Speculative Elements in Literary Fiction by Benjamin X. Wretlind

Hello, all! Today I am very pleased and thrilled and excited and... all that good stuff to share with you a guest post by my friend, Benajmin X. Wretlind, a truly masterful writer whose new book, Sketches from the Spanish Mustang, arrives July 1st! I have had the opportunity to pre-read Sketches..., and I can tell you, it is a truly a work of brilliance. If you can't wait that long to get your hands on some Wretlind, I also highly recommend his novel Castles: A Fictional Memoir of a Girl with Scissors, a disturbing glimpse of madness... or is it?

I now turn you over to Ben for his thought-provoking discussion of Speculative Elements in Literary Fiction. This kicks off his blog tour for Sketches from the Spanish Mustang. Keep an eye on his blog so you don't miss out!

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First, I'd like to thank you Michael for allowing me to write all over your blog.  It's a great place to kick of the Sketches from the Spanish Mustang Blog Tour, and it won't be a surprise to your readers to know that you suggested the first topic: Speculative Elements in Literary Fiction.

I'm going to quote a definition from Wikipedia (the parts that are correct) that I've quoted on my blog before and will likely quote again.  What is literary fiction? 

Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish “serious fiction” which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison to genre fiction and popular fiction (i.e., paraliterature). In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon style, psychological depth, and character. This is in contrast to Mainstream commercial fiction, which focuses more on narrative and plot. Literary fiction may also be characterized as lasting fiction — literature which continues to be read and in-demand many decades and perhaps centuries after the author has died.

When I asked a few people what they thought of when they heard the term "literary fiction," the responses I received ranged from “Vladimir Nabokov” to “classics, Dickens, Bronte” to “old stuff.” But it's a term, according to the above definition, that wasn't in common usage until the 1960s. (I'll assume that before then, all stuff was "old stuff.") On top of age, there's a whole book of articles that could be written debunking the notion that literary fiction is just plotless words jotted down for the sake of being fancy.  I won't do that here, but I will say: it's not true.

Literary fiction, in my view, is more a kaleidoscopic of work that includes elements of romance, thriller, horror, science fiction, mystery, the American Western, etc. It is cross-genre. Within that kaleidoscopic of genres, then, it's only natural for us to find the speculative elements.

Here are a few titles I think we can (mostly) agree fit the definition posed above regarding literary fiction: Metamorphosis, War of the Worlds, A Christmas Carol, Wuthering Heights, Gulliver's Travels, Beowulf. Are there speculative elements in each of these?

As kids, we were fascinated by the supernatural, especially as we investigated the world around us. We've all grown up since, but many of us have never grown out of our desire to know more. It's a part of who we are. Think of the strong beliefs which existed in the time of William Shakespeare.  What of the beliefs that existed in around the time of Nathaniel Hawthorne? Charles Dickens? Do you think, just because we listen to music on iPhones, drive hybrid cars or make our own donuts at home these days, that we no longer believe in the supernatural, the paranormal, the speculative?

In a poll conducted by Gallup in 2010, 71% of Americans confess to having had a paranormal experience of some sort. While only 34% believe in the existence of ghosts, 65% believe Ouija boards are dangerous, 41% believe in extrasensory perception and 37% believe that houses can be haunted.  Let me put that in persepective: if there are roughly 300 million people in the United States, about 213 million people confess to having had a paranormal experience of some sort.

Hmmm...

I don't like polls myself, but what I do find interesting is that people generally want to believe there might be more out there. It's this desire to want more which drives people to look for more in movies, television, books.  How many want to believe in sparkly vampires? How many want to think in some distopian future? How many people really think Harry Potter is real?

Combine those desires of what people want with the cross-genre possibility of literary fiction. What you end up with is "lasting fiction" which is peppered with the speculations of a generation.  For me personally, I wrote speculative elements into Sketches from the Spanish Mustang not as a deus ex machina or because I thought they'd be neat, but because they fit the character's personality as much as the story. A Ute who believes in spirits is not uncommon. An immigrant farmer who was brought up in Mexico to believe his grandparents' tales of nahuales is not far-fetched.

What about the claim in that above definition that literary fiction is "principally used to distinguish 'serious fiction'...in comparison to genre fiction and popular fiction?" Well, let me ask you this: would you consider The Road by Cormac McCarthy to be serious fiction? What about Wicked by Gregory Maguire? State of Wonder by Ann Patchett? 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami? All of these are serious works, and yet they are replete with speculative elements.

