Phil Giunta's Blog, page 120
April 30, 2011
Actor Bill Campbell gone at 84
Photo courtesy of TrekMovie.com/Paramount Pictures.
April 28, 2011
Saw The Mighty Ape reading my book in the Supermarket!
Came across a few more online booksellers carrying Testing the Prisoner!
If you're in New Zealand, you can get it from The Mighty Ape!
Or you can just go to the Supermarket...
April 27, 2011
Rebecca St. James Walks the Straight and Narrow Aisle
Rebecca's Music Rebecca's Books
Photo credit: Rebecca's website
April 26, 2011
About This Writing Stuff
Twist Ending Tips from Harlan Coben by Jessica Strawser
How to Recover from eMail Gaffes by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen
Ask the Agent: Kelly Mortimer posted by Jane Friedman
Kelly Meding's Dreg City series Comes to Audio! - My friend Kelly Meding is excited to annouce the audio version of her novels, Three Days to Dead, As Lie the Dead, and Another Kind of Dead. Check it out, yo!
Ann C. Crispin's Pirates of the Carribbean: The Price of Freedom - Veteran SF, Fantasy, and Media Tie-In author Ann C. Crispin's latest novel delves into the past of Captain Jack Sparrow himself!
The Chuck Sambuchino List
How $1 Could Make You a Bestselling Author by Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Agent Advice: Vicki Motter of Andrea Hurst & Associates
How to Jump on the Media Go-Round by Janie Reinart
7 Things I've Learned So Far by Rachel Friedman
New Agent Alert: Kathleen Rushall of Waterside Productions
How I Got My Agent: Paul Elwork
April 23, 2011
Testing the Prisoner continues on Audio with Chapter 12
My paranormal mystery novel, Testing the Prisoner, continues it's bi-weekly episodes with Chapter 12.
Daniel is briefly hospitalized after his rescue from the railroad bridge. After returning home, he encounters the ghostly boy one last time before reuniting with a surprisingly sympathetic Vicki.
If you enjoyed Testing the Prisoner on audio, please consider purchasing the paperback or Kindle version from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other online booksellers such as Powell's Books, Doylestown Book Store, Buy.com and others.
Thank you so much for your support!
April 22, 2011
Author Interview: Jon Gibbs
Born in England, Jon Gibbs now lives in New Jersey where he’s a member of several writers’ groups, including SCBWI and The Garden State Horror Writers. He is the founder of The New Jersey Authors’ Network and FindAWritingGroup.com. Jon can usually be found hunched over the computer in his basement office. One day he hopes to figure out how to switch it on. It's a pleasure to have Jon with us here for a little Q&A.
What's more, Jon is giving away a free copy of his eBook, Fur Face, to one random commenter!
Are there any particular writers who inspired or influenced you?
In terms of writers who make me want to write as good as what they can, I’d say my biggest influence is Terry Pratchett. I’m a big fan of his Discworld novels especially the ones featuring the city guards and/or the witches. His books are often thought provoking, but always great fun. One moment he has you laughing out loud, the next he’s tugging at your heartstrings, often on the same page.
For inspiration, it has to be Jonathan Maberry. I first met him three years ago (at the 2008 Write Stuff Conference). He always seems so enthusiastic and the man’s a writing machine. He’s also what my old gran would have called ‘A do-fer’ [as in ‘What can I ‘do-fer’ you?’]. A lot of folks chasing their dreams and goals only focus on the people who can help them get where they want, Jonathan Maberry always seems to make time for (and be willing to help) people further down the writerly food chain.
What genres do you enjoy reading and what have you read lately?
I enjoy Terry Pratchett’s brand of fantasy. I also like Bernard Cornwell’s historical fiction, in particular his Saxon stories. I just finished the nook version of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book – I guess that would be fantasy/horror for middle grade readers – which was fun. Before that I listened to the audio version of all seven Harry Potter novels – read by Jim Dale. People always (rightly IMHO) praise J. K. Rowling for her excellent world-building, but for me, her greatest strength as a writer is her ability to create such a diverse range of interesting characters.
Tell us about your short story work previous to your first novel.
Being the naïve idiot I am, it never occurred to me to write short fiction before attempting a novel. That said, I’ve been known to write micro fiction (100 words), four of which were published. One, WILD WEST JUSTICE, even made it into the second Every Day Fiction anthology. A couple of years ago, I had a go at a proper short story, a 4,000-word science fiction piece (it got an honorable mention in the GSHW’s 2009 short story contest), but otherwise I’m strictly a book-length writer.
I find it cool that you were once a lead singer for a rock band. Tell us about Gentleman Jones. When did the band form? Were you one of the founding members? How long did you remain with the band?
Lol, trust me, it was a lot of fun, but really not as cool as it sounds.
I first joined the band (then called Bad Taste) on keyboards/backing vocals back in 1988, taking over the lead vocals a year later. Over the next sixteen years we self-published three albums and had a hoot and a half, but we were very much a legend in our own lunchtimes. In 2004 we were actually working on our fourth album, Vene, Vidi, Capitulati, but then I left England for New Jersey, which is why we never finished it.
What brought you to the USA?
Two of my three children are severely autistic. Much as we appreciated the help and support we got for them in England, there was a far broader range of educational and developmental support to be had in New Jersey. My lovely wife (aka Senior Management) works for an American bank. She got a transfer from their London operation to the one in New York City.
Your debut novel, Fur Face (Echelon Press, June 2010), is a middle grade fantasy about 13-year-old Billy Euston who sets off on a mission to stop sinister animal experiments after he befriends Snowy (an outrageous talking cat that only he can hear). What inspired the story?
