Kimberly A. Bettes's Blog, page 16

25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing

25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing.

Some pretty good advice in here, guys. A nice, swift kick in the buttocks.

I'm In The Top Six!

Earlier this year, I participated in Andy Rane's The Same Six Questions. It was a blast. I had no idea at the time that Andy would be picking the six best answers to question #6, but he did. And guess what? I'm one of them! Apparently my answer to the sixth question was not only funny to me, but to Andy as well.

I was delightfully surprised to open my email this morning and find my award waiting for me. Which I'll share with you now.

I know you're asking yourself, "Gee, myself, where can I get my hands on the infamous Same Six Questions?" Well, worry no more, friends. Take my hand and follow me here, where you will find The Top Six of The Same Six. Feel free to linger around over at Andy's and look through all the other interviews. Maybe you'll agree with his top six picks. Maybe not. But if you don't, don't send him hate mail. Andy's a pretty neat guy.

Enjoy!

Why Indie Writers Rock My World

Why Indie Writers Rock My World.

A post by die-hard indie author fan Amber Jerome Norrgard. It sounds like she likes to read. Or something.

You're Not There

I had a question for you one day. I don't remember now what the question was, but it was something I knew you'd know the answer to. I thought to myself, 'as soon as I get home, I'll call and ask –' But then I remembered that I couldn't call and ask you anything because you're not there. I tried not to dwell on that fact, as it always makes me sad. I moved on with the day, then the week, then the month, trying hard to ignore the pain that comes when I think about it too much.

A few weeks passed, and something happened. Some little event in my life that I just couldn't wait to get home and call you to share with you. But the smile slipped from my face as I once again realized that I couldn't call you and share anything with you. Because you're not there. It was harder to push aside that time, but I did. I somehow managed to carry on with the day, then the week, and the weeks since. But it's always there, nagging at my mind.

I know you're not there. I've known it all along. But is saddens me greatly to think about it, so I try my best not to. Sometimes, it slips in and tears spring immediately to my eyes. I blink rapidly, hoping no one has noticed. It's hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I know that at some point, I will find myself overwhelmed and will almost certainly break down and fall apart. And the worst part is that after it's over, I can't even call you and talk to you about it because you're not there.

I miss you, Grandma.

Sleepless Nights Guest Post

Guess who wrote a guest blog for Brandon Ford's Sleepless Nights? If you guessed I did, you're correct. If you guessed anyone other than me, you're either dumber than I tell people or you're taking something stronger than aspirin. So head on over to Sleepless Nights and see what Brandon let me ramble on about by clicking HERE. If you're redirected to a porn site, you're welcome. (I'm kidding. No porn sites were included in the linking of our blogs. You should stay away from porn sites. You could catch a virus.)

Stirred

I recently had the privilege of reading an advanced reader's copy of the newest novel by my favorite authors Blake Crouch & J.A. Konrath. How lucky am I, right? If you aren't familiar with these authors, you definitely should be. They are fantabulous. They would have to be, wouldn't they, to knock my beloved Dean Koontz off his throne and strip him of the title of My All-Time Very Favorite Author? To make your life easier, I've included here the book description and link (clicking on the title will take you to Amazon so you can purchase it or read other reviews, and clicking on the author's names will take you to their websites), along with my review. Don't worry. There's no spoilers in it. You're welcome.

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STIRRED by Blake Crouch & J.A. Konrath

"Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has seen humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. She's lost loved ones. Come close to death countless times. But she always manages to triumph over evil. Luther Kite is humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. He's committed unthinkable acts. Taken human life for the sheer pleasure of it. He is a monster among monsters, and no one has ever caught him. Each is the best at what they do. Peerless. Unmatched.

 

Until now…

 

In Luther's experience, people are weak. Even the strong and fearless break too easily. He wants a challenge, and sets his depraved sights on Jack. But with a baby on the way, Jack is at her most vulnerable. She's always been a fighter, but she's never had so much to fight for. So he's built something especially for Jack. His own private ninth circle of hell–a nightmare world in a forgotten place from which no one has ever escaped.

 

It's J.A. Konrath's greatest heroine versus Blake Crouch's greatest villain in Stirred, the stunning conclusion to both Konrath's Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thriller series and Crouch's Andrew Z. Thomas series."

 

This is my review on Amazon.com (I gave it 5 stars):  Stirred (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

It would be cliché to say that Stirred is Konrath & Crouch at their best. After all, when aren't they at their best? But this is one of their best collaborations, possibly their best to date. The way they brought in all their characters, both villains and heroes, and wove them all together in one story is simply amazing. The fact that it worked so well is a testament to both their writing abilities and their working relationship. Add in the interactive element, and you have a real masterpiece here. (They made the story interactive for those who haven't read their previous works and are unfamiliar with the characters. The reader is able to click on the name of the character during their first appearance, and will be able to learn about them. However, if you have never read anything by either author, you will still be able to keep up. The authors have done such a wonderful job of answering any questions a new reader would have without the reader even knowing they're being given back story. And there's a couple little treats along the way for faithful readers.)

Stirred was a great read, full of surprises. With tension and suspense, humor (who doesn't love Harry McGlade?), and drama, there's something here for everyone. These two have knocked it out of the park again.

RAGE

Though I had kicked around the idea of going through a traditional publisher with RAGE, I decided to just go ahead and self-pub it like I did my other novels and short stories. Why? Because it's a touchy subject matter, and I had no doubt that it would be a long and troublesome process of even finding a publisher willing to publish it. To me, it just wasn't worth the hassle when self-pubbing is so much faster, easier, and then there's that super-awesome bonus of keeping all the control, rights, and money for myself. I knew you'd see things my way.

