Anna Butler's Blog, page 40

Dance With The Devil – JD March on how everyone wants to be a cowboy…

Today’s a big day for my circle of friends – launch day, for JD March’s first book in the Devil’s Own series, Dance With The Devil. I’m delighted to welcome JD here, and not only because I was involved in beta-ing the book and I loved it (my REVIEW HERE). I know *just* how dark, dangerous and sexy the antihero, Johnny Fierro, actually is. Obviously that’s a treat for everyone, but really, I’m delighted because JD is a real-life, very dear friend and it gives me great joy to celebrate today and hand over the blog for JD to tell us about adventuring in cowboy country. I can imagine nothing finer than being a cowboy for a while and then writing the most *stoating* western afterwards…

Over to JD

I’d like to extend my gratitude to Anna for the opportunity of posting a blog here to mark the publication of my first novel. The second in the series “An Uneasy Alliance” is scheduled for publication next August and the third book in the series is already with the publishers. Exciting times!

There’s probably a whole generation of 50-somethings out there who were raised on a diet of those classic Western series like Gunsmoke, Rawhide and The Lone Ranger. And if they’re honest, there’s probably still a small part of them that would like to ride the range and gallop after cattle twirling their lasso.I have to hold my hand up here and confess that I am one of those people!

I’ve ridden all my life, but I yearned for those wide open spaces and magnificent landscapes featured in so many John Ford films. I was already working on the first book in the Devil’s Own series, and I wanted to experience the day to day activities on a working ranch, so I decided to live out the fantasy and head off to the Wild West for my own taste of the cowboy life.

But the first hurdle was where to go? I thought perhaps Arizona or Texas or California and started doing masses of research on the web where there seemed to be a lot of ranches all promising a vast range of different types of western experience.

Luckily for me, I kept coming across a British based company called Ranch Rider and I decided to ring them and ask for some advice. They offer a range of ranch holidays from British Columbia to New Mexico and all points in between. But even better, their sales director has visited them all and pays a return visit every year or two. His main concern was to discover what I wanted from my trip so that he could make appropriate recommendations.  So I told him, I wanted the real deal, not some Disneyfied and sanitised version of a ranch. I didn’t want a dude ranch, I wanted an Adventure, definitely with a capital A.  He promptly told me that no, in fact I didn’t want to go to Arizona, Texas or California.  “What you want,” he assured me, “is Wyoming or Montana.”  He even narrowed it down to two specific ranches which would give me the authentic experience I was looking for.

So, Wyoming it was and the Klondike ranch in particular. Klondike is most definitely a working ranch – it’s been operating since the 19th century, and the Tass family has been welcoming visitors since the 1920s. The ranch occupies 1800 acres in the Big Horn Mountains. The family run cattle the traditional way, constantly moving cows and calves to new pasture, driving them up to 10,000 feet in the spring and bringing them down to home once the first snows threaten early in the autumn.

At Klondike you become a member of the family from the moment they pick you up at the airport. You eat together, work together and play together. On the first morning, guests are allocated horses and, just as important, appropriate saddles.  My Mexican cross-western saddle dated from the turn of the century – the 19thcentury!  Complete with wooden stirrups, a vast pommel and high back, I can honestly say that even on days where we spent eight or nine hours in the saddle, I didn’t have a single ache.

But the real joy was my horse Dixie.  A well-bred Quarter horse, Dixie can claim three champion Quarter horses in her immediate forebears, and was the most sensible, intelligent horse I have ever ridden. But all the horses were well mannered – it made me realise just how neurotic many of our British horses are by comparison.

Having been allocated our horses and saddles, it was time for the real work to begin. And it began early. Breakfast was regularly served as early as 6am, and if the day ahead was going to be a long one, it could start as early as 5am. Sometimes we would trailer the horses up to the top of the mountains, other days we rode up, and sometimes we camped out under the stars. Our time was spent rounding up hundreds of cows and calves from a vast area where they had scattered themselves during the summer months. We rode through fragrant sage brush lower down in the mountains, but further up there were dense pine forests, moose, elk, coyote, antelope and eagles. There are also bears, but luckily we never encountered one.

One of the many highlights was the day we drove 800 head of cattle to a holding pasture and which necessitated moving them along two miles of the main highway which crosses one part of the Big Horn Mountains. But what made it special was that tourists, driving across, stopped to take our pictures, because for them, going to what is dubbed the Cowboy State, seeing a real cattle drive made their holiday!  I was banned from speaking to them – no one wanted to destroy the illusions that we were anything other than “real” cowboys and we all knew that my English accent would be a dead giveaway.

Having spent the week collecting up the cattle, we then had to drive them down an old, washed out stage coach route down the mountains.  Narrow, and very steep in places with loose scree, you needed to trust your horse.  But surefooted and sensible, they never seem to put a hoof wrong.

And to be up in those mountains in the grey light of dawn, clutching a mug of coffee in the heavy frosts and seeing the sun come up, was incredible. I am completely hooked and now consider a fall round-up an essential part of my year. If only I could stay forever.

It really was a trip outside the comfort zone.  It was the adventure I wanted it to be and it was most definitely “the real thing.”  Depending on what time of year you visit, the “chores” vary accordingly.  There are always cattle to move, but there are also calves to brand, barbed wire fences to mend, and animals to doctor.  And, if you’re so inclined, they will teach you how to lasso so you could, if the fancy took you, rope a steer. Mind you, roping is not for the faint-hearted – many a cowboy has lost a finger in the process!

Visitors in the summer months can also attend rodeos, very much a feature of local life, and see cowboys riding everything from horses to bulls, all hooked on that eight second ride before they fly into the dust.

I combined my trip with touring Yellowstone National Park – the first national park in the world and home to more than half of the world’s geysers.  And after I left Klondike I flew on to Los Angeles for a whistle-stop tour of mid-California. It seemed that if I was going all that way,  might as well seize the opportunity to see as much of the country as possible.

Of course, if the luxury of a Dude Ranch is more your scene, Ranch Rider will be only too happy to recommend one to suit. But if you want the real deal, head to Wyoming or Montana and ride across the sandstone buttes, over stunning mesas and amongst the tepee circles of long-forgotten Indian settlements.

And if you’re like me, you’ll just want to go back and experience that Western life under those vast skies, time and time again.

