Sarah E. Glenn's Blog, page 23

Book Launch is Saturday. Wrists May Not Survive Intact.

My book launch is this Saturday. I'm excited. Thrilled. Ready to cut my wrists. Planning to wear a dress that puts the 'ho' in horror. I did a guest blog at Working Stiffs on the two-author household. Excited. Thrilled. Ready to cut my wrists. Got featured in The Vampire Review. Excited. Thrilled. Ready to cut my wrists.

You've probably clued into the pattern here. Since my book hit the press, I've been running around in circles and squawking, mostly to my wife. I can't think, I can't concentrate, and even the simplest things make me want to sit down and cry. I know Gwen has to forgive me, because she did the same things last year when Circle of Dishonor came out. I didn't strangle her, so she's obligated not to strangle me (right?).

Anyway: The launch party for All This and Family, Too is at The Morris Book Shop this Saturday, June 18th, at 2 PM. The Morris Book Shop is located at 408 Southland Drive in Lexington, Kentucky. There will be light refreshments, wine, and some soft drinks.

Please come to my book launch so I can feel loved. And maybe not cut my wrists, although it would get me on the 6 o'clock news. They say that all press is good press...

Addendum: Since my last post here, a shamefully long time ago, I was also featured on Savvy Authors. My post, 'Pitching Woo-Woo', offers advice to writers on incorporating paranormal elements in their stories. I have two other guest posts coming up in the next couple of weeks. My frazzled brain may be forgetting something, though. Check my publicist's page: she is better at keeping track of me than I am. Yes, I have a vampire publicist. Her rates are very reasonable, as long as my blood holds out.

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Various: Medical Mysteries, An Interview, Open to Guest Posts, etc.

If you like medical mysteries, check out my guest blog on Gwen's page. I examine the types of villains featured in stories by authors like Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, and Michael Palmer. Please note that Gwen is open to guest posts by writers other than her wife, so if you'd like to do a post for her, pop over and let her know.Good eReader featured an article earlier this week on the opportunities e-publishing has created for LGBT authors. I am one of the people who provided input, and I'm very proud of that. E-publishing and POD publishing have created many opportunities for LBGT stories to actually see 'print'. Less cost = more publishers willing to take a risk.Also: I am opening this blog to guest posts by other authors. I prefer that they pertain to mystery, horror, or vampires, unless I happen to know and like you. I prefer that the whole post be under 600 words, excluding a short bio and blurb. Expect me to correct the use of your/you're, it's/its, egregious misspellings and other grammatical pet peeves you manage to find. No slamming of other writers or anyone who might sue me. Also: if you disapprove of gays and lesbians... it won't be a good fit. Gwen and I have opened a store on Second Life. It's on Book Island, and is named Odd Women. Right now, it only has our books, but we'd like to include books by selected other authors. Are you reading this, Marian Allen?Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology is now available in ePub format. Visit Wildside Press to download it! If you don't like my story, there's 21 others that might be more to your liking.State of Horror: Louisiana is now on Smashwords. It's available in many more formats now, so if you'd like to see my funny Lovecraft tribute... just sayin'.--

Interview: Uncle Phineas of The Eel

Welcome to the inaugural guest interview on Sinister Scribblings! In keeping with the gravity and moment of this -er- moment, we have a Very Special Guest as our first interviewee.

I'd like to introduce you to Uncle Phineas, one of The Eel's most prominent priests of Holy Sweet Micah. If you haven't heard of Holy Sweet Micah or The Eel, you haven't been getting around enough. Uncle Phineas has been kind enough to answer some theological questions for those who are unchurched.

What were your reasons for entering the priesthood?I was reared by solid middle-class parents who attended a "true" temple regularly until I was ten. That year, one of those fashion fads swept through the area, this one being for stucco, and my parents' plastering business became highly profitable and highly stylish. They decided we needed to transfer to a more modish temple with -- shall we say -- a clientèle they wished to share.

You will, without question, be as skeptical as everyone else to hear I entered the priesthood to recover the simplicity and sincerity of that first "true" experience. Sadly, my appearance and manner mitigate against me. I am not liked. I am not trusted. You needn't doubt me, just because I smile when I say it.

What is your personal opinion on the issue of mermayd souls?
In my personal opinion, anyone who has money has a soul. I can't substantiate the theology of that statement, but the financial soundness is beyond dispute.

Some faiths believe that reward and punishment are given in the afterlife for one's deeds during their time spent in the world. How does your temple deal with human frailty? How does Holy Sweet Micah mitigate punishment for one's sins?
The teaching of Holy Sweet Micah says nothing about the afterlife or reward and punishment. The "true" temples stick to the teaching as it has been handed down to us, with the addition of the legend of Micah's appearance walking on the sea after his death by drowning. The thrusts of the "true" branch of the church are self-knowledge and compassion. It was left to the "reavers" to give people what they want: a clear set of rights and wrongs and a comprehensive payment schedule to cover all contingencies. Most people find their consciences salved by regular temple attendance and tithing. For those who suspect this may not be enough to -- as you put it -- mitigate punishment in the hereafter we reavers hold out as a terrible possibility, indulgences are available in return for cash or in-kind payment. Our temple, for example, has some lovely new stained-glass windows obtained in ways we will not question by parishioners we will not name.

Could you address the differences between the so called "true priest" and the your order? What are the differences in training and beliefs? In what ways are your followers more or less faithful than those of the true priest?
I've addressed some of this already. The training is the same. Everyone attends the same seminaries. Everyone is trained in the deep reading of the teaching. Everyone is trained in what you would call psychology. If one is called to the "true" priesthood, one becomes more-or-less what you would call a therapist, helping congregants find the balance in their lives and serenity of spirit through, as I said, self-knowledge and compassion. Those drawn to the reaver life will generally serve under a chief priest or, if he or she is fortunate, will be set up in his or her own temple by a wealthy family.

A reaver's followers are far more faithful than a "true" priest's, because followers of the traditional teaching aren't required to attend services, to consult priests or to contribute anything toward the upkeep of any priest or temple. A reaver's followers are generally invested in being considered a member in good standing of a fashionable temple. It's a matter of status to attend, to tithe and to contribute in additional ways. I dine out most evenings, for example, and dine well. The only drawback is that one temple might go out of fashion as another is considered more modish. It can be tricky, keeping ahead of the pack. I'm happy to say I've always found personal visits to leading parishioners sufficiently effective.

Please feel free to join me on my Facebook page. You'll be asked to say you Like me. If lying bothers you, the indulgence for that particular transgression is on a low, low special while the offer stands.

Uncle Phineas
Priest of Micah

Phineas Rules!

To follow the adventures of Uncle Phineas, be sure to pick up Eel's Reverence. Marian Allen is his biographer, although we are certain that Our Special Guest does not always appreciate the light she casts him in.

All This and Family, Too - NOW AVAILABLE!

NOW AVAILABLE!The waiting is over! It's a good thing, too: patience isn't my strong suit. I thought I would explode...

All This and Family, Too is now available from Amazon and Pill Hill Press.

I even have my first review. Drop in on Amazon and read it!

What's a Girl to Do?

I've been wondering what to post on here. I've heard that 'normal people' don't follow blogs that only offer updates about the author, but my non-me writing efforts are currently being directed towards the guest blogs that will start coming out with the release of my book (yay!). You can find some of my blog tour dates here. I expect to be updating this page with more locations soon.

At least it doesn't affect my ability to do book reviews. I wanted to become an author because I love reading. Who wouldn't want to produce something so wonderful on their own? Even now, I manage to squeeze a little reading in.

So, let me tell you what is going on with All This and Family, Too. I've returned the final proof of the book to Pill Hill Press, and it's set for publication on May 1st. Think I'm wired for sound yet?



Let's just say that my co-workers think I'm drinking too much caffeine.

As the countdown to my book's release proceeds, the countdown to the Goodreads Drawing for a free advance copy of my book also proceeds. It ends this coming week, so enter before it's too late!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway








All This and Family, Too


by Sarah E. Glenn



Giveaway ends April 30, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.




Enter to win

Review: Other Eyes

Other Eyes by Barbara D'Amato

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This thriller begins with an arresting scene: a baby crawls across several lanes of traffic on I-90 in Chicago. The baby is saved, but police detective Tommy Pollard no idea of who he is or where his parents are.

Unfortunately, we're not going to return to the baby for a while. Instead, we are introduced to Blue Eriksen, an archaeologist with controversial ideas. We eventually figure out - fifty pages into the book - that she is the baby's mother.

Then, there's the dread assassin the FBI agents are pursuing. Felix Hacker is in Chicago for some reason, and it can't be good. FBI agent Marcus plans to catch him with the help of other agents, but Hacker slips out of town after several stupid mistakes on the parts of the locals.

We bounce between Blue blithely planning research in Peru and the Keystone Kop action... what about the baby? Eventually, we get back to Detective Pollard, who is more astute than the group chasing the assassin. He traces the baby's trail back to Blue's house, where he finds that the father, Blue's ex-husband, has been murdered.

Eighty pages into the book, Blue discovers that her baby is the one everybody has been talking about. This pretty much sets the pace of the novel.

Blue clears things up with the police - she was being interviewed about her controversial theories at the time of the murder, so she has an ironclad alibi. Then, we travel to Peru with her.

The trip is highly educational for the reader. We learn a bit about modern Peru, but we learn more about the ancient Peruvians. Blue likes to visualize how the skeletons they discover wound up in their current condition, so we are treated to several vignettes of the lives of these ancients.

Oh, and there's a cartel that's trying to get the drug dealers in Mexico on the same page. By the way, they hired Hacker to kill Blue because she thinks hallucinogens might be able to cure drug addiction.

Hacker's still trying to kill Blue. After a failed attempt to kill her with a rockslide, it becomes a matter of principle for him to complete the job.

One of Blue's fellow professors is killed in the slide. His brother works in Europe, solving art crimes. The latest theft was inspired by a story written by Jacques Futrelle. Fortunately, the brother is also familiar with the story.

Blue goes on to Turkey. More research, more vignettes. She finds out that the rockslide was no accident, so she calls in the brother for assistance. More intrigue follows... but first, the baby's birthday party.

Barbara D'Amato has a great track record as an author, but I had serious problems finishing this novel. There were so many intervening scenes and situations, the thread - and, more importantly, the excitement - of the main plot was lost again and again. And I'm speaking as someone who likes history, archaeology, and mystery religions.

I enjoyed D'Amato's writing style and the information on the ancient cultures... but there was too much education and not enough time spent on the central plot. Fans of archaeology may enjoy this book, but if you're expecting a James Bond-style caper with a secretive crime cartel and a relentless assassin, prepare to be frustrated.

View all my reviews

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Sorta-Kinda Convention Schedule

Yes, it's been a while since I posted. I've thought about posting, but my little gray cells have been busy elsewhere, mostly working with my wife to determine our schedule for the rest of the year. I'm sending out ARCs, and have received the final-final copy from Pill Hill of my novel, All This and Family, Too. I have a couple of short stories I should be hearing about, now that their submission deadlines have passed.

So... the schedule so far:

April:
Gwen is presenting at Authorfest in Schaumburg, IL next Saturday. I'll be tagging along, but not speaking. If you like historical fiction, you'll like her presentation AND her writing.

June:
Gwen and I will be attending the Golden Crown Literary Society conference in Orlando, FL. We're con "Virgins", so I'm expecting to be sacrificed.

July:
We'll be at FandomFest in Louisville, KY. Come on down to see the zombies!

September:
15 - 18: Bouchercon in St Louis, MO. Gwen and I both hope to be on panels, but there's a lot of competition. We're already scoping barbecue places.
23 - 25: Scarefest in Lexington, KY. Not sure who the headliner will be, but it was George Romero last year!

October:
22: A Day of Mystic Blood Lust in Lexington, KY. See the trailer below for more info:



We really wish we could afford to go to Magna cum Murder this year (28-30), but we just don't have the money. I'm especially sorry since Parnell Hall is the featured guest.

November:
12th: I hope to have a berth at the Kentucky Book Fair in Frankfort.

We hope to see you at one or more of these gatherings!
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Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology

I've spent so much time talking about State of Horror: Louisiana and my upcoming novel, I neglected to mention a side project I was involved in with the SinC Guppies. The Guppies sent out a call to its ranks a while back: send us your best stories with a fish theme for inclusion in our first anthology. The stories were blind-judged by the members, and I was flattered to make the final cut against very tough competition.

Wildside Press accepted the collection of stories earlier this year, and Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology will be out in print before Malice Domestic. It's already available on Mobipocket and should soon be on sale elsewhere.

My tale, "New Age Old Story", takes place in Asheville, North Carolina - the city of my birth. It involves a lovelorn lesbian detective, an aquarium owner who paints auras, a dead councilman, and a lavender fedora. I hope you'll consider picking up this collection.

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Review: A Heartbeat Away

A Heartbeat Away by Michael Palmer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


As Michael Palmer's books rise in popularity, he raises the stakes higher and higher. His earlier books focused on doctors running afoul of conspiracies in their local hospital; now, his writing eye is fixed on terrorism and government conspiracies - with a medical twist, of course.

In A Heartbeat Away, the first physician we meet is the President of the United States. James Allaire is preparing to give the first State of the Union address of his second term. Among the issues he plans to focus on - in front of his assembled allies and enemies - is terrorism, most notably that of Genesis, which appears to be a home-grown left-wing cadre. As he makes his opening remarks, small explosions occur throughout the crowd. Genesis has planted a Level Four virus, WRX3883, around the congressional chamber, and everyone there has just been exposed to it.

The back cover of Heartbeat lists the presidential order of succession. This becomes relevant quite quickly. Everyone listed in that order was at the address except, ironically, the Secretary of Homeland Security. Palmer lets the reader know that at least one person in the line of succession must be away during such events because of revolting developments like this.

Allaire knows the virus is highly lethal; he discontinued the government's development of it after it was stolen. It acts like SARS with a side helping of Ebola is also contagious. He must control the panic in the Chamber - and seal the building. No one gets in, no one gets out. The scientist who headed the WRX3883 project is missing. Her subordinate, Griffin Rhodes, is in prison for stealing the virus.

Rhodes is the only chance they have. Allaire promises him a presidential pardon if he comes up with a cure. The secret lab has been reopened and his old lab assistant will be waiting for him. Rhodes demands a witness. He was framed for the theft and railroaded into prison. He doesn't trust the president. Angela Fletcher, a reporter for the Washington Post, will follow Rhodes and make sure that no one changes 'fact into fiction'. That, and every drama needs a love interest.

The newly freed Rhodes goes to work on finding a cure. Angela tries to locate the missing WRX3883 project head. Genesis, which has eyes and ears everywhere, targets the would-be saviors. Meanwhile, they've contacted the Speaker of the House and offered her the cure – and the Presidency – if she cooperates with their demands. It makes for a barrel of fun.

I like stories with a medical angle, and Palmer gives us a taste of the science involved, doing a good job of explaining the research and aspects of human biology without going into pages of jargon. Are there some five-dollar words in there? Yes, but you can speed-bump over the worst parts or fire up Google. Don't worry, he gets back to the story quickly.

I also enjoyed the political backstabbing that began almost immediately. Palmer does not identify his office holders by party affiliation and does his best to avoid making them resemble their real-life counterparts. I couldn't suppress a snicker, though, when the senior senator from my state ran afoul of the Secret Service. It was only fiction, after all…

I initially had problems 'buying' a group like Genesis: left-wing terrorists of this magnitude? I'm sure there are violent loons on the left; it's their level of organization that bothers me. Genesis is not what it seems, though. I'll leave it at that.

What I would have liked: a little more medicine. There are seven hundred infected patients, but we don't see much of how WRX3883 affects them or what's being done to help them. A scene where Doctor Allaire was treating a sick congressman would have been nice. He should have been berating himself the entire time, too. Presidents sometimes have to do vile things for the best interests of all, but he should have regrets.

Another problem: Allaire's political enemies are too one-sided. They hate him – no surprise – but most villains see themselves as the heroes. They also have personal principles and agendas. Perhaps Palmer didn't want to get into those because then we could 'peg' them politically, but at the very least they should have families and people they worry about. The Speaker's actions at the end were too over-the-top for me. Perhaps, if Palmer had shown her being more affected by the illness, it would have helped.

Spoiler alert for my biggest complaint: the virus WRX3883 was being developed in the first place because it had a side effect that worked better than truth serum and also dissolved self-control. It would have made it damned hard for the Speaker to conceal what she'd done with the Vice President. The arguments that would have ensued when everyone began telling the truth could have also been damned interesting.

Overall, though, I found A Heartbeat Away to be a good read. It's not my favorite of his works, but it has plenty of action and keeps you turning the page.

View all my reviews

The Goodreads ARC Giveaway!

Good news! I have a box of advanced reading copies of All This and Family, Too. Most of them are slated for specific reviewers, but TWO are being given away on Goodreads. When, you ask? Now.

You - yes, you - could win a free copy of my book for Beltane. Details are below:

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Goodreads Book Giveaway








All This and Family, Too


by Sarah E. Glenn



Giveaway ends April 30, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.




Enter to win




Naturally, I would appreciate it if the winners would be kind enough to review the book, or at least assign it a few stars on Goodreads after they read the story. It's not required, though.

Come on and enter!

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