Michael Offutt's Blog, page 168

Can you help me with a blog tour?

I am planning a blog tour for my book that is coming out this May. Only, I have no idea how much is enough or too little. As it is, I've scheduled eleven days. But when I look at Ciara Knight who is going on tour later this month for the fabulous Curse of Gremdon (I can say this because I read it), she has got a lot of time blocked out (I think the entire month).

So, I'm asking you knowledgeable writers out there...what is the perfect amount of days to use for a blog tour? Do they need to be spaced apart or can they be Monday thru Friday? Are you expected to give out something like an Amazon gift card or a book or is it okay not to give out anything?

I'm also looking for three more people who would like to host me to fill out the schedule I have (unless it ends up not being enough or too much). If you would be willing to help me with a blog tour, please say so in the comments :)

You can check the schedule I have at this link or by clicking the tab above.

Have a great Tuesday.

How to write good

That just about explains it all, now doesn't it?

:) Have a great Monday.

Believe In Yourself

"I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind." 

                          --Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods
Let's own 2012 together. Have a great weekend. :)

Advanced Reader Copy Update and a Blogfest with incredible prizes

I want to remind those that are interested that the drawing for the paperback  Advanced Reader Copy of my book, SLIPSTREAM is still open. Please go to my Christmas post here if you have not done so already and leave a comment that says "I would like an ARC".  I have a few interested folks and want to thank every one of you that already commented for your wonderful support. I will keep the contest open for another week and will draw a winner on Friday, January 13th (13 has always been a lucky number for me since I was born on that day). My giveaway is of course, international.

In the month of February, there's going to be a cool blogfest that is hosted by:

1) Live to write...Edit when necessary.
2) Cassie Mae over at Reading, Writing, and Lovin' it.

Why is this blogfest cool? Because I get to talk about my characters and you can too if you join in!

Here are the details:
Monday, February 6th--Characters on the couch:

Have one of your characters answer the following questions (to make this work to your benefit, choose a character who is the hardest for you to write :) Max 250 words (Not including the questions—only the answers).
What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?What do people believe about you that is false?What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?What do you want most? What will you do to get it?  Wednesday, February 8th--Dialogue Introduction:
Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue—no backstory, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max 250 words.

Friday, February 10th -- Emotion Flash Fiction:
Emotion is the engine of a story. Pick an emotion and in a flash fiction piece of 250 words MAKE us feel it! We want to connect with your character. This will be a challenge in 250 words.
Prizes include two books, two query critiques, and two FULL MANUSCRIPT critiques. Like seriously...these hosts are going to read 80,000 plus words per person for the winner. That is an AWESOME prize. It's so hard to get feedback...so hard to find someone that will actually set aside the time to look seriously at your work-in-progress.
Have a great Thursday and go sign-up for the blogfest! It seriously looks fun.

Insecure Writer's Support Group 2012

Today is yet another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. This blogfest is one that never ends. It is the brainchild of self-titled "super ninja captain" Alex J. Cavanaugh, friend to everyone that writes, and the man that happens to be just about everywhere online. The rules are simple, post your insecurity on the first Wednesday of every new month. If you are a writer, I encourage you to join by visiting his blog here.

My insecurity this time around is cover art. Deron Douglas is the C.E.O. of Double Dragon Publishing, but he's also the one and only cover artist.  I tend to like "most" of his cover art. But some of it doesn't turn out all that great. And it's been my experience that whenever anything bad happens, it always happens to me. If there was a 1 in a 1000 chance that someone could get the plague from drinking water, I would be the one that got the plague, etc.

He's going to begin doing my cover design in February, and I'm a little nervous. I guess if I hate it I can just talk to him about it, but I signed an agreement that said that I essentially have no say in the cover. So if I don't like the result...tough cookie.

Ah well, it's what's inside that matters, right?

Thanks for listening to my insecurity and have a wonderful Wednesday :)

Merlin Season 4 starts this Friday

I'm a fan of The BBC's  Merlin . I own the first two seasons and still have the season finale of season 3 on my DVR. But really all you need to know if you haven't watched it is that there's a lot of homoerotic tension between Arthur and Merlin, Arthur and Merlin are roughly the same age as opposed to one being an old wizard and the other a kid, and Guinevere is black (and doesn't come from a noble family). Oh and Uther (Arthur's dad) was a bigot making all wizards go deep into the "closet".  In season 4, he's dead (which took forever to happen). I'm glad Arthur is finally king.

Essentially, it has nothing to do with the actual story which is why I kinda like it.

Here are some pics to whet your appetite; some are courtesy of my new bloggy friend at Hollywood Spy.
If that's too much armor for you ladies out there then here's something more appropriate: They all have British accents too. And yes...these are the "Knights of the Round Table". Don't believe that the nutrition and razors in the middle ages produced men like this? Well that's why it's called Merlin because there's magic too. And as you can see...magic makes anything possible. Here's more: King Arthur Gwen MorganaDoes there really even need to be a story with actors and actresses that look this hot? Catch the action with me on the SyFy channel.

