I won't bitch much about book length. But I ended another good short story, read the words "Thank you for taking the time to read my book" and the part of me that is destined to rule the universe declared that there will be a law against calling a short story a book.
That's bullshit of course. A book is a bound set of pages with no minimum, so I was venting at nothing. Mostly. It's my own failing to equate book with novel, and I was never promised a novel. I need to accept that this dark erotic fantasy genre that I crave is mostly filled with short stories. I don't know if I'll be able to accept the pricing conventions. It was only $1.99--seems so awesome, until you hit the end, want more, and go check out (again) the prices for other e-books.
Because of my other recent reading habits, mainstream fantasy (epic and otherwise) was already keyed up on Amazon. It's hard to accept $1.99 for 15 pages when I see scores of books coming in between 120 and 200+ pages for $2.99. It's harder to check out the original author's next title and find it's 20 pages for $2.99. Really? Another buck for five wee pages?
What does this mean to you? Fairly little...unless you happen to be a fabulous author of dark erotic fantasy short stories and would like to take this as encouragement to go novella (at least) length. ::cough:: Carinna Parr ::cough::
Speaking of Carinna Parr's "The Wild Hunt", it's good stuff. When a young woman refuses the advances of a (ancient-Celt-reminiscent) village priest, he names her to be a virgin sacrifice. He has plans of his own that have nothing to do with pleasing the gods.
Apparently, I'd downloaded the sample (which is a waste of time, giving more of the opening disclaimer than the first page) after reading the much adored "Nephilim", but I'd forgotten all about it. The lack of any real sampling within the sample annoyed, but there was just enough to make me wonder what the story was about. Bought it, read and enjoyed it, and only during my price rant/search realized the two stories were by the same talented writer.
Also, I see that she's got several titles that are not supernatural, so if you like the darker side of erotica by aren't into the angels, ancient gods, or werewolves, you should still check her out.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Updates: writing and reading
So, have I used the time not posting to write delicious dark fantasy erotica or urban fantasy filled with the ravished, only to return to you (my currently non-existent readers) with my tales of conquests? Sadly, no. I've been caught up in the real world, though I've made some fictional headway.
One day, you might be able to read about the pooka secretary who gets roped into searching for something that will lead her down a path of non-consent. Today, though, her world is a shoddy hybrid lifted haphazardly from two faerie loving urban fantasy writers--nothing's moving forward until that's fixed.
The one about the high school senior sold into sexual slavery possessing only the barest hint about her supernatural origins is more about that I could write about someone before their 18th birthday without the world ending than it is about the story, so that, too is unlikely to be finished.
But don't think the initial false starts have put me off. Half my spare moments go to a far more promising project.
The other spare moments go to reading. Most of that didn't need to appear here either because it wasn't in the genre this blog features, or because there wasn't much to say. For instance, Breeding the Female (link lost to a strange glitch in formatting, but look it up if you like forced mating) was neither the personal game changer that Marata Eros's Reapers was, nor bad enough to complain about such as Humiliated Elven Bride.
That is, until I ran across Carinna Parr's blog and read the first chapter to Nephilim. By the time I reached the end, I was quietly declaring that I was in love with the author. Yeah, I've got this age old secret passion for children of angels and the daughters of Eve. As a kid, they sparked my imagination as nothing in the Bible did, edging the duty of Bible study closer to the good stuff from reading Greek and Celtic mythology. But the title could have just be bait. That first chapter showed the darker side of the erotic that I'm interested in and hints of the fantastic that I live for. I went right to Amazon, (half) joking that, if the book fulfilled it's promise, I'd divorce my husband and marry the author (keeping hubby on the side--I love him and I prefer penis to plastic).
After the initial sex scene, my interest in that part of the story waned; one potentially hot scene was touched upon and left, while another happened during knife play--so far into the darker side of kink that I cringe at it from my nice and cozy twilight space. Didn't matter a bit. The story was so damned good that's all that matter.
Then it ended.
Looking for the link to above, I came across a review that included: "The book was a quick read (too quick if you ask me!) and perhaps my favorite part was the ending. It gives room for the reader’s imagination with a heap of mixed emotions: fear, excitement, trepidation, thrills, chills and curiosity. Definitely not a “Blah, this was it?” -ending and just right for the story." My response to that is, She must be a long time erotica fan or something.
