by | April 24, 2013 · 3:18 pm

Pluggin’ Away

Sometimes I wonder why I continue writing.

It’s not based on the fact that I want to make money because I’ve gotten past that dream.

Although it is still something I wish to obtain. Quitting my day job of working in the insurance industry would be great because-let’s face it-insurance isn’t all the exciting and I’ve been doing it now for ten years. Regarding writing it’s nice to have the royalties come in and help out paying bills. My sales are fair and hitting a bestseller list would be wonderful, but I’m doing what I can so I muddle along.

I’ve been writing now for sixteen years and eight of those are professionally. I have over seventy books out-novels to novellas and I think that’s a pretty good stack under my belt. I’ve had some wonderful experiences with publishing companies and I’ve had some not so wonderful. All authors have a few war stories. I’ve met some great people and some that make me go hmm…and I’ve made some lifelong friends from it.

There are times I wake up and glance at the computer and groan because it feels like a chore to write.  And others all I want to do is write. Those are the good days. Characters chattering away in my head making me think I’m crazy, but all writers have to argue with the voices in their heads at times to make sense of the noise and sort out the plots. Story lines twist and turn in my brain until I work them out on paper. But the thrilling thing about writing all these years is the stories that come out and appear after all the hard work.  I never assumed that I would have amassed this amount of work. My goal, at least for now, is to get to one hundred published books and then so where I go from there.  But I’m also trying to move from the romance genre and move back into the horror genre where I first started writing or at least mashing it up more.

So I guess the real reason I keep writing is to stay sane and see where the worlds in my head lead. Someday I’m sure I’ll get burnt out completely, but for now I keep on pluggin’

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by | April 18, 2013 · 9:24 am

The View from Outside the YA Fence

by Gail Z. Martin

At book signings, I frequently am asked, “What age reader is your book right for?”

That’s a hard one.  It depends on the reader.   So I ask, “What age is the reader you have in mind?”

Sometimes, the person is concerned that my books might be too adult for a teen or tween.  Sometimes, they’re concerned that my books might be too juvenile for an adult.

How do I answer?  It depends.

I wrote my Chronicles of the Necromancer and Fallen Kings Cycle series for adults, as I did with my new book, Ice Forged.  But frankly, although my mother lived to be 89 years old, I would never have suggested that she read them.  They’d have given her nightmares, and she would have feared for the welfare of my soul.  They were too dark for her.

On the other hand, I’ve got three teenage children.  Each of them was ready for different stuff at different ages.  My oldest daughter had a teacher who decreed, in eighth grade, that she could only read college-level books for class credit.  While that might have been great to challenge her vocabulary, the teacher seemed to have forgotten that many of those college-level books dealt with themes and world views that were over the head of even a very precocious 13 year-old.  We spent that year having a number of “teachable moments”, and still found that there is no way to fully impart understanding to someone who just hasn’t lived long enough to understand certain perspectives. (That teacher remains on my “naughty” list for sheer cluelessness.)

My middle daughter listened in on all those teachable moments, and picked different books that led to different long car discussions.  My son wasn’t interested in reading anything too edgy, although we’ve had those “teachable moment” discussions on video games.

As I head back into stores with Ice Forged, a novel where the adventure begins when the world ends, I’m sure I’ll get more people asking, “Who did you write this for?”

So here’s my personal set of questions that I ask of parents when deciding whether or not my books are right for their teen or tween:

–Has he/she read fantasy books with some detailed battles, scary elements and character deaths? (Like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter?)

–Do they like supernatural elements?

–Are they comfortable with more mature themes like death and betrayal?

–Are they OK with some cursing? (Swear words and vulgarities appropriate to the language style of particular characters.)

As I said in the beginning, I wrote my books for adults, and that’s the target market.  At the same time, I’ve picked up readers age 13 and up who had the maturity and the reading experience to enjoy the books.  I get letters from readers of all ages who loved the books and the characters. Did my youngest readers pick up on everything I put in the books?  Maybe not (but then again, there were probably some adult readers who missed things, too).  What matters is that they had a good roller coaster ride of an experience and hopefully left still hungry for more of the genre.

