R.B. Wood's Blog, page 32
April 14, 2012
Upcoming Re-release of The Prodigal’s Foole
Quite a few of my followers have asked recently why The Prodigal’s Foole has disappeared from Amazon, B&N and other sites. I assure you nothing nefarious is going on!
I signed with the wonderful folks over at Pfoxchase on April 14th 2011. This was a one year contract that expires as of today. My wonderful publisher, Diane Nelson and I agreed a few months ago that we’d be going our separate ways. This was purely a business decision on both of our parts and we remain friends (and if I can pry Diane away from all her work and writing for a few hours, and upcoming Word Count Podcast will be featuring her and her latest release—it will be a great show so look out for it).
Above everything else, publishing is a business. Diane and I began as friends and remain so. But that’s because we made sure to handle the business portion of our relationship in a highly professional manor.
This is so important for writers to understand…while the work we do is creative in nature, writing for public consumption is supposed to be a money-making enterprise. I have a bit of an edge here as I’m about to start my 30th year in the business world. As Tom Hagen said in The Godfather: “This is business, not personal.”
Pfoxchase and I leave our relationship on the best of terms.
So hopefully this puts to bed the speculation.
Now, with Diane and her team’s help, The Prodigal’s Foole will be re-released on APRIL 20th as an independent title…something I’m totally psyched about!
I found a WONDERFUL cover artist by the name of Kip Ayers, and he and I worked on a completely new cover for the book. In fact, he and I will be working together again for book 2 of The Arcana Chronicles in the next month or so.
Next week, TPF will be back out at Amazon for Kindle and Paperback. The second edition will be FREE on Kindle for a few days, and I’ll shout to the heavens when it’s ready for download.
With all that said, I thought I’d debut the new cover for you today so you too can enjoy Kip’s work. Oh, and the stunningly AWESOME and beautiful Pat Tallman of Babylon 5 fame gave me permission to use her quote on the cover. How cool is that?
Peace
April 1, 2012
Book Review: FIGHTING GRAVITY
FIGHTING GRAVITY by Leah Petersen
I was privileged and honored to have been one of the 'beta readers' for Leah Petersen's Fighting Gravity, so I watched the development of the story for some time.
Yes, this is a science fiction story. But the talented Ms. Petersen blends the fantastical with a well thought-out tale spanning the desperate slums in a future Mexico City to the brilliantly depicted palace entrapments that the initially impoverished Jake soon finds himself in.
The scenery is painted with a brilliance that is both subtitle and amazing. The plot is intricately woven into a tapestry that will grab you from the first chapter and not let you go.
But the shining star of Fighting Gravity is the detailed characters, their interactions and reactions. You get to know these people. You care for them. You celebrate their triumphs and cry at the tragedies.
The love story within has the feel of a real relationship, with all the passion, anger, joy and disappointments that a true love affair has.
Spectacularly told, I highly recommend Fighting Gravity—not just for fans of SciFi, but for readers who truly enjoy discovering a world for themselves.
March 25, 2012
The Word Count Episode 24 is now LIVE!
Welcome to Episode 24 of "The Word Count" podcast!
A smaller show this week with the theme: "The urn you picked up in a garage sale still contains ashes..."
Three stories and three talented writers join us this week!
A reminder:
#IndiesUnite4Joshua is still going strong and we're over the half-way mark! To help out head to:
http://www.indiegogo.com/indiesuniteforjoshua
Links to the show:
Direct: http://thewordcount.libsyn.com/webpage
iTunes (and remember, iTunes takes their sweet time in posting. If you don't see it yet, keep trying!): http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-word-count/id392550989
Our guests this week:
KIMBERLY GOULD
Author of Cargon: Honour and Privilege, mother of a five year old with imaginary friends and wife to her non-imaginary husband. She is now working on her follow up anthology entitled Spring into Summer.
Connect with her via her Website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
Website: http://Kimmydonn.com
Twitter: @kimmydonn
CARL PLUMER
Carl earned an MA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook University. His short stories have appeared in The Book Times Blink | Ink, Black Lantern Publishing, The Foghorn Magazine, Girls with Insurance, Static Movement, and elsewhere.
Twitter: @carlplumer
Website: http://www.carlplumer.com
C. THOMAS SMITH
"I lost my mind some time ago and am putting up a fifty cent reward for anyone who finds and brings it back, fifty one cent for anyone who squishes it mercilessly. It looks a lot like a walnut / cephalopod hybrid and answers to the name of Trixie. Approach with caution. Or just throw rocks at it from a safe distance."
