Sam Hilliard's Blog, page 2

In which Writer guy gets a card

Every so often, a letter comes from an unexpected place. A Christmas card and thank you note from a reader in Malaysia, in this instance. Made the perfect bookend to my birthday and the kindle edition giveaway.

First kind Christmas and New Year tidings  . . .

Then a handwritten thank-you note.  And who doesn’t love those?

Speaking of the giveaway, the final number of The Last Track downloads: 11,560. Of that total, just over 11,000 went to US households, the remaining were bound for other countries. Downloads from the United Kingdom comprised the lion’s share of the international demand, but readers in Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, India, Brazil and Japan also grabbed copies as well.

Not a bad few days, indeed.

Thank you very much to everyone who helped get the word out about the promotion and a special thank you to those who downloaded The Last Track. And Natasha from Malaysia, of course, for such a nice note!

And next week, I go back to writhing in self-pity. Er, I mean, writing the sequel.

A birthday treat

The Last Track giveaway on Amazon this week went very well. With a little more than 24 hours left, the book is ranked #4 in action/adventure and #2 in hard-boiled mysteries, down from a peak #1 position in both categories. For nearly four days, The Last Track remained in the top 100 of all free Kindle titles.

So that’s what a download count well in excess of 10,000 can do for rankings. Not too shabby. Was a nice treat on my birthday, especially after being so exhausted that I passed out on the couch at 6pm. Although there is one day left in the promotion, I’m OK with those numbers, so anything else that happens is gravy.

Based on the above results, the publisher decided on a new pricing strategy for the e-book version. Also, the paperback release is getting reset in another trim size and perhaps a new cover, though that won’t happen until sometime in April.

Anyway, if you’re reading this before February 15, 2013 at 8pm EST, by all means, grab a copy of The Last Track.

Been a long time

Quite a few things happened between the last post and today’s. First and most importantly, I got a new job. After seven years and a month as the tech office at the boarding school, it was time for a change.

No matter how often someone has changes jobs and deals with the last day emotions, until that door shutters behind you for the last time, what you’re really feeling about leaving that position–much less about the time you spent there—remains the big unknown. Especially this time.

So when the ninth graders delivered a handmade card they all signed to my office, I lost it. This was the first and only time a group of fourteen year-olds reduced me to tears. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised, since the day before the seniors almost succeeded with their own missive. Needless to say, it was moment I shall remember for a long time.

That being said, despite all the interviews and waiting to get the new place, after almost a month there, it was definitely worth the hurdles.

The publisher and I decided to try a new promotion technique, and so The Last Track is free on kindle for a short time. To say the least, I’m very pleased with the download numbers.

So please help yourself to a free copy.

House at the End of the Street

During one of the quietest weeks of the box office season, The House at the End of the Street finished at number three against several other movies opening this weekend, though it deserved a far larger audience. Even a nearby pack of screaming babies ( seven separate babies at a horror film constitutes a pack ) couldn’t kill the mood of the theater.

For this horror film proves far smarter than the average genre offering by being far more effective at the moments where direction and pacing matters most in a movie. Also, the story felt fresh, as did the careful blend of recognizable and more obscure–yet properly cast–actors.

Usually I avoid PG-13 horror movies during their theatrical runs, since the rating often reflects a studio’s attempt to reach the widest possible audience, by making sure no teen in America is left behind. But in the process of toning down the movie to avoid the dreaded R stamp, the final product often loses the edge that might have resonated with more audience members in total. While I understand the logic, I wonder if the PG-13 rating can’t keep out babies, can the R rating really stop a motivated teen looking for a good scare? Survey says: Probably not.

In any case here’s what worked about The House at the End of the Street:

1) Story. Original enough that the audience appeared surprised by the plot twists several times.

2) Photography. It’s hard to do location shots in the woods and without making the audience wish the director stuck to a set or dirty alleyway. This film looks creepy instead of contrived.

3) Ending. Twisted enough, yet plausible given the narrative and characters development.

