#Bandita Continues in Book II

         

       

Bandita Bonita and Billy the Kid: The Scourge of New Mexico

        The legend of Billy the Kid is one that has been told over and over again, well before the young boy ever breathed his last.

         Before I wrote Bandita Bonita: Romancing Billy the Kid, I intended to simply write a historically accurate, fictional account of Billy; a sort of modern-told biography. There is so much about the Kid we don’t know, and my intention was to fill in those gaps by creating an interesting version of the biographical accounts for the reader’s disposal.
         My inspiration for the modern telling of this story had a couple of checkpoints which were as follows:  I wouldn't simply pilfer the hard-won research uncovered by revered historians and pass it off as my own work, and I had no intention of telling the same story yet again. Use what I've been taught by those who worked hard to give us his story, yes, but give it my own outlook. His storyhasbeen told many times over from the many different perspectives of historians and authors (not to mention in film and song), but it’s always the same story with slivers of new information if the reader is lucky. I simply chose to give it my own spin.

        I decided I wanted to give my audience an interpretation of who I believed the Kid to be. I didn’t want to create another retelling of the same old tale. Interesting though the biographies are, of course (and without the numerous accounts of which I wouldn’t have gained the amazing insight I have into William H. Bonney, and for that I will always be grateful for and cherish them), I wanted to breathe new life into his story. I wanted to create an example for a new generation, and so I wrote the events as true as I know them to be as historical fiction for a modern audience. It was, however, very important to me to keep things as accurate as possible; I had a responsibility to Billy’slegacy, as all historians do, if I planned to articulate his life.

      With the advent of the main protagonist, Lucy Howard (or the titular Bandita), I was able to bring the reader intimately close to Billy in such a way that a male protagonist could not, but I found she presented another aspect of the Victorian time period: The oppression of the female individual.

          Lucy represented the restrained yet strong-willed, resolutewoman of the century, but she did something other than get close to Billy, and that was to play the part of the foil to Billy’s “chilling” outlaw. She drives him absolutely crazy and challenges him repeatedly, but he adores her nevertheless.

        Billy was impassioned, could be ruthless if crossed, and possessed the grit to back up his words with a bullet if he had to, but he was also fiercely loyal, had a gratuitous sense of humor, and was a well-groomed (often referred to as a “dandy” in his day), respectful gentleman to the elderly, children, and especially the ladies. His relationship with Lucy grants contention to this last point and allows the reader to explore the romantic tension between male and female, but Lucy also allows humor to flow freely into the story and lets Billy be human in the way he deserves rather than the cold-blooded killer he’s become known as through legend.

        I had only intended to write one book, but as time would prove, there was so much to this story that an extension only seemed inevitable. In the first half of the first book I had to communicate character development to the reader, and in addition I had to relate the tension that led to the little-big, famous (but oft forgot) war that made Billy who he was—Without that war, there would be no Billy the Kid. And then there was the fact that I had fallen absolutely in love with Lucy and realized that she had much to say, and not just about Billy the Kid and his tribulations, but about her own circumstances. It became my understanding that she would be an integral part of the story on so many levels, whether we’re talking about the role of women during the 19^th century, or vividly relating Billy’s story. She’s wildly vocal and has a wonderfully frank sense of sass. She was the perfect match-wit for Billy, and I wanted to discover what this girl was about. I wanted to explore her relationship with him, giving them both the chance to explain who they are to their audience. It was fiction meeting fact, yes, but Lucy is very real in the mind. She is a representation of what many of us women want out of life. The difference is the period of time we live in.

         Because this book is not only relative to Billy and the events of his life, but also a portrait of his legend, and because Lucy gets a say, it is an extensive tale, and one I plan to continue telling.

Please visit my website: Nicole Maddalo Dixon

#Bandita Continues in Book II

         

       

Bandita Bonita and Billy the Kid: The Scourge of New Mexico

        The legend of Billy the Kid is one that has been told over and over again, well before the young boy ever breathed his last.

         Before I wrote Bandita Bonita: Romancing Billy the Kid, I intended to simply write a historically accurate, fictional account of Billy; a sort of modern-told biography. There is so much about the Kid we don’t know, and my intention was to fill in those gaps by creating an interesting version of the biographical accounts for the reader’s disposal.
         My inspiration for the modern telling of this story had a couple of checkpoints which were as follows:  I wouldn't simply pilfer the hard-won research uncovered by revered historians and pass it off as my own work, and I had no intention of telling the same story yet again. Use what I've been taught by those who worked hard to give us his story, yes, but give it my own outlook. His story has been told many times over from the many different perspectives of historians and authors (not to mention in film and song), but it’s always the same story with slivers of new information if the reader is lucky. I simply chose to give it my own spin.

