Christopher D. Schmitz's Blog, page 54

State of Writing

So I kept up with my goals for the week… I thought it’d be great to complete a new chapter for Fear in a Land Without Shadows, but I thought it more important to go back while my review notes of the first two parts were still fresh and rework a few parts. I also redrafted my outline for the book and I managed to get a few new pieces for John in the John completed. Oh yeah, and an article for our local newspaper–I’ve been asked to do some freelancing on a weekly basis on addition to the column I contribute to a couple times a year. I kinda feel like I’m treading water like Michael Phelps as far as my writing goes.

I have a BBQ contest this weekend, a major youth event, a big fundraiser, and my regular work schedule plus an article or two due for the newspaper–but my goals for the week are to complete the new chapter in Fear, write a new devo piece for JitJ, and rewrite my nonfiction proposal for John in the John so that I can start submitting it to agents as completion of the draft draws near.

How Book Reviews Keep the Internet Troll Population in Check

I remember back when I wrote my first novel nearly ten years ago. I did a lot of local signings and talked to a lot of people and would often quip, “if you like it please tell everyone—if you don’t like it I’d love it if you told no one.”

Book reviews are incredibly powerful tools. Yes, yes… it comes up frequently on this blog. If it’s not blatantly obvious from the themes and subjects I often touch on, I am an author and I am a Christian—not the “I went to church last Christmas” kind but the kind that isn’t shy about having strong beliefs, tries not to be a hypocrite, tries to live a life that would make God happy, and the kind that will love you if you are a drunk or an addict, promiscuous or homosexual, a Muslim or an atheist, or even a lawyer or politician. I don’t have to agree with you in order to be a decent human being to you—even if I think you are flat out wrong, Jesus’s command to love with the power of God does not diminish. Where the heck am I going with this? Here’s the rub: you don’t have to spend much time in a Christian Bookstore or scrolling down the columns of Christian books online in order to find a pretty significant quality difference that Christian authors must overcome. The deck is stacked against most Christian Indie writers (and small faith-based publishers don’t help by setting the bar for quality control soooo low…ever bought a book from Tate Publishing? It’s a wonder it doesn’t disintegrate when the humidity crawls above 30%).

I feel like being aware of that stigma helps Christian authors make better books. I’m a little miffed, though, by a 1-star review on my nonfiction book, Why Your Pastor Left, on Goodreads. I ran a paperback give-away for the nonfiction book that was categorized as religious. That means I paid to print a copy of the book, paid to ship it to me, and paid to ship it again to a contest winner in exchange for an honest review online. One of the winners was a blatant and outspoken atheist who was very willing to have me pay money to send him a product not meant for him just so he could give it a negative mark and leave a comment stating “Religion is an enemy of rationalism and intelligent thought. It promotes ignorance and anti-science. If the church wants to keep people involved, why not speak out for a solid scientific education. How about working on climate change or speaking out against gun madness or supporting good government. It’s all about some other world that we know nothing about.” He also shelved it as a book under the Atheism category. Soooooo… yeah. I checked out his reviews and he’s got a pretty big habit of surfing Goodreads in order to locate Christian/religious books and give them a 1 star rating in order to use an online medium to blacken some eyes and discourage readers from picking up books that might support an ideology he doesn’t agree with.

(just an FYI sidenote: it’s generally pretty poor taste to tell an author that their book was terrible because it wasn’t about what you wanted it to be about–a real Vermin Supreme move… “Dear Mr. Author, I recently read your book on the history of pirates. I’m greatly disappointed that you never once mention the secret cyborg uprising that I believe controls Washington DC. I’m afraid I must give you a 1 star rating, but only because I can’t give you less.”

Please don’t let the take away from this article be that it’s cool to surf Amazon, Goodreads, etc. and leave a 1-star review for every Christian/Atheist/Democrat/Muslim/etc. book you can find with a review comment that boils down to “this ideology is foolish and must be avoided.”)

That was my experience today. After I got over being butt-hurt and sent him a fairly friendly message I thought I’d share the story—but not as a means of seeking revenge (please don’t scroll through Goodreads and then send him nasty messages—that would do no good.) This is an example of why leaving supportive reviews are so important! When you leave an authentic, glowing review for an author you like it will lead to others wanting read and support as well… when there are enough positive reviews they drown out the negative ones or indicate those that are clearly character assassinations.

