Another View--or two--on Self-publishing.

Most of you know my take on self-publishing. I've posted about it HERE. You also probably know that I am a reviewer at Underground Book Reviews--a site dedicated to reviewing "Indy-published books." We take a fairly broad view of "Indy," including small publishers, vanity presses (as long as they aren't imprints of a major publishing house), and self-published. At UBR, we're all very committed to providing honest reviews and feedback to authors, even when it means exposing them to some harsh truths about what they've put out. You can read about my approach to reviewing in this blog post: So, You Want Me to Review Your Book, and also at UBR HERE.

I've also written about the long haul of the writing life...it's a marathon, not a sprint. You can read my thoughts about writing as an endurance sport on author KW McCabe's website (and updated HERE in 2014), and about the patience required during the writing, querying, and publishing process HERE and HERE .

Yes, I've taken a pretty harsh tone for someone who did self-publish the electronic versions of my books (the print versions are published by Casperian Books, a full-service, no cost, fees, or book purchase requirements to the author, or, as the publishing industry truism says, "money flows to the author"). But, if you read those posts, you'll see that I'm not opposed to self-publishing, but I am very much against rushing to publish without "paying one's dues" by putting in the time and effort needed to learn and hone the craft.

Yesterday, an opinion piece appeared on Huff Post: Self-publishing: An Insult to the Written Word.

An insult to the written word.

Wow.

That's harsh. Even by my standards. And as a read through the comments (time-worthy) shows, many of her points really do lack validity. But, many of them don't.

A better, more evenhanded and accurate take on the impact of self-publishing on the reading and writing world can be found in Kristin Lamb's Blog Generation Author Snowflake & the High Cost of Instant Gratification.

This.

This.

This!

All authors and aspiring authors, all those who "won" NaNoWriMo in November and rushed to Create Space or some other instant-gratification site to "publish,"--you need to read this. Take it to heart. And while the "participation award" mentality may be more pronounced in the millennial generation, don't think any of us are exempt from the excitement and ego-stroking of some instant gratification. That's pretty clear in all the self-published novels from the 40-, 50-, 60-, 70+ year-old authors. While many are well-written, with great story-telling, an equal (or greater) number are premature publications, put out by "good writers" who didn't take the time and make the effort to become better, to strive for "great."

As Lamb predicted, the slush pile has been dumped in the reader’s lap and it has devalue what it means to say, “I am a published author.” It's been overrun with rough drafts from those who have always been told they're "good" writers. Sure, they're good--more than good enough for the writing in their life--the annual Christmas letters, the college-essays, their personal blogs. But is it good enough to be a "professional"--a published novelist?

Probably not.

In academia, good enough is a C...it's average. A "good" athlete doesn't walk on to a pro team without putting in an awful lot of work first. Why assume it's different for writing?

What's the solution to the glut of not-ready-for-prime-time published books out there?

That's the big question for all of us--authors, agents, publishers--isn't it?

We're still in the midst of the mayhem. A new model for publishing is still thrashing around, trying to emerge. It hasn't fully formed and worked out what it is yet.

I do think it's going to become more imperative for reviewers to give honest reviews, not just 5-star hoping for the same in return. I also think it's a disservice if/when reviewers only post a review if they can give >3-stars. That's not really helping anyone, is it? If an author has asked for the review, give it to them--the one they earn. They have every opportunity before asking for a review to find critique partners, edit, revise, rewrite, go through beta readers, rewrite again. Their failure in due diligence shouldn't give them a pass to not receive a bad review when it's merited.  Too many of us are worried about "revenge reviews" coming back at our own work if we're that honest. I'd like to think any petty, revenge-reviews would be obvious, so wouldn't really cause any real damage. Maybe that's naive.

We do need more review sites like Underground Book Reviews, where the reviewers are held to a high standard for our reviews (higher, at least, then I've found at some review sites where it's clear they're just pumping out 5-star reviews based on the back cover blurb and maybe some info they found on the author's website.). We are required to read the book, and we post the review the book earns, not the one the author necessarily wants.

Whatever the new publishing landscape turns into, one thing is clear: Self-publishing is here to stay. How does it become something that lets saying "I am a published author" retain its value?

I wish I knew.

RELEASE DAY! The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods

It's here! It's here! The day has finally arrived! My third novel, the second book in the Chupacabra Trilogy, was officially released by Casperian Books today!

