Redbox and More

My fiance and I both love to watch movies. Procuring them has been an issue for us as we don't (yet) have Netflix and all the Blockbusters have been driven out of the area. (As well as Family Video, Video Works... etc.)

I've seen these giant red boxes outside the Giant Eagle's we frequent for groceries. I knew they had something to do with movie rentals, but I never really paid them much attention. Well, we went out for a late night run and they finally made it into my "immediate" radar. I went to check it out and imagine my lack of surprise that they're called "Redbox".

The idea is that you can rent a movie for a day, for a dollar (1.07 with tax). It's due the next day by 9pm or the credit card (that you swipe) is charged an additional (1.07) for another day's rent. After 25 days, if you haven't returned it, it's yours! Congratulations you paid $25 ($26.75) for that movie. You can also rent blu-ray discs but those are 1.50 (1.60). They can be returned at ANY Redbox location, which is great because we don't always shop in the same city in which we live.

Our foray into this new technology was Life as We Know It. For those not in the know, this is in the Romantic Comedy category. We wanted something a little lovey and overall FUN. This is important. Please remember we wanted FUN.

After we were forced to watch 15 minutes of previews that we could not skip in any form, we were treated to a 10-minute public service announcement.

About dogs.

That are murdered in shelters every year in L.A. (almost 57,000 last year). For TEN MINUTES images of abused, sad, dead-man-walking and euthanasia statistics, coupled with sadly dramatic music flooded our room, our life, our conscious.

It was enough to make me NEVER want to use Redbox again. I don't mind PSAs. I especially don't mind PSAs I can skip. When I'm looking for a romantic comedy time, I don't want to watch a 10-minute death-a-thon. It really turned me off from the whole Redbox experience.

The next day, my fiance convinced me to give Redbox a second try and I got to pick the movie - so I picked one I think (as a woman) I had to watch - Eat, Pray, Love. It was loooong, but decent. I'm not going to critique the movie - but rather the experience. For some inexplicable reason there were only three previews and they were quick. The movie title screen came up almost immediately.

We then tried a Blu-ray experience, Clash of the Titans. We could not skip the previews, but we could fast-forward through them, and there weren't many. Also no PSA on this one.

So, I don't know what was up with that first one, but it almost lost Redbox a customer. There's an important lesson in there! But I'll let you discover it yourself.

Onto the "and More" section...

I went to Barnes and Noble two days ago, just wandering around after dinner with my fiance. I used to have a book (that I can't find anymore) called The Golden Key. It was written by three authors: Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson and Kate Elliott.

I knew Elliott from her Crown of Stars series, an epic 7-novel adventure of which each book is a brick. A brick I usually read within a day, if left to my own devices! I was actually looking for more of Elliott's work (waiting for the next Crown of Stars book) when I stumbled upon The Golden Key.

I discovered Melanie Rawn from that book, and have loved every single book of hers I have ever read! Now if only she'd finish a series...

Jennifer Roberson was a unique find from the Golden Key. When I was around 13 years old, I read a book about a race of shapechangers (that is the actual cover from the book I read! Haha, memories...) The problem with that series was that I never discovered anything past book 1... my stepfather only had the first one and wasn't interested in the rest of the series.

Lucky for me I read The Golden Key and went looking for MORE of HER WORK
. (One more!)

Yes, I own all four of those omnibuses (omnibusi?). LOVED THEM. Not as good on the re-read, but still fun. I also made easy reading of her Tiger and Del series.

Fun how one author can be a link to many? There's a lesson here, too. I won't make you search for it - I'll just tell you what I think :)

As authors, we share readers. Someone who likes us may also like our friends' work. The problem is letting those readers know we have this friend in a similar genre that we suggest. How do you go about telling your readers they should check out someone else's work? How do you get recommended by a friend? I really don't care for social media. I'm not good at Twitter (honestly, it's watered-down Facebook for me, and I already have enough problems with creepers on there :P) I'm trying to drum up some interest with the TrAuSt Tour, because I want to get my works in reader's hands. Sigh. Sometimes I feel like I'm eating my own tail, or the good ol' Catch 22...

Whoops, anyway, back to the original thought - I was in Barnes and Noble and I was looking for The Golden Key. The man at the desk was forced to go to the internet to search for it, as he didn't know it. Imagine my shock when he informed me they stopped printing it in Nineteen Ninety-Six. He very firmly scolded me that there was no possible way (on the planet!) he could procure me a copy of that book.

