The Cokephant and Other Tales

Something in my dog's tiny brain has wired him to do some pretty outrageous things. For instance, when he gets out of the tub, if you put a towel on the floor he writhes around like an irate water moccasin (a snake), ready to destroy.

Sometimes he'll forget how to run up the basement stairs and set up a mournful howl, the likes of which is only seen on some lower levels of hell.

He also sniffs dandelions until they make him sneeze. EVERY TIME.

But one of the most bizarrely inexplicable things about him, has to be his love of pop containers. Not the cans (though we recently had some success teaching him to carry single cans from one room to the next, more about that if anyone is interested?) As I said, not the cans but the boxes, themselves! It doesn't matter the size, he just loves them. He loves to carry them around, sometimes he worries them, but mostly he just trots around ENTIRELY BLIND to his surroundings because his head is encased in an empty pop box.

So, weblings, without further adieu, I give thee,

THE COKEPHANT!

In order to take this shot, I had to get him to sit still, which meant five minutes of hearing him blundering through the house while I called for him. He turned left, right, left... crashing into the wall and stalling his progress no less than six times! That is determination! We could learn a thing or too from my outrageous mutt :)

You'll notice he has a Coke container, please, let me explain! I'm a Pepsi-lover, die-hard, at heart. But the fact is, we don't have a lot of money, so when we do splurge for it, we go for whatever is usually the cheapest sale. Thus, the Coke. (Else we would have The Pepsimadillo. Sadly, we have the Cokephant.)

Other Tales
The Pirates of K-Mart

The container from above was tossed from the fridge to make way for the NEW containers. K-Mart had them 3/$11, so I picked those up. As I mentioned, we are not the richest of folk, so we do what we can with what we have... for example, changing our regular dollars into GOLD dollars. They're just more fancy.

With tax, it was around $11.72, so naturally, having only gold dollars at my disposal, I paid with 12 gold dollars. The woman took them and looked at me suspiciously.

"What're these?" she demanded. "Fifty cent pieces?"

I admit to a moment of surprise. "They're gold dollars?" I answered questioningly, as if her ill-founded mistrust had persuaded me that I was in error.

"Twelve of 'em!" she growled.

"Yes..."

She punched a few buttons on the register and snarled, "Your change'll be twenty-eight cents!" To be honest, I half expected a "YARRRR!" thrown on the end.

None was forthcoming.

Perhaps I will have to hoist my own Jolly Roger.

TrAuSt Tour #6 Coral Russell

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

CR: Because I'm such a good student and stayed in school until I got my Masters, I've written a lot of non-fiction. o.~ I worked in education as a teacher, the past five and a half years, and taught, worked on writing projects, maintained a website, and networked about Teaching English as a Second Language. I had always wanted to write fiction, but had no clue where to start. You think it would be the same, but it really isn't. A writer that I like posted some of her favorite how-to writing books on her website and I bought a couple and had this light-bulb moment. Then a resource I had found for my students called BookRix was running a small writing contest. I was too chicken to enter on my own, so I asked my hubby (yes, he lets me call him that) if he would like to team up and write a short story with me. We had a blast and it was a total fluke, but we won the contest! As my friends predicted, I became incorrigible and wanted to write more and see if anyone would be interested in reading my stories.

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

CR: When eBooks first came out, I was one of those people that said, "You'll pry my pBooks from my cold, dead hands!" I never imagined that I would be able to enjoy reading without holding an actual paperback. Then I decided to go paperless in my office and at home and reading on my phone, PC, and eventually a Kindle became a natural branch off of that initial decision. Well, because of BookRix, I started to learn how to upload/format books and then when I saw the prices, I had sticker shock! A really good writing friend introduced me to Konrath's blog. There I found out about Indie Authors and their eBooks that were not only reasonably priced, but their stories were just as good as the higher priced eBooks. I knew that was the route I wanted to go with my stories. I've offered my short stories for free on various sites and they've been read 3000+ times in over 30 countries. I'm psyched about that alone!

