Green Group discussion

To post a cover, look above the paragraph box for posting. See add book/ author. Click on that and you get a search box. This gives you the option on the bottom to post a link to the cover or the title of your book. You can do both separately.

Clare wrote: "

Murder At Wicklow Mensa

Adventures of an Irish tree surgeon. Light crime with an environmental edge."
Recommending this one to my husband...he's the mystery reader in the family.

Clare wrote: "Sorry for your loss, Jan.

As to the writing, the more books you have on the shelf, the more you sell. We are all hoping to get the message out, one reader at a time."
I know how true this is. I have been distracted by many things since 2013, including caring for my mom with dementia and also finding that I have a talent for Moth-style storytelling and that I love it. But I do want to get this sequel done. The environmental message is much more central to the plot and also increasingly important to me as I witness Trump's attacks on EPA, etc.
Jan

Jan wrote: "Clare wrote: "


Dining Out with the Gas Giants
I'm looking at the future of the world as seen by a journalist in an alternative f..."
Clare, How do you get the cover image so show up? Jan

Robert wrote: "I just use the goodsreads page for the first book. It has a link to my goodreads blog but traffic to that shrunk considerably when goodreads redid the home page layout.

https://www.goodreads.com/b..."
Robert, talk about a cover! This one is truly unique! Of course, I have marked it as Want to Read.

Clare wrote: "To post a cover, look above the paragraph box for posting. See add book/ author. Click on that and you get a search box. This gives you the option on the bottom to post a link to the cover or the t..."
Thanks, Clare. I tried that and it didn't work. Must be "user error." I'll try again.
Jan

Maia wrote: "Sounds good to me! I'm in Weston once a year or so."
As I wrote in another post - I am just getting back to a lot of things I dropped. You may have answered this before. My apologies if you did. What time of year do you come to Weston?
Jan

<Dining Out with the Gas Giants
I'm looking at the future of the world as seen by a journalist in an alternative f..."
This series has such an intriguing premise. I've added it to My Read list. Good cover, but not sure by what you mean about a summer book and the colors.>

Thanks for the compliment.
Okay, I should have been clearer. The previous book, which was called Dining Out With The Ice Giants, is set at the end of winter (to match the word ice) and has a blue, black and grey cover.
This book is set during the following summer and uses warmer colours.
I'm currently writing the autumn's events.

Jan wrote: "Jan wrote: "Maia wrote: "Thank you - very interesting - I will play with punctuation and pauses!

As for the image - just feels right and at different scales of viewing.

Thanks and feel free to ..."
Trying again with the cover.

I Call Myself Earth Girl

Thanks, Clare!! I don't know why I couldn't make that happen.
Perhaps I am a bit of a luddite! ;-)


Jan

Hello, everyone, (Hi, Jan!),

My third novel, KINSHIP OF CLOVER, pubs today. It's definitely eco-fiction, and has some elements of magical realism as well as a lot of politics. I've enjoyed reading your posts and look forward to talking more with you all.

Elli

Hi Ellen,
Welcome to the group!
Please say more about the magical realism element of Kinship of Clover. I am still trying to decide if I Call Myself Earth Girl has aspects of magical realism, as opposed to metaphysical. It really does not fit neatly into one genre. I'm hoping to get to one of your book events. Are you having any out my way?
Jan

My understanding is that magical realism involves elements of the "unrealistic" or very improbable mixed in to a "realistic" narrative, usually without distinguishing between the two. In KINSHIP OF CLOVER the main character sees and feels plants acting in "unrealistic" ways, and the reader doesn't know if he's hallucinating or it's really happening.

I do have an event in Cambridge next week. Nothing else planned for your area at the moment. Elli

Sounds interesting, Ellen!
The distinction you are making, if between magical realism and SF, would be between Like Water For Chocolate and Day Of The Triffids.
Metaphysical would usually involve inner eyes, telepathy and astral realms.
As I understand it anyway.

I haven't read Day of the Triffids, but i think Like Water for Chocolate certainly has magical realism elements. I think the distinction is whether the whole world of the novel is "other" than realistic, or just portions of it. But I don't really know; do other people have thoughts about this?

Loved Like Water for Chocolate!
What I did for my novel (going up for pre-release purchase today!!!) is call it Contemporary and Visionary/Metaphysical. And in the descriptions I also call it Ecofiction.
I think you could do something similar with your approach: call it Visionary/Metaphysical for the purposes of genre, and add Magical Realism in the description.
Sounds like a good read. :-)

Jan wrote: "Thanks, Clare!! I don't know why I couldn't make that happen.
Perhaps I am a bit of a luddite! ;-)


Jan"

You just need to hit it with the right size of hammer. I have quite a collection of hammers here.

