Ya-wow-za!

A friend just shared an email he received from Amazon customer service.  Now, I know they outsource to India but really, could they at least get people who understand English?  His email read, in part (names, acct. #s removed to protect the innocent):

>>>

When researched the account, I see two accounts, with the name xxx (Seller ID: xxx) and xxx (Seller ID: xxx), out of which the one with the Seller ID: xxx is closed. 

Please let us know as to which account you want to close so that we can go ahead and do the needful.

<<<

While you can't see it because I've xxx'd out the names/account numbers, this agent referenced THREE account numbers for the two accounts, both of which are still open, not closed, as the agent seems to imply.  I'm not just confused by his language, but also his account math.  Geesh.

Local Bookstores vs. Amazon

Interesting interview discussing local bookstores vs. Amazon on the Colbert Report.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/408775/february-20-2012/ann-patchett

Interview with Author Tess Collins

Today we're talking with Tess Collins, author of Helen of Troy


FQ: What inspired you to base a novel on the legend of Helen of Troy?


I've always loved mythology but the basis for the novel came from a real life situation of finding myself as the object of affection between two really terrific men and having to make a difficult choice. Of course, I wasn't married and had never found myself in that situation before or since, but it's not as enviable as one might think. As I was pondering my own circumstances, an odd thing happened every night as I lay in bed. I started hearing Helen's voice in my head and she started telling her story. At first, I didn't realize who she was or what kind of story this would be, but I knew some character was wanting to be born. So I transcribed her words, applying the writer's craft along the way, and Helen's book shaped up into a tale all it's own. Out of moon-looney emotion come art! Helen of Troy is myth-based fiction as opposed to metafiction. James N. Frey describes metafiction in The Key, How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, as being “...nothing more than authorial sleight of hand. Metafiction grotesquely turns myth-based fiction into an academic exercise, a parlor game for the well-read classicist.” In contrast, Helen of Troy is its own story, a struggle where the characters are transformed through conflict. Subjects explored in this novel are pride, passion, friendship, and the effect of the past upon the present.

FQ: Did you find that having a basic plot already in place made it easier to write this book than your other novels? Or was it more difficult to come up with a fresh take on a well-known story?


I believe all human beings respond to a mythic structure, whether they know it or not. Myth is an obsession of mine because it delves into our collective psyches. The Helen myth has a basic structure that is familiar but I needed to make the old new and the situations fresher, add elements that are different from the original, eliminate others. I also added a great deal of humor in this story that you rarely see in other renderings of the myth. The myth is basically a tragedy while in this story everyone ends up where they need to be, a great deal wiser even though most of them would never admit it.

Author Tess Collins

FQ: You did a great job of reminding the reader of the key points of the Helen of Troy legend throughout the book. I really appreciated this, because my Greek mythology is pretty rusty. Can you recommend any good, readable sources that you came across in your research for anyone interested in reading the original story in more detail?


I sure can. Caroline Cooney's Goddess of Yesterday and Clemence McLaren's Inside the Walls of Troy are novels that tell a more traditional story of the Trojan War; and of course, Homer's The Iliad reigns supreme. And here's a couple cool websites:
www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/hamiltonhelen/helenoftroy
www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history

FQ: You included some really lovely descriptions in the story, such as the moonbows, orchids, and ice castle, which gave it a kind of fairytale quality. Do you plan out these scenes or do they just come to you as you write?


I'd been wanting to use the moonbow in a story for a long time since it is a phenomena that occurs only a few places in the world, and one of those places is Cumberland Falls near where I grew up in Eastern Kentucky. Love is the one emotion that unhinges even the most stable of us and the moon plays right into that lunacy, shall we say. So this story seemed the perfect placement for the moonbow. Orchids, as well, are one of the most seductive flowers in the world and there's a whole cult of the orchid among those who grow them. It's been said one bitten by the orchid bug, you're never the same again. They call it orchid fever. As for the ice castle, I knew I had to come up with some sort of Trojan Horse and it would have to be something readily available in a small mountain town. When I come up against a story issue where I'm not sure what to do, I ask myself--what have I never seen before or what would be really fun here—an ice castle popped into my head.

