Heroes and Bad Reviews

Sometimes distractions can lead us away from our goals. Often times I find myself getting tunnel vision when I am writing an idea and that's not always the best thing. For the stories I am developing, I had a point A to point B plan and that was not the way it should have been. There is more to a great book than who, what, when, where, and why. An explanation can be developed from those, but not a great story. Sometimes stepping away and doing other things can help you reclaim your idea from a narrow vision and assist you in turning a good idea into an magnificent book.

In October, I purposely stepped away from my stories and kept myself from writing. Why? I felt like I was becoming bored with the process. I still had idea I knew were good, but I felt like something was lacking in my writing. I needed to find a way to develop more than just an A to B story. My first book Rumbling Heart was more than an A to B story and it shows in the quality of the development not only of the work, but also the characters and the atmosphere. Sometimes reading a book can help you reevaluate and refocus on what you are trying to do. In my case though, being able to now see things from a different angle is a double-edged sword.

I looked over my work and even over some reviews and bits of feed back I have gotten over my work. The good reviews are always nice, but it is the bad reviews that always stick with you. Why? Just human nature I suppose. Here is a snippet of a negative review RH got and my response to it.

Negative reviews happen. There is no way around it. Being a writer I accept that and I know there will always be people who either do not understand my work or, for whatever reason, want to find reasons to make it seem as if I did a huge disservice to the human race. I did find it interesting that this person thought her review was constructive. You can see my response to her review in the photo as well. Her response was once again nonconstructive. I liken this review to calling someone names because that is essentially what they did. If you feel the need to call me (or my work) "stupid" without offering any reason as to why you felt that way or any way to improve it, the review is completely pointless. Offering no way to improve on something is about as bad as crying because you didn't get your way. If I were a coach and I told a child they were terrible at football or whatever other sport I was coaching them in, I wouldn't remain a coach very long. Obviously you cannot really liken coaching to reviewing a book or a movie or whatever else you can give feedback on. Reviewers aren't coaches. I realize that. But at the same time people who do offer feedback need to understand that the main reason you give feedback, be it positive, negative, or mixed, is so people who develop their ideas can improve and make things better the next time around. What is the point of simply calling people or their work names? Sounds to me like certain individuals either lack the ability to express themselves or they feel the need to tear someone down.

Success also breeds negativity.

I will not say I am very successful. I haven't sold a ton of books and I haven't made all kinds of money at this. It was never really about money anyway. I have over the last year and a half gotten hurtful messages and emails from people who see that I was somehow able to hash it out and write a book. Not many people can say they've done that. Sure, some people can write a small story, but my first book was 475+ pages. A little long, but anyone has to admit that writing a book of that size takes time and commitment. My followup to my first book is much shorter, but still comes in at about 300 pages. No small feat. Another big story for me which is about 70% complete will probably come in at about 275 pages. Again, not many people in the world can say they can sit down and accomplish such a thing. I am not saying I should automatically get a great review for the effort, but I would hope that people like me...artists...deserve at the very least a review explaining exactly why our work is either good, bad, or mixed.

A good review does not always have to be positive. If you gave me 1 or 2 stars, but explained why this or that was unappealing to you, I could respect that. Not offering any explanation whatsoever makes me think the person is either just looking to be mean or trolling. In a way, they are kind of the same thing.

If you are a reviewer like I am from time to time, do the artist a favor and explain why you think one way or another. In the end, we will thank you for it and so will other readers.

 

 

Recorded Butterflies - Cover Reveal

Here it is. Simple, nothing splashy. Just the way I like it. Can you find the butterfly? You will probably miss it the first time.

The Waiting Game

Sitting here and waiting for my book to arrive is gonna eat me alive. To know it will be available in print is beyond exciting. I ordered my proofs and that's why I can't sit still. Could also be Parkinson's, but i doubt that. Technically, my meds cause Parkinson's symptoms, but let's not go downhill. Apparently, the books have already shipped and should be here in a few days. I ordered three copies so I can give a couple away. I want to keep one for myself so I can always have something from my writing days.

It's Live

Rumbling Heart is now live on three major book outlets. Go pick it up if you like! I am sure you all will enjoy it!