 The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods

To all of you who have followed along for the past 9 days leading up to this, reading the character interviews, and entering into the daily drawing to win a free book, THANK YOU! I sincerely appreciate your support and encouragement.

Congratulations to all the contest winners: Connie D, Bob S, Pat B, Jennifer K, Lori D, Phyllis G, Keith W, Julie N, and Henny H.  I hope you enjoy the story, whichever book you selected. And please consider writing an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other online bookseller websites, and recommending the book to your friends. Word of mouth from satisfied readers is a writer's most effective marketing tool! And please click on Bob's name to check out his blog post about The Un-Familiar---and then read on for more of Bob's great writing.

To wrap up this lead up to the books unveiling, I'll leave you with this: some of the lyrics, and a link to the video, of Demons by Imagine Dragons. I first heard this song while writing an early draft of The Un-Familiar and then, like now, it gave me chills. If ever a song completely captured the essence of a story, this one does for The Un-Familiar. I played it every morning to inspire and motivate me to write. If you've read the character interviews over the past 9 days and/or the first book in the trilogy, Ye Gods!, you'll have some idea of why the words are such a perfect fit. If not, have a listen, read the lyrics, and check back after you've read The Un-Familiar and let me know what you think--is this the perfect theme song for the story, or what?

Demons by Imagine Dragons

(lyrics from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/imaginedragons/demons.html)

When the days are cold

And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold

...

I wanna hide the truth

I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There’s nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

Don’t get too close

It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

Take a look and listen on YouTube: DEMONS by Imagine Dragons and tell me what you think. Does it give you goosebumps too? If not, it just might after you read The Un-Familiar!

Thank you all again for stopping by to read, entering the contest, and being the supportive, wonderful readers and friends you are!

Interview with the Chupacabra!

Here we are, only ONE DAY TO GO until the release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods, and one chance left to win your FREE copy of the book (or of my other two titles, Marina Melee or Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons.)

Congratulations to Wednesday's drawing winner, Julie N!

If you haven't won yet, be sure to give it one more go--head over to the Contact page on my website and send me a message to get your name in the hat.

 

Introducing The Star of the Story, the one, the only--

The Chupacabra!

 

Here we are, the day before the release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods, with our ninth and final character interview. Today, I'm talking with the character this all revolves around, the chupacabra, aka Chewy, formerly known as Muggle, and before that, Paco, and before that, Toby.  Or, as he's known in some circles, the dog-god of Mercy.

LMH: Welcome, Chewy! OMG, you are sooooo adorable!

Chewy: Yip, yip, yip!

The Chupacabra, aka Chewy, aka Muggle,
aka Paco, aka Toby, aka
the dog-god of Mercy.
 

LMH: Oh, and canine, too. Chewy, sit. Thank you. OK, can I speak to the god?
Chewy (in a play bow, growling): Grrrrrrr.

 

LMH: Chewy? Come on. This is an interview. I need to talk with the god. Can you let him speak?
Chewy: Arf! Arf-arf!

 

LMH: No, I didn't mean "speak" like that, I mean, can Mercy talk with us?
Chewy (runs around the room and grabs a tug-toy.)

 

LMH: Ok, I'll tug for a minute if you promise to settle down afterwards so I can talk with Mercy. Excuse me a moment, folks.

•  
•  

LMH: There. No lay down. Down. Good girl. Mercy? Are you there?
Mercy (with a heavy sigh; his answer comes not in words, but in images and thoughts in my mind): I am here.

 

LMH: Welcome back. It must be rewarding to know so many animals believe in you.
Mercy: I am sad that so many still need to believe in me.

 

LMH: True. So, let's talk about some of the positive things in your life. How about Rafi?

Mercy: Unlike most of your species, Rafi is a good, good man. He deserves mercy and love more than most. He deserves the Captain.

LMH: How about the others: Kiki, Senora Milagros, Carmen?

Mercy: Ah, I love them all. They are remarkable and their life stories are meant to converge. I ensure that happens--with a bang. To find out how, read The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. Now, I must rest. I will release Chewy. She is eager to play.

 

Confused? As the god said, read The Un-Familiar and you won't be! Available tomorrow, July 1, from Casperian Books, or pre-order now at Amazon.

Now go register HERE for your chance to win a copy!

