I posted last week about the cast size problems I've had by not controlling my characters, letting them do as they please while wandering along the story arc.
Of course, the new characters feel that they are as important as the ones I started with, the ones who brought them to life. They bring their own story arcs, with which they are enamoured. To tell the truth, sometimes I'm equally enamoured of them. But the main story doesn't take this interference lightly. Or positively.
I'm still learning the discipline to either cut these extraneous arcs out, or change the main arc to embrace them. A bigger issue for me in recognizing these side arcs as what they are: superfluous. It's one of the things my beta readers do that really helps-even if I would rather they thought everything worked just fine! It's better that they be honest, after all.
Only peripherally related: does anyone else have difficulty rewriting scenes? Once I've written something, I better back it up! For the life of me, I can't create it for a second time. It's like the muse says 'I gave you the clue once, it's your job to keep track of it. Don't bother me!'
Comments welcome below.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Nick
Originally written August, 2006.
I learned last Sunday that we’d lost Nick. Donna, Kathryn, others of his family, Ina and other co-workers, we’d all lost him. I wrote to Donna that day of my sorrow, and my hope that she and Kathryn would be able to forgive Nick, as he apparently took his own life. The news made me re-evaluate my feelings on suicide.
Like most experiences, I have probably suppressed bad events with Nick, for I certainly don’t recall any, except of course the one that defined the last two years of his life: the death of his son, Eric, on Valentine’s Day, 2004. I was sitting downstairs checking my email when I read Nick’s message that he had terrible news to share: that Eric had died. It was Saturday. The next day, I flew to San Francisco for the Intel Developers’ Conference. While I tried to call Nick, and failed, I did talk to my boss. He was thinking of going out for Eric’s service, which would be on Thursday. From the IDC, I flew to Seattle Tuesday night for a meeting — Boeing, I think — and then back to Ontario Wednesday night. I stayed overnight before the morning ceremony at Bobbitt Memorial Chapel, the same place where Nick’s service was today.
Eric’s service was filled with his peers, several of whom spoke with conviction of their loss at his death. Along with other co-workers, I had a few minutes with Nick and Donna as they tried to meet with all the visitors to the chapel. I drove from the chapel to Nick’s home in Yucaipa; perhaps fifty or sixty others did likewise. It is a pleasant home, set on the side of a hill in a residential neghborhood. Pines in front, stone walls in the front and back and a flagstone patio beyond the kitchen to the backyard. I stayed a bit, spoke again to Nick (But really, what do you say?) and left to drive to Las Vegas to catch my flight back home. My life continued.
Other times were much more pleasant—how could they fail to be? Nick joined Numerix Corporation as an application engineer in the mid 1980’s. During her college selection phase, I took my daughter to Chicago to visit Northwestern and DePaul. While we were there, Numerix was setting up for a trade show; Nick was involved in arranging the equipment and the booth. I recall her smiling as he worked, first kidding with me, then showing her—terrified of math ever since inaccurate Advanced Placement recommendations—a book on prime number theory and telling her his hobby was computing ever larger new primes. It is safe to say she was taken aback rather than impressed, but she enjoyed his company more than less, both then and when she briefly worked at Mercury.
My history of customer involvement started at Numerix, as I did not only design and development work, but also pre-sales and post-sales visits. By the nature of the beast, this led to knowing the Sales Group (including AE’s) and attending Sales Meetings with them. Those were held in a variety of places, and I remember Nick's invitations to come out and spend every evening shooting pool, drinking cold beer and talking. The pool and talking parts of that held true for almost every Sales Meeting we both attended. One place where our plans were overcome by events was the last Numerix Sales Meeting in Orlando, when the plan to accept an offer by Mercury was revealed, and their CEO talked about the opportunity. I had rented a Mustang convertible, and after the formal meeting, we cruised Orlando, talking about what would happen once we became one with our heretofore competitor.