After discussing things with my Brain Team, I decided to also make it free. Stupid move? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Think about your very favorite author. How did you discover them? A friend lend you their book? Check it out at the library? Download a free ebook? That's my line of thinking. Everybody wants something for free. Even I have a hard time shelling out dough for an author I've never heard of. What if it's horrible? What if I don't like it? I've wasted my money. But if it's free, I'm out nothing but some time. And if I like it, I race to get my hands on everything I can by that author. I'm hoping that's what happens here. We'll see.

I always make my own covers, and RAGE is no exception. I always make a few (with only slight variations of my vision), then have a hard time deciding which one I like the best. Same thing happened with RAGE. I had devised a plan to post a poll and let the readers vote on which one they liked the best, and the winner would…well…win. It would've been the official cover. But, my Brain Team once again decided that I should just use the one I liked the best. So I did. There were only a couple of variations between the cover I used and the other choices. Fonts, and instead of the gun and boy, the other covers consisted of other pictures (one of them blood spatter, the other bloody hand prints). I love the one I picked. Of course I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have picked it.

As for traditional publishing, my next novel HELD just may be up for it. It's a more acceptable subject matter. (Funny how a woman kidnapped and held in the basement of a serial killer is more acceptable than a 13 year-old boy being bullied, but hey, that's the world in which we live.) It's finished, but needs to be edited. After that, I just may begin searching for a dead-tree publisher. Then again, maybe not. Who knows what the future holds?

As for the sooner-than-I-had-told-you-it-would-be release of RAGE, surprise! I was going to release on the 24th, my birthday and Thanksgiving, but decided to do it now. Why wait? I have some readers dying to get at it. I know I certainly don't like to wait. I've heard good things about it, and we're only hours into its release. I can't wait to read some reviews. Don't forget to leave them. And as always, I hope you enjoy! This is to date my favorite book I've written. Brian Boozer really tore at my heart, and I'm sure he will yours. So suffer as I have suffered, and tell me in your review how many boxes of Kleenex you went through. I went through 2.

One Big Family

I recently read somewhere that writers are mean to each other because they're all fighting for the same thing. In my experience, this is the farthest thing from the truth. Sure, there are a handful of arrogant writers who think they're fecal matter is odorless, but you get a handful of those people anywhere you look. And everyone knows that you can't let 'one bad apple spoil the whole bunch'. Not all writers are arrogant. Don't judge the multitude by the deeds of the few.

I know, talk to, and associate with a lot of other writers. They're the greatest people I've ever met. They're understanding. They're empathetic with other writers, because we've all gone through the same thing. And they're the most supportive people I've ever met. More supportive than friends and relatives because they know what our goal is, and they know how hard it is to achieve that goal. We all suffer the same pain. We share advice and tips with each other. We promote each other's work. We lend an ear. We share experiences. We're like a big family, really. It's wonderful. I'm happy to be a part of such a great group of people. You'd think people that concoct such brutal, gruesome stories would be awful, but they're not. They're great. So whoever said writers are mean to each other was obviously not a writer.

Caught Between There and There

Recently, some things have come to my attention. Calm down, they're not bad. At least not for anyone other than me. Stop smiling like that, because they're not good, either. For any of us.

I've always been able to look at myself honestly. For example, I know everything I can do, everything I can do well, and everything I can't do, well or otherwise. Sure, I get mad when I can't do something. Like sing. I admire people with beautiful singing voices, but I'm certainly not one of those people. I can't sing. Okay, well I CAN sing, but I CAN'T sing well. Not even close to well. But I've come to terms with it, and have moved on because there are so many other things I can do, and I do those fabulously.

In keeping with looking at myself honestly, I don't consider myself old. My birthday is next month. It's the 34th time I've had one. So at the age of 34, I still think of myself as, I don't know, say…mid-20s at the most. I'm young, though I've always thought I was an old soul. But lately, I've seen some disturbing things that have made me reconsider how young I really am.

I've noticed that people treat me differently. Not like 'get away from her, she has cooties' differently, but young people – teenagers, for instance – don't treat me the way they used to. They treat me like – and this is the part it hurts me to say – a grown up. I'm not one of them anymore. It doesn't matter that I know the lingo or that I can tell you every word of any Eminem song or that I have heavy metal music on my mp3 player or that I think ripped jeans are cool. None of that matters to them because I'm an adult in their eyes. It makes me sad. Especially since I still think of myself as one of them. Maybe not a teenager, but certainly a young adult. Adults treat me differently as well. They think of me as one of them. They want to talk to me about the weather or politics or insurance policies.

I don't feel old. While it's true that I knit and crochet, I do it jamming out to Rob Zombie, Buckcherry, 3 Doors Down, Eminem, ICP, and of course my beloved Hank Williams Sr, among many others. While it's also true that I carry sewing supplies with me at times, I carry them in a Nike gym bag. While you may hear me talking about how some people have their music way too loud, you'll also hear me talking about the time I went to a Nelly concert and turned that mother out, or the time I saw Kid Rock live in the same week, or the time I got beer spilled on me at the Ted Nugent concert, where I was front row, right in front of the speaker. I have friends as young as 13 and as old as 85. I love them all equally, and I have things in common with every one of them.

It seems that I'm not young enough to fall in with teens or the twenty-somethings anymore. I'm not old enough to be considered elderly (yet). So where does this leave me? Caught here, between there and there. And it's here you'll find me, hanging around, until the time comes to move on to the next phase in my life. Until then, I still consider myself young. And you know what they say. You're only as old as you feel.

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Another Slightly Scary Story

. Draven Ames' amazing blog where this month, in the spirit of Halloween, he's posting scary short stories from various authors (by the way, I'm story #2). If you haven't checked it out yet, you should. But bring a friend, because you you shouldn't come alone…

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