Living the Fictional Dream

When I posted yesterday, I thought I’d found my favorite self-pubbed author (Barbara Pandos), but I was wrong. Thanks to some ill-timed caffiene, I had horrible insomnia last night, and my companion until 3:30 a.m. was Destiny Binds, by Tammy Blackwell (book 1 of the Timber Wolves trilogy).

This is a Y/A paranormal about a girl named Scout. It has the typical tropes — human girl, mysterious new guy, finding out her world is not what it seems, a love triangle… But this book raises the story above and beyond the formula.

Scout (the main character) is hyper-logical and would never believe in things like werewolves or shape shifters. And then she meets Alex. But, one of the interesting twists, is that Alex is not the only supernatural element in the story. Things Scout has taken for granted her whole life, she discovers, were not at all what they seemed.

One of the great things about this story is that, not only are Scout and Alex well fleshed out and not generic character archetypes or Mary Sues/Harry Stus, but the supporting cast are unique characters, as well. Scout’s brother Jase; her long-time, pre-Alex crush, Charlie; her best friend Talley; and even her six-year-old baby sister, Angel, all have their own personalities, traits, and motivations, as well as hidden depths that we gradually learn about over the course of the novel.

My only wish, as it came to supporting characters, was that I wanted a little more of Scout’s parents and some of the extended family members, like Toby. But, I suspect more light will be shed on them in future installments of the Timber Wolves trilogy.

The romance between Alex and Scout, as well as the love triangle that happens when you factor Charlie into the mix. Though there is an instant attraction when Alex and Scout meet, there are factors in play that keep them from even starting to get to know each other for quite a while. It was refreshing to have the main couple of a Y/A paranormal not fall instantly into complete soul-searing, teen angst love. Scout and Alex were no Bella and Edward, instantly ready to give up their lives for each other. But the story builds Scout and Alex’s relationship up over time, logically, until the payoff of that kind of devotion is actually justified. Imagine that!

And Charlie is a valid third leg of the love triangle. Scout had genuine feelings for him for years that the advent of a hot new guy was not just going to dispel. He was actually a real challenge to Scout and Alex’s relationship, as opposed to Jacob, who never stood a chance of winning Bella.

I also enjoyed the pop culture references in this book. They felt realistic to me, like they came from Scout, as opposed to feeling shoe-horned in. And I liked that the references were casual instead of obvious. And I liked that they ranged over a lot of pop culture, as opposed to being limited just to today. I particularly appreciated the nod to the Winchester boys that she snuck in there.

And Tammy’s writing in this novel is really well done. Scout has her own voice, not just generic first person. Her narration feels like Scout, not like just anyone. And I think I noticed maybe one error (even professionally pubbed books can have an error or two included). And her writing felt professionally polished, not like she scribbled down a first draft and slapped it up on Amazon as an e-book.

My only criticisms of this novel are the title and the cover art. With the plethora of self-pubbed Y/A paranormal novels out there, I think the title and/or the cover art really need to draw the reader in to get the novel noticed. I passed right by Destiny Binds at first, as neither of the two jump out, but are really fairly generic.

After having read the book, Destiny Binds works as the title. If you were going to boil the whole story down to two words, these two fit the bill pretty well. And, after finding Tammy’s blog  (which was surprisingly buried in the list of links on Google) and reading the titles of the next two novels in the trilogy, I understand the naming scheme she has going on. But, the title just doesn’t pack much of a punch or make the novel stand out from the crowd.

And the cover art… just the title and a graphic of a wolf on a black background. Nothing much to catch the eye, especially compared with whatelse is out there in the Y/A market.

In fact, I would not have even clicked on the novel, except for two things. Amazon popped it up on a recommendations page for some other book I had clicked on and then decided not to purchase after reading the reviews. It was the phrase “Timber Wolves” that really hooked me in. If not for that, coupled with the fact that Destiny Binds is only $0.99 for Kindle right now, I would have passed on by without a click.

However, I’m glad that I did not, because I enjoyed this book so much. I have read Y/A paranormals that came through an actual publishing house that did not have such quality writing. I’m astonished that this book is self-pubbed, and am dying to know whether or not the author tried the traditional publishing route.

Compared with what’s out there, this novel could totally hold its own. It would appeal to fans of this genre and compete whole-heartedly with stories such as the Wolves of Mercy Falls series (which was good and well written, but had some pacing problems, IMO — I very much prefer the Timber Wolves). If the author did try the traditional route first, I’m completely shocked that she didn’t get picked up, and if she did try, my only guess as to why the book didn’t sell is that editors and agents were just giving blanket “no” answers to all werewolf/shifter stories due to a preceived saturation. But who knows?

If you like Y/A paranormals and/or you enjoy werewolves/shifters, you should definitely give Destiny Binds a try. A great story for just $0.99? How can you go wrong?

Since getting my Kindle (best first Mother’s Day gift ever!), I’ve taken to stalking the free fiction available on Amazon.com. It’s interesting what pops up there. Some good, some bad, and some just meh. And then I started noticing the self-published books that are available. For $0.99 to $2.99, you can buy whole novels. The number available in Y/A paranormal is mind boggling. You have to wade through some dreck, but you can find some decent reads for a much cheaper price.