I continued to attend Sales meetings, as the position I accepted with Mercury involved even more customer input than I’d had with Numerix. However, the Mercury sales guys are just jealous of their customers, so I kept in contact with them, and of course the AE’s, all of whom were friendly, Nick most of all.
Remembering little things.
One of the perks of attending Sales Meetings was the unique tee shirt given to those present. Since Nick had attended all the meetings, he had the largest collection, and he brought to subsequent meetings a selection to choose from. The president was always interested to see which ones Nick wore.
Nick, as moderator at the back of the room, holding up the signs: 15; 10; 5; Quiet! to let speakers know when their time was up.
Trying to convince him to get a ‘real’ sports car to replace his Corvette.
Phone calls to check an innovation he wanted to try on a customer; unlike some sales associates, Nick was willing to check feasibility before advertising it. And he was willing to listen to problems with his ideas. If there were issues, they usually evolved from information he didn’t have, rather than an error or misunderstanding. He was always excited to be helping a customer solve his problem in the best way for this customer. Nick was easy to work with if you kept that in mind.
The past five or so years, he traveled less to be at home more. For him, even customer visits in Southern California took extravagantly long times due to traffic. With less on my plate while traveling, I was willing to drive halfway to meet him out in San Bernadino (near the I10 and I15 junction) at a Japanese restaurant where we could get sushi. When I got out for VITA meetings in Long Beach, or a customer visit in LA (defined for this purpose as between Simi Valley and San Diego), I’d arrange to drive out there to meet, have sushi and just talk. I enjoyed it; I hope he did as well.
I have always been of two minds about suicide. My aversion to the act varies inversely with the age of the person involved: at young ages, under the early 20’s perhaps and certainly for 12 to 16 year olds, suicide seems much too drastic a step taken far too early, before the wonders of life can possibly be manifest. To me, this argument holds less and less water as the person ages.
But, if the guess is correct—I’ll never know for sure—Nick had other demons. Eric’s death brought him depression; he never said so but used terms which one smarter than I might have recognized. Perhaps it was something else entirely, but not in my knowledge. Was it that, in death, Eric became more important to him, perhaps, than Donna or Kathryn, or others who now miss him so? Was he right to focus there, decline to participate in our lives any more—as Chief Joseph said: “I will forget no more forever!”
My thoughts remain conflicted. I fear that because I wasn’t available, or as feeling as I should have been, perhaps I contributed to his depression. I feel a sense of loss in my mind and head. While my parents have both passed on, I thank God I’ve not had the pain of the death of a child. Even friends of mine have been exceptionally healthy, I guess, and lucky. The exception: before Nick’s death, Paige, an eight year old daughter and granddaughter of friends, with Down Syndrome and a host of other problems, died… She spent months in hospital suffering from leukemia first. Her passing seemed to me a pointless exercise in something—failed medical technology, faith, I don’t know. From the faith point of view, it just didn’t seem at all fair to put her through all that and then withhold the benefits. I think a little the same with Nick. I’d like to have some assurance that he’d tried everything he could to resolve the pain and loss he felt before taking that final step.
My loss is selfish: I like Nick; I don’t want to not have him. I hope that he did exhaust the possible alternatives before taking the final step on this plane. If he did, I can come to grips with his decision. But without having talked to him, I’ll never know. That’s the root of the problem. I want to be convinced that his disease was, in fact, incurable, and I’m not. But that doesn’t change the world.
I believe my feelings about suicide remain unchanged. While I would not choose it myself, it grows more acceptable—to me—as age increases; that it is a decision to be honored if made after other viable alternatives have been exhausted.
Goodbye, Nick. I already miss you. 8/25/06
Those of you who have looked at my book, Mercenaries: A Love Story may have noticed the dedication; this is some of the backstory to that dedication. I also thought it appropriate because Nick was the first person to read Black Sky, Dry Rain, the first part of that saga. Like any good reviewer, he was willing to say what he thought didn't work. I wish he'd had the chance to see it now.
