Roberto Scarlato's Blog, page 23

Notable Movies #6

Haiku Tunnel: Every writer must see this movie. If it doesn't have you in tears of laughter than there is something wrong with you.

A Sudden Urge

It's a hot day in Elmhurst. Hotter than hades. People brown almost instantly as they step out of their cars to enter the safe haven that is the library. I've loved coming to this library for a long time. It's so big and yet so blissfully quiet it makes you want to set up camp. I've finished several stories on my laptop when I was there. When I wasn't writing, I'd wander.

Down the long aisles and muted carpet I would walk to find something new to read or possibly another audiobook to check...

An Inconvenient Penmanship

Dry spells are never fun. They can be really annoying. Progress is flowing with W.A.S.L. short story collection volume 2 and W.W.T.W volume 3 but...it's coming out in drips. About 60 pages are completed from each book. Last writing attempt took me three hours and I was able to crank out 6 pages. I just wish this stuff would get churning like before. But I guess it must be that I have a lot on my mind. I'm at a turning point in my life and don't think I'll have the full amount of time I want t...

The Gary Goose Chase

When I was in seventh grade, our teacher introduced us to a fresh new voice. His name is Gary Paulsen. (No, not Robert Paulsen, Fight Club freaks.) His work falls mainly in fictional outdoor survival stories. I've always been drawn to those kinds of stories because the bulk of the survival strategies are true. It gives more weight to the story. The first book I read of him was called Hatchet . It was exquisite. It was about this boy named Brian Robeson who, while on a plane to visit his...

On The Goodreads Delay

Hello readers. Some of you may be wondering WHERE THE HELL IS MY BOOK? For those of you just joining us, in march a giveaway that I listed on goodreads was finished and the winners were announced. I was giving away 15 free, signed copies of my short story collection. I received all the addresses and was all set to go when...disaster struck. I had lost my job. My income was dwindling as I was paying my bills with the cash I had saved while I was searching for another job. I've recently...

A Writer's Wedding

Yes, it is true. My high school sweetheart and I are to be wed. I feel a new spark of life buzzing within me. For many Americans, the stresses of a marriage weigh down on a young couple. Thankfully, this is not the case with us. We are coming along rather nicely and everyone has lent a helping hand. We are backed by a lot of people who know that we will last and that makes us eternally grateful.



Now to lay down how it all came about - the story of us.



Aja and I have been girlfriend and...

Da Numbers

Since we are three months into the year, I figured that I should be totally transparent with my sales and clue all you guys in on how my books are doing. They are progressive but I still want to get over a certain mark. If I can go over 500 copies for both paperback and ebook, I'll be happy. But, then again, I don't have many books out. But there will be more. I just have to get them out there. I'm going to be experimenting with different ways of promotion. Being a full-time writer is my...

Tuesday Tells it Slant

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Recently, I've had the privilege of reading another self-published author. Her name is Holly Christine. From what I can see, she does not get blocked. She came out with three titles in the past two years. Her titles include The Nine Lives of Clemenza, which is a journey of one soul through nine lives, Retail Ready, a chronicle of one hellish work week at a bank, and finally Tuesday Tells it Slant. It's a very interesting story involving journal entries of the main character. It brings a lot...

Self-Publishing Success

If there is a key to self-publishing success, I think it would be hand selling your copies. Think about this for a minute. People are more likely to remember you and your book if they met you, shook your hand, talked to you for a little bit. Then, if something should come of your work and you happen to be picked up by a publisher, they are able to look their friends in the eye and say, "Hey! I met that person. They gave me one of their first copies. Signed it too."

While I am not a strong fan ...

On Writing Persistently

Ray Bradbury is known for his best works: The Mutant Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Fahrenheit 451.

I've only read about 20 pages into Fahrenheit but I remember I was absolutely transported into a different world. I love the way this man writes. He's even written a book about writing called The Zen of Writing. Digging deeper, I found that Ray Bradbury is a man who has never stopped writing.


From Wikipedia:
He attributes his lifelong habit of writing every day to an incident in ...