Michael Coorlim's Blog, page 47

Oh Human Child Rerelease

When six-year-old Ethan is kidnapped by faeries, Jacob knows that he can’t rely on the police or his parents to rescue him. Assisted only by his best friend Tyler, he’s willing to brave trolls, witches, and even the entire elvish host to bring his brother back.

A story from the past

Oh Human Child is an urban fantasy short story, and one of the first titles I released when I started self-publishing back in January 2012. I unpublished it when I decided to focus on longer works, keeping it locked away in a digital drawer with intent of eventually developing it into a series or a serial or something. I still might, but I have a use for the story today.

Testing the Unlimited Waters

I’m not very interested in the Amazon Unlimited subscription service. Exclusivity isn’t something that appeals to me; less than a third of my writing income comes from Amazon, and the rest I get from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. It’s less appealing to me as a reader. I don’t see the incentive of paying $120 a year for a limited selection of ebooks when there’s a library just a few blocks away.

Still, I don’t want to judge Unlimited unfairly without trying it out. I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, so I’m taking advantage of a story I don’t have available in any of the other stores, and putting it into the program.

Getting Oh Human Child

The exclusivity is to Amazon, not Unlimited, so if you’ve got a kindle and want a copy of the story, you can still just buy it. It’s a short one, so I’m only charging 99 cents. If you don’t have a kindle, you’ll have to wait three months until the exclusivity period ends. Sorry! I don’t like it either, but that’s the experiment.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post Oh Human Child Rerelease appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Oh Human Child rerelease

When six-year-old Ethan is kidnapped by faeries, Jacob knows that he can’t rely on the police or his parents to rescue him. Assisted only by his best friend Tyler, he’s willing to brave trolls, witches, and even the entire elvish host to bring his brother back.

A story from the past

Oh Human Child is an urban fantasy short story, and one of the first titles I released when I started self-publishing back in January 2012. I unpublished it when I decided to focus on longer works, keeping it locked away in a digital drawer with intent of eventually developing it into a series or a serial or something. I still might, but I have a use for the story today.

Testing the Unlimited Waters

I’m not very interested in the Amazon Unlimited subscription service. Exclusivity isn’t something that appeals to me; less than a third of my writing income comes from Amazon, and the rest I get from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. It’s less appealing to me as a reader. I don’t see the incentive of paying $120 a year for a limited selection of ebooks when there’s a library just a few blocks away.

Still, I don’t want to judge Unlimited unfairly without trying it out. I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, so I’m taking advantage of a story I don’t have available in any of the other stores, and putting it into the program.

Getting Oh Human Child

The exclusivity is to Amazon, not Unlimited, so if you’ve got a kindle and want a copy of the story, you can still just buy it. It’s a short one, so I’m only charging 99 cents. If you don’t have a kindle, you’ll have to wait three months until the exclusivity period ends. Sorry! I don’t like it either, but that’s the experiment.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post Oh Human Child rerelease appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Review of Gravedigger’s Daughter by Nikki M. Pill

Gravedigger’s Daughter is a dark fantasy mystery novelette by Nikki M. Pill. It’s a skillfully written deep viewpoint story in a world of superstition and social restriction.

You can read the entire review over at Book Nouveau.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post Review of Gravedigger’s Daughter by Nikki M. Pill appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

First Season of Hero Historia Wraps Up

Jericho Rising, the first season of my historical superhero web series, has wrapped up. Here’s a postscript.

Neolithic Superheroes

Jericho Rising tells the story of Clay, a hunter from the Bear Clan, a group of semi-nomads living on and around Smoke Mountain. The son of the clan’s Champion, he and his brother Broad survive when a foreign tribe invade. The pair leave for new lives in the city of Jericho, where Clay becomes the city’s Champion, creating a pattern that will echo through the ages.

Apparently history means making stuff up

I love research. Love it. But unfortunately we know next to nothing about the people who lived in and around Jericho 10,000 years ago, at the time the story takes place. We can intuit a little from what little we know about other neolithic people of the era. We don’t even know what they called the city, or even themselves – archaeology refers to them as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A.

That’s probably not the term they used.

So I had quite a bit of latitude in making up their culture and attitudes, even before you get into the alternate-history aspects of the setting.

