Bobby Nash's Blog, page 430

BOBBY'S FIRST TV INTERVIEW...

Host Karen AllenI was interviewed for the talk show, Talk of the Town this morning for WTV, which is the local station for the town I live in. During the interview, the show's host, Karen Allen and I talked about writing, Evil Ways, and Fight Card: Barefoot Bones.

The interview will go up on TV and internet on Wednesday.
I will post a link when it is available.

Thanks again to Karen Allen and Christopher Childs for having me on the show.

Bobby

SOMETIMES I GET ASKED STUFF… PART 7

"Hey! Come back here! I have to ask you something!" As a writer I get to meet some of the most interesting people. Whether it is at conventions, store signings, through the Earth Station One podcast, writer’s groups, on social media, and sometimes just from people I run into on when I venture out of the cave I call my office, I get asked questions. Sometimes they are about writing or what I’m working on. Other times they’re out of left field. I thought it would be interesting to share some of them along with a few answers. Regardless of where they come from, here’s a few of the latest.

Check out Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, part 5 here, and part 6 here.

Thanks for making Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff... the most popular feature on this site.

Now available.Before we dive into the questions, I wanted to say thank you to everyone for the extraordinarily kind birthday wishes last week. They were greatly appreciated and really brightened my day. Okay, now back to the Nash News Mailbag.

I swear, this first one wasn’t staged.

Q: Anything new coming out soon?

Funny you should mention that. Just a few days ago, Fight Card: Barefoot Bones was released as an ebook for Kindle. I don’t want to turn this column into an advertisement, but you can learn all about it here.

Snoopy know the heartache.These next two are rather similar and I do get this type of question a lot. It’s a sad fact that it is hard to show off just your script to a comic book editor. It’s not impossible, but the odds are not in your favor. If you look at the submission guidelines for most comic book publishers, you’ll see that the majority of them are not looking for writers alone.

Snoopy knows the pain.Q: Could you recommend a company friendly to comic script submissions?

Sadly, there aren't really many (if any) comic publishers out there looking for script submissions. These days, most want to see a finished comic, drawn, lettered, and colored. Most want to read a published comic you wrote to see how you write and from there will decide if they want to see more work from you.
Snoopy knows rejection.
My advice is to team up with an artist or-- if you can afford it-- hire an artist and self publish a creator-owned title. You can shop that around as well to companies that are looking for creator-owned work. They are out there. Just check the submission guides to see what publishers are interested in looking at what and go from there.

Good luck.

Q: I recently created a comic book, which am lettering, but am seeking a publisher to partner with to get my work published and distributed. What should I do?
Funny because it's true.
This is the hard part. Search the websites for publishers publishing creator-owned comics and submit to them. Or, meet an editor at a convention and talk to them about your project. I can tell you from experience that this part of the process is not an easy one. It's a slow process and can become frustrating. You will receive rejection letters from some and will possibly never even get a response from others.

An alternative is self publishing a Print On Demand comic with Indy Press, CreateSpace, or some other place that allows you to do that. It will get the book out faster, but you have to do all of the advertising and a POD comic will likely never be seen inside a comic shop, but you will have a book in hand you can use to show off your talents to publishers.
This is my target audience.
You’ll have to decide which method works best for you.

Q: How many of your actual, real life experiences make their way into your fiction?

Quite a bit actually. Sometimes the outcome is changed or it gets expanded, but snippets from real life are all over my writing. Usually, it’s small bits here and there, but it’s those touches that add an extra something to the story.
This is also my target audience.
Q: Who is your book's target audience?

It depends on the book, of course, but my books are usually aimed at teenagers and up. There are exceptions from time to time.

Q: In your opinion as a writer do you agree that "99% of the time, the books are better than the movies”?

That’s a good question. I really don’t know. I think novels and movies adapted from them are definitely different creatures. I’ve seen instances where the book is better (JAWS comes to mind) and others where the movie is better (Jurassic Park springs to mind). One thing I usually see is that the book and movie are usually different from one another. It’s rare (although it does happen) to see a faithful adaptation.

Q: How sharp is your instinct for a story? Have you ever had a critique partner, agent or publisher suggest a change to your manuscript then slapped your head and thought "I knew I should have done that!" Do you always follow your instincts, or sometimes get sidetracked by friends or family input?

