M.R. Darling's Blog

What is a Sound Novel?

[image error]For those who have never heard the term, the contemporary concept of a Sound Novel is your book as displayed with pictures, music, and sound effects. You text, with appropriate backgrounds and sound effects or music while people read. EPUB v3.x is supposed to be this very thing but if you have bothered looking into it, you’ll know that it’s only half-cooked right now: Incomplete, unfinished, and requiring manual coding for everything but the basics.

Ren’Py is a Visual Novel engine; Mainly use...

Ground Zero No Longer

[image error]Due to the confusion that Ground Zero was creating, I decided to change the title to something more appropriate to counter the problem.

KDP Select provided little to no traction, despite all the fluff and grandeur it implied. In response, I have decided that simply giving the first seven chapters away as an incentive can’t possibly be any worse.

A Blue Horizon: 7 Chapter Sampler is now live, and the new title should be clear and easy to understand.

It is also now (mostly) FREE!

“Mostly?” You...

Book Signing & You

On September 14th 2016, I had my first books signing, ever. As much as one may think this is simply a matter of showing up with a pen, there is far more to it than that. First and foremost is preparation, and by that I mean advertising. Advertising everywhere, to everyone you know, and every place that you know. You may get dozens of confirmations for attendance, but people drop out, become busy, and generally may not be able to come. Those dozens become six, if you are lucky. Don’t think, “O...

When Words Collide: A Celebration

The sun is still bright in the Calgary sky as the third, and final day of When Words Collide comes to a close. Many a weary traveler embark on their final journey to the solitude of homes both near and far, and I am no exception. Staring out the window at the passing scenery, I reflect on the people I met, and the conversations I took part in.

As my first WWC, it was an intense but highly anticipated galaof writers and writing. New and upcoming authors were rubbing elbows with industry vetera...

You’re Wrong, Image is Everything

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. It’s a ridiculous sentiment propagated by people trying to lie to everyone, including themselves, that what you see on the outside means nothing. The human race have done this very thing for its entire existence, for its very existence. Judging is what we do, it’s how we stay alive, and it has worked for everyone still breathing. To deny that we judge is to deny that we categorize, or evaluate, or think for ourselves – the very antithesis of what that state...

Advertising For You or Advertising To You?

I will avoid naming names, but if you are an author – you already know them. You sign up, as compelled to by dozens of blogs and guides you have read. First rule of conduct? Don’t advertise your book! I’m sorry, wasn’t that the whole point of being here? Second rule of conduct? Don’t talk about your book or say anything that would incite others to do so. So, why am I here again? Oh, right. To pay for advertising so YOU can do these things for me – Aha! I get it now.

What does this advertising...

From Thought to Print (Part 2)

The first thing you need to know about print, is that it’s expensive. Possibly expensive for you, but mostly expensive for people to buy. You may tell yourself that $35 for a hardcover is not a bad price, but step into a big box store and look at what’s on sale – feel the same way now? It’s not that you want to sell that book for $35, it’s that you’ll have to sell that book for $35 just to make a buck – literally. The self-publishing industry is about making money off of you, not your books,...

Erotica, Romance, and the Death of Serious Fiction (Current Edition)

As much as I would love to point to someone like Erika James and scream, “That’s the one! Get her!” it just wouldn’t be fair. Erotica and romance stories have been around since the invention of fire, and is only going to evolve as the future approaches. Their resurgence into the limelight tells us that our society is starving for this type of fiction, or at least starving for the escape and ideas it provides. Far be it for me to suggest that we are a society that submits to our baser instinct...

It was the year 30,000: How to kill interest

Though my book exists in the realm of science fiction, I’m actually a realist. When a book sets itself up in a future so far advanced that it seems unreal, I’ve already set the book down and moved on. Unless you are an absolute visionary, and I assure you – that is rare, then you simply aren’t going to do it justice. Picking a setting that would, in reality, have almost no correlation to the world we live in today makes for an impossible task. If Arthur C. Clarke and William Gibson can’t pull...

Spending a Year Writing… (Part 4)

For two straight weeks, every morning started with a jolt of adrenaline. A gasp, a groan, and a lunge out of bed – I was late for work! The forces of evil drawing in on me, my termination ensured, I stumble to the shower, shaking the sleep from my mind. The shower starts, the steam rises, my mind frantically piecing together reality. Finally awake, finally understanding, I shout loud for the gods to hear, “What are you doing, moron?”

The steam stops after I turn off the water, and I stare onc...