Phil Giunta's Blog, page 75
February 24, 2015
Welcome literary agent Alexander Slater to the Write Stuff Conference!
We're pleased to welcome literary agent Alexander Slater from Trident Media Group to the Write Stuff conference!
Alexander joined Trident Media Group in 2010. After two years as an assistant, he spent two years as an agent representing the entire agency’s Middle Grade and Young Adult titles in the Foreign Market, attending the books fairs in Bologna, London, and Frankfurt. Alex is now building his list domestically, while keeping his focus on these areas. He has sold rights and worked such prestigious authors as R.J. Palacio, Louis Sachar, L.J. Smith, and many others.
Check out Alexander's interview!
February 23, 2015
Meet publisher, writer, and podcaster Steven H. Wilson at the Write Stuff!
In addition to "Character Development as World-Building”, Steven H. Wilson will also teach attendees how to produce an audio version of their work with “Steps to Recording an Audio Book & Podcasting.” We're pleased to bring new media programming to the Write Stuff!
Click hear to read our interview with Steven!
February 21, 2015
My paranormal short story "Photos from the Attic" now FREE on Wattpad!
My paranormal short story, "Photos from the Attic" is now available for your free reading pleasure on Wattpad!
Click here to read!
After inheriting her deceased uncle's home, Claudia Adamski finds a tattered box of old photographs in the attic. As she and her daughter sort through the pictures, friends and family members begin dying tragically. When her mother is nearly killed in a fire, Claudia soon finds herself facing a vengeful spirit who will only stop when a family secret is revealed...
Click here to read!
February 20, 2015
The Social Media Jedi brings her Force to the Write Stuff!
Our keynote speaker and multi-session presenter Kristen Lamb is interviewed on our blog!
Kristen is a social media expert, best-selling author, consultant, and student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Click here to learn how she balances everything and what she brings to the table at the Write Stuff conference next month!
Kristen is a social media expert, best-selling author, consultant, and student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Click here to learn how she balances everything and what she brings to the table at the Write Stuff conference next month!
February 18, 2015
Meet Memoir and Non-Fiction Writer Geoff Gehman at the Write Stuff!
Those local to the Lehigh Valley might remember Geoff Gehman as a features writer for the Allentown Morning Call Newspaper. We're excited to welcome Geoff as a presenter at the Write Stuff Conference!
Click here to read our interview with Geoff!
Click here to read our interview with Geoff!
February 17, 2015
A Word to the Wise: Agent David E. Fessenden at the Write Stuff Conference!
Joining us at next month's Write Stuff Conference is David E. Fessenden from WordWise Media Services. David is also an independent publishing consultant with degrees in journalism and theology, and two decades of editorial management with Christian publishers. He has written six books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.
His first novel, The Case of the Exploding Speakeasy, was published in the fall of 2013.
Click here to check out our interview with David!
February 16, 2015
Eureka! A Weekend at Farpoint 2015...
On the coldest weekend of the year, my wife and I drove down to Timonium, MD to participate in the 22nd annual Farpoint SF media and literary convention. We’ve been attending this convention since it’s inception in 1993 and I’ve missed only three in all those years. Since 2010, I’ve been an author guest.
Despite the frigid temperatures, I took comfort in the fact that we had clear skies for the drive, which didn’t help much when we sat in congestion on Route 83 south, delaying our arrival by 45 minutes.
When we finally arrived at our room, I had hoped that our issues were over—until I turned on the lamp between the beds and the CFL bulb fell out and shattered on the bedside table.
Nothing like a little mercury to start the convention! I hoped these annoyances would not serve as an omen for the remainder of the weekend.
My wife and I then paid a brief visit to the opening ceremonies and banquet. We hugged and chatted with several friends including Renee and Christian Wilson, Sandy Zier-Teitler, Shore Leave co-chair Inge Heyer, and Barbara Goetz before standing in line for food. However, since we were late, there were no seats. We stood and ate our plates of mac and cheese, spotted actor guests Tim Russ and Colin Ferguson among the crowd, then decided to retire to our room where the wife remained for the night.