Final Formatting

Starts today! After I settle a few personal matters that will take me out today, I will be formatting which shouldn't take long at all. Just have to add a few credits and we're ready for publication.

Closer

Not much longer till the release of Rumbling Heart. I am getting nervous. I am trying to keep myself from going through it for the 36th time. I keep telling myself the book is ready and there isn't anything that needs to be done with it. I can only fight this urge so long till I know I open it up and read through it one more time.

12 days.

 

Movie Poster

I made a movie poster which you can see below. I added a release date...sort of. I purposely did it so I can make myself work on it. I figured if I put a release date it will light a fire under me and kinda of force me to work on it, even on days when I don't really feel like I want to. The interesting thing about it is that i carries an appropriate rating. Enjoy.

Lots of Edits

Ruby's project is moving along nicely. I would say about 80% done with her stuff, but even then it gets one more look to be sure.

My stuff is still getting rewritten and editing like mad. I've dropped about 4500 words out of it overall which is not bad, but it needs more. My goal is 25k words at the very least. I'm not sure if I will hit it though as I am already in chapter 7 of 28. Who knows, I might make it. If I don't, it's not a huge deal. I just want the book to be shorter so people aren't overwhelmed by it. 500 pages is a lot to ask people to read. 60 years ago that wasn't a huge deal, but people have changed. Either way, it's no longer 513 pages as it was. Now it's closer to 500 and dropping so if I can get it to 450 that would be great.

In case you missed them, here are the two covers I did in the last couple of weeks. The first is for Ruby's book and the second is for mine. Hope you like them.

Clip Clip

Just a quick note.

Slowly but surely version 2.0 of Rumbling Heart is getting smaller and although last night saw it only shrink by 37 words, today should hopefully see it go down by at least another thousand words. As I've said before I hope to clip a good 20-30k words from it altogether. If I can get it down to 475 pages, I would really find that to be a major achievement. Anything less would be even better. Well, I am back to work on it, but not before I leave you with a copy of something I work up last night. Not sure if I will use it, but it maybe the cover for version 2.0

Slash and Burn

To slash 2 thousand words in a single stroke is pretty harsh, but when you are gutting out a bad angle from a good story, it has to be done. I am in the process right now. There will be some filler to write, but I don't mind doing it because the story in the end will be much better. It simply wasn't seeded in reality so when it grew as big as it did, it looked good, but not as beautiful as it could truly be so something had to be reworked. I knew exactly what the issue was and as has always been my motto, less is more. In this case, I am cutting an angle that was over complicated and required far too much explaining and the reader was getting lost by it. The rest of the story is terrific and the characters got enough development. It will also require me to look over a few other works but that is alright. In fact, it will give me a little more to add to the work that comes right after this one which is small by my standards anyway.

This one at it's last stopping point was a massive 222k words. Yes, a monster. I have slashed out a lot and already it's below 220k,  closer to 219k. May not seem like a lot, but I am only on chapter 3 of 28 chapters. I am thinking I may be able to get it to as little as 180k words which would be terrific. I just don't want anything to feel rushed. If i have to leave it bigger, then I will. However, if in the end I can say I slashed 42k words and the book turned out amazing, that's a major accomplishment.

Back to the pit.

Early On

Through the first 6 chapters, the rewrite is looking so much better than the original. It is pretty insane just how much you learn about yourself in a year. I think I've finally found a writing style that fits my personality. I think early on I was trying too hard to make certain language and insight work, so much so that some of the message was lost in translation. I am simplifying those areas that were too obtuse and making the language easier to comprehend. There are still a few things in there that are purposely difficult to understand and I am keeping them in there for certain reasons pertaining to the story itself.

Once the rewrite is done for RH, I will move onto RB. Emily will need minimal rewrite, maybe a little tinkering here and there to make sure story lines are kept in tact.

Once EM is done, then it's back to the final book. I am already 70 pages onto it. The last one will need major editing when i get finished with it. As it has progressed, I have no doubt that it will easily hit 200k words, probably even 230k which is too large. I don't want it to be any larger than say 215k words and that's pushing it. I would like to see it stay around 200k at the most so that people still get all they can from the final installment, yet do not start falling asleep toward the end.

