C.R. Richards's Blog, page 25

Scream Week is Coming!

The Spooky Season is here! Are you ready? Let’s walk through the check list:

Candy
Pumpkins and candles
Spooky Music
Party foods and drinks
Costume
Scary stories for the big night

Missing something? Not to worry. DTJ has you covered. My Scream Week guest bloggers will be sharing Halloween recipe ideas and tales of weird encounters.

Monday, October 26th:  “Which Classic Movie Monster Should You Dress Up As For Halloween?” by C.R. Richards

Available for Pre-order

Wednesday, October 28th: “Halloween Treats” from the Crazy Lady Authors

Check out their other yummy recipes

Friday, October 30th: “GOOD OMENS” by Duncan Ralston

Available for Pre-order

*FYI – I’m reading this book now and wow! Love it.

Join us for the fun right here on DTJ.

Where Does Your Magic Happen?

Key West at Dusk

Last week, my sister and I made the pilgrimage to the holy land of Ernest Hemingway – Key West, FL. Four hours by plane from Denver and another four hours by car from Fort Lauderdale through some of the most beautiful country in these United States. Our experience was well worth the trek. I was finally able to stand upon the sacred ground in which that special brand of Hemingway magic happened.

Surrounded by banana trees and the many resident cats of the Hemingway House, one of the greatest writers in American history produced many of his most famous works. He weaved his magic in the top room of a two-story carriage house.

Hemingway’s  writing studio is on the 2nd floor.

Did he need a huge, fancy desk or massive walls of elaborate walnut panels? Nope. His workshop is surprisingly simple.

Please forgive the bars in the picture. A talented photographer I’m not.

Several talented writers and musicians have made Key West or the Florida Keys their home. Tennessee Williams was one of them. He wrote the final draft of A Street Car Named Desire at the La Concha Hotel. Our tour trolley driver suspected he also was inspired by the many tin roofs in Key West when he wrote Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

Kudos gentlemen. The only creative endeavor I managed on Key West was to come up with ways to get my banana daiquiris into my mouth without spilling. I suppose my creative magic happens best when I’m home in Colorado, sitting at my kitchen table with a warm cup of tea and the sun at my back. TTFN!

Scream Week on DTJ!

Join my Guest Ghouls and I on DTJ October 26 – 30 for Scream Week.

Jayne Hyatt of Crazy Lady Authors will be sharing a Terrifying Treat. Check out their cookbook, Cooking With The Crazy Lady Authors

Special Guest Author, Duncan Ralston describes some strange goings on while writing his latest book, Salvage: A Ghost Story

Next week I journey to the land of the living dead. Just kidding Florida! You know I love you ;)

We’ll see you back here on October 21st.

Are you Prepared for the Spooky Season?

Frost encases the pumpkin in its brittle embrace. Creatures of the night draw closer to your home, crunching dead leaves and dying grass beneath their feet. Horrified, you realize the front door is unlocked. Too Late! You stagger away from the window as they press their drooling maws against the pane. Oh wait. Those are the neighbor kids. You’ve bought another mega bag of chocolate bars, right?

In a scary mood yet? I know. It’s only October 1st. You’ve got plenty of time to prepare for All Hallows Eve. BUT the Spooky Season is more than just one night of trick or treating and a costume party. Sinister specters of malevolence hunting the not quite so innocent. Haunting stories of the restless dead (or undead). The season can be so much more if you allow yourself to succumb to the darker side of literature (bwahaha).

I’m a round faced, happy little lady who enjoys gardening and making gluten free muffins. Most folks can’t believe it when I tell them I write Horror (I write Fantasy too, but it’s pretty dark). I love to feel the sensation of being on the edge of your seat, not knowing what’s coming next. Pitting a flawed person against unbeatable evil and giving them hope enough to see their journey through. Feeling the overwhelming sadness of a haunted soul who is trapped within the structure of a world they no longer belong in. Horror teaches us about those hidden places within our own hearts. Sometimes you look and can accept what you see. Other times, you must turn away.

Take advantage of the season and pick up a story that gives you a glimpse into the darkness. I have a few classics to suggest: The Shining by Steven King or The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

For more ideas visit the experts: Horror Writers Association (HWA).

Oh Gawd, It’s Over! Now What Do I Do?

