Used By The Muse - Jae Baeli

Another Review of As You Were

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:34:00 +0000

Another review of As You Were

Review by: Noni Nelson on Mar. 09, 2011 : star star star star
"Four years ago, as a newly-out,mature lesbian and an avid reader I was staggered by the dearth of quality gay fiction for women. So disappointed in fact that I resorted to writing my own. If I had discovered Kelli Jae Baeli back then I may not have bothered! I was hooked from the first few pages of As You Were. Her characters are natural, their lives are believable and I devoured this book eagerly late into the night. And put it down with a genuine reluctance to part company with it's two main protagonists, Tru & Brittany."

New Review of ISO

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:51:00 +0000

Another review on my book "ISO (In Search Of): Dating, Relationships & Sex for the Discerning Lesbian"...

"Whether you are a 'baby dyke', a newly out older woman or someone who has just been away from the 'dating scene' for a time, this book is an essential tool in your belt. Not only does Ms. Baeli provide thought provoking answers to all those obvious questions we all have, but you might find some information here about scenarios you had never even considered. Read it cover to cover or jump to the section you're most interested in, either way you will come away with plenty to think about. And a few chuckles along the way!"
~Noni Nelson
Australia

New Review of As You Were

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 06:45:00 +0000

New Review of my book, As You Were, on Smashwords.

Review by: Kate Genet on Feb. 28, 2011 : 5 Stars

"It is obvious right from the beginning of this book that Kelli Jae Baeli knows how to craft a great story. Her main character is the sort of woman you’d love to meet in real life, and I warmed to her immediately. She’s that well-rounded type of character that makes reading a real pleasure. This is a story about a relationship, but it’s set against a backdrop of events and places that serve to introduce and develop that relationship in a way that seems entirely natural and interesting. I don’t want to give any of the details away, but the storyline is great – suspenseful and nothing left dangling; it’s all pulled together extraordinarily well. By the time I reached the end of the book I was well-satisfied and smiling."

It's always so uplifting to learn that readers are enjoying my work.

Sex is Apalling, Killing is Okay

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:13:00 +0000

Below, is a review posted on Amazon regarding my book, Achilles Forjan. As with the previous post about reviews of Unbearable Lightness of Being UNBEARABLE, it seems there is a tendency for people not to pay attention to what they buy. I added my comment on Amazon below her review...

3.0 out of 5 stars Should have been warned, May 4, 2010
By Rachel B. Beard
This review is from: Achilles Forjan (Paperback)
My grandson wants to be a firefighter. He is a High school junior so I gave him this book for Easter. No where did I read it was 'sexually explicit"....he was facinated and I was appalled that I gave it to him!!

COMMENT: My apologies to Rachel Beard--but when shopping for a book for a grandson, note that Achilles Forjan was not listed in the Young Adult section...it's a book that includes the presence and activities of a serial killer, (among other things) yet, she was worried about sex content? Sex is a natural, healthy part of our lives, but being a killer isn't. I hope she will read the description more carefully, or else purchase something from the YA genre next time.

I would be glad to send Rachel a copy of my mainstream book, Baggage, as it is a family saga that is suitable for anyone who prefers stories about relationships and family, without anything sexually explicit. She might actually enjoy that one.

As for the Young Adult genre, I highly recommend James Patterson's Maximum Ride series. And for a YA interested in becoming a firefighter, why not set up a visit to local fire stations? He can then speak to those who do the job every day, and that would be a much more helpful set of information.
Best,
Kelli Jae Baeli

Done. Really. I mean it.

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 06:57:00 +0000

After I got those proofs for Supernatural Hypocrisy (6 volumes) mentioned in a previous entry, I (naturally) found many things that needed correcting. And more information that needed to be added. It has been feeling like I'll never be done. But in between the high stress of a certain personal situation, i finally got them done, edited, and sent again. Then after i sent in the final material, decided i still hated the covers, so redesigned them AGAIN. This time, i like them, and that's the final version. Really.

These volumes were supposed to be available for holiday sales, but the aforementioned stress successfully put an end to that. I've never missed a deadline before. So will be glad when the situation rights itself in March. (Unless some other unforeseen re-emergence of the bad situation arises). Keep your fingers crossed, and send me good wishes, if only in your own mind. With my new position as Managing Editor for LightSwitcher Books, LLC, i will need things to go more smoothly.

Here's a little mission statement about LSB:

Bold. Illuminating. Evolved.

That's the mission statement, in a nutshell, for LightSwitcher Books. We want to revive the old masters so the world can enjoy them again; we want to put in print, for the first time, stories from the older generation, who have seen what we could never see, have lived through challenges we may never face, thanks to their existence; we want to publish promising new authors who have something compelling, informative, or entertaining to share-sparing them the inevitable years of competing with the authors who set their sights on the major publishing houses. We are not shackled by the politics of the publishing industry at LightSwitcher Books. If we believe the world should see it, we will print it.

Here's to being bold and illuminating and evolved.

Enjoy.

Supernatural Completion

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 14:46:00 +0000

I finally ordered the proofs for my 6 volume book, Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of a God Cosmology. It will be available for the Holiday Shopping season.
Volume 1: Cosmology of God & Jesus
Volume 2: Cosmology of Christianity
Volume 3: Cosmology of the Bible
Volume 4: Cosmology of the Dark Side
Volume 5: Cosmology of Science
Volume 6: Cosmology of Atheism

Three years in the making, this is not a project I would like to do very often. It was mentally, emotionally and physically draining. The amount of research, double-checking, rewriting, formatting and other such mundane details were often mind-numbing. Then there was the constant decision-making about what information goes where--the subject of each volume often overlaps the subject of another, and I was constantly trying to keep track of where it all should go. It was, literally, like working on six books at a time. I crashed my Firefox browser and Word frequently.

But I believe this work is unique, in that it is in 6 volumes; I didn't have to hyperfocus on one area of the subject matter, and condense it down so much. I could cover the territory i wanted to cover--share my journey--without leaving out any crucial bits that ultimately led me to my personal cosmology. I addressed each one I felt was primary in the search for understanding. So the book is fairly comprehensive in that way, though i learned quickly that there could have been another 6 volumes.

Just a couple stats:

In all 6 volumes combined, there are 1,322 pages and I used 477 sources.
I referenced Wikipedia only once, because it was the only place to get a biographical tidbit on a certain person. Otherwise, i used only reputable sources--science, news magazines, journals, newspapers, books-- including many translations of the Bible, and translations of the Septuagint, Pseudepigrapha and other apocryphal texts.

