S.B. Sebrick's Blog, page 10

Final Week of September

Welcome to a new week everybody

I managed to hit the computer this morning before my job at the diner, so here’s the latest updates. This week I am revising ‘Desolate’ which I will be sending off to the editor at the end of the week. Due to some school issues on his part, the short stories he’s editing are taking a bit longer to edit than he planned (hopefully he’s done with them before I send the novel over or he’s going to be up to his ears in fantasy stuff).

My friend Star was kind enough to host an author interview for me on her blog, The Bibliophil​ic Book Blog. If you’d like to read the interview, check it out here.

My side job writing up a woman’s autobiography is winding down to its conclusion. It’s been weird writing a memoir! When the entire story is in someone’s own words, you can’t adjust the narration as easily as you can in fiction writing, which has made the experience challenging and rewarding.

I’m also moving later this week from my apartment I’ve been splitting with three friends, into my grandpa’s house. This arrangement will allow me to put more money into publishing new novels and get them out faster (the benefits of which, I hope to see by next year).

I’ll be in touch later this week with more. Enjoy your monday and start the your countdowns, the weekend is only four days away

Desolate: One Month Away!

Yesterday I sat down with my mentor and discussed the first draft of ‘Desolate’. First, we sat down with her husband and watched the opening twenty minutes of a ‘Jessie Stone’ murder mystery. The script writers do a great job of mixing in personal tidbits of each character to give the story real-life depth, without going on huge tangents into everyone’s lives (must be a not-so-subtle hint about how my novels can improve).

She did a great job performing open heart surgery on it and gave me a lot to think about. Her critiques are a godsend, don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not going to improve if I am not pushed, but there’s always that initial shock of ‘Oh wow, I have a long way to go before I’ll feel like I’ve got this down.’

The novel is progressing well and should be up for sale by the end of next month. Once I’m done with my mentor’s revisions the novel goes to my editor, who runs through it twice to make sure we get all those sneaky hiccups in the formating and such before it gets published.

Perks of Being A Pack Rat…

You know that sinking feeling you get whenever you walk past the pile of old ’junk’ in your basement and think ‘ugh, eventually I’m going to have to sort through all of that?’ Sometimes tackling those projects can bring unexpected rewards.

This week I’m starting the process of moving back into my Grandpa’s place. I tackled one such pile of old belongings and found to my surprise, the 2005 and 2006 editions of ‘The Phoenix’, Clark College’s annual anthology I got published in both those editions while a student there.

The best part is, my electronic copies of these short stories were lost when our computer crashed years ago, so I never thought I’d be able to find and openly publish them again. Yet, stuffed between old decks of Pokemon cards and my wilderness survival guides, I found both editions with the stories I got published!

I’ll be copying those stories back into word format this weekend and hopefully have them up on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords but next week. One is a rescue mission during a siege, the other is the last half of Keevan’s fate. So, for those of you wondering where Keevan’s been hiding as he’s grown up, that question will soon be answered. Stay tuned!

Start the Week with a Laugh!

I copied this off a friend’s facebook post. In the off chance any of you are sitting at home bored right now, trying to think of mischevious things to do… This would liven up anybody’s day!

 

Summer’s Memories and Fall’s Goals

Well, this summer was very eventfull from a writing perspective. I finally finished the rough draft for the next ‘Assassins’ Rising’ novel, Desolate. My mentor, DiAnne, is currently picking it apart and my cover artist is brainstorming ideas for the cover. I’m also publishing a number of short stories (some are edited versions of last year’s stories, like ‘Outcast of the Flame’ and others are brand new, like ‘Battle For Dominance’).

I also attended a Writing workshop called, ‘Think Like A Publisher’, taught by best selling authors Dean Wesley Smith and Scott William Carter. We spent a three day weekend on the coast of Oregon discussing how to handle everything from document formats, book covers, various sales venues and the like. After participating in the workshop, I was also put on the ‘Oregon Writer’s Network’ which connects me to over a hundred other former students of Dean’s, all interesting in writing for a living.

On top of my restuarant job and writing fiction, I’m also putting together a autobiography for my friend Veronica. We met at a college graduation party and started talking. Turns out english isn’t her first language, so she wanted a writer to take a crack at interviewing her and organizing her thoughts into a book. She was actually adopted into the US from Mexico as a child, thanks to a child adoption scam. I think she’ll be putting it up on amazon when it’s done, so I’ll keep you guys informed when that happens.

By the time I’m done with Veronica’s autobiography, I’ll be putting the finishing touches on Desolate, which I hope to have published before the end of October. Since my goal is to be financially self-suffient off my writing by christmas, I have two more novels and a handful of short stories I want to publish before then. After that my only option is to cross my fingers and wait.

I hope your summers all went according to plan (or didn’t if you prefer to be more spontaneous). These next few months will be intense since I’m juggling three projects, but I’m excited to see the end results at the year’s end

E-List: Open For Input

Hey everyone. This week I’m getting in touch with readers, book bloggers and giveaway winners to decide what content to focus on each month for the E-List. It’s a great way for me as a writer to get a better idea of your various tastes and backgrounds, which helps me write better books

Anyone interested in contributing, now is the best time to do so. Just send me an email at sbsebrick@gmail.com and I’ll add you to the list and send you some of the questions I’ve had rolling around in my head in regards to content.

