Author Archives: disq2332

About disq2332

I'm Gail Z. Martin and I write epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk--so far! My newest series is Scourge: A Novel of Darkhurst. I'm also the author for the Chronicles of the Necromancer series, The Fallen Kings Cycle, The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, the Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series and co-authored with my husband, Larry N. Martin, the steampunk series Iron & Blood.
by | October 27, 2011 · 9:28 am

Interview with Laisren

In honor of my Days of the Dead blog tour, I’d like to introduce you to one of my vayash moru (vampire) characters from the Chronicles of the Necromancer and Fallen Kings series.  Vayash moru play an important part in my books, aiding–and sometimes opposing–Tris Drayke and Jonmarc Vahanian. You can read the interviews with four more of my vayash moru characters at my partner sites!

Here, I’d like to introduce you to Laisren, a vayash moru who, while less ancient than Lord Gabriel and the members of the Blood Council, has proven his formidable fighting skills.  He serves as Dark Haven’s armsmaster, and has trained Jonmarc Vahanian to fight against immortals.

Q:  What has immortality taught you?

A: Most mortals stumble aimlessly through their short lives without purpose or passion, not realizing that their time is brief.

Q:  In the current conflict against the Temnottan invaders, you chose to go to war.  Why risk yourself on account of mortals?

A:  War was my calling when I was mortal.  Immortality has improved my skills.  I serve best with a sword in my hand, and in this conflict, mortals and immortals are united against a common foe.

Q:  You trained Jonmarc Vahanian to fight against vayash moru.  Does that make you a traitor to your kind?

A:  Hardly.  Jonmarc is the chosen champion of Istra, the Dark Lady, patron Aspect of the vayash moru.  He has exceptional skills as a mortal warrior.  With my training, Jonmarc can now hold his own against vayash moru, which he has needed to do to protect Dark Haven and the Winter Kingdoms from rogue immortals.

Q:  What is your biggest disappointment about immortality?

A:  That the few mortals who burn brightly with passion and purpose cast their light for such a short time.

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by | October 24, 2011 · 1:22 pm

A Cemetery Tour

by Casey Daniels

I don’t remember when I first realized how much I love cemeteries. It may have been back when I was a kid and walked to my piano lessons every week. There was no piano teacher in my immediate neighborhood and I walked about thirty minutes to get to my lessons. At the time (and no, I won’t say when it was!), no one worried about a kid out on city streets alone.

My route took me by a city cemetery, and I remember looking through the iron fencing around it and thinking how peaceful the place seemed. I never ventured inside, not because I was frightened, but because I didn’t know anyone who was buried there.

I did visit other cemeteries, of course. One of my grandmothers dragged (and I use that word appropriately) us with her once in a while to clean up the graves of long-gone ancestors. I remember walking to that cemetery, too, and packing a lunch to take along. Food was probably the one way she knew she could keep us quiet and bribe us to help her work!

What I do remember very clearly is when this vague interest in burial grounds blossomed into a full-blown obsession. It will be 11 years this coming Halloween. It was a Sunday, and somehow, I found out that a local trolley company was doing a day-long tour called “Stones and Bones.”

Yup, a cemetery tour.

I was fascinated by the history of the cemeteries we visited, and grateful to finally have a chance to stop in at some city cemeteries that are not safe to travel in alone. I loved hearing about the art and the architecture, about the symbolism found in headstone carvings and the hints of family history that can be found in the names and dates etched for all eternity into the stone.

In the last 11 years, I’ve made good use of my cemetery interest. My Pepper Martin mysteries involve a cemetery tour guide and over the years, I’ve gotten to know a couple of the local foundations that work to preserve local cemeteries. Recently, it all came full circle. You see a couple weeks ago, I hosted a tour in a historic cemetery.

It was called Killer Cleveland and on the tour, I took groups of visitors around to “meet” the victims and perpetrators of some local (and very old) homicides. It was a gray and gloomy afternoon (how appropriate) but our intrepid tourists showed up anyway and hiked along with me through the battered headstones. At some of the graves, I told the stories of the macabre murders. At others, re-enactors took over and played the roles of victims–and murderers.

It was a great day, and I know we helped spark an interest in local history. I also know that somehow, the Universe has been pushing me all these years, nudging me to this place where I am more involved in something I find fascinating.

