Christopher D. Schmitz's Blog, page 13
February 19, 2019
Wolves of the Tesseract Huge Giveaway!
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Wolf of the Tesseract is FREE today! and Wolves of the Tesseract 2: Through the Darque Gates of Koth is discounted all week on a count-down deal. I’d love if you downloaded the series and let me know what you thing! (and follow the jump to learn how to get the comic book prequel for free). Both books are in KU.
“Claire Jones is more than your average girl: her bloodline ties her to the all-powerful Architect King. Only she can stop the creatures that dwell beyond the known dimensions… and the forces of the enemy have multiplied.”
The series is a high concept urban fantasy that is something like Percy Jackson vs Cthulu!
I offer a special give-away ebook collection to those on my mailing list as a special bonus for signing up! I’d like to invite you download FIVE ebooks for free as a part of my Starter Library (normally retailing at about $20+)
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Get Wolf of the Tesseract right now for free on Kindle.
Check out Wott2: Through the Darque Gates of Koth right now at Amazon.
February 18, 2019
State of Writing
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Lot’s happening, as per usual. Last week I completed an outline for my next SF, Dekker’s Dozen: Austicon’s Lockbox. (I also got a lot done at work, too.) This week I’ll be pretty busy prepping for cons and doing other promo work since I have a huge giveaway going on right now… but hopefully I find some time to write as well. With three outlines complete that are just ready for me to begin, picking a project might be the hardest part.
Wolf of the Tesseract is FREE today! and Wolves of the Tesseract 2: Through the Darque Gates of Koth is discounted all week on a count-down deal. I’d love if you downloaded the series and let me know what you thing! (and follow the jump to learn how to get the comic book prequel for free). Both books are in KU.
February 15, 2019
Author Feature: Dan Petrosini
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Dan Petrosini writes Am I the Killer? which is Book 1 in A Luca Mystery Series. It is a story that explores the effects of a brain injury. The idea for it came from watching a documentary on HBO called Crash Reel which followed an Olympic snowboarder who suffered a traumatic brain injury.
In my novel, a returning Marine suffers a brain injury and is accused of murdering a man who bullied him as a child. The investigation is complicated by the marine’s inability or unwillingness to recall the events on the night of the murder.
Homicide detective Frank Luca leads the investigation and the book was so well received that I wrote featuring him.
Tell us about yourself and how you got into writing:
Born in NYC but living in S.W. Florida, I am married with two daughters and a needy Maltese. I began writing stories as a child and enjoyed expressing my ideas through them. When it came to longer format, ie novels, I started many but finished none until about 25 years ago when I finally pushed one over the finish line. Since that time, I have whittled away at my non-completion rate and complete most projects.
Tell us about your stories:
I have learned not to wait for inspiration. Its wonderful when it comes but if you want to (and in my case its not want to write, its I have to write) write you must do it every day. And you must write when the words do not come. I have gone from a panster to an outlinerer and now ‘reside’ in between. I come up with an idea and develop a rough outline. Then i begin writing and veer off from there. One of the great joys is having your characters take you places in a story you had not thought of.
My most recent project is book seven in the Luca Mystery Series. I am not a series reader and never thought i would write one. However, readers kept telling me to write one featuring the detective i created in Am I the Killer?, Frank Luca. In that book he doesn’t appear until about halfway through but according to readers, he steals the show. Det. Luca’s calling and obsession is catching killers.
What kind of success have you had?
I have been fortunate to be awarded three best seller tags on Amazon and a couple of number 1 new release tags as well.
Are your characters pure fiction or based on something/someone?
My characters are all inspired by different aspects of my own life, then shifted by the world and conditions I put in their history. With the main character of the Pillar Universe series I really tried to dig into the meat of what it felt like to be lonely and how people, including me, fight to fit in.
Where do you write at?
I write at home most times listening to piano jazz music. My office is really a cool space but I find myself at the kitchen table, out on the lanai, or at the kitchen counter more often than not. I can’t explain it other than maybe I don’t want to be in a room (I am claustrophobic)
Tell us about a scene you wrote that gave you “all the feels.”
This is harder than it should but this came to mind – Luca is armed with a search warrant believing he may find where an escaped killer is hiding. He had visited the home twice but was never allowed inside. When he throws open the door he is confronted with the home of a hoarder. Luca fights his claustrophobia an disgust and waddles through the mess as he conducts his search.
I am a stronger believer in encouraging people to take action and pursue their dreams. Don’t allow fear of failure of criticism to hood you.
Check out this book by out FEATURED AUTHOR.
February 13, 2019
Sharpen your hook: Write a killer first page!
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Books that sell need a bunch of things. Before a reader even looks at your content they are going to look for any reason to say “no.” It’s how our minds work—we are constantly asked to run a gauntlet of commercial interests trying to sell us every product under the sun… including your book. If you have a good cover and back blurb and haven’t priced your book into oblivion, only then will a potential reader look at your actual words on paper.
Following is an article on how to sharpen your first page: the single most critical piece of writing in your actual story. If your book is going to make it, the first chapter—especially your first page, has to be amazing.
