All Things Writing

Comment Etiquette for Blogs

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things as a blogger is when I get a comment about my blog post. I love connecting with readers and responding to their feedback. It's a wonderful way to grow as a blogger! Recently, I read a blog post by another writer regarding comments posted on her blog that were mean or unnecessarily rude.

Tsk, tsk. That is not a good thing. And judging from what I read, this author was not being overly sensitive or anything like that. The people commenting were being total you-know-whats!

As writers who want to attract a following, you've probably read all about the how important it is to allow people to comment on your blogs or Facebook post. That's how you create interaction and have those great "ah ha!" moments. Sure, some folks may voice their opinion in a tone you don't like, but that's the nature of the cyber beast.

How can you prevent those bad comments from getting too much air time though?

1. For one thing, follow up on your blog posts. You should be doing this anyway in order to greet new followers or reply to comments. But as a moderator of your own blog, you can delete comments. Do so if something is not appropriate.

2. Unfriend "friends" on Facebook who can't control their mouths. They don't even have to know. That's the beauty of it!

3. On your blog, use the option that allows you to review comments before they get posted. That's probably the best thing to do if you are worried about inappropriate behavior. This option gives you complete control!

Of course, on a positive note, bad comments can sometimes help create a talking point. When enough people are offended or outraged by something, they all start chattering! This can drive blog traffic stats through the roof. OR it can drive people away until your fan base dwindles down to nothing.

Food for thought, friends. Feel free to leave a comment--but watch your mouth!

What happens when you can't write?

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

three pens, six nibs, public domain

We've had a situation in my house for the last couple of weeks. My husband had knee replacement surgery and the knee part is doing great. Not so for the patient, though. He first had a rare drug reaction, then another one, then another one. He doesn't remember much of the last two weeks and, for most of that time, didn't know where or who he was. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much writing done!

The drug problems seem to be mostly (ALL, I hope!) over and I need to get back to writing! But I've gotten out of the habit. Now, how did I used to approach my day?

The internet contacts and messages have gotten out of hand while I've been mostly absent, so I'm madly skimming, deleting, and archiving most of it. I'll probably miss something vitally important, like the top agent that has fallen in love with my writing and wants to give me a full-page NYTimes ad when my next novel comes out. Maybe he/she will write again after I delete that email.

Logic tells me, when I look around, that I should clean up the office first, but I'm VERY anxious to get back to the WIP I left hanging in December. And there are tax files from 2011 to organize before 2012 info starts piling up. Maybe a little of each task every day? I'm not like that. I like to finish things.

I have been jotting down notes in case I want to do to a character what was done to my poor husband. The things he was saying under the influence were so funny that I was laughing and crying at the same time. That kind of thing needs to be used.

Well, time to help hubby with some physical therapy. After that, ONWARD!

(I hope some of our followers found our anthology entertaining. We'd love to hear from you if you liked it!)

Thoughts of Death and Taxes

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

What do they have in common? The old saw says they are both certain to occur. I think they have a lot more in common, especially for a mystery writer.

My thoughts turn to taxes, of course, because it's time to pay the quarterly estimated taxes for 2011. These are the payments that, if I've guessed right, will enable us to float through April 15th without owing any extra. That usually doesn't happen, but only for good reasons. Mostly, that we've made more money that we thought we would. So taxes can be handled in such a way that they don't hurt so much.

How about death? We can't handle our own death. It will be what it is. We may think we can control it, but we can't. Well, maybe to a certain extent. If I don't walk across a busy street without looking, I lessen the chances I'll be hit fatally by a car. If I don't dive off a high bridge, I'll lessen the changes I'll plunge to a watery death. But if I eat right and exercise and never drink or smoke, I could still keel over suddenly, never to revive. My aorta could rip apart. An aneurysm could burst in my brain. I could even choke to death on some delicious morsel that sticks in my windpipe with no one around to shove it out.

I don't like the thought of things I can't control. I particularly don't like thoughts about my own death! But I can obviously contemplate other people's deaths at length and on a regular basis. Hey, they're just fictional people dying, they're my characters. And I'm not really killing them, the villains I created are doing my dirty work. I suppose I have a certain degree of control over my characters, but that's sometimes an illusion.

Why do people want to write about killing anyway? I can only speak for myself. I regard it as the ultimate sin, the highest violation of human ethics. And yet people do it every day. What makes a person kill another one? I can't help but wonder. Some killers are psychotic and have no regard for anyone. That evil person can kill someone who is in his way with no remorse (unless he gets caught).

But the ones I like to write about think it's something they have to do. They think there is no other way out of the alley they've been backed into, no other way out of the tangled mess they've made of their lives. Or maybe that other people have woven and caught them in.

To make this timely, I also wonder why someone thought it would be a good thing to kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Or John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Or any other public figure.

So I wonder, what DOES make a person think that the best solution to the problem is murder? That's what I try to explore. That's why I write mystery. I still haven't found out.

Writing Prompt Fun: One Sentence Starter

2012-01-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

I love looking at pictures and trying to create a story based on what I see. It's such a great way to develop the creative mind and think outside the box. I thought we'd try one here on All Things. I'll show you a picture, you write one sentence in the comment section that you think goes with it or starts a story. I was playing around with this idea when I came across a goofy picture of my daughter that I'd turned into a Demotivator poster. See if you can come come up with a great opening line for this particular picture.

Book Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

2012-01-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

Good writers are also readers. I firmly believe this. I think that it's just as important to make time for reading every week as it is to make time for writing. The more you read, the better of a writer you become. You start to notice the little quirks and nuances about other writers that either drive you crazy or make you fall in love with their style. If you've read Stephen King's book, On Writing, you'll remember that reading is an important thing to the Master of Horror. Because I enjoy Mr. King's work, I decided to follow his good example and read his latest novel, 11/22/63.

It's 900 pages. 900! I'm one of the fastest readers I know, but it took me three days to get my Kindle to show that I was even 50% done. 900 freakin' pages...Again, referring to On Writing by Mr. King, I seem to recall one of his mantras to be "Cut unnecessary words."

Hmmm....

Well, despite the 900 pages, I have to say that this might be one of my favorite King novels to date. Yes, he could have cut a few words here and there, trimmed up the fat, but I didn't really feel that the pace of the novel was too slow. As always, Mr. King is a master storyteller, weaving magic with his characters and taking on the JFK assassination.

For those expecting a horror tale, you're out of luck (although there are some psycho creepy moments). This is a historical fiction with science fiction elements in the form of time travel. The basic premise is this: Jake is an English teacher who teaches adult education classes in the evenings. After school, he occasionally stops by the diner across the street, which is run by a guy named Al. Al has a big secret he wants to share with Jake. Turns out he has a time loop in his diner's pantry. If you enter it, you end up in 1958. Apparently, Al has been making quite a few trips to the past, but whenever he returns to 2011, only two minutes have gone by. Every time he goes through the time slip, it's always the same day, same time, same starting location in 1958. Al has become obsessed with the idea of living in the past with the hopes of making it to 1963 so that he can stop the assassination of JFK by Lee Harvey Oswald. Unfortunately, he has cancer and is too ill to accomplish the goal. He wants Jake to continue the mission

Jake is hesitant to take on the task. After all, what about the butterfly effect? What will happen if history is altered? Can it be altered? Does he have the guts to kill Oswald? Al assures Jake that the great thing about changing history is that if it doesn't work out or things go wrong, one can always go back through the time slip in the pantry and effectively restart the whole loop. After a few test runs where Jake attempts to save the family of one of his adult students whose life was drastically altered in 1958, he agrees to live in the past long enough to stop Oswald from killing Kennedy in Dallas.

Of course, he hasn't counted on a few complications. Like falling in love. Or becoming part of a community. Or the fact that something in the past doesn't want the future to be changed and will fight tooth and nail to keep that from happening--even if it means killing those near and dear to Jake.

Cue the dramatic music please!

I love the idea of time travel, and this book does a great job exploring the concept with all its pros and cons. So many people wonder about JFK and what would have happened if he'd lived. That being said, anyone with a basic understanding of the "rules" of time travel will have a pretty good idea of how this whole business will go down.

One of the interesting things about this story is that it revisits the fictional town of Derry, Maine. If you are a fan of the novel It, part of this tale occurs right after the end of the child murders in that book. And of course, if you are a believer that Oswald acted alone, then you'll be intrigued by the second half of the book which takes place in Dallas, Fort Worth, and a little town named Jody.

We know a great deal already about the events that occurred in Dallas that day in 1963, but King explores the subculture of the area and paints a gritty, racist picture of the city in the 1960s. I suspect he wasn't too far off the mark. He includes a lot of things that native Texans would appreciate and find familiar. Of course, that can have its drawbacks, too. One flaw I found which really bugged me was his reference of the slogan "Don't Mess with Texas." That didn't become a part of Texas culture until the 1980's. Still, it's a small thing in the overall scheme of things!

All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others. Make sure you have ample time to sit down and absorb the story.

900 pages...geez....

My turn for resolutions

2012-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

political ad at Delphi, Greece

With all due respect to my fellow blogger, Mary Ann, I'd rather call them Goals. Resolutions sound so...resolute! So final, so etched in stone. Never mind that lots of them become unetched somehow.

Beckham's 70 yd. goal 2008

A goal, to me, is more like something to shoot for. I'll aim to keep these, but I'll keep in mind that I may miss. There are goal tenders and powerful lines of defense to keep me from making my goals, but I'll go down kicking!

I have a much more detailed list than this, but this is the nutshell version:

Publish at least 2 books and 6 short stories.

Write 2 hours a day M-F, or 5 days a week.

There will be lots of baby steps and trial shots before I get close to any of the ones on the first lines. Like writing and submitting.

(Why am I doing sports metaphors today? Not usually my thing. Maybe because I hear football in the next room and it's oozing into my brain, through my fingers, and onto the computer screen.)

It would be good to recognize my opposition defense and goalies. Yours may differ, but mine are (1) procrastination--just not writing, even when I have the time (playing spider, I'll admit it); (2) obligations--like hubby's knee surgery tomorrow, eating, bathing, sleeping, etc. (3) interference by the internet--how do I resist that?

Now I have to plan my offense. The second line of my goals, I hope, will help.

5 Writing Resolutions (that I probably won't keep)

2011-12-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve is fast approaching and many people are thinking about their resolutions. I don't much care for resolutions because I break them faster than I make them. I suppose I could try a little harder, but then again...nah. I mean, it's 2012. The world is going to end in, like, 11 months or something. Resolutions are pointless.

However, as a goal oriented person who thinks the world might possibly go on anyway, I will attempt to set goals for myself as a writer--even though I'm likely to break these so called writing resolutions.

1. Write every day. How many times have you heard this one? Kudos to you if you already do this! I pretty much do it too, though I often find myself taking holidays off.

2. Try a new genre. I just finished reading a steampunk novel. I don't think I can write that genre so therefore, I will attempt to create a short story within that realm. Challenge thyself to do the same!

3. Learn how to critique like a writer instead of a reader. This is a tough one. Readers and writers read differently. They critique differently, too. Readers are typically very straightforward about what they liked or didn't like, whereas, writers tend to be more technical. I need to be more technical so that I sound like I know what I'm talking about at writing meetings.

4. Self publish something. Yes. I will stop being afraid of the label and just do it already!

5. Manage my time better. No more chasing butterflies when I should be killing ants. I don't know what that means, but I do know that I need to stop goofing on the internet when I should be typing up fantastic and deeply meaningful prose.

What are your writing goals for 2012?

What Did You Get?

2011-12-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

I didn't get an e-reader, but I'll bet a lot of you did. The only reason I didn't get one is that I already have it! Mary Ann blogged on the reasons to own one a few days ago, so I won't go into all of them here, but my main two are book prices and the ability to carry dozens of books around in my purse. If I've started one book and don't feel like reading that one, I can switch to another. When I come back to the abandoned one, it'll pick up where I left off--automatic bookmarks.

I'll bet you're thinking that now I'll tell you to click at the side to buy one of our books for your new reader (if you got one, which I hope you did!).

Fooled you! I'm not. I'd really like to hear if anyone got really cool presents! I got beautiful things from all my kids, and the most precious gift from my grandkids. Two of my five are step granddaughters, and one of them is spending the school year in Spain, so I didn't get anything from her (but I do expect something from Spain in the spring!). Her sister spent the night here Christmas Eve, along with my son--a wonderful gift in addition to what they brought (good stuff!).

But the other 3 sent the precious gift. My son's two, ages 3 and 5, under my daughter-in-law's direction, put their handprints on two towels, which they then sent to my daughter, who had her 1-year-old add his. He, however, was horrified at the whole concept of fingerpaints all over his hands, and contributed the cutest little print (one on each towel). Can you tell which one is his?

When I called my daughter-in-law to thank them (daughter was on a plane when I opened the package), she pointed out that they were Hand Towels. Get it? Hand Towels? I'm embarrassed she had to tell me!

Merry Christmas from All Things Writing!

2011-12-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas readers! We hope your holiday season is bright, cheery, and filled with lots of great stories! Thanks to all our faithful followers and new friends!

Don't forget: We have great titles available for all your last minute Christmas needs. Just click on any of the book covers to the right.

QR Codes: Promotional Tool for Writers

2011-12-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

Finally, my Christmas shopping is done and I can attend to more important things, like my blog post for this week. I'm posting a little late, but hopefully, our faithful readers will forgive me. 'Tis the season and all that jazz...

Today we are going to chat about QR codes and how they can be a great promotional tool for a writer. Recently, I attended the Austin Comic Con. Along with my writing group, I promoted our book All Things Dark and Dastardly. We had lots of hard copy books ready to sell, and both of my colleagues had paperback copies of their books to sell, too.

I was jealous. My novel, Nephilim, is only available in ebook form right now. I felt like I was missing out on a great opportunity to spread my little story about tattooed angels around. Both of my writing friends suggested I make business cards or bookmarks with the book info on it, which made total sense to me.

But then brilliance struck me, (it kind of hurt actually) and I heard the words: QR code. Well, duh! Of course, that's the way to go!

A QR code is a type of matrix bar code that the automotive industry made popular. They've become very common and are used on lots of different things. If you have a QR scanner it will take you directly to the website or other location being advertised. Guess what? Most people can download a QR scanner app directly onto their phone! I'm willing to bet that quite a few savvy iPhone and Droid users have this very thing already. Betting a QR code for your book can be free to inexpensive. Google QR codes and you'll find all sorts of websites willing to set you up.

So what did I do?

Using Vistaprint, I downloaded my book cover onto a glossy postcard/invitation template. On the back side, I included the synopsis, my website, blogsite, and....you guessed it! The handy dandy QR code that takes you directly Nephilim's purchase link on Amazon!

This has been a great tool for my ebook because when I talk to someone about it, I can show them the synopsis and cover, but I also have a way for them to directly link to Amazon so they can buy it right then and there.

So the big question: Has it helped sales of the book? Can't say for sure, but my royalty check was larger last month than I expected it to be. I think writers should use whatever promotional tools are availble to them.

How about you? Any other authors using a QR code?

Writing Groups

2011-12-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

I wonder how many of you writers have a writing group, and if they do your writing any good. It may be that I'm approaching expert status on this, as I've had lots, both online and face to face ones.

All of my online groups have been through my Sisters in Crime Guppies chapter. And some have been for novels and some for short stories. I've had multiples of both kinds. They've all been at least helpful and some have been excellent. It seems that people come and go though, and they last a certain amount of time, then peter out. I can honestly say that my writing is much, much better for those groups.

My face to face groups are, of course, lots more fun, since we're actually physically there and can chat and even eat and drink together--always a plus. The two that I'm in right now are very different, though. In one, we submit a chapter, or about ten pages, by email a few days before our meeting. We print out the pages, critique them on paper, then get together to go over our individual critiques and discuss the finer points. Opinions vary, of course, and not all advice is taken by each writer. That would be a mess!

My other face to face group doesn't critique at all, unless one of us requests it. Our usual meeting is to chat a bit, then do at least one timed writing on our laptops or on paper, from a writing prompt. We then can choose whether or not to read what we've come up with to each other and can ask for suggestions if we wish.

For both of these groups, also, members come and go, but these groups have kept going for years. I get different things from each group I belong to, online and ftf. I'm not one of those writers who doesn't want any critiques! It's like free editing. It's also informative to see what other writers are doing and we learn from each other.

It's the second live group that put out the latest short story anthology, ALL THINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY, so our meetings lately are geared toward the book. But I'm sure we'll get back to writing soon.

Long live critters and writing groups!

5 Reasons to Try an eReader

2011-12-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, now I already know what some people are going to say when they read the title of this post.

"I like the way it feels holding a real book in my hands."

How nice for you. That's cool. But have you ever actually tried an eReader? I'm not talking about your laptop or computer either. I mean, an eReader like the Nook, iPad, or Kindle? Many of the people who have given me the above response have never actually tried one.

I have to admit it. I was skeptical, too. I'm a writer after all and reading is one of my passions, but when my mother got a Kindle last year for Christmas, I was curious to know how that would go. Mom reads as much as I do and probably keeps Half Price Books in business. My father and I both thought she would never enjoy the Kindle.

We were so wrong....that woman never puts the damn thing down. She and Amazon have a close, personal relationship now, and she feels that every email she gets from them is like a specially tailored love letter. Her passion for the eReader made me want one in the worst way! My husband broke down and bought one for me this past July, and I have to say it's one of the best investments ever!

Here's a few reasons why:

1. It does feel like you're holding a book. Especially if you put a cover on it! True, most eReaders are a little more light weight, but I still feel like I'm reading a book.

2. Storage. My husband loves the eReader because at long last my books are not piling up everywhere in our bedroom. Now they are all neatly compact and stored on my Kindle.

3. Eye strain. This is another crazy excuse I hear all the time about why an eReader is bad. Most eReaders are designed to make it easy on your eyes, to prevent glare if you are outside, to have bigger font if you need bigger letters. If you're eReader isn't doing that, you've got the wrong one.

4.Expense. Best sellers and new releases are still going to be expensive. However, there are lots of other books out there that are cheap or even free. Also, if you have 3G on your eReader, you can purchase books wherever you are at.

5. Portability. Yep, you can stick them in your purse, briefcase, backpack, whatever. Because they are light weight, they usually don't feel as heavy as toting around a book does.

So if you are considering an eReader for that special loved one in your life, I can also recommend a few books that would make great gifts to try out on it. For example, Nephilim and All Things Dark and Dastardly are both available for the eReader. Click on any of the books links on the right hand side of the page to learn more!

Happy Reading!

Weird Holiday Gifts

2011-12-11T21:15:00.001-08:00

I've been seeing some strange suggestions for gifts this year. Maybe Hander Pants, underpants for your hands is the strangest. http://www.handerpants.com/ I wasn't aware that my hands are private parts. Mine never seem to have unseemly discharges. So I can't understand why they'd need underpants.

Here are a couple from Baron Bob: a bacon ornament (http://www.baronbob.com/bacon-ornament.htm) and an inflatable turkey (http://www.baronbob.com/inflatableturkey.htm). The turkey is on sale, maybe because it's after Thanksgiving and going into Christmas people are thinking more of inflatable hams. The bacon ornament is still full price as of this writing.

A voice-activated R2D2 is selling for an astonishingly low price of $199.95 (http://www.hammacher.com/Product/77944) at Hammacher Schlemmer. Where else? These speakers from the same place (http://www.hammacher.com/Product/11987?promo=search) are not only ugly, impractical, easy to break, but are also $60,000.00. That's not a typo. There are no extra zeroes there. Oh yes, and they weigh 192 pounds.

You could spend over $10 on a piece of wood (http://www.cnbc.com/id/28196936/page/2/) created for the purpose of knocking on wood. Are there people who live in completely plastic houses? Who have no wood anywhere? Or who are constantly hexing themselves and feel a need to always counter it by having a handy piece of wood, a piece of wood that comes in a carrying case? I suppose some people work in plastic places. Maybe. I use my head when I can't find anything else to knock on.

I guess our short story anthology will be looking like a pretty good holiday buy by now! For the low, low price of $9.95--$4.99 for the digital versions--you can immerse yourself in weird tales by a cross section of Austin writers. Well, three of them anyway.

There's a handy link at the side where you can click to get ALL THING DARK AND DASTARDLY. You might need something to clear the sweet taste of sugar plums and fudge from your palate. This'll do it!

An Elliptical Blog

2011-12-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling like discussing grammar today. Specifically, punctuation. That odd feeling sweeps over me more often than you'd think. In fact, one of my happiest moments at the Malice Domestic conference this year was discussing punctuation at the bar. Writers--what are you gonna do?

Our anthology group had a discussion as we were doing final edits for publication. Steve and I were of two minds about the ellipsis. I love the ellipsis...it trails off into nothingness, and nothing else will do when that's what you want....

Steve likes to use the three dots both in the middle of the sentence (or group of phrases, if what you've written can't really be called a sentence). I like to use three dots in the middle and four at the end. This was recommended to me some time ago and it seems logical. I've been using it for several years. The three dots are the ellipsis and the other dot ends the sentence with a period. I mean, what about a trailing off question...? (I did see this once as a question?... But I can't accept that.) If the question gets an end punctuation mark, the sentence should too, in my mind.

Both are acceptable in the Chicago Manual, by the way, so that was no help in our debate.

My problem is, I want my punctuation to be logical. Probably a holdover from being a programmer for too many years. I even wish I were British so I could put the period or comma where it belongs at the end of a quote. I hate saying that my werewolf story, "Retransformation," is included in our anthology. I'd much rather say my story, "Retransformation", is included. Why on earth should that comma go inside the quote?

