Jim Nelson's Blog, page 10

IN MY MEMORY LOCKED selected for the SPSFC

This morning I received an email informing me In My Memory Locked was accepted for the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC).

This is the contest organized by Hugh Howey (WOOL) and Duncan Swan (Monstre), well-known authors in the independent publishing arena. They’ve organized ten teams of 59 judges (authors, readers, and podcasters) to narrow the field to a final winner.

Three hundred books were selected for the running, so there’s plenty of competition. The SPSFC gener...

Forgotten video of Everywhere Man rediscovered

Only by accident did I discover this 2012 video of the first chapter of Everywhere Man, my novella about the ubiquitousness of modern photography, personal disillusionment, and San Francisco’s cable cars. (Trust me—it all hangs together.)

I produced this in 2012 with iMovie. (It shows in the final product.) I intended this to be used for readings to give a flavor of the book’s tone and content. I recall showing it at a reading I gave at the Mechanics Institute, and perhaps elsewhere...

Twenty Years Later: B. R. Myers, A Reader’s Manifesto

See the “Twenty Writers, Twenty Books” home page for more information on this series.

Twenty years ago this month, The Atlantic published a critical essay on the then-current state of American prose. As dry and dusty a topic that sounds—doubly so when published by an august New England monthly—it improbably became a cultural sensation, leading to op-eds in international newspapers, vitriolic letters-to-the-editor, screechy denunciations from professional reviewers across the media sp...

Kindle Vella at Always Be Publishing

Kindle Vella sample title page

Over at my Substack newsletter, I’ve posted a broad summary of what we know about Amazon’s newest publishing platform, Kindle Vella. A quick summary:

Kindle Vella is a new pay-as-you-go platform for serialized fiction. …

Vella is structured for publishing stories one “episode” at a time. Amazon doesn’t use the word “chapter”—I’ll discuss this below—but, for now, that’s a handy way to think of Vella’s episodes.

Each episode is 600 to 5,000 words. (Amazon’s numb...

Interview with Reading and Writing Podcast

Posted this week is my interview with Jeff Rutherford at the Reading and Writing Podcast.

During our talk, I discuss my cyber-noir mystery In My Memory Locked, as well as a little on my Bridge Daughter series. It was a great time with Jeff, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Check out the interview at podpage.com.

Published 30 March 2021.

A year in the middle

The first chapter of my novel Man in the Middle opens a year ago today.

It’s an odd anniversary to observe, the setting of a book. I didn’t start writing it a year ago today. That came later, after a bit of soul-searching if I really wanted to write a novel about the pandemic during the pandemic.

In some ways, though, I did start writing the novel a year ago. I began keeping a daily diary last March when it grew apparent that the spread of COVID-19 was going to be more than a partic...

The double-edged sword

In The Breakfast Club, introverted Allison dares rich-girl Claire to say if she’s a virgin. When Claire demurs, Allison says,

It’s kind of a double-edged sword isn’t it? … If you say you haven’t [had sex], you’re a prude. If you say you have, you’re a slut. It’s a trap.

This is how I feel when the question comes up about the distinction between literary and genre fiction. If you write literary novels, you’re a prude. If you write genre books, you’re a slut.

Is it really that si...

A publisher’s note worth reflecting upon

Anthony Boucher

Years ago I discovered on Forest Books‘ sidewalk cart an unassuming hardback with an unassuming title, Great American Detective Stories, edited by legendary Bay Area writer Anthony Boucher and published in June 1945.

Curious what stories made the cut, I expected the usual names and the usual reprinted titles. I did see the usual names—Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Cornell Woolrich being of the most interest to me—but was surprised by Boucher’s story selections. ...

Three specials for the new year

If you’re looking for new books to read this year, I’ve partnered with over 300 authors to offer specials on new books and boxed sets:

NEW MYSTERY & SUSPENSE – A collection of new mystery, crime, and suspense novels, many with a special price. Includes my novel of suspense and paranoia, Man in the Middle, on sale for 99¢.

KINDLE UNLIMITED BONANZA – Adventure, science-fiction, romance, and fantasy books, all available free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Includes the Bridge Daughter...

The Little Sister – The greatest Hollywood novel of all time?

Previously: The Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

With Raymond Chandler so intimately associated with mid-century Los Angeles, and Chandler so determined to record the city’s excesses through his gimlet eye, it’s surprising how little of Hollywood makes it into his detective novels. The only one to dwell on the movie trade is The Little Sister, and even then, it takes twelve chapters until the reader learns the plot is somehow connected to Hollywood. Yet, The Little Sister is often nominated as...