As for that cemetery I used to pass as a child, it’s still there and I’ve visited a time or two. These days, I actually go inside!

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by | October 20, 2011 · 10:23 am

Things that Go Bump in the Night

by Gail Z. Martin

Ok, so I write about ghosts, vampires, necromancers, magic and monsters.  Ever wonder where that came from?

Big surprise: I’ve loved spooky supernatural stuff since I was a kid.  One of my earliest favorites was a story written for elementary-aged readers in  the Jack and Jill magazine called “The Ghost in the Glen.”  I made my mom read it to me until the cover fell off the magazine.  I discovered Fate Magazine when I visited my grandparents.  Fate is full of first-person accounts of supernatural occurrences plus stories about the occult, the spooky, and the just plain strange.  I used to sneak away with a pile of Fate Magazines and read them for hours.

By now, I think everyone knows I loved the original Dark Shadows when I was in preschool, and that alone probably did a lot to determine my present life course.  Other early favorites were Twilight Zone, the old Alfred Hitchcock show (as well as the spooky Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series of books), ScoobyDoo, Night Gallery, Tales from the Crypt and any old monster movies I could pick up on the local UHF channel (these were the days before cable).

Another early favorite was a book called Jane-Emily about a girl whose spirit is trapped inside a silver garden gazing globe.  I have never been able to look at a garden globe without thinking of that book! I decided Shakespeare was interesting when I found out Macbeth and Hamlet had ghosts in them.  I also read as many first-person accounts of haunting and ghosts as I could get my hands on, and still enjoy those kinds of books.  I think Blackwood Farms by Anne Rice is a perfect ghost story—vampires AND ghosts, plus some witches and a haunted house!

So there you have it.  If you don’t want your kid to grow up to write about vampires and necromancers, you probably ought not let them read every scary book they can get their hands on!

Watch for my Days of the Dead online tour beginning October 25!  Book giveaways, free downloads , character interviews, never-before released excerpts, and other cool stuff.  Get more details at www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com.

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by | October 13, 2011 · 10:22 am

Death Tells

by Gail Z. Martin

I write about a necromancer (and Halloween is coming up), so I probably think more about death than a lot of people.  And what I’ve noticed is that what an individual believes about death impacts a lot of other areas of life, while how a culture treats death has wide-ranging impacts.

So, for example, my main character Tris is a necromancer.  He can move between the world of the living and the realms of the dead, and he has seen several aspects of the Goddess.  He doesn’t fear death, because he isn’t at all uncertain about what happens afterwards, but because of the people he cares about and his responsibilities in the living world, he would prefer to live as long as possible.  Contrast that with someone who hangs on to life not because they are connected to people but because they fear what might come after death, and you can see where death begins to color a character’s viewpoints on a lot of things.

Does your character have strong viewpoints over who will be punished or rewarded in the afterlife?  If so, odds are that those some views will color who they believe should be favored or shunned in the living world.  Does your character believe admission into the afterlife will require exceptional virtue, bravery, or circumstances (such as death in battle)?  Expect to see those same qualities emphasized in the living world.  Is reincarnation a part of your character’s beliefs?  You may see that color views toward charity, if hardship in the present life is seen as a punishment for misdeeds in a past life.  How about a belief that there is no afterlife at all?  If so, the character and culture will focus on the benefit of actions in the present reality as opposed to “earning” status in the afterlife.

As you do your world building, factor in the life-after-death question.  You may find that your characters—and your culture—come up with some surprising answers!

Watch for my Days of the Dead online tour beginning October 25!  Book giveaways, free downloads , character interviews, never-before released excerpts, and other cool stuff.  Get more details at www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com.

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by | October 6, 2011 · 10:20 am

Nothing But Fear Itself

by Gail Z. Martin

Ever notice how much our fears define us?  The truth is, what a character fears reveals a lot about that person, and what a culture fears is likely to change its history.

Fears come in a lot of flavors.  There are survival fears: death, hunger, scarcity, physical  danger, loud noises, water, storms, and the dark are some examples of fear related to the ability to survive.  Then there are social fears: abandonment, betrayal, humiliation, ostracization, lonliness.  There are inner-oriented fears: the fear or being forgotten, of dying without a legacy, or living a lie.  And there are externally-oriented fears: the fear of  not belonging to a “tribe”, of not being well-thought of by one’s peers, of being a failure.

