A Few Things
Dear Readers, you are smarter than me.
* Several of you have caught that Glocks don’t have hammers. Yes, this is true. In my defense, I thought that in a world with Weres, scurf, and hellbreed, a slightly-altered gun design wouldn’t be the hardest thing for the Reader to accept. I thought other problems were bigger. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I wanted a hammer for dramatic effect, Jill wanted a Glock because she likes them. I struck a bargain.
I’m only glad it wasn’t with Perry. *grin*
I just wanted to tell you guys that yes, you’re smarter than me. But you deserve to know I’m not a total idiot. Timeline issues and picking the wrong word in That One Notable Instance? Oh yeah, that was all me. Especially the occasional timeline burp in Hunter’s Prayer, because I wrote that book first and Night Shift afterward. I’ll own that.
* Another thing people are writing to me about in great numbers is “why is Dante believing Eve in Saint City Sinners?” I guess a few folks are reading that book now, and seeing clearly that Eve is, shall we say, a touch unreliable.
You know how you see your friend doing something, and you know it’s a bad idea, and you can see so clearly where it’s going to go wrong–but you can’t say anything, because you’ve tried and your friend bit your head off, and you just want them to be happy and hope like hell it’ll all turn out?
Even though, probably, it won’t? So all you can do is worry and hope?
I felt that way with Dante. A LOT. Part of the trouble with writing in first-person is that you have this tight focus. You have to pull off the hat-trick of showing the reader without showing the character. Maybe I succeeded with Eve. *preens slightly* Or maybe not, since Readers are frustrated Dante doesn’t twig to Eve’s basic nature.
Part of the arc of the Valentine series was this deconstruction of Dante’s personality. Because she is so stubborn and so dead set on what she wants and how she thinks the world is, I literally had to take her apart and destroy her before she’d listen to reason. She was such an extreme personality (I am reminded of what Janet Fitch said about the character of Ingrid in White Oleander) I perhaps erred on the side of wanting the reader to understand her.
Of course, that extremity of character is partly why Japh falls in love with her, and partly why she can put up with his lying, manipulative demon self, so I suppose there’s tradeoffs. There always are.
Anyway. That’s all I’ve got for today. I did finish reading Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight and am going ahead with Ivanhoe, since the Selkie and I are reading it together. I also (celebration!) received author’s copies of Steelflower yesterday!
I was paging through one of them and realized, holy crap, I had so much fun writing that book. It’s probably about time to do another one. *grin*
I do love this job, even if I get up some days and really feel I’m not too good at it. *beams*
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September 3rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
I didn’t know that about the Glock. But I should have. I have a Ruger, though. They’re SOOO much sexier.
Great job on the serial. It’s actually made me go to the bookstore to find your backlist, which is great! Except they didn’t have NOT A ONE. Which sucked. So I’m going to see if another bookstore has you.
I have to say, the covers threw me off, which is why I never read any of your other work, but your serial has changed my mind about reading them. You’re a great writer.
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I do occassionally want to slap Dante for getting mixed up over Japh and believing Eve, but I get the whole not being able to see past the debt to her friend. I think she’d see clearer if the others hadn’t died, she’s not got anyone to tie her to her past anymore. Babbling. I’m not a detail person so I never notice those errors people point out, I just enjoy the stories.
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I just read Night Shift, did not notice the Glock thing. My experience with handguns is limited to fiction, however.
As for Dante, I did often wonder why she would be so loyal to Eve, and not realize Japh loved the hell out of her (literally!), but I figured that was part of her stubbornness, like you say.
It’d be interesting to see some of Japh’s POV for an outtake type thing, if you ever (ha!) have time on your hands. Like Stephenie Meyer did with Twilight and Edward.
September 4th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I still have to read Night Shift but I have so much limited knowledge of guns (except for the usual hunting berretas that are lurking at home from my grandfather’s and my dad’s hunting trips) that I wouldn’t notice it.
Dante really makes me want to scream at her at times about Eve, but that can happen with Jaf as well, so… I guess they are a perfect match even if they do not see it yet….
and in the process of my bubbling, Selene’s serial is sooooo good I can barely wait to read the next chapters…
Thanks for the books, and yeah… in the future I would Love to see something from Jaf’s POV and anything about Liana…. after all her story in the last anthology of Vampire Romance got me curious on Dante…
thanks aqain
September 4th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Lili,
Just wanted to say, THANK YOU so much for Selene! What an incredible gift, thank you! There are actually 2 reasons for me personally to thank you: one is for the story itself, two is that for whatever reason Selene cues my own muse in my writerly escapades and having been stalled out for oh, 6 months or so I was beginning to think hey, destiny as an overworked, underpaid health care worker is a GREAT place to be! (and like all health care workers now I am indeed grateful that I have a very reliable job source) Unfortunately, the artist in my soul is not satisfied with a reliable job choices; it craves writing, drawing, sculpting, dancing.
Also, a quick comment on SMeyer’s books — I had initially started out trying to read the first book and found myself feeling as though the books were a modern, vampiric, and chaste version of Romeo & Juliet. It seemed too perfect, in other words – Edward the perfect rescuing young man with just a touch of mystery, loads of beauty, and with the added allure of wealth and prestige from being a member of the most beautiful family in town with a perfect house and a perfect everything.
And the popularity of this series leads me to a scary question. Are women at a point in our own evolution as emancipated, thinking creatures in the US where we NEED to buy in to being rescued by rich, beautiful fantasy men? Here little girl, take my hand and you will never have to think for yourself or worry your little head about serious things like politics or even what you eat – I’ll make those tedious decisions for you and you will love me for it. That is how reading Meyers felt to me – of course, maybe this is all my own insecurities speaking, but I don’t think so and luckily enough I am still doing my own thinking about it. (Thank you very much!).
Please keep the Selene coming!!!!
CLM
September 8th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I read it and did not notice even though my husband and two boys (both cops) have Glocks! I like my Beretta Tomcat. It doesn’t have a hammer either. But, unlike the Glock you don’t have to slide the top back to “cock” it. You place one bullet in the chamber so it is very ready-no cock. It has a safety. Glocks have none but don’t fire till you slide the top back.
I love your books so much it is un-real. Wish you had a pic of yourselt inside the book but saw you on your other web.
Torn between Selene & Dante for favorite character. Of course, one series is complete. See how I feel after Selene is.
Please keep it up, your imagination is amazing!!