What’s next for Hero Historia

I’ve given the collected text of the Jericho Rising story arc to a beta reader, and once she’s done with it I’ll be publishing it as an ebook that includes a few extras not published as part of the serial itself. A side-chapter, some fake historical documents, that kind of thing.

I’m currently plotting the next Hero Historia story arc. All I can tell you right now is that it deals with Sumeria, Ziggarauts, and divinity. There’s a lot more we know about the Sumerians, so there’s a lot more research involved, but that’s fine with me.

I like research.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post First Season of Hero Historia Wraps Up appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

First season of Hero Historia wraps up

Jericho Rising, the first season of my historical superhero web series, has wrapped up. Here’s a postscript.

Neolithic Superheroes

Jericho Rising tells the story of Clay, a hunter from the Bear Clan, a group of semi-nomads living on and around Smoke Mountain. The son of the clan’s Champion, he and his brother Broad survive when a foreign tribe invade. The pair leave for new lives in the city of Jericho, where Clay becomes the city’s Champion, creating a pattern that will echo through the ages.

Apparently history means making stuff up

I love research. Love it. But unfortunately we know next to nothing about the people who lived in and around Jericho 10,000 years ago, at the time the story takes place. We can intuit a little from what little we know about other neolithic people of the era. We don’t even know what they called the city, or even themselves – archaeology refers to them as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A.

That’s probably not the term they used.

So I had quite a bit of latitude in making up their culture and attitudes, even before you get into the alternate-history aspects of the setting.

What’s next for Hero Historia

I’ve given the collected text of the Jericho Rising story arc to a beta reader, and once she’s done with it I’ll be publishing it as an ebook that includes a few extras not published as part of the serial itself. A side-chapter, some fake historical documents, that kind of thing.

I’m currently plotting the next Hero Historia story arc. All I can tell you right now is that it deals with Sumeria, Ziggarauts, and divinity. There’s a lot more we know about the Sumerians, so there’s a lot more research involved, but that’s fine with me.

I like research.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post First season of Hero Historia wraps up appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Writing Exercise: Character Traits

When I schedule my writing, I like to do so by the month, mapping out what novel I’ll be writing, what novel I’ve been editing. Often this leaves me with a few days or a week of slack at the end, and rather than fill in those gaps by starting the next novel early, I work on shorter projects. Lately it’s been eaten up trying to get ahead with my alternate-history superhero serial Hero Historia, but I’ve decided to write more stand-alone short stories.

Short Fiction

I haven’t really written any since the publication of Grief, and those were all variations on the same theme. To refresh my memory, I’m re-reading some of my reference library.

Writing the Short-Story: A Hands-on Guide by Jack M Bickham is two-decades old, but it’s chock-full of good advice, and his follow up Scene and Structure has really helped my novel-writing. Writing the Short Story includes a variety of exercises involving index cards, some of which I’ll be sharing with my readers.

Because hey, why not.

Character Traits

Today’s exercise has two parts. First, I need to identify and write down character traits I find admirable on 20 index cards. Secondly, I need to identify and record traits I find unpleasant. Here are my lists:

Admirable Traits

Disciplined
Intelligent – capable of understanding and communicating complex ideas
Socially Aware
Interesting
Self Aware of own strengths, weaknesses, and prejudices
Patient – with flaws of others
Skillful – in chosen discipline(s)
Honorable – keeps ones word
Rational – painful truths chosen over comfortable illusions
Practical
Reliable – fulfills obligations
Optimistic
Resolute in the face of adversity
Witty/Clever
Adaptability
Empathy
Compassion
Creativity
Openmindedness – to the lifestyles and values of others
Confidence

Note that these aren’t my 20 favorite traits, just twenty that came to mind while filling out the cards. Some of them have clarifications or qualifiers; I was trying to be specific.

Unpleasant Traits

Fearful – lets fear dictate choices
Judgmental
Unambitious – content with the unacceptable
Elitist
Entitled
Manipulative
Self-Absorbed
Unreliable
Dishonest
Dismissive – of others values
Materialistic
Ethnocentric
Cruel – callous
Close-Minded in the face of overwhelming evidence
Arrogant
Exploitative – profit @ expense of others
Willful Ignorance
Classist
Racist
Sexist

Again, no particular order, not all-inclusive. Interestingly some of my villains have “admirable” traits, and some of my heroes have unpleasant ones. The lists cannot, for me, be delineated along hero/villain or protagonist/antagonist lines.

