Male vs Female?

Recently I caught an interesting discussion on the website of SFX Magazine ( UK ), re: the imbalance between their reviews of books written by male authors as opposed to those written by women authors. A rather lively discussion ensued, some of which I subscribe to, and some, I do not.

Traditionally in genre fiction, male writers have outnumbered female for a great variety of reasons. The ratio, however, currently stands around 55% to 45%. This is probably more even than it has ever been. But I do believe that CERTAIN male readers/reviewers ( not all! ) still exhibit a sexist bias, perhaps subconsciously.

This is one reason that I joined the Broad Universe Literary Coalition. The aim of this organization, which is not limited to women, is to promote the work of female authors, especially in regard to genre fiction: fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc. I've never heard of any organization devoted to the promotion of male authors, have you? One doesn't seem to be necessary.

Personally, I've observed a few male readers who picked up a book, briefly scanned the back blurb, realized it was written by a woman, and promptly rejected it without further investigation! ( There may also be women who do the same with a book written by a man, but I've never personally observed reverse bias. ) People like this, of either gender, do female writers a gross injustice by assuming that no woman could write as well as a man---or write a book that THEY could be interested in. How far from the truth!

There are plenty of women authors out there who write fascinating science fiction, heroic fantasy, gritty urban fantasy, horror that would curl your toes, and bloody crime fiction, These aren't pieces you would stereotypically expect to be written by "ladies"! I've read a great many books by male authors; never once have I assumed that I couldn't be interested in a book written by a man. Am I equally interested in books written by any and all female authors? Of course not.

To coin a phrase here, don't judge a book by the gender of its author. Open the dang thing and actually read a few pages before you dismiss a book!

All the pulpit-thumping for now,

MRTighe

A Blurb Blog

Here's one version of my early, longer attempts at creating a backcover blurb for Judgment on Tartarus. This synopsis had to be condensed considerably to fit the backcover.

Come aboard the retired battle cruiser Astrella II with idealistic young Ensign Corona Scott as she begins the adventure fated to change her life forever---as well as that of the entire known-Galaxy. Assigned to her first deep-space mission, Rona Scott soon begins to fear that her long-dreamed-of career is in serious jeopardy.

Her new CO, Richard Hughes---the legendary "Hero of the Gorgonian Wars"---has a hair-trigger temper and no sympathy for green crewmembers. His strict ExO, Malkis of Tartarus, lets Rona know right from the start that he has no use for Terran females. Rona is further dismayed to discover that Astrella is a hot-bed of gossip, racial hatred, prejudice, and diabolical intrigue. She struggles to maintain her own high ideals, to keep an open mind, despite the mounting pressure to give in to the prevailing attitude.

The situation aboard Astrella gets progressively worse: a science mission is sabotaged; someone hates the Tartarian ExO badly enough to attempt to kill him; and with no explanation High Command dispatches Astrella to the planet Tartarus. Along the way, the ship is attacked by an old enemy---the dreaded Gorgonians---whose ships haven't been seen for over twelve years.

When Astrella reaches Tartarus, things go from bad to worse. There, Rona Scott is forced to make some life-altering decisions---and the fate of Astrella's captain and crew rests upon the barbaric, bloody outcome of a challenge to mortal combat!

That was it. Believe me, condensing all that verbage to fit into the limited space on a novel's backcover isn't exactly easy. Some things have to be left out; some hard choices have to be made. To see what I mean, compare this with the finished blurb as listed on amazon.com's Judgment on Tartarus page!

All for now,

MRTighe

DVD Mania

My hubby and I own a vast collection of DVDs, probably numbering in the thousands. Some of our all-time favorites series include: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, CSI, Lost, Babylon 5, Farscape, Doctor Who ( from the very oldest to the newest! ), True Blood, Legend of the Seeker, and Blood Ties. You'll of course note that these are heavy on the fantasy and SF titles.

