Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Yet more questions you didn't ask (#4)

What's going on with your 'Greylands' stories?  Why do all the characters have the same name but you claim the stories have no relation to one another?

I hate coming up with character names, I have found several that I really like, fit my characters well, and rather than come up with unique names for 27 different stories, I cheat and recycle.  I am being 'green' as it were.  Isn't that why bottles of water now are so flimsy and crunchy?  We could likewise revolutionize the ebook world (though I hate those water bottles) and save the earth too!

Seriously though, these are different worlds, stories, plots, and characters but there are some underlying themes, imagery, characteristics, and the like which seem to recur in these tales.  Why not reuse a name as long as it is clear the character in question is unique to that story?  It is not like there has never been another person born with your name, why can't I do the same in a story if it happens in real life?

As to why I write them, that is a good question.  Full length books are certainly more profitable and popular with the majority of readers, but I find myself with all these shorter tales that need to be told and this seems the ideal way to do it, even if they do not acquire the readership a longer tale might.  Sometimes a tale just needs to be told, regardless of its popular reception or lack thereof.  But if you really want a good deal, go find a copy of my new volume containing the entire series, which will be updated as each new volume in the series comes out (and with the number of half told tales I have in the closet, it may be quite numerous!).  Pay once and own the entire series, now and to come!

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