Adventures in Self-publishing

I thought it was time for a change. For the last few months I've been hearing all these success stories from other authors. They've been singing the praises of releasing their back lists, or even new books, themselves. I had a book just sitting there on my hard drive all lonesome and sad. So I figured why not give it a try myself? As of the 19th of this month, I've gone Indie. It was surprisingly easy. A little revising here, some formatting there, a couple of helpful programs and presto, my very own Kindle book. It will be exciting to see how this goes, I think I'm going to enjoy this little adventure into self-publishing.

Puca: A Fantasy


A shape shifter with a twisted sense of humor and a love for humans.
A woman who doesn’t believe in Fairies.
A wayward teenager, little old ladies looking for Fairies in the garden, Brownies in charge of the kitchen and an evil Elf bent on revenge.
Welcome to Toddle House Bed and Breakfast, Enchanted Grove, Oregon, where things are not always as they seem and there’s always a cup of tea ready for whatever might pop in.
Available at
Amazon
And
Smashwords

Disclaimer:

This is a fantasy romance for adult readers, not a YA novel. It has some pretty steamy scenes. And I'd love to see comments from anyone who buys the book.

The Paranormal Romance Genre Box

I haven’t posted on my blog in quite awhile. I’m sorry. I plan to start posting more frequently.

I hope. Life has a talent for getting in the way of fun things.

I thought I’d begin the new posting year with an observation. Paranormal Romance is extremely limited. In the genre I’ve seen books about Witches, Wizards, Warlocks, Vampires, Werewolves, Shapeshifters of practically every sort, and a smattering of Ghosts. Heroines are frequently Vampire Hunters, Haunted Damsels, some were creature’s True Mate, a Witch, and occasionally some sort of Psychic (who almost always turns out to actually be a Witch.) Heroes are virtually always a hunky Vampire, Werewolf pack leader, Shapeshifter, Wizard, some sort of Demon, or sometimes an Angel. And of course let’s not forget the Djinn, various Fairy Princes and Princesses, and Mythological characters. As you can tell the line between paranormal and fantasy is blurred.

“So? What’s the problem?” you say. “All of those are paranormal.”

Well, yes. And no. We could get into a religious debate on several of these beings but that would just get everyone upset and we’d never get around to the point I’m trying to make here. Which is the Paranormal Romance genre is severely limited. It has been packed into a tiny little box with very thick walls no one seems to want to break through.

I have a theory about this that is similar to my theory on why Science Fiction Romance is just as limited (separate rant best left for another post.) Now here’s a simple question. Where are the stories about Telepaths, heroes and heroines with Telekinetic powers, characters who can Teleport? When was the last time you read a story about Remote Viewers? Dimension Travelers? And I mean characters who don’t have to cast some spell, get bitten, or be stolen/exiled/hidden at birth and raised by humans to do these things. In short, where are the really unusual paranormal stories?

I can tell you why you won’t find many stories like those above. Very few have ever been written. Why? Because a lot of writers don’t want to be bothered to do truly in depth research into the paranormal. A lot don’t want to research at all. I’ve even seen posted on a writers group the statement, “Let’s write a paranormal, we don’t have to research that.” Made me shudder.

“But I don’t have to research the paranormal because: A. I’m a Wiccan/Psychic/Witch. B. I’ve watched every episode of Buffy, Angel, and X-Files and read every Laurel K Hamilton and Jim Butcher book out there. C. It’s paranormal and I can make up anything I want because it’s all fake anyway. Or, D. All of the above.”

Now, in the interest of clarity, I am not a Psychic, Wiccan or Witch. I have seen Buffy, Angel, and X-Files, and I have read Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files but not Laurel K Hamilton’s books. I’ve also been reading books on the paranormal for around 35 years and count as friends several paranormal researchers. I’ve attended lectures by Psychics and I used to be able to see and feel auras. I’m out of practice now.

So, what is my point? Readers love the kind of Paranormal Romance books I seem to be ripping up at. My point is simply this. Next time you sit down to write a Paranormal, try thinking outside the box. Read up on things like Telepathy and other mind powers, check out some accounts of people who have experienced phenomena of extreme strangeness. Do a search on Remote Viewing, you can even take classes in it. Expand your horizons, kick some holes in the genre box, there’s a lot of stuff out there that would make wonderful stories.

All it takes is a little research.

Lessons

I have learned a few things over the last couple months.

First I am definitely not and outliner. No I am what some call a pantster. I get my idea for a story or a character pops in to visit and I start writing. I may have a vague idea of where the story will go but most of the time I don't. I've discovered the characters always know, even if they won't share it with me until the last minute.

Second I am an outliner. Yes, schizo, I know. But what I've found is the perfect way to outline without outlining. And all it took was deciding to turn my fantasy romance book Puca into a movie. I found a group of great film and screenwriting people on Twitter which in turn led me to beat sheets and the three act structure. I had a vague idea that just possibly I could use this in my fiction writing but I had no clue how. Then I got some great advice from Jacqueline Lichtenberg and now the story is flying again.

Helpful Links:
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html
http://scriptchat.blogspot.com/
http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools/
http://www.rareform.com/screenplay-editor/beats.php