Saturday, November 24, 2012

My Books Are Available On The NOOK!!!

Have a NOOK?

Go to www.barnesandnoble.com and download.....

Hannah: A Fictional Account of the Youngest Child Executed in US History

Diary of A Sick Chick: A Year in The Life of A Chronically Ill Woman

Sex Therapy

Nowhere and The Teacher's Pet coming in January 2013

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Amazon Authors! What's Up With All The Serials?

Yes Harry Potter was an exceptional example of a successful series, but if you're not a known name, then your series won't be worth the paper that it was written on.

Yeah, I'm kind of cynical about them, but hear me out first.

Within minutes, my cat can become an author on Amazon and publish whatever she wants to basically. I don't have a problem with that at all. It's just that publishing serials doesn't work for the average reader.

When you're new, you want to write an amazing story from beginning to end. When you write a serial, you don't want to leave out so much that the reader HAS to purchase the second book in order to find out what happens. If this is your first time, what if you suck? You're almost guaranteeing that they won't come back.

New writers need to find their audiences in different  ways than teasing their audiences with books that are sixty six pages long and that have titles that say this is "Book #1 out of 60 of the Dragon Knight Baby Specials"

Huh?

Have you even built an audience yet with the more  traditional route?
What makes you so sure that I'm going to stick with you long enough to read through the second book all the way to your sixtieth?

It's presumptious.

Stick with your first book and knock them dead with that one. Join book clubs that deal with the subject matter that you're writing in. Smooze book club owners. Talk with other writers. Utilize social media. Create a blog. Read other books in the same genre. Read books in other genres. Completely immerse yourself in the world of writing. Find out what the experts are doing. Find out what the idiots are doing and then, don't do that.

Then if you think you've got what it takes to write a trilogy (and God help you if you don't) go for it. It better be damn good and damn worth it.

A writer should never go into a project thinking that they want to create a series off the bat unless they are under a contract to do so. You, as the inexperienced writer with no base, have no clue that people will give a crap about what you write. You could very well be wasting your time.

Write that first novel but leave a little room at the end to possibly create a teaser. Then wait damnit. Wait. Check the reviews. Have other people professionally critique your work. Mull some ideas over in your head for a possible part two of the series.

Have you ever seen any of the Pirates of The Caribbean movies? The first one was genius but then the scripts became some overloaded with such nonsense that even Johnny Depp threw up his hands and said, "I don't even know what this means!"

You're in the business of writing and entertaining people. You want them sitting on the edge of their beds while their spouses are asleep waiting to jump up at any moment and scare the daylights out of them. You want them rooting for your characters! You don't want the main character in the middle of the scene that YOU wrote saying, "What the fuck is THIS shit?" It's not good.

 Concentrate on what makes a great story. Concentrate on how to tell a great story. Then go from there. If you're new in the game, the trilogy will come much further down the line. Captivate your readers and then you shall build a great and loyal audience. They will follow you wherever you go from there.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

In the Hospital

Review of "World War Z"


I normally don't review books for other authors. While I was not certainly asked for a review, I found a great book so compelling I had to share it with my readers that like a little zombie reading material with their breakfast.

It is rare to find a voice this compelling and a book so incredibly rare that I have to remember that what I'm reading is fiction.....
-Sonya Dickerson

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JMKQX0/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img
 

My significant other heard a friend speaking about this book and was told that he should give it a try.

So what did he do? Purchased the Kindle edition for his sick fiance with a lupus flare, with nothing else to do for six days until she was either better or forced from her bed by hospital bureaucrats.

I'm so glad that he passed the chance to me first.

I have to admit that I am one of the millions that enjoy, "The Walking Dead" series on television so I didn't mind another zombie read. There are thousands of them available for purchase right now ( I have several) and yet, I feel obligated to delete them all from my Kindle.

For the next week, I found myself engrossed into the storyline from the very first page. Yes, anything that can keep my attention going while in pain has some definite talent.

As many others have reviewed before me, you're not getting a three or four hundred page novel with a clear beginning, middle, and end. It's a series of interviews of people that survived the "War" and they are telling their stories for posterity purposes.

