make publishers happy, and everybody’s happy. Happiness is good.
And of course, I would hope that you guys, my lovely readers, would want to help me sell books or hit lists or whatever. Because we have something of a symbiotic relationship, you know, you and me. I write books, and you buy them, and when you buy them you encourage me to write more of them, and it’s all very cheering and makes me feel warm and happy inside to think that I’ve given you something you enjoy (I honestly love giving presents; I’m one of those weird people at holidays who gets more excited about the things I’m giving than what I might get).
But here’s the thing. While I would hope that you would want to help, I don’t expect you to. I’m surprised and thrilled and grateful whenever you do, but I don’t expect it. At all. Ever. And I certainly wouldn’t presume to INSIST you do, or berate you for not doing so. Or imply that you’re stupid for not purchasing my books in the exact fashion that I would prefer you to do so.
Sadly, it seems sometimes as if I–okay, I and several of my close friends–are alone in that feeling, that instinctive cringing when we see readers being treated like nothing more than open wallets whose sole purpose is to drive said writer to greater glory.
Do I want to hit a list? Of course, although I would never presume to think I have a real shot at it. Do I think it would be great if readers everywhere held off on buying my books until the day of release? Well, sure, I guess so, but see the aforementioned “I would never presume to think I have a shot at a list anyway so what does it matter,” answer. (Yeah, I know, that wasn’t the full answer, but it’s what I meant.)
Are there things readers can do to help a favorite author hit a list? Yeah, but not as many as you think, really. Sure, waiting until release day–or the day before, since books release on Tuesdays and sales are counted for the entire week, so buying on Monday is okay–helps. That’s a good thing to do, if you’re interested, but really that’s about it. It’s certainly all I would ever think to ask.
See…I work for YOU. I mean, yes, I work for myself, but I DO the work for you. You are my audience. You are not my slaves. You do not exist in order to feed my ego or allow me to add a shiny “List” pin to my vest. It’s not for me to tell you where you’re allowed to buy my books or in what format. I’m just amazed and grateful that you buy them at all.
I’ll be perfectly honest here. There are times when it feels as if the world of readers and the world of writers are at war. Readers want certain things; they have a right to want those things as consumers. But writers/publishers want certain things as well, and we have a right to want those things as content creators and producers. And don’t even get me started on copyright violations/piracy, and some of the justifications for those. Again, to be honest? There are times when I see discussions of it, or come across my books on filesharing sites, and have the sick, deep feeling that I should just give the hell up. I can never “win”–by which I mean earn a decent living consistently, when I’m being stolen from.
And it’s not just the financial theft, it’s the feeling that someone has literally reached into my mind and taken something from me without permission. It feels like I got drunk and told a deep secret to someone I thought was a friend, and that so-called friend turned around and told the world, and they’re all laughing at me. Or like a when a guy you really like sleeps with you and then never calls you again, you know? It makes me feel worthless, and frustrated, and lonely and sad. Sure piracy bothers me because of the money, sure, but really?
Piracy just hurts. It hurts to think someone is using you for entertainment but doesn’t think you deserve any compensation for that. It hurts to think you’re seen as less than human; as some sort of machine which exists for the gratification of others but is not permitted any gratification of its own. It hurts to feel that someone thinks they’re entitled to the fruits of your labor–the expression of the truth as you see it and the worlds and people you created and love–without paying for them. It doesn’t feel like a royalty payment was stolen from you. It feels like a tiny part of your soul was stolen from you.
That shit hurts.
And I imagine it hurts readers, too, when they’re made to feel–from being yelled at, lectured, or treated like they’re stupid–that they exist solely to provide the writer with titles and accolades. That just buying and reading and enjoying and talking about a book isn’t enough, that they now must buy it at certain times, in certain places, in certain formats, at certain phases of the moon, or whatever. Just as writers are not simply typewriters churning out words, readers are not simply notches on that big bestseller belt. They are people.
I’m not really sure where I’m going with this. Just that I think it’s wrong.
Do I want to sell a lot of books? Hell, yes!
But I don’t want to just sell a lot of books. I want to entertain a lot of people. I want to give them something. That’s what this is about, not numbers or lists. It’s about books and writing and reading and the way when we read a book we love we feel connected to that book, and those characters, and that author. And when we discover another fan of those books we have a connection with that person, and books created that connection, and it wouldn’t exist without writers, readers, and publishers.
So do I want to hit a list? Of course. Have I thought of various promotional things to do, fun things, that may help facilitate that? Sure.
Do I want to hit a list at the expense of readers, by berating them or nagging them, by treating them like my minions or like they fucking owe me that goddamn list, so they better get off their fat asses and do what I say?
No.
That’s not worth it to me. I don’t want it that way. It wouldn’t mean anything that way.
I may never hit a list. But I will always be grateful that people have bought my books, and read them and loved them and took the time to tell me. Yes, this is a business, and I want to succeed in it and make money. But not at the expense of readers, and not at the expense of my own soul.
So that’s it. Just some things I’m thinking of, and will continue to think of as we get closer to the summer and the release of the Downside books (finished copyedits on CITY OF GHOSTS last week, and am quite pleased, btw).
So…thanks.
ETA: Moira Rogers, who writes awesome books, has also done a post on this topic, and I highly recommend you check it out too. My response to it? Ditto.
What Stace had to say on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Yes, today is The Big Day. The third Megan Chase novel is released, in which demons are killed, mysteries are revealed, and at least one Very Big Question is answered.
Don’t you want to know what it is?! Of course you do. So go buy it!! It’s out there! On the shelf! Waiting for you!!
