I must confess—I like to gamble. When my sister comes to visit, which she does frequently, we head out to a local casino, about thirty miles away. It got me to thinking how much writing and playing the slot machines are similar. (I suppose this is relevant to other games, but I still can’t master craps or video poker.)
The anticipation of driving up to the casino is akin to the anticipation of writing a book. You’re starting fresh, you have high hopes for doing well that afternoon, and you look forward to what’s coming. When you begin the process of either, it’s exciting and interesting.
Mostly though, what I find comparable is the suddenness of winning or losing at both. One book is swooned over by the editors and sells well. The next sale is rejected by the same publisher. Or you get great reviews, even awards, for one story. Hardly anyone likes the subsequent one. Your writing life can be turned around on a dime, good or bad, with a phone call or an email. The same goes for the games. You win, you win, then you lose. You can be down to your last dollar and Boom! you hit the jackpot. This has happened to me frequently. I think I’m done playing the slots then I get a huge payout, enough to keep going for hours. Another parallel came to mind when I put up my backlist and one original novella for sale online. Some days I had 50 sales on the Kindle, Nook, Sony or iPad. Then, I’ve had 225 purchases show up next day.
I can’t say I really like how precarious slot machines are or how tenuous success is in the publishing world. Sometimes I wonder why I do either. Sometimes I think there are a lot more important things in life to be devoting my time, money or energy to. Yet I’m guessing they’re both in my blood. Okay, truthfully, I can go months without setting a foot in the casino. But that’s not so with writing. For over twenty years, I have not stayed away from a manuscript for that length of time. I’m thinking only once did I not write for three full weeks and that was when I was on vacation in Italy. (And then I read on the beach, in trains, on airline flights, which improves my writer’s skill.)
Of course, it goes without saying I’d much rather be bitten by the writing bug than the gambling one. Though the adrenaline rush comes from both for me, I guess I’m just lucky (pun intended) I get it mostly from my writing career, even with its ups and downs.
By: Kathy Shay
Showing posts with label Kathy Shay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kathy Shay. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Perfect Family
Thanks to my sister and fellow LCRW members for the opportunity to tell you about my new work, coming up in September.
To blog readers who don’t know me, first, let me introduce myself. I’m Kathryn Shay and I’ve been published by Harlequin and The Berkley Publishing Group for the last fifteen years. THE PERFECT FAMILY, released from Bold Strokes Books, is my thirty-seventh book. My work has been characterized by reviewers and readers as highly emotional, poignant and heart wrenching.
Those adjectives certainly apply to THE PERFECT FAMILY. The story follows the Davidsons: they’re an average American family with a good life and they consider themselves lucky to have each other. Then their seventeen year old son tells them he’s gay and their world shifts. They have no idea what they will go through after Jamie’s disclosure: Jamie's father Mike can't reconcile his religious beliefs with his son's sexuality. His brother Brian is harassed by his jock buddies and angry at Jamie for complicating all their lives. Maggie, his mother, fears being able to protect her son while struggling to save her crumbling marriage. And Jamie feels guilty for the unhappiness his disclosure has caused. The book is full of both conflict and love, ending on a redeeming note.
I’m frequently asked why I wrote this book. When my own son came out gay, I decided I wanted to tell a story around that issue. THE PERFECT FAMILY is fiction, but touches on some of the things my own family went through. I wished then I’d had a book like this to help me understand that a family’s struggle when a teen comes out is okay, but he deserves love and support from them, too. I was also a high school teacher for many years and I know teenagers. I know how they react to people who are different from them, how sexual orientation can freak them out and how they can be cruel. But they can also be unbelievably loyal and supportive. I tried to show all this in the book.
Having raised kids of my own, I’m also aware of how a child’s problems can affect the whole family. I originally wrote the book in first person narrative from the mother’s point of view (it was called A MOTHER’S STORY) because I knew what Maggie, the mom, was going through. I’ve also experienced the pain when spouses disagree on what’s best for their children. However, it wasn’t long before I realized this book was more than Maggie’s story; it was each family member’s journey. On the first of many revisions, I put in the viewpoints of Mike, Brian and Jamie. I think this expansion enriched the book and made it more relevant. After several revisions, I also added a secondary storyline to mirror the first which gives the book an added dimension.