Likewise, well-written YA books rightfully attract large adult readers because they have depth and yet retain their sense of wonder.  I’m a big fan of Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson books and other books that I read right along with my kids and loved.   And I’ve also questioned and challenged the unrelenting darkness of some YA (and adult) books, because I don’t believe that being “real” is the same as being depressed, cynical and bitter.

So that’s my two-cents.  Personally, I think that categories like “YA” are arbitrary designations used mostly to help booksellers and libraries determine where to shelve books.  I know that when I was a teen, long before the “YA” designation, I was chomping through some books that would have turned my mom’s hair white had she but known.  At the same time, there were a few books I picked up and put back down again because I found them to be too much.  (I’ll admit that it was probably a mistake to read “Deliverance” when I was 10.)

Ultimately, we find those boundaries for ourselves.  We delight in sneaking a peek at the “forbidden” books that mom thinks are too much for us (but that we’re actually ready for), and hate some of the books our teachers think are developmental but are just plain despondent.  But that’s part of the joy of reading, as we discover uncharted territory and find what speaks to us.

So don’t get too tangled up with categories.  Read the books that speak to you, regardless of genre.  Don’t worry what other people think about what someone “your age” should be reading.  Read what you love, and don’t let people pressure you into reading books that detract from your love of reading.  At the same time, stretch yourself occasionally to read something uncomfortable, even upsetting, if the story is worthwhile.  A good book can change your life.

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

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by | April 15, 2013 · 9:51 am

Q&A With Toni V. Sweeney

By Toni V Sweeney

1.     What is the title of your newest book or short story? What’s it about?  Where can readers find it?
I’ve two novels coming out this month from Class ACT BOOKS….YAHOO! DOUBLE FEATURE!

One is a little fantasy called That Demon in Blue Jeans. It’s about a girl who asks the Devil to send her a “Bad Boy” and what happens when he does. It’s being re-issued by Class Act Books on April 15.  The original was a short story. This one is re-edited, re-furbished, and a much longer version.

The other is another entry in the Lovers of Leonesse series called The Seventh Mothman. It’s a bit of steampunk,  rolled up in a romance, about a group of soldiers who use flying machines to fight, a girl disguised as a boy who infiltrates their ranks, and the mix-ups that causes.

2. How did you choose to become a writer?

I didn’t “choose” to be a writer, I was born one.  I just had to recognize that fact and do something with it.

3. What’s your favorite part of writing a new book or story?  What do you like the least?

I like to get a story going with a good beginning, catch the reader with the first line, if possible…something that’s make him blink, say, “I’ve got to find out more,” and keep on reading.

There are always some parts I have trouble writing.  I really hate death scenes or scenes where someone leaves someone else.  Once I took the coward’s way out and had someone die between one chapter and the next and had the characters simply say he’d died.

4. What inspired your new book or story?

That Demon in Blue Jeans was inspired by the 1980’s country/Western song “Somebody’s knockin’ sung by Terri Gibbs…about a young woman who answers a knock at the door and finds a blue-eyed, blue jean-wearing devil there.  I took it from that point and showed just what happened to her and the blue-eyed devil.  It was a fun story to write.

The Seventh Mothman had a very odd origin, though I suppose all books have odd origins if you think about it.  I wanted to write another in the Leonesse series but was stalled as to what it would be.  I’d heard about the”Mothman” legend and was intrigued by that word but I didn’t want a paranormal story, so I got to thinking of what else a moth man could be and I came up with someone who flew a plane in a time when airplanes weren’t exactly common vehicles.

5. How do you research your stories? 

No matter era I’m writing or even if it’s a fantasy set on another world, there’s always some research to be done. I do a lot of delving into lives and history to be as accurate as possible, whether it’s a certain gemstone that’s supposed to aid memory or whether or not a man in 1812 would be smoking a cigarette he’d just lit with a match. A lot of the names and “foreign” words I use are actually the original forms of words and names we use today.

6. Where can readers find you on social media? (Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Library Thing, Redd It, etc.)

