Holly Blackstone

I just received a three star review on Amazon, and felt the need to respond to it. I will let the comment and my response largely speak for themselves, but I just want to add emphasis here – I DO NOT PAD. I do not think , ‘how can I get more out of this?’, or construct the story for maximum volumes. I have the story, I know how every single one of my series will end before I finish the first volume, in fact. It is just that often times, to give the full scope of the story the proper attention, (as I see it), it takes several volumes. It is true that I am sad when I know a series is coming to a close, but that is because I LOVE my characters – I hate the thought of putting them on a shelf; it’s like saying goodbye to friends.

I am also a fan of the ‘epic’ tale, the sweeping stories and sagas that grasp you and leave you emotionally invested in characters, and that is how I try to write. I would be lying if I said I am not hurt a little by the accusation that I am pimping; I do not sell a ton of books, and to compare me to HM Ward who has a series that is on something like book 14 or 15 I thought was a little unfair; but people are entitled to their opinions, and we all have our own frustrations and hot buttons.

I primarily write because it is fun, and I love my characters and stories; I sometimes re-read my books, because I write them as I want books to be written. I like intensity – a boyfriend once said I was ‘fun with an edge’. I throw myself into life and love and I want to FEEL it all; I am fond of saying that life is a full contact sport, and I hope that passion is reflected in my characters.

I started writing because I was disappointed and felt that most erotica – which deals with the most intense and intimate aspects of human nature – did not contain the necessary spark. I had characters forming in my mind that I felt captured that depth and complexity, and by the end of the series I wanted my readers – and myself – to be left a sweaty mess, hearts pounding because of the fervency and strength of the story. In my mind my characters are so real I can almost touch them, and I want that potency to be translated into the stories I share. Whether or not I always accomplish that is another debate entirely, especially since I am still growing as an author.

Below is a reviewer’s comment on Amazon about book 4, ‘Banish the Darkness’:

 

Good story ,great plot .I would have given more stars if I wasn’t being pimped. After reading so many books I don’t have time to keep waiting for the next one to be published. If you can’t get your story across in 2 books STOP writing.. There’s many things in my life that is repetitive already , reading about the same H/H continuing in3+ books is ridiculous. I might as well record and watch the soap operas , being that I already pay for cable. If you want to charge $5,6,7 + for you books do so ,at least complete the book. That’s the same reason I stopped reading H M WARD BOOKS a. I don’t like my hand or my purse being forced . I want to start and finish a book and move on not keep the conclusion dragging out

 

My response:

 

Hello, Sheryl! Thank you for taking the time to read the series and review it.

I’m sorry you feel you’re being ‘pimped’ – that is not the case. I do not write stories so I can drag them out and ‘milk’ readers, like some others do; I actually prefer them. I have been largely unsatisfied with single-volume romance/erotica stories because (for me), most of them feel rushed and unbelievable. I have always gravitated towards stories that have character development and depth; I find them more interesting. I mention in my bio that I am fascinated with how people adapt and evolve in situations, and how they deal with challenges. If I was making the kind of money HM Ward was, and had the following she does, perhaps I would be tempted to ‘pimp’, but I doubt it; I’m not that kind of person.

I do not write books to make money, although I appreciate that people are willing to pay money to read them. I write because I love, love, LOVE it, I write books to tell a story, to create characters that feel real and have to face difficult decisions or examine their long held beliefs. I have tales in me, things clamoring to see the light of day, characters struggling to get out, and I have to do justice to them. I like to write about life, but with the HEA and bliss that we often find difficult to grasp in our own. I let the story evolve over time and be what it is; I know the arc, and contain what I feel is necessary to give the tale an intense feel – I do not pad.

That depth – and perhaps that is a defect in me – I find hard to convey in 250 pages or even two volumes. I believe it is difficult to get the intensity, the connexion, the passion, the background needed to tell a GREAT story in that short a space. Again, perhaps that is because I am lacking a necessary story telling skill. Some of my favourite books tend to be things like the Lord of the Rings series or Gormenghast, both rather lengthy commitments.

You said the plot was great – I (personally) could not have accomplished it in just one novel. I am working on the last one now; I have no intention of dragging out Lily & Stuart into fifteen books or whatever, although I may publish stand alone novellas about them in the future – readers seem to really like them and their story. I hope to have that last book complete and published within the next month or two.

I do have four books in this series, and the first two are .99 cents and $1.99 respectively; I’ve just gone and lowered book three’s price on Amazon and the other channels I publish through – the changes should be reflected within a day to a week, depending on the channel.

I’m sorry you feel you’ve had a bad experience with erotica and series, and I hope you find the stories that make you happy!

