My Boys

Sometimes I think my writing career really began with my book Whenever You Want.  It was my 14th book, but most of what I wrote before that was not very good, so I started my career with Whenever You Want.  Today's post is about my main male characters and how I built them.  

What I like to do when I'm making a man for the audience to fall in love with at the same time as our heroine, I like to choose a word to describe him to help center his character.  Today, I'm going to share the words I used to build my men.  Let's get started.

Mark Lewis - Whenever You Want: The goal with Mark was simple.  I wanted to make a man who was a REASONABLE man to be Christina's first love.  In a lot of ways, everything that I wrote before this book was nothing more than practice, and I knew that, so I wanted to keep my expectations low.  When I read the book as a more mature novelist, I see that I accomplished what I set out to do.  However, I also prefer Dominic to Mark (even though he is the antagonist), and whenever I do a public reading for this book, I always choose to highlight a scene where Dominic brings it all out.  Actually, I see myself grabbing Dominic by the neck like he's a kitten and using him as a main male lead in another story.  I don't know when that will be, but I love him so much, I might just do that someday.

Seth Halkias - Kiss of Tragedy: His word may surprise a few of you.  It's OBEDIENCE.  This book is organized like it's paying tribute to Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake.  So, in the first half of the book our main girl, Juliet is acting like a baby and she's not getting the best out of Seth because she's still expecting him to lead her.  By the second half of the book, we know all that is wrong, and our girl has taken complete control.  By this point in the book, Seth will do anything she asks of him.  I'm not sure how many women get to experience this because men are so often insistent on being dominant, but having someone be willing to obey your every word because they love you completely is an element of romance I wanted to explore.

Tate Crosswood - The Blood that Flows: This book was published ten years ago and is now out of circulation.  I may re-release it if I see a decent enough gap in my writing schedule that I have the time to polish it up a bit.  His word is DEPENDABILITY.  This book is not a romance novel.  It has a few elements of a romance novel, but the resolution does not have anything to do with falling in love, or being in love, or being together.  Tate makes it his responsibility to be there for our girl when she needs him the most.  Like the best film noir, you fall in love, get hit hard, but by the end, the world has changed so completely that when the story fades out at the end, everyone must reconstruct their reality.  Maybe he and Sweeper get together in that new world and maybe they don't.

Harrison Fox - Rose Red: Harrison's word has a double meaning.  His word is APPRECIATION.  It means that he's grateful.  He's so incredibly grateful to have Paige in his life, it almost brings me to tears thinking about it.  The second meaning for the word is: gaining in value.  He appreciates.  As I was reading some fresh comments about Rose Red, I began to wonder how many women feel appreciated in their lives.  His character also improves as the story progresses, so you can see Paige's influence on him.  By the end, he's golden.

Evander Chaney - Behind His Mask: Evander was built a bit differently than most of my other male leads.  His word is STRIPPED.  If you read the book, you'll see how he is literally and figuratively stripped in the book.  Part of the goal of his character is to change the minds and hearts of the reader.  He begins the story by being everything that is usually portrayed in a romance novel hero.  He's intelligent, muscular, affluent, rich, and good-looking.  By the end of the book, all that is gone.  He's so enraged, he can't think and he's partly crazy as he scribbles on the wall.  His muscles have been ridiculed because he's been a jester, not a knight.  Not only that, but his muscles are a bit of a threat to our girl, Serena (Sarah) because she would not like to be forced into a deeper physical relationship.  By the end, his family is revealed as a complete mess.  His poverty is uncovered, and his good looks are lost because he begins to look like his father, which Sarah finds completely repellant.  The reason this book is supposed to change the minds and hearts of the reader is that the standard man that is created for the entertainment of romance novel readers... he's a fantasy.  This book is meant to encourage the reader to have a real-life romance with a real man without the false expectations that are created by unrealistic but constantly repeated male characters.  Good luck, girls! 

