True Crime, Active Shooters and Gun Control.

The week of Christmas I was made redundant from my job, in the weeks that followed as I started studiously applying for jobs, I would reward myself each day with an hour of television. Long before I discovered Romance I was a self proclaimed lover of True Crime. I was known to devour books on serial killers and mass murderers, the psychology behind their decisions and reasons for "snapping" intrigued me, in all honesty it's why I chose electives at University like Abnormal Psychology.

There was one time years ago when flying that a stewardess asked me what I was so intently invested in that I didn't even notice that dinner service had begun. I was showed her my book, Whoever Fights Monsters by Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shachtman with it's dark cover and title it's no wonder she was surprised. The truth is the inner workings of a depraved mind has long instilled in me a sense of intrigue.

Fast forward back to mid January when I was searching the Australian paid television network Stan, I stumbled on a documentary series that caught my eye. Active Shooter: American Under Fire. Each episode focuses on a mass shooting in recent years, speaking with law enforcement and first responders from the day, family members of those who lost their lives, injured victims, and in some cases even family members of the perpetrator. It's a sombre look into the lives of those impacted in the most personal of ways by these crimes. It examines the procedures first responders follow and the changes that have been made since as local law makers and politicians try to come to terms with a growing death toll. It examines the lives of those left behind and the long lasting trauma left on the heroic first responders that ran in when most of us would want to run out.

 It almost seems surreal now, that weeks after watching this series in the comfort of my own home, a world away another tragedy is unfolding. A nineteen year old former student opened fire on unsuspecting students and teachers at a Parkland Florida High School killing seventeen. My first reaction was what, how, why.... now I'm sitting here wondering how much more it will take before law makers do something instead of trotting out the old adage "guns don't kill people, people kill people."

After Columbine we said we would learn, and here we are almost twenty years later with no change, no tighter gun control laws, and more active shooter situations then ever before. Semi automatic and automatic weapons have only one purpose and that’s to kill lots of people in the shortest amount of time possible. These are not weapons needed by farmers, hunters or recreational shooters. This isn’t about constitutional rights, this is about changing and tightening laws to make your people safer.

Before you say but the shooter clearly has mental health issues...I'm certainly no refuting that, there’s no doubt that the lack of mental health care and preventive measures have played a role in this, and no doubt the stigma attached to mental health has not helped, but tougher gun laws means that people can’t easily access weapons like this. Columbine, San Bernardino, Charlestown, Washington, Orlando, Oak Creek, Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Connecticut.... how many more people have to die before the American people say no more?

And before we get in to the disabling of Constitutional rights, any responsible gun owner will tell you the prime use of semi automatic and automatic weapons, more over they will also tell you there’s no need for them. The truly disturbing fact is in the days that follow we will rage against the system, we will scream how unjust and unfair this is. We’ll cry for those injured and murdered, and we’ll tell ourselves never again.... but before injured victims are even released from hospital, long before the shooter even stands trial we will forget. Parkland Florida will just be another location like Columbine Colorado, Santa Monica California, or Newtown Connecticut, like countless other places that saw death and destruction.

In the last few years of my retail career I'd attended copious rounds of active shooter training, what to do if an active shooter situation was to occur in the shopping centre I was working in...get your customers and your staff into your backroom, close the shutters, turn off the lights and barricade yourselves in with your mobile phones and anything nearby you could use as a weapon, get low and stay quiet. Did you know that the training for first responders since Columbine has changed time and time again as they try to find the best method to take down the shooter/s. Because in the time it takes to secure and clear the scene and find the shooter/s, injured people are bleeding out and dying. First responders are being trained to go against their primal instinct and usual training to stop and render aid and to secure the scene first. 

In the days and weeks that follow today I hope for a different outcome, I hope that the tears and outrage that will inevitably turn to thoughts and prayers, that will culminate in calls to action will change the trajectory of gun control for the American people. I hope that instead of the empty promises that politicians will surely trot out, we see a swelling of ground support that says we want preventative measures put in place instead of tears and platitudes in the aftermath. I hope we see a different America then the one we see today, where school shootings, and active shooters are not merely our new normal.