Support the authors you like: book reviews literally cost you nothing! If you want to check out my author page and leave me some positive reviews or scroll through my backlist, you can find me on my author profile: amazon.com/author/christopherdschmitz or on my website!

www.authorchristopherdschmitz.com

Homeless Book Reviewer

I think this guy might be my hero… not just for turning his situation around ad rising up against the odds, but also because he gives book reviews! Ha. If you haven’t heard his story yet, he’s a homeless man who didn’t like accepting handouts for no reason so he started selling used books and his opinions (giving book reviews).

Read his story here:

https://www.one.org/international/blog/the-homeless-man-who-turned-his-life-arround-by-offering-book-reviews-instead-of-begging

You might find, like I did, that you can’t help but love this guy.

If you can see how important engaging with literature is and want to help, contact me about how you can leave reviews on my books! there’s probably a free book in it for you, too: http://www.authorchristopherdschmitz.com/#!contact/c1kcz

State of Writing

 

Spent the bulk of my time on vacation over the last 9 days or so. Everything went wrong. Transmissions died, keys were locked in vehicles. Hospitals were visited, etc.. Basically, the Ten Plagues of Egypt. You get the drill.

Despite that all, once I finally escaped Mephisto’s realm and got home, I did get on to a little writing (have a couple bullet points to iron out to further develop a character in Fear in a Land Without Shadows) and I got an update from my line editor that The Kakos Realm Grinden Proselyte is over half edited and on track for next-month’s launch. I also ironed out some kinks with my publisher regarding some rights issues and the audio version of Wolf of the Tesseract–that ought to go live sometime in the near future.

Author Interview with Mark Harris

I thought this book was kinda neat and appreciate the fact that it was written as a Nanowrimo project.

How do you get inspired to write?

For me the hard part is getting the initial idea. With my novel Fire in the Bones, music, part of a song, sparked it.  Once I have an idea, I’m inspired to pursue it, and I start thinking about characters. Characters drive fiction just like people make things happen in real life. And once the characters start moving, I can’t wait to keep up with them. (:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Where the story came from—that’s pretty cool. My son had been doing NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month—for a year or two, where you try to draft a novel of 50,000 words in a month.  One November I decided to do it too.  We went to a little café in a bookstore for the first “write-in,” and I had a song in my mind—I’ve always loved popular music, and I’m an auditory person, so music is often floating around in my head—anyway, I had in my mind this song about fire and how it can actually clean or purify things, make them better.  And I started to picture a scene I vaguely remembered about a little boy sitting in a little country church, fanning himself with one of those rectangular picture-fans on a stick that little country churches in the South used to have (maybe they still do).  And the words started to come.  That turned into the first scene/chapter in the book.  The next three or four chapters of the book I based on other early memories or early stories I had heard.  Then as the plot and the characters started to take shape and develop, it became clearer and clearer where to go with the story.

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Write about something that you deeply care about and are truly interested in—not what sells the most or what is most popular. That way, no matter what the final outcome for your book, you can still feel good about it, knowing it is honest and true to you and genuine. And that genuineness should also come across to readers, reflecting in the quality of the writing. If you don’t deeply care about what you’re writing, it’s never going to be your best.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Not money, not fame.  Sharing something of value with the world, with whoever is willing to take a look—that’s the best thing for me.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

You have to know yourself as a writer.  Writers are not all the same. I could never sit and work on the same thing for hours on end.  I must take frequent breaks, with almost anything.  So that’s how I approach writing.  I do a little, and when I find myself getting stuck, I take a break. A really good piece of advice I’ve heard and I try to apply is to stop writing each day before you finish whatever you’re working on.  Leave yourself something to pick up with tomorrow.  That way you never have to start from scratch the next day, just sitting there starting at a blank screen.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on a second novel, which is a sequel to the first. It follows Luke through his high school years, and his pursuit of happiness through three different girls and LOTS of 70’s music, movies, and TV.  I have completed the first draft and am currently in the revising stage.  Working title:  We Are Not Consumed.

