Martyn V. Halm's Blog, page 6

Aconite Attack: ARCs now available!

Aconite Attack, the fourth Katla KillFile, will be published in a few days, but you can get an Advance Reader Copy from today! If you’re interested in reading the story before its official launch date and support an independent author, read on:

Aconite Attack is the fourth Katla KillFile, after Locked Room, Microchip Murder, and Fundamental Error.

The pitch for Aconite Attack:

Assassin Katla finds a devious way to get a target to poison himself…

The Aconite Attack KillFile (10,600 words) fol...

New Katla KillFile on its way: Aconite Attack

Despite battling my kidney stones, I’ve been working on a new Katla KillFile called Aconite Attack:

Assassin Katla finds a devious way to get a target to poison himself…

The Aconite Attack KillFile follows Katla Sieltjes, freelance assassin and corporate troubleshooter, as she gets herself hired by the CEO of a modelling agency to permanently remove his playboy partner, who is quickly draining the firm’s resources on his downward spiral into self-destruction. Katla finds a way to administer a...

Distraction-Free Writing: No Need To Re-Invent The Wheel…

With the Hemingwrite, young enterpreneurs are trying to give a new spin to an old concept: How To Increase Writing Productivity By Removing Distractions. But, before you back their KickStarter campaign, see how they are reinventing what is already available…

A friend showed me the Hemingwrite kickstarter campaign, asking me if the Hemingwrite was something for me to increase my productivity. As I explained to him, the Hemingwrite concept is hardly new, and expensive to boot. Since commenting...

WRITING: For the Curious: My Writing Workstation…

As there are always writers and fans who are curious about the work methods and gear of authors, I decided to show off my workstation.

Warning: this article has a high ‘gearhead’ ratio, so proceed at your own risk.

An Overview:

This is my workstation when I write at home, i.e. my stationary station. I also have a set-up for ‘on-the-go’ (which can be briefly seen here), but I’ll come back to that in another article.

My seat of creativity… (photo by Martyn V. Halm)

When I write at home, I sit...

NaNoWriMo? Not For Me, No.

Lots of writers seem to be gearing up for National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.

For those not ‘in the know’, the goal is to spend all November to cobble 60,000 words together, so you can say you wrote a novel in a month. And quality be damned, because you shouldn’t spend too much time on editing and revision if you want to churn out 2,000+ words a day, every day.

Many writers consider it a challenge. Me? Not so much.

I’ve never participated. I’m too busy writing to join challenges. Just as I rarely respond to writing prompts. I don’t ‘play’ at writing or see writing as a ‘sport’, where you have to attain a certain number of words to reach the finish line.

I don’t care about the quantity, I care about the quality.

I know, I know. The goal is to get those writers who spend weeks on torturing themselves, agonising over writing the perfect 1,000 words in a month to throw caution in the wind and write!

Yes, I got that memo.

It’s one of the first things I give as advice to people who write a 1,000 words and ask me if they can be writers. Just write the whole story down without editing and stuff it in a drawer for six weeks, knowing you can finish writing a story, then take it out and edit the mess into something legible.

However, nobody ever needed to tell me that. When I started writing, I didn’t care what other people would think about it. I was too busy enjoying myself to worry about other people’s opinions.

I’m unusual, I guess, in the aspect that I never had the same questions about writing that many writers seem to have. I know why I write. I know what I want to write about. I know what a writer is, so I don’t need to ‘Be A Writer’.

I don’t worry about the length of a chapter or sentence or paragraph or scene. I didn’t go to school to learn how to write, I read books and told stories and used my experience to craft my work.

Writing is a joy to me, because it is an outlet of creativity that might otherwise fester inside me and turn me into someone I don’t want to be. I live vicariously through my characters. And that is not a challenge, but a liberation.

To play games, like ‘how many words can you write with the letters kfjaofeiruefocirgfj’ seems to cheapen the art of exploring your psyche and creativity to me. And I don’t mean in the dramatic sense. I like to look in the abyss and see if there are monsters looking back at me. Gives me something to write about.