 

JD March’s Dance with the Devil is available today from

Five Star Publishing

Johnny Fierro’s a gunfighter‚ maybe the best. He’s hunted trouble and a reputation all his life. But the killings and the range wars have worn him out and brought him to a point where he would welcome death — until he hears that his estranged and hated father faces a battle to hold onto his land in the Cimarron Valley. Fierro has sworn to kill his father and this is too good an opportunity to miss. What he hasn’t bargained for is a share of the ranch‚ or a brother he never knew existed. While his upright‚ authoritarian father and Harvard-educated brother struggle to come to terms with his violent past and vicious reputation‚ Fierro wrestles with the unwelcome realization that his mother didn’t tell him the whole story about the past. He doesn’t know what to believe‚ but he has to make a choice when the bullets start flying.

Dance with the Devil will be available from Amazon soon. In the meantime you can find JD at the website  -  http://www.jdmarch.com/ – and Facebook.

Links to Blog Posts on Writing 2

A collection of useful blogs/articles from the last couple of weeks:

Writing Tips

5 tips on editing your own work

The Grammarly Blog with tips on editing. One thing: they suggest using their online automated grammar checker/proofreading system, but I think that requires a subscription. The Edit Minion will do a similar job, and is free.

How to create a killer opening for your Sci Fi short story

Charlie Jane Anders at IO9 with some sound advice that should be applicable to any genre. Except maybe the bit about the spaceship blowing up on the way to Mars.

Seven Deadly Sins (If You’re A First Chapter)

Janice Hardy’s blog post certainly complements the one from Anders. Handy, that.

The Breadcrumbs At The Beginning Of The Story

And Chuck Wendig’s thoughts on beginnings and breadcrumbs. Looks like beginning your work is the dish de jour.

A Scampering Peregrination Of Nanowrimo Writing Tips

Chuck Wendig’s usual brand of advice, of far wider application than just Nano.

Fiction Writing Keys for Non Outliners

Steven James at The Kill Zone makes the case for pansters…

You Gotta Suck It Up And Write the Outline

while PJ Parrish at The Kill Zone counters with why outlining is A Good Thing.

 

Writing What You Love And Earning What You’re Worth

James Scott Bell at The Kill Zone on the philosophy of writing.

 

 

Marketing for Writers

7-step Business Plan for Writers

Angela Akermann on the non-writing skills writers need. She’s co author of The Emotional Thesaurus, btw. Really useful book that.

15 ways to promote your book with a book trailer

Chris Robley at the Book Baby Blog on the value of book trailers. There are links to other how-to articles, but this one majors on where to show your trailer to reach an audience.

Twitter Marketing Strategy For Authors And Writers

Matthew Yeoman’s hints and tips for using Twitter effectively.

Why a newsletter is a marketing must

Penny, at Author Marketing Experts, Inc (shouldn’t that be Ink?) on building up a newsletter to fill the ever widening gaps in coverage through Facebook, Twitter etc. They use a newsletter themselves, so at least they practise what they preach.

 

 

Publishing

It’s the End of the World as we Know it!!!!!!!!! OR How Kindle Unlimited fucked things up!

Mary Celeste on the impact of KU on her book sales..

Launch all spaceships!! We have a date!

 

That’s the likely publication date for the first Taking Shield book, Gyrfalcon.

I am beyond excited. Ridiculously so! It feels real again, after the inevitable time of waiting in the editing queue. Well, I still am in the editing queue but soon, my pretties, soon.

I’m not entirely sure what to expect when the editing starts. The two short stories I’ve had professionally edited had very little changed. Commas, mostly. I think I over use them so I strike the wriggly little tadpoles down. The editor tuts at me and puts them back. I’ve never had a content edit done and I am rather nervous. I can only hope the editor loves Bennet and Flynn as much as I do.

Anyhow, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Shield (that is, those of you I haven’t managed to bore witless about it yet), let me tell you a little about it.

Shield is set in an alternate universe where Earth’s a dead planet, dark for thousands of years; lost for so long no one even knows where the solar system is. Her last known colony, Albion, has grown to be regional galactic power in its own right. But its drive to expand and found colonies of its own has threatened an alien race, the Maess, against whom Albion is now fighting a last-ditch battle for survival in a war that’s dragged on for generations.

It’s not certain anyone has ever seen a true Maess. They have seen drones: cyborgs animated by a small neural node of organic cells. The first drones the humans met (more than a century previously) were not humanoid in shape but, as the war progresses, the Maess start to produce human-shaped drones.

Taking Shield charts the missions and adventures of Shield Captain Bennet, scion of a prominent military family. Bennet, also an analyst with the Military Strategy Unit, will uncover crucial data about the Maess to help with the war effort. Against the demands of his family’s ‘triple goddess’ of Duty, Honour and Service, is set Bennet’s relationships with lovers and family. When the series opens, Bennet is at odds with his long term partner, Joss, who wants him out of the military and back in an academic, archaeological career. He’s estranged from his father, Caeden, who is the commander of Fleet’s First Flotilla. Events of the first book, Gyrfalcon, in which he is sent to his father’s ship to carry out an infiltration mission behind Maess lines, improve his relationship with Caeden, but bring with them the catalyst that will destroy the one with Joss: one Fleet Lieutenant Flynn, who, over the course of the series, develops into Bennet’s main love interest

Over the Taking Shield arc of six novels, Bennet will see the extremes to which humanity’s enemies, and his own people, will go to win the war. Some of it is not pretty.

 

The next big step after editing will be the cover design, I think. Sadly, I don’t think it will look like this. But a girl can hope.

 

 

Grins at you all.  Writing is fun, isn’t it?

 

Useful links to blog posts on writing

 

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve collected a few interesting articles from the blogs of other writers or commentators. Sharing the wisdom here:

 

Author Strength Training: Reading Reviews

I’m not going to link to anything about the Hale mess because if you missed that you must have been sitting under a rock for the last two weeks, but while reading that clusterfuck of complete fail, I worked my way through several blogs and came upon one article that was really interesting. Author N K Jemisin runs counter to the prevailing wisdom about not reading reviews of your work, but instead demonstrates how to use reviews, even bad ones. I found it fascinating.

And also coming out of the Hale debacle:

Five ways to respond to a negative Review

The inimitable Chuck Wendig at Terrible Minds with some very good advice.

 

Celebrate Yourself

Kathleen McLeary on the true thing: we write for ourselves and should celebrate every milestone.

Building an author website

Alison Schiff at Publisher’s Weekly with some tips.

Signing a publishing contract

Brendan Tietz at Lit Reactor on contract terms.

Grant of Rights — or wrongs?

Susan Spann at Writers in the Storm, on what rights we grant or give away when we sign contracts. Maybe read in conjunction with the Tietz article (above).