Personally, I believe that the more social or externally-oriented one’s fears, the more likely that person is to throw other people under the bus.  Take a look at the list again.  Heroes may have all the normal human survival fears, but they keep on going.  The tortured, angst-ridden hero has plenty of internally-oriented fears, but keeps them under wraps.  Few heroes lose sleep over whether or not they’re popular or whether they’re going to be embarrassed.

I think that’s because social and external fears are ego-driven, where the survival fears are biologically imperative and the internal fears tend to be the struggle between Id and Super-Ego, or the by-product of an overdeveloped conscience.

As for kingdoms, nations or tribes, what the group fears defines their rules and government, dictates their wars and foretells their persecutions.  Do they fear anarchy?  The group will tend toward absolute rule.  Outsiders?  Xenophobia will seal the borders and promote the advancement of the group that best fits their ideal of a native-born citizen.  Questions? The government or religion will take a hard line on dogma and deal ruthlessly with supposed heresy.  Disapproval of their international peers?  Look at the extremes to which rulers like Stalin, Peter the Great and Kim Il Jung have gone to create spectacles and “Potemkin’s villages” to win the approval and envy of other nations, even if the approval is based on a lie.

So what does it tell us when a person fears death more than anything else?  Personally, I believe that makes for a very dangerous person, someone who will sacrifice any value, betray any principle and turn on anyone who poses a perceived threat to their continued existence.

As you read the characters others create and as you create your own characters, ask yourself: What are they afraid of?  You might be surprised at how much you learn from the answer.

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by | September 22, 2011 · 10:19 am

Catch me at a con!

by Gail Z. Martin

Fall is just around the corner, and that means that I’ll be back on the convention circuit.  If you’re headed to one of these conventions, please stop by one of my panels/readings or catch me in the hall and say hello!

Dragon*Con—Labor Day Weekend

Here’s my official panel schedule:

My #DragonCon schedule: Title: Breaking In: How it’s Done Description: Trying to break into the SF/Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Urban Fantasy markets? Fri 01:00 pm : Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt

My #DragonCon schedule: Title: Broad Universe Reading Description: Quick cuts read by some up and coming female authors; their own works or works they find influential. Time: Fri 10:00 pm Location: Greenbriar – Hyatt

My #DragonCon schedule: Title: 101 Fascinating/Gruesome Ways to Kill a Character Description: What’s the most fascinating way to kill a character? Time: Sat 10:00 pm Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt

My #DragonCon schedule: Title: Podcasting Writers Roundtable Description: Join popular Podcast authors to discuss the changing face of books and online media. Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: 204 – Hilton

My #DragonCon schedule: Title: Broad Universe Reading Part 2 Description: Quick cuts read by some up and coming female authors; their own works or works they find influential. Sun 01:00 pm Location: Fairlie – Hyatt

My #DragonCon schedule: Title: Down and Dirty Internet Marketing Description: How to get your stuff noticed. How to interest potential readers, viewers, listeners, etc. Time: Sun 05:30 pm Location: 201 – Hilton

Then Oct 14-16 I’ll be at Capclave, Gaithersburg, MD.  The week of Halloween, Samhain, Dia De Los Muertos and All Hallow’s Eve is my Days of the Dead online blog event, Oct. 24 – 31.

Nov            18-20 I’ll be at Philcon in Cherry Hill, NJ, and then I hope to be in several Charlotte-area bookstores in early December.

Next year is already shaping up.  Here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come:

I’ll be chillin’ in Boston for Arisia in January!

I’ve accepted invitations to SheVaCon and Mysticon (both in Roanoke) in February, and should be back in Charlotte book stores with the launch of The Dread, Book Two in The Fallen Kings Cycle.

In March I’ll be at Ravencon as well as at the Arizona Renaissance Festival outside of Phoenix.

I’ve also been invited to Book Expo (BEA) in June, although I don’t have a schedule of events yet.

That’s what’s solid so far—I’ll add dates as I get confirmations.  And if you just like to talk about the craft and business of writing, please join me in person for my monthly Meetup, the  Thrifty Author Publishing Success Network!

