Category Archives: Books

by | February 23, 2012 · 9:17 am

Living With Your Writing Resolutions

by Gail Z. Martin

Now that we’re a few months in to the new year, are those resolutions starting to chafe a bit?  Maybe the diet is history, the exercise plan is on again/off again, and the desire to meditate daily has hit the snooze button.  So where does that leave your resolve to make this the year you finish your book?

Whether you’re writing for your own satisfaction or with an eye on eventually getting published, there will be a lot of days when you don’t feel like writing.

Write anyway.

Maybe you just get a page.  Maybe you just get a paragraph.  By having the discipline to sit down and put thoughts on paper, you will be that much closer to finally completing your manuscript.

I find that even on days when I don’t know where the book is going to go (and even with an outline, there are days like that), once I sit down and start writing, ideas begin to flow.  Not all of the ideas will work.  But some of them will be perfect, and I wouldn’t have gotten those ideas without the discipline of putting butt in chair and cranking through ideas to get the good ones.

Maybe your schedule isn’t giving your the time off for writing you’d envisioned.  That’s OK.  Take stock of the opportunities you do have, and adjust your expectations accordingly.  If you think about what you’re going to write any time you have a moment to daydream, you’ll find that even a half hour or an hour of writing time becomes much more productive.

Don’t give up on making this the year your finish your book.  If you want to do something bad enough, you’ll find enough stolen moments to make it happen.  Persistence leads to publication!

“Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD

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by | February 16, 2012 · 10:10 am

What characters do when you’re not looking

by Gail Z. Martin

One of the fun things about being an author is that you don’t have to wait for the next book in your series to come out to find out what’s going to happen.  (Actually, that’s not entirely true, because things come up when you’re writing that you didn’t foresee.)

Another fun thing is that between books, your characters still hang out in your imagination, kind of like a “green room” for imaginary people.  They never really go away, they just relax a little when they’re off camera. Or maybe it’s like a “wrap party” after the filming for a season of a TV show ends, and the actors all get together to celebrate.

If you want to know the truth of it, it’s kinda like having a noisy Superbowl party going on in the recesses of your mind, except that no one has to vacuum up the potato chip crumbs.

(What, doesn’t everybody experience this phenomena?  All the writers I know report some variation.  Oh, you meant “normal” people…)

Eventually, the characters get over their hangovers and finish up the snacks, and then decide it’s time to go adventuring again.  That’s when they come knocking ever-so-gently at the front of my imagination, saying, “Please, can you write us another story?”

OK, so it’s more like pounding on the door with the pommels of their swords, yelling and screaming, “When do we get another damn book!”  (My imaginary friends aren’t a demure bunch.)

That’s when I find out that while they’ve been swilling ale and chowing down, they’ve actually been discussing their next adventure among themselves, and they’re ready to clue me in on it, since they need my fingers to type.  The ideas start flowing, it turns into a book proposal, and it’s my turn to take it back to my agent and publisher and say, “I think I’ve got the next story arc.”

So if you ever wondered, characters don’t just wander off to the beach or rent a cabin in the mountains in between books.  At least mine don’t.  Probably a good thing, or it might look like that Capital One commercial with the Vikings.

In fact, I think I’m getting a message from them now.  What’s that?  Oh.  Pass the salsa.

“Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD

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by | February 9, 2012 · 10:08 am

Tips for getting your own book written in 2012

by Gail Z. Martin

So you want to write a book?  Congratulations.  Now it’s up to you to bridge the gap between “wanting” and “doing.”

The hardest part of writing a book is making the commitment to set aside the time to do what needs to be done.  That’s not just the writing; it’s also making sure that it’s proof read and as well-edited as possible.  If you decide to go the traditional publishing route, you’ll need to research and pitch your proposal to agents, and once you sign on with an agent, he/she will then pitch your proposal to publishers.  It can be a lengthy process.

If you decide to self-publish, you’ll need to format the book properly, determine things like cover art, and decide whether you’re going to do a paper book print-on-demand or just create an e-book (and handle the conversion, either or both ways).  There will be plenty of research and decisions involved.  And once your book is complete, you’ll need to plan for promotion, even if you have a traditional publisher.  Writing the book is only the beginning!

