Allison M. Dickson's Blog, page 7

The Obligatory 'How I Got An Agent' Blog Post

A couple weeks ago, I detailed how one might craft an effective query letter. And it looks like it might have worked, because I now have an agent:











But I really feel like I have to back waaaaay up, because although it feels like I just hit the number that took me straight to the top in the Find a Literary Agent edition of Chutes & Ladders, the road that led to this moment was long and winding and full of potholes and long periods of inactivity. 









So let's start from the beginning of the beginning, the first time I ever tried to acquire agent representation, and then compare it to what just happened.




A Scarlet "F" for FAIL






The first novel I completed was my funny vampire book, Scarlet Letters. I was an awfully eager beaver at that point, thinking I had this whole thing in the bag. I would craft the perfect letter, send it around to every agent in town, and then get the book deal I so desperately wanted.




Of course, I knew other people certainly hadn't had it that easy, but I was special, dammit! I also knew nothing of the humorous fantasy market (hint: it's tiny and consists almost exclusively of Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore, Jeff Strand, and Neil Gaiman). I knew nothing about how a book like this might actually sell. All I knew was I had a finished novel and the world deserved the opportunity to buy it and shower me with riches. I got a few bites from agents who asked for partials, and that was a buzz. Especially since those agents were notorious for saying "No" pretty much right off the bat. Ultimately they did say no. Then I had a friend's agent take a look at it, and she gave me the reality check I so desperately needed. She told me it had its good qualities, but it was basically half-baked and not ready for prime time, and the subject was just not terribly commercial. I was angry at first, but you know what? It's exactly what I needed to hear. I went back to the drawing board. I still have a lingering affection for this book and have tinkered with ideas of re-editing it and submitting it to a small press, but for now, it rests lovingly in the trunk.




"S" is for Stargazers. Or Strike Two






The Stargazers. My shoddy attempt at YA, and an attempt I will likely not make again. It was the first and only book I started for NaNoWriMo 2010 and managed to complete within the same month. It was about a young witch who lived in her own world and had to cross into ours and impregnate herself, only to return and sacrifice her own child for some magical rite of passage. As hinky as it sounds, it was a slightly better book than the one about the vampire mailman. The only problem was the plot. It was uneven and a little forced in spots, and I don't think I was a good enough writer at the time to take the book where it really needed to go. I pitched it to an agent at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and she asked for fifty pages. I also queried dozens of other agents, all of whom said thanks but no thanks. Again, I got a great reality check from the agent who'd read the partial. It had some good moments, but the voice felt uneven. I just still wasn't ready for the big leagues. It was a painful and difficult truth to swallow, but what was I going to do, quit writing? Also, the e-book marketplace was beginning to really emerge, and I saw new opportunities waiting.




Running Out of Steam




Over the couple years that followed, I dove into e-publishing and found a new following and success there when my stories "Under the Scotch Broom" and "Dust" became a hits on Amazon. That led to a friendship with Vincent Hobbes, who discovered my work there, and eventually that led to a few publishing deals. Two short stories appearing in The Endlands anthology and eventually contracts for two of my novels, The Last Supper and Strings. I'd had temptations of querying out Strings just to see if I could get any bites on it in the agent market, but I decided why push it further when I had a publisher willing and ready to take it on? Also, truth be told, I was afraid that I still wasn't ready for that. Querying is emotionally difficult work and I was loathe to line up for another flogging.




But then my dear friend Ian Healy and I penned a steampunk book together and we decided to send out queries. Same process again. We got some good hits off the bat. Several requests for partials and fulls, and a lot of hope. Only, we struck out time and time again. A number of them said the book needed character work, and ultimately we agreed to trunk the novel. It was another instance of not quite being there, though it seemed like I was getting closer to something.




The 2014 Resolution




After Strings came out in the latter part of 2013 and I got a taste of what it felt like to have a traditionally published book on the market with good reviews coming in, I felt like I was finally ready to take another shot at the big leagues. Also, I was really enjoying writing commercial suspense/thrillers, and I felt like if I could get a foothold in that market, giving the stories my own personal and visceral twist, I'd do pretty well for myself. In February, I decided to finally buckle down and write something with which I could wow an agent and hopefully move my seven year career from the small pond and into something a wee bit bigger. My goal was to land representation by July. It was a very specific goal, and a crazy and unlikely one, but what did I have to lose, really? I'd been down this road before. If it didn't work out, there were other books to try it with, and I had some small press options up my sleeve still.




My southern Gothic suspense novel, KUDZU (which was originally titled GRACE, GEORGIA), was born nearly four months later. I started it the first week of February and wrapped up the first draft on Memorial Day weekend (because I edit a lot while writing, my first draft was really more like a second). My beta readers worked quickly and gave some much-needed feedback, and so I was able to go through and expand it a bit more and have the final draft done by the first week of June. While the betas read, I was able to draft a query and synopsis and have an agent list ready to go. With all that in hand, and a quivering gut, I started sending out the dreaded letters around June 16th.




The Agent List




There are numerous ways of assembling a list of agents and other publishers. The most typical method is to go to a place like QueryTracker, which is a database that allows you to search by genre. You can read comments from other users on how quickly the agent responds, and in what manner, etc. I'd used QT in all my previous endeavors and I still find it to be a handy reference and organization tool.




However, I didn't pick agent names from a search list this time. I had only one plan of attack in mind, and that was to focus like a laser beam. I made a list of bestselling authors I greatly admired in the genres I wrote, and then I looked up who their agents were. I took this approach, because if I was going to sign with an agent, it was going to be with one who had a strong track record for selling books. I know far too many writers who have gone this route and come out empty-handed, and while I know there is still no guarantee of success signing with a bigger name in the business, I see nothing wrong with doing everything in your power to increase the odds. Authors included Stephen King, Joe Hill, Diane Chamberlain, Laura Lippman, Dennis Lehane, etc. The agent I was MOST interested in, however, was Stephanie Kip Rostan, who represents my literary heroine, Gillian Flynn. 






Out of all the authors who have most inspired me to tap into my dark suspense side, it is her. Gone Girl is part of the reason I wrote Strings. It opened this door for me of creating characters who were both unlikable but totally sympathetic. I knew that if there was an agent out there who could appreciate her brand of darkness, that same agent might also appreciate mine. So Rostan was at the tippy top of my list, and she was the first one I queried. Additionally, I was just really impressed with LGR Literary's submissions form. I've queried dozens of agents over the years, and I've never encountered one quite like it. I also sent out letters to fifteen or sixteen others, as well as to Lou Aronica of The Story Plant, a great independent press.




The very next day, ding ding -- I received a full manuscript request from Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich, as well as one from none other than Stephanie Rostan at LGR Literary.




I nearly fell out of my skin with excitement. All I could think was GILLIAN FLYNN'S AGENT JUST ASKED TO READ MY BOOK OMG OMG OMG. I went a little nuts. I guzzled down a gallon of celebratory gin and made embarrassing Facebook posts. It was one of the best days I'd had in a very long time. Of course, I expected to receive rejections all around, but still, it was awesome to receive that kind of attention for this book so quickly.




Over the coming days, I didn't hear much. You gotta let people have time to read. Also, a lot of agents are on vacation in the summer months, so you can't count on timely responses. Jim McCarthy read it with interest but ultimately passed five days later. That bummed me out, but then on the same day, Susan Ginsburg from Writers House requested the full. Lou Aronica also came back and said he liked the partial and would like to read the whole thing. My spirits soared again. As of the third week of June, only a week or so after beginning the process, I had three full manuscripts out for review and had only fielded a tiny handful of rejections. Life was good.