Best,
Holly

Finally, it’s done! Book two of The Void Chronicles is now for sale on Lulu and should be available at Amazon in about five to six hours; it will take about one to two weeks for it to appear on iBookstore and nook. I’ve been switching between writing Lily and Stuart’s latest installment and editing this book and doing the cover; I’ve had the draft finished for a little while, just waiting final review; it has just taken time to get it all sorted out, and now I can focus the remainder of my attention on Lily and Stuart. I recently re-read “Banish the Darkness” and found a few typos and will hopefully update it soon, but it had the effect of making me fall in love with their story all over again. =)

I hope you will consider trying out book one in this series, “A World Away”; it lays the groundwork for what I think is an interesting story, and book two has several twists and reveals that I think gives the tale even more depth.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to make contact with me at: holly (at) hollyblackstone.com. =)

Warm wishes!

Holly

9:36 PM – Rise of the Necromancers is live on Amazon!

Hello everyone! I hope the month of May has been good for you so far.

I created an ‘Ask Me Anything’ page on Goodreads here; if you’re not familiar with ‘Ask Me Anything’ threads (reddit has them a lot), it’s an opportunity for you to ask questions about literally anything. I’ve had one question so far about how I write and asking for tips, and I’ve posted a response. It’s your chance to have a dialogue with other readers and me about a whole range of topics – sort of a ‘getting to know you’ arrangement and perhaps have an opportunity to meet other interesting people.

Signing up for Goodreads is easy and it’s a neat way to network with other book lovers; you can be as open (or private), as you want, join groups that has members with common interests, rate books and write reviews, even participate in giveaways. A lot of authors have a presence on Goodreads, and one of the reasons I like it is that it spans platforms – so whether you read a physical book or use an iPad, Nook, Kindle or PC reader, you can share and network.

Hope you’ll take the time to pop on by, say hi and post a question!

I broke my toe last weekend whilst playing with one of my cats and my first thought was ‘thank God it wasn’t a finger!’. With days being longer and, (hopefully), a lot of the busy-ness in my life taken care of, I’m planning the cover for the second book in my ‘Void Chronicles’ series and brushing up on Lily and Stuart history and moving forward with their story. I hope to have book five in the Liliana Batchelor series done within a month and “Rise of the Necromancers” published by then, too (it seems as if I’ve been editing it forever!).

I’m working on a series of posts about topics from my books – if you have anything you’d like me to address email me: holly(at)hollyblackstone.com or put it in the comments section of this post.

In the meantime, take care, and I’ll post soon!

Warm regards,

Holly

 

Despite being iced in at a hotel in Cheyenne, WY, (I-80 is closed), my flyers were delivered to Norwescon and have been stuffed into attendee bags!

Thanks to a very good friend, the flyer was finalised, proofread, printed, picked up and dropped off at the hotel in time for the stuffing party. Another dear friend supplied the beautiful artwork that graces the flyer. I’m really lucky to have so many people who stepped up and helped me when it looked like I would have to forgo Norwescon!

The flyers promote my cyberpunk book, “And Laugh at Digital Butterflies” as well as my fantasy novel, “A World Away“. Both series have erotic themes interwoven into them as well as explicit sex (and in the case of “A World Away“, some graphic violence), but they are more than just erotica; they are tales of two very strong women and how they cope with challenges, and the men who fight over them. They are set against rich backdrops full of intrigue and suspense with a larger overarching story, where the romantic dynamic plays a role but is only part of the story, although an integral one; after all, aren’t relationships important to all of us?

They are books for adults, but they are also true to their genres, and I hope you enjoy them!

 

My mom lost her battle with cancer yesterday.

Although the years after my father died were difficult between us, the past several my mom and I had begun to rebuild our relationship. We found more common ground and worked hard at building a relationship as adults. This makes her death all the more tragic, because we had begun to be friends, relate better as adults and really enjoy the time we had together.

I am her executrix, so the next few weeks are going to be filled with taking care of the business of closing down her life. She is in a better place now, but her absence will leave a void in my life. When I get back from taking care of my duties, I look forward to throwing myself into my writing, as therapy. Thank you all so much for your patience and good wishes whilst she was battling cancer.

And please, PLEASE – if you ever see something unusual happen to your health, habits… do not hesitate to go the doctor. Go to a clinic, if nothing else

Sorry I’ve been quiet of late. As a lot of you know from previous posts, my mom has Stage IV cancer. Nearly a month ago she contracted a Staph infection and was hospitalised for a week, on intravenous antibiotics. She was released home, but has had a hard time getting her strength back. Two weeks ago I got a call that she was really bad, and I spoke with the Hospice nurse, who said her body was shutting down and she had days left. I had planned to see her the end of that week, but at great expense moved the departure up and decided to stay a week instead of 4 days (she lives in Texas, and as you know, I live in Washington state).

