Necrophilia & Erotica

Am I the only one who finds necrophilia (as a concept) screamingly funny? I mean...I'm sure people do it. Otherwise it wouldn't be a "thing." I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the mechanics of it. Who looks at a dude in a coffin and thinks: "Easy pickings. I'll ride that thing till it breaks off!" Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, dear...maggots.

*Snort* I kinda wanna write a necrophilic erotic story. Just for shits and giggles. Just to see if I can actually do it (convincingly) and get the damned thing published. And why not? If I can get a story about nuns and tentacles published, why not zombies? Why not necrophilia? The erotic genre is primed for creative exploration and boundary leaping. The erotic market is so much more lenient than other literary genres--and since I'm a twisted, depraved madwoman with a restless imagination, I honestly think I can excel in "weird erotica." Carve out my niche in sexual debauchery and perversion! 

There are things I write when I'm being "serious" and then the things I write when I'm being 100% sarcastic. When people take my erotica seriously, I always get a hysterical laugh out of it. Erotica is a playground. I can get away with shit I would NEVER be able to in a non-erotic press. If I want to explore my atheist musings, I can. If I want to experiment with racial topics, I can. If I want to discuss lesbian feminism and gender inequality, I can. Try doing that in another genre and see if it'll sell. It won't. 

I don't mind scraping it in the "underbelly" of the literary world. Most of what I write is "pulp" anyway.  If I can get you hot and bothered while stimulating your intellect, HURRAY! I want to engage my readers in any way I can. Mind and body, I'll rub them both! And why not? Why the fuck not? *wears shit-eating grin* Ohhhhhhh minions, I feel like writing something truly naughty! :D 

Discussing your book

Uhhhhhh...want to see an otherwise functional and intelligent adult morph into a babbling toddler? Yeah. I get cold sweats whenever random strangers/acquaintances ask: "Ohhhh you're a writer? So what is your book about?" It is more nerve-wracking than pitching to an agent. I mean...with an agent, I'm kinda already expecting the agent to either ignore me or reject me on the spot. Querying is very impersonal. However one-on-one conversations are nothing like that at all! You're forced to answer that one-on-one question with a one-sentence summary. "My book is about the Salem Witch Trials, Voodoo, slavery, lesbians, and um...werewolves?" 

This, of course, is followed by another question: "So who are your characters? What's the point?" I have two choices. I can continue the snarky route OR I can actually try to explain what my book is about. 9 times out of 10 I say something snarky because there's nothing more ANNOYING than a self-absorbed writer giving a long soliloquy about their fucking book. I refuse to be that writer. I really do. If I ever get famous (ha!) you're not going to find me on NPR droning on and on. I can't stand that! And I'm kinda uncomfortable talking about my book anyway. I care more about it than this random person and I don't want to waste their time discussing racial, feminist, LGBT politics. 

I need to be better at talking about my book to people...face-to-face. Perhaps I should say: "It's Toni Morrison meets Quentin Tarantino!" so they can scratch their heads and slowly back away from me. I've already decided on a "dedication" to put at the front of the book. "Dedicated to all the Pecolas and Preciouses of the world who found the teeth to bite back!" Yeah. I like the sound of that. 

Ouch, Smash, Rejection!

So I got my first rejection on my full manuscript. Had to happen sooner or later, but ouch, smash, break! That's the sound of my ego hitting the hard fucking floor. I'm honored I caught the attention of a NY time's best selling agent from a major literary agency in the first place. And, um, the fact my rejection was open-ended: "would you be willing to revise/resubmit or do you have any other material for me to review?" should make me happy. But it doesn't. 


I don't know. I guess this tells me I'm a good writer. The agent said so herself. But she thought there was too much gore and fantastical elements. Subjective criticisms. Fair enough. And I'm not taking it personally, but still... 


I guess I'm just looking for some love from the horror community. It's such a hard sell these days. And at times I feel unappreciated as a horror writer. I'm not a traditional hack-n-slash type. Nor am I  a psychological thriller either. I blend horror, the supernatural, fantasy, and just general "hard-to-define-ness" to my stories. I don't like being boxed into a single genre, and I think that shows in my writing. 


