So I originally began this blog as a way for family, friends, and fans to follow my writing progress for my first book, Fallen & Forgotten...that's a lot of F's! I plan on posting on that in a later post, but today wanted to talk about the concept of fallen angels in writing. I stumbled across the website of young adult author, Becca Fitzpatrick, and read about her fallen angel series. Wanting to learn more about her books, I went to Youtube hoping to find some information. I stumbled across polandbananasBOOKS' channel and found it to be pretty interesting. She is a young woman who does book reviews. I was at first annoyed by her hyperactivity and didn't think that I would get much out of the fifteen-minute video, but actually found myself amused by her fast paced talking and excitement.
I'm not sure what drew me to XTINEMAY, but she's totally someone who I would want to be friends with in real life. In fact, I would be really honored if she reviewed one of my books in the future. I had to agree with almost every point that she made about the first book in Fitzpatrick's fallen angel series, Hush Hush, and I haven't even read the book yet! I was glad when she brought up Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. Both Fitzpatrick and Meyer are mormon women who attended Brigham Young University, so maybe that has something to do with their similar plots and characters. I'm not sure what is so intriguing about falling in love with mythological or supernatural creatures. My fallen angel story does not include love or having to pick between two ungodly sexy men. It focuses entirely on an angel's fall and not teenage romance. It gives me hope that there is a much more darker audience for my fallen angel novel. I am considering reading the fallen angel stories in the market, just so I can know what to stay away from. Although Becca Fitzpatrick is a New York Times best selling author, I wouldn't want to write anything similar to what is already out there. It's funny, I hate reading, and rarely ever am in the mood to pick up a book. Most people say that it is good to read so that we can get inspired by ideas. I would actually only read so that I would know what NOT to write. Below is a book trailer for Hush Hush. I've always been turned off by book trailers because they normally include pictures, text, and cheesy music. As someone who first went to film school, I would prefer real actors to bring the book trailer to life, like when dozens of famous people came together to build the live action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Nevertheless, the trailers for Fitzpatrick's writing aren't all that bad, so take a look and let me know what you think!
I don't read, and I therefore most certainly do not follow any authors on Facebook. However, I did most recently visit the Facebook Page of Cassandra Clare, the author of the acclaimed The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifacts series. The last book that I have ever touched was written by her. I set that series down in 2010 and haven't looked back. It's not that the writing is bad. In fact, it is far greater than the words combined by Stephenie Meyer! I have just lost interest in reading as a whole. In my eyes, an author's professional Facebook page should inform their readers of upcoming novels, events related to their writing, and maybe some inside background to their stories that one would only be able to access by following them. Authors shouldn't be afraid to get a little personal with their readers. This allows relationships to build, thus adding not only monetary sales but lifelong committed fans. By showing one's interest in their readers, and author can accumulate so much more than a pile of cash. Authors who utilize Facebook Pages should be social, natural, consistent, and diverse. I was very, very, very, very - did I say very - displeased by what I saw on Clare's page. Instead of viewing a woman with a love of writing and the urge to build relationships with her readers, I saw a billboard for the movie coming out in honor of her book. As someone who originally began her college career in film and screenwriting, I can understand how awesome it is to have a book that you write be selected to become a movie. It's an awesome feeling knowing that your writing is now on the big screen. But what was so disappointing about Clare's page was that it looked as though she had forgotten where she came from. Instead of excerpts from her books or updates on her writing progress, the page was lathered in movie posters and actor interviews. Although she fully embraced marketing for the film and her book, she seemed to have been overcome by the fame of Hollywood and seemed to abandon her writing history. It's always so tragic to see the journey of a great author change from writing what they love to writing for money. Maybe Cassandra Clare and J.K. Rowling should go out to dinner to talk about how similar their lives are now... Clare scores a 50% in the social aspect of this social networking site. Although she posts information on the book/movie combo every day, she does not seem to pay much attention to the comments left by those who praise her creativity. When I write on Mibba, I thrive on the comments that I get on my writing and do my best to respond to every individual who has taken the time to leaving an uplifting and encouraging comment on my work. I can't even give a percent rating on the natural aspect of her Facebook page because through it I have no idea who this woman is. Since every post she makes is just recycling an interview on the movie or alerting her fans of the new Hot Topic clothing line made in her book's honor, it is really hard to understand who this woman is. It doesn't seem as though she is fake, I just cannot tell if her's natural in her being. The one positive that Clare can score with her Facebook page is that she definitely is consistent. If she's not posting every day, she is at least alerting her 144k followers about the latest interview, poster, or promotional event in honor of her book in some aspect. She's also consistently vague in who she is and if or what she is currently working on her writing. Lastly, she fails big time in the diverse category. She constantly hawks on her own writing and the upcoming film, City of Bones. She doesn't include links to posts of other authors, but instead includes links to future movie plans and cast profiles. This seems to be more of a fanpage for a movie than it does for an author. I am not trying to bash Cassandra Clare as an individual or a writer. I'm sure that she is a wonderful woman, I just can't know for sure since I have no clue who she is based on her Facebook page. Her writing is wonderful, and I definitely recommend taking a look at all three of her current series. If I were to ever pick up reading again, I would probably start with something that she has written. I only ask that if you, my dear reader, are interested in becoming a Hollywood writer, that you don't let it get to your head and that you don't forget where your origins began. Authors are masters of the pen and page. We need to embrace our readers and return their love by giving them insight to who we are and what we write. Nicholas Sparks is another author whose novels have made it on the big screen, but at least he is a humble man who hasn't forgotten those around him. On May 27th, he posted on his Facebook page, "Family means everything, so on this Memorial Day, let's be there for those who've lost loved ones who've bravely served our country." Even Neil Gaiman, author of Stardust, pops onto his Facebook page every once in a while to share a personal and funny post. Get on it Cassandra Clare, what has Facebook done to you???
