Joseph Hunt's Blog, page 6
October 1, 2012
Go Big or Go Home. Right?

Last month I wrote around 3 blog posts... that's 1 every 10 days. Yeah, not impressive at all. I could have probably gone the whole month without visiting blogger.com, and it's not a good feeling, I feel like something has been missing from my life this past month... and you know what it is... THIS! And you guys; the people who read what I have to write about... sometimes that's nothing interesting at all.
So, if you're familiar with my blog, you might have seen one of these in the past, it's where I write about all of the things that I'm going to accomplish in the month... so October, a month of 31 days, and a holiday that means I can dress up and it's publicly acceptable.
I WILL blog every day of October. So 31 blog posts will be on this blog under the heading "October", hopefully each post will be about something fun, or I'll have something fun or amazing to tell you about. If not, I'll tell you how mundane my life is... or perhaps just whinge at you and allow you guys to comment about my problems. Ha!
I'm also going to say that I'll be doing NaNoWriMo next month, and the reason why I'm saying this is because I want to know who else is doing NaNo? If you are, leave a comment, and I'll do some posts on it... but I'll probably do them anyway, even if you don't leave a comment.
There will be a few releases by me in this month, if things go the way that they're planned... but they're not going my at the moment. However, you'll still see some more titles with my name on in the future, including Existence, and the rest of the short stories that were scheduled for September.
I am still currently trying to balance university and writing, so I don't really have a scheduled time to blog at, but I promise to blog daily. This is the first, but it will start tomorrow with the first real blog post, that will hopefully be informative about something as I have a long list of "how to" post to get through.
I hope that you've all had an amazing day, and an amazing year so far! And I hope to be around for October, and the rest of the year with you guys because you're all awesome people!
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on October 01, 2012 08:00
September 28, 2012
Lumen: On YouTube!

Hello... long time, no blog... life has been hectic; the start of university, moving out, no internet, and just all-around messiness in my life. However, I'm back, and I'm coming back with some amazing ideas to help promote my writing, and what better platform to go to next than YouTube, the spoken platform. Yes, I'm very nervous about this, and I will still be blogging over here, as I do love this blog.
I know that I've said in the past that I'm going to start doing vlogs on YouTube and that I'm going to do this and that over there... but September has really been a time of changes for me, and letting you guys see me, and hear my voice is another one of those changes. Someone said to me the other day that they thought I was an arrogant person by the way that I wrote my blog posts, and Facebook updates... I think they said arrogant... it wasn't a nice personality trait, anyway, they said that they didn't think I was a nice person, but after they'd spoken to me their mind had been changed. So, that's one of the reasons why I want to start vlogging etc. because I don't want the way I write my blog posts to give you some weird perception of me.
On with the post! Every Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, I will post a new blog, vlog, etc. and it will be of me reading out a chapter of Lumen, and including the prologue, that makes 34 chapters, so around 34 weeks! Maybe I'll do more than one in some weeks, but that's an awesome idea... right?!
If all that goes to plan... then I will have finished reading Lumen to you guys late June... so, yeah... I guess I'm in this for the long run.
The first part will be a little introduction to Lumen, and also the reading of the prologue, and that will be up some time this weekend. I hope you're all excited like I'm excited! I will also be doing short reads from my short stories as well, because I do like reading out my work, just need to build the confidence up of listening to my own voice *shudders*.
What other stuff would you like me to vlog about? I have some questions that you guys asked me a couple of months ago, and some of those could be videos on their own. So, what other stuff?
Thanks for reading guys... and soon, listening and watching.
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on September 28, 2012 08:00
September 21, 2012
Get Lumen for 99¢!

YES! You heard me, Lumen is 99¢ but for a very limited time only, so grab your copy now... or do it later, no rush, it's an eBook, it's always going to be in stock.
But Joseph, why is Lumen priced so low? I hear you ask. Well, that's easy to answer. Lumen has been published for almost a month now, and to celebrate, I figured I'd play around with the pricing! That, and because
If you don't know what Lumen is about, here is the blurb.
On an island seperated from society, lived an isolated civilization. These souls who lived by the teachings of the Luminary, held amazing abilities that would cause most mortals to shudder. Some felt this a curse, others a blessing.