Well.

I'll tell you my first thought, "I'm going to see if I can buy it for my Kindle!" And I can :)

Anyway, this Wednesday we'll have a big name coming 'round: Derek J. Canyon! He's done some very interesting research on advertising for e-books and has become quite popular in his genre! He was the lead on the Twelve Worlds Anthology I've been spouting off about. I'm very excited to have him stop by, and hope you look forward to it!!

TrAuSt Tour #4: Kevin McLaughlin

Weblings! It's time for another TrAuSt post, and today we have the privilege of Kevin McLaughlin gracing our page. He's written a very positive and uplifting post, which is fantastic because I like to keep my space as good karma as I can ;)

Please give it a read, and leave any questions or comments for Kevin in the comments below!


Dream a New Dream
by Kevin McLaughlin


A lot of people talk about fear when they discuss self publishing in this era of writing digital books. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of making a fool of yourself. Fear of ruining your chance at a “real” writing career. A number of people have discussed fear as one of the main barriers to writers making the jump to self publishing.

I'm not here to talk about fear today. I'm actually here to talk about hope.

You see, I think that there's another barrier, one which doesn't get as much press time, and that's the hopes and dreams writers have internalized over their lives. I'll use myself as an example. When I was six, seven, eight years old I used to fall asleep listening to my mother tack-tack-tack away on her electric typewriter. She'd work on a novel while playing a tape of Masada, Conan the Barbarian, or others of her favorites. She talked to me about writing, gave me my first typewriter (her old manual from college), and encouraged me to write. I was hooked.

So off and on over the years, I tried to get my work published. Had a few bits in print here and there. Never was able to join SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America), though, which at seven seemed to be what “real” writers got to do. A bit of that seven year old's daydream still lingers.

I think a lot of us have dreams like that. We've been raised to understand what “success” means for an author. Write a book. Have it published. Go on book tours. Sign books for fans. Write more books, maybe break onto the NYT bestseller list. For the last decade or so, add “get an agent” to the list. I hang out on writers' groups where getting an agent is awarded the acclaim and congratulations that once was reserved for signing a book contract with a publisher.

Writers we love have told us how they got there. They've described their path, and that path has become The Path – the dream which aspiring writers, well, aspire to. Companies like Writer's Digest Inc. have set that standard in bronze and placed it upon a pedestal for all aspiring writers to admire. That path, those dreams, have become self-sustaining as writers who originally grew up with them have gone back to write books about how to write, encouraging new generations of writers to dream the same dream.

Writers today dream of getting an agent. I'm on a LinkedIn group where the group's founder referred to getting an agent as the “Holy Grail” (caps his, not mine) of writing. Writers dream of being published by someone else – validated that they do indeed have talent. Writers dream of being in big chain bookstores, of walking into a Barnes & Nobles and seeing a display of their books at the front of the store.

Self publishing changes all that. When we self publish, we turn away from those dreams. And giving up a dream is a hard, hard thing for many people to do.

A self published writer might not ever use an agent. Might not ever get validation from anyone except readers. Might not ever see a print book in a physical bookstore. And so for many of us, there's a sense of loss associated with self publishing, a feeling that we're “missing out”, or “giving up”.

But it's not about giving up on old dreams. It's about finding new dreams. Some of mine...

I dream about writers feeling the freedom to experiment. I can write a short story that is being donated to an anthology for RIF, like “Twelve Worlds”. Or I can spend time seeing if readers would enjoy a series of episodic science fiction novelettes, like I've been working on lately. There's a ton of different ways we can experiment with the new digital media, and I'm looking forward to checking a lot of them out. That's something I can do as an independent writer/publisher that I could not before.

I dream about writers having control and responsibility for their own careers. There's just a lot less luck involved in indie publishing. Some luck, of course – but mostly, it's about your skills, and your dedication, and your discipline at doing the work. There's something about being able to take charge of your own career from top to bottom that has incredible appeal.

I dream about writers being able to get together in new groups and organizations to educate and encourage each other. These new groups will be what we make them, because we'll be the ones making it happen.

