Those Reviews

Reviews can make or break a book, or a film, or a TV series – well actually they can break anything.  Anything that’s ‘out there’ in the public arena anyway.

     I remember doing a photo shoot  some years ago with Ben Elton (sorry to name drop), and he was devastated at some vitriolic reviews that had appeared in national newspapers the morning after his latest play’s opening night.

     ‘Why Berni?’ He asked. ‘Why do they hate me so much?’

The answer is they really don’t. Half of them had probably not even watched all of  the play. They got the tickets free, so they didn’t even pay either.  But Ben Elton’s a name, he’s famous, and some journalists clearly thought they’d look clever and cutting edge by criticising him. They didn’t.

     For some reason anyone who puts their work out in the public arena is considered fair game. It’s far worse these days of course, with social media. At least a newspaper ends up wrapped around fish and chips, but reviews on social media are around forever.

     I’ve lost count of the number of authors who have been devastated by nasty – and usually unfounded – reviews. The best advice is, ‘Don’t read them.’ Easy to say, but not so easy to do.  As writers we are advised not to respond either, which is also difficult, when our natural reaction is to defend our work.

     Constructive criticism is different of course, and although it can seem harsh sometimes, it can occasionally be helpful. We’re all guilty of being ‘too close’ to our books, so a fresh pair of eyes can often point out something not working, that we haven’t noticed. (This is also why we need our lovely painstaking editors)!

     As a book cover designer with many years experience, I’m used to people dismissing something I’ve spent a long time working on, with a, ‘I hate the  girl’s nose,’ or ‘I don’t like the sky.’  For more years than I care to count, I presented the cover design meetings at a large UK publishing house, and I’ve seen strong confident designers reduced to tears by crass comments when they’ve been working for weeks to come up with a ground-breaking design. Nobody cares how long they’ve worked on something, or how long they agonised over the approach, the colours, the images. Most designers I know are dedicated and incredibly hard working, so trashing their work is a bit like sticking a knife in them. It hurts. And it does feel personal.

     But back to book reviews.  As I said before, it’s always easy to criticise something that’s out there and wide open to criticism. A sitting duck. Anyone can criticise; it isn’t particularly clever. I write reviews for the Dracula Society, it’s easy. It takes so much more nouse to write and complete a book or short story, and even more nouse to actually submit it to a publisher or agent. Wrenching your ‘paper baby’ from the printer and letting another person read it, is incredibly hard.   Like any baby, your first instinct is to protect it!

     The book contains part of you, a little piece of your soul, and a lot of your personality. It is you. An editor friend of mine advised me when I was about to send my first novel around. ‘Deep breaths,’ she said. ‘Send it off and then pour yourself a glass of wine. And remember to breathe.’ (Oh yes, breathing …)

     I wonder whether the average person in the street has any idea just how long it takes to write a book. I suspect they couldn’t even hazard a guess. Although sometimes I wonder whether the nastier reviews are from frustrated, rejected writers. If so, I sympathise, because we’ve all been there and will no doubt be there again at some point. All I would say is, never give up. Keep writing. And reading. You will be published some day if you persevere.

     An author friend of mine was once given only one star because her book cover was (and I quote) ‘too pink.’ Oh for heaven’s sake.  There was no mention of the story. But the pink cover was me – I designed it  … so … my bad. Blame me, not the author. It wasn’t even a girly pink either, but an eye-stinging fluorescent pink! (I bet a lot of those reviewers wouldn’t even be able to spell fluorescent.)  

     One  person  said that clearly I had set out to write a ’50 Shades with vampires.’ Interesting. I’ve never read any of the 50 Shades series, never seen the film and have no desire to. None of my books contain S&M or bondage or non-consensual sex in any way shape or form – or costume. But I have to admit it’s a brilliant marketing ploy, and I thank the reviewer wholeheartedly for that. I doubt the marketing department would have thought of it. It could sell books!  The reviewer should get a job in advertising. It’s the kind of promotional quote any poster designer would leap on with shrieks of glee. Although I think the 50 Shades fans could  be a tad disappointed.

     Another reviewer was incensed because my heroine planned her wedding. Well to be fair, she didn’t plan the wedding, just her outfit. The hero planned everything else. The reviewer mentioned ‘kick-ass heroines’ and said they would never long for a wedding anyway – and then mentioned Buffy. I'm proud to say I'm one of the biggest Buffy fans ever. I’ve watched all seven series so many times, I know the scripts off by heart. I could probably go on Mastermind answering questions about Buffy. (Hmmm, OK ... well ... maybe not that good!) The highlight of my summer this year was meeting Juliet Landau (Dru in Buffy) – what a lovely person she is too.  Aside from the actual Buffy cast, Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon are my heroes, I adore them. 