An Interview with Reverend Aurelio Peña

The COUNTDOWN continues to Friday's release of my latest novel, The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. Only 2 days--and 2 more character interviews--to go. That means 2 more chances to win a FREE BOOK, too! Don't forget: you have to enter the drawing every day. Names don't carry over from one day to the next, so head over to my website and send a message via the Contact page to be entered!

Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Keith W!

On to today's character interview.

 

Introducing Reverend Aurelio Peña

 

Our penultimate character interview is with the Reverend Aurelio Peña. Rev Peña, like Dr. Raines, is a newcomer to the cast. A celebrity televangelist, Peña preaches "prosperity gospel," the message that God wants us to be rich and selfish because He wants us to be happy and the way to happiness is to "get mine before someone else does." Given Peña's huge worldwide following, that message resonates with a lot of people. And, according to the corollary that those who are successful at amassing wealth must be pleasing to God because he's blessed them with riches, then Peña is certainly a favorite.

 

LMH: Welcome Reverend Peña. Oh, and I see you're not alone.

Peña: Vales la Peña (bows). You know my catch phrase, yes? It's a play on words. In Spanish, vale la pena means it's worthwhile. I switched that around, vales la Peña, you are worth the Peña...me (wink). Get it?

 

LMH: Yes, I completely get it. You're worth the pain. So, tell us...is there pain involved, following you?

(A petite serious looking woman in a dark business suit, her hair pulled back into a severe bun steps forward, one hand sliding under her blazer. Peña holds out a hand and stops her.)

Peña (to her): Esta bien, General. (Then to me): Tsk, tsk, tsk, such pessimism. An unattractive quality. Probably from low self-esteem. I can help. Follow me and you will learn the way to happiness. Trust me, vales la Peña.

 

LMH: That's nice. Can we get on with the interview? Oh, and can your staff wait outside?

Peña: Ah, my assistants. This is my head of security, who sitteth on my right-hand side, General Luisa Feliciano. (The woman nods). And these are the Women in White, as you said, my staff. (Pointing to each one in turn): My publicist, personal assistant, style consultant, hair stylist, personal physician, um, uh...(finger snapping)

Feliciano (whispering): Shoe shiner, sir.

Peña: Ah, right, my shoe shiner, and (waving absently) that one is in training. You may leave. Except the General. She stays with me at all times.

 

LMH: Fine. Now, tell us about how you came to be such a powerful preacher.

Peña: Ah, well, that is the god's will, isn't it?

 

LMH: Now, when you say gods, is that with a capital G, the God? And are you saying God's, singular, apostrophe s God's or plural, many gods? It's hard to tell just hearing it and I want to make sure I transcribe it correctly for the readers.

Peña: Shrewd. Most people don't catch that ambiguity when they hear the spoken word. That's why I prefer preaching orally to having things captured on paper. It leads to confusion. Questions. Verbally, my followers all hear what they want--need--to hear to believe.

 

LMH: Isn't that a bit...well, underhanded?

Peña: Underhanded? No, of course not. We do what we have to do to be successful. That's god's will.

 

LMH: Again, what god is that? God, capital G or are you referring to something--or someone--else?

Peña: Ah, very good. But, I can't tell you that. It would spoil the surprise. If your readers want to know, they'll have to get The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods to find out!

 

Thank you all for joining us. Now, either scroll down to read about the rest of the characters in The Un-Familiar, or head on over to www.lynnehinkey.com, look around, and send a message to enter for today's drawing for a free book. Or, better yet--do both!

 

Character Interview with Dr. Joe Raines

THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES! Only 4 days until the release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods (Casperian Books) and that means we have another winner of a FREE BOOK today, and 3 more chances to win!

Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Phyllis G!

Welcome to today's interview with Dr. Joe Raines! Don't forget to send a message via my Contact page on my website if you haven't won a book yet. There are still 3 more chances to win, but you have to sign-in each day for your name to be entered into the hat!
 

Introducing Dr. Joe Raines

Dr. Joe Raines is another new and captivating character who joins the cast in The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Dogs and Demons. Joe is the new professor of oceanography at UPR and he specializes in climate science. He'll also be Kiki's boss as she starts her college work-study program. Joe has established quite the reputation for himself in his field: he has published prolifically, and his weather and climate models are the most accurate around. So, why isn't he at some big, prestigious university or research institute? Makes one wonder what he's up to in Puerto Rico, doesn't it? Here he comes now.

