Tell me about Mona’s culture (Part 2)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


Following the ‘Purge Plague’ and over hundreds of years, societal rules changed to accommodate the new reality. War, religion, and social injustices fell by the wayside. Gone also was the concept of money, love, marriage, and monogamy. In Mona’s contemporary time, they simply have no comprehension of these concepts. Survival of the species became paramount.

Earth of two mindsThe last-ditch effort to save the human race through gene manipulation caused other consequences and society continued to adapt. People perished by the billions. Genetic changes within females caused them to become extremely submissive to males while males suffered extremely high mortality rates. Within two generations, population disparities between men and women became extremely unbalanced. Within a century, only one male in 10,000 survived to adulthood, leaving about 66 men for every million women.

To compensate, a system arose to regulate and deal with progeny and food supply. Live births surviving to maturity are graded and categorized for the quality of their meat. Meat that one day will feed their community. To ensure fairness, an elaborate system developed to secure equitable conversion processing among everyone. Out of necessity, progeny remained unnamed until maturity and bound to a house.

With the dissimilar distribution of men to women, society accommodated the shift by distributing a single male and master per estate.

The Master became ‘the dominant and the deciding authority’ in all things related to their house. The rest of the residents of a house were generally women. While women could rise to become the Master of a house, admittedly, this was a rare event. Otherwise, women submitted to the needs of their house and Master.

In my next post, I’ll expand upon the consequences of past decisions.

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Tell me about Mona’s culture (part 1)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


Mona’s Culture? What an interesting question.

Estate HouseMona lives in a feudal world set thousands of years in our future. She lives in a world without a central power or government. Instead, her community consists of loosely linked estates, commonly called houses, each named after the owner of their estate. Residents who live on the estate refer to the owner as ‘Master’. Loosely tying the estates together, is Club Lothario. The club acts as a central meeting-house, civic center, and relaxed governing body. The club acts to ensure each house meets their quota to the community.

Their culture evolved to deal with a near extinction event more than a millennium in the past. Cultural roots go back to a time when gene manipulation of the food-producing animals and plants was common place. Eventually, larger profits were sought, mistakes were made and aggressive genome manipulation ran out of control. Unsurprisingly, the plague nearly wiped out all life on Earth.

The ‘Purge Plague’, as it was later called, caused in the extinction of every insect, animal and most of the edible plant life, leaving the planet devoid of any and all sources of consumable protein. As the plague ran on over decades, the world was quickly stripped of life. Humans were about to follow suit.

Through extraordinary and expensive measures, scientists at the time were able to halt the extinction of the human species. In one massive, last-ditch effort of gene manipulation, the human race was saved.

Despite halting the extinction, the stigma of genetic manipulation survived. Over time, the idea of gene splicing was abhorrent to the population. It didn’t take long before all gene manipulation was banned all around the world.

As with all actions, there are consequences. The most significant consequence was, in order for humans to survive, they learned to consume the only source of protein available … themselves.

In my next post, I’ll expand upon how their culture evolved.

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On the Mona Bendarova Adventures

Do you like the genre of science fiction? I am not a fan yet if a story has character development, conflict and some resolution, I am interested. That is what I have found reading Richard Verry’s ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’.

IMG_20160617_111433I guess I have to wait for the third book in the series, ’ Lucky Bitch’, hoping there is some resolution for the main character, Mona. I am hoping the author will introduce new characters and more conflict. I truly enjoyed his first two books where I met and immersed myself  into the characters he introduced. All you had to do was mention a character name and I could tell you how the character relates to the story. That is a credit to the author, Mr. Verry, who vividly created the characters and the story.

In the midst of these stories, Mr. Verry describes a future world where his characters come alive and live. Again, I can understand his vision knowing I have been drawn in by the characters and the world they occupy. Like ‘Star Wars’ and most recently, ‘Independence Day’, we need to see these types of movies soon after they are released. I am okay with it since I can identify with the characters even if the setting is in the future.

So for those that love character development no matter what genre it is in, take a leap of faith in reading ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’ and enjoy the world that the author created. I can affirm to you that you will embrace these characters and the books. Start with a ‘Taste of Honey’ and follow it up with ‘Broken Steele’. ‘Lucky Bitch’ will soon follow.

I honestly can tell you that I am looking forward to reading it.

Janet M.

Rest assured, I’m still with you.

Just a quick note to let you know, I’m still here. I’m recovering nicely. As I am able, I am working on a five-part post that I hope to publish next week.

In this five-part post, I will be exploring the culture that Mona Bendarova lives in. For most of you, you know that Mona is the lead character in my series of novels called ‘The Mona Bendarova Adventures.

Taste Of HoneyIn the first two books, ‘The Taste of Honey‘ and ‘Broken Steele‘, I tell a story of a woman in another time and culture. She lives in a world very different from the one we live in today. Yet, it is plausible on so many levels. The third book in the series, ‘Lucky Bitch‘, continues to explore this culture, and I hopefully will have it out this fall. Be sure to look for it.