The Email that Ruined My Weekend (in a good way)






The afternoon of Friday, June 27th, 10 days after I'd sent the full manuscript, I heard from Ms. Rostan via email. She said she'd read a chunk of the manuscript and thought it was "incredibly good," and could we speak on Monday? I was sitting in a shopping mall with my kids, and I won't lie and say I didn't get up, jump around, and act a complete fool in a public place. Racing through my head like a bullet train was, GILLIAN FLYNN'S AGENT LIKES MY BOOK AND WANTS TO TALK TO ME OMG OMG OMG. Was representation on the horizon? What did it all mean? I spent hours combing through the very short message for any hidden clues. I was a freak. I blame the gin.




And so I proceeded to endure an entire weekend with bated breath. And would she actually call me on Monday? Sometimes really busy people say Monday but really mean Wednesday. Publishing is the kind of business when you can never be completely certain that something will happen right away. Worse yet, maybe she would get to the end of the book and decide it was no good, and instead of a call I'd get a regretful email saying it was an "almost but not quite." I drowned my worries in more celebratory gin, but that only took care of one night. As Sunday dragged on, I don't think I'd ever wished so hard for a Monday in all my life.




When the day finally arrived, I accomplished precisely dick. I was a fully distracted mess. Would she call or wouldn't she? It was like being an insecure high school girlfriend all over again. Then a call came through from an unfamiliar number, and my body completely froze. Was it her, or was it a telemarketer? I held my breath and answered the phone.




Stephanie was immediately the kind of person that made me feel at ease. I didn't have to put on any kind of airs. My voice didn't shake like it normally does when I'm nervous or doing a job interview of any kind. She immediately spoke of the book's potential, but did mention a couple caveats that she'd like to address about some of the subject matter, which was all completely okay with me. Then she said she'd like to work with me, and I might have fallen off the couch, but I can't remember, because it was all a blur. We then talked about the authors we love and the other kinds of writing I do. She seemed interested in some of my more speculative fiction as well. I told her I had to wait to hear back from the other two people reading the manuscript, but that I'd be back in touch soon.




I hung up from that call knowing that regardless of what happened, I had an agent. It wasn't because she liked my book, but because I really liked her. I think it's important to feel a connection to the person who is going to be selling your work. You have to get the sense that they believe in you. I got that from her.




When I emailed the others to let them know I had an offer on the table, they answered back immediately and said they'd have an answer within a few days. Suddenly, I had the ball in my court, and that was a huge table flip from the way this typically goes. I heard back from Ms. Ginsburg and Mr. Aronica that Thursday, and though they enjoyed the book, they decided to pass, which left me open to accept Stephanie's offer. It was the first time I recall being thrilled to receive rejections, if only because it cleared the path. Both of them were congratulatory and extremely friendly, and it reminded me that I was in a very good place. At least I didn't have a nail-biting decision to make between two excellent agents or an excellent agent and an excellent publisher. I choose to believe that was the universe's way of going easy on me.




The Importance of Goals




Wrapping up this ginormous novel of a post, I just want to say that this whole thing hasn't really sunk in for me yet. I've been hoeing this row of being a writer representing only herself for a long time now. The thought that I have an agent, and not just any agent, but a very successful one who represents multiple bestsellers (including a major hero of mine) just boggles my mind. It feels like it's happening to someone else and I'm just along for the ride. I wasn't sure what I expected with Kudzu. Oddly, while I was writing it, I worried like hell it was boring. So much for that now.




There is of course no guarantee this book will sell when she goes to submit it to all the editors, but I feel like it has an excellent chance in her hands. Rostan has a nose for hits, and I only hope we can continue our relationship for a very long time with other work of mine.






At some point, after you've worked hard enough to become good at something, you have to decide when you're ready for bigger and better things. I don't work in a field where people receive promotions and raises--or even steady paychecks for that matter--so you have to really dig deep and find the resolve to improve with everything you write and set goals for yourself. And if you don't meet those goals, go back to the keyboard and keep on keeping on. It's the rare player that hits a home run the first few times at bat. My goal was to have an agent by July, and I had an offer on the table on June 30th. It happened incredibly fast this time, but if I hadn't had those previous seven years of Sisyphean efforts under my belt, it probably wouldn't have happened at all.



My friend Shewanda Pugh asked me on GoodReads just yesterday how I deal with discouragement. I said that it was in large part due to the help of my friends. But not only that, despite moments of crushing self-doubt, I am too damn stubborn to quit. I've worked too many hours and sacrificed too many years to learning this craft and this business to quit now, especially when time has proven again and again that I DO have a talent worth fighting for. I've only needed to wait for my turn. Maybe this is my turn, maybe it isn't, but I won't know for sure if I don't keep going.




So let's see if we can push it a little further. How about a major bidding war and a Tuscan flat. By Christmas. There we go.

5 Ways to Tell if a Small Publisher is Legit

The publishing industry, especially in the age of ebooks, is a lot like a rugged frontier teeming with snake oil salesmen, rabid ferrets, and lots and lots of prey in the form of desperate souls who will do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to be able to call themselves "published authors."




When you're first starting out, it's easy to become enamored with anyone other than your mom or spouse who deems your work worthy of publication, even if that someone is doing very little for you in terms of exposure or pay. Also, when you're first starting out, you may not even be thinking about the long game. You're just dipping a toe in, writing short stories in your spare time, maybe. You're happy even if only a dozen people read your little piece of art. My first publication credit was for an anthology that no one other than the contributors and their few friends and family members ever bought. It never even got reviews on Amazon, and as far as I know, the editor no longer even resides on this planet. But I was still thrilled to see my work in print, and it was that first publishing credit that gave me the impetus to believe that maybe I could be somebody in this business. And maybe that's fine for your very first short story credit. After that, though, it's a good idea to start looking a little further downfield.



It seems that writers, especially the ones who haven't been slapped hard enough by reality to grow the standard author's carapace, just want to have their egos rubbed. And that's when you're going to make some mistakes. You will encounter one of those aforementioned rabid ferrets, and it will take a small chunk out of your ass. Often, that's how you learn what not to do, and you'll discover that a shoddy publisher will do far less for your career than you could do publishing yourself. After all, if you're going to make a pittance, wouldn't you rather keep most of that pittance for yourself instead of splitting it with an outfit whose only real contribution was stamping their name on your work?




I'm NOT saying you shouldn't go with a publisher. You won't find me spouting that evangelical nonsense. I think a good career is built by working with publishers of all shapes and sizes, as well as producing works independently, but how can you tell a good publisher from a shitty one? The truth is, nearly any average Jane and Joe can set up a publishing company. They come up with a name and a slapdash logo and put it on a simple website, and then proceed to take the work of others, shape it into a book-like product, and put it up for sale on Amazon with almost no out of pocket costs. Then they proceed to pocket fractions of the pennies you're making, leaving you to do pretty much everything else to try and get people to buy it. Compared to most large publishers, who are laying out thousands in order to package a book and bring it to market, there is very little risk involved, so it's easy enough to become a book mill after a while, and you can't help but wonder if anyone is actually benefiting from it. Most of them do print-on-demand, if they even do a print edition at all, and that decreases the risk factor even more. Hell, I do the same thing with some of my own work, and a bunch of authors do the same thing for theirs. We're broke as hell to start with, so it's not like we can afford to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a product that will take years to make back its investment, if it makes it back at all.




That's not to say that people who operate this way are bad. In fact, there are a lot of passionate, gifted people running micropresses just this way. They have the connections to get editing and good cover art on the cheap, and they have also established relationships with the community to help get reviews. And their authors are selling books, winning awards, and carving out nice little niches for themselves in their respective communities. But it doesn't always work out that way, and given the number of disappointments, heartbreaks, and instances of total inertia I've seen in the book selling world, I have come to the conclusion that there are just some people who shouldn't be doing this kind work, period. That goes for both the authors and the publishers.