You can still purchase the current version of Rumbling Heart over on Amazon, but I won't blame anyone for waiting till the rewrite is done. I don't see it taking anymore than 10 more days.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Image by Phillie Casablanca via Flickr"][/caption]

No Breaks

My attempt at forcing a break from writing is not working. I wanted to give myself a good month from it so I can prepare to head back to Austin and just so I can unplug, but it's not working. I cannot stop thinking about the final RH book. I know it won't stop bothering me until I just up and write the darn thing so I might as well do it in between the times where I am looking for apartments and permanent work. Unfortunately, writing isn't paying me much. That being said, I did get a royalty check the other day which was nice.

The name of the last book? Not saying, at least not now. I am just going to work on it and get it outlined and first drafted. I don't want it to exceed 450 pages, but we'll have to see how it goes. This will be the first time I've written where I am looking to keep pages to a minimum. I want over 375, but less than 450. We'll see how it all goes.

 

Last Night - The Movie

I've spoken to a director about some of my work and we are currently discussing taking one of my stories and turning it into a short feature film. While the talks have just gotten underway, it is still a very exciting idea that one of my works could be made into something more substantial that just a few words on a piece of paper. It's still very early, but we will continue our dialog as the weeks progress and hopefully, it will take us somewhere. Sometimes things like this can take a lot of time, but I am hoping we can get the ball rolling fairly quickly. With time, the two of us plan to sit down and rewrite the story into a workable script, something that can be converted into film while still getting the message across. Depending on the length of the script, we're not quite sure at this point just how long the short will be. I'm not a film director by any stretch of the imagination so I will leave those estimates up to them.

Still, the prospect that this could turn into something more is very exciting as I'd love to have one of my works expanded upon like this. While I was hoping that Rumbling Heart would be looked at, I have no problem starting small as Last Night is a much smaller, easier story to turn into a film as the production costs will be very light and workable. RH on the other hand would require possibly millions to produce.

We all have to start somewhere. I hope this pans out.

You can check out the short story for free over at Smashwords.com or by clicking here.

[caption id="attachment_1093" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="Cover of Last Night"][/caption]

The Synopsis - Emily Martin

Emily Martin will be available Tuesday September 27th, 2011 @ Smashwords.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and Amazon.

Emily Martin Synopsis

Dreams like this must die.

After hearing some of the most shocking news of his life, John Allen is beside himself. Although his suspicions about his wife hiding something were supported, he never once thought she’d be hiding something as big as this from him.

In this installment, the third book in the Rumbling Heart series and follow up to Recorded Butterflies, the way in which our story is told shifts and looks to John’s best friend Emily as she tries her best to share her insights, telling the tale as it unfolded following the months after that fateful night in Los Angeles. As Emily escorts John through what will ultimately be the toughest time in his life, she too is forced to look within herself as she deals with the reappearance of a man she wished she’d never met. As the months go by and the day which she and John fear the most arrives, she finds her life slowly spiraling out of control all while taking on even more responsibility that she never imagined would be entrusted to her.

As she fights to maintain her poise through it all, she is constantly asked to endure more and more and before she knows it, she begins to feel as if she is carrying the world on her shoulders. Stress reaches its maximum and soon she is forced to watch her best friend’s mental state gradually devolve into deep denial all while his wife slowly slips further and further away.

As she recalls the various memories from that time, she thinks about John and about how much he’s changed her life and she soon reveals what many of us thought all along. She also thinks back to the times she spent with John’s wife Olivia, and it doesn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that she didn’t love her simply as a friend, but instead, more like a sister.

Filled with heartache, drama, surprises, laugh out loud moments, and ultimate loss, Emily Martin takes you on a journey of the world as seen through her eyes, telling the story of her best friend John and how he is forced to deal with one of the hardest situations a person could face. She also exposes you to her inner most thoughts as she explains her decent into madness due to the near constant torment from the man that took her dignity from her as he works his way back into her world. As time marches on, the subtle cracks in her character slowly begin to become evident, but that suddenly seems like a side story as you are treated to an ending so wrapped in lunacy, you may begin to question yourself. Could this be it? Could this really be the end? All dreams must come to an end, but in some cases, they die a long and painful death.

