There are a lot of issues to discuss from this, but I’m going to try to focus on one for today: the idea of gender bias or profiling on book covers.

First of all, I wanted to say that I thought many of the newly created covers in the coverflip slideshow were very well done. Many of them, however, for the books that I’ve read at least, did a poor job of portraying the actual story. Let’s look at Game of Thrones as an example.

The real cover for Game of Thrones on the left, and the gender flipped one on the right.

While clever and nicely executed, I don’t think anyone who’s read Game of Thrones would think the second cover does an adequate job of characterizing the story inside. I know if I had purchased a copy with the gender flipped cover, I would have felt badly hoodwinked after reading it, regardless of the gender of the author.

So, to me, the question is: does the cover fit the story? If it doesn’t, then maybe there is some truth to the gender profiling notion.

Here’s a random sampling of some books I’ve read over the years by female authors. All excellent books by the way, GoodReads links at the end of the post. Click on the image to see it bigger.

This is hardly a scientific sample and it’s heavily skewed toward fantasy. However, looking at these as objectively as I can, I don’t see gender bias or profiling. I see covers that reasonably represent the mood and contents of the books.

One could argue that, being of the male persuasion, my buying habits tend toward covers that are gender neutral or have a male slant. I’m willing to concede that point. I certainly don’t gravitate to books with women in large, flowing dresses or guys flexing their abs on the cover. By and large, however, I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that books with covers like that have strong romantic components. I’m generally not interested in reading romance as a personal preference.

As such, only one of these covers is classified as YA (Young Adult), The Hunger Games. Maureen and I both write YA books, and I can see more in that genre where a “girly” aspect to the covers is in evidence. But, let’s think for a moment who the large majority of those books are written for and marketed to: girls. The vast majority of YA readers are girls/young women. Of course publishers are going to create a cover designed to cater to the largest demographic. It only makes sense.

Big publishers are not the only ones following the money. Have a look at self published YA novels. The trend continues. Lots of pretty girls, elegant dresses, and hot guys. If there is any misogyny going on, it’s being perpetuated by the female authors themselves.

While I agree with many of Maureen’s points, especially the need for modernization and gender equality in our educational system, I don’t see a conspiracy by the publishing world to treat women authors’ work as second class or “trashy”. I know from experience that it’s difficult to find readers when your book doesn’t fit neatly into a specific category, as many of Maureen’s don’t. But we can’t blame our covers, or even society, for that. The simple fact is, men and women are different and are drawn to different images and stories. No one is the same and it’s our differences that make the world such an interesting place!

GoodReads links:

Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire

Robin Hobb, Fool’s Errand

Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

Elizabeth Haydon, Rhapsody: Child of Blood

Fiona McIntosh, Myrren’s Gift

Barbara Hambly, The Time of the Dark

Naomi Novik, His Majesty’s Dragon

Rachel Caine, Ill Wind

Melanie Rawn, Stronghold

It’s been a struggle at times, through the newborn stage — oh, and don’t get me started about the terrible twos! But, I think at three, the book is really hitting its stride, with over 20,000 downloads in the past year! Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Ratings are well over four stars across all platforms. Yet, as a proud, but nervous, parent, I worried. Three years and not a peep — don’t others start talking before now? Turns out it was just a late bloomer.

A Measure of Disorder will be available in audio format very soon!

The amazing and talented Christy Lynn is performing the narration and production is over half finished. I’m blown away and so excited by what I’ve heard so far! I can’t wait to share it with you. I’ll have some exciting things coming up in the next month or so in conjunction with this, so stay tuned!

Come celebrate A Measure of Disorder’s third birthday! Have some cake and share with a friend. The book is available for free in all ebook formats, links below. If you’ve read the book, please drop by one of the sites and leave a quick review. It really helps push the visibility and will allow me to do even more fun, promotional things in the months to come.

Most importantly, an enormous THANK YOU goes out to everyone who has joined me on this journey. Whether you’ve been around from the beginning, or you’re just learning about my work for the first time, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. None of this would have been possible without the tremendous support I’ve received along the way.

