Feminism and Abigail Beson

I chose a female protagonist for the Abigail Beson series for several reasons. First, I wanted to challenge myself to write from the perspective of a character who is substantially different from me. Second, I want my sons to encounter a female character who is strong, clever, and confident. Third, the world has far too many stories about teenage girls that devolve into love triangles.

Abigail Beson will be involved in exactly zero love triangles.  

Writing Challenge

I daydream quite a bit. I frequently imagine scenarios which involve me saving a busload of people from terrorists, safely landing a 747, or getting elected president. It's easy for me to imagine myself doing awesome things. It's easy because I am me - the easiest person in the world with whom for me to empathize.

Empathizing with people who aren't me is an important skill. I've written about it in the past. It requires practice and effort. Writing from a female perspective is a strategic choice aimed at helping me better empathize with the women in my life.

Writing for my Sons

I'm waging a multi-pronged campaign to raise feminist boys. 

• I talk up my wife's intelligence, strength, and expertise as often as possible. This means making sure they know "mommy is better at navigating, let's get her help figuring out where to go." or "mommy is a really good painter, you should ask her for help."
• I intentionally purchase toys which cast women in a positive, non-stereotypical light (e.g., this doctor Duplo set).
• I will guide their media consumption to focus on things which present women as strong, important, and non-stereotypical. I am writing Abigail Beson with the intent of it falling into this category.

Love Triangles

Source

I truly enjoy watching The Gilmore Girls. The consistent wit, political awareness, and compelling and hilarious characters make it an excellent show. However, it frustrates me that the writers continually fall back on the love triangle trope. Each time they invoke it they gain a plot arc, but their characters lose integrity and definition.

I have a similar frustration with the Hunger Games series. Katniss is awesome in books one and two, but by book three she's so caught up in the love triangle that she barely even seems like herself.

Abigail Beson will encounter romance, but I will not lean on the love-triangle crutch.

Feedback

As a man, I am not the ideal judge of whether I've successfully written a feminist story. Thankfully, I have a wife, mother in law, great aunt, and (female) editor who have all helped shape this story. I also (hopefully) have you!

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Don't forget to check out my book: The Siege of Abigail Beson! Available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

The Political Climate of the Abigail Beson Series

I recently started writing book two of the Abigail Beson series (tentatively titled The Excursion of Abigail Beson), and I thought I'd take time to share some thoughts and background on the circumstances surrounding the family.

For the men and women in the thick of the action, the American Civil War was a war of peculiar situations. While combative bitterness ran hot and thick in the leaders and zealots, it was frequently forgotten by the men carrying the guns. Soldiers had to choose between loyalty to their country and loyalty to their state - not an easy choice in a time when television and the internet were non-existent and the idea of 'Washington DC' likely meant very little to a poor farmer.

The American Civil War was one of just a few where both sides spoke the same language. At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Union and Confederate soldiers yelled insults back and forth at each other, eventually getting so angry that they threw down their guns, called a truce, and had a good old fashioned fist fight (Catton, 45). On another occasion Union soldiers amicably traded their coffee for Confederate tobacco. This isn't to say the war wasn't bloody - it certainly was bloody. My point is simply that it was a war between people who deeply understood one another.

This puts the Beson family in both a geographical and cultural conundrum. They lived in Virginia, about 60 miles Southwest of Richmond (the Confederate Capital). As the United States fractured, the state of Virginia fractured as well (eventually becoming Virginia and West Virginia). The Beson family, a non-slaveholding family of modest means, had no particular stake in the outcome of the war. The Besons who fought in the war were patriots forced to choose between their country and their state, concerned primarily with ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their family.

It is in the context of this conundrum that the next story unfolds, as Abigail sets out to find her enlisted older brothers after the end of the war.

References

Catton, Bruce, and John Leekley. Reflections on the Civil War. New York: Berkley, 1982. Print.

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Don't forget to check out my book: The Siege of Abigail Beson! Available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

The Political Climate of the Abigail Beson Series

I recently started writing book two of the Abigail Beson series (tentatively titled The Excursion of Abigail Beson), and I thought I'd take time to share some thoughts and background on the circumstances surrounding the family.

For the men and women in the thick of the action, the American Civil War was a war of peculiar situations. While combative bitterness ran hot and thick in the leaders and zealots, it was frequently forgotten by the men carrying the guns. Soldiers had to choose between loyalty to their country and loyalty to their state - not an easy choice in a time when television and the internet were non-existent and the idea of 'Washington DC' likely meant very little to a poor farmer.