I don't want to be British to the extent that I'd have to drive on the wrong side of the road...just for punctuation, and then only just for some punctuation. I'm too used to using double quotes for dialog to change that.

Do you have grammar/punctuation/spelling idiosyncrasies in your writing that drive other people nuts? If you want to see which ellipsis style we settled on for our short stories, you'll have to get hold of our anthology and page through it.

Hill Country Book Store Signing

2011-12-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hey friends, the All Things Writing gang will be in Georgetown tomorrow at the Hill Country Bookstore form 2-4pm. We will be selling and signing copies of our book All Things Dark and Dastardly! We'd love to see our friend, family, and fans there, so come on by.

We will have chocolate....

Also, this is a great chance to walk around the historic square at Georgetown and do some early Christmas shopping!

Hope to see you there.

It's that time of year

2011-11-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

I'm falling behind! This blog post is a day late. And, as you can see, I don't have a well thought out topic.

Since my daughter and my 14-month-old grandson came for a week, and my son-in-law for the Thanksgiving weekend, I pretty much took the whole week off. It was worth it--at the time. But I woke up to hundreds of emails this morning, and a late blog.

Now there will be email catch-up, blog catch-up, neglected manuscript catch-up, and, somewhere in there, Christmas shopping. It's a good thing the days are getting longer--oh wait! They're getting shorter. That's not right.

I do think I'll buy a lot of books for Christmas presents, besides giving my own as gifts. It's an easy package to wrap and ship and everyone reads. OK, not everyone does, but they should.

Is it a civic duty to give books to people, even if they might not read them? Is it the socially responsible thing to do? Reading stimulates the brain, raises IQ, and staves off senility. I have no studies to prove my statements, but I make them anyway, hoping they're true.

If you need something light to read while you're waiting for your ordered books to arrive, try this:

http://www.darwinawards.com/

Just pick one or two at random. Surely the Darwin winners aren't readers!

Illustration public domain from wiki commons

Finding Ways to Promote Your Book--Women's Day Ad

2011-11-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

I'm always looking for new ways to promote my book, Nephilim. Or any of my other work for that matter. As authors, much of that falls on our shoulders! There are lots of ways to advertise without spending a dime. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, webpages--these have become the staples of book promotions. Recently, I did a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book and absolutely loved it! Yes, it was something I had to pay for, but it did get my name out there in places I wouldn't have begun to think about, and it garnered some honest reviews about Nephilim. Has it helped sales? I'm not sure yet as I haven't gotten my publisher's statement for October.

Another great opportunity that my publisher provided me with was the chance to place in ad in Women's Day Magazine. Again, I had to pay for it, but Women's Day is a highly circulated magazine and can be found everywhere. My book, Nephilim, had a spot in the Halloween issue and also in the new Christmas issue pictured above.

I really like the layout of the latest ad, too! Will it generate more sales? Only time can tell me that!

What have you done as an author to promote your work? How far would you go? What's too far? Since many of the followers of this blog are independent authors, I'm curious to know what promotional tools have worked for you outside of social media. Please drop a comment and share with the group!

LAST MINUTE BLOG

2011-11-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this just before dashing out the door to meet an airplane. Just after dashing to WalMart for a baby car seat, rear-facing, and a lame attempt at installation. We're hoping our daughter, the baby's mother, will make the necessary adjustments.

I'm sure this is how Steve felt yesterday, making a mad dash to be on time for our radio interview, but getting lost and not quite making it. Mary Ann and I filled in and Hopeton Hay made sure we got Steve mentioned!

Hopeton ushered us into a studio room and I remarked that it was a different one than where he recorded my solo interview a few months ago. When he said this was the "live" studio, my heart stopped. Live? We're going to broadcast live?

Neither Mary Ann nor I had enough time to get as nervous as we could have, and I think it went off OK. As soon as we get the recording of it, it'll be here!

Mr. Hay, by the way, is unpaid, as are all the on air personalities at KAZI FM 88.9. It's a non-profit, community based station, run by people doing it for the love of it. I'm glad Hopeton loves mysteries and interviews authors on his Sunday afternoon show!

(Hint: books make great holiday gifts! See sidebar for ideas.)

Your Fans and You

2011-11-17T22:18:00.001-08:00

So, as you probably noticed by now, we all went to Comic Con last weekend. While there, our booth was right down the aisle from several of the cast members of Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show. Specifically the characters Harmony, Clem, Cordy, Drusilla, and Spike. I resisted as long as I could, but soon found myself standing in line to pay $30-$40 each for a set of their autographs.

Don’t judge me.

Anyway, here’s my point. I walked away from that aisle with five signatures, and five completely different impressions of these people. For example, Cordy (Charisma Carpenter) was very nice, and sweet, and she smiled at me politely, but I really got the feeling she couldn’t wait for me to be gone. Spike (James Marsters) on the other hand, seemed to connect with everyone he talked to. At three minutes before he was supposed to sit on a panel, he didn’t seem concerned in the least that the woman in front of me didn’t have any money for an autograph and just wanted to shake his hand and talk to him a few minutes. He thanked her like she was the first fan he ever had, and he found something in her words he could use to bond with her. On a related side note, Clem (James Charles Leary) was so cool I could write an entire essay on him, but I’ll save that for another day.

So how does this relate to you? Well, most likely you are a writer of some sort. Whether you just blog, have an unhealthy twitter addiction, write short stories for magazines, self-publish, or have a best-selling novel out there, someday you will meet at least one fan face-to-face. They may be someone you went to high school with, or someone who flew across the country to stand in line and shake your hand. Either way, a chance encounter for you will be a Significant Emotional Event for them, and they will remember the nuances of that moment for a long time. Treat them like the gold they are. You touched them in some way, and your words affected them enough that they think a few seconds with you or an autograph has real worth. When you find yourself in that moment, do your best to prove them right.

The Pitch: How Important Is It?

2011-11-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Austin Comic Con with my fellow writers from All Things Writing, Kaye George and Steve Metze. I'd been to the convention last year as an observer and found the whole thing to be really entertaining. Austin Comic Con is a place where you will find all kinds of unique and fun people who are passionate about comics, TV, celebrities, art, costumes, steampunk, action figures, and anything else you can possibly think of. I met some interesting characters who will be popping up in future short stories!

The reason why we attended was because we wanted to sell our new book All Things Dark and Dastardly, and Steve was kind enough to allow us to use his table space! So in addition to all the amazing steampunk gear and gizmos that Steve was selling, there were our novels. Now, if you've ever been to any kind of convention where things are sold, you know that the key is getting a potential buyer hooked on the product. You have to make them think they need it, they can't live without it, that somehow they will be better looking or thinner if they purchase it. It's all about how you spin the pitch!

And this was the most important thing I learned this weekend: I suck at pitching a book.

Yes. It's true. I have a BFA in Theatre Arts. I teach dramatics to my students every day of the school year, but when it comes down to selling my own stuff, I clam up! I smile. I nod. I can answer questions. But I can't begin a conversation about my book!

I think this is due to the way I was brought up.

It isn't polite to talk about yourself to others because that could sound like bragging. You don't want to make anyone feel like they have to do something. Don't be a pest by mentioning that you are selling girl scout cookies.

Since that philosophy is deeply ingrained in my head, it's hard to feel comfortable talking to people about my book or why they should buy it. It makes me feel like I'm giving a really bad book report, and the teacher totally knows that I didn't do my homework or something. Unfortunately, this works against me as an independent author. Since I don't have an agent, face time with potential customers is definitely in my future. Ugh...

On the other hand, I did have the chance to watch Steve and Kaye work their mojo with people. Steve is especially good at getting people to come to the table. That's because he is 100% in character when he is pitching the things he sells. He isn't afraid to call out to the crowd or throw seemingly random info out about the things he created. True, he has a deeper emotional investment in getting his items to sell (money is money, after all, and it cost a lot to make steampunk things and rent a booth at Comic Con), but I felt like he could have worked for P.T. Barnum back in the day and been quite successful. Watching him was like watching a true master of the art of salesmanship. Kaye is also good at chatting up customers. She knows how to strike up a conversation with random people and quickly get them interested in finding out more about our books. I think she collected quite a few business cards from different authors that will come in very handy down the road.

So how important is the pitch? Very. From what I saw, it was key in making a sale. All the things you read about regarding knowing your audience and understanding how to make your work sound interesting is true. Being personable without being pushy is a must. Sounding relaxed and calm is helpful as it puts your customer at ease. Chatting with them about other topics other than just your book or product is a nice touch, too. It shows you care, and whether you do or not, I've always heard the saying, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." So true.

I think a lot of authors think of the pitch is something that is just for agents or publishers. Not true. Even if you have one of those things, you are still going to be in situations where you have to be able to talk about your book to other people. It takes practice and a little thought, too. Yes, you may know your book inside and out, but what do you say when people ask you what its about? Can you get down to a bit sized couple of sentences that zing and make the listener want to know more?

If you haven't guessed, that's one of my new personal goals: getting down the pitch. I have one for Nephilim, and I'm working on one for All Things Dark and Dastardly. Now the key is practicing them. Luckily, I'll have lots of opportunities in the future to do just that!

So how is your pitch? If I asked you for it right now, could you do it?

Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day

2011-11-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

This is the brilliant brainchild of Jenny Milchman. Jenny has long been an advocate for writers, posting their Made It Moments on her blog, Suspense Your Disbelief, regularly. All her supporters cheered when her book found a publisher this year! Look for it next year.

Now she's advocating for bookstores with Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which started last year and continues expanding in December of this year.

(An offshoot has been Take Your Child to a Library Day.)

Here at All Things Writing, we're doing our part. We're signing at Hill Country Bookstore on TYCTAB Day! Mark December 3rd on your calendar, from 2-4:00.

This should be a fun time since the historic Georgetown, TX, square will be decorated for the holidays. In addition, that's the day of the Georgetown ChristmasStroll.

If you're anywhere near the Austin area, stop and see us signing "All Things Dark and Dastardly". I know, not a Holiday theme (well, it's thematic for Halloween), but a great gift item for those on your list who like dark short stories.

Comic Con Austin is coming this weekend

2011-11-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

For many of you, this means very little. You probably never read comics or, like me, you gave them up (OK, most of them) somewhere in your teens. Well I’m going this weekend, as should you, and we don’t have to crack open a single comic book while we’re there. True, I’ll be selling stuff there and you probably didn’t pay for a booth, but that isn’t the point. The All Things Writing crew and I will be selling top hats, Steampunk goggles, The Zombie Monologues, All Things Dark and Dastardly, a Steampunk role-playing-game, zombie T-shirts, vampire hunter kits, Victorian coins, Alice in Wonderland “Drink Me” bottles, and the list goes on.

Let us assume that you did not spend the last few months crafting a room full of wacky merchandice to sell like I did. Probably a safe bet. I mentioned that stuff to give you an idea of what I think will sell there. Now picture the audience that would be interested in that spectrum of items, and the odds are good that some of them are the same types of folks who would be interested in something you’d write some day, or have already written. Still, why does this mean you should go to Comic Con Austin?

1) Your audience might be there – A chance to see what your readers might be interested in. All the agents say you shouldn’t write to trends because the trends are bound to have passed before you get your book published. Still, it never hurts to know what they are and try to guess where they are going.

2) It is rife with “characters” – Many people will be in costumes, and they may or may not be acting out there outward persona. Regardless, this is a perfect chance to do some people-watching in a realm you probably don’t know all that well, and take some notes. When you see someone with the absolutely wrong body type for the superhero they are impersonating, but they don’t seem to care at all about your opinion on how they look in spandex, there’s a story in there somewhere. And the two kids wearing the dark evil “goth” versions of Dr. Seuss characters? Something is going on there too. I won’t even bring up the woman in the blue full body paint under the ancient Spartan armor or the guy who has knitted a suit out of the Magic collectable card game cards.

3) I promise you will see at least one thing there you weren’t expecting – And isn’t that just the sort of little detail that makes books interesting? You might find that one concept you can write down and keep for later. At Comicpalooza some guy brought in a life-sized Dalek robot from the Dr. Who series that actually drove around by remote control. I saw a little kid really think he got to meet superman next to a booth filled with hundreds of cooing tribbles. I saw a whole stand dedicated to “what if superheroes turned into zombies” art. I saw a comic book cover with an Über sexualized Steampunk Sarah Palin on it. I took a picture, but honestly I was afraid to peek inside.

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

Let’s face it, no matter what genre you write, the sheer energy and creativity of the place is bound to inspire you in SOME way. If you've never been before, or even if you have, come check out the Wizard's World Austin Comic Con this Friday-Sunday, November 11-13. Be sure to drop by the our booth (#428) and say hi to the All Things Writing crew, as well as pick up your copy of All Things Dark and Dastardly… or The Zombie Monologues, or a Steampunk role-playing-game, or some goggles or…

Promotion

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is a blog about promotion, not a promotional blog. (Well, OK, I'll work in a little--what do you expect?)

We're just starting out to promote our short story anthology, ALL THINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY, and I'm wondering if I've learned anything from promoting my mystery novel (CHOKE) for nearly 8 months now.

Here's what I've done for CHOKE:

Lots of guest blogs

Signings at book stores (3)

Appearances at libraries (2)

A radio interview

Requested reviews, some of which have happened

(This requires giving away a lot of books)

Attending two mystery conferences since publication

Announcements on most of the lists I belong to

Twitter

Facebook

My own blog

Speaker at a local writers' group

Mention in a mystery newsletter

I attempted to get an article in my hometown newspaper to promote a local signing. That was a fail, but the town where I was signing ran my article. And the hometown paper later did an interview of me.

The most successful, as far as I can tell, were the local writers' group, one of the library gigs, the mystery newsletter mention, and the store signings. It's possible that some of the other things worked, but just not immediately so that I could measure them. I don't know if we'll try all these things, or different ones, but we'll sure try.

Now, we need to figure out how to promote the anthology. We're starting out with a few blog posts (http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2011/10/14/crossing-over/ and http://spec-fic.rainyofthedark.com/?p=201 so far, more to come we hope), a radio interview in a couple weeks, and a signing lined up on December 3rd, 2-4 PM, at Hill Country Bookstore in Georgetown. We're attending Austin's Comic Con next week (booth 428). There will be more about that here closer to the date. Here we go!

Anyone NaNoWrimoing?

2011-11-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's November. The scent of writing ambition is in the air! That means writers everywhere are feverishly bent over their computers, typing away at 1667 words (give or take) a day as they participate in National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.

Not me.

I've done it for three years and find it to be lots of fun. However, this year I've got to move on and think about other projects. That's the way it works for a writer who is determined to keep publishing and promoting current books like Nephilim and All Things Dark and Dastardly. Still don't have your copy? Click on the links to the side or at the top of the page to get yours today!

Okay, enough with the shameless plug.

Another writer asked me if I thought there was value in participating in NaNoWriMo. Does it ever come to anything? Aren't "would-be" authors just filling the market place with badly written manuscripts once the process is over?

Yes and no. I think there can be great value in writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. It's a good way to come up with a rough draft for a project or to test out a genre you've been thinking about trying. With the no editing clause that comes with undertaking Nano, you can just turn your inner editor off and write for the sheer joy of writing. No need to worry over spelling, pacing, stilted dialogue or unbelievable characters! It's very freeing.

On the flip side, I do hear horror stories about writers who write the 50,000 words, don't really edit it, and then send it off to agents or publishers expecting to be signed. Those are the people who give the process a bad reputation. I don't care who you are. Nobody writes a perfect novel the first time without editing. Nobody. Go back and spend some time fleshing out your story, beefing up those characters, and cleaning up the dialogue before you get your heart broken with rejection!

But that's just me. What's your opinion on National Novel Writing Month?

Full Moon--Short Story Winner!

2011-10-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the winning story from our All Things Dark and Dastardly contest. Congrats to Carol Redcay! We look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

Full Moon

           Andrea Grover tossed and turned in her single-sized bed. Sweat dripped down her forehead to her neck. She sat up, feeling the pounding of her heart in her chest. What was that? She kept hearing that howling noise every time there was a full moon.
            What was it? A coyote maybe or a wolf? She shivered, feeling the goosebumps form on her body. She sighed and let out a big yawn. She laid her head back down for a second, when she heard the noise again.
            She climbed out of bed, and crept over to the bedroom window. She peeked her head out of it and saw a dark show. What in the world? The shadow was creepy looking and it looked like it was really hairy. Its green eyes stared at her.
            She gasped and let out a shriek. Her bedroom door opened and the light flickered on. Andrea turned around and saw her best friend Natalie in the doorway.
            “What’s wrong? Why did you scream? Did you have a bad dream or something?”
            Andrea’s whole body shook and she felt a chill rush down her spine making the goosebumps form again. “I-I s-saw something c-creepy outside. I-It wasn’t normal.”
            Natalie stared at her as if she had two heads. “Maybe it was just a dream.”
            Why didn’t she believe her? She knew she saw something. It wasn’t a dream or her imagination she saw something. “It looked at me, Natalie. It was brown and hairy. It was in the tree outside my bedroom window. I don’t know what it was but it was creepy and had green eyes.”
            Natalie laughed. “Cole has green eyes maybe it was him in a bear costume.”
            Damn, she wasn’t taking her seriously. Andrea shook her head. “I heard howling, too. It woke me up. It wasn’t a bear.”
            Natalie rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you call Cole and tell him? Otherwise go back to sleep.”
            After Natalie left her room, she dialed Cole’s phone number. It went straight to voicemail. Which was weird because he always answered his phone.
            She went over to the window to see if the hairy creature was still there but it was gone. She did see a glimpse of a man running back into his house. Weird. It was Cole’s house. He lived next door to her. It’s how they met and got to know each other.
           Why was Cole running back into his house at this time of night? He should be sleeping. It didn’t make any sense. She decided to confront him in the morning. She shut the light off and went to bed.

            The next morning after having oatmeal and a glass of milk; she headed to Cole’s house. He answered the door after the third knock. He was wearing a dark blue robe and matching slippers. His chocolate-colored hair was out of place.
            “Hey, beautiful. What brings you here?”
            “I need to talk to you.” She followed him inside of the house and they sat on the couch.
            “Are you breaking up with me?”
            She shook her head. “I called you last night but you didn’t answer. It went to voicemail. Where were you last night?”
            He stared at her carefully. His expression was blank and he didn’t look at her. “I was asleep. I seen that you called but it was two in the morning.”
            She took a big deep breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t lie to me. I saw you running back into your house.”
            He stood up and crossed his arms. “Maybe that was earlier when you saw me. Why were you up that late anyway?”
            She stood up and glared at him. “I couldn’t sleep. The howling woke me up. I also saw something outside my window.”
            Cole looked down at the ground. “What do you mean howling? We don’t have wolves in Louisiana. What did you see?”
            Why can’t he look at me? I get the feeling he knows something I don’t. I have to get to the bottom of this. “I don’t know what it was. It looked at me. It had green eyes and brown fur. I think that’s what was howling and I get the feeling you know it, too, Cole.”
            “Damn it, Andrea. Can’t you just drop it? It was probably just a nightmare.” Anger flashed in his eyes.
            He was hiding something. But what? She had to find out. “Fine, Cole, have it your way. Don’t tell me then, but I’m going to find out either way.”
            Then she stomped her way to the front door and left. She went back inside of her house and paced around in a circle in the kitchen.
            “What the hell is wrong with you?” Natalie asked as she bit into a red apple.
            Andrea flipped her coco brown locks and turned to face Natalie. “Cole is hiding something.”
            Nathalie finished her apple and threw the core in the trash. “Why do you think that?”
            “I just got back from his house and he got pissed off when I asked where he was last night. I looked out my bedroom window last night and I saw him sneaking back into his house. When I asked him he denied it. What would he be doing at two in the morning?”
            “Maybe it wasn’t him that you saw,” Natalie said.
             Andrea frowned. “Then who would it be? He lives alone. It doesn’t make any sense.”