Ten Lessons from “Plot and Structure”

James Scott Bell reviewing his how-to book, ten years on. It’s one of the very first books on writing I bought. A bible.

Gender Bias—Fact or Fiction?

Julia Munroe Martin at Writer Unboxed, on the gender imbalance in publishing.

Living in a Box—Gender and Genre

K J Charles on gendered children’s books, and how that influences and boxes us in. Lots of gender stuff this week.

A scary-easy way to recognise the passive voice

The Grammerly Blog rejoicing in a simple way to recognise when we’re using passive verbs. It involves zombies. Just sayin’.

Body Parts All Over The Floor

An older post from K J Charles, but well worth looking at. Particularly since it follows on from the zombies!

Things you should know when you’re writing about guns

Chuck Wendig being iconoclastic, as usual, but really also very informative. Bookmark for the day you’re writing detection thrillers or need to off a ninja or three.

Why You Shouldn’t Put your Book on Amazon Pre-Order and Thoughts on Kindle  Unlimited Options

Renee Rose on the Write Sex Right blog. Interesting post on making Amazon’s algorithms work for you.

Author Earnings Report

The quarterly report on Amazon sales and author earnings, particularly interesting this quarter with its review of the impact of Kindle Unlimited.

 

And finally, is anyone registered at author’s database (http://authorsdb.com/). If the answer’s yes, has it been useful?

Stranded with Louise Lyons

I’m delighted to welcome Louise Lyons here today to talk about Wayward Ink‘s new anthology, Stranded, and her own short story there. Before I hand over to Louise, just let me say how much I like the banner and cover, particularly the oily sheen on the water in the foreground. Very restful! Anyhow, enough art appreciation from me and over to Louise!

Hi, I’m Louise Lyons. Thank you so much, Anna, for inviting me to your blog to help promote the new anthology from Wayward Ink Publishing, of which I’m delighted to be a part. My short story, One Snowy Night, is one of many stories in this book, which I hope everyone will enjoy.

 Stranded  from Wayward Ink Publishing

Released – 10 October 2014

Buy Link – http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/stranded/

 

  DEFINITION:

adjective

(of a boat, sailor, or sea creature) left aground on a shore.  “a stranded whale”
left without the means to move from somewhere.  “he offers a lift to a stranded commuter”

 

The boys in this collection of short stories have most definitely been left STRANDED!

They’ve been shipwrecked and abandoned.

Marooned and cast away.

And left helpless and high and dry.

But you should never underestimate the tenacity of the human heart…

 

STORIES INCLUDE:

CRAVING STAINS by Alina Popescu

Trapped since birth in a sterile, hospital-like apartment, Wynn longs to break free to experience the world. Enter Doyle. But is Doyle real, or is he just a figment of Wynn’s imagination?

SAY CHEESE by Michael P. Thomas

Sitcom sensation Felix Medrano, America’s Sweetheart, throws a star-studded surprise party for his sweetheart, beanpole barkeep Grover Shepherd. It’s a smash, save for one detail: Shep is a no-show. Who’d have thought it would be so hard to pop the question?

STANDBY by Kim Fielding

Who’d have thought being stranded at the airport could possibly have some long term benefits? Certainly not Tom. But then he hadn’t bargained on meeting Rafael…

THE RAIDER by AstaIdonea

The gods truly do work in mysterious ways as Thorstein found out when he was left for dead on the battle field of a foreign land.

THE BUCKLE by Rob Colton

One ditching and one rescue later, Hayden discovers the use of a telephone isn’t the only offer that’s on the table…

ARI by Nephylim

Benji and Ari have spent their lives feeling lost and alone, stranded between genders. Can they help each other stop unravelling?

OPPOSITES ATTRACT by Lily G. Blunt

Chris and Andreas are opposites in character. Both fear the other wants to move on. Can being stranded on a mountainside resolve the doubt that is threatening to tear them apart?

OUT OF ORDER by Eric Gober

Rob was the one who got away. Trent stumbles upon him during a trip to San Francisco… Right before a deadly earthquake…

DATING FOR DEAFIES by Nikka Michaels

If Evan York keeps hiding from the world behind his laptop he might miss out on something special. Will he find the courage?

ONE SNOWY NIGHT  by Louise Lyons

One snowy night, Keith Brambles learns that appearances can be deceptive.

THE CLIMB by kirifox

Jessie went camping with friends expecting to have some fun and maybe drink a little beer. Instead, he found his perfect man… but is he real or just a dream?

DID YOU LEAVE ANY FOR ME by Sarah Hayes

Two ex-lovers, one hotel room, and one random act of technology. Will they fall out or fall back in love?

SWEETNESS AND STRENGTH by jnolsen

Miles makes one seemingly small and inconsequential decision that turns out to be not so small and inconsequential after all.

 

 

 

Louise’s Story – One Snowy Night

Main character, Keith Brambles, is an up and coming British singer. He has had one disastrous first date after another, finding most men are only interested because of who he is. After yet another failed meeting, he sets off for home, driving too fast for the conditions. He loses control of his car in the snow and finds himself stranded – with no mobile phone signal and an outfit completely unsuitable for braving the freezing conditions.

Just as Keith has begun to think he’s destined to spend a night in his car, possibly suffering from hypothermia, a potential rescuer arrives, but Keith wonders whether he might have more to fear from the man, than the weather.

 

Excerpt

“You all right, mate?” a gruff voice asked.

“Y-y-y-yes,” Keith stammered. He was shivering so badly he doubted he could utter another word.

“No injuries?”

He shook his head in response.

“Can you get out?”

“I… d-d-d-d….” Keith meant to say I don’t know. He shoved the passenger door open and extended one leg, until his foot reached the snowy ground outside. He groaned as he tried to move the other leg. His knee was locked, and he couldn’t feel his foot at all.

“Fuck. Wait there.” The driver’s door slammed. Seconds later, the man appeared at the other side of the car. Large arms reached out and scooped Keith up. He clutched at the thick neck of his rescuer as he was plucked from the Audi and carried to a waiting white Transit van. White Van Man. Keith cringed, and hoped the man wouldn’t recognize him. His type probably wasn’t very tolerant. Then again, it wouldn’t really matter whether he knew who Keith was or not. Keith was wearing a purple silk shirt, heeled boots, earrings, and eye makeup. He thought his preference must be fairly obvious.

“There you go.” White Van Man managed to pull open the passenger side door of the van and hoist Keith up onto the seat without much effort. He slammed the door closed, went around the other side, and climbed behind the wheel.