Many Thanks

I just want to take a moment to thank all of my Twitter and Facebook followers and fans. Because of your continued support, I have cracked the top 50 on Smashwords.com. Of all the authors up there, as of this moment I am currently #42 most popular / viewed which is a terrific achievement. Hopefully, we can keep it going. It would be amazing to crack not only the top 10, but maybe even become #1.

Be sure to tell all your friends about the free work I offer there which include copies of the original Rumbling Heart as well as Recorded Butterflies which is the 2nd book in the series. There is also a new short on Smashwords as well called On The Way Home which is written by one of the RH characters. Its sort of a tiny peek into what you might expect to see from the 4th and final installment in the RH series.

One additional work on there is a short called Last Night about a struggling writer and a conversation he shares with an ex athlete. While it may not seem like much in the first few pages, by the end, you will find yourself questioning not only the narrator, but also the decision that he makes regarding his friend. You will either nod your head or be completely shocked. At about 5600 words, it's a short read and it's free so be sure to give it a look.

Ty all again for the continued support and I hope to keep you all entertained.

UPDATE!

I've moved up in ranking, currently sitting pretty at #12. Top 10? Let's hope for it!

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/richardallen

 

[caption id="attachment_1083" align="aligncenter" width="466" caption="On The Way Home cover"][/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recorded Butterflies is Now Free

I've dropped the price for Recorded Butterflies to free via Smashwords.com. Currently, Rumbling Heart is also free so you can download both books for absolutely no cost to you. Head on over and check it out while you can. You can download it as a PDF or you can DL a file that will work with your Kindle, Nook, and several other popular eReaders. Thank you all again for your continued support of my work and I look forward to feedback. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RichardAllenRH

"Emily Martin" Release Date Set

On Tuesday, September 27th, Emily Martin will be available for purchase from BN.com, Amazon, and Smashwords.com. A Facebook event has been created which is located here. Thank you all for the continued support as I look forward to getting more feedback on this next installment of the Rumbling Heart series. With just one more to go, this book will bring several things into perspective and get you all set for the final book.

 

Emily Martin switches gears a little and tells the story from the perspective of John Allen's best friend, Emily. With just one last installment to go after EM, this book gives readers an inside look into Emily's mind as she reveals what she really thinks about John, Olivia, and even the meddlesome Donna as she journeys with him through one of the most difficult times in his life. While giving her two cents on virtually every detail of John's life, Emily is also dealing with her own problems as someone from her past comes back into her life, looking only to cause major issues for her. Being the woman that she is, she finds a way to cope, albeit a questionable one, and soon that decision sees her walking down a path she never thought possible.

Full with intrigue, heartache, loss, and at times, laugh out loud humor, Emily Martin will take you by the hand and show you a side of her you never knew existed, and when the final two chapters are upon you, you will see something so unexpected, you will find yourself begging for the final book as you will not be able to wait to see how it all ends.

Final Installment of "Rumbling Heart" Series

With Emily Martin almost complete, I've decided to already begin work on the final book in the series. I already settled on a title, but I am still keeping it under wraps. The main reason I am already starting on the final book is that as with all final works, I want to make sure I tied up all the loose ends and give satisfactory endings to all the story lines. Now, keep in mind, by satisfactory I do not mean "happy." All I am inferring there is that there will be wrap ups and questions that have been sitting out there from all the way back in the original Rumbling Heart will be answered. Is it possible that some of the story lines have happy endings? Of course, but people will view them in very different ways.

One thing I've definitely done different than many of my fellow American writers is break from the norm of giving a "Disney-Like" ending to my work. Do things get worked out? Yes, they do, but not all endings are hearts and flowers  as readers of my works know. I try to keep my story lines and endings very close to the chest and very much situated in real life. Sure, sometimes it's nice for things to work out perfectly, but as with real life, not everything is perfect. All I can promise is that all the questions I've been asked about my work as far as the overall plot will be answered. Along with the answers to those story lines will also be a few curve balls that no one could have seen coming. I want the story to mesh really well and I don't want there to be any holes so for that reason, I have already managed to write about 10k words of the final book.

