Writers and Authors

Showing posts with label Percy Kerry. Show all posts

What genre do you write and why?

I have always written in the genre of crime fiction, because that is the only genre I love and have read since I started reading books. Therefore that is the only genre I feel comfortable writing in.

Tell us about your latest book.

My book, What The Eye Sees, is a novelette, and the first book in The Crimocopoiea Series starring FBI Special Agent John Hartigan. This story is about a young girl who disappears from her home one night, and how the subsequent investigations reveal the shocking truth about the disappearance.

What formats is the book available in?

The book is available both in Kindle form on Amazon, and also in the print version on Lulu.

Who are your favourite authors?

My favourite authors are crime authors like Agatha Christie, Sir Conan Doyle, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Steig Larsson and also Erle Stanley Gardner.

What advice do you have for other writers?

My advice for other writers is to write what is on their minds and close to their heart, waiting to be written, because that is the best book they can possibly write. The point is to write for yourself and not for others, because the content in your book should come from your heart.

Why do you think readers are going to enjoy your book?

In my opinion, readers will enjoy the book because it’s a fresh take on writing a crime thriller, with the story having being given a verisimilitude beyond that of a crime story. I have tried to make this story a bit about the various psychological factors that inspire the committing of a crime, and then also entertain the readers of crime fiction with twists, turns and surprises.

Who designed the cover?

I designed the cover of the book myself, using a cover designer software.

Where can a reader purchase your book?

The print version can be purchased at Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/percykerry), and the Kindle version from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HB77JU4).

What is your work in progress? Tell us about it.

I am currently writing the second book in the Crimocopoiea series, The Crimson Dahlia. This book won the NaNoWriMo 2013, and should be out by mid- March this year.

Percy Kerry

What are your thoughts on self-publishing verses traditional publishing?

For independent authors, self- publishing is any day better than traditional publishing. Because, first of all, self-publishing gives you overall control of what you want to write, how much time you will take to write it, how you will design the cover and conceptualize the book, royalties and where you want to market it. True, the marketing and promotion take up your time and sources, but at least you are getting your own work out there, as you want it to be. Traditional publishing though, requires the author to only write and they do all the rest, is more a matter of luck than of talent. They may or may not like your story, depending on their requirements. Self-publishing is better in that way as well. But then, if a self-published author with a well-established fan base gets a traditional book deal, then it’s prudent for him to accept it and increase his readership and popularity.

As I recently self-published my first work ever, What the Eye Sees, I have been asking people I know to read the book and provide feedback. One question that I am being constantly asked is- why is the book so thin? Why is my first work of fiction, and the first book in the Crimocopoiea series, a novelette?

When I started writing the story, I had no idea how long it would be. I’m the kind of author who’s used to writing long stories, the kind of person better at writing novellas and 50,000+ worded novels. So this has been something of an exercise in novelty for me as well. The question in my mind is, can newbie authors, virtually unknown, start their writing career with a short novel?

A novelette is a work of writing which is lengthier than a short story and shorter than a novella. The Science Fiction and Fantasy writers of America define a novelette as being a story having minimum 7,500 words and maximum 17,500 words. Below this limit constitutes a short story, and above this constitutes a novella.

Below is a quote for the advantage of novellas which, as in the introduction to a novella anthology titled Sailing to Byzantium, Robert Silverberg writes:

[The novella] is one of the richest and most rewarding of literary forms...it allows for more extended development of theme and character than does the short story, without making the elaborate structural demands of the full-length book. Thus it provides an intense, detailed exploration of its subject, providing to some degree both the concentrated focus of the short story and the broad scope of the novel.^[6]

While totally supporting the above statement, I think the same advantages can be applied to a novelette as well. This is a fact I discovered while writing What the Eye Sees. I could allow enough space for character development, theme, plot twists and turns without having to extend the foundational scope of the story to make it a full length novel.

Since my story describes the events transpiring over a time period which is less than a day, I can provide the fair justification for the story being in the range 7500-17500 words. But the question is, will the reading public accept this version of a story as a serious work and appreciate it? Especially if it comes from a debut author, virtually unschooled in the various reader choices which often dictate the content and other vital details of the various works being produced.