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

CR: I'm working on my first long fiction story called, Amador Lockdown. I love paranormal stuff in general and when I wrote two short stories to help promote the local ghost tours I wondered, "With all of these paranormal groups and ghost tours going on world-wide, what would happen if we were messing with something that shouldn't be messed with?" I decided to expand on the characters, Hector and Marcos, from the first two short stories and build a series around a haunting in a 130 year old former hotel, The Amador. The group Restore the Amador is trying to renovate the hotel into a local museum, but crazy stuff starts happening and they turn to Hector and Marcos for help. During a lockdown to raise funds for the restoration, things go horribly wrong...

JEM: What is your biggest inspiration as a writer?

CR: I love how I'll see/hear/taste/feel something and it just takes off into this idea. It was that way when I wrote non-fiction, but I would do a ton of research and have no idea where to start or how to organize it and then I would walk away and something would trigger the idea and all the sudden everything was clear about what I needed to do. Fiction is a little different, but I like and am kind of addicted to that "Ah-ha!" moment.

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

CR: I'm open to whatever works. I'm learning a ton, so when I wrote those short stories and people read them and liked them, I was happy. But just because the story is good, doesn't mean the writing is good. Then I learned about editing... and am thrilled with the final versions, but I will hurl if I have to read those stories one. more. time. hehe For the Amador Lockdown I've done an outline and love that because if I feel lost I can look back to the outline and know either where I need to be or what I need to change. Then I got the idea (from a writing contest) to give my characters a journal and have them write their perspective over the arc of the story. Then I break the chapters down and do research about things that will be in that chapter and the story over all (that's the non-fiction writer in me). Then I feel like I can finally start. Since I have the outline, sometimes I'll skip around in the story if I feel inspired to write a particular chapter, rather than go chronologically. I harass writer friends to read my stuff and I also like Critique Circle. I just found a dedicated critique partner who is traditionally published and wanted a beta reader and agreed to critique my stuff. That has been the best experience. Finding other authors who are willing to work with a newb, shows how supportive the writing community really is.


12 Worlds Special Feature:

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

CR: I saw Derek do a shout out for authors and at first I contacted him and said I would help support the project because I didn't have a short story that fit the length requirement. He said that was okay and he'd use it as a 'bonus story' and I think asked others in the project if that was okay. I wasn't the only one who was included as part of the bonus stories. Then it just snowballed and became this great experience. We had, what, twelve authors? He started a forum and outlined what needed to be done and everyone was just there and contributing time and energy. My respect to Derek for thinking up the project and everyone who contributed. I feel humbled and honored that I got to be a part of it.

JEM: Can you tell us anything about the story you contributed to Twelve Worlds? Also, I was one of your editors and I felt like a jerk with your first submission. Forgive me? :)

CR: YOU'RE the ONE?! OMG! *unhooks her microphone, tosses it on the ground, and stomps off like a diva* hehehe Having that story critiqued was the best thing because it was the same thing that my writing friend was saying, "This is a good story, but it needs a lot of work." I knew I couldn't get it ready in time for publication. And I'm a newb fiction writer and I didn't want to embarrass myself! So what does any good writer do? WRITE! My stepson became obsessed with solving the Rubik's Cube. He got so good he could solve it in two minutes. I was his official scrambler. I told him, "I gotta come up with a short story for this anthology or just back out." He said, "You should write a story about the Rubik's Cube." I rolled my eyes thinking, seriously, that's the best you got... But the idea stuck and became a challenge - how can I incorporate this into a story and have it be the least bit interesting? So I challenge you, dear blog readers, to buy Twelve Worlds, read The Cube and give me your opinion! :-)

JEM: Any other thoughts on Twelve Worlds?

CR: That was an incredible experience for me as a writer. I still can't believe I got the chance to participate. A group of writers came together, wrote an anthology for charity, and published it. All in about 4 months. The profits (I think for the month of April was around $100) goes to the charity Reading is Fundamental. Buy the book, spread the word, do some good! :-)



5 Down Low:

JEM: If you could give advice to one super-villain that would make them WIN their fight against a particular superhero, would you do it, what would you say, and why would you help them?

CR: Superheros support chaos. They want people to have their freedom and that just makes a mess of things. You can finally bring ORDER to chaos. Do it! Do it for the world! It needs order!!

JEM: Do you have/want any brothers or sisters?