You’ve finally finished your intense creative project. It encompassed your whole world for months or years. Then you typed “The End” or painted your signature on the canvas. Glad it’s over, so you can move on to the next thing? Right, so why is it so hard to let go? I completely understand. Today I hit the “submit” button, sending my epic fantasy novel – The Lords of Valdeon – off to the book formatting group. As I write this post, I’m sitting before my laptop  and staring at the three book-length projects I’ve promised to kick out rather quickly. Yet, my mind still lingers on the years I’ve spent writing, re-writing and reinventing this epic fantasy. Why can’t I let go and move on? No clue. It comes as a surprise to me. Perhaps I’m a little melancholy the journey’s over? It really isn’t. There are five more books in the series after this first one.

Well, time to roll up my sleeves and get busy on the next thing. Here are a few tried and true techniques I use to get “unstuck” and moving forward again:

Start reading the rough draft – Story ideas come when they please. I usually get them in the middle of the night in the form of a vivid dream. I’ve trained my mind to wake up and grab my iPad, so I can kick out a blurb or outline. If the idea is worthy of a full story, I crank out a crappy rough draft. Reading the draft after you’ve let it sit will help to inspire you.

Have More Than One Project On Simmer – You’ll never be at a loss for creative projects if you start several at once and have them at varying stages of completion. Then you work on the one you feel like doing (provided you aren’t under contract or deadlines)

Take a Walk – No story ideas simmering? Take a walk or go do something you’ve never done before to shake out a little inspiration. Visit the history museum you’ve been meaning to check out. Drive to a town in the country you haven’t seen yet. I guarantee you’ll find inspiration for your next creative pursuit.

It’s important to stop and savor the moment of success. You’ve just achieved a major accomplishment! Don’t, however, let it slow your momentum. Deep inside your creative brain another project awaits.

Next Month On DTJ – The Spooky Season is upon us! My next post on October 1st will be filled with suggestions to get you in a scary mood ;)

Are You Ready to Put Your Work Out There?

You’ve worked hard writing and revising your book (short story, article, fill in the blank). It’s finally ready to share with the world! After all, you’ve done your due diligence preparing:

Author Platform – Check!
Social Media Presence (Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, the newest trend) –  Check! Check!, Check! And Checkity Check!
Mental and Emotional Change Preparedness – Che…wait. What?

Have you stopped to consider how publishing your book might impact your real life? I know you have! In a few months you’ll be living the life of Richard Castle. Big money in your accounts. Parties. Celebrity friends. No worries at all. Right? Wrong. Publishing your first book is the most incredible feeling in the world…until the first royalty check comes in (sliding trumpet sound). These low points and uncomfortable social encounters are the things you have to mentally and emotionally prepare for the most.

Business Plans Give You the “Big Picture” Outlook – Low or no sales can crush your spirit. If you have a point of reference to remind you this is just one step in the overall effort, you’ll weep less and sleep better

Lose Your DIVA-tude – As the Roman servant used to whisper into Mark Antony’s ear as he paraded triumphantly into Rome, “You are just a man.” Take off your DIVA glasses and be a person. I won’t quote the number of books published on Amazon each day. It depresses me. My point is you are not alone, so don’t alienate your author friends, book sellers and READERS by being a pain in the butt

Grab Your Security Binky. It Can Get a little Weird Out There –  I love my readers. It tickles me when they ask questions and/or get excited about my next book. Heaven Bless them all!  There are, however, other types of individuals interested in you. Not your work, but what you can do for them. Nobody warned me I would run into these folks at readings or conferences. These are the overly attentive souls who follow me into the bathroom as they pitch their book idea. I call these people “writer groupies.” Most of the time, they have no interest in my books. Rather, they want me to write their million dollar ideas for them while they kick back and wait to see their name on the cover. Weird right? Well. Be Ready. This will undoubtedly happen to you the minute you’re published. Why? Everybody wants to be a writer. Very few want to do the work. Even fewer have the dedication and tenacity to stick with it through hard times.

Enjoy your accomplishment. Eat up the kudos. Your life is about to change. Be ready for the good and the bad.

It’s Conference Time Again

Summer is fading into Autumn. Slight tendrils of chilly air are reaching down from the Rockies toward Denver. The trees are beginning to show their yellow, crimson and orange hues. These are sure signs. It’s conference time again!

I attend multiple writers conferences a year. My favorite remains Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold (my local writers organization).   Why? Because it’s awesome. Attending Colorado Gold directly resulted in me getting published. The generous folks at RMFW are free with their time, advice and support for all writers no matter which stage of the journey you’re on. Each year I walk away with an important epiphany which helps me grow as an artist.