I was just at B&N discussing comps with the booksellers there and they actually brought up Magical Realism which made me think, you should just go for it and mention it even though it is not a genre.

My book is up! I'm so excited. Does that wear off?! https://www.amazon.com/Erenwine-Agend...

We say it does.... but actually, no!
Well done, I hope you have success. Now write the next one. Your best chance of selling a book is when a reader has just finished and liked the first book.

Thank you Clare! I'm half way through writing my next novel, Otter Coast. It is a lot of fun at any point on the trajectory, I'm finding. :-)

Hello everyone, I am new to this thread, but not to the Green Group and certainly not to Goodreads. I just posted my next book Green Valley, a climate change novel on the main author site. I have called it a cli-fi novel, but eco-fiction would also fit (new genre, to me).

Ellen wrote: "My understanding is that magical realism involves elements of the "unrealistic" or very improbable mixed in to a "realistic" narrative, usually without distinguishing between the two. In KINSHIP OF..."

Ellen wrote: "My understanding is that magical realism involves elements of the "unrealistic" or very improbable mixed in to a "realistic" narrative, usually without distinguishing between the two. In KINSHIP OF..."

Hi Ellen,
Date, time and place in Cambridge?

Clare wrote: "Sounds interesting, Ellen!
The distinction you are making, if between magical realism and SF, would be between Like Water For Chocolate and Day Of The Triffids.
Metaphysical would usually involve ..."

Clare wrote: "Sounds interesting, Ellen!
The distinction you are making, if between magical realism and SF, would be between Like Water For Chocolate and Day Of The Triffids.
Metaphysical would usually involve ..."

Ellen wrote: "My understanding is that magical realism involves elements of the "unrealistic" or very improbable mixed in to a "realistic" narrative, usually without distinguishing between the two. In KINSHIP OF..."

I guess my book listing could include Magical Realism and Metaphysical, but it is not "neatly" either.

Maia wrote: "My book is up! I'm so excited. Does that wear off?! https://www.amazon.com/Erenwine-Agend..."
Congratulations, Maia!

Clare wrote: "We say it does.... but actually, no!
Well done, I hope you have success. Now write the next one. Your best chance of selling a book is when a reader has just finished and liked the first book."
Clare, I'm sure you are right and I wish I had jumped on it when readers said they wanted a sequel. Oh well, no time like the present to do what I should have done before.

Anne wrote: "Hello everyone, I am new to this thread, but not to the Green Group and certainly not to Goodreads. I just posted my next book Green Valley, a climate change novel on the main autho..."
Hi Anne,
Congrats on finishing your book!

Well done Anne, wishing you success!

Hello Anne! Nice to meet you & congrats. I added your book to my "to read" list. :-)

In other news...tomorrow's the big day for my novel! The pre-order period ends at midnight and people begin to read...

Maia wrote: "Hello Anne! Nice to meet you & congrats. I added your book to my "to read" list. :-)"
Thank you Maia. Good luck on your book too. I ordered 4 boxes of my book yesterday, for direct sales--nerve-racking experience. Now we work on the e-book version. Hope to have both on sale by May 15.

Awesome Anne! I'm doing it the opposite way, digital first and then in the fall will do print. Let us know how it goes!

Maia, I haven't used the label "ecofiction author," but may from now on. Everything I write is designed to move toward a sustainable world, and one worth surviving in. This is because I am a professional grandfather.

Please check me out at https://bobrich18.wordpress.com

I am happy to help other authors whose work I approve of.
This includes review swaps;
posting brief announcements in my monthly newsletter Bobbing Around of things like new publications (or older ones you want to draw attention to);
Beta reads in exchange for a review or beta read.

:)
Bob

The definition of Eco-Fiction seems to be widening quite a bit. Here are two articles about it I found interesting:

https://www.facebook.com/ecofiction/p...

https://www.facebook.com/ecofiction/p...

Annis Pratt
www.annispratt.com

The Road to Beaver Mill: Volume Three in the Infinite Games Series

Looks like I managed a link to one of my Eco-Fiction novels but not it's cover! Link will get you there, though.

