Guest Post - Behind the Scenes: Authors as Entertainers - Serena Chase
Today's Guest Post is written by Blogger and now Author Serena Chase :
Serena works on the Blog http://www.edgyinspirationalromance.com and is one of the blogs that I frequent quite regularly and have found some awesome books on the site.
Behind
the Scenes: Authors as Entertainers by
Serena Chase
There is a shortage of glitz and glam in
the life of a typical fiction author, but there is no denying that, regardless
of the intellectual level of what we write, we are vital members of the
entertainment industry. Why, then, is it so difficult for many authors to admit
this?
Our culture has evolved (or devolved, some
might say) to be fairly focused on instant gratification. Although e-books have
given us that sort of access to novels—“click
here to download now!”—the actual business of being entertained by novel-length
fiction is quite a time commitment in our fast-paced world. Unlike the movies,
where we pay approximately the same price to be admitted to the theater as we
would for a new release trade paperback, with books, by the time we’re 120
minutes into the “show”, an average-paced reader is less than halfway to the
end. Our cinema-entertained counterparts, however, are, in most cases, already
fully entertained and on their way to their cars. Honestly, it’s a lot for us
to ask of those who consume our “product.” But, as with a great movie, a great
novel is entertainment at its finest—perhaps more so. Indeed, Shakespeare
described reading as, “the theatre of the mind” and our God-given imaginations
are way less limiting than a Hollywood director’s 120 minute interpretation of a
story.
So why should we fight the “entertainer” label?
In my opinion, we shouldn’t. We should embrace it!
Perhaps some authors see the “entertainment
industry” as too surface, too “everyman” for their style of über-intelligent
prose. Others, perhaps, are writing to fulfill a societal or moral agenda and
see their work as more of a “message to the masses” than a means by which
people might be entertained. For me, however, I’m perfectly comfortable with
the idea of being involved in the entertainment industry. Perhaps that has
something to do with my background.
When I graduated from high school I didn’t
have any concrete plans to write a book. I enjoyed writing, of course, and was
a voracious reader. In fact, I was fairly experienced in the art of living
within my imagination. But it wasn’t writing books that drew my heart and charted my path away from home, it was
my other passion, music, that filled my need to create stories. But back in
those early days, I wanted to fashion my tales in increments of
four-minutes-or-less—the common length of a modern pop ballad.
When I left home, it was with the plan to
enter the entertainment industry—specifically, the music business. I planned to
be a songwriter and, in my heart of hearts, yearned to perform my own songs for
the masses, someday. At eighteen, I headed off to Nashville. Four years later,
I graduated from Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and
Music Business with the tools to succeed and a few connections to help speed me
on my way.
But life had other plans. Love moved me out
of Music City USA and back to my home state of Iowa. A couple of years later,
becoming a mom (another cherished dream) kept me here. Even though I kept
writing songs and performing at weddings and local events, something was
building behind-the-scenes. Eventually, it took the form of stories that could
not be conveyed in the three minutes and thirty seconds required by popular
record label standards.
At thirty-three I was a far cry from the
naïve-but-educated newlywed with the Music Business degree in hand, but one
evening, I sat down to try to give breath to the story that had been
percolating in my heart. It took seven years of drafts, of studying the craft
of fiction writing, a lot of struggle, and a fair bit of near-despair before my
first book, The Ryn, saw the light of
day via publication. And, while I hope there is a bit of intelligence in the
prose and a message that touches my readers’ hearts, I hope that, on their way
to those sweet words “The End”, those who have spent time within the story have
been . . . entertained.
Much like an actor, director, singer, or
songwriter, by writing and publishing fiction, I provide a service—a means of
escape and a vehicle to transport those who desire it into a realm where, if
for only a moment, a reader can vicariously live beyond the limitations of his
or her circumstances. Even though my “membership card” may look more like
something you would get from a library than the cool sort of lamination that
might be attached to a lanyard at a red-carpet event, I am proud to be a
card-carrying member of the entertainment industry.
I am an author; therefore, I am an entertainer.
And I hope you, dear reader, are entertained through each and every page.
About the author:
Serena
Chase is a frequent contributor to USA
Today’s Happy Ever After and blogs at Edgy Inspirational Romance. Her debut
YA fantasy, The Ryn, was released in
March 2013 and its sequel, The Remedy,
in April 2013. Together, they comprise an expanded re-imagining of the classic
Grimm fairy tale, Snow White & Rose
Red and are the first two books in the Eyes of E’veria series. Serena lives
in a small town in Iowa with her husband, Dave, two daughters, and a very
spoiled white goldendoodle named Albus. You can connect with Serena at her
website http://www.serenachase.com,
her official
author page on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @Serena_Chase.
Thanks for having me, Paula! *hugs*
ReplyDeleteI love it! Having worked in and around Hollywood for many years, there are so many similarities. I always wondered why these beautiful, wonderful actors say they can't watch themselves on screen, and now I understand... I don't want to read my own books after they're published either! It's too nerve wracking to view the final product.
ReplyDeleteKeep on entertaining, Serena! I can't wait for book 3. :)
I can't wait for more books written by you either! :)
ReplyDelete