Robert Davis: about writing, publishing, and demons

This is a first for Choices - a guest post by an author of a book of horror stories. However, the writing life of author, Robert Davis, is something all authors can resonate with. And maybe it's time for us all to wander around some other genres. Who knows? We might end up liking them. 

Please welcome Robert with a hearty congratulations on the launch (TODAY!) of his book.

Writing, Publishing, and Demons

by Robert Davis

Hmmmm, writing a guest blog…For a week of firsts, I have one more to add!  First of all I would like to thank Madeline Sharples for allowing me to blog today. It is great to see how many people support independent authors.  My first book Rakasha: Legend of the Hindi Tiger Demon has been released on Amazon today, July 5, 2013, in both Ebook and POD.

I have written for years and years and years, since the fifth grade. While I chose not to think back to how long ago that really was, it was a while back.

For all this time I have written, edited, and deleted a thousand stories. But last year in November, I started what would be my thousand and one story. Unlike other times, this time the story didn’t get destroyed when it was done. I thought I would see if maybe, just maybe I could do something with this.

I took my work to a local writers critique group. I went to a couple of meetings, to get a feel for what how they worked and for what to expect. The group was very interesting.  Some of the pieces were average, some were not so lucky, and others were very good to excellent.  The group was honest and as kind as you can be when your tearing a piece of someone soul.  After three meetings, I put my work into the pot, the question being simple: can I really write, or just put words on my computer semi-cohesively.

To my good fortune, my works were accepted, and praised for its originality and is style.  At the time I started I had one novel done, and a dozen short stories from it.  The novel has been written in third person focused on the heroine, a deaf girl that encounters (and becomes possessed by a demon).

I plotted out my path to glory, and started to look around for publisher. It was a few days later I found ‘Publish America’   To my good fortune, I crossed checked my new found house, and didn’t like ANYTHING that I read. One voice that was vehemently warning authors about them was Judith Briles, the founder of a group Author U.  It took one meeting with her to realize that 1) I almost fell into the trap, one of several "predator publishers" and 2) that while this person couldn’t get me a million dollar a year deal, she could help me get my work published.

I also had a series of short stories, based around a single villain called a Rakasha.  This Hindi Tiger Demon is one that most people have never heard of. When I was reading about them it was the part about the addictive bite that fascinated me the most.

So armed with stories that I felt would be challenged to succeed in the traditional world and a need to learn the publishing business. I made a book. Rakasha: The Legend of the Hindi Tiger Demon.  The work is short, about 13K words. The story telling was compact, clean and concise. It also was written without a filter, so when the antagonist needed to swear or worse, there was no restriction, I was not worried about trying to write it to fit into the Jr High catalogs, or make the YA qualification. I wrote it to be real.  Once it was done, I took it to my groups, then to some friends, both ones I have known for years, and some that I had made on line, each reading it and all praising it, and suggesting small edits.

My plan for this book release was September, a good time for releases, everyone is coming back from summer vacation, back from school and life ‘normalizes’ as people get ready to lock themselves in for the winter.

Robert and his mom, Helen Hemry

Sadly, one of my main proponents (my 76-year-old mother) had a health turn, so I made the decision to publish early, very early, as in months early. In spite of knowing that July is the WORST possible time to drop a title, knowing that the sales will be poor, if they happen at all, I decided that before my mother faced her greatest challenge (a surgery with poor odds) I was going to show her that her son was published, and had pursued his dreams, and caught them.

I didn’t just put out some low quality piece of work; the Rakasha book is a solid piece of work.  It is a horror piece and rated Adult (another potential hit to its sales) because of Drug and Sexual references, Gore, Mature Situations and Immature Humor. In other words it’s not a good book to read to your toddlers before they go to bed unless you want to have them sleep with you and ask a lot of questions! 

Today I am still exploring the world of publishing, still learning the business of the game.  I know that before I release my ‘master piece’ I need to do more publishing, to see how ebook and print on demand (POD) and all of the twists on it work.

While self-publishing is a chore, and a task, and takes resources, it’s not a sign of failure; to me it’s the first step of success.  

I would caution anyone thinking “hey, I can publish on Amazon, use their free tools and publish to my heart content.” Don’t!  Publishing is like anything, you can do it easy, or you can do it right.  While I consider myself a talented word smith, I know my artistic talents are far more limited. I also know me editing is at best subpar. It’s hard to be objective on your own work.  Get help, do it right or the only corners you are going to end up cutting will be those on your own book.

Synopsis of Rakasha:

In the ancient jungles of the east stalks a creature – an ancient Hindi Demon with a powerfully addictive bite. Dressed in the skins of breathtaking beauty, this man eater seeks more than the lives of its victims, as its bite claims their flesh and their soul. Now the creature has slipped from the jungle and walks amongst us.