Because I'm not. It was mythology, sci-fi/fantasy, and mysteries as a kid. That became mostly fantasy and then urban fantasy. All novels. While some UF books clock in at 85,000 words, fantasy tends to think that an additional 15,000 plus is a good place to pause until the next part of the duology/trilogy/saga. I've grudgingly enjoyed some novellas and even a few short stories, but as a rule, if it's good enough to make me want to be there, I want to stay for a while.
And Nephilim isn't even a short story in my opinion. Uncontained, it's more like the first act of a story, or the first three chapters a novelist sends in to hook an agent or publisher. Well I'm hooked, damn it, and the rest of the book isn't coming. It's like my husband initiated a delicious round of foreplay for morning sex, then realized he'd promised to go into work early and hopped up before I came, leaving me wanting.
So my search for the fiction that'll scratch that certain itch continues, as does my quest to produce my own little offering.
....But you should still check out Nephilim for yourself.
One day, you might be able to read about the pooka secretary who gets roped into searching for something that will lead her down a path of non-consent. Today, though, her world is a shoddy hybrid lifted haphazardly from two faerie loving urban fantasy writers--nothing's moving forward until that's fixed.
The one about the high school senior sold into sexual slavery possessing only the barest hint about her supernatural origins is more about that I could write about someone before their 18th birthday without the world ending than it is about the story, so that, too is unlikely to be finished.
But don't think the initial false starts have put me off. Half my spare moments go to a far more promising project.
The other spare moments go to reading. Most of that didn't need to appear here either because it wasn't in the genre this blog features, or because there wasn't much to say. For instance, Breeding the Female (link lost to a strange glitch in formatting, but look it up if you like forced mating) was neither the personal game changer that Marata Eros's Reapers was, nor bad enough to complain about such as Humiliated Elven Bride.
That is, until I ran across Carinna Parr's blog and read the first chapter to Nephilim. By the time I reached the end, I was quietly declaring that I was in love with the author. Yeah, I've got this age old secret passion for children of angels and the daughters of Eve. As a kid, they sparked my imagination as nothing in the Bible did, edging the duty of Bible study closer to the good stuff from reading Greek and Celtic mythology. But the title could have just be bait. That first chapter showed the darker side of the erotic that I'm interested in and hints of the fantastic that I live for. I went right to Amazon, (half) joking that, if the book fulfilled it's promise, I'd divorce my husband and marry the author (keeping hubby on the side--I love him and I prefer penis to plastic).
After the initial sex scene, my interest in that part of the story waned; one potentially hot scene was touched upon and left, while another happened during knife play--so far into the darker side of kink that I cringe at it from my nice and cozy twilight space. Didn't matter a bit. The story was so damned good that's all that matter.
Then it ended.
Looking for the link to above, I came across a review that included: "The book was a quick read (too quick if you ask me!) and perhaps my favorite part was the ending. It gives room for the reader’s imagination with a heap of mixed emotions: fear, excitement, trepidation, thrills, chills and curiosity. Definitely not a “Blah, this was it?” -ending and just right for the story." My response to that is, She must be a long time erotica fan or something.
Because I'm not. It was mythology, sci-fi/fantasy, and mysteries as a kid. That became mostly fantasy and then urban fantasy. All novels. While some UF books clock in at 85,000 words, fantasy tends to think that an additional 15,000 plus is a good place to pause until the next part of the duology/trilogy/saga. I've grudgingly enjoyed some novellas and even a few short stories, but as a rule, if it's good enough to make me want to be there, I want to stay for a while.
And Nephilim isn't even a short story in my opinion. Uncontained, it's more like the first act of a story, or the first three chapters a novelist sends in to hook an agent or publisher. Well I'm hooked, damn it, and the rest of the book isn't coming. It's like my husband initiated a delicious round of foreplay for morning sex, then realized he'd promised to go into work early and hopped up before I came, leaving me wanting.
So my search for the fiction that'll scratch that certain itch continues, as does my quest to produce my own little offering.
....But you should still check out Nephilim for yourself.
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