Mario Acevedo's Blog, page 14
July 16, 2012
Number One Book
Mario here:
While Jeanne is galavanting at San Diego Comic Con and working herself into a lather over Joss Whedon, we here at Biting-Edge Corporate are holding down the fort.
Holding down that fort includes watching the new first episode of Breaking Bad for Season Five. It's no surprise to you that Biting-Edge welcomes hard-boiled noir, the darker the better and nothing on TV comes close to satisfying our jones for grisly, gritty, and bloody as Breaking Bad. Season Four seemed to have ended the big story questions, but no. A lot more intrigue and double-crosses remain.
Breaking Bad fits right in with the book at the current number one spot in my reading queue, Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill. It's a collection of short stories, interwoven into a brutal narrative of crazed vengeance and rural justice. Gander at this amazing cover, illustrative of the desperation and bleakness within the narratives.The writing is not just fresh, but extraordinarily punchy and evocative.
Example:
A tweaker gets busted during a night poaching deer.
The cruiser's door slammed. Boots trailed over the loose gravel. Wayne watched the headlights black out the features of the approaching officer in the driver's side mirror. His right hand gripped the wooden stock of his Marlin lever-action 30-30 in the seat beside him that he had used to kill deer several hours ago. The Need square-danced with the amphetamines in his bloodstream , driving the fever in his brain to a boil, and he opened the door.
An eye-for-an-eye revenge about to go very wrong.
Rusted ringer washers. Gas stoves. Dry rotted tires and busted television sets decorated the flat rock hollows. The country yards of rusted trailers and broken-down farmhouses with abandoned red clay tractors. Vehicles on cider blocks. It was the poor man's fairy tale of rural survival. Hines could smell the survival's waste like the sweat that his pores excreted as he sped down the valley road.
While Jeanne is galavanting at San Diego Comic Con and working herself into a lather over Joss Whedon, we here at Biting-Edge Corporate are holding down the fort.
Holding down that fort includes watching the new first episode of Breaking Bad for Season Five. It's no surprise to you that Biting-Edge welcomes hard-boiled noir, the darker the better and nothing on TV comes close to satisfying our jones for grisly, gritty, and bloody as Breaking Bad. Season Four seemed to have ended the big story questions, but no. A lot more intrigue and double-crosses remain.
Breaking Bad fits right in with the book at the current number one spot in my reading queue, Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill. It's a collection of short stories, interwoven into a brutal narrative of crazed vengeance and rural justice. Gander at this amazing cover, illustrative of the desperation and bleakness within the narratives.The writing is not just fresh, but extraordinarily punchy and evocative.Example:
A tweaker gets busted during a night poaching deer.
The cruiser's door slammed. Boots trailed over the loose gravel. Wayne watched the headlights black out the features of the approaching officer in the driver's side mirror. His right hand gripped the wooden stock of his Marlin lever-action 30-30 in the seat beside him that he had used to kill deer several hours ago. The Need square-danced with the amphetamines in his bloodstream , driving the fever in his brain to a boil, and he opened the door.
An eye-for-an-eye revenge about to go very wrong.
Rusted ringer washers. Gas stoves. Dry rotted tires and busted television sets decorated the flat rock hollows. The country yards of rusted trailers and broken-down farmhouses with abandoned red clay tractors. Vehicles on cider blocks. It was the poor man's fairy tale of rural survival. Hines could smell the survival's waste like the sweat that his pores excreted as he sped down the valley road.
July 8, 2012
The more I know, the less I know
Mario here,
Before I got published, I vowed to never to succumb to firstbook-titis. If you're not careful, what can happen is that the first time you get published you come under the delusion that you've got this writing thing figured out. After all, you've graduated from wanna-be writer to Published Author! You've now got cred.
The symptoms of firstbook-itis include:
A desire to share your writerly wisdom with the rest of creation whether they ask for it or not. The need to critique every line of prose that comes your way.You got the inside angle on the "rules" so you're now obligated to let everyone know where their work falls short.I'm sure many of you have been burdened with putting up with the self-important pronouncements of a firstbook-itis sufferer.
Fortunately, I'm way past the firstbook-itis syndrome. The more I write and the more I'm exposed to the publishing biz the less convinced I know much with any certainty. I can read something and tell if it meets an acceptable level of competence. Beyond that, the best I can do is shrug. I've read plenty of manuscripts that didn't jazz me and they went on to garner the attention and money I'm craving. So what did I miss?