Twitter: @KRSTVR
Website: krstvr.com
March 16, 2012
Submissions for the next WORD COUNT PODCAST are now OPEN!
The Word Count Podcast Episode 24.
Ah…now we are back to the creepy themes that seem to be a staple here at The Word Count. As a Dark Urban Fantasy writer, I say "Good on ya!"
Without further waffling, the theme for the next show is:
"The urn you picked up in a garage sale still contains ashes..."
Submission guidelines below. I expect stories that will keep me awake at night!
Submission Guidelines (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
PROMPT: "The urn you picked up in a garage sale still contains ashes..."
GENRE: Any.
DEADLINE: I must receive your submission by MIDNIGHT (Eastern Time) Friday 23th March 2012
THE DETAILS: The work must be an original of yours. It could be a poem, short story, song---anything really as long as you write something based on the stated theme ("The urn you picked up in a garage sale still contains ashes...") Do NOT exceed ten minutes. As this is a podcast, I need to receive a file of YOU, a friend or multiple friends reading (singing or otherwise performing) your work. MP3 FORMAT ONLY, and please attach your MP3 file to an e-mail. The e-mail should also contain the following:
Your pen name
Your latest bio
Links to your websites
Your Twitter name (if you have one)
A photo I can use for the show notes
Permission to use your recording in the podcast
At the end of the recording, please add the following: "The is <YOUR NAME> author of <YOUR WORK(s)> and you're listening to The Word Count Podcast"
Send your file to me@rbwood.com by Friday the 23rd of March. You can also e-mail me with questions before hand. I do reserve the right NOT to post your submission, but will communicate that to you should it be the case. I add the 'Explicit' tag to the 'cast, so if your story uses adult themes or language that's ok—but it should be necessary for the story.
Get writing and recording!
March 10, 2012
YOU select the Theme for the next WORD COUNT PODCAST!
Well, it certainly is that time...time for a new podcast I mean!
Off to the left is a poll to select the next them for the Word Count Podcast
(For previous shows, notes and links--click HERE)
So what to choose this time around? Well, pick from the following:
The urn you picked up in a garage sale still contains ashes...
Standing on the ledge of a 40-story building, a woman contemplates the unthinkable...
The hairs on the back of your neck stand up as you realize you're being followed...
Being blind has its advantages...
The robbery went horribly wrong when...
I'll close the poll on 16 March. You can vote once a day for your favorite...so come back often!
February 25, 2012
A very Special Word Count Podcast- Episode 23
Welcome to Episode 23 of "The Word Count" podcast!
A very special podcast is in store for you this week. The theme "Beating the Odds" was chosen specifically for fellow author Maxwell Cyynn's son Joshua who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Eden Baylee and Max have setup a donation site to offset the insane medical costs associated with Joshua's treatment. And many indie writers (along with Grammy award winner Janis Ian) have donated their writing, and professional services to entice donations. It's a worth cause and any amount you can spare will help. The donation site:
http://www.indiegogo.com/indiesuniteforjoshua
Links to the show:
Direct: http://thewordcount.libsyn.com/webpage
iTunes (and remember, iTunes takes their sweet time in posting. If you don't see it yet, keep trying!): http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-word-count/id392550989
Our guests this week:
[image error]EDEN BAYLEE
Eden writes erotica incorporating all her favorite things: travel; culture; and sex. She enjoys weaving together stories with edgy themes, and sex is but one way to do it. Her first book, Fall into Winter, a collection of four erotic novellas, is currently available on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites located on her website.
She is now working on her follow up anthology entitled Spring into Summer.
Connect with her via her Website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
BILL KIRTON
Before taking early retirement to become a full-time writer, Bill Kirton was a lecturer in French at the University of Aberdeen. He's written stage and radio plays, short stories, novels, skits and songs for revues, and five non-fiction books aimed at helping students with their writing and study skills. His five modern crime novels, Material Evidence, Rough Justice, The Darkness, Shadow Selves and Unsafe Acts are set in north east Scotland and his historical crime/romance novel, The Figurehead, is set in Aberdeen in 1840. The Darkness won the silver award in the mystery category of the 2011 Forward National Literature Awards and his spoof mystery, The Sparrow Conundrum, was the winner in the humor category.
He's had radio plays broadcast by the BBC and the Australian BC. His short stories have appeared in many anthologies, including three of the CWA's annual collections, and one was chosen by Maxim Jakubowski for his 2010 anthology of Best British Crime Stories.
