By Nazz LaneSecond Life has played host to a growing number of authors, publishers and promoters of the written word and the community is readying itself for its annual book fair. I had the opportunity to meet with and interview Diana Allandale, author of thirteen novels and a prominent member of the community. She has a strong presence in SL, including her booth "Passionate Books" at the Book Island Publishing Village, she has six locations in Second Life for residents to learn more about her and access her work. She also conducts a writing workshop for budding authors or those just interested in the "writing" process. Diana Allandale is really Diana Hunter in real life and writes romance novels with an erotic theme. She has a presence on My Space, a group in Yahoo and her own web site for promoting her work.
"Hello Diana and welcome to my home." I said as she arrived and dropped gracefully onto the floor of my living room. "Thank you Nazz. It's nice to meet you in person." She replied. We exchanged pleasantries and I gave her a brief tour of my home as we proceeded up to the third floor outdoor patio and made ourselves comfortable on lounge chairs. "I was just out looking at your web site, an impressive list of titles." I said. She thanked me and said, "My thirteenth just released last Friday I'm calling it my Lucky 13th." I asked if she was ready for the interview and she replied that she was.
NL: Can you tell me what brought you into SL?
DA: I heard an article on NPR in October of 2006. They were talking about this virtual world and how Toyota, Ford and IBM were making places and advertising themselves in it. I'd had some experience with virtual worlds, but hadn't heard of Second Life. But I thought, "Hey, if the big boys can do it, so can I." So when I got home that afternoon, I checked out the website, downloaded the client ... made myself an avatar...and came in-world! Of course I found out SL is MUCH more than an advertising venue. *grin* I came to advertise my books ... and stayed because of the community.
NL: Looking back to your experiences in SL, has it changed your writing?
DA: I don't think it has ... actually, what it HAS changed is my approach toward promoting my writing. The writing itself has grown, but I think that's more due to my editor's skill at guiding me than SL's chat. *smiles* That was pretty confusing, wasn't it. May I try again? I was just talking with another author who is very excited to use SL as a means of character exploration. She intends to create her characters and "play" them in-world...truly explore the psyche of the character before she writes the story. While that sounds like fun … To be honest, I have so many characters already rattling around in my brain that taking that much time to spend with one would drive me nuts. *Smiles* But it is a good use of SL's capabilities ... and a cool way to explore a character's motivations. I see it more as an opportunity to work through a spot rather than playing the character on a regular basis.
NL: Since you've been in SL ... What have you learned about yourself as a writer?
DA: That I'm not good at doing a serial on any sort of regular basis! *Laughing* I have one I started ... with intentions of writing a new episode every 2 weeks. Then it moved to once a month ... now I'm lucky if I can get one out every two months or so.
NL: This is a change of pace question … Who in SL would you like to meet and why?
DA: OOHH! ... Let me think on that ... Philip Linden *Smiles* because I'd love to meet the creative genius behind SL. Many people dream it ... he DID it.
NL: What was your most memorable moment in SL?
DA: I'm not sure I have just one ... One of the things I most love about SL are the almost serendipitous conversations that spring up, some of my better memories and friends were in chance encounters. I'm where I am today because of a chance encounter ... happened to meet Ravishal Bentham in Nantucket one day ... struck up a conversation ... and before I knew it he was helping me set up my first shop! I guess my most memorable was being on Paisley's show with Torley ... one can never forget an encounter with him *Smiles* ... He's as much a whirlwind in person as on the web *laughing*
NL: Which moment would you like to forget?
DA: Moments to forget? I'd have to say the little dramas that occasionally play out. For whatever reasons those begin, they always end badly.
NL: How did the concept for As the SL World Turns (Serial Story) come about?
DA: I'd actually toyed with the idea of writing an online serial ... just a way of getting people to the website. But then was talking to Rav and we started tossing the idea around about how it could be done in SL and viola! The serial was born.
NL: I see you have a presence on my space, yahoo groups, your own web site and six locations in SL, is your marketing strategy all internet based and do you have a RL presence as Diana Hunter or Diana Allendale or both?
DA: Mostly, yes. Since all of my books are released first and primarily as eBooks, it seemed to make sense that I do most of my advertising there. On occasion I take out an ad in the Romantic Times or Realms of Fantasy magazines ... but that's a limited audience. Since my books have a strong D/s component, I make sure I get my name into those circles as well as the romance genre ones and nope ... I'm only Diana Allandale in SL at the moment, *grin* It's good to have a name I can use later if need be.
NL: Where did the idea for doing the writing workshops come from?
DA: I teach creative writing in RL. I wanted some way to give back to the community and that seemed a logical place to start. Plus ... in several of my readings, people would ask questions about the writing process. So there seemed to be a need. I contacted Selina Greene about doing them on Book Island, since she was looking for ways to promote what was going on there ... and we were off.
NL: The workshops, have they been fun for you?
DA: Most weeks *grins*. Sometimes I choose a dud topic and then things fall apart. I've had anywhere from 3 people (on the duds) to over 2 dozen. But I like the "come if you want to" atmosphere ... don't want it to be a chore for anyone.
NL: Have you discovered any budding authors?
DA: Tons! There are lots of writers here in SL ... I think the world's focus on chat text actually brings out the writers. People role play here all the time ... and then want to write down either those experiences or they finally get the courage to write down that novel they have in their head. What will be interesting is if or maybe I should say WHEN someone figures out how to easily publish works here in SL. Right now all the stories exist OUTSIDE SL ... You can't actually sit and read a book in SL. The THINc books are close, but because they're rezzing, the flow of reading is hard for a novel. Once that hurdle is flown over, then you'll see a real revolution in publishing.
NL: Are you involved in the upcoming SL Book Fair?
DA: Yes, I'm helping with the planning ... and am visitor liaison and booth set-up helper. *grins* I'm also tech support on the stream...cause so far I'm the only one with stream experience. Somehow that made me an expert!?!
NL: I saw on your blog that you were attending the Romantic Times Convention in Pittsburg and discussing promotion using SL. Is promotion in SL working for you?
DA: Yes ... Very much so. Well, I think it is, *grin*. Let me explain ... I like hard data ... but there really isn't any way to quantify how any one promotion affects book sales. Royalty statements aren't really any help because print booksellers have tons of time to pay their bills. So the publisher might sell one of my books in January and I won't know about it till May or June ... when it's bundled in with all the other books the bookseller paid for at the same time. Website hits are another data source...and while I get spikes, like after Sundays' Meet the Author ... it pretty much stays steady. So there isn't really a good, hard way to collect data. So why do I say yes its working? Because I feel it in my gut ... Because I've had more interviews in SL based newspapers and TV stations and blogs than I have in RL. Because I have so many readers who come to my readings and tell me about the books they've bought *grins*. Longer answer than you expected, huh? I'll spend more money on the Romantic Times convention this year than I've spent TOTAL in SL ... and hit only 1000 people. That's another reason I think SL is working for me.
NL: From your Bio "Each book Diana writes contains a kernel of truth or deeply held conviction from her own life, but don't ask her where truth ends and fantasy begins &she'll never tell!" Are you ready to share with my readers?
DA: *Grins* Nope! Let them figure out what's truth and what's fantasy. That's part of the fun.
I thanked her for the time and for being so delightful to chat with. She smiles and replied, "Thank you for asking me! This has been fun. I look forward to seeing what you can make out of my mess of answers. Farewell Nazz."