The heating of the van was blowing at full blast. Keith leaned forward and placed his frozen hands over one of the vents. The interior of the vehicle was like a furnace, and he knew he would thaw out quickly, but painfully.

 

 

About Louise

Louise Lyons comes from a family of writers. Her mother has a number of poems published in poetry anthologies, her aunt wrote poems for the church, and her grandmother sparked her inspiration with tales of fantasy. Louise first ventured into writing short stories at the grand old age of eight, mostly about little girls and ponies. She branched into romance in her teens, and MM romance a few years later, but none of her work saw the light of day until she discovered FanFiction in her late twenties.

Posting stories based on some of her favorite movies, provoked a surprisingly positive response from readers. This gave Louise the confidence to submit some of her work to publishers, and made her take her writing “hobby” more seriously.

Louise lives in the UK, about an hour north of London, with a mad Dobermann, and a collection of tropical fish and tarantulas. She works in the insurance industry by day, and spends every spare minute writing. She is a keen horse-rider, and loves to run long-distance. Some of her best writing inspiration comes to her, when her feet are pounding the open road. She often races into the house afterward, and grabs pen and paper to make notes.

Louise has always been a bit of a tomboy, and one of her other great loves is cars and motorcycles. Her car and bike are her pride and joy, and she loves to exhibit the car at shows, and take off for long days out on the bike, with no one for company but herself.

Contact Louise

Facebook: www.facebook.com/louiselyonsauthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/louiselyons013

Email: louiselyons013@gmail.com

Blog: http://louiselyonsauthor.wordpress.com

 

 

Twirling A Moustache: Sarah Madison and Walk A Mile

I’m delighted to interview Sarah Madison here today, to talk a little about her bestselling new book, Walk a Mile, but also to confess that her being technically challenged is why Jerry Parker is who he is, and that she twirls moustaches while emitting an evil laugh. It’s astonishing what secrets authors will spill if you only just ask them…

Welcome, Sarah!  Starting with an easy question on the mystery angle, what got you writing mysteries in the first place? What are your influences there?

I love mysteries! I am a huge fan of the stories written in the Golden Age of Mystery—the thirties and forties—written by some of the greats of the day: Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey… I read and re-read these stories as a pre-teen and a teenager. I still read them today. I love the British cozy, the country house murder, the body in the library. It’s a time and place that is gone—an era that has past. The gentleman/amateur detective can’t really function in today’s CSI-type crime dramas, but whenever I need a good old-fashioned comfort read, I reach for the classics.

I must have imprinted on Lord Peter Wimsey as a young woman. I thought him the embodiment of everything perfect in a leading man. Intelligent but sensitive, ruthless when necessary, impossibly athletic, rich, a member of the aristocracy… this was all window dressing. What made me fall in love with Lord Peter was his tangled, jangled but ultimately self-sacrificing relationship with mystery writer Harriet Vane. He’d have given her up if she hadn’t come to him willingly, to stand by his side as his equal, his partner, his lover. Nothing less than that would satisfy him. He taught me a lot about what a healthy relationship between lovers should look like—and it is entirely his fault that it took me so long to find a partner who made me feel that way.

 

What inspired you to write this particular series? What were the challenges in bringing it to life?

Well, I’m a big fan of the ‘what  if…?’ scenario. I also love exploring what happens to ordinary people when put them in extraordinary situations! I knew that some people would be thrown completely out of the stories by the paranormal twist to them—and some indeed were. The challenge was making the reactions of the characters to an inconceivable plotline so believable that the reader would simply blink, and then start reading faster to find out what happened next.

 

What are your thoughts on writing a book series –the perils and pitfalls?

HAH! It’s a lot harder than it looks! I have a story arc that is playing out over the entire series while also trying to juggle the subplots occurring in each installment. I have to keep checking my facts and previous storylines to make sure I’m staying on track and not making any big whopping mistakes. I’ve had some readers toss their hands up in the air and express frustration at not getting resolution to certain elements currently in play. All I can say to that is be patient, Young Grasshopper. It will all play out in the end.

By far and large, however, the response to Walk a Mile has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve never had a story rocket to the bestseller lists the way this one has. People from all over the world are contacting me to tell me how much they love Flynn and Jerry, and how they were so delighted to get more stories about them. If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have delayed so long between the first and second book! So writing a series has been a learning process for me.

 

You obviously have a deep affection for your two main characters. Can you give us an insight into Parker and Flynn? Why are they so special?

Well, I’m fond of ‘opposites attract’ kinds of couples because they are so much fun to write! The sparkage and banter is so much more lively, and you certainly don’t have any trouble telling the two apart! I think more than that, however, Flynn and Jerry have their flaws as well as their good points. They’re working hard to make their relationship viable, but everyone has to do that. Relationships are work—particularly in the long term. Flynn and Jerry have become very real to me as I continue to write them. They are constantly evolving as characters and surprising me with their demands and actions, too!

 

For me, the characters in books have lives outside the pages that you, the writer, don’t always tell us about. Spill the beans on some surprising things each about Parker and Flynn, part of their history or habits or hobbies, that don’t actually appear in the books.

Oh gracious! Well, let’s see. Jerry Flynn did a lot of theater in high school and college. One day at rehearsal, most of the cast was absent for various reasons, and Jerry had a scene onstage in which he was the only person present. He did all the parts. He knew them of course, but he bounced through the scene, first as the suspect, then as the detective, then as the leading lady… he had the director and remaining cast members in stitches. Some actually thought the play would have been better if he’d done it that way for real. He briefly toyed with the idea of becoming a professional actor before he decided to join the FBI.

Jerry has a brother he doesn’t speak to. Flynn doesn’t know this—Jerry doesn’t even think about them. I think Flynn would be upset, having lost his only sister when he was a teen, if he knew that Jerry had a brother that he pretended didn’t exist.

Flynn reads. He reads a lot. He re-reads his old favorites, treating them like old friends well-met on a journey. He reads mostly at night, though, when he can’t sleep. Part of him is a little embarrassed about the reading—he got ribbed about it in school and in his former job. But he also feels bad that when Jerry reads a book, the words are there in his memory for all time. Jerry never gets to experience the comfort of re-reading a story you haven’t read in a while, and finding joy in the familiar words that nonetheless aren’t engraved in your memory. So he hides his reading from Jerry a bit.

Flynn is having a hard time finding relief from the thoughts of others. Reading or watching movies, helps. So does listening to music. But the strain of non-stop bombardment (or the shielding from the same) of the noise around him is driving him to seek alternatives to shutting it out. He won’t touch alcohol or drugs because he’s seen what that has done to his mother, but he is looking for something else to help combat the noise.