            Two weeks later, there was a full moon again. The howling started again. Andrea couldn’t sleep. She dialed Cole’s number but of course he didn’t answer. They weren’t talking to each other much since their fight. She had to see if he was home. She threw on a pair of gray sweatpants and a matching gray sweatshirt. She pulled the hood over her head and slipped on her tennis shoes.
            She walked over to Cole’s house and knocked on the door. No answer. Her heart pounded louder and louder in her chest. Where is he? Why isn’t he answering the door? She decided to check on him.
            She turned the doorknob and it was unlocked. She crept inside quietly. There was no sign of Cole anywhere. She went in all of the rooms expect his bedroom. She left that one for last.
            The door was shut. She reached for the doorknob and turned it. It swung open and she crept inside. He wasn’t there either. This wasn’t like him. Something strange was going on.
            She just wasn’t sure what it was yet. Something on the floor caught her eye. She picked it up. It was a steak bone. Why would he have this in his room? There was something else weird about the room.
            She noticed fresh and warm drool on his pillow as she reached out and touched it. Gross. She wiped it back on the pillow. There was also a lot of that brown fur she saw two weeks ago on the creature that was outside her window. A loud noise made her jump.
            She cried out and felt the goosebumps form on her body. She turned around and was face to face with the creature. OMG, it was a werewolf! It looked just like Cole. Was it really Cole?
            She had to know. “C-Cole? Is t-that y-you?” She backed into the corner as he approached closer to her.
            The werewolf let out a loud howl. “What are you doing here, Andrea? You shouldn’t be here.”
            “H-how d-do you know m-my name? Is that you Cole?”
            “Yes, it’s me, Andrea. You’re not safe here.”
            Her eyes widen and her body shook. Would he hurt her? She wasn’t sure if he would or not.
            The shock was running through her veins. Cole was a werewolf. How was this possible? “How long have you been a werewolf? This is what you have been hiding from me all this time.”
            Cole howled again. “I was trying to protect you. I wasn’t born this way. I was bitten by another werewolf. You have to find him and kill him. If you don’t, I’ll be stuck this way forever.”
            She put her hands on her hips. “Why should I believe you? I don’t know how to kill a werewolf. What if he kills me first?”
            He pulled a small handgun out of his dresser drawer and held it up. “This is how you kill a werewolf with a gun and a silver bullet. Aim for his heart and he’ll burn up in flames. You have to trust me, Andrea. It’s the only way you’ll live. I love you and I don’t want to lose you.”
            She took the gun from him. “Was it him or you in my tree two weeks ago?”
            “It wasn’t me. He has green eyes, too.” Drool rolled off his lips and fell onto the floor.
            Andrea shivered, feeling creeped out by the fact that her boyfriend was a werewolf.
            He snarled and glared at her. “Get going before I hurt you. He should be close by.”
            Andrea nodded and ran out the door. She didn’t have to go too far to find the werewolf. He was in the tree.
            The werewolf slid down the tree and faced Andrea. This werewolf wasn’t a he. It was a she!
            She looked just like Natalie. “Natalie? You’re the other werewolf?”
            She laughed. “What did you expect? I was born this way. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you yet. Now that you know my secret that is going to change. It was nice knowing you, friend.”
            Andrea couldn’t believe it. Natalie was a werewolf. She had to act fast or she would get killed. She pulled out the handgun that was tucked in her sweatpants. She aimed it at Natalie’s heart and fired. The hit her perfectly and she started on fire right away. Natalie was still burning when Cole came running out of his house. He was human again.
            “Who was he?”
            She shook her head. “The werewolf wasn’t a he. It was a she. It was Natalie.”
            They both watched as her bones burned into ashes and blew away. Natalie was gone. There was nothing left of her. Tears streamed down her face as she thought of losing the only best friend she ever had since she was 17. Now she was 24 and friendless. At least she still had Cole.
            He was always there for her. “What does this mean? Are you only human now or are you still a werewolf when there is a full moon out?”
            He flashed an evil grin. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me on this one.”

Writing Contest Winner Announced and 5 Horror Movies to be Inspired By

2011-10-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Carol Redcay, the winner of our All Things Dark and Dastardly writing contest. We had great submissions but Carol's short story, Full Moon, really stuck out. With great writing and a fun twist, her tale definitely fits our theme of dark and dastardly. Full Moon will be posted on our website on Monday, Oct. 31--just in time for Halloween! She also receives a copy of our anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly.

Speaking of the anthology, I want to give a big shout out to our publisher, Dragonfire Press. They were willing to take a chance on our creative talents and we appreciate it! I expect we'll see lots of other great releases from then in the near future.

Okay, my topic today is horror movies. With the release of All Things Dark and Dastardly and the approach of Halloween, my mind turns to the things that inspire me to write. Horror. Cheap scares. Fun plots. Things that go bump in the night. The fact that I need money for groceries. (Cue the nightmare scream!) I've come up with several movies that I think are worth viewing again, if only for the cheap thrill they provide, and as excellent writing inspiration. I tried to keep my list to less popular films, too. After all, Exorcist and Halloween are always on someones top five.

1. The Fog--No. I'm not talking about the crappy remake. I mean the 1980 John Carpentar original. This movie stars Jaime Lee Curtis and her mother, Janet Leigh. It's also about pirate lepers! Do I really need to say more?

2. Children of the Corn--Based on a short story by Stephen King (see, you never know where your short story will end up), the movie does leave a little to be desired. On the other hand, kids out of control in a corn field has a certain appeal to an elementary teacher such as myself.

3. April Fool's Day--OMG! What are we going to do Muffy? There is a killer on the loose at our lake house! Maybe I should take off my bra so I can think better! (Not actual dialogue, but actual subtext from the movie).

4. Wolfen--Technically they are not werewolves, but shapeshifters. Don't make the mistake of thinking otherwise or people on the internet will get really pissed off and write nasty letters to you. This movie was based on The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber, the same guy that wrote all those alien books that are supposed to be true. Oh, excuse me. They were not officially aliens but "visitors."

5. Motel Hell--Hmmm....a movie about people stopping at a place called Motel Hello (the O is always burned out) is a good start. It only gets better when these people are planted in the ground, still alive but minus their vocal chords. There they are fattened up and eventually used as the meat in the hotel owner's favorite stew. Be sure to eat chili while watching this delightful tale.

What horror movies have inspired you? Which ones make you think, "Gee, I could have written that!"
Share, please!

What is Urban Fantasy?

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen a better definition than the one given by George R. R. Martin in the new anthology, DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS. I can't copy it here, since it's copyrighted material, but you can see it for yourself if you go to http://www.amazon.com/These-Strange-Streets-George-Martin/dp/0441020747/ and peek inside. His article entitled "The Bastard Stepchild" states his opinion that urban fantasy grew from hard-boiled mystery, with roots in classic horror. These are two genres, he says, that are not compatible at heart. He goes on to say that horror is set in darkness and fear, while mystery, even the hard-boiled type, is about righting wrongs and setting things right.

One can, further, find much discussion on the difference between hard-boiled and noir within crime fiction. Noir, many say, is unrelentingly dark and there are no good outcomes. This guy (http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/002167.html) says noir is always grim. Hard-boiled fiction is a style that has hard characters, tough guys who talk and act rough. My own opinion is that you'll find justice at the end more often in the latter.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_fantasy) disagrees with Martin's definition (although Martin does say that the HEROES, not the whole sub-set of urban fantasy, spring from the two opposing genres). Wiki says, alternately that it's a sub-genre of fantasy and that it's a sub-genre of contemporary fantasy. Wiki also insists on an urban setting. Although the word "urban" is part of the name, I'm not sure a city setting is required. Certainly, some of the stories in the above anthology take place in smaller places than cities, although they're all somewhat gritty.

We're calling our anthology horror, but some of our stories in ALL THINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY are urban fantasy. I don't think all of them are, but you can form your own opinion on that.

Images from Wikimedia (except ATDD cover)

Double Indemnity is a 1944 film noir. It stars Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. It was directed by Wilder.

Pulp fiction cover from Wikimedia: Cover, Detective Book Magazine Volume 5, #10 (Winter 1948), Fiction House (defunct co.), pulp magazine, artist unknown

Cover of the fantasy fiction magazine Avon Fantasy Reader no. 6 (1948) featuring "The Crawling Horror" by Thorp McClusky.

Release Day--All Things Dark and Dastardly!

2011-10-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Available today!

Are you in the mood for a great set of dark stories? How about a dash of murder mixed with urban fantasy and horror? Then you need to get the brand new anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly! This book is a compliation of horror, mystery, and urban fantasy short stories by Ausin authors with a distinctly dark side. Here a few nice things that people have had to say about it so far:

"A string of sizzling stories to stimulate your senses and excite the nerves, especially when night falls."--Edith Y.S. Harris, artist and short story writer, www.eyshasfineart.co.uk

"Rough cut gems that twinkle darkly."-- Jack Bates, Derringer Nominee

"Keep an eye on these authors. You'll be seeing their names for a long time to come."--AJ Hayes, featured author in the noir anthology, Pulp Ink.

Published by Dragonfire Press, this book has been an exciting ride for the gang at All Things Writing! We look forward to your feedback and reviews, and hope to dazzle you with more stories in the future. If you are looking for the perfect reading for Halloween, check this book out today! It's available for your eReader, as well, as in paperback. Click the link below to purchase your copy.

Amazon Kindle Store

Amazon Paperback

Untreed Reads

Smashwords

Character Interview: Tony from Color Me Baby Blue

2011-10-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

As you know, the All Things Dark and Dastardly anthology is going to be released this Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. We've had great feedback from our fans, and the excitement is enough to give us all heart palpitations.

Or maybe that's just really bad gas.

Anyway, the link to purchase the book will be up on Friday! Also, on Friday, we will be announcing the winner of our All Things Dark and Dastardly writing contest. We had great submissions, and it was hard to narrow it down to just one winner. The winning story will be posted on our site Oct. 31--just in time for Halloween! They'll also receive a copy of our All Things Dark and Dastardly anthology.

Now on to the topic of the day: A character interview with naughty Tony from Kaye George's fun tale, Color Me Baby Blue. You can find this story in our upcoming book, but here's a sneak peek in to the mind of a fashion savvy killer!

(This interview was taken in a hospital where Tony currently resides.)

MA: Can I call you Tony? Or do you prefer Anton?

**Are you kidding? For a babe like you? Definitely Tony.

Aren't you sweet? That is just a charming hospital gown you have on! I know you are in here partly due to your eye for fashion. What color would you call that exactly? Did you pick it out yourself?

**I call it baby puke green. What do you think? I have better taste
than this! Hey, isn't this new software handy, though? I can finally
communicate with people through my eye blinks. I've been trapped here
so long. Isolated.

That must be hard. Just let me know if you get tired of blinking so much. Tell us about yourself and your relationship with your Uncle Leo.

**He was a necessary evil. My stepping stone to financial
independence. He never liked, me, by the way.

I heard Uncle Leo was murdered. What do you think his final thoughts
were regarding the popular Dusky Brown line of clothes?**Ha. He knew he was so wrong. I could see it in his eyes.

It's too bad he realized it too late! So which show do you prefer: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy or Project Runway?
** You do know that those shows are so fake, right? I'm sure I could
design circles around those people. And you know that a lot of
straight guys, like me for instance, are just as good as gay guys.
Bunch of horse...hooey...if you ask me.

Calm down. You'll blink your eyelashes off! Let's try a different question. If you could choose one color to be buried in, what would it be?**Periwinkle. For personal reasons.

Interesting choice. Are you currently in a relationship with anyone? Is that even possible in your condition?**There is one nurse that has a great behind. Her front isn't bad
either. I'm trying to make a move on her. It's hard when you can't
move, though.

I can imagine. You give "batting your eyes" at someone a whole new meaning. If there was one thing you could do differently, what would it be?**I think I could have done a better job with Miss Manning, Mandy her
name is. I came on a little too fast.

You think? I'm not sure killing someones lover would be called coming on too fast. Some people might call that homicidal tendancies, but whatever. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?**Maybe I should tell them that you don't have to talk really loud to
people who are in the hospital, or wherever the hell I am. Just
because someone can't talk to you, doesn't mean he's not human. He's
still a man.

Thank you for sharing that with us. I'm sure many people will be interested to know about the events leading up to your current...condition.

To learn more about Tony and his murderous fashion choices, check out the story Color Me Baby Blue by Kaye George and located in All Things Dark and Dastardly!

What IS Halloween anyway?

2011-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Besides a good time to read scary stories, that is. (Stories like the ones found in All Things Dark and Dastardly, coming October 21st!)

I have a book called "Witches of the World" by Diane Canwell and Jonathan Sutherland that says Samhain, the precursor to Halloween and celebrated on October 31st, celebrated the end of summer. Samhain was a Celtic festival and the end of the year for them.

Many of our Halloween symbols and rituals derive from Samhain. Hollowed-out pumpkins, as well as other vegetables, were placed in the windows and on porches (the Celts evidently had porches) to welcome their dead ancestors and keep evil spirits away. One of these spirits, a very bad one, was called Jack-O-Lantern. This guy wasn't able to get into Heaven or Hell. That's a little inconsistent, since the Celts were pagans back then.

Irish and Scottish immigrants, this book says, brought us the custom of carving pumpkins. I'm glad. It's fun!

The Druids (which I think were Celtic priests, but I'm not sure) lit bonfires to guard against witches and spirits wandering around at harvest time. This book says that this was also the time when Druids imprisoned their victims in wicker cages, then sacrificed them on huge bonfires. Really? The poor little victims couldn't get out of a wicker cage? I wonder what sort of people were Druid victims.

Wiki says that Samhain in Ireland was the end of fighting and trading season, and was a time for tribes to get together. I'll buy that. Halloween today is the beginning of The Holidays. Time for stores to start putting out Christmas and holiday decorations and time for people to start deciding what they're going to do for Thanksgiving.

Cross Genre and Cross Promotion

2011-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

It helps to network, writers! When our anthology debuts, it will hit more places than we imagined. Here's how this went.

Background: Awhile ago Untreed Reads accepted one of my short stories and it's for sale at their site. (Not a Halloween story, but a darn good one!) They sell e-stories and e-books and have a tremendous distribution system. My story is for sale everywhere I can think of, and lots that I can't.

Present Day Happening: The three of us at this blog are putting out a short story anthology. (You may have heard about this. It's called ALL THINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY and will surely be a hit.)

Another Happening: Jay Hartman at Untreed Reads asked all his authors if they had anything to promote for Halloween. I answered that our anthology could be considered Halloween fare since it consists of dark and sometimes scary stories.

Astounding Happening: Jay asked if he'd like us to promote the anthology. Yes, yes, yes. We get to take advantage of a large part of his wide distribution system. Our anthology will be seen by people we wouldn't otherwise have access to. Win Win.

So, look for the book at Untreed Reads soon after October 21st, our publication date! You can also look for it in the other usual places, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. We'll get links put up here and at ALLTHINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY as soon as they're live.

Hope you're getting yourself ready for Halloween. Get ready by reading some scary stuff. Prepare to be frightened!

Casper is in the public domain.

Release Date For All Things Dark and Dastardly: Oct. 21, 2011!

2011-10-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hear ye! Hear ye! The official release date of All Things Dark and Dastardly is fast approaching! October 21, 2011 is when you can purchase your very own copy of this anthology.

What's it about?

It is a compilation of horror, mystery, and urban fantasy short stories by Austin authors with a distinctly dark side...

For more information, come check out our site for it: All Things Dark and Dastardly.

By the way, thanks to all who entered our October Dark contest. We had great entries and the winner will be selected soon.

Promotion: Chance Encounters

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Another writer recently asked me what I felt were the three most effective things I'd done for promotion. I thought for awhile about that. It's not an easy question to answer! I came up with three. I'm not sure they're the most effective (who knows what works and what doesn't?), but they're things that I think have helped me in my writing career.

I'd put networking first. I've done a lot of it over the years, online and at conferences. The conference I've attended the most often is Malice Domestic. That's where I've met so many fellow Sisters in Crime members, and especially fellow members of the Guppies chapter that has been so much help to me. Having met a few of the published writers in person made me brave enough to ask some of them for blurbs when it was time for my novel to come out. All but one gave me wonderful blurbs, for which I am so thankful. Attending Malice for years might have also helped get me my Agatha nomination last year.

Number two, would be commenting on other people's blogs and making myself known to bloggers who host writers. Aside from learning a lot from the bloggers I follow (when I have time), I feel I know the blog hosts a little better. When I've requested guest blogs, I had no trouble getting them. Some bloggers have even asked me to blog for them before I ask.

Third, I would put hanging out in bars. Not just any bars, though. A group I sat with at the bar a few years ago at the Agents and Editors con in Austin invited me to their writing group and this month we're putting out a short story anthology together. That's this group, All Things Writing!

Another chance meeting, also at the bar, was at Malice. I sat next to a fellow Austinite whom I didn't know in person. We had emailed and were both going to look for each other to try to meet up, but Malice is huge and that might never have happened. Janice Hamrick was a first-time attendee at Malice and also the winner of the 2010 Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel competition. So her first novel was in the dealers' room, as was mine (though from a much smaller publisher!). I just happened to sit in the chair next to hers the first night I arrived, a happy coincidence. She wanted some guidance on how to get the most from the conference and I tried to help her out. I shepherded her a bit and we ate together a few times. She became a friend and eventually suggested my name to a radio host who had interviewed her (I assume Minotaur got her that interview, but I'm not sure). Now we're doing a panel, together with another local mystery writer, Robin Allen, (whom I also don't know yet!), arranged by that radio host, Hopeton Hay, at a local library.

Hopeton has also agreed to do an interview of me, Steve, and Mary Ann for our ALL THINGS DARK AND DASTARDLY release. (Coming October 21st!)

Maybe all of these just amount to networking. But I'm not going to admit that, because then I'd have to come up with two more.

Illustration: Social networking, public domain

Character Interview: Sitting Down with Fat Bastard

2011-09-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. Today's blog title is interesting. And so is the character I'm interviewing! Once again, we are going to take a station break (so to speak) and chat with a character who is featured in our upcoming anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. This fun persona comes from the darkly creative mind of Steve Metze and his story Aliens v. Fat Bastard. If the title alone doesn't get your interest up about the story, this interview will definitely make you want to check it out!

Imagine that aliens have descended to our planet with the mission of conquering it. How do they plan to show dominance? On the football field! How freaky Americana is that? Unfortunately, the aliens are killing us (literally) during the game. It appears all hope is lost until--well, let's just say one Fat Bastard takes the field.

Let's begin the interview!

Mary Ann: Could you tell us a little about yourself?

FB: The name Fat Bastard doesn’t do it for you?

Touche. And yes, it certainly paints a picture. Moving on. It seems like football is a big part of your story. Did you realize when you were younger just how important it would become to your life?

Oh no way. Couldn’t stand the sport back then, can’t stand it today. But it did help pad my college resume, so, there’s that.

Ah, the things we do to get into college. So if you could go back and change one day, what would it be?

The day I had with Victoria, of course. I mean, I wouldn’t try to change what ended up happening, or what she did to me, none of that. I would just listen to her in a different way… ask her different questions…

Victoria being the woman who influenced you to take the field that fateful day. Yeah. Considering what happened to you, I'd probably listen to her a little more carefully, too! So are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

That’s a joke, right? I mean, you’ve seen the statue, right? Heard the songs? Seen the music videos, read the graphic novel, played with the action figures…

Okay, okay. Just trying to make conversation. By the way, your action figure is a little overrated. I much prefer your trading card. Anyway, we all know that the aliens in your story are jerks. What is your personal take on them? Do they have any hygiene issues?

It’s all sort of a blur to me know, but, Spike and Bruiser both, now that you mention it, did have a certain… special… scent. That might have been what they smell like when they sweat though. Didn’t really get a chance to hang out much in a social setting since we were trying to kill each other and all…

That does put a damper on things. What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

“So far?” Oh that’s cruel. Um, sure, well, OK, I would quote something about even the littlest person being able to change the world, but, you know, Fat Bastard.

Ouch. Sorry. Wasn't thinking. Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

I think I turned down a few chili dogs I shouldn’t have. Wouldn’t have, that’s for sure, not if I’d known what I know now.

What is your favorite past-time?

Did you even read my story? I think I’m way past time now.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Sure. Lessee, whenever something is really really important, don’t just sit back and watch. Wow, that’s lame. Can I start over?

Ha! You could have had a job writing cheesy sayings for Hallmark Cards. Too bad you're dead, man.

Want to know more about Fat Bastard and his claim to fame? Look for All Things Dark and Dastardly to be released on Oct. 21. And don't forget to enter our All Things Dark Contest! 2000 word entries due on Oct. 1 can be emailed to maryannloesch374@gmail.com.

It's All in the Atmosphere

2011-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's autumn. The crisp, cool air. Beautiful leaves turning and falling. Farmers looking forward to a bountiful harvest. Sweaters in the evening.

Well, that was fun to write. But it's just a myth to those of us in central Texas. Here in Austin it was 105 degrees yesterday. The most chance of rain any forecaster will venture is 30 percent, and that's a 30 percent change of scattered sprinkles, not the actual rain we so desperately need. The trees have given up and gone into early dormancy. We'll see if they leaf out next spring. The farmers have plowed under most of the crops for this year, awhile ago. There were a few anemic cotton harvests, but the corn never got above two feet tall and withered weeks before any ears could form.

I had the great good fortune this month to make a trip to cool, wet Tennessee and take a walk in the Smokies on a foggy day that required a jacket. But, if I hadn't actually taken a plane and arrived there physically, I still could have gone. That's the advantage of being a writer.

Any old time I want, I can sit down and conjure up weather. That's part of my setting, after all. If I get thoroughly into what I'm doing, I can write a blizzard and start shivering. My bare toes will turn cold. I'll want a cup of hot tea. Then I'll leave the keyboard and come to. It will shock me that it's over 100 degrees and the AC is valiantly trying to cool the house. I love being a writer!

If you're feeling the need for something with a dark and juicy atmosphere to sink your teeth into, with touches of black humor sprinkled about, remind yourself that our anthology is coming out next month. We here in Austin sure hope it's cooler by then!

Oil on canvas "Autumn Leaves" by John Buxton Knight, public domain

Judging a Book by its Cover

2011-09-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

OK, let’s not pretend that when you look at the artwork on the front of a book it doesn’t influenced your buying preferences. It does. So I wanted to talk about designing a book cover from a semi-professional point of view. The two obvious things to worry about are the aesthetic aspect, and the technical aspect. Let’s start with the aesthetics since that will interest you far more than the technical.

I’ve read up on advice on how to create an amazing book cover, and a lot of it says that you have to design the cover in some unbelievably unique way that no one has ever thought of before.

Eh, I’m not buying it.

In the USA alone, we publish 200,000 to 300,000 new books a year. I find it hard to believe that they are all wrapped in brilliantly original designs. Hey, if there are no original stories any more, why would there be original book covers? I’m not saying copy book covers, but I’m sort of saying copy other books’ covers. You’ve got probably many options in your home, and probably many of the genre you’re interested it. Take a look at them and break them down into their core elements. For example, take a quick count of how many of your paperbacks on your shelf follow this format.

* Quote by famous person at the top
* Title in a bigger font
* Striking picture in the middle
* Subtitle that explains what it is about
* Name of the Author, Editor, or genius who wrote the introduction at the bottom.

Now for Option Two, put the name of the Author, Editor, or genius who wrote the introduction just under the title, skip the subtitle, and leave the picture in the bottom 2/3s.