When you read the stories, you’ll wonder, could the world she lives in, really happen?

Check it out and let me know what you think.

In the meantime, dinner’s on the table. Time to eat.

One Week Left

Less Than One Week Left in the 50% off Summer/Winter Sale for ‘The Taste of Honey‘. Don’t miss out. Sales ends midnight, July 31, 2016. 50 %off only at RichardVerry.com and Smashwords.com.

When you read this story, you’ll ask yourself this question. “Could this really happen to us?

Find out how the human race survives 3D

Classifying my books

The last couple of days, I have been writing about how different my books are. I also wrote that I intentionally wanted to write books that were different from others. I wanted them to stand out from the rest out there.

To me, this is a good thing. I didn’t want to write something that stood out. That’s the thing about me. I don’t consider me as being ‘vanilla’. There are aspects to me that don’t fit the mold that society likes to fit each of us into.

The same goes for my books. As best as I can tell, they don’t fit into the nice and neat classifications that the publishing industry established.

And that’s a problem.

What do I classify my books so that you, the reader, can find them.

Certainly, they are fiction. After that, what?

I can tag them as erotica but are they really? I tag the Mona Bendarova books as mystery/suspense. They are … and yet not, at least in the traditional sense. Some people have told me that they think they are SciFi. I never thought of them that way but I can see how they do think of them they way. I sometimes think of them as a utopia but it could also be a dystopia.

My other books reflect stories of criminal acts but are they really crime novels? Since they also include sexual acts are they erotica? I don’t think so and from everyone I’ve contacted, they agree. Maybe ‘Dark Erotica’ but not everyone allows that classification.

So, what are they?

Any help would be appreciated. Write me and tell me your opinion. I appreciate your opinion.

Since my books are different and other musings

Broken Steele book cover 6x9 The Taste of Honey book cover 6x9First off, thank you to the fine folks who purchased my books, ‘The Taste of Honey’ and ‘Broken Steele’ in the past week. They were purchased right after I saw stars and suffered a significant concussion. I’ve been offline a lot since then, so I missed it. Thank you. I hope you are enjoying them. Be sure to look for the third book in the series ‘Lucky Bitch’ due out very soon.

Speaking of seeing stars (details will be found in a post I did earlier in the week), I resting as I recover. Frankly, it’s driving me crazy, sitting around being so inactive. Normally, I have lots to do, my day filled with activity. Until a day or so ago, even sitting at this computer and writing was problematic. But, just so you know, I’m on the mend and I’m looking forward to getting back to a normal life.

What I really want to write about today is how my books are different. In my last post, I wrote how I hoped my books were different from others on the market. That was my intention when I wrote them. I wanted to find my niche in the market. I believe I have succeeded.

However, being different and unique is a blessing and a curse. While I love writing these stories, marketing them is another story. First, though, let me give you a little background as I understand it. I could be mistaken in some of my understandings so I welcome comments correcting me.

The publishing industry is going through significant changes, just as the music industry did. The jury is still out on how it will shake out. For me, and thousands like me, this is a good thing. We authors are not dependent upon a relative few to publish our work. We can publish them ourselves, market them ourselves, and earn royalties on our creative works.

I find the indie-publishing aspect relatively easy. It took a while to figure it all out but with six unique selling published works, I’ve figured out the formula for getting them published.

I can write a book, I can publish a book. Two down, one to go. Marketing a book.

This I find is the hardest of all. Even though I am a college grad with a Master’s Degree, I did not learn much about marketing. I suck at it and I know it. Which is why I depend on others to help me.

The biggest problem I need to figure out how to overcome focuses on targeting a specific audience. That means, how do I find you? If you are reading this post, I’m ecstatic. It means I have already found you. But how do I find more like you?

Word of mouth is ‘the’ thing that everyone agrees with. So, I ask you. Will you help me? Will you spread the word, talk to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, the waiter who pours your coffee, and every man or woman on the street you come into contact with? Can you get people to like my website and my facebook page? Ask them to follow me on facebook (richardverryauthorartist), or twitter (@richverry), or my blog (richardverry.com/#subscribe). Thank you.

Next time, I hope to write about how I think my books are different and how to categorize them into the slots the publishing industry places them in. It’s a murky road, fret with thorns and brambles. Perhaps you can help me there too.

Feel free to write me and share your opinions.

Spread the word.

How are my books different from other books on the market?

Are they different? I certainly hope so. I spent a long time trying to find storylines that others hadn’t already written about. So, yes, they are.

First, a little background. I am an avid reader. I’ve been reading since I can remember, somewhere about the age of six. By the time I was in 4th grade, I had read every ‘Hardy Boys’ books, every ‘Nancy Drew’, ‘Tom Swift’ and hundreds of others. I’ll never remember them all. I just remember having a voracious appetite for books.

