Phil Giunta's Blog, page 9
June 12, 2023
Book Review: Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five
This sardonic anti-war tale begins with Billy Pilgrim’s return to Dresden, Germany after WWII where he was a POW during the infamous firebombing. Throughout the story, it becomes evident that Billy suffers from PTSD and depression as he travels back and forth in time, experiencing fragments of his life involving terrible hardship and death. So it goes. To cope, he creates a fictional planet called Tralfamadore where claims to have been taken to become an exhibit in a zoo for the entertainment of the Tralfamadorians. And of course, Billy enjoys the science fiction novels of one obscure and loathed writer named Kilgore Trout.
Slaughterhouse Five is an engaging read from start to finish. Vonnegut’s fractured prose reflects the state of Billy Pilgrim’s mind, but while the story is tragic, Vonnegut imbues it with his trademark dry humor at just the right moments.
June 9, 2023
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Dave Chesson reviews the pros and cons of Draft2Digital’s services while Chuck Wendig expresses concern about the current literary landscape with a focus on AI and book bans.
At Mythcreants, Chris Winkle reminds us that the hero of our story should always have agency, even when things go sideways. Elisa Bernick advises new writers on the right and wrong ways to approach established authors for advice while the nice folks at Good Story Company offer tips on marketing your books to libraries.
Over at BookBub, we have a trove of information on book promotion covering topics such as pre-orders, contests and giveaways, and attracting new readers.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
Draft2Digital: Read THIS Before You Sign Up by Dave Chesson
Marketing to Libraries by Good Story Company
Giving Your Hero Agency When Things Go Wrong by Chris Winkle
Origin Stories and Big Reveals: Do We Really Need Them? by Barbara Linn Probst
Let’s Chat About ChatGPT by James Scott Bell
6 Ways Clichés Can Help Your Writing by Kathryn Craft
Striking Hollywood Scribes Ponder AI in the Writer’s Room by Mandalit del Barco
The State of Being a Published Writer in 2023 is Really Weird and a Little Worrisome by Chuck Wendig
The Right Way to Ask a Published Writer for Publishing Advice by Elisa Bernick
24 Great Prize Ideas for Book Promotion Contests and Giveaways by Leila Hirschfeld
11 Ways to Promote Preorder Books that Drive Real Results by Therese Walsh
BookBub: Promoting a New Book to Current Fans and New Readers [Case Study] by Carolyn Robertson
June 6, 2023
Out on the Water – Leaser Lake
When I’m not writing, traveling to conventions, or working on my house, I like to be outside as often as possible whether hiking, walking, or fishing.
During April and May, I took a few days at the beautiful Leaser Lake in Lehigh County, PA. Had a wonderful time and hooked one of the largest pickerel I’ve caught in years. I look forward to going back soon!
June 2, 2023
Book Review: The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The wealthiest Hollywood playboy in America, Malachi Constant, is invited to the home of Beatrice Rumfoord to witness the manifestation of her husband, Winston Niles Rumfoord, and his dog Kazak. Nine years before, Rumfoord had piloted his spaceship into an uncharted chrono-synclastic infundibulum near Mars. Kazak was his only companion aboard ship. Since then, man and dog exist as energy but materialize on a regular schedule in his mansion on Earth. Word of Winston’s materializations have spread over time and now draw a crowd outside the mansion’s walls. His wife, however, permits no audience to Winston’s appearances—until he specifically requests the presence of Malachi Constant.
What follows is a mind-bending journey, entirely predicted and orchestrated by Rumfoord, that takes Malachi and Beatrice to various points in the solar system, all memories and identities from their Earthly lives erased. In the meantime, Rumfoord creates a new religion called The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent in which the Almighty exists but cares not for the affairs of mankind. Oh, and then there’s Salo, an alien from the planet Tralfamadore who crash landed on Saturn’s moon Titan eons ago on his way to deliver a message from his people to parts unknown. Also on Titan is where Rumfoord and Kazak reside in a palatial estate when they’re not beaming across the solar system.
But what is the purpose of Winston Niles Rumfoord’s machinations? Why has he chosen Malachi Constant and his own wife Beatrice as his pawns and how does the Tralfamadorian Salo fit into the picture?
In The Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut’s dry humor sinks its claws into religion, morality, destiny, and the purpose of life in a tale that is sometimes hilarious, other times disturbing, but at all times original.
May 9, 2023
Book Review: Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
A writer named Jonah (or possibly John) looks back on his adventures, and his conversion to a religion known as Bokononism, while conducting research for a book about the late Frank Hoenikker, one of the fathers of the atomic bomb. The first leg of our hero’s journey takes him to Hoenikker’s hometown of Ilium, NY where he meets two of Hoenikker’s three adult children. There, Jonah learns that each of the children possesses a piece of Ice-Nine, a dangerous substance their father developed for the military.