I drew from a wide array of source-types and areas of study. The information and examination I used considered many different disciplines. Some of those include:

anthropobiology -- study of human biology
anthropology -- study of human cultures
archaeology -- study of human material remains
astronomy -- study of celestial bodies
bioecology -- study of interaction of life in the environment
biology -- study of life
bionomics -- study of organisms interacting in their environments
Egyptology -- study of ancient Egypt
epistemology -- study of grounds of knowledge
genesiology -- study of reproduction and heredity
genetics -- branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms
geochronology -- study of measuring geological time
geogeny -- science of the formation of the earth's crust
geogony -- study of formation of the earth
geography -- study of surface of the earth and its inhabitants
geology -- study of earth's crust
geomorphogeny -- study of the origins of land forms
glossology -- study of language; study of the tongue
historiology -- study of history
ichnology -- science of fossilized footprints
iconography -- study of drawing symbols
iconology -- study of icons; symbols
ideogeny -- study of origins of ideas
ideology -- science of ideas; system of ideas used to justify behavior
idiomology -- study of idiom, jargon or dialect
lexicology -- study of words and their meanings
liturgiology -- study of liturgical forms and church rituals
metaphysics -- study of principles of nature and thought
microbiology -- study of microscopic organisms
micropalaeontology -- study of microscopic fossils
mythology -- study of myths; fables; tales
neuropsychology -- study of relation between brain and behavior
noology -- science of the intellect
palaeoanthropology -- study of early humans
palaeobiology -- study of fossil plants and animals
palaeontology -- study of fossils
patrology -- study of early Christianity
philology -- study of ancient texts; historical linguistics
philosophy -- science of knowledge or wisdom
physics -- study of matter and its motion through spacetime
pisteology -- science or study of faith
psychology -- study of mind
psychopathology -- study of mental illness
satanology -- study of the devil
sedimentology -- study of sediment
semantics -- study of meaning
sociobiology -- study of biological basis of human behaviour
sociology -- study of society
stratigraphy -- study of geological layers or strata
theology -- study of religion; religious doctrine
thermodynamics -- study of relation of heat to motion
zooarchaeology -- study of animal remains of archaeological sites
zoogeography -- study of geographic distribution of animals
zoogeology -- study of fossil animal remains
zoology -- study of animals

If understanding belief, religion, God, and truth creates a list like that, then over-simplification of science by Believers, is a little infuriating.

This has been a taxing journey for me, but one which had to be taken. I have grown so much in my knowledge and understanding, and I have absolutely no doubt where i stand on the issue of religion. For myself, or for the world. My hope is that readers will find this work compelling, entertaining, informative and helpful in their own discernment of what they do and do not believe.

Future's So Bright

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:57:00 +0000

Haven't been blogging much. For good reasons, too.

REASON 1: I've been trying to stay on schedule with my writing, and finishing up that monstrous magnum opus of mine: Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of a God Cosmology. The thing began as a single volume, but over the two years I have been working on it, I realized there was much more to it than that. Thus, there are now 6 volumes, which i hope will all be available by the end of the year. I'm a little behind on that, for
REASON 2: i finally met my perfect partner and did that thing i swore I'd never do--the thing I advised everyone else against: moving in right away. But at my age, i figure I know a good thing when i see it, and I didn't want to let it go. I tested her mercilessly. Put her through the paces...and she passed every test. We met March 30th, and have been inseparable ever since. We are now looking at Commitment Ceremony rings.

Add to that the stress of moving, some situational things beyond our control, which also engendered a huge amount of stress, and I've been preoccupied. But our relationship remains strong, and I have no complaints in that department. Also been taking notes on several other books, both fiction and nonfiction, started a publishing house, and have been renovating our house, which was in pretty bad shape. But I feel purposeful. And I'm in love. And the future's so bright, i gotta wear shades.

My Author Bio - by Justice Harlow

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:03:00 +0000

Baeli was born to spin a yarn. The daughter of a professional musician, she arrived in Wichita and began her journey with a song in her heart and a plethora of passion erupting from her pen. This love of lyrics, prose and poetry was just the simple seed of what would grow into a wordsmith's obsession with the creation of multifarious characters and storylines that fork with dual plot lines into romance and intrigue.

Oklahoma, Arkansas and Colorado are just a few locales that surface in Baeli's novels as these places are ones she drank in from her time in University, to retreating for self exploration. Each place is rich in bucolic terrain and provided grand palettes for her mysteries and suspenseful romances. Townies and their coveted colloquialisms provided divine fodder for tales too real to be true.

There is nothing like experience to craft a character. Baeli has plenty to spare—from a stint in the military to late nights spent delivering newspapers or waiting tables. Each job was a necessity, but one that Baeli turned into a study in the human condition or sometimes inhumane conditions. Some of Baeli's fondest endeavors were fronting an all female band for seven years in Little Rock and her enjoyable time as a managing editor for a women's press.

In recent years, Baeli has pursued technology with a perverse passion. Website building, blogging and creating and maintaining online forums have shared the docket with her ever-present story crafting. Baeli has relied on her technical writing roots and expanded her repertoire, enabling her to edit for herself and other writers, both accomplished and aspiring.

With over 200 song writing credits and 15 books to her credit, Kelli Jae Baeli shows no signs of wear. She has returned to her beloved Colorado where she may be found amongst the Denverites, people-watching over coffee and conversation...awaiting the next story to inspire and entrance.
~Justice Harlow

The author can be followed on Twitter @JaeBaeli. Reader and Professional reviews, as well as Feedback, Praises, and First-Born Children, are cheerfully accepted via her website, jaebaeli.com.

ISO review on Internet Dating site

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:04:00 +0000

Found this review on my Book ISO, on an Internet Dating site:

"This is an excellent source of information for the new and/or young lesbian. It is sort of like a beginners manual rather than an all-inclusive in-depth treatise on all subjects concerning lesbians, sex, and dating. Just about right for my niece, a newly out college student, it will be an educational present for her birthday. I am hoping that Ms Baeli will write a similar manual for the older set of lesbians, who could use advice specifically aimed at internet tips, modern dating protocol, and health concerns for the older sexually active lesbian."

It was, indeed, intended to be a "beginner's manual." In the description of the book was this:

“If there were a ‘user’s manual’ for lesbians, this would be it. Baeli attempts to clarify the questions and provide the answers to some of the most pressing issues that young or new lesbians might have–and accomplishes her goal effectively. She does this with integrity, great insight, sincerity as well as a generous dose of sometimes scathing humor.” ~Lightswitcher Books

A great gift for emerging lesbians, curious lesbians and any other lesbian who wishes to find and maintain quality relationships, while avoiding the usual pitfalls of online dating, real-time dating, commitment, and intimacy. ~KIWI Club Reviews

Always great to see my work being recognized. I have considered writing another book in the same vein as ISO, so I will definitely take that suggestion under advisement.