The American Civil War was one of just a few where both sides spoke the same language. At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Union and Confederate soldiers yelled insults back and forth at each other, eventually getting so angry that they threw down their guns, called a truce, and had a good old fashioned fist fight (Catton, 45). On another occasion Union soldiers amicably traded their coffee for Confederate tobacco. This isn't to say the war wasn't bloody - it certainly was bloody. My point is simply that it was a war between people who deeply understood one another.

This puts the Beson family in both a geographical and cultural conundrum. They lived in Virginia, about 60 miles Southwest of Richmond (the Confederate Capital). As the United States fractured, the state of Virginia fractured as well (eventually becoming Virginia and West Virginia). The Beson family, a non-slaveholding family of modest means, had no particular stake in the outcome of the war. The Besons who fought in the war were patriots forced to choose between their country and their state, concerned primarily with ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their family.

It is in the context of this conundrum that the next story unfolds, as Abigail sets out to find her enlisted older brothers after the end of the war.

References

Catton, Bruce, and John Leekley. Reflections on the Civil War. New York: Berkley, 1982. Print.

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Don't forget to check out my book: The Siege of Abigail Beson! Available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

Four Quotes from James Bond's Q Translated into Car Buying Advice

Over the weekend my wife and I spent some time shopping for a minivan. Here are some thoughts on the experience, tied into thoughts from Q.

Source

Never let them see you Bleed

The World is Not Enough

When you talk to a salesperson, they'll often ask what you're willing to spend - usually in terms of a monthly payment. Before you go into the conversation, figure out what you could comfortably afford, then cut it by 25%. In our case, that meant saying we're willing to spend $300 a month when we were actually targeting $400 per month.

For ten minutes or so the salespeople wrangled the numbers for us, trying to pitch various loan lengths or downpayment options. We didn't budge from our target number.

I want you to take great care of this equipment. There are one or two rather special accessories... 

The Spy Who Loved Me

Salespeople like to talk in terms of a 'monthly payment' because it makes large expenses seem small. When you're looking at a $15,000 purchase, adding a $400 trailer hitch won't make a big dent in the monthly payment - it might just be an additional $7. 

Dealerships make a TON of money this way. They know you're in a buying mood, and they want to throw as much stuff at you as possible. Don't let yourself get stuck thinking "I'm already spending a lot, what's a little more?" Look into every expense and decide whether it's really necessary.

Always have an Escape Plan

The World is Not Enough

Salespeople hate to see you walk out the door.  After we refused to budge from our target, we began preparing to leave. As we said "thanks for your time", the salespeople suddenly discovered that they could give us an additional $500 for our trade-in, and could cut $500 from the cost of the van we were considering purchasing. BAM - $1,000 just for threatening to leave.

Try to be a little less than your frivolous self, 007

Thunderball

Buying a car is a hugely expensive commitment. Cars are a horrible investment (we bought a used, low mileage 2012 sedan a couple of years ago and still owe more on it than it's worth).

Car salespeople do their best to make you forget that you are absolutely entitled to leave without spending any money at all. You do not owe them anything, and you especially do not owe them a five-figure commitment. 

Even with the $1,000 cut the dealership took, we decided we still weren't quite ready to pull the trigger on a new vehicle. We walked.

The time you spend is not "wasted" if you don't buy a car. Thinking about buying a car, researching cars, or shopping for a car do not mean you actually have to buy a car.

Quotes Source

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Don't forget to check out my book: The Siege of Abigail Beson! Available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

The History and Pronunciation of Beson

Beson, pronouced beh-ZOHN, is the family name of Abigail Beson. Abigail is the protagonist in The Siege of Abigail Beson.

Background

The name itself is British in origin. It is related to the family name "Beeston", which is also the name of a castle in Cheshire. Its first historical mention occurred around the year 1220. [1]

Several Besons arrived in the new world in the mid seventeenth century. They originally settled in Maryland and Virginia, and Besons served on both sides of the American Civil War. [2]

Canon in The Siege of Abigail Beson

Abigail Beson's first name was given in honor of her paternal grandmother, Abigail Fleischer. Like many Germans, Abigail Fleischer immigrated to the Americas in the early 19th century. The elder Abigail initially settled in Pennsylvania, but fell in love with a British man named Harland Beson. They married and moved to Virginia.

Abigail Fleischer took her husband's name when they wed, but being both stubborn and proud of her German heritage, she insisted on pronouncing the family name beh-zohn, as it is spoken in the German word "besonders" meaning "especially" or "particularly".  Her children (including Osman, our hero's father) adopted this pronunciation. 

