Please welcome author Diane Dooley to the blog today! And don’t forget to answer her question to enter to win the book giveaway.
A Cruelty of Writers
Diane Dooley
As I write this post I’m suffering a rather high temperature and a hacking cough. I’ve been pretty much down for the count for the past few days and have, to take my mind off how crappy I feel, inhaled three fantastic books by George R.R. Martin: a Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and a Storm of Swords, the first three books in The Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series. These books are not for the faint of heart. Treachery, murder most foul, numerous rapes, beheadings, torture. If it’s awful and cruel – these books have it in spades.
It’s not too surprising I’m loving this series. I’ve never been the type of writer that coddles my characters. I’ve had wives murder husbands, fathers betray their daughters, children eaten by wild animals, waitresses poison their customers, entire populations wiped out on a whim. I sound like a right little charmer, don’t I? *grin*
I’ve got nothing on Martin, however. I even tweeted my editor that I’m a poor amateur at the cruelty of his length and variety. Nevertheless, you enter my fictional worlds at your own risk. My latest release, Blue Nebula, continues the story of Sola de la Vega as she discovers the truth about her own existence. If she’s lucky, the love of her husband, Captain Javan Rhodes, will sustain her through the difficult times ahead. But Sola has never been lucky. Quite the opposite, in fact. As in Blue Galaxy, the prequel to Blue Nebula, you can expect twists, turns, and the uncovering of long-held secrets. Nothing is ever as it seems in this Blue Universe.
I’m giving away an e-copy each of Blue Galaxy and Blue Nebula. To enter the giveaway, answer the following question: which science fiction author, in your opinion, makes his/her characters suffer the worst? Don’t forget to leave your contact information. Thanks for hosting me, Charlee!
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Diane Dooley writes romance, science fiction and horror – sometimes all in the same story. You can catch up with her on her blog, Facebook or Twitter. She also blogs regularly at Contact: Infinite Futures and is a regular contributor to The Galaxy Express.
Her website is the best place to find her books and their buy links. Her blog is the best spot to find her short stories. They are listed here.
Smart Girls love SciFi 
Comments
14 responses to “A Cruelty of Writers with Author Diane Dooley”
Oh, probably Martin. He might be the cruelest taskmaster of all.
Martin’s bad to his characters, yes, but David Weber is no slouch. Actually, Weber is cruel to the reader. He’ll intro a character, give you some backstory and a reason to really like him/her then BAM! Hull breach! New friend is sucked into the void 😛
Great post, Diane. It’s been a while since I read them, but I remember Terry Brooks Shannara series being a pretty read.
I’ve read books where the authors are cruel to their characters, but haven’t read Martin yet. Going to have to now.
All the best with your new release, Diane!
Sorry to hear that you’re ill. Get well soon.
My daughter is reading Game of Thrones and seems to be enjoying it.
Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files killed off his character Harry in one of his more recent books and tortured in quite a few others.
Janice~
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Oh, and let’s not forget Stephen King. He’s been torturing his characters forever! I don’t know how he compares to Martin, as I haven’t read that series yet and don’t plan to until he finishes writing it… although I’m notoriously undependable in that area.
Good luck raising your own personal cruelty bar. (And thanks for the giveaway opportunity.)
Well, not SF, but Lemony Snicket stands out for me for what he puts those Baudelaire orphans through.
Great example!
Ann Aguirre does put Simantha Jax through all kinds of nasty situations. And poor Harry Dresden-the things Jim Butcher does to him!
I ❤ Harry! LOL
Thanks for the comments. Lots of lovely cruel authors to add to me to read list, lol.
Winner of the giveaway is: Liz Semkiu. I’ll be in touch, Lisa!
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle with Lucifer’s hammer. I’ve read it around 6 times, and each time it seems like the characters have it even rougher. I know the contest is over just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
Oh that’s easy… Me of course!
But other than that, I’d say it Iain M. Banks. Oh I can see why people might think it’s Martin, but if you look at The Use of Weapons or Surface Details, I think you’ll see that Banks has a particularly grim way of treating his characters. If you add his Literary fiction titles such as Wasp Factory or Complicity to it… well then…