Continuing in the awesome tradition of SF/F authors gathering and donating items for charity, stop by Genre for Japan this week. Many SF/F authors have contributed items or services for auction. All proceeds from the auction will benefit Red Cross Japanese Tsunami Appeal.

My own contribution, a set of the first 4 Blood Lines books is listed here.

Bidding’s already started so don’t delay!

Friends,

I was saddened and horrified by the news of the Japanese earthquake/tsunami. I wish that there was more I could do. Unfortunately, I’m a bit cash poor these days.

Instead, I’d like to throw it out to you all. If you donate on behalf of the Japanese victims, I’ll send you a signed/inscribed copy of BLOOD HEAT.

Just donate, send me a copy of your receipt via email along with your name, snail mail addy and I’ll send the book to you.

Some organizations:
Doctors Without Borders
Action Against Hunger
Google Crisis Response
Habitat for Humanity

You may donate to any charity, the links above are just suggestions.

This offer will be in place until the end of March or until I run out of copies.

Note: I’m happy to send books internationally, though you may be responsible for customs duties on your end.

One of the advantages of writing in first person point of view (POV) is that I don’t have to put myself into anyone’s head but that of my protagonist. I find it refreshing, yet at the same time, it can be limiting. If my character doesn’t know about it, it’s really hard to figure out how to get the information across. Sure, I could use visions–but hey, after doing this once or twice, it can get pretty darned old.

Can I write third person? Sure, I’ve done it in short stories. But for the Blood Lines books, I adore the immediacy of first person, the immediacy of knowing what’s in Keira’s head. For me, it opens up so many possibilities.

It also raises some intriguing challenges. The main plot of Blood Bargainchanged a great deal because I had to be in Keira’s brain, and not outside. Originally, the plot was centered around an Edwards Underground Aquifer water technologist who got lost in the cave (you know which one if you’ve read the book). There was this whole caving/rescue scene plus local area flooding which threatened the cave system, etc. etc. Only, I could never figure out why Keira would be at the scene in any of the above situations. So the story changed.

As I continued into writing books 3, 4 and 5, first person tended to strengthen my tale. It made everything more immediate, more intense. Keira, for all her 37 years, is in the eyes of her people, still an adolescent in many ways. They’re not expected to take up adulthood until after their Change–sometime in their 5th decade. For her, it’s like a 16 or 17 year old suddenly thrust into responsibility for a family and more. Coming at this development in even a close third person point of view might have worked, but for me, I needed the intimacy of Keira’s view; the unreliability of her as a narrator. Sometimes, things we (the audience) take for granted has only been Keira’s understanding of events…and for that matter, has allowed me to reveal secrets about the others within the overarching story.

What this restriction has done for me is made me think harder; make me more creative. I’ve fallen in love with my unreliable narrator and the limited knowledge she has. I’ve been able to hide important facts from Keira, pulling them out when they’ll make the most impact.

How about you? If you write, what POV is most comfortable for you? As a reader, what turns you off or on about differing points of view?