Following my instincts has served me well so far, but there have been times when an editor’s notes will make me realize that the story could be tighter with the addition or removal of parts. I just recently had that happen on story edits. The editor’s notes really tightened up the story by eliminating one pesky little thing I was doing in the way I wrote the story.

An instance where instinct served me well happened on the Nightbeat: Night Stories audio/ebook release last year. I had mapped out a plot and was writing to that plot, confident in the identity and role of the villain of the story. Near the end, as I was writing dialogue, one of the characters said something that made me realize that I had it all wrong. The person I thought was the villain was not the villain at all. Sure, he was a bad guy, but not the main villain of the story. That realization made for a much better ending. When I went back to plant clues for the reveal-- I like to play fair with my readers so twists and reveals like this one does not come out of nowhere-- I was surprised to discover they were already there. It was either instinct, my subconscious, or perhaps the characters speaking to me that made it happen. I love it when the characters dictate the story this way.

Q: What's best: Apple pie or Cherry pie?

Of the two, I prefer apple. However, if you’re asking about favorite pie, that would be either lemon meringue pie or pecan pie. Yum. These days, I try to avoid all pies as I’m trying to drop some weight.

Q: Your Favorite Kevin Kline Movie?

Silverado.

Q: If SyFy came up to you and said, "We want to make an original movie based on your intellectual property," would you do it?

Probably. I’d have to read the contract first.

Q: When do you say it's finished? Writers, like most artists, have a hard time stepping away from a piece of work and choosing to call it "complete". When do you know a book is finished?

Some projects, like my novels, for example, I will tinker with until I’m happy with it. Other projects, specifically those with deadlines, come with their own “it’s done” date.

It's Writing Time!Q: How much writing time do you budget into your day?

At the moment I spend a good 10 or more hours a day, 7 days a week at the keyboard. There are the occasional days off, but lately there haven’t been many of those. When I also worked a full time day job, that number dropped significantly as I only had 1 - 2 hours a day available during the week and then I spent the weekend writing.

Not Actual CoverQ: What was the first thing you knew about your current protagonist?

I’m working on the first novel in what I hope will be a series “Snow.” In the first story, “Snow Falls,” we meet the protagonist, Abraham Snow. Before I even started I knew the opening scene and the effect it would have on the character moving forward. I also immediately heard his voice so I felt like I knew him. From there it was all about peeling back the layers.

Q: Do you pick apart books more during or after you have editing sessions with your own book?

Love this cover.Sometimes it happens without me thinking about it. It’s not always easy, but I’ve learned to mute the editor part of my brain when reading for enjoyment. I still sometimes find myself wondering how I would have written the same type of scene after reading a scene in a novel.

Q: What is your favorite comic book cover?

This is one of those where the answer will change from day to day, but the cover to Bat Lash #2 with art by the incredible Nick Cardy is one that always makes my list of favorites. Bat Lash is a western and this cover tells so much that it made me want to pick up that book and read it.

Q: How do you feel about prologues?Free plug: Both are still available.

Prologues have their place and can be very useful. With my novels, I often do a short opening chapter that is not numbered. It ends then we get a page with the novel’s title and then into chapter 1. I like the way it allows me to tease into the story similar to how a James Bond movie opens, for lack of a better comparison at the moment. I don’t call it a prologue, but I suppose it technically is one. This format works for me. It might not work for everyone.

You know what ol' Jack Burton says.Q: Have you paid your dues, Jack?

Yes, sir, the check is in the mail.

Q: What do you write, Bobby?

A little bit of everything. My novels run from thrillers to sci fi. I write shorter pieces in whatever genre the publishers are looking for, usually action, adventure, pulp, sci fi, but I've also done horror, sports, and westerns. I also occasionally write comic books and screenplays.
"NO! I won't read your script!"
You can see all of my work at www.bobbynash.com if you're interested.

And I think that is a good place to finish this round of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer? Post them here as a comment or send them along to bobby@bobbynash.com and I’ll answer them in a future installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff...

Also, please sign up for my mailing list. Drop me an email at bobby@bobbynash.com and I'll happily add you to the list.


Before I go, my Fight Card Books release “Barefoot Bones” is now available. You can purchase it here. Keep watching this space. You can read my behind the scenes essay here.