 

A Joe Raines Look-Alike, and my choice
for who will play him in the movie version of
The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods.
Mmmmm...

LMH: Welcome...mmmmmmm...

•  
•  
•  

Joe (snapping his fingers): Hello? Did you have some questions?

 

LMH: Wow. Milagros was not kidding when she described those eyes: "dark gray, almost black, flecked with gold and green, like the Hubble telescope images of distant galaxies. Like she could fall into them for eternity." Mmmmm...dreamy.

Joe (clearing his throat): Thank you, I guess. You know, the University has a really good online training program on sexual harassment in the workplace. Maybe you should look it over?

 

LMH: Oh, sorry. Um, let's see. Where were we? Yes, The Un-Familiar. You're new to the cast. How was it working with this group, being the newcomer and all?

Joe: I enjoyed it. Jack and I got on great, and you know Kiki is always a pleasure. The girl is absolutely brilliant, if a little cocky. I suspect that's going to get her in trouble in the future. And don't let my scenes with Carmen fool you. I adore her. That's a good thing, too, isn't it? Since we spend a lot of time together. My favorite colleague of all, though, is Milagros--Señora Milagros. You know how touchy she gets if you leave off the title. My scenes with her? There was definite chemistry there.

 

LMH: Looking at your background, you seem to have an uncanny knack for being around right when the most extreme natural disasters strike: San Diego during the wildfires, Oklahoma for the tornadoes, and now, Puerto Rico when a series of hurricanes are lining up, ready to strike. Is there some reason for that, or mere coincidence?

Joe (grinning...and OMG is that a sexy smile...oh, excuse me. Sorry. He's not grinning anymore. Not that the scowl isn't sexy too, but...(sigh) back to the interview): Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe more. Read The Un-Familiar, then you decide.


LMH: Wow. Just wow (sigh). And thank you so much for joining us, Dr. Raines.

Now head on over to the contact page on my website and send me a message to be entered for today's chance to win a free book or your choice! 

Character Interview with Rafael Bishop Soto

Welcome to DAY 5 of my 10-day Count Down to the Release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods.  On each day for days 1-9, I'm posting an interview with one of the characters. For the listing of when and who will be in each interview, check HERE.

I'm also giving away one FREE BOOK each day until the July 1 release. To win, you have to enter the drawing. To enter, you have to go to my website and send me a message via the CONTACT page.

REMEMBER: Each day is a new contest, so you have to stop by and enter for a chance to win every day.

Congratulations to the winners to date: Connie Denison, Bob Sanchez, Jennifer Killby, and Pat Burke.

The Hubby drawing the name of today's winner from the hat.
Congratulations, Pat!

 

Introducing Rafael Bishop Soto

Rafael Bishop Soto is a newcomer to the trilogy's cast. He was mentioned as Eddie's "other partner" (non-work) in Ye Gods!, but we never met him. Rafi is an incredibly talented artist whose work has been shown in all the best galleries in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, LA, and, of course, Puerto Rico. Rafi has emerged from a tragic and traumatic past, to become a compassionate and caring man. In Ye Gods!, Señora Milagros explained that the god of Mercy takes the form of  a dog "because dogs represent the best of what humans could be...[showing] loyalty, love, perfect forgiveness." Rafi comes the closest of anyone I know to embodying those divine dogly qualities. Here he comes now...

LMH: Welcome, Rafi, it's a pleasure to have you here. Readers following these interviews have already heard quite a bit about you from Kiki. She's smitten.

Rafi: I just adore Kiki. Isn't she a hoot? Some crazy mix of Albert Einstein meets Dora the Explorer meets Elle Woods.

 

LMH: Now that's funny. I'd never thought of her that way, but it fits. I love that you two become such good friends, but let's talk about you. Yesterday, when I spoke with Eddie, he was reluctant to talk about your relationship.

Rafi: Oh, that's Eddie playing macho-cop. He really does do that whole man's-man thing well, doesn't he? You can understand why he has to, right? I mean, a gay guy, and a cop? In Puerto Rico? To get any respect, just to survive, he's always had to prove that he's tough enough. As a kid, and even at the police academy, the other kids would try to beat up on him. But Eddie's a big fella. His father was intent on toughening him up, so Eddie became a great boxer. You should see him. Talk about float like a butterfly! But he doesn't so much sting like a bee, it's more like knock you over like a bulldozer. Anyway, now, as an adult, it's the media and the politicians like former-Mayor Reyes that pick on him. He's had to grow a thick skin and set some firm boundaries between his personal and professional life. Really, a lot of that machismo is to keep everyone from finding out he's a big old softie.

