Two Authors Under One Roof

The two authors under one roof I’m writing about today are my husband and I; Bobby and Barbara Underwood.   You might be wondering about the dynamics of two authors married to each other, so I’m about to tell you!  First of all, let me explain how we met:

In this age of internet and email connecting everyone across the globe, it’s easier than ever to find someone who is your perfect match, and that’s how it was with Bobby and me.  Bobby was living in California and actively writing amazon reviews, but what he really wanted to do was pursue a writing career.   Having a full-time job made that dream seem almost impossible, so writing reviews for classic films and books was the next best thing.

And I was living in Sydney, Australia, where I had already written my first novel but didn’t know what to do next.  So I was keeping busy by writing amazon reviews for films and books, too, and that’s how we connected – on amazon.com.  Back then it was easy to find like-minded reviewers and contact them, so that’s when Bobby and I began corresponding by email and the occasional ‘snail-mail’ letters and cards.

That’s how Bobby ended up coming to Australia where we were married, and later moved from Sydney to a country town in NSW.  These changed circumstances allowed us to have much more free time to finally pursue our dreams.   Bobby was finally able to put down on paper a life time of stories he had inside, while I worked on a sequel to my first novel (Rhuna, Keeper of Wisdom).  Bobby was writing about a dozen books to just one of mine!

His books also cover more genres, such as Mystery and Detective, Science Fiction and Dystopian, Romantic Fantasy, Pulp, Noir and Western while my books are part of one large fantasy series.

Although our books are quite different, we still have the many fundamentals of writing in common, such as going with the creative moods or dealing with discouragement and ‘down days’.  We know when to give each other the necessary peace and space to write a while, and then balance the rest of the day’s activities around our writing periods. 

One of those other activities is taking our dog, Cisco, to the park at least twice a day, which is actually a very good break mentally, not to mention keeping us physically fit!  While doing these other things, we often talk about what we are writing at the time, or plan to write next.  Other times we discuss reviews we’ve received for our books, as well as other books we’ve enjoyed reading, discussing the aspects we like best and can learn from.

Bobby and Cisco in the park by the river

Being Independent Authors, we don’t have deadlines to meet, and this is a good thing we feel, because we don’t have any pressure which would make us rush our work.  Quality is definitely more important than speed or quantity of books!  On the other hand, we still give ourselves a realistic goal to meet, as well as a bit of structure to the planning of our books and their marketing.  When a book is finished, we often proofread each other’s work, but after that we go our own ways where publishing and marketing are concerned.  For example, all of Bobby’s books are available exclusively on amazon, at the discount price of 99cents and on Kindle Unlimited.

Bobby and I are not competitive, but I can imagine that other couples in the same profession might be, and in their case it can be a good thing.  In our case, we usually inspire and encourage each other, and Bobby’s success with many sales, particular his Western series, all year so far make me happy rather than envious or jealous.  

So this is our story - of two authors under one roof.

Dystopia vs. Utopia

Wow, I just had a look at Sci-Fi and Fantasy sub-categories of ebooks on amazon.com, and guess which ones are by far the biggest, with over 13,000 titles?  Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic!  Not that I'm surprised, mind you, with all the TV shows and movies with those themes, not to mention even the daily news in the real world!  But it made me stop and think about how I've been describing my book to people.

You see, my Rhuna series is set in mystical Atlantis, which was said to be a Utopian society, the definition of Utopia being "a community or society possessing highly desirable or near-perfect qualities."  That's the setting I've used, but of course, writing about a perfect world would just be boring, so I add characters who go against those idyllic rules and lifestyles to create conflict.

The idea is to show that there is no such thing as a perfect society, even if it appears to be so on most levels.  There will always be some people and some issues that don't fit, and that's where rebellion starts. 

But Rhuna is still living in an overall peaceful, idyllic world, thanks to the rulers of Atlantis. 

There is no "Utopia" category at amazon.com, and doing a search for "utopia" gets you all kinds of things, but try "Dystopian",  and there are thousands and thousands of books, images and other things.  Why does Dystopia have so much more appeal than Utopia?  Because, I mean, you'd think it would be the other way around, wouldn't you?  Don't people prefer pictures of paradise instead of a post-apocalyptic ruin of a city? 

There are probably many reasons and topics you could philosophize over (and please do share any thoughts you may have in the comments below!) but my main concern now is whether a utopian theme in books would fare well in such an environment as we have right now?

Is Dystopia only popular now because some books, movies and TV shows were hits, and that started a fad?  Are people reading Dystopia because there's no real alternative (except for my books, perhaps?!) 

I read somewhere that readers think a utopian setting is political propaganda of some sort, which might be the case if the book is not Fantasy or Sci-Fi, and so far, no reader or reviewer has had anything negative to say about the utopian setting of my books. 

Far from being political or propaganda, however, I do admit to making social commentary in my books, merely by bringing up age-old issues that still have relevance today, or that the reader can relate to, even though two books are set in Ancient Egypt, for example.  (see Rhuna: Crossroads and Rhuna, The Star Child)

My hope is that readers will find some thoughts about human society and ways of governing as described in Rhuna refreshing, stimulating and worthy of deeper consideration.  So, tell me what you think!

Fantasy or Magical Realism?

When I first began writing my novels, I called them Fantasy and Historical Fantasy, but meanwhile I have decided that the new sub-genre “Magical Realism” is much more fitting.

One of the main things that make novels like mine more “Realism” than “Fantasy” is that the people are normal human beings (albeit some with special powers!) who have problems and concerns like everyone else.

For example, my main character, Rhuna, is a woman living in the mystical past of Atlantis and Ancient Egypt, but her relationships, everyday concerns and moments of self-doubt are things that every reader can understand and identify with. 

In the 3^rd and latest book, “Rhuna, The Star Child,” Rhuna is re-united with her 18-year-old daughter, who has spent the last few years under her father’s very restrictive control.  And what is the first thing she does when she arrives in Ancient Egypt to be with her mother?  She falls in love with the first intriguing man she meets – but he’s every mother’s worst nightmare because he has a terrible reputation as a philanderer, and he is the leader of an underground Dark Magic organization – which in our day may as well amount to a crime gang. 

So, Rhuna is confronted with the challenges of being the mother of a young woman who is involved with the worst kind of guy, and everyone says so.  But she’ll only drive her daughter away and right into his arms if she puts too much pressure on her to break it off. 

These are the kind of realistic situations and personal challenges my characters find themselves in, and I hope most readers enjoy this kind of light fantasy with realism they can identify with.