Ex Libris

Please give a warm welcome to today's guest who is none other than Michaela Debelius, author of the science fiction romance novel, . Maybe she is a still unknown author to you right now, but trust me, after reading her post you'll remember her name ;-) So without further ado I give you Michaela! (ps. and don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win her book!)

Before I begin this tongue-in-cheek titled guest post, I’d like the thank Stella for having me. Thank you, Stella!

I Hate Writing Blog Posts AKA Why I Don’t Matter

by Michaela Debelius

I have a confession to make, though I imagine you’ve already deduced it from the title. I hate writing blog posts. But before you think I’m overly negative and move on to the next entry, let me explain.

First off, there’s a reason I don’t have a blog. It’s not because I’m lazy or prefer to ostracize myself from a proven method of exposure and therefore increased book sales, it’s because I feel the reader is being cheated. At this moment in time, you have no idea who I am. Michaela Debelius? How do you even pronounce that mouthful of syllables? Did she mean to write Michael? Let me scroll down to her picture and confirm this is, in fact, a woman.

While I certainly hope the picture does prove my estrogen dominance rather than draw-up more questions, there’s not much more I’d like you to know about me, and there’s a reason for that.

I get it. Amanda Hocking made millions by saturating a blog with every thought she felt readers would want to know. Taylor Swift has amassed quite an empire through a similar avenue. We live in a transparent world. There’s a reason Real Housewives of Any Given City is an automatic success even though it’s the same storyline with a different backdrop. People want to peek into the lives of others. It’s a fascination we have as a society, and I understand that. I just don’t want to be in it. It’s not that I strive to be the next J.D. Salinger, enigmatic and reclusive, it’s that I don’t want to cheat the reader from their rightful experience.

Up until the last five or ten years, all we ever knew about authors came from a few sentences found on the inner flap of a dust jacket, accompanied by, inevitably, a cheesy black and white photo. Maybe I read too much horror, but is there a law against smiling in those things?

Anyway, the advantage those authors had was their ability to blend into the prose. All the reader knew was the character. There’s a reason no one wants to see the puppeteer. It ruins the show. And, in my opinion, when an author becomes too prevalent in media or social networking, I hear them rather than the character. This happened to me with Stephenie Meyer. It happened after reading , though I was never a hardcore fan of his to begin with.

Herein lies something I am willing to admit to readers—I don’t spend time researching authors I enjoy. If there is one thing about me that’s obvious when speaking about writing it’s that I think Dean Koontz is a demi-god, untouchable and unsinkable. But there’s very little I know about him personally. What I do know I learned from his book , which is an autobiographical story about his beloved dog, Trixie. Prior to that, I knew he lived in California, owned said dog, and he needed to get rid of the mustache—all information I collected from the backside of his paperbacks. Fortunately, he updated his headshot and I’ve subsequently discovered he’s lost the mustache. I’m not going to lie; I sleep a little better at night.

Although there is great value in operating a blog as an upcoming author, the most prominent advantage being exposure, I’m willing to forgo that, at least at this point in time. That’s not to say I think other writers are making a mistake, it’s just a decision I’ve made in handling my own career, a benefit to being self-published. I put a lot of hard work into each novel. I spend ample time with these characters. And after months of exploring their world, I want their voice to be heard. After all, I don’t matter. When a reader picks up my book, I don’t want them to see me. I want them to see Mercy Green, Noel Casey, and the legion of characters I have yet to create. They are what matter. Their lives hold the adventures. Me? I’m just a woman sitting behind a keyboard hoping to offer someone entertainment in the form of e-ink. After all, if I were half as interesting as a nineteen-year-old immortal or worked at a mysterious Army base, do you think I’d have time to write full-length novels?

Michaela Debelius is a fiction writer whose work incorporates elements of science fiction, romance, and suspense. Originally from New England, she now lives in Arizona with her husband and two furry children. Her second novel, Perpetual¸ is available now. 

For more information on Michaela and her books please visit her website at www.MichaelaDebelius.com.

Lieutenant Noel Casey is taken aback by her newest military assignment. Her usual routine of vaccine development is interrupted when she's assigned to analyze Killian, a genetically engineered soldier designed for exceptional strength and intelligence. She's not accustomed to working with human subjects, especially a person created for warfare, and Killian's indifference is making it difficult to see past his robotic demeanor.

When Noel is attacked outside Killian's containment quarters, he is forced to intervene. The altruistic act instantly transforms their relationship, though neither will admit to the shift in sentiment. The predator is now the protector in Noel's eyes, and she's thrown off by her growing captivation.

As if her infatuation with a virtual stranger isn't enough of a distraction, she begins having terrifying nightmares. Her cryptic dreams appear to harbor an elusive warning as she watches them materialize into existence, proving the nightly visions foretelling. She starts to suspect the military base is concealing far more than an experimental soldier, and she can't shake the feeling Killian is the axis of the chaos. Noel must decide whether she'll accept the unconvincing explanations offered by her peers, or reject her comfortable environment for an unimaginable truth. With her premonitions pointing towards a violent outcome and her irrational draw to Killian becoming impossible to ignore, she realizes the choice has already been made for her. Noel's understanding of science is about to be shattered.

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GIVEAWAY RULES:

Michaela has generously offered an ebook copy of to a lucky commenter!

Just leave a comment and tell us whether you like to read about the authors behind the books, or if you don't care much about the person, just the story they created?

Giveaway is open worldwide and ends on 8 February 2013!

Good luck!