Peta Gentry's Blog
December 11, 2013
The difficulties of anonymity
I love writing. It frees me, takes me into another world for the two hours a day that I allow myself. While not comparing myself to him, I feel a kinship with Chekhov when he says that medicine (he was a doctor) is his wife; literature, his mistress. I have a full-time job - one that I am passionate about, enjoy and value. But I also have this other passion - to write, to escape into the wonderful world of the imagination. It's relaxing, invigorating and, finally, healing. I can't pretend that I'm a Tolstoy, but I am grateful for every moment that my characters allow me to share their lives; I am constantly surprised at the twists and turns of their journeys.
One thing saddens me. I have to remain anonymous. This necessity comes about for two reasons. In my chosen field - my 'wife' - I am well-respected. Some of my colleagues would lose this hard-won respect for me because of what they would consider a frivolity. They would not understand my need for an escape from the rather rigid, linear field that we inhabit and share. I am happy with its insistent need for this uncompromising discipline - it could not exist without it. But I need this second universe as well. The universe where my imagination wonders freely, seeming to be receiving messages and metaphors from some other sphere. This enables me to cope with the necessary shackles of the first. For those few colleagues - who I really respect for their work in our shared field - the imagination is not to be trusted.
I remain quiet.
The other reason is more prosaic. I am not sure how my children would respond to the wilder shores of my sexual imagination. Children are uncomfortable with the thought that their parents have a carnal life. They put their hands over their ears and shout: "Don't wanna know!! Don't Wanna Know!! DONT WANNA KNOW!!" when I or my partner try to tease them. My partner is one of the only three people who knows who Peta Gentry is. Together we share a rather wonderful sensual life, from which I have drawn much of my knowledge.
There is the occasional hitch: "Is this based on me?" The answer, as all novelists will know, is: "Partly..." Is Dr Astrov in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya based on Chekhov, himself? The answer, I suspect, is "Partly".
Our characters base themselves on all of our experiences, all of our memories, all the many and various things we have seen, books we have read, films, documentaries, news broadcasts we have viewed. All of these remain stored in our amazing, quantum brain, ready to be raided by characters looking to form themselves, clothe themselves, explain themselves from the resources in that extraordinary storehouse.
So the problem arises: how do I publicise my work?
One of the major differences between traditional and self-publishing is that you have to do all the publicity yourself. Social media have made this increasingly easy. But only if you are able to get your friends involved. In this area I can have no friends. Even the three that know cannot get involved - it would lead straight back to me.
Catch-22 lives. Bless Joseph Heller for cursing us with the knowledge of this most fatal of all flaws.
If anyone out there has a solution - you have my email address....
One thing saddens me. I have to remain anonymous. This necessity comes about for two reasons. In my chosen field - my 'wife' - I am well-respected. Some of my colleagues would lose this hard-won respect for me because of what they would consider a frivolity. They would not understand my need for an escape from the rather rigid, linear field that we inhabit and share. I am happy with its insistent need for this uncompromising discipline - it could not exist without it. But I need this second universe as well. The universe where my imagination wonders freely, seeming to be receiving messages and metaphors from some other sphere. This enables me to cope with the necessary shackles of the first. For those few colleagues - who I really respect for their work in our shared field - the imagination is not to be trusted.
I remain quiet.
The other reason is more prosaic. I am not sure how my children would respond to the wilder shores of my sexual imagination. Children are uncomfortable with the thought that their parents have a carnal life. They put their hands over their ears and shout: "Don't wanna know!! Don't Wanna Know!! DONT WANNA KNOW!!" when I or my partner try to tease them. My partner is one of the only three people who knows who Peta Gentry is. Together we share a rather wonderful sensual life, from which I have drawn much of my knowledge.
There is the occasional hitch: "Is this based on me?" The answer, as all novelists will know, is: "Partly..." Is Dr Astrov in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya based on Chekhov, himself? The answer, I suspect, is "Partly".
Our characters base themselves on all of our experiences, all of our memories, all the many and various things we have seen, books we have read, films, documentaries, news broadcasts we have viewed. All of these remain stored in our amazing, quantum brain, ready to be raided by characters looking to form themselves, clothe themselves, explain themselves from the resources in that extraordinary storehouse.
So the problem arises: how do I publicise my work?
One of the major differences between traditional and self-publishing is that you have to do all the publicity yourself. Social media have made this increasingly easy. But only if you are able to get your friends involved. In this area I can have no friends. Even the three that know cannot get involved - it would lead straight back to me.
Catch-22 lives. Bless Joseph Heller for cursing us with the knowledge of this most fatal of all flaws.
If anyone out there has a solution - you have my email address....
May 23, 2013
Giveaways....
I've just run five days of free giveaways on Amazon. 180 people downloaded the Kindle edition.
Then I realised that I hadn't advertised that Giveaway here - don't even know if I could have. Resolution: must learn to use Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.
Then I realised that I hadn't advertised that Giveaway here - don't even know if I could have. Resolution: must learn to use Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.
First past the Post!
Really excited! My first review on Amazon - and it's a corker. Forgive me quoting it in full:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars my best read this month 18 Dec 2012
By dom quixote
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In this book there are 3 really strong, sexy women; lots of scrumptious sex with lots and lots of foreplay, which will keep female readers horny and content. Peta Gentry is a great storyteller. There are alot of twists and turns and a really believable - if slightly idealised family - and, in Amy, a beautifully drawn character we can live with from the age of five to her beautifully blooming maturity. I liked everything about this book - and I finished it within 48 hours. I couldn't put it down.
Thanks so much Dom Quixote. Oh, that's a novel I forgot to include in my favourites.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars my best read this month 18 Dec 2012
By dom quixote
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In this book there are 3 really strong, sexy women; lots of scrumptious sex with lots and lots of foreplay, which will keep female readers horny and content. Peta Gentry is a great storyteller. There are alot of twists and turns and a really believable - if slightly idealised family - and, in Amy, a beautifully drawn character we can live with from the age of five to her beautifully blooming maturity. I liked everything about this book - and I finished it within 48 hours. I couldn't put it down.
Thanks so much Dom Quixote. Oh, that's a novel I forgot to include in my favourites.
