Aaron Polson's Blog, page 24

I Do Not Write "Beach Reads"

I don't think I do, at least. Maybe "campfire reads" at times, but not "beach reads".

Anyway, the family went to the swimming pool last night. As will happen when I guy has been teaching for twelve years, I heard the tell-tale "Mr. Polson" from a former student (now a lifeguard at the pool).

"I'm reading your book," he said.

"Really? Which one?"

"Loathsome something. It's really good. Really good."

"Thanks," I said.

My former student moved on to his next station, and we proceed to do the "pool" thing--which means Max runs around in the shallow pool, Owen ditched us for some soccer camp friends, and I just let the cool water soothe my aching muscles. When my former student went on break (the lifeguards rotate every 10-15 minutes), I saw him walking to the break table with Loathsome, Dark and Deep under his arm.

Talk about a somewhat surreal moment. I think it was my first spotting of a book in the wild--at least outside of a bookstore. And at the swimming pool no less...

Awesome. Bizarre. A little bit of both.

"What Julie's Dad Doesn't Know" at Every Day Fiction

It's good to have some writing news to share (what with the on-going reconstruction of my house).

"What Julie's Dad Doesn't Know" is live today at Every Day Fiction. Give it a read, eh?

Getting Dirty

Our friend John turned 50 this weekend, and as part of the celebration he wanted to run the Dirty Duo, an adventure race in Kansas City. The race covered six miles and each teammate alternated between biking and running. At each mile, we had to overcome an obstacle--some were silly (giant inflatable Slip 'n' Slide); some were brutal (climbing forklift pallets, ducking under rope, climbing another pallet...). The final obstacle was a mud pit 40 feet long through which you were to crawl on your belly.

So fresh and so clean. I'm in the upper left. John, the birthday boy, is in the back row with the number "30".

Crossing the finish line with my partner Heather Coates. Notice how my race number has now become a muddy-muddy breech-clout.

Thank Zeus it's over. And thanks to Mary and Suze for the pictures.

I'm sure there's a metaphor for writing here, but I'll let you, dear reader, sort it out.

Have a great week.

When Do I Go Back to Earth?

No, I'm not referencing the wild ride We are the Monsters has been on this week. I'm not referencing the Dirty Duo race (ending in 40 feet of mud) this morning or Brandon Bell's lovely offer to "Aaron Polson Fans" (check it out). Wait--I have fans?

I'm talking about the insanity in my house, the utter chaos of home remodeling coupled with recovery from a lightning strike at our neighbor's place. Our beloved desktop computer (the one I use for 90% of my work) is toast. I have unfinished walls in half the basement and bare studs in the other half. Our bathroom counter top (special order) arrived, but we still don't have the special order vanity.

Sigh.

I just wanted to say "hi" to the blogosphere before putting on my gloves and getting back to work.

Hi.

In the Wall

Our home remodeling project has required a new wall.

While this sounds daunting, building a wall has been one of the easier tasks in which I've engaged. Nail a few studs (2" x 4" wood boards) together and you have a wall. Make sure they're level and square, of course. Hang the Sheetrock (or other wall covering) and no one can tell the difference between your wall and the pro's.

I hope.

Before I hung Sheetrock (gypsum board panels--it's what most interior walls are covered with rather than wood paneling anymore), I wrapped a signed copy of Loathsome, Dark and Deep in a plastic bag and stuffed it between two studs. Maybe in another fifty years someone will tear down my wall and wonder at the little book. Maybe they'll read it. Maybe they'll simply dynamite the place and never find it. My wife thought I was crazy.

I thought the idea was kind of fun. Besides... I've been a little disappointed at not finding any treasure as I've demolished our house. I wouldn't want to rob a future home re-modeler of the joy.

Cheers.

I am an Ant

For all of my marketing and promotion, I could not touch the toenails of what Amazon.com has done. Since We are the Monsters became free, the book has been downloaded 6,418* times in less than two days. My best month for any book, even at 99 cents, was 37 sales. 37. If I wait a half-hour, I'll have 37 more "sales" at the free price. Probably more.We are the Monsters is now #1 in Kindle Store>Kindle eBooks>Fiction>Genre Fiction>Horror>Ghosts and #23 in the Free Store. Talk about scary. It's even bumped sales of my other books (The House Eaters in particular--24 copies in two days). I couldn't pay for this kind of advertising, but I guess I am, in a way. The book is FREE. It's a good little book. I thought about sending it out on submission, but went the Kindle route instead. Glad I did. I'll speak about "writing magic" in another post; for now, just believe this little ebook is special. I need special right now.*** 6450 by the time I finished the post.***** Not only is our house in pieces on purpose (remodeling), we lost our phone, my computer (hands cramping on the netbook right now), and the fan on our furnace/air conditioner due to last night's thunderstorm/too close for comfort lightning strike. Not good. Not good at all.***6456. Scary.