FQ: Your work in theater management must have exposed you to a lot of great dramas. Do you feel that this work has helped you in writing your own stories?


We have a saying in theatre that there is always more drama off the stage than on; and I've found this often to be true whether it three ushers in a love triangle or an engineer making death threats against me. I've had a great run in theatre and couldn't have asked for a better day job. I think there's a novel in the making about theater since I know where the bodies are buried and who has slept with whom, but I have to wait until a few more people die before I write it.

FQ: The picture you paint of small town life in Troy sounds both great, in the way people stick together and take care of each other, and somewhat confining, in the way that everyone knows everyone else’s business. Was growing up in Middlesboro at all like living in Troy?


In Helen of Troy, I've drawn the best parts of living in a small town, and in Middlesboro, there are many good people who would help you any way they can in times of need. It also has a colorful history of shootouts, murder, and mayhem. So, if you want to read about the dark side of living in a small town, try out one of my mysteries.

FQ: Your website says that you are currently living in San Francisco, but the Appalachian setting of your novels implies that this area is close to your heart. Do you have any plans to return there in the future?


Though I've lived in San Francisco for many years, Appalachia is in my blood. It's a place I love and hate, and as I've grown older I come to realize I'll never escape it's hold. When I go back to visit I'm always astounded by the beauty of the mountains; the wit and humor of my cousins; and the contrasts of poverty and crime. There are as many successful people there as poverty-ridden no-accounts who star in the documentaries. People battle for justice as they see it, and if that means a knock-down fistfight breaks out on election day, then there's gonna be a fight. Many of us who leave the area struggle with who we are in that page of history that is as bloody and infuriating as it is nostalgic. But don't bad-mouth our hometowns to us. We'll usually come out fighting to defend our heritage. Will I ever return there... yeah, probably, but there's a part of my mind and heart that really never left.

To learn more about Helen of Troy please read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.

The Best Press Release

Need something new, bright, unusual to catch the eye of your intended audience, be it reviewer, publicist, buyer?  Check out this rather, er, unusual press release.

Author Interview with Jessica Chambers

Today we're talking with Jessica Chambers, author of Dark is the Sky


FQ: I have to know, how did this story begin in your mind? Where did the idea stem from?


Like many of my ideas, this novel began with a single character, in this instance with a vivid picture of a handsome, dark-haired young man. Immediately, I knew several things about him. I knew he was dangerously sexy, a magnet for women and more than a bit of a rogue. I also knew he was dead. This raised a number of questions. How did he die? Was it suicide, or murder, or merely a tragic accident? What part did his family play in his death? How has grief impacted on their lives? And as I unravelled the answers to these questions, the story gradually emerged.

FQ: The characters are all so different - from pale and frightened as a rabbit to strong and bold. Is there one particular character you liked/identified with the most?


Ooh, that's so difficult. I love all my characters, even the obnoxious ones. I'm not a mother, but I suppose it's rather like having children. You love them no matter what! In terms of the relationship I enjoyed writing the most, it was probably that between Joel and Tim. I loved showing the closeness they once shared, all the stronger for them being best mates as well as identical twins, and it broke my heart when I had to drive a wedge between them.

Author Jessica Chambers

FQ: Complex relationships are usually extremely hard to put on paper in a way that allows the reader to understand every facet. And you're not even concentrating on one, but many. How were you able to make each one so concise? As a writer, do you lay out a 'game plan' on paper beforehand? Or, just head to the keyboard and begin?


