The Bog is .99!!!

Get your copy of The Bog at Amazon for .99!
 
This 40,000 word novella in the Gigi Monroe series can be read as a prequel or sequel to The Moon Rises.

Learn all of Gigi's secrets from her first breath in the grips of evil to a childhood filled with joy and darkness to the reason she left the Bog and moved to the Circle. Meet Mamma Celeste, Daniel, Millicent, and Gigi's lost love Wolf.

The Moon Burns, the next full length novel is due for publication in the summer of 2013.

Gigi Monroe Novella Now Available

The Bog is here! This 40,000 word novella in the Gigi Monroe series can be read as a prequel or sequel to The Moon Rises.

Learn all of Gigi's secrets from her first breath in the grips of evil to a childhood filled with joy and darkness to the reason she left the Bog and moved to the Circle. Meet Mamma Celeste, Daniel, Millicent, and Gigi's lost love Wolf.

The Moon Burns, the next full length novel is due for publication in the summer of 2013.

Get your copy of The Bog at Amazon for .99.

Character Profile: Gigi Monroe from The Moon Rises

Gigi Monroe is the main character of The Moon Rises. Let's learn more about her...

Name: Yep, it's her real name. She was named after her deceased grandmamma.

Age: 21

Occupation: Works as waitress and sometimes sous chef at the club The Moon Rises. After a chance meeting with Alpha Roger Schmidt, Gigi is now the head chef of his failing restaurant.

Love Interest: Finn O'Connor is Gigi's current boyfriend. She still has feelings for Master Vamp Simon Reynard and Were Alpha Anton Volkov. Plus, there's the mysterious Kyle.

Friends: Best friend Sara disappeared in The Moon Rises. Fiery redhead Ella will kick any ass to protect her friends. Cranky enforcer Michael enjoys Gigi's cooking, but not her ability to beat him at cards.

Family: Gigi was raised by Celeste Bijou who is a powerful witch living in the Bog. She also has a deceased brother, Abraham, who visits from Heaven when magic surges in the Bog.

Guardians: Daniel and his ghost spy Millicent keep Gigi safe.

Pets: Her eight cats - Earth, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus

Likes: Crystal Gayle, Nina Simone, She & Him, pastels, and quiet. She's really into hot guys and being around other people.

Dislikes: Loud noises, groin dancing, techno music, and is wary of witches.

Get your copy of The Moon Rises at Amazon.

The Moon Rises Playlist

Certain music just puts me in the mood to write certain characters. For The Moon Rises, I tapped into the beautiful voices of legends Nina Simone and Crystal Gayle. Gigi is a character who doesn't enjoy loud music. She finds comfort in these soothing melodies.

Nina Simone
My Baby Just Cares for Me
I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl
Here Comes the Sun
My Man's Gone Now
To Love Somebody
***Honestly, just listen to her greatest hits and you'll get the gist of her power.

Crystal Gayle
I've Cried (The Blues Right Out of My Eyes)
Wrong Road Again
Beyond You
Somebody Loves You ***can listen to this song a hundred times a day
I'll Get Over You ***see above

She & Him
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
This Is Not a Test
I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
I Was Made For You ***Ella has her fit over this song

As amazing as Nina Simone and Crystal Gayle are, the artist whose song helped create Gigi was none other than Fiona Apple. The song Extrodinary Machine instantly puts me in the mood for Gigi. It's a little awkward, yet upbeat. Just like Gigi.

Why I read negative reviews Pt.3: All aboard! Destination – Whiteytown, Anglo City, and Caucasian Central

The profile picture doesn’t lie. I’m white. Yet I grew up around Los Angeles. Not the LA most people see on TV. You know, with all of the tanned wealthy white people who hang out whining about their fake drama. Occasionally, a token black character arrives, says something black like “jive turkey” or “whazzup” then does a fancy black person handshake before disappearing back into the black part of LA.

In my part of LA, I was in the minority. There were like ten white kids in my high school. Three were nerds (including me), one was a guy who played his guitar in the hallways (sigh), and the rest were stoners. I grew up in a place where you didn’t say "the Asian kid" if you wanted to narrow things down. You had to say Korean, Chinese, Filipino, etc. We had Latinos from Mexico, El Salvador, and Uruguay (Yes, there were jokes, but it was high school). The black kids were American and foreign born (African and Caribbean). So I grew up in a place where the average face wasn’t white and most people sported an accent. If they didn’t have a hint of an accent, their parents did. Mine did too.

Even so, when I wrote my first urban fantasy, I populated the book with only whites. In The Moon Rises, there is a single person of color and she appears only in flashbacks. True, Celeste will show up later in the series. Oh, and no doubt she’ll simply love being the only POC in the whole city.

Why did I write it that way? I have no idea. I blame the books I was reading at the time. Yeah, not my fault at all. Someone else made me do it. See, many of my beloved UF series are filled wall-to-wall with whites. Occasionally, a POC will exist in the background or their race will be so downplayed readers won’t even remember he’s black. I’m thinking of a particular character that shall remain nameless.

There are exceptions - Mercy Thompson, Jane Yellowrock, and Anita Blake are WOC who lead popular series. Sorry if the visual of Anita gave anyone the heebie-jeebies.

So I was writing one white character after another without noticing how large Whiteytown had become. Then I came upon a review about a book I had reasonably enjoyed. This review was by the blog Fangs for the Fantasy. I don’t normally give the specific reviewer a shout out because I don’t want them bothered. Yet Fangs has a great blog and they write amazing reviews.

Anyway, the review was negative for several reasons, but the complaints I zeroed in on were the ones about the lack of diversity. In this particular book, the MC lived in a real world urban area with a diverse population. Yet in the book, everyone was white. Friends, coworkers, love interests, every single person. Possibly, a black guy ran by and did a cool black person wave. Otherwise, it was Caucasian Central.

Suddenly, I saw how white The Moon Rises was. Once again, a negative review alerted me to a failing in my writing. It’s not like I want my readers to only be white. If I want a multicultural audience, why not give them a multicultural cast of characters? It seems obvious now, but like with the name game and cussing, I didn’t see the problem until a negative review sparked something inside my writer’s brain.

I started wondering why THAT character couldn’t be black or THAT character Asian or THAT character Hispanic?

I often find myself wondering what Fangs would think of a book I’m reading or writing. Would they find the characters too white? Too hetero (a blog for another day)? Once I imagined how they might view the worlds I created, I heard this little voice in my head asking if I could create more diversity in my books.

I find inspiration everywhere too. I recently wrote about a Persian family after watching Shahs of Sunset. If you haven’t seen this Bravo show, it’s like one of those Housewives fiascos, but with Persians. If you love drama, lushes, a taste of a different culture, more drama, and a weird obsession with dogs, give the show a try. It’s awesomely awful. Or awfully awesome. Depends on the episode.

Not every writer wants a multicultural cast in their books. They have their reasons and I don’t judge them. For me though, I now actively create worlds that remind me of my old high school. Yet I might have gone on creating one Anglo City after another if not for a negative review opening my eyes.

Normally, I end with a reminder to writers how reviews aren’t for them. They exist for the readers, but writers can find interesting perspectives in them. However, the people behind Fangs for the Fantasy truly hope to change perceptions with their reviews. So I applaud them for both the awakening I received from reading their reviews, plus how they open the minds of other readers.

Coming soon…
Why I read negative reviews – Pt. 4: Her quim quivered, but her pussy just wasn’t feeling it.