My husband Bob, Juliet Landau and me.

     The most exciting design job I’ve been commissioned to date, was to design the inside pages of The Quotable Slayer, I had the best time. Many hours spent with CDs of the actors from the Buffyverse. (Bliss).
     But  Buffy is never too busy ‘kicking ass’ or being too  strong  a woman to fall in love or (perish the thought)  think about a wedding.  Cast your minds back to Series 1 when as a vulnerable sixteen-year-old she’s totally infatuated with Angel. In Series 2, she’s often in tears over Angel, and by the end of the series, she leaves town after . . . well no spoilers in case there’s someone somewhere who’s never seen the show. One hilarious episode in series 4 (Something Blue) has Buffy falling in love with Spike (well who wouldn’t?) and – oh horrors – she's planning a wedding!  She might have been under one of Willow’s spells, but you get my point. Relationships make characters seem more real somehow. We’re all vulnerable when we fall in love. That’s the main reason I made my characters’ love lives so intense. Will has been a powerful vampire for over three hundred years, so for him to suddenly be made vulnerable because of his love for Ellie would be terrifying for him.

     There’s a fabulous scene in Dracula, where the three vampire sisters accuse Dracula of never having loved. He replies he has loved and they are proof of it.  It’s a scene I never forgot from the very first time I read the book.

     Romance is everywhere whether you like it or not. Remember the last scene in True Blood? It shows the ‘kick-ass’ heroine Sookie Stackhouse, barefoot and pregnant – and surrounded by all her other children.  So romance and marriage caught up with her too in the end. And even Anita Blake (vampire hunter) is  now engaged – albeit to several different men at the same time! But let’s not forget, I do write for a romance publisher …

     Having said all of that I’m really very fortunate to have had some absolutely stonking good reviews, many of them five stars. These reviews are what it’s all about. These are the people we’re all writing for. I love to chat with my favourite book bloggers and reviewers on Twitter, because they so often make my day. To hear them speak about Will and Ellie as if they’re real people is always wonderful. Will and Ellie are real to me of course, and they shout – loudly – in order to be heard. (At odd times too, often in the middle of the night – but I suppose they are vampires so maybe it’s their lunchtime ?) Oh – and when The Bookseller magazine gave me a lovely review for Dance Until Dawn, I was over the moon.

     One of my fave bloggers asked when the third book will be out. ‘I’m over halfway through,’ I replied. But because she asked so nicely, I’m stopping this blog post now and going off to write some more …

‘A fun vampire tale with a nice take 

on being a 21^st-century vampire.

Good fun.’

The Bookseller

 

 'Berni did it again ...

created another lush and sexy

vampire novel.

This sequel to

Dance Until Dawn

doesn't let you down ...' 

Laura P. 

(Amazon UK review)

Guess who's reading Fledgling?

Our friends from Boston, Tori and Cacky Mellor, came to visit last October. Tori read the whole of Fledgling in two and a half days – in between visiting the Tower of London, Covent Garden and various pubs! Now that's friendship for you!

Fledgling Trailer

It's here!

On YouTube!

And I LOVE it :)

Massive thanks to my husband Bob and to Jamie Childs for creating the trailer.
It's sooo gorgeous . . .

Happy Halloween!

Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northman in True Blood

What's your favourite Monster?

Come on – it's Halloween . . . the night when ghoulies and ghosties are about. Do you have a soft spot for

a werewolf . . . or another kind of were animal? Do ghosts float your boat?

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, that my favourite monster is the vampire.

I've loved our fanged friends since I first read Dracula at school. Something about their sensual elegance and

living for eternity, or maybe it's the thought of 'taming' the bad boy! Or maybe it has something to do with the way they're portrayed in the cinema and on TV. Check out my post for Black Rose to see photos of my favourite bad men.

Enjoy a wonderfully dark Halloween!

http://twrpblackrose.blogspot.com/

The Fledgling Trailer

One sunny Sunday at the beginning of September, we went to Highgate to take photos and video footage of the gothic goodness in the Swains Lane area. My protagonist in Fledgling, the scrumptious vampire Will, owns a Georgian town house in Highgate - well he would wouldn't he? If one has eternal life it should be comfortable at least.

