Barbara G. Tarn's Blog, page 114

Random Friday

An article about Author vs. Writer – on a random Friday because… here’s my own version:

Author is the writer of that one single literary masterpiece that won accolades, while Writer is the professional who lives off his royalties! ;)

I consider myself an author because I not only write, but also draw my own comics and graphic novels every now and then (although drawing is more a hobby/passion, writing is my calling).

So that’s why I consider myself an author. And a writer. And a hobbyist artist. Gee, these labels are confusing, LOL!

Maybe I should just say Creator… Although I already say I’m the Creative Goddess of Silvery Earth. Megalomaniac much? So? ;) Don’t worry, I’m actually human and are prone so self-doubt every now and then.

And since it’s Friday, I’ll let the artist talk today! Although Da Muses are for the AUTHOR, since they inspire both my writing and my drawing…

Of course I couldn’t do any drawings last weekend (but I will this weekend, mwhahahaha!), but I do have another nasty vignette on Da Muse – because he drives me crazy and can’t even call him Muse #2, because he’s becoming #1, so I’ll have to find another way to differentiate them, gaaah!

Anyhow, here’s the news doing the rounds lately, and my reaction.

I’d rather watch these animated GIFs for the rest of the day (or maybe the full videos) instead of the above… because he’s a man with moves! And when he dances I can’t take my eyes off of him! :D

The first to hit me on the head is, of course, Dhoom 2. All that video/song’s fault. And I didn’t even see it on a big screen, but on DVD. Laskhya and Krazzy 4 are still on my wishlist – maybe next month I’ll find them in Southall. Guzaarish – that’s the reason why I bought the movie: I saw that bit and said “I want it”. Kites and Luck By Chance – more favorites. Bang Bang is the only one I saw on the big screen. And Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai… well, he was young, but he could already move! :D

I could add a few more… but I’m going to shut up now. Back to writing! And drawing! Have a great weekend!

Writer Wednesday

So, I spent the weekend in Turin, meeting friends and – hear this! – buying a domain for Unicorn Productions! It’s not active yet, but I’m working on it with my webmaster. Sometime later this year I’ll be able to take a few things off this blog, close the Wix site for B.G. Hope and have everything in one place. Like a publisher. Because I’m a micro-publisher, it’s high time I have a real (static) web page!

Do not worry, blog follower, this blog won’t close down. The publisher page is for new releases and the newsletter and everything related to my published titles. This is still my private blog with random musings on everything and nothing. And there’s the (almost dead) Italian blog as well.�� So I will still delight you with these useless posts for a few more years – until I have fun doing it, that is! ;)

Since there was much commuting time (by train) and a few dead time, I used it to write. I finished another Silvery Earth novella (and you who are waiting to beta-reading it, have patience, I’m going through it one last time, I will probably send it next weekend instead of the last as I had promised!) and started on the new SMNG story about Astrid and David.

Which brought the third rewrite to another story that I must re-read this weekend to send it off to the editor on Monday – so busy weekend of editing two stories for April publication. And checking those Silvery Earth stories as well, to send them out to betas. And writing Astrid & David. And… I love this job. The writing part, I mean.

Writerly links: a simple way to create suspense and the importance of routines. And don’t forget you never stop learning. Take an online writing course if you can’t afford a trip to anywhere (Utah, Oregon). Don’t think you don’t need it because you only have high concept ideas – if you never sit down to write those high concept stories, when you do, you’ll find out your writing muscle has atrophied.

Have a great week! :)

Happiness is…

Sunday Surprise

And it’s a guest! Author of the month on Goodreads! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Luke F.D. Marsden – from this side of the pond for a change! :)

Where do you live and write from?

I live and work in the old Roman Spa town of Bath in Somerset, site of the UK’s only thermal springs. As well as writing at home, I like to write when I’m away in other places.

Why do you write?

I love to write both for the pure act of creating something, and because I know the impact that reading the right book at the right time can have. I have been influenced fundamentally at different points in my life by picking up the right books – sometimes by pure chance. Some of the fabulous places and people from those books stay with me vividly to this day. I think that the ability of literature, at its best, to unlock the power of the imagination makes it the most powerful art form. It can take you to places and situations that you would otherwise never experience. By writing, I strive to give something back of what I have experienced of the world, and to create works that will resonate with someone, somewhere.

When did you start writing?