 

If I were a big Hollywood producer about to put your book on the big screen, who would you want me to cast as the leads. And why? And can we have pictures to drool over?

Oh, believe me, I have played this game myself! Most days I have a fairly good idea of what they look like, though the casting changes from time to time. At this immediate moment in time, the roles are best filled by Karl Urban as Flynn and Chris Pratt as Jerry.

 

Urban because he has that same steel-jawed closed off grittiness I think of when I think of Flynn in action. Flynn as the guy who always gets his man. (Anna’s intrusion here because, well, GUH and Urban would be a *perfect* Flynn!)

 

Pratt because he has a lot of that little boy goofiness and appeal that I see in Jerry. His

looks are understated, and typically overpowered by his personality. But then there is the element of ‘stripped down for battle’ to Jerry as well. We haven’t seen much of that yet, but we will, I promise! One of the disadvantages to writing the series from Jerry’s POV is that we don’t always realize how hot Jerry is because he is always comparing himself to Flynn.

(Another Anna intrusion here. Sarah gave me two pictures to use, one with Pratt in a baseball cap and, well, this one. Please don’t tell me you’re surprised which one I chose to use?)

 

What secondary character would you like to explore more? For instance, in Walk A Mile, you create subsidiary characters who are mostly all from Flynn’s past, including his mother. I would love to know more about the life she has lived and what her take on Walk a Mile would be.

Well, we’re going to get to know Jean a lot better in the next installment, tentatively titled Truth and Consequences.  J Jean has come to terms with her past, though she still struggles with her role in creating some of Flynn’s problems connecting with people. She’s at a point now, however, where she realizes time isn’t on her side and life is too short to keep on making the same mistakes. She has her suspicions about Flynn’s sexual orientation, but hasn’t said anything to Flynn about it, and that’s the way he wants it. But Jean isn’t likely to settle for the status quo. Not anymore.

 

You’ve been writing for a few years now. How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

Golly, I certainly hope I’ve evolved! I’d like to think my writing is stronger than when I first began. I think I have a good grasp on characterization, dialog, and story-telling, but the execution is shaky at times. I still read other people’s work (I’m looking at YOU, Anna) and despair of writing anything as eloquently beautiful or emotionally engaging.

I can say this much: I don’t just want to tell a story. I want to see my characters grow and evolve over time. A steady diet of romance makes my teeth ache as well, so there is always going to be more than the trials and tribulations of a couple getting together. Sometimes that means the romance will take a backseat to the plot, but in the end, the romance will be stronger for it.

More than anything, I’d have to say I’ve developed a tougher skin. I know longer let ‘meh’ reviews undermine my belief in what I’m trying to do, and the outright mean ones, complete with silly gifs, just make me laugh. I appreciate nice feedback as much as the next writer, don’t get me wrong—a lovely review can make my day! But lukewarm or bad reviews no longer ruin my day.

 

What was one of the most surprising things you’ve learned in writing your books?

I thought I was a well-read person and reasonably up on my history, but when I began researching the Battle of Britain as part of the WW2 dream sequence for The Boys of Summer, I was appalled at my level of ignorance. The more I read, the more I knew I couldn’t do justice to the lives of those young men who fought and died to protect their country, nor the young men for whom being homosexual was a crime so great that not even their war record or service could protect them from prison or worse. Not with the simple dream sequence I had in mind. That was why the middle section of The Boys of Summer took on a life of its own. I had to share some small part of what I’d learned with the readers. I hope I managed to convey even a fraction of what I discovered. This is how we learn from the past. Making connections with it through stories and wanting to find out more on our own.

 

If you could change ONE thing about your novel, what would it be?  Why?

Hah! Jerry’s name. No seriously. I wanted to change his name partway through Unspeakable Words. Jerry? Jerry? What kind of name is that for a grown man? It’s the name of a cartoon mouse, for heaven’s sake!Tru fax: I was going to change it to ANYTHING else but I couldn’t because I didn’t know how to use the ‘find and replace’ option in Word. *face-palm*

One of the best parts of writing the Sixth Sense series, however, has been watching Jerry grow as a character. He’ll be put to the test in the next story, as he struggles to connect with his past again. I’m enjoying the process!

 

And finally, books about detectives solving crimes are one thing, but you give this series a delightful twist. Tell us what makes Unspeakable Words and Walk a Mile stand out from the rest.

Heh-heh-heh. *twirls mustache with an evil snicker* Nothing is what it seems. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next, surprise! Plot twist! No, I guess the simplest answer is that in this series, there are bigger mysteries than just the cases to solve. What are the origins of the artifacts? How many are there? What is their purpose? Who else is looking for them?

And if you received supernatural abilities, would you want to go back to normal if your gifts made a difference in the world? What if you could catch bad guys because of it? What if it was destroying the most important relationship you’d ever had? If you had a choice, could you choose between those options? Because that’s the kind of dilemma Flynn will be facing…

Thank you, Sarah! I’m delighted that Walk A Mile is doing so well – it’s totally deserved and I wish you all the best with the book tour.

Read on to find out more about Walk a Mile and to read a sexy extract from it.

 

Six months after starting their hunt for a serial killer who is still at large, FBI agents Jerry Lee Parker and John Flynn are partners in every sense. But Jerry has serious doubts about their relationship and whether they would even be together if not for the way Flynn changed after touching a mysterious artifact in a museum.

Flynn hates the extraordinary power bestowed on him by the artifact and wants nothing more than to have a normal life again. Jerry fears that without the unusual connection they forged, Flynn will no longer want or need him. Chasing after a similar artifact takes them back to Flynn’s old stomping grounds in Washington D.C., where his newfound abilities uncover long-buried secrets, the kind people would kill to protect. But they aren’t the only ones looking for these powerful relics, and what they discover will threaten their relationship—and their lives.

Buy link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5521

 

Excerpt:

Flynn was waiting in the middle of the room.

Jerry had no idea how long he’d been there or what he might have picked up on as Jerry had showered. He had a rumpled look about him that went deeper than usual. His expression on seeing Jerry come out of the bathroom was bleak, almost angry. Jerry couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been waiting impatiently, however. Expectantly. Almost needy.

Jerry pulled up short at the sight of him.

Not taking his eyes off Jerry, Flynn tugged at his tie until it came loose. “I need you to fuck me.”