So when the firstbook-itis sufferer attempts to browbeat you with their inflated opinion, smile with the knowledge that sooner or later, they'll get a publishing smackdown that should purge their egos.
Before I got published, I vowed to never to succumb to firstbook-titis. If you're not careful, what can happen is that the first time you get published you come under the delusion that you've got this writing thing figured out. After all, you've graduated from wanna-be writer to Published Author! You've now got cred.
The symptoms of firstbook-itis include:
A desire to share your writerly wisdom with the rest of creation whether they ask for it or not. The need to critique every line of prose that comes your way.You got the inside angle on the "rules" so you're now obligated to let everyone know where their work falls short.I'm sure many of you have been burdened with putting up with the self-important pronouncements of a firstbook-itis sufferer.
Fortunately, I'm way past the firstbook-itis syndrome. The more I write and the more I'm exposed to the publishing biz the less convinced I know much with any certainty. I can read something and tell if it meets an acceptable level of competence. Beyond that, the best I can do is shrug. I've read plenty of manuscripts that didn't jazz me and they went on to garner the attention and money I'm craving. So what did I miss?
So when the firstbook-itis sufferer attempts to browbeat you with their inflated opinion, smile with the knowledge that sooner or later, they'll get a publishing smackdown that should purge their egos.
July 4, 2012
Happy 4th!!
Good news for once-- no new fires burning in Colorado!
Next Thursday I'll be in San Diego for ComicCon and a few days of R&R-- I'll be on a panel Saturday, the 14th at 10:30, Room 5AB if you're in the neighborhood. Signing after. And then some fun with friends and family. So, I'm taking a vacation day next week...I know it'll seem dull without me, but you do still have Mario...who will be a year older on Friday...but you didn't hear that from me.
And speaking of, I loved Mario's post on the 70's--that was a strange and wonderful time.
And speaking again of Mario, the Great Gatsby is one of his favorite books. I came across this while perusing some media sites this week. This is the one piece of footage left from the earliest adaptation of the film...a 1926 trailer.
And here is a Guardian article--the Great Gatsby in pictures.
# # # #
We celebrated our 4th early with a critique group party in our backyard. Here are some pics from the festivities:
The gang at ease
Tamra, Margie, Warren, Phil
Angie, Bobette, Terry
Margie, Warren, Phil, Mario
Tamra, Margie, Warren
Tom
Hope your holiday was safe and full of fun, too!
Next Thursday I'll be in San Diego for ComicCon and a few days of R&R-- I'll be on a panel Saturday, the 14th at 10:30, Room 5AB if you're in the neighborhood. Signing after. And then some fun with friends and family. So, I'm taking a vacation day next week...I know it'll seem dull without me, but you do still have Mario...who will be a year older on Friday...but you didn't hear that from me.
And speaking of, I loved Mario's post on the 70's--that was a strange and wonderful time.
And speaking again of Mario, the Great Gatsby is one of his favorite books. I came across this while perusing some media sites this week. This is the one piece of footage left from the earliest adaptation of the film...a 1926 trailer.
And here is a Guardian article--the Great Gatsby in pictures.
# # # #
We celebrated our 4th early with a critique group party in our backyard. Here are some pics from the festivities:
The gang at ease
Tamra, Margie, Warren, Phil
Angie, Bobette, Terry
Margie, Warren, Phil, Mario
Tamra, Margie, Warren
TomHope your holiday was safe and full of fun, too!
July 1, 2012
When we all circled the drain
Mario here:
Years ago I vowed that I would never write a story set during the 70's. For various reasons, I had to break that promise when I wrote a piece of short fiction for You Don't Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens. Once done with that, I had hoped that I wouldn't have to return to the cultural wastelands of my formative years.
But here I am. What happened is that I'm working on a freelance project that spans the 60's to the early 2000's, and a significant amount of the action takes place during the 70's. I was in the ninth grade in 1970 and entered Army flight school in 1979. In between, I went through high school, college, lived in Tempe for a summer, spent a night in jail, joined the army, and got married.
There was a lot I forgot--on purpose--and thinking the 70's couldn't have been that bad, I bought a copy of 70s All American Ads to refresh my memory.
In his forward, cultural scholar Steven Heller dismisses the 70's as a cultural sinkhole and goes on to explain why. Even me, fashion yokel that I was, could see that we were in a stylistic morass. To go through this book is like plunging fresh daggers in my eyes. And sadly, I committed many grooming atrocities and have pictures to prove it. Like this one.
