I really shouldn't laugh....

[lagilman]

A reader (listener's) reaction to FLESH AND FIRE: "I loved her Retriever novels. This is not one of them."

I really don't know what else to say. Obviously, I'm sorry the reader was disappointed, and hope that HARD MAGIC will make her happy again. But, um, it's not like we didn't alert potential readers to what the book was about: the cover and copy were pretty explicit, there was no sneaking, no trying to distract you into thinking it was More of the Same.



So... yeah, I'm afraid I laughed. *iz bad person*


On a more serious note, this is what I discussed in my guest-blog about "Changing Gears" over at varkat's LJ -- the concern that readers won't follow you from one style/world to another -- or that, if they do, they will be upset/disappointed in the new direction, or feel somehow "betrayed" by the new books. Fear of pissing off/frustrating readers is a significant career motivator, and it can lock a writer into something until long after the enjoyment's gone out of it for them. Part of the reason I write different things (contemporary and epic fantasy, horror, paranormal romance, YA, non-fiction, short fiction of all stripes) is so that I don't feel 'caught' and can go back to a particular series feeling refreshed and eager to dive back in.

For the most part, the response to my change-overs has been really good -- readers pick and choose what they like, and if there's crossover between the two, that's great: cross-pollination is a wonderful thing, especially if I can get someone reading outside their usual comfort zone (something we all should do on a semi-regular basis). But the risk that someone will go "ack ew, too [fill in objection]" is always there. It's a risk I decided to take, for the very real, valuable upsides, and I believe it was the right thing for me to do, even at the risk of negative responses. Hell, I'm sure that someone's going to flip their wig because the PSI books are (mostly) 1st person*...



[*I am still amused as hell about the reviewer who claimed that ALL urban fantasy is written in the first person. ALL of it. Um.....]

Comments

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

Um, there's not much you can do when confronted with a review like that. That's the only line in the review?

As for all UF is written in the first person: O Rly? I had no idea that all UF is supposed to read like Phillip Marlowe was at the helm.

[lagilman]

That's the only line in the review?

That, and although the world was interesting the pace was too slow.

[lianneb.livejournal.com]

Well, thppt to them. I liked the slow and deliberate pace. definitely leaves me looking forward to more.