CR: *looks around* Is there a secret option on your blog to adopt one? I have two brothers. I never had a sister. I have sisters-in-law, but that's not the same. You want to be my sister? I'd be a pain-in-the-bahooty, but totally worth it! *big grin*

JEM: If you were a woodchuck, how much wood would you chuck?

CR: Not much, I'm kinda lazy.

JEM: What was your favorite TV show as a kid and why?

CR: BJ AND THE BEAR! That was the best. show. evah! Greg Evigan was the cutest man alive! He rode around in a semi-truck with a monkey and saved the USA! Oppsy, I just dated myself.

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

CR: In all seriousness, I have done a whole lot of what I want, so if something horrible and unforeseen where to happen, I'd be OK. Well, I'd miss my family of course. So my bucket list is pretty short and the one thing I'd pick would be... this Mediterranean cruise that I planned to go on last year, but it didn't work out, so that's still on my to do list. :-)


Author Freetime:
JEM: Any closing statements? :)

CR: I (heart) you! :-)
(JEM sez: Sorry coral, I had to take out the heart picture because the Blogger formatter hated it and wouldn't let it show :()

Contact Info:
Please visit Coral Russell at her blog!

Thanks for stopping by Coral, I really enjoyed some of your answers :) Sorry again for being an editor jerk :P Good luck making it to your cruise!

TrAuSt Tour #5: Derek J. Canyon

It's Wednesday, Weblings! That means the TrAuSt Tour is stomping through my blog :) Today we get to have a rousing good time with Derek J. Canyon. I read his blog and was one of the first to sign up for the Twelve Worlds anthology. He's a really good guy, very level-headed when dealing with my agony about editing other author's works :P So, here he is, sharing some behind-the-scenes about Twelve Worlds!


Late last year, Kevin McLaughlin raised the suggestion of trading excerpts with other new self-publishing authors. This would help cross-promote each participant, hopefully trading new fans as well! I agreed and decided to see how much interest there was in excerpt trades and maybe even collaborating on an anthology.

Within a few weeks I had thirteen other authors sign up! This was great!
First, we discussed various aspects of the project. Story length, genre, timeline, etc. For me, the most important factor was figuring out how to handle the author royalties. Amazon does not let independent authors give away books for free. Therefore, there would be profit involved in this project and Amazon only pays out to one person. I didn’t want to have to send out 13 royalty checks for eternity, so someone suggested donating to a charity. Great idea! That’s one check for me to send out every few months. We took a vote and decided to donate to Reading is Fundamental, the nation’s largest non-profit children’s literacy charity.

Next, we all agreed to not publish our story in any other way for at least 6 months. This way, each of our respective fans would have to buy Twelve Worlds to read out new story. This is the best way to ensure maximum cross-promotion for all authors involved.

With all the niggling details ironed out, we could start writing the stories!

Over the next couple months, we all worked on our new stories, which range in length from Jaylin Baer’s speculative SF story, The Light Stream (3060 words), to Edward L. Cote’s epic fantasy story, Iron in Shadow (14,900 words).

Then, Tony Lavely wrangled all us into editing at least three other stories in the collection. This was a very helpful process and I definitely saw some great suggestions and ideas resulting from this process. The editors for my cyberpunk story, The Price of Vengeance, gave me some great advice. I also saw great improvement in all the stories after the editing. I think this taught all of the writers involved about the value of getting feedback before publishing.

While this was going on, we searched for a cover artist. I asked Les Petersen, the artist who did the cover for my Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds ebook, if he’d be interesting in donating a cover to the project. Despite having over a hundred covers under his belt, Les is very helpful to new authors. He was even more helpful to the Twelve Worlds project, offering to donate a brand new cover! We told him the concept of multiple stories in SF&F genres and we wanted a cover that suggested this. He came up with the cover you see today and we all think it’s great, because it is! If you need any artwork for your own books, don’t hesitate to contact him at his website.

With 14 stories and a cover, we were ready to go. I formatted the book for Kindle and Smashwords, and it’s now available on both sits for $2.99. It should be available on Barnes & Noble in a few weeks. After that, it will be available for Apple and hopefully, in print!