The character of Jamie is based on my own son, Ben. He read the manuscript twice, the beginning draft and the last one. I was amazed at the insights he had into the characters. His comments led me to make some further revisions. And we have a gift for my readers. Ben is a singer/songwriter and made a CD in high school about “loving a boy” and other adolescent issues. We’re offering it free at the publisher’s website when you order a book from them http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/products.php?product=Perfect-Family%252C-The-%25252d-by-Kathryn-Shay and it will be also be offered on my website, www.kathrnyshay.com while copies last.
I’m sure you can tell from my comments that this is the book of my heart and a labor of love. I hope readers enjoy it.
Kathryn Shay
PS—If you’re interested in reading my other books, I’m working on new projects now so check my website for that. I’m also making plans to put nine single title novels up on Kindle and Smashwords by the time THE PERFECT FAMILY is released.
To blog readers who don’t know me, first, let me introduce myself. I’m Kathryn Shay and I’ve been published by Harlequin and The Berkley Publishing Group for the last fifteen years. THE PERFECT FAMILY, released from Bold Strokes Books, is my thirty-seventh book. My work has been characterized by reviewers and readers as highly emotional, poignant and heart wrenching.
Those adjectives certainly apply to THE PERFECT FAMILY. The story follows the Davidsons: they’re an average American family with a good life and they consider themselves lucky to have each other. Then their seventeen year old son tells them he’s gay and their world shifts. They have no idea what they will go through after Jamie’s disclosure: Jamie's father Mike can't reconcile his religious beliefs with his son's sexuality. His brother Brian is harassed by his jock buddies and angry at Jamie for complicating all their lives. Maggie, his mother, fears being able to protect her son while struggling to save her crumbling marriage. And Jamie feels guilty for the unhappiness his disclosure has caused. The book is full of both conflict and love, ending on a redeeming note.
I’m frequently asked why I wrote this book. When my own son came out gay, I decided I wanted to tell a story around that issue. THE PERFECT FAMILY is fiction, but touches on some of the things my own family went through. I wished then I’d had a book like this to help me understand that a family’s struggle when a teen comes out is okay, but he deserves love and support from them, too. I was also a high school teacher for many years and I know teenagers. I know how they react to people who are different from them, how sexual orientation can freak them out and how they can be cruel. But they can also be unbelievably loyal and supportive. I tried to show all this in the book.
Having raised kids of my own, I’m also aware of how a child’s problems can affect the whole family. I originally wrote the book in first person narrative from the mother’s point of view (it was called A MOTHER’S STORY) because I knew what Maggie, the mom, was going through. I’ve also experienced the pain when spouses disagree on what’s best for their children. However, it wasn’t long before I realized this book was more than Maggie’s story; it was each family member’s journey. On the first of many revisions, I put in the viewpoints of Mike, Brian and Jamie. I think this expansion enriched the book and made it more relevant. After several revisions, I also added a secondary storyline to mirror the first which gives the book an added dimension.
The character of Jamie is based on my own son, Ben. He read the manuscript twice, the beginning draft and the last one. I was amazed at the insights he had into the characters. His comments led me to make some further revisions. And we have a gift for my readers. Ben is a singer/songwriter and made a CD in high school about “loving a boy” and other adolescent issues. We’re offering it free at the publisher’s website when you order a book from them http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/products.php?product=Perfect-Family%252C-The-%25252d-by-Kathryn-Shay and it will be also be offered on my website, www.kathrnyshay.com while copies last.
I’m sure you can tell from my comments that this is the book of my heart and a labor of love. I hope readers enjoy it.
Kathryn Shay
PS—If you’re interested in reading my other books, I’m working on new projects now so check my website for that. I’m also making plans to put nine single title novels up on Kindle and Smashwords by the time THE PERFECT FAMILY is released.
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