I learned last Sunday that we’d lost Nick. Donna, Kathryn, others of his family, Ina and other co-workers, we’d all lost him. I wrote to Donna that day of my sorrow, and my hope that she and Kathryn would be able to forgive Nick, as he apparently took his own life. The news made me re-evaluate my feelings on suicide.
Like most experiences, I have probably suppressed bad events with Nick, for I certainly don’t recall any, except of course the one that defined the last two years of his life: the death of his son, Eric, on Valentine’s Day, 2004. I was sitting downstairs checking my email when I read Nick’s message that he had terrible news to share: that Eric had died. It was Saturday. The next day, I flew to San Francisco for the Intel Developers’ Conference. While I tried to call Nick, and failed, I did talk to my boss. He was thinking of going out for Eric’s service, which would be on Thursday. From the IDC, I flew to Seattle Tuesday night for a meeting — Boeing, I think — and then back to Ontario Wednesday night. I stayed overnight before the morning ceremony at Bobbitt Memorial Chapel, the same place where Nick’s service was today.
Eric’s service was filled with his peers, several of whom spoke with conviction of their loss at his death. Along with other co-workers, I had a few minutes with Nick and Donna as they tried to meet with all the visitors to the chapel. I drove from the chapel to Nick’s home in Yucaipa; perhaps fifty or sixty others did likewise. It is a pleasant home, set on the side of a hill in a residential neghborhood. Pines in front, stone walls in the front and back and a flagstone patio beyond the kitchen to the backyard. I stayed a bit, spoke again to Nick (But really, what do you say?) and left to drive to Las Vegas to catch my flight back home. My life continued.
Other times were much more pleasant—how could they fail to be? Nick joined Numerix Corporation as an application engineer in the mid 1980’s. During her college selection phase, I took my daughter to Chicago to visit Northwestern and DePaul. While we were there, Numerix was setting up for a trade show; Nick was involved in arranging the equipment and the booth. I recall her smiling as he worked, first kidding with me, then showing her—terrified of math ever since inaccurate Advanced Placement recommendations—a book on prime number theory and telling her his hobby was computing ever larger new primes. It is safe to say she was taken aback rather than impressed, but she enjoyed his company more than less, both then and when she briefly worked at Mercury.
My history of customer involvement started at Numerix, as I did not only design and development work, but also pre-sales and post-sales visits. By the nature of the beast, this led to knowing the Sales Group (including AE’s) and attending Sales Meetings with them. Those were held in a variety of places, and I remember Nick's invitations to come out and spend every evening shooting pool, drinking cold beer and talking. The pool and talking parts of that held true for almost every Sales Meeting we both attended. One place where our plans were overcome by events was the last Numerix Sales Meeting in Orlando, when the plan to accept an offer by Mercury was revealed, and their CEO talked about the opportunity. I had rented a Mustang convertible, and after the formal meeting, we cruised Orlando, talking about what would happen once we became one with our heretofore competitor.
I continued to attend Sales meetings, as the position I accepted with Mercury involved even more customer input than I’d had with Numerix. However, the Mercury sales guys are just jealous of their customers, so I kept in contact with them, and of course the AE’s, all of whom were friendly, Nick most of all.
Remembering little things.
One of the perks of attending Sales Meetings was the unique tee shirt given to those present. Since Nick had attended all the meetings, he had the largest collection, and he brought to subsequent meetings a selection to choose from. The president was always interested to see which ones Nick wore.
Nick, as moderator at the back of the room, holding up the signs: 15; 10; 5; Quiet! to let speakers know when their time was up.
Trying to convince him to get a ‘real’ sports car to replace his Corvette.
Phone calls to check an innovation he wanted to try on a customer; unlike some sales associates, Nick was willing to check feasibility before advertising it. And he was willing to listen to problems with his ideas. If there were issues, they usually evolved from information he didn’t have, rather than an error or misunderstanding. He was always excited to be helping a customer solve his problem in the best way for this customer. Nick was easy to work with if you kept that in mind.