In my opinion, there are a few advantages:

1. Debut authors can, through a novelette, tell readers more about their style of writing, their penchant for weaving plots and developing elaborate characters in a short work of fiction and therefore attract readers towards their unique style of writing.

2. Writing novelettes, apart from short stories, will help the author develop their craft of writing to the point where they can churn out both 100,000 + word novels, short stories and novelettes with equal skill and enthrall readers with their creativity and genius.

3. I have seen it myself, and therefore believe firmly that non-readers can turn into consummate bookworms once they are first introduced to a thin book to read, their interest is piqued and then they can move on to the lengthier novels. This can be a potential market for some authors as well. Just an idea.

4. Novelettes, like short stories, are easier to read and therefore can draw people back to reading, in a world which has a shorter attention span and which is obsesses more with gadgets and social networking.

The above is just my opinion as a beginning author, because this has been a new experience for me, considering the articles about writing I’ve read and the kind of books I’m used to reading. But I also believe that this can be an innovative experience in the ever-growing and metamorphosing world of writing, where creativity rules and new forms and styles and content of writing is the norm. I sincerely hope that in the near future, both established and beginner authors will take up writing novelettes, apart from the usual novels they churn out, and help develop the art of writing this particular form of story.

Percy Kerry is a student, author, blogger, researcher and consummate bookworm. Her first book, What the Eye Sees, is available on Amazon and Lulu, in Kindle and print respectively. Her second book will come out by mid- March 2014.

The print version of What The Eye Sees can be purchased at Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/percykerry), and the Kindle version from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HB77JU4

We humans are, as of today, living in the digital age. Gradually, everything we see around us is being digitized. Even as I write this post, I’m typing words into a computer, and not scribbling with a pen on a piece of paper…that’s a burning example of digitization for me. With the advent of technology, one more aspect of our lives we’re seeing the transformation of is the way we read books.

E-books, in formats like PDF, E-Pub, Mob etc, are slowly becoming a trend with the modern world’s bibliophiles. To add, with the layman in countries across the world becoming more technology-savvy- young and old alike- now there are gadgets specially for reading e-books; one of them being the increasingly popular Kindle, by Amazon. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, it has come to light that in the United States alone, the number of e-book readers aged 16 and above has jumped from 16% in 2010 to 23% in 2012, while print readers fell from 72% to 67%. People are ditching computers to get hold of reading devices to indulge in their favorite hobby- 33% of e-book readers have a reading device.

According to figures compiled by the Bowker Market Research, at the end of June 2012, the number of Kindle users among e-book readers was about 55%. Specifically, Kindle Fire saw its share of e-book readers going up to 18% in the second quarter of 2012. But like every new trend has its critics, this veering of book lovers from the print editions to the digital versions has instigated a certain section of voracious readers to predict the doomsday for the traditional hardcover. Increasingly, this question is being asked- does the emergence of e-books and Kindle mean that the printed version will go out of fashion?

There are several reasons for the shift towards digital books, but the biggest cause of this shift has been the means employed by authors to put their works on a public platform, and the subsequent response by their readers. The world of traditional publishing is very difficult to break into for writers. Therefore, nowadays, authors are getting resourceful and self-publishing their books in electronic form with the help of sites like Amazon, Lulu and Rapidshare. Their readers are, in return, turning to Kindle and other reading devices to finish reading their favorite author’s newest release. Since many people are using e-readers, the author’s fan base steadily grows and chances of being noticed and getting picked up by traditional book publishers increases manifold. Some sites, like Createspace, also provide the option of print-on-demand-only. E-books are, in a lot of cases, priced less than their printed editions, so people prefer to purchase them; they can purchase it online on numerous websites and get a home delivery, rather than go all the way to a bookstore and spend hours browsing through a ton of books, deciding which ones to buy. These websites also have a facility for buyers to post their book reviews online, which in turn is beneficial to the author.

