Angela Nicole Parker

It's been a long time, too long, but I'm finally back to blogging full time. Part of the reason that I have been off line for so long is because I have allowed my other life aka my "paying gig" to consume me to the point where my whole persona as a writer had sadly become nothing more than a heaping pile of ash waiting for the double threat of "if onlys" and "never will bes" to blow it away completely as if it never existed.

In other words, I have been feeling antsy and sad that none of my books have taken off  the way that I had hoped and was starting to believe that I should just give up and accept I'm not really a writer. 
Any one who writes knows that is a low place to be, when you start to doubt that you are really any good it feels as if everything you ever wanted for yourself has just be another one of your fevered imaginings.

That's not to say that I haven't been writing, I have. In fact, I have three more manuscripts peculating, but that doesn't mean I was writing for the masses. I had become a coward and I was so afraid to show a friend of mine, who actually is a successful writer, my revamped "Under the Hill" manuscript because I feared that she would tell me what I had convinced myself was true --- that I didn't have "it." Imagine my surprised when she was ENTHUSIASTIC about the manuscript. It was like hope had been reborn inside me and I went home and started working on an experimental novel that I've been toying around with and the story opened up to me in a way it hadn't for a long time.

I started to feel my gift returning. I realized that I may never be an acclaimed writer adored by millions, but I'm a writer and I'm going to keep writing for as long as the the words pour out of me.

I'm back and its about time! 

Once in a while a debate will come up as to whether fan fiction is an infringement on the rights of authors. While some authors seem to understand that this comes with the territory when you create a popular work that people become passionate about, many bestselling authors resent fans writing and posting stories online based on their characters. In fact, Fan Fiction.net, one of the largest fan fiction sites on the web, has a list of author's who refuse to allow fan fiction based on their works to be showcased on the site or else....

I recently came upon this blog and it got me thinking again about just what place fan fiction has in literary circles. I've seen some authors rail against fan fiction as plagiarism, an insult to the story that they came up with, and a poor use of any writers time --- because REAL writers should play with their own characters and worlds not somebody elses'. I, however,  disagree. Personally, I'd be thrilled if something I wrote inflamed the imagination of someone else so much that they wrote endlessly about it, but I wonder how much of that has to do with my own biases for fan fiction.

I read fan friction a lot. I tend to obsess about books, shows and movies I love and fan fiction gives me MORE of what I love. As a sci-fi/ fantasy fan there is no shortage of AU fics out there about my favorite characters and I enjoy a lot of it. I think it's a valuable asset to any fandom. I'm actually a uber fan of Merlin, a BBC show based on the Arthurian Legend, because I found an amazing fan fiction story that made me search the show out and see what the hub bub was all about. To me, fan fiction keeps people invested in the characters and the world they are writing and reading about.

I also think that fan fiction is a great training ground for future writers who can use it as a springboard to improve their writing. I started writing fan fiction before it was called that. I was twelve and there was no Internet ---  just a pen, paper, markers and a Star Wars meets Indiana Jones story I was dying to tell. Fan fiction kept me writing and helped me develop a writing style. I think you can argue its place, but not that it has one. Imagine what future literary geniuses are getting their start writing about their favorite fictional character right now! I think that as long as nobody is making any money off it, it OK. It's fannon, not cannon, and doesn't take away from the "real" story being by the writer, it just gives those who want to read a little twist something to enjoy.

What do you think? Is fan fiction wrong?

It occurred to me that being an indie writer is a lot like jumping on a trampoline. The highs are amazingly, but the lows are really low. Last week I was #71 in Kindle's Blog Section. It was a very random honor. My heroine Maddie is a part-time blogger, but the book isn't about blogging, but it was an honor none the less.  I was on a high. I was going places. But as of today, Tethered  and my great space opera masterpiece, The Specter of War, have not sold one copy in one in five whole days and the depression has begun to set in. I think I fell prey to the idea that I didn't need to do any real marketing, that the books would sell themselves, that they were such great reads that word of mouth would carry it all the way to the #1 spot on Kindle's best seller's list.

I love to watch We's Cupcake Girls because its about two women building their brand and their business and I realize that I have been doing neither. Yesterday, the girls did a "soft sale" on their new mancakes, a bacon cupcake that sounded like heaven to me, but the customers and staff didn't agree. One of the Cupcake Girls thought the problem was the "soft sale", that you had to go big or go home. I laughed because I realized that I was doing a no sale. You have to market to get your book to sale, it's just that simple, but my problem is that marketing isn't my favorite thing to do. No matter, it's a necessary evil and I'm going to do it. So, I decided to start with social media. My goal is raise the amount of friends that I have on Facebook and Twitter and to grow my email mailing list to start a buzz about my work and I want to start with everybody who visits my blogs.  So, please....

Visit my Under the Hill Blog here
Join my Facebookpage here
Join Under the Hill's Facebook here
Join me on Twitter here
Join my mailing list





See you in cyberspace!

Specter of War, the first book in my Guardians of Destiny young adult series, is now on sale.



After two dikas of peace, the United Republic of Planets now finds itself on the brink of war. The newly crowned queen of the Maraudan Empire, Mursela Mornall, is determined to return her realm to its glory days by destroying The Republic she despises, but her desire for war is dividing her people. Senator Abrecus Judi and his daughter, Dena, find themselves on the forefront of the debate, and soon their family is heading towards a collision course with The Queen that will change their lives forever.

For the citizens of The Republic, this couldn’t have come at a worse time. Graduating cadets Akeen and Connor Star have enough problems living up to their legendary heritage, and balancing their complicated relationship with Kayla Dylan, without being thrust into a war they do not want. Meanwhile, Major Van Dylan finds himself an unlikely hero while on a peace mission in Maraudan space, and Parnell Star, the great hero of the last war, must find a way to stop history from repeating itself, as young and old, human and non-human alike, band together to beat back the specter of war.

For a LIMITED TIME, you can purchase the book for .99 cents. Check it out and enjoy the journey.

Tethered was supposed to be my one and only foray into Chick Lit, but lately I've been finding myself  swatting away characters, as I've been editing The Yellow Pages, that remind me of some of my favorite screwball romantic comedy archetypes. I'm a big believer in following my muse, so I've decided to follow it and write Thin Line.

Dueling relationship columnists Grayson Williams and Jillian Anderson have very different views on life and love. But when both their relationships take unexpected turns, they are not only forced to take a good look at themselves, but at how they view each other, and they just may find out how thin the line is between love and hate...

Thin Line coming soon.