The DNA of DNA

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:57:00 +0000

After completing a novel, I always arrive in this abstract place where I can't focus on anything right away. Some might construe this to be a type of recovery, a vacation from thinking; but in my case that wouldn't be accurate. I am unfamiliar with the experience of not thinking. And Recovery implies that something has been negatively altered in you. Writing always alters me in a positive way.

What happens for me, is more like this: I have created something wonderful that took a long time, was sometimes difficult and even painful, but which has produced something beautiful. It's very much like childbirth. But then, there is the afterbirth (pardon the image). But there is a big mess to clean up. Things need to be wiped down, put back where they go and the room tidied up again. Except all this takes place in my head.

So I ruminate about that book, and several others, think about how it felt, wonder what might be the next thing I do from scratch, consider the possibilities of marketing, that I might want to read someone else's book now, and generally organize the scattered thoughts in my head into a functioning unit again. Once that happens, I can begin anew, to create something else.

~ DNA ~

At the heart of any novel, is the stuff of life. The details are what gives it its uniqueness. Often, the hardest parts about writing a full-length novel are those maddening details.

In my most recently completed book, Also Known As DNA, there was another level, in that it was a sequel. These were characters who already existed in my fictional world. I had to take them through another series of challenges, but also keep track of the facts that existed in the first book, to make sure it remained consistent in the second one. When you write a sequel, there is an amazing amount of detail that has to be recalled or accessed. You have to juggle those details together, and yet be able to separate them and not confuse them with each other.

There is also the usual attention to detail in the plot and character developments that are unfolding in the book you're writing.
Examples:

That destroyed or lost cell phone in one chapter, cannot magically appear five chapters later.
The camera someone has cannot have magically been transported into the hands of another character.They have to have made the exchange at some point.
That character who had three guns--they have to be accounted for later, when guns are being used.
That character could not have been at Point A, when she was just at Point B a few minutes ago.

There are other myriad considerations as well. One of them has to do with the psychology of characters. For instance, the villains. There's a hair-thin line between creating sympathy for a character and creating understanding, while still loathing them. I was worried about that one. I wanted to show a theme throughout the story--how everyone can have bad parents and some people will deal with it well, and some people will become psychos, and this result depends on what's organically/ psychologically in place in that person, to begin with.

I don't want to excuse the bad behavior--but I do still explain how, if they were already unstable--experiences can be responded to understandably, but still in a messed up way --(in Character A) or the experiences distorted until the lie becomes the truth in their minds (in character B).

Kahlil Gibran said, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” My friend Emily C Jones said, "the rest of the quote is And the remaining 98% of sufferers are either dead or traumatized - hard to tell which is which from the massive amounts of scarring.

[laughing] Fair enough.

~ HOW I BEGIN ~

When writing a new book, I will often start with whatever scene inspired me to write it in the first place. Then I will begin to write dialogue between the characters until I get a feel for them (or in the case of this sequel, until the reader gets a feel for them, since I already understand who they are. New characters, excepted). The story becomes largely a running dialogue, with very little description, unless it's some scene that comes to me later. I believe wholeheartedly in the ability of characters to tell you their story. I am often as surprised as a reader would be when a character says something. But what they choose to say, often guides the plot.

I will also use bits and pieces of notes I've taken about people and places, and filed away. One of these scenes I used in this book. I shared it with another writer-friend at the time i wrote that odd scene, and she said,"Who is that guy and why is he chasing her?"
"I don't know," I said.
"Well, what's the point of her climbing through that window?"
"I'm not sure," I answered.
"Then how do you know what you're writing about?"
"I don't."
That's the point. I knew that scene would be useful at some point in one of my books.

I write organically, and I want to experience the story as it unfolds, so that I can enjoy it just as a reader would. That way, I have a clear idea of how it might affect the reader, by knowing how it is affecting me. And this method also insures that I will never tire of the process, or get bored with the story because I don't really know what's going to happen, or where it's all going to end. This doesn't mean i don't clean it up and make everything work in concert later, but I just save that for one of the editing passes.

On this book, I initially jumped ahead to a halfway point and wrote a few chapters and then ahead again, to the end. I actually got to the end of the book. I usually don't like that, because, as I said, I don't want to know what happens that quickly (though, having finished the book, the ending took place elsewhere and was slightly different, so it was still quite satisfying, even though i had an idea of what would happen. For this story, it was more about the journey than the end).

Writing to the end gave me only around 100 pages, and naturally that's not enough to make it a book--and it's tempting to say "maybe this is just a long story...or at best, a novella." But I know from experience that it only indicates I have not fleshed it out enough, haven't done the hard work. The story will fill out after I find all the right components to make that happen. I research and I use details about places and people that are largely authentic, as much as possible. In those researched details, more ideas usually emerge. For instance, I found a location, that quite by accident, had the same name as a meaningful word in the previous book. What I call a Happy Accident. And I used it, allowing the character to notice that synchronicity. I wrote about using Google maps when I write my books. There's a reason for that. I can get all the details I need for moving my characters around, and in the process, I gain grist for the creative mill. I trust that process because I've done it so many times.

So--the initial problem, after that first 100 pages, was that the first-person point of view was limiting the story. Somehow it worked for the first book, but this one seemed different. I still did not want to lose that POV, though, because it was such a integral part of the first book--that voice. That main character. So I used first-person with that main character, and when I needed to show the other characters without her in the scene, I would tell their story in third person omniscient, always cuing the reader by using a different chapter each time I did that. That opened the story up immensely, and solved the problem.

Then, I had to start looking for several things:

were there enough characters to fill out the story? Did I need to add a few new ones? Yes. And I did.
where are the gaps of time? When that character spoke of the two weeks that had gone by, I had to ask, what did she do during that time?
How did the new characters interact with the main character, and what's their backstory?
Can there be an unexpected alliance between two characters? What's that dynamic like?
are there any Happy Accidents in the text just straining to be explored?

This is, of course, not the complete picture of what goes on in the process, but it is a portion of it.

~ AFTERGLOW ~
So, after I have completed a book, I am beset with a sensation of afterglow. I feel I have just had sex. Good sex. So far, I've copulated 15 times.