Writing as Jack Rosse, he's published a novel for children called The Loch Ewe Mystery.
He's been a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at universities in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews.
Twitter: @carver22
My website (under reconstruction) is www.bill-kirton.co.uk
My blog is www.Livingwritingandotherstuff.blogspot.com
C. THOMAS SMITH
C. Thomas Smith is just starting out into the big bad world and this is only my second submission of any kind (a short story titled "Sinnerman" on www.write4all.ie under the name Krstvr being the other).
There are things, terrible nightmarish things. Things that require government permission and the ending of many careers for me to speak about but there are . . . things.
Twitter = @KRSTVR
JORDAN JONES
A podcaster spreading his wings, living in broken bow where the only connections to the real world include internet sites, of which he has many. Xanga, facebook, his own .me page, his own podcast on itunes and stitcher radio, Tumblr, Twitter, and Soundcloud. He does it all out of boredom and idleness--but he's learning to be very effective. He's been writing since the second grade and has a versatile set of writing tools at his disposal, thanks to a renewed interest in writing in high school. He read and wrote many short stories in high school, reinvigorating his talent and making it a viable life course for him. However, he is still too fearful to ever write his own book. He's more likely to teach someone else how. Check out the links to his websites, as his presence grows every day. His reading is based off his own battle with schizophrenia which he has recovered from with the help of medication and most of all, his family.
Websites facebook.com/talkdrinkpodcast; podcast.talkdrink.me, notcoolenoughtobealone.tumblr.com, soundcloud.com/jordanjones-8, liquor90.xanga.com
Twitter: @apforce
LOREN KLEINMAN
Loren Kleinman's poetry has appeared in Nimrod, Journal of New Jersey Poets, Resurgence (UK), HerCircleEzine and Aesthetica Annual. She is the recipient of the Spire Press Poetry Prize and is a 2000 and 2003 Pushcart Prize Nominee. She published Flamenco Sketches in 2003. Kleinman was also a Nimrod/Hardman Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize Finalist for 2004. She was recently a contributing editor for the book, The Cancer Dancer and is a columnist for IndieReader.com where she has an indie interview series. Follow her at @LK_Editorial or visit her blog at www.lkeditorial.com
Website: http://www.lkeditorial.com
Twitter: @LK_Editorial
KADIN SETON
Kadin Seton is a professional trainer who teaches management and leadership skills. She loves her new job working for a large non-profit company and is proud to be giving back to society. Kadin also enjoys reading and writing science fiction. She is currently working on a sci fi series and hopes to have the first book, "Descent Into Darkness" available later this year.
Twitter: @kadinseton
ROBERT CHAZZ CHUTE
Chazz is a Canadian suspense writer with seven ebooks available. Self-help for Stoners is his first paperback and three of his novels will be released into the wild this year. He also hosts a weekly comedy and fiction podcast (also called Self-help for Stoners.) Find out more at his author site www.allthatchazz.com.
Websites: http://www.allthatchazz.com, http://www.chazzwrites.com
Twitter: @rchazzchute
February 5, 2012
The Word Count Podcast Episode 23 SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN
We're going to be departing a bit from our normal podcast this time around.
If you follow me on Twitter, you've seen loads of tweets regarding author Maxwell Cynn's 21 year old son, Joshua and his recent leukemia diagnosis.
Max blogged about it HERE and you should go read it—but be prepared, it's heart-wrenching.
Joshua is undergoing chemo for this very aggressive form of leukemia, and the lovely Eden Baylee has rallied indie authors from around the globe to create a fundraiser to help off-set the staggering costs of Joshua's treatments.
The fundraiser is on the indie gogo site (PLEASE VISIT THE SITE HERE) and many people in the writing business have donated books and services to be had based on your donation.
I have donated 5 eBook copies of The Prodigal's Foole, as well as two signed paperback copies.
With this story in mind, the theme for the next podcast--A Podcast for Joshua—is:
"Beating the Odds"
Submission guidelines below. Come join us in creating a story for the 'cast that celebrates the underdog, grasps victory from the jaws of defeat and, like Joshua, WILL BE "beating the odds."
We want to raise awareness for the fundraiser and send out positives vibes for Joshua.
Submission Guidelines (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
PROMPT: "Beating the Odds"
GENRE: Any.