Karen wrote: "Hi, I am trying to write ecofiction but have gotten a little bogged down with my novel. Honestly the election kind of derailed me and made me afraid for the future. The novel I am working on had th..."
Karen - the bogging down may have to do with the election. I overcame my dread/horror by writing two articles about the first 100 days for curious Europeans and then found it easier to get back to my Eco-Fiction marketing. You are, after all, delineating a frightening future ("If a way to the better there be/it exacts a full look at the worst" Thomas Hardy) and it is frightening to do the living in your setting necessary to a compelling story.

James wrote: "Hello,

I have written THE FORESTER, which in my mind I consider to be EcoFiction. It is on Goodreads & Amazon as a paper book & a Kindle book.

I am presently working on my 2nd Novel or I should ..."
I wrote a Goodreads review of James' The Forester for Goodreads, if you want to check it out.

Maia wrote: "Hello! I am wondering if we have other ecofiction writers in this group. I am one and am releasing my first novel this year.

I'm interested in connecting with others who are writing and currently..."
Mary Woodbury who manages Ecology In Literature and the Arts, runs a publishing company called Moon Willow Press - this might be a good model. It is Canadian.

Thanks Annis, but I don't use facebook.

I just published, "Radical", through Amazon. In it I proffer two solutions to the Trump/Republican/climate change problem. One is a fantasy solution, but the other, getting people to switch from dirty energy to clean energy, is a practical, effective solution that is already underway, but at a pace too slow to mitigate the worst of the damage to come.

Read the reviews to see how people are liking it.

http://tinyurl.com/ll3nfnl

Paul, I have just put a comment in discussion Good News For A Change! about Germany powering the country on 85% renewables recently.

On a personal level, do you get your home's electricity from a clean source, and do you drive an EV? It's good that states are doing a lot, but to win this fight, individuals need to do their part.

The ESB which is Ireland's major generator and supplier gets a lot of its power from HEP, including pumped storage for peak times. This group has also recently opened an offer to place a solar panel on a householder's roof to generate power for the house, and the householder can pay off the cost through their bill over a few years. I'm proud to be with ESB.
However Ireland is a net importer of power, mainly from gas. Many schemes are under way such as wind turbines, woodchip boilers and biomass to reduce this imbalance.

Here we do not yet have a network for charging electric vehicles. A few locations have a connection but would not serve many people seeking to park.
I drive the van I bought new in 2001 for my tree surgery work. There are no electric vehicles here that I'm aware of that would suit me. Changing a vehicle is a far greater use of resources than is saved by the energy efficiency of a newer model. I change the oil and filters, and add carbon cleaner to the diesel every year, and drive only when I need to. This last few months I have walked or taken public transport a lot more than driven.

It sounds like you are doing all you can given your circumstances. That's excellent. Your utility should offer a 100% clean energy option like many utilities here in the U.S. do. It may be possible to join with other enviros in your community and demand the utility do so. Attending board meetings and speaking for such a chance might be necessary.

It's too bad the EV revolution has not yet come to Ireland. It's taking too long to spread across the globe, mainly due to "merchant of doubt" tactics used by the dirty energy and transportation industries. This is the fight we have right now, and it's the fight I detail in my book, "Radical". You can help by demanding that your city install charge points everywhere, and that car dealers offer electric options. Eventually, there will be an electric truck from Tesla that will serve your purposes.

Please keep up the fight!

Paul wrote: "I just published, "Radical", through Amazon. In it I proffer two solutions to the Trump/Republican/climate change problem. One is a fantasy solution, but the other, getting people to switch from di..."
I looked at your summary of radical and it looks like it is too violent/war-like for my taste and I would have to read through a lot of this before I got to your positive solutions. Am I wrong? I don't need more bad news, but hope.

My non-dystopian, possibly too optimistic cli-fi novel "Green Valley" goes 'live' in paper on amazon on Monday 5/15. The e-book version is in the works, but giving me a lot of trouble. It will be 'live' at least by July, but I hope a lot sooner.

Anne wrote: "Paul wrote: "I just published, "Radical", through Amazon. In it I proffer two solutions to the Trump/Republican/climate change problem. One is a fantasy solution, but the other, getting people to s..."

Read the reviews on Amazon before making up your mind. I had to use the violence as a metaphor for the violence done through pollution from dirty energy. When you read the whole book, you'll understand why. There is a lot about the book that is decidedly non-violent. It's a good story with good characters.

In the end, while people might complain about the violence inherent in political assassinations, most of them are using dirty energy which is actual violence against people and the planet. This is the central message of the book. Do you use dirty electricity and do you drive an internal combustion vehicle?