I hope you're having a great weekend.

Bobby

CRACKING THE TOP 100!

Fight Card: Barefoot Bones by Bobby Nash writing as Jack Tunney is currently ranked #66 on Kindle's Top 100 Sports Titles. You can find it here.

Thanks to everyone who helped get it there.

Can we hit #1?

Also, check out the banner ads I made to help promote the title. The ones below have the open space at bottom left for Facebook covers like you can see here and here. Click for a larger view and feel free to share them and help spread the word.

Thanks again to all those who stopped by Amazon to check out Fight Card: Barefoot Bones.

Bobby

NOW AVAILABLE-- FIGHT CARD: BAREFOOT BONES!

Fight Fiction Publisher, Fight Card Books has released Fight Card: Barefoot Bones. Fight Card: Barefoot Bones is a written by pulpmeister Bobby Nash, the 2013 Pulp Ark Award winner for Best Author, writing under the Fight Card house name of Jack Tunney. Under a cover by David Foster and edits by Fight Card co-creator Paul Bishop, Barefoot Bones is a knockout!

PRESS RELEASE:

Korea, 1951

Mentored in the hollows of hardscrabble Georgia by mysterious loner Old Man Winter, then in a Chicago orphanage by ex-fighter Father Tim Brophy, James ‘Barefoot Bones’ Mason has relied on his fists to make his way. But it’s a long way from St. Vincent’s Asylum For Boys to the battlefields of Korea where Bones’ fists may not be enough.

Entered in an inter-camp boxing tournament by his commanding officer, Bones finds himself in a war within a war. When a tenuous cease fire is explosively shattered, Bone’s is fighting against the highest odds of all – staying alive.

Can a skinny kid from the north Georgia mountains survive the hell of Korea and still have the guts to climb back into the ring one more time? The one constant in Bones’ life has been fighting – Lucky for him… he’s good at it.

You can purchase Fight Card: Barefoot Bones here.
Learn more about Fight Card: Barefoot Bones here.
Learn more about Fight Card Books here.
Read Author Bobby Nash’s thoughts on crafting Fight Card: Barefoot Bones and see what it was like strapping on Jack Tunney’s gloves here.

Fight Card: Barefoot Bones - Coming Soon in Paperback.
Keep watching this space.


Coming up next week, we have the debut of the first Fight Card Romance novel, Ladies Night, by Carol Malone (writing as Jill Tunney). Carol has pulled off a wonderful romance/fight pulp genre mash up in Fight Card Romance: Ladies Night.

Next month will see the publication of Anthony Venutolo's noirish wonder, Fight Card: Front Page Palooka (previously Union Of The Snakes).

BOBBY INTERVIEWED BY BARROW COUNTY NEWS

I love that headline.I was interviewed by reporter Zac Taylor for my local county newspaper, The Barrow County News, back on July 10th, but I didn’t actually get my hands on a copy until today. I don’t have a scanner handy so hopefully the photo will be readable at full size. Click the image for a larger view.

Thanks to Zac for the interview and to his editor for suggesting it. I appreciate it. I also love that headline.

Bobby

BOBBY’S FIGHT CARD: BAREFOOT BONES COVER REVEALED!

COMING MID-AUGUST 2013. Cover: David Foster Once more for old times:
"Not Actual Cover"For those of you who have grown tired of seeing the placeholder image to the left with the phrase "Not Actual Cover" beneath it, this is your lucky day. Fight Fiction Publisher, Fight Card Books has released the cover to Fight Card: Barefoot Bones. Fight Card: Barefoot Bones is a novella by Bobby Nash writing under the Fight Card house name of Jack Tunney. The cover was designed by David Foster and the book was edited by Fight Card co-creator Paul Bishop.

Fight Card: Barefoot Bones will be available next week.

Learn more about Fight Card: Barefoot Bones here.

Read Author Bobby Nash’s thoughts on crafting Fight Card: Barefoot Bones and see what it was like strapping on Jack Tunney’s gloves here.

About Fight Card: Barefoot Bones:

Korea 1951.

Corporal James “Bones” Mason finds himself in the middle of a war zone. He is thrilled when his CO volunteers him for an inter-camp boxing tournament. The cease-fire is broken when a mortar attack hits interrupts his bout.

