Tag Archives: authors

AN UNEXPECTED HONOR

I’d like to thank #AllisonBruning at http://www.allisonbruning.blogspot.com for nominating me for The Lighthouse Award. Never heard of it, but love what it stands for: #bloggers who like to help people! It always feels so good to be recognized.

There are gifts given to every person. How we use those gifts determines what kind of human we become. Writing is one of my gifts. For me, writing is about helping others: it provides mental relaxation, adds to knowledge, highlights important issues, provides role models and most of all, gives us hope.

Another gift is my love for Mother Earth. In 1996, my wife and I purchased 12 acres of abused farmland that we named Wild Haven. What had once been forested wetlands had fifty or so years before been logged, the pathways of water changed and made into farmland. The farmland was then abused by overuse and negligence. By the time we bought it invasive weeds controlled eleven acres of the 12. Bodies of dead animals and birds lay scattered like discarded rubbish. The people that had owned it loved to kill, not to eat but to destroy. Not even a bird flew over the land until our medicine man came and cleansed it. The first bird to return was a hummingbird. Now we host 68 different species of birds over the course of a year’s time as well as a number of mammals such as coyote, fox, rabbit, possum, raccoon, deer, an occasional cougar, and a black bear who loves our fall apples. Three species of salmon now call our creek a pathway to spawning grounds. In 2001 the National Wildlife Federation certified our farm was Wildlife Habitat. In 2002, we have won a county award for Wildlife Farm of the Year. In 2003, we won the Washington State Award for #Wildlife Small Farm of the Year. #Conservation is the gift we give to the generations yet to come. What kind of world will we hand on?

To see more photos of Wild Haven, go to http://www.pinterest.com/ayawalksfar Look at Jaz Wheeler’s Farm board.

The third gift I have been graced with is the ability to look at writing of others and see where I can suggest changes that will make it stronger, clearer. I don’t do the polish editing like my wonderful editor, Lee Hargroder Porche, but what I call developmental editing. I help clarify timelines, pick up on dialog that isn’t realistic and other details that can make an author’s work a bit more real.

The Lighthouse Award requires that a blogger:

• Display the Award Certificate on your blog.

• Write a post and link back to the blogger that nominated you.

• Inform your nominees of their award nominations.

• Share three ways that you like to help others.

• Nominate as many bloggers as you like.

When I think about all the people who #blog and who make helping others a large part of their lives, there are too many to list. But here are some that I nominate for The Lighthouse Award:

#RubyStandingDeer at http://www.rubystandingdeer.com whose Native American series is a spiritual journey

#ErikaSzabo at http://www.authorerikamszabo.com who tirelessly worked to bring to us the Read for Animals book and event

#WiseandWildWomen at http://wildandwisewomen.com whose entire goal is the uplifting of women

#JenWilliams at with http://myraysoflight.wordpress.com who constantly brings forth issues we need to consider

#JumbledWriter at http://www.jumbledwriter.com whose blog and subjects are all about conversations that help people consider timely issues

Please visit these wonderful blogs. You’ll be glad that you did! Be sure to CLICK and FOLLOW so you don’t miss new posts!

To share in the conversations, join Aya on http://www.facebook.com/ayawalksfar

To check out Aya’s latest works go to http://www.facebook.com/AyaWalksfarAuthor

To see some really cool photos click over to http://www.pinterest.com/ayawalksfar

INDIE NOVELISTS: POSITIVE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN?

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I write about, blog about, tweet about and facebook about strong women, women who make a difference in the world. Just as women impact the world, the world—especially the world of words—impacts women.

One part of that world of words is novels. Thousands of #women read, daily. After a difficult day at work, they go home, grab a cup of coffee, toe off the mandatory high heels and kick back with a good book. Unfortunately, many novels depict women as weak, unsuccessful without a man, unhappy when not involved in a relationship, indecisive and in need of rescuing.

Print on demand and ebooks have blown open the publishing industry. There has been a great influx of #indie #authors. Will these authors simply repeat the same formulas that undermine women’s self-image or will they redefine female characters?