Daniel is going through the final transition into his true self. Once complete, he will be able to manipulate the bonds of energy freely and move beyond childish ambitions.
A near-death experience earns him a place in the island's only private school, a privilage he is not allowed to forget. Trying to fit in opens mysteries and troubles beyond his comprehension, and threatens everything he once believed to be true.
Could Daniel be a part of what legends are made of?
Amazon US - 99¢
Amazon UK - 99p
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! As well as Lumen being priced at 99¢, I am also giving away two free short stories! Bait, and Baroque! And they'll be free over the weekend: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! The last days that they'll be FREE! These do not go in any order, they are stand alone shorts.

Bait
Radley is a vampire with a thirst for mermaid blood, yet the touch of water wreaks havoc on his skin. Katya and Yana are mermaids, they thirst for legs and being able to walk again. And Alena, she's the witch who made them all that way.
Only one of them can get their own way, but who will it be?
This is the first short story from the anthology, Over My Spilled Blood.
Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
And if you'd like to review it, don't forget to post to >> Goodreads << as well!

Baroque
Artemisia was a protector of the mortal gods -- gods who were cursed to live a human life, over and over again. But when word gets out about the things that a god's blood can do, there's no stopping the supernatural world from getting what they want.
And they'll kill a whole race of people to get it.
This is the second short story from the anthology, Over My Spilled Blood.
Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
And if you'd like to review it, don't forget to post to >> Goodreads << as well!
Have a great day, and don't forget to stay awesome! Oh, and if you can share these, then that will be AWESOME! Thanks for reading!
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on September 21, 2012 04:00
September 10, 2012
I Don't Have an Editor

I can already hear you guys shouting at me and telling me that I'm doing something wrong... that because I don't have an editor my writing is going to suck and any chance I have of a real writing career is just going to flop.
You know, I can hear you, and I'm taking on board everything that you're saying... but sometimes I feel like people are being very patronising, I feel like I'm a child who's being told that they're not allowed the cookie because they're drawing outside of the lines...
Also, will people just shut up about telling me how to do my own thing. I wish these people who spoke because they have nothing else to do would be quiet, they're getting in the way of someone telling me something that could actually be useful.
I do not want a bunch of "you're great" in life, I don't hate the people that do this, in fact, I love the people who do this, I write for these people... and the people who says "there were a few errors" these are the people that I am constantly trying harder to be a better writer for. Right now, in life, I have a pretty perfect balance... but I don't have an editor.
I know that having an editor is somewhat a prerequisite for an indie author, and yeah, I'd love to have one... I just can't afford an editor right now... but that doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to publish... heck, if that was the case I doubt half the people who were self-published would even have done so.
I'm not going to say that I do not need an editor. That would be stupid, of course I need one, every writer NEEDS one, it's just I didn't want one... and since publishing Lumen a couple of weeks ago, I've realised that it's in my interests to have an editor, or at least someone to proof my work, and perhaps give me suggestions.
I don't like being told what to do which is why I originally hated the idea of having an editor, also, I can't afford an editor, I can't afford to get frustrated at someone who's telling me to do something. Yes, if someone says "there's an error here, and there" I will be forever in your debt, if someone has criticism, please, don't hold back, I'd hate for you to hold some weird "oh, he did this and that, and such a thing wrong in his book" over me... so speak your mind, just don't be a dick.
Do you think that's its an absolute career killer if I don't have an editor or proofreader at my side right away so that I don't publish something that could fatally wound a bunch of people that vow never to read my writing... or should I just keep doing what I'm doing? I don't know, but you might have something to say.
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on September 10, 2012 05:00
August 30, 2012
Character Interview: Daniel Satoria (Lumen)

Welcome to the first character interview! Here I'll be interviewing Daniel Satoria, the protagonist of Lumen, and the Blood Luminary series! Pay attention to these answers as they could come in handy for the questions I'll be asking over at my event on Facebook:
Lumen's Belated Book Release party! WOO!
Joseph: Hi, Daniel. So you're the protagonist in the novel, Lumen, right?