I dream about digital media bringing storytellers and readers together more closely than they've been in many decades. Where writers can react to readers almost in real time (or even in real time, perhaps, through the internet) and tell stories that interact with readers in a way that literature has never done, and storytelling has only rarely done outside of campfires and childrens' bedtimes.

I dream about writers who can worry less about their next advance, because they already get a monthly check for sales all of their previous books – so while new work is important, there is a sense of stability which most writers have never been able to find in their careers.

For me, a big part of this shift is about changing the dreams, and dreaming new ones. There were many things to which we writers aspired under the old style of publishing. But under the new, there's a host of great things we can aspire to and dream about as well. Freedom, control, financial stability, and accountability for one's own success are just a few of the things we can look forward to.

The challenge for each of us is to look at the future and see the opportunities for new dreams, and to seek out and grab those chances. What will your hopes and dreams be, as an independent writer?

***

JEM sez: I agree with Kevin that writers will be able to find a comfortable life amidst all the upheaval in this Indie Flood. The chance to write without living royalty check to to check, six months apart - as opposed to ONE month apart, is a real lifesaver for a lot of writers.

Thanks for stopping by, Kevin! Also check out the "Twelve Worlds" anthology in the TrAuSt Tour widget. Kevin submitted a piece named By a Whisker and is the LEAD STORY in the anthology! When you download the sample, you should get his whole story for FREE, plus the beginning of the next story :) (I'm number 4 in the anthology, for anyone wondering.) Please check out 12 Worlds if you haven't!

TrAuSt Tour #2: Kelly Gorman

After a rocky start, we've gotten back on track! The TrAuSt Tour is proud to present K. Gorman's fantastic and witty interview! We're both part of the Twelve Worlds Crew, and I'm happy to have her. Please enjoy :)

5 Up High:
JEM: Why did you get into writing/become a writer?

KG: I got into writing sometime after I got into reading. Probably around grade 9, when I discovered there was more to books than textbooks and Pony Pals. Writing just seemed to be a natural step to take from there. At first, I role-played among various games. After several years of that, I realized that I liked doing that as a hobby, so why not turn it into something more? Besides, my mom said she likes my writing... it must be good, right?

JEM: Why did you decide to go into Indie Publishing?

KG: I'm a control freak. I like the idea that I control everything--the price, the cover, the editing--indie publishing has a lot of bonuses that I can agree with. Quick publication, no censorship, I can go back and edit out all those mortifying mistakes/typos that I often find in print books. Comparing my experiences in other jobs, I much prefer a job in which I get paid based on how well I do/work, and not on what some corporate boss decides he can afford to pay me. Not to say that publishing houses are evil corporate overlords, but as an unknown writer with no credentials, I think I stand a better chance to make money self-publishing my works rather than submitting them.

JEM: Can you give a synopsis of your current WIP (Work In Progress)?

KG: Which one? I have a couple. However, since they're in the same world I can kind of describe them both. In one, the novel I'm working on, there's this country being invaded by another for its resources. Hardly an uncommon reason, in the history of warfare. Anyway. The novel follows the story of Meese, a 14-year-old girl who moved to the city of Merrin (deep in the mountains) to escape the invasion. Things happen, and she accidentally falls on the fire god's spaceship and makes it glow. Then the fire god bails her out of jail and she becomes his apprentice. More things happen, interesting character development and excitement in the, quite literal, criminal underground of Merrin, some explosions, yadayada. Then someone steals the god's magical rock and all hell breaks loose. Mainly because the rock powers the shields that protect the city from being bombed.

The other WIP is a series based in the same world. The world has gods based on elemental magic, and this series follows those affected by them. Like Kitty, a girl who found out she can control electricity...

JEM: What is your biggest inspiration as a writer?

KG: Biggest, eh? I'll have to go with other writing. Actually, scratch that--any situation in which I can form a "what if?" Like "what if stuff like nymphs had to adapt to space travel? What would the sociological effects be? What would they do?" Usually those situations come from reading, although the reading can be quite varied in topic. For example, last week I was doing a paper on the nationalist movements in Vietnam and East Timor, and I thought "what must that have been like?" Hell, once I was doing math homework and, looking at all the greek symbols, thought "Hey, is this like modern-day magic? What if mathematicians really are wizards?" Not sure where "nymphs on a spaceship" came from, though.

