And then they lived happily ever after

A month ago I finished reading John Marsdens' "Tomorrow" series of young adult books. The series has 7 books in it and is about Ellie Linton, an Australian teenager, who is forced into becoming a freedom fighter with her friends when Australia is invaded and occupied by an enemy army.

As an Australian I was fascinated and horrified by this series of books and forced to ask myself the question "What if this really happened?" The idea of someone invading my home country is alien and shocking and frightening to me. It made me question a lot of things and realize just how sheltered and naive I am to think that it could never happen.

In the last book Ellie is separated from her friends and is told by the enemy that they were all killed in combat. Ellie is forced to ride out the rest of the war alone and find her parents herself. I was horrified when I got to this point in the books. "How could the rest of them be dead?!" I began searching the internet for spoilers to find out if it was true or not. I found out it wasn't.

Sure enough, the last book ends happily, Ellie is told her friends are alive and were just imprisoned. She is reunited with them and the whole book ends on a high note.

And it was a terrible ending. Yeah, sure, it was what I wanted. But it wasn't realistic and it was a cop out. It was giving the reader what they wanted. And that is not always the best thing for a writer to do. It would have been more realistic for her friends to remain dead and for Ellie to have to find the strength to go on by herself in life.

The "Tomorrow" series was a dark, gritty, fast-paced read. It was shocking, gripping, and was an honest reflection of the horrors of war. John Marsden did not hold back. I liked that. Which makes the ending all the more odd. It didn't fit with the style of the rest of the series. It was too...perfect. Too fitting. Unrealistic. Too nice.

Do we always need a happily ever after ending? Can readers handle a "And then they picked up the shattered pieces of their lives and tried to move on" ending?

My muse has gone to a happy place

When I was in school I was bullied a lot and didn't know how to make friends. I distrusted everyone around me and those who were nice I always wondered "Why are they talking to me?" and assumed that it was a trick or a dare of some sort. I withdrew into myself and became more and more comfortable with my own company. I stopped wanting to make friends and started writing.

I started telling stories out of loneliness. I made my own make believe friends who would later become the characters in my first novel. I am so glad that I woke up one day and decided "I'm going to be a writer!" because I honestly think if I hadn't had made that decision I might have gotten really depressed as a child. High school and primary school were difficult for me. Escaping into writing saved me. It gave me something to focus on, something to think about, a goal. I would go to the library at lunch and read or pull out a notebook and hand write my latest novel.

I needed to write like I need air. For a long time growing up it was my dream to one day become as popular as JK Rowling. I was so determined to be a writer I couldn't think of anyone else I wanted to do. Nothing motivated me as much as writing did. It was my passion.

In my 20's I continued to write as much as I could. I would take notepads with me to work and do work during my breaks and on the ride home on the bus. I no longer dreamed of becoming the next JK Rowling though. I was older, wiser, and knew that it must be terribly stressful to be her and decided that I didn't want success and popularity to suck the fun out of writing. Writing slowly became less of a career choice and more of a simple hobby.

It was still an escape for me. I was still desperately lonely and without a lot of friends. Things are so different for me now. I am married, living out of home, and finally have a stable job! It's just a little office position, but it pays well, the people are lovely, and I'm happy.

Over the past year I have noticed I have been writing less and less. This has worried me and got me asking "Do I still want to do this anymore?" The answer is, of course, yes - but things ARE different for me now.

Writing used to occupy my whole world because there was only ME in it. Now I have my wonderful, loving, fun husband to share my world with. I've found that I am writing less and less these days because if I have a choice between trying to write, which is difficult, or curling up on the couch with my husband I will pick my husband.

I guess I am entering a different phase of my life as a writer. My muse is still there - the passion still there - it has just gone to a happy place. I no longer write out of loneliness or a desire to have friends. In the rare moments I decide to devote time to writing (usually on the weekends when the hubby is working!) I do it because something inside me is whispering "Write! write! write!"

I need that voice to talk to me. I can force myself to write, of course, but without that URGE to want to do it, that desire, it is not fun. It is hard, hard work. Like getting blood out of a stone.