Sticking to your guns is a hard thing to do. If I was so desperate to be published, I would write some cheesy YA urban fantasy about a boring white suburban girl and her equally boring but predictable half-vampire/werewolf/zombie/dragon/whatever-the-hell-ever boyfriend. Of course all of the characters would be straight. And I wouldn't even bother trying to incorporate feminism, racial/sexual identity, or social politics into the subtextual plot. Teenagers don't think. Like duh. Totally whatever, right?


I have a voice. And one day someone will listen to it. I never set out to be a NY times bestseller or super famous. I just want someone...ANYONE to listen to me. To show that I exist. That I was here. That's all.


To be fair, the agent who rejected me mentioned none of these sociopolitical issues as a factor. Strange, she didn't even bring it up. In fact, she asked me to write a Voodoo-themed YA story for her. I'm bitching about two completely unrelated topics: an under appreciation for horror AND political fiction. Anyway, I'm keeping the ball rolling on these queries. This grueling, soul-draining process... Onwards I go! 

More on Toni Morrison...

I should have included this in the last post but agh! I'm a spaz. Anyway, I found this interview on youtube and I wanted to share it with you guys. She's talking about "The Bluest Eye." What an incredible lady! I hope one day my dreads can look as majestic as hers! *serious loc envy*

Books I'm Reading: The Bluest Eye

"The Bluest Eye" written by Toni Morrison. This book destroyed me. It really did. And I don't often say that about a book, but good gawd, when I got to the final chapter I was bawling my eyes out. I cried so much I had to start drinking whiskey just to comfort myself. Then I got so drunk I passed out. And all over a book. 


In my last post, I talked about "Sister Citizen" and the John-Henryism effect. "The Bluest Eye" deals with beauty (or the lack thereof) in the black community. There's also sexism, colorism, feminism, incest, violence, and poverty. Morrison shows us these horrors by streaming it through the eyes of a little girl named Pecola. Pecola, who wishes for blue eyes and blonde hair. Pecola, who is abandoned by her mother and raped by her father. Pecola, who is seen by everyone, shamed by everyone, and utterly ignored by all. Little Pecola. 


Gawd, she destroyed me. When Pecola finally becomes undone, I found myself unraveling just the same. I wanted to tear my hair out. I thought of all the Pecolas of the world who would never be seen, never be saved. And I got so angry because I guess I saw a little bit of myself in her too. 


Reading books like these just makes me want to become a better writer. Toni Morrison's writing is next to godliness. I am jealous but happy to read a book by such an awesome storyteller. She inspires me as a black female writer, to really push myself and do something great. I may never be able to write like Toni Morrison, but good gawd, I will try to learn from her if I can! Highly recommend this book. 


Happy reading! 

2/12 Media of the Month: Sister Citizen

Melissa Harris-Perry just released a new book titled: 

Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. Isn't that cover just gorgeous? I love it! And it's Black History Month so...yeah. I think it's appropriate. 

Excellent read. Those of you who are familiar with psychology/sociology statistics (such as regression analysis and Likhert's scales) will find this book incredibly easy to read. For those who don't know statistics jargon, Harris-Perry does an excellent job breaking down the data in layman terms. She is a political science major herself, so she uses FACTS (and not broad generalizations) to lay out the foundation of her book. For those of you who don't know who Melissa Harris-Perry is, you can check her out on MSNBC. She is often seen on the Rachel Maddow show but now she has a new show (yay) that comes on on Saturday mornings. 

OK. A caveat but I feel the need to confess publicly. Let me just admit to you all...Rachel Maddow is like...holy god. I have DREAMS about this woman...bad...bad dreams, lol. XXX dreams. I think if I ever saw her in real life, I might just die. Ok...sorry...distracted...yeah, you can catch Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC! OK?! Watch her show--she's awesome! 

But more about the book:

Sister Citizen is a serious non-fiction book about black women and how stereotypes (Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezbel) create a "crooked room" effect in the black woman's psyche. In psychology, there's a term we like to use called: "John Henryism." It is a phenomenon used by blacks to "cope" with their environments. Anyway, Harris-Perry asserts that there is a similar phenomena unique solely to black women. Like John-Henryism, their (our) pursuit of "Strength" becomes a detriment to their (our) mental health. The "Strong Black Woman" can kill herself trying to live up to this superhuman standard.