Christian Henderson - His 16th Face: Christian is the best male character I've ever written.  In order to make him, I had to use four body models and three character models.  That's a lot.  The most I had ever used before this was five models to make Evander.  Sometimes, I don't even have to use any.  My man just pops into my head like he was there all along.  Christian is my masterpiece.  His word is SACRIFICE.  I'm working on the sequel, If Diamonds Could Talk, right now, so I'm not in a great place to talk about Christian, so I'll leave it at that.

Salinger Meriwa - Hidden Library: Hidden Library is the sequel to Behind His Mask, and so Salinger has a tough act to follow with everything that happened to Evander and Sarah in the first book.  His word is DOGGEDNESS.  Salinger has a plan and his plan is in direct opposition to Veda's plan.  He wants to win her over, but she's determined to slam the door in his face.  For quite a large percentage of the book, what he tries to do in order to connect with her doesn't work.  He has to keep trying and trying in order to get through to her.  When he finally gets there, it's quite glorious.

Fletch Litman - If I Tie U Down: This character is so vivid to me, I worry that he'll be annoyed if I say something about him that he doesn't like.  His word is FLEXIBILITY.  Fletch is not thrown by changes in circumstance.  He's very willing to do all kinds of things, like a person who doesn't know his limits.  His flexibility is so intense that his attitude changes on a dime as he sticks to his priorities.  Honestly, I feel a little in love with him whenever he talks and I have great hopes that this book will eventually enjoy as much success as Whenever You Want.

These are the men from the books that I've released.  I have five unfinished projects at the moment.  When I say 'unfinished projects', I mean books that do not have a complete first draft yet.  I'm on draft three for If Diamonds Could Talk.  But, as a teensy sneak peek into the project I have in mind for after I finish up Diamonds, the word for my latest man is GAMBLER.  I could squeal, I'm so excited.  He's going to set the world on fire!

Here's a link to my bookstore on Amazon, in case you haven't read any of my books and you'd like to.  I sell them cheap!

https://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Van-Orman/e/B07YBTPPGQ?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1628525527&sr=8-1

Whenever You Want

With pride and enthusiasm, I am here to announce the addition of my novel 'Whenever You Want' to the Galatea publishing platform.  Here's a link:

https://www.inkitt.com/galatea-app

Here's the publishing story.  This is going to be long.  

If I ran a publishing company, I wouldn't accept submissions.  I would headhunt authors who already have a following, who have already proven that they know how to write, and keep a close eye on their statistics.  I wouldn't choose anyone who hadn't written at least four novels and they would have to post regular updates to prove that they weren't flaky.  If I could sign someone who knows how to hit it out of the park over and over again, it's all the better, since readers like familiar authors.  Then it's just icing all the way to the bank.

But I'm a writer.

After my first deal with a publishing company, I gave up looking for a new one and became an independent novelist.  If you're a nobody and nobody reads your books, you could sign a deal with a publishing company, but they'd have all the leverage.  You wouldn't have any other option than to do what they said, whether you liked it or not.  You have to prove that people like your writing the way it is if you want to call the shots.

With that in mind, I made accounts on all the free sites and posted the same three books on all of them: 'Whenever You Want', 'Kiss of Tragedy', and 'Behind His Mask'.  My plan had teeth and this whole summer, I was absolutely flooded with offers from publishings apps.  I was starting to lose hope as most of those contracts were not quite good enough.  I didn't like the way their apps looked.  I didn't trust them.  Their contracts seemed sketchy.  I couldn't get clear answers out of their representatives.  I was feeling very frustrated.

When it became clear that I could sign Galatea's offer, it was like morning had finally come.  I want to publish somewhere where my work has a chance of being enjoyed.  Getting a wrong fit with a publishing company/app can make you feel like you failed, when, actually, you just pitched to the wrong crowd.  I also want to maintain creative control.  I had already succeeded on their sister site, Inkitt, so I had already proven that my book could succeed with their readers without major overhauls.   