At 9:30, I hauled my books to the Farpoint Book Fair where I shared space with fellow Firebringer Press writers Lance Woods, Steven H. Wilson, Susanna Reilly, Daniel Patrick “Renfield” Corcoran, and Michael Critzer. Our table was in line with neighboring writers Keith RA DeCandido, Allyn Gibson, David Mack, Joe Berenato, and the chaps from Crazy 8 Press (Robert Greenberger, Michael Jan Friedman, Glenn Hauman, Peter David, and Aaron Rosenberg).
After setting up the table, I set about taking pics and catching up with some of the other writers including Kelly Meding and Kim Headlee. Back at my table, highly anticipated antics and shenanigans ensued. I sold a few books, signed a few more, and caught up with yet more friends including Cindy Woods, Marc Okrand, Ariel Vitali, Farpoint chair Sharon VanBlarcom, Judy Waidlich, and the newly engaged Annie Slonski and Todd Brugmans. A phenomenal artist and illustrator, Todd has created the covers for the last several Farpoint program books and also the cover to Lance Woods’s novel, Heroic Park.
After the book fair, I packed up and headed back to my room for the night, but not before Friday the 13th fired a final parting shot. The lady ahead of me failed to hold the door open for me. I attempted to catch it with one hand while holding onto my file box of books with the other—and gravity gets the win! The weight of the books shifted downward, splitting the cardboard box open. I almost lost everything, but caught the box in time before the contents spilled out.
Thanks to Sue Reilly for grabbing the door for me and to Christopher and Cindy VanBlarcom for providing another box that I used for the remainder of the weekend. I’m now shopping for one of those wheeled crates! No more cardboard boxes.
Later, I returned to the atrium and sat with Susanna and Zan Rosin for the karaoke where singers included Peter David, the family Wilson, June Swords, Renfield and others.
Saturday morning’s events began at 10AM with the discussion panel “Not All Genres Are Created Equal”, which touched on which genres are considered more or less challenging to write and why. It was a lively discussion between Aaron Rosenberg, Susanna Reilly, TJ Perkins, and myself serving as moderator.
After that, I set up at the Firenbringer Press table for my autograph session until noon when it was time for “What WON’T You Write” with Aaron Rosenberg, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and moderator Don Sakers. Although David Mack suggested the panel, the convention did not schedule it for him so David sat in the back of the room. The panelists discussed the types of stories and scenes that they were not comfortable writing (such as porn, erotica, blood and gore, excessive violence) and ways to convey the same emotions using other techniques of skillful storytelling. All agreed that if a scene is merely gratuitous or “edgy” for its own sake, but fails to serve the story, it should be cut.
Next up was the Firebringer Press panel with publisher Steven H. Wilson, Lance Woods, Susanna Reilly, and Michael Critzer. Each of us discussed our upcoming writing projects both with Firebringer Press and beyond. Steve talked about re-branding Prometheus Radio Theatre and mentioned some of the publications that are lined up in Firebringer’s future.
At 2PM, I finally had two hours of free time. My wife and I stood in line for Colin Ferguson’s autograph. He was extremely amiable, taking the time to chat and take pictures with each of the fans. We then took a quick tour of the dealer room where I snagged two Robert Heinlein short novels, Beyond This Horizon and Orphans of the Sky for $1 each.
At 4PM, Evon went off to watch Colin Ferguson’s stage talk. For me, it was back to the discussion panels, starting with “Writing for Anthologies” with Richard White. Two other writers were supposed to participate but did not appear, leaving Richard and I to run the show. The audience consisted of three people, but the discussion was lively nevertheless and touched on different types of anthologies, who is publishing them, niche stories, small presses, magazines, etc.
My final panel of the evening was “Public Speaking for Authors” with Aaron Rosenberg, Gregory Wilson, and Jennifer Povey as moderator. Topics included different types of public speaking, methods for preparation, relaxation, and the importance of speaking slowly and enunciating.
Finally, it was time for dinner. A few weeks prior to Farpoint, Aaron had extended an invitation to several of us to dine at Andy Nelson’s BBQ on York Road. The food was fantastic and served surprisingly quickly. One entire room in the restaurant was occupied solely by writers from Farpoint! SF fans take over wherever we go! Outside, the snow was accumulating and by the time we left, the roads had become treacherous. Despite a bit of slipping and sliding, we made it back to the hotel safely.
