New Book Release Dates

It's Spring, and many publishing houses are releasing their new titles. I have several friends whose books are due out soon. My friend Linda Leaming, who wrote Married to Bhutan, is rightfully excited about the April 1st release date for her book. She has encouraged people to preorder the book as preorders are suppose to push interest in a title. So I popped over to Barnes and Noble online to do just that—to preorder—but no need; the book is already in stock and on sale—AT A SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNT. Gasp! The same is true at Amazon; Amazon even offers a Kindle version, at a few pennies less than the discounted DTB.

Doesn't a release date mean anything?

I decided to check on other friends' titles. Charlotte Hinger's second mystery for Poisoned Pen Press, Lethal Lineage...I got the date wrong. It was released March 1st, but by golly, it's at a reduced price too.

Next stop, Michael Sims. I know his schedule includes readings for one of his Penguin Classics, The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime, that came out in January, but The Story of Charlotte's Web is not to be released until June. Or is it? Ah! 7 June is the release date and, yes, preorder is still in place at a reduced price, no less.

And these discounts before the book is officially on the market—do the publishers arrange for that? It really doesn't seem economically sound, but maybe I'm missing something. At least the authors take isn't reduced.

To drum up a bit more business, I decided to go back to B&N and post the review I wrote for Leaming's book, but, sadly, that wasn't possible. I hadn't purchased the book from them, so I can't write a review. Of course, B&N didn't tell me that, they just kept declining my "submit" and I assume that's why (I read all the rules and directions, really I did!).

I'm making a trek to town tomorrow and will stop by my local independent bookseller to "preorder" my books. That should generate interest and improve sales demographics. And as for release dates...I'll put no stock in those anymore.

Rethinking the N-word?

Needless to say, the N-word (to be PC) is not one of my favorite words. And the use of it in literature has caused many books to banned by libraries, and not used in many school systems. The re-publication of Twain's Huck Finn is making people rethink this again. Here's a thoughtful article on the Charlotte News Observer's blog, The Reading Life.

There is definite pain involved in hearing slanderous and intentionally cruel terms leveled at you. Being black American and Indian American, I have many times been on the receiving end—often when the speakers thought I was out of earshot and just as often when they sneer and look right at me. I have inured myself to it and can keep on walking with no desire to lash out. That, I know, is useless.

When writing historical fiction, I am conscious of the language of the time-period and like to stay in sync with that. But I also know the reaction to terminology that pops up today, from enlightened non-black Americans to those who still feel the lash in that word. It's a tricky line to tightrope. I've found that in dialogue, an unsavory character can speak all kinds of rough language without using the words many find offensive; the character is still obnoxious and crude. But the intent is the same. I think this is what NewSouth, Inc. intends by changing the Twain text.

I do often wonder, however, if people object to use of words because it puts the character saying them in a bad light—a place they themselves might be because they identify more than they want to admit.

There's a good chance a lot of self-recrimination will be lost with the change in Twain's text. More people might read the American Classic, but will they understand what Twain was intending? I tend to agree with Pam Kelly and Frazer Dobson. I think a lot will be lost.