Phil Giunta's Blog, page 29
October 16, 2019
Murder and the Little Old Lady
This week, the Infinite Bard brings you “Murder and the Little Old Lady” by writer pal Lorraine J. Anderson!
Click here to read this FREE short story.
October 14, 2019
My Schedule for the Easton Book Festival
In less than two weeks, I will be joining fellow members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG) at the Easton Book Festival to participate in what is essentially a two-day writers conference, organized by our very own John Evans.
All solo sessions will take place at the Northampton Community College (NCC) building on 3rd Street near Crayola on Saturday and Sunday, 10/26 – 10/27, with a few discussion panels and critique sessions to be held at other venues nearby. Throughout the weekend, books written by the presenters will be available for sale at the GLVWG table at Northampton Community College.
Of course, there are scores of other events happening that weekend throughout the town. The full festival program can be found here.
My specific schedule is below. Click on each session title to learn more about it.
Saturday, October 26
12PM to 1PM: Trim That Story! A presentation on self-editing. Location: NCC Classroom 124
2PM to 3PM: Writing in the 21st Century. A discussion panel with Christa Conklin (moderator), Phil Giunta, Keith Keffer, and Christine Talley. Location: State Theatre Gallery
Sunday, October 27
1PM to 2PM: Time Management for Writers. Location: NCC Classroom 105.
October 8, 2019
From the Holidays to Horror
In addition to today’s 99-cent Kindle debut of Over the River and Through the Woods, the winter holiday anthology featuring my story, “Limited Time Offer,” I received yet more sensational publishing news.
My ghost story, “Burn After Writing” has been accepted for publication in an upcoming horror anthology. I have not yet signed the contract, so I can’t reveal details yet, but stay tuned for more info. This is going to be a fantastic fright fest!
For now, though I hope you will consider purchasing a copy of the aforementioned winter holiday anthology (pictured above) filled with wonderful stories, essays, poems, and even a holiday recipe all written by attendees of the Mindful Writers Retreats. Click the image to the right to see the list of contributing authors.
Proceeds benefit the Ligonier Camp and Conference Center nestled in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania. The camp provides activities for families and children throughout the year and also serves as the location for the Mindful Writers Retreats organized by writer pals Kathie Shoop and Larry Schardt.
We deeply appreciate your help in supporting a good cause!
October 6, 2019
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Kristen Lamb ponders the importance of talent while Chris Syme offers a primer on preserving your authorial reputation in a crisis.
Kris Kennedy concludes her five-part series on avoiding the nefarious info-dump and Jordan Dane defines narrative drive.
Over at Writer Unboxed, Donald Maass analyzes what makes a true hero or heroine while Heather Webb provides tips on writing an effective query letter.
The New York Times reminds us that fact-checking is everyone’s responsibility and Kickstarter finds itself embroiled in a labor dispute.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
Do Some People Lack the Talent to be a Successful Author? by Kristen Lamb
The Five Myths of Crisis Management for Authors by Chris Syme via Anne R. Allen
Pitfalls and Solutions for Writing a Science Thriller by Amy Rogers
Backstory: Avoid Info Dumping by Making it Essential-Part Four and Part Five by Kris Kennedy via Jami Gold
Narrative Drive—Do You Have It? by Jordan Dane
Rookie Mistakes Indie Writers Make by James Scott Bell
It’s a Fact: Mistakes are Embarrassing the Publishing Industry by Alexandra Alter
The Making of a Hero or Heroine by Donald Maass
Writing the Query Letter: Dos and Don’ts by Heather Webb
How to Market a Book: 10 First Steps by Joe Bunting
Is There a Labor War Brewing Inside of Kickstarter? by Tobias Carroll
October 1, 2019
To Ashes…
Click here to read Leigh Dragoon’s short story right now along with a dozen other FREE tales crafted by the latest voices in speculative fiction.
September 29, 2019
All At Once, They Were Gone…
As I write this on the final Sunday evening of September, I dread going into work tomorrow even more than usual. A critical software upgrade that should have finished successfully on Friday afternoon went awry and kept me at the office until 7:30PM with no solution. Even the vendor’s tech support claimed that they had never seen the situation we encountered, leaving us with unusable software and no recourse. I suspect we’ll need to rollback to the previous version tomorrow morning. It will be misery.
To make my Friday night even more interesting, the contracting company that we hired to replace our first floor shower stall ordered the wrong doors. Had the installer arrived with the proper doors on Wednesday, the job would have been completed in one day. Instead, the installer had to arrange for the correct doors to be delivered from upstate PA and installed two nights later. He arrived at 9:15PM on Friday night and was finished in about 20 minutes.
As a funny aside, part of the shower stall renovation on Wednesday included replacement of the fixtures and plumbing inside the wall. This required me to turn off the main water valve for about 30 minutes. The following morning, when I stepped into our second floor shower and pulled the faucet to send the water up to the shower head, the pressure jettisoned the ballcock in the toilet across the room, knocking the lid off. I had to rush out of the tub to turn off the valve at the toilet and dry up the water that had sprayed out of the tank.