She also used surveys after Katrina and also literary examples (one of which was "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, but I'll talk about that in another post) to illustrate her point. 

I recommend this book not just to black women (although I think black women might take the most from it) but EVERYONE who is interested in studying feminism, racism and general sociology/psychological geeky goodness. As a black woman myself, I found this book incredibly interesting and worthy of discussion. 

Happy reading!

VC

African-American Read-In

I had no idea this was going on until stumbling across this blog post from The Rejectionist. Take a look. :) 

I think it's appropriate and an honor to MLK jr. However, I've got to say...I'm more of a Malcolm X fan, myself. 

Why Interracial/Multicultural Books Piss Me Off

The first thing I look for when submitting to a romance/erotic publisher is if they carry a interracial/multicultural section (even before checking GLBTQI sections!) If not, I usually do not submit to that publisher. 'Nuff said. What's even worse is that the publishers that DO have IR/M titles are sadly lacking in "diversity" if you can believe that. And that's what pisses me off about a lot of the IR/M books on the shelves right now. 

Now as you all know, I ONLY write IR/M erotica or romance. I DO NOT (and will not) write a story unless one of the major character is of color. Period. No ifs ands or buts. It's my modus operandi and I plan on sticking to it, regardless of genre. There are literally thousands of books about white people. *eye roll* People of color get left in the dust OR (which pisses me off even more) are written into books by white authors who out of ignorance (or worse) "white liberalism" end up portraying people of color in condescending or cliched roles. *cough* Secret Life of Bees, anyone? *cough*  The Help (good lord, that book makes me want to scream) or To Kill A Mockingbird? *hack, wheeze, vomit* Gimme a frickin' break! 

So to see a multicultural or interracial romance at all is a refreshing change of pace. I should be leaping for joy, right? Wrong. Most of the IR books out there I see are written by black women (w00t@ge! Represent, ladies!) lusting over white men. I don't have a problem with that necessarily, but when every single IR/M book on the shelf is about a black woman and a white man, I start to get pissed off! Where's the diversity?! I want to see books with Asian or Hispanic main characters! And why does every "interracial pairing" have to be with a white person anyway? Why not an interracial romance with all minorities? 

But no. You don't see that. Just the standard black heroine and her white male hero. OR African-American themed books, only. That's it. "Multiculturalism" my ass! 

I am in the movement to get Asian, Hispanic, Middle-Eastern, etc. authors (and characters) onto the shelves as well. We need a true "multicultural" presence here, and I have yet to see it. I have been desperate to find blogs like White Readers Meet Black Authors for other racial groups, but have yet to discover them. 

If any of you know of cool sites like that will you let me know? 

TK 

Author Interview: Charisma Knight!

Hello fabulous readers! Today I have a special treat for you. Paranormal/Erotic author, Charisma Knight, has graced us with her presence! *waves hello*

I recently won a copy of her new novella, Spirit Walker, on her blog contest. It was most certainly an interesting read. Fairy Queens, Vampire Witches, Scottish Highlanders, and Astral Projection Fuck Fests. Yes, you read right. Astral projection sex. And quite hot too, I might add.

Certainly packs a punch, lol! I read it in one sitting, hahaha! So now as we're all very curious about her, let me ask you a few questions, Charisma. That is, if you don't mind.

