Maybe because writers are enamored of words, we’re always seeking definitions. Yesterday on twitter I didn’t quite avoid reading a diatribe about what those of us who publish our own work should call ourselves. My choice is on display at the top of this blog. Ask me, and I’ll tell you that my last three novels have all been indie published. This is the same thing as self published, but the synonym I prefer is “indie.” It sounds better to my ears, and is entirely accurate in that I have — independently — pursued, overseen, contracted for, or done myself, every aspect of the publishing process. But the comments on twitter passionately rejected my terminology, to the point of name calling.

To which I can only say, suit yourself and I’ll do the same. In the end, it’s not about the publisher or the publication process, it’s about the book.

Another twitter post referred to an article with a title something like “Ten Indie Writers You Should Be Reading” … as if the fact of being an indie writer was recommendation enough. But wouldn’t an article on “Ten Novels Worth Your Time And Money” be more useful? I know, I know—not as catchy, but again, it’s the book that matters, right?

In recent years I’ve changed the process that I use to get published, but my goal with each novel is the same as it’s always been: I want to write the sort of story I would love to read, and I want to make a living doing it. I don’t see any need to define my novels as either traditional or indie. They’re all books that I wrote because I wanted to write them — and that’s a huge privilege, and I’m grateful for it.

I’ve just received the good news that my story “Light and Shadow” will be included in the anthology War Stories, edited by Jaym Gates and Andrew Liptak. Here’s the official announcement.

“Light and Shadow” is set in the story world of The Red, though it’s otherwise independent, with its own characters and a different writing style.

War Stories will soon be starting a Kickstarter campaign to fund the initial publication. I hope you’ll participate!

Back on August 1 I posted that Locus, “The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field,” had reviewed The Red: First Light.

That review can now be read online. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Twitter led me to a terrific post today by Sophia McDougall on the meme of “strong female characters” in fiction. It has the provocative title “I hate Strong Female Characters” but read on — there is an explanation for this, and Ms. McDougall has a lot of wise things to say. For example:

Part of the patronising promise of the Strong Female Character is that she’s anomalous. “Don’t worry!” that puff piece or interview is saying when it boasts the hero’s love interest is an SFC. “Of course, normal women are weak and boring and can’t do anything worthwhile. But this one is different. She is strong! See, she roundhouses people in the face.”

She also reverses the meme, asking “Are our best-loved male heroes Strong Male Characters?”

Is Sherlock Holmes strong? It’s not just that the answer is “of course”, it’s that it’s the wrong question.

What happens when one tries to fit other iconic male heroes into an imaginary “Strong Male Character” box? A few fit reasonably well, but many look cramped and bewildered in there. They’re not used to this kind of confinement, poor things. They’re used to being interesting across more than one axis and in more than two dimensions.

The idea that “strength” translates to ass-kicking ability has always annoyed me. I’m not really interested in superheroes. I’m interested in people who don’t always have the answers, who face moral quandaries, who do the best they can, and who — even among my antiheroes — have a moral core. Physical prowess is fine — I’m an athletic person, I love physical strength and endurance — and violence can serve a plot. I certainly engage in violence-in-plot, especially in my most recent books, but to me, “strength” is interesting when it’s strength-of-character.

So when the talk turns to “strong women characters” I like to point to Jubilee in Memory — along with her mother Tola, and Udondi, and Elek — because we’re allowed to have more than one. Or Clemantine, Deneb, and Hailey in Vast, or Katie, Roxanne, Ilene, and Nikki in Tech-Heaven, or Ketty, Takis, and Tayval in The Dread Hammer.

“Strong” comes in so many forms, because it takes all kinds of people — men and women both — to make a world.

Over a year ago I wrote my own post on “strong female characters” but never quite finished it. Maybe it’s time to finalize that one.

(This post is part of a series at Book View Café, and is cross-posted there.)

Gather round children, and let me tell you a frightening truth: I got through four years of college without a personal computer.

Everyone did in those days, but within a year of graduating, the personal computer revolution had taken off. This was 1983. I was getting married. The husband-to-be wondered if I wanted an engagement ring. I considered it for about a second-and-a-half and said, “Get me a computer instead.” Because by this time I’d decided I was going to be a writer.

So we decided on a Columbia VP Portable, mostly, as I recall, because it was significantly cheaper than the “IBM Clone” desktops of the time. “Portable” is a slight exaggeration on the part of the manufacturer. It’s really a crushingly heavy 35-pounds, not something you’d want to carry with you while commuting on a bus, but it served my purposes. (more…)

(Update: August 28, 2013 — the review is now available online.)

When I decided to indie publish The Red: First Light — the first adult science fiction novel I’d released in ten years — I knew I could handle the production, including professional editing, copyediting, cover development, ebook creation, and print book creation. I also knew that the online distribution was easily within my reach.

The remaining questions were:

• Could I get the book into bookstores?
So far as I know, the answer to this remains “no.”

• Could I do the publicity?
Among other things, this blog post talks about what I’ve managed. Has it been enough? Nope.

• Could I get the book reviewed?
Despite wonderful reader reviews posted at Amazon and other venues, to my knowledge The Red: First Light has not been reviewed at any standard book review site or publication — until today. The August issue of Locus is just out and contains a full review of The Red: First Light by long-time reviewer Russell Letson.

Locus is “The Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field.” It’s a trade publication covering science fiction and fantasy since 1968 and available in print and digital editions.

And what did Russell Letson have to say about The Red: First Light? Here are a few pull quotes:

…the novel’s vision of the military – or at least of the soldier and his or her most immediate context of competence, loyalty, dedication, and courage – is anything but disrespectful or dismissive. The setting in which these virtues are employed, tested, and sometimes betrayed, however, is something else again.

…a series of operations, described in enough detail to satisfy any mil-SF enthusiast, and with a sour enough attitude towards official and actual power structures to keep old lefties from feeling too guilty about enjoying the action.

…the same post-Vietnam sense of discontinuity that separates The Forever War from Starship Troopers, updated for the post-9/11 world.

The August 2013 issue of Locus contains reviews of many other books, along with an interview of Kim Stanley Robinson. Find it here.

And if you’ve read and enjoyed The Red: First Light, please consider reviewing it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your own blog. Getting the word out is the most challenging part of publishing — whether indie or traditional. Thanks!

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