Those two examples don’t cover every book cover - that would be too easy - but they do cover a lot of them. My point, and I did have one, is that layout shouldn’t be something you struggle with. Copy someone else’s layout, and do it proudly. They spent many hours studying how to copy someone else’s in school, which means if you copy it, you’ll probably be pretty close too. If you want to check your layout, then when you finish it, put it aside, let it sit, go look at several other books, and then glance at your right after looking at a few others. If there is something that seems not right to you about the font, it will probably feel that way to other people too. That’s when you notice the tiny details. The other book probably has that title in all caps, and the author’s name in small caps, and the font probably looks a little thinner than the average words you see on a page. Bad layout, bad fonts, and bad artwork will make your book stick out in a bad way, and will give everyone the impression it was self-published. You’ve looked at a lot of book covers. If something about yours seems off, look deeper until you figure out what it is.

Quick sidenote – don’t try to get really crazy and put the author’s name above the title, unless the author is famous enough to sell the book regardless of what it is about.

At this point you’ve released yourself of the burden of thinking you need a design degree to get the format right, so focus on the fun stuff. What striking picture will really draw the eye? What colors capture the mood of the interior? If the picture or illustration looks professional, you’re 80%-90% there.

The back cover is harder, as you have a lot more interpretations of what should go on the other side of the book. Again I recommend using other works as guides, but the trend is to devote at least a third of it to more praise blurbs, and at least a third of it to a pitch to the potential reader. If you don’t have that many praise blurbs, toss in another image or illustration, or your picture and a bio.

Now let’s shift to some technical aspects. First, you’re probably going to sell your book either as an e-book, or on Amazon. That means people will be looking at your book cover at a fraction of the normal scale. If it is too crowded or detailed, then in miniature, it will look like a blob of color. Shrink it down to a few inches on your screen and ask yourself if it still captivates you.

Second, you need to understand what “bleed” is. The term is used to talk about the edges of the book, with the understanding that no matter how advanced our technology gets, when you send a file to the printer, there is a chance what your set up and what they print will be off a little bit. Most printers require that you leave a ring of blank space on all four sides of the cover, usually about .17 of an inch (1/6th of an inch) or so. The printer should tell you. Most will even give you a template that says “keep all images in this square” or something similar. The color of the book cover should still go to the edge or past it, but no part of the title, the witty praise blurbs, the actual striking image, the price, the barcode, the press logo, none of that should venture into this mystical “bleed” area. In some cases, if you do it, they will print it, and then something goes terribly wrong and you end up with the edges of your letters cut off on the side of the page. With places like Create Space, if it doesn’t fit into their template, they will just reject your design and tell you to do it again.

Third, the spine of your book is also important. The printer should tell you how to calculate the width of your spine based on the number of pages, whether the pages are white or cream, and whether the interior is black and white or color. If your book is less than 150 pages, most printers recommend you not have any words on your spine at all because – you guessed it – spines also have a “bleed,” and if you’ve got to have .17” of blank space on either side, that means a third of an inch of the spine has to be empty. You’ll notice many book spines follow a format too: Book title, author, publisher’s name and logo.

Which brings up point four, publisher’s name and logo. If you have a real publisher, they are probably designing your book cover and you have no say in it. If you don’t, you might consider starting your own publishing company, at least on paper. I don’t want to get too far into ISBNs and barcodes right now, but if you use the ISBN provided by a print on demand company, then when that code is scanned, and several smart phones have apps that will scan them, then that print on demand company (like Create Space) will show up as your publisher. If you don’t want to advertise a book is self-published, you’ll have to buy your own ISBN and create a publishing company. That requires a mildly interesting name and a professional looking logo.

Bottom line, we look at books all the time, and while most of what goes on the cover gets filed away as white noise, some part of our brains register what is there. We notice if the picture on the cover seems good, but not professional. We notice if the font isn’t in all caps, or it is Times New Roman, although we might not catch on exactly why right away. You don’t want a potential reader to get any sort of “this is homemade” vibe from your cover. Copy formats and layouts, and concentrate on the little details that make it look professional, and that one image that will draw the eye.

Oh, and also, write some brilliant story to go on the inside.

Character Interview: Sitting Down with Nathan Ink

2011-09-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to be interviewing a character from the upcoming anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. He's also a main character in my book, Nephilim. Please welcome the one, the only Mr. Nathan Ink!

MA: Hi! Thanks for joining us on the All Things Writing blog. We really appreciate your time!

Nathan: Like I had choice.

True. Why don't we get started?

It's your interview, doll.

What is your occupation?

I’m an angel and a tattoo artist in a shop over on Sixth Street called Hell’s Leak.

An angel, huh? Does that pay well? Good employee benefits?

(Nathan gives Mary Ann a surly stare)

Okay, moving on then. Let’s talk about your work at Hell's Leak. Whenever you tattoo someone it seems like bad stuff happens to them. Why is that exactly?

Because their bad people.

C’mon. They can’t all be bad.

Trust me. They aren’t the kind of people you want babysitting your kids or even your dogs. I can actually hear the hum of their sin. It floats in the air around these people like a metallic halo, giving off the worst sound imaginable. That’s how I know when it's time to do my job. When I hear that hum driting in to my shop, the person it belongs to is mine. Body and soul. But mostly soul.

I heard you once tattooed a mermaid on a girl and then an hour later she turned into a real one. That true?

Yes. Her sin was vanity and like the mermaids the sailors used to talk about, she spent half her time admiring herself.

But didn't she end up drowning? I think that’s a pretty harsh way to punish someone for being vain.

Tough. What do I care what you think? When God gives you super powers, then you can pass judgment on me.

Sorry. So in the two stories featuring you in the All Things Dark and Dastardly anthology, you’re stirring up trouble for an elementary teacher who likes to gossip and a lazy college kid who can't be depended on. Which one was more fun to mess with?

The kid. I gave him goat tattoo that sounds like George Carlin when it talks. That's pretty damn cool.

Um...that tattoo convinced the kid to cut off his hand...

Pretty wicked, right?

Hmmm….for an angel, you sure have a dark side. I thought angels were supposed to be sweet and kind with big white wings.

Nathan Explosion, not
Nathan Ink.

That’s what you get for thinkin’. I don’t have wings. I sure don't look like that dude on the cover of Nephilim. My chest is much cooler, and I have an awesome tattoo running down my body. In fact, I don't know any angels that look like that guy! I look more like Nathan Exposion from Dethklok.

Is that normal for angels? To worry over how they look on book covers? Sounds like you have some personal issues...

Watch it, Loesch.

Okay, the following questions are just for fun so feel free to answer honestly. Which do you prefer: beer or wine?

Tequila.

Best place to eat in Austin?

Hut’s Hamburgers.

Red and naughty or black and sexy?

Red and naughty.

Do angels have sex?

Not in public.

Well, on that note, let’s wrap it up! Thanks for being here today, Nathan. I’m sure we all look forward to reading your exploits in the upcoming anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly!

Whatever.

All Things Dark and Dastardly comes out Oct. 21, 2011. Don't forget to enter our writing contest to win a free copy of the book! Send your 2000 word dark story to maryannloesch374@gmail.com by Oct. 1!

Cross Genres

2011-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is becoming, more and more, a common practice. Charlaine Harris wrote mysteries, but when she decided to add werewolves and other paranormal beings, she became shelved in both romance and mystery. Go figure! Dean Koontz, best known as a horror writer, includes elements of suspense, thriller, and throws in some science fiction.

Other writers keep the genres separate, but write in several. Beth Groundwater writers mystery and science fiction, keeping both forms pure.

Some cross genre works have acquired their own names, dark fantasy for fantasy and horror, science fiction westerns and even space westerns. Science fiction western has given birth to the more current steampunk, a quickly growing genre all its own.

Steve Metze, Mary Ann Loesch, and I are three writers who write in different genre, but decided to put our stories together anyway and get an anthology published. So we did! All Things Dark and Dastardly contains elements of mystery, horror, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, and maybe some others. Sometimes I'm not sure where a genre begins and ends. I, myself, contributed mystery and paranormal here, but have recently branched out into horror and even wrote a zombie story that's being submitted. I can detect mystery in most of my stories, but it may be hard for some readers.

As Mary Ann pointed out on a recent guest blog for Rasana Atreya, our common thread is darkness. The three of us seem to have twisted little minds and like it that way. If you like your stories dark and dastardly, keep watch here for our release in October.

We're excited about this volume and hope you will be, too!

Learn more about All Things Dark and Dastardly

2011-09-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Want to learn more about our new anthology? Come check out Rasana Atreya's awesome blog. She allowed me to be a guest blogger this week! http://rasanaatreya.wordpress.com

Are Characters Born Wicked?

2011-09-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

"Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?"

That's a line from a popular Broadway musical called, Wicked. It tells the story of Elphaba, later known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, aka, the Good Witch of the North. The musical chronicles their unlikely friendship and explains how the Elphaba comes to be known as the most wicked creature around. It's a fun story, and you'll never look at the Wizard of Oz the same way again!

I like the question the best. Are people born wicked? Or is it their particular circumstance that causes their actions? I guess I like to think that no one is born wicked, that we are all victims of our opportunities in life. However, do the same rules apply when creating characters?

I think so. Most readers want to know why a character does the things he or she does. They need a reason to understand that person's actions--whether they are good or bad. And yet, some characters are so truly evil that the reader becomes fascinated and doesn't need their back story. For instance, take eveyone's favorite cannibal, Hannibal Lector. Hmmm...what exactly did his momma do to him in childhood that turned him into such a connoisseur of human flesh? Author Thomas Harris chooses not to go into details about that, and it's really not important to the story, but still, it does make you wonder...

Did Mr. Harris have that background information when he began writing the character of Hannibal Lector? Was it something he used as a tool to craft and mold this larger than life person who evokes such terror in readers and even movie goers? (Thank you, Anthony Hopkins.) Or was Hannibal just born wicked?

As a writer who dabbles in urban fantasy, I often ask myself that question about any new evil character I'm creating. I like to know what it is that drives a person to do the their bad deeds. Sometimes I include that info in a story and sometimes, I just hint at it. This is all part of knowing when and how much of the back story to include--a tricky thing for writers. Too much of it and your audience tunes out. Too little and they get frustrated enough to stop reading.

When writing your short story submission for our All Things Dark and Dastardly competition, remember that we like characters who are wicked, but not so wicked that we can't identify with them at all. The characters that seem to get under our skin are the complex ones, the ones who are more than what they seem.

Don't forget you have until Oct. 1 to submit your dark story to maryannloesch374@gmail.com. Winners win a free copy of All Things Dark and Dastardly and are published on All Things Writing. See our story submission link to get more details.

All Things Dark and Dastardly Writing Contest--Deadline Oct. 1 2011

2011-09-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to creating characters, I like them to be realistic with just a dash of darkness. I think that's how most people really are anyway. We all have quirks and oddities which make us our strange, but loveable selves. We have secrets, hidden desires, and "crazy" buttons just waiting to be pushed. Ah, we are delightfully dark!

Writing dark stories is definitely fun. As many of our faithful readers know, we here at All Things Writing have created an anthology called All Things Dark and Dastardly. It's scheduled for release in October and being full of delicious dastardly tales, has something for everyone.

We'd like to be able to give away a copy of it, but Dark and Dastardly giveaways don't come for free...No. We challenge you to submit your own 2,000 word dark tale to us in order to win a copy of the book. The submission with the darkest tale will be published on our site and will receive a free copy of All Things Dark and Dastardly.

Here are the rules:
1. Stories can't be longer than 2000 words.
2. Must have a dark theme.
3. Should be submitted in the body of an email to maryannloesch374@gmail.com.
4. Due by Oct. 1, 2011.

We look to receiving your dark works of art!

Self Publishing: Just a fad or is it changing the written word?

2011-09-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today is Kaye's usual day to blog but unfortunately, she is very under the weather right now! So I decided to steal her blog spot just because I can. (Insert Wicked Laugh here.)

Actually, I'm kind of stealing my blog topic for today, too: Self Publishing. It seems like that is the hot topic right now for writers everywhere. And why not? It's easy to do, one way to side step the big publishing houses, and it doesn't require an agent. I look back on the last seven years of my writing career and have to laugh, though. When I first started getting serious about writing, the words "self publishing" were a dirty phrase that could only be whispered in dark rooms where serious writers weren't allowed. It wasn't considered the best option, and if you did it, you'd have zero chance of getting an agent. Ever.

My how times have changed! Watching the shift in thinking about this subject has been remarkable. Self publishing is no longer considered a dirty word with the advent of POD houses and the popularity of eReaders. Technology continues to change our lives, and finally, it's touched the stuffy world of publishing. I've noticed a lot of blogs and articles in magazines about how much easier it is to get your book out there with self publishing. Of course, you still have to do the promotions for it, but even if you get published by a big house or a small press, you're still going to have do most of the book's promotions yourself anyway. I recently read one blog where the author had been given back her release rights by a small house. Unhappy with the sales she'd made through that house in the first place, she decided to self publish it with a new cover. Sales skyrocketed for her, and she made more in a month doing it on her own than with the time she'd been with the small press.

Personally, I think the stigma attached to self publishing is slipping away, and it even has agents scrambling for ideas on what to do in the future. In addition to the popularity of self publishing articles, I've seen many sights touting the importance of an agent. Writer's Digest even did a big feature on agents this past issue which makes me think some of them are concerned about the latest trend of self published authors. I follow several agents on Twitter and keep seeing their tweets about everything they can do for writers. Yes, I think agents can do much for a writer, and if you have the chance to work with one, do it! On the other hand, many writers can be successful and sell books without one and this is largely due to self publishing and self promotion.

All Things Dark and Dastardly will be published by a small press this October. We've worked with an editor in order to get the book in awesome shape, and I think that's the most important thing you can do as a self published author. If you are going to put your work out there, hire an editor! Writers who made the mistake of publishing their first draft of a manuscript are the reason self publishing had a bad rep in the first place!

We will be releasing excerpts and unveiling the Dark and Dastardly website in a few weeks, and we look forward to your feed back! In the mean time, what are your thoughts on self publishing? Writing trend or publishing world changer?

Get Ready for All Things Dark and Dastardly!

2011-08-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

This fire has nothing to do with the book.

The gang here at All Things Writing is getting ready to launch a promotional blitz for our upcoming book, All Things Dark and Dastardly. This project has been a labor of love and we are thrilled to be approaching our publishing deadline! If all goes well, the book will be available in late October, just in time for Halloween. A few lucky readers may even have a chance to win a free copy of this fun little book.

So what's the book about? Hmm...it's a mixture of murder most foul, thrills and chills, fat guys saving the world and fingers found in soup cans. I mean, really, what more can you ask for in a collection of dark stories with a distinctly humorous edge?

As the weeks progress, we'll be guiding you to check out the web page for the book, participate in some dark and dastardly contests, and be letting you know where you can purchase our macabre little tales. If you are in the great city of Austin the weekend of November 11-13, drop by the Austin Comic Con and visit our crew. We'll be there dazzling the crowds with our wit and Steve's steampunk fashion choice de jour!

Review of Choke

2011-08-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

I admit, that other than the Sherlock Holmes series (which I love), I haven’t delved much into the realm of modern mystery.

And by “much” I mean “any.”

So with that being said, I think Choke by Kaye George was a great place to start. Not only did it bypass all my preconceived notions about mystery novels, it seemed to do the same thing for the main character and fan of hard-boiled mystery novels herself, Imogene Duckworthy (Immy).

Immy’s common sense approach was very refreshing, and her small-town naiveté felt down right charming (for example, when dealing with a pair of lawyers, she wonders if the plural of Lexus is, in fact, Lexi). Choke mixed just the right about of mystery with character development, and I found myself caring just as much about Immy and her family as I did finding out whodoneit.

I think that’s what I liked best about the story. It felt like something just an hour or two down HWY 71 or 290 from here, and kept me trying to solve the mystery up until the very end without reminding me I was reading a mystery novel. Good pacing, good characters, good writing. What else could you ask for?

My review of NEPHILIM by Mary Ann Loesch

2011-08-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

This book is outside the scope of my regular fare, but I had a ball reading it. It's a dark tale (my favorite kind) of earthlings and immortals and creatures in between. The nephilim are the result of angels mating with humans. Yes, it can be done! Angels have the privilege of taking vacations on earth, doing so in earthly form. These trips can last for many, many years. The angels are forbidden from mating with humans, in fact, they don't even have much human emotion. But, if they stay earthbound long enough, some emotions creep in. And mating does occur!

You'll recognize the names of some of the starring angels--others will be new to you, I think. They will all fascinate you. Even in their earthly forms, they are powerful beings, and they all seem to be very good looking.

Faye McCoy, a talented singer in a club on Austin's Sixth Street, has been mourning the loss of her parents and her fiancé since their violent death a few years ago. She's living her life using as little energy and emotion as she can, in a sort of limbo. Azal, her guardian angel, whom she's been keeping at arm's length all this time, thinking he should have saved her family, thinks it's time for him to break through Faye's defenses and warn her that she's in danger.

Azal succeeds in recruiting Nathan Ink for the task. (That's Nathan on the cover!) Nathan runs an odd tattoo parlor on Sixth Street, one you won't ever want to find. It's called Hell's Leak and the only people who can see it are those who need it, great sinners. Nathan has a unique method of tattooing these customers, some greedy, some lustful, some prideful, all exhibiting at least one of the seven deadly sins. His tattoos come with painful, sometimes fatal, life lessons.

Nathan's naughty customers aren't the only people dying in Austin, though. There is a serial killer who, after stabbing his victims, leaves a distinctive imprint on their bodies. The same killer was evidently at work seven years ago. The killings quit for seven years, then started as if they'd never stopped. The killer is now dubbed the Grim Sleeper and those two words strike terror into Faye's heart when she thinks she's met him. And that he's stalking her.

The plot dives deep and leads the reader along a tangled path. It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad, and some are both. The Lord does make a few appearances, but not as you'd expect. I'll bet you'll have fun with this tale of passion, sin, and redemption. An entertaining read!

This book, published by Lyrical Press, Inc., is available for Kindle e-readers at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CII7SW. Other formats at http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_91&products_id=411.

Elance--Making Money as a Writer

2011-08-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm cheating this week. I've got a lot on my plate as I get ready to go back to school next week. With that in mind, I'm going to repost an old blog topic of mine that got lots of responses and one that I think is still important: Making Money as A Writer!

So is it me or does the economy really suck with a capital S right now? My real job is as a writer, but the job paying the bills (at least for the moment) is that of a teacher. Unfortunately, I live in an area where teachers are getting the axe due to our state's budget and the ginormous amount of debt we are all under.

Now don't start to fret. I'm not going to turn this into a political commentary. At least not today.

What I am going to talk about are job possibilities for the writer trying to keep their head above water in these tough times! Most of us aren't making any money. We sit at our computers and sweat over whatever imaginative gem we're currently working on because we love the muse. We love the act of creation. We love, love, love to write. I mean, you have to love something to keep doing it even though there's no money!

A few posts ago, I talked about being a ghost writer. It's a surprisingly lucrative job. Being a ghost writer doesn't mean you have to be writing a novel for someone either. It could be as simple as writing some one's blog post, allowing them to take the credit, and getting paid for it. If this is something that interests you, check out Elance.

Elance is a place where people in need of writers go to find them. They post jobs in categories from web design to blog articles to resume writing. As a writer, you go there to help these people out and earn a little extra money on the side. Typically, every job posted lists a time frame for completion of the job and what the client is willing to pay.

If you work from home, are a fast typer, and have a lot to say, check Elance out. It's easy to get set up with them, too! Once you've filled out the basic information and listed your skills, just peruse through their job listings until you find one that meets your time frame and capabilities. The next step is to bid for the job and state how much you want to get paid to do it. The client will either invite you to take the job or not.

I've been working with Elance for a few months now with success. Sometimes there is lots of competition for particular projects, and other times, you'd be surprised at the things people pass up. The beauty of it is that if a job doesn't tickle your fancy, you are not obligated to accept it.

Of course, writers never get paid what they're really worth. Sometimes the clients obviously have no clue how much time it takes to write something awesome, and they don't want to pay that much. Only apply for jobs that fit what your time is worth. In the beginning, you may want to do a few jobs without great pay just to get your foot in the door, but ultimately, you need to stick to your guns and charge what your time is worth.

If you are looking into life as a freelancer, Elance is a good place to get your feet wet and see what's out there.

Happy Writing!

What I'd like to be doing

2011-08-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today, on this blog, I've LOVE to be reviewing NEPHILIM. I've bought it for my e-reader, but it's not read yet. (Along with at least a dozen other books.)

This week I'd like to be writing at least 2 chapters on the book that's in progress (or not). I doubt that will happen. I'm hoping for a few pages.

This month I'd like to be replotting and restarting a favorite of mine that hasn't been sold. Want to take bets on me doing that?

In general, every week I'd like to read 7 books, write 3 novel chapters and 3 short stories, submit short stories to five places, send out promotional material for the novel that's out, comment on every blog I follow, turn in book reviews to the magazine more promptly than I have been, post better blogs post than this on All Things Writing, and sell a thousand copies of CHOKE.

What's my problem? TIME! I need more, much more.

I hope I can get NEPHILIM read by next week. If I do, you'll see a review here!

(Have you noticed the book covers to the right?)

Picture: Clock dial of the French Revolution

In the public domain because the copyright has expired

5 Beginning Steps to Putting Together an Anthology

2011-08-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

I love to read anthologies, especially if the anthology is a collection of works by different writers. I've just started reading the delightful Guppy Anthology called Fish Tales. If you haven't had a chance to pick up a copy of these 22 tales of murder and mystery by the rising stars of mystery, then you should get on that today! Here's a link. Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology.