He later learns that Hoenikker’s oldest son is a high-ranking official on the Caribbean Island of San Lorenzo, home to one of the poorest populations in the world. As it happens, Jonah accepts an assignment that takes him to the island and finds himself on the same plane as Hoenikker’s other two children.
Shortly after his arrival on San Lorenzo, Jonah finds himself in an unimaginable position just before all hell—and a lethal quantity of Ice-Nine—breaks loose.
With Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut delivers a satirical tale of religion, destiny, futility, and the end of days. It’s a delightful and quick read with most chapters no longer than a page.
May 2, 2023
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, the folks at Good Story Company offer tips on writing active protagonists, realistic dialogue, and child characters.
Juliet Kemp discusses the basics of strong prose while Diana Urban provides a guide to social media for writers. How effective are author newsletters and what are the reasons to use them? Bookbub’s AJ Jack provides metrics and testimonials to answer all of your questions.
On the business side, Lauren Aratani spotlights Barnes and Noble’s second wind while David Barnett examines the often painful reality of being a debut author.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
Authors on Social Media: Choosing Platforms and Avoiding Burnout by Diana Urban
Writing an Active Protagonist by Michal Leah
Tighten Up Your Writing by Juliet Kemp
Tips for Writing Child Characters by Good Story Company
Amazon Doesn’t Care About Books: How Barnes & Noble Bounced Back by Lauren Aratani
Writing Realistic Dialogue by Michal Leah
State of the Author Newsletters: Data from 500+ Authors by AJ Jack
Debut Authors Find Publishing ‘Disappointing’ — Sorry, What Do They Expect? by David Barnett
Writing Is Much Too Important to Be Left to Copywriters by Mike Reed
Know Your Story’s Selling Points by Paula Munier
April 29, 2023
Book Review: The Best of L. Sprague de Camp
When we think of the writers who comprised the golden age of SF, names like Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, Lester del Rey, and Ted Sturgeon might be the first to spring to mind. There were many others, but to my dismay, they’re fading into the brume of antiquity—folks like Henry Kuttner, Clifford Simak, A.E. Van Vogt, Fritz Leiber, and L. Sprague de Camp to name a few.
Which is why I’m always excited to peruse used book shops and book dealer tables at conventions. I never fail to leave without a stack of golden age gems. One such recent find is the The Best of L. Sprague de Camp. Known in his time as a humor writer in the fields of SF and fantasy, the stately de Camp was also a historian, scientist, and engineer, all of which influenced his fiction.
This “Best of” compilation is an eclectic showcase of de Camp’s humor and intellect. My favorites include:
“The Command” – A chemically altered bear that can read, reason, and even operate some machinery, stops an evil chemist and his henchmen bent on world domination.
“Nothing in the Rules” – The desperate coach of a woman’s swim team knows they cannot beat the opposition without an advantage, but his solution is downright mythical.
“The Hardwood Pile” – Loggers cut down a Norwegian Maple that happened to be home of a wood nymph. After all attempts to reason with the company owner fail, the nymph uses her magical abilities to ensure he can’t sell the lumber made from her tree.
“The Reluctant Shaman” – The indigenous American owner of a trinket shop is burdened with temporary custody of the legendary Gahunga, elemental beings of the Seneca tribe who use their magic in the service of their caretaker. However, when the shop owner asks them to drum up more business for his shop, he soon regrets it.
“A Gun for Dinosaur” – Things go sideways when a time-traveling dinosaur hunter takes two clients back to the Late Mesozoic era. One customer is too small in stature to handle a dinosaur gun and the other is a belligerent hothead who disregards the guide’s advice and fires at every creature he sees.
“The Emperor’s Fan” – The Emperor of Kuromon comes into possession of a magical fan. Simply wave it at an enemy and watch them disappear, but what happens when the fan falls into the hands of an unexpected adversary?
“Two Yards of Dragon” – In order to achieve knighthood and win the hand of a lovely maiden, a young man travels far from home to slay a dragon and return with two yards of its hide. Little does he know that dragons are now protected game, he has no hunting license, and worse, dragons are out of season.
April 28, 2023
Hard-Boiled on Kindle Vella!
April 21, 2023
Ain’t Got No Razzle-Dazzle
Sun-Maid Raisins prints nuggets of advice or motivation on their box tops. It’s typically a random mix. However, every message this week has been the same.