Verdict: DVD or matinee. Baby not required to have a good time.

The Campaign – A review

I had planned to write a review of a great movie released nearly a month ago, posting the entry an hour or so after the first midnight showing shuttered, but tragic events in a theater Colorado that same night made any sentiment of ebullience and awe about the film seemed, well . . . ill-timed. Thus that post will appear later.

For now, time to shift gears with a comedy: The Campaign. No matter what one feels about government, politicians and the election process, this movie offers some honest laughs about a system that probably intends to be neither so funny nor broken, but in practice is really both.

What works about The Campaign:

1) The cast is solid and well placed. Will Ferrell shines as the archetype career politician – narcissistic, shallow and possessing the moral flexibility of an orphaned pimp. Zack G’s approachable delivery serves as the perfect counterpoint to Ferrell’s shyster ways.

2) With the Presidential election looming, it’s timely story, without being preachy. And even though some scenes rest on actual events from recent election seasons, it’s not necessary to recognize the factual basis to get the joke, or savor the caricature.

3) It’s definitely a comedy for adults. F-bombs abound.

Verdict: If you like well done comedies, The Campaign is worth seeing. Theater full price.

I think possibly

It might be too hot for blogging. If not blogging, it’s certainly too temperate for activities requiring serious ( or even half-serious ) thoughts that later require more mental focus to develop the into a coherent sentence. Forget a whole paragraph, this weather is punishment enough.

Or maybe it’s just time for a new cellphone.

Then again, I should be used to this problem. Every July I hit the mental wall–sometimes even a literal wall–a collision which corresponds exactly to the muggiest days of the NJ summer.

Counting down till the heat spell breaks. And shopping online for a new cellphone.

Excellent quote from the King

Stephen King penned a great article about the state of culture, books, movies and TV recently. The feature came via the Poet as a page ripped from a magazine, so citing the exact source is not possible at this hour. All that can be noted for certain: the author is Stephen King.

“I love my Kindle but what appears there has (so far) been backstopped by great publishers and layers of editing. If the e-book drives those guys out of business (or even into semi-retirement), what happens to the quality? For that matter, who pays the advances?”  – Stephen King

The beauty of Stephen King is that he can openly question what an industry that for years depended on his output can not even dare to murmur. I have nothing but respect for him as a writer and businessman. He’s done more to advance the cause of fiction writers than anyone alive.

I’m going to run a little further with his words now–in my own very frank terms.

Publishing as nearly everyone knew it since the Great Depression is over. Always before, publishing “righted” itself after a downturn–even a chronic one. No recession ever altered the fact that a few strong houses dominated the distribution channel; thus they controlled the talent, and by extension the content available to readers.

What happens when NYC literati lose control of the channel and the talent realizes the potential reward of reaching readers differently? I should think the least of the established traditional Old World acts worries ought to be their advances.

How about the fact that there are 1000 more potential Stephen Kings offstage, who suddenly have the same level of access to readers? Much like television, the most interesting books could come from alternative sources. A cable network of books, as it were.

Thinking beyond advances, what could less fettered competition do to the royalty statements of even the biggest literary hitters?

And yes

To answer the question, I am alive. Been a bit occupied this year and lived a lot. Started jujitsu training, got a kitten, built some bonfires, hiked, fell back into running and got engaged.

I’ll go back to being boring and writing a lot more shortly.

In the meantime, how about some tree ornaments?

Attack Kitteh

The best thing about a kitten is the worst thing about a kitten: young cats have endless amounts of energy. Yes, it’s fun to play with a new tiny critter who blasts into each new day like it is his first, and approaches everything with the same wonder an early explorer standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. They are cute. They are furry. They are soft. They are also evil at times.

And I have a theory about their moral flexibility.

Having observed a new kitten in its natural habitat the past few months, I have made a frightful discovery. Kittens sleep immediately after their owners leave for work. True, adult cats sleep a majority of the day, much of that their owner is at work, so in that respect the younger models resemble their more developed counterparts. The resemblances ends there.