The gang at All Things Writing has been working on an anthology of its own. Kaye, Steve, and myself are all into very different styles of writing, yet we all agree that a dark story intrigues us every time. With that in mind, we are creating a collection called All Things Dark and Dastardly. This fun little book will hold tales of mystery, horror, and other things that go bump in the night. Or in your soup can. (Ha! You'll have to read the book to get that little joke!) The book should be available by the end of October, and of course, we'll keep you posted on the book release, giveaways, and other promotional events.

Putting together an anthology with a group of writers is not easy. When you write a novel, it's all on you. When you put together a collection of stories, you have to rely on others. Deadlines, editing--all of that is crucial to getting your work in a coherent form everyone can agree on. If you are considering undertaking this kind of project, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Figure out your theme. This is tricky if you have writers who write in different genres. Come up with a common them and work with that. Otherwise, your stories may feel a little out of whack, something that can turn off a potential reader.

2. Have a word count goal and assign the number of stories each writer will undertake. The count and number of stories may grow or diminish depending on the project, but at least have a starting point.

3. Set deadlines. This is probably one of the more crucial pieces of advice. Deadlines help keep people motivated and provide an end goal. Of course, we're talking about writers. Sometimes life happens, and you have to change deadlines. Be flexible, but do your best to stick to them.

4. Read each other's work. This is a great time to make sure every story fits within the theme and to give constructive criticism. Once all stories have been critiqued, allow for revision time.

5. Hire an editor. I think this is the most important part of putting together an anthology. Good editing makes your work look polished and professional. An editor will catch all the technical stuff that's been overlooked and can guide you on the order of the stories. We hired the same person that edited Fish Tales, the great and wise Ramona DeFelice Long.

Of course, these are just the beginning stages of putting together an anthology. There are so many other things that go into this process. Have you ever worked on anthology? Share your experience in the comment section.

The Zombie Monologues, my two cents

2011-08-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know Mary Ann reviewed this book here, but I'd like to give my side. I enjoyed the heck out of it!

This book is subtitled, "Finally, the other side of the apocalypse story" and it's a different side, all right. We get to talk to zombies, see what they're really thinking. Oh, you didn't know they were thinking? See, we couldn't tell that until Dr. Marshall and his two residents, Eve and Zack (yes, Resident Eve--love it!), have perfected a way to electronically capture and translate their brain waves into recognizable speech patterns. Exciting!

We find they're not really mindless at all. They just can't control those zombie bodies and those zombie urges. Ten subjects have been gathered, at great risk, subdued, and wired up for transmission. If only the computers will keep operating well enough. This takes a lot of bandwidth (or something). The subjects are considered to be nine, since two are a married couple, a performing comedy team. They relish the opportunity to do more shtick.

One of the subjects won't admit to being a zombie, but most of them know exactly what happened. And some are ticked off about it. Their brain waves can only be captured for a limited amount of time, so the team must work quickly to complete their research, then the brain deteriorate to, well, to what you would think a zombie brain should be.

But what is the research for and what are they doing? And are forces working against them? From where? And are the captive zombies capable of, well, plotting something?

I can't reveal much more of the developments without ruining the story for you, so pick up a copy and delve into these minds and adventures.

"The Zombie Monologues" by Dragonfire Press, June 2011

http://stevemetze.com/

Red, white and blue eagles

2011-07-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

On a long car ride across Texas, my six-year-old daughter asked my wife to help her make one of those folded paper “tell your future” things. You know, the ones that go on four of your fingers and you pick a color and then a number and then lift a little flap to see the name of your some-day spouse or the number of kids you are going to have or what sort of house Destiny has waiting for you... You can probably still fold one if you think about it.

Anyway, when it got time to write these future predictions under the flap, my daughter’s suggestions were

1) You will have a pet dolphin
2) Two days after July 4th (known as July 6th in most circles) you will go to Candyland
3) You will see a rainbow tomorrow
4) You will see a red, white, and blue eagle three days after your next birthday.

Now that’s just not something most people would make up. But then I thought about it, and I understood how it would be exactly something a six-year-old would make up. Pure creativity, unfettered by logic, science, or preconceived notions.

Running with that, I dug up a few stories I’d written as a 13-year-old. No need to do that math on how long ago that was, but suffice it to say entire nations have risen and fallen between then and now.

I flipped through the yellowed brittle pages and read a few pages here and there.

I found a me that I’d forgotten. Young Steve couldn’t spell to save his life, and he didn’t care. He didn’t feel it necessary to scrawl his newly discovered cursive handwriting just between the lines either. Young Steve filled every corner of white space on the page. If a sentence needed to curve up the side of the page, upside-down across the top and back down again, so be it. The first section I turned to was about Young Steve transported to a fantasy world filled with all sorts of supernatural creatures. He’d stumbled into the cave of a Medusa, and needed some special item hidden in the cave. The paragraph talked about Young Steve walking up and attacking the snake-haired horror as if her mystical abilities were no problem. Older Steve was confused, and a little angry at the breach in logic. Surely Young Steve knew that the gaze of a Medusa…

Oh, yes, there it was. Reading further, Young Steve revealed he’d used a spell to pop his eyes out and slipped them in his pocket until after the battle was over.

Duh.

I searched around some more and found a short story I’d written about a cursed potion and getting revenge on bullies. I rewrote that story, cleaned up the grammar, hit spellcheck a few times, and polished the descriptions, and in the end, it turned out to be one of my favorite short stories.

I try to take notes now every time my daughter makes something up, and her mom and I have stacked blank journals and colored writing utensils strategically all around her room. I want to make sure we capture as much of that raw imagination as possible.

So in the next thing you write, call upon the power of Young You. If you are still young, call upon Younger You, from before you could read even. Shove anything that inhibits you aside and lock it in the cellar. There will be time for outlines and plot points and character bios later. Daydream something that would have made you laugh or cry or jump up and yell “Yeah!” as a kid, and write it down. In the meantime, look out for a red, white, and blue eagle three days after your next birthday.
I know I will.

5 Tools to Help the Challenged Writer with Social Media

2011-07-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

SOCIAL MEDIA. I can't think of that phrase without it being in all caps, shouting off the page like it's some over sized gorilla determined to climb the Empire State Building of Writing. If you've been following our friendly little blog here at All Things Writing, you are aware that we've done several blog posts about various forms of social media. It's one of those things that writers are supposed to get savvy about if they expect to build a platform, get an agent, find a publisher, and sell a book. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Ah, I'm self publishing. She's not talking to me..." Ha! I'm especially talking to you. My hairy finger (yes, it's kind of Hobbit-like) is pointing directly in your direction, and I'm shaking my golden locks, (they're actually kind of dish watery) dismayed by your naivety.

Yep. Social media is a band wagon you need to jump on, my friend. I know, I know. There's so much to choose from. How will you find the time? Or keep up with it all? We've heard about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and all the other. So here's 5 new tips to think about.

1. Social Oomph--This handy, dandy website will help you out if you feel like you don't have time to Tweet on Twitter. It allows you to schedule your tweets in advance, thus giving the illusion you are on-line. This can be a great tool for scheduling little announcements at various points through out the day. Just hop on in the morning, schedule your bright, witty comments about things that haven't happened yet, and go on about your business. Some people say this defeats the point of Twitter. Tough. Some of us have lives. To view Social Oomph, click here: http://dld.bz/ahZaR

2. Blog Topics--Blogging is a pretty big thing for writers since it helps create your platform and introduces your voice to readers. Don't know what to write about for your adoring fans this week? No problem. Look at your previous posts. Create a little graphic organizer and brainstorm ideas that relate to what you've written about in the past. Pretty soon, you'll have a nice list of new ideas. Keep them by your computer so when you're stuck on what to write about, the list is right there to refer to.

3. Stat Counter--Want to know if your blogs are being read or which topics score the most hits? Many blog sites have built in stat counters, but you can also install a stat counter on your website to help you keep track, too. For details, click here. http://statcounter.com/

4. Animoto--Some of us are visual learners. If you want to create a movie to help promote your book, get more attention to your blog, or just because you've got a need to be the next Robert Rodriguez, then go to Animoto. This site is so easy to use and allows you to create some fun videos in under thirty seconds. Even my ninety year old grandma could do it! I've used this to drive traffic to my blog or promote things for functions at work. Above is an example video that I made using Animoto.

5. Goodreads--I know I just did a blog post about the fabulousness of Goodreads, but it has to be said again: they are a great social media tool. With all the chat sites on Goodreads, you are sure to find kindred readers. This is a good way to get feed back on your short stories, manuscripts, ideas, and encourage people to read your blog.

I hope these simple social media hints will help inspire you. Have some other quick suggestions or new ideas? Leave a comment!

Nephilim

2011-07-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

See this guy on the cover? I know him!
He's a friend on Facebook: Jimmy Thomas.
What a dish!

Okay, I admit it. Today is about shameless self promotion again. I know, I know. I should be more modest, more gracious...but dang it, I'm not! I'm happy and I want to share why!

My urban fantasy, Nephilim was released on Monday of this week and is now available for your eReaders and laptops at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders (throw those guys a bone, will ya), Lyrical Press Inc., Manic Readers, and a bunch of other cool sites. Nope, it's not in paper back yet, but that should be a possibility really soon...

Nephilim is a urban fantasy I began working on about two and half years ago. Though I'd had several short stories about my protagonist, Nathan Ink, already written, it was during NaNoWriMo that I sat down and wrote out his story. The editing process was lengthy and the manuscript was rejected a thousand times. But along the rejection path, I got invaluable free advice from various agents and editors. Listening to them is what ultimately got me on the road to publication.

If you are not sure what urban fantasy is, here is a brief definition:

Urban fantasies are stories with otherworldly creatures in them which take place on earth. They typically occur in modern times, and usually the setting is a city or well-populated area. There can be a sprinkling of romance between characters, but it doesn’t necessarily have to have a happy ending. A mystery will unfold during the tale, keeping the reader turning the pages. Many times the story will arc over a series of books. Of course, there are exceptions to all of the things I just stated, but those are the basics. A few examples of current urban fantasy titles you may recognize are any of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris or the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

I really enjoy urban fantasy, though it is fun to write in other genres, too. I think it's important to read outside your genre in order to be the best writer you can be. So with that in mind, here's a synopsis of Nephilim.

When sin stains your soul, he tattoos your skin…

Tattoo artist Nathan Ink is more than he seems. An angel living in secret on earth, he forces his clients to face their flaws by tattooing images of their sins on their bodies, but this glimpse into the soul often results in his clients' deaths. Although Nathan avoids the other angels, when they ask him to keep an eye on Faye, a nephilim being stalked by another of her kind, he reluctantly agrees.

The angels have kept Faye in the dark about her stalker, but to keep her close to Nathan, they've tasked her with investigating the high mortality rate of Nathan's clients. Despite her distaste for his methods, she finds herself fighting a growing attraction to Nathan, and discovering he's not a rogue after all forces her to question her own mission. When Faye learns her stalker is another nephilim who intends to use her to breed a new race of hellish beings, teaming up with Nathan may be the only way to prevent a genocide.
Contains strong language and violence

On vacation

2011-07-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm actually away visiting family this week and I arranged this blog post before I left. Since it's a little over a week before the actual post date, I have no idea what I'm doing today, but I know it involved an adorable little baby grandson who is on the verge of being able to walk!

Thoughts on vacationing. I know some writers write every single day, whether they're on vacation or not. Some write more on vacation than when they're home. Is that healthy?

Do you ever take a complete break from writing? I don't know if I'm doing that or not right now. Maybe I'm jotting down a few things on my laptop every night after everyone is asleep. (I don't seem to sleep as much as everyone else.) Or maybe I'm opening it to check email, then putting the lid down after a few minutes.

I wonder if writers lose their writing chops if they quit for a week or so. I know I would if I quit for longer.

(The picture is NOT where I am!)

Goodreads

2011-07-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

As a writer with a book coming out in a week, I'm always looking for new ways to self promote and connect with other readers. This has been the most challenging part of publishing for me. Of course, this is probably not a great revelation to you. One of the most basic things writers learn about the business of writing is how time consuming marketing is. It doesn't matter if you publish with Random House or self publish. You are still expected to promote your book and find unique ways to do it.

A great way to connect with readers and writers is through Goodreads. This website has been around for awhile, but I'd always thought of it as just a book club where you could list what you are reading and see what others have got on their virtual book shelves. I hadn't really explored everything it had to offer. For example, there are tons of on-line groups that can be utilized to chat about books or even about writing. You can publish short stories to be critiqued, or get advice on problems you may be having in your work. If you are a fan of a particular author, there's probably a chat group dedicated to talking about their novels.

I recently discovered the author's program Goodreads uses for people who have published books or are about to. When you sign up for it, you have access to lots of resources designed to help promote your book. You can post links to your blog, pictures of your book cover, reviews, upload ebook copies or excerpts, set up promotional giveaways, and even buy ad space. Best of all, it's free--except for the ad space!

One of the things I like is called Self Serve Advertising. Goodreads has book launch packages available to buy which are perfect if you have the money for it. But if you are like me, poor as a church mouse, Self Serve Advertising is a great option. It allows you to budget your ad to fit your needs and run as long as you want it, too. It also provides a "stats" area so you can see how many clicks you get on an ad, the cost, how often it runs, and how many people add your book to their Goodreads bookshelf. I talked to several authors prior to using this and all were satisfied with their sale results.

I think what's also appealing about it is that it targets readers. I know that Facebook offers a similar approach to advertising, too, but I rarely click on Facebook ads. I feel that your chances are better of getting attention on a site that is focused on books.

Curious about Goodreads? They are easy to find at www.goodreads.com. I have to do some shameless self promotion now! Go to Goodreads to check out more info on my ebook, Nephilim, which comes out Monday, July 18. You can pre-order it at Borders or Barnes and Noble. To read an excerpt come to my website www.maryannloesch.com or follow my personal blog, Loesch's Muse at www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com.

What a character!

2011-07-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

There are lots of aspects to creating characters, I've found. One of the most important for me is the name. Once I have the right name, the character comes to life. I've had the wrong name for some of them, and they lie lifeless on the page, two-dimensional, forced characters. If I listen close enough, the character will tell me his or her name. Of course, that's the way writers speak of our own subconsciousness. It's not magic, the characters aren't really speaking to us, but it sure seems like it!

The first few novels I wrote had problems. The main one, I think, was with my protagonists. I got so many comments from agents that they didn't "fall in love" with her. I didn't want them to fall in love, but I did want them to represent me. My character was getting in the way. She wasn't vivid enough. One day it finally came to me. I'd been told many times, but for some reason it didn't take. Fiction has to be bigger than real life. No one wants to read about ordinary people, ordinary day-to-day happenings. They want what they read to be more interesting than that. I thought I had quirky characters, but they weren't quirky enough.

Do you choose someone you don't like for the victim? I don't think this is the best idea. Yes, it's cathartic to kill off someone who's done you wrong, and I can highly recommend it, especially in a short story or a piece for yourself. But for a mystery novel, you want to reader to care about catching the killer. The reader wants to see justice done and if a bad person is dead, it's been done--end of story--no need for the rest of the book. Kill off someone nice and the reader will be with you, wanting you to catch the bad guy.

That's where to put the person you detest. Make him the killer. Everyone can see what a bad person he is, right? Although a cardboard cutout all around bad guy IS a boring villain. You're only basing your bad guy on the hated person. Dig a little deeper for a real character. If you can see things from his point of view, if you can let the reader in on why he did what he did, draw a little sympathy for him, you'll have a more rounded, interesting character.

I'd like to hear about how other people view their characters. Do you have sidekicks? I've never gotten too much into those. But I like to have some other family members around, and at least one love interest.

Hiring an Editor: Should you or Shouldn't you?

2011-07-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is not my editor. Tiffany is
much prettier.

I'm a stubborn writer. I don't like to admit I need help with my work. I know. That's not a good thing. I try to remind myself that the way to get better at writing is to let others look at what you are doing and offer up their thoughts. It's not like I have to accept everything the other person says...

Still, letting others critique your work can a be a little trying. However, it comes with the territory, and it's better to embrace this fact than to fight against it. Accepting criticism is something I've gotten better at, especially if I'm asking for it.

I've been working on a YA novel for a little over a year now. That may seem like a long time, but I do work full time, have another book coming out this month, and I belong to a family who insists I pay attention to them. Truthfully, I'm not really worried about how long I've been working on this novel. I'm more concerned that it go the right direction and be where it should be as I begin the agent process. When considering my options with this manuscript, I thought back to all the things I learned from writing Nephilim.

Wow. I learned a lot. Including when it's time to get help.

Two months ago I began toying with the idea of hiring an editor to pick apart my book. My thinking was that another eye would be able to see all those little things it took me a million years to figure out with my first novel. Again, I'm not really stressed about how long everything takes, but I don't want to waste an agent's time or mine with a submission that's not really ready. The last thing I want to hear after four or five drafts is: It's just not ready yet.

Enter Tiffany Maxwell, editor extraordinaire! (http://www.tiffanymaxwell.com)Tiffany edited Nephilim for me through my publisher Lyrical Press. She was encouraging, but demanding, and knows how to ask questions that really make a writer think. This was exactly what I needed for Nephilim and why I decided to hire her to edit my young adult novel. We worked out a deal, she read it in two weeks, and sent me the kind of advice and criticism that I really needed. As a result, I feel that by the end of summer, this novel is going to be in much better shape and ready for the agents to look at.

Now, I know that some of our readers are thinking about the money or whether or not it's worth it to hire someone to look at your work. I use to feel that same way until I started working with one on Nephilim. Somewhere in that process, I started to realize the incredible usefulness of my editor. She started teaching me things that I hadn't even thought about before and now use in my every day writing. I wish I'd had her prior to the submission process! Hire someone to check your work, especially if you feel something isn't working in your story, but you can't quite put a finger on what it is. If you are considering the self publishing route, I beg you to get an editor to look over your work first.

But your broke financially! I know, I know. Start saving your pennies. Look editors up on line. Ask your writer friends who they recommend. Think about what you want out of an editor, too. Do you want a full line edit or jut a brief overview of what they think works or doesn't work in the story? Those things can also help determine what you are willing to spend.

Know any good editors? Promote them by leaving a comment!

How many senses do you use per scene?

2011-07-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's rare that I can get all five in, but I always try.

SIGHT

That's the easiest, of course. Writers have to describe what the characters are doing, seeing, where they're going. That's the difference between fiction writers and play/screen/TV script writers. The reader sees only what we permit them to see. Do you always remember to orient the readers at the beginning of each new scene and tell them where they are? I was told, once, to cut way down on my adjectives--I describing a little too much. (Janet Reid's exact words were, "Were they having a sale on adjectives?") One adjective per noun is enough. Even better if you can find the perfect noun, the one that doesn't even need any adjectives. The same thing for verbs, actions. The less adverbs the better. Notice, I don't advocate cutting adverbs out entirely. Sometimes you need them. But IF you can find a vivid enough verb, you won't need one for that sentence.

HEARING

When your characters enter a new scene, close your eyes and put yourself there. Are they in the woods? Is the wind stirring the leaves? Are birds twittering? If it's nighttime, do you hear frogs or cicadas? In the city there's usually traffic noise, sometimes a distant siren, or a noisy bus pulling out of the bus stop. Inside a quiet room a clock might be ticking, or the refrigerator might cycle on.

SMELL

This one isn't too hard, either. Outside there are flowers and new mown grass to smell. If the nearby water treatment plant isn't overpowering them. Each house has a distinct odor--pets, dust, cooking, cigarettes, baby powder.

TOUCH

It's a little harder to work touch in, but if you are outside, the wind can caress your cheek, riffle your bangs, or blow your hat off. A fence post will feel rough, a tree trunk a different kind of rough. Barefoot characters will feel dirt or hot pavement, or cool tile floors beneath their soles. The touch of another person is often needed in an intimate or emotional scene. Tell the reader if the other person's hand is warm or cool, leathery or soft, gnarled or smooth.

TASTE

This is the hardest one. In an eating scene it's no problem, but we're told eating scenes are boring, right? Not always, but you don't want too many of them. Extreme emotion will put tastes in your character's mouth, though. Something that turns her stomach makes bile bubble up into her mouth. Biting his lip or tongue puts the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Sweat comes with exertion or heat. Go ahead and let some run down his face. Let him taste the salt when he licks his lips nervously.

There are other senses you might try, too. ESP, gut instinct, the internal reaction to fear. In other words, things you feel inside yourself, or on the surface of your skin. A racing heartbeat, throbbing temples, but in less clichéd phrasing, of course.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY to our readers! Can you hear those fireworks? Feel the ground move where they're shot off? Are you close enough to smell them?

The Making of The Zombie Monologues

2011-07-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

It started as such things often do, with the simple preface, “Hey wouldn’t it be cool if…” uttered at that special time of night when people are most susceptible to suggestion and resistance is lowest.

There are many, many zombie novels and movies out there showing what it is like to take on the zombie apocalypse. However, while I’m sure they exist, I have yet to see something that takes a look at that popular fictitious war from the opposing viewpoint. So there I had it, before anything else, the tagline…

“Finally, the other side of the apocalypse story.”

I could tell I was on to something because that line did, and still does, make me giggle when I read it. I came up with the conceit of how the psychiatrists were able to “read” thoughts of the zombies via some technology that actually exists in a primitive form today. Then I read through many actual therapy transcripts which my late psychologist uncle left behind, and made a file of psycho-babble phrases in hopes I could incorporate them whenever I needed a touch of realism.