 

LMH: You had a hard time growing up, too. Care to tell us about it? About your parents?

Rafi (He holds turns his arms palms up in front of me. White welts rise up across the wrists): It was hard enough having to retell all that in the book, so I'd rather not go through it again. I can tell you a bit about my parents and that might help you to understand why they did what they did. My father was a good ole boy from Mississippi, stationed here at Ramey Air Force Base, that's where he met my mother. He was southern Baptist and she was, of course, Catholic. That led to a stormy enough marriage. Both families opposed it---his because he was marrying a "brown-skinned foreign heathen" and hers because she was marrying a non-Catholic gringo. When it became clear that, as my father put it, there was something "funny" about me, his parents--I've never met that set of grands. They refused to have anything to do with me or my mother--said that I was God's revenge for the marriage. I was their worst nightmare come true, a gay, raised-Catholic, Latino in the family. Now, my mother's mother, mi abuelita--I called her Yaya--she came around. She did her best to take care of me and protect me. She was as pious as they come, mind you. Going to church every day, twice on Sunday, but she believed whatever God made, however he made it, was perfect, including me, just the way I am.

 

LMH: Have you reconciled with your parents?

Rafi: Yes. Maybe. No, not really. I've seen them and spoken with them, but I won't reconcile with them. I'm still working on the forgiveness part. I have a hard time with that because I know forgiveness doesn't mean accepting or condoning, but sometimes it feels that way. But, that's my issue to deal with, not yours. Let's talk about something a bit more cheerful, shall we?

 

LMH: OK, how about animals? You have quite a way with them, don't you?

Rafi:  I do! No one was more surprised by that than me. The only pet I ever had growing up was a goldfish. They inspired me. I was never more prolific than when they were all in the house. I've got a show coming up soon with my post-hurricane paintings of all the animals. I call it, "They Came Two-by-Two." They didn't, really. They came in droves.

 

LMH: Congratulations! Our time is up now. I know everyone will love meeting you in The Un-Familiar, and look forward to seeing even more of you ahead.  

Rafi: I'm so excited to see what's in store for me in the final book of the trilogy: Ye Goddess: A Tale of Girls and Gods so you had better go get writing!


LMH: Thank you all for stopping by! Now head over to my website to enter for your chance to win a FREE BOOK! You have your choice of books (Marina Melee, Ye Gods! or The Un-Familiar) in print or electronic versions. But you have to register each day to be entered anew each day!

OK, folks! You know the drill: head on over to my website and send me a message via the Contacts page to be entered into today's drawing for a free book! Today's winner will be announced tomorrow morning.

FREE BOOKS? Oh Yeah!

Well, I'm returning for a brief bout of self-promotion. The down-side is, it's self-promotion. The up-side? That means you all  have the chance to win FREE BOOKS!

The reason for my brief return to blog-ville and the book giveaway is to announce and promote the release, at long last, of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Dogs.



The Un-Familiar, by Lynne M Hinkey,
published by Casperian Books.
Available July 1, 2016
 

I started this promotion yesterday (6/22) on Facebook with this post:

ONLY 10 DAYS UNTIL THE JULY 1 RELEASE OF THE UN-FAMILIAR: A TALE OF CATS AND GODS.

To prepare, I'll be posting a brief interview with different characters here (on my FB author page) each day between now and then. Stop by, meet them, and see what they have to say.

Then head over to my website at www.lynnehinkey.com and send me a message from the Contact page to be entered into a drawing to win a FREE copy of one of my books (of your choosing): Marina Melee, Ye Gods! A Tale of Gods and Demons, or The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. I'll select one winner each day. Please share widely so everyone has a chance to enter/win!

Yesterday, I posted the interview with Señora Milagros, and today's interview is with Carmen del Toro. Both of those are below in this post. I'll copy this contest information along with a new character interview in a new blog posts each day, so be sure to come back, read up on your favorite characters from Ye Gods! and meet a few new members of The Un-Familiar cast. Then send me a message from my website to enter. Ten days, ten chances to win--so be sure to go back every day between now and next Friday!

