John R. Phythyon Jr.'s Blog, page 33

STATE OF GRACE among Four-star Reads in First 5 Chapters, Vol. 4

The neat thing about being an indie author is the level of camaraderie with fellow writers. In one respect, we’re all competitors, since we’re trying to get readers to buy our books. But most of us realize it just doesn’t work like that. Readers, especially voracious readers, are constantly in need of new material, and even if you’re an incredibly gifted writer, you can only pen so many stories a week, month, or year.

Thus, it’s in no way a threat to one author’s career to recommend books by another. Many of us instead look for opportunities to help each other out. Partly it’s out of a sense of altruism and the aforementioned camaraderie. Partly it’s enlightened self-interest. If we share readers, we find more for our own books too.

Patti Roberts, author of the “Paradox” series of fantasy novels understands this idea very well and came up with a nice idea for executing it. “The First 5 Chapters” series is a partnership with other authors to collect the first five chapters of six different novels into a single volume. The idea is for a reader to be able to get the book  and then get a taste of six different novels by indie authors he or she might like to read.

I’m pleased to announce State of Grace is featured in Volume 4, which is dedicated to sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal books.

I haven’t read any of the other books in the volume yet, so I can’t make any personal recommendations. But three of them — Linked by Hope Welsh, Seven Point Eight by Marie Harbon, and The Void by John Abramowitz are averaging four stars on customer reviews at Amazon. Another, The Draculata Nest (A Red Wolf Novel) by John Hundley is getting a 4.6-star average. I couldn’t find the sixth book, Deathwish by Danielle Blanchard, on Amazon or Smashwords. But, since every other book in this volume (including State of Grace) is getting four stars or better, there are some quality reads waiting within its covers.

You can get The First 5 Chapters, Volume 4 from Amazon.com by clicking here. Have a look and see if there isn’t a new author (including me!) you’d like to read.

“Sleeping Beauty” Now Available

I’m very excited to announce the release of my latest short story, “Sleeping Beauty.” It went live yesterday on Amazon.com.

“Sleeping Beauty” available now through Amazon.com’s Kindle Direct Publishing!

A reimagining of the classic fairytale, “Sleeping Beauty” tells the story of Beth Shipman. Her mother Marie is obsessed with her winning preteen beauty pageants. Her father Rex fears her maturing into a woman. And poor, dopey Carl is hopelessly in love with her. Convinced if he doesn’t do something Beth will fall prey to the desires of teenage boys, Rex tracks down a spell that will put her to sleep until she is awakened by True Love’s First Kiss. Certain he has secured her virtue until marriage, he is content with his actions.

But Marie isn’t. She wants her Pretty Princess back, and she has a plan. She knows Carl loves Beth. He might just be the one who can break the curse. But it won’t be easy. She’ll have to convince Carl she isn’t crazy. He’ll have to find the courage to act on his feelings. And Marie will have to make sure Rex can’t stop them.

“Sleeping Beauty” is an 8000-word short story about the dangers of obsession and overprotective parents. A cautionary tale, it reminds us to ask our daughters who they want to be rather than putting them on pedestals of purity and perfection.

“Sleeping Beauty” is the first story I am releasing Amazon’s KDP Select. It’ll therefore be available exclusively for the Kindle for 90 days. It’ll also be available in Amazon’s Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.

Click here to get your copy!

How Rewriting Made “Sleeping Beauty” a Better Story

It’s funny how things change.

Five years ago, I wrote a short story on a whim. There was a contest for reimaginings of classic fairytales in modern settings. I always thought there was something kind of creepy about “Sleeping Beauty,” so I thought it would be fun to retell the story of a young woman who is poisoned, falls asleep, and can only be awakened by True Love’s First Kiss.

I didn’t win the contest ( or even place), but I liked that story a lot. So, when I embarked on my e-publishing adventure, I decided this was a piece I wanted to publish. After all, the rise of the e-reader made short stories a viable model again. People were willing to pay 99 cents for a short piece they could download and read in one sitting. It was sort of like paying 99 cents for a song on iTunes.