If you’re in the Denver Metro area this weekend, stop by The Westin Westminster for the Author Book Signing on Friday Night (Open to the Public – 8pm to 10pm)? There will be over 40 local authors ready to sign a book or two for you. I’ll be in their ranks as well signing Pariah and Phantom Harvest. Hope to see you there!

Stay on the Trail

Living near the mountains of Colorado, my dog and I spend a large portion of our time walking the many nature trails in the area. We start at the trail head and make our way to the desired destination. Marley Barley doesn’t really care where we’re going, just as long as he gets to run and hopefully wade in a river. I, on the other hand, have planned our route, how long it will take and how far we’re going before the heat of the day. Marley’s end goal: Fun! Fun! Fun! My end goal: Exercise. A tired retriever puppy. Coffee on the back patio in peace.

We see signs along the way, warning us to “stay on the trail.” Why? Sometimes the park is trying to revive the delicate native vegetation. Other times (like this year), we have an abundance of snakes and coyotes. Staying on the trail keeps us moving in the right direction toward our end goal. It also keeps us safe. Another huge benefit some folks seem to forget at least once a week (you see them on the news), staying on the trail also prevents you from getting lost. I feel for these folks. Been there. Not hiking, but on a different kind of trail.

Writers, Artists, Musicians and others who create wonderful things usually have one project which nags at them until it comes into being. I’m not sure if it nags you after it’s out there waving its arms. Haven’t gotten there yet. Mine is an epic fantasy book series I started back in 2004. Writing like a crazy woman, I finished the entire series from beginning to the big “The End” of the last book. What happened? Why isn’t the series listed with my other books? I wandered off the trail.

Creative folks are bombarded with a multitude of voices pushing us with criticism or pulling us with advice given with good intentions. These voices make it difficult to stay on the trail leading to our end goal. Doubt or desperation causes us to wander off the trail into the weeds. There are lessons out there in the wilderness. Some hone your survival skills. Other lessons take you to different trails to achieve unexpected goals. And when you do finally come out of the wilderness, you aren’t the same. This is the point to re-evaluate your original trail. Do you get back on or walk away?

I chose to roll up my sleeves, tighten my hiking boots and start down the trail again. The end goal is in sight! Coming in January 2016.

Publisher Spotlight: Literary Wanderlust

Literary Wanderlust is a new royalty paying print and digital press located in Denver, Colorado. We publish well-written fiction and interesting non-fiction books.

We are currently accepting the following:

Romance/Erotica
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Mystery/Thriller
Non-Fiction
Short Story Collections of all genres

Please send query, brief synopsis, and 1st three chapters, and a brief marketing plan to submissions@literarywanderlust.com

 

I’m pleased to welcome Susan Brooks, Editor-in-chief of Literary Wanderlust. Thanks for joining me today. Let’s get started:

What do you look for in a novel or short story? Do you look for the same things in your non-fiction projects?

We look primarily for well-written works. By well-written I mean that we can see that the author has learned their craft regardless of the genre. For genre fiction, it is important to us that the author has worked through the plot and there is a good story arc with enough conflict. The story needs to have a beginning, middle and end. It is also important to us that the author has created compelling characters that are interesting and dynamic. There should be some unique twist if at all possible.

Short stories are a different on many levels and are structured quite differently than novels. Short stories tend to focus only on one character in one moment in time. There may be more narrative. There may be significantly less action and conflict, but this is not always so. Short stories still should have some unique twist, and we truly love it when we didn’t expect the ending. We look for short story collections where the writer has been judicious with word usage and has thought carefully about how the sentences are structured. Usually the collections are themed, but this isn’t necessarily so. We recently signed two authors with short story collections, both with themed collections.

Non-fiction, topics can range from everything you ever wanted to know about Billy the Kid’s girlfriends’ brother’s son who ran for governor of New Mexico, to how-to manage your time, to a history of all the head stones in the Fairmount Cemetery. We like niche, interesting, and even obscure topics. The key is that the editorial team has to find the topic interesting and we like it especially if the project has “a freshness” to it. In other words, the non-fiction project presents information that hasn’t been presented before, or hasn’t been presented before in this way.

Tell us about your latest release. What made it special? What made it stand out above other submissions in your slush pile?

Our latest release was Frog Kisses by Linda Joffe Hull which was released June 1st. Frog kisses is a romantic comedy and is Linda’s fourth book to be traditionally published. Linda is usually known for her mysteries, but she really wanted to tell this story about a young woman who realizes that she dislikes her life because she has made choices based on who she thinks she is, rather than who she really is. This book is special because Linda writes with such wit, and creates interesting characters that she puts in difficult situations. The story made the whole editorial team laugh out loud, and that is special in and of itself. Linda is a professional and that showed in her submission.