One may think that the interview style could make the book trudge on and on indefinitely to where the stories seem to overlap but they truly don't! That's what makes this book different from many others. From outer space to the depths of the sea, the story of The War and The Great Panic are covered in detail from the ones that had the skills, the bravery, or just sheer and crazy luck to make it through to the end.

There were times that I found myself having to put the book down for SANITY reasons. Yes...my sanity. The imagery and the characters were just too real and convincing. So much so that the moan.....the indescribable and inescapable moan of the living dead when they were upon you literally kept me peering out of the windows and the small caliber handgun by my bedside loaded.

You couldn't help but immerse yourself in the stories told by each survivor in their own little way without wondering just what you would have done in that situation. Would you have been among the living? Or one of the millions of tormenters that threatened your existence on a daily basis?

World War Z is one of those books that you just can't seem to forget. It will stay at the back of your mind as the current times show that our interest in the living dead has yet to cease its popularity. It was brilliantly written and highly recommended.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Black Girls Don't Cry

EXCERPT FROM THE TEACHER'S PET....


Black Girls Don't Cry

You don't get to show your tears.
And admit to the world all of your fears.
Girl are you still bitter after all these years?
Black girls don't cry.

Wipe those tears from your eyes.
And don't you dare forget your disguise.
Somewhere in between the truth does lie.
Haven't you learned that Black girls don't cry?

She must always remember her role.
For that Jezebel has traded in her soul.
She's the lowest being on the totem pole.
But Black girls don't cry.

Demonized by those who look like you,
Fighting stereotypes that aren't true.
You can't win no matter what you do.
But Black girls don't cry.

Seducing men to drink from her cup.
Hold your head high and just suck it up.
Do you think the world really gives a F*&^?
Black girls don't cry.

They don't know what she went through.
Her face deceives but only she holds the truth.
That her cold stony heart could break in two.
But Black girls don't cry.


(c) Sonya Dickerson 2012

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Getting Stuck

Ugh....

Writer's block sucks. You have this great outline that details your story from beginning to end and then Bam! You're stuck. What do you do?

With me, it's more self doubt.

This plot isn't plausible. I'm going to lose all credibility with this scene. No one is going to believe this. It's just too out there. My reader is going to throw their Kindle against the wall and then send me the bill for it.

My thing? Continue to write the story. Stopping is Death. Write until the end and then do the rewrite. Find the flaws and pull them apart. Don't stop writing. Don't stop giving up.
 

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Teacher's Pet--Amazon Standings

I'm number one in sexual abuse.

Spread the word. You or someone you know has a life that has been touched by sexual assault or rape. 

Download this book for free today.

An Excerpt from "The Teacher's Pet"

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 I am pleased to share an excerpt of my latest book, "The Teacher's Pet".  The book will be available soon. I ask that you read it with an open mind and reserve judgment. 


The whole thing still seemed so surreal. I walked down the hallway that afternoon accompanied by detectives of the Chicago Police Department. My secret was now out and the rumors that spread rapidly that morning were now confirmed.

I felt safe with the detectives that surrounded me as we waded through dozens of stunned and confused students. I couldn’t bear to look them in the eyes as they rushed off to find the closest person that they knew.

“See I told you so!! It’s true! He did get arrested !!!” I heard one student whisper.

I felt relieved that the detectives were protecting me. I wished that I could have hidden or made myself invisible, but the truth was now out. The thing that scared me the most was what would happen to me when the police left?

The bell rang as students scattered off to class. I wasn’t sure where Coach Jackson was at that moment, but at that point, I didn’t care. My future was much to hard for me to comprehend.

This too shall pass, rang over and over again in my mind.

“Can you show us where it happened?” the detective asked, snapping me out of my daydream. I nodded that I could and showed him the stairwell near the gym office. I choked back tears, as the detectives looked the area over. It was the first time I had seen the place since Friday afternoon...after the final incident. The only comforting feeling that I had was that I was never going to that place again. It was finally over.

