Jason Fischer's Blog, page 10
September 19, 2013
EVERYTHING IS A GRAVEYARD – Available for Pre-Order!
“They can take my Torana but they’ll never take my freedom.”
Picture if you will, a warped tome of tales. A bogan love-child of the Necronomicon and Wolf Creek. A book possessing the strength of ten undead camels, the pouncing speed of a thousand drop-bears, and the lurching hop of a pack of zombiefied kangaroos. This is my short-story collection EVERYTHING IS A GRAVEYARD, and it is imminent.
If you can’t make the official book launch in Adelaide on October 5th, or the Melbourne Zombie Convention the day after, be of good cheer. For there is another option at your disposal. Pre-orders are now being taken for this book via the following link, and it will be in stock as of the 11th of November:
September 17, 2013
New Review of Quiver
Aussie horror review site Thirteen O’Clock has reviewed my novel Quiver. Reviewer Alan Baxter pulls no punches, and offers a thorough critique of the book, warts and all.
“Jason Fischer has embraced the pulp novella, embraced everything about zombie stories and combined them into something equal parts familiar and refreshingly original. If you’re a fan of zombie action, bow-wielding badass heroines and good pulpy fun you should really check out Quiver.”
To read the rest of the review (and the rest of Thirteen O’Clock’s delicious offerings) click on the following link:
September 15, 2013
Melbourne Zombie Convention
The Melbourne Zombie Convention is imminent! I shall be in attendance, signing copies of “Everything is a Graveyard” and no doubt chatting to many awesome folks. If you are shambling along to this event, make sure to stop by and say hello!
More information on the Melbourne Zombie Convention can be found here, it looks like a truly excellent event:
http://www.zombiehire.com/mzc/index.php?pageid=6
September 10, 2013
August 22, 2013
Upcoming Appearances
Hey folks,
Some fun times ahead! Tomorrow I shall be at the Salisbury Writers Festival, appearing on a panel to talk about “Speculative Fiction Unleashed” with fellow ink-scribblers Sean Williams and Tony Shillitoe. Panel is at 12:50pm at the John Harvey Gallery (more details here: http://www.salisbury.sa.gov.au/Our_City/Arts_and_Culture/Salisbury_Writers_Festival/Writers_Forum)
Next Thursday night (29th August) from 9 pm, I shall be appearing on community radio station PBA-FM 89.7. Presenters Alexis and Pete have invited me as a guest of The Show. They’ll be running a zombie/literature themed program, and it will be my great pleasure to come along and talk all things zombie and writing related. More information on PBA-FM can be found via this link:
http://www.users.on.net/~pbafm2/
And The Show has its own Facebook and Twitter pages:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/THE-SHOW-897-PBA-FM/115071388537800
August 19, 2013
Pick A Horse and Ride It
It is so easy to get distracted by the shiny things.
Some of us are born wired with the unique blend of creativity and discipline needed to become successful professional writers. Others of us frolic in the irresponsible Fields of Creativity, only turfing words over the fence when we can be bothered*. It’s essential to learn to focus, and if you don’t have a work ethic you will fall by the wayside.
Since I’ve been writing, I’ve had about a thousand false starts. I’ve largely based my career on instinct and opportunity, with little long-term planning apart from “I’m a gonna write this and send it here and then write the other thing and SUCCESS.”
While you get a lucky break from time to time, bouncing around like a happy puppy is a really shitty way to plan a creative career. While my brain has coughed out some fun stuff and I’ve achieved a few things, gunning for that sugar-high success is the falsest of all metrics. And boy, how I have learnt this the hard way.
Most anyone who is successful does one thing, and does it very well. Dilettantes tend to frolic around in that fun meadow doing leapfrogs and blowing bubbles. Bless their cotton socks, but they will end up doing fuck all of anything beyond the ephemeral and shiny.