What is your book about?

Fire in the Bones is about a boy, Luke, trying to find happiness in middle America, and it’s not so easy.  He faces fears and often feels alone. He’s looking for security, love—something to take the pain away—wherever he can find it, be it God, girls—and eventually, one girl, Lonnie; and popular music—especially the Beatles.

What book/movie/etc. is it comparable to?

I think the book transcends any one book or movie, but you’ll get a good idea by thinking of “Coming of Age meets Classic Rock.” (:

Where can readers go for more?

My website!                   www.markrharris.net    –        It has more on the book, on me, as well as links to my other written works (articles, poems), as well as links to my blog and vlog—half a dozen video installments!

State of Writing

Weird… last weeks blog didn’t publish. That’s fine. It wasn’t very good anyway. This week has been better for me. My last rewrite on The Kakos Realm: Grinden Proselyte is within 30 pages of completion #amediting (I really hate rewrites…)

I also got an installment done for my devo John in the John completed. So I’m feeling pretty good about the week as I head into my vacation and disappear from civilization for a while.

Evil Demon Pokemon vs. Our Savior The Donald

Captain Trumpcard: “Fear not good Christians! I shall save your children!”

I promise you I’m not going to get political, but I wanted to share this piece of art my friend Becky Alexander did after a conversation her husband and I had about the insanity that is often Western Evangelicalism and how as a group they tend to create their own heroes and villains from completely arbitrary psuedo-scripture that they invent or write themselves. I say this as a Western Evangelical. Seriously. We’ve got to stick to the script. If those who didn’t like Pokemon Go, Hilary Clinton, or the Scopes Monkey Trial funneled the energy required for that kind of activism into actual Bible Study, missions work, or living out their faith through community service the planet might not be quite as bad off as it appears right now. Anyhow–not bashing on Christians, just encouraging us all to act a little more like it on occasion and stop using that label as an excuse to win an argument.

Anyhow–if you haven’t peeked at the Pokemon Go discussion we had on my Author Facebook Page, then you really ought to go check it out! Give me a follow and consider joining my mailing list.

How to Create Coupon/Discount Codes for Createspace/Indie Boooks

I know I had to do a little research into this for myself when I wanted to offer discounts as an added bonus to friends and readers who subscribed to my mailing list (BTW, you should totally signup here for that: OFFICIAL MAILING LIST)…

Right at the get-go I want to mention that this method does not give you coupons for Amazon.com. It gives you coupons only for the Createspace eStore. Yes. There is a difference. You make more money per sale if a book is purchased directly via Createspace–while Amazon owns CS, they are not the same and have different front-end and back-end systems. That said, Amazon is a middle-man reseller and takes their cut for housing your book on their digital shelves, just like any brick-and-mortar store would. I would suggest creating your own e-book store on your personal author website (don’t have one? Get one! Like, before you finish reading this sentence. You need one.) You can use your own point of sale system and integrate the CS bookstore into it.

The up-side is more money and the ability to grant coupons (even down to the point that you make nothing on a sale if you wish.) The down-side is that it’s not directly Amazon (which shoulders the burden of consumer confidence) and there aren’t options for free shipping.

For the purposes of this post, I will use my Sci-fi novel Dekker’s Dozen: The Last Watchmen, which I’ve just linked to the CS store page. (BTW, if you buy it, you can a 10% discount with this coupon code: GK4AEER4 )

Step One:

Where the heck is your createspace book link? Here it is, (it’s the above linked book, in fact.)

Step Two:

Go to your Sales Channels page. Make sure that the Createspace eStore is selected as a possible sales channel (it is selected by default). You have limited control to setup how your page looks under the Setup link and you can create coupons under the Discount Codes link. The system is a little clunky (you have to go through a separate setup page to get a code and then go back to enter the code and it’s discount amount–also, you don’t get to pick what the codes are,) but it is a functional system.

Author Interview: RJ Mirabal

Here’s another fantasy author that I know who you might be interested to hear from. He’s got a couple of books available and some new stuff on the way. Check out RJ Mirabal on his website and watch for his new book coming in August.