So, after work on Thursday evening, I purchased a new ballcock from the local ACE hardware and replaced it only to find that the supply line had been damaged in by the sudden burst of water pressure. Fortunately, I had two supply lines in stock and the repair was finished within reasonable time.
These events, as irritating and inconvenient as they were, are insignificant when compared to two far more distressing events that occurred on Thursday. Approximately five hours apart, I lost a friend to heart failure in a New Jersey hospital and an acquaintance to a massive stroke in a Maryland hospital. Both men were prominent in the SF fandom community along the east coast.
Todd Brugmans was a remarkable young artist with a zest for life. He and his wife Annie were active in STARFLEET (the international Star Trek fan club) and ubiquitous at many SF conventions along the east coast such as Farpoint, Shore Leave, and others. Todd created the cover art for well over a dozen convention program books as well as novels written by pals Diane Baron and Lance Woods.
Todd’s final book cover art was for The Fandom Fifty by Diane Baron, a chronicling of the rich history of the Baltimore SF convention scene through interviews with many longtime organizers, guests, and attendees, myself included.
At 10:15PM on Thursday, 9/26/19, Todd succumbed to heart disease after five trying days in the hospital.
Lew Aide was a veteran SF convention attendee and volunteer in the Baltimore region for decades. After suffering a massive stroke last weekend—and spending days on life support—Lew passed at 5:01PM on 9/26/19. A few of Lew’s closest friends noted that 5:01PM in military time is 1701, the registry number of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek. Lew, they said, was a true fan to the end.
As if those losses were not devastating enough, there was a third. Ken Giroux, owner of Next Generation Toys, is one of the most popular dealers at SF conventions. If you like action figures, Ken is your guy. For many years, his wife Kathy attended the cons with him. We learned on Saturday that Kathy departed this plane of existence on August 22.
It goes without saying that I hope never to see such a horrible week as this ever again.
September 26, 2019
Over the River and Through the Woods!
A beam of sunlight on an otherwise dreadful day. My two advance copies of the winter holiday anthology, Over the River and Through the Woods, featuring my story, “Limited Time Offer.” The book will debut on October 8! Whoo-hoo… or Ho-Ho-Ho… or something like that… 
September 18, 2019
”So Much To See” on the Infinite Bard!
There’s always “So Much To See” on The Infinite Bard, and all for free! Read our latest story by Frazer Lee. Click here to enjoy!
September 16, 2019
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Ruth Harris lays solid groundwork when it comes to cliffhangers and David Safford reinforces the concept of the hero’s journey.
Mary Anna Evans helps us find our author voice while Nancy Bilyeau provides tips on crafting believable historical fiction. Struggling to avoid those ugly info dumps? Let Kris Kennedy show you how to adroitly divulge all those details you’re dying to share with the reader.
Although writers must develop a thick skin when it comes to receiving criticism, we’re often called upon to give it as well. PJ Parrish and Jim Dempsey discuss constructive methods for offering valuable and relevant critiques.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
How to Write a Page-Turner: Master the Seven Rules of the Cliffhanger by Ruth Harris
The Hero’s Journey: How to Write the Crossing the Threshold Scene by David Safford
How to Find Your Author Voice by Mary Anna Evans
4 Tips for Writing Historical Fiction by Nancy Bilyeau
How Can We Make Scenes Feel Stronger with Sequels? by Jami Gold
Backstory: Avoid Info Dumping by Making it Essential Part One / Part Two / Part Three by Kris Kennedy via Jami Gold
The Fine Art of Giving Out Criticism by PJ Parrish
How to Give Useful Criticism by Jim Dempey
Seven Tips for a Satisfying Mystery by Oren Ashkenazi
Advice to Writers Who Are In It by Annie Neugebauer
September 15, 2019
Book Review: The Deadly Streets by Harlan Ellison
For ten weeks in the early 1950s, Harlan Ellison joined a notorious Brooklyn street gang known as the Barons as part of his research for his first novel, Web of the City and later, his crime collection, The Deadly Streets.
The first edition of The Deadly Streets was released in 1958 and contained 11 hard-boiled tales about teenage street gangs. The book was re-released in 1975 with an additional five crime stories, some written in collaboration with other writers including “Ship-Shape Pay-Off” with Robert Silverberg and “Sob Story” Henry Slesar.
What sets these additional five stories apart from the original 11 is that they are much shorter and completely unrelated to the theme of teenage street gangs. Rather, they tend to focus on mob hits (“The Man with the Golden Tongue”), revenge (“Rat Hater”, “Hippie Slayer”) and personal vendettas (the aforementioned “Ship-Shape Pay-Off”). “Sob Story” is the weakest of the lot and barely qualifies
My personal favorites from the collection include “We Take Care of our Dead,” “The Man with the Golden Tongue,” “Johnny Slice’s Stoolie,” “Buy Me That Blade,” “Hippie Slayer,” “With a Knife in Her Hand,” “Dead Shot,” and “Students of the Assassin.”
Although the slang is outdated and the depictions of violence mild by today’s standards, each of the original 11 tales present a vivid snapshot of the bloody and ruthless street gang culture of 1950s New York.
