D.J. Manly's Blog

Those who know me realise I've been writing in this genre for a long time. I'm not good with ....guys meet, instantly fall in love..go to bed..ride off into the sunset together. I know there is a place for that. Unless I'm writing fantasy, I feel I do a disservice to the genre. That's just me. That said I want to thank the readers out there who write me to say I touched them. The guy in the closet who told me the book Scism, spoke to his life. The reviewer who told me how she was touched by the inclusion of the female impersonator in My Father's Lover, the reader who wrote me and said, she understands for the first time love between men and how now, she supports gay rights...all of you who cried, laughed, rejoiced, got angry and got scared right along with me...(and yes, sometimes I cry when I write a sad scene...)I love you all for it. And I don't feel so alone when I get these notes. I feel understood, validated, like maybe in some small way, I make a difference! D.J. xxxx
xxx
D.J.

Battling Glass will be out at Amber tomorrow, 29th of Jan/12. It is an extended novel about a character named Emilien. Emilien does not completely belong anywhere. He is half mortal and half vampire, and torn between the two. His father, a vampire, wants to destroy him because Emilien refuses to embrace his vampire nature, just like he's destroyed everything in Emilien's life.

Ever felt like you didn't belong? I did as a kid. I had siblings with a different father. They were many, I was one. I wanted to be accepted, despised the title "half" and felt alienated from the mother who gave birth to us all.

That's kind of how a lot of people feel in thier families,especially a lot of artists, who only feel whole when they write or paint. In the end, you come to the realisation that being different, unique, saves you. Today, I know it saved me.

I hope you like Battling Glass.It was many years in the making. Please, let me know if it speaks to you in any way. It is a part of my soul you share when you read it.

Thanks.
D.J.