First, thank you so much! It was certainly a challenge juggling so many complex relationships, working out what secrets to reveal when, so it means a lot that you feel I succeeded. I did have a pretty comprehensive outline before I started though. In fact, I've never yet attempted to write a novel without at least some idea where it's headed. I'm just not that brave! Of course, the story doesn't always go according to plan. Characters have a habit of taking on a life of their own and doing things I never expected of them, in which case I simply have to let them lead me where they want to go.

FQ: The story of Lottie and 'her secret love' was extremely interesting. Are you looking into perhaps writing YA one of these days? I think you have a gift for it.


That's really kind of you to say so, and funnily enough, I'm planning a young adult novel as we speak. I enjoyed writing Lottie and Adam's story so much, perhaps because our emotions are so powerful and all-consuming during that period between adolescence and adulthood. I also read an awful lot of YA fiction, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I felt the urge to attempt it myself.

FQ: Phoebe is one of the most interesting characters I've run across in contemporary novels. Did she come from life? Are any of these characters based on 'real' people, so to speak, or are they all from your imagination?


Oh no, fortunately poor, put upon Phoebe is entirely the product of my twisted writer's imagination. Come to that, before writing Dark is the Sky, I would have had no hesitation in saying that all my characters are one hundred percent fictional. This is one of the things I love most about being an author, creating multi-layered characters that will hopefully stay with readers long after they close the book. However, when I wrote the wild, outrageously sexy Scott Cameron, I realized there's rather too much of my ex in him to be wholly coincidental!

FQ: Could you tell readers what you're working on now?


As I mentioned earlier, I'm leaving behind the familiar territory of adult fiction and attempting my first YA novel. I have to admit, it's a long time since I've been this excited about a project. I suppose it could be classified as young adult crime, exploring friendship, sexual identity and the different forms of abuse. Think the edginess of Melvin Burgess meets the emotion of Jennifer Donnelly, and you’ll get the general feel.

FQ: I hate getting this question as a writer (?) so I, of course, have to ask. Who is your favorite writer? If you could sit down with one author and have dinner, who would it be?


Hahaha! You're right, that is a tough question. Being a total book addict, I'll read anything from women's fiction to crime, historical to paranormal, and my favorite authors change all the time. If I had to pick just one though, it would have to be J. K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series is so skillfully plotted from start to finish, to the extent that apparently trivial details in earlier books turn out to be vital later on, and I'd love to pick her brains as to exactly how she pulled it off. Pure genius!

To learn more about Dark is the Sky please read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.

Are Your Facebook Pages Reaching Your Fans???

Great article on how to reach your fans once they've "liked" your page and moved on, never to return.     Uh, Oh! Facebook Pages Only Reach 17% of Fans

In For Review!

Here's a sample of the books that came in today for review.  Check them out and then stop by our review site, Feathered Quill Book Reviews, in a few weeks to read the reviews.

After the Storm by Anthony Rando The delicate petal of a flower, the roaring crash of a wave, the whispered prayer of a child. After the Storm unites gentle imagery with a depth of emotion.

The Queen's Lover by Francine du Plessix Gray The Queen’s Lover begins at a masquerade ball in Paris in 1774, when the dashing Swedish nobleman Count Axel Von Fersen first meets the mesmerizing nineteen-year old Dauphine Marie Antoinette, wife of the shy, reclusive prince who will soon become Louis XVI. This electric encounter launches a life-long romance that will span the course of the French Revolution.

House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe Ghost Train to Freedom: An Adventure on the Underground Railroad by Faith Reese Martin

Gopher to the Rescue! A Volcano Recovery Story by Terry Catasus Jennings The animals living in the forest are surprised when a mountain suddenly explodes, covering the land in gritty warm ash and rocks that make it unlivable for many plants and animals. Gopher survives in his underground burrow and gets to work, digging through the ash, and mixing it into the soil below. He works hard every day, and slowly some of the plants and animals return to the area. Will the forest ever be the same? Scientists spent years observing how life returned to the mountain following the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. This fictionalized story is based on their surprising observations of how life returns to an area that has been totally changed or destroyed.