I'm not trying to be mean about it. I'm just voicing a core truth about the difference between the art of writing and the business of publishing, and how a lot of people might have a head for the former, but not even an iota of sense for the latter. It's how so many writers get taken for rides time and time again by unscrupulous publishing people, to the point that various watchdog organizations have been formed around sniffing out the opportunists and ne'er-do-wells. Preditors & Editors and Writer Beware are two such examples, but since there are so many presses and individuals out there claiming they can bring you and your literary baby to the promised land, you won't find all the offenders listed on any red flag sites. That's when you, as a writer, have to put your investigative acumen to use and start performing various sniff tests. As Montel Jordan once famously intoned, this is how we do it:




1. Scour the Website




This is all about first impressions. Every single publisher's website, from the Big 5 all the way down to the tiniest micropress, should follow the same very basic rules when it comes to constructing a site. There should be a listing of authors the press publishes as well as a list of all the books they have up for sale. Often times, you will have the ability to buy the book direct from them, but if not, you should find ample links to all the places where you can buy the books. You should also see a submissions portal, or a link explaining submission guidelines.




A good publisher's website will look clean and will be easy to navigate and not tarted up with obnoxious graphics and banner ads. It should also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (seriously, I've seen publisher pages rife with them). If they have bragging rights, like bestselling titles or award winners, those will probably be posted front and center. A publisher is first and foremost in the business of selling books and promoting its author list. If you don't get the immediate impression that the site is doing this, or that things look out of date or like something out of Geocities circa 1998, keep looking.




2. Look at the Book Covers. LOOK AT THEM!




Quality cover art says a lot about how much a publisher is investing in making an author's book stand out. It amazes me how many small/micro publishers fail at this most basic test, and it amazes me even more that there are so many authors who still sign the dotted line despite that very obvious deficiency, and who will allow some "artist" to slap flat black letters on a sloppy watercolor and call that their book cover. It's enough to make me wonder if some authors are just completely "colorblind" as to what makes a professional cover, but if this is something you struggle with, go visit your local bookstore or the bestseller lists on Amazon. Study what a great book cover should look like. They'll all look different in various ways, and some will be better than others, but all decent covers will have a certain polish to them. Then visit Lousy Book Covers and see what truly awful covers look like. If the covers at the press you're investigating look more like what you'd see at LBC and not at your local bookstore, there's a very big problem, and again, you should run.




3. Check the Sales Ranks, Reviews, and Samples




They might make great covers and have an awesome website . . . but are they actually selling books? Sales rankings can be a volatile indicator of a book's performance, especially if there are multiple distribution channels and the possibility that the author has other sales strategies that aren't reflected by Amazon's numbers. Also, a book that might have been doing gangbusters for a few weeks could be going through a downturn that is not entirely in a publisher's control. But you can also use the ebook tracker at Kindle Nation Daily to track the titles for a couple weeks and see if there is any kind of upward movement. If you're not seeing any, that can be troubling. Also, read the reviews. Are there editorial reviews from any reputable trade publications, authors, or blogs? Are there at least 8-10 customer reviews? If there are none and the book has an extremely poor sales ranking, and it's been on the market for at least a few months, that could signal that the publisher is more or less milling out books and not getting anything in return. That's only a sign of potential disappointment for you. Finally, look at the samples. If you see errors or questionable formatting, keep moving. This publisher is not going to do anything more for your book than you can do for yourself.




4. Talk to the Authors




The writing community is a relatively small and tight-knit one. If you haven't started befriending other authors, particularly in the genres you write, now is a good time. Facebook is where it's at, generally, though Google Plus has started to show a lot of activity for interactions in the writing community. Once you've met a number of the authors, feel free to ask them how happy they are with their publishers. Not all authors will open up and they certainly won't want to discuss their actual contract terms, but I think most of them would be happy to talk about general stuff, and if they are very happy, they will certainly let you know. Questions to keep in mind: Do they pay their authors on time? How fast do they work to get the book to market? What is their response time like for queries or submissions? Are they communicative when you have questions? You namely want to get a feel for how the authors are being treated, because that could be you.




5. Dig Deeper




Google them. Are people talking about them on various forums, like Absolute Write? What about the company's business name? Is it registered with the Secretary of State? Is it a LLC or other corporation, or is it a sole proprietorship or cooperative? Cooperatives are relatively new on the scene, and they come with a whole other host of things to consider, as well as potential headaches that you will have to sort through. A reputable publisher looking to do business with other authors will hopefully have its ducks all in a row. It's a good sign if a publisher is at least an LLC, because they will understand the importance of protecting themselves in the event of a lawsuit, which is always possible when working in this business. This again goes back to business sense. A publisher that doesn't have this stuff figured out can't always be trusted to do other things correctly. You could wind up with an orphaned book when the IRS comes storming through the door, or having to hire a lawyer to get your rights back when it turns out they aren't mailing you your checks on time and have no interest in releasing your property back to you.



Just keep in mind that even if a publisher does appear to be legit--they have a good website, successful titles, decent word of mouth, and appear to be run by skilled individuals--that still doesn't mean things can't go sour at some point. It happens in the big leagues as well as the minors. Signing with any publisher means you're taking a certain gamble, just as they are taking a gamble on you. But if a publisher can at least pass the smell test on the minimal criteria I've listed here, it might be worthwhile to at least submit your manuscript and see what the next steps look like. If you wind up receiving a contract, that's a whole other ball of wax. We'll save that headache for another time. 







Finally, it's important to note that a small publisher, even the best one, might not have the money or the horsepower to propel your book to the stratosphere. You will encounter unique challenges, and you have to go into it with the proper expectations. You may not hit any major bestseller lists or be shelved in bookstores, but maybe you get many excellent reviews from readers and develop a local following through attending events and conventions. You may not get rich, but you may get a start to a fruitful career with a well packaged book you can be proud of. There are a ton of advantages to working with a reputable small press. They take risks on material that larger publishers often can't afford to take. They give you more creative control, and they're often always on the forefront of trying new things. They can lay the groundwork for a bigger career down the road. I have loved working with a small press for my two novels, and I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything. The key is to making sure you pick the right one, or that the right one picks you.

How To Query Letter

Look, I'm not a big bad-ass New York Times bestselling author. Yet, anyway. I still don't have an agent, and I'm working on getting one as we speak. I have written a lot of query letters, though, and I think I'm pretty good at it. In the past, I have managed to catch the attention of some pretty major agents who are infamous for turning down just about everybody.


Of course, they invariably turned me down after reading the partial or full manuscripts they asked to see, but hey, that's the nature of the game, and it's made me go back to the page and try to be a better writer every single time. Currently, I am going through the agent submission process with my latest novel. This is my fourth go-round. The first two books didn't make it very far, and rightly so. The third book was a co-authored piece that got a lot of attention but ultimately struck out as well, because it needed additional character work, and we decided to put it on permanent hiatus. Still, though, we had a hell of a query letter, and we got a lot of partial and full manuscript requests because of it. That's what a query letter is supposed to do.



This time, for KUDZU, the process has been even more exciting, because I'm managing to catch the attention of some real king and queenmakers in this business, and even though I can't be certain they'll want to represent the book I have to offer them, I get a small thrill every time one of them responds with interest. Of sixteen or so queries, I've received three full manuscript requests, one partial request, and four total rejections (three of them outright, one of them passing after reading the full). The others I haven't heard from yet, but it's only been a few days. Rule 1: Be Patient. These people are busy as fuck.



So I thought this was a great time to talk about query letters in general and give whatever handy advice I can for those of you out there pulling out your hair trying to craft the perfect one for your book.



First off, I learned most of my query-fu from the great folks over at QueryShark, who go to great lengths to look at the letters authors submit and then critique them. You wind up learning a lot about what NOT to do over there, and when it comes to the art of the query, that's often the best way to learn.