Still want to do it?  Good.  Here are six things you’ll need to do to make your book a reality this year:

  • Set aside time each week to write, and set a weekly goal of how many pages you want to write.  You may not always reach your goal (or you may even exceed it sometimes), but the goal keeps you on track.  You can always do more, but try not to do less.
  • Start researching now.  Start learning about what agents and editors do, what types of ebook formats are out there, how print-on-demand works and who the major players are.
  • Think about how the book fits into your business, and whether you’re willing to change your business model to take full advantage of the book (for example, adding speaking engagements to your calendar, making time to create and send press releases, write articles, be a guest blogger or pitch yourself as a radio guest.
  • Make connections with other authors and ask plenty of questions to see how they got published, what they would do over, and what they’ve learned the hard way.
  • Consider using a “book shepherd”, someone knowledgeable about the publishing industry who can help you finalize your book, determine your publishing options, and even pitch it to agents if that’s the route you want to go.
  • Take a hard look at the time and effort you’re willing to put into this project, as well as the money you can invest.  The price of book publishing has come way down with print-on-demand and ebooks, but it still requires some investment to hire a book shepherd, get an editor (if you self-publish or need help with the fine points of grammar and punctuation), format your book and create a cover (if you self-publish), and promote your book.

Writing a book is a fantastic step toward achieving your dreams, promoting your business and exploring your creativity.  Make this the year that you make your dream come true!

“Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD

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by | February 2, 2012 · 9:06 am

Welcome to The Dread

by Gail Z. Martin

The Dread, Book Two in The Fallen Kings Cycle, is now available!

The Dread is the conclusion to the struggle for control of the Winter Kingdoms that began in The Sworn.  For those who have read my Chronicles of the Necromancer series, it’s the sixth book following the lives, struggles and adventures of Tris Drayke, Kiara Sharsequin, Jonmarc and Carina Vahanian, and the rest of the crew.

As plague and famine scourge the winter kingdoms, a vast invasion force is mustering from beyond the northern seas. And at its heart, a dark spirit mage wields the blood magic of ancient, vanquished gods.

Summoner-King Martris Drayke must attempt to meet this great threat, gathering an army from a country ravaged by civil war. Neighboring lands reel toward anarchy while plague decimates their leaders. Drayke must seek new allies from among the living – and the dead –- as an untested generation of rulers face their first battle.

Then someone disturbs the legendary Dread as they rest in a millennia-long slumber beneath sacred barrows. Their warrior guardians, the Sworn, know the Dread could be pivotal as a force for great good or evil. But if it’s the latter, could even the Summoner-King’s sorcery prevail?

So is this the last book in the Winter Kingdoms?  No.  But I’m going to step away from these characters for a while and give the survivors a much overdue rest  (the action of the six books takes place over the course of about two years, so they’ve earned it).  Later this year, I’ll tell you more about what comes next, but for now, I’m very excited to share the rest of the story with you and take you along on the dark and dangerous road to save the Winter Kingdoms.

Here are some extra goodies in celebration of The Dread’s launch:

  • “Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD
  • Watch the video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teyvxnIEITg
  • Four excerpts to get you started:
  • Excerpt #1 https://www.4shared.com/document/aypH5jjv/An_excerpt_from_The_Dread_chp_.html
  • Excerpt #2 https://www.4shared.com/document/W7IBgFfL/An_excerpt_from_The_Dread_chp_.html
  • Excerpt #3

https://www.4shared.com/document/E7QlVWJc/An_excerpt_from_The_Dread_chp_.html

  • Excerpt #4

https://www.4shared.com/document/xHN5lNvM/Dread_Excerpt_4.html

  • Order from Amazon through my link at www.TheWinterKingdoms.com and get special bonus downloads from a slew of my author friends!

And I’ll be out and about with The Dread, so catch me here:

  • Reading and signing at SheVaCon in Roanoke, VA Feb. 16 – 18
  • Launch party at Mysticon in Roanoke, VA from 7 – 9 pm in the Con Suite on Feb. 24
  • In-store signing at the Barnes & Noble at Carolina Place Mall, Charlotte NC on Feb. 4
  • In-store signing at Books-A-Million at Concord Mills, Concord, NC on Feb. 11
  • Watch for more in-store signings to come!

I’d love to hear from you—please comment on my blog or on Facebook, and of course, I always really appreciate it when you forward my posts to your friends.

I hope to meet you at a convention or signing this year.  Enjoy!

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by | January 4, 2012 · 7:56 pm

Self Editing

by

Crymsyn Hart

Oh the joys of editing. I’ve been doing that all week. In between all of that I have been self editing a new book that I am preparing to send into a new publisher. The easiet thing or me is writing the book. Self editing is torture, shoving splineters underneath my fingernails, pulling out teeth with a spoon, and other manners of horrible ways to cause a horrible death.

Well it’s not that bad, but sometimes it seems that way.

I’m sure all authors have their certain words that are the bane of their existence. Mine are as, like, hard, and, but. So the first thing I do is scour my manuscript for these words and try to delete as many as I can. I figure if I have at least half of the amount word per pages, then I’m doing good.

The next thing I make sure is all the puncutation and formatting is correct. I work between two laptops, my phone, and my I-pad so it can get kinda crazy. Once that is done, then I work on to the main body of the manuscript. That is always the fun part because after the first draft then you have to refine it. I normally end up deleting about 3-5k words from the first draft that I have. It all depends on the lenght of the book. Everyone has their on system on what they do, but I can only imagine that self-editing is torture of everyone.