Mystery Post-it

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:37:00 +0000

I've lamented my handwriting before. But it does tend to be a reappearing issue in decidedly aggravating ways. Like yesterday, i jotted down a note while i was talking to someone on the phone, because it was really important. Now, i don't know what that note says. I can read the number, and yes, i could call that number and try to jog my memory by listening to how they answer the phone, but I'm always afraid i'll call, and I'll just get Hello? And there I'll be: not knowing what to say, because i don't know who I'm calling, or why. All because of a coalition between my Swiss cheese memory and poor penwomanship.

It would go something like this:

"Hello?" the mystery number answers.
"Um...who is this?"
"Who is THIS?" he counters.
"I asked you first."
"Bob."
"Bob?" I say. "The guy in the commercials?"
"What?"
"Never mind."

Now sure, at that point, I could just opt for honesty, like I always do about nearly everything, but by then, I've embarrassed myself. And I wouldn't know how pertinent that would be, because I wouldn't know who this person was supposed to be to me--yet.

ADDENDUM (added later)
Sherlock that I am, i looked at my daybook again, and there, on the other side of the pen, was the clue. "Julie's Mechanic"--now, granted, it took me a moment to decipher the handwriting for THAT, too. But it reminded me what that number was. And then I could make out the text above the number as Chet's Automotive. --and the the word below, which was Broadway. The street it was on. Problem solved. But it will happen again, because no matter how many times i try to improve my handwriting, those muscles have just atrophied with the advent of the much faster and more legible keyboard.

"Which one is your favorite?"

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:50:00 +0000

Whenever i come across someone new who finds out I'm an author, and they decide they want to read one of my novels, I ask them which one. They inevitably respond with, "Well, which one is your favorite?"

This is a question that has no answer. My books are sort of like children--except for the fact that they don't get in trouble or embarrass me in Wal-Mart--but they are special and loved in their own way. I created them, I went through a process of "raising" them; struggle, joy, challenge, frustration, laughter....So if you ask me which is my favorite, I can't choose. I love them all equally for different reasons.

This situation also might have something to do with the fact that I don't write formula fiction, or one genre of fiction (Unless you count that there is always some mystery or unanswered question afoot in the story--but most stories have that or they wouldn't hold our interest). Genre specific writers like Koontz and King might not have this issue, because they generally stay within the parameters of one type of story (i.e., Horror, thriller, suspense). But i write in 14 genres. (Not that I have 14 different novels in 14 different genres, but this is to say that I write in many forms when I write). So I would have no idea what a person might like unless I know them well. And even then, it's a crap shoot. A potential reader, asking me this question would have to tell me what other authors they read, or what other genres or themes they enjoy most. Then, I can suggest one of mine.

They want mainstream, contemporary fiction with medical and/or legal content, with perhaps a killer on the loose? I would suggest Achilles Forjan.

Mainstream contemporary fiction about families and relationships and secrets and struggle? Baggage.

A lesbian love story mixed in with a mystery and a female sleuth? Armchair Detective.

A quirky, humorous Southern Gothic kind of story with lesbians? Plethora.

A lesbian romance with a suspenseful edge? As You Were.

A highly erotic lesbian story of discovery and trust, that also has a plot and characters you can care about? Random Act of Blindness.

Yes, I have more stories about lesbians than I do about anything else, because, as they say, you write about what you know (though I often break that rule, because I want to learn something and so I learn it in order to write about it). But I also know that people are people and even straight people will find themselves or someone they know in those stories. If they don't, maybe they should get out more. And I do have a few other mainstream books on the way. So before long, there should be something for everyone.

Just don't ask me which one is my favorite.

Reviews of Random Act of Blindness

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:16:00 +0000

Reviews of Random Act of Blindness

5 out of 5 stars

"Intelligent and classy book...

Being a straight married female, I wasn't sure what to expect as I began reading this novel. I am accustomed to anything labeled "erotica" being seedy and without plot. This book was a welcome surprise! It is written with intelligence and class. Any awkward feelings I felt as a "straight" person as I began reading this-my first example of "gay erotica"-immediately paralleled the awkwardness being felt in the first few pages by the main character which allowed me to relate, as it should anyone, gay or straight, and keep reading. These characters are so real anyone should be able to identify with them. I loved the clever dialogue! Combine this great characterization with a compelling plot and it becomes about the story, not the sex. However, for those of you interested in the sexual encounters, they are such that would make any couple envious!

In the end, what I found was a very intelligent,witty,and compelling love story about the kind of fulfilling relationship that everyone searches for yet few rarely find in their lifetime. No matter who the lovers may be, no one should ever condemn true love. A truly great read written by an obviously intelligent and witty author! Kudos, Jae Baeli!
~Tanya Gotcher
Little Rook, AR
---------------------------------------------------------

Brilliant!!!! I just finished reading Jae's book, "Random Act Of Blindness." I'm not accustomed to writing reviews, so please bear with me as I share my experience of this book. I had scanned excerpts from the book twice before, thinking, "well, this will be a juicy read," not realizing what lay forward. I started reading from the beginning earlier tonight and I couldn't stop until the last page. My initial perception of the story changed after the first 20 pages or so. What I thought was going to be a typical erotic story, ended up being everything but. The characters were authentically portrayed, vividly real. As I read, I felt like a starving soul voraciously hanging onto whatever morsel the next line would leave me with. I wanted more... I was filled with surprises, chuckles, and deeply immersed in the emotional experiences of the characters. Jae's talent with words and the ability to transport the reader to a delightful and entertaining journey is first rate! From the taboos of forbidden sex, to the apprehension of blossoming love, I was transfixed from the first word to the last. I highly recommend this book!!!
Now I can't wait to read the rest of them...... Thanks Jae........well done!
~Sandi Partee
Maine

New Reviews of Plethora

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:14:00 +0000

5 out of 5 stars
"An absolutely beautiful love story about women...

If you are a woman - lesbian, straight, or in-between - you owe it to yourself to read this beautiful love story about women. Or, even if you're man seeking to understand the nature of women, this book is a great place to start.

