Interview: Deborah and Northlight

Blogger "Cookie's Mom" interviewed me about Northlight here. She asked questions no one had ever posed before, and I had a great time talking about the characters and the history of the book.

Here's what I said about Kardith, who's got to be one of my all-time favorite characters:

I'd written a bunch of strong, competent women in my stories for Sword & Sorceress (ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley) and I'd spent a fair amount of time hanging around with other women martial artists. In the '80s and '90s, there was this amazing network of women writers who also practiced martial arts. I didn't base Kardith on any one person, but I did learn about how women make their way in a man's world (the dojo, the physics laboratory, etc.). But characters who are always strong get boring quickly, and from the first, I realized there must be something really dark in Kardith's past life to make her so unafraid of physical risk. What's the opposite of physical risk? Emotional risk. And why would she be so terrified of it... ?

Enjoy!

On the Pricing of E-Books

I think I'm finally settling on what works for me in pricing my ebooks. At first, I waffled all over the place, like a bit of straw buffeted this way and that by every passing idea. And boy, people are full of ideas about this subject. Most of them, however, jump on the bandwagon to lower prices...and lower them some more... They point to phenomena like Amanda Hocking, whose ebooks sell for $2.99 on down. Sometimes, reading these opinions feels like being nibbled by extremely timid but persistent piranhas. Oh, it's just a little bite. You won't miss it. It won't hurt a bit.

Deborah's "When I'm 64" Birthday Present -- to YOU!

Will you still need me

Will you still read me

When I'm 64?

I'm turning 64 on Friday! Yes, it's tax day, so you have no excuse for not celebrating with me.

My novels, Jaydium and Northlight, will be available as multi-format ebooks FREE at Book View Cafe on April 15th. Please pass the word and enjoy the stories!

Mob Psychology, Author Tantrums, and Compassion

Nathan Bransford offers some great insights into the recent events you may have been following: an author didn't like an online review and proceeded to respond in a rather ill-considered and childish way. That's not the problem; the disturbing event was what followed, a sort of feeding-frenzy on the part of hundreds of commentators. They not only pelted this author with scorn, but attacked her book with "faux" five-star reviews or scathing ones. There was a sense of "blood in the water" jumping-on-the-bandwagon delight in pointless cruelty.

Yep, cruelty. Because as unprofessional as the author's response had been, no one deserves what's happened to her. Sarcasm and lashing out and outright attacks have never led anyone to examine and improve their behavior. If anything, such a response solidifies and validates the author's combative stance.