The past five or so years, he traveled less to be at home more. For him, even customer visits in Southern California took extravagantly long times due to traffic. With less on my plate while traveling, I was willing to drive halfway to meet him out in San Bernadino (near the I10 and I15 junction) at a Japanese restaurant where we could get sushi. When I got out for VITA meetings in Long Beach, or a customer visit in LA (defined for this purpose as between Simi Valley and San Diego), I’d arrange to drive out there to meet, have sushi and just talk. I enjoyed it; I hope he did as well.
I have always been of two minds about suicide. My aversion to the act varies inversely with the age of the person involved: at young ages, under the early 20’s perhaps and certainly for 12 to 16 year olds, suicide seems much too drastic a step taken far too early, before the wonders of life can possibly be manifest. To me, this argument holds less and less water as the person ages.
But, if the guess is correct—I’ll never know for sure—Nick had other demons. Eric’s death brought him depression; he never said so but used terms which one smarter than I might have recognized. Perhaps it was something else entirely, but not in my knowledge. Was it that, in death, Eric became more important to him, perhaps, than Donna or Kathryn, or others who now miss him so? Was he right to focus there, decline to participate in our lives any more—as Chief Joseph said: “I will forget no more forever!”
My thoughts remain conflicted. I fear that because I wasn’t available, or as feeling as I should have been, perhaps I contributed to his depression. I feel a sense of loss in my mind and head. While my parents have both passed on, I thank God I’ve not had the pain of the death of a child. Even friends of mine have been exceptionally healthy, I guess, and lucky. The exception: before Nick’s death, Paige, an eight year old daughter and granddaughter of friends, with Down Syndrome and a host of other problems, died… She spent months in hospital suffering from leukemia first. Her passing seemed to me a pointless exercise in something—failed medical technology, faith, I don’t know. From the faith point of view, it just didn’t seem at all fair to put her through all that and then withhold the benefits. I think a little the same with Nick. I’d like to have some assurance that he’d tried everything he could to resolve the pain and loss he felt before taking that final step.
My loss is selfish: I like Nick; I don’t want to not have him. I hope that he did exhaust the possible alternatives before taking the final step on this plane. If he did, I can come to grips with his decision. But without having talked to him, I’ll never know. That’s the root of the problem. I want to be convinced that his disease was, in fact, incurable, and I’m not. But that doesn’t change the world.
I believe my feelings about suicide remain unchanged. While I would not choose it myself, it grows more acceptable—to me—as age increases; that it is a decision to be honored if made after other viable alternatives have been exhausted.
Goodbye, Nick. I already miss you. 8/25/06
Those of you who have looked at my book, Mercenaries: A Love Story may have noticed the dedication; this is some of the backstory to that dedication. I also thought it appropriate because Nick was the first person to read Black Sky, Dry Rain, the first part of that saga. Like any good reviewer, he was willing to say what he thought didn't work. I wish he'd had the chance to see it now.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Coming Attractions
Early next week, an essay originally written in 2006.
And Friday! A guest appearance by Becka Sutton, whose graciously consented to answer a few questions on what makes her tick, and why, as long as I'd mention that she's offering Land of Myth, Arc One of The Dragon Wars Saga both at Amazon and at her own website, Firebird Fiction.
I'll also try to add some thoughts to the Pantser post I did last week.
Check back or follow my Twitter.
And Friday! A guest appearance by Becka Sutton, whose graciously consented to answer a few questions on what makes her tick, and why, as long as I'd mention that she's offering Land of Myth, Arc One of The Dragon Wars Saga both at Amazon and at her own website, Firebird Fiction.
I'll also try to add some thoughts to the Pantser post I did last week.
Check back or follow my Twitter.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thank You!
Updated May 28, once we got the flag up.
This post in honor of the veterans who have given their lives, their health, frequently their futures, to protect the way of life many of us take for granted. Thank you seems so small a thing to say...