I am very pleased with the final results. Each of the 14 stories in the book offers something different for you to read. Whether it’s author voice, genre, plot, or characters, I think you’ll find something to enjoy!

Even if you aren’t sure about the ebook, you should at least download the free sample. You’ll get to read the entire first shorty story, By a Whisker by Kevin McLaughlin. It’s a great story and I’m sure it will prompt you to buy the whole book and read the other stories.

If you like the stories, it would be VERY helpful if you write a review on Amazon. The more reviews we have, the better chance we have of selling more books.
Finally, I’d like to thank all the authors and artist who participated in the project. Really, they were all topnotch professionals working toward a common goal that has come to fruition in just three short months!


So, there you have it :)
You can check out Derek's blog here!

If you like sci-fi, or want help formatting your book, please peruse his additions to the widget on the right!

Thanks Derek for stopping by! I'm sure we all enjoy hearing from someone who is finding as much success e-pubbing as yourself :)

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!

Chart, Canyon-Style!

Hey all! I know I said I'd post some fun sales number, etc for you yesterday, but joke was on me! I was home from work with a wicked case of creeping crud. Sleep + Mucinex + water + video games = I feel better today! (Less coughy, too. I stayed home in large part because I didn't want to hack all over my deliveries :P)

The fiance is out of town visiting some friends, which means I have the house all to myself (plus the dog and the cat)! So, I can dance around and sing and generally be the biggest idiot I can be when no one else is watching :) Though, my shenanigans are a little culled by the fact that I'm still hack-y. It also gives me a lot of time to write in peace, though, and THAT is the gift I appreciate most about time alone :)

Just some news, before we get to the fancy-schmancy chart - Twelve Worlds releases this month! Looks like we're just waiting on the Foreward and it will be hitting e-Shelves! "Liar" also drops on the 15th, so if you haven't picked up "Cheat" yet, please do! There is a convenient IH widget in the upper right-hand corner, plus the link I just provided :)

As authors, we have different goals we want to reach with our work. Some want to inspire, some want just to write and have it read, and others want money, among other reasons. I want a comfortable life doing what I enjoy the absolute most. That is writing. I'm in it for personal satisfaction, and money. No reason to lie about it, it's not a shame to want money or a comfortable life (just don't get greedy!) So I write and write and write, tappa tappa tappa and hope I sell better a little each day.

I'm nowhere near self-sufficient for writing, yet. Yet. As I said, a little more each day... and maybe this whole thing can work out for me :) I have two works out, "Shackled" and "Cheat". Will I see additional sales of one from the other? I'm not sure. They are radically different genres/age-groups, etc.

But, without further delay, I'll share my chart with you, inspired by the wonderful Derek J. Canyon. (One of the coolest names EVER.)

I don't have a lot of data yet - my journey only began on February 17th.

I can tell you a few things, however:
1. "Shackled" is holding its own at $2.99. It's not moving truckloads of copies, but it IS getting read. Especially the sample, judging by my Smashwords download count ;)

2. "Cheat" is $.99 and is obviously moving faster. No surprise there, it's so cheap! I'm glad a few people have picked up copies. Hopefully they'll stay interested enough to pick up Episode 2 when it hits in less than a week! And the news will spread...

3. In March, in terms of units, I sold 225% of units in February! Amazing! That's a big number. To continue that momentum, I need to sell 20.25 units in April (let's say that's just 20 for argument's sake!) My April goal is now 20 sales (across all titles). With "Liar" being released, plus "Twelve Worlds" dropping, I think there will be enough buzz to do that! Though, I won't count "Twelve Worlds" in my personal sales count, I will mention it as much as possible :)

So that's my fun chart information. I'm also hoping to do a bundle of short stories sometime this month, but realistically next month. I'd like to write one short a week, time permitting. My goal is to bundle 20k words or 5 stories, whichever comes first. I am also interested in excerpt trading, for anyone who might be considering something similar.

I've had one sale so far this month, so here's to hoping (hopping? HAH) the Easter Bunny brings me the other 19 ;)

Cheers!

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!