URL: https://www.tonivsweeney.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/tvsweeney

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Adventures-of-Sinbad/248540951861742

 

AMAZON CENTRAL: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

MYSPACE: https://www.myspace.com/tvsweeney

TWITTER: @tonivsweeney

 

7. Who are your favorite fictional characters—your own, and from other books, TV shows and movies?

Mine:  Sinbad (The Adventures of Sinbad) and Aric kan Ingan (The kan Ingan Archives)

Other books:  Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files); Eve Dallas and Roarke (The In Death series)

TV:  Richard Castle  (Castle)

8. What do you read for fun?

I like Regency romances, mysteries, and paranormal novels.

9. Was there a book you read in your childhood or teen years that changed your world? Tell us which book and how it made a difference for you.

When I was seven, my mother got me a library card and I’ve been a first class patron ever since.  With the advent of ebooks, I’ve now read so many novels, etc., it’d be impossible for me to select just one.

10. What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

If you’ve been wanting to write a novel…do it!  Get it out of your head and into the computer or on paper or somewhere tangible. If you don’t have a computer or a typewriter, write it in long hand, but get it written, and take it from there.

The Renaissance…Romance…and a Bit of  Steampunk…

THE SEVENTH MOTHMAN, The second offering in the LOVERS OF LEONESSE series…available soon from Class Act Books.

When Andre duCleau’s Will leaves his entire estate to his runaway son, François, daughter Antoinette is forced to make a drastic choice:  Find her brother or live in poverty.   She chooses the later and travels to Leonesse disguised as a young nobleman.  Antoinette doesn’t find François, but she does find a home with the city’s flying squadron, the Mothmen.

Once the guardians of Leonesse, these brash young men took to the air in flying machines created by King Georges’ Venitani inventor, but now, they and their brave deeds have been almost forgotten…until war again arises.

Secure in her disguise, Antoinette is ready to fight…until her feelings for Etienne, a fellow flyer, get in the way.  What will happen if Etienne and the others discover her secret?  Will they denounce her or will they accept as The Seventh Mothman?

“There is humor, suspense, love, romance, and a strong array of characters.”

–Linda Tonis, Parasnormal Romance Guild reviewer.

 

 

That Demon in Blue Jeans, available soon from Class Act Books.

Kate Carter has always considered herself a good girl, but she’s also a very lonely one because of that fact.  One night, she does something rash…she asks the Devil to send her his baddest Bad Boy, all for her own.

What Kate gets however is Zel, an underachieving incubus, who’s in line for evaluation.  Zek’s failed every review he’s had for the last ten thousand years, and Kate’s his last hope for promotion.  This assignment is one he’s desperate to pass.

What follows is a night of passion neither mortal nor demon can forget and that leads to complications…as Kate and Zel realize they’ve fallen in love…and that the Devil had plans for both of them…

“Fantasy or not, a good story is a good story and Demon in Blue Jeans is that in triplicate. If the chill of loneliness prevails and a spicy romance is desired, then Toni V. Sweeney has just what you need with Demon in Blue Jeans.”

–C.B. Smith, author of Still Life with Psychotic Squirrel and Diary of a Teenage Faërie Princess.

“…suspend your belief and get carried away with a total fantasy. And Toni V. Sweeney definitely delivers with Demon in Blue Jeans.”

 

–Margaret Marr. Nights and Weekends

 

 

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by | April 11, 2013 · 9:23 am

Facebook Fandom: Social Media, Authors and Readers

by Gail Z. Martin

Not so very long ago, if you wanted to let an author know how much you enjoyed his/her book, you had to write a letter and mail it to the author in care of his/her publisher, hoping that the author would eventually receive it.  You didn’t really expect to hear back, but if a postcard with a few scribbled lines did come your way, it was a rare treasure worthy of framing.

Back in the day, if you were lucky enough to live near a big city, authors might come to a book signing at a local store.  You’d only know about the signing if you read about it in the newspaper, saw a sign in the store window or happened to be on the store’s mailing list, but if you did find out in time, you might have a few seconds to talk to the author while he/she signed your book.  No one expected more, unless you were a regular at genre conventions, a pastime limited to a very small sub-set of die-hard fans in major cities.

How times have changed!  Today, every author who is at all serious about the craft has a web site, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, an Amazon author page, a blog, often a podcast, and a presence on sites like Shelfari and Goodreads.  Authors also have email newsletters, video trailers on YouTube, downloadable excerpts and bonus material, even avatars in Second Life that hold virtual readings for an audience of virtual people.