And somewhere, there's a snapshot of me in the ubiquitous and horrific maroon tuxedo with a ruffled pink shirt with maroon piping, and brown platforms. At least, I had the sense to not buy a leisure suit or worse, the one-piece jump suit. The hair! The bad clothes! The awful earth tones (mustard, avocado, beige). Shag rugs. Even the cars were butt ugly. The entire decade looked like the set of a porn movie.
Compare the cover of that book to that of 20s All American Decades and we see why we hang our heads and weep. Even though the 20s predated my parents, I still feel nostalgia for that time. The elegance, the style, the striving for an ideal--while I feel nothing but loathing for the 70s.
But to say there was no progress would be a lie. In the 20's, African-Americans were seldom depicted as anything more than maids or porters. In contrast, check out this 70's cat in his 'fro, 'stache, aviator shades, and long shirt collars, and tell me he doesn't look like a bad mo-fo.
While the 70's didn't look good, the decade did produce some of Hollywood's most iconic movies. Clockwork Orange. Patton. Dirty Harry. The Wild Bunch. Star Wars. The Road Warrior. Rocky. Apocalypse Now. Alien. As well as Death Race 2000 and Vanishing Point.
Years ago I vowed that I would never write a story set during the 70's. For various reasons, I had to break that promise when I wrote a piece of short fiction for You Don't Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens. Once done with that, I had hoped that I wouldn't have to return to the cultural wastelands of my formative years.
But here I am. What happened is that I'm working on a freelance project that spans the 60's to the early 2000's, and a significant amount of the action takes place during the 70's. I was in the ninth grade in 1970 and entered Army flight school in 1979. In between, I went through high school, college, lived in Tempe for a summer, spent a night in jail, joined the army, and got married.
There was a lot I forgot--on purpose--and thinking the 70's couldn't have been that bad, I bought a copy of 70s All American Ads to refresh my memory.
In his forward, cultural scholar Steven Heller dismisses the 70's as a cultural sinkhole and goes on to explain why. Even me, fashion yokel that I was, could see that we were in a stylistic morass. To go through this book is like plunging fresh daggers in my eyes. And sadly, I committed many grooming atrocities and have pictures to prove it. Like this one.
And somewhere, there's a snapshot of me in the ubiquitous and horrific maroon tuxedo with a ruffled pink shirt with maroon piping, and brown platforms. At least, I had the sense to not buy a leisure suit or worse, the one-piece jump suit. The hair! The bad clothes! The awful earth tones (mustard, avocado, beige). Shag rugs. Even the cars were butt ugly. The entire decade looked like the set of a porn movie.
Compare the cover of that book to that of 20s All American Decades and we see why we hang our heads and weep. Even though the 20s predated my parents, I still feel nostalgia for that time. The elegance, the style, the striving for an ideal--while I feel nothing but loathing for the 70s.
But to say there was no progress would be a lie. In the 20's, African-Americans were seldom depicted as anything more than maids or porters. In contrast, check out this 70's cat in his 'fro, 'stache, aviator shades, and long shirt collars, and tell me he doesn't look like a bad mo-fo.
While the 70's didn't look good, the decade did produce some of Hollywood's most iconic movies. Clockwork Orange. Patton. Dirty Harry. The Wild Bunch. Star Wars. The Road Warrior. Rocky. Apocalypse Now. Alien. As well as Death Race 2000 and Vanishing Point.
June 27, 2012
Colorado is on fire...
Unbelievable wildfires and weather are turning Colorado into hell--literally. We here on the flatlands, meaning the Denver Metro Area, are safe. But the foothills around Colorado Springs (including the area near the Air Force Academy), High Park, Flagstaff, and Eldo Springs are all in danger. It's a catastrophe of epic proportions. High winds and temperatures are adding to the problems. It's been a crazy start to the summer.
# # # #
From Buzzfeed-- something that tickled me.
# # # #
Never got to see this group...now I guess I won't:
The Rock Bottom Remainders, a contingent that has made it clear with every performance that literary giants like Amy Tan, Stephen King and Scott Turow really did make the right decision when they set aside their musical ambitions to write books, is calling it a career after two Southern California shows later this month. Among (those playing with them at one time or another were Bruce) Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Judy Collins, Ronnie Spector, Al Kooper and the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn.