TrAuSt Tour #1: Tony Lavely

I have been following Derek J. Canyon's blog for awhile now, and a few months ago he announced he would like to do a charity anthology, now named "Twelve Worlds". As a fledgling Indie myself, I quickly jumped on board where I met a delightful cast of characters.

It became quickly apparent that some authors were more reliable when it came to communication! Tony is one of those people I could always count on an answer from. It is my pleasure to introduce our guest interviewee today,Tony Lavely. He is the author of Weird and Wonderful. Please check out the anthology, "Twelve Worlds", when it drops (slated for April)!

A quick note on interview format:
5 Up High is the section where I ask the interviewee writing and author related questions.
Special Feature is the section specifically related to a certain project (for example, today's Twelve Worlds Special Feature).
5 Down Low is where I ask random questions, to help you get the nitty-gritty on today's target.
Author Comments give the guest a chance to redeem themselves ;)

Without further rambling, here is Tony's interview...


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

ATL: My very first effort writing fiction was to challenge my daughter to do the same for a class. That effort, some 25 years old, has been updated and forms the first part of Mercenaries; A Love Story, the book I plan to release this summer. Since being unemployed, I have a bit more time for it.

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

ATL: My belief is that while I want to write about the things I like, I am far from certain that anyone would want to read them. And then, being fit to a formula... I thought independent effort suited me better. Also, being a senior, it doesn't have to support me, although it'd be nice...

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

ATL: A two book set entitled, as I said above, Mercenaries; A Love Story. The first book will be epublished in the summer, and the second concluding book in the fall. Both are written; I'm in final editing stages on the first book. The second book will be up next. I have written about three paragraphs of a sequel (at the behest of preliminary reviewers) involving some of the same cast.

The story of Mercenaries is not all that complex, I guess, though capturing it in a few sentences seems counter productive, since I have spent 200K words telling it. However: Beckie, her brother Mike, and their friend Melissa, are teens who get involved assisting Ian Jamse and his group of mercenaries in halting a child abuse ring that operates in Europe, the US and Far East. Part One is 13+ in my mind; Part Two is probably M for mature. You'll have to read it to understand the "love story" storyline.

A second series is fantasy/SF rather than thriller/adventure. The series so far runs to over 700K words. It follows Jani, nominated by a nameless entity to save the world by competing in a game with the fate of the world in the balance. The first book sets this conflict up, while the game itself is played out in the succeeding five stories. Settings in the five stories change, as Jani is teleported to different worlds. These worlds range from a theocracy founded by a space traveler to a world with dragons and were's (werekittens, weresheep, weregirl) to an advanced world used in books four and five where humans have developed fully sentient swarm computing entities in their own form (and others) to finally, what I think of as a classical fantasy realm, with mages and thus, magic. Some of Jani's magic runs throughout the series; characters come and go, though a few are more frequent visitors. The fifth novel in the series is as yet incomplete, so strange things might still happen.

JEM: What is your biggest inspiration as a writer?

ATL: Real life, as opposed to reality. Characters especially.

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

ATL: Ok, honestly. I come up with a concept I like, and begin. For example, the concept behind the six part series: About 20 years ago, I was at a family get together at my brother's house. Summer; the doors were open. I had a cold beer, and was just lazing about. A fly kept annoying me by (seemingly) disappearing and reappearing across the room. That concept, translated to an airplane, worked its way to 700K words.

So, I start the process and let the characters tell their own story. I help them by doing research where they need information (Google is your friend; Google Maps and Earth can be extremely helpful in trying to design settings). Not having the story planned out at the beginning causes me difficulty on occasion; I'm not sure I recommend it as a technique. It has left me with part five unfinished while part six is complete.


12 Worlds Special Feature:

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

ATL: I am a member of Critters.org (recommended to writers!), sharing critiques between writers. One of the 12 World authors, Edward Cote, is also, and I had the opportunity to critique his work Violet Sky. I liked it, and when he told me of Derek's idea, I thought I would like to be a part of the effort.

