P.J. Kaiser's Blog, page 14

How Are You Celebrating E-Book Week?

Do you have an e-reader or have you resisted the convenience of e-books for the feel and smell of a paper book in your hands?  Or have you, like my husband, purchased an e-reader for convenience but still also purchase paper copies of your favorite titles?

Regardless, if you're still flirting with the idea of e-books or if you've already made the transition, this week is a good time to do some exploring.  It's "Read an E-Book Week" and you can find many titles discounted or even free during this limited time.

Hop over to the "Read an E-Book Week" site for a plethora of information about e-books.  A good place to start is the "Partners" tab that has an extensive list of authors and organizations participating in E-Book Week.  Another good place to stop is on Twitter at hashtag "#ebookweek" (also "#ebooks") where you'll find even more information along with promotions, discount codes, etc.  Don't have a Twitter account?  No problem, you can still go to this search page.

Don't have an e-reader?  No problem.  There are programs and apps available for virtually any desktop or laptop computer and virtually any handheld device.  If you're not sure where to find the right program, this page has a number of resources.

I wish I had an e-book to promote this week but alas, I only have e-books to which I have contributed.  Hopefully by this time next year that will change

Please let me know if you have questions about e-readers and I'll try to help you find answers.  Take advantage of this great opportunity to check out some new titles.

Inspired Links – Mar 6, 2011

Things have been a bit slow over here at "Inspired by Real Life" … I still have inspiration but the "real life" part is encroaching on my meager writing time.  Hopefully that will change soon.

These are some of my favorite links that I've come across in recent days.  Feel free to click or not as you like

One of the hottest topics to be burning up the Twitter airwaves in recent days is self-publishing YA and UF writer Amanda Hocking.  Her name has been popping up a lot in blog posts, most of them saying things like she represents an enormous "threat" to traditional publishing due to her high sales.  For example, she's mentioned in this post by Mark Coker of Smashwords "Nietzsche and the Downfall of Big Publishing."  To get up-to-date on the drama, you need to check out first her post where she sets the record straight and tries to put her success into context.  I love her points that 1) self-publishing requires an incredible amount of work and 2) even if you put in the work it's difficult to predict the success of a book.  You also need to read Nathan Bransford's post which puts the success of self-published authors like Hocking into proper perspective.


In this short but sweet post by Joel Friedman, he advises writers who are self-publishing on a budget (and who isn't!) to focus their financial outlays in two areas:  editing and book cover design.  This is assuming, of course, that you spend the time to educate yourself on other areas so that you can do them yourselves properly such as manuscript formatting, marketing, etc.


I enjoyed this post over at "Novel Publicity" that provides some useful tips for getting from a vague notion of an idea to a full concept for a novel (or even a story or novella).  It also includes some perspective on meticulous plotting vs. "pantsing."


If you like the old-fashioned paper-markup method for editing a manuscript, then you may find Tony Noland's tip he outlines in this post to be helpful.


Writers, if you're thinking about self-publishing an e-book, take note of this post over on The Creative Penn by Michelle Halket from "ireadiwrite" publishing.  She discusses including a signed dedication in customized e-book copies.


I also loved this post over at "Spunk on a Stick" that emphasizes the world of publishing is not a "one size fits all."


If you missed them, you will want to check out the most recent Friday Flash report (a double issue with 109 stories) and the most recent Tuesday Serial report (19 serial installments).

If you're wondering about my methodology for compiling this list, rest assured that there isn't one.  It's simply a collection of interesting things I've come across recently that I thought might be of interest to you  Let me know what you think!

How Do You Know When Your Story Is Finished?

This question had been weighing on my mind and so I did what any blogger worth his/her salt does … I wrote a post about it!  And Carrie Bailey was kind enough to host my post (hey, that rhymes!) over on her "Peevish Penman" site.  So please check it out.  I'd love to get your feedback on my post.  Thanks!

Inspired Links – Feb 25, 2011

Hmmm, two weeks in a row I'm doing my "Inspired Links" feature … That could almost be considered regular blogging.  (Don't hold your breath that this continues!

These are some of my favorite links that I've come across in recent days.  Feel free to click or not as you like

If you have a Facebook page, you might want to check out this post by Tim Ware of "Social Media Examiner" which details eight key new features of Facebook pages.  It's a pretty detailed post – consider yourself forewarned.


For a fascinating take on the opportunities provided by social media, you must check out this pair of posts from Seth Godin.  First, he talks about how easy it is to use social media to beg the masses for favors without giving anything in return, and then he talks about the flip side – how easy it is to use social media (and Web 2.0) to give without asking anything in return.  We should each consider where we want to be on that continuum in social media.


John Wiswell wrote an interesting essay this week entitled " 7 Things I Want From Novels " that I found to be highly entertaining.  It also provides some terrific insights for both reading and writing.  What would your seven things be?  I really have no idea what mine would be but it's interesting to consider.


Stephen Parolini – aka @noveldoctor – has a wonderful new post on what happens when a writer becomes disenchanted with their novel – "The End of the Affair."


Jody Hedlund has a new post up today discussing four things that writers need to do to prepare for a professional writing career.  I can vouch for the importance of all four and would emphasize the need to do all of them before being published.  Advice similar to Jody's is how I ended up ditching my previous identity of "doublelattemama" and using my real name.  I'm hoping that those who know me only through social media will remember my name well enough so they can google for my books when the time comes


Dan Blank has a thought-provoking post on the roles of writers and publishers in the future.  He also included some haunting pictures of abandoned homes.  The net effect is to cement the idea that we don't know what publishing will look like in the future but it will likely not look as it does today.  By the way, while you're on Dan's site, check out the video interviews in the right-hand sidebar – they're terrific.


And finally, for writers of any sort of short fiction, this article over at "Write it Sideways" – "10 Resources to Help You Write a Great Short Story" – is chock full of terrific resources and tips.

If you're wondering about my methodology for compiling this list, rest assured that there isn't one.  It's simply a collection of interesting things I've come across recently that I thought might be of interest to you  Let me know what you think!

New audio recordings available for "Rainy Rendezvous"

Some of you are already familiar with my serial "Rainy Rendezvous," but whether you have or haven't read it, I wanted to let you know that each of the five installments now has an accompanying audio recording.  You can find links to all five installments through the "serial fiction" menu item above or go directly to the "Rainy Rendezvous" page.

As far as I can tell, AudioBoo (the service that I use for my audio recordings) only allows you to stream the audio from their widgets (rather than downloading an MP3).  An alternative, however, is to subscribe to my AudioBoo feed in iTunes which can be found here.  That way you can always receive new audio recordings in your iTunes just like any other podcast.

Please let me know what you think of the story and the recordings!

Inspired Links – Feb 18, 2011

My "Inspired Links" feature is back … These are some of my favorite links that I've come across in recent days.  Feel free to click or not as you like

With the news this week that Borders is filing for bankruptcy, this post by Edward Champion has been quickly making the rounds on Twitter.  It contains an extensive list of independent bookstores across the country organized by the nearest Border's store.  I was pleased to see several in New Jersey although they are not very close to Hoboken.  The indie bookstore in Hoboken was driven out of business by the Barnes & Noble store which has since closed.  There was an indie bookstore in Jersey City that has also gone out.
If you're interested in doing or hosting a Blog Tour, this post written by Bryce Beattie as a guest post on Joanna Penn's blog has some very useful tips and resources.
This has nothing to do with writing, but I thought this news story about the renaming of the main square in Tunisia was interesting.  It boggles the mind to consider the ramifications of Mohammad Bouazizi's actions.
Chuck Wendig recently did an experiment by offering one of his kindle books for $.99 and he's drawn some interesting conclusions that he outlines in this post.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Kristen Lamb's blog, so I always recommend that you check out all of the posts over there.  This post called "Working Together to Renovate Publishing-The WANA Plan" has lots of interesting ideas for what might save publishing.
And of course you will want to check out the latest Friday Flash report (from Jon Strother) and Tuesday Serial report if you haven't already

If you're wondering about my methodology for compiling this list, rest assured that there isn't one.  It's simply a collection of interesting things I've come across recently that I thought might be of interest to you  Let me know what you think!

"Nothing But Flowers" Available for Purchase

It's available for sale now!

Did you miss the 48 hour window to read all of the stories on Feb. 14 & 15?  If so, don't despair.  The entire volume is now available via web access, e-book and will soon be available in print.  Check out the ordering page and pick your format.  Remember, the proceeds go to a good cause so it's a win-win! Happy reading!

"Nothing but Flowers" Launch – Part 2

If you missed yesterday's post about the launch of "Nothing but Flowers", check it out here.

As Monday, February 14, 2011 approaches, I thought I'd do a bit more to get you in the mood for reading these fantastic stories.  First, you can check out this video for the song that inspired the collection …

And you can check out this audio recording of the first part of my story "Golden Opportunity" (hopefully this will be enough to get you hooked

And of course, check in at "Literary Mixtapes" for the launch starting Sunday evening Feb. 13, 2011 (EST) as the stories are launched on the website and available for free for 48 hours. (I think "Golden Opportunity will be available 8am EST on Feb 14)

Thanks for reading/listening!

"Nothing But Flowers" Launch – Part 1

Those of you who follow me on Twitter probably know that I have had the excellent good fortune to participate in Emergent Publishing's latest anthology.  "Nothing But Flowers: tales of post apocalyptic love" (or "NBF" as we have affectionately come to know it) is the second offering from Literary Mix Tapes (a quarterly crowd-sourced short fiction anthology inspired by music).

Inspired by the Talking Heads song of the same name, NBF explores the complexities and challenges of love in a post apocalyptic landscape. From plague to fundamentalist governments, comets and war, from terra firma to outer space the people on these pages face up to what it means to love and be loved when you've lost everything.

NBF stories will be available online for free for a limited time on Valentine's Day and then available in e-book, paperback and via web access for a charge.  All proceeds go to support the Grantham Flood Support fund.

My story "Golden Opportunity" was inspired by imagining an apocalyptic event that affected the U.S. in such a way that people would be trying to emigrate, rather than immigrate.  It takes place at a pivotal point in time for our hero and heroine – Will and Maria.  Will their plans to flee be thwarted at the last moment?

There are many ways to find out more about this project.  You can …

"Like" the Facebook page
RSVP for the Facebook launch party
Check out the website that has more information about the anthology and will be the spot to check as the stories are rolled out on Valentine's Day.

My story will be posted at 11pm Australia Eastern Standard time on Monday February 14th which, according to my calculation is 8am EST on Monday.  The stories will be available for free for 48 hours.

I have already had the privilege of reading several of the other stories (check out the authors page for a rundown of other contributors) and I highly recommend that you check out each and every one of them and support this worthy cause.

Thanks for reading!

Coffee and Cotton Candy (#FridayFlash)

You can listen to my audio recording of my story by pressing "play" below and/or read the full text below:

"Coffee and Cotton Candy" by P.J. Kaiser

Michael lay the phone in it's cradle.  He'd been expecting the news in the same way you expect winter to follow autumn.  But just as you can never quite prepare yourself for bone-chilling temperatures, you can never prepare your heart for loss.  Poor Vincent.  Michael's friend's voice had been shaking as he gave Michael the news that Sage was gone.

Michael cupped his mug of coffee in both hands and shuffled to the breakfast table.  Sinking into the chair, he tried to distract his thoughts.

He squinted out the window, past the flowery lace curtains Emily had hung there years ago, and caught a glimpse of the sun.  He always felt a vague sense of whiplash on sunny days, knowing that the earth travels at thirty kilometers per second in its daily trek around the sun.  He remembered Emily teasing him when he would spout astronomical trivia.  The way her eyes and nose crinkled when she laughed made him smile for a moment.

The warmth from the coffee mug seeped into his fingers as he clutched it and gazed at the deep brown liquid.  He wished Emily had made his coffee.  She always had a way of choosing just the right amount of grounds to use.  These bland coffee beans tasted doubly bland since he scrimped on beans.  Since Emily died, he hadn't had his favorite coffee from Veracruz that she used to buy uptown.  The coffee shop smelled of musk with a hint of cinnamon that was too close to Emily's essence.  He couldn't bring himself to go into the shop.

Twenty-seven years of marriage.  One year for every day it takes the moon to orbit the earth.  Shifting in his chair, he tried to focus his eyes on the newspaper.  The newsprint looked like it was drowning as his tears welled.  His mind kept straying back to the phone call.

Sage.  Her presence on the planet had always been enough for him; it didn't matter that they weren't together.  They had spent one afternoon together at the county fair years ago when her Vincent and his Emily had fallen sick at the last moment before their double date.  He had allowed himself to swim, just for a few hours, in the depths of her azure eyes.

He had not realized she was afraid of heights until the ferris wheel swung through its highest point and she clutched at his arm, her face pale in spite of the August sun.  As their car made its wobbly descent, he sang songs and helped her through her fear.  Chiding her gently, he suggested she avoid ferris wheels.  But in reality he was grateful for her lapse in judgement that allowed him to come to her rescue.

They celebrated surviving the ferris wheel with two pink clouds of cotton candy.  He stole one sweet, sugary kiss as she drew him into her orbit.  Even though she only glanced over her shoulder when he took her back home, he waited.  And hoped.  But two months later, Sage and Vincent announced their engagement and Michael knew he waited in vain.  He mustered the strength to achieve an escape velocity.  Even as he settled into his new trajectory around Emily, he felt Sage's gravitational pull.

But now Sage had succumbed to the cancer that had been wreaking havoc on her for four years.  Some would savor the freedom, but he felt as though he were careening through space.  Memories:  that's all he would have of her now.  Maybe that's all he ever had.

He pushed his chair away from the table and decided to go for a walk.  He had a craving for coffee from Veracruz.

Thanks so much for reading!  Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.  By the way, I adore constructive criticism