First, if you could describe yourself in three words, which words would they be and why? CK: Energetic, Stubborn, Strong. I'm energetic because it is the only way for me to achieve things I want out of life. If I lose my energy, then I lose my drive as a "go-getter." I'm stubborn because if I truly want something, I'll go through hell and highwater to obtain it. If I don't want to do something, I'm not going to do it. I don't like being forced into something I don't want. I can't stand authority. I'm stubborn when it comes to that, I suppose. I hate intimidation tactics. I'm told by a supervisor at work that we have cameras. My attitude is "yeah, and??" If corporate big brother wants to spy on me, let them. As long as I'm doing my job, what can they say? I'm strong because I refuse to be weak. It is a mindset I've had since my early twenties. I refuse to let grass grow beneath my feet. By the grace of God, when I'm old and gray, I'll be traveling the world. What genres do you write and why? Why interracial romance in particular? CK: Paranormal erotic romance is my first love. I love the explicit details of what goes on between two consenting adults. I grew up reading behind closed door stories, and of course, my dirty little mind craved more info than what was given. There are other genres I will pursue by the beginning of next year. I have started some stories for young adults. I write interracial romance because it is something I can identify with, since I'm a black woman who has often been involved in interracial relationships. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the ebook industry 3 1/2 years ago and discovered these fabulous books! In the future, I hope to see interracial romances on the stands in Walmart, Target, Barnes N Noble, etc. I know they won't be erotica, but that's okay. I believe the interracial romance books are small in comparison to other genres, but to my understanding it has come a long way baby, and still growing!! I'm happy to be a contributor to that! ; ) Who are your publishers? Where can readers find your work? CK: My publishers are Amira Press, Sugar and Spice Press, Eirelander Publishing, and XoXo Publishing. My BDSM story, My Dark Lord and Master was recently accepted by XoXo, and is now in the first stages of the editing process. http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=98 http://sugarnspicepress.com http://xoxopublishing.com What inspires you to write? Is there anything you want your readers to get out of your stories? CK: Well, just about anything can inspire me to write. Some of my stories evolve around some forbidden tales of interracial love in the times of slavery. You know, as a teenager, some of the tales my great-aunts spun were intriguing to me, and piqued my curiosity. Unfortunately, in the times of slavery, there weren't many, if any happy endings. So my little mind kind of re-spun these tales. I've worked spirits, dragons, demons, vampires and werewolves into these tales, the heroines and heroes are souls who are caught up in the cycle of reincarnation. Reincarnation is another intriguing factor of the paranormal, and I believe in it with all my heart and soul. When people read my stories, I want them to be able to escape a little from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Honestly, my writing is to help me escape, this is how I wind myself down, like when I read a good book. Also, I want for folks to know that the color of skin is nothing and people should be accepted for who they are and what they have inside them. Interracial loving is something that is beautiful and should be placed on a pedestal, in my opinion. My reason for feeling this way? Well, because there have been many people who stood up for what they believed in years ago, even centuries ago and were persecuted for simply loving someone of another race. How cruel can that be? So when you're not writing, what other hobbies do you enjoy? CK: Well, I enjoy healing and relaxation therapy. Although not a hobby, I enjoy meditating and dealing with chakras and auras. There is a certain level of divination I must achieve before I can reach my true destination of my higher self. I enjoy listening to music. My tastes vary, with heavy metal and rock being my first love. I enjoy Blues, R & B, some Rap; mostly old school, classical, symphonic metal, classic rock, and New Age. Very interesting! OK, one last question and I'll let you go, I promise, lol! What is one weird fact about you that you'd like to share with us? CK: I am not a pack animal, but a solitary creature who is not fond of crowds. While I enjoy people, I'm no social butterfly. When invited to family reunions, I opt to stay home by myself. Well, unless my daughters drag me kicking and screaming, then I'll warm up after I've been there a while. That's just me in a nutshell. I enjoy my solitude. ; ) Well there you have it folks! Charisma Knight is most certainly interesting, don't you think? Check her out at her publishers and give her a go! Leave comments or questions if you have any! That concludes today's interview and thanks for sticking around! :D Oh and...if you missed yesterday's post you can catch her at her BLOG and this WEBSITE. Have fun browsing! TK

Join us tomorrow!

I'll be having my first author interview ever with paranormal author, Charisma Knight! We'll discuss her latest book and other sexy, juicy goodness you don't wanna miss! You can sneak a peak at her website here:

http://charismaknight.yolasite.com/

And don't forget to join us tomorrow so you won't miss out on all the fun! We'll be waiting for you! ;-)

Kindred Review...Sigh.

Before I post my review (which is also posted on Goodreads) let me tell you what this book is about.

Kindred is about a young black woman named Dana who time-travels from the 1970s to meet her slave ancestors. In order to ensure that she is born, she must save the life of her ancestors' unstable slave master, named Rufus. Rufus is a little boy when she first meets him, but grows into an adult as the story progresses. As he ages, he becomes more ruthless with the slaves and with Dana.