(JEM sez: Mathematicians ARE wizards, just to clarify.)

JEM: What is your writing process? (IE: outline, notecards, etc)

KG: I usually get a scene in my head and start writing. Then I have to backtrack and find the beginning. When I've done that, I start outlining to procrastinate everything else. And I make lots of food. And eat it. Do laundry. Then I sit at my computer thinking about all the movies I want to watch. Then I'll look at the outline again. It usually takes a few renditions of all this before I've got it all done, and I rarely know exactly what will happen at the end.

(JEM sez: Award goes to K. Gorman for most honest answer, hahaha!)


12 Worlds Special Feature:

JEM: Why did you decide to contribute to Twelve Worlds?

KG: Well, I was reading Derek's blog one day and saw the opportunity. It seemed like a good idea at the time... Amazing how that phrase always comes in, doesn't it? It was a good idea, though. A very good idea, and I'm very, very glad I got in on it. Initially, I just wanted to get my name out there. By the time of publishing, I assumed the other anthology I'd been accepted for (last July) would be published, although that doesn't seem to be the case. I saw it as a great opportunity to get my foot in someone's door.

JEM: Can you tell us anything about the story you contributed to Twelve Worlds?

KG: Remember that bit up above when I said "nymph on a spaceship"? It's like that, with guns and knives and stars and awesome.

JEM: Any other thoughts on Twelve Worlds?

KG: Well, I'm certainly excited! With as many great writers as we have, it's a really good read. And the cover art is amazing. I'm really glad this could be put together. I'll bet Reading is Fundamental will be very happy with us. Literacy is important. I can't imagine not being able to read. If you can't read, it's very, very hard to learn anything. I think this anthology will really help, and I'm glad I could be part of something so neat.


5 Down Low:

JEM: What three toppings would you mix into/put on top of your ice cream?

KG: Chocolate, of course. And caramel, too. And sprinkles. Also, let it be known that I want Malt ice cream. It's so hard to find Malt in my city. I think only Wendy's and some small convenience stores carry it. Why isn't there more Malt ice cream?

JEM: What is the coolest animal in the world?

KG: Ruby, the Belgian Draft horse. She's completely awesome. She loves to budge into traffic, and has a tendency to get her way. A lot of people don't realize just how large she is until she's got her nose at their rear window. At stop lights, she just kind of saunters up to the car in front, get's as close as I'll let her, then fusses. Kind of like she's saying "'Ello. Whatcha doin' down there?" Oh, I hope we do this to a convertible this summer.

Er... by the way, I drive horse carriages in the summer. For tourists.

JEM: Please invent the perfect candy and describe it to us!

KG: Well, in order to do this, I think I must define "candy" first. You see, chocolate is not candy. Chocolate is chocolate, and has its own category. As for the perfect candy... it's got to be a cross of those "Rockets" candies that usually emerge at Halloween. Oh, Wikipedia says they're called "Smarties" in the states. Anyway, a cross of that and something with a hard, fruity coating that you have to suck at.

JEM: Who do you think would take the fight - Captain Kirk, Captain Jack Sparrow, or Captain Crunch?

KG: Ouch. Tough one. I think Captain Crunch is right out--it's just between Kirk and Sparrow. Now, are we talking alone or with crew? With crew, it's going to be Kirk. The entire crew of the Enterprise against the Black Pearl (in the small times Sparrow does have a crew and a ship)? Kirk's used to dealing with different types of battles. On their own? Sparrow might get a shot off before Kirk fires his phaser. Hell, that monkey might come in and distract Kirk.

Although, if we're talking Captain Jack Sparrow from the first movie, before those coins were all returned and the curse broken, I think Kirk would be in trouble. If we're just talking a KO, though, I think Kirk could win with phasers set to stun.

JEM: What is one thing on your bucket list? (Bucket list = things to do before you kick the bucket.)

KG: To visit the temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. You know that Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie? Part of it was filmed there. It is absolutely beautiful, and Cambodia really needs the money brought in from tourism. Such a sad history there, but I'm told they are the friendliest people in South-East Asia. Also, next to the Angkor Wat temple complex is the Tonle Sap lake which does something really interesting: every year during the monsoons, the water floods down the Mekong River from China, through Laos, and into Cambodia, and makes the Tonle river reverse course and fill the Tonle Sap lake, making it an extremely fertile place.


