What happens next...

I've been struggling to write my second book for awhile now.  I really wanted the story of Jamie and Chase to continue, but as much as we would love it in our own lives, two hundred pages of a couple in love just wouldn't be that interesting of a read.  Shortly after finishing the final, FINAL versions of "Fame, Love and other Lessons", I was trying to imagine what would happen to the characters.   Something that would show that their story wasn't over yet, but something that would ring true.

I pondered.

I procrastinated.

Nothing.

So I thought I should move on.  Luke, Jamie's older brother, was a character worth exploring.  He was a nice, if typical guy in his twenties, albeit one who was handsome, had a great job, and the worldliness that came with having lived the life of a college athlete.  What would it be like if his heart got broken?  What kind of woman would he fall head over heels for?   I still may get back to Luke, but not yet.

Most writers can probably relate to what happened next, while those who aren't will wonder if I drink (the answer: no, because it takes me two days to recover from just one glass of wine).  But I had an image of Chase in a foreign country, seriously hurt, thinking that he was going to die all alone.  My first thought was, wait---what?!  No, no, this isn't what I had in mind!  Can we go back to Luke?  In short, I had that all-too-common experience of creating a character that began to take a life of it's own.  A writer friend of mine once told me that he saw his characters, like minature toy soldiers, enacting scenes of what should happen next on the top of his monitor.  Another one told me she would have dreams about them.  My characters sneak up on me unannounced, and I find myself watching them like a film in my head.  Anyway, I really didn't want to pursue this line of thinking.  One, because I didn't want to write a story about loss and two, because as a reader, you expect a certain trajectory in a series.  "Fame" is a light, happy read.  It would be as if the second installation of "High School Musical" suddenly turned into "The Virgin Suicides". 

So I procrastinated some more.

But eventually, it became too clear to ignore.  A scandal has caused Chase to be expelled from the NBA for a year, and he moves to Spain to play in the European League.  As a result of what he's done, he and Jamie break up.  During a game, a bomb goes off, and he's hurt.  As he lapses in and out of consciousness, unsure of whether he's still alive or not, he thinks about Jamie, and we find out what happened to get him to this point.

This isn't the story I expected, but now that it's crystallized, I think it's the story that I'm ready to tell.

More books, more problems

The good news is, "Fame, Love, and other Lessons" is doing well.  It's hovered in the #10 spot for the past week in the Sports Fiction genre, and even better, is around #50 in the Coming-of-Age bestseller list.

The bad news is, my book was placed on a website that has "pirated" works.  This may explain the large number of returns I got during a one week period---the week my book was first listed.

There's nothing to be done about this, apparently.  Online piracy exists and people who are willing to break the law can get any book, any song, online for free.  I've already written a letter to the site asking them to take the link down, but as I've read in discussion boards, it's only a matter of time before the book shows up somewhere else. 

Other writers should Google their book title:  I didn't think that my little ol' $2.99 book would be worth pirating, but I was wrong.   So if you, too, discover some bad news, this link was very helpful in learning more information:

http://stephanielawton.com/2012/06/24/for-writers-steps-to-deal-with-book-piracy/

the post also had this template, which I used:

Attn: Copyright Agent, [list illegal file share site here]

Pursuant to 17 USC 512(c) (3) (A), this communication serves as a statement that:

1. I am [your name] the duly authorized representative of the exclusive rights holder for [book title] as listed above;
2. These exclusive rights are being violated by material available upon your site at the following URL(s): [list URLs];
3. I have a good faith belief that the use of this material in such a fashion is not authorized by the copyright holder, the copyright holder’s agent, or the law;
4. Under penalty of perjury in a United States court of law, I state that the information contained in this notification is accurate, and that I am authorized to act on the behalf of the exclusive rights holder for the material in question;
5. I may be contacted by the following methods: [email address--many request physical addresses and phone numbers, too. I am leery of this].

I hereby demand that you remove or disable access to this material as it appears on your service in as expedient a fashion as possible.

Regards,

[Your name]