Conveniently enough, Dana is also teleported through time with her conveniently white boyfriend, Kevin. Conveniently their love is tested by racism and conveniently, albeit predictably, Kevin and Dana end up separated in time (I love writer's conveniences, don't you?)

Together, they must re-live the worst of American history all so Dana can actively assist her white slave masters in the rape, torture, and killing of her ancestors. Hurray! By the end of the book, she loses her arm and stabs Rufus to death so Kevin and Dana can go on with their passionless marriage in the 1970s. Spoiler alert, sorry.

But lovely setting, right?

As I posted on Goodreads...

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I really wanted to like this book. I really really did. For one, I am a black female sci-fi writer (like Octavia Butler) so just out of fellowship alone, I WANTED to LOVE this book. And like Dana, I am in an interracial relationship with a white man. So I was stoked when I heard about this book. I really wanted to treasure it.

Unfortunately for myself and for Ms. Butler, I just couldn't get past the sloppy, disjointed sentences, her uninteresting, lukewarm characters, and the overall far-fetched plot. It just felt hackneyed. Contrived. Plot holes everywhere. It read like the author was hitting me over the head--dumbing it down so that I should look away from the weaknesses in her characterization, plot, and syntax and focus solely on the graphic ways the slaves were treated. Which would be a great reminder of American history and racism if I was white. But I'm not. I still feel the residual effects of slavery, as does any black person (in America, anyway) so I don't need to be reminded how hard it was for the slaves. Hell, it's still hard now! As a black person reading this, I felt "talked-down" to...spoon-fed. This book wasn't for me, but for white people who had forgotten history, folks who assumed "stuff like racism" no longer existed in this world. That being said, I am/was less likely (than a non-black person) to forgive the flaws in this book.

For such a profound subject matter, the author chose to rush through the plot--there was no character development I saw (except for Rufus, who, by far, was the most thought-out character in the entire novel!) Poor Kevin was used simply as a plot device, as was the time travel aspect of this story. There's no explanation as to why Dana and Rufus can go through time. No explanation for why her arm gets stuck in the wall. It took Dana to 3/4 of the book to finally get around to Alice, but seeing how Alice is brutally raped repeatedly throughout the story, it makes no sense for Dana to assume she is needed for the birth of Hagar.

At times, I literally wanted to throw the book at the wall and not read it anymore. It was just too much! It made me angry because the characters were all so useless and stupid, and the dialogue so stunted and repetitive, that I stopped caring whether Dana would get back to Kevin--I was almost hoping she wouldn't because she kept saving Rufus when he continued to abuse her and the others. Her character was too flimsy to hold up to the author's narrative. She fluctuated as heroine and victim, but mostly, remained a victim by her own choosing throughout the book.

But...I will say that the IDEA of this story is amazing. The author knew how to draw us into the book, into the story. It is the EXECUTION of her storytelling that falls short for me. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5. It is an imaginative story--unique and one-of-a-kind. But the fantastical elements are not enough for me to overlook everything else. I am a writer, myself, so I can't forgive the technicality of it all.

I would recommend this book to high school students.

View all my reviews >>

Reading New Books

Although I am a writer, I don't read very much. Why? Mainly, because I'm too poor to buy new books and reading takes a lot of my time. I'm the sort of person who reads a whole book in one or two sittings. Even if the book sucks--I fully absorb myself to the pages. This is why I'm so slow to read some of my friend's books or beta. It's not that I'm unreliable, I just don't want to start something if I'm going to be busy with other things. Because once I start reading, I don't usually stop until I finish the whole thing.

I've ordered two books that I'm really excited about. I've been desperate to find other black female authors in the sci-fi/fantasy genres. I'll review them both once I finish, but here's what I got on my plate right now:

"Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler and...

"Brown Girl in the Ring" by Nalo Hopkinson, but I think I'll start first with this one. Both of these books are kinda old...I think "Kindred" was published in the 80s and "Brown Girl" in 1998. But I'm just now hearing about these books. (Kinda sad, huh?)

Until the books arrive, I will try my best to catch up on my beta work! Thank you all for being patient with me!