Here's the schedule of interviews:
6/22 Señora Milagros Hernan -- eccentric woman reputed to be a witch; she's ready to retire from her real job as familiar to a god
6/23 Carmen del Toro -- homeless woman with a tragic past and Milagros' apprentice who will be taking her place
6/24  Kiki Cristatello -- a college freshman at 16 with a much-coveted work-study position in the climate research center. She's just gotten over her dog Muggle's death and her belief that she's a witch...or has she?
6/25  Captain Eddie Corredor -- promoted to police captain for discovering that the mysterious chupacabra that had been terrorizing the island two years ago was really just the mayor in disguise
6/26  Rafi Bishop Soto -- Eddie's compañero/pareja, with a past as tragic as Carmen's
6/27  Jack Halliman -- best-selling author of the Franz Henle murder mystery series. His last novel ventured into the paranormal, specifically, the chupacabra, much to his fans' dismay
6/28  Dr. Joe Raines -- the new oceanography professor specializing in climate science with an uncanny ability to always be in the thick of the storm
6/29  Rev Aurelio Peña -- a famous televangelist whose comforting prosperity theology has amassed him a wide following. He and Dr Raines have a long-running animosity, given their opposing world-views and goals. Oh, and that thing with that woman from their past...that, too
6/30 Chewy aka the dog-god of Mercy, aka the chupacabra -- he's back and up to more mischief. Or should I say SHE is up to no good? These damn pronouns...so confusing when dealing with a god who can be anything he-she-it wants to be.

While none of these characters wanted their photos included, here's a collage of the actors who I think would play them in the movie version of The Un-Familiar.

  And now, on to the interviews.

From 6/22

Introducing Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago. As you may recall, Señora Milagros is reputed to be a witch in the small town of Rincón, Puerto Rico, where she lives. It's not difficult to understand that, given her rather eccentric look. She favors flamboyant, flowing kaftans and scarves, and an armful of jangling bangles. As bestselling author Jack Halliman noted when he first met her, she looked like a cross between two old sitcom characters, Endora and Mrs. Roper.

LMH: Welcome, Señora Milagros. Can you please briefly introduce yourself: name, age, job, hobbies?

Señora Milagros: Thank you, dear. It's a pleasure to be here talking about myself. As you've mentioned, my name is Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago and I am...wait, I have to think a moment...I'm quite mature. Let's leave it at that. I am the familiar to the god of Mercy, better known to most people as the chupacabra. That is both my job and my hobby. If you know that little rapscallion at all, you know he keeps me quite busy with his antics, so I don't have much time for anything else.

LMH: Can you explain to our readers what exactly a familiar is?

Señora Milagros: Oh, yes! I'd love to clarify. Humans get so tripped up by vocabulary, twisting and turning meanings around until no one understands anything. They got familiars, witches, and cats all jumbled, making cats the familiars of witches, but really, many familiars choose the form of a cat, either in their active life or retirement, so the familiars ARE the cats, and we ended up with the reputation of witches. We all know why that is: because anything humans don't understand, they attribute to magic, one way or another.

The truth is, familiars were created as assistants to the gods. We're like guardian angels. We help when our god needs a bit more power, and provide guidance and protection for him as he grows in strength. We protect our charge when they are weak and vulnerable, and help them to achieve their full power. Because the amount of power they may eventually wield could be excessive, we also hinder them from overreaching, regulating their power if needed. You mentioned Jack Halliman in your introduction--I do adore the Jack Halliman, don't you?--Jack had a wonderful analogy for what I do. I am the god's agent.

 

LMH: Speaking of the god, at the end of Ye Gods!, he'd sacrificed  himself to save Jack's dog, Hanna, and you and Carmen were going into your dormant phase to wait for his return. Since you're here, I guess the chupacabra has returned, but why are you here? Weren't you supposed to retire?

Señora Milagros: (clearing her throat and squirming in her seat a bit) Yes, well, that didn't go quite as planned. Did it? Between that hurricane, Carmen disappearing, and all sorts of other gods appearing on the island, well...you'll have to read The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods to find out what happened there, won't you?

  

And today's (6/23) interview with Carmen del Toro:

Introducing Carmen del Toro

 

You may remember Carmen del Toro as the young homeless woman from Ye Gods! Carmen's past is filled with trauma that few can imagine: she witnessed her family's murder, at the hands of her father, and her father's death at the mouth of her childhood dog, Paco. After spending nine years in a state run mental hospital, Carmen was kicked out to the street when she turned 18. Still, she managed to survive living in the forests of western Puerto Rico for ten years before learning the truth about herself, her dog, and the "witch" who has been watching over her all this time. Carmen has joined me for lunch and this interview.