Join Robert Davis in this collection of short stories as he explores the Rakasha

WARNING - This is a collection of horror stories. They are gory, gross, have drug and sexual references, mature situations and immature humor. If you are easily offended, this is not your book!

So after that synopsis, some people may think “I don’t like horror, why on earth would I do anything other than burn this book.” The answer, in my opinion, is because the nature of the horror in this book is unique.  The elements of classic horror (decapitations, dark places, severed limbs, etc.) are there, but not dwelled upon. The true horror is not that the victims are being eaten alive; it’s that they want to be. The effect of the addiction from this demon and the actions that it inspires – are where the true horror lies.

Has Robert convinced you to read his horror stories? Please let us know.

Robert's links:
Writing Blog: http://wp.me/3a6cK

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/RobertDavisAuthor

Author Web Page: http://robertdavisauthor.com/

Amazon eBook Page http://www.amazon.com/Rakasha-ebook/dp/B00DPYKEAE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372654180&sr=8-2&keywords=rakasha
Amazon paperback page: https://www.createspace.com/4342056?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

Live radio and a rave review

I was thrilled to be interviewed by Cyrus Webb yesterday on his live blog talk show, Conversations LIVE! Radio. We discussed mental illness, suicide, and finding meaning in life after unthinkable tragedy. What I took away from that conversation is the importance of having these conversations – openly and truthfully – without pretense. That these are hard subjects is a given. But we must bring them into the light so that others will benefit. If we say the mental illness and suicide words often enough we will have a chance of erasing stigma. Only then will people begin to acknowledge their illnesses and seek help. Only in that way can we save lives.

I was also most impressed that Cyrus acknowledged his failed suicide attempt almost at the start of our interview. This shows the extent of the honesty in our discussion.

Here’s the interview. Please listen. As my publisher at Dream of Things, Mike O’Mary said: “Could be the most important 20 minutes you spend today.”

And I’m very thankful that Cyrus not only took the time to read my book, Leaving the Hall Light On, he generously posted a five-star review this morning. Here’s the review in its entirety. 

Madeline Sharples' LEAVING THE HALL LIGHT ON Shines A Light on What It Means to Live When Life Isn't Easy, July 3, 2013

By C. A. Webb "Conversations Book Club"

Throughout the challenges that we all face in life are the decisions we sometimes make that can literally change the course of the world for us forever. Sometimes we don't understand or even appreciate how one act can set off a chain reaction that affects everyone around us. In LEAVING THE HALL LIGHT ON Madeline Sharples allows us into her world, how she faced challenges and learned how to press on in spite of it all.

The book was born out of the death of her son Paul, but is a perfect letter of love for the world to see how not only to live in spite of challenges but how not to be defined by them. We are able to see how her son's diagnosis with bipolar disorder affected his attitude about what he could contribute to the world and even gave the illusion that maybe the world was better off without him. What we see through the book is proof of the exact opposite. Madeline shows that by losing her son it was almost as if her own life had no meaning or purpose. Ironically, though, she found where her true calling and purpose would lie: being a source of hope for others. Through this new role she could not only go on in her own life, but show others how they could do the same.

No one wants to go through challenges or difficulties. We don't welcome them, but I was able to see through this book how they help us sometimes become the person we were meant to be---if only we allow them to be true teachable moments. We can grieve, we can hurt, but we have to push forward towards the healing. If we can do that then we can become a source of strength and inspiration for others.

Delivered with passion and fueled by love LEAVING THE HALL LIGHT ON speaks to what it means to live when living isn't always easy.

Presenting Laura Dennis, author of Adopted Reality

“With raw honesty and thoughtful reflection, Laura Dennis crafts a stunning psychological thriller in her true-life memoir, Adopted Reality. She weaves in three major life events – adoption, reunion with her birth mother, and a bipolar episode following the 9/11 terror attacks where her beloved Uncle Tom died in the Twin Towers and she believes she was responsible for his death,” writes reviewer Kathy Pooler. And most amazing is that it took Dennis only six months to write and publish her thriller of a story. 

I was especially interested in Dennis’ writing about her manic episode because it rang true of what I remember about my son’s bipolar disorder. My questions have mostly to do with that aspect of Dennis’ story rather than her adoption and reconnection with her birth mother.

I’m so glad that Laura Dennis accepted my invitation to join me for a Q&A here on Choices. 

Madeline: I am so impressed with the way you have managed your manic and depressive states and with the clarity in which you describe them in the book. What is your process for staying focused and steady?
Laura: The main things are that I’m structured about my day, about getting enough (but not too much) sleep. I try to eat right and maintain an active lifestyle.
That said the more emotional/psychological process of maintaining my sanity remains in flux. Honestly, I don’t always catch when I’m heading out of hypomania into mania. When I’m multi-tasking, productive, and creative – that can be considered by some to be hypomania. If taken to extremes, it can lead to debilitating and unhealthy mania. On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes I fall into depression because I didn’t notice the triggers, such as sleeping too much or overall lack of energy and sadness.