I figured “Sleeping Beauty” would allow me to get another piece out pretty quickly. After all, it was already written. It just needed a cover and maybe a little tuning.

Apparently I had forgotten that I didn’t win the contest.

My editor, who excels at finding things wrong with my stories, read and told me it was missing something. She didn’t know what, but she felt certain it wasn’t complete.

To be fair, the contest had specified a maximum length of 4000 words. That puts space at a premium for developing plots and subplots. But, when I read it again, I agreed with her. We just didn’t know enough about pretty much all the characters.

“Sleeping Beauty” releasing 25 June 2012

I wrote another draft. Carl, the Prince Charming character, mentions to Beth (Sleeping Beauty) when he’s talking to her while she sleeps a character named Meghan. This girl used to be a friend of Beth’s but, now that’s Beth’s been in a coma for two years, Meghan has become the worst kind of high school bully. I expanded on that, writing some scenes with Meghan.

I also wrote a story line for Beth’s father Rex. It is he who casts the spell on Beth, dropping her into a coma until the right man comes along to marry her. Obsessed with sex, Rex is convinced his little girl will be seduced by boys and somehow ruined. The original version of the story traces his quest to “protect her” by finding a spell. That’s still there in the new version, but now we also get to see his arrogance. He’s an investment banker and is convinced he can make money by buying into a technology company despite warnings from his partner that it isn’t safe. The new plot helps demonstrate his belief that he knows what is best for everyone and that he cannot fail.

But after this draft, my editor felt the subplot with Meghan didn’t resolve satisfactorily, and I thought there wasn’t enough time given to Beth’s mother Marie, who is driven slowly insane by the loss of her daughter.

So I went back to work. I developed yet another subplot — this one for Marie — where we learn Beth was being manipulated by her mother too. I cut a scene between Carl and Meghan and wrote a completely new scene featuring the victim of Meghan’s machinations. I also changed at my editor’s suggestion the resolution of Rex’s investment subplot to make it more satisfying.

By the time I was done, “Sleeping Beauty” had grown to be over 8000 words in length. It’s a different but much better story. The plot of the original is still there. Anyone who had read both drafts would recognize they are the same piece. But the current version is much more satisfying. We get to know these people much better, understand their motivations more completely, and shudder at their intentions a little more.

It’s funny how things change. Without the space limits imposed by that contest, I was able to write a much better short story. I’m very excited to get this new, improved version out there.

“Sleeping Beauty” releases Monday, 25 June 2012 through Amazon’s KDP Select. I hope you’ll check it out.

Internal Conflict as a Powerful Story Device

Fiction is driven by conflict. Without something going wrong, the protagonist has nothing to do. And, without him or her being frustrated in the attempts to resolve the conflict, it’s not as satisfying to read.

Conflict, though, isn’t confined to external forces blocking the hero from success. Internal conflicts are just as able to thwart characters and often the more interesting ones to read.

I mix internal and external conflicts for my hero Wolf Dasher in State of Grace. The principle problem he’s trying to solve is the murder of his friend and colleague Sara Wensley-James. He travels to the elf nation of Alfar, where she was killed, to investigate.

But he is sent undercover, and it’s one of the obstacles he has to overcome. Wolf poses as his nation’s ambassador to Alfar, even though he doesn’t really know much about diplomacy. Moreover, the situation is extremely tricky. Wolf’s homeland of Urland has a military presence in Alfar to help maintain the government. But the people want Urland to leave, even though the security situation is very unstable. Because Alfar supplies Urland with a lot of magic, Urland has a strategic interest in keeping the current government in power.

Wolf has to try to sort this all out while also working on figuring out who killed Sara and why. That’s a problem, because the two goals are partially opposed. They both require a significant amount of his attention.

And that’s where the internal conflict comes in. His job as ambassador is just a cover, but Wolf feels obligated by his patriotism to do the best job he can. Thus, his cover and his dedication to Urland work against his goal of catching Sara’s murderer. Likewise, every moment he spends doing his real job interferes with his ability to negotiate a solution to the political problem.