It was Springsteen, Barry recalled, who after playing with the group told them they weren’t that bad, then offered this advice: "Don’t get any better or you’ll be just another lousy garage band."
Full story here
# # # #
Terrifying French children's books - in pictures
From The Guardian: When Jenny Colgan moved to France, she was so alarmed by the children's books that she decided to blog the scariest.
"I don't know why so many French children's books are so bafflingly, needlessly frightening. Before moving there, we lived in the Netherlands; they had the same rabbits with ethnically varied chums and dinosaur mummies tucking up dinosaur babies as we do in the UK. I also can't envisage the publishing meeting in which someone says 'Hey! I've got this great kids' book where a girl puts her head in a plastic bag!' ('La Tête dans le Sac') and everyone thinks what a fine idea, but - tant pis. Here are a few examples (more on my blog), all courtesy of the Médiathèque d'Antibes, which is shut on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursday and Friday mornings, and 12-2pm Wednesday and Saturday, but when open has the most helpful (and rested) librarians to be found anywhere."
Yikes!
# # # # So I think that's it for me this week. Got to get back to finishing the last of the Anna Strong stories. This one will be quite different from Haunted--the new one out in August. Much more introspective as Anna faces a very human, very painful situation--the death of a parent. But there's a love story involved, too, and I have to admit, it's been satisfying to write. In fact, Anna keeps surprising me. Under that hard-boiled, kick-ass exterior may beat the heart of a romantic!
# # # #
From Buzzfeed-- something that tickled me.
# # # #Never got to see this group...now I guess I won't:
The Rock Bottom Remainders, a contingent that has made it clear with every performance that literary giants like Amy Tan, Stephen King and Scott Turow really did make the right decision when they set aside their musical ambitions to write books, is calling it a career after two Southern California shows later this month. Among (those playing with them at one time or another were Bruce) Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Judy Collins, Ronnie Spector, Al Kooper and the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn.It was Springsteen, Barry recalled, who after playing with the group told them they weren’t that bad, then offered this advice: "Don’t get any better or you’ll be just another lousy garage band."
Full story here
# # # #
Terrifying French children's books - in pictures
From The Guardian: When Jenny Colgan moved to France, she was so alarmed by the children's books that she decided to blog the scariest.
"I don't know why so many French children's books are so bafflingly, needlessly frightening. Before moving there, we lived in the Netherlands; they had the same rabbits with ethnically varied chums and dinosaur mummies tucking up dinosaur babies as we do in the UK. I also can't envisage the publishing meeting in which someone says 'Hey! I've got this great kids' book where a girl puts her head in a plastic bag!' ('La Tête dans le Sac') and everyone thinks what a fine idea, but - tant pis. Here are a few examples (more on my blog), all courtesy of the Médiathèque d'Antibes, which is shut on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursday and Friday mornings, and 12-2pm Wednesday and Saturday, but when open has the most helpful (and rested) librarians to be found anywhere."
Yikes! # # # # So I think that's it for me this week. Got to get back to finishing the last of the Anna Strong stories. This one will be quite different from Haunted--the new one out in August. Much more introspective as Anna faces a very human, very painful situation--the death of a parent. But there's a love story involved, too, and I have to admit, it's been satisfying to write. In fact, Anna keeps surprising me. Under that hard-boiled, kick-ass exterior may beat the heart of a romantic!
June 24, 2012
Hellfire and Rattle-n-Roll
Mario here:
If you're of those who hasn't yet seen Prometheus, count yourself lucky. I could go on and on about why it was such a mess, but go google the reviews and take your pick.
It's ironic and unfair that the critics heaped so much scorn on John Carter when its plot made a lot more sense than Prometheus'.
Closer to home, I've been reading nonfiction books as research for a freelance project. One recommended book was Hellfire by Nick Tosches, the story of The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis. It's a very American Southern tale, what with Lewis marrying his cousin and other girls in their mid-teens, moonshine, pills, loose women, speaking in tongues, guns, his run-ins with the law, his son drowning in the family swimming pool, setting his piano on fire, more loose women, Elvis, and most fascinating of all, playing Iago in a rockabilly presentation of Othello, to critical acclaim and much success.
That video is interesting but you don't get a sense of Lewis' wild charisma. Try this for some hard rockin' 60s headbanging:
We've got reason to cheer one of our own. The Broadway Book Mall hosted Beth Groundwater's signing for her latest novel, Wicked Eddies, which earned a Critic's Pick from Kirkus Book Reviews. Beth called foul when asked if she enjoyed a good paddling.