Speculation (wondering the big "what if") is as natural for humans as it is to love or hate or laugh or run amok in the water sprinklers on a hot day.  That it finds itself in literary fiction is no surprise.  What is surprising is that so many people shun literary fiction because of the label without knowing what's in it, casting it off as "old stuff" without a modern-day focus.

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SKETCHES FROM THE SPANISH MUSTANG

In Sketches from the Spanish Mustang, a haunting, heart-warming and often brutally direct exploration of the lives of seven people in the mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado, a woman must come to grips with the failings that cost the lives of her husband and child. Bestselling author Michael K. Rose says: "Mr. Wretlind has penned a tale of such emotional and literary depth it will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned." 

With a pencil, a sketchbook and a keen eye for the details of the soul, the woman's lines and smudges, curves and tone reveal the stories behind her subjects. Life emerges on the page — vengeance, salvation, love and death. The artist's subjects fight for survival, only to be saved in the sketches of a woman with a gift . . . and a curse.

International Book Award winner Gregory G. Allen calls the book a "unique journey that rips away the outer layers of people allowing us to stare into their souls where humanity is universal: no matter the genre of writing."

Sketches from the Spanish Mustang will be available at all major online retailers for $14.95 on July 1st, 2012.  It will also be presented in an electronic format (e.g. Kindle, nook) for $5.95.

BIOGRAPHY

Benjamin X. Wretlind, the author of Castles: A Fictional Memoir of a Girl with Scissors and Sketches from the Spanish Mustang, has been called "a Pulitzer-caliber writer" with "a unique American voice." Aside from novels, he has been published in many magazines throughout the past 10 years.

How To Be a Beta Reader

What is a Beta reader? This is a term that writers use for a person who reads through a manuscript before the final editing pass is made. This is invaluable, and writers such as myself who are fortunate to have a handful of helpful, reliable Beta readers know how important they are to the process. But, what does a Beta reader do during and after reading a manuscript? Here are four things that I, as an author, find the most helpful. Should you be asked to serve as a Beta reader for an author, this will, I hope, serve as a handy guide to follow.

1. What did you think? - This is probably the thing that your author wants to know above all else! What did you think? Did you like it? How would you rate it? If you liked it, you can even write up a sample review to help encourage the author.

2. Are there any major mistakes? - You know, things like objects and characters appearing and disappearing, plot holes you could drive a road train through, things like that. One common mistake writers make is losing track of who is speaking. If s/he he isn't using "Bob said" and "Jane said" after every line of dialogue (and s/he shouldn't be!) then a character will occasionally respond to him/herself. It happens. Are there any spots that were ridiculous or didn't make sense? Any stilted or stupid-sounding dialogue? Any unrealistic decisions made by the characters? Were any laws of physics broken? Does anything in the story contradict the internal consistency of the world the author has created? There are all the "big" questions that readers will use to gauge whether or not a book is "good" or "bad."

3. Are there many typos/grammatical errors? - Even in "traditionally-published" books, errors will slip through. It would take an unreasonable amount of time and several sets of eyes to catch everything. However, authors, being so close to the work, often read what they meant to type rather than what they actually did type. Small typos will most likely slip through. Even if the author is going to hire a professional editor, or his/her publisher has one on staff, they can miss things. The more eyes the better, and your author will be grateful for any errors you can point out. Another thing to look for are unusually-worded phrases. If you have to read a sentence a couple of times to understand what the author means then other readers will as well.

4. Which sections are strongest? Which are weakest? - Sometimes a writer can fall in love with a scene and blind him/herself to its problems. If a particular scene doesn't quite work for you, let the writer know, and tell him/her why. You can even offer an idea of how you think the scene can be salvaged. On the other hand, let the writer know which scenes you loved! This information can be useful if the writer is going to be posting an excerpt with which to "hook" readers.

If you have any other things you think Beta readers can look for, please post them in the comments below!

NEW RELEASE: Reign of Blood by Alexia Purdy

Reign of Blood is a Young Adult Urban Fantasy/Horror novel with a dark and edgy paranormal theme that will appeal to the YA and crossover YA audience. Ever since Alexia Purdy released her debut novel Ever Shade: A Dark Faerie Tale in February of 2012, it has received rave reviews and has been a frequent presence on Amazon’s “Best Sellers in Mythology” list.

