Friday, December 17, 2010

I'm Officially Banned

You know, I'm really glad I read the reviews I posted on the previous post before I got this news, because it's nice to know someone likes your book before you discover retailers are banning it from their shelves.

Kay'sVille is officially banned/Special Order Only at Deseret Book and Seagull.

No specific reasons were cited, only that there was objectionable content. And yes, considering the story is told from the perspective of a non-Mormon living among Mormons, that seems unavoidable. Kay's values are not LDS values. Her thoughts are not LDS thoughts. She doesn't even like Mormons, even though she's gradually warming up to a select few of them.
If there's any character that is not a cardboard cut out, it's Kay. I love her story. I love her, but if you're interesting in reading about her, it's important to know that she will not be stocked Deseret Book or Seagull :( If you want to buy the book there and you're waiting for it to show up on their shelves, you'll be waiting a loooooooooong time.

As in forever.

In truth, I knew it was iffy to write a technically LDS fiction title from the perspective of someone who doesn't believe in it, nor does she want to, even though many of the people in her life are members. My muse and I have gone back and forth over whether she should tell her story or not. She never failed in her answer.

Yes. I was supposed to tell it--at least key parts of it.

And now she's banned. She (yes, I refer to my muses as actual people) knew it would happen, and I had an inkling based on the vibe she sent me. The vibe essentially said, "You hang with me, and people might look at you like they look at me."

As anyone writes can tell you, some muses are more adamant than others. Some muses might as well pay rent because they spent so much time squatting at your place. Kay and her story have tapped on my shoulder for five years, and I'm glad to be the one who got to tell her story--banned or not.

I hope you love Kay'sVille. Obviously. Or at least like it a lot. I wouldn't have written it without the hope of that. That said, I HIGHLY encourage you to review it wherever possible, and you are welcome to voice your opinion on its banned status for those considering the book. You may agree, you may disagree. Trust me, Kay is a muse/character who knows she gets a polarized reaction from people. Anyone who's read books 1-3 can vouch for that.

Either way, your thoughts and input will inform other readers who are looking at the series, and Book 4 in particular.

So please, please, PLEASE review Kay'sVille if you happen to read it. When a book is banned, reviews can be the only thing going for it.

Oh, and still feel free to nominate it for a Whitney Award if you like it. I would love their thoughts on the book as well, should it be nominated.

As always, thanks for all your support and thanks for reading!!
Sheralyn

13 comments:

  1. Best of luck. Don't worry about it, your books are great and the reviews will tell others that. If I had a copy I would review it, but I'm working on that :) I really like the first one. And it's so funny, I was looking through my mom's shelves and she has a copy of your book- oh I can't remember the name but it had , "Lies, ties,..." or something like that is the title. It was from way back when, before the Cedar Fort days. Funny huh?

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  2. Are you going to have books at Storymakers? Are you going? If so, I'd love to buy your book there and avoidthe middle man altogether. :)

    You rock! "I know someone who writes banned books!" Whoot!

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  3. I'm glad you wrote it anyway. I'm sure it's terrific. I think you are way cool for getting banned. ;)

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  4. I'm so sad to hear this. I nominated it for a Whitney and I hope your sales go through the roof regardless. It's a great book and you deserve it.

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  5. I love the first two books I read in this series and am looking forward to reading the next 2. I love Rhea & Kay!

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  6. Thanks, Heidi! And Spies, Lies... is actually the original City of Angels. Same story lines.

    Noble: Yes, I will be at LDS StoryMakers in 2011. I'm actually a presenter, so I'll plan on seeing you there!

    Wendy: *big hig* Thanks!

    Angie: I'm glad my street cred is upped. I should get a shirt ;P

    Rachael: BLESS YOU for reading it and bless you for nominating it. Can't wait to see what happens!

    Kathy: Hope you like the second two as well. I think they're fun. Especially three :)

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  7. I'd have ordered it anyway but now I'm going to get to it faster.

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  8. I love your writings and cannot wait to get Kaysville! Hope that banning it works in your favor! Is this why you had to change publishers for the whole series?

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  9. I was just working on my post (that I've had sitting on my blog) of your first two books and came to your blog to grab the link and saw this. I can't wait to review Kay'sVille now too and spread the good word! :P

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  10. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

    And Sarah, I guess the short answer to your question is yes, I guess. Although, as most banned LDS authors can tell you, none of the pre-publication feedback indicated this was the case, or I would have worked to resolve concerns.

    And for those who are wondering, should books 5 &6 come to pass, technically if someone wanted to skip 4 and read 5 & 6, they wouldn't miss a huge chunk of the story. They would sense they were missing a thing or two, but they wouldn't be confused as far as the forward motion of Rhea telling the story. That's always been the case, but is also the reason Kay stepped in and said, "If you want to understand fully what Rhea's about to tell you, here are a few facts she's keeping from you."

    *sigh* The joys of publishing...

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  11. I must tell you that I'm always leery of LDS writers because I hate having religion being so forcefully included in books that have good storylines. When my sister asked if I had read your books I truthfully told her I hadn't and probably wouldn't because of past experiences with the LDS genre but when I saw the first book on the library shelf I figured I would see if my first thoughts would be correct and I'm happy to admit that I really enjoy your books and each time I get one I read it that same day. I anxiously await your next book to see what happens to Rhea and all the others. Thank you for writing books with interesting characters that don't feel the need to preach to me on on every other page.

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  12. Tressa, you are very, very welcome.

    Thank you for giving me a chance, and a big thanks to your sister, too :)

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