The Beloved Series: My Beloved Tourniquet

Thursday, September 13, 2012

An Author's Rant

Ok,
Now I understand and appreciate the ELJ book series, but it feels like it will overshadow whatever originality I brought to the table in my own novel.

My husband had told me at the time of editing my book to "YA it up" and it would be widely accepted. I had my objections and hesitations about it, but afterwards, I resigned to slashing away at my romance. The romance I had had in it signified the differences in two main characters, Helen and Evey, and their sexual and emotional approaches to men and life in general. Granted, those scenes and then some have been revised back into the story, but it just feels like I'm copy catting. I hate copy catting.

I had wanted to shake the literary world up, give them fresh blood (so to speak). The desire to change the cultural focus off vampires was strong when I wrote this novel. Kudos to miss "J" for achieving that on some level with all that has happened.

With the way the economy is looking in a few years when the buzz and flare of Shades has simmered down, no one will be able to afford books like they used to. Which puts me as an author in such a sensitive position. Do I sell out and over push my book now? Or do I wait and hope that the economy cycle rebounds and we can all afford to spend a little more? Either choice is so "make-or-break" it basically is discouraging.

The truth of the matter is, I didn't want international fame, or a movie deal (granted I write screen plays and do imaginary castings) out of the making of this series. All I wanted was to be heard, to be read, and to know that I touched people's lives with my words. It wasn't about being in a magazine or making headlines, or having the best advertising. It was about the love of words and wanting to be like one of the great classics (I adore Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Bronte Sisters). Of course being compared to them is like apples to "grapenuts" it just doesn't happen. Literature was different back then, it wasn't competing with TV. Books nowadays are trying to grab and keep your attention with TV quality material. I just can't get into that. Maybe that's my downfall, I'm not commercial enough and don't have enough product placement potential. One thing is for sure I poured my heart out into each and every detail of My Beloved Tourniquet and my poetry. At the end of the day, that's what matters most to me and to literary history ;)

Avec amour,
S.