Reign of Blood begins an new series that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. A viral epidemic has wiped out most of humanity and April, one of the last humans left alive, has become a vicious vampire hunter. Despite her desire to live as normal a life as possible, she finds herself on a mission to save her family from the clutches of the unknown. Her world is infested with wild vampires but she soon discovers that something else lurks in the city, something that wants her blood even more.

Alexia says “I’m very excited about Reign of Blood; it’s a suspenseful thriller with a touch of horror to keep you on the edge of your seat and definitely begging for more.”

Praise for Reign of Blood:

     “Alexia has created an end of world scenario right out of your nightmares, filling this new world with a multitude of mutations and action that will have you willingly falling deeply into the story.”
     - Author J.T. Lewis
     “WICKED AWESOME!!!!! Reign of Blood will BLOW YOU AWAY!!!!”- Amy Conley
     “...such a page turner…..This is a fascinating read for all ages!”- Bella (Paranormal Book Club)
     “Another masterpiece from Ms. Purdy.” - Jacquie Talento

Reign of Blood is now available in e-book format via Amazon's Kindle Store, Barnes & Noble's Nook Store and Smashwords.com. A print edition is coming soon.

For more information on Reign of Blood please visit the author’s websites:
http://alexiapurdy.blogspot.com
http://www.alexiapurdy.com

Alexia Purdy resides in Las Vegas, Nevada and is the author of Ever Shade: A Dark Faerie Tale, a contributor to the Dark Light Anthology with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. She is also the author of the poetic collection Whispers of Dreams. To receive a review copy of Reign of Blood, arrange an interview, guest blog, or event, please contact Alexia Purdy at alexeea@yahoo.com

My Twitter Manifesto (with Jokes)

or A Public Declaration of Intent Regarding My Use of the Social Networking Site Twitter.

Article I. On Following

To paraphrase Mr. Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion/My Fair Lady: I'm willing to follow you, I'm wanting to follow you, I'm waiting to follow you. That is, assuming the following criteria are met:

1. You have followed me and continue to follow me. To be blunt, I despise those who go through and follow hundreds of people a day to get follow backs, only to unfollow them the next day and repeat the vile process.
2. You are a real person. I can't tell you how many lonely, attractive women wanting to "chat" or "fuck" have followed me. I should only be so lucky! These immediately get reported for spam and will have no help from me in building a list of schmucks to exploit. I also report for spam any account whose tweets consist of unexplained links to websites with an .ru suffix.
3. You are a real person who posts things relevant to my interests. If you are a writer, I will follow you. Period. Post as many links as you like to your books, your blog posts, etc. These are the things I want to see! However, if you're just trying to shill accounting/home business/advertising services on me, look elsewhere. As no one I've ever known has said, "That dog don't hunt."

Providing you meet the above criteria, I would love to be your Twitter friend. If, for some reason, you are eligible for my Follow but I haven't followed you, let me know! Contrary to what I've written in "The Cult of Michael" Handbook ($29.99 + shipping and handling) I am not perfect. I miss things. Also, believe it or not, Twitter isn't perfect either! I know! Sometimes it decides that I shouldn't be following certain people. I might think otherwise, but it doesn't really want to give me a say in the matter, so there you go.

Article II. On Mentions and Retweets

I love it when people mention me or retweet me. It makes me all tingly inside. So if you do one of these things, do so knowing that I am grateful for your support. I will do my very best to thank you and retweet something of yours in return but it is not always possible. Sometimes, it is just a matter of me not having the time and by the time I do have the time, assuming I haven't lost track of the time, I won't remember the time you took the time to help me out. It happens. Sometimes. So, if you have been sending out a stream of tweets saying how wonderful I am only to be met with cold, disdainful silence, I apologize. I really do try and if you don't hear back from me it means nothing other than I am busy and/or lazy.