I’m pleased to say she’s still with us, despite everything. Hospice had her on so many drugs she wasn’t awake much during the day, and their charter is to ‘die with dignity’ which to them means no extra fluids, zero discomfort, etc. Luckily my mom had thought ahead and given me legal status with regard to her medical treatment and we ratcheted back some of the drugs, she became more lucid and she began to drink and then eat on her own. When I left a week ago to-day, she was able to sit up for several hours, watch TV and engage in conversation quite clearly, eat chicken, jello or a really small sandwich at a time. I’ve spoken to her since and she continues to get stronger.

Hospice’s idea is to die quickly and without pain but that’s not what a dignified death means to everyone. My mom (and I support her in this), feels like there is so much to live for and she wants to fight as long as she can, despite what people say her prognosis is. I am proud of her – they didn’t think she’d beat the Staph infection, (her pancreas was removed so it makes battling infections that much more difficult), but she did, and now she’s trying to get her strength back. I don’t know what the future holds so each day, regardless of what the outlook seems to be, is a victory. I discovered this when my father died suddenly and I was 12 – you cannot know what the next day, or the day after that holds, so all you can do is treasure the moments you have and do your best to live a decent life, as defined by you.

Since I’ve been back I’ve tried to catch up on work and then over the weekend I got sick, and am finally on the mend – I can go back to work to-morrow, because my head is finally clearing up and my sinuses don’t feel like they’re stuffed with concrete!

So I haven’t made much progress on my books; while I was away I was able to edit the second book in the Void Chronicles a little, but it was difficult to write new content because I was really preoccupied and it was hard to concentrate. Since I’m up and my head isn’t pounding any more I plan on doing some writing to-night and this weekend. I am about 20% done with book 5, which may not seem like much, but I can easily pound out a few thousand words with my knuckles if I get a few hours of uninterrupted time. 😉

I’d like to ask my wonderful readers for a favour; there is a local convention – Norwescon – and I am considering printing up a flier to be included in their ‘swag bag’ that they hand out to attendees, advertising my cyberpunk and fantasy erotica. If you have read either of those books (“And Laugh at Digital Butterflies” and “A World Away” respectively), and have complimentary feedback to offer, please email me (holly(at)hollyblackstone.com) or post them in the comments section of this post. If you haven’t read them, but have complimentary feedback on my writing in general, I also welcome that. Norwescon focuses on Fantasy & Science Fiction, hence the reason I can only publicise those two book, and not Lily/Stuart.

Thank you for your patience and support – your kind messages (Dina & Michelle especially, you are such wonderful regulars =), and thank you for coming back and visiting my site time and again.

All the best to you and yours,

Holly

 

 

Starting to-morrow (when Amazon updates my account), “An Accidental Affair” will be on sale for 99 cents! This will be for a limited time, so if you know someone who might enjoy the book, now would be a good time to get it. =)

B&N/iBookstore take a bit longer to update… details on those platforms to follow.

Enjoy, and keep reading!

Best wishes,

Holly

It’s been a little while, but good news! I had a bit of time to write again this weekend. =)

I made a little headway in Lily and Stuart’s story, and started on a long-ish post for this site. For those of you who have been following news of my mom, she was admitted about a week ago to hospital, but went home Friday night. She’s weak , but home and still fighting. The doctors originally thought she had pneumonia but she has a staph infection and was in intravenous anti-biotics for a while, and is now on pills at home. She’s fortunate to have a group of loyal friends and neighbours, and a nice woman’s organisation through her church, and they welcomed her home in style.

I hope everyone has a brilliant week, and hope to make more progress with Lily and Stuart soon!

 

Thank you for all your patience and kindness!

Warm regards and wishes,

Holly

There are a lot of sites on the web that host contests and one of them is the ‘eFestival of Words’. The neat thing about them is they focus on small, independent eBook publishers. If the title is published solely in a print version it isn’t eligible, but those published for ebooks and print or only as ebooks are eligible.

Books are nominated and once the submission period closes, the nominees are announced and voting begins! People who are involved in publishing and books – either as a librarian, self-published author or those who publish Reviews (as part of a blogsite, say, and not as an Amazon reviewer), can nominate books.

It’s a good mechanism for those who like ebooks to nominate authors, and it is nice in the sense that it can avoid some of the populist wave that seems to overtake open sites (like Goodreads). It is an Indie focus, which I like; if you look at Goodreads (which on the whole is a decent site), it’s not a surprise to see what gets nominated in the erotica categories – they’re often big(ger) name books like ‘Beautiful Disaster’ and ‘Bared to You’. Not much room for the independent author to elbow in there.

If there’s a book

Hi everyone. =) Sorry I haven’t been posting much. Work is still busy, and I’m trying to dig out of being sick for nearly two weeks!

First off, “A World Away”, book one in The Void Chronicles, is not available on iBookstore here. Hooray!

Second … although I was sick and didn’t write as much as I would have liked over Christmas, I did get some writing in and wrote about six thousand words.