But I live in a world where the glass is always half full. Sort of like my characters in the Parker Saga. I knew crossing over into a new genre, with readers not familiar with how I construct a story or a series, I would get some people who not yet used to how I build the lives of my MC's in my fictional universe and probably not like it. In this darker moment, where some of you are really hating me today, I always remember my dear Ana Marie, who read, The Girl on the Half Shell, gave me a blistering review, and ended up devouring all 4 Half Shell books & the 2 Sand and Fog books and ended it, with writing in her review of Broken Crown, "I had issues with Alan. I confess, I wanted to smack the living daylights out of him more than a few times, but then I get his POV and now I am actually considering begging for his forgiveness on bended knee for all the explicit remarks I yelled at him as I read the first books.Talk about one hell of a bad boy who needs to be rescue ASAP...Alan Mazone consider me your devoted gruppie from now on...... " Ana hated Alan, hated the first book, and now she loves the books and Alan.
For the readers new to my writing, I'm a journey not a snack. You are not getting dessert in a single dose of a story. It's what my readers have come to expect, it's how I believe love works--well, true, sustaining love--and everything flips in Susan's world once the other character POVs tie in. And yes, I freely admit at times my characters are epic, their world dramatic, and filled with impossible blended with the ordinary. But always woven through my tales are basic truths about love and life...well, the basic truths I've learned.
I've found an interesting trend with The Manny: readers who have read my Half Shell and Sand & Fog books, love Graham Carson. They got to know him first in The Girl of Sand and Fog, his character, his steadfastness, and his unrelenting common sense and kindness in how he dealt with Kaley.
I've also found that I am an acquired taste as an author, but that's because I learned long ago the person the world sees is rarely the person we are inside and that's what I do with my characters. It would be so much easier, probably happier and more profitable, to write characters and a story in a proven for success way, but that wouldn't be me and that wouldn't be honest for me--well, not honest the way I've experienced the journey called life. And that is what I'm doing, writing what I've learned of life, in an epic fictional universe.
The Manny has been my strongest first 3 days of a release ever. It's #3 Amazon US LGBT Lit, and #1 Gay Fiction in the UK. The readers( probably just my steadfast Parker Universe readers) are continuing onward reading the second book Pistol Whipped, which I released without promotion and just let it saunter out into the market place, and 7 days later it's on 3 top 100 Amazon lists.
I should probably be happy, The Manny is selling well and the second book in the series is starting to pickup, but I'll be honest, I'm as fragile as the next gal. It would be nicer if you loved me. But today....OY. But I'm a tough bird. I raised a house full of girls. Boy they hated me some days and some days I was the best mommy in the world. So I'm holding tight to my mantra that used to say inside my head while raising teenagers: Susan, if they don't love you today, they'll love you tomorrow.
And I'm too far in releasing my Parker Universe to change the way I unfold a story.
So for those of you who are not pleased with The Manny, I'm sorry I disappointed you. I told the story the only way I know how.
For those of you who enjoy this long journey we're taking in my fictional universe, thank you so much for the kind notes, and continuing on with me in each new book.
But to both those who like my work, how I tell and story, and hate my work, how I tell a story, thank you so very much for giving me a chance between the pages of one of my books. I'm still overwhelmed that anyone would take time to spend time with me in a book. I appreciate both the praise and the criticism. Both of them make me work harder. Both of them are necessary for life to be all that it should: fun, heartbreaking, sad, joyful, happy and moments of agony...Oh wait, that's the Parker Universe and the Lock & Loaded series won't be different.
As ever I wish you Peace.
For the readers new to my writing, I'm a journey not a snack. You are not getting dessert in a single dose of a story. It's what my readers have come to expect, it's how I believe love works--well, true, sustaining love--and everything flips in Susan's world once the other character POVs tie in. And yes, I freely admit at times my characters are epic, their world dramatic, and filled with impossible blended with the ordinary. But always woven through my tales are basic truths about love and life...well, the basic truths I've learned.
I've found an interesting trend with The Manny: readers who have read my Half Shell and Sand & Fog books, love Graham Carson. They got to know him first in The Girl of Sand and Fog, his character, his steadfastness, and his unrelenting common sense and kindness in how he dealt with Kaley.
I've also found that I am an acquired taste as an author, but that's because I learned long ago the person the world sees is rarely the person we are inside and that's what I do with my characters. It would be so much easier, probably happier and more profitable, to write characters and a story in a proven for success way, but that wouldn't be me and that wouldn't be honest for me--well, not honest the way I've experienced the journey called life. And that is what I'm doing, writing what I've learned of life, in an epic fictional universe.
The Manny has been my strongest first 3 days of a release ever. It's #3 Amazon US LGBT Lit, and #1 Gay Fiction in the UK. The readers( probably just my steadfast Parker Universe readers) are continuing onward reading the second book Pistol Whipped, which I released without promotion and just let it saunter out into the market place, and 7 days later it's on 3 top 100 Amazon lists.
I should probably be happy, The Manny is selling well and the second book in the series is starting to pickup, but I'll be honest, I'm as fragile as the next gal. It would be nicer if you loved me. But today....OY. But I'm a tough bird. I raised a house full of girls. Boy they hated me some days and some days I was the best mommy in the world. So I'm holding tight to my mantra that used to say inside my head while raising teenagers: Susan, if they don't love you today, they'll love you tomorrow.
And I'm too far in releasing my Parker Universe to change the way I unfold a story.
So for those of you who are not pleased with The Manny, I'm sorry I disappointed you. I told the story the only way I know how.
For those of you who enjoy this long journey we're taking in my fictional universe, thank you so much for the kind notes, and continuing on with me in each new book.
But to both those who like my work, how I tell and story, and hate my work, how I tell a story, thank you so very much for giving me a chance between the pages of one of my books. I'm still overwhelmed that anyone would take time to spend time with me in a book. I appreciate both the praise and the criticism. Both of them make me work harder. Both of them are necessary for life to be all that it should: fun, heartbreaking, sad, joyful, happy and moments of agony...Oh wait, that's the Parker Universe and the Lock & Loaded series won't be different.
As ever I wish you Peace.
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