From there I made a list of various archetypes that I thought might make good zombie personalities, and set each one in front of a recorder and let them talk. The corporate mogul obviously wanted to “gain more biological market share,” the married couple would naturally be having martial issues after their recent changes, and the recently turned sorority girl saw the world through uniquely tinted undead sunglasses. I made sure also to include those who had close dealings with zombies before they’d somehow been infected, such as a “Zactivist” (zombie rights activist, also known as a zed hugger), a molecular biologist, and even a “Gorillas in the Mist” type journalist who’d written a book based on her year-long travels disguised within one of the larger undead hordes. The psychiatrists and neurologists interviewing the zombies gave the story a narrative voice and a way to propel the action forward, but the zombie personalities stole the show. It only got better when the scientists linked them all together for a sort of group therapy session.

Still, a book with nothing but monologues would get boring fairly quickly. Tossing in a few of the stereotypes from asylum movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Girl Interrupted was fun, but the overall concept needed a central arc to carry it through.

After I’d given the zombies a chance to say what was on their minds, such as they were, I sat around for a day or two imagining if I could talk to zombies, what would I want to know. At last I came up with a secret one of the zombies carried - a secret which carried implications for the entire zombie war. Viola! From there it was just a matter of plotting out how to reveal the secret a little at a time.

The hardest part was actually trying to explain the background of the zombie war without too much exposition before getting into the actual interviews. At one point I had an introduction by a futuristic senator submitting the transcript as evidence to what happened (past tense) in the war, followed by an introduction by one of the PhD Residents as to why they were doing what they were doing, followed by the introduction of how the first interview would work, followed by the first interview, followed by yet more explanation by that same PhD Resident on some more technical stuff.

Awkward.

Four edits later, I finally managed to drop the entire part about the senator, cut the PhD Resident’s intro down to a little over three pages, and incorporate all the other information here and there throughout the book so by page four we were in the first interview. Bottom line, once I’d done all the research and set the stage, it was mostly a matter of trusting the idea, leaping into the story and letting it tell itself. Or, as Dr. Clyde Marshall puts it, "To condemn this material is to condemn the true authors, the many undead who I subjected to hours of brain scanning and verbal interviews. They are the real storytellers. I only kept the record."

Check it out if you get a chance.

Zombie Monologues

Are Websites Important for Authors?

2011-06-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

At long last, my personal website is up and running! It's been a labor of love, and I have to say I got really lucky working with the team I hired. Brian and Ashley Reed, web designers extraordinaire, I thank you! You created a site that is unique and to my specifications!

Are websites important to a writer? After all, isn't it the work, the words that matter most? Of course, those are important, but what happens if a reader wants to know more about you, the writer? That's where your website proves to be very handy. Here, the interested reader can sit down and get a feel for who you are, what your likes are, and hopefully, read your blog and become a follower.

The website allows you to display your books, excerpts, favorite links, play lists--whatever. If you venture to my website, you may notice on my links page I have a link to No Control Radio. You know why? Because that's the station my main character, Nathan Ink, listens to. Eager readers may get a better feel for what's going on in Nathan's angelic head if they listen to his music.

Let's say you aren't a "published" author yet, but are looking for an agent and a platform. Having a website is a great way to start. It shows you're serious about the craft, and you are willing to do the marketing that goes along with it. Agents and publishers don't want to work with someone who isn't willing to do some self promotion.

Now, I can already hear a few naysayers going "Wait a second. Can't I just include all that stuff on my blog pages." Sure you can. But blogs can only do so much when it comes to design. Hiring a web designer gives you a lot more options and really allows you to take your creativity to a new place. If you are just starting out, blog sites are great. If you're ready to get serious and maybe spend a little money, start looking for a designer.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my website. You can click here to take a peek at it. www.maryannloesch.com Please feel free to leave a comment.

Personal vs. Online Promotion

2011-06-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm learning there's a big difference! Online promotion seems time consuming, but it's not really. You type something up, you have time to edit and fix it up, then you post it somewhere: your own blog, someone else's, a forum, facebook, twitter, newsletter. That's it.

In person promotion is something else. For one thing, putting yourself out there is antithetical to most writers' personalities. You have days to prepare, plus you have to physically go somewhere. I knew I might have to something with media someday, but didn't know it would come so soon.

I had my very first experience with this on Saturday. Through the miracles of networking (and the wonderful author, Janice Hamrick), I got an invitation to do a radio interview for KAZI, Austin's local non-commercial FM station (88.7). The book reviewer, Hopeton Hay, read my book and was well acquainted not only with it, but with my whole life history when I arrived at the recording studio early Saturday morning. (I'd never been inside a radio station.)

I was so nervous for days before. I listened to his other interviews (he's interviewed Harlan Coben!) to try to get an idea of what he would ask, but couldn't detect a lot of canned questions. So I figured I'd better be prepared for anything. I printed out thirteen pages of things I've written for online interviews. Maybe I would forget the names of my characters, the name of my book, my own name!

Not to worry, the host knew all that. We chatted a bit first, I practiced putting my lips 1/16 of an inch from the big, cushy-looking mike, and making the electronic signal go into the space at the end of the bar, then we started. He lobbed me easy questions, things I could talk about! It was like we were just chatting for ten minutes, then it was done. Whew!

Dare I try TV?

Public domain photo taken by Johhnystir

5 Ways to Get Past Writer's Block

2011-06-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

I was reading Kaye's recent post about what gets you inspired when writing short stories. It immediately sparked a thousand thoughts in my tiny brain (you can imagine the pain I suffered), and then it made me think about an interview I did recently with writer, Morgen Bailey. One of the questions she asked me was have you ever had writer's block and how do you get past it? What happens when the inspiration isn't coming?

Yeah. What do you do when you've got an idea but can't get it started? Or you've started it, but now you're stuck? Of course, I've heard some people say that writer's block is a myth, or it's just a way for writers to be lazy. Sometimes I would agree with that. Other times, I truly feel stumped and don't know what the next course of action is. So what then?

Well, everyone has their little tricks. Here are a few of mine.

1. Take a walk. Ah, the old standby of fresh air. Sometimes a change in environment can bring inspiration. Or it can start a really bad allergy attack.

2. Read some Shakespeare. C'mon. The guy came up with every possible plot scenario there is. People have been "borrowing" from him for 400 years. Now it's your turn! (For Five Reasons You Should Know Shakespeare go to this fun site: http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com)

3. Pull a NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month is in November, and the idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It's fun, but daunting at times because it's easy to get stuck. In NaNoWriMo, it's cool to put your character in some outrageous situation to keep the plot moving. Try it in your story and see what happens! You can always go back and edit it later.

4. Try a graphic organizer to help put your thoughts together. There's a million of them out there so pick one and give it a shot.

5. Work on something else for awhile. Yep. Stick the story in a drawer and just leave it be for a few days. Your brain will give you the solution when it's ready.

Any tips out there from the peanut gallery? Share please!

How Do You Start?

2011-06-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

The starting line at Delphi, Greece

How do your short stories start? Do you begin with a character or a setting? Or do news articles spark ideas?

Sometimes a name pops into my head and a character appears to match it, fully formed, and I know I have a story. Sometimes I write from a prompt and have to wrap my head around some disparate objects and include them into some sort of cohesive whole. Sometimes I start off a whiz-bang idea and it fizzles on the second page. Never does go anywhere. Those stories are patiently sitting in a file, waiting for me to be smart enough to figure out how to finish them.

Do people you know inspire you? If so, do you include them, thinly or thickly disguised? And, if you do that, do they ever recognize themselves? I think it might be okay. It seems folks love to be characters in mystery stories. Those items--the opportunity to have yourself in a writer's next book--go for a lot of money at charity auctions, provided the author is well known to the audience. The bidders don't mind being the killer or the victim, either.

Once you have the idea, what do you do with it? I pull out folders that tell me about short story structure if I'm stuck. But if the story flows from beginning to end, almost without my intervention (except for my fingers on the keyboard), I let it. Funny thing, I don't need to clean those stories up much. I think my subconscious is a better story writer than my conscious.

One thing I do that seems like a good idea, is save ideas in a file folder. These are for times when I'm stuck for an idea. But I never look at them since I always get new ideas. If I do happen to go through them, cleaning out a drawer, I see that I've used some, so they lodged somewhere in my mind, just by the act of printing them out or clipping them and putting them into a folder.

Minds play funny tricks. I wonder if writers' minds play funnier ones than non-writers'.

Photo: The starting line at the stadium used for the Pythian Games at Delphi, Greece

This starting line has a design representative of that of many ancient Greek stadiums: stones with two lines in which the athletes nudged their toes, and round holes in which posts could be erected to support the start signaling mechanism.

The stone steps for sitting the public behind were erected under the Romans.

Photo shot by myself

Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

Brain diagram public domain

The Zombie Monologues by Steve E. Metze--Book Review

2011-06-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Tis the season for summer reading--and for summer brain eating if you are a zombie! Hmmm....brains...yummy.....I have to say that we could probably start a website called All Things Zombie, and it would be swarmed with viewers the very first day. Zombies are in fashion right now and after reading the hilarious book, The Zombie Monologues by Steve E. Metze, I can see why! Mr. Metze's book offers a different view of zombie living (so to speak), and it's about the other side of the apocalypse story.

Told in an interview and laboratory note style, the book chronicles the studies of Eve Langley, a doctor doing research on what is called Necrotizing Ambulation Disorder (NAD) Experiences. It seems a virus has broken out called Athena's Disease (named for the movie star who suddenly turned into a zombie on stage at the Academy Awards), and it has swept across the world. Rather than just turn their backs on the infected creatures--which would be a bad idea anyway, unless your goal is to get eaten--the NAD group has created a software that allows them to document "undead" memories and conversations. Through a special device, they can actually communicate with the zombies and get their perspective on what it's like to go through the change, what people taste like, and how they became infected in the first place. The result is some seriously funny conversations!

Metze's book moves at a fast pace with well developed "dead" characters. The plot is definitely a twist on the traditional zombie tale, making them appear more sympathetic and their actions understandable. He introduces some new ideas that will keep the zombie huggers entertained, as well as, bringing in science theories that are fresh compared to the mass of zombie movies we've all seen of late.

All in all, it was a great read. It made me hungry, too. For brains....Just kidding!

You can buy it at Amazon in paperback and for the Kindle! Happy eating...I mean, reading.

Writer Support

2011-06-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

I know where I'd be without my supporters right now. Unpublished. I wrote for years and years, by myself, on my own. Writing has to be lonely, for the most part. Unless you're collaborating with someone else who is sitting beside you, you write alone. It's not for people who don't like to be alone.

That said, we need human contact, just like everyone else, sometimes. Hey, we have to get our material somewhere. If I didn't overhear conversations, I'd be missing a lot. I've gotten some of my best idea from eavesdropping. People say the darndest things in public. It only gets better with cell phones, except I can't hear the other person.

But, I digress. That's not my topic. My topic is the people who support me as a writer. My Tuesday night critique group, Austin Mystery Writers; my online Sisters in Crime chapter, Guppies; my physical chapter, Heart of Texas; and many other online groups, even random people who email or comment on facebook or forward my tweets and click my "like" buttons and Amazon tags.

You won't find a more supportive, friendly group of people than mystery writers. I suspect romance and horror writers could say the same. I've had a taste of horror writers with the few stories I've done and they're a terrific bunch, too. Maybe I should say genre writers. Including my blog mates here! And we write across genres in this bunch.

It spreads to librarians and readers, people writers also depend on. They can be counted on to support writers, too. I appreciate the writing community so much!

Photo of Notre Dame, Paris, flying buttresses by Jean Lemoine from Béthisy-Saint-Martin, France, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

What is Steampunk?

2011-06-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Having just released my Steampunk Role-Playing-Game at Comicpalooza (shameless plug - http://www.steampunkrpg.com/), people came up to my booth all day asking, "What exactly is Steampunk?"

Good question.

If you see someone asked that question on TV, or read quick definitions online, you usually get something to the tune of "fiction in a 19th Century setting" and then something like, "with all the imaginary technology that never-was" or "with retro futuristic technology" or "if the Communications Revolution happened 100 years earlier" etc. Then they go on to describe devices like Nemo's Nautilus, or armored airships and zeppelins filling the skies, steam-powered robots, gear-powered prosthetic limbs, goggles with specially advanced lenses, or artificially intelligent Babbage engines (analog computers) as big as a room with contacts made from brass.

I say they are half right. They have the technology part down, but saying Steampunk is only about the technology is like saying cyberpunk is only about the technology.

Here's how I define it in my game.

Steam = “Steam” in this case sets up the technology of the world, and to some respect, the historical context of that technology. The two simple rules of thumb are

1) If it is mechanical in any way, it can run off steam or gears, and
2) Any scientific theory can be considered reality if it sounds convincing enough in a drawing room over a snifter of brandy.

I then go into all the wild scientific theories that go with that. For example, The earth is hollow, iron clad automatons and robots are possible, cloning and other weird bio-science is possible (don't forget Frankenstein), it is easy to modify people using steam or gear operated mechanical devices, there is air on all planets and moons, the space between all things is the Aether, time travel is possible, Babbage Engines can do anything, and anything (no matter how big or heavy) can be made to fly or swim.

I further expand that with "Steam" comes the sensibilities and aesthetic of the 19th Century, usually, but not always like Victorian London. While a Steampunk story could take place in 1800s England, it could also take place in the United States (especially the Wild Wild West), or other countries, or in alternate timelines, or in completely different worlds altogether.

Regardless of where or when it takes place, there are still some common themes to keep within the Steampunk aesthetic.

1) There are significant and radical differences between the classes, the genders, and in some cases, the races (whether or not we are talking about ‘race’ in a colloquial sense of different ethnicities, or actual different species of creatures like tiger-people, or aliens, or fairies). Most protagonists will tend to be Egalitarians, above such trivial distinctions.
2) New advances in food production and medicine mean massive overcrowded cities. These cities will almost always have at least one set of slums.
3) Expect that prostitutes, scientists, alcoholics and orphans will play a significant part in any setting.
4) Likewise, expect factories, mines, mills, secret societies and guilds to play a significant part in any setting.
5) There may or may not be factions of people (sometimes referred to as Luddites) who violently oppose technological advances, fearing they will lose their jobs to it.
6) Any technology you would see made of out plastic today, would in a Steampunk setting be crafted from hand-carved wood (Mahogany and Rosewood are favorite choices), brass, copper or iron.
7) The dress, architecture, and manner of speech of a Steampunk world will be guided at least in some respect by those from historical Victorian times.

Punk = In most cases, “punk” refers to people striving for individual freedoms in a world where such things are generally oppressed or otherwise put down. The setting will define how oppressive the government and the society are. The characters will have their own ways for how they personally “rebel” against whatever travesty it is they choose to rebel against. Long story short, the more emphasis on the “Punk” part of the world, the less pleasant a place it is to be. Gritty, dark, and entirely free of happy endings might be a good way to think of it.

When you see people in Steampunk attire, they aren't always just wearing Victorian suits or dresses and goggles (although some do). They have tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair as part of the outfit, none of which would have probably happened in 19th Century London. They dress with leather bracers, they carry large impossible guns, they have insignia with skulls and wings - in short, air pirates are very popular. These all hint at the "rebellion" or "punk" aspect of the genre. It is about fighting for or against something bigger than oneself.

In fiction, you'll see things like,

1) Women might wear men’s clothing, or they might wear comfortable or practical clothing, and actually participate in science and adventuring.
2) People carrying weapons all the time
3) People modifying themselves for appearance or function with mechanical alternations such as artificial limbs or eyes.
4) Displaying gadgetry and inventions on their person, such as powered gauntlets, mechanical wings, or technologically enhanced goggles.

Some common things for Steampunk characters to rebel against
1) Capitalism
2) Nationalism
3) Non-Representative governments
4) All politics or government, or simply the taxes which pay them.
5) Abuse of human rights
6) Abuse of rights of privacy
7) Classism
8) The unequal distribution of wealth
9) The celebration of debauchery and self-indulgence, particularly by the wealthy.
10) The “ideals” or “morals” of society
11) Exploitation of any group
12) Racism
13) Sexism
14) Technology
15) Secret Societies
16) Wars or misuse of military

Etcetera...

There are three core Steampunk world views:
1) STEAMpunk (heavy on technology, light on punk)
2) steamPUNK (focuses on the oppression and darkness of the world)
3) Fantasy Steampunk (incorporating fantastic races and creatures such as fairies and goblins, along with magic mixing with technology).

When choosing a world view, feel free to mix and match between the options. For example, to an aristocrat who has never left the "good” side of town, the entire world might seem more in line with STEAMpunk until that day a mysterious messenger leads them into the city slums, or they lose their entire fortune in a series of bad investments and learn the hard way the brutal living conditions of the lower classes. Likewise, a Fantasy Steampunk campaign could have roots in a utopian society just as easily as a dystopian one.

STEAMpunk
A STEAMpunk world is one where not only has technology progressed faster than the historic pace, but it has done so to the benefit of society in general. While there might still be a significant economic difference between the classes, food is plentiful, and cities relatively clean. A lot of the Japanese animated Steampunk movies fall in this category.

The People – The lower classes would still be poor, but not oppressed physically or mentally, and they might still have access to at least some health care. While always present, criminals would be obvious and not particularly effective, and relegated to the expected parts of the city. Prostitutes, beggars and orphans would be friendly and helpful, as would most members of the slums provided you treated them with respect.

The Technology – Mass transit methods such as Omnibus rail systems, passenger zeppelins, public submersibles, and subterranean tube systems might be possible, while individuals zip about on smaller propeller-driven dirigibles, on automatonic horses, or with spinning blades from steam-powered backpacks. Most personal body modifications would be for self-improvement or repair (replacing a lost limb, better eyesight, etc.) or possibly to aid in distant expeditions to far off dangerous places.

The Government – The government, or at least many of the aristocrats, would take an active part in pushing for more human rights, and it would not be uncommon to see celebrations concerning the discoveries of adventurers and explorers, or celebrating social reforms or new technology.

Secret Societies – They would be rational and calculated, moving with subtle motions in the background to bend things to their will. They might acknowledge defeat in a respectable fashion before retreating off to make their plans for another day.

Guilds – Guilds would manage their crafts and the people who perform them. Some rival guilds would compete economically, of course, and competition to join a guild might be fierce, but other than that they would simply serve as nodes of power within the framework of the city or country.

Fuel – In this world, whatever powers steam-engines is a clean source of energy, or it simply isn't discussed. Pollution would be at a minimum, and automatons would be available for any number of manual or unpleasant tasks.

Enemies -- Here the real enemy would usually come from the Outside. The most common enemies may be threats to society from the Aether, or from other worlds (either above it or below it), or from good-intentioned science experiments gone awry, or from natural disasters. Other options include exploring fringe locations or distant regions which haven’t yet risen to the standards of modern civilization.

steamPUNK More of the written fiction falls in this 'darker' category. A steamPUNK world is one where the technological advances primarily benefit the upper classes, the government, or the military, many times at the expense of the lower classes. The economic difference between the classes is harsh and cruel. Take anything positive from the STEAMpunk list above and add the phrase “only for the upper class,” to the end.

The People – The lower classes would include the extremely destitute, and all desperate to latch onto any opportunity, no matter how seedy, to improve their station. Four or five families might live in a single room, the ones furthest from the door having to pay toll to the others in order to leave or go to the privies. Beggars might be intentionally deformed by their parents to encourage more donations, and factories could be filled with lost souls literally shackled to their workstations. Criminals may exist in far greater numbers, or have organized into gangs or possibly even guilds. Orphans would constantly fear for their lives and react accordingly whenever approached. Slums would be death sentences to outsiders, and Opium dens would not be unusual to find in the city.

The Technology – Mass transit methods would still exist, but separated into the “common” unsafe types, both filthy and prone to fatal accidents, and the upper class extravagant versions with their own team of servants. Individual transportation would be technologically based for the wealthy, but would still be based on beast of burden for the lower to middle classes. Body modification could be just for spite, or for criminal activity, or self-protection. Hidden weapons, secret compartments, devices that confound security measures, spying tools, and just overt displays of strength might all be incorporated into steam powered limbs or body replacements. Scientific experiments on the poor might also be common, testing new medical theories or gadgets on the living for the promise of a few coins.

The Government – Here the government, and particularly the aristocrats, would primarily focus on what benefits them and keeps them in power. Laws would be written to maintain the status quo, and to prevent any groups from rising above their current station in life. Celebrations might still be common, but for things the upper classes cheer for while the lower classes curse at or actively protest them.

Secret Societies – They might rival the governments for power, or be the only hope against real change in the government. While the core leadership might be fairly rational, they might have hordes of minions to do their bidding, all to be discarded when their tasks are done.

Guilds – Guilds would take on the role of the megacorporations of their time, which just as much power and contempt for the people who serve them. They would maintain their own guards, or militias, or possibly even armies to fight in distant wars over resources. For the smaller guilds who couldn’t afford to keep a staff of ruffians for protection, fighting, thieving, spying and assassinating, there would be a guild of special mercenaries to rent them out. Guilds would have an uneasy alliance with the government, neither able to easily overthrow the other, although they would constantly watch for any possible opportunity to do so. On the streets, guild law and city law would be kept separate wherever possible, the guilds free to run things how they wish so long as it doesn’t disturb the upper classes or the grand order of things.

Fuel – In this world, steam-powered engines all come with a side-effect, filling the cities with smoke and smog. People would make cheaper workers than automatons, and with less required maintenance. Masks are a part of many a Steampunk costume for a reason.

