Saturday, July 28, 2012

Write with a knowing voice

It is no surprise Diane Keziah Robertson's book, The Lacemaker's Daughter, is selling like hotcakes to hungry people. Lacemaking is an ancient craft that looks very difficult to learn (video below).  It works perfectly that Diane is a lacemaker. Her knowledge of the craft adds the authenticity that brings truth (believability) to her fiction.

Two comments from early readers of the manuscript are the basis for this post. One person said the book, set in England in the 1770's, should have been set in America. The reasoning was, of course, that Americans rather read about America.

That advise makes perfect sense. First off, the American colonies were no more a miniature England than was colonial India, so sure, that would work. (Of course not.)

I can imagine moving Kathryn's Beach, one of my books, to Arizona. I hardly think that Kathryn would have run to the hot desert for solace in the way she ran to the beach.

A story needs to be set where it belongs.

If Americans are only interested in stories set in America, then what is the explanation for the popularity of the Da Vinci Code or James Bond, or even Out of Africa and Mary Poppins? Please don't mention to J. K. Rowling that she should have written her million+ best sellers about Harry Potter set in America. It simply would not have worked.

Another suggestion was that the book didn't contain enough about lacemaking. Um, refer to the title. The book is about the daughter of a lacemaker. It is fiction, not a how-to book.

What does work is that Diane knows a whole lot about lacemaking and gave that essence to the story. The book gives a glimpse of the life of an English lacemaker. But the story is about one particular person, her family, and the people she meets.

Keeping with the Cactus Rain Publishing tradition, Diane delivers a well written, entertaining, feel-good read that does what literature is expected to do; guide the reader through an enjoyable experience that dispenses with their current reality.

The point is, write what you know. If your character is schizophrenic and you have no experience with the classic behaviors of schizophrenic people, on and off their medication, then do the research to make your story, even fantasy and science fiction, believable to the point the reader can dispense with reality and become immersed into the story. Follow Diane's example of excellence in storytelling.

Happy writing and reading.



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Amazing Book!

The Lacemaker's Daughter is an absolutely amazing book. When author Diane Keziah Robertson held her first reading, I meant to get a post with a photo on First Draft. However, I've been wearing out the road to town shipping books to her. Sales are far above expectaions.

Diane has been the featured author at several events in the month and a half since The Lacemaker's Daughter was published, with more events booked.

Get your copy of The Lacemaker's Daughter to check out why it is selling like hot cakes, and I'll get a picture or two posted as soon as I can.

www.CactusRainPublishing.com and www.dianekrobertsonbooks.com