A Measure of Disorder is available for FREE at:

Amazon (Kindle)  |  Barnes & Noble (Nook)  |  Apple (iTunes)  |  Kobo  |  Smashwords (any format)

And, you can find the rest of my books on the website: AlanTucker.net

Image from: FreeImagesLive

As the virtual reality of computers has become a larger and larger portion of our lives, I believe we have started to take for granted the Undo function of that virtual universe and forget that life has no “Undo” feature.

Our actions in the real world cannot be undone. Words can never be unsaid. We can apologize or regret;  the result, however, is not an erasure, but a bandage. The original action or speech never goes away.

I consider this concept every time I hear about events like last week’s horrific bombings in Boston, or the tragedy in Newtown, CT. The lives lost can never be recovered like a mistaken deletion. Wounds cannot be erased with a keystroke. Families will not be healed by copy and paste. How could anyone perpetrate such acts if they had these ideas in mind?

I wonder if young Mr. Tsarnaev wished for an Undo key as he lay bleeding in that boat before his arrest. I doubt we’ll ever know.

Perhaps this is why I write fantasy stories about people with magical powers, and science fiction stories of time travel. Deep inside, I long for the ability to Undo. Until we can bend the universe to our will, the best we can do is think before we act or speak. Consider the consequences of our words and actions before we unleash them. If we can achieve a higher level of self control, I believe the world would be a better place. There have been plenty of things I wish I could Undo, but I am doing my best every day to minimize them!

What do you think? Is there anything you wish you could Undo? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Comparison of UNREAL Candy with its common counterpart, as well as an example of “nature’s candy” — Taken from UNREAL’s web site.

Candy? Yep. This young man and his younger brother have set out to change the world by creating great tasting candy that isn’t chocked full of preservatives, artificial ingredients, or corn syrup! UNREAL Candy is real, and it’s being distributed in over 25,000 stores.

This revolutionary company was started because two young boys asked a simple question: Why does candy have to be bad for you?

Every change starts with someone who asked Why.

Here’s Kristopher to explain more about UNREAL Candy and how you too can change the world.

Anyone with the word “critic” in the title of their occupation begins on a bad foot with most people. We tend to think of critics as stodgy — people who have their nose so far in the air they’ve lost sight of their feet. The word itself has negative connotations. If we are critical of something, we understand something is wrong we wish were fixed. “Love” is not a word we generally associate with critics.

This is how I best remember Roger Ebert, with his good friend and adversary, Gene Siskel.

Roger Ebert loved movies. I remember watching Roger and his critical foil, Gene Siskel, point their thumbs up or down at a handful of movies each week when I was in high school. However, my full appreciation of Mr. Ebert didn’t come until after I’d seen a silly, yet touching movie called Valley Girl. Many critics panned it and several of my friends thought it was terrible — they couldn’t get past all the valley-speak, which was all the rage at the time — but the story struck a chord in young me. Several months later, I happened to see Ebert’s review of the film.

Disgruntled and weary after slogging through the last dozen Sex-Mad Teenager Movies, I came upon “Valley Girl” with low expectations. What can you expect from a genre inspired by “Porky’s”? But this movie is a little treasure, a funny, sexy, appealing story of a Valley Girl’s heartbreaking decision: Should she stick with her boring jock boyfriend, or take a chance on a punk from Hollywood?

Here was someone willing to look past a rough exterior and view something purely for what it was: entertainment. “His approach to film was populist —and he said he reviewed a film for what he felt would be its prospective audience,” a eulogy on MSN Canada stated today. Roger Ebert understood why most people see movies: they want an escape for a couple of hours. And if a film delivered on that unspoken promise, more often than not, it received a “thumbs up”.

Even through his courageous battles with cancer, Roger’s love of movies never waned. He continued to write reviews even after he lost the ability to speak in 2007.

As a writer, my first and most important goal is to entertain. I have no pretensions that I am creating great works of art, or penning influential literature. My only hope is that if my books were movies, they would be ones that Mr. Ebert would have found fun. R.I.P. Roger Ebert.

