Tag: novels

Earlier this year I started a group called WAM JAMS!  to create a community of writers, artists and musicians to  meet and create original work. Collectively we have bargaining power and a far wider reach to other communities to barter and share resources and talents. By doing so, I felt we artists could create our own philosophies and change our country and world from the inside out.

I also created the group for greater autonomy and control over my career and success. I was weary of banging on the door of the gate keepers, trying to play by their rules. I found myself reediting my book to fit the commercial desires of agents, and seeking to change my look or attitude for acting auditions. I was performing the roles of women that did not reflect my depth and complexity or the deeper and more profound issues of my women friends. I listened to stories of years of rejection slips and genius in isolation, working against the status quo - many driven to the point of giving up, and felt the need to do something. I saw in the hopelessness of others an opportunity to help artists find their way to their dreams - and this has become my mission.

As with bands of animals, communities are created to protect the individual and to fulfill their needs. We have the opportunity to create new dreams, to visualize a totally unique and visionary view of how we would like our communal world to evolve.

Alexandra, the heroine in my book, makes a promise at a shrine in return for an unmarked face - Truth for Beauty. As I finished my book I realized that I, like my dear heroine ,had a price to pay. The truth is that I made my own deal at St. Joseph's shrine. I suffered a paralyzed vocal cord after the birth of my son and the affliction was deemed permanent. I was an actress and voice-over artist with a powerful voice. How was I to live the rest of my life as a freak who could barely speak above a whisper? My vow at the shrine of St. Joseph - to follow my manifest destiny in return for the return of my voice led to the downfall of all I believed important in my life. But it also created this book and pushed me far beyond my former boundaries. It fostered independence, autonomy and free thinking. My two sons, educated in truth,see no boundaries around who they may someday become.  It is my supreme desire to find the eternal truth, unencumbered by the laws and mores of society, that drives all of us.

And so I made the decision to lure other artists out of hiding and have them tell their stories, expose truth, create new forms of art - a renaissance out of the darkness of the commercial age. My goal is to create something new and spectacular - a blend of theater, music and art - something the world has never seen. We turn to cable and blogs - longing for truth lost inside boxes and on screeens. But I envisioned something far more human. As in all social upheaval change starts with one voice - and in my case this voice is a miracle of God. In one human being lie all the mysteries of the universe.

AB

When I set out to write The House on Black Lake, I did not consider the genre of the book. I only knew I had a story to tell that was so powerful, it consumed much of my time and passion for the next four years.  When the book was fully edited, I was told I must find a genre to market my book to a niche audience.  My editor had warned me that many agents will turn you down outright if you mention the words "romance" or "erotic."  So, I chose "psychological thriller", an apt title for a book about a woman's journey into the dark shadows of herself.  However, I quickly realized I was on the wrong course.

I solicited a second opinion from another agent, asking for an analysis of the first few chapters. I was aghast when she informed me my book was a "contemporary gothic romance", or "erotic gothic romance." I  professed to have never read a tawdry romance or erotica novel, although I had read many erotic and romantic literary works. I associated the former with lonely women locked in loveless marriages, who lived their lives through others.  These books were certainly not for an independent and adventurous woman such as myself.

Some have called romance novels porn for women, and they, with only a few exceptions, are generally viewed with distain by the literary commununity.  Of course, it is a fact that many romance novels are poorly crafted and feed off the needs of women who desire to lead more vibrant lives than allowed by mainstream society.  Yet, there have been masterpieces of romantic literature, most promintently Du Maurnier's Rebecca, the Bronte sisters and the works of  Jan Austin.  Whether or not they deserve respect, the romance and erotic factories are where the majority of books are sold, in times of affluence and in time of depression. Romance and erotica are what a large population of women want, despite the taboo.

Yet, it can be successfully argued that every book is a romance novel.   In every genre of fiction, romance drives the novel. Love/ Passion for "someone or something" creates conflict and drama. Even in the most male driven books, some kind of romantic influence generally finds its way into the plot.  So, all books incorporate elements of  romance, and it is time to come out of the closet.  Human beings strive for love and a sense of completeness with an opposing other.  It is true of both men and women.

I chose the genre,"Neo Gothic Suspence," not because I want to avoid stigma and lose readers like myself,  but because it would be redundant to call it a "romance novel".  The House on Black Lake is a journey into a woman's soul.  It is highly  provocative,  romantic and erotic, because that's want we want- taboo or not.

Anastasia