Speaking personally, I contend that no high-end device can replace the joy of having a printed book in your hands, leafing through the pages, excited about the new twist in the tale on the next page or chapter. At the cost of sounding a tad sentimental, I would say this: The cozy charm and nostalgia related with your favorite bookstore can never be replaced by the convenience of online retailers; the innocuous but real sensations like the smell and feel of a freshly printed book( or the old-world esthetics of printed first editions) can never be substituted by an e-reader.

For me, the market for printed books will always be alive, because most of us old-school readers of hard covers are tied to them with an umbilical cord that can never be severed; no matter how trends might change for the rest of the world. Long live printed books!

Percy Kerry is a student, author, writer and blogger. Her first book, The Reaper's Rage, comes out soon.

I’ve been reading and writing since I was four years old. My reading list graduated from Archie and Mandrake to Enid Blyton to Sherlock Holmes and other crime thrillers as I grew up. My writing, which was at first just scribbling in the last few blank pages of old notebooks, graduated to something tangible only when I reached eighth grade and wrote two short stories. Both were crime-based stories, with my own detective! Then in tenth grade I attempted a novella, which was again a crime thriller. Since I read my first book of Sherlock Holmes stories, I was hooked to crime thrillers. I’d read all Agatha Christie and Holmes books I could lay my hands on; also experimenting with E.S.Gardner and Mary Clark Higgins. The only thing I read apart from crime fiction was Harry Potter, the only fantasy book I’ve read till date; and some ghost story anthologies.

Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot opened my mind to the vast and exciting field of criminal psychology. These two novelists, in my view, concentrated on studying the psychology of the crime and the criminal. This led to me doing more research on topics like criminology, forensic psychology and forensic psychiatry, and these are the themes I started using in my stories subconsciously.

Everyone-friends, family members- who read my stories asked me the same question: Why do you write crime-based stories only? Don’t you find it dark and morbid?

Yes, crime thrillers are dark and morbid. Some because they have blood and gore rampant in their murders; some because they explore the mentality of a cunning, devious murderer- who kills either for revenge or may be a psychopathic serial killer. I want to explore this mentality, this urge to kill. Why do people kill, or commit sex crimes and other felonies? What pleasure do they get in inflicting pain on other human being? How do they feel when they’ve killed someone? How is a psychopath born? How do these people think, behave or dream? Do they realize they’re responsible for their actions? Or can they get away by using the insanity plea? What can society do to prevent people from becoming killers? How does society contribute to a killer’s psychology? James Patterson and Val McDermid have also explored these issues in their novels- the reason I adore these authors too.

The last three questions cropped up in my brain when I read Sidney Sheldon’s Tell Me Your Dreams. The story of beautiful, successful Ashley Patterson turning out to be suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder and committing five murders, then let off by the court and sent for mental treatment simply fascinated me. This novel generates a debate which is very real- for both the law enforcement personnel and for mental health professionals. This chain of thought, incidentally led me to choose mental health as my area of research as a future pharmacologist.

That’s why my first ‘serious’ novel is about a serial killer and an FBI agent who has studied profiling, has a degree in and researches criminology, and whose father was a forensic psychiatrist. Some of my inspiration also comes from TV shows like CSI: Las Vegas and Criminal Minds. Since my novel also intertwines this story with love as a sub-theme, I also tried to study normal human behavior, so my character descriptions are a bit lengthy. That’s why one of my characters speaks through an internal monologue.

Studying the human mind, and explaining the reason why people behave the way they do, why they commit heinous crimes and how we, as a society, can help to prevent killers from being born, is my passion and my profession- and the reason I want to keep writing crime thrillers and extend the scope of this topic through them.

Percy Kerry is a student and writes in her spare time. Her first novel, The Grim Reaper's Rage, comes out next month.

A preview of her book can be had here: http://authonomy.com/books/47360/the-reaper-s-rage/

UPDATE

Search This Blog

Blog Archive

Featured Post

Sites To Promote Your Free Amazon Kindle Books

POPULAR POSTS