Author Freetime:
JEM: Any closing statements? :)

KG: Yeah, I think everyone should watch Hot Tub Time Machine and Top Secret. Excellent movies. And, if they so wish to read some of my writing before the anthology is out, I have two short stories on my site in the Freebie section. (/shameless plug)

Other than that, I would like to mention again how excited I am for Twelve Worlds to hit the e-bookshelves.

If you would like to contact Ms. Gorman, please do so:
Website: http://kgorman.ca/
blog: http://kelly-gorman.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kgorman8
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/K-Gorman/185702481470134

Tomorrow, TrAuSt Returns!

So make sure you stop by to see K. Gorman's answers to my insidious questions!

Amphibious questions?

Sequestered questions!

My questions. :)

I'm also having a blast with my editors using Google docs. I wish they had a track changes feature (or at least, I've not seen it yet), so we're making do with comments and highlights for now. But it is VERY bizarre to see someone typing in the same document in which I am ALSO typing. I'm sure they agree, plus they can see me type my story in real time. (It makes it a little nerve-wracking when I'm searching for that perfect word and they are watching my cursor blink along with me, and I know they're WATCHING MEEEEEE) It's an interesting twist to a solitary sport like writing.

Other than that, I've still a case of the Creeping Crud. Hoping to finish THAT up and feel better. Liar drops on April 15th, as well as the Twelve Worlds Anthology sometime this month :)

I'll probably also post some sales updates on Friday, since I haven't gone about doing that in any formal way. So, look forward to that. But first, look forward to K. Gorman, here, tomorrow!

Good time to be me, I'm thinking!

Up to the Date

So, very exciting stuff happening! The TrAuSt Tour kicks off THIS Wednesday, the 23rd, so please be sure to stop in and say hi to our guest, Tony Lavely.

The Twelve Worlds Anthology is slated to come out next month. I have a piece, Insomnomancer, that will (currently) appear FOURTH in the collection. But, as it's digital I suppose order doesn't matter TOO much. Though I hope for exposure by it, sure :) Quick plug! Here is the Twelve Worlds cover:

You CANNOT tell me that doesn't look exciting!

Also, a little sales update. Please look at my nifty chart I digitally slaved over.

If you count them all up, I've sold 8 copies of "Shackled" and 5 copies of "Cheat"! That is officially 13 more copies than I ever sold before indie pubbing ;) (For those not in the know, I made the decision to become an indie from yon get-go.)

If you look at my little pledge thingy on the right, you'll see I pledged to sell 1,000 copies of a novel this year. "Shackled" is currently my only novel for sale and I have sold 8. Only 992 to go! I know the more pieces I get out there, the more momentum my name will receive. If all goes as planned, I will have at least 10 pieces up before September (7 of them episodes from the IH series). I want to be ready for the big buying season during the holidays! Plus, September is my birth month, so there's that :)

Gotta jet for now. Be sure to come back Wednesday for the grand unveiling of the TrAuSt Tour!

Traveling Author Stomp (TrAuSt Tour)

In the interest of cross-pollination and Irish music (as it IS St. Patty's Day) I've decided to try and bring together a number of authors for guest posts/interviews.

However, I hate the word "blog" so I've left that out of the title :)

Also, since I'm setting this up, I get to make the rules. Woo!

Rules:
1. Do not put "blog" in the title. (Check!)

2. Updates to the TrAuSt Tour shall be posted on Wednesdays, and Wednesdays shall be the day the TrAuSt Tour posts.

3. Authors may choose either an interview or a guest post for their appearance.

4. Authors may re-appear on the same blog no sooner than 5 posts after an appearance. (IE: Guest post, 5 weeks later - interview).

5. A Twitter account (shudder) shall be created and maintained by me (double shudder). The tag is: TrAuStTour. Follow accordingly!

6. At the very minimum, authors who appear on my site for the TrAuSt Tour must re-tweet and mention their appearance on their own site (blog, facebook).

7. Authors whom appear here on the TrAuSt Tour should host at least one (1) TrAuSt guest on their own site, with a link back to here for the rules :)

Sound fun? Anyone who would like to join, kindly submit a request to: JEMedrickBooks(at)gmail.com

I intend for Tour Posts to begin March 23rd, 2011.