What about you?

What character traits do you find appealing or repulsive?

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post Writing Exercise: Character Traits appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

I love Writing, But Hate Promotion

I’ve written a book about writing.

Okay, it’s not really a book about writing, it’s a book about the business of writing.

Okay, it’s not really about the business of writing, it’s about the philosophy of the business of writing.

I think.

In the past I’ve touched on some small aspects of my process, but they’re more about me than they are about the broad topic of writing. I don’t really talk much about that here, because this is a blog geared towards my readers, and the sort of people who might enjoy the sort of things that I like to write.

That’s what the book is about.

Sell Yourself, Not Your Books

Catchy title. Despite how it sounds, it’s not about abandoning a writing career to go into prostitution. It’s about focusing your efforts on letting people get to know you.

I’m a full-time writer. I work 40 hours a week (okay, sometimes more) 50 weeks a year (okay, sometimes less). I treat it like a full-time job, because that’s what my books and what my readers deserve.  Not all of those 2000 annual hours are spent typing. I wish they could be, but the job description for “self-published author” also includes brainstorming, outlining, revisions, cover design, publishing, and yes, promotion.

I hate promotion.

I don’t like asking people to buy my books. It feels like begging. It feels like an imposition. It feels like I’m knocking on a stranger’s door in the middle of supper. I don’t mind announcing my new releases, and I don’t mind sending out notices to my mailing list (hey, you knew what you were getting into), but unsolicited tweets or facebook posts leave me cold.

So I stopped doing them.

You have to do something, though. The best-written book in the world will languish in obscurity if nobody knows that it’s there. Fortunately, there’s more than one way to get the word out. I don’t have to sell you my books. I can just sell you myself, and let you decide for yourselves whether or not I’m someone interesting enough to write a book worth reading.

(Spoiler: Yes.)

Not necessarily this book. This book is fairly specialized, helping authors who hate promotion (like I do) find other ways to build their careers by focusing on a fan-base instead of individual sales. If you’re not a creative entrepreneur in need of a marketing plan, you probably won’t get a lot out of this book.

Isn’t posting it here sorta ironic?

What, directly marketing a book about how you shouldn’t directly market your books? Hell yes it’s ironic. But it also illustrates my point.

My platform isn’t one built around servicing self-published authors. I don’t really have that readership, and I’m not going to be writing a lot of books on the subject, so it’s not really worth the investment to build it. I’m going to remain focused on the readers I have.

Sell Yourself, Not Your Books says basically everything I have to say on the topic of marketing as an author. Yes, it’s pretty short. But that’s all there is to it.

I have to get back to writing.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post I love Writing, But Hate Promotion appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

I love writing, but hate promotion

I’ve written a book about writing.

Okay, it’s not really a book about writing, it’s a book about the business of writing.

Okay, it’s not really about the business of writing, it’s about the philosophy of the business of writing.

I think.

In the past I’ve touched on some small aspects of my process, but they’re more about me than they are about the broad topic of writing. I don’t really talk much about that here, because this is a blog geared towards my readers, and the sort of people who might enjoy the sort of things that I like to write.

That’s what the book is about.

Sell Yourself, Not Your Books

Catchy title. Despite how it sounds, it’s not about abandoning a writing career to go into prostitution. It’s about focusing your efforts on letting people get to know you.

I’m a full-time writer. I work 40 hours a week (okay, sometimes more) 50 weeks a year (okay, sometimes less). I treat it like a full-time job, because that’s what my books and what my readers deserve.  Not all of those 2000 annual hours are spent typing. I wish they could be, but the job description for “self-published author” also includes brainstorming, outlining, revisions, cover design, publishing, and yes, promotion.

I hate promotion.

I don’t like asking people to buy my books. It feels like begging. It feels like an imposition. It feels like I’m knocking on a stranger’s door in the middle of supper. I don’t mind announcing my new releases, and I don’t mind sending out notices to my mailing list (hey, you knew what you were getting into), but unsolicited tweets or facebook posts leave me cold.

So I stopped doing them.

You have to do something, though. The best-written book in the world will languish in obscurity if nobody knows that it’s there. Fortunately, there’s more than one way to get the word out. I don’t have to sell you my books. I can just sell you myself, and let you decide for yourselves whether or not I’m someone interesting enough to write a book worth reading.

(Spoiler: Yes.)

Not necessarily this book. This book is fairly specialized, helping authors who hate promotion (like I do) find other ways to build their careers by focusing on a fan-base instead of individual sales. If you’re not a creative entrepreneur in need of a marketing plan, you probably won’t get a lot out of this book.

Isn’t posting it here sorta ironic?

What, directly marketing a book about how you shouldn’t directly market your books? Hell yes it’s ironic. But it also illustrates my point.

My platform isn’t one built around servicing self-published authors. I don’t really have that readership, and I’m not going to be writing a lot of books on the subject, so it’s not really worth the investment to build it. I’m going to remain focused on the readers I have.

Sell Yourself, Not Your Books says basically everything I have to say on the topic of marketing as an author. Yes, it’s pretty short. But that’s all there is to it.

I have to get back to writing.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post I love writing, but hate promotion appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Warning: This post contains strong language

photo credit: stockicide via photopin cc

About a month ago I released Infernal Revelation, the first season of a supernatural thriller YA serial. It’s my first serial, it’s my first Young Adult targeted work. I’m bound to make mistakes.

Profanity and YA fiction

One of these mistakes, so I’m told, is the inclusion of strong language. Many readers of YA fiction don’t like characters cursing. My protagonists, teenagers all, say things like ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’. Some of them say it a lot.

I absolutely respect opinions that such language is crass and unpleasant. You’ve your right not to like it, and I’d never try to argue you out of that.

But that’s how we talked, when we were young. Not because it was “cool” to swear, but just because curse words were part of our vocabulary. Kids say shit. They say fuck. And dick and cunt and every other four letter profanity, and one of my goals for Infernal Revelation, despite the fantastic subject matter, was to reflect the reality of being an outsider teen. That includes linguistic patterns.

And when you’re a kid, man, sometimes shit’s fucked.

Sometimes Shit’s Fucked

Understand that I am not anti-puritanical, even though it’s not my way. Children don’t live in a sanitized world, and there are a lot of problems we need to tackle before “rampant profanity” even shows up on their radar. Racism, sexism, homophobia, wealth disparity, environmental destruction, women’s rights…

Studies have shown that profanity serves a useful social linguistic purpose in pain relief. Many of the things that torment us aren’t the kind of aches that an asprin can heal. Depression, frustration, exclusion, grief, isolation, helplessness… children face real social ills, both within their own microcosms and as part of society as a whole. Their problems are real, and if you can’t fix them, you can’t protect them, at least stop denying them their built in linguistic defenses against a world they cannot control.

Fuckin’ Veritas

But that’s not why Infernal Revelation contains profanity. That’s just how kids talk. And I will absolutely respect that you don’t like it, if you’ll respect my desire to reflect their reality.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post Warning: This post contains strong language appeared first on Michael Coorlim.

Grief audiobook and Infernal Revelation paperback

Two new releases this week.

Firstly we have the audiobook version of Grief: Five Stories of Apocalyptic Loss. It’s been released through Amazon, iTunes, and Audible for $6.95. It’s the debut audiobook for narrator Kat O’Connor, and I was pleased with the results.

Secondly there’s the paperback version of Infernal Revelation: The Collected Episodes. It’s 253 pages for $14.99, available direct through Amazon, or you can order it through any bookstore. Ask for ISBN 1499654804.

Kat was also kind enough to do the layout for Infernal Revelation’s print edition, and we’ve partnered up to offer her layout services to other authors through Book Cover Nouveau. For a base $200 you’ll get a CreateSpace ready PDF produced to professional industry standards in InDesign.

What’s next?

The historical sci-fi superhero serial Hero Historia continues with its free weekly episodes, and we’re half-way to the end of the Jericho Rising story-arc. When it’s complete I’ll be publishing a novella-sized compilation of the arc, including ebook exclusive supplementary materials not otherwise seen on the blog.

I’m also hard at work on the next steampunk Galvanic Century novel, Ghosts of Shaolin. Detectives Alton Bartleby and James Wainwright accompany gentlewoman Aldora Fiske from London to the intrigue and danger of the newly birthed Republic of China. More details will be forthcoming.

Look for Ghosts of Shaolin this fall, or sign up for my mailing list for an exclusive heads-up when it’s released.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

The post Grief audiobook and Infernal Revelation paperback appeared first on Michael Coorlim.