So predictably the inevitable criticism comes about trying to tell the truth! Just to set the record straight, I’m very grateful indeed to those who pledged, with real hearts. It’s just that this isn’t a new phenomenon, Phoenix Ark was itself created to try and fight a system and explain a very particular story too, and that has been happening not for 30 days, but six years. Those who have not done it could not possibly know what it can be like, right or wrong.
Why in fact should someone pretend they get particular joy though from trying to even communicate, being the all singing promoter they are just not, or not wanting to send round robin emails or push people to take a Pledge, when they had dedicated their life to really communicating and really earned the right to do so too? I must be one of the only writers who told his fans if they didn’t like a story, including mine, then cast it aside and find a better on. It doesn’t matter, just a blip in the system, but when you see the same thing, again and again, who is it that actually stops to talk about the ‘culture’ of it all, the pressure or disconnection? I can assure you what happened over Light of the White Bear was absolutely savage. Go down with a smile, but really don’t be made to engage against the grain of who you are, ever. Besides, the proof of the pie’s in the eating and that’s fine too.
The final truth is that when noise is made you see the stats rising, but no change. Because there are real human beings behind all the Facebook fronts, the communication of how well you are doing, how pretty you are, how fine it all is, including me. So it means that people are willing to note the oddity, or give a tut tut, or a knowing smile, but not actually do a thing. You see I also know the vast majority of people who follow a blog are people I know. Woe betide them if they ever faced what I did, the room 101 to an author, a really rather extraordinary story too, but do they dare to step out of the frame themselves? Not often. The approach to Kickstarter remains then and if you could like to see the real reason the film is available by CLICKING HERE
In the meantime, it’s high time Phoenix Ark turned to comedy, and the London spring, much more fun!
DCD
PA PRESS
Phoenix Ark's Blog 
You fought well, and it was a shoddy move from the publishers. So few have the patience to appreciate the artistry of epic novels. I hate to say it, but epic storytelling is being pushed out by a very brusque style of writing, which while suitable for some, is overused. Fire Bringer and The Sight came out when the late Brian Jacques was enjoying great (and much deserved) success. He wrote beautifully, and fans responded, especially in my age group (early teens). Descriptive animals books were cherished, and thus your novels hit the market with perfect timing.
It’s only spiraled downhill since. As an adult I’ve continued to read some YA fiction here and there. The quality of writing has become clipped and terse, befitting a generation with a shrinking attention span (circling back to that internet paradox). I’d rather not name books or authors, but they have dominated the market and skewed our public perception of the novel (or rather, publishers have skewed this perception by sifting out the DCD’s of the world).
But I wouldn’t lose hope. Fashion is a malleable thing, and this includes the fashion of writing. In a few years, I hope to see beautiful, evocative rhetoric return to the shelves. And since you are one such author with a strong voice, you may be one of the pioneers. Keep fighting the good fight (even when it goes sour, such as with New York). What you say is true: writing is not about selling and selling and selling….but rather about speaking through an artistic medium.
Please let me know if I can help! I’m just a student over the pond with no professional writing credential, but I’ve a strong sense of activism, and know a good book when I read one.
Please please please, be patient about kickstarter. It has only been a few days. The typical life cycle of a kickstarter is that it’s slow initially and picks up in the later weeks. It has done very well so far for being so early. Kickstarters are fickle things, and as the timer kicks down that usually gears people up to contribute. Its good to keep promoting the kickstarter as well. I know things have been very hard for you and you’ve gone through a lot, But please don’t panic.It will be ok.
Hello Wolf,
very nice to hear from you. I am not panicking, I am just tired, after not a moment but several years and that means being tired of the ‘culture’. As to things being hard there is an issue of separating a project from a true publishing story and actually it is astonishing. It makes me at times want to talk about that, as much as tell stories and sometimes I am not even sure I can tell stories any more! I know my absurdity, it is quite obvious in this case, but it is not the point. The point is that people so close cannot do that to any human being, not their own contracted author, not the freedom of writing, and just get away with it, it’s actually behind what leads to fascism, so why not just sigh and tell the truth?
Is the pen mightier than the sword, are we really living in a democratic world, or is the gap of money and power getting so extreme that we all have to run a mile, and are in the end powerless? Blah. That’s not weaving meaning, the art of story, but it’s worth saying.
David
I completely understand your frustration, and I definitely agree that the truth is definitely the way to go. The things that happened are a harsh look inside the industry that aspiring writers should look at and be worried. I want your endeavor to succeed, both with Phoenix Ark and with Light of the White Bear. I’ve been eagerly awaiting with the hope that it would get published (and in ink and paper, far better for the environment then all the nooks and laptops, and nothing beats holding a real book) and it was very exciting to hear of it’s return. I doubt I am the only one; we are rooting for you!
What are you looking for in regards your cover image of White Bear?
Hello WolfWings,
sorry, I am not getting it am I? That this is about engagement at every level. With the clock ticking I won’t have time to think about design and cover unless it hits a target, but in fact the battle (back then!) started partly over a cover. I wanted Uteq’s black paw in it and it was the only protection and right I had written into a publishing contract. They are specifically designed not to give authors any say so if they don’t become the big success or a problem houses can quietly jetison them and follow the trends and the money….We’ll have fun on design when the time’s right!
DCD