The Power of Words

Bold? Power?

Whatever, it's an effing toilet. But it's my toilet, and we have two new ones. I'm a happy homeowner.

Ah, the bold power of marketing...

Five Question Friday with André Jute

Five Questions with André Jute:

1. What do you think makes a good story?
Empathy. The sort of reader I appeal to may tell you he/she/it likes the action or the visual descriptions or the exotic locations or whatever, and it will be true. But it won't be the primary, overriding truth, which is that sophisticated readers are not satisfied by any or all of these things in the absence of identification with the characters. Characters don't need to be sickening suckups but even the worst of them must have some redeeming feature that people recognize from within themselves.
2. What is the hardest part of being a writer?

Definitely getting used to rejection. I've been a professional writer since I was thirteen, and by the standards of our profession I have been more than decently successful, and decades later I'm still not used to rejection. Advertising, where I worked for several years, is widely said to be a ratfuckery, but I found it less bruising than being a writer, perhaps because I foolishly expect people in the arts to be more sensitive.
3. What would be the ideal meal for one of your favorite characters?

That's a question framed by a non-writer. Every one of my characters is different and would therefore choose a different ideal meal. It is, all the same, a valid question to ask a writer, because of course he creates at least some of his characters as wish fulfillment. So I'll tell you one of my favorite meals, which in fact I'll cook for my wife and me tonight. It consists of a bowl of cooked, peeled, backed prawns just heated through in butter with a dose of herbes Provencale or a grind of fresh black pepper, with perhaps a few cocktail tomatoes, say one each of plum, yellow and round red, thrown in for additional color, served with either garlic bread of plain buttered seeded bread fresh from the oven at our local supermarket. I'm of the opinion that an artist who hasn't learned to cook has some way to go yet.
4. What is the last book you read?

I'm reading my way one last time through the ten books in the series RUTHLESS TO WIN by my protege Dakota Franklin, which launches later this year, after the volunteer editors (I'm always recruiting, folks, so if you think you can do the job write to me — andrejute at coolmainpress dot com) cast one last pair of eyes over the texts to see that they are spotless. Of course I knew that Dakota is talented when I started working with her a dozen years ago, or I wouldn't have wasted my time, but now I'm just stunned by the superb way these ten novels, each with a different lead character, draws the reader into a whole world she has imagined, so real that you can reach out and touch the characters because you empathize with them so readily.
5. If your books could only have single color covers, what color would it be?

Sunflower yellow. I wouldn't have survived in a profession which eats its children for so long, or be so cheerful still, if I weren't basically optimistic. Today's little challenge was to choose a question from your long list, and make up my five with the next four in line, regardless, and to say something interesting about each of them. One of the grand things about being a writer is that your judges are out there, that you don't have to face them. Conversely, one of the grand things about the internet is that it puts you in touch with your readers. I've been amazed at how profoundly a writer can affect his readers' emotions and lives.
Netsite http://coolmainpress.com/andrejute.htmlBlog Kissing the Blarney http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/Amazon USA http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001K1KSHI Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001K1KSHISmashwords http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AndreJuteCoolmain Press http://coolmainpress.com/home.html

The Editing Ninja Has the Day Off

I'll get to FANBOYS next week. My wife and I are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary today.

'nuff said, right?

WIP Wednesday: Money, Money, Money

Characters need motivation, right?

I've decided three of my VICs (very important characters) in my as-yet-untitled supernatural thriller need money. They aren't greedy people. No, not at all. One is a decorated military veteran who finds himself disabled and unable to pay his bills. One is a college drop-out, working her butt off in retail but she can't pay her medical bills (related to an eating disorder which was directly related to the central--and for now, secret--conflict of the book). The third is working on her PhD in psychology, but loses funding for her research. *sad face*

Every character needs a motivation.

These VICs are about to be visited by their guardian angel devil. (No, this is not the "supernatural" in "supernatural thriller". He isn't literally a devil.)

Let the games begin.

How's your WIP going?