The famous West Cemetery's gates were firmly closed and locked of course, because only guided tours at specified times are permitted now. The reason for this (apparently) is health and safety, because of the many catacombs and mausoleums, the ground is weakened in many places and in danger of collapse. So should visitors be allowed to wander around on their own, they could actually fall some thirty or forty feet down ... and er ... not be able to climb out again! So it's designated paths only for visitors, with an official guide, who is usually one of the 'Friends of Highgate Cemetery.'

Actually we wouldn't have been exactly welcomed anyway, armed with camcorder and cameras as we were. The entrance fee leaps up if cameras are spotted, which I think is grossly unfair. The Cemetery is a part of English Heritage and therefore I would have thought belongs to the people. There is no extra charge for cameras at the Tower of London after all.

We chose not to pay to visit the West Cemetery itself, because we needed to get certain shots whilst the light held. When we arrived sunlight shone its rays through the trees and dappled on ivy and tombstones, it looked perfect. Yes I know vampires don't go out in sunshine - not in my books anyway - but dappled sunshine can be made colder to look like moonlight, so there's method in our madness.

The next stop was Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath, the place where the heroine, Elinor, takes her first walk as a vampire. She stares down at the view of London, thinking how everything looks the same but how nothing will ever be the same again. Something we probably all do after a massive change in our lives.

So, we have lots of video footage and stills, the copy has been written and everything has gone to the video producer.

Now I wait with bated breath and huge excitement for the finished product. You will all be the first to see it :)

The Book is HERE!

Fledgling has arrived in book form. The excitement in Vampire Towers is tangible. It's a real book, something which can go on a real bookshelf. Not to be read of course – I don't want anyone bending the pages *grin*

Seriously, I can't begin to explain the feeling of opening a package which had my own book in it. After years of opening Amazon packages of other people's books, to open one and read my own name is beyond exciting. (And now I'm babbling.)

I've just designed postcards for Fledgling, which I'm hoping to hand out at Fantasycon in Brighton - amongst other places - it's all real now . . . this real book . . .

Interview with the Vampire (Writer)

This interview first appeared in Voices From the Vaults, the newsletter of The Dracula Society, in August 2011. The interview was conducted by DS Committee Member, Tracy Lee.

http://www.draculasociety.org.uk

Fledgling was inspired by your short story. Where did you find the idea for that story?

Over the years I’ve designed a lot of paranormal romance book covers for the UK market, and I’ve read a lot of them too. I became a little tired of the vampire/human relationships which flooded the market a few years ago. I decided I wanted to write a story which opened where the female MC had already been turned against her will (no pun intended.) But there had to be a very good reason for her being turned, otherwise she would really never like my male MC. The short story didn’t actually cover the reason, but Fledgling does.

Does the finished novel bear much similarity to the original short story?

Other than the names Will and Ellie, and the London setting – not really. The short story had less substance – and if I’m honest – is a bit naïve, but Fledgling is darker. Ellie is much more feisty and keeps Will at arm’s length for far longer. Also, I hope after all the hard work – it’s better!

What kind of vampire is the protagonist Will?

He’s a three-hundred-year-old former Duke. Full of confidence – bordering on arrogant – very wealthy, and a bit of a control freak, but he adores Ellie. He doesn’t suffer fools ... at all, although he does have a dark sense of humour – which Ellie doesn’t always appreciate – and of course he’s mouth-wateringly gorgeous. A literary agent said to me last year, ‘Tall, dark handsome vampires don’t sell.’ I said, ‘Er, actually they do.’ Then I remembered he was the agent who turned down Interview With The Vampire for the UK market. Clearly he isn’t a vampire fan.

Your heroine Elinor is a dancer – why?

A piece of advice I was given years ago, was ‘write about something you know’ and as I’ve danced since I was seven, although never professionally, I decided to make her a dancer. I still go to dance classes every week, and have quite a few friends who are dancers, so it made sense at the time. Vampires are supposed to be lithe and graceful, so I thought a former professional dancer would make an amazing vampire.

Originally I started the book when Ellie was human – and working in the theatre – but I changed it to give the beginning more of an impact. I will be writing a prequel (eventually) so there will be more of the theatre aspect in that.

Is your novel different to other paranormal romance books?