In short, pick a horse and ride it. In some ways I’ve won this battle – moving away from short stories, my new default is longer form work. I find it exceedingly difficult to write anything under 8000 words, which tells me that my writing brain’s new default setting is chapter sized chunks.
Now, instead of shiny-hopping stories across the lilypond of short fiction markets, I’m planning 2, 3 novels into the future at any given time. Long term projects are the norm. Genres have been selected, and a market plan is in effect. Age and bitter experience will beat this long-term thinking into any wide-eyed newb, it’s just taken a few years in my instance.
Still, it’s been fun. I’ll be over here saddling up.
* For some reason, this makes me thing of Napoleon Dynamite feeding Tina the Alpaca. “TINA, EAT YOUR STUPID HAM.”
August 4, 2013
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE! It’s on!
Remember the old Choose Your Own Adventure? Would you like to do one in real life? What if I told you we had some of the world’s best genre writers just waiting to pen an adventure in your city?
If you want to do a real life Adventure, written by world famous authors such as Isobelle Carmody or NY Times bestseller Sean Williams, then you MUST support this project!!
I’m lucky enough to be one of the authors connected to this project. Back when I was a wee tacker, I used to love poring through anything that had multiple choices, and had a great love for Choose Your Own Adventure, Fighting Fantasy etc etc.
These days, we’ve gone all high-tech on the concept. Think smart phones, QR readers, maps, social media, all the bells and whistles. Adelaide successfully ran a Real Life Choose Your Own Adventure during Writers Week, and hopefully it will soon be an option in many other cities.
There are some BRILLIANT writers who have put their hands up for this. It looks like seriously good fun, and I can’t wait to see what some of these other squirrely author minds come up with for their readers.
New world, exciting new times, and an 80s mode of storytelling meshes up with modern technology. What’s not to like? Click on the link below to tip a few dollars in the crowdfunding tin.
July 30, 2013
Of a broken Smashwords, and an attempted workaround
I’ve regrettably had to put a price onto my short story “The House of Nameless” but here’s a coupon dealy that will let you still get it for free. Hope that gets around that little conundrum!Coupon is LT73J, let me know if you have any trouble.
“The House of Nameless” can still be downloaded here – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43525
July 21, 2013
What I’ve learned at book signings
Writing is a funny old thing. Like any creative field, you are working with something that’s initially intangible. You’re out there, flailing your arms in space, the flywheels of your brain spinning to the point of breaking. Then, when you’ve gone all God and Muse and Ego on your blank canvas/page/block of marble, you have to pack that star-gazing idiot away, and bring out someone else. The scowling pessimist who knows Just How Crap This Is, and spends probably just as much time slapping the crap out of the Art until it resembles something that can be unleashed upon the public.
So, once you’ve engaged in this pseudo-schizophrenia and come up with the Art, you have to get it to those who might enjoy it. As an author, this means I sometimes have to emerge from the garret and do some booksignings.
Would you buy a book from this man?
Since the release of my first novel Quiver, getting in on the publicity side of writing has been a baptism of fire. During my career as a short story writer, I’ve done some group booksignings, panels and appearances, accepted some awards and all sorts of cool stuff. But all of those times, I got to hide behind a group of other authors. Now, I’m standing on my own.
Like many of my peers, writing started off as my outlet. I was very shy, very anxious, and the thought of talking in front of people or (god forbid) selling them my book in a bookshop would test my intestinal fortitude and find me wanting. It seems the opposite of being locked in the garret, but today it is oh so necessary. If you can’t do these public outings, you’re just going to have to gird up and fake your way through it, bucko. Chances are, you’ll actually enjoy yourself!
What I’ve learned at book signings:
Don’t sit behind your table. It’s a great place to stash your books, pens, business cards and a bottle of water (hide this behind/under the desk). But the artificial barrier of the table will drive people away. Stand by the table, wander around in its vicinity. Only use the seat when you want a quick break.
Pack a sharpie – especially if you’re left-handed. Won’t smear on the page.