The detectives asked me a few more questions before we walked down the now empty halls. The school was under strict supervision by the police. I was informed that the media had descended upon the school desperate for sound bites and more information.

One detective turned to me.

“How are your grades?”

“I’m an honor roll student. I’m practically involved in every school club and extracurricular activity here.” That answer seemed to shock him. He leaned down and got in my face.

“You’d better be telling me the truth Sonya.” I was taken aback. It was the first time that anyone had questioned my story since everything came out.

“Sir, if you don’t believe me, my name is on a bulletin board downstairs by the main office. I’m on the A/B Honor Roll. You can check the yearbook to see all the clubs I’m in as well. They’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

That detective looked at me for a moment before turning away. We continued down the hallway without another word being uttered. I’m sure when he left that day, he checked that bulletin board to see if I was telling the truth.

In the next few days I would learn that he wasn’t the only one that had openly expressed doubts. I don’t blame them though. The story was so crazy, I wouldn’t have believed me either.

That was the day that I officially lost my name. I was no longer Sonya Dickerson. Sonya had died a long time ago. I was forced to take on a new identity now, one that would follow me until this day. At the ten and twenty year high school reunions or whenever one would open up a yearbook to reminisce; my new identity became, “The Girl That Cried Raped”.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

The Teacher's Pet

http://www.amazon.com/The-Teachers-Pet-ebook/dp/B00A11XGYK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1351943613&sr=8-5&keywords=sonya+dickerson

It's ready to download today! Please purchase your copy now!!!. Thank you for all your support. IT was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to write in my life. I ask that you keep your judgments to the side for now and just read my words and hear the truth.

Thank you.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Dealing With the Aftermath of Sexual Assault

I never intended to write a book about my experiences, but so much in my life has changed. When I was diagnosed with Lupus, I knew that my time on Earth could be limited. I have already had a near death experience that has reminded me that life is precious and should never be wasted.

I had to get my truth out. Being faced with the decision to go back to school and get a degree, I had to face the reason why I vowed to never step into a classroom again.

I was sexually assaulted in school by a teacher.

I was bullied, harassed, intimidated, and rejected. I committed social suicide by coming forward and telling the truth. No one paid the price more than I did for doing so.

The advice that I have for other women?

  • Report what happened to you and save all the evidence that you have.
  • Go to a hospital so that you can get checked out. 
  • Seek counseling right away.
  • Understand that if you do come forward with your story, expect that there will be people that will demonize you, get you to recant your story, harass, threaten, or intimidate you. But know that there is an amazing amount of support out there as well. You are not alone and there are many people out there that know what you're going through.
  • Staying silent won't help the next potential victim. 
  • There will be triggers at times. Sometimes the smallest things will take you back to that place. Seeking help can actually help you to deal with the emotions.
  • Ignore the apologists that want you to just "get over it". People fear what they don't understand. Give yourself distance from these people and allow yourself to heal in the time that you need to. No one else can tell you when you've had enough time to grieve.
  • There is no particular way that a victim of rape "acts" although you'll hear a lot of opinions. Everyone is different and so you will get many different behaviors. 
  • It's not your fault and you didn't deserve what happened to you regardless of the circumstance. If you walked out of your house naked every single day of your life, you are not "asking for it."
  • If you have participated in apologist behavior, educate yourself. Ask yourself,"Why do I think this way?" Then educate others.

Sometimes women can be the biggest rape apologists on the planet. Why? Fear. People destroy what they fear. They may try to destroy you. Some women try to justify a rapist's actions because the world is an easier place to live, if they can find fault with you.

She wore that little skirt. She was out jogging late. Why wasn't she walking with someone? She let him do that to her! She was asking for it. She is an attention whore.

If they can blame you, then the world makes sense. It's like saying, "Hey if I do all the right things, then I won't get raped!" If only it were that simple.

When we demonize the victim, we give him the green light to do it again. And again. And again. 

You can get through this. You're not alone. 






Buy Teacher's Pet
Coming soon to Amazon.com
November 2012