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by Saffina Desforges/Stevie Jordan on July 13, 2011 • Permalink

Tagged Kristen Lamb, Saffina Desforges, WANA, Warrior writers

Posted by Saffina Desforges/Stevie Jordan on July 13, 2011

https://saffinadesforgesblog.com/2011/07/13/we-are-not-alone-an-indie-cinderella-story/

No news is good news: The last News of the World rolls off the press

So, it’s finally gone : read all about it.

Good riddance most will say. What happened with the phone hacking scandal has left most decent human beings cold. Unforgivable.

But let’s not pretend here. We all know that the NOTW will re-appear within a matter of weeks. Whether it be under the guise of The Sun extended to weekend editions or re-branded under another name, you can bet your last quid that it will re-emerge like the proverbial bad penny.

And after a few months, despite all the promises, people will buy it again. Fact.

Why are we so fickle?

What makes us fall under the hypnotic spell the media casts?

We believe everything we read right? We must do.

Do you know how many comments in reviews and negative emails we have had about Sugar & Spice?

A lot.

Let me just set the record straight here guys:

It is a work of fiction.

No, not all coppers are bent and most social workers are hard-working, decent people who truly have their charges’ welfare at heart. I get it.

It wouldn’t have made for a very interesting story though would it?

Oh and there was Baby P and 25 other children, failed by the system.

Not to mention those that ‘failed to spot’ Ian Huntley as a risk to children.

I could go on.

So, where do you draw the line with regards to writing fiction? Some people have suggested that we are actually asking readers to feel sorry for paedophiles. One reader (who’s review was subsequently removed by Amazon) even went as far as to say that we were condoning it!

I talk to other writers all the time and I often see them questioning themselves and their characters or actions.

Is there too much swearing in my book?

Should I tone the scene where my bad guy disembowels his mother with a garden trowel?

Is that rape scene too much?

I got news for you folks: life ain’t nice. People ain’t nice.

Good people have bad things happen to them. Bad people have good things happen to them.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

It’s a bit like the ability to turn off a programme you don’t like or hit the red ‘standby’ button on your remote if you’re disgusted at a show.

You can always choose not to read the book.

But if you do, before you rush to power up your PC and send a ‘strongly worded letter of complaint’ or write a scathing review about how disturbed you were at a book, just remember: you have the choice.

That’s the beauty of the world we live in, even if sometimes, it isn’t a nice place.

Saffi (not a monster, just a writer)

John Yates: I failed victims of News of the World phone hacking (telegraph.co.uk)
The Death Of The News (of the World) (lezgetreal.com)

3 Comments

by Saffina Desforges/Stevie Jordan on July 10, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged News of the World, News of the World phone hacking affair, Rupert Murdoch, Saffina Desforges, Soham murders

Posted by Saffina Desforges/Stevie Jordan on July 10, 2011

https://saffinadesforgesblog.com/2011/07/10/no-news-is-good-news-the-last-news-of-the-world-rolls-off-the-press/

Red & The Hunstman stop by The Rose Red blog to introduce themselves

Hi!

The Rose Red blog has been updated with character profiles from Red & The Hunstman – stop by and check it out!

Have a look at the ‘Characters Book One: Snow White’ tab and catch a glimpse of what’s to come when you meet them for real on July 29th 2011!

Next week: the kids; Jack, Ella and Ruby Tuesday stop by to say hi!

Saffi

J.K. Rowling goes indie and announces Potter(is no)more

So, you heard it on my co-author’s blog back in April http://markwilliamsinternational.com/2011/04/06/harry-potter-and-the-dam-busters/ and now the lady herself has confirmed it.

She’s going indie!

http://www.periscopepost.com/2011/06/j-k-rowling-opens-pottermore-com-embraces-digital/

Not only has she by-passed the big digital publishers with a move that Harry himself would be proud of in a Quidditch game, but she is also releasing some previously un-read back story.

So whilst the big players in the ebook publishing industry, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple etc, flap around, jumping through glowing hoops, wondering what effect the whole thing will have, J.K has just caught herself a great big, fat golden snitch.

Sony didn’t do too shabbily either. The move means that the books will be DRM free and available to read on any device. Ouch! That’s gotta sting worse than being hit by a bludger and will certainly send shock waves through and already muggled industry.

Oh, and one more thing – there really is no Potter no more!

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/celebrity/529043/j-k-rowling-confirms-no-more-harry-potter-books.html

So what does all this mean? Who knows? Konrath shares his views here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/06/jk-rowling-will-self-pub-harry-potter.html

I guess, on the whole, it is good news for writers and not so great news for publishers. If they weren’t reaching for the proverbial button before, they will be now. Wondering who will be next?

But what does it mean for us indies? Well, I’m not sure? It can only be a good thing that millions of people and kids will now be rushing out /harassing their parents to buy e-readers in all shapes and sizes and thus drive more people who weren’t quite ready to make the digi-leap yet to buy other books online, but what else?

Will the massive authors with huge backlists not yet available electronically rush out and create their own sites and start selling?

I honestly don’t think anyone knows for sure, but one thing is for certain.

The digital revolution (the publisher’s Voldemort) is here and it is happening faster than anyone predicted (apart from us – ahem).

and this time, not even Harry and his pals can stop it.

Personally, I can’t wait to visit the Pottermore site and re-live some of that magic and yet again, JK has led the way and proven her talents as a business woman as well as a writer.

I’m also quite sad that there won’t be another book.

But, I won’t dwell on it too long. Hell, I might even don my invisibility cloak and start writing YA Fantasy fiction.

Afterall, there is going to be one huge JK shaped hole to fill in the market in the not-too-distant future. 😉