I started writing quite late. It was in my mid twenties, when I was living in Barcelona, although I had written fragments before that. I was mainly interested in the sciences at a younger age, and came to discover literature properly a bit later on, at which point I immersed myself in it. I began to write my first short stories a few years later.

What genre(s) do you write?

My first novel – Wondering, the Way is Made – was not targeted at any particular genre. I would loosely categorise it, however, as a work of literary travel fiction. It is a tale of friendship in a crumbling world, that takes place in South America. The book I am currently working on is a collection of allegorical short stories relating to themes connected with the conscious and subconscious mind, so will be quite different. I haven’t thought about what genre that classifies as, yet!

What does your writing routine consist of?

The most important part of writing, the thinking, I do anywhere and at all times! I’m always turning over ideas in my mind and I carry a notepad (of the old school, paper, type) to make sure I don’t forget things. When the thinking and research are mostly done, and I’m ready to start writing, I make sure that I have at least one whole day free. Then I find somewhere quiet, free of distractions, and with luck, inspiring, and write a first draft in manuscript, leaving alternate pages blank for notes and filling in gaps. After that, it’ll be a process of making refinements with successive drafts, during one of which I’ll type everything up on a computer. Although I work a lot with computers I’m a bit of a luddite outside of that, so I try to avoid them as far as possible in my free time.

What do you feel are your strengths as a writer? How have you developed these qualities?

When I read the things I have written, these are the things I like about them:

Clarity of style – I’ve always been sparing with words, and I choose them carefully.

Insight – My travels around the world have taught me to see things from many perspectives.

Realism – I am a realist, by nature. I don’t shy away from seeing and describing things as they really are.

Authenticity – Almost everything in my novel Wondering, the Way is Made – each of the locations, anecdotes and events – draws its inspiration from my own personal experience or real occurrences of recent history, and in this sense they are authentic.

Hopefully that doesn���t all sound too high-falutin���!

Where do you find your inspiration? Do you put yourself in your stories?

I get inspired by travel. It’s a clich��, but the real world (or, should I say, the universe) is stranger and more exotic than fiction. You just have to go out and find stories and ideas – the whole universe is full of them. The beauty of fiction is that, as a writer, you can then adapt, adorn and embellish those stories and ideas without limits until you have captured whatever it is that you were seeking.

My characters are usually composites of people I know and have met, with a measure of artistic licence thrown in. I like to create them this way because, again, it lends authenticity. Of course, there is some of myself in some of my characters, but then there are elements of many other people, and a dash of imagination as well.

Outliner or improviser? Fast or slow writer?

I’m a mixture of both, I usually outline, say, the first half of a book or story, then start to write it and let it develop as I go.

I am a slow writer. There is no word that goes into any of my work without consideration of its real meaning and nuance, and I will go over any given passage numerous times before I am completely happy with it.

Tell us about your latest book

I published my first novel – Wondering, the Way is Made – in November 2014. I first got the idea for it when I was in Kerala, India, in the summer of 2011. There was a deadly heatwave at that time in the US and it was the summer of riots in the UK. From a distance I watched and, with a small step of the imagination, envisioned what it would be like if things degenerated to the point where it was no longer worth returning home. I eventually came to write the book three years later, while I was in South America.

The story takes place in various locations in Latin America in the very near future, against a backdrop of serious climate change and societal upheaval. A band of good friends are brought together by fate in Argentina, and they journey across the South American continent in a camper van looking for a quiet place to ride out the adverse events that are occurring globally.

The book also carries a deeper message – it is an attempt to capture something of the essence of the frivolity and self-indulgence of our time, and I found that peering into the near future was a good way of doing this. Its heroes and heroines represent a generation in microcosm. They are nice people, sympathetic, but upon reflection perhaps not quite as sympathetic as they appear. They lament the demise of society and the planet, quite rightly, but there is nothing in their actions that absolves them from the very things they criticize others for. They are products of a ‘Me’ society, they are, at times, wasteful, irresponsible, largely unmoved by the poverty they see as they travel through Latin America, and over-privileged in some cases. However, the fact remains that they are also gentle, thoughtful, honest, very likeable and humorous, which makes it easy to overlook their flaws and shortcomings. The book carries the message that, collectively, humans can be quite selfish, even if individually they are nice people. It also explores the question of what to do and where to go when the warm embrace of civilization, and the comfort of a future that is certain, begin to fall apart.