______________________

Modern English with “I Melt With You” — one of my all-time favorites and featured during the credits of Valley Girl

The Audacity of whY was this year’s theme. Too many things in life we take for granted and it takes a child’s curiosity and innocence to ask: why? Not only questions like, “Why is the sky blue?” but also things like, “Why do some people not have enough to eat?” or “Why do people get sick?” As adults, we often stop asking asking these types of questions, but it is those very questions which can lead to fundamental change in the world.

This year’s TEDxTeen host and introductory speaker was Chelsea Clinton. While Chelsea is no longer a teen, she became a public figure as a wide-eyed teenage girl living in the White House during her father’s term of office. She now works for the Clinton Foundation in several capacities, some of which she describes in the video below. One of the many aspects of her talk that stood out for me was the concept: Because you can, you should. It’s a simple statement that carries a deceptive amount of weight.

I’ve worked with young people in various capacities for many years. Often, in the past, it has been as a soccer coach. Recently, I began tutoring a handful of students in math and reading at my local Boys & Girls Club. I’ve done these things for many reasons. I believe working with kids helps keep me young at heart and it’s very rewarding to watch them grow and learn. Yesterday, I taught a young lady how to tell time. It’s a simple thing that we don’t even think about any longer as adults, like how to tie your shoes, but seeing it from the eyes of someone for whom it’s brand new is enlightening.

As a writer, it’s often helpful to look at things in this way, as if they were brand new. It forces me to view the world through a different perspective, either that of my characters or that of my readers, and dig down to what is really important. Hopefully, it helps me tell a better story.

Now, because of Chelsea’s wise words, I have another reason to continue writing and continue working with youngsters. Because I can, I should.

“Um, hi?” I said, unsure what to make of the display. Someone was definitely compensating for something.

“Bow, I say!”

“Yeah, I heard that part. Look, I’m not really into the whole bowing thing.” A flutter of movement caught my attention. Dark, flowing fabric covered a nearby wall. “What’s this?”

“No! Stay away from there!” the voice commanded.

I ignored him and approached the curtain. The material felt soft and fuzzy, like an expensive throw pillow. I pulled the heavy drape away and a searing light blinded me…

* * * * *

So, what’s behind that curtain? Well, besides an undoubtedly brilliant businessman, there are a multitude of things we will likely never see. Today, however, I’d like to bring to light one of the levers and switches of the massive mechanism that chugs away behind your computer screen at the Zon.

In stock, not in stock

This relates to paper copies of books, whether they be hardback or paperback. It’s no secret that the Zon has a huge warehouse or three where they inventory a tremendous number of items. What most people don’t realize is that a large percentage of what the Zon sells never sees one of those warehouses. Much of what you buy from them is actually stored and shipped from a third party. In the case of books, many of them don’t even exist until after you’ve ordered them! This process is called: Print On Demand, or POD, for short. A lot of the books offered for sale, especially those by independent authors, are POD. You order it, then the book is printed and shipped to you from the factory that made it.

A further peek behind this particular curtain reveals another facet of the Zon’s business acumen. It treats books differently, depending on who produces them and how much money the Zon can make. Books published and produced by CreateSpace are POD. The Zon lists these titles as “In Stock” because CreateSpace is a subsidiary of the Zon. Books produced by other POD companies, such as Lightning Source or Lulu, are treated differently, depending on the discount offered on the particular title.

A publisher, or individual author, who chooses to produce their books via POD, has a set cost associated with each book, just like traditional printing, but this cost doesn’t vary by the number of copies printed. That author/publisher sets a retail price for their book, as well as a wholesale discount. This wholesale price is what Amazon pays for the book. Typically the discount ranges from 40%-60% of the book’s retail price. POD costs per book are still higher than books done in massive print runs of several thousand, so the retail prices tend to be higher. My Mother-Earth Series books retail at $14.99, a price I wasn’t happy with, but which was necessary based on the printing cost and my desire to give a Zon-pleasing discount of 50%. Here’s the Zon’s listing page for A Measure of Disorder, paperback edition.