Fifty Shades Fan Girl for Life...why I will be forever grateful to EL James.

In early 2011 I got married, I was working two full time jobs, and my life was full and busy, late nights and early mornings were an everyday occurrence, I was slowly becoming tired, melancholy and burnt out. I had started to forget about me, I wasn't depressed per say, but I wasn't waking up every day grateful for a new day, I needed a holiday, but would of happily settled for a full day off. 2012 started with more of the same, long days, longer night, sore feet from jobs in retail and hospitality, back pain, lack of sleep and ultimately a lack of motivation started my downhill descent into a period I'm glad to be out of. As the early months of 2012 began to pass there seemed to be a book that was making waves in the romance world. You might remember it, black cover with a simple grey tie... I'd heard whisperings, I was mildly intrigued.

One of my staff came in to work one morning and in between unpacking and hanging boxes of clothes and serving customers she mentioned she had bought a new book in an effort to get back into reading, the title... FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by EL James. This book was sexy, super sexy, with a narrative cloaked in the BDSM realm, something I had no experience or knowledge of, it was the tale of a young Anastasia Steele and the enigmatic Christian Grey. Jenn asked me to read it with her, I agreed, it had been a while since I was utterly obsessed with a book, Twilight and The Bronze Horseman had been and gone and I secretly hoped this book would capture my imagination the way they had.

My team of eleven was almost entirely female, save for two young men who were unfussed by the idea of joining out group read, the rest of us however raced out to buy our paperbacks and start. Text messages would be the start of this new wondrous dialogue that Fifty would inspire, the following morning bleary eyed we counted in floats and opened the store, a chorus of ohhhhs and ahhhhhs and constant discussion about this whole new world we had discovered together. We devoured the trilogy, but more importantly I devoured them, I lost sleep and didn't care, I found myself sneaking to the back room "to check for something" to read one more page, I was utterly and unequivocally obsessed. I had amassed multiple copies of Grey, Darker and Freed as people asked to borrow my books and I feared they might not return them.  I walked back into Borders Books and asked what I needed to read next and left with a shiny new copy of Bared to You by Sylvia Day.

Shortly after I took to google to ask what was next, finding Maryse Black's blog and discovered the world of Kindle and ebooks. I was fervent in my thirst for new titles, new worlds to discover. Slowly but surely I not only l discovered new characters to love but rediscovered myself. I found a joy that was mine, I found a sense of peace when I read, I found a way to just be for the first time in a long time.

I devoured books in a somewhat solitary manner for over a year, adding Authors as friends on Facebook and building my e-library. It wasn't until late 2013 that stirrings of book signings in Australia focused solely on the Romance genre really took shape. Indie and Trad published authors would be there to meet and speak to in person...all these years later and I still can't quite believe just how big of an impact picking up Fifty Shades of Grey would have on my life.

These random musings of mind would still be swirling around in my head, my closest and dearest friends would be living their lives and we would have never met. That incredible trip to Paris and the UK in 2016 for Four Brits Book Fest would be a figment of my imagination. The millions upon millions of words that have been published by thousands upon thousands of Romance Authors would still be trapped on saved files on laptops and computers around the world, because they would have never seen the explosion of Anastasia and Christian and thought to themselves WHY NOT ME?

With the release of Fifty Shades Freed on the big screen the inevitable naysayers are pulling out and dusting off their soap boxes ready for one final hurrah. People who haven't read the books are quick to remark that their relationship is abusive, others snicker behind their hands that it's mummy porn, other's complain about how the story was not to their liking, even throwing out that their books are far better. It seems it's easy to forget that the fact that there is now a billion dollar romance industry that allows them to push publish was spurned on by the release and subsequent success of that book they like to raise their pitch forks at. Fifty Shades very clearly gave romance and erotic romance readers not only a voice but a buying power that was entirely unheard of previously. 2012 saw authors like Colleen Hoover, Abbi Glines, Tammara Webber, launch successful careers, we saw Samantha Towle and Samantha Young capture our hearts with Jake Wethers and Braden Carmichael, we saw Jodi Ellen Malpas bring to life The Lord of the Manor, we discovered and devoured countless heroes and heroines in an effort to stave off our seemingly unquenchable thirst. 