        I decided I wanted to give my audience an interpretation of who I believed the Kid to be. I didn’t want to create another retelling of the same old tale. Interesting though the biographies are, of course (and without the numerous accounts of which I wouldn’t have gained the amazing insight I have into William H. Bonney, and for that I will always be grateful for and cherish them), I wanted to breathe new life into his story. I wanted to create an example for a new generation, and so I wrote the events as true as I know them to be as historical fiction for a modern audience. It was, however, very important to me to keep things as accurate as possible; I had a responsibility to Billy’s legacy, as all historians do, if I planned to articulate his life.

      With the advent of the main protagonist, Lucy Howard (or the titular Bandita), I was able to bring the reader intimately close to Billy in such a way that a male protagonist could not, but I found she presented another aspect of the Victorian time period: The oppression of the female individual.

          Lucy represented the restrained yet strong-willed, resolute woman of the century, but she did something other than get close to Billy, and that was to play the part of the foil to Billy’s “chilling” outlaw. She drives him absolutely crazy and challenges him repeatedly, but he adores her nevertheless.

        Billy was impassioned, could be ruthless if crossed, and possessed the grit to back up his words with a bullet if he had to, but he was also fiercely loyal, had a gratuitous sense of humor, and was a well-groomed (often referred to as a “dandy” in his day), respectful gentleman to the elderly, children, and especially the ladies. His relationship with Lucy grants contention to this last point and allows the reader to explore the romantic tension between male and female, but Lucy also allows humor to flow freely into the story and lets Billy be human in the way he deserves rather than the cold-blooded killer he’s become known as through legend.

        I had only intended to write one book, but as time would prove, there was so much to this story that an extension only seemed inevitable. In the first half of the first book I had to communicate character development to the reader, and in addition I had to relate the tension that led to the little-big, famous (but oft forgot) war that made Billy who he was—Without that war, there would be no Billy the Kid. And then there was the fact that I had fallen absolutely in love with Lucy and realized that she had much to say, and not just about Billy the Kid and his tribulations, but about her own circumstances. It became my understanding that she would be an integral part of the story on so many levels, whether we’re talking about the role of women during the 19^th century, or vividly relating Billy’s story. She’s wildly vocal and has a wonderfully frank sense of sass. She was the perfect match-wit for Billy, and I wanted to discover what this girl was about. I wanted to explore her relationship with him, giving them both the chance to explain who they are to their audience. It was fiction meeting fact, yes, but Lucy is very real in the mind. She is a representation of what many of us women want out of life. The difference is the period of time we live in.

         Because this book is not only relative to Billy and the events of his life, but also a portrait of his legend, and because Lucy gets a say, it is an extensive tale, and one I plan to continue telling.

Please visit my website: Nicole Maddalo Dixon

WRITING UPDATE!

As of October 1st of this year (2014) I handed Book II over to my publisher, Sunstone Press, NM, and am waiting for the galley
In the meantime I've begun Book III, and Book IV? Well, it's on deck. My thoughts, as should be expected of a true writer, are productive and in the process of piecing th
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        cvyou know your story well, and there’s no time like the present to get started.)
With all of the tripe out there that's being self-published it's more difficult to get noticed than ever before—and it was NEVER easy to get noticed by the public in the first place. With everyone and their mother believing they can be a writer, not realizing there are certain techniques, to say nothing of individual style *ahem*, this hurts us all, traditionally published and talented Indie's alike, so it's important for those of us who have been appraised by the big boys or the public to get our books out there ASAP (without sacrificing quality that is) so we can get our backlist built and have our fans continue to buy more and more of our literature while at the same time doing our best to bury the veritable hacks. I believe in the free market, but I have to admit it's frantically frustrating to see flimsy people out there who believe they are "author's". It's quite maddening, and I believe, again, that us traditionally published and talented Indies must agree.
It's tough enough fighting for our work, which I'm more than happy to do--the right way. What's the wrong way? Having to push down the expected walls and other various barriers while treading through the muck and mire that keeps your feet stuck to the ground. That muck and mire is there, courtesy, of our friends, the non-writers who believe they are in fact firmly "writers".

 

WRITING UPDATE!

