Malcolm R. Campbell's Blog, page 252

Drawing Boards and Writer's Journeys

Perhaps this is a mistake.

This morning I added a "My Projects" page to my website. I wanted to make the projects real, to get them partially outside the realm of my imagination in hopes this will help keep me on track and possibly remind the Universe this is what I'm about.

There's a danger here, of course. I might change my mind. The Universe may test me with writer's block or a ruinous association with bad whiskey. What will I say then? Perhaps I'll incorporate my experiences into my novels ...

DCOM process server terminated unexpectedly

My main computer is now in a mess because of an error message and/or virus I cannot unravel: DCOM process server terminated unexpectedly.

The message appeared shortly after I installed an updated version of McAfee's anti-virus software. The thing acts like a virus in that it won't let me run either of my anti-virus packages, McAfee and Malaware bytes.

Yet, I wonder. It has also diabled my Internet connection via a wireless router I share with my wife's computer. Her computer works fine, but min...

Braselton - West Jackson Friends of the Library

I'm looking forward to meeting the members of the Braselton - West Jackson Library's, Friends of the Library Tuesday evening, September 20 at the Hoschton, Georgia Depot.

This is the Friends of the Library's annual meeting. I'll be speaking about "What a Writer Knows."

My theme here is, basically, there's no need to be overwhelmed as a writer when looking at the over-the-top subjects of bestselling novels, and say, "If we're supposed to write what we know, how can I compete with Harlen Coben an...

Is Your Writing Space Spartan or Cluttered?

"Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark." -- Annie Dillard

Annie Dillard's prescription for the room where a writer writes contrasts greatly with the stereotypical cabin in the woods as well as the reality most of us face.

Our computers are often set up in a corner of a kitchen, bedroom, or family room in a typical house or apartment. Most of us have a view of a typical yard or a typical streetscape from a room that, al...

Promoting with Bookbuzzr and Odiogo

Authors are always looking for more ways to get the word out about their books. I signed up this week with two free services, Bookbuzzer and Odiogo.

As you can see by the widget on the right hand sidebar of this blog, Bookbuzzr provdes a handy way for advertising your book through the upload of sample pages that turn (sort of) like the pages on an iPad. Bookbuzzr is the software that handles the pages and their display on the fReado site.

While you may well meet other authors on fReado and enjo...

WANTED: Publisher of Literary Fiction

[image error]
Two query packets for my 240,000 word novel GARDEN OF HEAVEN: AN ODYSSEY will go out in tomorrow morning's mail.

I finished the novel two years ago, sent it around, tinkered with it, got busy on other things, and am now ready to find a publisher of literary fiction for a manuscript I'm very passionate about.

BLURB: A college student's 1963 vision quest doesn't reveal that he'll propose to a young woman in Glacier Park's "Garden of Heaven" in 1964 and then lose her after he sleeps with her "doub...

As swine love marjoram

The proverb is sicut sus amaricinum amat for those of you speaking the old language.

Swine hate marjoram, and so do I, actually, though I'm not swine--unless you're talking to Circe and she's likely to keep telling the other gods and goddesses and whatever mortals appear on her island that all men are pigs.

Keeping it light today, here's a list of some of the things I love as swine love marjoram.

* Telephone fund raisers who presume that I want to "start out" with a $50 donation.

* Finding out at...

Oh my goodness, marketing again

"The first year after a book is released is often termed as the 'one-year honeymoon period' by those in the industry. This is because many authors run out of contacts (friends, family, local media, colleagues, etc) and marketing tactics around the one-year mark. Therefore, we stress again the importance of a well-designed marketing plan." --Dave and Lillian Brummet in Purple Snowflake Marketing

The cover of Dave and Lillian Brummet's marketing book for authors says it all. In a publishing wor...

From Words to Peak Experience

I read to learn, to escape, and to experience a good story. For me, the Holy Grail of a good story is the peak experience conjured up by the fusion of the tale with my imagination.

I write to convey information, ideas, opinions and stories. For me, the Holy Grail of my writing is the peak experience, found in the act of writing itself, and then conveyed to the reader with varying levels of success. My worst writing may capture the reader on a day when s/he needs to be captured. My best writing...

Another box of books for the library

Okay, the books in my compact den got out of control again. As I mentioned in today's Facebook status, I was thinking of buying a book that I actually already had. I just couldn't find it and assumed I hadn't ordered it.

We have a small public library and the annual book sale is a popular money maker. The librarians save books all year for the big sale. It's nice to have a place to send the books I enjoyed but never plan to read again or save for reference.

I have mixed feelings about having to...