Hubby also has his own private collection of superhero movies, cartoons, anime, and really OLD horror movies, such as Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, etc. He loves them so much that he can watch them over and over again; I cannot. That is why we have two TVs on the first floor within a few feet of each other!

The DVDs closest to my heart include The Lord of the Rings movies, the entire Harry Potter series ( which I hope to complete this Christmas ) and my collection of my beloved Survivor DVDs. That TV show is a weakness of mine. As a kid, I used to dream about being a castaway on a desert island in the Pacific and having to survive on my own. Naturally, Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson were among my favorite books.

My study of psychology and sociology in college led me to a fascination with human interaction and motivation, in addition to the survival aspects. So tease me if you will, I'll always love Survivor. The show has also confirmed my fears that modern humans have lost touch with nature, have lost respect for its dangers, and are woefully ignorant of its benefits.

Ah, well! That's a subject for another day! The tribe has spoken.

MRTighe

The Waiting Game

I'm waiting as patiently as I can for True Son of Tartarus to be published and available to my readers. That's one of the hardest parts of the publishing process, at least for me. I'm always anxious to find out if my next book will appeal to people as much as Book 1 did. I've done my darnedest to make True Son as good as Judgment ( if not better! ), as good as I possibly can while remaining true to myself, my beliefs, my goals.

 For instance, for those who are fans of gritty, militaristic SF with loads of violence and bloodbaths---sorry, but you'll have to look elsewhere. You just aren't going to find those elements in either Judgment on Tartarus or True Son of Tartarus. I have no illusions that every single reader is going to react favorably to my work. Each individual has their own literary tastes. But I truly believe a large audience will appreciate the stories I write.

Of course, some may find them a bit too violent for their tastes; others, not violent enough. Some may find them a bit offensive while others think they're not graphic enough. Obviously, I can never please absolutely everyone, so, as the old saying goes, I have to be true to myself. And as long as I do that I'll be happy with my work---just impatient with the amount of time it takes to learn your reaction!

All for now,

MRTighe

A Bit of a Breather

Now that True Son of Tartarus has been finished and left in the capable hands of the publisher and the printer, I am taking a bit of a breather, which doesn't mean that I'm not writing/editing---just that I'm under less pressure than usual. I've already begun the process of editing Ransom of Tartarus, which will be Book 3 of the trilogy; as soon as True Son becomes available online, I intend to start the whole publication process over once again.

If things go smoothly ( and they often do not! ) "Ransom" could be published as early as February of 2012. I just have to work hard and keep my fingers crossed. There's a lot to be done in that short time. Fortunately, Ransom has already been written, and I'm happy with it; it's been transferred to my laptop, made into a hard copy, and edited somewhat. But it still needs a final edit, transfer to a USB, layout, proofs and corrections of proofs, and coming up with a satisfactory cover design ( which can take 2-3 tries! )

As you can imagine, this all takes time and patience---even in the age of e-mails, pdfs, and priority mail! At this time I have no intention of succumbing to the temptation to turn the trilogy into a "series", as many authors have done---unless you count the creation of two prequels as making this into a series. Do I know how the story ends many, many years into the future? I do---but that telling is a very long way away!

All for now,
'
MRTighe

A Preview of Things to Come

True Son of Tartarus should be published within the next few weeks. But for those of you who just can't wait, here's a brief preview from a chapter titled "Damned to Hell":