I know I could churn out 2,000 words a day for a month, but where’s the fun in that? So I can give myself a pat on the back for persistence? I published three books and three short stories in the Amsterdam Assassin Series, I’m prepping a stand-alone novel for publication and I’m writing and researching the fourth novel in the series.

I don’t need to be challenged to write. I need time. I need people to take over the time-consuming and soul-destroying task that is self-promotion, so I can free up more time to write.

And I’m not saying you shouldn’t participate in NaNoWriMo or other challenges, if that’s your thing. But to me, there are more worthwhile things to do this November.

PIN Theft Using Thermal Imaging: Public Service Announcement or Panic Mongering?

A new threat to PIN security has been found: By using a thermal camera, scientists at the University of California in San Diego were able to record PIN codes from the heat signatures retained on keypads minutes after the PIN had been entered. But are Thermal Camera Attacks really a threat, or is the reporting skewed for sensationalism?

After reading the scientific article in question, Heat of the Moment: Characterizing the Efficacy of Thermal Camera-Based Attacks by Keaton Mowery, Sarah Meiklejohn, and Stefan Savage of UC San Diego—cited in the fear-mongering articles spreading like wildfire—I’ve come to the following conclusions:

As described, the test hardly worked on metal keypads:

“The material of the keypad also made a huge difference: against metal keypads, the few runs that we did perform were almost completely abortive. Much of this can be attributed to the high conductivity of the metal, which meant that the heat residue remained localized to the key that had been pressed for only a few seconds; we also observed, however, that either the keypad itself or a paint put on the keypad caused it to act as a thermal mirror, meaning it was hard to even get a clear reading on the keypad at all. Therefore, at least based on our current results, the obvious approach to prevent our (and essentially any thermal-camera-based) attack would be to use metal keypads exclusively.”

The camera used for the test is extremely expensive:

“We used an A320 FLIR camera running at 9Hz with the built-in lens and the standard ExaminIR software for the camera. The monthly rental rate for this camera is $1950 and the cost to buy is about $17,950.”

Although the rental rate is only a mere two thousand dollars per month, the return rate has to be quite high for this method to be economically feasible.

The individual touch can skew results:

“Similarly, individual differences of the keypad operators plays a determining role as well. Some people were quite a bit more warm-blooded than others, and some were more forceful in pressing the keypad; for the people with colder hands or a lighter touch, the thermal results faded significantly more quickly.”

In other words, cold hands and a light touch severely influence the success rate. Not to mention using gloves…

Typical time frame for success:

While the results were pretty good for the first 45 seconds, the thermal imaging had to be rendered within 90 seconds after the PIN code had been entered on a plastic pad.

Most of the time, after entering the PIN on an ATM, the time elapsing before the client has received the money (and puts it away in their wallet/purse) is often more than one minute.

What About Counter Measures?

The article mentions some simple countermeasures ignored in most articles on this ‘new threat':

“There are of course prevention methods that a user might in turn take against thermal camera-based attacks (for example, continuing to press the keypad even after he has entered the code, or simply resting his whole hand on the keypad); nevertheless, we expect that all but the most paranoid of users do not take them (at least not at present), and so the advantage over conventional cameras is still meaningful.”

How High Is The Risk?

While much has been made of the possibility of theft of individual PIN codes at ATMs, I think that risk is negligible and easily countered. With people becoming more security conscious in recent years, many users already screen their PIN by using their free hand to block the view of the keypad. If that action is followed by these countermeasures, the risk drops down to nihil:

Keep touching different keys on the pad or simply rest your warm palm on the key to give all of them a heat signature.
Never take a preset amount of money, but select ‘Other’ so you have use the keypad to insert a different amount. The keys of the amount will mess up the heat signatures of the pads used to typing your PIN.
Use gloves or an object (pen, keys, et cetera) to press the keys. If none of those options are available, press the keys with your knuckle instead of your fingertip. Especially the knuckle of your little finger will transmit less heat to the keys than a fingertip.
Whenever you can, only use ATMs with a metal keypad.