I am also holding off on releasing EM. I was looking at a release as soon as mid September as most of you know I like to get things done and published so my readers can get their fill. I want to enrich the overall experience for those dedicated readers that went through each and every book. I want to make sure all questions are answered and when my readers on on the last pages of the last book, they will find themselves thinking back to other parts of my previous works and either smiling, crying, or perhaps both. I already know how it's going to end. I've known for several months now. While a few things have changed with the overall plot, the ending is still the same as it was when I dreamed of it.

That being said, please forgive me for holding onto Emily Martin a little longer than I thought I would. Please believe in me. I will try my hardest to delivery two of the best works of my life for you.

When Should Books Have Warning Labels?

As many of you know, I am putting the finishing touches on my latest work Emily Martin which is the third installment in the Rumbling Heart series of books. As the books have been released, I've found myself straying a little away from the original idea of the books which is something I am actually fine with as it only enriches the overall story line; therefore, the reader gets more out of it. In the writing of the last three books, I have come across situations and circumstances that have had me questioning which audience my books are intended for. When I first got started, I figured that since I was going for the Drama genre that most of the people who read my work would be adult females. I am perfectly fine with that. However, I've noticed that a handful of the people reading my work are a little younger than I had anticipated, but not terribly young as I tend to use middle diction with my work that maybe occasionally rail on high. It's very rare that I fall to low diction, although there are small amounts of it here and there, usually when the character calls for it.

Still, diction is hardly the reason why I am thinking of perhaps adding what some see as a death stroke to my work at the very beginning of the book. As with some music available today, there are certain works, topics specifically, that are considered much more adult and therefore shouldn't really be viewed or listened to by younger people unless given to them by their parents. I am speaking specifically about maturity level. I have seen some 15 year old's that act quite mature and therefore, I feel, can handle certain topics in the best way possible. On the flip side, I've met 32 year old's that cannot handle talking about something as adult as marital infidelity without making fun of others so I'm not really talking about age restrictions.

I'm sure you all have seen television shows that sometimes offer a message at the very beginning that say something to the effect of "This show is intended for mature audiences. Viewer discretion advised." I never really thought of my work as adult in nature by any means. My work doesn't contain massive amounts of sex and violence, although those topics are touched on here and there. I also, from time to time, touch on other politically motivated topics such as abortion, race, end of life care, and equality of the sexes. The most brought up issue I've seen when it comes to young people reading books is usually the use of four letter words. Again, my work isn't laced with f-bombs, although, from time to time, a character may utter certain words or phrases, but normally only when they are expressing a strong emotion. Out of anger or great despair, we've all uttered f-bombs and used other works that wouldn't make it on prime time television. My question is if a book contains any of those supposedly objectionable topics or words, should that book have some sort of warning label attached to it?

I've read every type of genre from horror to suspense to drama and even erotica. I tend to keep my mind open as you never know when you may stumble across a great work. I already see those sorts of prejudices with regard to certain works out there simply because of their genres. In fact, I've been conversing back and forth with a particularly "Trashy Writer" that writes erotic fiction. Does that mean that their work should be labeled as unfit for certain audiences? When compared to hers, my work is relatively tame when it comes to sex. Still, to say that my work is "better" because of the topics I discuss or the way the material is laid out seems rather unfair. To be completely fair, one of my books contains a scene where two people, different minorities (one Spanish and one Asian) that discuss race and how they each view it in the United States. As a means of understanding each other's opinion, they used racial slurs such as "Jap," "Spic," and "Wetback" all while trying to understand the topic more and not simply to offend anyone. It can be argued that since they are using those words for educational purposes, they would get a pass. I can offer even more.

In my latest book, I developed a character who uses racial slurs specifically to offend and belittle people. While the character is obviously designed to be hated, should the book be labeled as "Mature" simply because of the way the heel character is portrayed and the language he uses? Further still, the narrator occasionally tosses out F-bombs because that is part of who she is. While she may not use those words in a business setting, she isn't afraid to use them while with her friends. Does that make her any more right that the racist character?

What do you think? Labels? Exceptions? What's right?

 

Emily Martin - Cover Art

I think I am sticking with this cover I've come up with below. It's simple like the others, but with a sutble difference. Obviously, there is a reason for that which I am sure the readers of the previous works will understand. I may go bigger for the next and final installment of the series, but I am not jumping in on that cover yet.