Enemies -- Here there are as many enemies within the city as outside it. Conflicts between two guilds could result in their executives drinking tea and watching their lackeys fight to the death to decide the outcome of the ‘negotiations.’ Automatons could go crazy, or band together to overthrow the ‘organic menace.’ Luddites might make repeated attempt to sabotage technology, no matter what the effects on the general population. Simply bumping the wrong member of the upper class could result in a death warrant. The shadows would be filled with the unspeakable activities of organized crime and secret societies. The simplest of ‘for hire’ jobs could be part of a larger plan filled with layers of deception and unseen dangers as nobles, guilds, secret organizations, and criminals constantly war against each other with commoners as their pawns.

Fantasy Steampunk While putting “Fantasy” in front of Steampunk may seem redundant, in this case it is used to incorporate a specific element not common in most Steampunk literature. Given the popularity of the belief in fairies during the 19th Century, it isn’t a giant leap to add such creatures of the imagination into a Steampunk world. Also, the 19th Century was a time of incredible scientific advances happening quicker than most people could grasp them. There was no reason not to believe that if an armored zeppelin could fly, why couldn't a little girl on a broom? Since advanced technology is essentially "magic" to people who don't understand even the fundamentals behind it, the idea of actual arcane magic existing beside new technological marvels seems to make sense.

Besides, orks with cannons for arms? Female elves in Steampunk garb with blaster pistols and pointed ears? Fairies (or their skeletons) on display in jars? Using a gear-powered box to predict the future or speak with the dead? 19th Century zombies and vampires? That's just cool stuff...

Here is a (very small) list of some sample Steampunk books...

• Steampunk (Collection of short stories edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer)
• Steampunk’d (Collection of short stories edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg)
• Extraordinary Engines (Collection of short stories edited by Nick Gevers)
• The Steampunk Bible by Jeff Vandermeer with S. J. Chambers
• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Steampunk AND zombies…)
• The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
• The Girl Genius series by Phil and Kaja Foglio

And Movies/TV Shows with at least a Steampunk theme

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• 9
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• The Castle in the Sky: Laputa
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• Sherlock Holmes
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
• The Wild Wild West
• The Island of Dr. Moreau
• The Time Machine
• The City of Lost Children
• Warehouse 13

Book Review: Choke by Kaye George

2011-06-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sausage, a wannabe P.I., and murder--what do these three things have in common? They are the core elements of Kaye George's humorous murder mystery, Choke. Set in the fictional small town of Saltlick, Texas, Choke centers on Imogene Duckworthy, or Immy as her friends call her, a naive young woman whose greatest ambition is to become a private investigator. Armed with a copy of the Moron's Compleat P.I. Guidebook, Immy sets out to solve the lastest murder in Saltlick--the mysterious choking death by frozen sausage of her own uncle. When Immy and her mother, the eloquent Hortense, become the prime suspects, her investigation gets a little more difficult!

Kaye George does an excellent job of weaving humor and death into a fast paced read. With a fabulous and funny supporting cast of characters, it's easy to fall in love with Immy's endearing charm as she struggles to become independent from her superior mother and prove that she is worthy of being a real detective. It is Immy's "every woman" quality that keeps the reader engaged and the story moving. George has created a funny, carefully woven mystery that will have you in stitches with laughter and keep you wondering "who dunnit?" until the very end!

Get your copy of Choke today at Amazon.com.

The beautiful fluidity of language

2011-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Grand Tetons photo taken by me

At one point in my life I wanted to be a linguist. At another, an interpreter. I've studied a few languages, and now I'm a writer, so I guess you could say I have a lifelong interest in words. I'm pretty good at knowing what proper grammar is, but I'm fascinated by the way people use the English language in everyday speech.

Those of us who care, know that you can lie down, but you must lay something down. But nobody talks that way! I go in the house to lay down when I'm speaking out loud. It would sound so affected to say I'm going to lie down.

So the present tense of lie is becoming lay. Some day it will be standard English. That's the way standard English is formed, by usage. I love that about words. They are constantly being shifted and molded by the ways we use them.

There are people who want to capture words and set them in stone so that they never change. That will never happen! Language is a living thing. The only languages that are not changing are the dead languages, Latin, ancient Greek, things like that.

Someone mentioned the difference between the words 'that' and 'which'.* The first word is supposed to be used when removing it would make the sentence unclear. The building that is on the right is the one you should enter. Without the clause *that is on the right*, you don't know which building it is. Contrast with this. The building, which is painted green, is on the right. You can removed the *which* clause and the you still know which building it is. It's the one on the right, which happens to be painted green.

Anyway, someday those usages won't matter any more either, because the shifting sands of language will have covered up the difference. And the winds of time will have uncovered brand new words and brand new usages that we don't even know about yet.

It's beautiful.

*I know the single quote belongs inside the period for Americans, but if the British can do it that way, and if I prefer it that way, I can do it on my own blog. It makes more sense, OK?

7 Summer Writing Goals for the Neurotic

2011-06-01T02:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a teacher. I love what I do, but I'm ready for summer break. Summer is the time when I feel the stress in my shoulders dissipate and my fingers get that electric writing tingle. They know that for the next eight weeks they will have unlimited freedom to dance across the keyboard.

I seem to get my best story ideas in summer, too. Maybe it's because I sleep better and don't worry as much, but the ideas often flow faster in the lazy heat of June and July. Sometimes I can't even keep up with them.

Many of you know from previous posts that I am a goal setter. So of course, I have my summer goals to keep up with!

1. Write every day. (Well, duh. Doesn't everyone do that anyway?)

2. Write one short story every week. (That one might be reaching a bit for me.)

3. Stop writing in parenthesis. (Okay, I don't--hey, wait a minute...)

4. Blog weekly on All Things Writing and Loesch's Muse.

5. Set up a blog tour for my urban fantasy, Nephilim which is due out July 18 from Lyrical Press, Inc.

6. Re-write my YA.

7. Start that new manuscript that keeps waking me up at night.

Seven goals. Don't know if I'll conquer them all, but I'm giving it a shot.

So what about you? What are your summer goals?

How to conduct a signing

2011-05-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

I got a good lesson in how a signing ought to go today from Janice Hamrick, a fellow mystery writer I met at Malice Domestic this year. She's the winner of the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books competition for 2010, which means she got her book published by Minotaur! Which means it's an awesome book. I'm not very far into it, having just purchased it a few hours ago, but the beginning drew me right in. It's called DEATH ON TOUR and links can be found on her webpage, http://janicehamrick.com/index.html.

Some of the readers here may be giving talks at signings, but some may be wondering how in the heck they'll do it when the time comes. I'm one of the latter.

What I'm going to hold up as an example here is her presentation. Her launch party was at Book People at noon on Sunday, the 29th. Crackers and cheese, cookies, and wine were on a sideboard, which was a nice touch. They were convenient to munch on while we waited in the signing line at the end.

Here's how it should be done! Janice ignored the podium and came to stand directly in front of the audience, who filled the folding chairs, some having to stand in the back. She has a friendly, relaxed way of speaking and doesn't use any notes.

She started off telling about herself, a bit about her childhood in Kansas and some funny tornado stories (yes, that can be done). She related moving from Kansas to Austin, working as a technical writer, and her love of travel. Then she got to the trip she took to Egypt and how the tour gave her so many ideas for a mystery. She came home bursting with them and began to write immediately, finishing in nine months. Then she told about submitting, rejections, and winning the contest that got her published. Smooth transitions and smooth delivery. She connects with the audience, smiles at them, and gets smiles back.

That's the way to do it, folks! I wish I'd taped it. Here's a picture I took the other night of Janice with her display at the same bookstore.

Of course, much as I study her, I don't think I can speak without notes in a million years. Will have to take drugs to relax enough to stand up without shaking, and will probably need to prop myself with a podium. And I hope, when the time comes, I can think of as many witty and engaging things to say as Janice did, but I wouldn't put real money on that bet. I have something to aim for, though.

I'm having a signing, by the way, this Friday, June 3rd, at Hill Country Bookstore on the square in Georgetown, 719 South Main Street, during the First Friday (shops open late, music, food, etc.) My signing is a drop in/drop out thing from 5-8, so I don't have to give a speech. (whew). Wine and beer are furnished by the store, but I'm going to add chocolate. Cookies if I get a chance. But at least chocolate!

What's in Your Closet?

2011-05-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Do writers get depressed more than--other people? I was going to say--normal people, but who's normal? A writer on one of the lists I'm on recently sounded depressed and we all jumped in with our remedies. Is there a writer who doesn't have his own closet of depression aids?

Maybe it goes with the territory. After all, the reason I write is to stave off depression. It's one of the tools in my closet. It just dawned on me, while reading the aforementioned online list, that maybe the reason I'm writing humor is because of the value of funny books for me.

Here are the weapons in my anti-depression closet.

(1) Writing. It doesn't matter what kind. Any kind. A therapist once asked me what I'd be doing if I could do anything I want. Without hesitation, I told her I'd write. She ordered me to carve out at least an hour every week to write, with the door shut, not answer the phone or doorbell, tell hubby to tend the kids--and write. It was pure heaven and saved my sanity!

(2) Reading funny books. I keep funny books together on a shelf. I used to use James Thurber exclusively. Then I added the Jeeves books by P. G. Wodehouse. Then I discovered David Sedaris. Any of these will have me laughing out loud eventually, no matter how far down I've gone. When I was a young child, a doctor had a column in the local paper (although maybe it was a national column). People wrote in with health problems. Most of the time, the recommended cure was "belly breathing", whatever that is. (NOTE: I LIKE the punctuation outside the comma--so shoot me.) Well, my recommended cure is belly laughing.

(3) 250 mgs. of magnesium daily. Don't ask me why, but this seems to help. A lot.

(4) My Attagirl list. I keep this on the computer. I label emails with this and keep them in a folder. Whenever someone says something nice about my writing I put it there. So when I'm having those days when I KNOW my writing sucks and no one would ever want to read such sludge, I can pull those emails up and re-read them. Know what? I never do. But I know they're there, and that's a help.

(4) Therapy, of course. When I go over the edge, that's what I know I have to do. I'll share a funny "depressed writer" story about therapy. My therapist asked me to write a piece personifying my depression and bring it to our next session. My depression turned out to be an adult male (who knows?) who was constantly beside me telling me those things depression tells a person. About how I'm useless, don't bother, no one cares about me, why should they, I'm not worth it, etc. I was driving and he was in the passenger seat berating me. I knew I had to murder him (I'm a mystery writer, after all). So I drove onto a high overpass and went over the rail. As the car plunged down, carrying both of us with it, I knew he'd be dead at the bottom. It was a good feeling. My therapist was a little alarmed, but I assured her I wasn't suicidal at the moment. I'd just killed off my depression. I, as the writer, survived.

Are you a writer? Do you get depressed? What's in your closet?

The image is owned by Simon Palmer and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Where in the World Could Mary Ann Be?

2011-05-18T03:21:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! You may have noticed I didn't update my blog at all last week. Don't worry faithful friends, I didn't fall off the face of the earth--at least not yet. It's just that life has been hectic. School is wrapping up with only three weeks till summer and I have a major project going on with my fourth graders right now. We are tackling Shakespeare in the Courtyard and while the kids are ready, the tech end is still kind of a nightmare. So my thoughts have been occupied with ironing out the kinks.

The other thing that has occupied my time is freelance writing. I try to limit my projects so that I'm not overwhelmed, taking a few clients at a time. But July is fast approaching, and since that is Nephilim's release date, the marketing fever has begun to take hold. It's time to buy ads, to promote, to shout from the roof tops that my book is coming out, that you must buy it, that reading it will make you smarter, younger, sexier, and somehow richer. But in order to market effectively, it takes more than pretty words.

It takes money.

I have a love /hate thing going on with the money. I love it. It hates me. I know it hates me because it slips through my fingers like water, drifting away to things like food and bills before I truly have a chance to love it. So I've been forced to work harder for it! I've taken on extra writing jobs so I can pay for an ad in Woman's Day or pay for smaller ads in various places.

So to make a long story short (too late), that's why I've been out of pocket. However, the madness will end next week and I will being anew.

If I haven't made myself sick from lack of rest or pulled my hair out from frustration!

Outages

2011-05-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

Blogger took a little break last week, I noticed. I was unable to post comments on other blogs, but that was the extent of the effect on me.

Other outages affect me lots more! (Though I missed commenting, of course.) But when the AC goes out in July or August, or the heat goes out in January, those are bad times. I feel like a whiny sniveler when I complain about that stuff, though, knowing that many people deal with being too hot or too cold a lot more than I do. Homeless, for example. People who can't manage to pay their bills every month, for example. People who've lost their homes to floods, tornadoes, or other natural disasters, for example.

We haven't lost our electricity yet this year, but it happens with regularity in the summer in this part of Texas. Last year there were unannounced rolling blackouts. I think they called them brownouts, but they looked pretty black to me. The electricity was dead, cut off, kaput.

Maybe I should prepare for that this year. Save up some projects for the times when I can't be on the computer.

Let's see, I can write on my AlphaSmart. I could clean off my desk. I could clean house. I could weed the garden (unless it's too hot, then I can't do that). Maybe I could get on the elliptical. Haven't done that in awhile. Cook, shop, even sew. Play my violin if I'm not sweating too much (sweat is bad for the wood, you understand) or write some music.

The only problem with the above list is that it will be on the inaccessible electronic device when the power goes out--unless I print it out. But then it'll get lost with the other papers on my desk and I won't be able to find it!

What modern advantage would most disconvenience you if you lost it?

PS. Please be aware that May is Zombie Awareness Month. Maybe I should have blogged about this?

Chiaroscuro painting by Georges de la Tour is in the public domain

Magic Numbers

2011-05-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

They say three is a magic number. I guess that worked for me.

I tried to write who I know. I'm a classically-trained violinist and I like to arrange and compose, so my sleuth was a musician. I made her a composer and conductor with thoughts of injecting my own compositions into the mix somewhere--mixed media and all that. The brilliance amazed me. She could travel the world guest conducting and thus avoid Cabot Cove Syndrome. I envisioned this as a cozyish series and wrote two novels which got rejected, over and over.

Next, I followed a passion of mine, archeology and human origins. New discoveries are still being made almost weekly about Neanderthals, so I created a tribe and a sleuth and labored long and hard on one and a half mysteries for them. The first was well received by almost everyone except the agents, some of whom liked the manuscript, but said they didn't know how to sell it. Since I consider that their job, I couldn't scream: Send it to Scholastic!!! (Rowling's publisher)

Third, comedy. I've always considered writing comedy a cop-out because it's so easy. I found out that it's not easy for everyone, which was really a surprise. So I ran with it--past the boundaries of where I thought I should go, over the top with characters and situations, and--behold!--got it published!

If only they sold lotto tickets where all the numbers were three!

Do you have a magic number? If so, what's it done for you?

7 Unusual Reasons Why You Should Blog

2011-05-04T03:01:00.000-07:00

As writers, we all know the importance of blogging. There must be a zillion books and websites dedicated to this type of social media. I won't rehash the things we already know. Instead, my goal this week was to think of some often over looked reasons to be blogging.

1. It gets you out of your shy shell. Are you worried about putting your words out there? Afraid that your bare thoughts may show what a freak of nature you are? Blogging helps you get past that. That's actually a perk of blogging! People like to embrace other's freak flag and then fly their own. Just write down some thoughts and stick em' out there. Don't worry what others think. The first few times you blog, heck maybe even longer, people probably won't comment anyway. That's your chance to build up your courage.

2. You can meet the other freaks. Let's just piggyback off of reason #1. Once people do start commenting, you will notice the wide variety of people online. And I mean wide!

3. Blogging is good for goal setting. If your goal is to write something every day, then there you go. A short blog once a day can help you achieve that.

4. Blogging can jog your creative juices. Once you start writing, all sorts of ideas pop into your head. Write them down so that if you get stuck on what to blog about, you'll have a list for inspiration.

5. You could be a Twitter Trend. Who knows? Anything is possible.

6. Discover the joy of Stat Counter. Want to know how many people are watching your freak flag fly? Install Stat Counter on your blog and check out your numbers. Some days it's enough to make you crazy.

7. Learn the art of accepting criticism. Yep, sometimes the comments are critical. Deal with it. Writing is subjective, and if you are going to do it for a living, you might as well get some tough writer's skin now. Besides, on a blog you can always delete your critics!

Have some other unusual reasons to be blogging? Drop a comment! I'd love to hear from you! Need more blogging tips? Check out this fun site called Morgen Bailey's Blog. http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/

5 Best Pieces of Editing Advice

2011-04-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

As a writer, I find the editing process a royal pain in the you-know-what. My wish is to one day write perfect prose in the first draft. No need for spell check or the grammar tool in my Word doc. Just sheer perfection. Every word a gem.

Like that's ever gonna happen.

Actually, I've come to terms with this. After you've been rejected by superagents, editors, magazines, and ezines as many times as I have, you start to take away a few things from the experience. I've discovered a common thread in some rejections and have tried to use them to my advantage. Hopefully, this strengthens my writing. I have to admit I do find myself correcting things that in the past I might not have caught. Editing has become a bigger part of the writing process for me whether I like it or not.

Today, I received a request from an agent to look at a partial for my young adult novel, Bayou Myths. Two years ago, I would have been thrilled, excited, bouncing off the walls. I still feel that way, but I'm a little more contained about it. I know the pitfalls of being too wound up about this. Writing is incredibly subjective. We all know how easy it is for an agent to read a few pages and then pass on it altogether. Pessimistic or realistic--call me what you will. However, as I started to prep the partial request, I tried to remember the best writing advice I'd ever been given in the hopes I've applied it to my manuscript.

1. Economy of Words--less is more. Just say what you need to say. Hmm...sounds like a song or something.

2. Cut your ly words. You probably don't need them.

3. By page 100, the stakes should be clear. This advice came from a super agent, and I really try to abide by it.

4. Its and It's--yeah, I finally figured this one out. I know, I know.

5. Leave out the back story or find a way to weave it in later. This gets your reader to ask questions, and hopefully stay with the book.

These are the things that really stick out for me.

What's the best piece of editing advice anyone's every given you?

CHOKE has arrived!

2011-04-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

My free author copies arrived, so I looked online and there it was!

It is awesome to hold a book that is full of my words. I can't get over it. I'll come down eventually, but meanwhile this is a powerful, wonderful high.

If one were to want a copy, one could visit either BN or Amazon. Last time I looked, BN had a better price, but I know they fluctuate often. It should be available at Mainly Murder Press on May 1st also.

PS. This is a collector's copy until the typo on the back cover is corrected. Someone spelled Saltlick wrong. This is copy I did not proof, in my defense.

Take heart in your Rejection

2011-04-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

This week marks my 20th year back from Desert Storm. Last week I wrote about how that also marked my first time to be published and receive royalties. That week twenty years ago also marked the rather abrupt end with my relationship with the right honorable Ms. Petula Palmer, who hopefully has Google Alert set up to tag her name which will lead her here to realize that she ranks high enough for a humorous opening paragraph, but now I'm moving on to the main body of the text...

Which happens to be about rejection. I am, I admit, one of those people who fantasize about wallpapering a bathroom one day with all my rejection letters after I've struck it rich and become a gazillionaire. I don’t want to give away too much, but I thought I’d share a rejection email from 1998, back when people were still figuring out the internet and how things like “CC” v. “BCC” worked. It is a film festival rejection, not one of the many rejections from agents and publishers, but whatever. A rejection is a rejection, and I thought this one would still work here. I’ve taken many rejections quietly, and with dignity, but a form letter cc’d to 50 people was just too much. I’ve included my reply as well.

Subj: Film Festival Notification
Date: 98-07-26 11:33:51 EDT
From: FlicksArt
To: About 50 email addresses (deleted)

Dear Film Festival Entrant:

Thank you for your submission to the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF). It was a pleasure to hear from you. Your work displays promise, talent and potential.

RIIFF received 207 entries from 10 countries, 26 U.S. states, and 5 Canadian provinces. Titles to be screened between August 13-16 in the cities of Providence and Woonsocket, R.I., include 34 feature films and an additional 60 short subjects and videos.

Unfortunately, your submission was not selected by our judges for exhibition during this year’s festival. Our distinguished panel of judges includes Academy Award winner Tom Ohanian, senior editor, Avid Corp.; commercial producer Charlie Shaw of Sonalyst Studios (where interiors of “Amistad” were shot); independent filmmaker and performing artist Norm Beauregard; in addition to cinematographers, videographers, commercial sound engineers, university film faculty members, and communications professionals.

We encourage you to continue in your artistic development and filmmaking pursuits. And we hope an entry from you for next year’s festival will be chosen by our judges for exhibition in 1999.

Cordially,

George T. Name Changed,
Executive Director/Producer
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Flickers Arts Collaborative
Address, Email, and Phone Number (deleted)

{{Note that I kept the same 50 email addresses in my response}}

Subj: Re: Film Festival Notification
Date: 98-07-28 03:28:17 EDT
From: SMetze
To: About 50 email addresses (deleted)

Dear Film Festival Executive:

Thank you for your rejection notice from the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF). It was a pleasure to hear from you. Your letter displays promise, talent and potential.

I have entered many hundreds of film festivals throughout the world, and I have received countless international rejection letters, all of which I have had painstakingly encased in plastic and kept in an aesthetically pleasing weather-proof file for viewing by my closest friends and family.

Unfortunately, your rejection letter was not selected by our judges for exhibition in this fine collection of hand-pressed stationery, desktop published notifications, and even form letters. Our distinguished panel of judges did not see fit to even print out your correspondence, because, following your example, we did not want to expend valuable paper and toner in this modern day world of resource management.

We encourage you to continue in your artistic development in the areas of fine literary works and formal communiqués. Next year, when you've learned how to do things like, not start sentences with a conjunction, or perhaps, when you graduate up to the wild wacky world of paper or even individually addressed notices, we hope a rejection letter from you for next year’s festival will be chosen by our judges for exhibition in 1999.