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

ATL: I wrote the first draft about 20 years ago, in opposition to something or other. Perhaps it was Splash, the Tom Hanks/Darryl Hannah movie from the 80's. It was a fun piece, trying to imply a sexual relationship blooming to full love over a matter of hours, before Mailira disappears forever. Nothing explicit. Her sister comes back - no, Marelsa is not Mailira and Jackson's daughter. In bringing it to 12 Worlds, a couple of plot lines had to be fleshed out, but the basic story remains: girl and boy meet, fall in love and are parted by her destiny. For the girl, we can hope she'll have Jackson's child; for the boy, he and Marelsa have a future together, but it's not certain what that will be. Read your Irish folk stories; I did, once a reader pointed out to me: She's a shapechanger (which I knew), a selkie (which I didn't). I hope everyone enjoys it. And for those intent on pointing out typographical errors: 'plash' is a perfectly good word that felt perfect where I used it in Weird and Wonderful.

JEM: Any other thoughts on Twelve Worlds?

ATL: I have read all the stories and I am ecstatic at being part of the collection. The stories are all wonderful, and cover speculative fiction in a way that I haven't seen done before. And it's all for charity, too. I am hopeful we'll be able to continue and make it a series.


5 Down Low

JEM: Who is your favorite animated character and why?

ATL: Is Doctor Teeth an animated character? Dobby? Gollum? If traditionally animated, does that leave out Pixar? Dory? Traditional: Belle, I think, although she's a toss-up with Chernabog.

Why?

I just really love Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem in the Muppet Movie, bringing music and refitting to the church and Kermit and Fozzie's car, too.

Dobby (Harry Potter series) saves the world!

Gollum (Lord of the Rings) is such a wonderful character, all the way from the beginning through till the scene in Mount Doom, where he saves Frodo. And Andy Serkis isn't half bad, either.

Dory (Finding Nemo) for the comic relief she brings to Nemo, and the important part she plays in getting Nemo and Marlin together.

Belle (Beauty and the Beast), because she's the brightest and strongest of the Disney female leads. NB:I haven't seen The Princess and the Frog; she's supposed to be strong, too, which makes sense, given the concept.

Chernabog (Fantasia), because he's so well done, and without him and Night on Bald Mountain, the Ave Maria would have no impact at all.

Sorry, too many top picks! I've not even mentioned Rocky and Bullwinkle, or Top Cat, or a double handful of comic book/web comic characters.

JEM: If you could permanently ban one flavor of soda, which would you choose?

ATL: All those with non-water ingredients. Seriously, I'm really happy with ice water, though Perrier is great as well.

JEM: Can you tell us the funniest thing you've heard recently?

ATL: I'm afraid not, depending on your audience. I tweeted about it about four days ago. It wasn't a comic piece. (JEM sez: I agree, it wasn't :P)

JEM: Which do you prefer: oatmeal, cream of wheat, malt-o-meal, coco wheats or grits?

ATL: Equal preference, which is to say I'd not touch any of these unless it was the end of the world. Then oatmeal, but I'd take a long time, loosing about 50 pounds before I partook.

JEM: What is your favorite type of food? (IE: Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Italian)

ATL: American, Italian, toss-up.


Author Freetime:
JEM: Any closing statements? :)

ATL: I'm listening to The Rose, and We Built This City, along with Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance followed by Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Julie Brown and The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun! So great!

I'm aggressively not watching basketball.

I hope all who see this support 12 Worlds and the authors who have come together to produce it.

If you would like to contact Mr. Lavely, please peruse his information:
Twitter: twitter.com/tlavely

blog: http://tonysmiscellanea.blogspot.com/

writer's email: atl.for.writing@gmail.com

Please feel free to leave any comments you may have for Tony! And, check out "Twelve Worlds" next month for Tony's piece, Weird and Wonderful as well as a piece of my own, Insomnomancer!

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!

It Begins Anew

So I went ahead and started in on "Liar" today. I've gotten about 2k words (about 10%, as per my word-o-meter) as well as the initial document formatting set up. My set date to publicate (heehee, that's just fun to say, even if publicate isn't a word) is April 15th. No harm in getting ahead! Best case scenario, I finish up Episode 2 ("Liar") and am at least halfway done with Episode 3 by 2's publication :) Ideally, I'd like to get a few episodes ahead! This would give me a buffer if I want to write something else for awhile or have a vacation where I don't have to do my own brand of work!