Though the story focuses on two particular women, it also speaks to the universal nature of women to want to give and receive love, to be cherished for who we are by another human being, and to share a nurturing life-long commitment with another human being. This story is about the quest of two wonderfully resilient women to find a relationship that includes all of these things. It's just a beautifully told love story about the unique and intimate experience of being a woman. The characters reminded me of my own friends, and even of myself. The events and situations, good and bad, happy and sad, were equally identifiable. As I read this book, I felt as if I were sitting in a cafe with a female friend having a conversation about our lives while sipping on our mocha lattes. In the end, as I closed the book, I was sad to leave this fictional world which I understood so completely and in which I was so comfortable. But more than that, I felt satisfied and proud to be the "plethora" that is Woman.
~By Tanya Gotcher
Little Rock, AR

Kelli, you've done it again! This book is quirky, entertaining and funny, actually hilarious in parts. I found myself reading out parts to my partner. You made the characters feel like friends, I felt like I was there with them. Once again, I cant wait to read another of your novels.
~Jo Cincotta
Australia
on weRead

New Review of Armchair Detective

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:08:00 +0000

New Review of Armchair Detective on weRead

BRAVO! Kelli Jae Baeli, Armchair Detective had me captivated from beginning to end. I really hope you plan on doing a sequel to this book as I'd love to read more about Jobeth O'Brien and Phoebe McMasters. Jobeth O'Brien is a paper delivery girl trying to make ends meet. She wants to be a private investigator, so studies this in her 'off' time. Phoebe McMasters is a rich, lonely housewife who is married to a not so nice man. Phoebe and Jobeth have a chance meeting when Jobeth is delivering Phoebe's paper. They soon become firm friends then lovers. Jobeth takes on an 'unofficial' PI job from a man who is being blackmailed. This leads to some very sticky situations as Jobeth tries to help him. The graphic descriptions of these characters made me sit on the edge of my seat, hardly containing myself, wanting to know what is going to happen next. I found myself laughing, crying and holding my breath with Jobeth and Phoebe. I felt like I was there with these ladies experiencing all that they saw and did. As the plot got more intriguing, I found I couldnt just put this book down, I HAD to read more. This is definately one of my favourite books.
~Jo Cincotta,
Australia

Sand Animation

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:59:00 +0000

We often hear people say "that's amazing" but this epitomizes the word. That something as simple as sand and light and human hands can create art so profound and breathtaking and emotive--it just defies description. You must treat yourself to this 8 minutes. It will be well spent.

Jae, Singular, in Need of Plural

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:52:00 +0000

Being a full time writer has its advantages.

I can work in my pajamas.

I can eat when I want, go for a walk when I want, sleep when I want.

But don't be fooled by this alleged freedom. There's always a trade-off in life. For me, the concessions are:

*a social life that flounders and dies if I don't keep after it,

*a sometimes overwhelming loneliness,

*a constant struggle to have enough money to do the things i really want to do,

*a pervasive sense of unease when i put my work out there, but often don't know how it's being received. I am therefore grateful for the feedback I do get from my loyal readers. It's like manna.
*and I've found that potential romantic interests are intimidated by the fact that I've written 14 books, and decide they don't want to be involved with a writer, because of the stigma that writers are somehow depressed or insane.

Early on in this writing career of mine, when I was dealing with only one or two books, it was a snap. But now that I have written 14 books, I feel I am not only performing the job of 5 people, but taking on their workloads as well. I have fallen behind on some things.

For instance, I finally have 10 of my books on Amazon, but four more that need a final proof and approval from me to join them--Strictly Academic, Crossing Paths, Wear a Helmet, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being UNBEARABLE...

Then I've got to give some attention to marketing and posting articles on different sites to drum up traffic to my own sites. And there's the 5 or 6 or 7 other books I am working on, in various degrees of completion and attention.

Also Known As DNA, the sequel to Armchair Detective, is coming along nicely, now that I solved the POV issue and used both first-person and third-person to tell the story. I have about 274 pages on that one. Then I have to do an unknown number of line edits and other specific edits i do which requires me to go from start to finish each time. How many other people read the same book 50 times?

SIDEBAR: (okay MIDDLEBAR):: I think there's a major misconception about writers, in that the reading public imagines them typing and typing and then finally reaching the end, doing some revision and rewriting, and viola! They have written a book. I can't speak for other authors, but that's about as likely for me as drowning in the Caspian Sea while being sodomized by dolphins. (I apologize right now to all dolphins. I truly believe you are loving creatures who would never violate me in such a way, unless i asked.) My process involves quite a lot of reading the book front to back, because otherwise, you lose the flow and miss important things. More on my process later in another blog. But just suffice to say, writing a book is laborious and requires great dedication,if it's to be done correctly.

So, AKA-DNA will also need beefing up and several more passes of my attention, before sending the manuscript for printing the proof copy, which i will edit, and so will my Primary Proofer, Tanya Penny Gotcher. Then the revisions and corrections will be sent in again, and in another week or two, go live on Amazon. I'm glad I'm sitting down--just talking about that makes me tired.

And then I have to decide which book is next. Maybe Somewhere Else...or Is It Just Me? (collaborative with Tanya)...or Another Justice....or Falling Through the Cracks...or Quintessence....or maybe FINALLY deciding how I'm going to handle my magnum opus, Supernatural Hypocrisy. That 600 page behemoth has to be tamed somehow.

I genuinely wish I could clone myself. I'd get SO MUCH done. And what could be better than the enjoyment of writing 5 or 6 books at once? I mean, using clones. I'm already writing 5 or 6 books at once, just little old singular me. Just Jae, singular, in need of Plural. And to make matters worse, I'm considering (again) starting a small press of my own. I have been doing all that anyway.

Excerpt from Somewhere Else

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:44:00 +0000

(book in progress)