Daniel: Yeah, I kind of wish I wasn't though, being a protagonist is hard.
Joseph: Okay, why, what happened to you?
Daniel: Um, well, a lot of stuff happened to me, and I have this huge scar on my chest from it.
Joseph: Eek, did it hurt? Wait. How did you get it?
Daniel: Of course it hurt! And I was bleeding for days! Have you even read Lumen?
Joseph: Yeah, of course, it would be silly if I hadn't.
Daniel: *huffs* Good, then you know how I got it. Jeez. Okay, ask me something different.
Joseph: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. What's your favourite food?
Daniel: That's more like it, when you asked me for an interview I thought it would be about me, not Lumen! My favourite food would have to be my mum's beef stew, and sometimes she makes it with dumplings. *smacks lips* it's the best!
Joseph: Oh, I bet! So, what is the weirdest animal you've ever been?
Daniel: I once became a snake... and never again. Reptiles make my skin crawl, it's made that much worse because I have 3 cousins who are at that stage where shifting form every second is fun, and that side of my family are *shudders* reptiles.
Joseph: So, the author never mentions what colour eyes you have... a little weird, right? So, what colour are you eyes?
Daniel: Why do you need to know what colour my eyes are? You can clearly see, you're sat opposite me. *rolls eyes* they're blue, just normal blue, average, every day, blue. And you can quote me on that.
Joseph: Sorry, I was just wondering because not everyone knew, that's all. So Daniel, how's life been since Lumen?
Daniel: It's been hectic! I was told that I'm not allowed to give too much away, so that means I can't delve into what Noctem has in store, but I'm allowed to tell you that it's ten times as intense, and there will also be more chapters that don't just focus on me.
Joseph: *mumbles* Ah, I guess that's a sore subject. So, how many Luminary figures are there? And is that your religion?
Daniel: *smirks* It's not a religion, it's how everyone on Templar Island is born. There are 7 Luminary, and each one represents a planet.
Joseph: Isn't it true that your surname, Satoria, is said to mean Saturn. Right?
Daniel: Yes. What point are you trying to make?
Joseph: Nothing, I was just saying.
Daniel: Well don't, okay. I thought you were supposed to just ask me some simple questions. Not try to tell people that I could be a Luminary. *rolls eyes* Jeez.
Joseph: I think we should stop here then. The author really shouldn't have woke you if you were going to have an attitude.
Daniel: Fine. I'm leaving! *gets up and walks away*
Joseph: sorry for that guys, Daniel is just a little tetchy after everything that happened in Lumen.
The event starts on Saturday 1st of September! You may refer to the answers in this as a lot of the questions will be based on them! :]
You can get Lumen on Amazon, or you can always your luck with the event on Facebook! WOO! YAY!
Amazon US ($2.99)
Amazon UK (£2.56)
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on August 30, 2012 06:00
August 29, 2012
My Publishing Plans

I said at the beginning of 2012 that this would be my year, and that I would be awesome and every thing would just go my way. So far, 2012 hasn't really been my year, not every thing has been awesome or gone my way. However, 2012 has been the year of my Amazon self-publishing début! Yeah, you heard right, I'm not the proud author of Lumen! WOO!
It's available on Amazon (US) for $2.99 and it's also on Amazon (UK) for £2.56! And if you've already bought a copy then YOU are awesome, and I would like to meet you and thank you in person... but that's a near impossibility as I'm in the UK, and most of you guys are in the US! I've also just published my first short story called Bait! Which is awesome, and quite the snatch for only $0.99/£0.77! Amazon (US) - Amazon (UK)! I also have plans to release more dark fantasy short stories, so keep your eyes peeled for them!
Now that I've published Lumen (and Bait) and it's out there for sale I feel like I've been given a new lease on life, and it's an amazing feeling to know that people are reading your work and enjoying it! It's also encouraging to have people ask you for sequels and to spur you on to write more when you're just not feeling so good.
If you've read earlier posts you might have seen my list of books to write... well, on that list I have my three novel series, Lumen; Blood Luminary series, Salem Gates; Caldwell Witches series, and Clandestine; Night Falls series. Collectively, there are 11 novels and 4 novellas. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I don't want to get all of that done in the next 4 months, that would be ridiculous! I want to get the first Salem Gates novel out, and I also realised that there is a novella before that... so I have a novel and a novella for 2012.