As I’ve gotten ready for the launch of my new book, Ice Forged, I’ve taken nearly all of those components into consideration, making sure that I’m accessible to readers through a variety of channels, and assuring that readers can sample the book in as many places as possible.

What changed, besides technology?  The short answer is: everything.

Digital publishing, print-on-demand and ebooks made it possible the democratization of publishing.  Social media meant that anyone with a computer and an Internet connection could have a global reach greater than many cable TV networks.  Amazon and other online booksellers made books available to a world-wide audience, and ebooks eliminated the costly issues of advance printings, warehousing and distribution.

The number of new books climbed to approximately one million (counting all forms of publishing) in 2010 by one estimate.  How do readers find the next book to read amid all the titles competing for their attention?

Relationships.

Social media enables authors to create relationships with readers that last beyond a casual comment at a signing or a fan letter.  Watch a video, and you have an idea of the book that goes beyond the blurb on the back cover.  Read the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, and you can get a sense for what a cross-section of readers think.  Participate in the forums and community of sites like Goodreads, and you build relationships with other readers while also getting to have a real, ongoing conversation with the authors who are active on those sites.  Read an author’s blog, and not only do you have continuity between book releases, but you also get some insight into the person who creates the works you enjoy, along with the way to comment.  Stay tuned to the author’s Facebook page, Twitter feed and web site, and you no longer have to depend on the book store or news media to keep you informed about new books and appearances.

Social media has transformed what were once two solitary and disconnected activities: writing and reading.  Sure, you could discuss books with your friends, or with a book club, but even the old-fashioned online bulletin boards don’t compare with the quantity of discussion opportunities available through communities like Goodreads, LibraryThing and ReddIt.  Authors who couldn’t afford to do a national tour once had few options for engaging with readers outside of their local area.  Now, authors Skype into book club meetings on the other side of the world to make a personal appearance, upload readings to iTunes and add video greetings to their web sites.

All this technology has also opened up new opportunities for writer and readers.  Some authors have experimented with crowd-sourcing books, where creative collaboration is part of the fun.  Other authors “test drive” ideas and scenes with their Facebook followers.  Certainly it’s become not only possible, but desirable for authors to post short stories, deleted scenes, bonus material and out-of-print books, as well as new books on a schedule that fits the needs of the author/reader, outside of the timetable of publishers.

Comments and forum boards mean that readers can get beyond the opinions of professional reviewers and see what other readers think, add their two-cents, and commune with like-minded others.  Authors can encourage each other, support each other’s launches, share resources, and collaborate, or just stay in touch between conventions.

Personally, I think it’s great—and I hope that you’ll find me and friend me so that we can begin a conversation that becomes a relationship!

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

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by | April 4, 2013 · 9:22 am

A Method to the Madness

by Gail Z. Martin

Anne asked me to write about my process for writing.

Which made me stop and think: Do I have a process?  And if I do, can I explain it?

Here’s where I wish I could launch into a detailed explanation of my very cool, very “literary” (you have to say that word with a bit of a British accent and separate the syllables so it sounds very upper crust) process of wandering through the woods, listening to classical music and reading philosophy.

Ah, yes.  Ahem.  Except that I don’t really work that way.

Well, sometimes I listen to classical music.

The reality goes more like this.  I get an idea.  I noodle on the idea while I walk the dogs and do the dishes and drive in traffic.  The idea expands.  I write an outline, which tends to make my agent and editor very happy.

I noodle on the outline and revise it. I start writing, and visualize the scene, so when I’m typing, I’m just transcribing the “movie” I see on the inside of my eyelids.  I keep on going this way, asking, “and then what?” and typing away, often with a glazed look on my face.  Family members complain that they can walk in front of me, speak to me, wave their hands and jump up and down and I don’t notice.  (This used to freak out my college roommates.)

This is especially true when I’m working on something new, like my new book Ice Forged, the first book in a brand new series.  It took a lot of noodling to get to the point where I was clear on where I was going in a whole new world!