So taking a cue from them, I'll post the draft of the query letter I've so far sent to two agents (per their submission requirements I also submitted either the first five pages or the first chapter along with the letter). One of them, from a very prestigious firm, just requested the full manuscript. I'm not saying this letter is the best thing ever, or that someone else couldn't do better, or that other aspects of my submission (like the excerpts or my publishing credits, such as they are) aren't also increasing my success, but the letter appears to be making a dent. The blue parts are, of course, not part of the actual letter.

Dear Mr. or Ms. XXXXXX, [No Dear Sir or Madam or anything like that. Use the intended agent's name, even if it's a generic agency address. Double check the spelling or make sure you're addressing it to the agent you intend to send it to, because sometimes when you're sending out a few of these at once, wires can get a little crossed, and the only thing it results in is immediate ignore or rejection.]

On a hot July evening, a New York sunset plunges Amanda Crawford into harrowing memories of her childhood in Grace, Georgia. In particular, the day she'd helped her cousin cover up the murder of Chloe March, dragging the little girl's lifeless body into a remote bog, where the dying light had painted the water the color of blood. [Open your letter with the most important part: the hook of your story. Agents read dozens or hundreds of queries a week, and most of the time, they're only skimming until something interesting catches their eyes. Don't waste their time with introductions or other info about you. Save all that for the end.] After fifteen years, the secret has taken its toll on all involved. Amanda fights to hide her past at any opportunity, even from her doting fiance. Tonya, the cousin who dealt the lethal blows, once sought refuge in drugs and petty crime, but is now paying the ultimate price. And then there's Abel, the young man who confessed to Chloe's murder and went to prison without ceremony. His reasons for sacrificing years of his life for a crime he didn't commit are a mystery to all but himself, but he's coming up on parole soon, and he's terrified to leave prison, the only place he ever felt free. [What I tried to do here was paint a harrowing picture of the three main characters and their major internal conflicts, which ultimately drive the story. But I've done so in a simple and concise way. I've also laid in a little bit of back story. In other words, I'm conveying a tale about a few messed up people paying for the sins of their past. Depending on how your story is structured, you may have to do it differently, but whatever you do, focus firmly on your characters and your main hook, and BE COMPELLING. A query should almost read like ad copy.]

Amanda's fragile peace of mind begins to break down when she receives a call from back home. It seems Tonya is dying from AIDS following years of heroin addiction, and she intends to confess to Chloe's murder on her death bed. After reluctantly making the trip back home, Amanda discovers her cousin's reasons aren't as simple as a cleansing of the soul. She begins to uncover secrets in her family almost worse than the murder, twisted acts of devotion and coercion, and a sinister plan to wrap the past around her neck like a noose. [This is where I deal with main plot/conflict stuff that's happening in the now. Note how I didn't reveal too much. You want to make it enticing enough for an agent to go, "Oh wow! I need to learn what these secrets and twisted acts of devotion are! Send me the full manuscript IMMEDIATELY!" Wrap it up with a flourish. Look at all the book jackets and blurbs you have in your collection and go for the same spirit.]

KUDZU is a tale of deep family mysteries in a haunting southern setting, where masses of twisted vines consume the ghosts of the past, or anything else that stands in the way. It is complete at around 88,000 words. I wrote this book with the hope of reaching readers who also enjoy the works of _______ or _______, the latter of whom I discovered is your client, hence my desire to query you. [This is summary stuff. One final description of the TYPE of book, followed by its word count, your intended audience, and something that signifies you have researched the agent and why you selected him or her to query. They like knowing you have done your homework and aren't randomly carpet bombing the agent community.]

I write dark contemporary fiction that ranges from realistic to speculative realms. My debut psychological horror novel, STRINGS, released from a small press, Hobbes End Publishing, in October of 2013 to rave reviews. It has managed to reach the top ten on Amazon's bestseller lists in both horror and crime fiction. My next release, a dystopian science fiction epic called THE LAST SUPPER, is releasing from the same publisher in September. I also have a historical fantasy short story releasing from Apex Magazine at the end of the year, and I maintain a successful indie career with a large collection of short stories and novellas available on Amazon. When I'm not writing, I co-host Creative Commoners, a weekly podcast aimed at people trying to balance their creative pursuits with the demands of real life. [Obviously, this is now where you make it about you. Got publishing credits? List them. Did the book do well? Mention that. Didn't do so well? Don't mention that. Publisher now defunct? It's okay to say so. Don't have publishing credits? It's okay to say this is your first novel. Just don't deprecate yourself. ("I'm just a rookie, but I hope you like this..."). List other aspects of your life that might be relevant to your platform. Unless you won or made it to runner-up or honorable mention status, I wouldn't mention contests. I listed my podcast, because it demonstrates my willingness to engage in other venues with my creative endeavors. Whatever you do, be professional, own your accomplishments, and act like you know exactly what you're doing, even if this is your first time at bat.]

Per your instructions, I have pasted the first five pages into the body of this email, and I would love to be able to send you more. [This demonstrates that you have actually read the submission requirements, something a lot of authors just plain do not do for some befuddling reason. DO NOT be one of those authors. Also, this might be a good place to mention whether you have queried other agents and whether or not you have full or partial manuscripts under consideration. That's not always a requirement, but some agents like it, so be on the lookout for it.]

Thank you for your consideration!

A few other considerations to make:



1. NEVER OPEN YOUR QUERY WITH A RHETORICAL QUESTION! I put that in all red caps because it's so important. Opening with a question could very well be the death of any chances you might have had. It is done so much, it's cliche. It's the "in a world" of book queries. It's also just plain lazy.



2. Don't compare your book to movies or TV shows. Compare it to other books. Literary agents want to know that you understand the book industry and not one that is in many ways competing with it.



3. On a similar note, whatever you do, do NOT say "if you enjoyed such and such book, you'll love this." It sounds dangerously close to egoism. Let the agent decide if your work is similar to Stephen King's or whatever. Instead, identify the types of READERS you're hoping to reach with your work. Agents want to know you've studied the market, and that you feel confident in its placement on the store shelves. And yes, that's still relevant in the World of Amazon.



4. Don't say anything about sequels. Your job is to sell THIS book first. Don't get ahead of yourself.



5. Query writing is a learned skill. You'll go through a lot of drafts before you get one you're happy with. I actually have another version of this letter that went out to my first round of agents, and though it also resulted in a few requests, I wasn't terribly happy with it either. Don't drop the same query letter on alllll the people. That's completely blowing your wad. Query a dozen or so first. If you're not getting much response from the few you've sent them to, brush it up and try a different approach on the next batch.



6. Above all, keep it simple. Don't spoil major plot points. Don't get too much into the minutiae of your characters' lives or back stories. I revealed very little about what actually happens in KUDZU, but I gave just enough to make someone curious. When it comes to revealing everything that happens in your book, save it for the synopsis. That's a whole other breed of headache that I'll save for a different blog, but you'll need to have your synopsis and query ready to go at the same time, because some agents want both when you submit.



7. Finally, this isn't for agents only. If you're submitting to small presses or other publishers who don't require agents, you'll more or less follow the same query process. Read their submission guidelines and follow them to the letter.



I hope this helps. And if you have any other questions about the process, feel free to ask me below, or check out many of the resources available online. Read enough examples from authors who have successfully placed their novels, and eventually you might be able to write a good query letter too.




I'll let you know if someone actually likes the book...

To the True Believers, the Generous Souls, the Adventurous Spirits

You go see bands no one's heard of. In big cities or in small. Venues the size of tool sheds ripe with the perfume of beer and puke. You buy their Cafe Press t-shirts and CDs burned on a laptop with home-printed inserts crafted lovingly by the bass player. Bands that spend more in gas getting to gigs than they'll probably make for the night.