Novel: Salem Gates (December release?)
Novella: Witch Hunt (October release?)
On to my short story collections. The short stories in this collection can be read in any order as none of the narratives continue, they are stand alone dark fantasy short stories, which should pack a bit of a fantasy punch. If I'm doing myself and my writing any justice they will pack one. I shall list them.
Short stories, Hunted collection: Baroque, Down by the Garden, Succumb, The Kingdom. (September release)
Short stories, Cursed collection: The Cut, Animal, Medicate Me, Brotherhood, Hive. (November release)
More information to come on these in future blog posts!
I'd also like to introduce something very new. In fact, it's inception wasn't that long ago, and I already have 5 covers drawn up for it and I also have 10 parts planned and ready to be written! This is going to be a serial book under the series name, Synthetics' Society! WOO! If you're not sure what a serial book is... I'm not sure, but this is what it means to me... a series which when put together create a whole book. However, I'm using this as less of a book to be put together and more of an episode, each 25k instalment will follow the same characters, but there will be something new with each part, there will still be a main plot etc. I have a lot of stuff planned for 10 instalments I've already got brewing... but perhaps it can go on for longer. I think the Synthetics' Society will have a promising future within my writing career.
Serial Book 1: Existence (October release?)
Serial Book 2: Creature (December release?)
More information to come on these in future blog posts!
So, by the end of 2012, when I'll be saying "goodbye" and welcoming Spring, with another set of dates-ish for you guys, this is what I should have out available for you guys!
Novels: 1
Novellas: 4
Short Stories: 9
Total: 14 new titles to my name, making that 16!
I don't want to get lost promoting the shit out of one book or one novella that I wrote that one time and I just couldn't be bothered to write anything else. No, I want to continue writing and publishing, I have well and truly been bitten by the bug... the only bug that I don't mind being bitten by!
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on August 29, 2012 08:00
August 25, 2012
Flash Fiction (25/08)
As I promised, here's my flash fiction for today! Expect another one tomorrow! I'd also like to say a happy birthday to Garden Summerland!
Source:
http://www.steffmetal.com/heavy-metal-fairy-tale/
His Skin
He
peered over the cliff — so many armies, so many wars, they’d all been fought on
that ground, and he’d watched all of them. He’d never taken part; it wouldn’t
have been fair if either side had dragons. He’d just sit there, a loyal watcher,
almost a hobby for him.
“Please, Densen, please,” a pregnant
woman cried to him.
“You know I can’t, Sera, there are laws,
there are rules,” he said, like he’d so often told them before. Densen was the
only one that watched, no other dragon would be seen associating with a lower
being.
“Save me,” she cried, the small wings on
her back fluttering and then falling weak. He looked into her eyes, the sincere
purity pulled him in. “Please,” she said.
He growled and spat a huge cloud of
smoke down the cliff. He craned his neck forward and flapped his wings before
jumping down into the cloud.
“Densen!” she screamed, being dragged
away by several pixies.
He cocked his head in her direction, and
as he tried to go for her he was pulled back. A hole pierced through one wing
and into the next, and before she could growl or snap his jaw another sharp
feeling slapped him as a tight string wrapped around his jaw.
Legends were later told about what had
happened during that time. The first dragon to die at the hands of a lower
being, neither fairies no pixies could save him, after all, they were the ones
who’d killed him.
Effie
looked at the picture of the dragon for another moment before pushing it to her
chest. A tear rolled down the scales of her face. The picture was of her
father, a beast.
“Effie!” the girl’s mother shouted.
“Coming,” she replied weakly, wiping
away at her tears and shoving the picture under her mattress. She stroked a
hand over her hand and a couple more of her thin white hairs fell out.
Joseph Eastwood
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Source:
http://www.steffmetal.com/heavy-metal-fairy-tale/
His Skin
He
peered over the cliff — so many armies, so many wars, they’d all been fought on
that ground, and he’d watched all of them. He’d never taken part; it wouldn’t
have been fair if either side had dragons. He’d just sit there, a loyal watcher,
almost a hobby for him.