 

How do you get inspired to write?

Strange as it sounds, once an intriguing story idea gets in my head, I lose control and either I start working on the idea—mentally or in hardcopy—or it keeps popping up like an annoying “mind-worm” whenever my mind drifts. The sane choice is to start writing down the basics. Then more ideas flow as I jot notes, develop the story line, describe characters, establish setting details, etc.

The self-generating inspiration comes from the idea. That, or I eventually forget it and regret the loss.

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Zero Visibility Possible, is Book III of my Rio Grande Parallax series, a further development of a short story I wrote thirty years ago. I wanted to write a fantasy story in the general mold of The Lord of Rings but with a twist. Instead of the typical European-style Middle Ages setting, it would take place in the American High Desert, specifically New Mexico where I was raised and still reside. So I created my own sub-genre of Southwestern Contemporary Fantasy.

But as the idea developed I realized that High Magic had been done very well by a multitude of writers, so I have aimed for a low key magic coupled with stronger psychological, romantic, mysterious, and adventurous elements. Later, I developed a main character who starts out as very disturbed and apathetic when he is thrust into this alternative New Mexico where danger and exciting possibilities beckon.

At first, I thought it was good for a 10K short story or two, but so far, it’s spawned three lengthy books with an idea for a prequel of unknown length!

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Write. Write every chance you have. Make even each email a work of craft instead of a sloppy mess of incoherence and bad mechanics. Have a short idea? Write a short story. Big idea? Write at least a story line. If you like that, get started on your new novel.

Keep at it and submit often to whatever outlets will publish you whether free Internet sources or commercial publishing. But then that’s a whole other subject that requires careful research and advice. Definitely, I would advise any writer to join a writers group to share ideas, information about publishing, and critique each other’s writing.

Don’t write in isolation.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Time and effort is solely your choice. You’re working for yourself and may not get paid, but the satisfaction of creating a world with people, situations, an environment, and rules that are all under your Godlike control can be addictive. If you meet expenses, great! If you make a profit, fantastic (but don’t expect that at first).

The point is you’re in charge of your universe.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Keep writing something, anything, until substance comes. Sometimes when there are no expectations or a “plan” is when the best stuff emerges. When all else fails, I wait until evening and then lie thinking in bed trying to drop off or when partially awake in the middle of the night or morning. I’ve been pleased and surprised how something “far-out” would hit me and break the block.

My advice, just don’t forget what that flash of inspiration was before you get up!

What is your current book about?

As mentioned above, it takes place in New Mexico, specifically the Middle Rio Grande River Valley. There is the present-day “real world” in the town of Rio Luna and an alternative valley called Valle Abajo. In the Valle the terrain is on a monumental scale and life is more primitive and magical. Many clans of the Valle are subjected to terror, murder, and slavery at the hands of a powerful, evil clan called the Soreyes.

My first main character, Don Vargas an alcoholic loser, is lured through a portal to the Valle Abajo. He is asked to assist the simple-minded clans to resist the Soreyes. But his reluctance is even greater than his bad attitude. Once there he learns he is not the first to travel to this alternate existence. He is also not the last as his young cousin, Esther, arrives five years later with a similar mission.

And now here’s my spiel for the new book.

Adventures and conflict develop in Books I and II, finally intensifying in Zero Visibility Possible, Book III. Events move at a breakneck pace to the shocking conclusion of the Parallax series. Impossible odds face two groups of comrades who have traveled far seeking answers to mysteries. The first company heads for the Saddle of the Mountains of the Sky while the second, a hundred miles to the west on the barren Malpais, a vast and ancient lava field, is led by Esther. Both groups face deadly enemies and startling enigmas.

Back in Rio Luna, Esther’s mysterious disappearance confounds her parents and her friend, Markey. In the Valle, though, questions surrounding Don are resolved. Meanwhile, the Soreyes heap new terrors on the clanspeople. Will the travelers return in time? Facing challenges far more insurmountable than bringing down the Tower of Il Serrohe, can the hapless clanspeople dare hope for freedom?

What book/movie/etc. is it comparable to?