Wondering, the Way is Made can be found in the following places:

Amazon:��http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wondering-Way-Made-Luke-Marsden-ebook/dp/B00PENF6HU

Smashwords:��http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/491732

Barnes & Noble:��http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wondering-the-way-is-made-luke-f-d-marsden/1120736997

Kobo:��http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/wondering-the-way-is-made

Goodreads:��http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23549627-wondering-the-way-is-made

Indie publishing or traditional publishing – and why?

I think that the great advantage that independent publishing has over traditional publishing is that the independent writer is not beholden to any publishing house, editor, or anything, other than themselves, and therefore has the ability to write works for their artistic merit alone. I would draw a loose analogy with organic versus processed food. There is a lot of superb writing talent outside of the traditional publishing machine. This said, I have read a great deal of excellent traditionally published works, so it’s difficult to generalise.

Any other projects in the pipeline?

Yes! As mentioned briefly in an earlier question, the book I am currently working on is a collection of allegorical short stories with a loose thread connecting them. I studied some neuroscience when I was at university, and have been fascinated by consciousness ever since then – the stories will explore themes around this. The book is pretty well progressed and I hope to get it out later this year.

What is your goal as a writer and what are you doing to achieve it?

Before I published my first book, I always said that if I managed to write something that touched the life of just one person, somewhere, then I would have achieved my goal as a writer. Since Wondering, the Way is Made was published, I have been lucky enough to receive a lot of positive feedback and encouraging comments from readers. So, in that sense, I have already achieved my goal. Anything from here is a bonus.

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

It was when I was in my mid-twenties, and I was in Canada talking to a stand-up comic after his show. I expressed my desire to write seriously and he said something along the lines of: ���You���re not going to like what I���m going to tell you, but listen: The best thing you can do for your writing is to go away for five years and do something else. Then start writing after you turn thirty. The difference? Well, the difference will be that, then, you���ll have credibility. Nobody listens to anyone under the age of thirty…���

While I didn���t take his words literally, they did set me thinking, and I determined that I wouldn���t write unless I really had something worthwhile to write about, and for that to happen I needed to have done things that gave me something worthwhile to write about. It is important, in these times of overwhelming information overload, that your words do not just add to the noise, but stand out above it. They must give whoever reads them something that is born of inspiration, and something that has come from the heart.

Find Luke on Goodreads and Author Central UK.

Random Friday

As promised, here are the unused covers of the next generation (Jo, don’t drool on the second!). Very quickly done by throwing together different drawings. The only one that might look like the final one is Kay-low’s.

Left to right: Chibi, Dadina and Shan-leo. Wim and Dadina. Jay-lee and Kay-low. They’d probably end on the Lousy Book Covers blog as they are… (like Technological Angel did…)

I put the red bands to make them similar to the Star Minds Snippets stories (that had blue bands, see?)

but then, since I won’t publish them separately… and Kay-low is not included in the Diaries anymore… I can toy with it for�� another month, LOL!

The final covers for Star Minds Next Generation Diaries and Star Minds Chasing Stardom will be similar to the Star Minds Next Generation cover (same artist)! :)

Now back to writing… Have a great weekend! :)

Writer Wednesday

Seems I can’t let go of Star Minds Next Generation – I’m supposed to write something else this month, LOL! I got SMNG Diaries back from the editor and was thinking of publishing parts of it before the full thing comes out sometimes at the end of the month or maybe beginning of April but…

I hate the covers I made – I might post them on Friday as unused covers – and in one instance the piece is too short (it’s not a novella), so… I don’t know. Since I like the cover for Kay-low’s novella, I’ll publish that one on its own, but I’m post-poning since I decided to add another chapter/epilogue and I’ll have to send it for proofreading… It incorporates the final bonus story and a wedding (although not Kay-low’s).

Not to mention the fact that I had another idea for another member of the next generation, so I’m shifting stories around again. Maybe I’ll put Kay-low in another book and leave Diaries for Shan-leo and Dadina only. So many stories to write, so many decisions to make… sigh!

For your information, here’s how European VAT affects sales. This is a screenshot of my Smashwords dashboard – the only two sales so far. It’s the same title, Italian and English version. And yes, it’s a 99cent short story (that’s why I don’t want to put out more of these, not worth the hassle).

As you can see, the price to the consumer is the same, but my earnings plummet. So even if I keep selling that title on Amazon Italia, I’m not making much (add to that the Kindle policy of 35% royalties on 99cents stories – I earn 20cents for each on Amazon)…

I’ll leave you with the link about the perils of the paperless office – I’m the one who lost a novel to a floppy disk, so I’m very happy Dropbox seems to be working (but I do backup on external drives as well every now and then). And I know at least another writer friend *waves at Nikalee* who lost her writing to an old PC… So, either keep a printed version or backup frequently! :)

Have a great week!

Happiness is…

Which was repeated this last month with Kobo royalties (again for the electric bill)! :)

Sunday Surprise

And it’s a guest! And an old friend, since her first interview came out with her first book that I loved (and it came out before more famous shades of gray was published – and it’s a completely different genre!)! So, here we are again, almost five years later, another six books for a great series I keep recommending whenever someone asks me. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back fellow indie author and beta swapper Joleene Naylor!

Where do you live and write from?

We recently moved back to southwest Iowa, which is where I grew up at it. There are things I miss about southern Missouri, like the warmth, but there are things I���m enjoying. Like autumn was much autumn-ier here. The change of location hasn���t had any impact on my writing, except that the moving and house renovations put me behind.

Why do you write?

Hmmm. Everyone asks this question and I usually give one of the standard answers, but the truth is I don���t know. I took a writing break for a few years and I got back into it because I wanted to join a Harry Potter fan fiction/role play group. Then I started the vampire series because I wanted to write something dark���I guess I write because I can.

When did you start writing?

I used to write ���books��� when I was a kid, which went into my teenage and early adult years. (I have several novels stacked up in notebooks) but as I mentioned above I quit for a while and it was the Harry Potter Fans Around the Globe Yahoo group that got me going again. Wow, looking back on it those first few posts were terrible! It just shows if you don���t use it, you lose it.

What genre(s) do you write?

Speculative fiction. I have vampire series Amaranthine, but I have been considering doing a second fantasy series on the side if I ever get time, and then there is the meg project I have with a co-author. We may never finish it but by God we���ve made a go at it.

What does your writing routine consist of?

I need a routine, but alas it���s all very random. Everything I do is random. Sometimes I think a schedule would be great, but I never manage to stick to one.

What do you feel are your strengths as a writer? How have you developed these qualities?

I���m good at torturing characters. I���d actually like to torture them more than I do, but I try to stay lower key. I think that���s why the unpublished Patrick prequel had issues from beta readers ��� because I torture him a LOT.

Where do you find your inspiration? Do you put yourself in your stories?

This is where I am supposed to tell you about all the vampire series I read, but truth is I���m bad and I don���t. Most of my inspiration comes from anime. I���d love to see the Amaranthine series as anime or manga.

Outliner or improviser? Fast or slow writer?

Improviser most of the time. If I do an outline I feel like I���ve already written the book. And I���m slow. Mind numbingly slow. Probably because I lack that writing routine���

Tell us about your latest book

Clash of Legends is the seventh book in the series. It���s the end of a story arc and wraps up a lot of things that readers have been waiting for. Or I hope they���ve been waiting for it. For new readers, it could be read as a standalone if you don���t want to invest in six previous books.

The explosive seventh installment in the Amaranthine series brings blood, ruin, despair, and hope, for even in the darkest night there is still a moon.

After the battle in Indonesia. Katelina wakes in Samael���s domain. Though her memories are tattered, she knows someone is missing: Jorick.

Her vampire lover gathers an army to save her from the ancient, but his master Malick interferes. For five hundred years Malick has manipulated and ruined Jorick���s life. When he leaves Katelina broken and bleeding in the bowels of his oasis, it���s the final straw.

While Malick sets up his glorious war with a living legend, Jorick plans the ultimate taboo: to kill his master. He���s tried before and failed. Will this be different, or will he and Katelina be crushed in the carnage of a greater battle, between two whose blood goes back millennia?

Links:

amazon –�� http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TR7IA36

B&N –�� http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121251968?ean=2940046584363

smashwords –�� http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/520737

apple –�� https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/clash-of-legends/id968843228?mt=11&uo=4

kobo –�� https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/clash-of-legends

Indie publishing or traditional publishing – and why?

Indie. I like to control everything, and this way I can.

Any other projects in the pipeline?

I���m planning to rework that Patrick sequel I mentioned and give it away to people on my mailing list (you can sign up at http://www.joleenenaylor.com/books/newsletter.php ), There���s a short story collection I���d like to finish (Tales of the Executioners), and then the eighth book, of course. There are some people who think I should quit the series after the next book because it���s too many books for one series. What do you think?

What is your goal as a writer and what are you doing to achieve it?

I���m going to be honest again. I don���t ever expect to make a living from my books ��� it was hard before and is only getting harder. Many traditionally published authors don���t make a living wage, and there are even fewer indies who do. I just want to know that there are people who enjoy my stories. Sure, I���d like there to be hundreds, but you know what? When I had seven fans I was happy, too. So as long as people are enjoying it I���ll keep plugging along.

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

That���s a tough question. I guess the best is to never give up and not to expect too much. Having goals is great, but none of us will be the next Stephen King just by putting a book on Smashwords. Be realistic, and then work towards whatever your goal is, whether it is to be the next Stephen King or just to entertain people.

About Joleene

author blog: http://joleenenaylor.wordpress.com/

FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/joleenenaylorbooks

twitter http://twitter.com/joleene_naylor

website- http://JoleeneNaylor.com

good reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3165393.Joleene_Naylor

facebook profile – http://facebook.com/joleene.naylor

pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/joleenenaylor/boards/

google + – https://plus.google.com/102925915756209535618/posts

Random Friday

I almost skipped this one to. Heh. Well, if I get fed up, I can always blog weekly instead of every other day. Just to keep it regular, I mean. With this month I finish the new Happiness Is… anyway, so from April I’ll start from the beginning again. For the second time.

Unless I make the strip a weekly feature. Except I wrote only 44 until now, so it wouldn’t last a year. Besides, some of them are probably personal jokes that nobody but me would get, so… I don’t know when I’ll start publishing them.

But what started for fun will probably become some kind of extra, or behind the scenes, or the author’s life and brainstorming with Da Muses which can be added as special thingy to either newsletter subscribers or at the end of a collectors edition or I don’t know yet. Maybe a Patreon reward. Still working on that.

For now I’ll just give a preview of the last 3 strips – they should be all colored in the final version.

And since it’s sort of Art Friday… I did another pencil portrait last weekend. Might do another this weekend, who knows. If I’m not too busy rewriting and editing! ;)

Writer Wednesday

So, I’m quickly finishing the last sci-fi stories to get back to Silvery Earth. I didn’t write all the stories I wanted in the past two months, but I’ll have another bout of sci-fi later in the year! :) In the meantime, Star Minds Next Generation Diaries is with the editor and I’m working on covers. I’ll probably publish Kay-low’s story first, and then the whole SMNG companion.

I’m also waiting since I submitted one of the Diaries as last minute entry for a traditional magazine, but they haven’t rejected it yet. Which might mean they’re overwhelmed with submissions and still haven’t gotten to it – or I have a chance of publication. In the latter case, I’ll have to pull it out of SMNG Diaries and add it back in later this year when I do the POD version.

Did anyone notice the Sunday Surprise? Yep, no post! ;) I have run out of guests and had just done the words of wisdoms the previous Sunday, so I skipped a post… So if you’re an author and would like to be interviewed on this blog or have one of your characters interviewed, drop me a line. I’ll have the usual Author of the Month soon, and a special guest at the end of the month, but the rest is pretty much free…

Some writerly links: from Kobo Writing Life 11 tips for promoting your book. And in case you haven’t heard, it’s Read and Ebook Week – but I’m not participating this year. For the first time since I started publishing on Smashwords (way back in 2011) I won’t join the bandwagon. I might discount my books for a limited time, but not when everybody else is doing it – so if you’re interested, keep an eye on this blog! ;)

That’s part of my new marketing strategy, along with higher e-book prices, something even David Farland now suggests (I guess spending one week with Dean and Kris helped, LOL!). And submitting to traditional magazines, although I haven’t yet (except for that last minute submission). I’m still working on those stories, but this month I hope to submit a few.

Finally, did you see Joe Konrath on Kindle Worlds? I will have to check his Timecaster series, just in case… I don’t write mysteries or thriller – yet. I have tonz of SFF to write first, then maybe I’ll experiment in those genres! ;) It’s sort of out of my comfort zone, so I want to do it eventually, but not in somebody else’s world – although I might try with Barry Eisler’s John Rain, the short story I read was great. Still need to find time to read the novels, though.

Anyhow, that’s all for today! :) Have a great week!