I don't want to escape from the world anymore isn't that nice? At 28 I am finally happy, truly happy, in all aspects of my life. I write now for fun. It is a hobby. I don't expect to ever make any real money from it. I don't care anymore. I don't do it for that. I do it because when my characters sing to me it is the best feeling in the world. My blood tingles.

How much writing will I do in the future? I don't know. Between studying at university, working, and planning to get pregnant next year it might be that I will start to do less and less of it. But I don't think I will ever stop being a writer. I'm just in a phase of my life at the moment when it is not the most important thing for me. I need some inspiration. But I'm not going to go chasing it. Because I believe it is best to sit back and let it come to me. I have every faith in the world that it will too. Why? Because I am a writer. It doesn't matter if I write a dozen pages a day or a dozen words a week. As long as I have a love for the written word no one will be able to tell me I am not a writer.

J,K Rowling's new book ruffles feathers

J.K Rowling's new book came out this past week to mixed reviews. I've bought it on ebook and will get round to it once I finish reading the Ellie Chronicles by John Marsden. I'm looking forward to it. I know it's not Harry Potter and I know it's going to be very, very different. I've heard that it's full of porn and sex and swearing and I'm not bothered by that at all. I'm a big girl. I can handle a little bit of swearing and sex. Other people though...

There's been a lot of pearl clutching over this book. A lot of people have been massively turned off by the "unlikable" characters and all of the sex and porn and swear words in it. Depsite JK stating again and again that this was NOT a children's book in any shape or form people are still so in love with her Harry Potter books a lot hoped that her new book would contain a little bit of that same magic.

Perhaps it might have been better for JK to write under a pen name? Or at least change her name to her married name? The name JK Rowling will forever be associated with the Harry Potter books. Now that those books are over perhaps it was a bad marketing move to publish under that name? A lot of people would have seen her new book and gasped and bought it without a second's notice thinking "Oh goodie! more magic!"

I read one "review" (and I use that word loosely) on Amazon the other day that said they hadn't read the whole book just half the sample chapter. They were turned off by the word fag being used to describe a cigarette (British slang) and that the book was written in British English rather than American.

I do find it curious that JK's new book was not "translated" into American English like the HP books were. I've been told in publishing not write in Australian English. I've been told that my sales will increase if I write in American.

Mum...Mom...Colour...Color...Sidewalk...Footpath.... God, it's all so much for me to understand. All those little differences...it's like a different language...

I didn't like it when my publisher said to me they wanted to change my book into American English. I didn't put up a fuss though. Privately, I was annoyed, because I don't see why such a massive change has to be done. Are American readers so sheltered that they cannot handle reading a book that has Mum instead of Mom in it?

Back to JK Rowling...I know I've said in the past that I was confident that she would be able to find success outside of Harry Potter. Now I'm not so sure. I think Harry Potter is going to haunt her until the end of her days. The press and the public are not going to be happy until she either does another HP novel or HP universe novel or some other type of children's book.

People don't like this new "darker, edgier" JK Rowling. They want Harry Potter back or something close to it. It's not that JK Rowling is not talented. She is. The problem is she channeled lightning in a bottle with Harry Potter. Will she ever be able to top it? It's looks like...not. But would she want to go through all that madness and stress again? If she's anything like me probably not. It must have been so refreshing to be able to write her new book without her publishers poking her in the back telling her "Hurry up! children all around the world are waiting!" JK Rowling has already had so much success she doesn't need anymore. I actually hope that she continues to write what she wants from this point on and doesn't give in to pressure (from the public and her publishers) to release a little bit of that old magic again.

Writing about hot topics

Should some subjects be taboo in writing? I don’t think so. Writers should have the freedom to write about whatever (and whoever) they want as long as they are factually correct, don’t plagiarise, or commit libel. How should writers handle writing about sensitive subjects? With the greatest of care. Topics like sex, religion, and race should always be treated like they’re fragile, dirt encrusted recently dug up World War Two bombs that might go off if mishandled.