If you're of those who hasn't yet seen Prometheus, count yourself lucky. I could go on and on about why it was such a mess, but go google the reviews and take your pick.
It's ironic and unfair that the critics heaped so much scorn on John Carter when its plot made a lot more sense than Prometheus'.
Closer to home, I've been reading nonfiction books as research for a freelance project. One recommended book was Hellfire by Nick Tosches, the story of The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis. It's a very American Southern tale, what with Lewis marrying his cousin and other girls in their mid-teens, moonshine, pills, loose women, speaking in tongues, guns, his run-ins with the law, his son drowning in the family swimming pool, setting his piano on fire, more loose women, Elvis, and most fascinating of all, playing Iago in a rockabilly presentation of Othello, to critical acclaim and much success.That video is interesting but you don't get a sense of Lewis' wild charisma. Try this for some hard rockin' 60s headbanging:
We've got reason to cheer one of our own. The Broadway Book Mall hosted Beth Groundwater's signing for her latest novel, Wicked Eddies, which earned a Critic's Pick from Kirkus Book Reviews. Beth called foul when asked if she enjoyed a good paddling.
June 21, 2012
Hot Days, Cool Theaters
Because I have been in Big Bear plotting Book 2 of the new series, I have been out of touch with what's going on in the media world. But I did see
Prometheus
last weekend (the first trailer presented herein) and there are a lot of kick-ass movies coming out soon. Here's a trailer sampling:
Savages
Get More: Emile Hirsch, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, Aaron Johnson, Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog
Spiderman
Rock of Ages
Brave
The Dark Knight Rises
As usual, summer is the season of the thriller. I can hardly wait. Since we're officially in summer, what are your plans (movie or otherwise) for the upcoming months?
Savages
Get More: Emile Hirsch, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro, Aaron Johnson, Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog
Spiderman
Rock of Ages
Brave
The Dark Knight Rises
As usual, summer is the season of the thriller. I can hardly wait. Since we're officially in summer, what are your plans (movie or otherwise) for the upcoming months?
June 17, 2012
Geek nirvana
Mario here:
Denver's first ComicCon is now one for the history books. Attendance was predicted at 10K and over 20K showed up. A huge success by any standards. There were celebrities, artists, fabulous exhibitors, great panelists, and of course, a starship's worth of amazing fans.
I have to thank my fellow writers for classing up the proceedings. Here we are at the Paranormal panel. From left: Tamela Buhrke, Jeanne Stein, Betsy Dornbusch, David Boop, and Lynda Hilburn.
Not pictured but definitely present: Jason Heller, Stephen Graham Jones, Carrie Vaughn, Molly Tanzer, and Peter Wacks. During our panels, we agreed on some things, disagreed on others, but were in consensus that everyone needs to stock Ak47s and ammo for the impending Apocalypse.
Denver's first ComicCon is now one for the history books. Attendance was predicted at 10K and over 20K showed up. A huge success by any standards. There were celebrities, artists, fabulous exhibitors, great panelists, and of course, a starship's worth of amazing fans.
I have to thank my fellow writers for classing up the proceedings. Here we are at the Paranormal panel. From left: Tamela Buhrke, Jeanne Stein, Betsy Dornbusch, David Boop, and Lynda Hilburn.
Not pictured but definitely present: Jason Heller, Stephen Graham Jones, Carrie Vaughn, Molly Tanzer, and Peter Wacks. During our panels, we agreed on some things, disagreed on others, but were in consensus that everyone needs to stock Ak47s and ammo for the impending Apocalypse.
June 14, 2012
What a way to start the day...
Well, I just lost my complete blog. Vanished into the either. I've been saving, too, so I don't know WTF happened. I just hope this isn't indicative of what the rest of my day is going to be like.
Anyway, the original title for this post was going to be An Exciting Week in the Life of a Writer. But I realized that sounded like I was being critical and getting and staying published are two of the best things that have ever happened to me.
But there are weeks, like the ten days ahead of me, when I have to do less writing and more of the promo stuff. I'm not good at it. My stomach gets tied up in knots.