DEADLINE: I must receive your submission by MIDNIGHT (Eastern Time) Friday 17th February 2012
THE DETAILS:The work must be an original of yours. It could be a poem, short story, song---anything really as long as you write something based on the stated theme ("Beating the Odds"). Do NOT exceed ten minutes. As this is a podcast, I need to receive a file of YOU, a friend or multiple friends reading (singing or otherwise performing) your work. MP3 FORMAT, please attach your MP3 file to an e-mail. The e-mail should also contain the following:
Your pen name
Your bio
Links to your websites
Your Twitter name (if you have one)
A photo I can use for the show notes
Permission to use your recording in the podcast
At the end of the recording, please add the following: "The is <YOUR NAME> author of <YOUR WORK(s)> and you're listening to The Word Count Podcast"
Send your file to me@rbwood.com by Friday the 17th of February. You can also e-mail me with questions before hand. I do reserve the right NOT to post your submission, but will communicate that to you should it be the case. I add the 'Explicit' tag to the 'cast, so if your story uses adult themes or language that's ok—but it should be necessary for the story.
January 28, 2012
The Word Count Episode 22 - "I Washed the blood from my hands..."
Welcome to Episode 22 of "The Word Count" podcast!
Ah, and here I was thinking The Word Count had run its course. There is no 'Episode 21' as that was to be the Holiday Special, of which I'd only received one entry. Disenfranchised, yet determined, I decided to give it another go.
Well, low and behold I had the most votes on the next theme (187 total) and no less than NINE stories submitted for episode 22.
Be prepared, my friends. The stories in this weeks show are weird, graphic, erotic and creepy in the extreme. Nine talented souls stepped up for our theme:
"I washed the blood from my hands…"
Links to the show:
Direct: http://thewordcount.libsyn.com/webpage
iTunes (and remember, iTunes takes their sweet time in posting. If you don't see it yet, keep trying!): http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-word-count/id392550989
Our guests this week:
[image error]EDEN BAYLEE
Eden writes erotica incorporating all her favorite things: travel; culture; and sex. She enjoys weaving together stories with edgy themes, and sex is but one way to do it. Her first book, Fall into Winter, a collection of four erotic novellas, is currently available on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites located on her website.
She is now working on her follow up anthology entitled Spring into Summer.
Connect with her via her Website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
MHARI SIMPSON
Real life is just too real, which is why Mhairi usually writes fantasy, with real people encountering the requisite griffins, unicorns, werewolves and/or vampires. And because she likes a laugh, there are also pink mice and gods with faulty moral compasses. Because the real world can't be totally ignored, there's often a lot of blood in her stories too. She's been to six schools (seven if you include university) and lived in four countries on two continents. She speaks three languages and bits and pieces of three more. She once galloped a horse into a cow (by accident) and she's been to Machu Picchu three
times. Apart from writing, she likes pretty shoes, making jewelry, films, dancing, reading and chocolate. Don't forget the chocolate.
Websites: http://www.mhairisimpson.com
Your Twitter name (if you have one): @AMhairiSimpson
KADIN SETON
Kadin Seton is a professional trainer who teaches management and leadership skills. She loves her new job working for a large non-profit company and is proud to be giving back to society. Kadin also enjoys reading and writing science fiction. She is currently working on a sci fi series and hopes to have the first book, "Descent Into Darkness" available later this year.
Twitter: @kadinseton
MATTHEW MUNSON
Matthew had his debut novel (Fall From Grace) around the same time as RB, and was also very fortunate to be a beta reader on the Prodigal's Foole (which, by the way, is awesome - buy it now!). Matthew is British and lives in a small town you've probably never heard of, but loves it all the same. Aside from eating his own body weight in chocolate, his hobbies include reading, plotting ways to make a regular enough income from writing, and learning British Sign Language.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/matthewmunsonauthor
Blog: http://vikingbay.blogspot.com/
Website: www.writeordie.co.uk and http://vikingbay.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @mnwjm1981
JULIA MAE STALEY
Julia Mae Staley has been writing since she could put words together. At the age of 8, she wrote her first short story entitled: "The Adventurer", a twist on an Australian folktale. As a teen, she longed for a novel about a strong but imperfect female heroine, and it was then that Ebony Havenworth and the world she inhabits first walked into Julia's head. She is in the process of submitting the YA fantasy trilogy to agents. Her blog, http://crosshavenharpist.wordpress.com is currently home to much of the backstory of "Ebony". While she reads voraciously, Julia's favorite works tend to be in the realm of fantasy. Escapism and shirking duty is a motivating factor in this. Don't tell anyone. She attends a bi-weekly writer's group of local authors, where they discuss the elusive perfect novel over cups of steaming tea. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her parents and her cats: the queen Alpha, and the mischievous Maui. Julia is also a very accomplished musician and singer/songwriter, and has a BM in Harp Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. You can learn more at http://www.juliamaestaley.com.