You watch movies made by local filmmakers that run in tiny theaters and bars instead of multiplexes, filmed on cheap camcorders by directors who are actors and actors who are directors. Or set builders who are screen writers. Or sometimes one person doing all of the above, who lost more money than he or she ever hoped to make.



You read books by authors who maybe sell 20 copies a month if they're lucky. Sometimes 20 copies a year. Books with a publisher's name that came out of the author's brain. Books with a few more typos than the ones you find at Barnes & Noble, and cover art with free stock photos and open-source fonts. Books with six-digit sales rankings, where your review stands proudly among three or four others that might be the author's friends or mom.



You buy the artwork of someone who stays up into the wee hours of the night, drawing or painting until their eyes are about to pop. Because that's when the kids happen to be sleeping. Because it's the only time they can do what they love before getting up in five hours to do what pays the bills. Artists who may or may not sell enough to cover printing or convention table costs, but who will draw until their hands are numb. The picture of a superhero you've always loved.



You press Share. You press Like. You Retweet. You Reblog. You tell your friends in casual conversation. "Oh I just finished this book . . . you really need to hear this song . . . hey, there's this great little flick on YouTube . . . this guy can seriously draw ANYTHING." You go to the release parties and crow with joy when these struggling nobodies sign your books and albums and programs and pictures. You pay the admission to conventions. You put the miles on your car. Take the time out of your day. You click to download. You read late into the night. The dreams and hopes of someone who just loves, so much, to show you the world through their eyes.



You're the ones who help make sure that one day, everyone knows who we are. And you'll always have ringside seats.



Because you were there from the beginning. When no one else was. When know one else knew better. When no one else cared. You were there, believing in us, donating your time, your money, your faith, your energy. Holding the door open to let in a little bit of light and a little bit of hope. It kept us going when we thought it wasn't worth it.



You were there when the chords weren't polished.



When the prose didn't always flow.



When the spotlight was dim.



You're a true believer. A generous soul. And adventurous spirit giving the little guys a chance, making them feel like bestsellers, like rock stars. Like Contenders.



From the bottom of our hearts . . .

My Writing Process -- Blog Hop

The great CS Nelson recently tagged me in a fun little author diversion known as the Writing Process Blog Hop. And because I am always a fan of the shiny things, I decided to participate and share a little snap-shot of what we're doing, why we're doing it, and how we (or rather I) get stuff done. If you want to know how Mr. Nelson engages in the craft, you should visit his discussion here. It will be more than worth your while, trust me.



1. What Am I Working On?



Right now I'm in the final lap of finishing the first draft of my southern crime/suspense novel, GRACE, GEORGIA, which I hope to start pitching to agents later this summer. It's a three part book told from the POV of two cousins with a very dark and sad relationship centering around the murder of a little girl fifteen years ago, and the very twisted secrets of a family that drove them apart. It feels really good to be this close to the end of a new book, which will be the first novel I've completed in over a year. Apart from that, I'm in the early planning phase of the next Colt novel, COLT COLTRANE AND THE GHOST PLANE OF NEW YORK. It was originally going to be my NaNoWriMo project, but I want to have it ready to roll in January, so I need to have an earlier start. I am also working on the planning and early promotional phase of my upcoming novel, THE LAST SUPPER, set to drop in August. There are so many other things I have waiting in the wings, but for right now, those are the projects getting my full attention.



2. How Does My Work Differ from Others of Its Genre?



I'm not sure that's a question I can answer so easily. People have praised my pacing and my ability to build a character or a scene without going overboard on needless description, but I guess what I try to do in order to feel unique is to paint characters in varying shades of gray. If a character is a monster, I want to show the reader how they became that way and see if I can make them identify with this person. If a character is good, I want to show the reader that "good" is always relative. I don't want the reader to feel comfortable. I want them to squirm, and flip page after page in an effort to find comfort that won't ever come. To me, there is no such thing as a white hat hero or a pure villain. I like to use my work to test people's sympathies and viewpoints, challenge their assumptions and conventions, and kick taboos in the face, because I absolutely love it when a piece of writing does that to me.



3. Why Do I Write What I Do?



Because I find puppies and kitties farting rainbows to be boring. It isn't easy writing the stuff I do, and it isn't even precisely fun. I don't really know if it's supposed to be. Maybe I'm a bit pretentious for saying that, but I guess I'm one of those kinds of existential sufferers who thinks that if something feels too easy, I'm either doing it wrong or not getting what I'm supposed to out of it. Every story is an arduous dig for an often ugly but sometimes beautiful truth that lies beneath what we often see. I think writing fiction is the best vehicle for coaxing those things out.



4. How Does My Writing Process Work?



Sometimes I can write dozens of pages at a time without stopping. Sometimes I write a few sentences and then stop, and then I start again and stop again, and this goes on all day. Sometimes I'll write 3500 words in one day. Sometimes I'm lucky if I write 20. Sometimes I go back to a previous section and edit it a little before I get started with the new stuff, because I feel uncertain of how I want to begin. Sometimes I don't care and dive in head first. Sometimes I write in the morning or in the afternoon or late at night. Right now, mornings are my time, but that is subject to change. Sometimes I require coffee to get the mojo flowing, though most times I don't. Sometimes I decide I'd rather write at a library or a cafe or in my recliner or at my desk. Sometimes I would rather not write at all that day and just read and top off my inspiration tanks. Sometimes I finish a story and I know it's exactly how I want it to be. Sometimes I have to hack at it a couple times before I get it right. Sometimes I have to bounce ideas off my husband or writing friends in order to make sense of the mass of story jelly in my head. Sometimes it's a fully formed thing and I can't have anyone else's words or ideas interfere with mine. Sometimes I plot out ahead of time, most times I just get in the car and go. I hate outlines. They waste my precious creative energies, but sometimes generating a list of bullet points as I go is necessary to make sure I'm following the right track. Sometimes I take planned time off after I finish a book. Sometimes it's a few weeks. Sometimes it's a few months. I think regular exercise is essential to keeping the creative spark nice and hot, but I only exercise regularly sometimes.



Some would say my writing process isn't a process at all. That it's just a mish-mash of intuitive decisions and constantly going with my gut, doing what feels right when it feels right rather than living under a harsh set of rules and regulations and building fences around my creativity. And they would be right. To me, the only rule that matters is actually doing the writing. If you're not doing that, well . . . get to it, already.



I've tagged three other writers for this little blog hop, and they are awesome. You can check out their entries on May 19th. In the meantime, visit their blogs and peruse their wares!



Patrick C. Greene





Some dark serendipity plopped a young Patrick C. Greene in front of a series of ever stranger films-and experiences-in his formative years, leading to a unique viewpoint. His odd interests have led to pursuits in film acting, paranormal investigation, martial arts, quantum physics, bizarre folklore and eastern philosophy. These elements flavor his screenplays and fiction works, often leading to strange and unexpected detours designed to keep viewers and readers on their toes.



Literary influences range from Poe to Clive Barker to John Keel to a certain best selling Bangorian. Suspense, irony, and outrageously surreal circumstances test the characters who populate his work, taking them and the reader on a grandly bizarre journey into the furthest realms of darkness. The uneasy notion that reality itself is not only relative but indeed elastic- is the hallmark of Greene’s writing.



Living in the rural periphery of Asheville North Carolina with his wife, youngest son and an ever-growing army of cats, Greene still enjoys acting and fight choreography, and trains in martial arts when he’s not giving birth to demons via his pen and keyboard.



In addition to his novel PROGENY, and the short story collection DARK DESTINIES, Greene has several FILM projects in the works, and just finished writing his second novel – THE CRIMSON CALLING -the first in the action-adventure vampire trilogy, The Sanguinarian Council.