I start out each day reading what I wrote the day before and making minor tweaks. I ignore the outline until I get stuck.  Then I dig it out and noodle on it some more.  I print out the first hundred or so pages and read over them, which usually gets me unstuck.  Every couple hundred pages, I’ll read from start to end point, which generates ideas, identifies continuity errors and reassures me that the project is actually turning out well.

Once I reach the end of the first draft, I’ll print it, read it, and mark it up.  Then I give it to my husband, who goes over it again and marks it up some more.  Next, I’ll sit down at the computer and make all the changes, then print it out again and start the reading/mark-up process.  We’ll do this seven or eight times.

Then I’ll turn it in, my editor will read it over and mark it up, and send it back.  I’ll revise.  Then the copy editor will do the same thing.  And I’ll revise.  Finished!

Every writer I talk to has a different process.  Some write in absolute silence, while others need to be in the middle of a busy coffee shop to focus.  Some never read anything they’ve written until the end, others second-guess themselves at nearly every paragraph.  Some writers share their work-in-progress with a writing group or their beta readers.  And judging by the acknowledgements in the front of many books, some writers consult a huge team of experts, researchers and supporters in the process of birthing their book.

So how do YOU write?  There’s no right or wrong—it’s whatever works for you and produces a good outcome.  Does your writing process make you happy, or increase your stress?  Does it improve your productivity or slow you down?  The good news is, if your writing process isn’t working for you, there are lots of other processes you can try on for size until you find the combination that is perfect for you.

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

 

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by | March 28, 2013 · 9:19 am

5 Things I’ve Learned from Book Signings

by Gail Z. Martin

As you read this, I’m making appearances in a lot of book stores and conventions for the launch of my new book, Ice Forged.  I like doing signings and readings, because they’re a nice change from the very quiet, deep-in-my-own-thoughts reality of writing.

Since signings are public appearances, they’re unpredictable.  You never know what’s going to happen.  Once, my signing got cut short because the mall was closing due to a large snowstorm (this is unusual in North Carolina).  Another time, when my table was located just inside the doors of a bookstore located next to the food court of a mall, a small child threw up right next to the poster announcing my signing, which started things off on a questionable note and also blocked the entrance to the bookstore for a while. (I can attest that she hadn’t read my book, so it wasn’t a comment on my writing.)

So in no particular order of significance, here are five things I’ve learned from book signings.

1.  Unless you’ve got your own TV show, most of the people who come into the store won’t be coming just to see you.  Sad but true.  Which means you’ve got to win them over one at a time and interest them in coming to see what you’ve got to offer.  This is why I like to be at the front of the store, where I can greet people and offer them a bookmark, then introduce myself and give them a friendly pitch.  It’s not for the faint of heart—many people aren’t interested, don’t like fantasy, came looking for something else, etc. But you can’t let that get you down, and you’ve got to greet the next person with as much energy and optimism as you did the very first one.

2.  Too many people go through life in so much of a hurry that they miss out on everything around them.  I can’t count the number of people who can’t be bothered to slow down long enough to know what I’m even saying when I greet them.  I might be offering them a million dollars, but they’re in too much of a hurry to find out.  What can possibly be that urgent in a bookstore that isn’t on fire?  Some just pretend they didn’t hear me.  Others mutter, “no thank you” like I was going to spritz them with perfume.  Some even hold up a hand like I’m going to ask them for money.  This makes me sad—not because they’re not going to buy my book, but because I can guess how much of life they are missing in their hurry.  This also goes for the people so attached to their cell phones that I couldn’t have gotten their attention even if I’d waved that million dollars in their faces.

3.  Always know where the bathroom is, because a percentage of people assume you work for the store and will ask you.  I can be standing next to two huge banners with my name and book covers, next to a table covered with my books, handing out bookmarks and introducing myself as “the author who is doing the signing here today” and about 10% of people will still ask where the bathroom is, or where the children’s books are, or something.

4.  People who work in bookstores are usually really nice.  If there’s a lull in the traffic, I always try to talk to the bookstore staff.  If it’s a rainy day and the mall is quiet, I especially talk to the staff.  They usually work in bookstores because they love books.  Many of them want to be writers. They also know a lot about what readers want, and I can learn a lot from them.  Plus it’s just plain fun to talk to people who love to read.  And, never forget—many people ask booksellers for recommendations.  They’re most likely to recommend your book if you’ve been a polite guest in their store.