The main difference is that it’s set in North London – England! All the others seem to be American, set in New Orleans, St Louis, Seattle, Washington State etc., but never London. Tanya Huff has used the bastard son of Henry VIII as her vampire – yet he still lives near Seattle!

I wanted my main characters to be quintessentially English, and to speak English – although I had trouble persuading my (American) editor not to substitute ‘gotten’ for ‘got.’ In the end I rewrote several paragraphs so I could lose the word altogether.

The areas of North London which I know best, provide a colourful background for Fledgling. I wanted to make my vampires who live there seem ‘real.’ It would be amazing if people walked around Highgate trying to find Will’s Georgian house. I often wandered around there myself until I found the perfect house for him, so it really does exist. (I just hope it isn’t Sting’s house!)

Ultimately I think it was the ‘Englishness’ of the book which attracted the American publishers.

Do you feel this book will bring new fans to the vampire genre?

It’s difficult to answer that question. I can only say I hope so. Both my editor and copy editor are fans of Will, and that makes me really proud – and hopeful.

Renegades is book two of the series. When will that be published and can you tell us what it’s about?

The publishers are undecided about Renegades at the moment. They aren’t keen on series of books, so that’s a problem. Also they are predominantly a romance publisher and Renegades is not so much of a romance as Fledgling. It has torture and heaps of bodies. Added to the body count, there are child vampires, which a lot of US publishers really don’t like.

Contractually, I can’t show it to another publisher until they definitely say ‘no.’ But I think it will depend on how well Fledgling does to be honest.

Renegades features more of Will and Ellie, with two extremely evil enemies added. It features the ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ of all vampires, who descend on London to try and usurp Will’s authority as Elder, generally cause mayhem, and commit grisly murders. They want Londoners to be aware of the existence of vampires, and Will is extremely keen for that not to happen.

It’s in Renegades that Ellie discovers more about Will’s past too, and there’s a lovely vamp wedding at the end. So it does have its romantic moments ... just not as many as Fledgling.

I think US publishers differ from the UK, and rarely offer a ‘three-book deal.’ But I have to show my publishers everything I write for the next three years – thus giving them first ‘dibs.’

Did you always intend to write a series?

No, not at all. Renegades almost started writing itself. An idea came and I started writing, then before I knew what had happened, I had twenty-two chapters. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t finished it yet because I keep getting side-tracked by other things. Although the book is all plotted out, and recently I rewrote the first chapter which is something I often do. But I really do need to set myself a deadline to finish Renegades.

What are your writing plans beyond that?

I’ve got two other books in the pipeline. The first is another paranormal romance, called Alpha, starring one of the more minor characters from Fledgling. (A werewolf.) Told from the point-of-view of a female rock singer who has no idea her new man turns furry once a month.

The second book, which I started last year, is a fallen angel story, called Fallen From Grace, although I think angels have actually fallen out of favour already :) It’s a fast-moving genre.

Eventually I hope to get going on Obsession, which is Will’s story, and starts in the 17th Century. I’m looking forward to writing something historical. The book spans three centuries and the second half details Will’s first sightings of, and ultimate obsession with Ellie, ending with her accident – which is the beginning of Fledgling. Full circle!

I’m also editing an anthology of vampire stories for teens, called Fangtales, which will be published by Wyvern Publications in October 2011. I didn’t have time to even think of a story for it myself, but I am designing the cover! (I wasn’t allowed to design the cover for Fledgling.)

Fledgling is published in Black Rose by The Wild Rose Press on 23rd September 2011

Follow Berni on Twitter: @circleoflebanon

Visit the Black Rose blog http://twrpblackrose.blogspot.com/ featuring different writing topics every month written by the Black Rose authors.

FLEDGLING

It's been very difficult for me as a book cover designer, to sit back and let someone else design the cover of my own first novel. Most designers tend to have a bit of the control freak about them, so the urge to fiddle with the design for something so close to my heart, has been almost unbearable! I really didn't want a person on the cover either, because I wanted the reader to form a picture of my male protagonist for themselves.

But having said that, I design for the UK market, and Fledgling is being published in the US. The markets are very different and the paranormal romance market is far bigger in the States than here in the UK.

However, I do love the atmospheric feel to the cover and the muted colours, although I'm still not sure about the giant raven. As ravens go, he's very handsome, but has nothing to do with the story – even though the title is Fledgling. I definitely think the cover will stand out, which of course is what really matters, so I've squished my control freakiness down . . .