News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #143…
An example of “political correctness” run amok? The most recent victim of the anti-cultural-appropriation lunatic fringe is an editor of the Canadian magazine Write. He was forced to resign for stating that there should be a reward for an author who does it well. While I’m no fan of literary contests and awards that often go to so-called “literary fiction” books (the genre that’s no genre), how absurd is this action!
Fictional characters play out on the world’s stage. If an author’s writing is to be realistic, it has to recognize the diversity of human nature. In my very first book Full Medical (now with an ebook second edition), one main character is lesbian; she plays an important role in the other books in the “Clones and Mutants Trilogy.” Can I not show her as an admirable and caring human being because I’m not lesbian? The main character Rolando Castilblanco in my detective series is Puerto Rican. Can I not portray him as a crime-fighting wizard who has compassion for his victims because of his ethnicity? I even write his part of the novel in first person (hell, I once dreamed in Spanish, which is something for a non-Hispanic white guy). His partner Dao-Ming Chen is Asian-American. Why can’t she be a character? Because she’s not white and she’s a woman?
This anti-cultural-appropriation movement is silly and absurd. It’s just another example of political correctness running amok to the point that it’s becoming autocratic dogma. I’ll have none of it! If you don’t like the cultural appropriation in my novels, which I feel is an important aspect of my fiction along with its many controversial themes, don’t read them. Or maybe that’s why people don’t read them? If so, that’s sad.
Rembrandt’s Angel. Are you looking for an entertaining novel to read this summer? You have it in Rembrandt’s Angel, my new mystery/thriller/suspense story from Penmore Press just released. The novel pairs Scotland Yard’s Arts and Antiquities Inspector Esther Brookstone with Interpol Agent Bastiann van Coevorden, as their search for dealers in stolen artwork leads to exposing an international conspiracy.
Bastiann first appeared in Aristocrats and Assassins and played a prominent role in Gaia and the Goliaths. Esther made her debut in The Collector. This new team of sleuths discovers that pursuing stolen artwork can become surprisingly dangerous…and finds romance along the way. The new ebook is now available in all formats and can be found on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, Nook, and Kobo. If you haven’t wanted to try me because I’m not in bookstores, or if you’re hooked on print versions (I respect that—many readers are), the print version will also be available shortly on Amazon, and you can also order it through your favorite bookstore.
Do you use beta-readers? I’m addressing this to authors who read this newsletter. I find them invaluable. Scott Dyson, an author of some great horror stories and a Disney World guide, went the extra mile by beta-reading Rembrandt’s Angel. I haven’t seen the print book, but Amazon says that the ebook is equivalent to 422 pages. That’s much longer than my other novels simply because I had the most fun writing it, but that meant his task was much more difficult for Scott. Kudos to him for a job well done. And readers should check out his stories.
My beta-readers take my edited manuscript and look for logical errors (the getaway car turns from red to green in the middle of a chase, for example); mine also catch many remaining edits. In addition to Scott, Debby Kelly and Carol Shetler have contributed on many books. Every author should have at least one or two–they make a big difference!
Just a reminder… In regards the rest of my books, or even Rembrandt’s Angel, you can read the ebook version for free in exchange for an honest review. I write mystery, thriller, and sci-fi novels, sometimes combining those genres—the story’s the thing, not the genre. All authors need reviews. You only have to say what you liked about the ebook and why. That helps other readers and it helps the author. Forget about those formal book reports (reviews) you had to write in high school English. People simply want to know what readers think about a story.
Netherlands… is a country in Europe, AKA Holland, and the people are known as the Dutch. But Netherlands is also the name given to the king of that country in my novel Aristocrats and Assassins. He plays a major role as a kidnapped aristocrat who refuses to give in to terrorists.
You can understand my astonishment when I learned that the king has a secret life as pilot for KLM, the Royal Dutch Airlines. He also served in the military. No wonder he wanted a major role in my novel, according to my muses. It’s all fictional and the king comes across as a great guy in the book. I’ll pass this information on to my other main character, Detective Castilblanco. The king and the detective are now good friends in my fictional universe.
Sale almost over. The sale of Aristocrats and Assassins is almost over, so don’t miss out! You can purchase the ebook on Smashwords for $0.99, a $2 reduction in price, until May 31. It’s #4 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.” Use coupon code VN74R when you checkout on Smashwords.
In libris libertas!