But that’s not where his story begins. “Barefoot Bones” Mason was a poor backwoods skinny kid, picked on by the larger boys, unable to fight back. All that changed the day he met Old Man Winters, a mysterious loner who teaches young Bones to defend himself.

Forced to leave behind everything he ever knew, teenage Bones hits the road, taking him from sweltering hot Georgia summers to freezing cold Chicago winters. Along the way, he has no problem finding trouble. But Bones knows how to handle trouble-- with his fists.

Can this skinny kid form the North Georgia Mountains survive the wilds of Korea so he can climb back into the ring one more time?

Fight Card: Barefoot Bones will be available for purchase next week.
Keep watching this space for more details.

Earth Station One Episode 175 – ESO Says Farewell to Burn Notice

On this episode, the ESO crew breaks the classified seal on Michael Weston and his team as we prepare for the series finale of Burn Notice. Agents of E.S.O. Mike Faber, Mike Gordon, Jennifer Hartshorn, and the award-winning author Bobby Nash are joined by Jim “Spiff” Griffin and John McCarthy as they give a full debrief on what made the series so great for the past seven seasons. We also make writer Shane Berryhill feel the burn as we strap him to The Geek Seat! All this, plus the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, and Shout Outs!

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: ESO Says Farewell to Burn Notice at www.esopodcast.com
Direct link: http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/earth-station-one-episode-175-eso-says-farewell-to-burn-notice/
Shane Berryhills Chances
The Geek Seat
Table of Contents
0:00:00 Intro / Welcome
0:05:53 Rants & Raves
0:29:14 Interview & Geek Seat w/ Author Shane Berryhill
0:54:11 Burn Notice
1:47:16 The ESO Khan Report
1:59:03 ESO Shout Outs & Show Close

Next on Earth Station One...

On the next ESO Investigative Report, we dive into the cold case files for a look at the Laura Palmer murder case. That’s right. The ESO crew drinks a fine cup of coffee and enjoys a damn good piece of pie as they take a look back at David Lynch’s award-winning
My Rave This Week.television series, Twin Peaks. If that isn’t enough for you, we also serve up the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, Geek Seat, Shout Outs, and maybe even welcome a special guest or two onboard the station. You get all this and more on the next exciting episode of Earth Station One.

ESO would love to hear from you. Share your favorite Twin Peaks memories with the ESO crew at esopodcast@gmail.com, www.esopodcast.com, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. We love hearing from you. Who knows, we might just read yours on the show.

NEVER GIVE UP...

Well, we didn’t make it, but all is not lost. The good folks behind The Indie Guide to Indie Publishing aren't giving up. Read all about it at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matterdeep/the-indie-guide-to-indie-publishing/posts/568409

Thanks to all who pledged their support. I hope you'll join us when we relaunch the Kickstarter.

Bobby

SOMETIMES I GET ASKED STUFF… PART 6

One of the best parts of being a writer is the interesting people you get to meet at conventions, store signings, through the Earth Station One podcast, and on social media. Sometimes I get asked questions so I thought it would be interesting to share some of them along with the answers. Some of these are questions asked to me directly, some come from social media, and others are asked to a group of writers. Regardless of where they come from, here are a few of the latest questions that have come across my desk.

Check out Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and part 5 here.

Q: What are three words that a mystery writer never wants to hear?

Saw that coming.

Q: What is the most important thing that happens in your protagonist's backstory?

In Deadly Games!, police detective John Bartlett’s wife left him and he hasn’t seen her in a few years. This sends him into a depressed state that plays into the novel’s backstory in a big way. You can learn more about Deadly Games! here.

Q: Do you, as a writer, do any type of research before writing your book. If so, then what are some of the resources do you use.

Oh yes. Research is valuable and I sometimes do research before starting and sometimes during the writing process. Internet is helpful, but I have also contacted law enforcement agencies, talked with reporters, or people in whatever type of profession my character has to understand the parameters of the job. Talking to people is always good. If I’m writing about a real place that I can visit, I try to do that when I’m able so I can understand how it feels to be there. That one isn’t always possible though and I have to fake it a bit.

Q: Do you set limits for how long a chapter should be?