I served in the US Navy for just over 4 years, back in the day. I was fortunate to be assigned, first to a school where I learned a trade I could parlay into a career, and then as part of Uncle's support of NATO, I went to Naples, Italy, for over two years, where I had the great good fortune to meet my wife. A first date on Capri was magical - must have been, 'cause she's stayed with me since! Closing out my experience was a year aboard a minesweeper, wintering in the Caribbean. While I served during the Vietnam conflict, I was never in a combat situation, nor in any danger I didn't bring on myself.
Many of our vets are not nearly so lucky. They die. They loose limbs. They suffer, from PTSD, from being away from friends and family for months or years at a time or from unemployment once they do get their papers.
Thank them.
Support elected officials who support Veterans Rights and programs to assist with medical issues, and with resocialization.
Support elected officials who will work to prevent the necessity for young women and men to die for what they believe.
It's ever so much better to live for what you believe.
This post in honor of the veterans who have given their lives, their health, frequently their futures, to protect the way of life many of us take for granted. Thank you seems so small a thing to say...
I served in the US Navy for just over 4 years, back in the day. I was fortunate to be assigned, first to a school where I learned a trade I could parlay into a career, and then as part of Uncle's support of NATO, I went to Naples, Italy, for over two years, where I had the great good fortune to meet my wife. A first date on Capri was magical - must have been, 'cause she's stayed with me since! Closing out my experience was a year aboard a minesweeper, wintering in the Caribbean. While I served during the Vietnam conflict, I was never in a combat situation, nor in any danger I didn't bring on myself.
Many of our vets are not nearly so lucky. They die. They loose limbs. They suffer, from PTSD, from being away from friends and family for months or years at a time or from unemployment once they do get their papers.
Thank them.
Support elected officials who support Veterans Rights and programs to assist with medical issues, and with resocialization.
Support elected officials who will work to prevent the necessity for young women and men to die for what they believe.
It's ever so much better to live for what you believe.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Pantsers Forever!
But I am left with a question.
A dedicated pantser, I begin to see some of the issues which arise when characters are given fairly free rein. One thing that happens, to me at least, is the cast list grows, sometimes pretty remarkably. Or maybe that should be uncontrollably?
For example, the fantasy epic I've been working on.
Part one is about 41K words, and has about 16 named characters.
Part two is about 82K words, and has about 28 named characters, of whom seven are common with part one.
Part three is about 18K words, and has 24 named characters. (A lot of world-building going on.)
Part four is about 83K words, and has 31 named characters, of whom four are common with part three.
Part five is about 200Kwords and has about 58 named characters. Fortunately, I think, all but four or five of these have been introduced before the first half is done.
Part six is an embarrassment; at 170K words, it is no more than 60 percent complete, and still has almost 90 named characters. Probably 20 of these are common with part five, but still.
Part seven is three short stories wound together, and runs just over novella length at 52K words. There are less than 30 named characters.
Because it is a series, a small set of the characters appear in most or all of the parts. Fewer than ten, however, so I can't use that as an excuse. One thing I should mention: the order of creation was 1, 4, 2, 5, 7, 3, 6, although except for part one, they were all written contemporaneously. Parts one and two are packaged together, as are parts three and four.
Along with the cast lists, the word counts grow. I suppose that's unavoidable as each of those character clamors for his or her bit of the action. Part seven will likely grow, but no more than a couple thousand words. I have yet to apply any effort to part five, but my goal there is to get to 160-170Kwords from the 200 it's at now. There's a lot of drivel, and if I recognize that, just wait till my readers get hold of it! Similarly for part six, I have to finish it and keep it at about 160K words. That's easy: just cut a word for every one I add! Glad I thought of that.
This little introspection brought to you courtesy of my trying to figure out how to deal with part six, to bring it into a manageable length. I fear this means excising one or more of my wonderful sub-plots. But the first part of that task is figuring out what exactly I wrote (while the muse twiddled her finger in my ear, and the characters ran amok!). An exercise I have to thank one of my Critters.org friends for: synopsizing each chapter, will be of value as I find out where the story has gone, and what transpired to make it go that way. And which of the alleys should be bricked up and left for dead. Or for a different story, at least.