Personally, I’d be very hesitant to plunk down $15 on an author I wasn’t familiar with, so, for my newest book, Knot in Time, I wanted to get that price down to make the paperbacks more appealing. The book has fewer pages, which helped, and I set the wholesale discount at 40% instead of 50%. This resulted in a retail price of $11.99. The Almighty Zon, however, doesn’t like the smaller discount, and here’s how you can tell.

Notice the delivery has gone from “Only 1 Left” to “Usually Ships within 1 to 3 Weeks”! The process is no different. In fact, if you ordered both today, I’m confident they would arrive at nearly the same time (shipping vagaries not withstanding). The Zon punishes the listing at the less favorable discount. They are certainly within their rights to do so, and I honestly don’t begrudge the move. I’m simply pulling the curtain aside. You are free to make your own judgements.

Understand, I’m grateful for the Zon and the opportunities it has presented me as an independent author. I do, however, always want to keep an open mind and open eye on the business practices of the companies I deal with. Does this knowledge change your shopping experience? I’d love to hear what you think.

With an impressive display, answering seven out of eight correctly, our first winner is: Amanda (bloggingmom75)! Way to go, Amanda!

And the winner of the random drawing is: Elise (@CassidyJonesAdv)

Congratulations ladies, I hope you enjoy the books and thanks to everyone who entered and spread the word about the contest!

Here are all the celebrities identified. How many did you know?

Pictured here is Christian Keyes, proudly showing off his copy of A Measure of Disorder! Christian has starred in several films, including Perfect Combination and Lord All Men Can’t Be Dogs. He also plays Darius Bishop on the Beauty and the Beast television series on CW, airing this year. I hope you enjoy the book Christian!

All right! So, what’s a party without some fun games? Below, I’ve got pictures of several celebrities that visited the indiExhibit’s Oscar booth this year. Your job is to identify the celebs based on the picture, the hint I’ve given, and maybe a little bit of Internet research. Comment on this post with your answers. The post with the most correct answers will win a paperback copy of their choice of A Measure of Disorder or Knot in Time! (US only please, if the winners are outside the US, I’ll send you ebook copies in a format of your choosing)

In addition, I’ll award a second copy — again, your choice — to a random commenter, so, even if you’re stumped on the game, you can still have a chance at a prize! Just leave a comment!

Contest will run through March 16th. I’ll announce the winners and post the answers on St. Patty’s Day, March 17th.

Any questions? Okay, ready, set, go!

EDIT: All right. I think folks are a bit gun shy posting, being afraid they will give hints to others with their guesses. So, let’s do it this way: First post with all eight (or the highest number) correct will win a book. All posts with answers or guesses will get their name thrown in the hat to win a book. Even if you can only guess at one or two, get your post up for a chance to win. Heck, I might even throw some more books in the pot depending on the number of posts! So, guess away!

Paperback copies of A Measure of Disorder and Knot in Time will be displayed in one of the celebrity gift lounges backstage at the Oscars. How is this possible you ask? Well, I’m happy to introduce you to the folks who make it happen: indiExhibit!

The indiExhibit is a global group of independent artisans who banded together in 2010, led by Shannon Justice of Lollipop Labs, Inc., to showcase talented indie artists and their creations to other talented artists, namely actors and musicians. There’s much more, though, as Shannon explains:

The indiExhibit is more than just a group of artists who show off their wares in Hollywood. We are a close knit community who truly cares about each other and who wants to help every artist in the group become the best that they can be. The indiExhibit members are friends. We are a family. We are a support group. Participating in these gift lounges not only promotes each individual member of the group, but also encourages their creativity and pushes them to do better with each show. The indiExhibit helps artists build confidence and have faith in themselves.

If you’d like to find out more about this wonderful group, you can find them on their website here, or on their Facebook page. I’m personally very excited for this opportunity to have my work appear in front of many eyes who probably would never see it otherwise. Even if nothing comes of it financially, I’m still grateful to have found this great group of creative folks to hang out with!

So, who will you be pulling for on Sunday? Who’s your pick for best actor/actress or best movie? I’d love to hear from you!