Not really. I make the chapters as long or short as they need to be. That’s the simple answer. The long answer is that it depends on the publisher. Some publishers have a set format while others do not. If the publisher I’m working for has a set count then I make sure to write to that. If not, I write it to whatever the story needs. My personal preference is smaller chapters.

Q: How often do you suffer from writer's block?

Not sure if I ever have. I do sometimes have “I don't feel like writing today” days even though I know what I need to be working on.

Q: How much would you price your ebook if the paperback is over 200 pages?

I have my novels (Evil Ways, Deadly Games!, Earthstrike Agenda) priced at $3.99 and my paperback is just shy of 300 pages. That’s personal preference. I won’t pay roughly the same cost for an ebook as the paperback. I think ebooks should be a little less expensive than a printed book.

Q: If there was one bit of advice you'd give a new author... what would that be?

Have fun. Writing is a lot of work, sure, but make sure you enjoy the experience.

Q: Would you like to write for television?

In a heartbeat. I think I would enjoy working in a writer’s room and getting to flesh out characters for a series. It’s one of my goals.

Currently, I'm working on a novella (the first in a series if the publisher likes the first one) that I originally envisioned as a TV series set in Atlanta, which is, not coincidentally, where I live. Who knows, maybe one day it'll happen. I originally planned to write this one next year, but a publisher came knocking and asked if I had anything to pitch so it got moved up in my
schedule. Not much I can say at this time, but it’s called “Snow” after the last name of the title character. Snow is a fun story that I'd say is a little bit Burn Notice, a little bit Magnum p.i. with a hint of MacGyver thrown in. Expect some action, car chases, and random gunfire.  :)

Unless my plans change, there will be a gunfight in the lobby of a hotel that will be very familiar to Dragon Con attendees.

Q: What is the most awesome thing about your protagonist?

Using Harold Palmer from Evil ways and the forthcoming (I’m working on it, I promise) Evil Intent novel, I think the most awesome thing about the character is that he’s just a normal man, a father, a husband, a brother, who finds himself in dangerous situations. The way he handles situations are based on the life he lives. Plus, he has my sense of humor (such as it is) so that’s cool too. You can learn more about Evil Ways here.

Q: What program do you use when writing?

I just use my old copy of Microsoft Word. Nothing fancy. It gets the job done.

Q: What are you reading?

I am currently rereading Walt Simonson's Thor run. Great stuff and the basis for the upcoming movie.

Q: When you're stuck where do you find inspiration?

I find that getting away for a bit and doing anything but writing will allow me to work out story issues without focusing too hard on it. Sometimes we writers focus too hard on plot problems and can't see solutions. Not staring at it helps, at least for me.

Q: What are you working on today?

I'm working on an audio project for a publisher. Can't say much more than that though as they haven't officially announced it yet. I'm bouncing between that and a novella called "Snow" for another publisher.

Q: Do you write more than one thing at a time?

I always have multiple stories going at any given time. Sometimes it's by choice. Sometimes I get gigs with overlapping deadlines.

And I think that will just about do it for this round, I think. Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer? Post them here as a comment or send them along to bobby@bobbynash.com and I’ll answer them in a future installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff...

Also, please sign up for my mailing list. Drop me an email at bobby@bobbynash.com and I'll happily add you to the list.

Before I go, my Fight Card Books release “Barefoot Bones” should be out very soon. Keep watching this space. You can read my behind the scenes essay here.

Bobby

IT'S A CONSPIRACY, I TELL YA! A CONSPIRACY!

Found this image on-line looking for CT movie poster. It's pretty cool. No! No! Not THAT
Conspiracy Theory!I’m writing a story about a conspiracy theorist that is set in 1948. I researched the major events of that year and some of them were pretty interesting. Much like today, it was a turbulent time in the USA's history. The Cold War, communist hunts within the halls of the US government, and so much more. What really amazed me was how easy it was to piece this character's conspiracy theory together once I started looking at events with an eye toward them being connected in some way. It's kind of freaky.

FYI, this is for the same story that I posted the excerpt from last night. You can read it in the post directly below this one or just click here.

For the record, I am not a conspiracy theorist and the conspiracy this character believes to be real is completely from my imagination, but I'm having fun writing this guy and getting into his head.

The trick is not getting stuck in there.  :)

Bobby