Until then, please tell your panel of judges, including Academy Award winner Tom Ohanian, commercial producer Charlie Shaw of Sonalyst Studios (like we care where interiors of “Amistad” were shot); independent filmmaker and performing artist Norm Beauregard, and all the cinematographers, videographers, commercial sound engineers, university film faculty members, and communications professionals, to kiss my rosy red butt.

Cordially,

Steven E. Metze
Complete Address, Email, and Phone Number printed in bold (deleted)

Not recommending this as a standard process, but at some point, the line must be drawn.

I got a call from an old film professor later that year who had moved from the University of Texas to some University in Florida. He said he recognized my name when he saw it in these two emails printed and framed on the wall of their film department.

All characters appearing in this blog are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead or even mostly dead, is purely coincidental.

New Look, New Day, Same Great Blog

2011-04-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

Well, you might have noticed that the gang at All Things Writing has revamped the look of the blog. Orange is a great color, but spring is here, bringing in fresh ideas and voices. Never fear, gentle reader. We will still be providing great writing advice--just on a blue background! Oh, to be a fly on the wall as our group gathered around the computer, struggling with the background decisions. I'm still not sure why Steve wouldn't let me pick pink with white butterflies. Oh, well....

Our goal at All Things Writing is to make a connection with our readers, to assist them in some small way, and share ideas. We are a think tank on the prowl for self improvement, sometimes even shameless self promotion, but we are always willing to pass along what we've learned. Many of us have books coming out soon or have already published books, and have lots of tips on publishing both the traditional and self published way.

We are planning stellar blog posts this spring, but would like to have the occasional guest blogger, too. If you have a great idea, a need that should be addressed, drop any of our contributing authors an email. We'd love to hear from you! And let us know what you think about the new look, too!

Happy writing!

Turning It Off

2011-04-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out how to do it. Oh, there's a switch. Several in fact. The "START" Microsoft button that means "OFF" (yay, MS!), the button on the front of the CPU, and the switch on the surge protector. But how can I do that when so much is happening everywhere?

There are my lists, facebook, twitter, the files I should be adding words to, blogging to do, a newsletter I'm trying to start, guest blogs I need to turn in to others, guest blogs I need to receive from others. And on and on. Even personal messages in there somewhere.

So much is happening! How can I bear to miss it?

If only there were a way to sit for thirteen hours without getting bleary-eyed, hunched, malnutritioned, and a headache. That's what we need in the way of evolution--a way to keep keyboarding and not ruin hands and wrists. A way to stare at a flickering screen without eyestrain.

I wonder if people of the future will be able to do these things.

This person, now, can't. I mean, I do, but I shouldn't.

Step away from the machine.

Take heart from your taxes

2011-04-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

Tax Day. By now, hopefully many of you have hit the ‘send’ button on some sort of e-file software and bid your 2010 taxes a fond farewell or a “See you in hell,” whichever works for you. I stayed up until 2am trying to decipher the cryptic intricacies of secret codes and regulations related to stock sales, a small side business, and goodwill donations while my wife kept IMing me words of encouragement from upstairs like, “how many times have you called your dad?” and “bet you wish you started earlier huh?”

Maybe it was the 32 oz Mountain Dew somewhere around midnight, or maybe it was the fifteenth time I had to redo the numbers on my “home office” to make it least likely to attract a swarm of auditors, I’m not sure, but at some point, my relaxing evening of tax preparation turned to self-reflection.

The year was 1991, a full two decades ago, and I was just five days away from leaving the desolate wastes of Kuwait and returning to Sunny Fort Hood. Skipping the re acclimation to flushing toilets and heated food that didn’t come in ten-pound cans or rubber bags, that year was going to be different both for my future, and for my taxes. I’d spent a good portion of my time in the desert training and sweating and all those other manly things young soldiers do, but in the evenings, I wrote. I wrote a letter to a gaming company, Hero Games as they are known now. In that letter I outlined a gaming scenario for their superhero role-playing-game called Champions. They turned me down. So I revised the proposal, suggested something bigger and better, and they agreed.

From that point, every night in my floorless tent sitting on my dust and dead fly cover cot, I filled page after page of notebook paper by the light of an OD green flashlight. I sent these papers home in my dingy envelopes with “no postage necessary” scrawled in the corner, my dad typed each page up as I’d written it, and eventually we mailed the printed copy off to the gaming company. All 124 pages of Champions Sourcebook #437, Pyramid in the Sky, came out later that year and sold over a whole handful of copies around two or three gaming stores everywhere. But more to the point, and I did have one, was that year, my taxes had an entry labeled “royalties.”

It netted me less than I make in a weekend of National Guard now, but I didn’t care. The point was, I wrote something, and I made Royalties. Probably the most majestically accurate word ever created. Say it to yourself. Royal-ties.

Anyway, there weren’t any more for a while after that first year, but a few summers later, I published something else, and my taxes swelled with pride again. I think I might have even tried to screw up my tax return in hopes I might actually attract an auditor so we could talk about my royalties.

“Oh sure, of course I realize I can’t claim my new nuclear bomb shelter as ‘preventative medical expenses,’ but have you seen what I put in line 17?”

I’ve never made enough in royalties to quit my day job, or even my part time job or that hobby job I do on the side, but every time I get to put a dollar amount, any dollar amount, in the royalties line, it makes my heart soar like a hawk. I still have the first dollar from that first game book pressed between its pages on my shelf.

So go out there and get some royalties. One dollar, a hundred dollars, it doesn’t matter. Write something every year that makes you some royalties, and preparing your taxes will become a joyous event to behold, even at two in the morning…

5 Things A Psychic Medium Taught Me About Writing

2011-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to a lecture that Chip Coffey, psychic medium and generally entertaining guy, presented in Austin. Mr. Coffey is well known for his participation on the show Paranormal State and Psychic Kids. Of course, those are probably the only two paranormal shows on TV that I don't watch. (Shame on me, I know.) I'd never been to a psychic before though I've watched enough of them on TV. As a writer who dabbles in urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and horror, researching those who claim to be in touch with the other side seems like a no brainer. So for $53, I joined the General Admission group and prepared to be inspired.

And I was....

Just not the way most of the others were.

I came away with dozens of good story ideas! Lots of the other people left feeling like they'd just seen a rock star, or they'd had a chance to commune with their loved ones and gotten peace. I liked Mr. Coffey, he seemed personable but rock star? Well...and though I do have dead relatives I'd like to harass, I was really more interested in talking to my dog, Oliver. We had issues before he died, and I really need to know where he hid my favorite pair of panties.

What did I learn? How can I use this in my writing? Here's my top five:

1. Psychics are great story tellers. They have to be. Otherwise they'd never get anywhere! They also make great characters--odd, a little out there, and slightly out of touch with reality.

2. We were all someone else in a past life. True, this is not a new theory. Mr. Coffey says we basically get recycled after we die, and we keep coming back to earth until we've learned our lesson. We usually hang out with the same people we hung out with last time around, too. I see, a reincarnation story in my future.

3. We all have special numbers that mean something to us, lucky numbers if you will. His were 12, 21. Mine is 7. Maybe that's why I write stories about the seven deadly sins.

4. Angels are all around us. I've heard this too and firmly believe there is one always peering over my shoulder as I write. I kinda wish my writing Angel would use a breath mint.

5. Orbs are dust. He said this at least fifty times. Orbs are dust. Keep this in mind when you are writing about ghost hunters finding orbs and thinking this proves spirits are present. Orbs are dust. Maybe your character just has a dirty house.

Have you ever seen a psychic medium? What inspiration did you draw from it? Please feel free to leave a comment!

Indie--what does this even mean?

2011-04-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

While standing in the shifting sands of today's publishing milieu, I can't help but notice the word "indie" being buffeted about. Indie press, indie author, indie publisher. What kind of independent are they all talking about?

Webster is silent on the subject. At least my Webster is. The word may be added to more recent versions, but it's not in mine.

Wiki is not silent, but doesn't completely clear this up:

The National Literary Awards defines Independent or "Indie" Literature as "books published outside of mainstream publishing."[1]

Wiki redirects "indie publisher" here:

Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts. Small presses are also defined as those that publish an average of fewer than 10 titles per year,^[1] though there are a few who manage to do more.

The terms "small press", "indie publisher", and "independent press" are often used interchangeably, with "independent press" defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporations. Defined this way, these presses make up approximately half of the market share of the book publishing industry.^[2] Many small presses rely on specialization in genre fiction, poetry, or limited-edition books or magazines, but there are also thousands that focus on niche non-fiction markets.

[end of Wiki]

Nothing on "indie author."

(Indie films and indie music are way way way outside my scope.)

So let's explore!

First of all, is the term indie author just another way of saying self-published? This phrase does seem to encompass self-pubbing. I knew some self-published authors who like to make a distinction, though. Their preferred usage would be to say "indie" for a self-published author who has hired an independent editor (or two, or more) before putting out an e-book or a POD trade paperback. So, under this method, an indie author is a subset of self-published authors, one who has taken more care and hopes to have put out a better product than someone who writes a novel and puts it up for sale with no help.

Second of all, indie publishers have been around for awhile, another name for small press. The use of the word "indie" for small press is awfully confusing, because writers published by these presses are not self-published, in any sense of the words. And indie author is NOT one published by an indie press or indie publisher.

Just for the record, let's not get even further confused by the term Print On Demand (POD). This is not a pejorative label. It's a production process. Anyone can use it. And both major publishers and small ones do. Also self-publishers.

One more layer of confusion. Authors who have had a physical book published by either a major house or a small one are now, if they have the rights, sometimes opting to put this same book out as a digital e-book. They are, technically, self-publishing the book. But it wasn't a self-published book in paper.

Off to the side are vanity presses. These are publishers who charge a writer for printing their book. Most people agree they shouldn't be labeled indie at all.

(Nathan Bransford recently got 141 comments on his take of the term.)

I'm going to stick with the old definitions of "indie publisher" and "indie press" and go with "indie author" as an enhanced self-published author.

Photo of Roycroft printing press by Dave Pape is public domain

Literary Underground Wiki

2011-04-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

One of the on line publications crazy enough to publish my work is Red Fez Press. I love this quirky little press for its ability to embrace all things to the left of center. Awhile back they published my short story, Bayou Scars, and now they are going to include my story Stealing Jesus (a tale of white trash mayhem at Christmas time) in their first anthology, Red Reader #1, due out August 2011.

As I sent in my updated author information, Michele McDannold, the editor of Red Fez, asked that I create a page at the Literary Underground Wiki. I hadn't heard of it before, but like any author trying to get as much publicity out there about themselves as possible, I checked it out.

Cool...really cool.

Created by Michele McDannold, the Literary Underground Wiki is a knowledge base used to compile info on the underground press. Set up in a Wikipedia format, authors can enter the site and create a page describing their accomplishments and author information. You can also enter or edit articles when you start up a free account.

I think this is a really brillant resource not only for writers but for readers, too. Author blurbs on books only tell you so much. The Literary Underground Wiki lets you supply a lot more information to the reader, giving them a glimpse into who you are as a person. Just like with Wikipedia, it also allows a place for you to post your links to your personal website or blog. This is another good promotional resource for authors struggling to build a platform and connect with readers.

So check it out! You can learn all about moi, Mary Ann Loesch, at my page there! Or you can create you own author page. If you do so, let me know so I can drop by and check it out!

Giving Blessings

2011-04-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I thought about using the title "Giving and Blessings" but opted for brevity.

First a word about giving. The writing community, I've found, is the givingest bunch of people. I can speak especially to mystery writers and, so far, horror writers. The most experienced are willing to take time out and lend a hand to new writers. In fact, there's a wealth of information that writers have posted on their blogs. Some examples are Alexandria Sokoloff's Three Act lessons, Beth Anderson's synopsis writing lesson, and Michael Bracken will even tell you how to write for the "trues" if that's your inclination. If you Google properly, you can find tons more lessons given for free from those who know how to do it.

On to giving blessings, which was my original idea for this post. I went to Santa Fe last week for Left Coast Crime, and mystery fan convention that moves around west of the Mississippi and will be held in Sacramento next year. I met with many of those generous mystery writers, and some fun fans and librarians, the treasures of the literary world.

This site, http://www.thesantafesite.com/history.html, says Santa Fe, New Mexico is the oldest capital city in North America and also the oldest European city west of the Mississippi. All of New Mexico is, with Florida, the oldest areas settled by Europeans in this country. The Spaniards (along with the Jewish people who were expelled from Spain the same day Columbus sailed) made their way to New Mexico, settled the area, and have been there ever since. They, of course, settled in land already settled by the Pueblo Indians. The history was not one of peaceful coexistence, and the Europeans eventually defeated the Pueblos and took possession of Santa Fe. The Indians today live in ancient pueblos, some very near Santa Fe, and produce artistic pottery, jewelry, rugs, and other arts and crafts. I can't go to Santa Fe without buying jewelry and have some pottery from there, too.

With the violent history, you'd think the Indians in the area would be bitter and resentful. Instead, they join in the tourism industry of the area and one tribe even welcomed the Left Coast Crime convention to Santa Fe. The Ohkey Owingey Pueblo performed a Buffalo Dance for us, permitted pictures, as a blessing on our gathering. I was so touched that tears streamed down my face as I snapped picture after picture of the serious, dedicated dancers, ages one and a half (although she didn't dance) to, I think, sixteen.

I posted all my pictures on facebook, but I've put a few here if you don't have the time or inclination to click over there.

This link is available to you even if you're not signed up for facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81061&id=1317370777&l=c15894f496

Burning Bridges: Sometimes You Should Just Keep Your Mouth Shut!

2011-03-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit it, but I've always been one of those people. You know, the ones that have trouble keeping their yaps shut. My favorite saying is, "If you don't have anything nice to say, come to sit next to me." Unfortunately, this has gotten me into trouble from time to time. My foot lives in my mouth. Sometimes I even put salt on it to help it taste better.

Yep, it's that bad.

However, even I know that when it comes to writing, it's never a good idea to lose control of the yap. Especially when it comes to rejection or a bad review.

If you haven't read the post by Ernie from yesterday, check it out. That was my inspiration for today. The author's behavior in the post Ernie directed us to blew my mind! Basically, an author sent her novel to be reviewed by someone who has their on online review site. The reviewer liked the story but hated all the typos and grammatical errors in it, and of course, commented on that. The author blew a gasket and accused the reviewer of being a liar. All sorts of other craziness ensued.

It was like reading a soap opera written just for bloggers.

The thing is, the author said a lot of things which will probably come back to haunt her later. I know that if I were an agent or publisher, I'd have to think twice about working with this individual. Reviewing her work on my blog site would be out of the question...unless, I needed a good laugh.

The internet is not a chalkboard where things can be easily erased. What you say online lives on and on and on. Authors, think before you spew words you can't take back. Sure, there are injustices in the writing world, but handle them privately, and even then with care.

Don't burn bridges because you can't handle rejection or criticism. Take it with a grain of salt, and if you must, come sit next to me. Or find someone you can vent to who won't betray your secrets!

Curious about what went down? Check out the previous post.

Here's to keeping your mouth shut!

What Not to Do as an Author

2011-03-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

The following has gone viral. (Warning, adult language is used in spots.) This is an object lesson in how not to respond to a negative review of your novel(s).

The Greek Seaman: by Jacqueline Howett

Ernie

Screenplay v. Novel Writing

2011-03-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

As someone with an MFA in Film and Video production, I’ve written a few screenplays in my time. Only optioned one, and any movies made from them I made myself, but still. I’ve also written my fair share of novels, with about the same amount of success, although I do feel my craft has improved consistently with every word I’ve written.

Having hammered out both, I wanted to take a moment to compare and contrast the two in case you were debating writing one or the other.

First, some basics.

Novels are long, screenplays are short. Novels tend to be in the past tense, screenplays in the present. Novels have some leeway for structure, although generally lean towards something with three to five Acts and a hook of some sort at the end of each chapter. For screenplays the structure is much more rigid, with painful scrutiny placed on pacing. Novels have many niche markets, while screenplays always seem to be aiming for that PG-13 audience.

Now let’s dig a little deeper.

With a novel, you are the creative overseer. An editor might make suggestions, but they won’t go in and re-write the entire ending with a new flashy location or three times the stakes. When you’re done writing a novel, you own it. Your style drips from every page. Your ideas, your characters, your detailed descriptions, they remain, all yours.

In a screenplay, you are, at best, writing a suggestion for others to go by. You’re creating a blueprint from which hundreds of others will tear off pieces and then rework those bits in their own image. If you want something that stands out as yours, screenplays probably aren’t the way to go.

As far as money goes, don’t be fooled. Novels actually published will make more money than most screenplays sold, and certainly more than those optioned. I’ve known many screenplays to option for as little as a dollar while a hopeful director holds onto to someone else’s work and shops it around looking for financing. A screenplay “hit” can sell for six figures, but then that’s it, the money stops. A novel “hit” can go well beyond that, and the money is open ended. Assuming you sell more than any advance you might have gotten, sales will drop down to a trickle and slowly fade rather than having a hard stop after a single lump payment. In addition, there are thousands of books published every year, and only hundreds of movies made.

But as a writer, someone who loves the act and craft of writing, they really are different animals. Novels can be internal or external stories, with action optional. They tend to focus more on characters and the true details of their lives. Screenplays can only suggest actions that suggest internal thoughts and feelings – you can’t even write what the character is thinking to help out the actor. The characters can show it or say it, but with very few exceptions (and then usually only in an opening or closing voice over) the omniscient point of view is right out. As far as descriptions go, you get a few lines to sum up the setting, and then it becomes someone else’s job to give that location or character life. This is not to say that screenwriting is easy, or that there aren’t opportunities to write creative character-driven works you can be proud of. In both cases clever dialogue goes a long way, but in a novel, the dialogue doesn’t have to be the primary form of transmitting information about thoughts and feelings.

So, bottom line, you’ll end up writing what you wanted to write, but my final piece of advice to you is pick one and stick with it, or at the very least don’t try to hop back and forth between the two. They are both skills, and both crafts, and even though they both tell a story, they use completely different languages to do it. Find out which one you’re best at, and focus on it. When you’ve had a real “hit” and can quit your day job, then you can dabble in the other…

Enjoy

Publicity, Promotion

2011-03-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

The above are other words for selling, of course. And now that an author has to not only write, but sell their own books, more and more of us are--for the first time ever--working in the sales department.

If I'd wanted to be a salesperson, I tell myself, I would not have become a writer! In the Good Old Days, a writer wrote, a publisher published and sold. Alas, no more. Publishers are stacking that task onto the backs of the writers. Which means, there are a LOT of brand new salespeople in the world of literature.

My only attempt at selling was a job I quit just before I got fired from. (See sentence above that begins: If Id' wanted to be....) I'm hoping I'll prove better at selling my own dang book.

So far, my attempts have included guest blogging, trying to be active and visible online, and booking myself into a couple of mystery conventions. I chose large confabs that fans attend. A writers' conference isn't going to do it for this purpose. Wednesday I leave for Left Coast Crime in Santa Fe, and in late April I'll attend Malice Domestic. These are both well established venues for promoting and selling. With that in mind, and having been told I could probably count on having my book available by mid-April, I'm booked as an official New Author at Malice Domestic. Three other authors and I, all from Mainly Murder Press, went together on an ad in the program. It shows a placeholder cover that I designed, but it's at least getting my name and title before people. There have been a few holdups, so I'm having to cross my fingers that my book will be ready for Malice, but I have faith!

I'm now emailing people to see if I can get some pre-publication (or maybe *at* publication) reviews. I've had some good results, but no one has broken my door down to get my attention.

In the past few days I've designed bookmarks for this book. The cover is not the final version, but the publisher told me I could use it for promotion.

Meanwhile, I learned that an anthology that has been in the works for some time is probably being printed this week! So I'd better start promoting that, too. Today I had a dozen postcards printed up at the local print shop. I forgot to have them cut, so I'll go by my husband's office and borrow the paper cutter as soon as I finish this.

I've read mixed results for online ads, so I'm not going to do any of those yet. Both the above-mentioned volumes are paperbacks, but I'll eventually put out an e-book for the novel. At that time I might do some online ads.

Some authors have had good luck with give-aways, which I'll try when I have the physical product to give away.

This is all stumbling in the dark, though! Baby steps.

The Glamour of Writing

2011-03-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

The other evening I was sitting around with the my writing group, the gang responsible for the illustrious little blog you are currently reading, pondering the very nature of writing itself. It's been said before and will be said again that writing is a lonely business. You can social network as much as you want, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to you, the computer, and whatever freaky little story you've got wandering around in your head.

My friend and fellow contributor to All Things Writing, Kaye George said, "It isn't about glamour. It's about hard work."

Ain't that the truth!

I sometimes think about writers who were well known not only for their work, but for their lifestyle, too. Truman Capote comes to mind because he was a fixture on the New York social scene for many years, a kooky little guy with an annoying voice that made writing seem...cool. Or F. Scott Fitzgerald. The parties he and his wife, Zelda, (now why doesn't anyone name their kid that anymore?) were legendary. True, he may have been a raging alcoholic with lots of issues but hey--he still made writing appear glamorous.

I don't need glamour to be a writer and as Kaye pointed out, writing is hard work. If you spend all of your time doing the social network thing, when you do you have time to just write? Granted, we live in a time where social networking, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and dozens of others are important for a writer to use in order to attract a following. But a some point, do you lose sight of why you are social networking in the first place?

Writing isn't glamorous, but it can be rewarding. I would love to hear other thoughts on social networking vs plain old writing time. Drop a comment and share your thoughts with the gang from All Things Writing!