“Please, Densen, please,” a pregnant
woman cried to him.
“You know I can’t, Sera, there are laws,
there are rules,” he said, like he’d so often told them before. Densen was the
only one that watched, no other dragon would be seen associating with a lower
being.
“Save me,” she cried, the small wings on
her back fluttering and then falling weak. He looked into her eyes, the sincere
purity pulled him in. “Please,” she said.
He growled and spat a huge cloud of
smoke down the cliff. He craned his neck forward and flapped his wings before
jumping down into the cloud.
“Densen!” she screamed, being dragged
away by several pixies.
He cocked his head in her direction, and
as he tried to go for her he was pulled back. A hole pierced through one wing
and into the next, and before she could growl or snap his jaw another sharp
feeling slapped him as a tight string wrapped around his jaw.
Legends were later told about what had
happened during that time. The first dragon to die at the hands of a lower
being, neither fairies no pixies could save him, after all, they were the ones
who’d killed him.
Effie
looked at the picture of the dragon for another moment before pushing it to her
chest. A tear rolled down the scales of her face. The picture was of her
father, a beast.
“Effie!” the girl’s mother shouted.
“Coming,” she replied weakly, wiping
away at her tears and shoving the picture under her mattress. She stroked a
hand over her hand and a couple more of her thin white hairs fell out.
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on August 25, 2012 11:58
TTC: Bruce Blake! Author Interview! (25/08)
This week has been a very hectic week for me as I release Lumen, and then I had to answer questions for my part of the TTC blog tour, and then I had to write some for Bruce... and although that doesn't seem like a lot, for a procrastinator like me that's almost a year's worth a work there. HA!
Getting to know you...
So you’re totally new to my blog. You haven’t been here before, why not tell my followers a little bit about yourself, something that’s not going to be in your bio.
I'm 6'2”, bald and devilishly good-looking. The tattoo on my right shoulder blade is of Animal from the Muppet Show because I used to play drums in classic rock/heavy metal bands during my youth. During a string of gigs in northern Ontario, I lived entirely on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week. None of that has anything to do with writing, but you won't find it in my bio. And we know you a little bit more already!
How did you get into writing then?
I started writing in grade school and enjoyed it, so dabbled and wrote on and off for years. It was about 10 years ago that I decided to try my hand at a novel, and it turned out I actually liked it better than the short stories I'd been writing. Turns out I've got more to say than I thought.
In fact, a better question, how did you get into self-publishing?
Probably for the same reason most self-published authors do: I got tired of form-letter rejections. When you get enough of them, you start to get the sense that no one is actually looking at the manuscript you submitted. Like so many others, I stumbled onto J.A. Konrath's blog, read about what was going on, and decided to give it a go. It sure seemed better than wallpapering another room with rejections. Yes, I think anyone who decides that they want to self-publish has been on his blog.
Looking at your Smashwords page, you’ve been publishing since 2010! How’s that been? (Around the same time it all kicked off.)
It's been great. My first foray into self-publishing was entirely with short stories. I put eight of them up on Smashwords for free (in fact, I recently re-published all of them there, and they're all back to free!). Those stories have been downloaded over 7000 times on Smashwords alone, plus tens of thousands of times on other sites. My first novel, On Unfaithful Wings, went up in Dec., 2011 and has been downloaded close to 30000 times between paid and free. I haven't replaced my day-job income by any means, but I can certainly call myself a professional writer. Oh, whoa! That's awesome! It's also reassuring for me as I'm about to start publishing some short stories of my own.
I know everyone is going to be asking this question, but if you could give people who are new to writing / publishing, what advice would you give them?
Tough to answer that without sounding like a cliché. I guess it would be to make sure you're putting out the best material you can. I recently sent my next book to my editor and she informed me she had time to look at it because the author she had scheduled to do next hadn't finished the manuscript yet. What?!? The manuscript I was sending was the tenth version. Write, edit, rewrite, edit, edit, rewrite. Did I mention edit? If you're not a little bit sick of the words you wrote by the time you're planning to turn your novel loose, then do some more editing. Oh o, in the early stages I do love to edit... but when I feel that I'm frustrating myself, that's when I stop. You can't be on top form if you don't feel it.