This internal conflict serves as an obstacle to him resolving the central plot of the story. Moreover, it makes him a more complex character. It would be easy enough for a spy to just blow off the details of his cover and focus on the mission at hand. After all, he’s really in Alfar to catch a killer, not negotiate a peace deal. But that’s not who Wolf is. He’s too much of a patriot.

Often times, the greatest foes a hero faces are his own motivations. In many ways, Wolf Dasher is a bigger enemy to himself than the people who are trying to stop him.

How do you use internal conflicts to frustrate and flesh out your characters? Leave me a comment and let me know!

STATE OF GRACE Featured in WLC Read and Review Now

As I mentioned eariler this month, State of Grace is part of World Literary Cafe’s Read and Review program for June. Each month, WLC suggests a number of books to its members and encourages them not only to read them but also to review them on WLC and other sites such as Goodreads and Amazon.

The last bit is critically important. As I’ve written before, reviews are the lifeblood of books in the new electronic publishing environment. Most sites don’t require a lot — just a few sentences saying whether you liked it or not. You don’t have to be a New York Times book critic to write a decent review.

Now’s the perfect time to pick up a copy of State of Grace. The eBook edition is only 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. With it being part of WLC’s Read and Review program, adding a review makes perfect sense.

And State of Graceisn’t the only book participating in the program. There are more than 20 books being featured this month. Follow the link below to WLC’s Read and Review feature page. EAch book cover image is linked to its Amazon page, so you can click on it to read the blurb, check out a sample, and buy it if you like. Have a look at State of Grace and maybe find something else there you like too.

http://www.worldliterarycafe.com/content/promotion-june-read-and-review-0

It’s a rough world out there in publishing. Indie authors need your support. If you read a book you like, please take the time to leave a review. It can make a real difference to an author.

Unveiling the Cover for “Sleeping Beauty”

I’m very pleased to unveil the cover for my forthcoming short story, “Sleeping Beauty”!

“Sleeping Beauty” releasing 25 June 2012

I’m really pleased with this one. Designed by Jill Jess, it perfectly captures the feel of the story, and it looks outstanding. I believe this is my best cover to date.

Beth Shipman has been in a coma for two years. Now sixteen, her friends have abandoned her, and her mother is slowly going insane. Only one person remains interested in her — Carl, the young man who fell in love with her on the first day of Sixth Grade. He visits two or three times a week, talking to her and hoping she will wake.

Carl may just be the key to breaking the spell that holds Beth in its grip. Her mother has a desperate plan to free her Pretty Princess from eternal slumber, but it won’t be easy. Carl must overcome his doubts and believe in the power of love, and Beth’s father Rex isn’t interested in her waking up. After all, he’s the one who put her to sleep in the first place. Can True Love’s First Kiss really break the curse, or are darkness, insanity, and self-doubt too strong?

“Sleeping Beauty” is a creepy reimagining of a familiar story that explores what happens when parents go too far to protect their children. A cautionary tale, it reminds us there is a fine line between love and obsession, between care and cruelty.

“Sleeping Beauty” releases Monday, 25 June 2012 on Amazon.com and will be a part of Amazon’s KDP Select program.

Renovations

Welcome back. Notice anything different?

If you’ve visited “Pleading the Phyth” before, you’ve no doubt realized I’ve overhauled things here. My internet presence has been woefully decentralized and inconsistent. Now, my main web operations are in a single place.

I started the blog before I decided to become an independent author. Thus, the previous version of “Pleading the Phyth” wasn’t really designed to support my publishing efforts. It was a blog about the things I wanted to write about, which included my indie writing career.

Meanwhile, I had a website that may as well have been in a coma. It had links to direct people to the blog and my books’ pages in the online web stores, but it looked awful and didn’t do much to market me.

