Modern Day Pirates

I don't know what it is about human nature that makes us romanticize outlaws. A look at film lists suggests it's not a purely American quality. But for whatever reason people are drawn to the violent among us, even if we have to weave a fantasy about the people, their lives and motives. Perhaps because we're looking through the rose colored glasses of distance, time, or both. But Americans did it with Capone, the James gang, Bonnie and Clyde. . . the list is endless. Films and historical romances certainly have done their part when it comes to romanticizing the pirate.

Admittedly, I find the this version of the pirate to
be. . .well. . .wildly romantic. Maybe because the characters are invariably depicted by hot virile men who any woman in her right mind knows she could be *the one* to make him see the error of his ways. Consider Clark Gable in Mutiny on the Bounty in the picture on the left.


Or the incredible Errol Flynn in Captain Blood:

And of course, everyone's favorite pirate (what IS it about Johnny Depp??? Sigh.) Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Carribbean:





Somehow, of course our fantasies tend to gloss over the real habits of pirates, which was the business of robbing, raping, pillaging and plundering. Our films and books weave stories of dark heroes with noble causes, or at least deeply flawed men who can be led to do the right thing, if only for their own reasons. They end the story being better men, if not completely changed, for having done something for the greater good.

Recent news shows us something far different. One wonders what Hollywood filmmakers would make of the Somali pirates who have been preying on ships in the Indian Ocean. Somehow they even managed to hold off the US Navy Destroyer sent to assist in the situation.

The reality of modern day pirates comes with sticky issues like terrorists at sea, armed with automatic weapons who will kill the hostages they hold because they lack the moral parameters the rescuers operate within. And if you're like me you watch the news, fascinated in spite of yourself at the complete disconnect as fantasy collides with reality. It's like being transported into history, two hundred fifty years past, when cargo ships and pleasure crafts sailed the seas at their own risk. And there's no way to romanticize the motives and actions of these modern day pirates.

FBI hostage negotiators rush to the scene to bargain for the release of captives. And gangs of pirates come to the assistance of a fellow ship under seige, while the host country offers them asylum and funding in return for a portion of the riches they bring back. Part of me sits here shaking my head, thinking, "You can't make this stuff up."

But in the end, of course, my mind turns to stories. And how we as writers romanticize many things for the enjoyment of readers. When we do it well, our readers close the book and sigh, completely satisfied. But have you ever read a book or seen a movie where reality intrudes on the fantasy? Ever watch a western and wonder what those cowboys really smelled like after a week on the range :) Or think you'd probably want to bitch slap that perky heroine if she lived next door to you? Or strangle the strong silent hero who has to have every word pried out of him? Are you able to completely set aside reality in a really good story?

DEBRA - Announcing Bell Bridge Books

Well, we've gone and done it. Decided to open a new imprint over at BelleBooks. Yep. I'm still getting a few hours sleep every day so adding more to the workday shouldn't be a problem.

I bet you think I'm crazy, but you wouldn't if you'd seen some of the good books we've had to turn down over the years because they didn't quite fit our audience. Combine that with my love of fantasy, dark fantasy and urban fantasy. Those don't fit with BelleBooks' Southern slant either. And we've managed to acquire the reprint rights on some of Deborah Smith's books from Little Brown.

We want to get those in print, but they've already been in print, had their time to shine as frontlist. So, we're really looking at serving a writer's backlist, which is also different from what we do at BelleBooks since those are all original titles.

A new imprint was the only realistic choice. It allows us to "brand" a division that can handle this diversity! (Didn't I hear that word brand around here recently?)

http://www.bellbridgebooks.com/

We're currently looking for fantasy, especially urban fantasy. We'll also be publishing a few of those Southern books that we can't publish through BelleBooks' traditional program.

Bell Bridge Books will be an advance and royalty paying house. We'll publish POD (print-on-demand) and ebook simultaneously. The advances are small but our cover looks will be "big house" looks. We've included some samples in this blog. Fake books but real covers produced by Bell Bridge Books.

We aren't looking for "romance", even though that cover to the right skewed to the romance side! Romance is a well-served market and there isn't any reason to dip a toe in that pond.

What we are looking for is writers with unique voices who create strong fantasy, dark fantasy and urban fantasy stories with compelling characters--male or female.

We're looking at some young adult. Very excited about that. If you're interested in querying, head on over to the website: http://www.bellbridgebooks.com/

Tell a friend. Tell two friends. We're beating the bushes for good quality fantasy.

So, folks! What do think about our new imprint? What are your thoughts about our cover looks?

Debra - Witch Way to the Monday Morning Review ?

Those of you who know me will find this fairly amusing.

I've agreed to do a young adult story for an anthology about a high school of witches.

Yep. Young adult. High School. Witches.

I read a ton of fantasy, horror, paranormal. I've read it all my life, but now that I'm doing this story I feel the need to "research." To plough though a ton of young adult books, especially when I learned there is a lot of cross-over adult readership in many of the young adult titles. That was my clue that I really needed to get current.

Guess what? A couple have really changed my perception of what is being published in young adult. It's amazing. But first I had to research young adult authors. I did the standard internet searches, chatted with nieces, talked with a couple of folks who wrote young adult, listened to a couple of workshops on writing for teens. Then I trudged to the bookstore, rounded up the YA section employee and said, "Dude, here's my stack. Add anything to it that I absolutely have to read."

I love this employee. She (get hip will ya? We call girls dudes too.) is now my favorite person. Not only have her books been the winners on my list, but she went back and rounded up some advance reading copies.

She liked TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer so much that on her vacation (after finishing TWILIGHT) she went to a bookstore and bought the sequel in hardback without an employee discount. This is a big book and gives new meaning to the concept of "safe sex" when your new boyfriend is a vampire, and to "dead run" when a nasty band of vampires targets our human heroine.

She recommended ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING by English author Louise Rennison. Hilarious book, not what I was expecting. I gave it to my 25 year old son and said "Read this scene." He laughed and wasn't in a hurry to hand it back. I've now given it to my bestfriend to read just because I think she'll find it amusing too.

Holly Black has a very edgy and somewhat profanity-laced series about contemporary fairies. I liked the book but her subject matter and frankness took a bit of getting used to.

And a final recommendation is a book you may have already seen and read--PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld. General fiction, a NY Times Best 10 Books of the Year book about a Midwestern girl who heads to an Eastern prep school. This is a beautifully written book with a nod to being a "commercial" piece of fiction. The story is accessible and interesting. I find myself caring about the characters. This isn't young adult but the subject matter is clearly about the experiences in the age group I'll be writing. And anyone who's had any acquaintance with boarding/prep schools will recognize the authenticity in these pages.

And finally, in doing reseach I came across several sites that offer quaint quizzes for helping you find out what element you are (air, water, earth, etc.)

http://www.streea-davis.com/element.htm (They said for ties, multiple description windows would open with descriptions. Apparently I was all elements. Someone report back if they get like 5 windows open. Maybe everyone is schitzophrenic.)

http://ynr.blogthings.com/whatelementareyouquiz/

http://www.quizilla.com/users/azuremariposa/quizzes/What%20Element%20Are%20You?

And to find out what occult power best suits you...

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_occult_power_best_suits_you

(I'd be careful around me because I'm clairvoyant apparently. And my I seem to be at 50% power in all aspects of the supernatural. Who knew I had such power?

And if you want to know your magical personality...

http://www.llewellyn.com/free/mpq.php

So, who out there is reading "out of their element?" Finding good books in places you weren't looking? Or simply gathering knowledge you didn't know you were interested in until you stumbled on the subject?