Here's what I have in store:
Denver ComicCon
Denver is hosting its first ever Comic Con June 15 - 17 at the Convention Center downtown. They've lined up a pretty impressive list of guests including my favorite, James Marsters. I have a small part to play, too. Here is my schedule:
FRIDAY 7 PMLocal Author Spotlight Hyatt Room 3 SAT 11 AMNew Horror and Urban Fantasy Lit C104 SAT 1 PMStrong Woman Writers and Characters in SF and Urban Fantasy - Capitol 2 SAT 4 PM Hyatt Room 2
Paranormal Outer Limits
Since I haven't seen a program yet with panel descriptions, I can only guess from the titles what we'll be talking about. Friday night I think I'll be reading from Haunted, the next AS book out on August 28.
San Diego - Mon - Thurs
Then it's off to San Diego for four days to meet with my collaborator, Samantha Sommersby, on our new series. We plan to polish off the first book (which I assume will be out sometime early next year) and plot out the second. It will be four days of work. Maybe a little play. But mostly work.
Rom Con
When I get back, it's time for another Denver Con, Rom Con. Here's my schedule for that one:
Paranormal Slayers at 2:40 on Friday
Speed Date at 11:20 on Saturday
Paranormal Chat 1:30 on Saturday
Intimate Chat at 2:40 on Saturday
Book signing Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.
Full and busy weekend.
In between all this, I'm finishing off the ninth Anna Strong book, judging entries for the Colorado Gold Writing Conference and planning the book signing schedule for Haunted.
I have the first lined up, btw....mark your calendars...August 28, TC Highlands Ranch. First day you can get the book in your hot little hands.
I do want to return to the normal blog things I use to talk about, though. Hopefully, by the middle of July I can concentrate more on media stuff and less on what's going on with me. Which I realize isn't nearly as interesting as a sexy picture of James Marsters.
Anyway, the original title for this post was going to be An Exciting Week in the Life of a Writer. But I realized that sounded like I was being critical and getting and staying published are two of the best things that have ever happened to me.
But there are weeks, like the ten days ahead of me, when I have to do less writing and more of the promo stuff. I'm not good at it. My stomach gets tied up in knots.
Here's what I have in store:
Denver ComicConDenver is hosting its first ever Comic Con June 15 - 17 at the Convention Center downtown. They've lined up a pretty impressive list of guests including my favorite, James Marsters. I have a small part to play, too. Here is my schedule:
FRIDAY 7 PMLocal Author Spotlight Hyatt Room 3 SAT 11 AMNew Horror and Urban Fantasy Lit C104 SAT 1 PMStrong Woman Writers and Characters in SF and Urban Fantasy - Capitol 2 SAT 4 PM Hyatt Room 2
Paranormal Outer Limits
Since I haven't seen a program yet with panel descriptions, I can only guess from the titles what we'll be talking about. Friday night I think I'll be reading from Haunted, the next AS book out on August 28.
San Diego - Mon - Thurs
Then it's off to San Diego for four days to meet with my collaborator, Samantha Sommersby, on our new series. We plan to polish off the first book (which I assume will be out sometime early next year) and plot out the second. It will be four days of work. Maybe a little play. But mostly work.
Rom Con When I get back, it's time for another Denver Con, Rom Con. Here's my schedule for that one:
Paranormal Slayers at 2:40 on Friday
Speed Date at 11:20 on Saturday
Paranormal Chat 1:30 on Saturday
Intimate Chat at 2:40 on Saturday
Book signing Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.
Full and busy weekend.
In between all this, I'm finishing off the ninth Anna Strong book, judging entries for the Colorado Gold Writing Conference and planning the book signing schedule for Haunted.
I have the first lined up, btw....mark your calendars...August 28, TC Highlands Ranch. First day you can get the book in your hot little hands.
I do want to return to the normal blog things I use to talk about, though. Hopefully, by the middle of July I can concentrate more on media stuff and less on what's going on with me. Which I realize isn't nearly as interesting as a sexy picture of James Marsters.
June 10, 2012
What do they know?
Mario here:
Over at the League of Reluctant Adults, we had a lively discussion when Kevin Hearne wondered what to do about an especially snippy email from a reader in Australia, one that Kevin shared with us on the loop. Kevin's first reaction was to pen an especially nasty reply worthy of the Aussie's asshattediness. But we talked the gun out of Kevin's hand and calmed him down. Of course, when we send such a message, we expect the recipient to roll over and whimper, "Thank you so much for pointing out what worthless human being I am. Allow me to eat worms and grovel at your feet." But that doesn't happen. If nothing else, we'll get the bile spewed back by some waste of sperm who has less to lose than any of us, so our response tends to be to ignore the fool.