 

 

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by | September 19, 2011 · 7:18 pm

Should I podcast my fiction for free?

by P.G. Holyfield

Five years ago the question was, “Should I podcast my fiction for free? Will it hurt my chances of getting published?” But with the success of writers such as Scott Sigler, Philippa Ballantine, and Nathan Lowell, that question has become nearly moot. When I went to my publisher I was able to say “The most recent episode of my podcast novel has 18,000 downloads so far.” My novel was published by a small yet respected fantasy/sci-fi publisher, but even larger publishers have begun to admit that an unknown writer that has established himself or herself with an online following might be worthy of consideration. And the saying that used to be “EVEN THOUGH I’ve given it away for free” is now “BECAUSE I’ve given it away for free.”

So as we are now in the time of bloggers getting big book deals and publishers taking chances on pre-blogged or podcasted fiction, the question isn’t “Should I?” but “How do I do this the right way?” Because it’s not that you are trying to build “an audience,” but that you are building a relationship with your readers/listeners. Especially for those that are reading their own words, you are creating a connection to your audience that cannot be matched by any other medium. Your audience hears your voice and if you are telling a good story, your listeners begin to care about you in ways that most first time authors publishing traditionally cannot leverage. In cultivating that “horde” that we hope to inspire, here are some things to think about:

  • Website presence – Some people have used sites like Libsyn.com to host their podcasts, but a great looking personal website that has content in addition to the audio podcast is vital for audience engagement.
  • Release Schedule – Most podcast authors use a serialized release schedule and do not release the entire story at once. Releasing consistently (weekly works well) creates an ‘event’ atmosphere around your podcast. Yes, there are many who won’t start listening to a podcast novel until the author has completed it, because a) they want to make sure the author finishes the audiobook/podiobook and b) they want to mainline the entire novel and not wait a week for the next 30-45 minutes of your story. But for those that get hooked and wait patiently (or in some cases, impatiently), these people have a tendency to become rabid fans that will proselytize your work better than you ever can.
  • Make friends and influence… yeah, you know – Most podcasters use the first three to five minutes of each podcast episode to talk to their listeners. Depending on how open you are with your audience, they become invested not only in your story but in your life and your struggle to become a published author.
  • Podiobooks.com – Having your own website is vital, but just as important is having a “story only” version of your podiobook on Podiobooks.com. Consumers of podcast fiction know this is the place to go for good stories, and many that will never find your website will find your book here.
  • Short story podcast fiction – do you have short stories that can also be podcast? There are podcasts such as Escape Pod that are paying markets, and if you can get a short story on one of these outlets, you can drive people to your podcast novel.
  • Audiobook vs. Audio Drama – Most podcast novels are done as straight reads, such as what you find on Audible.com. But could your story work as more of an audio drama, with a full voice cast, music, sound effects, etc.? It doesn’t take an expert to see that this would cause an exponential increase in the time you would spend creating your podcast, but for those that have tackled that beast (like myself), if you do it well, you create another reason for people to give your podcast a chance.

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by | September 15, 2011 · 10:18 am

Things I learned from this year’s summer movies

by Gail Z. Martin

What did I learn from this summer’s crop of action flicks?  Well, they weren’t really intended as educational fare, but in between bites of popcorn, I picked up a few life lessons, so I thought I’d share them with you.

Transformers—prepare for your job interviews if you don’t want to look like a dofus.

Thor—wait until you’ve been crowned before acting like the king.

Pirates 4—asking nicely for things like a mermaid’s tears will get you farther than kidnapping and larceny

Harry Potter 7—that pile of junk in your attic just might be a valuable relic.  Or just a fire hazard.

Green Lantern—stopping to help at a traffic accident can change your life.

Captain America—never underestimate the skinny kid.

Cowboys and Aliens—don’t bet against a low-tech rebellion.

Conan—If you don’t want someone to reassemble the evil mask, destroy it, don’t just hide the pieces.

I’m not sure what kind of life wisdom any of this imparts, but passing along these disturbed ramblings is just another one of my many public services.  Enjoy.

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by | September 12, 2011 · 9:29 pm

Multiple Personalities

by Casey Daniels/Kylie Logan

Not everyone is lucky enough to not only have more than one personality, but to be able to celebrate it. That’s what I’m doing today because last week, a new alter ego of mine made her first official appearance.