Bryan W. Alaspa






Bryan W. Alaspa is a Chicago native and published author of over 20 works of fiction and non-fiction. He has written books in the genres of horror, thrillers, suspense, true crime, history, mysteries, young adult, paranormal and even romance. When he’s not writing, Bryan enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, Melanie, and their two fur babies, Gracie and Pippa.





Solomon Archer, PhD





Solomon Archer is a pseudonym created for protective purposes. The author of PsyKu is an actual criminal psychologist. He received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on behavior pathology. He completed his forensic internship in Ohio where he specialized in working with low-functioning sex offenders and treatment with probationed and paroled offenders.



He continued his work with the mentally ill criminal population through his forensic post-doctoral fellowship in North Carolina with a focus on competency and sanity evaluations.



His career path subsequently branched out to the prison system, where he has worked for well over a decade. The author is currently the Chief Psychologist of the [REDACTED] State Department of Corrections. He spends much of his time working with serious and dangerously mentally ill offenders, some of whom are not so disorganized that they couldn’t figure out a way to free themselves from their restraints and stab him in the head with an altered food tray. (Incidentally, the going rate for shanking a psychologist is two pounds of coffee and three bags of Top tobacco. You know, just in case you were curious).

Free Comic Book Day and My First Comic Book Project

We love Free Comic Book Day, and being the good friend of a great comic book artist makes it even more fun, because it means we get to go see Justin Wasson at one of our local comic book shops.





Justin with his little girls at last year's event, Maverick's Cards and Comics



A couple of creepy little kids with some of Justin's art (I don't know who they are. Really.)

If you've never been to a FCBD event, you really should check one out. They fall on the first Saturday of every May (this year it's May 3rd), and some places go all out with costume contests and other prizes. And of course, you can walk out of the store with a whole stack of free comics from all the major publishers as well as the indies. If you're a lifelong fan or are looking to start an interest in comic books for yourself or your kids, or if you're just looking for something fun to do and meet some great artists, purveyors, and enthusiasts, check your local newspaper or call your local comic book shops for info on events.





Justin does a free mini-comic every year, and this year, after our success at the Gem City Comic Con, he offered to collaborate with me on a Colt-themed issue. I was thrilled. I've wanted to dabble in this medium for awhile and was really anxious to see how the whole process worked.





Fresh off the printer! Justin included his four daughters (on the left)

and my two darlings Natalie and Elias on the upper and middle right. :) 


Now, I guess there are varying ways of approaching this. Some people prefer to script the whole thing out ahead of time and then hand it over to the artist who draws it to spec. Another method is to have artist and writer frame out a basic story first, then the artist will draw the issue based on the agreed upon story. Then the writer will come in and fill out the actual dialog and narrative. We did it the latter way, and I'm glad for this because I wouldn't know the first thing about scripting out a comic book. I have read many throughout my life, but probably not enough to know how I would want panels laid out or how they should flow sequentially. Justin's expertise in that really helped. He kept me updated with every new addition and asked for any suggestions along the way, and as he completed the panels I was able to envision what each character would say. This way might not work out for everyone, but it felt like a really organic process for us.




How It All Began




Here are the initial sketches when we first laid down the concept. Keep in mind they really only make sense for the artist, though I could see some of Justin's thoughts starting to take shape.





This happened during our planning session. Just getting the barest idea of a layout, story arc, etc.





Colt's office taking shape, and Justin playing with some sketch ideas for Colt's assistant, Darcy.

It was great to finally be able to "see" her for the first time!







More character sketches and other doodles, and hint of the layout for page 3

By this point, Justin was pretty much flying solo. I'm all about letting the artist go where their imaginations and inspirations lead them. He asked for character descriptions, what the Takahashi Industries building might look like in this version of 1947 L.A., etc, but after that, he was off and running.



How It Evolved

Not necessarily in the order of work, but here is each scene laid out.




Page 1



















Page 2

















Page 3

















Cover











This is the cover ON the cover!




After Justin finalized the artwork, it was time for me to come along and do the only thing I know how to do in this whole process: write. The beauty of it was, knowing the story idea we had in mind already, it was all just a matter of looking at the sequence of events. And honestly, it went very smoothly, in great part because the story just flowed so well visually. Point: Justin.



What I've Learned About Making a Comic



This is not an artform to be taken lightly. These four little pages took a lot of hours to put together. Justin's perfectionist side was bristling a little at how he wished some it could be neater, so as perspective, this is a rushed job, and it still took about a week and a half to get all the artwork finalized. It only took me a few minutes to fill in the words, though again, because we were in a hurry to get it done and in print (we're going to be appearing together at Maverick's Cards and Comics in Kettering, OH), I felt like I could have done a little better at some of my wording. But it came together beautifully, and I discovered how much I absolutely loved this process, and how I would REALLY love to do this on a larger scale someday.



Another thing I've learned is how having an artist by my side to bring my ideas to visual life is a very inspirational thing. Justin's artwork has already inspired one short story, and the "cover within the cover" idea he had is actually now the seed for the next Colt novel (Colt Coltrane and the Ghost Plane of New York), which I plan to do for NaNoWriMo this year. There is something about seeing a live illustration of your imagined world that makes you think of ways you can make that thing happen in a story.





First it was a poster. Then it was a story.

Finally, I feel very lucky to be able to have this collaborative relationship with a friend that I respect and trust completely. I've known Justin more than half my life now. To be able to have a working relationship with him is a real privilege.



And Finally . . . 



Here is COLT COLTRANE AND THE CASE FOR COMIC BOOKS, a cute little story by two friends, artist and writer, about why this detective hero loves comic books. And why, if you love comics, you should visit any or all of your local Free Comic Book Day events. :)

David James Bright Answers 5 Quintessential Questions

Do you like horror? Do you like visceral, terrifying, grotesquely awesome horror that also happens to be very well written? Then I think you might want to check out author David James Bright.





Say hi, David!

Bright's debut horror novel, Harbinger, recently joined the stunning lineup of offerings from Hobbes End Publishing (not that I'm biased or anything...), and as part of the initiation ceremony into this tight-knit and somewhat dysfunctional and insane family of ours, I posed Harbinger's author the 5QQs. Let's see how he fared, shall we?



1. You found a surprise ten dollar bill in the dryer. How do you celebrate this magnificient windfall?
As a broke college student, this find would be a true blessing. I’d go to my standby celebration and purchase a footlong sandwich from the nearest shop, throwing on as many extra toppings as possible to get the total near $10.00. I’d covet the sandwich for a short while, admiring its splendor, before scarfing it down (probably in about two minutes). It’d be magical.

2. You wake up and realize the apocalypse has just happened. What do you have for breakfast?

I figure the best way to start any day filled with post apocalyptic activity would be by filling myself up with some good energy. Frosted Mini Wheats would be my initial thought, but, since the day is likely going to be epic, I’d have to instead go with the breakfast of champions. No, not Wheaties - two red Amp energy drinks and a box of chocolate frosted mini doughnuts. A friend of mine used to start his days off like that in high school. He’s still alive, so something worked right.

3. It's 3am and you hear a knock at the door. When you open it, you see a penguin standing here. He's wearing a bandoleer, a cowboy hat, and a fake mustache. He seems to know you. Why is he there?

It’d been years since I’d seen Javier. In fact, it seemed like a lifetime. Initially I believed I was staring at an apparition, a ghost summoned by my subconscious reminding me of a past I wished to forget, one mired with memories of ethical shortcomings, unscrupulous women, and danger of all varieties. A man isn’t truly a man until he’s been broken down, all of his beliefs and assumptions shattered by reality’s hand. A man can’t begin to understand himself until he looks in the mirror, sees the demon he has become, and face the fact that he’s destroyed lives.




He’s gotta face the fact he let his best friend die in his arms, wailing like a child as he desperately tried to scoop his innards back into his torso.

