BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

You know, I had reconciled myself to just forgetting about the fact that my books are being pirated on the internet, thereby placing any continuation of the Rowan Gant series on shaky ground. I mean, I can’t blame the publisher. If the books aren’t selling because someone is distributing them for free, then why bother? If they can’t even recoup their investment then it really doesn’t make much sense for them to continue throwing money at it.

At any rate, like I said, I figured I’d just not get any more upset over it than I already had. I have plenty of crap going on in my life right now, plus I need to finish another manuscript for the pirates to steal. Things were going along fine. I had put it into the back of my mind (since there was nothing I could do to stop it) and I was coping.

Then, I went to an event.

At said event I met several folks who were terribly excited to make my acquaintance. They were huge fans, had read all of my books, and simply couldn’t wait for the next one. Major ego boost here. Gotta love that. Then, they dropped the other shoe. Actually, they kicked me with it. Seems that none of them had ever purchased my books. Nor had they borrowed them from friends or libraries.

No, they had downloaded them via one of the pirate torrents…

Oh, but it gets better… After reading and enjoying them, they proceeded to email the files to all of their friends, who in turn did the same…I got to meet some of them too…

I politely explained to these folks that neither the publisher nor I had received payment for those pirated books. I politely told them that since I wasn’t getting paid, it made it hard for me to pay my bills, which meant I might have to stop writing and go get a different job. Hence, no more RGI novels, which would be sad for the fans, me, and the characters who have taken on lives of their own.

They blinked. Then they asked if I knew how soon they might be able to download my upcoming novel.

I think I’ll go scream into a pillow now…

Murv

Well, I don’t honestly know the actual issue. I’ve lost track and I’m just too lazy to go back and look. At any rate, I’m not getting any “real” writing done today because the Munchkin is home with a possible case of Strep Throat. Makes concentrating a bit hard when you have a sick child on the couch and cartoons blaring from the television, if you know what I mean.

So, anyway, since it has been awhile since I’ve posted a FAQ Blog, I thought I’d do something about it. So, without further fuss, here are some of the questions I get in person and in email on a regular basis, along with something resembling answers…

1) Are you and Dorothy Morrison married?

Yes. But we are NOT married to each other. Dorothy is married to a terrific guy by the name of Mark. I am married to a terrific gal named Evil Kat. Well, actually her name is just Kat, but she is kind of Evil, so she does actually answer to EK.

Now, I suppose this question probably stems from the fact the Dorothy and I tour together very often. To put it simply, Dorothy is pretty much like my big sister. We also tend to click when it comes to doing workshops together, and have even been described by some reviewers as a Pagan “Burns and Allen”. So, there you go.

2) Are you and your wife in an open relationship?

Believe it or not, I really do get this question…

Okay…Let’s see how I can answer this… We are open with each other. But, I know that isn’t what you are asking. I can pretty much sum this up in one word. Monogamy.

So, no. My wife and I are not into poly, swapping, free love, yadda yadda. This is not to say we have anything against anyone who is. If that is your schtick, hey, good on ya’. It’s just not for us.

I am sure I will find myself answering this question again. But, there you go…

3) Do you plan to write anything besides the Rowan Gant books?

Yes. I do plan to write other books. When, I have no idea. As long as the demand is there for the RGI series, it gets hard for me to NOT release one per year. Unfortunately, between touring and writing, about one book per year is about all I have time to write at this point.

4) Is there ever going to be a Rowan Gant movie?

I have no clue. It would be very cool, but I don’t have any contracts from any movie studios, so until that happens I’d have to say…yes/no/maybe… (Shrug)…Honestly, I just don’t know.

5) Is the RGI character, Felicity O’Brien, bisexual?

Honestly, this question confuses me. Let me answer it by asking this: At some point during the series has Felicity done something which lead you to believe she might be bi?

If so, please tell me what it is so I can go re-read it myself.

6) Will the RGI character, Ben Storm, ever get back together with his wife?

I have absolutely no idea. He hasn’t said anything about that at this point. If he does, I will be the second to know (he’ll be the first), my pre-readers will be the third, my editor the fourth, and you, the reader, will be number five.

7) When will Rowan and Felicity have children?

When Felicity turns up pregnant and carries full term.

8) What is RGI character Constance Mandalay’s shoe size?

Same as Felicity’s.

I was recently informed that this question was asked as a roundabout way of trying to figure out Constance’s stature in relation to Ben’s. Apparently there was some kind of speculation going on with regard to how the two of them physically interact in the bedroom. (And here all this time I thought I was writing suspense thrillers, not erotica… (shrug)…)

9) Are you a member of any writing/critiquing groups?

I am a member of an online group and many of us are spread out across the country. I have, however, met several of the folks in person.

10) I heard that there is a Rowan Gant based short story being published. Is that true and can I get details?

Yes. I wrote a short story for a horror anthology tentatively titled, Courting Morpheus. It is due out from Apex Publications mid 2008. And, yes, the story I wrote includes a portion of the gang from the RGI series. I will give more details when my editor tells me it’s okay.

That’s it for now… More to come…

Murv