#supportdiverseauthors

[haveacupofjohanny]

The Importance of Authentic Storytelling: Why I Didn’t Read American Dirt

Scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled upon a post about American Dirt. Someone was raving about how much they enjoyed the book. Naturally, I couldn’t resist diving into the comments to see what others had to say. This book has always been a sore point for me, so I was curious. As I scrolled through the initial comments, it was all praises, but as I dug deeper, I found a mix of reactions, with…

The Importance of Authentic Storytelling: Why I Didn’t Read American Dirt

[theupstartcrow]

You need diverse books? I've got 'em! Part 1

So, in honor of #Weneeddiversebooks, I'm posting about a few books I've been, er, involved with, either as author or editor. All of these feature lesbian and bisexual female characters as protagonists or major secondary character. Some are sexy, some are chaste; some are romances, some are not; all of them are SF and fantasy.

First there's my second novel, Ebenezer.

What is it: It's a retelling of A Christmas Carol with a lesbian protagonist who is living with severe depression brought on both by genetics and by several circumstances. (And yes, her name really is Ebenezer--because she's from Utah and people don't know how to name their children there sometimes. Believe me, I know this firsthand ;)). It's set at the height of the global recession in 2009 and explores not just the mind of someone essentially undergoing a life-threatening mental health crisis but the connections that we need to form as human beings in order to protect and care for each other when governments, businesses,social structures, and even personal ambitions fail us. 

Trigger warnings: Yes, for graphic suicidal ideation, frank discussions and portrayals of mental illness, discussions of death, as ell as classism and some pretty harrowing verbal/emotional abuse of poor people. ETA: And emotional/verbal abuse of a child. (I'm sorry. I knew I forgot something. Basically, I know it's kind of an emotionally harrowing read, but I promise it's worth it!)

Since this book is set in NYC, I tried to make the cast reflect the city's diversity as well. Had I written it today instead of in 2009, I would have done a few things differently,but I still am hopeful that I did this part well. Ebenezer is white, but many secondary and tertiary characters are not. 

My goal with writing this book was to rescue A Christmas Carol from over a century of schmaltzifying and saccharine-coating and to get in touch with what makes this novella so strange, so haunting, and ultimately so awe-inspiring. It seriously is my favorite book of all time, and one I re-read every year around the holidays. I cry every time I read it, and I wept several times while writing this book. I hope I did well by Dickens and by everyone who will read my retelling of him!

One of the difficulties in marketing this book has been the them, of course. People hear "A Christmas Carol" and think "Christmas book." Well, in a sense that is correct. This book takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. But the idea of Christmas--even in the secular sense--is very much not an overwhelming theme, so it can be enjoyed, I think, all year round, and by people who don't like or celebrate the holiday.

You can find it here on Amazon.

or

Here on Barnes and Noble.com. (if you have a Nook). 

And here on All Romance Ebooks if you'd rather support a smaller company.

If you're a reviewer and would like to review the book for your blog, Amazon.com, or Goodreads, feel free to send me a message here or at upstart(dot)crow (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll set you up with a pdf. :)

Next up: part 2: steampunk and witches and lesbians, oh my!