This week, I asked my guest, John Dizon, indie author of several books, how he portrays the role of women in his novels.

Aya: John, I noticed in your books that the women play a definite secondary role to the men. Many male authors seem to have strong male leads in their novels, with very few strong female characters. How do you choose the gender of your lead characters?

John: It all depends on whether a major female protagonist can support the novel. I take pride in the fact that most of my novels feature strong female protagonists, and that more than a couple are recognized as women’s fiction. Obviously I won’t create an unrealistic world in which women are stronger than men, especially in action/adventure. I came close in “The Brand”, in which the pirate queen Belen and the Mohawk princess Nightshade were feared by most of the males they interacted with. Sabrina Brooks of “Nightcrawler” has everyone thinking her masked alter ego is a male. These are exceptional woman, however, and I don’t write novels about Amazon worlds. I deal with reality and make a strong female as realistic as logic dictates.

Aya: On the subject of strong female characters, I noticed in Vampir that Celeste is portrayed as an attorney with some strong moral codes about helping her client, yet in the end she divulges all of his information. Throughout the book, Celeste gets herself into some bad situations, and she is rescued by others, usually her boyfriend, Shea. Why did you choose to have her rescued rather than having her rescue others? And why did she go against her original code of ethics?

John: We’re dealing with a number of different narratives in “Vampir”. From Page One, Radojka commits suicide and leaves Celeste holding the bag as she’s accused of smuggling the weapon into his cell and possibly even doing the deed. At the least she may end up being disbarred. Plus the fact that Count Radojka is being revealed as a serial killer and mass murderer after she had taken him on as an elderly client needing his estate issues resolved. She’s treading deep water, being held in psych care at the MCC, and is hoping her boyfriend can save her. I could have had Shea as the lawyer and Celeste as the cop, but a lot of it wouldn’t have worked, especially in the partnership with Bob Methot as an NYC detective. Ninety percent of the women I personally know (and I know some tough women) would have never condoned such abuses of authority and police brutality.

Aya: In the end Celeste is judged mentally unstable and hospitalized. Was there a reason for that as versus having one of the male characters seen as mentally unstable? Could there have been a different way of handling that line of story logic that would show her as a stronger, rather than a weaker, character?

John: Again, if we reversed the roles we would’ve had Celeste going way over the top in condoning Methot being Dirty Harry on steroids. Another thing is to consider the genre. Whether we like it or not, there’s a lot of sexual tension in the vampire genre, which would have been released had it been about Shea as a ‘gentleman in distress’. As far as the hospitalization, it can be seen that Celeste’s personality begins changing drastically throughout her incarceration, and in the last line we find out that she has actually been possessed by one of Radojka’s demons. That was my prompt for “Vampir II” if I can overcome my critics! (big grin)

Aya: How do you define a strong female character? What attributes would she show in a novel?

John: She’s got to be very attractive and physically gifted (which is all about self-confidence and capability), above average intelligence, eager to compete in a man’s world and have a kind heart. Princess Jennifer of “Tiara” is probably my most feminine heroine, but even though she’s kidnapped and nearly killed, her spirit never breaks. Bree “Nightcrawler” Brooks is very feminine, but when she pulls on that balaclava she’s the toughest of all. At the other end of the spectrum, Debbie Munson of “Hezbollah” and Bridgette Celine of “The Fury” are hell on wheels. They would give Belen and Nightshade the fight of their lives.

Aya: Which of your female characters do you believe display the traits of a strong female? And why? Which traits make her as strong?

John: I’ve got to go with Bree Brooks. She is America’s oldest virgin (at 24) despite the fact she was a party girl and a police academy trainee before she took over Brooks Chemical Company after her father’s death. She’s ridiculously old-fashioned but, paradoxically, is street-wise and has the charm and people-smarts to excel in a man’s world. What makes her a role model is her indomitable will and her desire to help others. She can sit on a pedestal and have the world at her feet, but she continually risks her life to save the planet, one person at a time.

Aya: Do you believe that words matter? If so, what impact do you feel the portrayal of women in novels as being physically in need of protection, mentally unstable even when they are telling the truth, has on the self-esteem, on a subconscious level, of women who read those novels?