I was mildly productive, by uploading the "fixed" version of "Shackled". Seems there was a left-justification error, but I'm still having some issues with spacing, apparently. Smashwords left me a little note on why it couldn't go into the premium catalog over on their site, so I adjusted that ALSO. (#848 in the queue... is Sunday night the posting time?!?)

My puppy is at my feet being entirely obnoxious. And - I kid you not - every time I look at him to tell him to stop, he goes perfectly still and looks at me with absolutely innocent eyes. Little bugger!

In my last bit of writing news, my final submission for the Twelve Worlds Anthology is due by tomorrow. Ugh, deadlines. I have to find some time between tonight and tomorrow night (work tomorrow morning/afternoon) to get it done! Time just slips away...

Heartburn... of JOY (Plus: Twelve Worlds)

I am almost entirely unable to sit still today!

Sometime this year (definite date not yet set), I will have some work released in an anthology called "Twelve Worlds". Derek J. Canyon of Dead Dwarves Don't Dance and Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds decided to put the idea together. We are looking to donate the proceeds to charity, probably one focused around writing or literacy.

I wrote a piece called Insomnomancer, my word ticker up there says Sleepeater because I changed the name right before editing submissions. I also handed off a copy to my buddy G to the Niz of E-publisher's Manifesto fame.

Our round-robin submissions mean that 3 of the other 12 authors will review our story, edit and provide feedback/suggestions. One of my editors, plus Aaron got back to me today and I think both critiques were very positive! Both enjoyed the story and had a little to say about my adjective use. (What can I say? My world is just more emo than yours, ha-ha... but I'm not dying my hair, growing it over my eyes and walking around depressed so don't ask.)

It is such a thrill to me to have others enjoy my writing. For anyone who has never been locked in a shell of their own making, you don't know what it's like when the sunlight finally comes pouring in. Self-imposed writing abstinence did me NO good and it feels good to be stringing the lines of a story together. It is also very cathartic in that - the ideas won't leave me alone UNTIL I empty them from my head. I have more "room to breathe" as it comes to thinking, when I write! I hope you understand what I mean.

I have that warm fuzzy feeling in my chest and big dorky grin plastered on my face. Hello, Heartburn of Joy! Days like this re-fill my write-o-meter and make me want to push myself even further :)

I Can Hear the Bandwagon, but I Can't Jump On

The indie community is really a thrilling place right now. It seems like everyday I find a new author out there - a living, breathing, pulsing, thinking organism who is jumping with both feet into indie publishing.

They say they've posted X number of books and are seeing between 1-15 sales a day, just on what they have up for sale. To me, even the idea of selling ONE book a day irrationally excites me. My work for consumption - what a dream!

I consider Aaron over at E-Publisher's Manifesto to be a good friend. I've followed his journey from Ground Zero as his sales have clawed their way up from 1/day to now 14/day! I see his success and cheer him... and also want it for myself.

I've touched a little before on how I gave up writing. I haven't finished that story for the readers yet, but I shall... I shall.

The point I want to make: I don't have a backlist of books to explode the face of the InTaRwEbS with my obvious genius. "Chains of Memory" is the first work I've finished...

In Ten Years.

It will be the only thing I have on Kindle, as I labor through my next piece.

Well, that's not entirely true. Along with Derek J. Canyon and 10 other authors (plus a few in the bonus section), we're putting together an indie anthology of which the proceeds will go to a (as yet unnamed) charity. THE ANTHOLOGY IS CALLED TWELVE WORLDS. (/end shameless plug)

But, we're looking at that around March. CoM will be up in the next ten to seventeen days. Even reading that terrifies me.

I do think finishing CoM has given me some serious momentum though. I jumped into the anthology and wrote my bit. It wasn't terribly long, but the idea burned pretty brightly in my mind. Even though it was only a short story, it was the second!... work I'd finished...

In Ten Years.

I feel like I'm far behind the curve, with only one submission for the indie world. I don't have this huge backlist I can wave around and say, "These are my rejections! These are my almosts! This was not quite traditionally published! Kindle hooooooooooi!" It's just my one novel that I've put a lot into (and about a month later, my one short story that I also put a lot into.)

I kind of wonder where I'll be...

In Ten Years?