Just another perk of being an author.

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by | December 22, 2011 · 5:31 pm

Merry Winterstide to All

by Gail Z. Martin
If you’ve read any of my books, you know holiday celebrations in the differing traditions of the Winter Kingdoms are a big part of the story.  I had a lot of fun with this, but I also thought that readers could gain a lot of insight into characters and kingdoms by seeing how their celebrations differed.

Of course Winterstide is the mid-winter solstice, and in The Blood King, my main characters are in exile in Principality for the holidays.  While they’re guests of the king and invited to celebrate in style, there’s a lot of tension as they remember holidays past with loved ones who are now dead, and wonder whether or not they’ll live to see future holidays.  It’s also natural for the characters to reminisce about the foods and celebrations that they miss from back home, which is especially bittersweet because “home” has changed irrevocably for all of them.

Winterstide crops up again in Dark Haven, a year later.  The world has completely changed for all the characters, and most of them are celebrating in places and in ways they never thought possible just a year before.  Once again, Tris passes both his birthday and Winterstide away from home, this time, besieging a fortress.  Jonmarc discovers that vayash moru bring a whole new perspective on holidays.  But for all of them, Winterstide is a light in the darkness.

Wherever your holidays find you, I hope that there is light in the darkness.

 

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by | December 15, 2011 · 10:30 am

Sci-Fi Takes a Holiday

by Gail Z. Martin

What are your favorite holidays in a Sci-Fi or Fantasy book, movie or show?  I’d love to know!

Some of the ones I remember—Babylon 5 did a great job with the holidays of different planets.  Lord of the Rings certainly had plenty of celebrations.  Independence Day (the movie) put a whole new spin on Independence Day (the holiday).  V for Vendetta (not really sci fi but can we stretch fantasy to include it?) did for Guy Fawkes Day what Independence Day did for July 4.

What am I missing?  What’s your favorite?

If you haven’t read John Scalzi’s blog post about sci fi holiday specials, it’s definitely worth a read.  And yeah, we all watched the Star Wars Holiday Special, don’t try to deny it! https://www.filmcritic.com/features/2011/12/truly-terrible-science-fiction-film-holiday-specials/

Scalzi suggests some not-yet-but-could-be sci-fi holiday specials, but I bet you can think of others.  What would you like to see?

Let’s be right up front here—Christmas does focus on a chubby red alien in a UFO  (yeah, eight tiny reindeer…sure).

Here’s one:  Unification Day Pub Crawl.  This is for all the Browncoats who seem to find themselves in a bar on U-Day.

Ok, by now we’ve all seen Rudolph a gazillion times as well as the Grinch.  So what are your favorite holiday specials or stories?  Bonus points for the unusual and the obscure.

Mine—the book How Murray Saved Christmas by Mike Reiss.

Here’s a link to a list of 16 holiday themed Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories:  https://bryanthomasschmidt.net/2011/12/05/16-holiday-themed-science-fiction-and-fantasy-stories/

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by | December 8, 2011 · 5:29 pm

Twelve Days of Writing Over the Holiday

by Gail Z. Martin

We all love the holidays, but how in the sam hill do you get a book written with a house full of guests and a mouth full of eggnog?

I mean, peace on earth and goodwill toward men is fine and dandy, but publishing is a business, for cryin’ out loud!  We’ve got deadlines, people!

So for all those authors who are juggling their work on the next great American novel with festivities, here are twelve ideas to keep you going:

  • When everyone else goes a’wassailing, stay home and write.
  • Put the kids to bed early on Christmas Eve (use the Santa excuse) and stay up late writing
  • Everyone else will go to bed at 12:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day.  You’ve got at least seven hours of peace and quiet until they get back up.
  • Do your Christmas shopping via the Internet and use the time you aren’t at the mall to catch up on your novel.
  • Skip writing the family Christmas card letter and get another page or two done on your manuscript.
  • Post a holiday blog instead of sending Christmas cards and use the time you would have spent licking envelopes on your manuscript.
  • Ask Santa for an extension on your deadline.
  • Interview Santa for an expose—after all, he knows who’s been naughty or nice.
  • Use rejection letters to kindle a good chestnut-roasting fire.
  • Ask Santa for an iTunes gift card so you can stock up on writing apps for your smart phone.
  • Recognize the role writers have played in our holiday celebrations.  Without advertising copywriters, there wouldn’t be Rudolph (Montgomery Ward) or Santa as we know him (Coca Cola).  Or the ghost of Christmas Past (Dickens).
  • If all else fails, knock back a shot of Christmas spirit and keep on typing!

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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 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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