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.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Books, Casey Daniels

Tagged as , , ,

by | September 10, 2011 · 3:47 pm

Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

While many were in Atlanta, GA for Dragon*Con, I and a few of my team members were in West Virginia.

We left Charlotte around 11am, and stopped in Hillsville, VA about 2 hours
later. Hillsville has a huge Flea Market that lines both sides of the main road
for miles, and basically shuts down the town for the 3-day weekend of shopping.
After a sampling of “fair food” for lunch and a little bit of browsing, we got
back in the car and headed to Moundsville. We got to the West Virginia
Penitentiary around 10:30pm. We could not enter until 11pm.

We went into the “hot spots” of the facility…the “Sugar Shack”, the Hole, the
Cafeteria and Kitchen, the Wheel Gate, Maximum Security, the Infirmary, and the
Psychiatric Ward. Except for the BATS in the hole, it seemed rather quiet.
Nothing has changed, CAPS still has to meet the challenge in dealing with
nature. Unfortunately, we are becoming experts in dodging bats…………lol Photo,
audio, and video results are currently under review.

We left WV Pen a little after 5am. We then headed to Pt Pleasant, WV, which is
the site of the Mothman sighting. It was about a 2 hour drive. We had
reservations at the reportedly haunted, Historic Lowe Inn. We couldn’t get in
until 11am, so we had quite a bit of time to kill. Some of us walked around the
small town, photographed the statue of the Mothman, visited the site of the
memorial where the bridge once stood, and checked out a few of the local shops.
We had arrived just two weeks shy of the big Mothman Festival they have once a
year in September, usually during the middle of the month..

We finally got our room, and were all in the seating area of the Room 316. We
had left the door open, and I saw what appeared to be a girl go past the door.
We had requested two of the “haunted” rooms…312, 314, and 316. We had 316, and
312. That end of the hotel did not disappoint.

We investigated the lobby area first. Then, moved up to the 2nd floor. There
is a parlor with a seating area and a piano. This place was probably one of the
more active areas. We all got a sense of hair standing on end here. The hotel
owner reported the same sensation. We continued our hunt on the second floor,
then moved up to the third. Again, I thought I saw a girl move from left to
right across the hallway. We also checked out the ball room on the 4th floor.
It is now used for storage. There was a creepy Halloween prop there, and if you
didn’t know what it was, it would have surely caused one to jump…..lol We
finished our investigation around 1:30am.

We did meet a few of the other hotel guests. One couple knew of the hauntings
reported there and were glad a paranormal team had the “haunted rooms”. They
had actually asked for those rooms themselves. There was another couple in Room
314, the lady stopped us to tell us that she had been awakened by her bed being
shaken. It unnerved her to the point that she had gotten up to have a
cigarette.

We left the next morning. It rained all the way home and we got stuck in Fancy
Gap, VA in the fog. We arrived in Charlotte just in time for the tornado
warning……

Leave a Comment

Filed under Tina R. McSwain

by | September 7, 2011 · 5:38 pm

Why I do what I do

by Crymsyn Hart

Have you ever sat down and said, yup I know what I am going to do today? Then you get started on it and something comes up. Or the unexpected happens. That was me this morning when I turned my phone on and it wouldn’t turn on. It just kept rebooting. So at this point I start to panic because without my phone I can’t do anything because its my link to the Internet and since I have no home Internet and bounce my computer off the phone as a hot spot the first thing I had to do was get the phone fixed. The Sprint guy looked at the phone and also had no idea what was wrong with it so they fiddled with it and got it back to factory settings, but they ordered me a new phone and told me not to turn off my current one in case it happens again.

After the heart stopping moment of the day, I looked to see if there was any work from the day job and there wasn’t. So I was back on schedule. I could write for the rest of the day and work on the three books that I have going at the moment.

While I was writing, I got a great email from someone who had read one of my books and she said that it had made her cry. But in a good way because she had identified with the characters so much. Reading that made the rest of the frustration of my morning and the day fall away. It’s emails or short acknowledgments like that which help me get through the rough times in my day.

So I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all those readers who acknowledge us authors. You are the reason why I pick up my pen every day or pound away at my keyboard or argue with my characters because they are not cooperating.