See you Wednesday with my Insecure Writer's Support Group post.

Starting off 2012 with a Blog Award

Well I'm black from my blogger vacation, and to start things off I'm doing some housekeeping on some awards that I know you people are just dying to be infected with (and then spread them to your cohorts).

First off is the Smart Cookie Award.
I received this from the Blogger Girlz (Thank you Blogger Girlz!)

Here are the rules. They should look eerily familiar to many of you that pass these along:
Thank the award giver and link back to them in your post. This is par for the course for all of these things.Share 4 little known facts on anything.Pass this on to other "smart cookies" you may know.The facts I choose to talk about all relate to me:It took me two years to write my book that is being published in May. I'm a slow ass writer, and I don't care if that is a point of condescension for other writers to look down their nose at me. I have a day job, and there are many many days where I feel like writing nothing at all.I change the title after my name to silly things because I think that people who have their name and "comma 'Author'" are being pretentious. Anyone can string words together and publish them. So anyone can be an author. The next title I plan on using is "Evolved Monkey" unless someone steals it first.It seems to be easier for me to be real life friends with single women over 30 than it is with single women under 30. The under 30 crowd that "happens" to be single for whatever reason (yes they do exist) only wants to talk about their exes or talk about what they want in their next boyfriend. The single women over 30 will talk about books, movies, and be content watching television that we both enjoy while drinking tea.  Not once will they check their Facebook.The men I know are only interested in hanging out when they are single or extremely tired of their relationships and don't want to bite the horrible bullet and just end it (yes the men I know in this position are cowards plain and simple). If the target man I want to go to a movie with is in a relationship, planning to hang out for even a couple of hours has to have the approval of the other half (who secretly more often than not could give a shit), must be done well in advance (his rules not hers), and is only done so once they have checked with the other half to see if anything has been planned (again the man's rules not hers). This is not the same for women. Women I know that are in a relationship will always hang out at the drop of a hat as long as I'm paying. It just takes one phone call.  The only conclusion I've been able to gather from this in the years I've walked the earth is that many men overestimate their importance and impact that they have on their women. This condition is called "pussy whipped" and it is invented by men and not women. In other words, women don't pussy whip men. Men pussy whip themselves. It's really kind of pathetic. The Smart Cookies: Mr. Briane Pagel at his blog, Thinking the Lions.Ms. Steph Schmidt at her blog The Non-Sequitur Ramblings. Honestly, she needs a break from all that painting that she does.Andrew Leon at his blog StrangePegs, because I'm tired of reading about his dog.Cindy Borgne over at her blog Dreamer's Perch, because I know she'll give us four facts about Mars, and I like reading about Mars.Brooke R. Busse because my New Year's Resolution is to pass to Brooke every blog award that I'm fortunate enough to receive from the very giving blogosphere. I received the great comment award from book blogger, editor, writer, superwoman...Cherie Reich. She passed this award to the last twenty commenters on her blog, and I happened to be one of the lucky recipients. I feel so blessed. In return, I am passing it onto any of you who use any form of "Congratulations" in your comment on today's post. You too, ladies and gentlemen, will be obligated to post a blog that links back to this and thank me for the kindness I have in extending an award to you. How do you like them apples?

Have a happy Monday. :))

Merry Christmas

I present to you my Christmas story for Heather Arundel's contest. You still have one week if you intend to enter. The prizes are a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card, a beautiful e-reader cozy, and a leather writing journal. So far there are only two entries including mine.
Leave a comment below saying "I would like an ARC" if you would like to read my debut novel set to be published in May. I shall choose a winner next year. I ask that if you are interested, to please visit my Goodreads page and mark it "to read".

My friends, I shall see you in January. May all of your
wishes come true.

Congratulations to Cindy Borgne for being our 10 Lords A Leaping winner, the Prometheus trailer, and Jedi Ninjas

At the end of November, blogger Sarah Belliston organized the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. Well the day that I was told to announce my winner is today.

Huzzah Cindy Borgne
You have been chosen by random.org to win $10 to Amazon.
If you don't already know Cindy, she's an award-winning author of science-fiction. You can find her website located here.

UPDATE...Here is the Prometheus trailer I've been waiting all week for (it gives me shivers):

And here's a video of the greatest Star Wars tribute ever. Jedi Ninjas.I found this video last week and it only had 315 views. It's since gone viral.I tweeted about it, so you may have already watched it.

Congratulations to Cindy Borgne for being our 10 Lords A Leaping winner

At the end of November, blogger Sarah Belliston organized the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. Well the day that I was told to announce my winner is today.

Huzzah Cindy Borgne
You have been chosen by random.org to win $10 to Amazon.
If you don't already know Cindy, she's an award-winning author of science-fiction. You can find her website located here.

I have to say, I'm excited today because the Prometheus trailer is supposed to hit the Apple iTunes website sometime today. I've been refreshing it about once an hour (shut up Patrick/Grumpy) to see if it is there yet. Here's the teaser they released for it two days ago. Enjoy: