Maria Lima's Blog, page 15

Summer of Discovery: Synchronicity

Welcome to Suzanne McLeod, author of the Spellcrackers series. Suzanne writes about magic, mayhem and murder – liberally spiced with hot guys, kick-ass chicks and super-cool supes!

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One of the things I've discovered, and always amazes me, about writing is how there appears to be a synchronicity in the universe when it comes to creating stories. This synchronicity often happens to me, and I've heard my writer pals mention it too. So what do I mean? Well, here's an example. When I was in the very early stages of writing my first book, The Sweet Scent of Blood, I was a lot more of a panster when it came to plotting*, than I am now.

So when I decided I needed a scene in a police station where Genny has gone to find out about a magical murder victim, I just started writing. Then my first troll appeared on the page. Now, in the 'nebulous story background' floating around in my head, I knew this troll was a longtime friend of Genny's, that he was a police officer, and that he'd helped her in the past, but that was it. I hadn't a clue what his name was, what he looked like, where he came from, etc.. So as I wrote, I ad-libbed the details. Here he is in Genny's own words as we first meet him:

"You need all the front you can muster when facing seven foot of solid granite troll, especially when the troll is Detective Sergeant Hugh Munro. Never mind that he was as soft as faerie moss, he was not going to be happy I was here.

'Genny, good to see you again.' Hugh's voice was a deep bass. He lifted one large hand in greeting and smiled, pink granite teeth gleaming: his bite was way worse than his bark. His shock of black hair grew straight up, two inches above his scalp ridge, contrasting nicely with the deep red of his skin – not sunburn, just his natural colour. Hugh came from the Cairngorms, from the largest tribe in Scotland, and his grandmother was the matriarch." Extract Ch 5 – The Sweet Scent of Blood

Give or take a couple of commas, this was my first draft and what actually ended up in the book*. But as soon as I'd finished the scene, I knew I might be in trouble. This was urban fantasy, so I could make things up, but not when it came to a real place. What if my facts weren't right? I'd picked the Cairngorms for Hugh's birthplace as it was the first Scottish mountain range that popped into my head, but I hadn't a clue what type of stone it consisted of. What if it wasn't granite, and what if it wasn't pink/red? I liked Hugh's description and I was going to be bummed if I had to change it. So I started on the research . . . and discovered my first moment of synchronicity: luckily for me, the Cairngorms are mostly pink and red granite, something I'm 99.9% sure I'd never heard of, let alone known.

I say 99.9%, because the other thing I've discovered when writing is my muse (a.k.a my subconscious). When my muse is in a generous mood, good things often appear on the page with no conscious decision from me. Which brings me back to my police troll, Hugh Munro. I picked the name Munro because I knew it was the name given to Scottish mountains over a certain height (3,000 ft/914.4 m)*, and 'Hugh' just seemed to fit. Then I did the research and discovered Sir Hugh Munro (1856–1919) is the name of the man who wrote the first list of the Munros, known as the Munros Tables, in 1891. Now, I didn't know who 'Hugh Munro' was when I was naming my police troll, but I'm pretty sure I'd heard the name at some point previously, so my muse/subconscious kindly hit on the association and plucked the name from the far reaches of my brain and offered it up on the page. Always wonderful when that happens.

Many thanks to Maria for having me over to blog and I hope you've all enjoyed reading my discoveries. So, I'm wondering if any of you have had anything similar happen?

*I discovered pretty quick that I had to change partway into a plotster (or as my critique partner, Jaye Wells, calls it: a Plantser, which makes it sound rather triffid- like in origin . . .) if I was going to finish the book: sitting staring at a screen wondering what's going to happen next doesn't suit the way I write.

Pantser = write by the seat of your pants.

Plotster = plot every move out first.

Planster = outline it from A to B, then take a few detours getting there as you go with the flow.

*Oh, boy, I wish this happened in my writing way more often; things would go so much quicker.

*Yep, I had to look the height up too! *g*

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Thanks, Suzanne! I'm totally a believer in serendipity and synchronicity…and very much a Plantser these days. Readers, how about you–what unusual synchronous events have you had? Comment below and be entered to win a copy of 1 of Suzanne's books–your choice.

Summer of Discovery: Ignoring the One-Way Signs

Welcome to this week's guest, Elena Santangelo. Elena and I go way back–I think we met about 11 years ago? Something like that. She's always been a steady buddy and I thoroughly enjoy her ghostly mysteries.

Elena writes the Pat Montella mystery series, which includes Agatha Award finalist By Blood Possessed and continues most recently with Fear Itself. The series combines ghosts, history, a protagonist brought up on Italian cooking and superstitions, and a 91-year-old sidekick. Her nonfiction book, Dame Agatha's Shorts, a Christie Short Story Companion, won the Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction, and earned nominations for Macavity and Anthony Awards. Elena is also the author of 16 published short stories, available for Kindle. Follow her blog, contact her at her website, or become a fan of Miss Maggie Shelby's on Facebook.

Take it away, Elena!

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Explorers have to be creative and those who create need to explore. As explorers go, I emulate my paesan', Columbus. I always think I know where I'm going, but instead of following conventional wisdom, I tend to head out the opposite way. Like Columbus, I rarely reach my original destination, but usually discover something interesting en route.

Most of the writers I know have minds that explore not only when they're doing research, but all the time, out of habit. Discoveries are out there for the taking, so why not bring a few home as souvenirs? Someday you might draw on them for a story.

The best discoveries are the ones that give me new perspective. Back before any of my writing was published, I went hiking with my brother in Utah's Arches National Park. On one trail, we came out onto a high flat rock. The views were gorgeous. We stopped to take pictures. My brother always takes four times as many photos as I do, so while I waited, I sat, drank water, enjoyed the view. Something bothered me about the place, but I couldn't pinpoint it right away. Then I realized that I couldn't hear anything. No birds, insects, traffic, airplanes, no other hikers, nothing. There wasn't even a breeze that day. The place was profoundly silent. So much so that I desperately wanted to whistle or tap my foot—anything to create sound. Of course, doing so would have been the equivalent to Columbus forcing his religious beliefs on the natives. The silence was an integral part of that piece of wilderness. I've never experienced a silence so perfect since, and probably never will again.

A few years later, when I wrote By Blood Possessed, the first novel in my Pat Montella series, I used that discovery to try to instill an equally vivid sense of place by using all of my senses. That one hike is likely responsible for half my writing style.

In the last five years, I've been a hospice caregiver twice. I discovered what the dying process is actually like. For someone who writes death into every book, this practical knowledge is bound to come in handy (not that I would wish the circumstances on my fellow writers). I also discovered that caregivers often get Post-Traumatic Stress, the chemical outcome in a brain pumped up with too much adrenaline for too long, on too few hours sleep. More than that, though, I found how far society, with all our technology and medicines, has moved away from compassionate care for the dying. We insist that a corpse be treated with respect, but we're willing to let a dying person be alone and neglected. A family in the eighteenth century wouldn't have let that happen.

You can bet all of this will find its way into my writing if it hasn't already.

Of course, few discoveries are that extreme. Writers need small finds, too. My protagonist is an avid cook, so I'm always on the lookout for recipes. Another series character, Beth Ann Lee, is an amateur environmentalist. When I come across do-it-yourself green projects, I stow the info on my PC. My novels feature history and ghosts. My favorite vacation destinations include historic sites. Once there, I collect local ghost stories.

It boils down to being open to all experiences, whether you're actively doing research for a story or not. And, like Columbus, sometimes you have to ignore the "One-Way" signs.

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Elena, thanks so much! I think we writers tend to be explorers, even if it's just of the armchair kind! How about you, readers? What have you stumbled across that you've later used in your own writing or in some aspect of your life? What senses were brought into play?

Comment below for a chance to win your choice of one of Elena's latest, Fear Itself or a copy of By Blood Possessed.

Summer of Discovery: Discovering Myself

This week's guest blogger is a truly wonderful online buddy, whom I discovered via the now less active Fangs, Fur & Fey livejournal community. Karen Mahoney writes lovely YA urban fantasy and (I think) is poised for a fabulous career. She s the author of The Iron Witch, the first book in a trilogy that continues in 2012 with The Wood Queen. She has also published stories about a kick-ass teen vampire called Moth in The Eternal Kiss and Kiss Me Deadly. Karen is British and currently lives near London with way too many books, though she dreams of one day living in Boston. She doesn't mind if you call her Kaz.

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When I agreed to write something for Maria's 'Summer of Discovery,' I thought it would be easy because I'm always discovering new (to me) authors and TV shows which I figured I could babble on about. (For example, my latest discovery is JUSTIFIED with the brilliant Timothy Olyphant.)

But then… it came time to write my post and I didn't want to write about that kind of thing. I'm in the middle of a period of self-discovery with my writing—and my life—so I decided I would share something about that here. If you're bored, just skip to the end for the giveaway.

A lot of people think I'm younger than I am, but I'm 37 and have been dreaming of being an author for 25 years. My debut novel, THE IRON WITCH, came out in February of this year, so what the hell took me so long? Of course, the many (many) hoops and hurdles of the publishing industry are part of the answer to that question, as well as my own writing ability and level of craft (i.e. it takes time to build those skills). But, quite honestly, I think that the thing holding me back the most was my lack of self-belief—a fundamental, heartfelt belief that I wasn't, and never would be, good enough to get my writing published.

Discovering that has been painful, because I have wasted a lot of time simply not writing; there was a 5-year period of nothing but journaling and writing ABOUT writing in my late twenties and early thirties… I was frozen with a deep terror that I could never achieve my dream, so what was the point in even trying? I wonder what I could have done with that time had I been more focused on actually putting words (fiction, I mean) on the page? And yet, this discovery is also sort of freeing. There is something powerful in admitting that we are afraid to face our most precious hopes and dreams—afraid that we won't measure up, or that they won't come true. By facing up to those fears, we also let them go and leave space in our lives for new things; new experiences and, yes, new discoveries.

Back in 2007 I discovered that I loved to write stories inspired by mythology and folklore, which is where THE IRON WITCH trilogy initially came from. If it weren't for my discovery of a folktale called 'The Handless Maiden' there would have been no Donna Underwood and no debut novel. I think what I am trying to say is that writing—as with life—is just one discovery after another. Some of the things we discover are small, but many are big and potentially life-changing. Staying open to those possibilities is a massive challenge, but a very important one.

Right now, I'm discovering that there's more to me than being a writer of young adult contemporary fantasy (much as I love doing that!)—I am working on something for an adult audience which is much more romantic and has all kinds of action and adventure in it. I'm having a lot of fun, whether it's something that ultimately sells or not, and that feeling of 'letting go' of any final outcome is yet another discovery. Just taking it day by day and enjoying the process.

In the spirit of giving something new a try, and to thank you for listening to me ramble, maybe you'd like to discover a world of alchemy, dark elves, and a girl with magical iron tattoos… If so, leave me a comment telling me what YOU have discovered lately, and I'll send one randomly chosen winner a signed copy of THE IRON WITCH. (Book 2, The Wood Queen, will be out in early February 2012.)

Cheers!

Karen Mahoney

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Thanks, Karen!! Doubting oneself is the bane of many of us authors–most definitely.

Readers, leave your comment before next week's guest author post and you'll be entered to win!

Summer of Discovery: Writing Who You're Not

Welcome to this week's guest blogger. Stacey Jay – a self described recovering workaholic (or at least working hard at recovering) with three pen names, two small children, and a passion for playing pretend for a living.

Take it away, Stacey!

First up, thanks so much to Maria for having me over to the blog! *waves at Maria's readers*

Now I blog:

WRITING WHO YOU'RE NOT

As writers, we're often told to "write what we know," and I think that's good advice. To write about things you believe in, emotions you've felt, truths you've learned/observed about the human condition—these are all goods things.

However, I think that "write what you know" can also lead to writing who you know. And in that case, writers often find themselves with a character that isn't much of a character at all. The character is simply the author. In disguise. *waggles disguise fingers*

I've certainly created characters that resemble myself at one age or another. But with DEAD ON THE DELTA I set out from the beginning to create a heroine different from myself in almost every way. I wanted to experience this book from a truly alternative point of view.

Here are just a few of the differences that developed as I worked on Annabelle Lee, narrator of DEAD ON THE DELTA, and an officer for Fairy Containment and Control in an alternative Mississippi Delta infected by killer fairies:



Annabelle isn't a wildly driven person. She works to live; she doesn't live to work. I, on the other hand, confess on my website bio that I'm a "recovering workaholic." The truth is that the "recovering" part of that statement is total B.S. I'm still a workaholic. I've just learned to work as hard at spending time with my family as I do writing books. But I've still written and revised five full-length novels—creating over half a million words—in the last ten months. It's been fun to spend time in Annabelle's head, imagining what it's like to clock out at five and be done for the day, to have two whole days a week where you don't have to do any work at all.

Annabelle has a lot of friends. She's an integral part of her community and spends face time every week—and sometimes every day—with the people she loves. Most of the people I love are far away, or are people I only ever *see* online. In addition to writing full time, I'm also a stay at home mom to two young boys and I don't have time to find good friends in my community at this point. So writing this aspect of Annabelle's life has been a bit of wish fulfillment for me, as well.

Some of Annabelle's other traits, however, haven't been wish-fulfill-y at all:

Annabelle is commitment wary and uncomfortable around children. I married my husband less than six months after meeting him—and am still falling in love with him six years later—and have always been more at ease with children than adults.

Annabelle is slow to anger; I can get whipped into a snit fairly quickly.

Annabelle is slow to forgive; I have a hard time holding grudges. Even when I try.

Annabelle is, at times, disorganized; I make lists and refuse to let the ball drop.

Annabelle would do anything for a friend; I have to put my family first and sometimes that means saying "no" to friends.

Annabelle is a jeans, tank top, and very little make-up kind of girl. I'm a sun dress and cowgirl boots girl and say yes to both blush and lipstick, thankyouverymuch.

I think the only thing my heroine and I have in common is that we both enjoy a good joke and believe in fighting for what we believe is right, especially if it means defending someone who can't defend themselves. She's slower to rise to the challenge, but she rises, and that's where I found the "what I know" in this story.

But it's not the "what I know" that's made working on this series so special to me. It's slipping into the headspace of someone so different that makes writing Annabelle's story such a sweet escape. (Even when the killer fairies are attacking.)

I hope it will be an equally sweet—and scary and surprising and sexy and all other "s" words that apply—escape for my readers.

Learn more about Stacey Jay and DEAD ON THE DELTA at staceyjay.com.

Watch the DEAD ON THE DELTA book trailer:

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Stacey, thanks for a great post!!

In a word: yes. I write who I'm not, because frankly, no one wants to read about me. I share a few traits with Keira–primarily her non-fashion sense (black is *always* appropriate) and her tendency to want to be left alone. Other than that, I'm about as far from her as I could be. It's fun making up character traits, exploring who each person I write is and isn't.

Readers, what do you like best when you read about characters? What characters have stuck in your mind? Which have you truly disliked?

Summer of Discovery: Risk & Change

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Hello everyone and thanks to Maria for having me in for a visit!

I've been thinking a lot about discovery lately and one of the things that's really hit home is that while the word carries this wonderful connotation of fresh encounters, wonder, joy and excitement, it also can have negative connotations–fear and worry primary among them.

Discovery implies change and I think that change itself can be both frightening and wonderful. But once you discover something, once you know it, you can't unknow it. As humans, I think we're inclined to want to discover. To expand and to enrich ourselves and even though we know that pain can come with that, we are willing to put ourselves out there because the joyous possibilities outweigh the more frightening ones. Or so we tell ourselves anyway, and I think we are mostly right.

I'm working to create a change in my life and it means there's going to be a whole lot of discovery to come. I'm terrified. And exhilarated. I've got to have faith that it will all come out in the end—faith in me, faith in my family, and faith in the world.

Which brings me to risk. Discovery also implies risk along with change. Because you are taking a chance that whatever you discover won't be a good thing. We have to rely on ourselves to carry us through and sometimes I think we doubt our strength. We fear our fragility to handle what comes. It's hard to believe in our own untested strengths, and I think we push ourselves to find out what we are capable of.

Writing is a journey of discovery that can be terrifying. Not like there's a serial killer stalking you sort of terrifying, but more in the chance we'll discover we are fragile, or we aren't capable, or we aren't good writers. That fear is tied so tightly to our sense of personal value that it can become debilitating. You've heard the advice, I'm sure, that if you have any choice about becoming a writer, if you can choose anything else, do it. That's because writing is so hard on levels that many people don't understand.

It's just words. If they don't turn out, write more. Sounds simple. But then you have to wonder if the bad words signal a discovery you need to make—that you can't write. That you are a hack. That you should never have left that fast food job. The doubt worms into your soul and is impossible to fight.

But then there are moments of discovery where the story just grabs you and the words flow and pour out and they are so right. You can hardly keep up with them, your fingers flying over the keyboard. At the end of the day, you just want to hug yourself and chortle madly and then jump up and dance.

Those days don't come often enough, but they are the days of discovery for writers. When we find new worlds, new friends, new enemies, new joy. When the worms of doubt incinerate inside us and we're whole again.

It's scary and it's dangerous. It makes it all worth it. But it's the reason I keep writing.

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Thanks, Diana! Risk and change – yep, that's pretty much the standard writer mantra, right? We create worlds, even if firmly ensconced in the "real world", create people, make stories that we hope others will want to read. Eek! Why do we do this again? Oh yeah, because it's cool!

How about you readers? What risks or changes have you discovered in your lives, whether writing or just in something you love to do? Would you give up the risk or avoid the change? What kinds of benefits have you encountered?

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Crimson Wind, the 2nd book in Diana's fabulous Horngate Witches series!

Also, make sure to visit Diana online:

Her website
Mad Libs, her blog
Twitter

Summer of Discovery: Discovering a Co-Author

Nancy Holder is the multiple-award winning, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Wicked series, written with Debbie Viguié. She and Viguié have sold a total of eleven books together so far. Their Crusade series is available now from Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles series will debut in December with Unleashed. Nancy also writes the Possessions series for Razorbill. She writes comic books and pulp fiction for Moonstone Books, and is on the faculty of the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine.



I have been so lucky to discover my coauthor, Debbie Viguié. Debbie was a student of mine at the Maui Writers Retreat and she was so talented and fun right from the get-go. Shortly after the retreat, I began work on a four-book contract for the Wicked series, and I asked Debbie if she would join me. She added so much to the books, including all our fantastic poems, that it became "our" thing rather than my thing-with-help-from-someone-else. We had a great time working together, and it's just gotten better through the years. We've sold eleven books together so far. Plus, we have become very, very good friends.

Not only do we like each as friends as collaborators, but we have so much in common—we both love the Italian metal group, Rhapsody of Fire, Stargate SG-1, and Chuck; we love going on book tours; and we are both total Disney kids. In fact, I'm flying to Orlando in a week so we can go to Disney World together. We have so much to celebrate–no one throws better parties than Holder & Viguié!

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Nancy, thanks for introducing us to your coauthor! I'm looking forward to reading all your books!

Readers & writers – have you ever collaborated with another person on a project? Was it difficult? Easy? What did you find the most rewarding?

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Crusade in trade paperback with a signed bookplate.

You can also find Nancy at the following sites:

Nancy's Main Website
@nancyholder
https://www.facebook.com/holder.nancy
https://www.facebook.com/nancyholderfans
https://www.facebook.com/crusadeseries
https://www.facebook.com/possessionsseries
https://www.facebook.com/wickedseries
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolf-Springs-Chronicles/193707337338868

Summer of Discovery: Lost in Time—Arthur O. Friel

by John Gregory Betancourt

I real a lot of fiction. (Most editors do.) What I read tends to be on the older side, usually from pulp magazines (circa 1915 to 1955). I select stories to be reprinted by Wildside Press in the "Wildside Pulp Fiction" line of books and anthologies (and in Adventure Tales magazine). Most of the fiction I read is your usual, standard fare. Rockets and rayguns in the science fiction pulps. Gats and gumshoes in the mystery pulps. A mix of romance and adventure and mainstream in the general-fiction pulps.