So, in a sort of conclusion, I'm left with this cautionary note: if you follow the ways of the pantsers, keep track of where you're headed. Keep your mind clear, and don't hesitate to tell a character that her or his deviation may be important to her or him, but by damn!, it's not to the story. Otherwise, you'll be left with unhappy characters picketing your muse and keeping her from working with you until the furor dies down.
A dedicated pantser, I begin to see some of the issues which arise when characters are given fairly free rein. One thing that happens, to me at least, is the cast list grows, sometimes pretty remarkably. Or maybe that should be uncontrollably?
For example, the fantasy epic I've been working on.
Part one is about 41K words, and has about 16 named characters.
Part two is about 82K words, and has about 28 named characters, of whom seven are common with part one.
Part three is about 18K words, and has 24 named characters. (A lot of world-building going on.)
Part four is about 83K words, and has 31 named characters, of whom four are common with part three.
Part five is about 200Kwords and has about 58 named characters. Fortunately, I think, all but four or five of these have been introduced before the first half is done.
Part six is an embarrassment; at 170K words, it is no more than 60 percent complete, and still has almost 90 named characters. Probably 20 of these are common with part five, but still.
Part seven is three short stories wound together, and runs just over novella length at 52K words. There are less than 30 named characters.
Because it is a series, a small set of the characters appear in most or all of the parts. Fewer than ten, however, so I can't use that as an excuse. One thing I should mention: the order of creation was 1, 4, 2, 5, 7, 3, 6, although except for part one, they were all written contemporaneously. Parts one and two are packaged together, as are parts three and four.
Along with the cast lists, the word counts grow. I suppose that's unavoidable as each of those character clamors for his or her bit of the action. Part seven will likely grow, but no more than a couple thousand words. I have yet to apply any effort to part five, but my goal there is to get to 160-170Kwords from the 200 it's at now. There's a lot of drivel, and if I recognize that, just wait till my readers get hold of it! Similarly for part six, I have to finish it and keep it at about 160K words. That's easy: just cut a word for every one I add! Glad I thought of that.
This little introspection brought to you courtesy of my trying to figure out how to deal with part six, to bring it into a manageable length. I fear this means excising one or more of my wonderful sub-plots. But the first part of that task is figuring out what exactly I wrote (while the muse twiddled her finger in my ear, and the characters ran amok!). An exercise I have to thank one of my Critters.org friends for: synopsizing each chapter, will be of value as I find out where the story has gone, and what transpired to make it go that way. And which of the alleys should be bricked up and left for dead. Or for a different story, at least.
So, in a sort of conclusion, I'm left with this cautionary note: if you follow the ways of the pantsers, keep track of where you're headed. Keep your mind clear, and don't hesitate to tell a character that her or his deviation may be important to her or him, but by damn!, it's not to the story. Otherwise, you'll be left with unhappy characters picketing your muse and keeping her from working with you until the furor dies down.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
"Make Good Art"
Updated May 24: The video is now available subtitled, in a bunch of languages. Click here and choose your language.
I think this needs to be seen more, so if somehow you've missed it, take the few minutes to watch this through.
Then, be yourself by following Neil's precepts.
I think this needs to be seen more, so if somehow you've missed it, take the few minutes to watch this through.
Then, be yourself by following Neil's precepts.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Back Again, With Questions
Last night, about 8:30, we arrived back home - whew! - after 4400 miles and 21 days, one graduation from US Army basic training, one wedding, visits with brother and aunt, not to mention Gramma's azaleas (not going to mention...).
I published Mercenaries: A Love Story on March 21. So far, it's sold two copies to people who are not family or friends - or if they are, they haven't admitted it. I hope that's not the case! It's in the Select program, but no borrows, so far.