The wife and I decided to relax in our room rather than attend the10-Forward dance party. Instead, we watched consecutive episodes of Big Bang Theory while I processed photos from the convention and posted them on Facebook.
We packed up on Sunday morning and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Colin Ferguson bounded in a few minutes later and I chatted with him briefly about the weather and the fact that I was having a “Ferguson week” after seeing Craig Ferguson live at the Sands in Bethlehem, PA a few days earlier.
Later that morning, I decided to get one more autograph from Colin before it was time for me to give a reading from one of my books. Danielle Ackley-McPhail was also scheduled and took the first turn. Our captive audience of three trimmed down to two weary souls by the time I began reading one of my stories from Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity.
My final panel of the con was “Part-Time Writer, Full-Time World” with Aaron Rosenberg, moderator Don Sakers, and Jay Smith. As the name suggests, the panelists discussed the struggles of carving out time to write around our respective work and personal schedules.
The last event of Farpoint for me was seeing Colin Ferguson’s stage talk and it was absolutely entertaining…even before Colin appeared. His likeness was auctioned off in the form of a prop from the previous evening’s Luna-C comedy skit wherein Fargo accidentally turned Eureka’s sheriff, Jack Carter, into a Maytag washing machine. Colin had provided the voice of Carter and the cast had signed the cardboard prop (shown below).
Colin’s talk was fun and engaging. He discussed a wide range of topics from directing and producing episodes of Eureka to the physicality of working on the show, all of which he enjoyed. He spoke highly of the casts of every show he worked on including Vampire Diaries and Haven as well as Eureka.
All told, it was a fun convention. Looking forward to 2016!
Despite the frigid temperatures, I took comfort in the fact that we had clear skies for the drive, which didn’t help much when we sat in congestion on Route 83 south, delaying our arrival by 45 minutes.
When we finally arrived at our room, I had hoped that our issues were over—until I turned on the lamp between the beds and the CFL bulb fell out and shattered on the bedside table.
Nothing like a little mercury to start the convention! I hoped these annoyances would not serve as an omen for the remainder of the weekend.
My wife and I then paid a brief visit to the opening ceremonies and banquet. We hugged and chatted with several friends including Renee and Christian Wilson, Sandy Zier-Teitler, Shore Leave co-chair Inge Heyer, and Barbara Goetz before standing in line for food. However, since we were late, there were no seats. We stood and ate our plates of mac and cheese, spotted actor guests Tim Russ and Colin Ferguson among the crowd, then decided to retire to our room where the wife remained for the night.
At 9:30, I hauled my books to the Farpoint Book Fair where I shared space with fellow Firebringer Press writers Lance Woods, Steven H. Wilson, Susanna Reilly, Daniel Patrick “Renfield” Corcoran, and Michael Critzer. Our table was in line with neighboring writers Keith RA DeCandido, Allyn Gibson, David Mack, Joe Berenato, and the chaps from Crazy 8 Press (Robert Greenberger, Michael Jan Friedman, Glenn Hauman, Peter David, and Aaron Rosenberg).
After setting up the table, I set about taking pics and catching up with some of the other writers including Kelly Meding and Kim Headlee. Back at my table, highly anticipated antics and shenanigans ensued. I sold a few books, signed a few more, and caught up with yet more friends including Cindy Woods, Marc Okrand, Ariel Vitali, Farpoint chair Sharon VanBlarcom, Judy Waidlich, and the newly engaged Annie Slonski and Todd Brugmans. A phenomenal artist and illustrator, Todd has created the covers for the last several Farpoint program books and also the cover to Lance Woods’s novel, Heroic Park.
After the book fair, I packed up and headed back to my room for the night, but not before Friday the 13th fired a final parting shot. The lady ahead of me failed to hold the door open for me. I attempted to catch it with one hand while holding onto my file box of books with the other—and gravity gets the win! The weight of the books shifted downward, splitting the cardboard box open. I almost lost everything, but caught the box in time before the contents spilled out.
