  Mystery
This week: The Wolf Gift Edited by: Gaby  
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I love the idea that magic and witchcraft and battles between supernatural creatures could be raging all around us but just out of our sight.
~ Anthony Horowitz
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| ASIN: 0910355479 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 13.99
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I know what you're thinking! Here comes Gaby talking about wolves and vampires in a mystery newsletter. Hear me out at least. 
Ever asked yourself the timeless question of where we come from? Who are we really? Or what is our actual purpose on Earth? The meaning of morality and mortality, or perhaps even immortality? Is there even such a possibility? It may not be something that's on your mind 24/7 but as a writer you wonder about the endless possibilities and challenge the inevitable.
Anne Rice, the writer of The Interview With The Vampire or the Witching Hour amongst many other books, asks this question on a regular basis - herself, her characters, her readers. Even in her interviews she stated that what she couldn't ask or state publicly, she decided to ask and question through her characters. All her concerns show in her books. Every subject she wondered about has been mention in one or more of her books. You may not be a big fan of her writing, but the lady does seem timeless at times. Her writing spans from before time became time to the age of technology and facing the challenges in a supernatural world.
I've read most of her books, had such a horrible fascination with a vampire called Lestat, that I couldn't wait to get my hands on anything which might even have the slightest mention of him in a book. Yes, I was mesmerized by him, in love with him and his sometimes cruel ways. And then, Anne wrote The Wolf Gift and I almost faltered in my step. I knew there wouldn't be any mention of my blond devil Lestat and his reckless ways of living the immortal life of a vampire. This book would be a about someone new, a character I haven't yet met. Would I like him? Do I even want to get to know him?! And most of all, would I fall in love with him as easily as I did with Lestat?
You may not care about my feelings about this new character - yes, I've read the book!  Perhaps, you don't care at all about Anne Rice's writing, but there is a lesson to be learned from her books, or any one of the writers who decide to include the same character in multiple books.
Your reader depends on you and trusts in you! One false move and you may loose them. Altering your character in any way would be a giant risk. In order to be true to your readers you have to be true to the character you're writing about. No changes that might alter his thinking. If a human character is turned into a vampire or even a wolf, the change in them is a must, but not so much how they are or what they think. Lestat the vampire retained his human emotions - in fact he felt them even more than before. Everything enhanced. He stumbled through the world as if with closed eyes before he learned what it meant to be a vampire. In the latest book Prince Lestat he stayed who he had always been, still questioning his reason for living the immortal life. A gift or a curse - since he's forever living in the darkness.
Reuben, the main character from The Wolf Gift experiences things differently, the change in him, the emotions, the needs, yet both him as well as Lestat, depend on the same human instinct and something completely unknown to them. As I flipped through the pages I became even more fascinated with Anne's writing. Her questions are still there, ever changing, ever exploring the possibilities of the unknown to humankind. Her words take you on a journey alongside the character, but also, you can't help but take a moment to reflect on those same questions and hope to find the answers both Anne and her character have been looking for. It's what keeps her readers loyal to her.
In a previous Short Stories Newsletter, I talked about cliffhangers and whether or not we consider our readers at all when we give them a cliff with nothing beyond that. Do we worry about their feelings or do we even care at all? Most answers I received said that, no, they don't think much about the reader, no matter how their story ends. However, if you're planning to bring back the character in another book, you most definitely want to consider your reader's feelings. They depend on you to keep the characters the same - no changes which may compromise their likeability.
And with Reuben, Anne risked it all. After years and years of writing about Vampires, she dared to step off the beaten path and go into a completely different direction. What she did was, she wrote something where the reader couldn't resist or doubt the new character. A very likeable person who just happens to be a wolf in the end.
I know that this whole thing may sound like an evasive book review without giving away any hints, but it was a way to show you, the reader of the newsletter, that writers and their writing do depend on their readers - more than you'd think they would. We all write what we like to read about perhaps, or just to get those strange stories out of our heads, but once in print, those stories go a long way. The characters are set free and, after a time, while they belong to us, we have to share them with the rest of the world who depends on them - and you! Make the most of it and talk to your readers before you just send your character into something they may not be ready for and change their attitudes toward the world.
'til next time!
~ Gaby 
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| ASIN: B01MQP5740 |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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From my previous Newsletter:
dwarf2012 wrote:
Hello! I have many thoughts on the Millennial generation, but I would say, it depends on what group you are exposed to. In the professional environment I work in, all the youngsters read, belong to book clubs, and use their electronic devices to devour books. And yes, some of them actually read the paper kind also. They do tend to be very I focused (iPhone, iPad..)and the world does revolve around them. But yet, they can be generous and open minded. Good and bad with each generation.
Yes, I've seen that as well, but the every day generation around me thinks it's beyond the simplicity of books. Who'd know?
Quick-Quill  wrote:
Yep! I know the feeling. My children are grown but not married. I have no grands. I have "adopted" my "cuzin's" grandchild now 3. when we go out to eat or she's a bit bored she wants to sit next to me and play two of the games I downloaded on my phone for her. My bad. I love her to death. Spoil her just as much as her own grandma.
 That's sweet! I don't think there's anything bad in a little exposure, but when the television is off limits and not all the rest of the gadgets which seem to be available all day, then I worry. |
| ASIN: 1542722411 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
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Mystery: October 14, 2015 Issue [#7268]
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