Tell us a little bit about On Unfaithful Wings.
On Unfaithful Wings begins the story of Icarus Fell, a poor, thirty-something fella who had a hard life that gets even worse after two muggers kill him. The archangel Michael wants him to help souls on their way to Heaven but things go seriously awry for Icarus, just like they did in life. People seem to really like the character and the story. Several reviews have called Icarus their new favourite anti-hero; one said the book wasn't just their favourite book of the year, but one of their favourite books ever. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I write.
Think about this, one of your books or short stories is picked up to be a motion picture. Who plays the main character?
Believe it or not, I've never put a moment's thought to this, though I know it's a favourite game of many authors. I think my books would make great movies, I tend to think cinematically when I write. Maybe someone like Colin Farrell as Icarus, or Josh Hartnett, if he was a couple years older.
Are you a coffee person?
An expensive coffee person. I write almost exclusively in a coffee shop with a mocha no more than three inches from my right hand. Yes, that does classify as expensive!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time (in your writing career)?
I was just thinking about this earlier today. I think I can put out 2-3 novels/year at my current pace, which means 15 + available by the time 5 years rolls around. My goal is to be supporting myself (oh, and my family, too) by the time we get to 2017. Lofty goals, but if others can do it, why can't I? That's awesome! Dream big or don't dream at all! Hehe.
If there’s anything else you’d like to share, or talk about, go ahead!
Maybe I'll just fill everyone in on what I've got going on. The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost, was released in mid-July, and I'm currently in the planning stage for the third novel. I expect there to be at least three more Icarus books after that before I'm done with the series, maybe more. The one I've just gotten back from the editor is part of an epic fantasy, Khirro's Journey. The first two books will be out before the end of the year, then the final two by the middle of 2013.
Other than that, I 'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to get to know me a little better. Extra special thanks if you've read any of my books or short stories. And remember, if you enjoyed them, please let other readers know by leaving a review.
Peace, love, Led Zeppelin.
Biography
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.
Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.
Bruce has been writing since grade school but it wasn't until five years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, "Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod and his first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published to Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, “All Who Wander Are Lost”, was released in July, 2012, with the first book in the four-part “Khirro's Journey” epic fantasy coming soon after. He has plans for at least three more Icarus novels, several stand alones, and a possible YA fantasy co-written with his eleven-year-old daughter.
www.on-unfaithful-wings.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/bruce.blake.585
Twitter: @bruceablake
Kindle: http://amzn.to/GKi7mq
bruceblake@hotmail.ca
Joseph Eastwood
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Getting to know you...
So you’re totally new to my blog. You haven’t been here before, why not tell my followers a little bit about yourself, something that’s not going to be in your bio.
I'm 6'2”, bald and devilishly good-looking. The tattoo on my right shoulder blade is of Animal from the Muppet Show because I used to play drums in classic rock/heavy metal bands during my youth. During a string of gigs in northern Ontario, I lived entirely on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week. None of that has anything to do with writing, but you won't find it in my bio. And we know you a little bit more already!
How did you get into writing then?
I started writing in grade school and enjoyed it, so dabbled and wrote on and off for years. It was about 10 years ago that I decided to try my hand at a novel, and it turned out I actually liked it better than the short stories I'd been writing. Turns out I've got more to say than I thought.
In fact, a better question, how did you get into self-publishing?
Probably for the same reason most self-published authors do: I got tired of form-letter rejections. When you get enough of them, you start to get the sense that no one is actually looking at the manuscript you submitted. Like so many others, I stumbled onto J.A. Konrath's blog, read about what was going on, and decided to give it a go. It sure seemed better than wallpapering another room with rejections. Yes, I think anyone who decides that they want to self-publish has been on his blog.
Looking at your Smashwords page, you’ve been publishing since 2010! How’s that been? (Around the same time it all kicked off.)