As of October 1st of this year (2014) I handed Book II over to my publisher, Sunstone Press, NM, and am waiting for the galley
In the meantime I've begun Book III, and Book IV? Well, it's on deck. My thoughts, as should be expected of a true writer, are productive and in the process of piecing th
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        cvyou know your story well, and there’s no time like the present to get started.)
With all of the tripe out there that's being self-published it's more difficult to get noticed than ever before—and it was NEVER easy to get noticed by the public in the first place. With everyone and their mother believing they can be a writer, not realizing there are certain techniques, to say nothing of individual style *ahem*, this hurts us all, traditionally published and talented Indie's alike, so it's important for those of us who have been appraised by the big boys or the public to get our books out there ASAP (without sacrificing quality that is) so we can get our backlist built and have our fans continue to buy more and more of our literature while at the same time doing our best to bury the veritable hacks. I believe in the free market, but I have to admit it's frantically frustrating to see flimsy people out there who believe they are "author's". It's quite maddening, and I believe, again, that us traditionally published and talented Indies must agree.
It's tough enough fighting for our work, which I'm more than happy to do--the right way. What's the wrong way? Having to push down the expected walls and other various barriers while treading through the muck and mire that keeps your feet stuck to the ground. That muck and mire is there, courtesy, of our friends, the non-writers who believe they are in fact firmly "writers".

 

Image in the Writing Industry--or Any Industry.

Oddly enough, with all the things I've read about writing, the How To's and the Don't Do's, I have never, ever seen anything about Image.

Well, I am going to go ahead and touch on this, but only a little. I have seen some shocking ideas of what authors seem to think is okay to put out there, from Facebook posts to photos. And though I would love to script for you a picture to paint in which you can visualize and discuss, I won't, because the things I have seen and read are so particular that the individual (or individuals?) in question could spy this blog post and know who I'm referring to. And honestly, my motto is never call out another author by name, and certainly not by obvious les faux pas, either.

Some things to think about when campaigning for your book, or your art, or your business: Photos and blurbs and class, oh my! That last one I'm a real stickler for.

Now, I believe in saying silly things on Facebook, or even making personal statements that bring me closer to my followers as a human being, but watch the sort of things you post and write. Don’t use Facebook and Twitter as a platform to harass others for their ideas and to trumpet your own ideas of what you think of “these types of people or that”. It’s beyond me, but one author I know is ever cranky and always putting people down for things they like, or things they don’t like, and realize this, when you do that—when you generalize people—you’re putting down potential readers and/or friends, especially those in the business who might have otherwise had a healthy respect for you and your work, in which case, you never know… Sometimes it just takes the one right person to take notice to either make or break us.

And for God sake, please, please, use the proper photography. Never use a candid photo for an online interview (unless it's fortuitously charming), even if it's only for your friends blog. Potential fans or, worse, potential employers and sponsors may see that. And don't use selfies. Do. Not. Use. Selfies. You may only want to use these photos if their part of some shtick (or again, fortuitously charming), but if you want others to take you seriously, take yourself seriously, first. You set the example you want others to appreciate. If you can’t get a professional photo taken, then take the best flattering photo you can on a smart phone; at least it will look as though you’re trying.

Also, be mindful of how the photo looks. I'll give you one example: I saw an author take a photo with their phone and there was a hair on the lens. Never mind the fact that the photo itself was unacceptable, but that piece of hair! I couldn't believe someone would take a photo like that, and I though for sure that hair must be on my phone screen because, like I said, who would take a photo like that and then use it for professional promotion? I had a hell of a time getting that piece of hair off of my phone. I tried holding the damn screen still because, as you can imagine, it kept moving every time I wiped at it. Because, once more, it didn't occur to me that someone would actually allow that photo to be used to promote themselves. So I was stupid, the joke was on me. 

Another thing: I've read blog interviews in which the author puts his/her readers/reviewers down, calling them stupid for not understanding his or her work. Tsk, tsk. Not everybody is going to "get" or understand your writing--it's not going to appeal to everyone. And just because you receive a lousy review doesn't mean your writing is bad; it just happens to be that individual’s opinion. I've become aware of writers who go after those who give them sub par reviews. Fortunately, this poor behavior has only extended to social media, but unfortunately, social media can reach pretty far. God forbid it ever turns into a real live stalking situation. I wouldn't put it past some of the writers I've come across to sink to that level.

Just bear some of these things in mind if you care to. Image is everything, regardless of the type of industry you’re in.