I sure as hell don’t feel that I have much razzle-dazzle, but I’m flattered that someone thinks so and reminds me on a daily basis.
The past seven months have delivered a steady supply of crises and complications in my professional and personal lives, all of which have affected my health.
In late September 2022, a colleague at my day job died suddenly at the age of 42. The ripples of that loss have not yet abated. We’re still feeling it and stress levels have been high, but we’ve brought in help and made enormous strides. That’s all I can say about that.
Unfortunately, a few weeks before he died, I began experiencing a few health issues, which have since been exacerbated by extreme stress. I’m managing it with help, but I’ve been in a dark place for seven months and counting. Anxiety and depression have been frequent companions for most of my life, but this is worst they’ve ever been. Every day I hold onto hope that it will get better with time, patience, and taking the proper actions toward recovery.
Of course, recovery would me much easier were it not for for a recent family complication that has landed on my shoulders. Again, I can’t say much about it, but this could evolve into a critical situation in the near future and erode even more of my writing time.
Another complication that presented itself even before all of the above was the 2021 announcement from the small press that published my paranormal mystery novels (Testing the Prisoner, By Your Side, Like Mother, Like Daughters) that they closed shop and are no longer accepting submissions. Although they’re leaving all current titles on the market for the time being, they are no longer working with the writers to promote, run sales, or otherwise keep the books viable.
In light of this, I’m preparing to publish second editions of Testing the Prisoner (2009) and By Your Side (2012) over the next year. I’m taking the opportunity to re-edit both books, tweaking them just enough to strike a balance between my writing style of the time and my writing style today. Both will undergo a facelift with brand new covers by a local comic book artist. As for Like Mother, Like Daughters (2018), I’ll tackle that once the first two are finished. Stay tuned for more info.
I am pleased to report that my detective story, “Pearl of Great Price,” will be included in the crime noir anthology, Hard-Boiled and Loaded with Sin by Hawkshaw Press (an imprint of Devil’s Party Press). The book is slated for release on June 26, 2023.
Also, my science fiction comedy tale, “See You Around the Cosmos, Sweet Cheeks!” took Honorable Mention in the 2023 NFPW Communications Contest. Click here for more information about the National Federation of Press Women.
I was disappointed to learn that Delaware publisher Cat & Mouse Press retired their annual Rehoboth Beach Reads short story contest after ten years. The contest had a fantastic run and I was honored to have two stories published in the contest anthologies Beach Nights (2016) and Beach Secrets (2021). I also had two stories included in Beach Pulp (2019), an open call anthology that pays homage to the detective and SF pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s.
Finally, my YouTube channel has not been updated with new content in nearly a year and is suffering from abandonment issues—again. I recorded a reading of “Pearl of Great Price,” which will posted to my channel when the book goes live in June or thereabouts. I plan to record other stories and updates that will go live soon as well.
That’s where I’ve been for the past several months. Peace of mind has been at an all time low, but as always, I press forward.
I hope all is well with you and yours and that you remain safe and healthy while navigating these bizarre and dangerous times. Don’t lose your razzle-dazzle!
April 1, 2023
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, we focus more on craft than business. From Good Story Company comes advice on writing authentic female characters, enticing opening lines, and effective descriptions.
Jami Gold reviews the different types of character arcs and how they can be applied to short stories. Over at Mythcreants, Chris Winkle delves into the use of foreshadowing and also explains why realism has no place in fiction.
From Writer Unboxed, John J. Kelley shows us how social events can be used to help with character and plot development while Kim Bullock offers self-care advice for writers during trying times.
All that a lot more. Enjoy!
Writing Descriptions by Good Story Company
Writing Female Characters by Amy Wilson
3 Ways to use AI for Screenwriting (Other Than Writing a Bad Script) by Ken Miyamoto
Writing the Opening Line by Rhiannon Richardson
Using TikTok to Promote Your Writing by Ellen Levitt
Short Stories: Can They Still Have Character Arc? by Jami Gold
Traditional or Self-Publishing – That is the Question by Rod Martinez
Subtext – Guest Post by Karen Albright Lin via Debbie Burke on Kill Zone
The Why and How of Foreshadowing by Chris Winkle
10 Things to Know About BookBub Readers [Infographic] by Carlyn Robertson
Handling Editorial Feedback without Getting Overwhelmed by Tessa Barbosa
Self-Care for Writers in a Pseudo-Dystopian World by Kim Bullock
The Big Event – Using Social Occasions to Elevate Your Story by John J. Kelley
Why Realism is Toxic to Fiction by Chris Winkle
The Last Word: Epilogues by Sophie Masson