See, the kitten sleeps literally only while their owner is at work. This means the harder and longer the owner labors outside of the home, the more time a kitten spends recharging. When the owner comes home, the kitten bolts awake,  hours ( or perhaps days ) from their peak energy level.

So what happens for the kitten living with someone who works at home on occasion? Well that may be why it takes some writers so long to write a book.

 

Distant Shore, Love is in the Air Blog Stop

Great writers are so because they tell good stories, the sort that stay with the reader long after finishing the last page. With The Distant Shore, Mariam Kobras delivers on both points, and does so expertly.

Mariam stopped by for an interview as part of Day 5 in her Blog Hop tour. And so from one writer to another, here's five questions an author wishes they would be asked about their writing.

Q: What influence to you hope readers recognize in your writing?

A: That's a really tough question. I needed two cups of coffee before I could even start to think of an answer. In the end, the answer is really simple though: None.

I'm not really influenced by any other writer. Maybe by some art. I think Eric G. Thompson's portraits of his wife Hilary influence my haikus. Maybe some music.  Not any specific artist, but songs, sometimes classical pieces. I put together playlists for every book.

But not other writers. I guess I just want to be my own best self.

Q: Who is the most important person or character to your writing life ?

A: Person – that would be our mutual boss ( Mary Chris Bradley ).  She allowed me to take myself seriously as a writer, to accept that I am, indeed, an author, and that my writing is good. It's actually a lot harder to see myself in that light than I had thought.

It's a bit of a guilty feeling too, like being that kid in the proverbial candy store. I'm still waiting for someone to slap my hand.

Character – definitely Jon Stone. I know him inside and out. Naomi, she's still a mystery.

It's funny how characters develop.

I remember how Solveigh came to life, Naomi's right hand at the Seaside.

That moment when Naomi steps out of the elevator with that tray of plates, she sees Jon standing at the desk, talking to Solveigh. In that moment, when Naomi sees them, that was when I created Solveigh. Somebody had to stand there, and it turned out to be a lively, blond girl with a razor-sharp mind.

Q: If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

A: At this point, probably a very unhappy housewife with an almost empty nest.

But you didn't ask me what I would LIKE to be. Why not? I mean, it's not as if being a writer is a conscious decision. You don't wake up one morning and say to yourself, "Hey, I'm gonna be a writer!" It's something that grows in you, and shapes itself into a passion at some point.

Now if I could DECIDE what I would like to be, I'd be on a starship. Or even better, I'd be resident writer on a starship. How cool would that be?

Q: What's your favorite strategy for getting through a writing block?

A: I don't use blocks. I use a MacBook. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Q: What do you hope people remember most about your books?

A: I hope it will be my writing style. I hope my readers will remember my writing like a melody, like a snatch of a song that keeps popping up in their minds for years and years.  I hope they will remember phrases and passages like a poem, remember the tune of the words, and hum them.

I'd also like them to remember my characters.

It would be nice if, after finishing the book, my readers would sometimes think back and wonder, "What would Jon Stone do in a situation like this?"

I mean – can you imagine JON STONE in hospital, maybe for a gall-bladder surgery, forced to wear one of those hospital gowns with the open back? Really, can you imagine?

Or – even worse, Naomi cooking Christmas dinner for the entire family?

No, I can't see that one either.

Or maybe I can, but that book hasn't been written yet . . .

Much thanks to Mariam. And now some marketing stuff from the Boss:

This was the fifth stop on Mariam's "Love is in the Air" Blog Hop & Giveaway. We hope you enjoyed this review and will join us Wednesday at Teresa's Reading Corner for a post called One Small Step for Woman with the author of The Distant Shore.

Buddhapuss Ink is giving away copies of Mariam's book, along with some pretty terrific (and very romantic) gifts, as we count down to that most romantic day of the year—Valentine's Day!

Want to enter the giveaway?

In order to enter, Tweet a link to this blog including the hashtag #TDSBlogHop. Make sure to include the hashtag!

Want another chance to win? CLICK HERE for all the info!