As I sit here still encased in a Christian Grey shaped fog from last nights viewing of Fifty Shades Freed, I am overcome with emotions, I smile freely reminiscing about all that has happened since first hearing the name EL James, and hope that one day I can genuinely thank her for giving us something that so many of us truly needed. 

Should bloggers promote everything?

I've debated back and forth whether I post about the current blogger debates going on, I've commented on a couple of posts but thought I'd give my thoughts on my own page. 

There's been a lot of debate at what and who bloggers should promote of late, and I find the need to address it. Let me start by saying, blogs are extensions of the reader, very few of us do it to earn a living, while some are able to (and good for them that they can) it's not the "norm". Most of us, collectively speaking started blogging to share our love of reading, to give voice to what we love, reading is subjective and personal, and just as a reader shouldn't dictate what an author should write, an author shouldn't dictate what a blogger should promote or read. 

The industry has become saturated, not only by authors, but by bloggers, for every new reader, there's a new author and indeed a new blogger deciding to open their laptop, and that is a testament to this great community. 

I can only speak to my own blog, so I will give you some insight into my observations, in 2012 I became an avid reader, over the two years that followed I read, almost obsessively, I penned reviews and posted them to Goodreads, in 2014, after encouragement from friends I started GPI, I felt it was my duty to read and promote nearly everything that crossed my path, I was reading and reviewing a book a day, for over 2 years I continued that way, I was beta reading for dozens of authors, I loved every second of it, but I also lost precious time away from family and friends, I had book induced tunnel vision, and somewhere along the way I found myself getting more and more burnt out. Last year I struggled to find the same enjoyment I once found, I was overwhelmed by obligation, and I stopped loving reading. I did a lot of soul searching and decided I would change how I operated, I would ONLY read what I desperately wanted to, (be it a "big" or "new" author) I would not sign up to blog tours or accept review requests, or beta requests if the blurb or cover didn't "speak" to me, I would promote books that captured my attention, I would NOT say yes out of obligation. The result is my readers *know* my recommendations are purely given because in my opinion they *need* to read that title. Has that reduced my audience? Possibly. Do I feel that despite that, I made the right decision for me? Absolutely. 

I would like to point out, that bloggers are unpaid, yes we earn money from affiliate fee's but by and large for most those earnings don't even come close to covering the costs with running giveaways on our blogs. Bloggers hope to connect with readers, to open a dialogue about books they are passionate about, to encourage readers to try something different, there is no greater joy for a blogger than introducing a reader to a new to them author, be it an established NYT best seller or a indie author marking their debut, and finally please remember that bloggers are people, and respect goes both ways, if you want to reach out to a blogger, big or small, personalised emails introducing yourself rather than a generic "dear lovely blogger" email will go a long way to differentiating you from others.

 

Bookblogging: what happens when reading is leaving you feeling burnt out.

This might just be the most honest blog post I've ever written, over the past almost five months GPI has changed a lot, over Christmas and New Years I experienced something I wasn't acquainted with when it came to reading, being a speed reader I've always been able to read quickly, even at that speed I've been able to take every word in, digest it, ruminate on it, comprehend it, but over New Years I found myself struggling to connect, to become invested, reading felt more like a chore than the joy it had previously been, for the first time in years I found myself staring at the television screen instead of having my nose stuck in a book. I changed up what I read, I took a break from heavy, emotionally taxing books, I drifted toward the light and fluffy and for a while it was enough. I instigated some other changes, I cut back on beta reading, I disabled private messages on GPI's facebook page, I made a conscious effort to focus less on promotion, and more on the books I was eager to read, I stopped accepting ARC's or review copies unless it was a book I had already pre-ordered and was desperate for, whether it be via author, tour company or publisher invite.  I wanted GPI to be a reflection of my personal tastes, I wanted the readers who follow my blog and reviews to know that anything featured was because I loved it, read it, reviewed it, or couldn't wait to get my hands on it, some followers loved the changes, I created a reader group - GPI Wine Bar for those who love reading the way I do, for book discussion, for promotion of the aforementioned books, I wanted to carve out a little space of the interwebs to connect with readers just like me. Again for a while it worked, I found myself loving reading again, I was discovering new books, new authors, I fell in love with some of my old favourites again, and I loved reading again, I found myself desperate to get back to my book, devouring pages.

I bet you're thinking that's great, you're fixed... only I wasn't, again those feelings started coming back, I'd already cut back on signing up for blogging tours, and yet those restless feelings were definitely there. Between some health problems, stress at work, helping to plan a signing, making arrangements to attend a signing overseas, and trying to fall pregnant and making arrangements to begin our IVF journey... I was exhausted, both mentally and physically,  I've heard about people being burnt out before, but until now I never really understood what they meant. I do now.

The changes that started to come into effect will continue for the foreseeable future, to be honest, feeling less harried is something I'm enjoying, it's helping to alleviate some of the stress I placed on myself, when I started this blog it was to create a place where I could talk about the books I loved (without regaling my husband with my next favourite book) I wanted somewhere I could promote the Authors I adored, somewhere along the line it became about maximising followers, getting better reach, and I guess what I realised is as long as I'm chasing that I'm loosing track of why I started this journey. I recently created a blogger support group if you will, with a blogger I admire and respect, we wanted a place where we could vent and talk about our blogs, and the struggles we were facing, and the most common one is juggling reviewing and promotional posts, networking and building an audience, responding to messages and emails, handling requests, this is part of the reason I'm writing this, because I want to be honest about where I am, and want other bloggers to know that most of us will experience those moments where we struggle to remember why we started this, will find themselves drowning under blog commitments and trying to be everything to everyone, I've always been an exceptionally honest person, writing reviews can be intensely personal, so this post is just an extension of that, if you yourself are a blogger and want to join our support group the link is posted below.

Book Bloggers United

Until next time...

Blogging, Beta Reading & Reviewing with GPI

 

Blogging, Beta Reading and Reviewing ...OH MY...

A week ago I read and reviewed a book that I adored, it was funny and light and sexy, on release day when I posted my review I was disheartened, my review was the only one on Amazon and Goodreads...I wondered, how could that be, this book was everything I wanted, it was my perfect Sunday afternoon read, the cover was visually stunning, the characters well developed, and to top it off this was the author's debut, with such a strong start out of the gate, I couldn't believe there wasn't more reviews out there. After speaking with the author, I decided to reach out to some bloggers I know, offering review copies for honest reviews, several accepted after just seeing the cover, others after reading the blurb, some purely based on my recommendation (that in itself is always lovely) as the days passed, messages started flooding in, with "love love love love. They're killing me with the banter' to "omg thank goodness you posted about this book, it's fantastic and I would of missed it" to "holy f*ck balls this book is amazing" to "just finished... it was great" to my favourite "seriously!!! this is her debut...WTF???"

You're probably wondering why the flash back, but I assure you there's a point here, the overwhelming feedback was how nice it was that bloggers could work together, how the book community can feel so big and scary for newbies, be it authors or bloggers, and sometimes it's nice to be reminded how much support there is out there, which in turn led to the creation of a group on social media, designed to provide support and networking for bloggers, both new and established, where we could discuss the books we love, the challenges we face, could address questions we had, regardless of how silly we might feel asking them.

I initially asked why everyone started blogging, and the overwhelming response was that I wanted to have a forum to put my love of books out there...

"Because I wanted to give a voice to what I thought" - Laura

"I've always read but I needed more. So I started the blog and fell in love with this secret book community that nobody knows exists unless you're part of it." - Vivian

"We were getting a lot of friends asking us for what we were reading and our thoughts on books." - Janeane

We all basically started this journey for the same reason, because we loved reading and we want to talk about it, and yet one of the most common fears expressed in the group has been writing reviews, some struggling with finding words to concisely discuss their feelings and thoughts, while others have noted that writing a positive review feels almost inherent, where as reviewing a book that didn't connect with you left them nervous and frustrated. For me personally, a concise, well written, constructive 1 or 2 star (or in my case lipstick) review is more likely to make me purchase a book than twenty 5 star reviews that only state "I loved this book, it was so hot".

For me a well written review will give me a brief overview of the book, without discussing spoilers or regurgitating the entire story, but most importantly I want to know what the reader felt, what they thought, did they have that ahaaaaaa moment where time ceased to exist, did they want to rage, did they hold their kindle to their chest whilst sobbing desperately, what emotions did this book evoke. Did the reader connect with the characters, and if so why, conversely if not, why, what prevented them from connecting with the characters, with the story, what made it that star review. Clearly, if you follow GPI you already know I like longer reviews, I want depth from the reviews I read, and if the reader couldn't connect, I want them to tell me why without hate or anger thrown as the author on a personal level. Reading is subjective, my best friend and I have agreed on maybe three books, neither of our choices are more valid that the other.

The other topic raised so far has been beta reading, what is it, what the focus is, what authors are looking for, I decided I would go straight to the source for this, and ask a few of the authors I beta read for.

"Honesty, but in a constructive way. Trust, the ability to balance criticism with praise."
- Leisa Rayven.

"Honesty, being thorough, offering suggestions, sharing favourite parts. I'm not interested in editing with betas, more the story."
- Rachel Brookes.

"I look for constructive criticism and also reinforcement of what works. I look for someone I can trust; someone who I know will also be comprehensive with their thoughts on the manuscript, as opposed to two sentences of thoughts. Ideally my beta partners are diverse, helping me achieve a broad range of opinions."
- Lauren McKellar.

"In terms of betas, reviews are the thing I look at first, then I look at whether they just love everything  they read, because that's not helpful...I love to hear about the love, but I also want the hard stuff if there's something that doesn't work."
- Carmen Jenner.

"Honesty, sometimes brutally. I look for someone who isn't afraid to tell me the hard facts. Crap is crap, saying otherwise isn't going to change the fact. Everything is subjective, so I also look for someone with an open mind, not just looking at a picture and seeing it one way."

- Simone Nicole.

The consensus seems to be overall, beta reading is more than just reading a book, it's more than just "oh my godddddd I loved it" or "ummmmm I didn't really like it". It's detailed feedback about the how, the what, the why, it's about all the reasons that you're ready to run off with it and have little book babies, it's the lines of dialogue that struck a chord, the lines you furiously highlighted or screenshot, it's the moments where it just clicked. Conversely beta reading is also the moments where you didn't understand the motivation in the scene, where that sex scene felt a little too much, where that line of dialogue felt strangely out of place, not suiting the character, it's the scenes that pulled you out of your enjoyment of the story, and in some cases it's the reason you never felt like you could connect to the characters or the story. It's less of the I think you should write the story this way, and more this confused me here. First and foremost, it's remembering that a beta reader is different from a proof reader, different from a copy editor, or a structural editor, your role unless discussed with the author is generally the storyline, does it work, do the characters feel real, does their behaviour feel organic, does the pacing work, did anything stand out both good and bad?

Congratulation's for getting to the end of this blog post, it was my hope that it's been informative for other bloggers and authors, and has pulled the curtain away a tad for readers who rarely see behind the scenes. If you are a blogger wanting to connect with GPI's blogger group head to the below link.

BookBloggers United

As always, thanks for reading... if you would like to know which book I was raving about at the beginning, here you go...Crazy, Beautiful by JSH