I’ve brought the website functions here, with multiple pages to brand me better. In fact, the new look of my blog, er, website, is all about branding. First, all of the pages are aimed at delivering the message of who I am as an indie author. The “Wolf Dasher Series” features descriptions of the novels and the free short story and links to buy them. “Other Fiction” does the same for my stories that are not in the Wolf Dasher line. My “About John” page is now aimed at my authorial career instead of as a blogger. And the “Indie Spotlight” page is my attempt not only to brand myself as a proud independent publisher but also to give a little back to the indie community.

But the biggest change is in the blog itself. When I established “Pleading the Phyth” I was deliberately trying to be eclectic in my subject matter. I wrote about football, writing, my family, current events, and anything else that struck my fancy. As of today, I’m changing its focus. “Pleading the Phyth” will now deal exclusively with my journey as an indie author. I’ll write about my books, my experiences publishing, writing, and other aspects of my career as John Phythyon, Author. As much as I like blogging about the antics of the kids or my view of Kansas politics, this is no longer the right space for that. This blog is about writing, publishing, and my books.

I can’t resist blogging about my beloved Cincinnati Bengals, though. I have a lot of opinions about them, I like to share, and I’ve always sort of wished to be sports commentator.

But, again, this isn’t the right place for it, so I’ll be creating a second blog I’ll link from this one called “The Who Dey Herald.” My plan is to blog Mondays, especially during the season when there will be Sunday’s game to comment on. I’ve made my Bengals fandom a part of my brand, so I wanted to be able to keep that going without detracting from the purpose of this site. There’ll be an announcement here when that goes live.

I’ve still got some things to finish on the new-look pages. I want to create subpages for the Wolf Dasher series that will give background on the major characters, detail the history of the world, and, eventually, a map. And I’m still working on getting cover images for the books featured on the Indie Spotlight.

But I’m pretty pleased. A lot work (and a lot more planning) have gone into unifying my online presence. Once I get everything tuned up, I think it’s going to improve my career a lot.

So take a look around. Do some exploring, and leave a comment to tell me what you think of the new site.

Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to communicating with you in a more efficient way.

Coming Soon: Sleeping Beauty

I’m pleased to announce I’ll be publishing a new story Monday, June 25, 2012. “Sleeping Beauty” is a modern retelling of the classic fairytale.

Beth Shipman has been in a coma for two years. Now sixteen, her friends have abandoned her, and her mother is slowly going insane. Only one person remains interested in her — Carl, the young man who fell in love with her on the first day of Sixth Grade. He visits two or three times a week, talking to her and hoping she will wake.

Carl may just be the key to breaking the spell that holds Beth in its grip. Her mother has a desperate plan to free her Pretty Princess from eternal slumber, but it won’t be easy. Carl must overcome his doubts and believe in the power of love, and Beth’s father Rex isn’t interested in her waking up. After all, he’s the one who put her to sleep in the first place. Can True Love’s First Kiss really break the curse, or are darkness, insanity, and self-doubt too strong?

“Sleeping Beauty” is a creepy reimagining of a familiar story that explores what happens when parents go too far to protect their children. A cautionary tale, it reminds us there is a fine line between love and obsession, between care and cruelty.

I’ll be releasing “Sleeping Beauty” through Amazon’s KDP Select program. For the first 90 days, it’ll be available exclusively through Amazon, and members of the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library will be able to check it out.

I’m pretty excited about this story. I wrote it several years ago for a contest. I’ve since expanded it, giving more time to some of the characters and introducing a few new subplots to make the story more complete.

Watch the blog for more updates ahead of the release. I’ll be writing about the development of the piece and previewing the cover here.

STATE OF GRACE to be part of WLC’s Read & Review Program

I’m pleased to announce State of Grace will be featured this month in World Literary Cafe’s Read & Review program. The book will be featured the third week of June (17th through the 23rd) on the website, and readers will be encouraged to read it and review it.