So how do you respond to crappy "fan mail" and lousy reviews? We in League shift through the bilge of of our one-star reviews on Amazon. We critique our favorites on the League loop and wonder (not too hard) about the personal issues afflicting said reviewer. We speculate about their demented fetishes, usually involving farm animals, funnels, and the ingestion of various bodily fluids and excretions.
Since one factor that leads readers to your books are reviews, we have an interest in having as many and as positive reviews as possible. Elle Lothlorien regards her reviewers as unsatisfied customers and engages them directly and in many cases the reviewer substitutes their poor review for a better one. (Which gets back to the League's position that a one-star review is less about the perceived quality of the book than it is the reviewer needing therapy.)
In the long run, how effective are reviews? The critics initially crapped all over F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and we see how that book got pushed into the literary Dumpster.
The top book right now on my TBR pile is Hammer of the Gods, The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis. In their review of LZ's first American tour, Rolling Stone wrote: "...they will have to find a producer, editor and some material worthy of their collective talents." We see how history gave that critic a well-deserved noogie.
You'll get no noogies at the ongoing Lighthouse LitFest. I'll be reading at their first ever book fair, Friday, 1:45PM, at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, 1515 Race St, Denver.
But if you get a noogie at Denver ComicCon 2012, it'll be done with a pencil or a space blaster.
Check me out next weekend at the Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver.
Saturday June 16, 4pm “Paranormal” with Tamela Buhrke, Jeanne Stein, Lynda Hilburn. (Hyatt Capitol Room 2)
Saturday 6pm “The State of Horror in this Pre-Apocalyptic Age" with Carrie Vaughn, Molly Tanzer, Lynda Hillburn, and David Boop. (Room 104 )
Sunday 10-11am “Great SF/fantasy/horror books” (Room 104)
Extra! Extra!
My first novel, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats is on sale at Amazon for $2.99.
Over at the League of Reluctant Adults, we had a lively discussion when Kevin Hearne wondered what to do about an especially snippy email from a reader in Australia, one that Kevin shared with us on the loop. Kevin's first reaction was to pen an especially nasty reply worthy of the Aussie's asshattediness. But we talked the gun out of Kevin's hand and calmed him down. Of course, when we send such a message, we expect the recipient to roll over and whimper, "Thank you so much for pointing out what worthless human being I am. Allow me to eat worms and grovel at your feet." But that doesn't happen. If nothing else, we'll get the bile spewed back by some waste of sperm who has less to lose than any of us, so our response tends to be to ignore the fool.So how do you respond to crappy "fan mail" and lousy reviews? We in League shift through the bilge of of our one-star reviews on Amazon. We critique our favorites on the League loop and wonder (not too hard) about the personal issues afflicting said reviewer. We speculate about their demented fetishes, usually involving farm animals, funnels, and the ingestion of various bodily fluids and excretions.
Since one factor that leads readers to your books are reviews, we have an interest in having as many and as positive reviews as possible. Elle Lothlorien regards her reviewers as unsatisfied customers and engages them directly and in many cases the reviewer substitutes their poor review for a better one. (Which gets back to the League's position that a one-star review is less about the perceived quality of the book than it is the reviewer needing therapy.)
In the long run, how effective are reviews? The critics initially crapped all over F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and we see how that book got pushed into the literary Dumpster.
The top book right now on my TBR pile is Hammer of the Gods, The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis. In their review of LZ's first American tour, Rolling Stone wrote: "...they will have to find a producer, editor and some material worthy of their collective talents." We see how history gave that critic a well-deserved noogie.
You'll get no noogies at the ongoing Lighthouse LitFest. I'll be reading at their first ever book fair, Friday, 1:45PM, at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, 1515 Race St, Denver.
But if you get a noogie at Denver ComicCon 2012, it'll be done with a pencil or a space blaster.
Check me out next weekend at the Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver.
Saturday June 16, 4pm “Paranormal” with Tamela Buhrke, Jeanne Stein, Lynda Hilburn. (Hyatt Capitol Room 2)
Saturday 6pm “The State of Horror in this Pre-Apocalyptic Age" with Carrie Vaughn, Molly Tanzer, Lynda Hillburn, and David Boop. (Room 104 )
Sunday 10-11am “Great SF/fantasy/horror books” (Room 104)
Extra! Extra!
My first novel, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats is on sale at Amazon for $2.99.
Mario Acevedo's Blog
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