Thanks to Sue Reilly for grabbing the door for me and to Christopher and Cindy VanBlarcom for providing another box that I used for the remainder of the weekend. I’m now shopping for one of those wheeled crates! No more cardboard boxes.
Later, I returned to the atrium and sat with Susanna and Zan Rosin for the karaoke where singers included Peter David, the family Wilson, June Swords, Renfield and others.
Saturday morning’s events began at 10AM with the discussion panel “Not All Genres Are Created Equal”, which touched on which genres are considered more or less challenging to write and why. It was a lively discussion between Aaron Rosenberg, Susanna Reilly, TJ Perkins, and myself serving as moderator.
After that, I set up at the Firenbringer Press table for my autograph session until noon when it was time for “What WON’T You Write” with Aaron Rosenberg, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and moderator Don Sakers. Although David Mack suggested the panel, the convention did not schedule it for him so David sat in the back of the room. The panelists discussed the types of stories and scenes that they were not comfortable writing (such as porn, erotica, blood and gore, excessive violence) and ways to convey the same emotions using other techniques of skillful storytelling. All agreed that if a scene is merely gratuitous or “edgy” for its own sake, but fails to serve the story, it should be cut.
Next up was the Firebringer Press panel with publisher Steven H. Wilson, Lance Woods, Susanna Reilly, and Michael Critzer. Each of us discussed our upcoming writing projects both with Firebringer Press and beyond. Steve talked about re-branding Prometheus Radio Theatre and mentioned some of the publications that are lined up in Firebringer’s future.
At 2PM, I finally had two hours of free time. My wife and I stood in line for Colin Ferguson’s autograph. He was extremely amiable, taking the time to chat and take pictures with each of the fans. We then took a quick tour of the dealer room where I snagged two Robert Heinlein short novels, Beyond This Horizon and Orphans of the Sky for $1 each.
At 4PM, Evon went off to watch Colin Ferguson’s stage talk. For me, it was back to the discussion panels, starting with “Writing for Anthologies” with Richard White. Two other writers were supposed to participate but did not appear, leaving Richard and I to run the show. The audience consisted of three people, but the discussion was lively nevertheless and touched on different types of anthologies, who is publishing them, niche stories, small presses, magazines, etc.
My final panel of the evening was “Public Speaking for Authors” with Aaron Rosenberg, Gregory Wilson, and Jennifer Povey as moderator. Topics included different types of public speaking, methods for preparation, relaxation, and the importance of speaking slowly and enunciating.
Finally, it was time for dinner. A few weeks prior to Farpoint, Aaron had extended an invitation to several of us to dine at Andy Nelson’s BBQ on York Road. The food was fantastic and served surprisingly quickly. One entire room in the restaurant was occupied solely by writers from Farpoint! SF fans take over wherever we go! Outside, the snow was accumulating and by the time we left, the roads had become treacherous. Despite a bit of slipping and sliding, we made it back to the hotel safely.
The wife and I decided to relax in our room rather than attend the10-Forward dance party. Instead, we watched consecutive episodes of Big Bang Theory while I processed photos from the convention and posted them on Facebook.
We packed up on Sunday morning and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Colin Ferguson bounded in a few minutes later and I chatted with him briefly about the weather and the fact that I was having a “Ferguson week” after seeing Craig Ferguson live at the Sands in Bethlehem, PA a few days earlier.
Later that morning, I decided to get one more autograph from Colin before it was time for me to give a reading from one of my books. Danielle Ackley-McPhail was also scheduled and took the first turn. Our captive audience of three trimmed down to two weary souls by the time I began reading one of my stories from Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity.
My final panel of the con was “Part-Time Writer, Full-Time World” with Aaron Rosenberg, moderator Don Sakers, and Jay Smith. As the name suggests, the panelists discussed the struggles of carving out time to write around our respective work and personal schedules.
The last event of Farpoint for me was seeing Colin Ferguson’s stage talk and it was absolutely entertaining…even before Colin appeared. His likeness was auctioned off in the form of a prop from the previous evening’s Luna-C comedy skit wherein Fargo accidentally turned Eureka’s sheriff, Jack Carter, into a Maytag washing machine. Colin had provided the voice of Carter and the cast had signed the cardboard prop (shown below).