~The Color of Confusion ~

Cornelius paused with vermilion loaded up on his brush, about to make a bold swath across the canvas, when he noticed Daelah. Placing the laden brush in his teeth, he reached down and readjusted the position of his wheelchair so he could see her better.
      At the end of the long corridor leading to the kitchen, she stood at the foot of the stairs, looking up at the ceiling, and down at her hands, and touching her own face.
      Cornelius frowned, a drop of vermilion free falling from the end of his brush onto a dried spot of cobalt blue on his sweats.
      A tapping grew louder and he twisted toward the back hallway leading out of the living room as Jubal made his way toward Cornelius, seated at his easel. Jubal moved the white-tipped cane back and forth in front of him. Tap. Tap. Tap, Tap.
     Cornelius took the brush from his mouth and caught his attention. "Psst!"
      Jubal paused, one hand on the saxophone dangling from a cord around his chalky neck, the other on the cane. His lifting of eyebrows at the sound made his wraparound sunglasses bob upward on his nose. "What?" he whispered back.
      Keeping his voice in a whisper, still, he said, "Have you noticed anything strange about Daelah today?""How would I notice anything about Daelah?" The blind man smirked.
      He swiped a hand down his face, to smooth his Van Dyke style goatee. "You know what I mean."
      "Well, yes. . ." He took a few steps forward, sliding the tip of the cane along the wood floor in front of him. "She smells different."
      "Smells different?"
      "Yeah."
      "New perfume?"
      "Nope. Individual, natural scent is different."
      "Okay, weirdness." Cornelius turned back to watch Daelah who was now reaching toward the ceiling, stretching like a cat, and moaning with pleasure.
      Jubal cocked his head toward her sounds. "What the hell is she doing? Playing with herself?"
      "Just stretching. . .but weird, like she's never stretched before. She seems to be enjoying it too much."
      Jubal took measured steps forward, made a left face, and then moved quietly down the hall, holding his cane against his chest. He paused not three feet behind her, and put the saxophone to his lips, blowing a rude honk at her.
      She jumped, stumbled against the wall and stared at him
      Feigning ignorance, he said, "Oh, is someone there?" He lifted his cane and swept it side to side, comically searching for her.
      In the living room threshold, Cornelius let out a humorous huff. His friend Jubal enjoyed playing the sightless eccentric all the way to the bone. He had embraced his disability with unusual flair.Daelah looked at the tall, angular blind man. Almost-flawless skin, paled from a lack of sunshine. She knew better than to say, who are you? She was aware of several things she suspected she should know at this point, but precisely who this blind man was, she wasn't sure about. "You scared me," she offered instead.
      "Oh. Sorry." He lowered the cane.
      "How can you sneak up like that when—"
      He knew she meant to add, when you're blind. "I have sonar like a dolphin. I can sense the walls and obstacles. . .I can feel the ions in the air, parting for my passage."
      "Right," came the snide remark a short distance behind Jubal.
      Cornelius rolled down the hall toward them and watched Daelah lean out to see past Jubal toward the approaching wheelchair.
      Jubal cocked his head. "Are you okay, Daelah? You smell funny."
      "What?"
      "Huh?" he responded, just as confused about her misunderstanding as she was about his statement. She knew he had a keen sense of smell. The subject had come up many times before. She knew he noticed the minutiae most people missed.
      Daelah frowned again as the man in the wheelchair stopped beside the blind man. Jubal released his hold on the saxophone to sweep his hand at waist level, toward Cornelius, catching him in the face. "Oh, there you are," Jubal said.
      "Stop it!" Cornelius reprimanded him, slapping his hand away. His antics could be so aggravating.
      Addressing the still-baffled looking woman in front of him, Cornelius said, "You seem weird today, Daelah."
      "I do?"
      "Yes."
      "I. . ." She glanced to her right, up the staircase. "I think I'll go up and lie down for awhile." She turned and climbed the steps, showing interest in the photos on the stairway wall, and glancing back at them as if they were friendly house-spiders, but spiders, just the same.
      As she disappeared around the landing, the two men waited in silence for a moment, then Cornelius spun his chair and rolled back down the hallway toward the living room, the vermilion-loaded brush in his teeth again.
      Jubal followed him, and took a seat in a chair to play his sax.
      Upstairs, Daelah sank down on the edge of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and considered her own confusion.
      For the last few minutes, she had been trying to assimilate the volumes of information that had seemingly been downloaded into her brain. Everything from how to tie her shoes, to the relative merits of clean underwear.
      She was Daelah Murdock. She felt like herself. But something had changed. That much was clear, if only by the reaction of these two housemates. The blind man and the cripple. They seemed familiar, but she didn't know them, as odd as that contradiction was.
      Then, she recalled the dream that had played out in her mind just before she emerged from nocturnal bliss that morning.
      A glowing white essence, shaped somewhat like an elongated teardrop, had told her, telepathically, "Thank you." Daelah had no way of knowing what she, herself, looked like in the dream, but sensed she was also a glowing essence. She had reached out to grasp the wrist that emerged from the glowing essence—a human wrist, that clenched her own in farewell.
      When the Teardrop Essence vanished, her dreamself noticed a tattoo on her inner forearm of a strange symbol. Then she woke, and the tattoo was not on her skin, and she sat up to draw the symbol on the pad of paper on the nightstand. Then she had found the bathroom and hurried to look in the mirror, and was stunned by the sensation that the face looking back at her in the glass was not her own. Then she had not recognized the room, and had gone downstairs to look around.
      Now, frowning down at the paper, she sensed that the symbol was important, but wasn't quite sure why. The shape resembled an ankh, the universal symbol of eternal life, but it was like a blending of two ankhs, one upright, the other upside down, and joined at the stems.
      Daelah spent the next few hours roaming around the bedroom, seeking clues to her befuddlement. The bedspread was an aggravating shade of pink, and there was a pink dust ruffle made of lace around the bed. She hated it. Likewise, the matching horridly pink lampshade on the nightstand, had engendered more repulsion. Though the walls were a standard eggshell color, they were festooned with all things pink.
      This could not possibly be her own room, though she had awakened here. Peering down at herself, she noticed she was wearing a hideous pink nightgown with lace around the collar. She pulled it off her like it was on fire, and hurried to the closet.
      Inside the wardrobe nook, her efforts to find more agreeable attire had met with a nightmarish array of pink, salmon, lavender, and fuchsia. The singular exception was a black T-Shirt, banished to the far end of the clothes rod. She turned it toward her to look at it. A depiction of a bread-like ring bejeweled with fruit and nuts graced the front, and below it in white letters was the word Fruitcake. No doubt this was a gift from someone with a sense of humor who was making a veiled suggestion about the pink-woman's mental status.
The Pink Woman. She had framed it as though the pink woman was not her. But it wasn't her. Yet here she was, being her.
      As she pulled the black fruitcake T-Shirt over her head, snatched a pair of jeans and pulled them on, and added some atrocious pink sneakers to her–no surprise—pink socks, she felt a little more like herself. Whoever that was.
      Emerging from the closet, she stood in the middle of the room and thought about it all. She wasn't herself. Couldn't be. What did that mean?
      Her trip downstairs a few minutes ago, did not garner her much information. The house was like a familiar place from long ago, yet almost erased from her memory. When the blind man and the cripple appeared, things became even more confusing.
      Sitting back down on the bed, she listened for a moment to the blind man playing saxophone downstairs. She recognized the tune as Patsy Cline's "Crazy." It was a little crazy that she recognized the song, but not the guy who played it—a guy who obviously lived in her house. . .or she in his.
      She picked up the wretched pink purse, and pulled out the aggravating pink wallet. The driver's license read,

Daelah Murdock

72 North Tapioca

Cedar City, Utah.

Tapioca? Who the hell would live on a street called Tapioca? Was Pudding Circle all full-up? Daelah perused the license again. She was apparently female, and 36 years old.