LMH: Welcome, Carmen. Thank you for joining us. Can you please briefly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?

Carmen (eyes flitting around the room, fingers knotting and unknotting): Um, hola, um, my name is Carmen del Toro and I guess I'm the new familiar to the dog...er, are you going to eat those chips?

LMH: Here, you can have them. So, how about your back---

Carmen: How about that soda? And if you're not going to eat the crust...?

LMH: Go ahead, finish. I'll wait.

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Carmen: Um-kay...done. What did you want to know?

 

LMH: Tell us a bit about how you became a familiar.

Carmen: Well, as Señora Milagros explained, there are three tests to becoming a familiar. The first one is that you have to be born with the predisposition. Then, you have to get through your teens with your belief in magic still intact. The third test is to make it through your twenties still believing.

LMH: Those don't sound much like tests. Can you explain a little bit more how that works?

Carmen: The genetics part is luck of the draw. A lot of people are born with the potential to evolve into familiars. I guess because so few make it through the next two tests so they have to make sure there are a lot to pick from so some survive. The second test, where most prospective familiars fail, comes from peer pressure. Belief in magic is an innate feature of sentient beings, but experience destroys it. When puberty hits, the desire to fit in takes over. Señora Milagros told me most teens deny their beliefs to be cool. Those who don't, pass the second test. I was luckier than most. Since I spent my teens in the hospital, I had lithium instead of peer pressure.

I didn't have much of a chance for the third test either. For most would-be familiars, that comes in their twenties, when people settle down to careers and family. All that bill-paying, keeping up the house, going to work makes it difficult to believe in magic. I was lucky that I lived in the forest so never had to worry about those things. I feel bad for those who lose all the magic in their life that way. I think it must hurt when belief turns to wishful thinking about what-could-have-beens. Very few pass this final test. Some of those who make it that far still carry a remnant of belief deep inside them, but their reservations disqualify them from familiarity.

LMH: Interesting. So what happens to those who still have some remnant of that belief in magic?

Carmen: They become writers and artists, actors and actresses, or movie producers. You know, trying to pretend they still have some magic left.

LMH: You mean, since I'm a writer, I might have been--

Carmen: Por favor, chica. All familiars are creative, it's true, but don't think that's the same as all creative people being familiars. Now, I guess we'll never know, will we? Pobrecita.

LMH: Oh, well, um, thank you for spending some time with us today, Carmen. I'm sure we all look forward to seeing what happens to you in the future.

 
Carmen: Yes, now, about that dessert you promised?


Thank you all for stopping by today. Now be sure to head over to my website's contact page and send a note to automatically be entered into today's drawing! (Don't worry--no one will see your return contact info--the page sends an email directly to me. I'm the only one who sees it, and I'm the only one who will contact you. I don't share your private info with anyone else.)

Congratulations to Connie Denison, yesterday's drawing winner!

Writing is an Endurance Sport

I wrote the following as a guest blog post for another site back in 2012. This subject popped up elsewhere recently (or continuously?) so tracked down the old post and am updating it here. (NOTE: only a week ago, I said this blog was going on hiatus. I lied.)

Writing is an endurance sport. That's been my mantra for the past few weeks years. Two months ago, Back when I first started querying my latest novel, Ye Gods! (titled Chupacabra at the time) I received a request from an agent for the full manuscript of my current novel, Chupacabra and I've been patiently waiting I waited patiently for two months to hear back. Patience may be a virtue but it isn't one of mine. I refrained from sending daily emails, but just barely. I did send a friendly note after six weeks and got a prompt reply that I was next in the pile.

This week, Finally, I received the "thanks, but no thanks" letter. The agent took the time to tell me what she liked and what wasn't working for her. Enough worked that she read the entire ms, but overall, something missed the mark. [Insert the sound you associate with a crumpling ego and dashed dreams here.] 

What's a poor author to do when, after spending months, even years writing and editing and polishing, an agent says "no" to their masterpiece? Not so long ago, the options were to persevere or give up.