Book-3D-loopI lived in worlds that others had envisioned. Worlds that either exists or could exist. I found ‘Star Trek’ when it first aired. I was reading all sorts of Science Fiction by then. ‘Star Wars’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘Firefly’, ‘Dr. Who’ and a host of others was easy to love. SciFi isn’t the only genre I like to read. I like to read historical dramas, erotica … well … let’s just say, fiction of all sorts.

Why am I telling you this? It’s because when I decided I wanted to write a novel, I didn’t want to redo what others had done. I knew I could write something in those worlds that was plagiarizing someone else’s work. I just didn’t want to write something remotely similar to everything I’ve ever read. I wanted something new, fresh and even controversial.

I came up with at least two different genres. One is brutal, graphically depicting the depravity of the human race. The other is a world where people respect, honor and support each other … well, most of the time. What’s a story without conflict? Both are paranormal fantasies.

I particularly like Mona Bendarova’s world. There is no war, no religion, no self-righteous do-gooders who push their agenda on others. People live in harmony, enjoying life to the fullest and sacrificing when necessary to ensure the continuation of the species.

What makes them different? I try to tell it real. I don’t like dancing around a scene. I’ve read a lot where the author paints a grand scene leading up to ‘the’ moment, only to fast-forward to the next scene. I hate that. I am left wanting and unfulfilled. I can be angry that the author chose to dance over the real action.

As in my paintings, I try to depict realistic scenes; be it sex, violence, love, or simple conversation. My scenes can be raw. They can be soft and sweet. What makes them different is that they are complete, uncensored depictions of human nature. It’s the real deal.

If you like realism, if you like the complete story, if you like the uncensored version, you’ll like my books. Enjoy and let me know what you think. I’m always interested in hearing what you, the reader, has to say.

Good books are friends

My girlfriend and I had chinese food for dinner the other night. I’d like to share with you what my fortune cookie had hidden inside.

“Good books are friends who are always ready to talk to us.”

For the readers out there, I think you will agree. Good or bad, they talk to us, reach into our souls and stimulate emotions. I don’t know about you, but I have conversations with my books. Yes, the books themselves. I talk to them and they respond.

IMG_20160617_111433I also have conversations with other readers about books, either mine or someone else’s. We can debate whether it was a good read or a bad read. We can argue about the elements of the characters, the plot or the outcome.

My favorite books are those that I cannot predict where the story is taking me. Not just the ending either. I want to be surprised and jolted all along the way. Just when I think I figured out ‘who done it’ or whether the couple will final get together, the best stories for me those that change direction. By the time the last page is turned, I want the story wrapped up. I want all of the pieces to fit, like a jigsaw puzzle.

So far, from what people tell me, my books fit that criteria. However, I would be interested in what you, the reader of this blog, thinks. Write me. Fill out the comment field below and lay it on me. Tell me whether your favorite books talk to you and what it is about them that makes the book one of your favorites.

Till next time, have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Your’s in reading and writing, Rich.

Mid-Summer Musings

I know it’s been a week since I’ve last posted a note. Sorry about that. I took the time to revise my website, RichardVerry.com, getting it to load faster, and remove some of the bloat that time inevitably creates. If you haven’t been to the site lately, please stop by.

29869517 - an image of a useful sale button 50%

One reason to stop by is that I am running a sale on some of my books. Check out the webpage for details. I can say this, some of the books are either free or 50% off.

Her-Client-Trilogy-advert1aI want to thank everyone who has been buying my ‘Her Client’ books. I did an analysis of sales for the past month. It appears that I am selling a decent quantity of these books each day. However, I did note some interesting facts.

Fact 1: Book 1, ‘Her Client’ sells twice as many as Books 2 & 3, and Book 2 ‘Her Overseer’ sells twice as many as Book 3 ‘Her Essentia’.

Fact 2: Sales on Books 2 & 3 follow that same curve as book 1, only a day or two later. That tells me this. If I captured your interest in Book 1, you are sure to buy books 2 & 3 a day or two later.

Fact3: Sales are the best reviews. I heartily believe that. However, I would love to hear from the readers on what you thought about the books. Write me, I welcome your comments. In the long run, your comments will help me write better and better books.

Be on the lookout for other books in the ‘Her Client’ genre. I have one already published on my site called ‘The Breakup’. It is also available on many other sites. I hope to get it available soon on Amazon. Frankly, I’ve been holding off on publishing it to Amazon as I am running an experiment. I’ll tell you more about the experiment in the future, but for now, the best place to get the book, ‘The Breakup’ is from my site.The-Breakup-advert5a800x300

Stop by and check out the site and read the reviews by readers like you. You might be surprised at mind boggling and enthralling the stories are.

Till next time, I hope you are have a great day and a better tomorrow.