John: This is where authors encourage readers to discuss works of redeeming social value, and raises the bar for us to write such works. This interview, in itself, has been a litmus test and a wonderful opportunity to discuss my work from a female perspective. I would hope that women engage in discussion of my female protagonists and determine whether they are realistic, and whether novels such as “Nightcrawler” and “Hezbollah” qualify as women’s fiction. Most importantly, I would want the work to be recognized as portraying women as overcoming obstacles in male-dominated environments. I would be walking on air if I got an e-mail from a female reader telling me she resolved an issue by asking herself “What would Bree Brooks do?” or “What would Debbie Munson do?” Belen or Nightshade — not so much.

One novel that deserves particular mention is “King of the Hoboes”. Veronika Heydrich goes undercover and is forced to live on the streets to infiltrate the Hobo Underground. Her boyfriend, Evan, desperately tries to keep track of her, but is nearly killed in the process. The dynamic in this novel is showing the continuing ordeal that homeless women in New York City deal with on a daily basis. There are enormous discrepancies and gender discrimination within the homeless community as well as the City’s attitude and levels of accommodation. People have no idea how dangerous it is for homeless women and children in NYC, and Roni’s experience helps people understand that situation. They are in great need of special attention and this must be addressed and resolved in the very near future.

Aya: How can we as novelists help increase female self-esteem?

John: I don’t think you ever want to portray any of your protagonists in a weak light unless you’re trying to make a point. Rummaging through my anthology, the only ‘weak’ female protagonist is Jana Dragana in “Wolf Man”, and she’s portrayed as such because she’s been victimized as a beautiful woman who finds work as a model and ends up in a downward spiral through drug addiction. Yet she grows stronger as the story unfolds, and at the end it is Steve Lurgan who fails the test. She’s able to overcome her addictions, but Steve ends up committing suicide because he can’t endure living with the werewolf curse.

Whoops, did I just lose a couple of sales with that spoiler???

Thanks for the invite!

Aya: The views expressed in this interview are exclusively the views of author John Dizon. What did you think of John’s answers?

What do you think of John’s definition of a strong female character (see definition below)? Do you agree/disagree with his definition?

John: “She’s got to be very attractive and physically gifted (which is all about self-confidence and capability), above average intelligence, eager to compete in a man’s world and have a kind heart.”

Leave a comment! I appreciate hearing what you think. What readers think is important to me!

http://www.facebook.com/johnreinharddizonUSA

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/John-Reinhard-Dizon/e/B00DU9JNUQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_al1?_encoding=UTF8&refinementId=618073011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0AB5Z09XS0QSWD2JXD0Y&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/johnreinharddizonUSA

Blog: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JohnReinhardDizon

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THE TEN THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY #READERS

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Had a wonderful gathering with some pretty interesting folks on Saturday. It was originally to be a writing seminar and book signing, but it turned out to be so much more! We all settled in at Reader’s Choice Bookstore and had a nice long chat. The one hour time limit stretched to one and a half hours before I even thought to look at a watch!

What I learned from these wonderful readers:

–short chapters are better than long chapters. It means if a reader is in a hurry they can still get a “book fix”; and sometimes, after reading a short chapter they are enticed to go ahead and read another chapter.

–hooks have to happen, hopefully, within the first few pages, and surely no further into the book than page 30.

–readers DO look at how well a book is put together: editing, spelling, timeline, dialogue, character consistency and so forth. They also get quite perturbed if somehow during printing or formatting a section of the book gets LEFT OUT! What makes them even madder is if no one responds to their complaint.

–one of the reasons they read a series is to watch the characters grow and develop. However, they appreciate it when the book can be read out of order, as a standalone story.

–a series that uses the same theme over and over can become boring to the reader. Make sure each book of the series is exciting and feels like a ‘brand new story’ and not just a rerun of a previous story.

HERE ARE SOME MORE GREAT THINGS I LEARNED:

–readers are fun to chat with!

–they appreciate it when an #author will talk, not just sign the book and go away.