Jerry gaped at him for a second, and then plunged all thoughts into the soundproof booth as he rapidly processed them. Flynn rarely bottomed—not that Jerry minded. He often thought he was getting the better deal. But even when they’d been going at it like rabbits, Flynn had never asked for sex. It had just happened. Like spontaneous combustion.

Jerry felt his eyes narrow as he fought to keep his thoughts hidden. Flynn looked exhausted. His hair and clothing were damp—he must have been walking in the rain. He seemed to want to be punished for some reason, and he had chosen bottoming as the means of achieving self-flagellation. What that said about his feelings toward sex with Jerry wasn’t to be thought of right now. What mattered was giving Flynn what he wanted the way he wanted it without ever having spoken about it before. Jerry had only one shot at getting this right.

“Fine,” he said, when he’d found his voice again. Frost chilled his words. “Strip.”

Flynn raised an eyebrow.

“You heard me.” Jerry spoke in the clipped tones he reserved for the truly stupid co-worker. “I’m not going to ask twice.”

He buried the internal sigh of relief when Flynn shrugged out of his jacket and began unbuckling his belt.

“Yeah. That’s it.” Jerry felt an astonishing rush of power come over him. His cock approved, slowly filling to tent his towel. Flynn undressed carelessly, his underlying anger causing him to tug at his shirt buttons in a manner that normally would have pained Jerry to watch. This time he felt a simmering excitement at the knowledge that Flynn was pulling roughly at his clothing at Jerry’s command.

For once, he was in goddamned control. Unexpected confidence surged through him and he cast aside his towel. He planted his feet firmly and stood as though he expected to be worshiped, and by God, for once he felt as though he should be worshiped.

Flynn watched him with flattering attention, to the point that he fumbled with the buttons on his fly.

“Stop.” Jerry infused the word with all the authority he’d developed from years as an agent and was gratified when Flynn froze and looked up in confusion.

“You can’t take your pants off before your shoes.”

 

Sarah Madison is a veterinarian with a big dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. She is a terrible cook, and concedes that her life would be easier if Purina made People Chow. She writes because it is cheaper than therapy.

Website:http://www.sarahmadisonfiction.com/

Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004K9QY5C

Facebook (Author page): http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sarah-Madison-Author/106445646104338

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Quenching the fiery darts

…taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye

shall be able to quench the fiery darts

of the wicked    St Paul

Mr Butler and I must, I think, be honorary citizens of the ‘show-me’ state, Missouri. For weeks and weeks he has pooh-poohed every claim I’ve made of seeing these in our local park:

Well, okay, perhaps that image is maybe more dramatic than informative. Here’s another picture:

It’s a parakeet.

London has had flocks of wild parakeets since the 1970s, and they’re growing and spreading from their first appearances in the leafy, salubrious areas of London: Kingston, Richmond, Kew Gardens. Now they’re colonising insalubrious, built up, down at earth Plaistow in East London, where I live. A flock of about 8 roost in our local park.

Not that dear husband ever believed me about that. He jeered. He positively jeered. It didn’t help that every time we walked Molly in the park together and I tried to spot the birds, they were, to say the least, elusive. One might go so far as to say invisible and mute, the pesky, perverse little blighters. Mr Butler would jeer a bit more and tap the side of his forehead in significant fashion.

Until yesterday morning when an indisputable pair wheeled and dipped around our heads before settling in a nearby tree. Not even Mr Cynical Butler could deny that he’d just been circled by two long tailed, vivid green, feral parrots. The only extra evidence one might ask for would be for them to squawk out “Who’s a pretty boy, then?” to him as they did their flyover in perfect military formation. And possibly shit on us, like birds do, but they had more manners than that.

Mr Butler bore my crowing with equanimity. See? I demanded. See? Parakeets! I may even have done a little unseemly gloating, dancing on the spot and pointing. He eyed my antics with complacency. And “Moose,” he said. That’s all. Moose. It was enough.

For a long time, you see, I maintained that Moose were mythical. They’re so improbable, aren’t they? I mean, all gangly legs and knobbly knees. Not to mention those huge antler racks. They sort of waddle around eating plants and looking as unlike dainty little Bambi as another member of the deer family possibly could. Moose, I always said, were Not Real. Every moose is really a pair of out-of-work actors in the moose equivalent of a pantomime horse suit.

One of these, in fact, only with antlers. And maybe not the spots.

Some enterprising soul in the US (and Canada, of course) had come up with the idea of getting hold of these suits in black and paying actors to shamble up and down north American highways pretending to eat shrubs. To increase tourism, or something.

As an aside, Don’t you feel very sorry for the man at the back? Given where his face is, you have to hope the front legs man doesn’t have problems of the gasterinal sort. Given how much roughage the front end appears to eat, it could be very unpleasant for the man in the back. Highly unlikely to win you an Oscar for outstanding moose performance of the year, in any event.

Anyhow, getting back on track, this was my solemn and sincere belief for years and years. Until three years ago and Yellowstone when I had my Missouri moment and saw one for myself. This is the moose in question. Cute he isn’t, but hell was he a big bugger.

All I will say about it is that moose are still two actors inside a pantomime horse type of suit, but they are *incredibly good at their jobs*.

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Which rambling is an excuse to send you greetings from a cold and rainy London, and to let you know that I’ve got a couple of guests lined up over the next few days. On Wednesday, I hope, Sarah Madison will drop in to tell us a little about her new release, Walk A Mile (Dreamspinner Press) and next Monday, Louise Lyons will be here to talk about Wayward Ink’s new anthology, Stranded, and her story One Snowy Night. So do drop in when they’re here, and join in.

Finally, I woke up to an exciting email today. Dreamspinner will be publishing The Gilded Scarab early next year, and this morning the Art people got in touch with me to tell me they’re starting work on the cover. I squee-ed out loud and scared the dog.

It’s odd the effect this has. You get the acceptance from the publisher and that’s a dizzy, intoxicating moment and you sign the contract, then everything goes quiet while your immortal MS sits in the editing queue. It’s as if you were careering down a mountain, only to be brought up short on a wide vast plateau, where your headlong rush slows to a ‘hurry up and wait’ sort of existence. To be honest, it makes everything seem a bit unreal. Did they really want the book? Do they like it? Can they possibly love Rafe the way he should be loved? What if it was all a mistake and they’re too embarrassed to say so? What if they don’t really want him at all? What then?!