Thanks for reading whatever authors or genre you read. We really do appreciate it.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Crymsyn Hart

Tagged as , ,

by | · 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!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Conventions, Fandom, Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as , ,

by | September 2, 2011 · 9:27 am

Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

Dragon*Con

The granddaddy of the Southern Cons has hit Atlanta for the next three days.  Always scheduled for the Labor Day Holiday Weekend, this is one Con you need to attend.

There is a dedicated Paranormal Tract at Dragon*Con, being held at its own hotel and continuing its success from last year.

Following is the link of speakers and programming:

https://paranormal.dragoncon.org/

If you’re into the paranormal and in Atlanta this weekend, this is the place to be to see all of your favorites.  The Sheraton Hotel hosts the Paranormal Tract.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Conventions, Fandom, Tina R. McSwain

Tagged as

by | September 1, 2011 · 10:14 am

Fantasy and Thrill Rides

by Gail Z. Martin

I’ve often said that I focus on making my books entertaining, like a roller coaster.  I want people to get a rush out of the ups and downs and get to the end wanting to do it again.  Maybe that’s because I absolutely love theme parks, amusement parks and fairs.  I love the tinny music, the smell of all that artery-clogging bad-for-you yummy food, and the excitement of wondering what’s around the next bend.

Part of what I love about amusement parks and fairs is way it blocks out the real world.  When you get into the middle of the park, you can’t see anything of the outside world.  You’re in a place that’s separate from your normal life.  While you’re there, the “real” world doesn’t exist.  It’s all one big adventure.  Kinda like a good book.

I also love the total immersion.  All the senses are engaged—sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound.  When you’re in a really well-run park or fair, those senses are expertly manipulated to heighten the experience.  There is so much going on around you that you stop thinking about your to-do list or what’s waiting on your desk at work or what you need at the grocery store and just revel in the moment.  And again, it’s the same way that a good book makes you forget all your troubles or responsibilities for a blissful interlude.

Of course, amusement parks and fairs are always best at night.  When it gets dark, the lights come on, bright and blinding, an artificial aurora, non-stop neon.  At night, everything looks its best because you can’t see the places where the paint needs to be touched up, or the wires or the electric cords.  The fantasy is at its best because it becomes seamless, even a little disorienting.  Suspension of disbelief is complete, and child-like wonder takes over.

Whether it’s Six Flags or Cedar Point or Disney World or Carowinds or just the county fair or local Renaissance festival, that’s probably me you see wandering around looking a little starry-eyed, taking it all in.  It’s the next best thing to a good book!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Books, Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as , ,

by | August 31, 2011 · 8:37 pm

Picking a Publisher

by

Crymsyn Hart

Over the years, I’ve had some really good experiences with different e-publishers and I’ve had some really bad ones. Some have gone under and left me high and dry. Some have stumbled into ambiguity with the higher ups not getting back to me. And then others I would stay with until the world burns up. I’m not going into any specifics, but I am sure that others have had the same experience with e-publishers, but I’m speaking from personal experience.

It’s hard for a first time author to figure out who they should go with. You definitely want to speak with other authors and see who they are with. Check out the Predators and Editors website to see if there are any warnings or notes on a particular publisher. But then again, you can get involved and then something happens and boom there goes the publisher. Obviously, if you hear about a publisher who is not paying royalties you want to avoid them.

But if you find a place where everything looks good, you have talked to authors and things are great, then you gotta go with your gut feeling. Say you find two or three different places where you want to submit a novel and one feels better than the other or you like the cover art better than the other then you follow the publishers guidelines and see what happens. I’ve done that very thing, picked a publisher based on their cover art just because I didn’t find their covers appealing to me. But hey that is just my two sense on how I picked and looked at publishers. I wish any luck trying to pick a publisher because there are so many out there and new ones popping up every day so you have to be careful.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

by | August 28, 2011 · 8:31 pm

Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

Tragedy at Bostian Bridge – One Year Later

As some of you may remember, a young man lost his life one year ago while attempting to see the infamous ghost train of Bostian Bridge.

CAPS takes its responsibility as stewards of the paranormal community very seriously. In that vein, it is our advice and admonishment to any would-be train seekers, to stay home. Norfolk Southern Security as well as Iredell County Sheriff Department officers will be patrolling the tracks and area of the tracks. This is private property belonging to the railroad and YOU WILL BE ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING!!

AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS AN URBAN LEGEND. THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE, THERE IS NO GHOST TRAIN.

The last reported “sighting” was well over 50 years ago (supposedly on the 50 year anniversary of the crash) by a local woman whose story of course cannot be substantiated. This would have been the year 1941.

There have been no sightings since, nor will there ever be. Hundreds of people have come out over the years in an effort to see this supposed phenomena.

THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF ANY ACTIVITY IN ALL THESE YEARS NOR EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS BY ANY OF THE HUNDREDS WHO HAVE MADE THIS USELESS JOURNEY AND STAYED UP ALL NIGHT FOR NAUGHT.

On the 100 Year Anniversary, the site took on a carnival atmosphere, complete with T-shirts! Again, it is only a local legend, much like The Mothman Festival being celebrated in Pt. Pleasant, WV, and nothing more!! Stay safe…stay home, and stay out of jail!!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

by | August 25, 2011 · 10:06 am

You can’t go home again, and neither can your characters.

by Gail Z. Martin

Contrary to Bon Jovi’s experience, most of us find that going home after we’ve left is at best bittersweet and at worst impossible.  That’s true, I’m convinced, because not only are we not the same people who left, but the place we’ve left behind changes while we’re gone.  It’s that whole thing about not stepping into the same river twice.

As I find myself spending more time in my hometown than I have spent since leaving high school (thanks to some family concerns), I got thinking about how many of my characters have had a reason to make a return home under difficult circumstances.

Tris flees his home to avoid being killed, only to find that he must return to face his monster of a brother in order to protect those he loves.

Jonmarc staggers from his village wounded and grief stricken as the sole survivor of a massacre by northern raiders, and returns years later to repel another invasion, this time, as the champion of a queen and at the head of an army.

Kiara leaves her homeland to forge a political alliance and returns to a shattered homeland that looks to her untested abilities to save it.

Cam went back to the home that exiled him and found unexpected strengths and an unknown lurking threat.

Even Kolin finds a mixture of grief and solace returning to what remains of his home, although only ghosts and the undead still inhabit the place where he used to live.

Maybe my subconscious put me on the track of bittersweet homecomings. More than once, I’ve worked through a difficult issue only to look back through my writing and find out that I’d unconsciously put my characters in the same situation in various guises.  It’s happened enough times to make me wary when I find themes in my own stuff, wondering what it means for my real life.

The whole homecoming arc certainly isn’t new; after all, that’s at the heart of The Odyssey.  But it probably resonates more at a mid-point in life more than when you’re younger and bursting from the gate to seek your fortune.  If you can think of other character homecomings in other books, I’m interested to see what you come up with!

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Books, Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as , , ,

by | August 24, 2011 · 1:47 pm

Panster or Plotter?

by Crymsyn Hart

Have you ever had something start off as a funny, passing idea, and then before you know it, that idea has greatly taken over your brain and infected you. I’m sure it happens to everyone even those who are not writers. Something small nitpicks at you until you have to give it some attention. And then when you do, it snowballs and takes over a great portion of your mind as if it is controlling you and not the other way around. That’s what happened to me when I was hanging out with some author friends at Authors After Dark. I had made the offhand comment about writing about the coffin in my dining room. Yes I know. I really do have a coffin in my dining room.

So I introduced him to the world a couple of weeks and he has taken my brain by storm. He calls himself Jerry and wants to be the spotlight of my thoughts. As a character, I honestly never assumed I would be writing about a coffin. But then again that is how character development normally works for me. I never plot out a book. I’m a panster. I write and write and the characters and the plot reveal more of themselves to me as I write.

It can get very frustrating at times. Because I want the characters and the plot to go one way, but oh no. They veer off in a completely other direction and I normally have to catch up. Sometimes, it is a long jog to get back on track. The times I have tried to plot haven’t gone very well. The characters usually end up hating me when I do and rewrites ensue.

So what are you? Do you plot or do you go where the characters take you?
Do you ever find it frustrating when it doesn’t go your way?

Leave a Comment

Filed under Books, Crymsyn Hart

Tagged as ,