This leads to a question: on Amazon, is there a way to see what the book's page views are? On Smashwords, the samples downloaded stat hinted at that, but I haven't found that for Amazon yet. If there are no page views, that would lead me in the direction of trying to increase visibility, but if there are page views that don't get converted, that implies that either the cover or the blurb aren't doing their job. Or at $4.99, the price is too high. Different things to fix. If there are page views, reviews might help, but there aren't any of those as yet.
With 35K words (about a third) of one WIP being looked at by a beta reader, and 130K words of a second WIP going out to a second reader, I have a minute or two to think on these things. If only I knew what to work on... If any readers feel they could provide an opinion on either the cover (visible to the right) or the description (below), please feel free. I won't hold anything you offer against you. Of course, you could say, work on everything... but I'd like to focus.
Description
Mercenaries: A Love Story
Beckie Sverdupe, typical high-school student and accomplished equestrienne, has a best friend, a younger brother, and no plans beyond homework and the upcoming pep rally.
Then, she is kidnapped to be buried alive. Her strength and resourcefulness during that ordeal causes the enigmatic young mercenary, Ian Jamse, to ask for her help in rescuing another abducted girl. During spring break, she and her best friend play exotic dancer in London and, within a day, find themselves being massaged in a Italian villa! The sex-trader is thwarted this time, but he continues to ply his evil trade in San Diego by hijacking a middle-school school bus.
Beckie chooses to put herself back on the stage, within the slaver’s grasp, to free the California girls. Jamse sees financial gain. The two of them chase the fiend from London to Arizona to Thailand, where Beckie learns what she really wants from life.
This is Mercenaries: A Love Story complete. All four stories are here in one volume.
Bonus! An excerpt from Freedom No Matter, the next book in this series.
Mercenaries: A Love Story is recommended for 16+ for language and mature situations
The book is just over 153K words and it's not available in paper. Does anyone think having a 500 page book available would add to its success?
I published Mercenaries: A Love Story on March 21. So far, it's sold two copies to people who are not family or friends - or if they are, they haven't admitted it. I hope that's not the case! It's in the Select program, but no borrows, so far.
This leads to a question: on Amazon, is there a way to see what the book's page views are? On Smashwords, the samples downloaded stat hinted at that, but I haven't found that for Amazon yet. If there are no page views, that would lead me in the direction of trying to increase visibility, but if there are page views that don't get converted, that implies that either the cover or the blurb aren't doing their job. Or at $4.99, the price is too high. Different things to fix. If there are page views, reviews might help, but there aren't any of those as yet.
With 35K words (about a third) of one WIP being looked at by a beta reader, and 130K words of a second WIP going out to a second reader, I have a minute or two to think on these things. If only I knew what to work on... If any readers feel they could provide an opinion on either the cover (visible to the right) or the description (below), please feel free. I won't hold anything you offer against you. Of course, you could say, work on everything... but I'd like to focus.
Description
Mercenaries: A Love Story
Beckie Sverdupe, typical high-school student and accomplished equestrienne, has a best friend, a younger brother, and no plans beyond homework and the upcoming pep rally.
Then, she is kidnapped to be buried alive. Her strength and resourcefulness during that ordeal causes the enigmatic young mercenary, Ian Jamse, to ask for her help in rescuing another abducted girl. During spring break, she and her best friend play exotic dancer in London and, within a day, find themselves being massaged in a Italian villa! The sex-trader is thwarted this time, but he continues to ply his evil trade in San Diego by hijacking a middle-school school bus.
Beckie chooses to put herself back on the stage, within the slaver’s grasp, to free the California girls. Jamse sees financial gain. The two of them chase the fiend from London to Arizona to Thailand, where Beckie learns what she really wants from life.
This is Mercenaries: A Love Story complete. All four stories are here in one volume.
Bonus! An excerpt from Freedom No Matter, the next book in this series.
Mercenaries: A Love Story is recommended for 16+ for language and mature situations
The book is just over 153K words and it's not available in paper. Does anyone think having a 500 page book available would add to its success?
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