An interview and update

Interesting interview! I may be biased. 🙂

Interview with Author Alys B. Cohen

All my spare time, and even time that isn’t really spare, is going to editing Sacred Honor.  The release is less than a month away.  The cover and blurb are finished.  The editing and layout is not.  I have no idea how some authors punch out a book a month.  Yes, I do know authors who release that often, though not at the top of my reading list yet.  I asked one of them, and she dodged my question about how she could write AND edit 100,000 words every single month.

Well, I can’t.  I can write a draft that fast, but will turn around and spent 250 hours or more revising and editing, on top of running a successful small businesses and household duties.  This may explain why I’m sick as a dog right now.  

Back to work!  From my bed.  I haven’t managed to leave it since laying down to go to bed.

More loss of rights for women

You know, I write the books I do hoping to empower women not to take bull from jerks, and while I like to think there’s a chance at least one more woman could find courage, when our lawmakers are against us, I don’t know what to do. Our politicians who should be protecting our rights are the ones standing by and enabling the violation of our bodies. So we need to teach our daughters to start carrying knives and mace to fight off those who are empowered by the government to assault them?

The latest anti-woman news out of the US, on the heels of a Massachusetts high court deciding yesterday that sneaking up-skirt pictures is legal (thankfully rushed to the legislature, which immediately overturned the ruling and banned up-skirting, and is set for the governor to sign),  that women in the military who are raped are often afraid to speak up because of retaliation will continue to be deprived of justice. There’s a growing problem of women in the military having to give sexual favors in exchange for documents and other things necessary to do their jobs, on top of outright forceful rape.

Military commanders remain in charge of deciding which cases are prosecuted at all, and how. What happens if the rapist is a good buddy of a commander? What happens then the commanders are raping women? Today’s vote was on a bill that would have removed these decisions outside the chain of command to the Judge Advocate General, but instead it was struck down. This is like a crooked cop deciding which cases to have taken to trials instead of prosecutors and judges having any say.

So our women soldiers still can’t get justice because they, like us civilian women, have rights that are subpar to the rights of men.

For an idea of just how accepted military rape is, try not to have a heart attack over this quote from Virginia State Sen. Richard “Dick” Black when he defended rape as a natural and predictable part of human nature:

“Think of yourself at 25. Wouldn’t you love to have a group of 19-year-old girls under your control, day in, day out?”

Thank you, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for your attempts at standing up for our military women who already put their lives on the line, and whose biggest threat is from our own government.  Thank you for sponsoring this bill, and for fighting so hard for it.  This photo, taken following defeat, shows us how much this meant to you, and how disappointed you are that our senators let us down.  Those of us with any measure of decent sense are right there with you.

Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) taking a pause during speaking at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington following the bill’s defeat. Photo:Charles Dharapak/AP

Sacred Honor has a release date

Yes!  April 13th.  It’s not finished yet, but having a date means no excuses!  I have two hours scheduled every single day for work, though this is by no means the only time I’ll be burning the midnight oil.  I have a cover to photograph and work on, a blurb to do, editing and more editing…  I have the ISBNs, the easiest part of this.  

On April 13th, I will be hosting an online launch party and cover reveal.  On April 14th, I will be on a blog tour.  I’m nervous for April 26th since I’ll be having a radio interview.  My only comfort is having a semi-pro recording setup in the office.

This is, by no means, all I’ve got on my plate.  I’ve got clients to deal with for my business, some more volunteer work (I’m at about 100 hours for the year, and am on track to beat last year), and am planning ahead for a benefit gala in May.  

And then…editing for Sacred Heart!

Since I began writing…

…I’ve become a more critical reader.  Years ago I read Nora Robert’s Dream Trilogy: Daring to Dream, Holding the Dream, and Finding the Dream.  These books take place in Monterey, California, a place very dear to me.  I’m from coastal California, and have lived as close as a block from the beach.  More than just that drew me to these books.  I loved the three different stories for each of the main ladies, the way the books were progressive for the time (though stated as “freedom of sexual preference,” the point is the same, and this wasn’t common in anything mainstream), the characters having goals despite having wealth, and so on.

Last week I decided I wanted to re-read them.  What an eye-opening experience this was!  I’m not quite certain these books would have landed a deal today, though who would have expected certain … other … books to land deals. I still love the stories in the Dream trilogy, but can’t say I’m a fan of the style.  

Among other issues, her use of omniscient narration is jerky.  One moment we’re in the head of one character learning information that, if withheld from us as it is from the focal character, could have added tension.  Yes, we learn things that the characters involved don’t know, and often.  There’s no notice when the head we are in will change.

In addition, she tells far more than she shows.  This is probably what bugs me the most.  Telling rather than showing is needed sometimes, and can be used to pass time, but this shouldn’t be the bulk of the non-action.  She does a beautiful job describing the scenery and the waves crashing on the cliffs.  The shortfall here is when describing the feelings and actions of people. 

I’m presuming that this is a result of having nine books published in the same eleven-month span of time between the first and last books of this trilogy.  Since her first published book, she’s had another out approximately every six weeks.  I don’t see how very much editing can happen in that time.  

These are things that wouldn’t have bothered me so much before I started writing.  Since I wasn’t making any genuine attempt to do better, what place did I have to be overly critical?  However, now that I am writing seriously, it reinforces to me the importance of showing.  Showing is like a seasoning in a pie you’d notice if it was gone, but might not be able to put your finger on it.

Right now Sacred Honor is in editing.  I will be more aware of areas that tell, and will be editing those to show more.