You can get involved too. Now’s the perfect time to pick up State of Grace. The eBook edition is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Get it cheaply and read it now. Then, during the promotion, you can write a review over on WLC’s site in their reader forums. And, of course, if you wanted to cross-post that review to Amazon and Goodreads that would be extremely helpful as well.

Speaking of reviews, WLC is always looking for good reviewers. If you enjoy reading and don’t mind taking a few extra minutes to write up your thoughts on a book, you should check out their review and blogger teams. It’s a great way to find new titles and authors, and there might even be free books involved (check with them to see).

Reviews are the lifeblood of books in the Brave New World of e-publishing. You can help get authors (like me!) sales by taking a few extra minutes to write a paragraph or three on what you liked about your latest read.

Below are the links to State of Grace in the three major online eBook retailers. Remember, the eBook version is only 99 cents! Now is the perfect time to pick it up, give it a read, and write a review.

Thanks!

Amazon.com

Barnesandnoble.com

Smashwords.com

Wolf Dasher’s mission is simple: find out who murdered his friend and colleague in Urland’s Shadow Service while she was on assignment in the elf nation of Alfar. But Wolf soon learns that, in the magical land of elves, nothing is easy. The once-lush country is now decaying, torn apart by a religious schism that spawned a civil war and daily acts of terrorism. A simple murder investigation leads Wolf into an intricate web of assassination, betrayal, and zealotry. He’ll need all of his skill and Shadow magic to defeat a psychotic killer, a bloodthirsty general, and an arrogant ambassador with visions of grandeur. Failure means a devastating act of terrorism that will kill thousands of elves, topple Alfar’s government, and change the balance of power in the world forever.

State of Grace is the first book in a series of fantasy-thriller mash-up novels that blends magic, super spies, and politics in an electrifying brew of action and adventure. From the chilling opening scene to the pulse-pounding climax, State of Grace takes the best elements of an espionage thriller and a court intrigue and weaves them into a world both familiar and fantastic.

Finding Interviews for your Novel

I really should have done things a little differently. I’m getting interviews now, which is good. The latest went up on Friday. Check out the link below.

But I should have arranged all this first. I read about getting a blog tour together, but I had no idea how to do it. So I went ahead and published and then tried to build my platform. It’s working, but I bet I would have experienced better sales initially if I’d found some author blogs first.

In case you’re in my boat, and you don’t know where or how to get started, here’s a few places to look.

Facebook Groups: You should be on Facebook anyway, and, if you’re serious about being an author, you should have a dedicated fan page for all your writing news. But there are some communities that can help. “The First 5 Chapters” is a group dedicated to promoting indie authors. Membership is open. Go to the group’s page and click the button to request to join. Once you’re on, you can leave a comment asking for info on bloggers seeking interview subjects. Book bloggers are always looking for content.

“Authors’ Critique Group” is a similar group you can use to promote your work and seek help. Its primary purpose is to seek beta readers and others to critique your work. It’s a useful group you can join just like with First 5 Chapters.
Book Blogs:Google is your friend. Do a search for book blogs in your genre. Many of them are run by individuals who just love books in the given genre and like interacting with authors. Check out their blogs to see if they interview or host giveaways. After you’ve familiarized yourself with their blog, you can try contacting them, but make sure they are taking submissions.
World Literary Cafe: The WLC has an author interview program, forums, and a number of other ways to connect with readers and promote your book. Some of the programs are paid, but they are incredibly reasonably priced.

Remember you need to plan ahead. There are a lot of authors seeking exposure, and many bloggers have booked themselves weeks to months in advance.

Check out my interviews at the locations below. Every one of these bloggers is interested in writers from all genres.

My interview with Cecilia Robert:

http://cecereadandwrite.blogspot.co.at/2012/06/friday-fantastic-feature-john-r.html

With Michele Fogle:

http://michelefogal.com/blog/author-interview-john-r-phythyon-jr

And with Maureen Hovermale of the World Literary Cafe:

http://tinyurl.com/869b3dw

Know of a good place to find bloggers who’ll interview or schedule guest blogs? Leave a comment below!