But every once in a while I run across something truly special. An author or a short story whose work transcends its humble pulp roots. I'd like to talk a little bit about one of my favorite discoveries over the last decade and, hopefully, steer you toward some great reading you might otherwise miss.

ADVENTURE

I first encountered Arthur O. Friel's fiction in the pages of Adventure magazine. I had a vague idea he might be of interest, since his novel The Pathless Trail had been reprinted by Centaur Press in the 1960s – which meant early fantasy had enjoyed his work. (Centaur also reprinted works by Robert E. Howard, Talbot Mundy, and H. Warner Munn, among others.)

But I was completely unprepared for what I found. It was the story of two rubber-plantation workers in the Amazon jungle. And it was good. Better than good—great. So great that I had to read more. And as I searched through my archive of Adventure pulps, I discovered the adventures of Pedro and Lourenço continued in quite a few other stories (and in some with just Pedro by himself). Each story had a animal theme (with titles like "The Firefly," "The Ant-Eater," "The Spider") in which Pedro compared a person to the traits of an Amazonian animal and spun a tale around it.

Most of them are action-adventure, but some (such as "The Tailed Men") are fantasy. The writing was fresh, vivid, and modern. There wasn't any racism, dialect, or any of the other dated elements which can detract from writing of the period. If I hadn't seen the stories in their original context, I could easily have believed they were written today.

I quickly compiled a manuscript of 8 stories and 1 complete novel from the pages of Adventure. It would be a fairly thick (300+ page) book. And I titled is Amazon Nights: Classic Adventure Tales from the Pulps.

ARTHUR WHO?

Beyond the stories, one pressing question remained. Who, exactly, was this Friel guy, and how could he write so brilliantly about the Amazon? Most pulp writers never left their home countries. Look at Robert E. Howard, who seldom ventured far from Texas, and yet he wrote about the Far East, Puritan England, and South Sea islands – not to mention the Hyborian Age of Conan. Could a set of Encyclopedia Britannicas and a set of travel brochures have given Friel the authentic feel of his stories?

No. Friel really was an Amazon explorer, after a career as the South American correspondent of the Associated Press. Nowadays you can go to Wikipedia to look him up, but in 2004 — when I began my project — very little info on him was available. It had to be gleaned, in bits and pieces, from the bios in pulp magazines and the notes at the end of his later novels.

Here's the link to his entry at Wikipedia, which will provide more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_O._Friel

I have continued to seek out his work, and now I am proud to have Wildside Press as one of the leading publishers of all things Friel. We have reprinted 2 collections of his Pedro and Lourenço (Amazon Nights and Black Hawk and Other Tales of the Amazon), as well as the novels King of Kearsarge, Tiger River, and Forgotten Island.

And you know what? The Friel revival seems to be spreading. I've been seeing other new editions of his books appearing on Amazon.com.

Next time you're in the mood for adventure fiction set in the Amazon – sometimes tinged with fantasy, but always well written, fresh, and full of the authenticity that only first-hand experience can provide – look no farther. Arthur O. Friel is your man.

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John, thanks for the fascinating look at Arthur O. Friel! What a wondrous world those old pulps contained. I hope you readers were as entertained as I was!

Win

What kinds of adventure fiction have you all read/discovered in your lives? Comment below and one random commenter will be entered to win a free e-copy of Crusade (book 1 of the Crusade series) is now available in trade paperback.

* Selected contest winner will be sent a copy of the eBook via email.

Summer of Discovery: the kickoff

Discovery. Excitement. The wonder of amazing worlds.

This is why I read. This is why I write.

In my literary travels, I've met unicorns , dragons, amazons , vampires, vampire slayers, werewolves, shapeshifters, demons, faeries, and so many more. Many of them live in our world, some in other worlds. Some worlds are so complex that you need several wiki articles to explain them. Some, equally as complex, began as kid's books, but later morphed into more adult fare.