Twitter: @juliamaestaley
C. THOMAS SMITH
C. Thomas Smith is just starting out into the big bad world and this is only my second submission of any kind (a short story titled "Sinnerman" on www.write4all.ie under the name Krstvr being the other). I've written two novels this year, Godkiller (122000 Words) & Tale (100000 Words). And I hope to hone my craft to the point where others enjoy the stories in my head as much as I do.
Twitter = @KRSTVR
JORDAN JONES ("Rather Drunk")
Podcaster out of Broken Bow Oklahoma.
Website: podcast.talkdrink.me
Twitter: @apforce
KIMBERLY GOULD
Author of Cargon: Honour & Privilege and regular contributor to the
Picture Prompt Writing Challenge. Kim, also known as Kimmydonn, is also a part time environmental consultant, wife and mother. Her husband describes her as aerodynamically curvaceous. She is easily flattered.
Websites: http://kimmydonn.blogspot.com
BILL KIRTON
I was born in Plymouth, England a long time ago but I've lived most of my life in Scotland. I've written stage and radio plays, songs and sketches for revues, flash fiction, short stories, novels, stories for children and books aimed at helping students to get the most out of university and write effective academic essays and dissertations. I've been a university lecturer, actor, director, TV presenter. I've also spent a few years as a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow in universities in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews.
(Novels)
SHADOW SELVES (October 2011)
THE DARKNESS (July 2011) (Runner-up in the Mystery category of the 2011 Forward National Literature Awards)
THE SPARROW CONUNDRUM (March 2011) (Winner of the Humor category in the 2011 Forward National Literature Awards)
THE FIGUREHEAD (June 2010)
ROUGH JUSTICE (2008)
MATERIAL EVIDENCE (2007)
(How-to books)
BRILLIANT WORKPLACE SKILLS FOR STUDENTS AND GRADUATES (October 2011)
BRILLIANT DISSERTATION (January 2011)
BRILLIANT ESSAY (December 2010)
BRILLIANT STUDY SKILLS (2010)
JUST WRITE (2007)
(As Jack Rosse)
THE LOCH EWE MYSTERY (March 2011)
Websites: www.bill-kirton.co.uk
http://livingwritingandotherstuff.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @carver22
January 17, 2012
The Word Count Podcast Episode 22 SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!
The people have spoken and we have our theme for the next 'cast!
"I washed the blood from my hands…"
Well, the theme is selected, you know what happens next—a short original story, written by YOU and recorded for inclusion in the next Word Count.
Submission Guidelines (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
PROMPT: "I washed the blood from my hands…"
GENRE: Any.
DEADLINE: I must receive your submission by MIDNIGHT (Eastern Time) Friday 27th January 2012
THE DETAILS:The work must be an original of yours. It could be a poem, short story, song---anything really as long as you write something based on the stated theme ("I washed the blood from my hands…"). Do NOT exceed ten minutes. As this is a podcast, I need to receive a file of YOU, a friend or multiple friends reading (singing or otherwise performing) your work. MP3 FORMAT, please attach your MP3 file to an e-mail. The e-mail should also contain the following:
Your pen name
Your bio
Links to your websites
Your Twitter name (if you have one)
A photo I can use for the show notes
Permission to use your recording in the podcast
At the end of the recording, please add the following: "The is <YOUR NAME> author of <YOUR WORK(s)> and you're listening to The Word Count Podcast"
Send your file to me@rbwood.com by Friday the 27th of January. You can also e-mail me with questions before hand. I do reserve the right NOT to post your submission, but will communicate that to you should it be the case. I add the 'Explicit' tag to the 'cast, so if your story uses adult themes or language that's ok—but it should be necessary for the story.
January 10, 2012
The First podcast theme poll of 2012!
It's a New Year so it's time for a new themed show!
Off to the LEFT, you can select what you'd like to see for the next Word Count. I'll close the poll next Tuesday (17 January) so come back each day and vote…
Your Selection this week is "Starting Lines…" from the first person perspective:
"I awoke to find myself in the smoldering wreckage…"
"I washed the blood from my hands…"
"It was the first time a woman had ever done that for me…"
"Before he could say another word, I had the sword in my hand…"
"I'd been haunting the keep for centuries…"
Pick your favorite and get ready to write!
Peace