About the book:
A non-physical soul makes an agreement with another incarnated soul to take over her body. The Walk-in, perhaps too fearless, and too hungry for the pleasures of the flesh, discovers she has inherited the life of Daelah Murdock, a Mormon goody-two -shoes with a pathological attachment to the color pink. As a live-in caregiver for two men--one blind, the other wheelchair bound--Daelah's life seems bland and puerile. Yet someone is trying to kill her.
_____________________________________
Somewhere Else, (c)Kelli Jae Baeli

New Review of my book RAOB

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:18:00 +0000

Review of Random Act of Blindness on weRead:

"I didn't want to put this book down, the characters had me hooked from the start, the erotica so real, I wanted to be there. Its not often I find a book that has me enthralled from beginning to end, Random Act of Blindness is one of the few. I am so looking forward to my next novel by Kelli Jae Baeli." ~ Joanne Cincotta

Excerpts:

EXCERPTS:

Never, in all her days, had she imagined herself in a position like this. Vivid fantasies aside, Rachel had never considered acting on the impulses that invaded her thoughts throughout the day. They were private affairs stored only in some scurrilous recess of her mind. Yet her mind interacted with other minds, and often, there were fragments of information to be had in decidedly ironic ways. Doctor Bass, for instance, listened to her confession of the scandalous gearshift penetration mirage, and fantasy bondage scenarios and produced a copy of the bondage magazine. While not something Professor Rachel Leeds believed would qualify as a "literary device," it was nonetheless pivotal in the events in which she was now participating. Namely, being on her way to a hardware store to find something to use as a whip on the girl who lay naked and bound in hotel room number 66, the Mark-of-the-Almost-Beast.

Faith. To believe in things not yet seen, they say. Patrice was faithful a long time ago. Then she communed with the faithless, and their cloying demands. She needed evidence because it made her feel foolish. And faith was lost. But the bitterness left her cold, barefoot, detached from the warmth of love and connection. Then she discovered a different faith. One born of her own power, left untapped for eons, swirling, ebullient, joyful. And now, coming full circle, she found herself wholly unqualified, still, to manifest from faith alone. Yet, perfectly accustomed to crying alone, wishing alone. Hope did not float. It sat on the bottom, weighted by its own lie.

The Organic Fiction Method

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:57:00 +0000

The Organic Fiction Method of writing is a formula that springs from the natural flow as you add to the story; it means not relying on a steadfast outline, but rather, being open to the events and developments that might come from minor and major details that evolve as your story reveals itself.

I am an organic writer. I might begin a story or novel idea with just one scene, one snippet of dialogue, a single image, one idea or concept. These 'seedlings', as I call them, can appear from many different sources, which I will not expound upon in this article, except to say that they can come from conversations you have had or overheard, dreams you've had or others have told you about, news items, personal experiences, and so on.

The plot can be an organic process in that you may not be sure where it's going to end up, or the pit-stops it might make beforehand, but some detail in setting, motivation, or theme will lead to another facet that fills it out. This is where research can be beneficial. If you learn all you can about the subjects you're illustrating, those details alone can often provide you with seedlings that gel (sometimes almost magically) with the other elements of your plot.

For instance, in Also Known As DNA, a sequel to Armchair Detective (which is in progress), I moved my characters to another state. In the first book, the main character drove a '62 Falcon, and it was important in the story; the main character also referred to the other main character's house as "the Manor." So in researching the area for the new book, I discovered a setting i needed, and it was called Falcon Mountain. And then I discovered that the perfect house for them just happened to be located on Manor Lane. All quite accidental discoveries, but significant in more ways than one. And the synchronicities like that which often appear can give your writing process a little boost.

Unless you're basing a character on someone real, whom you already know well and want to use, characters can be organic, too. I never write out personal histories for my characters, as I find that stifling, and frankly, it's time wasted that could be better used in writing the actual story. If you spend all that time getting every detail of your character in place, the process of writing the book will, in my experience, force you to omit those details or change them entirely, so I prefer to just have that general idea and then see what is required. This all depends on your own approach to the writing. Some write from plot, some from character (Hence, the phrases "plot-driven" and "character-driven"). But I allow both plot and character to remain organic and this keeps the process exciting. It's almost as though I am "reading" the book with as much anticipation as a regular reader would, because honestly, I'm not quite sure how it will turn out. I enjoy letting characters tell me the rest through the machinations of the story. Sometimes these things fall together through dialogue, and sometimes in some other mysterious way that has to do with setting, motivation, seasons, unexpected events, or any number of other possibilities.

In one of my novels, a character once appeared whom I had not even created. Two of my established characters were on their front porch in their isolated country home, and "Tilly" suddenly just rode up on horseback and began to reveal herself to be strange and interesting, and I have no idea, to this day, where she came from.

This is part of the exhilaration of being an Organic Fiction Writer. Writing in this way helps insure that you don't tire of the process. The journey is one that you take just like a reader, but you just get to take it before they do.

I Wish I Could Write

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:04:00 +0000

When most people say "I wish I could write," they are referring to the ability to compose--usually, prose. Since I am a writer by vocation and by perhaps genetic predisposition, when I say "I wish I could write" I mean longhand. I wish I could pick up a pen or pencil and scribble words on the pages of a journal as I used to. But I can't. Not for much longer than a few sentences, anyway. I have horrible penmanship (or Penwomanship).

Somehow, as the years have gone by, my longhand muscles have atrophied. I actually get hand cramps, and the next day, can't even read what I scribbled on a Post-it the night before. I suspect some of this decline is through disuse-- with the evolution of the writing instrument--but it's not as though there were no typewriters when I was a young writer. Contrary to the grumblings of my midlife crisis, I'm not THAT old. I used typewriters quite a bit.

But I also wrote longhand, in journals and on steno-pads, and legal pads. I haven't kept a handwritten journal since about 1990. The allure of my fingers flying across the keys that placed uniformly neat and legible words on a page at a rate closer to the speed of my thoughts, was at once too seductive to ever allow me passage back to the drudgery of longhand.

And it's a good thing, too, because my penmanship is like the footprints of worker ants through ink. Most self-respecting graphologists would analyze it and pronounce me criminally insane.

Lewis Black on Writing, Blogging and Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Writing Words of Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:39:00 +0000

I was recently asked (again) for words of wisdom regarding being a writer and seeking publication. So i thought i would just blog it.

I have some strong opinions about writing and publishing, springing from my own experience over 20-25 years of pursuing it, and numerous blogs, articles, essays, and having written and rewritten 13 books; added to this is also webmastering, book cover design, typography, editing, and publishing. I wanted to learn all the aspects of completing a book.

My most commonly offered caveat is this: don't fall in love with your words; fall in love with your craft. That's when you will begin the process of being a quality writer.