I live in the world of mundania: work, traffic, rent payments, politics, climate change, terrorists. Is it any wonder that I seek escape in books–both writing and reading? As a kid, I often found myself rushing through schoolwork to get to my library books*. I'd discovered Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels. Later on there was Dracula (in all his various permutations), Anne McCaffrey's Pern, Charles deLint's Ottowa, Tanya Huff's Toronto, Joss Whedon's Sunnydale, Chris Golden's Shadow Saga…all of which eventually led to my own Rio Seco, Texas and my take on urban fantasy.

Every single day I discover something new about the world of books, whether a new author, a new story, a new world created by an old friend. This is a never-ending feast and I'm glad to share my blog this late spring/summer with so many brilliant folks who helped create that feast.

Join me tomorrow, May 5, as we kick off our series with John Betancourt, owner/publisher of Wildside Press and the man who helped start my own writing career. In addition to his publisher hat, John is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and mystery novels as well as short stories.

Summer of Discovery Blog Tour

Discovery

A word chock to the brim full of wonder, excitement, antici………pation. I love new discoveries, whether new tech, new authors, different or unusual places or random historical facts. This curiousity and the need to examine "what if" is what drives my need to write.

In celebration of the summer and the discovery of new things, I've invited an inspiration of writers to guest post right here on this blog throughout the summer.

They'll be talking about their own discoveries–whether it's new books, new authors, new themes, a new movie…whatever strikes their respective fancies. I'm hoping that my own readers discover authors new to them, or at least, something they didn't know about an author they already read.

But wait, there's more!

In addition to the guest blog posts, some of our authors will be giving away books and/or other prizes (we're still hammering out details). I'm pitching in with copies of Blood Heat and one lucky reader will come away with he grand prize: a full set of Blood Lines books, including the upcoming Blood Sacrifice!



Winners will be drawn at random from those of you who comment on the blog. To win the grand prize, you must visit at least once a week and leave a minimum of one comment on each author's guest post!

Participating authors include an eclectic mix of urban fantasy, YA, horror and mystery writers.

So pop in May 5 for and then join me each Thursday through August in welcoming the following authors:

Nancy Holder
Diana Pharaoh Francis
Stacey Jay
Karen Mahoney
Elena Santangelo
John Betancourt
Suzanne McLeod
Ellen Byerrum
Lillian Stewart Carl
Jim C. Hines
Elaine Viets
Dana Cameron
Carole Nelson Douglas
Kat Richardson
Christopher Golden
Claire Johnson

Pssst…there may be more as the days roll on. Stay tuned, stop by, and enjoy guest posts from some of the most fabulous folks writing today!

Summer of Discovery

Discovery

A word chock to the brim full of wonder, excitement, antici………pation. I love new discoveries, whether new tech, new authors, different or unusual places or random historical facts. This curiousity and the need to examine "what if" is what drives my need to write.

In celebration of the summer and the discovery of new things, I've invited an inspiration of writers to guest post right here on this blog throughout the summer.

They'll be talking about their own discoveries–whether it's new books, new authors, new themes, a new movie…whatever strikes their respective fancies. I'm hoping that my own readers discover authors new to them, or at least, something they didn't know about an author they already read.

But wait, there's more!

In addition to the guest blog posts, some of our authors will be giving away books and/or other prizes (we're still hammering out details). I'm pitching in with copies of Blood Heat and one lucky reader will come away with he grand prize: a full set of Blood Lines books, including the upcoming Blood Sacrifice!



Winners will be drawn at random from those of you who comment on the blog. To win the grand prize, you must visit at least once a week and leave a minimum of one comment on each author's guest post!

Participating authors include an eclectic mix of urban fantasy, YA, horror and mystery writers.

So pop in May 5 for and then join me each Thursday through August in welcoming the following authors:

Nancy Holder
Diana Pharaoh Francis
Stacey Jay
Karen Mahoney
Elena Santangelo
John Betancourt
Suzanne McLeod
Ellen Byerrum
Lillian Stewart Carl
Jim C. Hines
Elaine Viets
Dana Cameron
Carole Nelson Douglas
Kat Richardson
Christopher Golden
Claire Johnson

Pssst…there may be more as the days roll on. Stay tuned, stop by, and enjoy guest posts from some of the most fabulous folks writing today!