But this is a new age in publishing; the options have expanded. Authors who have put in the thankless hours of finishing a novel (that itself is a huge accomplishment) no longer need face the demoralizing anguish of being told, "It's just not good enough." Instead, they can rail against literary agents for "not getting it," rant about "the gatekeepers," and justify their own work with, "I've read books that are worse than mine." Then they can run their ms through spell-checker and immediately proceed to the self-publishing option of their choice and send their book out into the world, ready or not.

I have that option, but I'm not going to take it. Writing is an endurance sport. There's more work to do before I reach the finish line and a marathon runner can't take a short cut and still win the race. Or, if they do, the win will be fleeting. Just ask Rosie Ruiz.

I also have the option to look for small publishers, as I did with my first novel, Marina Melee. For new writers, small publishers offer a great way to break into the publishing world. My publisher, Casperian Books, is easy to work with, provides valuable services like layout, cover art, press releases, and help with marketing that I wouldn't have had I self-pubbed. So why not go with them again? Because with their help I've learned a lot about selling books and I've grown as a writer. I'm now better prepared to approach agents and offer them more than just another manuscript in the slush pile: experience, and an appreciation for what they do.

Update: I'd given myself 1 year to query. I received four requests for the partial or full manuscript and lots of helpful feedback and encouragement, but no takers. In total, querying and waiting to hear back from those agents, I waited 18 months before deciding to approach Casperian Books again, and that's where it found its home. It took another 14 months to go through the editing and design process, develop the marketing materials, and get in the queue to be released. Ye Gods! came out in April 2014.

I'm now working on the sequel to Ye Gods!, The Un-Familiar. Because it's a sequel, I suspect an agent would be hesitant to pick it up, so I will again query Casperian. (I know that just because they published me once is no guarantee they'll keep publishing my books. I have to give them a quality product that they can sell!)

It took one of my favorite authors, Christopher Moore, eight years between deciding to become a writer and selling his first book, Practical Demon Keeping.  He spent a year writing it, and almost another whole year polishing and editing before it sold. His persistence paid off. True, that was before the advent of easy, cheap self-publishing, but, would he have chosen that path had it been available? "I can't imagine marketing a book without an agent. I'm doing this to write, not to be a salesman. I left being a salesman to write books, so I'm happy to have someone to do the selling" (click here for more). Sounds like a no to me.

Moore's Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove sat on the desk next to me and motivated me while I wrote Chupacabra. His writing inspires me and his words in this interview even more so. I'm in this to write and I'm in for the long haul. As tempting as it might be to self-publish the current, pretty good version of Chupacabra, I'll get back to polishing, I'll work on the areas the agent suggested, and the story will be even better. When I do find an agent, with their help, it'll get better still. Update: so glad I went with Casperian Books. Despite many, many rounds of rewriting, revising, running through a critique group and beta-readers, self-editing, and hiring an editor, their editor found additional errors and recommended other helpful changes.

Am I missing an opportunity by not considering self-publishing? Maybe. But I think it's for an even better one somewhere down the road. Being a novelist isn't a sprint, it's an endurance sport. That takes patience and persistence. While I'm not known for the former, I have the latter in spades.

Ye Gods! Book Release Party On Facebook: Details on the Schedule, Authors, and Books

Only ten more days until the release of Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons -- and the big Virtual Release Party on Facebook! You're all invited, so stop in and add it to your Facebook Events calendar by clicking HERE.  

 To help you plan your day around the authors you want to chat with and books you'd like a chance to win, here's the Author Appearance Schedule." Click on their names to read about them and their books.

SCHEDULE OF AUTHORS
 Click on the author's name to get to their website and on the book title to see it on Amazon.

TIME	AUTHOR	BOOKS
12-1 pm	Lynne M. Hinkey	Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons
		Marina Melee
1-2 pm	Normandie Fischer	Sailing Out of Darkness
		Becalmed
2-3 pm	Peter Bernhardt	The Stasi File
		Kiss of the Shaman's Daughter
3-4 pm	Amy Biddle	The Atheist's Prayer
4-5 pm	Tom Mahony	Pacific Offering
		Flooding Granite
		Imperfect Solitude
5-6 pm	Jo Anne V. Simson	Korea, Are You at Peace?
		The God that Says I Am
6-7 pm	Bob Sanchez	Getting Lucky
		Little Mountain
		When Pigs Fly
7-8 pm	Lynne Hinkey	Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons Marina Melee