She’s Kylie Logan, author of the Button Box mystery series. Book #1, “Button Holed,” hit store and virtual shelves last Tuesday.

It’s been an interesting road to publication for Kylie and it all started, quite simply, because I like buttons. As Josie Giancola, the heroine of the new series comments, buttons are little bits of history, and tiny works of art. They say something about a person’s style, and that person’s social class. Many antique buttons display incredible workmanship, dazzling jewels and even say something about a wearer’s love life; back in the nineteenth century, it was fashionable for young ladies to have a photograph of their beau put on their coat buttons!

Still, I never thought about actually writing a mystery series about buttons until a couple years ago when I visited Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’d just finished lunch at a charming coffee shop and I was alone on the front porch, sipping coffee and knitting, when a couple sat down at the table next to me. There are a couple operative words in that last sentence, namely, alone and next to. You see, they decided to pick that very moment to break up.

I listened to it for ten minutes or so and honestly, I expected them to apologize. After all, there was no doubt I could hear everything they were saying. They didn’t. Instead, they went on and on and I’d had enough. I gathered up my knitting and went next door to an antique shop.

What I didn’t know until I opened the door was that it was an antique shop that specialized in buttons.

Thousands and thousands of buttons.

I was in heaven, and the nice lady who owned the place was only too happy to tell me stories and answer my questions.

It was that encounter that gave me the idea for the Button Box mysteries. Josie owns an antique button shop, too, though hers is in a Chicago brownstone. It’s there that she meets a famous actress who’s come to Josie for the buttons she’ll put on her wedding gown when she marries a European prince. And it’s that actress who is murdered in the shop. When Josie’s cleaning up, she finds an unusual button–one she knows didn’t come from her collection.

As for those multiple personalities of mine . . . readers who enjoy the Pepper Martin mysteries by Casey Daniels can expect much the same light and airy reading experience and (hopefully!) the same sort of humor and intricate plotting. However, there are no paranormal elements in Kylie’s books as there are in Casey’s.

Because Kylie is a new person, she has her own, new blog. You can find her at:

https://kylielogan.blogspot.com

or on Facebook.

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by | September 7, 2011 · 10:00 am

Last Friday Night at Dragon*Con (with apologies to Katy Perry)

by Gail Z. Martin

There’s a Klingon in my bed
There’s a Vorlon in my head
Guinan’s serving in the bar
Reavers  passed out in the yard.
Con suite’s closing for the night
Is that a tattoo or a bite?

Photos of last night
Posted on the site
Dude!
It’s a fandom blur
But I know for sure
It ruled.

Last Friday night.
Yeah we gamed on tabletops
Then we did some True Blood shots
Think we filked but I forgot
Last Friday night

We went LARPing in the park
Crashed the Green Room after dark
Had some panels jump the shark
Last Friday night
Do it all again…Do it all again

What can I say—it was Dragon*con!  Just got back from Atlanta, and it was wonderful, as usual.

I had a great panel schedule, because it also gave me time to wander the vendor rooms and art show and catch some live music, as well as the panels with the stars of True Blood, and appearances by William Shatner and Carrie Fisher.

Panels were a lot of fun and very well attended.  How can you not have fun when you’re on panels with folks like Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Carole Nelson Douglas, Brent Weeks, David B. Coe, Scott Sigler, and other fun guests!  And I saw lots of other friends, like my esteemed co-blogger J.F. Lewis, my Ravencon roomie Jean Marie Ward, and all the Broad Universe crew, plus folks from my Thrifty Author Meetup group, and many more friends, colleagues and con buddies.

Costumes were fantastic, as always.  Saw a lot of great Steampunk interpretations.  My favorites were the Steampunk Green Lanterns and Captain America.  Lots of anime-inspired costuming too, as well as characters from all the big hit summer movies and top video games.  I think my favorite con t-shirt was the one with a white anime cat dressed in camouflage with a big gun—Halo Kitty, of course.

Of course, it was a total mob scene, and the elevators can only be compared to the Japanese subway, but otherwise it wouldn’t be Dragon*Con.  So now you know where I was Last Friday Night.  And all I can say is—Do it all again!

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