Do you have more new releases in the works?

Our latest projects are slotted to be released March 1st, 2016. Both are short story collections.

The first collection, Mexicali Blues by Joseph Grant, takes a dark look at the dichotomy between what it means to be Mexican in Southern California versus Mexican in Mexico, and how some people are not Mexican enough, while others are too Mexican. Both of these scenarios can lead to racism and all the stories have unusual twists.

The second collection, Not Quite So Stories by David Atkinson, is a collection of absurdist humor stories. David has a way of looking at things from a unique perspective which we find refreshing. The humor ranges from the slightly absurd to the very dark. These stories express David’s belief that existence as a whole is beyond everyone’s grasp. Life is absurd and beyond comprehension.

Both of these collections stood out to us because the authors thought about their topics deeply have learned their craft and it shows. It started with well written queries.

Do you have any advice for new writers who want to submit their work to you?

First of all, I want to congratulate them for completing their books. I am well aware of the amount of work that goes into completing a novel, or a collection of short stories, or a non-fiction book.  For new writers, I would say take the time to write the best possible book that you can write. Don’t submit it until it is ready. Don’t submit a draft. Submit polished pages. Take the time to write a synopsis that tells all the action from beginning to end for genre fiction (don’t leave out the ending to entice me. I want to know that the writer knows how to resolve the story). If it is a short story collection submit a brief paragraph about each story. For a non-fiction book project, write a clear synopsis of the project.

Look at the publisher’s website before you submit. Each publisher will have their own guidelines and requirements. Tailor your submission to meet those specific guidelines. Be professional.

Susan Brooks, Editor in Chief

Susan Brooks has been reading voraciously since she was a toddler and got her hands on a copy of Go, Dog! Go! Soon after, she won a copy of A Wrinkle in Time through her public library’s summer reading program for reading more books in one summer than all the other students combined. She was six. She decided right then that when she grew up she wanted to read books for a living.

Since 2009, she has served on the board of directors for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, a non-profit educational organization supporting both published and aspiring writers of commercial fiction, and she currently acts as the conference chair for Colorado Gold, RMFW’s annual writers’ conference. She holds a master’s degree in publishing from George Washington University and has over 20 years of editorial experience.

Susan’s main focus in fiction is romance, science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and short story collections.

You can follow her: https://susanbrooks.wordpress.com/ and @oosuzieq

 

Oh Curses!

“What kind of books do you write?”

This is the most common question I get in a crowd. My answer – Horror and Dark Fantasy – never fails to surprise the non-writers in the group. I’d say 90% of them respond with an “Oh. You look like someone who writes children’s books.” (Snort) I admit it. I’m a short, cheery looking lady in her 50’s who really does look like she should be writing children’s books about purple elephants or orange kangaroos.  Those, however, are not the stories I’m given.

Fascinated by the constant struggles of Good vs. Evil, I write stories with characters who have a foot on each side. Gruff mutant tracker. Murdering convict. Pariah and thief. These aren’t your typical “Dudley Do-Rights” of the world. Which brings us to our blog topic and another question I’ve gotten from readers.

“Oh, why must you curse so much in your books?”

Looking at the characters I’ve just listed, it’s pretty self-explanatory. I keep my sarcastic answer deep inside.

“You’re okay with the sex and bloody violence, but it’s the occasional F Bomb you get heartburn over?”

I typically write about characters who wander on the seedy side of the street. They hang out with the dregs of society. Their dialogue has to be authentic to the story and the setting. Bill Dolan (Lost Man’s Parish) is a convicted murderer in a prison city. If I had him say “shucky darn” rather than a strong expletive, he wouldn’t be real for the readers and he’d probably get beaten up. This truthful (and hopefully helpful) answer usually sets them to nodding. I’m not sure if this is in understanding or agreement.

Cursing can be useful in underscoring a character’s personality. Using it, however, for the shock factor doesn’t make sense in this day and age. Make sure it’s organic to the story. There are times when it isn’t appropriate and can be off putting. In my upcoming Epic Dark Fantasy, The Lords of Valdeon, cursing would be as out of place as “shucky darn” in a prison. In the world of Andara, gentlemen don’t curse. There are those among them that do though. You’ll find an occasional “Bastard” thrown in there, but typically it describes someone as the bastard son of so and so.

Word choices are important. Enhancing the story is good. Awkwardly pulling the reader out of the story is bad.