I am forteen kinds of delighted.  So, here's what's going to happen.  I'm going to post 'His 16th Face' and 'If I Tie U Down' on Inkitt and see if I get any bites.  If you'd like to read either of those books for free, now is a great time.  Here's the link to my profile.  Every hit helps.

https://www.inkitt.com/StephanieVanOrman 

 

May you Never be the Reason

Take a look at this quote:

May you never be the reason why someone who loved to sing doesn't anymore.  Or why someone who dressed so differently now wears standard clothing.  Or why someone who always spoke of their dreams so wildly is now silent about them.  May you never be the reason for someone giving up a part of themselves because you were demotivating, non-appreciative, or even worse sarcastic about it.  

- Shorouk Mostafa Ibrahim

I don't agree with the punctuation in that quote, but that's the way it was displayed, so we'll use it as is.

When I first read this, I felt sick.  Sick to my stomach.  Ill to the bone.  The thing is... I am always the reason why people give up writing.  I don't tease them.  I don't make fun of them, but I have had concourses of people approach me and ask me questions about how I write novels.  They approach me and say with bold confidence proclaiming that they are a WRITER!  A few minutes later, they withdraw from me mumbling to themselves, 'Why did I say I was a writer?'

I'm not trying to scare them off.  I'm not trying to hurt their feelings.  They ask me a question and I answer it with realism, but I am treated like I told a toddler there was no such thing as Santa Claus.  Here's how it goes: 

Me:  I didn't write a good novel until my twelfth.

Them:  You wrote eleven novels before you wrote a good one?

Me:  Yes.  How many novels have you written?

Them: ... One.

Me: How many words is it?

Them: Eighteen thousand.

Me:  That's not a novel.  The bar for novels is 40,000 words.  What you've got there is a short story, or if you're being fancy, a novelette, but it's not a novel.

I promise you, absolutely no one likes being told that what they thought was a novel is a short story.  These people who approach me like to lie to me as well.  They like to act like they are already novelists and have already conquered the literary world.  I don't enjoy these conversations either because they will pin me against a wall at a party and tell me their ideas until the lights go out.  I've found a couple of ways to diffuse them:

Me: Here's my business card.  You can buy print and ebook copies of my books on that website.  Where can I buy your books?

Them: ... They're not for sale yet.

Alternatively--

Me:  How old were you when you wrote your first 100,000-word book?

Them:  I haven't yet.

Me:  That's okay.  That's not for everybody.  How old were you when you wrote your first book over 60,000 words?

Them: ... Uh... not yet.

Me: 40,000?

Them:  How old were you when you wrote your first book over 100k words?

Me:  Eighteen.

If you saw their face, you'd know that they believe with all their souls that I am being unbearably mean to them.  Yet, I did not tease them.  I didn't make fun of them.  All I did was sprinkle a dash of reality on their fantasy, which most of the time, THEY ARE DOING NOTHING TO REALIZE.  Sometimes I wonder if their dream is to pin me against a wall like a butterfly being pinned to a board.  They don't want to write a novel, they want to talk about writing a novel.  

I was at a wedding recently where someone told me they had an idea for a book.  I shook my head and told them that they didn't need my permission or approval to write a novel.  They should just go ahead and write whatever they'd like.  They replied, "I just have to tell someone my idea for this book tonight."

I was so stressed out, I walked straight out of the building, leaving the reception, never to return.  

The thing is... dreams are a luxury.  They are a big padded luxury.  Not everyone gets to sing.  I have had enough choir directors point in my direction and say, 'Someone over there is off.'  Not everyone gets to dress the way they want.  They must wear a uniform.  And anyone who wants to tell me about their dreams had better be telling me about their new kitchen cabinets because I can only take so much before I snap.  

I can't make aspiring writers' dreams come true.  I can't promise them that their idea is going to be a bestseller.  I can't guarantee that they will not waste their time.  Those are things that are decided by them as an individual or on mass.  Do what you want.  You don't need anyone's permission or approval and likewise, if you don't want to be influenced by the negativity of others, then don't be!  There is no reason for you to blame the person who popped your bubble!  Get a grip and blow another bubble!