Ok, Sebrick. That’s enough. It’s my turn!

Hey, Kaltor. It’s been a while.

No thanks to you.

Hey, easy on the hostility. The first draft is done! Just let me add a few more touches and send it to my mentor. Then it’s just a matter of time.

Time. The one thing I run out of faster than everyone else. How ironic.

Oh come on, I’ve got big plans for you! Hang in there.

You ‘hang in here’! I’d like to see you keep up with half of what I do. Heck, I’d love to see you just try to run along behind me.

Now that’s enough on the out-of-shape stabs, lol. I’m going to the gym and doing a cardio class, what more could you want from your author?

Aside from write faster? Or was that question rhetorical?

rhetorical? Why oh why did I let you read that dictionary?

Not my fault you use such big words. I feel like I’m working with a punnier version of my father. At least you don’t spend your life coughing up dust from hundred year old tomes, but would you at least buy a decent knife?

We already covered the ‘no weapons in the apartment’ topic earlier. I feet nervous enough with you staring over my shoulder as I write. I’m very aware of what you can do with your bare hands should I offend the ‘Kaltor Gods’.

That’s right, one tap of my fist and here comes the writer’s block!

Oh dear lord, not that again.  Fine, fine, I’ll start working on Keevan’s short story. People are going to be wondering about him after this. It’s time for a peak into his view on things

Sounds good to me, now get to work.

Yeah, yeah. I’m on it. Would you just back up a step or two?

You expect me to believe that me standing in your closet as you write will make you feel more comfortable?

… Good point. Go stand watch outside then. Go rooftop hopping.

You really think you can distract me with something as childish as… hmmmm. Alright, you win. May the Maker watch over you.

Same to you, you’re gonna need all the help you can get from the Maker ;)

The E-List

Hey everyone, I have an exciting change coming up August 31st. I’m putting together a special e-newsletter which I am calling ‘The E-List’.

Readers who are on this list will receive a monthly newsletter which will include a sneak preview of the next Kaltor book, special discounts for followers on the list, free short stories and other related events.

Contact me at sbsebrick@gmail.com so I can add you to the E-List for the August 31st issue. Also…

Referral Program: When members of the E-List refer a friend (just have them mention your name or email address when they sign up so I know who to reward) you earn a free e-copy of a S. B. Sebrick novel of your choice, in whatever format best fits your needs.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer, talk to you later!

My Other Pen Name

I’ve recently opened up a new pen name, Ronin Rawson, through which I publish Apocalyptic novels. I’m currently working on the “Zombie Slayer Chronicles”, the first of which is listed below. I plan to have the next one out as soon as November.

The way to safety careens through terrified mobs, ravenous zombies and murderous thieves. Even an egocentric loner like Trevian needs allies to survive. As they flee through the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a simple question haunts him.

When the zombies finally close in and the bullets run out, can he make the ultimate sacrifice? Or  abandon his new found allies to a grisly fate?

This title is currently for sale on Amazon and Smashwords for $4.99.

I will be adding Barnes and Noble to this list later this week.

Defiant Now in Paperback

Hey Guys,

I have a quick update for everyone. Defiant is now in paperback! Just click the ‘Assassin’s Rising’ link above and look up Defiant. Have a great day

Avengers Movie

For those of you who haven’t seen “The Avengers” movie yet, I thought it was very well done. Then again, considering the 640 million plus dollars it made in the first twelve days (according to msn.com), there might not be many of you who haven’t yet! I’ve been hypnotized my superheros like the Avengers and X-Men since I was five years old, so I doubt I was a very tough critic throughout the experience.

Speak for yourself Sebrick, it didn’t strike me as being very realistic.

Realistic? Kaltor, you do realize its just for fun right? It’s not a documentary or anything. It was just an awesome movie, relax and have some fun for a change. Oh and please don’t give anything away about the movie while you’re ranting, I don’t want any angry emails!

I don’t rant! To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the so-called ‘Master Assassins’. Compared to the rest of the Avengers, they just couldn’t do much. Oddly enough, those two were the most ‘human’ of the bunch.

Well, give Natasha some points at least. She can interrogate like no other. Even the other Avengers couldn’t match the results she can pull from a target. Plus, its Scarlett Johansson, you just can’t argue with her as the Black Widow.

… ok, fair enough. Even if you threw me in there, I’d end up putting most of my efforts into just staying alive and waiting for the big guns to finish the job. But still, even Captain America just couldn’t do as much damage in comparison to the Hulk, Thor and Iron Man.

He did set them up at the start of the fight though. As a soldier and leader, he’s the best equipped to lead them as a team. Given what you, Honmour and Talen have been going through, you can appreciate that right?

I suppose. They did do a good job of keeping things messy at least. It wasn’t a ‘good guys go take them out’, no one ‘good’ gets hurt, type of movie. It took them a while to really team up and get pointed in the right direction. Other than that, it was a great movie, very colorful.

I loved the humorous moments they mixed in as well. It did a great job of breaking up the tension and some of those moments were just fantastically funny! Great movie for any action/superhero lovers out there