My novel, Magic All Around has two reviews on Amazon now. It’s a big deal in my life, and I don’t mind if you’re amused by how big a deal it is to me because I’m highly amused by it myself. Nonetheless, it’s a big deal.
You see, this is my dream,
this writing stuff. This is what I’ve
known I’m meant to do since I was twelve years old. Also, I believe in “responsible authorship”. In other words, I think there’s a lot of crap
and drivel in the media that takes up too much room in our brains and leads us
to have skewed and unhealthy perspectives about reality. I believe that media creators (authors and
such) have a tremendous power to change lives.
With power, comes responsibility.
So, I’m not sitting at my dining room table trying to write stories that
I think might make me rich, I’m over here trying to write stories that I think,
and hope, might make a difference to someone; stories that might help someone
solve a problem, reframe a dilemma, try something new. I want one person to buy and read Magic All Around and be transformed by
it the way I’ve been transformed by books over the years. I want my stories to trigger new trains of
thought, introspection, insight, epiphany.
Plus, I want them to be enjoyable and fun. Ya know?
I’m asking for a lot, I realize that.
These are pretty highfalutin standards for a light and humorous fantasy
novel to live up to!
All of that is to say,
this is why my two reviews on Amazon are a big deal for me. They are both five star reviews and they both
specifically mention the uniqueness of my main character, Vivian Marshall.
I'm a character-driven reader and nothing
alienates me faster than a foolish, insipid or boring character. One the
other hand, nothing else hooks me like the magnetism of an interesting, three-dimensional
character with a unique perspective.
As a writer, I’m also
character-driven. When I created Vivian,
I was aiming for realistic; the kind of young woman you might actually meet if
you came to Juneau and wandered into her artist’s studio. I also wanted Vivian to demonstrate the kind
of self-determination that you and I might, in her circumstances. I wanted to avoid, at all costs, a character
that tripped over her own feet, didn’t know what she liked and let other people
run the show all the time. Vivian is far
from perfect but she’s on her own path to self-empowerment and she’s not afraid
to take action to get what she wants.
What do you think about responsible authorship? Do you think authors and other media creators have the power to change cultural trends?
Are you tired of reading
about the same recycled female protagonists? Do you want to meet a young
woman who knows how to cook on the engine block of her car? Care to read
about a gal who wears rain boots and ties a bandana over her hair instead of
wearing strappy heels and carefully coifed locks?
Meet Vivian Marshal. She's introverted but she's not soft-spoken!
If you long for a strong, unique female lead, you'll adore the stubborn and self-determined Vivian as well as the rest of the unique cast in Magic All Around.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CQQH9EG
Meet Vivian Marshal. She's introverted but she's not soft-spoken!
If you long for a strong, unique female lead, you'll adore the stubborn and self-determined Vivian as well as the rest of the unique cast in Magic All Around.