5.  Relax and have fun.  If you get too focused on how many books you’ve sold, you stop having fun.  I don’t count.  I just greet everyone who comes my way and try to engage them, get them to smile, and have a personal point of contact for a moment or two.  I’ve met some of the nicest people, had fun conversations, and made some long-time friends.  And I find that when I focus on just being friendly and meeting people, the time flies by, the books fly off the table, and I’m not nearly as tired when I go home because I’ve been having fun.

So the next time you’re at a signing—or you see an author who is doing a signing—smile, relax, and strike up a conversation.  A good chat about books is a wonderful part of any day!

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

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by | March 25, 2013 · 8:49 am

Titles

by Jaleta Clegg

Titles are very important to writers. They are what grab attention and coax readers into opening the cover. My favorite title comes from a science fiction novel by Julie Czerneda – A Thousand Words for Stranger (https://www.czerneda.com/sf/thousand.html). My imagination went wild. I had to read that book. I’m glad I did. It’s a great story.

I hate finding a title. Sometimes it takes almost as much time and effort as writing the book. Titles need to capture the essence of the story, and still be pithy, short, and memorable. It’s an art form I struggle to implement.

I usually leave the title to last. I’ll come up with a working title, something I hate, and use that until I have time to figure out something better. Which may or may not happen.

My first novel was originally titled “Dace”, short and sweet and captures the book. Except it didn’t capture audiences. A good friend of mine, who’s also an author, pointed out that my title said everything to me, but nothing to anyone who hadn’t read the book. So I tossed the title and dug deeper, coming up with Nexus Point. A nexus is a point of origin or a zero point. It’s the place where something starts. I thought it was a great title for the first book in a series. The events of that book set in motion the rest of the series. It worked, mostly, because I landed a publisher. One reader commented that she didn’t understand the title. And there are three science fiction books with the same title that came out in the same decade. It’s not unique enough.

Book two was a little easier. Priestess of the Eggstone. Simple, easy, sums up the book. Except most people think it’s Princess of the Eggstone. Close enough. Googling eggstone still finds the book. No one else has used the title.

Book three, the one releasing mid-April, had a working title I despised. I couldn’t find anything better, though. I knew the release was coming so I turned to my internet friends. They came up with some great suggestions, but since most of them had never read the book, the titles didn’t fit. I spent several days digging through ideas, looking for that perfect title. And then it hit me, why not use a chess strategy? The book references the situation as a game with very high stakes. Queen’s Gambit has been overused as a title, though. It didn’t quite fit the story. I dug deeper. And then I found the perfect strategy.

Poisoned Pawn.

It’s obscure and unless you’re a chess buff, you probably have never heard of it. But the title still works for those who have no clue it’s a chess move. Dace, the main character, is a pawn, set out as bait and seemingly unprotected. The bad guys should find her irresistable. But she’s poison, taking her will cause them all sorts of grief. The name suggests a story with intrigue and danger and someone being used. It only took me six years to find the perfect title for the book.

Do you struggle coming up with titles for your work? What titles have grabbed you and never let go?

For those who’ve been nice enough to read this whole post, I’m offering a free ebook of Nexus Point. Just go here https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10672 and enter the code: AA47G (expires 5/31/13)

Links to all three books, in print and ebook, can be found at www.altairanempire.com

 

 

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by | March 21, 2013 · 9:18 am

What I’ve Learned the Hard Way About Book Marketing

by Gail Z. Martin

My first book, The Summoner, was also the launch title for a brand new fiction imprint, Solaris Books, a UK-based publisher that was a subsidiary of Warhammer giant Games Workshop.  No one had heard of Solaris Books, or me, but we launched into the wild blue together.

Since I live in the States and the Solaris folks were in England, I knew we were going to face some marketing challenges.  The books were going to have worldwide distribution, and I wanted us to also have worldwide visibility.  Did I mention that the official marketing budget was pretty well non-existent?

That’s when I discovered Important Thing #1 about book marketing:  Even when you’ve got a traditional publisher, most of the marketing mojo comes from the author.

