Interview on Karen’s Book Blog
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Interview on Karen’s Book Blog

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Lovely Karen Banes, an editor and author herself, hosted me on her blog. She sent a list of thoughtful interview questions that I really appreciated.

Here are two of them:

KB: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

TS: The belief in an external, hierarchical, patriarchal God is one of the greatest sources of evil in human civilization. It is my firm belief that God as love is internal, inclusive, merciful, and non-gendered.

KB: How much of the book is realistic?

TS: As I said before, I researched this era in Paris thoroughly. Many of the details are accurate, such as the way Parisians were always hungry during the occupation. Several documents said that Parisians ate only about 800 calories per day at this time. Also, over a million French men had been taken into compulsory work service in Germany, so the Resistance drew on women, high school students, and the elderly. At one point, Alia the protagonist, who is a fallen angel, is walking down the street wearing a jaunty red hat. There are references to those red hats as a kind of subtle rebellion; French fashion continued during occupation.

Read the interview here and check out Karen’s informative books here.

Karen's Book Blog

BROKEN and a Guest Post on THE READING CAFE
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BROKEN and a Guest Post on THE READING CAFE

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I am so fortunate to have become acquainted with some of the most generous-spirited book review bloggers going. Sandy at THE READING CAFE is one of those smart, kind, thoughtful people. She accepted BROKEN for review and asked me to write a guest post, and then she sent the review and post to Twitter Heaven, doing a wonderful job of spreading the word.

Her efforts on my book’s behalf are most appreciated!

And I liked her review, which was clear and incisive. She wrote, in part:

Traci L Slatton is an amazing writer whose storylines are infinitely detailed with both fact and fiction; fantasy and reality. Her style of writing is intense; the historical research impressive; and the overall premise is a flight into the fantastic and uncoventional.

My guest post is about “Writing Historical Romances, Accuracy and History.” I mention,

Winnowing down the horrific German occupation of the City of Lights this way provided an opportunity for me to deeply relate my characters to very specific events. Alia, an angel who fell from heaven, experiences the oppression of the time personally and with great intensity. She and her beloved friends suffer through food shortages, lack, loss, and sacrifices in minute detail.

Many blessings and much gratitude to Sandy and THE READING CAFE for the support for BROKEN!

BROKEN and a Guest Post
BROKEN and a Guest Post
BROKEN: Available in September
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BROKEN: Available in September

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This novel is dark, gritty, and smutty. It’s also about the power of love and the fact that spirit informs everything.

An early reviewer, one of my favorite readers, got back to me yesterday, writing, “Beautiful and heart-wrenching. I cried like I did at the end of Immortal. I will write my review this week. Thanks for sharing Alia’s story with me early.” I’ll post the review when it goes live.

BROKEN

Thanks again to brilliant Italian painter ROBERTO FERRI for giving me permission to use his gorgeous painting LIBERACE DAL MALE for the cover. Thanks to talented designer Gwyn Snider for turning the image into a breath-taking cover.

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Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic

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I couldn’t stop laughing when I first viewed this video.

I blast Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines on my iPhone when I’m on the elliptical trainer at the gym, working out until I shake with sweat. So I know the tune.

This is just fantastic, I love Weird Al. Can we elect him President?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc[/youtube]

Sound Editing
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Sound Editing

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“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.”
Michelangelo

Because I am married to a classical figurative sculptor, Michelangelo occupies a luminous position in our home. His wisdom matters to us.

In this case, I’m quoting him because, well, he’s a Big Deal around here. I don’t know if this bit of thoughtful humility on his part really applies to the situation at hand. I am thinking rather simply about hard work. Specifically, editing sound files as I turn my novels into audiobooks.

Sound editing is some of the most laborious, tedious, difficult, grueling, and time-intensive work I’ve ever done. It ain’t fun. And it requires perfectionistic focus. It’s a good thing I’m detail-oriented, because I hone in on every single click, hiss, hum, rattle, or pop in the narrative that I read with such feeling, and recorded so carefully.

Two different programs, Audacity and Wavepad, serve to manipulate the audio files, to filter out noise and to optimize the quality. First I use Audacity for recording. It’s a great free program, and it works beautifully for basic noise removal, equalization, and compression.

But…I record in my office, not in a foam-insulated studio, so there’s some reverb. I nailed a big fluffy quilt up behind my desk to absorb some of the echo. But there’s still a little awkward sounding whoosh in the background. Enter Wavepad, which has a marvelous high pass filter that, yes, filters out the reverb. God bless Wavepad.

I suppose I am learning a new skill, and that’s an asset. I’m always grateful for assets that I acquire through hard work.

Nor ought I complain. I know people who work much harder all the time. I’m thinking specifically about my beautiful stepdaughter, who is such a lovely young woman, sweet and loyal and thoughtful and grateful, a pleasure to be with. She’s studying diligently for the MCAT’s while working at a high pressure medical research job.

So I’ll keep chipping away at the giant, obdurate block of stone that is my raw recording files, hoping to reveal the art within.

 

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Copyright Violation is Theft

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I love the internet, I believe in the internet as the voice and the flow of the demotic, and I staunchly advocate for a free internet.

I think Snowden and Assange are heroes. Individuals have the right to privacy, no matter what Obama’s Big Brother government believes–and do I risk a drone targeting me for saying that?

What I do not believe in is THEFT. Piracy. Stealing. Copyright violation.

I suppose it happens to all authors these days–we google ourselves online and find our books offered as free downloads. It cuts into sales and steals money from our pockets.

To everyone who posts those files, or who downloads them: YOU ARE THIEVES. You are setting yourselves up for bad karma, and I for one will be thrilled to see you meet your just rewards for such acts of conniving thievery.

Here is my standard takedown letter, and I have to send it regularly:
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Dear Admin:

The email is notification of copyright infringement. I am the author of “X NOVEL.” Please remove my novel “X” from your website

www.dirtyrottenthief.com/xnovelfreedownload

immediately. It is a copyright violation for you to have it posted for free on your website; this is a blatant example of online pirating.

I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of here is not authorized by me, the copyright holder, or the law. The information provided here is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I swear under penalty of perjury that I am the copyright holder.

Please send me at the address noted below a prompt response indicating the actions you have taken to resolve this matter.

I am copying the author’s guild legal services department on this email so that they can inform other authors of the infringement and piracy on your website.
Sincerely,

Traci L. Slatton

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TO all my readers: PLEASE DO NOT participate in free downloads of copyrighted material. It is theft. It is wrong.