Should I Wear a T-Shirt?

One of the marketing gimmicks struggling writers employ is wearing a T-Shirt advertising their books.  I've seen at least a dozen such attempts on the internet.  Sometimes the person is wearing their ad and sometimes it's just a picture of the shirt just coming out of the box.  I had never seen one in person until this last weekend.

I was in an airport, waiting for my bag to come off the carousel when I spotted him.  He was wearing a red shirt with a bunch of book names down the back of it.  He stood right in front of me and I read the list of seven books over and over trying to figure out if the ad was working.  

Did I want to buy his books?  

Did I think I could sell my books if I made up a T-shirt with my stuff on it?

Welp, there was a couple of things wrong with his ad.  A bland list of book titles wasn't going to do anything for me.  There has only been one book that I wanted to read based on the title alone and that book was 'Out of the Soylent Planet' by Robert Kroese.  It was hilarious by the way, but I bet that a list of my book titles is only going to set me on fire without igniting anyone around me.  

So, what if I did pictures of my books instead?  Maybe that would be better, but they're still going to be on my body... which poses a problem.  It did on that gentlemen's body as well.  He had a muffin top happening.  I'm not judging!  I also have a muffin top sometimes, but it means that both of us make rotten candidates for advertising our products. 

I have also seen people get stickers made up to advertise their book on the back window of their vehicle.  It's like 'Screw the stick figure family!  Buy my book!'  I have seen this done so that the ad doesn't look the least bit cheesy, but even with perfectly made stickers, you have a few problems.  Firstly, you'd better keep your SUV perfectly clean.  Secondly, you'd better never drive like a saint, otherwise, other drivers will be explaining to the cops, "The back window was an advertisement for 'The Devil's Remorse' by Kim Carol.  Have you experienced passion dark as Hell yet?"

"Oh yeah?  We've been getting a few complaints about her," the cop explains.  "She always gets off.  She's good at crying."  (NOT A REAL BOOK OR A REAL AUTHOR)

Anywhooooo... It's really hard to advertise your books.  It's no wonder people are stooping to these depths to get noticed.  

Rose Red

Welcome Ink Drinkers,

Today I announce the release of my new novel, Rose Red.  Here's the synopsis:

You can't buy a girl!

But in the year 2214, you can. She can whip you into shape, design your diet, be your personal stylist, and turn you from geek to chic in just one year.  After buying a model at Sleeping Beauty Inc. your life will never be the same. 

But what will happen when the model Harrison buys isn't exactly what he bargained for?

Okay, it's not a new novel.  It's been around for over ten years, but now it's in paperback format.  It had a lot of very heavy editing in order to be prepared for its paperback edition.  So, if you enjoyed it the first time around, you'll really enjoy it the second time.

Within myself, I categorize my novels under two columns.  On one side, I write serious novels that have depth and complexity and on the other, I write stuff that's just fun, fun, and more fun.  It could also be described as some of my books have blood splatter and some don't.  I do like to get a bit of blood on the walls.  

The Serious Books:

His 16th Face

Behind His Mask: The First Spell Book

Hidden Library: The Second Spell Book

The Blood that Flows

Kiss of Tragedy

The Silly Books:

If I Tie U Down

Whenever You Want

Rose Red

A Little Like Scarlett: A Partial Autobiography

When I sell books in person, I tend to sell the serious ones better and I have a really hard time selling the silly ones.  However, as soon as my back is turned and people on the internet can do whatever they want without being watched, my silly books get picked up like crazy.  My two most popular books, 'Whenever You Want' and 'Kiss of Tragedy', don't match up in download figures.  WYW kicks the crap out of KOT and, honestly, KOT is better. 

And then there are the ARCs.  Those are the Advanced Reader Copies I give out to get reviews in the ebook stores.  I did quite well with His 16th Face.  A handful of people who didn't sign up for the ARC left sparkling reviews.  H16F is one of my very best books.  It's a delight.  I read it for fun.  However, the reader response for If I Tie U Down was poor.  There are scads of discrepancies.  This book gets more notice here, and that one gets more notice there.  This book was successful in this way and that one was a failure in that way.  WHY ALL THE DIFFERENCES?