Fortunately, my MBA and more than 20 years of business experience was in marketing, and I vowed to put everything I knew behind the book, because it was my lifelong dream.  That meant sinking my advance money into marketing expenses.  It paid for a web site, bookmarks, travel costs to genre conventions, posters and banners, and postage for review copies.  I compiled lists of reviewers and bloggers, spent countless hours emailing and mailing, and gradually pulled it all together.

Back in 2007, social media was still pretty new, but it was free and it was global, so that was good enough for me.  I got out onto MySpace (and then Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all the rest as they emerged) and found that the real key to letting the world know about a new book was making relationships one reader at a time.  Social media was perfect for building reader relationships.

It worked.  We sold 50,000 copies of The Summoner in short order and went back to reprint.  The Blood King came out, and did equally well.  I ventured into podcasting, blogging, and more social media.  Books kept selling.

And a curious thing happened.  Other authors—even publishers—started to ask what I was doing, because it was working.  And I was invited to write a new non-fiction series about social media, beginning with 30 Days to Social Media Success, and a new series on book marketing, beginning with The Thrifty Author’s Guide to Launching Your Book Without Losing Your Mind.

The marketing plan I create for my books and the time and energy I spend promoting them was a factor in my being picked up by Orbit Books for the most recent four books.  That marketing plan continues to play a big role in my new Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, with the launch of Ice Forged in January 2013.  I work very closely with the folks at Orbit to make sure we’re all working hand-in-glove to get the word out.  To date, it’s helped me sell about 400,000 books worldwide, and I’m hoping it will help me sell even more in the future.

So what did I learn the hard way? (Besides everything?)  Here are my top take-aways:

1.  A good book is no good if no one ever hears about it.  The hard work is just beginning once the book is written.

2.  Today’s writers can’t afford to be hermits if they want to be successful (i.e. sell enough books to be invited back to write new ones).  You’ve got to get out and make friends with as many readers as you can.

3.  Social media enables you to create personal connections with readers all over the world.  But you have to be interesting, personal and consistent.

4.  Writers don’t have the luxury of being tech phobic about online marketing any more than they can be tech phobic about using a computer to write their books.  If you’re smart enough to write a book, you can figure out Facebook.

5.  Relax and enjoy the marketing—it’s really about making yourself available to meet people who love books.  Readers love to learn about a good book.  Marketing feels more authentic—and is a lot more fun and less work—when you approach it as one reader sharing a book suggestion with other readers.

If you enjoy writing—and I’m assuming you do, if you want to write books—then take the plunge and realize that marketing your book is just another form of writing.  And if you love your book (and I hope you do, since you’ve just spent a year or so birthing it), then talking about something you love should come easily and naturally.

There are readers in this world who need your book!  Get out there and let them know the book they’ve been waiting for is now available!

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Gail is also the author of six marketing books: 30 Days to Social Media Success, 30 Days to Online PR and Marketing Success, and 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success (the 30 Days Results Guide series) along with Launching Your Book Without Losing Your Mind, Selling and Promoting Your Book Online and Social Media and Virtual Apps for Authors (The Thrifty Author’s Guide series).  You can find Gail’s books in bookstores and online worldwide.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

 

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by | March 14, 2013 · 9:17 am

The Day After the End of the World

by Gail Z. Martin

What happens on the day after the world ends?

As in most apocalyptic scenarios, the “end of the world” doesn’t necessarily mean the planet has been blown into smithereens.  More likely, something has radically altered the climate, destroyed the power and communication grids, and sent governments careening into anarchy.  Whatever the cataclysm, it’s likely that large numbers of people are dead, medicine and medical facilities are scarce or non-existent, and social roles have completely broken down.  Transportation is dangerous or not possible.  Survivors are on their own to figure out how to get by.

In my new novel, Ice Forged, my characters face a post-apocalyptic medieval world where war has not only devastated the physical landscape and destroyed the social structure, it has made magic unusable.  That’s bad news for a culture that depended on magic in much the same way our culture relies on technology.

I’m fascinated by the people left alive to clean up the mess.  How do they pick up the pieces and go on? What decisions do they make regarding how to protect themselves, how to find food and shelter, and how to band together for support?  What elements of the culture do they try to preserve, and which do they allow to die?  What becomes of a culture’s art, religion and collected knowledge?