–they have a lot of insights for an author who listens.

–they enjoy connecting with the authors they read

–they value author book recommendations

–OH, AND DID I TELL YOU THEY ARE FUN TO CHAT WITH?

Had a great time! Thanks to all of you who came to the Reader’s Choice Bookstore for our event and book signing.

Would love to hear what you want in the books you read! Leave a comment.

Visit Aya’s Amazon author page to learn more about her books: http://www.amazon.com/author/ayawalksfar

Friend Aya on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ayawalksfar

When Do Characters Attack You?

Interview with Allison Bruning, Author/Publisher

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Today I have the great pleasure of interviewing Allison Bruning. I read Ms. Bruning’s book, Calico: Children of the Shawnee. I enjoy some history with my fiction, so I was impressed with the satisfying, complex read. Once I began reading, I was loathe to put it down.

http://amzn.to/10zqHta

“What inspired you to write Calico when you’re not even Native American descent?”

I cannot tell you how many times I get this question. To tell you the truth I absolutely love it, too. Growing up in Ohio I was bombarded with funny names such as Chillicothe, Wapakoneta, Mohican, and Cincinnati. The memorials of the Native American tribes who had once inhabited Ohio were in the names of our towns, camps (I went to Camp Wakatomika as a youth), and streets. Although, as far as I know, my family has no Native American heritage I was often drawn to the history and culture of these people. Calico has been in the market for two years now. It’s drawn a lot of attention from Native Americans. Most Native Americans that I meet are shocked to learn that I do not have any native blood in me. I have been adopted by a Delaware woman who tells me I am more of a sister to her than her own sister and a Creek shaman who thinks of me like his granddaughter. I am a good friend with a Navajo medicine woman and her family. All of the natives who meet me tell me that my heart bleeds red but my skin is white. I hold a Native American healer’s spirit in me although I walk this life as a white woman. I am very honored by the First Nations to think of me as one of their own.

When I was a child I was taught that the Shawnee were vicious people who murdered white men and raped their women. As I grew older I began to realize just how one sided the American history books are when it comes to dealing with Native American history, especially in the media. We often see the Shawnee in movies, television shows and books portrayed as bloodthirsty savages bent on raping women and killing men. It dehumanizes them. American history teaches us that the British and latter Americans were rescuing women and children from the Shawnee. They’d raze their settlements, rescue the poor white damsel in distress then off they go back to civilization with the female where she’s joyfully reunited with her family. The End! Isn’t that a nice fairytale? The savages are defeated and our hero saves the day.

But did you know that many of the women who had been “rescued” by the British or Americans actually ran right back to their captors? Why would these women go back to the natives who had captured them? Was it some sort of Stockholm syndrome? No, the white women of the 18th century often times left for their captors because they had more freedom in a native village than in a European colony.

This thinking goes against what we have been taught about the native population. On the contrary, a woman was valued more in native cultures than a man. When she was traveling with a man she would carry their belongings and be behind him. Why? So she would be protected! Think about it. The Shawnee were at war with the white man for a long time. He couldn’t carry his belongings and be prepared to fight should they be attacked. It was his duty to protect the women, children and elders.

In camp, the women were in charge of the fields and housework while her husband was laying around. Why was the man so lazy? He wasn’t. He was often hunting, fishing and protecting the village. Sometimes a man needs his rest but don’t think he wasn’t aware of his surroundings. In a moment’s notice, he would be able to defend his wife and family should the village be attacked.

“Allison, why didn’t the Shawnee men ever look at their wives when a white man was around?”

Would you want your enemy to know which women meant the most to you? He ignored her to protect her. You never know just how far someone would go to hurt another. Another thing to think about. If the Shawnee did not value their women then why did their laws insist anyone who hurts a woman receive double the punishment than if they had hurt a man?

When I wrote Calico’s character I had decided to make her the daughter of a French Fur Trapper. Why? Because I wanted to show my readers the truth. The British were so hell bent on saving every single white woman from the native population they never took time to consider whether or not the woman was actually British. As long as someone looked white the British would retrieve her. The problem with this is that not all white women were actually British. Some of them were the daughters of French traders who had married into the population. A French woman would marry into the tribe to secure a tighter trade relationship between her father and the native population.