I’ve always said to people that you can never please everyone in writing. Regardless of how lightly you tread there will always be someone who will find what you write offensive, bitch about it to their friends, or maybe even take it one step further and write a bad review about it on the internet. That doesn’t mean you should avoid sensitive topics like the plague. If you have an idea that revolves around something people might be sensitive about take the time to stop and think: How will people react to my story? Will they understand what I’m trying to say? Or will they misinterpret my message? Is this project worth going ahead with? There’s an old saying: any publicity is good publicity and it’s true.

What do you need to be a best selling author? Well, talent, of course. Patience, yes. A good cover would be nice. And you know what can be helpful? Public outrage. How much of a difference is there between outrage and fascination? Not much. Look at the Harry Potter books. They tip toed around a sensitive subject: religion. Despite the fact that Wicca was not featured at all in the books, calling the characters “witches” and “wizards” caused a lot of outrage among some religious groups, which gained the books attention, which gave it more media coverage, in the end helping the books to become more successful.

Outrage leads to people talking which leads to more people looking you and your books up online and maybe, if you’re lucky, an increase in sales. What do all writers want? Attention. We want to be noticed. But we have to be smart. Do you research. Don’t make an ass out of yourself. Don’t write something so racist, so stupid, so thoughtless that the publishers will run screaming from you.

British charity group wants to do a book burning of "Fifty Shades of Grey"

A British charity, Wearside Women in Need, is planning a book burning of erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" on November the fifth. The group, which is against domestic violence, is disgusted by the book which they claim is trying to make domestic violence sexy.

I've read Fifty Shades of Grey and in my opinion it was disturbing. I know alot of people are calling it a romance and claim that all the sex in it is censensual. I didn't think it was a romance. Ana is pressured into the BDSM lifestyle and struggles to enjoy it. In several scenes she is brought to tears and she even asks Christian at one point not to beat her. He finds beating her pleasurable. He is confused and hurt that she doesn't enjoy it too. He doesn't understand her fear.

Ana participates in the lifestyle out of a fear of losing him. She is manipulated and controlled by him. He takes over her life and she just lets him do it. This is not what I would call "consenusal" sex. It is domestic violence.

I don't think this book should be banned, censored, or burned though. I don't believe in censorship. Just because I did not like "Fifty Shades of Grey" doesn't give me the right to try and stop others from reading it and possibly liking it.

Book burnings should remain a thing of the past.

Is it okay to bad mouth books online?

I've read a lot of books I haven't liked. Some I've closed in disgust at the end and regretted the time and money I spent on it. Others I've painfully forced myself to finish for some reason or another. Then there's the ones I get bored half way through, drift away, and never come back to finish them.

I almost never post reviews online. I don't think I've ever posted one on Amazon. I hear stories all the time of authors getting into fights with people on Amazon over bad reviews.

One of the biggest problems authors suffer from is arrogance. We spend hundreds of hours crafting our babies, pour our heart and soul into them, and then when we're done we bravely let go of their tiny little hand and watch them wander into traffic.

It's understandable that some of us would go all Dumbo Mum on anyone who might dare critcise our little darlings after all the work we put into giving them life.

Writing is hard. But responding to negative reviews and challening people on their opinions is wrong. It's unprofessional. Risky. Part of being an author or any kind of artist is learning how to accept critcism. Not everyone is going to like your master piece. Not everyone is going to see it through the same rose tinted glasses you have on.

Writing a bad review online is one thing...being a troll is another. If you read a book and don't like it you are entitled to write a bad review. Be fair and honest. Tell the author what you liked and what you didn't like. Don't take it one step further and start harrassing the author on social networking sites. Don't flood their inbox with hate mail. What are you trying to achieve?

Is it okay to bad mouth books online? Yes, to a degree. But when you start attacking the author, stalking them, or making their life miserable then you have over stepped the line. Pick your battles. Move on. There are bigger and better fights to pick in this world than launching crusades against authors.

Marisa Quinn Fiction Author: The YouTube channel!

I have changed what was my personal YouTube channel into the official one for myself as an author. You can find it here. The book trailer for Echoes in the Wind has been uploaded and all future book trailers will also be put on there.