Aaron Starmer's Blog, page 5

The Rejected Ones

I have a folder in a box under my bed. It's bursting with rejection letters from publishers, agents, movie studios, theaters, colleges, literary magazines, employers, societies and probably even the Columbia House Record Club (trust me, children, this is funny). I started the folder in my ambitious teenage days, and I guess at first it was an enemies list, or a "big mistake, pal, you haven't heard the last from this kid, no sir, not the last by a long shot, and you can be sure I'll bring...

Free Copies of THE ONLY ONES for One and All!

People often ask me a question that many authors dread.

"So how's the book doing?"

They're well intentioned, these askers. They're taking an interest in my life and work and that's beyond flattering. But there's rarely an honest answer an author can give to such a query or, to be more specific, an honest answer that will evoke a wink and a thumbs-up. The book can always be doing better, at least in terms of sales, and that's really what they're asking about. For most of us, it would be hard...

The Blogosphere Vs. The Only Ones

I was going to try to write this post without using the word blogosphere. But see, I can't make it even 15 words without resorting to such vocabulary. Oh, the blogosphere is a powerful sphere these days, right up there with the Southern Hemisphere, the troposphere, and Sphere by Michael Cricthon. And I have to acknowledge that power, or else they'll hunt me down and take me out like this was a Dan Brown book and they were renegade nuns and I was a dashing Sanskrit expert (that's the sort of t...

Meanwhile, at Facebook Headquarters…

INT. FACEBOOK CONFERENCE ROOM – DAY

Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes sit at a conference table, surrounded by piles of file folders, binders, etc. Mark Zuckerberg paces around the room.

ZUCKERBERG

Moving on. Who do we have next?

Moskovitz opens a file folder.

MOSKOVITZ

We have a…Jenny Richardson.

ZUCKERBERG

What do we know about Jenny?

MOSKOVITZ

Let's see. Says here she's from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

HUGHES

That's Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Zuck.

ZUCKERBERG

Nice catch, Hughesy. Okay, so she's an Amish t...

Who Here at the Yorktown Pennysaver is up for a Little Gwar?

From: Darius Pogue

To: "Office List"

Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 8:39 AM

Subject: Who here at the Yorktown Pennysaver is up for a little Gwar?

Hey gang,

Sigh in relief. This isn't another email about security software updates. Trust your humble one-man IT department when I assure you that the Yorktown Pennysaver is now a veritable Fortress of Solitude, and that this email blast is of a decidedly more personal nature. It's sure to be the talk of the office until the steam whistle blows.

"Out ...

Where Ya Been, Man?

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It's true, I haven't been hanging 'round here much of late. And though I've been busy,  it's not because I've been busy. Being busy is never an excuse. That's something you tell your dentist or your parole officer: "Sorry pal, couldn't make it in, been busy, but you can dig how that is, right poncho?" Fine for that scene, but it don't cut it in the blogging biz.

The reason I haven't been here is because I've been elsewhere, peddling my wares to other web sites. Yes, the stain of digital...

Giving Thanks: Acknowledgements for The Only Ones

Today The Only Ones is released. I'll be running around reminding everyone of this fact because I want you to read the darn thing. Forgive me if I even show up at your house with a sandwich board and a blow horn. A man must do what a man must do. Now there's plenty of information about The Only Ones on this web site, and I encourage you to read and watch and listen to it all. But today, the blog will be dedicated to the people who made this book happen and continue to make it "happenin'!"

Most...

Interview with Kurtis Scaletta, author of "The Tanglewood Terror"

The world of children's literature is full of generous and supportive people. First and foremost among these are the authors. If they're competing for shelf space and bestseller lists, they certainly don't act like it. I'm new to this world, but have been lucky enough to meet and learn from dozens of authors. Kurtis Scaletta has been at this about as long as I have, but it would seem as though he's been doing it forever. He's already a seasoned pro. His newest book is The Tanglewood...

99 Inspirations for The Only Ones

For the last three months on Twitter I've been counting down to the release of The Only Ones by listing 99 novels, movies, songs, people, places and miscellany that have inspired the book. It has been a way to honor influences and start conversations, but mostly it has been a way for me to figure out where all of this came from. These aren't necessarily my favorite works of art (some are), but they're the ones that gave the story its shape. So, without further ado:

99: The Mainland by Jamie...

An Incendiary Review of The Only Ones

I should have known better. When I received a mysterious email with a link to an unnamed video, I should have trashed the thing. It didn't look like SPAM, but hackers are becoming more sophisticated these days and can transmit a virus quicker than a kindergarten class after a field trip to the consumption ward. Actually, I would have been lucky if it was just a virus. The link led to something far more insidious than that. It led to…

Well, let me start by reminding you that about a year ago I ...