E.D. Martin's Blog, page 36

Weekend Writing Warriors 1/18/15 #8sunday

New year, new story! This month I’ll be pulling from a novella series I’m working on, with each book based on a different fairy tale. Today’s snippet is from the first one (no title yet), which is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

MC Nyah lives with her younger sister Payton. They’d been joking around about Nyah’s betrothed and who Payton would marry.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Payton burst back into the cottage, her eyes wide, and said, “Nyah, you must see this!”

I hurried out after her.

She stood in our small yard and pointed towards the horizon, where a large cloud of dust hung over the hills, then asked, “What is that?”

I shook my head and said, “It’s too distant to see. Quick, fetch Father’s spyglass.”

She ran into the house and returned a moment later with the object.

I held it to my eye and trained it on the cloud, revealing a large band of men on horses. My heart leapt into my mouth; our small village would be no match for these men.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Weekend Writing Warriors 1/11/15 #8sunday

New year, new story! This month I’ll be pulling from a novella series I’m working on, with each book based on a different fairy tale. Today’s snippet is from the first one (no title yet).

Last week, MC Nyah stole back a chicken from her betrothed, Wynne. This week, she’s talking to her younger sister Payton about him.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“I dinnae know why you even put up with Wynne; you aren’t a good match for him.”

I busied myself with arranging our few plates on the small table as I said, “Father wanted this marriage, and I cannot go against his wishes.”

She didn’t answer, so I continued, “Wynne isn’t so bad. He means well, and even though he did steal our chicken, he’ll make a good husband, especially as son of the mayor. We’ll make sure to focus on a match of love for you.”

“I don’t want to marry, especially no one in this village, but if I do have to, I want to marry a prince, or one of the merchants who passes through and travels the world, or a traveling prince.” She wrinkled her nose and said, “Wynne is none of those things; why, he cannot even write his own name.”

“He can write his own name, he just can’t write anything besides it.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

2014 book roundup

One of my goals for 2014 was to read 100 books. I made it just past halfway, with a total of 56 (I didn’t include textbooks or journal articles I read for grad school, or kids books I read with my son, even the chapter books like the Ninja Meercats or Dragonslayers Academy series).

Here’s a breakdown of what I read:

    6 (11%) were either kids or young adult; the rest were adult.
    3 (5%) were nonfiction and the rest were fiction.
    17 (30%) were single short stories (yes, I realize it’s cheating to include those), and 10 (18%) were short story anthologies.
    I know the authors of 34 (61%) of the books; 8 of the authors (15 of the books or 27%) of them are also with my publisher, Evolved.
    Only 7 (13%) were books that randomly caught my eye on a library shelf or website; all the rest were either recommended or written by someone I know or follow online.

Best books I read in 2014:

    “Duck” by Stephen Parolini: a short story about a boy and an unexploded bomb that shapes his life
    “No Punchline: Or, The Night Chale Thayer Blew his Head off at the Punch Drunk Comedy Club” by Jeff Suwak:  nearly perfect story about a comedian who doesn’t want to be funny.
The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti: a disturbing and moving story about growing up Palestinian during the Israeli occupation.

If you challenged yourself to read a set number of books in 2014, how did you end up doing?  What were your favorites?  Anything you particularly disliked?

Weekend Writing Warriors 1/4/15 #8sunday

New year, new story! This month I’ll be pulling from a novella series I’m working on, with each book based on a different fairy tale. Today’s snippet is from the first one (no title yet). It starts out with the MC Nyah arguing with her betrothed, Wynne.

* * * * * * * * * * *

I stomped across the village square, bucket swinging in one arm and chicken tucked under another, not caring who witnessed my ire.

“Nyah, wait!”

Against my better judgment, I stopped with a huff and waited for Wynne to catch up; maybe he wanted to apologize.

“You are being ridiculous.”

Or, maybe he didn’t.

I glared at him and said, “You stole my chicken, so I took a chicken back; what is so ridiculous about that?”

He glared back and said, “I didn’t steal anything because first, we’re betrothed, which means what is yours is mine, so if I take something of yours, it’s like taking something of mine, and second, you owe me a chicken because….”

He trailed off as I continued to glare, then told him, “Then give me your cow.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Weekend Writing Warriors 1/4/14 #8sunday

New year, new story! This month I’ll be pulling from a novella series I’m working on, with each book based on a different fairy tale. Today’s snippet is from the first one (no title yet). It starts out with the MC Nyah arguing with her betrothed, Wynne.

* * * * * * * * * * *

I stomped across the village square, bucket swinging in one arm and chicken tucked under another, not caring who witnessed my ire.

“Nyah, wait!”

Against my better judgment, I stopped with a huff and waited for Wynne to catch up; maybe he wanted to apologize.

“You are being ridiculous.”

Or, maybe he didn’t.

I glared at him and said, “You stole my chicken, so I took a chicken back; what is so ridiculous about that?”

He glared back and said, “I didn’t steal anything because first, we’re betrothed, which means what is yours is mine, so if I take something of yours, it’s like taking something of mine, and second, you owe me a chicken because….”

He trailed off as I continued to glare, then told him, “Then give me your cow.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Resolutions: 2014 review and 2015 goals

Every year I set goals for myself and periodically evaluate them. Here are 2014′s:

1. Finish my third novel, tentatively titled On the Other Side, which will be a steampunk political thriller because, well, why not.

Did not happen because the combination of working full time while attending grad school full time kicked my butt this year.

2. Write and submit at least one new short story every month.

Did not happen because the combination of working full time while attending grad school full time kicked my butt this year. I have several ready to send out, but I haven’t submitted anything since late last winter.

3.Get a short story collection ready for publication (not including The Futility of Loving a Soldier, which was released by Evolved Publishing in December).

Did not happen because the combination of working full time while attending grad school full time kicked my butt this year.

4. Self-publish at least two long short stories through my publisher.

My publisher, Evolved, released “Not My Thing” in April. It’s been free since this summer and did pretty well for downloads.

I haven’t gotten anything else written because the combination – you get the idea.

5. Read 100 books.

I read 56 (post to come soon), which averages to about 1 a week. Not bad, considering this doesn’t include all the reading I did for classes and my thesis proposal.

6. Learn a new language – either Spanish, Tamil, Arabic, or Icelandic – to the point I can carry on a basic conversation in it.

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

I didn’t do so well last year when it came to writing goals – I started a new job that had about 5-10 hours/week mandatory overtime for several months, I took 4-5 classes each semester, I had a 20 hr/wk summer internship, and I was working on a thesis proposal the whole time. And I bought a 100-year-old house this fall that’s needed a bunch of work – painting everything, refinishing hardwood floors, etc.

2015 should be calmer though (or not – I may be in a PhD program instead of working, so we’ll see how that trade-off goes). However, every time I cross something off my list I seem to add two more things in its place, so with that in mind, here are my goals for 2015:

1. Write and submit at least one new short story every month, with the goal being at least 10 publications this year.

2. Write the rough drafts for a seven-part novella series, and maybe even publish one or two of them.

3. Have at least one novel published, with another one polished enough to publish in 2016.

4. Publish at least two long short stories (10k+) or short story collections.

5. Improve my marketing strategy in order to increase my fanbase (as measured by newsletter subscription, Facebook page likes, and social media interactions like comments, likes, and favorites), sales, and reviews.

6. Read 100 books.

7. Get healthier: cut out my daily breakfast Pepsi (not sure how the lack of caffeine will work when I generally only get 4-5 hours of sleep) and eventually almost all soda; go out to eat once a week or less; eat more fruits and veggies and less processed, sodium-drenched foods; use the gym membership I’m paying for; ride my bike to work when it warms up; etc.

What are your goals for 2015?

Weekend Writing Warriors 12/28/14 #8sunday

It’s the last Weekend Writing Warriors post of the year! Today I’m going to post one of the favorite parts from my short story “Of Gods and Floods,” which is included in my Us, Together collection. I know I’ve posted it before, but I like it so I’m going to share it again.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Ritchie,” Granddaddy would say to me every year, “who created the world?”

“God did, Granddaddy.”

“And who floods it?”

“Well, my teacher said it ain’t nobody’s fault, just the snow melting up in Minnesota with no other place to go.”

“Your teacher’s an idjit.” He paused, sucked on his teeth, then said, “Mother Nature floods us in Cairo, and you know why?”

Of course I knew why, but I didn’t want to ruin his story, so I said, “No, why?”

“Cuz no matter if’n it be a woman on Earth or a woman in Heaven, she gonna do what she can to make her man look a fool!”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Read the rest of the story in the collection, just $.99 at Amazon, then post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And make sure to get a copy of my latest short story, “Not My Thing,” free at Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

What writers want for Christmas

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Christmas is a season of giving, and what better way to show your support for your favorite authors than giving back to them? There’s one guaranteed way to demonstrate your appreciation for their books -

Write them a review!

Reviews are the currency of the book world, more so than sales, because reviews are often used as a way to get in on marketing opportunities. Many promotions, for example, require at least 10 Amazon reviews before you can participate (even many paid promotions). And reviews can let other readers know that a book is worth reading. These in turn lead to more sales, which generate more reviews, which lead to more sales….

The reviews don’t need to be five stars – while appreciated, authors like to get any feedback about their work. They like to know that their stories are being read, as well as what worked and what didn’t so they can incorporate it into future stories.

So this year, as you finish reading all the new books you got for Christmas, take a moment to write a review for the author and post it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, your blog, Facebook – wherever you can. The writing world thanks you!

Weekend Writing Warriors 12/21/14 #8sunday

It’s nearly Christmas! I’ve been so busy with end-of-semester grad school stuff (papers, tests, thesis proposal, taking the GRE) that I didn’t have a chance to get any shopping done until yesterday. There were so many people everywhere, it was overwhelming for an introvert like me.

In that spirit, this week’s snippet is a similar Christmas experience from my women’s fiction novel, The Lone Wolf. In this scene, Kasey bumps into Andrew at the mall.

I strolled past a toy store and happened to notice Andrew inside, looking baffled in an aisle filled with pink, so smiling, I went in and tapped him on the arm.

He jumped, frowned, then smiled a little when he saw me and said, “Hey.”

“Hey.”

He stared at the dolls, clearly out of his element. He wasn’t cold but not overly polite either; he was dismissive, distracted, and I didn’t think it was just because of the overwhelming selection.

“Need some help?” I asked.

“There are so fucking many! How the hell are you supposed to know what to get?”

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

You can get a copy of The Lone Wolf at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords, or the audiobook at Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.

And make sure to get a copy of my latest short story, “Not My Thing,” free at Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

 

Weekend Writing Warriors 12/14/14 #8sunday

I’m celebrating the end of a grueling grad school semester with a much needed weekend getaway – hanging out in St. Louis with an old friend and catching a concert by my favorite band.

In that spirit, today’s snippet is from my free short story “Not My Thing,” about a musician trying to reconnect with the music. This scene is from the beginning, right before the band takes the stage.

“Seven,” Todd, the lead singer of the Dancing Freemasons, says.

“Huh?” asks Steve, the bassist, as he jumps from foot to foot; maybe it’s nerves, or maybe he just has to pee.

“Seven numbers tonight,” Todd says as he winks at his bandmates, “or should I say, lucky seven.”

“Four,” chimes in Eric, the other guitarist.

“Twelve,” says Steve.

Todd snorts, rolls his eyes, and says,” I give you two.”

They run through this ritual before every show: predict how many phones numbers each of them can get from female fans after the show. They always overestimate, but that’s half the fun.

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Then head over to Amazon to read the rest of the story. It’s free!