   He was back at the ISS Academy again---on Terra---seated cross-legged upon the hard, narrow bunk in his quarters. The computer readout-arm extended before him, he was engrossed in his astronautical-engineering text when a loud, bold knock at the door disturbed his concentration. The door was pushed open.
   A dark-haired young Terran male poked his head into the room. "Howie Watenabe here?"
   Without speaking, Malkis shook his head in the negative---a perfunctory gesture.
   The Terran stepped inside, uninvited---as far as Malkis was concerned, a supreme act of rudeness.
   "You his roomie?" the young man demanded.
   Malkis bristled and stared blankly at the intruder without deigning to reply. A foolish question, he thought, typically Terran!
   "Mind if I come in?" the Terran asked belatedly.
   Now Malkis scowled at him in outright annoyance. "It would appear to me that you are already 'in'," he said brusquely, hoping that this obnoxious Terran would take a polite hint and leave him to study in peace.
   Instead, the young man gawked around the cramped quarters with brazenly-undisguised Terran inquisitiveness. "No bigger than mine," he noted aloud. "The room, I mean. Hell, wouldn't you think the star-blasted brass could spare us cadets a little more space? Feels like we're confined to a flaring cage, doesn't it?"
   Malkis studiously ignored this brash intruder with the abominable lack of manners, but the smiling Terran drew offensively close, cornering Malkis. "I'm Hughes," he offered, sticking out his hand. "Richard---but my friends call me Hugh. And you must be Malkis of Tartarus."
   Malkis recoiled, staring at the proffered hand, as if this "Hughes" were a known-carrier of the Lamidian plague. He made no move to take the Terran's hand. "Since I am the only Tartarian cadet enrolled here, I would think the answer rather obvious."
   Hughes shrugged off the rude refusal of his hand. "One hell of a long way from home, aren't you, friend?"
   The Tartarian deliberately pinched his straight, black brows together in an indication of annoyance that even the most obtuse being on Terra ought to be able to perceive. "My affairs are none of your concern---and I am most definitely not your 'friend'."
   The dark-haired intruder was finally put off by the brusque reply. His dark-blue eyes began to smoldeer. "Maybe not---but I am a friend of Hiro Orion Watenabe," he said quietly, trying unsuccessfully to read this silver-haired son-of-a-bitch.
   "Indeed?"
   "Well, you're his roomie, dammit!"
   Malkis continued to regard this Hughes with a cold, disdainful stare. "Not by choice, I assure you," he retorted acidly.
   "Are all Tartarians as damn friendly as you are, Cadet?" Hughes demanded, crossing his arms on his chest, chin jutting forward in anger.
   "The term you insist upon employing is Terran in origin," Malkis responded in an ice-edged tone. "'Friendly' has no equivalent in the Tartarian language."
   "That I can believe!" Hughes declared wryly, starting back to the door. "Hell, I've heard talk about you. Thought everyone was having me on---until now!"
   Malkis glared anew at this impertinent Terran. "Is it too far beyond the limitations of your Terran abilities to close the door---behind you?"
   Hughes flashed the impossible Tartarian a corresponding glare and stalked out of the room; he slammed the door behind him in a typically-Terran display of anger and frustration. Malkis clearly heard the stream of colorful Terran invective released on the other side of the door, as Hughes called his Tartarian ancestry into question and damned him to Hell for all Eternity!

That's it---hope you enjoyed!

MRTighe

Creating " The Hobbit"

If you're a big fan of the movie version of "The Lord of the Rings" ( as I am ), you probably can't wait for the two-part movie version of "The Hobbit", which is being directed by Peter Jackson. From what I've seen and heard about these films so far, we are in for a treat.

Ian McKellen is reprising his role as Gandalf the Grey, as is Hugo Weaving as Elrond. At one point I had heard that Orlando Bloom would return as Legolas ( he is a Wood Elf, after all! ), but at this time I haven't been able to confirm that info. I can, however, confirm that Evangeline Lilly ( Kate of "Lost" ) will play a female Wood Elf, and Stephen Fry has been cast as the Mayor of Laketown and has been shooting his scenes. I follow Stephen ( Bones, Black Adder, Fry and Laurie, etc. ) on Twitter.

Of great interest to me as an artist is the painstaking recreation of Rivendell and Bag End---quite a feat! Those were extraordinarily beautiful sets. Reconstructing Bag End must've been particularly complicated as several versions in various scales had to be constructed in order to make dwarves and hobbits appear to be smaller than Gandalf, when all the actors are approximately the same size.

Much as I can hardly bear the wait, I want the creative folk involved to do their utmost to make these two movies up to the same level as the first three. I have every confidence they'll do their absolute best!

All for now,

MRTighe