Sunday, April 27, 2025

Have your book tastes changed?

"Who's that?" An older lady with blue eyeshadow awkwardly pointed at the back cover of a novel. We were standing in the middle of a yard sale, and as usual, I was looking at the used books. "She looks familiar."

"It's the back of the book, so I assume it's the author," I suggested, what I thought would be obvious. 

"Oh, I never read," She replied and walked away. 

I've had this conversation so many times. Knowing I'm an author, people often share their reading habits with me. Even though I'm interested, I rarely ask because I don't want to seem as though I'm about to launch into a marketing campaign for my latest book. But I always listen when people want to share.

The next most common explanation people give is that they don't have time to read. We all understand that reason. After all, we live in a social media, fast food world that doesn't have much use for anything that requires focus or commitment. And let's face it, books require both. Of course, in a world where the same people spend hours scrolling, I recognize it's also a choice made, and books aren't likely to create the same dopamine hit as short videos and easy-to-digest content. This is a reality most authors are faced with.

Of course, for other people, their book tastes change over the years. Mine have. What about yours?

I've gone through a Beverly Cleary and Sweet Valley High stage as a child, later to move on to VC Andrews books.  Celebrity and rock star memoirs are one of my favorite categories throughout the years. I also dove headfirst into the self-help genre to discover that much of it is empathy and connection more than actual help. I've also read most genres of fiction and non-fiction over the years. I've realized that different phases of your life create different interests. We require a book that fills a gap, whether that's in knowledge or a specific form of entertainment. There's a reason, if you really want to look into it. 

What are you reading now? How have your tastes changed? If you're a writer, how have your genres changed? I'd love to hear!




Monday, March 31, 2025

Are celebrity book clubs for real? Does anyone even care? 🤷‍♀️

The title says it all. Do celebrity book clubs still hold a lot of weight with readers? I know they once were very powerful, especially if your name happened to be Oprah and you recommended a book. Reese Witherspoon has a book club these days, and I’m curious if she has as much influence on book buyers. What about programs like Canada Reads? I've seen a display at the local library, but not many takers. But are any of these things real? Does anyone or anything (like money, for example) influence their choices and enthusiasm for these particular books? Why is a celebrity endorsement more relevant?

If one were cynical, one might wonder if these celebrities are paid off. We now see, more than ever, that propaganda and sneaky marketing (not to mention fake reviews) are a thing. It’s not impossible. Authors would all love to believe that a celebrity is curled up with our book, but how often does it happen? Unknown writers try to climb that hill of notability, even if that means being just a full-time writer. Fame and money aren’t the shiny objects to most writers that you’d think. As a reader, I assume it would be discouraging to run out and buy a book that Oprah or anyone else recommended, only to find it doesn’t live up to the hype. It’s a matter of opinion, and everyone looks for something different. That’s why I never know what to recommend to someone when they ask what I’d suggest. Reading is a very personal thing. It’s like picking something off the menu for you, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t want to do that either. 

Do you think celebrity book clubs are for real? If so, who do you trust and why or why not? Let me know in the comments. 




Sunday, February 16, 2025

Writing scams!!! 🚨 There's lots of them

If you’re a writer, especially an independent author, you’ve probably already dealt with at least some of the many writing scams today. From phone calls to emails, and even fake ‘author friends’ on social media, they’ll do everything except show up at your door and that’s probably only because they don’t have your address. Writing scams have taken off over the last few years and become more clever and insidious.

I started getting these calls a few years ago. They were always from the Philippines, with offers of marketing, republishing, and even creating a script for my books. They get writers desperate to get noticed in a very saturated publishing industry, which isn’t easy to do. Furthermore, they work on your ego; your book is the best they’ve ever read, they want so much to help you, they draw a picture of huge financial success, maybe even fame. They’re usually very excited to help you. And hey, the person on the other end of the phone may not know the difference. They might be merely doing a typical call center job and think they work for a legit company, or maybe they’re assholes too, I’m not sure. However, the calls always have a little ‘too good to be true’ vibe and that’s because they are a crock of shit. The company names change, the person calling you may have a different name, but they’re always scams. I tell authors or aspiring authors to check Writer Beware for information on all these scams, how they work, and a long list of fake companies.

With the calls, you’ll also get emails to correspond. My spam box is full of them every day.

Recently, I started to get fake friends on social media supposedly from other authors concerned with my marketing, asking about what I’m writing now, some AI-generated bullshit. The questions are always the same. Authors, real authors that is, are getting quite annoyed with the fake social media garbage and have been expressing it, especially on X.

What can be done? I’m not sure. I know there was an arrest around the holidays, you might want to read about it HERE. What frustrates me is the amount of money these snakes have scammed people out of; authors who worked hard to write their books, wanting to do whatever they can, to feel that all that work was justified. It isn’t even about the money, it’s about sharing your creation, and your heart with others, to feel that it was worth it. These scammers take advantage of this vulnerability, and for that reason, I hope the FBI makes many more arrests. 




Monday, February 3, 2025

Writing updates - my Substack, why I haven't started a new book and general ramblings

 


Monday, January 13, 2025

Are my characters evil? 🙈

The wonderful part about writing fiction is that you enter this crazy world where your characters can do anything. The issue is that the best characters take off running and all you can do is follow along. For that reason, I never tended to give much thought to whether or not my characters act morally or responsibly, simply because I'm not them. It's not my job to harness them in but rather, tell their story. 

Lately, it has occurred to me whether or not my characters are evil. I suspect some people avoid my books because they assume they are and simply want nothing to do with them. And, you know, fair enough. You'll never find the Hernandez series in the Christian section of your bookstore. Is it my duty to represent morals and values in my books? And does anyone else? 

To answer that question, you have to go back to why I started writing in the first place. Back in the early days, when I was a teenager attempting to pull a novel together, I never did so with the idea of inspiring anyone. In fact, my whole goal (even back then) was to make people think. I wanted to hold a mirror up to the world and tell you what I saw. I've been doing that ever since. 

What I'm trying to say is, that my characters are complex. My strongest character is Jorge Hernandez and although he certainly could be called evil, you also see his compassionate side in many situations. In some cases, he can even act as an anti-hero, retaliating on those who are evil themselves. Overall though, I feel my books and characters are a reflection of the world. And unfortunately, if you look under the hood, that's not a pleasant sight these days.