The first one I read was Amanda Hocking’s Trylle trilogy. The first one, Switched, showed up in the top 10 on the best selling list. It was only $0.99, the premise (trolls) was intriguing, and the reviews were good, so I picked it up. And liked it well enough to splurge on the remaining two books in the series at the higher $2.99 price.

Over all, they were a good read. If only Amanda Hocking had better critiques and copy editors for her self-published work. Grammatical and punctuation errors jarred me out of the stories sometimes, and she falls into a lot of beginning writer traps that my writing group has helped me get away from (using “just” and “almost,” passive voice, repeating the same word multiple times in the same page/paragraph, using complex verb constructions when a single one will do, etc.). She also really could have used someone to tell her that the climax of the third book needed a little more build up to be believable and to help her smooth over certain plot issues (like the abrupt switch in the heroine’s “one true love” and how the ending of the trilogy was just too happy and too perfect).

But, despite the flaws, the concept and the heroine’s voice drew me in and held me there until I finished the story. I think the ability to do that is the most telling indicator of a writer’s talent (despite valid criticisms of her plotting and writing style, Stephanie Meyer has that gift, too). The mechanics can be learned and honed. (And maybe now that Hocking, self-publishing phenom, has signed a deal with a major publishing house, which includes re-release of the Trylle trilogy, she’ll get some guidance in those areas from the trained editors.)

Next, I tried Hocking’s zombie apocalypse story, Hollowland, at $0.99, and I liked this one even better than the Trylle books. The heroine was awesome, the world building was spot-on, and the supporting cast had a lot more purpose. There were still editing and technique issues, but the story was so much better, it was easier to ignore. I’m still hoping that another book in this series will come out, but I guess that will depend on her schedule with her new publishing house.

I’ve tried a few others here and there, and I seldom have as good of a reaction as I did with Hocking’s work. I need something outstanding to get into a book. A good character and can identify with and/or root for. A unique, intriguing, fresh twist on a concept that I haven’t seen a zillion times. Quality writing that doesn’t jar me out of the story, or a story so compelling that I don’t notice the sub-par writing skills (or at least can ignore them).

Without one or more of those attributes, I can’t commit to the book. I tried Hocking’s vampire series, My Blood Approves, but I couldn’t get into them. Sadly, I did not realize this until I’d already purchased them (my new rule, only buy one book of a completed series at a time to make sure you still like it when you finish the next installment!). The vampire series was just so… meh. The narrator never did anything but react. She really seemed more passive than Bella of Twilight fame, if you can imagine that. And things kept happening that were just too convenient. Once sure, but over and over again? Strains my ability to suspend my disbelief.

I alway skim the reviews of self-pubbed books . If one or two say there are grammatical problems or writing issues, I move on, even if there are a ton of 5-starred reviews, as well. Also, if the concept seems tired or a rip off, it would take very stellar review to get me to even take a peak. The Vampire Journals self-pubs that have been popping up on Amazon lately make me cringe. I think L.J. Smith was there first, people, and even if you weren’t into Y/A in the 1990s, her stories are back in the public view thanks to the TV series.

However, I think I may have finally found a winner on the self-pub Y/A market this weekend. Barbara Pandos, who wrote The Emerald Talisman. Pandos can actually write! She doesn’t use the same words repeatedly, but has a range of vocabulary (even a couple of higher priced words thrown in from time to time). And I don’t think a single grammatical or punctuation error jumped out at me. Her descriptions were vivid, and her characters were unique and interesting. Her take on vampires was different (at least to some extent) than the plethora of stories on the market right now. Her heroine had a gift of her own, and was not completely passive. And, also, her book is (as of today) available for free on Amazon, so the price was definitely right. I enjoyed the book a lot, and just downloaded the sequel, The Sapphire Talisman.

My only complaint with Pandos’s story is that sometimes the emotions felt by the lead couple weren’t completely justified by the text and there were a couple of plot holes that could have been fixed by just adding an extra scene. But I’ve seen worse in books released by an actual publishing house (Need, by Carrie Jones, for example — blarg, good concept, but what a mess!). What the book had going for it, far out weighed the bad.

I wonder what it takes to jump into this self-publishing market. So much is out there. Of course, if you go that route, you most likely give up your chance at publishing those books via a traditional outlet, and I’ve heard it makes it more difficult to get a traditional agent, even if you were shopping around a different project. However, that’s not 100% the case, because Hocking’s Trylle trilogy has been taken down and will be re-released by St. Martin’s Press in upcoming months.

Too bad some of these self-published authors don’t seem to care about grammar, punctuation, prose, writing style, and critique. I could make a good living whipping these novels into shape. They’d probably all hate my comments, though, and refuse to pay!

Well, I’ll sign off for now, but hopefully I can find the time to blog again soon. I really want to write a blog about the titles of self-published books. I know titles are not easy, but some of the ones out there are just so, so bad that it’s hilarious.