So getting loads of pretty book covers to look at to choose a style I like and even having to fill in another form for them (honest, Dreamspinner, are you all ex-civil servants like me, or something?) has reignited that first heady thrilling rush of excitement. It’s real. They really are going to publish Rafe’s story and I’m not going to wake up and find I’ve done a Pam Ewing and dreamt the whole thing. In fact, I’m hurtling across the plateau and wheeeeee! we’re off down the next precipitous bit of mountain.

Now all I have to get through is the editing. Sad face here. I have no idea what to expect.

In the meantime, it’s back to writing. I’ve started the fourth Taking Shield book (cough. points to St Paul, grins), The Chains of Their Sins. In Shield world, today’s the day that Bennet arrives on the Gyrfalcon to take over as Strike Captain for a year. Right at this moment, Flynn is sitting outside the ship in his little space fighter, faking a problem with the engine so he can put off coming back on board and seeing the man he wants and can’t have. Oh the angst!

Have a lovely Monday. Between parakeets and books, I certainly am!

Wet Wet Wet: Kim Fielding on kelpies, nymphs, kappas and “Bone Dry”

I’m delighted to welcome Kim Fielding here today, to talk about one of her new releases, Bone Dry, and the (deliciously ironic!) influence of mythological creatures associated with water. Kim’s also offering some prizes in Rafflecopter giveaways, so be sure to give them a go. Links are at the foot of the page.  Over now to Kim:

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Hi! I’m Kim Fielding, here today to discuss water spirits.

Water spirits pop up in many cultures around the world. In part, I think this is because water is so essential to life. But I also think it’s because water is full of surprises; you never know quite what might appear from beneath the surface. At the farm owned by my brother and sister-in-law—which serves as partial inspiration for the farm in my Bones series—I’ve more than once been surprised when an otter suddenly appeared in the creek.  When I’ve been near or on the ocean, I’ve been astonished and delighted by dolphins, whales, otters, sea lions and seals, and once even an octopus!

If a 50-foot mammal can surface suddenly, literally out of the blue, why not a mercreature, a kelpie, a nymph, or a kappa? Or a neck.

Neck names vary. They’re also called nixies, nocks, fossegrim, or Strömkarlen. The legends vary as well, but essentially these are water creatures. Some of them shape-shift. Many of them play musical instruments. Some are malevolent, luring unwary humans to their deaths, but others are benign. Some have even been known to fall in love with humans, although the spirits suffer if they’re away from water too long—which probably makes relationships difficult!

Water sprites were often depicted as very beautiful creatures, like the one in this 1884 painting by Ernst Josephson. Yet they were sometimes also thought to be sad because they were lonely—and because they didn’t possess souls.

In my newest Bones novel, Bone Dry, I got to play with water spirit mythologies. I took a few creative licenses with the old tales, but I really hope you’ll enjoy the results!

Bone Dry is one my five (!) new releases. To celebrate, I’m doing a Fieldingpalooza blog tour, complete with prizes. I hope you’ll come join me! Details are on my website.

Kim’s new releases:

 

 

Bone Dry—book 3 in the Bones series—releases October 10—available now for preorder!

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Brute—French translation!—available now !

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Standby—in the Stranded anthology—releases October 10—available now for preorder!

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The Dance—in the Bones anthology (Gothika vol. 2)—releases October 27—available now for preorder!

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The Festivus Miracle—releases November 1—all proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders—available now for preorder!

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Contests!

Win a copy of “The Pillar” in a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win a $20 gift certificate with Dreamspinner Press in a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win a Bone-themed goody bag full of surprises in a Rafflecopter giveaway

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For more details on Kim’s books, as well as some free stories, visit her at http://kfieldingwrites.com/ .  You can also follow her in Twitter @KFieldingWrites and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KFieldingWrites

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Walk A Mile Launch Day

Today is book launch day for my good friend and fellow critique group member, Sarah Madison. Walk A Mile is published by Dreamspinner and sorry, why are you reading this and not rushing out to buy it?

Six months after starting their hunt for a serial killer who is still at large, FBI agents Jerry Lee Parker and John Flynn are partners in every sense. But Jerry has serious doubts about their relationship and whether they would even be together if not for the way Flynn changed after touching a mysterious artifact in a museum.

Flynn hates the extraordinary power bestowed on him by the artifact and wants nothing more than to have a normal life again. Jerry fears that without the unusual connection they forged, Flynn will no longer want or need him. Chasing after a similar artifact takes them back to Flynn’s old stomping grounds in Washington D.C., where his newfound abilities uncover long-buried secrets, the kind people would kill to protect. But they aren’t the only ones looking for these powerful relics, and what they discover will threaten their relationship—and their lives.

Now then, being in the same crit group means I was privileged to read this as Sarah wrote it. I read it chapter by chapter as she submitted it for crit and I read it again at the end before she submitted it to Dreamspinner for publication. I’m about to go and read it again. It is just *that good*.

Walk a Mile is a follow up to the first novel in the Sixth Sense series, Unspeakable Words, in which two FBI agents are partnered to hunt down a serial killer. So far, so FBI, right? Not quite. As well as charting Jerry Parker’s increasing attraction to John Flynn, Unspeakable Words takes the FBI partners/crime hunt/murder story that you might expect to read and gives it a jump to the left, and then a step to the righ-hi-hi-hi-hi-ight (sorry. Channelling my inner corset wearer there). FBI murder hunt takes a paranormal twist that is so deftly done that you just nod and accept it and read on, fascinated. Because when an artifact changes John Flynn’s life in ways he could never, ever have anticipated, the tale is gripping. The consequence is that he gains Jerry Parker, yes, but also an extraordinary ability Flynn would rather be without.

Walk a Mile comes six months later. You know how you’ve often looked at someone you know, maybe someone you love, and wondered what made them who they are now, just what it is that makes them tick? What wouldn’t you give to understand them! It might keep the doubts at bay. But be careful what you wish for. Or you, too, could find yourself in Jerry Parker and John Flynn’s shoes: searching for a killer while struggling to come to terms with the unexpected effects of another of these mysterious artifacts. And again, all so deftly and cleverly done, the world of Flynn and Parker so skilfully portrayed, that the impact of this second artifact is accepted as no more than a “Huh! They might have guessed it’d do something whacky!” and you carry on, wanting to know as much about Flynn’s past as Jerry Parker does. The story just pulls you in. Hard.

Jerry, the main PoV narrator, is a beguiling combination of confidence and a self assurance born out of the security his near-eidetic memory gives him, and doubt about his relationship with Flynn. Because seen through Jerry’s eyes, John Flynn—closed off and enigmatic, haunted and guilt-ridden—is also drop-dead gorgeous. Jerry’s unease about John’s behaviour and motives permeates this book, but it’s not a self-pity fest. Jerry’s too smart for that. But it does prompt him to take a step that puts a huge strain on their relationship, and only the murderous climax of the novel brings that some sort of resolution.