It's been great. My first foray into self-publishing was entirely with short stories. I put eight of them up on Smashwords for free (in fact, I recently re-published all of them there, and they're all back to free!). Those stories have been downloaded over 7000 times on Smashwords alone, plus tens of thousands of times on other sites. My first novel, On Unfaithful Wings, went up in Dec., 2011 and has been downloaded close to 30000 times between paid and free. I haven't replaced my day-job income by any means, but I can certainly call myself a professional writer. Oh, whoa! That's awesome! It's also reassuring for me as I'm about to start publishing some short stories of my own.
I know everyone is going to be asking this question, but if you could give people who are new to writing / publishing, what advice would you give them?
Tough to answer that without sounding like a cliché. I guess it would be to make sure you're putting out the best material you can. I recently sent my next book to my editor and she informed me she had time to look at it because the author she had scheduled to do next hadn't finished the manuscript yet. What?!? The manuscript I was sending was the tenth version. Write, edit, rewrite, edit, edit, rewrite. Did I mention edit? If you're not a little bit sick of the words you wrote by the time you're planning to turn your novel loose, then do some more editing. Oh o, in the early stages I do love to edit... but when I feel that I'm frustrating myself, that's when I stop. You can't be on top form if you don't feel it.
Tell us a little bit about On Unfaithful Wings.
On Unfaithful Wings begins the story of Icarus Fell, a poor, thirty-something fella who had a hard life that gets even worse after two muggers kill him. The archangel Michael wants him to help souls on their way to Heaven but things go seriously awry for Icarus, just like they did in life. People seem to really like the character and the story. Several reviews have called Icarus their new favourite anti-hero; one said the book wasn't just their favourite book of the year, but one of their favourite books ever. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I write.
Think about this, one of your books or short stories is picked up to be a motion picture. Who plays the main character?
Believe it or not, I've never put a moment's thought to this, though I know it's a favourite game of many authors. I think my books would make great movies, I tend to think cinematically when I write. Maybe someone like Colin Farrell as Icarus, or Josh Hartnett, if he was a couple years older.
Are you a coffee person?
An expensive coffee person. I write almost exclusively in a coffee shop with a mocha no more than three inches from my right hand. Yes, that does classify as expensive!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time (in your writing career)?
I was just thinking about this earlier today. I think I can put out 2-3 novels/year at my current pace, which means 15 + available by the time 5 years rolls around. My goal is to be supporting myself (oh, and my family, too) by the time we get to 2017. Lofty goals, but if others can do it, why can't I? That's awesome! Dream big or don't dream at all! Hehe.
If there’s anything else you’d like to share, or talk about, go ahead!
Maybe I'll just fill everyone in on what I've got going on. The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost, was released in mid-July, and I'm currently in the planning stage for the third novel. I expect there to be at least three more Icarus books after that before I'm done with the series, maybe more. The one I've just gotten back from the editor is part of an epic fantasy, Khirro's Journey. The first two books will be out before the end of the year, then the final two by the middle of 2013.
Other than that, I 'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to get to know me a little better. Extra special thanks if you've read any of my books or short stories. And remember, if you enjoyed them, please let other readers know by leaving a review.
Peace, love, Led Zeppelin.
Biography
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.
Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.
Bruce has been writing since grade school but it wasn't until five years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, "Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod and his first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published to Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, “All Who Wander Are Lost”, was released in July, 2012, with the first book in the four-part “Khirro's Journey” epic fantasy coming soon after. He has plans for at least three more Icarus novels, several stand alones, and a possible YA fantasy co-written with his eleven-year-old daughter.
www.on-unfaithful-wings.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/bruce.blake.585
Twitter: @bruceablake
Kindle: http://amzn.to/GKi7mq
bruceblake@hotmail.ca
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on August 25, 2012 06:00
August 24, 2012
Flash Fiction Friday! (24/08)

As I promised from last week, I'll be doing more flash fiction pieces! In fact, I'm thinking of doing a flash fiction piece every day of next week, just to get my creative juices going again. If you haven't yet heard, I have recently just published my full length novel, Lumen, and it's been a very draining process, but writing flash fiction and getting the inspiration for my muse is helping. WOO!
The flash fiction below has a little bit of swearing in it. So if you don't like swear words please do not read on. However, you can admire the picture that I used as a prompt. I really do like this picture! And maybe you could write a piece of flash fiction based on this prompt as well.