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings compares to my series as well as Stephen R. Donaldson’s The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (also a New Mexico author) with elements of Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima (a coming of age New Mexico novel with strong magical realism elements). There are some features from TV’s Breaking Bad present in my main character, Don Vargas, though Walter White is more extreme than Don Vargas (Yep, takes place in New Mexico, too, though I wrote the first book years before!).

 

What are you working on now?

I’m mulling over a prequel to the current series explaining how this whole alternate world came into being as well as those from whom Don Vargas descended. But I believe I’ll first turn to a more conventional novel based on one of those “out of the blue sky” inspirations that has hounded me lately.

Mum’s the word for now.

Where can readers go for more?

Excerpt from Zero Visibility Possible: “Zero Teaser!”

Website/Blog: RJ Mirabal, Author

Author Pages: Amazon, Goodreads

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Google +

Buy Links:

The Tower of Il Serrohe, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Page Foundry/Inktera, Scribd, 24symbols, and from my publisher, Black Rose Writing.

Extreme Dust Storms May Exist (published Summer 2015, see the Dust Storms “teaser”) is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Page Foundry/Inktera, Scribd, 24symbols, and my publisher Black Rose Writing. Of course signed copies of both books can be ordered directly from me, rjmirabal@gmail.com.

Zero Visibility Possible (tentatively scheduled for an August, 2016 release) sources will be announced soon on my web site, though the outlets mentioned above for Books I & II should all be included.

 

Author Interview Caleb Wygal

I know I did a review of Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure several months ago. I thought I’d post a full interview with the author!

How do you get inspired to write?

My inspiration comes from within. Many years ago, I thought to myself, “I know that life is short. How can I leave something that will leave a mark, and possibly be discovered by someone a hundred or a thousand years in the future?”

Writing a book was my answer. Now that I’ve completed a third, half of another, and started a fifth, it’s an addiction. I am driven to complete what I started, and I want to do it in the best possible way.

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

I got the idea while I was on vacation in South Carolina. My wife and I watched a show on the History Channel about pirates, and Blackbeard in particular. It struck me that he had been in the same waters three hundred years before.

During that same week, I learned about how the first settler to the island we were on had his plantation destroyed in an attack by unknown pirates.

I asked the question to myself: What if that was Blackbeard?

Thus, the idea for Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure was born.

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Practice, practice, practice. Don’t be afraid of what others will think of your writing. Let it come from the heart. Write with the door closed, and don’t open it to others until you have your first draft complete.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

I love being able to create worlds and craft characters. My two main characters in Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure, Darwin and Lucas, grow as the story goes on, and by the end, they have a different outlook on life.

Sometimes, as with my murder mystery A Murder in Concord, I like setting an elaborate scene with a dead body dropped in the middle of it. Lucas found himself as the only suspect and took it upon himself to clear his name. To do that, he had to figure out the puzzle for himself during the book while having to run from another character with, um, bad intentions.

For me, the challenge was figuring it out myself on the fly. That was fun.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Take a shower or go for a drive. I kid you not, most of my best ideas come from those two places.

What is your current book about?

A 300-year-old mystery from one of the world’s most notorious pirates leads to the adventure of a lifetime for two friends – an adventure which could lead to fame and fortune, or to their deaths.

Deep within the archives at a museum in Raleigh, NC, Darwin Trickett makes the discovery of a lifetime: the diary of Blackbeard’s wife and a folded treasure map tucked in its pages. He asks Lucas Caine for assistance in helping find the location marked on the map which they believe was drawn by Blackbeard.

Now, these two friends embark on a journey in search of treasure. They uncover clues leading them to several locations along the Carolina coast while being shadowed by a group of mysterious men.

By the time Darwin and Lucas unravel the puzzle, they find themselves fighting for their lives.

What happens next will rewrite the history books and change the two men’s lives forever.

What book/movie/etc. is it comparable to?

I use real settings and events from the past to tie together a believable story in much the way Clive Cussler and Dan Brown does.

 

What are you working on now?

An action/adventure novel about the search for the Fountain of Youth usi

 

ng the sa

me cast of characters from Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure.

Where can readers go for more?

They can visit my website at CalebWygal.com or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.