Go up to people, but don’t be a dickhead about it. If you’re in a bookstore, people are already there looking for a book. Give them an opportunity to buy yours. But if they aren’t interested, that’s cool. Some will want to be left alone, so smile and leave them to it. Others will still be happy to stop and have a natter. Bonus points if you direct them to someone else’s book, or even just have a chinwag about something else. You’ll meet some great folks who also like to read, which to me is an instant conversation starter. Some of the best interactions I’ve had at a book signing never involve a sale!
Keep it interesting. My genius publisher Baden Kirgan came up with bookmarks for Quiver, complete with luscious artwork, nice stock, and all the relevant information on the reverse. Posters too, which the kids seem to love. Hand out bookmarks to anyone who comes close (if you’re in a bookshop, 90% chance they’ll take one). Those who stop to chat, tell them about your book.
Have a few pitches worked out. Figure out who you’re talking to, and tailor your pitch accordingly. Going by Duncan Lay’s advice, I have separate pitches worked out for a teenage reader, for an adult female, adult male, and parent/family groups. Depending on what they tell you, refine the angle that you’re going for. Once you’ve got this bit worked out, you’ll move plenty of copies.
ABC = Always be Closing. Without being too much of a used-car salesman, bring the person around to the topic of buying your book as soon as you reasonably can. If you give them too long to think about it, their chances of walking increase. Offer to sign it, and if they’re on the fence that will often get them interested in a Shiny New Author
Having said that, don’t be a desperado. If they’re not going to buy it, just let it go. Change the topic, and wish them a good day if they’re sick of talking to you.
Speaking of signing, always check the spelling of the person’s name!
Give the person your undivided attention. They are your potential readers, and are the most important people in your universe. Plus, it’s just polite. Don’t be arrogant. Put your phone away, preferably on silent. Check it only when things are quiet.
Have a few different phrases to write above your signature, preferably related to the book. If the reader becomes a fan, and has 18 instances of “best wishes!” on their shelf, you’ve kinda let them down.
Don’t use your credit card signature!!! Duh.
Be super nice to the staff at the bookstore. They are the secret lifeblood of publishing success! Plus, they often go to great lengths to put these signings on, so be as accommodating as humanly possible. Go the extra mile. Quite often they like review copies, which helps when they’re handselling books. Give them a reason to recommend you to readers!
That’s all I can think of for now. These signings are great fun, and I hope to do many more! Brave new world and all that
July 2, 2013
The House of Nameless – The Opera
In “The House of Nameless”, a dinner at a minotaur’s house brings an unwelcome intruder. Raoul Mithras, god of both the old, One-Way-World and the surreal, chaotic world that replaced it, is forced to pursue and old foe across a surreal landscape to prevent the reawakening of the One-Way-World – if he is not destroyed first.
I was fortunate enough to write this story a few years ago, and “The House of Nameless” has brought me a lot of joy. Not only did I get to dip my toe into surrealist fantasy writing, I won the Writers of the Future contest and got to go to America on a Big Adventure. Now, just to prove that this is the story that keeps on giving, my brilliant friend Laura E. Goodin is now adapting Nameless into an opera libretto. A blues opera, no less, and colour me bloody excited on that front!
Laura is a dear friend, and can write like nobody’s business. She has a wonderful literary sensibility, and whenever she puts her words to something you can immediately tell that she’s just having a damn good time. Proving she is ever the renaissance woman, this isn’t the first time she’s converted a story into a stage production, and I can rest assured that Raoul, Nameless and friends are all in capable hands. She’s writing this project as part of the Clarion West Write-A-Thon, and can be sponsored at the following page:
http://www.clarionwest.org/writeathon/lauraegoodin
Some more information about the project can be found on this press release:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/LRonHubbard/Writersofthefuture/prweb10879928.htm
And for those of you who want to read the original short story of “The House of Nameless” – hey, lookie here!