It started as a ‘What if…?’ I once had three cats that allowed me to look after them. As any cat lover will tell you they each have their own unique personality. I used to talk to mine all the time and often wondered what they’d say if they could answer back.
Was there a conscious decision to write Fur-Face as a middle grade piece?
Yes, I wrote it for my son, who was ten at the time, though I wasn’t really familiar with the term ‘middle grade’ back then.
Can you share any tidbits about your current projects? Are there are any future release dates you can announce at this time?
No future release dates as yet. I’m currently working on several novels: Waking up Jack Thunder (a science thriller); a fantasy/horror for boys aged 10-12 – tentatively called Bartholomew Jones and the Pirate from Hell; Dead Doris, a fantasy/horror for girls aged 10-12, and a sequel to Fur-Face entitled Barnum’s Revenge.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Aside from the boring day-to-day stuff we all have to do, I spend a lot of time blogging/social networking online, which is great fun. Since discovering the joys of streaming video via Netflix last year, Senior Management and I spend a fair amount of time in front of the telly, catching up on old shows and favorite movies.
Buy Fur-Face on or before April 30th 2011 and enter the Win-A-Kindle Prize Draw
April 20, 2011
About This Writing Stuff...
6 Steps to Jumpstart Your Story by John Dufresne
Will Publishers Buy a 200,000 Word Novel? by Brian A. Klems
How to Get The Most Out of a Writing Group by Corinne Demas / posted by Chuck Sambuchino
Helpful Insights for Self Publishing Novelists posted by Jane Friedman
What is Your Publishing Persona? by Jessie Morrison
What Writing is to Me: Finding a Strange Thing and Examining It by Jane Kirkpatrick / posted by Chuck Sambuchino
How I Got My Agent by Paul Elwork / posted by Chuck Sambuchino
How I Found My Agent by Susan Pohlman / posted by Chuck Sambuchino
New Agent Alert: Judith Engracia of Liza Dawson Associates posted by Chuck Sambuchino
R.I.P. Elizabeth Sladen, Doctor Who's Sarah Jane Smith
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/04/dwn190411204508-elisabeth-sladen-1948.html
God bless her forever.
Book Review: Mercury by Ben Bova
Previous to Mercury, I had just completed Ben Bova's As On A Darkling Plain and I can tell you that Dr. Bova certainly enjoys his love triangles. In Mercury, brilliant engineer Mance Bracknell constructs the Skytower, a space elevator, in Ecuador alongside bioengineer Victor Molina. The tower stretches beyond Earth's atmosphere to a space platform in geostationary orbit. Bracknell's success inspires him to break out of his reticent shell and ask his girlfriend, Lara Tierney, for her hand in marriage. Unbeknownst to Bracknell, Molina is also in love with Lara.
Meanwhile, Elliot Danvers, a priest with a religious order known as the New Morality, is assigned to the project to provide spiritual guidance to the project's staff--and to spy on the irreligious scientists who dare build a modern day Tower of Babel, using a barely legal variation of nanotechnology no less. Bracknell's hubris angers the New Morality as well as the Yamagata Corporation. The Skytower will prove to be a much more efficient method for launching satellites into space, negating the need for propulsion systems provided by Yamagata.
When the tower is sabotaged by Yamagata, causing most of it to collapse and kill millions of people across the planet, Bracknell is charged, convicted and exiled from Earth for the rest of his days. Molina, seizing the opportunity to have Lara for himself, commits perjury and testifies against Bracknell. The use of nanotechnology in the Skytower also becomes inimical to Bracknell's case.
Bracknell spends the next ten years living a meaningless life as a crewman aboard a freighter, plotting his revenge on Yamagata, Molina, and Danvers.
Bracknell eventually escapes servitude and has his appearance altered by a specialist at Selene base on Earth's moon--ironically through the use of nanotechnology. He assumes the name of one of the freighter's crewman who was killed when the ship was attacked and destroyed. Bracknell, now Dante Alexios, was the sole survivor and beneficiary of the insurance policy on the freighter. With new found fortune, Alexios sets up an engineering firm on the moon. Eventually, he learns of a project on Mercury to create solar powered satellites--funded by Yamagata Corporation. Alexios wins a bid as a subcontractor on the project, opening the door to his plan for revenge.
Mercury is divided into four parts and no chapter is more than three pages long. The first two parts deal with the Mercury project and introduce the main characters. The reader begins to understand just who Dante Alexios truly is and starts to watch the seeds of his vengeance bear fruit. Part three moves back in time to the Skytower project and the rise and fall of Mance Bracknell. The final part brings the reader back to Mercury and the final execution of Bracknell's plan for revenge.
All told, Mercury is a fast, enjoyable read. I did note more than once that POV tends to jump from one character to another inside of a scene. I always found this to be a distraction and in fact, breaks an often taught rule of story structure. However, the POV changes are made clear so as not to confuse the reader.
Continuing my Ben Bova read-a-thon, the next book on the list is Jupiter. Dr. Bova will be the Guest of Honor at BaltiCon 45 in May and I look forward to meeting him.
April 17, 2011
Grey Eye Glances
In fact, for a time, GEG was offering living room concerts and I had the idea to contact them to play at my house after the release of my first novel but that never came to pass. That was a shame, too, because no small portion of Testing the Prisoner was written while listening GEG's music. I only had the chance to see them in concert once at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia back in the late 90s (I think) and they were excellent.
I wish Jennifer Nobel the best but I'm really down about her departure. I could listen to her sing the alphabet and be enraptured. However, they performed a live concert at the Tin Angel on April 2 with their new lead singer, Linsday McKay, and from what I read, she is awesome. I wish I had known about it! Next time, I'm there. According to the band's website, they are writing new music (yay!).
I look forward to hearing more from these amazingly talented artists.