As I’ve worked through these questions in Ice Forged (and the manuscript for its sequel), it’s been an interesting journey to strip civilization down to its most basic essentials and then put myself in the boots of the survivors to determine what gets rebuilt—and what is allowed to remain rubbish.

When you’re free to re-make yourself once the strictures of class, family history and social convention are removed, who would you choose to be?  And if the only thing that matters if your ability to survive and protect your friends, would your past mistakes (or criminal record) still haunt you?

These questions are especially significant for my Ice Forged main characters, who have been exiled to a prison colony in the far north.  When Blaine McFadden, exiled for murder, comes to realize that he might be the only one who can put magic right again, he faces a series of decisions that go to the core of his being.  I’ve enjoyed putting him to that test, and finding out what drives my characters, what matters to them when they’ve lost everything, what keeps them moving forward.

You learn a lot about someone when you go through the apocalypse together.  And you learn even more when you have to decide what kind of civilization you’ll rebuild.  I hope you’ll join me for the adventure!

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

 

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by | March 7, 2013 · 9:16 am

Women and the Apocalypse

by Gail Z. Martin

In my new novel Ice Forged, a medieval post-apocalyptic story, I find that women of every circumstance play a very important role in what happens after the world “ends.”

Blaine McFadden, my main character, sacrifices his title, lands and fortune to protect his sister and aunt from Blaine’s abusive father.  He’s sent to a prison colony in the arctic, There, he meets women from every class and circumstance whose ill fortune caused them to be exiled.  One of those fellow prisoners, Kestel Falke, is a courtesan, spy and assassin who becomes part of Blaine’s inner circle.  Among the prisoners who have survived long enough to become colonists, the women are shopkeepers and merchants, trades people and seers, farmers and trollops.  They play an important role in the economy of the self-sufficient colony, and emerge among the leaders when a devastating war cuts the colony off from the supplies and oversight provided by the kingdom.

Regardless of their previous social class or the circumstances that caused their imprisonment, the older women colonists emerge as the “wise women”, an important force in the social cohesion of the colony.  Far from the land of their birth, torn from their families and loved ones, these “wise women” preside over the births, marriages and deaths, and keep the customs and culture of their homeland alive through the celebration of religious and seasonal holidays.  The magics of vision, foresight and prophecy seem to fall more often on women than men, giving women with these gifts status and standing among their fellow colonists.

When war destroys the kingdom that exiled Blaine and his fellow colonists, the after-effects of war fall especially heavy on the women who survive the devastation.  With a generation of men lost to the battlefront, and many of the surviving men either too old, too young or too injured from the war, it falls to the women to piece together a subsistence living from the wreckage, harvest and plant the crops, gather the scattered livestock, and patch up their damaged dwellings.  Since the Cataclysm also destroyed the kingdoms’ trading partners, the survivors are on their own for the necessities of life.  And since magic was one of the casualties of war, those who survived the conflict must shoulder the burden of rebuilding without magical help.

Blaine’s Aunt Judith, his sister Mari and his former fiancé, Carensa, each find a different path to survive in the harsh new reality.  Without the strictures and conventions of class and in the midst of a society torn asunder, they have the opportunity to make decisions for themselves and step into leadership roles in ways that would not have been possible under old norms.

I found it very interesting to think about the tension that the power vacuum creates after the apocalypse. Some of the women survivors will seize the moment to assume roles for which they are qualified but which social pressures would have denied them before the breakdown of society.  Others will attempt to regain a sense of control and normalcy by attempting to replace familiar cultural, social and family roles and take consolation in the familiar.

I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know the women of the apocalypse in Ice Forged and as I work on the sequel.  And I’m looking forward to seeing more of them as future stories come together.  I hope you’ll join me for the adventure.

Gail Z. Martin’s newest book, Ice Forged: Book One in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), launched in January 2013.  Gail is also the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris Books) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (Orbit Books).  For more about Gail’s books and short stories, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com. Be sure to “like” Gail’s Winter Kingdoms Facebook page, follow her on Twitter @GailZMartin, and join her for frequent discussions on Goodreads.

Read an excerpt from Ice Forged here: https://a.pgtb.me/JvGzTt

 

 

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