Christopher B. Wright's Blog, page 36

Pen and Cape Society: Super Choice Adventure Chapter 2

The next chapter of the Pen and Cape Society's Super Choice Adventure is up. This chapter is written by R.J. Ross, author of the Cape High books. I discuss her stories a little on this site in Introducting the Pen and Cape Society.

This installment gives you the chance to vote me in as the next author up to bat. Read through the latest installment and choose which power you want Willow to use next. If you choose "fire manipulation" then I'll need to figure out exactly how the the heck I'm goin...

The Pen and Cape Society Introduces: Super Choice Adventure!

Did you like "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories back in the day? Do you like stories where the ending hasn't been figured out yet? Do you like those crazy stories where multiple authors take turns pushing it forward? What about all three smooshed together?

Introducing Super Choice Adventure: the adventure that's sort of like Choose Your Own Adventure but not close enough to violate any copyrights that's being written by multiple authors who haven't figured out the ending yet!

Various members o...

Introducing The Pen and Cape Society

A few months ago I joined The Pen and Cape Society.

“What is that?” I hear you ask. Well it’s a group—a posse, if you will—of writers who create superhero fiction. The website describes it as “a collection of superhero fiction authors dedicated to cross-promotion and increasing awareness of the genre.” I create superhero fiction, and I could do with a little more awareness of the genre myself, so joining seemed like a no-brainer. If you ever see me using the hashtag #pencape on Twitter, that’s...

Amazon v. Hachette: Everyone Is Wrong But Me

Update 5:12 PM (CST): Global edit, Hatchette->Hachette. Because apparently I thought the publisher was actually named after an axe.

I hoped I’d be able to stay out of this whole Hachette/Amazon mess. It should be easy: I’m not a recognized authority on publishing, after all, and my soapbox isn’t really pointed in that direction. But as it happens, no one in this argument is saying what I want them to say, so I’m going to have to say it myself, and leaving comments on other people’s blogs ju...

Renaming Pay Me, Bug!?!!???

Should an author rename a novel they've already published? More specifically, should I? That's what I'm thinking through right now, and I thought it was worth thinking through out loud.

Last Monday I was feeling whimsical. I was looking at book covers and noticed a the ones that featured the name of the author at the top of the page frequently had “HUGO AWARD WINNING AUTHOR” or “HUGO NOMINATED AUTHOR” or “NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER” placed under the author’s name. It made perfect sense from an...

Sometimes I am filled with whimsy...

... and this is what happens.

I have to admit, I am sorely tempted.

The Immerse or Die Report

Jefferson Smith is an Indie author and blogger who has hit upon what I think is an amazingly great conceit for a book review series: he's started exercising, and he uses a treadmill. Each time he exercises, he starts reading a book. Will the book keep him interested through the entire 40-minute workout? If it does, he explains why. If it doesn't, he explains why not. He calls this the Immerse or Die Report, and I think it's brilliant.

(Full disclosure time: yesterday he featured Pay Me, Bug! o...

Point of No Return: Part Four

Unknown, Tropical Climate

David Bernard struggles to open his eyes as he is suddenly inundated with the cold sting of ocean water rolling over his face.

He chokes, gagging as he tries to simultaneous expel the water he just inhaled and draw fresh air into his lungs. He panics for a moment as his body can’t seem to organize itself to do first one, then the other, but then he coughs, retches, and streams of ocean water come out of his mouth and nose. A moment later he breathes in—the air is sharp...

Point of No Return: Part Three

Vigilante and Street Ronin stand on the roof of the Mercer Actuarial Building and stare down at the street below. Traffic is moderately heavy, and they frequently hear the sound of car horns blaring angrily as vehicles fight for the right of way.

“Audience tonight,” Street Ronin says. His voice is calm and steady, but Vigilante can detect an edge to it.

“Yeah,” Vigilante says. “That’s OK. Fun won’t start until we get in.”

They gaze at the TriHealth on the other side of the street. Mercer Actuari...

Point of No Return: Part Two

Farraday City Bunker

“Well that settles it, Miss Liberty. I’ll tell Vigilante and Street Ronin your new handle, and they’ll make sure to leak it to the press.”

“The hell you will!” Jenny knows Red Shift is joking, but the constant needling is starting to get to her. It doesn’t help that she’s going stir crazy: the bunker wasn’t designed to hold three metahumans, especially when two of them have spent the last two weeks training. The entire place smells like a gym, and the rest of the bunker fee...