Source URL:
http://www.azemrooz.com/en/?p=23
Please Don't Cry
Fay
coughed and turned in her hospital bed. Her eyes fluttering to the back of her
head as she tapped the button for more painkillers to enter her blood stream. She’d
be bedridden ever since her 65th birthday a couple of months ago.
She was alone, without any visitors or pictures on her bedside table.
“Hey, Fay,” a female nurse said, walking
into her room. “How are you feeling today?”
Fay coughed and looked into the nurse’s
eyes. “I feel like shit!” she said, moving a liver spotted hand from around her
mouth to the pain medication button.
“Okay. Well I have a couple of tablets
for you to take, and they should make you feel a little bit better,”
“Are they better than this piece of
crap?” she asked, looking down at the button in her grasp.
“Of course they are, Ms White.” She
opened the cap of a bottle and poured two tablets out into her palm. “Here ya
go.”
Fay took the tablets and grunted. The
nurse handed her a glass of water, and she necked the tablets and then gulped
at the water until the glass was empty. She sighed as she pulled the glass away
from her lips.
“I’ll go and get you some more water.
Try and get some rest, okay?”
Fay nodded and then closed her eyes as
the nurse walked out, closing the door behind her.
The curtains on the window pane in the
door and on the window looking into her room, were swiped shut with a whooshing
sound. A dark cold feeling cooled over Fay’s hands, rousing her from her moment
of rest.
“Hello,” she called out.
“How are you feeling?” a man asked,
sitting by her side with his back turned to her and a hood covering his face.
“It’s not my time,” she said, tapping
the button for painkillers.
“That’s not going to work, I’m afraid.”
She wriggled around in her bed sheets,
trying to push herself out of bed. The sheets tightened around her muscles,
biting into her skin and as it constricted the blood flow her limbs quickly
turned numb.
“It can’t be my time,” she cried.
He turned around and pulled his hood
down, revealing his bald head and an intricate design of tribal markings and
swirls etched into his skin. He smiled at her, and then gripped her hand
tightly.
“Come on, mum,” he said, “please don’t
cry.”
“My baby,” she whimpered.
“I’ve come to rescue you now,” he said.
“You’re the devil!” she spat, crying
harder.
A smile formed across the man’s face,
pushing at the design in his skin on both cheeks. “I’m not the devil, but you
know that already. Don’t you?” he said, glaring into her eyes as his eyes
turned into red glowing coals. “You’re disgusting.”
“Please, son. I don’t want to die,” she
said, “I’m not ready yet.”
“But we’ll be together, with the rest of
the family you fucked over,” he said as his lips turning upwards into a snarl. “Nobody
is ever ready for this, nobody likes
to kill anyone. You’re the exception though, like always. I’ll enjoy this.”
Her
last words were ‘I’m not ready yet’,
but nobody is ever ready. Her son, one of six children she’d had and hated,
stood by as nurses tried to resuscitate her charred body. They only stopped
when they realised that she was black all of the way through and her bones had
crumbled beneath their touch.
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on August 24, 2012 08:44
August 22, 2012
Lumen is LIVE on Amazon!

Yeah, you heard me. In fact, I think I need to repeat it to myself. "Lumen is live on Amazon!" when did this happen? Today.
After all the wait, Lumen is finally here... and I don't have a clue what to do with it. It's all new to me. I've just become a published author, and my mind has gone blank. For the first time in a long time I am lost for words... I don't know what to post, or how to promote it.
It's an unusual feeling because I feel so new to everything here. Someone asked me about taggging my eBook, and I was like "huh?" because I didn't have the foggiest idea about what she meant. Likewise with the author central thing, I didn't have a clue how to set one of those up.
However, I have been crash-coursing in Amazon for self-published authors, and I've been trying to get used to all its little bits.
US link: http://www.amazon.com/Lumen-Blood-Luminary-ebook/dp/B0090WVZF8/
UK link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lumen-Blood-Luminary-ebook/dp/B0090WVZF8/
Joseph Eastwood
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Published on August 22, 2012 11:32