Madeline: You mention early on that you weren’t diagnosed as bipolar because you never had a second manic break. Yet, later on you describe yourself as bipolar. Did I miss something? Or were you finally diagnosed with BPD? If so, why?
Laura: When I had my manic break in 2001, I’d just started an MFA program at the University of California, Irvine. I was on university insurance, and I received forward-thinking, excellent care. Around this time “manic-depressive disorder” was starting to be called bipolar disorder, and doctors’ understanding of BPD was changing.
For the sake of receiving proper psychological care (therapy and drugs), I needed a straightforward diagnosis. But within therapy, my psychiatrist told me that the only way she’d know “for sure” if I was bipolar was for me to have another breakdown. She also made it clear that my next break would be worse, with possible severe long term effects and a longer hospital stay. For me, the prospect of another break with reality was devastating and I was determined not to let myself get to that point again.
Although I was able to keep myself out of the mental hospital and ultimately off of prescription meds, I do consider myself to have bipolar tendencies, even if I don’t currently suffer from the full- blown disorder. That’s how I characterize it, at least.

Madeline: Your description of you manic break with its racing thoughts, paranoia, delusions, feeling like you were drugged, accompanied by little or no sleep and little or no food, is interesting to me since your words so aptly describe what happened to my son. How in such a state did you manage to remember all that you felt and how you acted? Did you take notes, did you keep a journal? What were your memory triggers?
Laura: In that agitated state, I was still very lucid; if a bit confused. After the fact, it wasn’t hard for me to remember the delusions, either. I found them incredibly interesting and visceral; no journaling needed! When I’m depressed and finally emerge, I tend to have a bit of amnesia about the mean things I’ve said, and the exact state I was in.

Madeline: It is very fortunate that you weren’t reliant on your antipsychotics and antidepressants during your pregnancies. How did you get along relative to all the hormonal changes and the added stressors while you were pregnant and after your children’s births?
Laura: When my husband and I decided to start a family, I was in a rather stable place in my life – married, home-owner, busy social life and even busier professional responsibilities.
The hormonal changes actually worked well for me--I think they stabilized my mood, and kept me from getting depressed. I was very worried about the weight gain, but once I realized that if I ate healthily, I gained weight at an appropriate rate. (The nausea throughout my entire pregnancy may have helped play a part.) As for mania, growing a baby is exhausting! I don’t think I could have worked myself up into a manic state even if I’d wanted to do so.

Madeline: You decided to refocus your creative juices from dance to writing as you learned to cope with your mania and depression. When did you decide to turn your story into a book? Also please tell us about your process in writing Adopted Reality. Did you take workshops, join a writing group, query agents and presses? In short, how did you turn your book from an idea into a published work and how long did it take?
Laura: I think I always knew I’d want to write the story of my adoption reunion and my mental breakdown. It was just a matter of finding the time and mental space. Moving to Belgrade has actually allowed me to do that, so no matter what, I’m grateful to our move for that.
I’ve always been a strong writer, so I pretty much just sat down and started writing. First the easy memories; the stories I’d told plenty of times. It just took discipline from there--to get everything down in the computer and then to spend hours and hours molding it into a readable form.
After the book was complete, I did send out some queries. However, I didn’t realize how hard it is for a non-famous person to get a book deal for a memoir. Also, given a lot of the recent controversy with truth-telling in memoir and Oprah’s Book Club, I really had an uphill battle if I wanted to go with traditional publishing. Here I’d written a memoir about a young woman’s break with reality ... It’s suspect. How much of that memory is true? How much can we trust someone with mental health issues?
In the end, I created my own publishing company, hired a professional editor and got the memoir on Amazon – both ebook and paperback. I used Createspace for the paperback, but I may try Lightening Source for my next project(s). I’m working on a psychological thriller, set in Belgrade (surprise, surprise), along with an adoption reunion anthology. All told, writing Adopted Reality took about six months, half that time for the writing get-it-out-of-my-head part, and the other half was for shaping the writing into (what I consider) a compelling memoir.

Madeline: Thank you again, Laura Dennis, for being here. I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. Your openness about your bipolar disorder will hopefully help us erase the stigma of mental illness once and for all.

Author bio:    

Laura Dennis was born in New Jersey and raised in Maryland, but she learned how to be a (sane) person in California, where she lost her mind and found it again in 2001. A professionally trained dancer, Laura gave up aches and pains and bloody feet in 2004 to become a stylish, sales director for a biotech startup. Then with two children under the age of three, in 2010 she and her husband sought to simplify their lifestyle and escaped to his hometown, Belgrade. While the children learned Serbian in their cozy preschool, Dennis recovered from sleep deprivation and wrote Adopted Reality. Dennis blogs at Expat Adoptee Mommy. Connect with her @LauraDennisCA and on Facebook. Her book is available on here.