We've actually hit on the reason authors use more than one pen name.  The audience grows to expect certain things from their author.  People who have read Whenever You Want and enjoyed it will LOVE If I Tie U Down.  They will be delighted from cover to cover.  However, if you're expecting mind-bending creativity, you'll have to wait for If Diamonds Could Talk (the sequel to His 16th Face).  Otherwise, you'll have to enjoy a romantic comedy that asks for nothing from you.  

That's what Rose Red is.  It's mildly creative.  I use unusual elements to bring the story together and make strange things work alongside each other.  But at its heart, it's a warm story about how much a woman is worth even if she costs a fortune and never makes a penny.  

It's available now on Amazon and Smashwords.  It will appear on more and more sites as the days go on.  

Here's the Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1990217036/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Rose+Red+by+Stephanie+Van+Orman&qid=1626216232&sr=8-1

And here's the link to the YouTube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoz1GJjn4so

Enjoy!  Love is all around the world, especially if you like to drink ink!

 

Greedy Little Me

This is going to be a strange post.  It has come to my attention that people do not know how to shop for me.  Sooo, even though this is bananas, I'm going to write a list of shopping dos and don'ts for me.  

Now I'm going to give you a list of things I like and a list of things I don't like.  Don't mix them up!

Yarn

Pens

Empty Books

Suckable Candies

Pickles

Olives

Socks

Molds

Second List:

Lavender Soap

Cookies

Perfume

Earrings

Books

Gift Certificates

Concert tickets

Spa Vouchers

There!  All done!  I hope you enjoyed the sideways humor of this post.    

The Little Bookstore that Couldn't

A little over a year ago, I started doing shifts as a resident writer at the Askew Creek Book Shop.  It was a tiny bookshop in a market that sold independent novels and used books.  That's a picture of what my shelf looked like at one time.

So, as some of you have seen on my FaceBook page, it failed and it's closing its doors.

I feel quite a lot of grief that it failed and I hope there is another opportunity waiting around the corner.  I had so many plans.  I was going to set up a TV that played trailers for six of my books on a loop.  I was going to print my daughter's children's book and sell it there around Christmas.  

To help me say goodbye, I thought I'd write my top three memories from working at the bookshop.  

The time Carol and Angela taught me how to sell.  Neither Carol nor Angela work at the bookshop.  They work at surrounding shops.  I'm good at selling things normally, but selling my own books in person is a bit hard because people really want a few degrees of separation between them and their author.  That's especially the case when people read escapist fiction.  But Carol and Angela let me practice pitching my books to them and both bought a book when I was finished.  It was a sweet day!

The time Eliza told me that participating in a community writing exercise was beneath me.  I have always hated creative writing workshops.  I'm not interested in short story writing projects.  I want to write novels that have vast opportunities for plot twists and loops.  Short stories don't have to be predictable and I enjoy reading them from time to time, but I have no interest in writing them myself.  Eliza is a really crabby old writer, which makes her venom on my behalf as sweet as sugar.  I loved hearing her dismissive voice letting me off the hook.

The last one was something that didn't happen much at the market.  Most of the customers were seniors.  I still sold them my books, but one time I had a couple of women in their 20s come in.  As soon as they walked in, I said, "You two look like my demographic."  I sold one of them a copy of Kiss of Tragedy and she was so nervous about buying it from the author and getting a signed copy that she dropped her money three times.  In that tiny market, in that small corner, I looked like a real author to her.  I'm not sure if I've had many of those kinds of experiences in the flesh.  I received over 700 comments for Kiss of Tragedy online where people have gone into raptures about how great it is.  But this was in person.  It was an especially wonderful moment.

And now I'll only be there for two more shifts before it's over.  All my books will be pulled from the shelves on May 19th.  I really do hope there's another opportunity around the corner.  I'd like another opportunity.