He’s gotta accept the fact that all he could do was hold his head and comfort him as his pleas for help went unanswered, lost in a desert as barren and unforgiving as his own heart. We all have to face our demons. We all have something to answer to. Maybe this was just my time. I’d either assume the identity of “El Jefe” and join Javier on another job, perhaps the final of my life. What we started was never finished, sure there was blood on our hands, but maybe this was the chance to wash it all away. Maybe this was our chance at redemption.

Or maybe he was here to put me out of my misery. To end my nightmares of the debacle at Tortuga Grande.

Jesus Christ, I still hear the screams when I close my eyes. He’d be justified. I fled like a coward. He only survived due to his wit and natural ability with a six shooter. There wasn’t a soul alive who could match his precision and skill with a gun.

Except for me. Maybe he was tying up a loose end.

“It’s time,” he says in a hushed whisper. Just by those words I understand.

I could run no longer. It was time to pack my bags and head south. Success or failure, this was assured to be our last job. In a way, it was perfect; there was no better way to go out.

“It’s good to see you again, partner,” I say.

Rio Oro beckoned.


4. Which super villain are you most like?
I’d have to say Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a little ashamed of this ability and try to use it less, but I can sweet talk people and manipulate situations very easily. In particular, this has arisen in games with friends, usually Risk, and through negotiations I’d control the whole flow of the game, choose who attacked who, and manipulated situations to my advantage, all while assuring the players involved what they were doing was in their best interest. The same can be said in role playing games I’ve participated in, where I’d essentially “write the plot” of what would happen by directing the actions of players, using them to gain some type of advantage, and in the end abandoning them.




“Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design!”

Plus, I’m destined to become a decrepit, crusty old man with the power to shoot lightning from my fingers. It’s in the cards.

5. Someone offers you a million dollars to write the greatest slash fiction story of all time. Give me your elevator pitch.
Two jaded lovers, separated by a rift spanning two decades, have been reunited by fate, and despite their differences and the disdain that still lingers, they must come together to finally complete the failed heist that’s haunted their dreams.

Rio Oro.

Now Javier and El Jefe must brave the deserts that claimed so many of their comrades, surviving the elements and ambushes with only each other and six chambers to rely on. As they endure the trials, each gun-blazing showdown getting them closer to their goal, they must deal with conflicting feelings, renewed urges, and the fear that lingers in both of their hearts. 


El Carnicero awaits at Rio Oro, and he’s ready to finish what he started twenty years ago. 




**********

I never in my life thought I would feel so invested in the outcome of that damn penguin. Damn you, Bright, and your author skills and your use of the dark side of the Force!




Bio: David James Bright is an author of horror and transgressive fiction. His debut novel, Harbinger, has received acclaim from such authors as New York Times Best Seller Jonathan Maberry. He is currently a graduate student at the University of Scranton and resides in northeastern Pennsylvania.




David's Website

David on Facebook







When a mysterious fog sets upon the small town of Rowley, Pennsylvania, its residents quickly find themselves isolated from the world. As the thick haze envelopes their once peaceful town, all communication systems fail and residents begin to go missing. As order gives way panic, the town devolves into violent lawlessness, every citizen with a score to settle acting out their darkest impulses hidden by the cloak of fog. 




Amidst the chaos, Ben Dowling realizes something is terribly wrong. It’s not just how people are acting crazy; there’s something more. There’s something out there butchering people. Something that is evil and vicious. 




Something that is hungry. 




Ben and his childhood friend Elise venture out into the unknown and confront the shadowy figure behind the mist. Dodging the chaos in the streets they have only each other to depend upon as they try to save their hometown from complete destruction. 




The Harbinger awaits them.


Available for Kindle and Paperback!

Why I Travel The Dark Path

I wrote this blog some months ago as a guest post for Mayra Calvani, and it originally appears on her page. I'm reposting it here with a few additions, because I want to remind people and myself why I write what I write. Am I a depressed, morbid, disturbed individual who likes to swim around in misery and ennui? Not exactly. Read on and find out . . .





I am a horror author, but I promise I’m not a freak. There isn’t a body hidden beneath the floorboards in my house, and I don’t have anyone tied up in my basement (because I don’t have a basement, but that’s beside the point). I also don’t revel in violence and I’m far from titillated by blood and gore. If anything, I’m as much disturbed by some of what I write as any of my readers are, and I’m even more prone to being afraid of scary movies and books than most. I don’t know where my desire to write about the dark side of life comes from necessarily, and I’m not sure I want to know. I’m only grateful that it’s there, because it’s given me a career.



In a recent interview, I said horror authors’ minds aren’t much different from any others, but they do have this desire to shine a light on the darkness that lives in all of us. Non-fans of the horror genre have their share of darkness, too, but they just don’t like to study it so much, and that’s okay. There are people who like to highlight on the positive and make people feel good, they require happy endings, and they don't want their fictions mimicking the already depressing aspects of real life. I get that. I do. But I'm here to offer another spin on the matter.





Believe it or not, horror writers like to make you feel good too. They really do! Only, it’s more of an inverse process, and it isn't something you're going to get by taking things at face value. If you've ever been through a rough time, be it losing a loved one or financial hardship or being the victim of a violent crime, I think you can agree that when you reach a place of peace and healing, you have a new gratitude for it. You truly understand the stillness, and it doesn't just register as boredom or emptiness. Dark stories can help you find that gratitude and hold tight to it.







To get technical, dark stories try to simulate harrowing events by activating the same parts of the brain that are active during times of peril. It's like a roller coaster or a skydive for your brain. By the time you put down that book or finish that movie, we want you to feel more alive than you did before. We want you to feel glad it’s over and that while you have this otherwise normal and sort of mundane life, you’re at least not being held captive in a decrepit old mansion by a human spider. By giving yourself a fictional burden that is harder than any could possibly bear in life, when you finally shed it, you feel lighter.




Sometimes when my fiction is too positive, the opposite happens to me. I look at my life and find it starkly unfulfilling and mundane in comparison, and that can depress me. Not always, but sometimes. The perfect romance, the perfect happy ending. It can signify the idyllic, unobtanium of Happily Ever After that makes real life feel so flat. Not always, but sometimes. Maybe it's a weird quirk in my head, but catch me in the wrong kind of mood, and a romantic comedy can make me want to jump off a bridge.



Another thing people assume about dark fiction authors is that we are cynics and pessimists in daily life. Now, I don’t want to fool anyone into thinking that this isn’t the case. Writers can be some of the most jaded people out there. In many cases, it’s why they write. But I also argue that there is a lot of optimism buried in dark fiction, because the people in them, the protagonists and heroes, are searching and fighting for something better. They're reminding us of the strength and persistence of the human spirit. My book STRINGS is probably the most grim piece of fiction I have ever written or will ever write, but it was also written by an optimist who believes that human beings are as equally capable of good as they are of bad, and that even the worst among us have a spark of humanity that can be coaxed into a flame under the right conditions.



Of course, it could just as easily go the other way too, and it often does, but that’s not pessimism. That’s just reality. That's just truth. And really, that is all I ever seek to write. In my mind, the darkness is just a natural side effect of telling the truth.

On Going Mainstream: Why You're Not Seeing Much From Me on Amazon Lately

I feel like I was more prolific once. I could spit out one short story after another, and for a period of about two years, nearly everything I wrote I released onto Amazon for download. Looking at my publication dates, I was releasing things every few months for awhile there. A good bit of it was older work that I had polished, but a lot of it was written for the express purpose of self-publication, and the output was steady and plentiful. It was a great way to build a small fan base as well as network with a whole host of other authors who have been great to me. Eventually I condensed all my work into collections so it would be easier to manage. Soon I'll be doing a wide release on all my work as we ramp up for the big release of The Last Supper.