This subject is voluminous, and I can't do it justice in just a few paragraphs, but the other words of wisdom I will offer are these:

The competition to be a published writer is fierce. The dream of getting published has been overly-romanticized in the media so that many beginning writers think not only that writing is easy, but that they have a good chance of getting a contract from a major house. The odds are, realistically, one in a million--maybe worse than that. We hear about the success stories, not the ones who spend their lives toiling for that dream, to the exclusion of everything else, only to wind up poor, alone, lacking in social skills, and profoundly jaded that life has passed them by. There are so many unpublished writers who pursue this dream, and publishers and agents have had to crack down on the criteria to even LOOK at work sent. And it is very expensive for a writer to submit manuscripts, what with an ink cartridge costing around $30 and then adding the paper cost and the mailing costs, and that's just PER MANUSCRIPT. Common advice tells us that we must do this hundreds of times, and continually if we ever hope to get traditionally published. You have to pour lots of money into the endeavor over a period of many years, sometimes. And more often than not, this investment does not return.

Often, then, self-publishing is the only option if a writer wants to get her work out there. There's little point in spending your entire life hoping, while your words stay in a drawer. I believe as writers we are meant to honor that talent, and share it, otherwise, what's the point of having it? Fortunately, we live in an era where technology allows us some autonomy and some tools to make this happen. So, do whatever you have to do to get your work out there. If it's good, it might eventually get noticed and picked up by a major house or agent--that frequently has more to do with who you know, than how much you submit your work. So cultivate connections. And also try to go small or medium press. If you get a contract from one of them, you can use those books to woo larger fish.

Additionally, a writer who aspires to be published traditionally, needs to make sure she has a dependable source of income other than writing. And she needs to have other things and people in her life that bring her joy and satisfaction. This makes the journey pleasing, rather than a chore. And anyway, without a vibrant social life, you run out of things to write about. You must feed the well with people and events and experiences in order to keep your writing vibrant.

Changes are desperately needed in the publishing industry. Old School is just not working in our modern society. Publishers should be more open to self-published submissions. There is still, however, a haughtiness and arrogance among the Industry Insiders, and this does nothing to advance the cause of bringing great writing to the reading public. The process has been politicized by the Bottom Line.

Also, while there's a pretension in the publishing community, this is also true of the writing community, which is that if you self-publish, you must not be a good writer. This is not always accurate (though, admittedly, there ARE writers who self-publish but have not mastered their craft in any way). Still, there are many quality writers who self publish--they are among all the other writers who strive to see their work in print and available to the reading consumer. You might have to dig a little, but they can be found. And you can be among them if you really want to share your work.

You have to ask yourself what's more important: The prestige of major-house publication, or honoring the talent and sharing it? I take a more humanistic view of all this, as you might guess by now. I think it's more important to get the work out there, than cling to it against overwhelming odds. Writers usually are good at living inside their own fiction. This is fine on the page, but doesn't work so well in the real world.

Genre Horizons: RAOB

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:55:00 +0000

Random Act of Blindness is unlike any of my other books...I say that with a generous leeway in definition, because none of my books is like any of my other books.

But i was trying to do something that was not only different for me, but different for authors in general. I wanted to take a genre that is relegated to the fringes, and elevate it into a mainstream sensibility. I wanted to write an erotic book with three- dimensional characters, a recognizable plot, and a handling of the material that made a reader care about what happened to the people in the story. I think I accomplished that, and so it is a book I am very proud of.

I think that authors often underestimate their readers--authors and perhaps publishers, agents, editors and marketeers. If a writer gains fame with a breakthrough novel, he then seizes on that formula and begins to write the same story over and over again; the same people, dressed up in different clothes. There are only a handful of authors I feel write with a certain formula, but still manage to write something new each time. Those are the authors Ii continue to read. And I will read everything they write, with little concern for what genre it falls into; in this way, I believe that many formula writers do their readers a disservice. I remain interested in that author because of his/her command of the language, the ability to create characters I care about; the cleverness to keep me guessing, and the presence of mind to tie up the loose ends and give me a satisfactory ending that will not leave me feeling as though I had wasted my precious time. I want to come away from a book feeling good about something. That doesn't mean I need fairy tales, either (although, really, fairy tales are notoriously dramatic, gory and often filled with characters and deeds no child should be privy to--Hansel and Gretel anyone?)

I find it exciting to hear of a favorite author breaking out of one genre and leaping into another. I can't wait to read that book. It's like seeing your love in new clothes; like driving a new car; like a meal you only get to have once a year, but that you love above all other meals. Thus, I hope to see more authors expand their genre-horizons. There are enough clones out there--both stories and writers. Give me a new species and my interest will be as intense as it originally was with the one that preceded it.

Reading Shakespeare

noreply@blogger.com (Jae Baeli) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:38:00 +0000

NOTE: this idea came to me after a thought of Shakespeare came into my head...and i recalled how it was so difficult at first, but then noticed how you develop an ear for it..and how i wish i had read ALL of Shakespeare's works. Most classics i could give a damn for, but Shakespeare was in a class all his own. Then i had the thought that the description of how it is to read Shakespeare is often how it is to understand something our brains don't at first comprehend...and a metaphor was born...like coming onto some scene or predicament that makes us stop, in dumbfounded silence, and we struggle to make sense of it. Then i thought how that would make a good scene, esp using the Shakespeare reference. And this is what came out in the freewriting. (Surprisingly, in 2nd Person, which I never write in, so that made me think maybe i need to write something that way)...

It was like reading Shakespeare: at first, you think it's a foreign language, for which you have no understanding, and then you recognize that it's English, just well-wrought. And then you develop an ear for its cadence, a clarity for its depth and humor, and finally, you wish you had read all his works, years ago, for they may have helped you avoid the current predicament in which you find yourself.

Your phone rings and the cat shoots straight into the air, landing wide-eyed on the mottled carpet. It wasn't that your cat was jittery, but she was sleeping on top of your cell phone. Usually, it was set on vibrate. And she knew that, and liked it when it rang. It sends her into paroxysms of writhing. But you had changed it to ring because you were in the other room, frying baloney for a sandwich. You wanted to be able to hear it, but couldn't carry it around. You had on your underwear and there were no pockets. And you wanted to remain in your underwear for a just a little longer.

But now.
Now there was this.
This confusing, shocking, Shakespearian tragedy on the floor in front of you.
And the niggling question at the back of your mind is, Since there is only one window, not much bigger than a porthole, and only one door, off the kitchen, where you were, which leads down the stairs from this attic abode of yours, how did this little surprise get past you and onto your bedroom floor?