Beginning Harry Potter and Do I Have a Series in Me?

This past week I started something I should have a long time ago. Anyone who's going to write in the field of YA (Young Adult) has a vast selection of authors to research, but should, in my opinion of course, check out the works of Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls is my favorite book and is one of the most decorated YA works out there), Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak, Twisted) and, perhaps considered at the top of the YA mountain even after all these years, J.K. Rowling.

For years I've put off the seven books featuring "The Boy Who Lived" along with Ron and Hermione because of the films based on them. I saw the first movie - Sorcerer's Stone - in the theaters and really liked it. I attempted to start the books (there were, I think, four at the time?) but found that seeing the movie first kind of spoiled the experience of reading the book - ultimately, despite the book being a tad different and a bit more in-depth, the conclusion was the same. I saw the second and third film - Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban - and enjoyed them a lot due to the ever-darkening tones. As well I followed the coverage of each new book coming out, ending with the seventh. Films four through six I didn't see, but caught Deathly Hallows, Part One, on a bus trip to New York the day before seeing the final film in theaters. While there was a gap for me, I followed along pretty well with the last two movies and thought the conclusion to be very fitting; I particularly enjoyed the glimpse into the characters' futures in the end and (in the movie, at least) you get the sense that the experiences the triumvirate have been through hasn't completely left them. You could almost say the events of their time at Hogwarts scarred them in a way similar to the lightning bolt on Harry's forehead - always present.

Like I said, for years I put off reading the books; I was waiting for the impression of the films to wear off.

Last week I started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and have raced through it (I'm not a fast reader) and am nearly finished. While every now and again I get the sense of what I saw in that film (and it's been a very long time since I've seen it), it's a very refreshing, easy, brisk read. In a way I am glad to have waited and started them now - after all the hoopla about them has long ended. I can read them - regardless of knowing the ultimate ending and some choice spoilers (yes, I know what happens to Dumbledore) - for my own enjoyment and at my own pace without having any worries of running into fans spouting about them online like when they were brand new.

It would be unfair to critique Rowling's series (dare I call it her magnum opus so early in her career?), having only digested one of the books so far, but I find her a very witty writer who moves at a fast pace (the entire sequence with the troll inside Hogwarts lasted longer in the film than it does reading the 3 or 4 pages in the book). I am very excited to get into the remaining six. I'm also very interested to see why most of the other books are so much denser, given her tendency to be breezy and go from scene to scene very quickly. There must be a lot more plot involved. My hope is everything is balanced well and doesn't succumb under the weight of quantity over quality.

While reading Sorcerer's Stone, I thought about The Dark Tower series by Stephen King; I've only read the first installment - The Gunslinger - of that particular sequence of novels so far, but each of the works of King and Rowling got me thinking: Would I ever write a series? Do I have one long story in me to tell?

Right now...in short...no. But (!) that's not to say I wouldn't be open to doing one in the future. Where I am in my writing now is I like to tell simple, clean stories that don't leave the reader hanging after the end. The stories, to me, should feel like an experience, and deeply personal. To stretch it out over a series is beyond my comfort at the moment. I hope to someday be inspired by an idea that has the potential to take up a few volumes, but I won't worry about it if it doesn't happen. I'm very confident in what I have to say with each book and, believe it or not (if you go by the one published book per year rule), I have stories set in stone - and by that I mean in my notebooks - to tell for at least the next six years, and they're all single books. I'm always getting ideas and when I believe I have a good one I put it in its own notebook and add to it over time.

So no, no series in the works right now, but even though it may never happen that's not to say that I won't ever revisit a character - main or supporting - in another novel sometime in the future either.

Guest Blog Up On Winter Goose Site

This week I have a guest blog up over on my publisher's website, where I go into a bit of detail regarding my beginnings as a writer and, among other things, the idea that popped in my head that eventually became Seeing, my first published novel.

Click on over to Winter Goose's site for the blog entitled A Winter After Many Long Seasons.