If, in the event, a European woman was ever captured she would walk the gauntlet and then be adopted into a native family. Why? To replace the dead wife or child of a native person. Men on the other hand were often considered a threat. The natives knew if a man was adopted he might cause more harm then good. It was all about survival. I wanted my readers to understand these points through the eyes of a female who lived with the Shawnee.

Before I wrote Calico I had read a book called “Follow the River” by James Alexander Thom. I had watched the movie with my husband. While it was a good attempt to show a different side of the story, that is to honor the Shawnee, I felt it was lacking a lot. I decided to write Calico to fill in the cultural gaps this book left.

An interesting thing to think about is this as well. The natives were not the only ones who were kidnapping women and children. The British did so in order to provide labor for their slave market. The native populations didn’t just attack a British village for kicks, they often times did so in order to free those who had been captured by the British.

AUTHOR BIO:
Allison Bruning has had a passion for writing since childhood. She originally hails from Marion, Ohio, but lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband and their Australian Cattle Dog, Lakota Sioux.

Her father, Roland Irving Bruning, was the son of German immigrants who came to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Her mother’s family had immigrated from Scotland, Ireland and England during the 17th century.

Allison is a member of the Daughters of American Revolution, tracing her linage to Private Rueben, Messenger of Connecticut. She enjoys family stories, history and genealogy.

Her educational background includes a BA in Theatre Arts with a minor in Anthropology and a Texas Elementary Teaching certificate. Both were acquired at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Allison received National Honor Society memberships in both Theatre Arts and Communication. She was also honored her sophomore year with admission into the All American Scholars register. She holds graduate hours in Cultural Anthropology and Education. In 2007, Allison was named Who’s Who Among America’s Educators. She is also the recipient of the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards. Allison will receive her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Full Sail University on June 28, 2013.

Her books, Reflections: Poems and Essays and Calico: Children of the Shawnee (Book 1), are published by Mountain Springs House.

She is currently working on Passions Awakenings, book one of a high fantasy erotica series titled Draconian Corazon that will be released this summer. She is also working on a historical fiction series known as The Secret Heritage that takes place in early 20th century Ohio. Elsa, book one of the series, will be released in the fall.

Allison’s interests include Ohio Valley history, anthropology, travel, culture, history, camping, hiking, backpacking, spending time with her family, and genealogy.

She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AllisonBruning.
She is also on twitter @emeraldkell.
Her blog can be found at http://allisonbruning.blogspot.com.
Her author page on Goodreads is http://www.goodreads.com/emeraldkell
Her Amazon author page may be found at http://amzn.to/LZ0UsT

Importance of Book Cover Design

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When a reader cruises the bookstores, whether online or physical, they often walk down the aisle containing books that reflect their favorite genres. One of the very first things that catches the eye is the cover of the book; sometimes even before the title or the author.

In today’s competitive market, catching the eye of the reader is the most important step in marketing your work.

The book cover represents the concept of your book. Not only does it need to catch the reader’s eye, but it needs to honestly reflect the contents within. There is nothing as annoying as opening a book, perhaps with a horse on the cover, and discovering there in nothing connected to horses, to the culture of horses, to people who own horses, within the book. The reader feels cheated, or at the least, led astray.

With the basic image decided upon, the author needs to consider the font, size, and placement of the title of the book. If the reader sees a knight on a horse as the basic design, then it follows that the title script should reflect that era. The caution here is to not use such artistic script as to make the title difficult to read.

The third element of cover design is the author’s name. The author’s name needs to be easily read. Placement and size, in comparison to the title, needs to be considered as well.

Many authors commission professional cover designers. If, however, this is not a possibility, or the author simply wants to produce their own covers, Jonathan Gunson has provided a list of wonderful links to FREE professional photographs that can be used in cover designs. http://www.bestsellerlabs.com

Aya Walksfar, Author

Hard hitting, in-the-news murder mysteries