So, Nothing To Worry About?

Well, not for ATM users. However, the article is interesting for security professionals with regards to the use of keypads to limit access to secure locations, for a variety of reasons not encountered with ATMs:

Unlike the keypads of ATMs, access keypads are often mounted vertically on the door or the wall next to the door.
Door keypads are often made of plastic, which retains the transferred heat longer than metal pads.
Users often vacate the area immediately, i.e. the individual arrives at the door, enters the code, opens the door, and goes inside, allowing for a far shorter time elapsing between the entering of the code and taking the thermal image.
And, most important, all users use the same code, so if one takes thermal imaging of several users, the code pattern will emerge much swifter than with the use of individual codes (like PIN codes at an ATM).

A lot of this also goes for safes with electronic keypads: plastic keypads, single code. Except that most safes are vacated seconds after the code has been entered. So with safes the risk is less high than with door keypads.

The scientific article, complete with graphs and source material, can be found here: https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~kmowery/papers/thermal.pdf

If you think other people could benefit from this information, please share this post using the social media buttons below.

OPINION: Verisimilitude in Fiction, Redux.

As I mentioned in this article, I’m a stickler for verisimilitude. I found some discussion on the lack of realism in fiction, which is not the issue:

What many people are looking for in fiction is verisimilitude: the story has to ‘ring true’. Actions have to be believable. Behaviour has to be consistent. Actions need to have consequences.

It’s not the same as realism, as reality will have unbelievable action, inconsistent behaviour, and the consequences of actions are sometimes completely lacking or not in relation to the action.

Verisimilitude—like justice and honesty—is an idealistic concept: we think we know what the truth is, just as we think we know what justice is and think ourselves to be honest. However, truth is different for anyone; justice is an ideal that is rarely found in real life; and if you’re honest 24/7, you will be severely lonely.

Truth is relative, which is why it can be applied to fiction. If the author poses a kind of truth that is supported by the story, the reader will suspend their disbelief, trusting the author to deliver on their promise.

If the author fails to support the truth they pose, the story will become ‘unbelievable’ and reviewers will say the book isn’t ‘realistic’. That’s not the case: the author just didn’t manage to support the truths they posed in the story.

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Beta-Reading “In Pocket”?

I finished In Pocket, my stand alone novel. And now I’m looking for beta readers who ‘d like to help me improve the book.

What I’m looking for:

Beta reading means reading the beta [unedited] manuscript version and providing feedback to help me improve the manuscript before it gets published. When I’m done with writing, editing and polishing something I deem publishable, the beta-readers can tear my work apart and provide feedback. I will read the feedback and implement the necessary changes before publication.

Do I need to be a professional proofreader or editor?

Anyone who wishes to help me with this, please send me an email. Don’t worry about not being an editor or proofreader, what I require most is ‘emotional feedback’, i.e. what is your response to a scene—like/dislike, laugh, cry, vomit, anger, fear. I’m particularly interested in scenes people want to skip, because those are parts that I might want to edit out of the manuscript. And, of course, alerting me to any typo or omission will be most welcome. Also, while I enjoy feedback from fellow writers, you don’t need to be a writer to be a beta reader.

Shouldn’t I read your other books first?

Well, you’re welcome to read my other books, but In Pocket is a stand-alone novel. And although there are some ties to the Amsterdam Assassin Series, it’s not part of the series.

How much time do I have to read the manuscript and provide feedback?

After I send out the manuscript, which is about 58,000 words or 230 pages, I’d figure it would take about three weeks maximum to read the book and provide insightful feedback. *grin*

Will my feedback always be used?

Depends on the feedback. If you spot a typo, omission or error, it will be corrected (of course), but emotional responses differ from one individual to the next. Taste and cultural background colour the response, and while I aim to please, I have no illusions I will please everyone. So a scene that draws a yawn from one reader will probably remain unchanged, but if the whole audience starts yawning the scene has to be changed or even removed.

What kind of novel is In Pocket?

The genre is suspense. In Pocket is about a young heroin-addicted pickpocket who lives in an old delivery van, getting pulled into a possibly fatal scheme by a femme fatale. This is the pitch:

If only Wolfgang hadn’t picked the pocket of the fat woman…

Nomadic pickpocket Wolfgang gets blackmailed into teaching his craft to the mysterious Lilith, a young woman with no aptitude whatsoever to become a pickpocket. Wolf figures the easiest way is to go with the flow and instruct Lilith in the art of emptying other people’s pockets, but even he could never foresee the dreadful things that follow…

IN POCKET is a standalone novel by Martyn V. Halm, the author of the Amsterdam Assassin Series. Follow Wolf as he gets entangled in a possibly fatal web of violence and deceit, where nobody is who they seem to be and everyone has a hidden agenda.

The setting of the story is Amsterdam, but might show a different side of the city than most readers would expect, since the author actually lives in Amsterdam.

What do I get out of it?

Well, first of all, you get to read In Pocket before the general public and help an author with the publication process. You get to contribute to the shaping of a novel, and you’ll know the full content, instead of the edited content that will be published. (If you don’t know what I mean, compare the first version of Stephen King’s The Stand, and the unabridged version he published later). Your name will be included in the acknowledgements in the published version, which you will also receive.

Do I need an e-reader?

I only publish in digital e-book format, so you can receive the file in either Word, PDF, .epub or .mobi. So, I think an e-reader would be handy, but a computer would be mandatory.

I’m game, where do I sign up for this?

Send me an email at katlasieltjes@yahoo.com, put ‘Beta Reader In Pocket’ in the subject line, and motivate your request to be beta reader with candid pictures or a list of your specialties. First ten applicants get a spot on the list.

WRITING: Creating believable dialogue.

Creating believable dialogue is an art, but part of the craft can be learned.

First of all, there are two adages that come to mind when writing dialogue. Strunk & White’s ‘Omit needless words’, and Elmore Leonard’s ‘Skip the boring parts’.

My own process:

What I most often do is write pages and pages of dialogue before I start culling the pages back to paragraphs. I’m a stickler for verisimilitude, so I tend to write dialogue that’s close to the real thing.

However, dialogue has a function in fiction, so I remove the quotidian from the verbiage and keep that which hints or tells something about the situation or the perspective of the character, as well as moving the plot forward.

I dislike ‘exposition’, but you can inform the reader in dialogue without info dumps if you infer rather than inform. So hint at stuff, instead of explaining things outright.

Another thing is that in real life, people rarely say what they mean. So that’s important to keep in your fictional dialogue–sometimes people are direct, other times they’re circumspect. Some characters are blunt, others tend to be more sophisticated.

An example from my current WIP, In Pocket. Wolfgang the pickpocket visits his fence to cash in his plastic:

I slipped into the booth, ignored the smoke from his cigar smouldering in the chipped glass ashtray, and placed a stack of credit cards in front of him. Mink sifted through the cards, refused three and pocketed the rest. His pudgy hand reappeared with cash and a gold-plated necklace, the lock broken to make it appear snatched.

“Two hundred retail,” Mink said. “Yours for twenty.”

“I don’t wear jewellery.”

He dangled the necklace from his thick fingers. “It’s a woman’s.”

“Don’t have a woman.”

I stuffed the money he gave me in my breast pocket, not eager to let him know where I stash my cash.

Mink smoothed the necklace on the table. “You should get out more.”

“If that advice had come from someone who didn’t live inside a dingy bar stuffed in a back alley, I might’ve taken it.”

“Always the smart mouth.” Mink shook his head. “One day you’ll learn that moving around isn’t the same as moving up.”

“Is that the voice of experience?”

He steepled his stubby fingers. “Don’t push your luck.”

“Respect goes two ways,” I said, “Don’t insult my intelligence pushing that gold-plated crap on me.”

Grinning, Mink put the necklace away. “You’re right, I should’ve known better.”

