Choke On Your Lies, Part IV

I've been writing about the fact that Anthony Neil Smith is trying to sell a measly 1500 ebook copies of his latest novel, Choke On Your Lies. I just have one final word on this issue. Smith says that if he gets 1500 orders, he'll start work on a second novel featuring his main character, Octavia. He has the ideas for the second book, but wants to be sure he has the readers. Fair enough.

I just thought, however, that Octavia is now being held hostage by Smith. Will she die if Smith doesn't get to 1500? Perhaps in a short story featured on Plots with Guns? It would seem that Octavia can take care of herself, but Neil is really in charge. Sounds strange, no? But then this isn't much different than what's happened since the beginning of time. You bring back the characters the audience loves and you ditch the ones they don't support. Dickens did it - characters that got strong support got extra chapters. Characters that broed the public got onto trains to Wales and never came back.

Shakespeare did it. Falstaff was beloved and came back and back and finally made it into Henry V as an unseen force that haunted the story if not the actual stage.

So if it's good enough for Shakespeare, it's good enough for Neil...