There are a few books that I’ve read by authors that have simply blown me away and will always stick with me. Most of them had amazing opening scenes. One that I’ll never forget inspired me to craft unrelenting hooks. I didn’t understand exactly how it was so strong until later, but it’s always stuck with it. I don’t believe it was ever even published, but the opening paragraphs went something like this:
I could see the shadow of her feet shifting beneath the edge of the door. The old woman lived alone, I knew. Certainly she was watching me through the peepsight, trying to ascertain who I was and what I was doing at her door.
After waving briefly to her on the other side of the spy hole, I put the barrel of the forty-five caliber hand-gun into my mouth. Its metal clattered porcelain against my teeth and I pulled the trigger, splattering blood and grey matter across the hallway walls and ceiling. As my body collapsed, I heard her screams as the door flung open. I’d be okay in a few moments, and now the woman was exposed.
The scene was riveting and visceral. We learn right away something that the protagonist wants. We also learn that he is immortal. It sets the tone for the entire book. Everything else about your book prevents resistance to buying it (the cover, blurb, etc.) Now is when you have to prove that you can write, so it better be pretty dang amazing.
I typically spend 60% of my editing efforts on the first chapter, and more than half of that is on the first page or two. Here are some great tips to crafting a strong first page. First the Don’ts and then the Dos.
Don’t:
Don’t describe the weather. At all. Unless it’s going to kill your main character.
Don’t get bogged down in excessive description.
Don’t use any passive verbs. ANY. In fact, try to avoid using the word “was,” as well.
Don’t info dump/wax into heavy exposition.
Don’t dwell on the setting/scenery. Sprinkle it in slightly and only as much as is relevant. I know that Tolkien did it. Rules of writing have changed since then, get over it.
Do:
Write punchy, killer sentences that create tension and startle the readers.
Begin at a logical, but life-changing incident that sets the mood.
Introduce something ominous right away and end your chapter with a cliffhanger that makes the reader want to continue.
Use bold, strong words.
If you can’t make your characters likeable, at least make them relatable.
Remember to make it tight and make it sparkle! A strong first page may make the difference between a sale or not.
February 12, 2019
Review: Black Moon by Tegon Maus
[image error]The first thing that I noticed on Tegon Maus’s second installment of the Tucker Littlefield Chronicles was the cover. Front and center on Black Moon, we have perhaps the most unassuming protagonist ever. It immediately made me wonder if Vizzini from the Princess Bride was our main character. Something about the completely normal seeming Littlefield is particularly appealing. Honestly—who puts a balding, middle aged, normal dude as their Fantasy protagonist? Honest people who’ve had enough rippling muscles and flat abs… and Tucker Littlefield is honest (and likeable, too.)
As a major player in the plot (Tucker is responsible for unifying warring people groups and preventing great conflict,) he is unassuming and tries to do the best for all sides while still believing everyone wants that same thing. He remains optimistic and as he attempts to navigate murky political waters and relationships.
Perhaps what I found the most interesting was the intersection of the cultures Maus develops for his story, each with their own unique cultural nuances and language bits. In my opinion, this is where the book shines most and we see it come out in political discussions, battles, and relationships… I especially liked the bit where he is saddled with an extra wife (all explained as a cultural norm for his world) and the very real response and interactions that take place within his household after that, proving that even in fantastic worlds, the hero can still end up in the doghouse.
I did not read the first book in the series, but did not find it too hard to follow along, even though the plot dumps you right into the action without beating the exposition horse to death. Maus does a good job of giving you enough context to keep the story moving even if you aren’t familiar with book 1 (the glossary in the beginning helped.)
February 11, 2019
State of Writing
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This week didn’t produce as much as I’d hoped, but I did manage to complete the edits on my other WIP, the crime comedy. Marketing took up a big chunk of my free time this week. I’ve been working on a cover redesign for Wolf of the Tesseract (for a huge promo push coming next week) and facebook ads and list building (so many giveaways).
If I get anything done this week, it would be to prep for that big push (and maybe talk to some betas about reading my current WIP). I wouldn’t mind beginning the audio recording of the final Dekker’s Dozen book or perhaps writing a short story, but we’ll see. Work has been weird with all of this snow and missed school days.
February 8, 2019
Author Feature: CM Cevis
[image error]Cevis writes a heroine-led Urban Fantasy series, the starter book tells the story of the origins of the preternatural civil war.
Tell us about yourself and how you got into writing:
I’m a 37 year old mother, reader, writer and gamer. I’ve always been interested in reading, as my mother was and still is a rabid consumer of mysteries, but I think I gravitate towards UF because of my dad’s influence of Dr. Who, Star Trek and Star Wars. Mix in the fact that he and I used to watch Rambo movies and the like WAY before I probably should have been allowed, and you’ve got my writing: Urban Fiction, strong women, violence and explosions. Sometimes some romance. Sometimes.