I got up to leave, but he flapped a pudgy hand. “Sit back down, we need to talk.”

“We do?” I sat back down, even though I didn’t really want to. Mink is connected and while I don’t want him to disrespect me, I also don’t want to piss him off.

Mink leaned back and drew on the stub of his cigar. “You work hotels?”

“Lobbies, on occasion. Sometimes hotel restaurants at breakfast time.”

He blew a plume of smoke at the ceiling. “But no further?”

“Not much to gain from venturing into the corridors.”

“Not for a pickpocket.” Mink ground out the cigarette in the ashtray with a savage twist. I heard somewhere that he used to have a highly volatile temper. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be useful.”

I didn’t respond. Sometimes it’s better not to talk.

“I’m putting together a small crew for hotel burglaries,” Mink said. “You’d be a good addition.”

“I’m not into team sports, Mink.”

“I’m talking about a crew, not a team.”

“There’s a difference?”

“Members of a team all work towards the same goal, although there can be different tasks. A crew unites members with diverse specialties to work together as a cohesive unit.” He steepled his fingers. “You’d be part of a three-man crew. One stays by the door while two work the room. You have a good eye for valuables.”

I pointed at his pocket. “That necklace was a test?”

“You’d be in charge. I have passkeys, maps of the rooms, floor plans of the hotels. Three-way split. You, me and them.”

I shook my head. “Three people triple the risk.”

“I forgot, you don’t like to take risks.” Mink grinned, but his eyes stayed dead. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

I left the bar, glad to be back in the sunlight again.

If you can, please share your perspective on writing dialogue. And, of course, if you know anyone who might benefit from this information, share this post using the social media buttons below.

OPINION: The Need for Champions

If you ask authors to list what they dread the most it’s having to sell themselves and their books. Apparently, self-promotion remains one of the most daunting tasks of the whole process, especially for self-publishing authors and trade-published midlist authors.

Even though most people understand the creative accomplishment of writing a book, authors who toil for months and sometimes years to craft a novel are often reticent about spreading the word that their work is available. Not because they don’t want to, but because they are afraid of the backlash of self-promotion.

When we were children, we’d stand up and proudly show the drawing we made or the castle we built and bask unselfconsciously in the admiration and adulation of our parents and teachers.

But when we grow older, many of us are discouraged to speak of our accomplishments. There’s an element of crassness and arrogance associated with self-promotion. We are expected to be humble and wait for people to ask what we do, and when we speak about our novels, we are encouraged to do so with humility and self-deprecation, so people know that we’re not arrogantly thumping our chests over our accomplishments.

How can you tell people that you’ve written and published a novel or even a series without embarrassment?

With the proliferation of self-publishing through Amazon the current offering in reading material is astoundingly high in volume and ironically low in quality. A recent census revealed that 80% of the people living in the U.S. want to write a book. Sadly, not everyone who wants to do something truly excels at their endeavours, so there are a lot of books flooding the market that are not really worth a reader’s attention.

Many readers are turned off by the glut of badly written self-published books that beg their attention. As a result, readers will not listen to authors promoting their books, but they will turn to other ways of deciding what books to read.

One of the most influential factors in choosing a novel to read is when books come recommended. Preferably by friends, because recommendations carry more weight if delivered by someone trusted for their good judgment.

Many readers are unaware of how important recommendations are, especially for beginning authors who rely on the word-to-mouth to build their readership.

Although this counts doubly for self-published authors–who don’t have a publicist or a publisher to coordinate their marketing efforts–even trade-published midlist authors are pretty much left to their own devices.

So how can readers help their favourite authors?

Be their Champion.

If you meet someone who might enjoy the same books you enjoy, tell them about your favourite authors. Write about the books you read on GoodReads. Leave reviews on retailer websites. Like your favourite author on Facebook. Pin their covers on Pinterest. Follow their blogs. Apply for Advanced Reader Copies of their books. Start or join a fan club.

What do you think? Please comment, and let me know I’m not just talking to the void. If you have ideas to increase word-of-mouth, don’t hesitate to share!