You've seen all this before

Notice how I'm speaking of my indie publishing endeavors in the past tense? Well . . . here's why. I've recently made the decision that unless it's for Colt Coltrane or some other niche project, or work that has been published elsewhere for which I have had the rights returned to me, I probably won't be publishing directly to Amazon again for awhile. In other words, I'm trying to change the course of this ship, and in doing so, things will be slowing down in the output department, much to my chagrin. I'm playing the long game, though, and one can only hope the dividends will be there at the end.



That doesn't mean I'll be working less, mind you. Anyone who knows publishing knows that it's often a bit of a log jam. You send things down the chute one after another and it all piles up until someone opens things up downriver. And then it's like BAM, you have a glut of stuff hitting the market at once.





Ever since Strings came out back in October, I have been consumed with trying to get the Next Big Thing finished. I have The Last Supper coming out this summer still, and while I expect that to carry me into 2015, I have no other novels currently on a release schedule, and I've been hungry to leap to the next level of my career and see if I can break out into the mainstream a bit more. The sophomore book that most debut authors twist their guts over was already taken care of for me by having back-to-back contracts with Hobbes End, and I feel lucky that way (Supper has yet to be proven successful, though, so I'm still holding my breath a little on that). But for me, it has been all about nailing down that third book so I can start shopping it around this summer with the hopes I can have another novel out or at least announced in 2015 (fingers crossed).



My current project is a slight departure for me, but still in the realm of Strings in that it's a realistic crime thriller, only it doesn't have the visceral horror elements of the latter story. It's called Grace, Georgia, and here is my hastily written blurb:

Tonya and Amanda Crawford are cousins who were raised as sisters in a family full of unsettling secrets. Tonya was a troubled girl from the start, manipulating Amanda into playing sinister games that left the young girl traumatized with shame. It all culminated when Amanda stumbled on the brutal death scene of a little girl named Chloe March, with Tonya sitting right in the middle of it covered in blood and crying that it was all an accident. Amanda helped Tonya hide the girl's body, and they both agreed to plant evidence to set up their older cousin Abel, a pedophile who had been molesting Tonya for years. Though he didn't kill the March girl, Abel eventually confessed and was sentenced to life in prison, and the secret of what really happened to little Chloe has never come to light. Seven years later, Amanda fled Grace to start a new life in New York with the man she loves, and she's since done everything in her power to forget her harrowing childhood. But when she receives news that Tonya is dying of AIDS and wants to see her cousin one last time, Amanda gives in and returns to the scene of so many childhood nightmares, and the careful life she's built for herself quickly starts to unravel when she learns the true nature of Abel and Tonya's relationship, and the plot her family has engineered to wrap the past around her neck like a noose.

I'm really excited about this story and hope like hell it sees the light of day. In the meantime, I also have the second book in the Strings trilogy nearly finished, and there are several other irons in the fire for completion this year. So I'm not worried about a lack of big projects. Just about finishing them and getting them out there, and sadly this leaves me little time to complete short fiction.





However, not all is lost in that department. I have published three short stories this year. "Daddy's Glasses" currently appears in the Wrapped in White anthology, and the other is a fun "mini-episode" in the Colt Coltrane universe that you can currently buy on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The third one is a fun historical fantasy mash-up called "John Dillinger and the Blind Magician," which was accepted by Apex Magazine a couple months back and will hopefully be released later this year. I have plans for more stories this year, but all of them will be submitted to other publishers first, and if I'm lucky they won't be floating around too long in purgatory before they find a home.



Of course, my indie collection is stagnating, and I worry that people who have discovered me through this avenue will forget who I am, but I have to hope that if I can make a breakthrough in the mainstream world, it will somehow manage to bring together the two worlds I'm currently living in. All I know is, things have to change. I have seen the same peaks and valleys in sales year after year, and the trend is still pretty much flat. I do have another Colt novel in the works, but that's a very niche project, and I know that will only appeal to a select few. I can only hope with my increased public promotions of the series, it will eventually start to reflect in digital sales.



If you've been with me awhile, you know my career has gone through its share of fits and starts and other changes as I've tried to figure out the best way to release and promote my books. What I'm finding is that in the battle of what's best, DIY or traditional publishing, it's good to balance both, but it's also very hard to pay equal service to both at the same time. The traditional side of things has done a lot for me in the last six months. Strings is my best selling title by a country mile, and it makes sense that if I want to continue to see that kind of success, I have to focus more on that side of the aisle, even if it means taking all the drawbacks that come with it. Namely, that the work won't hit your hands quite as fast.



But publishing has never been for impatient people. I think I can handle the waits, as long as you dear readers stick with me.

5 Quintessential Questions: WRAPPED IN WHITE Edition ~ Cecilia Dockins

Over the next several days, I will be posting an interview from each author from WRAPPED IN WHITE, the brilliant new ghost story anthology from Sekhmet Press, LLC. These are the same wonderful people behind the vampire collection, WRAPPED IN RED. WHITE book also features my story, "Daddy's Glasses," and you can pick up a copy from all available ebook retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, etc) as well as in paperback through Amazon.









It has been a great run talking with all the wonderful authors who contributed stories to WRAPPED IN WHITE, and it's my sincerest pleasure to wrap it all up with the wonderful Cecilia Dockins. When I read her story for the book, I was genuinely shocked that this girl wasn't famous already. She has a way with words that makes me jealous, in a good way, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind that once you got your copy of the book, that you flip right to the end so you can read her story "Ain't They Bright." Also, she has some wicked dance moves, as I learned during an online dance-off we had a few weeks back. I'm still recovering from that centipede. Anyway, I suggest you stick around and learn a little more about Ms. Dockins and her predilection for the Running Man and unicorn hearts. The evil evil woman . . .




1. You found a surprise ten dollar bill in the dryer. How do you celebrate this magnificent windfall?

I quietly throwdown my best dance move, which is The Running Man, then sneak out of my neighbor’s house, drive to the pawn shop and buy the monkey’s paw I’ve had my eye on.




2. You wake up and realize the apocalypse has just happened. What do you have for breakfast? 

Belgium waffles, biscuits and gravy, sausage—a veritable myocardial smorgasbord—and of course, I’ll fry up the last remaining unicorn heart on Earth that I had hunted down the previous night during the witching hour…oops. 




3. It's 3am and you hear a knock at the door. When you open it, you see a penguin standing here. He's wearing a bandolero, a cowboy hat, and a fake mustache. He seems to know you. Why is he there? 

To collect child support stemming from our intergalactic space tryst. What he doesn’t know is I’m hiding a raygun behind my back. 




4. Which super villain are you most like? 

I like to think of myself as more of an evil overlord. If pressed for an answer, I’d have to say Granny Goodness.




5. Someone offers you a million dollars to write the greatest slash fiction story of all time. Give me your elevator pitch.

Mr. Rogers and King Friday argue about climate change. As the debate becomes heated in the Neighborhood of Make Believe, clothes come off and they both find that passion burns hottest of all.




*********

You know, I thought Solomon Archer's tale of Rambo and Jar-Jar Binks getting it on in the jungle was highly disturbing, but Mr. Rogers?? That's just plain sacrilege. Will you be my best friend?




Thank you for stopping by Cecilia!




Bio: Cecilia Dockins lives just a bucket kick from Nashville, Tennessee. She spends most of her time wrangling words, kids, and pets. She doesn’t like to bake and has a healthy mistrust of ribbon dancers. She does enjoy hoarding books and butchering flowers, which she describes as “gardening.”

She earned her B.A. in English from Middle Tennessee State University in 2010. She is a writer of horror and urban fantasy. She has several forthcoming publications and is penning her first novel.

You can visit her at http://www.ceciliadockins.com.

Or befriend her on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ccdockins