Tell us about your stories:
I am not a chick-flick kind of girl, and that goes for my books as well as my movies. I want everything entertainment medium that I interact with to have a healthy dose of fire, magic, violence, and sometimes some sex. That’s the way that I write as well. There’s going to be language, someone is going to bleed, someone might die and it might be someone you like.
What kind of success have you had?
I’m actually kind of new at this, so my successes have been that I’ve heard from fans that love my books and felt strongly enough about it to reach out a let me know. That’s meant the world to me while I was getting my 2019 line-up ready, because like most people, I’m hard on myself and often think that I suck at this. Knowing that I don’t is amazing.
What books/authors are your greatest influence?
The first book that I absolutely fell in love with was The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I was in elementary school, and I’d check it out from my school library, devour it, and be back for it again a few weeks later. I’ve always loved books where the world wasn’t like my own, and that world was so amazing to me. I checked it out so often that when I graduated to middle school, the librarian gave it to me. I still have it.
Give us an insight into a time you wrote a scene with feeling.
Well, it’s not out yet… But I will say that it’s in my March release (series #2 starter, offshoot of the Civil universe), and any reader will know the part that made me cry the moment that they get to it.
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Check out this book by out FEATURED AUTHOR.
February 6, 2019
Review: Manybooks promo
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We authors get pitched a lot of author services. I thought I’d review many of these as they come to me and let you guys decide how they did. I’ll provide as much data as I can and give my rating at the bottom.
This week: $.99 ad Manybooks. www.Manybooks.net
Like many of these discount book services, they claim their best traffic comes from steeply discounted or free ebooks. I decided to try a .99 promo on a book promotion site called ManyBooks. The book I ran is a relatively new book for me but is part of a series that has lots of downloads and other books in the series have reviews. This is book 1 in a new story arc (you don’t need familiarity with the rest of the series and the sequel is also out as of a few weeks before the ad).
But first, let’s give a refresher on my metrics for the grading scorecard: A: made back well more than the price of entry. B: more or less broke even. C: lost some money but still has its purposes. D: a bad bet that definitely loses cash and fails to live up to promises. F: same as a D, except it so colossally fails with what authors get for the price comparison that it could potentially torpedo some writers’ careers. Indies, avoid these services. Ye been warned. Additional points scored (+/-) based on professionalism of services, amount of feedback/communication, and general helpfulness of the service, etc.
Dekker’s Dozen: Weeds of Eden
Has reviews: no
Is part of a series: yes
Cost of regular ad: $25
Subscriber base: 150k
Free or discounted: $0.99
Results: 6 downloads and approx. 3 KU read-throughs (about $6 profit combined)
Thoughts: it might have had better results if the book had some reviews posted in advance, so I admit that I could have run a book with a better chance of success. I would consider using them again, but probably not for a paid book. If I run one with their service and a Free book, I’ll update with a new, separate score.
My Grade: C
February 4, 2019
State of Writing
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Lots of big things happening… I’ve got most of my next WIP edited. I’m hoping to have it done or almost done after this week.
Mostly I’ve been spending my time on my SciFi. I completed the last novella in the Armageddon Seeds cycle and compiled it into a new paperback that ought to release in a week or so. I also got my Dekker’s Dozen boxset listed and linked through my website.
A lot of my energy right now is going into preparing for a huge push on my Wolves of the Tesseract series. It’s taking up most of my energy at the moment… hopefully I’ll be back to some meaningful writing in 1-2 weeks.
February 1, 2019
Author Feature: Tim Niederriter
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Tim Niederriter writes Space Opera and Fantasy and hosts the roleplaying game podcast “Of Mooks and Monsters.” .
Tell us about yourself and how you got into writing:
The son of two physicists who read me the Hobbit before I went to grade school, I felt primed to be a speculative fiction writer. Over the course of my schooling I wrote a ton of books. More recently, I podcast about authorship and roleplaying games, but my focus is and always has been making fun science fiction and fantasy.
Tell us about your stories:
My books vary between classic fantasy stories like the Spells of the Curtain series of novellas, and the new Pillar Universe space opera series. My most recent work is Flame Wind, book two of the Pillar Universe, continuing the frontier story from book one as the heroine travels to compelling and wild places.
What kind of success have you had?
I’m a fairly new author, but I am pleased the Spells of the Curtain has gained me a readership in both Kindle Unlimited and ebook. So far it is my most successful series both financially and critically. I hope the Pillar Universe continues to improve on that success.
Are your characters pure fiction or based on something/someone.
My characters are all inspired by different aspects of my own life, then shifted by the world and conditions I put in their history. With the main character of the Pillar Universe series I really tried to dig into the meat of what it felt like to be lonely and how people, including me, fight to fit in.
Give us an insight into a time you wrote a scene with feeling.
My favorite scene in the first Pillar Universe book is one where the main team is just sitting around playing cards. It’s the first time the heroine really fits in, pretty early in the larger story and its a pretty funny too. Even so, she’s always on edge, and that tension really helped me relate to her. I hope readers who get there will get the same sense.
Also, my favorite pie is lemon merengue. Try it some time if you haven’t already.
Check out this book by out FEATURED AUTHOR.