Sources

[1] HouseOfNames
https://www.houseofnames.com/beson-family-crest

[2] Beson Name Meaning & at Ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=beson

How I'm Marketing "The Siege of Abigail Beson"

As an introvert and a Minnesotan, the idea of asking people to buy something is really uncomfortable. None the less, I know that if I'm going to get my novella out there, I'm going to have to stretch my comfort zone.

Marketing goals

1. Get as many people to order a copy of The Siege of Abigail Beson as possible.
2. Convince people who don't know me personally to order a copy of The Siege of Abigail Beson. 
3. Be as polite and un-obtrusive as possible.

Marketing Strategy

Here's my plan for the duration of the KickStarter.

• Direct contact/discussion with friends, family, and coworkers
• Daily updates updates to Facebook discussing The Siege of Abigail Beson or thanking its contributors
• Weekly or bi-weekly blog posts
• Blog posts are shared to Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus.
• Google Ad-words
• I'm spending $1.50 per day on keyword-related ads in Google search.
• Other blogs and forums
• The Siege of Abigail Beson will be featured on The Short Story Symposium in early June. 

Determining Success

I'm only a few days into the KickStarter, but I have some encouraging data and some challenges:

Contributions

I've gotten nine contributions totaling $294. This is awesome for just a few days into the KickStarter, but there's been a dramatic drop-off since day one. 

Page Views

The KickStarter page has been viewed 360 times in the last few days. By contrast, this blog has been viewed about 3600 times since its launch, despite being active about 20 times as long (the blog has been active for about 120 days, the KickStarter has been active for about 5 days).

Google Search Ranking

This has been a tougher nut to crack. Strangely, a search for The Siege of Abigail Beson doesn't yield a link to the KickStarter. Instead, it has a few links to KickStarter-related sites, as well as links to unrelated pages. 

I've added (despite Google's objections about them being "low volume terms") some more specific keywords to see if I can improve that result.

Conclusions

I'm optimistic that I'll reach the minimal funding goal of $350. I'm hoping that folks who aren't convinced to click 'buy' on this round will give it another chance when the Kindle version becomes available later this summer.

Update!

We made it! It's available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

Designing the Cover: The Siege of Abigail Beson

The KickStarter for The Siege of Abigail Beson is live now!

The exceptional quality of this cover is entirely due to the work of Emily Krueger. I'm far from qualified to discuss her methods, but I can tell you how I described to her the cover I had in mind.

The most important aspect of the cover is Abigail herself. She has attributes of two strong women: my wife Rosalyn and Rey from Star Wars.

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Intensity

Strength

Confidence

Serenity

Freckles

Stunning Beauty

I knew getting her expression right would be tricky, and Emily absolutely nailed it. Abigail is not wistful or dreamy, nor is she angry or comedic. She has the look of someone taking stock of a challenge with a mind to defeat it.

There are other important features on the cover, but I'd rather not spoil anything by sharing details you'll discover when you read the book! It's available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

Avarice: Update

Update: The Siege of Abigail Beson is available now on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and createspace!

A lot has happened since I posted a draft of the final chapter of Avarice! Before I get to the details, here's a quick summary:

• I'll be launching a KickStarter in the next week
• Avarice has been renamed to The Siege of Abigail Beson
• If you don't know whether you need an editor, you need an editor
• Emily Krueger does awesome cover art

Now on to the details:

I'll be launching a KickStarter in the next week

I'll be self publishing The Siege of Abigail Beson. A KickStarter will help me pay an editor and pay for printing of hard copies.

Avarice has been renamed to The Siege of Abigail Beson

I made this decision for a couple of reasons. First, there are already several books titled "Avarice". Second, while 'avarice' is an accurate description of the content of the story, it doesn't tell the reader much about the story. The title "The Siege of Abigail Beson" is unique, introduces the main character, and sets the stage for a wartime conflict.

If you don't know whether you need an editor, you need an editor

This project was my first foray into writing-with-the-intent-to-publish. I thought the story was in pretty good shape when I started talking with potential editors. It rapidly became clear that I still had a lot of work to do. I had the kinds of mistakes I expected (typos, grammatical errors, etc), and errors I didn't expect (using idioms from the wrong century). I've made huge strides in improving the cohesiveness and clarity of the story since publishing my last update to this blog, and I'm confident you'll be impressed with the final product.

Emily Krueger does awesome cover art

I'm ready to launch the KickStarter because I just got the cover art from Emily Krueger Illustration, and it's better than I ever could have expected. I can't wait to share it!