Colin’s talk was fun and engaging. He discussed a wide range of topics from directing and producing episodes of Eureka to the physicality of working on the show, all of which he enjoyed. He spoke highly of the casts of every show he worked on including Vampire Diaries and Haven as well as Eureka.
All told, it was a fun convention. Looking forward to 2016!
February 13, 2015
Meet Literary Agent Patricia Nelson at the Write Stuff!
Want to pitch your story idea to an agent at the
Write Stuff conference
next month? We have five agents coming, including Patricia Nelson from Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
Click here to read her interview!
Click here to read her interview!
February 11, 2015
About This Writing Stuff...
This week, we meet our Childhood's End in the books of Ray Bradbury (even though Childhood's End is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke!). Daniel Wilson and John Joseph Adams speak out in support of the short story. JH Mae ponders the effects of Wattpad on a writer's career while Kristen Lamb examines the value of fiction in society.
Jami Gold offers methods for opening your story with a character other than your protagonist, Jane Friedman walks us through the self-publishing process, and R.J. Huneke describes his experience with Pentian, the new Spanish crowdsourcing platform.
Finally, my writer pals at Crazy 8 Press explore what life on Earth might have been like had the human race evolved entirely on one supercontinent--Pangaea. You can support their imaginative anthology through their Kickstarter campaign.
All that and a little more, including a lost Sherlock Holmes tale. Enjoy!
Childhood's End: Death and Growing Up in the Books of Ray Bradbury by Henry Stewart
Ten Reasons to Write Short Stories Even Though the Pay is Peanuts by Daniel Wilson and John Joseph Adams
Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book by Jane Friedman
Welcome to Pangaea by Robert Greenberger
Does Wattpad Devalue Authors? by JH Mae
How Much Should Authors Interact with Readers? by Melissa McPhail
Does Fiction Matter? Fiction, Fantasy, & Social Change by Kristen Lamb
Should Our Protagonist Be in the First Scene? by Jami Gold
Editing Clauses in Publishing Contracts: How to Protect Yourself by Victoria Strauss
R.J. Huneke: Describing the Pentian Experience by Dennis Abrams
Long Lost Dr. Seuss Book, What Pet Should I Get? to be Released in July via The Guardian
Read a Lost Sherlock Holmes Story by Arthur Conan Doyle by Nate Jones
Jami Gold offers methods for opening your story with a character other than your protagonist, Jane Friedman walks us through the self-publishing process, and R.J. Huneke describes his experience with Pentian, the new Spanish crowdsourcing platform.
Finally, my writer pals at Crazy 8 Press explore what life on Earth might have been like had the human race evolved entirely on one supercontinent--Pangaea. You can support their imaginative anthology through their Kickstarter campaign.
All that and a little more, including a lost Sherlock Holmes tale. Enjoy!
Childhood's End: Death and Growing Up in the Books of Ray Bradbury by Henry Stewart
Ten Reasons to Write Short Stories Even Though the Pay is Peanuts by Daniel Wilson and John Joseph Adams
Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book by Jane Friedman
Welcome to Pangaea by Robert Greenberger
Does Wattpad Devalue Authors? by JH Mae
How Much Should Authors Interact with Readers? by Melissa McPhail
Does Fiction Matter? Fiction, Fantasy, & Social Change by Kristen Lamb
Should Our Protagonist Be in the First Scene? by Jami Gold
Editing Clauses in Publishing Contracts: How to Protect Yourself by Victoria Strauss
R.J. Huneke: Describing the Pentian Experience by Dennis Abrams
Long Lost Dr. Seuss Book, What Pet Should I Get? to be Released in July via The Guardian
Read a Lost Sherlock Holmes Story by Arthur Conan Doyle by Nate Jones
February 10, 2015
The WRITE STUFF Welcomes Editor Katherine Ernst!
We're pleased to welcome Katherine Ernst, editor with Jasper Ridge Press, to the Write Stuff conference next month.
Jasper Ridge's motto: "We don’t screw authors. We pimp them."
Click here to read more about Katherine and Jasper Ridge Press!
Jasper Ridge's motto: "We don’t screw authors. We pimp them."
Click here to read more about Katherine and Jasper Ridge Press!