Two Weeks Later

So, the book has been out for two weeks now, and purposely to not over-saturate social media with continuous announcements of the release, I've taken a restrained approach. My biggest worry is putting potential readers off by being too much a salesperson. Ever follow an author on Twitter? Some are good, like one of my faves Patrick Ness (@PatrickNess), who talks about his work rather than always trying to sell it - there is a huge difference - while there are those who constantly shove their work down your throat (you know who you are if you do this), and most of them aren't subtle about it. I never want to be like that (it never makes me want to read their work), so, my plan now that the book is out is to work hard on getting it reviewed - the process requires patience as it can be a bit of a slow burn but it's far better to push what others are saying rather than myself proclaiming from the hilltops. Of course I love my book - I wrote it! - but I want to know what you have to say.

And wow... The reception I've received thus far has been beyond anything I could have dreamed. My friends, I am fortunate, and feel truly blessed that those getting their hands on Seeing are not only enjoying it but finding it is affecting them on a much more personal level. I would be lying if I said this wasn't my intention all along, but I never knew just how moving readers would find the book. I'm so glad those who are reading it are sharing with me their thoughts and feelings. Again, I'm incredibly thankful.

If you follow me on Facebook then you may know that a few days ago I posted my first review. The review came from someone close in my family, who ordered the book immediately on their Nook the day it came out and finished it shortly after. They sent me their thoughts in an e-mail at 3:30 in the morning because that's when they finished it. First I thought it was great they felt compelled to give me their thoughts at such an unusual time, then I read what they had to say. I felt posting who the review came from may cause others to roll their eyes and think, based on the relationship: Well, of course they would say that! I, however, know this person to be honest - even sometimes brutally so - and also an avid reader of all types of genres and authors. If they weren't impressed, I would know. What follows is their exact review:

I had your book put into my nook the other day.  I just finished it and had to tell  you just how moved I was with the  book.  It  is a very moving story!  I cried.  I enjoyed it very much.  You should be very proud of yourself!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Note: I copy/pasted, so, yes, all those exclamation points were in the original message.

 

I told this person that getting their review made me less fearful of the reviews that would be in-coming. You get through the first one you can get through the rest, right?

 

Not really. It was a tiny bit of a lie, I suppose. Not that I didn't tell this person what I felt at the time to be truthful, but a nagging voice kept up in the back of my head, speaking whenever it was quiet, wondering what someone who didn't know me might think of the book.

 

Fortunately, I only had to wait a few more days before someone - someone I can say I don't know - posted a review on Amazon. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't constantly (obsessively?) check Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble for any reviews. I do it as if it were my job. ... I guess it sort of is, huh?

 

Anyway, here is what one reader decided to share in their 5-star review:

 

This book was beautifully written. Not only does it touch upon topics that pertain to adults and parents but it reaches out to such emotions that young adults experience. I will be sharing this book with my daughter. This is a true calling!

 

Wow.

 

I've read the review over countless times and still have no idea what to say other than thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here is another one, this one a 5-star review from Goodreads:

This is a book for young and old alike. This book may be fiction geared for young adults, but it is a must read for any age if you have ever suffered the intense hurt and bewilderment of being abandoned by a parent. Forget all the self help books and stop asking yourself "why". Immerse yourself in "Seeing" and you will finally realize that "You've got to learn to let go." Falank has nailed it....Seeing delivered on it's promise...it has changed the way I see the world, forever.

Again, wow. It means a lot to me that readers are taking the time to post their thoughts, and what they're saying means even more.

 

Right now the book is out for review with two friends of mine who are authors (a third author friend will get their copy soon), and I'm desperate to know what they think. I've also reached out to a few editorials to get reviews, so the "professional" reviews are forthcoming.

And then this morning I woke to some awesome news:

Erik, the kid reviewer behind the website This Kid Reviews Books, will be reviewing Seeing!! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Note: Yes, all of those exclamation points are appropriate.

No offense to anyone who has or will be agreeing to give me a review (I appreciate you all), but this one excites me the most. That someone of the target audience will be critiquing the work - not to mention this was someone I was really hoping would give me a review - has me on cloud nine (I hate that expression but I've only been awake twenty minutes and it was all that was coming to me to describe my own excitement).

UPDATE: I've just learned that Seeing has also been chosen for review by the students associated with the site LitPick.com!!
 

So it's only been two weeks. There's a long road ahead for the book - one of the stops on this long road will be my first author event: Wednesday, August 6th, at RiverRead Books in downtown Binghamton at 6:30pm - but I'm ready to put in the miles and take you all along for the ride.