Article III. On Self-Promotion

I do a fair bit of self-promotion (get the exciting SciFi/Horror short story Sleep for only 99 cents!) but I try not to be obnoxious about it. I balance tweets about my books with tweets about books by other writers and links to useful blog posts (like this one). So, I am not one of those who will huff and click the unfollow button if you are spreading the good word about your latest masterpiece every five minutes. I have found many wonderful books via such shameless self-aggrandizement. Not that you're doing that. No, I'm sure your book tweets and humble and self-deprecating. But if they aren't, I don't mind! I love supporting Indie authors and if you follow me on Twitter, that's what I'll be doing! Get used to it. Run, jump, shout and scream about your book. I might just join in the revelry with a retweet or two. If such enthusiastic drum-beating about how great my writer friends and I are bothers you, you probably don't want to follow. But if you want to read some great books (like Sullivan's War: Book I) then I'm your man. If you want me to retweet something, let me know! Tweets are sometimes easy to miss, so send me a DM if there's something in particular you want me to share. As I said, I love supporting fellow Indie writers and if I end up reading and liking your book, watch out, because the world is going to hear about it.

Article IV. On Friendship

I have met many people on Twitter that I now consider friends. It is a great forum for self-promotion, sure, but friendship is an even greater thing than that. I am very liberal in who I will consider a friend and if you share some of my interests, there's a good chance I'll consider you one. I love joking with people and chatting about books, science fiction, classical music and nerd stuff in general. Feel free to chat me up any time!

You can Follow me on Twitter by going here:
https://twitter.com/#!/MichaelKRose

I look forward to engaging with you!

Best,
Michael

David Nevin's Adding Value Interviews

I was pleased when David Nevin asked to interview me for a series of interviews he has conducted on the topic of adding value to the writing community. The first of these interviews with Melissa Foster, a well-known and respected writer in the Indie community, was posted on April 10th. My interview went live earlier today and I would encourage you all to read both of the interviews, as well as those to come, and think about how helping other writers is not only a good thing to do because it is the right thing to do but because, ultimately, it is a way of helping yourself as well. I have had such wonderful experiences interacting with other writers ever since I published my first eBook in November of 2011 and I look forward to continued positive interaction and mutual support.

Visit this link to go directly to Mr. Nevin's interview with me:
http://davidnevin.net/2012/04/adding-value-interview-with-michael-k-rose/

The interview with Melissa Foster, as well as future interviews, can be found here:
http://davidnevin.net/category/adding-value/

5 MORE Ways to Help Authors Without Spending a Dime

I have received great feedback and a lot of hits on my blog post 5 Ways to Help Authors without Spending a Dime so I thought I'd run a part two, taking into account some of the suggestions left by readers in the comments section. I hope you enjoy these suggestions and put them into practice!

1. Jennifer wrote: "And also don't forget that at the end of the day, a short note to the author letting him/her know how much you enjoy that author's writing can be just the right amount of encouragement at just the right time." She is absolutely right! A few kind words can make all the difference to a writer if sales have been down or s/he's received a negative review. If you enjoy something you read, let the author know!

2. Rachel wrote: "Also how about hitting Yes if you find a review helpful or No if you don't." This is not something I had thought about until recently, when I received my first (and so far only) negative review. Several of my fans and friends rallied around me to click "unhelpful" on that review and reassure me that the reviewer was completely off-base. The fact that the review was so nasty and vindictive made this support particularly welcome.

3. Jeff wrote: "For Twitter, I try to get the most value out of those 140 characters that I can, so whenever possible for thank you's or welcomes, replies, retweets, etc., etc., it helps to add the authors book title, link, whatever you can get your hands on." A great idea! If your followers see a unique tweet coming from you--someone they know and trust--rather than an RT, which a lot of people tend to ignore, it might make them look at it a bit more closely. For authors who have been really supportive of me, I've even made up a file of tweets about their books, which I try to send out once a day.

4. Jeff also wrote: "Don't forget to join an author's blog site (which I just now did btw)." Authors blog. A lot. It's part of that whole attention whore thing I mentioned in the first 5 Ways to Help Authors... post. Now, following a blog helps you because if you like that author and the content s/he provides, you won't miss anything. But it can help the author as well. Here's how: say a prospective reader happens across the blog and sees that many people are following it. This will let him or her know that this author has something worthwhile to say and they may be more likely to stick around and see what it's all about and, perhaps, buy a book or two.

5. Tell Your Friends! This one is so basic that I overlooked it the first time around. If you enjoy a book, write a review, of course. But people you know from work, the PTA, old school friends, etc. may never get around to trolling Amazon for your reviews. Tell them about books that you love and, most importantly, tell them how to get a copy! Send them emails or DMs with the link so they don't forget!

Keep the suggestions coming in the comments section!

Best,
Michael