Interesting, believable main characters with flaws and faults and a real humanity about them. A cast of secondary characters whose personalities all leap off the page at you, even if they’re there only for a chapter or three. A mystery that goes beyond the relatively simple one of tracking down a serial killer, and ventures into the arcane as they try to understand the enigmatic artifacts. A love story, too, that is all the more powerful because it’s understated and its protagonists are a little inarticulate.

Why *are* you still here instead of rushing off to buy it?

Get it from Dreamspinner, who are having a ‘paranormal titles’ sale so you can get an bargain there that’s as unexpected as the impact of John Flynn’s artifact.

Or from Amazon.com  and Amazon.co.uk

I’m hoping Sarah will join us here in a couple of weeks to talk a little more about her new book. You will all have read it by then, right?  Right

Struttin’ My Stuff

I have to admit it: I am naïve. Not to mention, so far behind the times you need the Hubble Space Telescope to see me. When I think ‘swag’, I’m thinking of the bags I get at conventions and conferences where the organisers have put in things like a pen or two and a notebook and a leaflet about the company/department/charity of choice. And, if you were organising conferences for EU members during Labour’s presidency—and I was—presidency polyester ties with what looked like squashed pizzas drawn on them by artistically-challenged five-year-olds. Don’t press me on that, okay? My soul still bears the scars.

Not for the first time, I have missed out on a huge internet meme. Swag has changed its meaning. It’s now “a type of style or presence that exudes confidence and is sometimes interpreted as arrogance”. Yup. Swag has been conflated with swagger, and when I (in my usual innocent fashion) googled swag images in order to make this a brighter, prettier blog post, I was almost knocked out of my comfy computer chair when a zillion Tumblr images sprang out of the screen at me.

These days it’s this:

Not:

Which is, you know, a shame. The ganef (rascal, scallywag, rapscallion) in the stripy shirt is more my style than infants in fancy schmancy leather jackets and shades. In fact, that’s a right pretty ganef who can fill my swag— oops. Better stop right there.

Dragging myself back to the point of this post, I’m writing about swag of the old fashioned persuasion. Because although the next UK GLBTQ writers meet isn’t until next September, some of us (cough) are already planning what goodies we’re going to offer in the swag bags

It was as I was struggling to find storage space for 200 ceramic scarabs—again, it is probably better not to ask questions if you don’t want to see me cry—and wondering how on earth I was going to gild one of them, that I started to think this swag stuff through.

It’s the done thing, at conventions and so on, to hand out swag to promote your books. But you have to pitch this carefully. Some things that you’d think would be just the ticket, really aren’t. F’rinstance… ‘Writers’ conference, innit? Writers are there. Readers are there. M/M publishers are there, including mine (waves). There are more books than you can shake the proverbial stick at.

But, don’t offer bookmarks in your swag bag, because they’ll just get binned. Nobody really uses bookmarks. Not even at a conference about books.

Is that counterintuitive, or what?

You have to work around it. Think outside the box marked ‘Print’. So while I’m sourcing things like scarabs, and coffee sachets and those sweet bubble wands you blow bubbles through and really, is a post card all right if I can get a discount voucher attached to it… so, while I’m doing all that I’m ruminating on costs and benefits and what an author has to do these days to get people to read her books.

It’s a given that you have to have a website and a blog. You have to be on Facebook (grr) and Twitter and Tmblr and (lor’ lumme) on Goodreads. And if that weren’t enough of a drain on your time, right now the ‘in’ place to be is Ello. You have to join groups like LRC on Yahoo (and try not to quail every PromoMonday, when literally dozens of other books in the genre are pimped and promoted). You have to post and tweet and generally try to drum up some interest in your books and you, and dammit you have to interact and be chirpy and accessible and nice.

The big advantage of all of that, though, is that you’re just a conglomeration of pixels. It’s all virtual. None of it’s real. And it doesn’t cost you much. If anything.

But the writers’ meet? That’s real. Real people will be there. Also Galacticon next year in Seattle? That’s real, and if I manage to get there (Seattle’s a long walk from here) then I’ll be fronting a writing seminar and a panel on fanfiction for them and in return I want space to sell my books and hopefully win over a few fans to learn to love Bennet and Flynn so much, and Rafe, that they are waiting eagerly for the next books in the series. It won’t be enough to be a few sparkling pixels. You also have to have nice swag for them to take away in the hope they’ll remember you for it, later.

A nice pen, at the very least. And good luck finding those in the UK. I get mine in the US and impose on friends to send them to me in the post. Shockingly expensive, but worth it.

Something with your branding on it—you do have a brand don’t you? First rule of marketing. Get a brand. All the best people have one.

Something that gets your book titles, its cover, its existence, rammed into their faces so they don’t forget to go and buy a copy.

Anyhow, the point is (you’ll be glad to know there is one) that you merrily sit there thinking about coffee and gilding scarabs and what else you can come up with to put in the swag bag, and oh hey, you’d better buy a job lot of organza gift bags to put all your bits in so they’re all together, and while you’re at it, think up a couple of bigger giveaways that, meanly, you hope people won’t come and claim so you can keep them for yourself. And all those rainbow beads you bought… you can make something with them and the scarabs. And sweeties. Don’t forget to put in some rainbow coloured sweeties or Love Hearts or something. And the pens, of course. And hang on!

This isn’t coming on the cheap.

I just sat down and worked out, roughly, how much each little bag is going to cost me. Couple of quid each at a minimum and, maybe more. Doesn’t sound much until you multiply it by 150. Then add in another 50 for galacticon. Then you start gulping a bit.

Because this marketing and PR malarky? It costs money. It costs you, the writer, money. You’re effectively paying people in a sort of literary barter system. “I’ll give you one pen and a postcard and two Love Hearts, and will you go and buy my book now, please? And here. Have a scarab thrown in.”

I am going to have to sell a helluva lot of books to get to break even on this deal. But given that marketing books is as crucial as writing them, it has to be done. Authors have to be seen and interact and sell themselves, and do it with smiles on their faces. And that, my friends, is the sobering thought. We’re all marketeers now so I’d better stop complaining, bite the bullet and go off and gild a scarab.

That’s gild, not geld, by the way. Life is complicated enough without gelding small skittery insects. They don’t stand still long enough for a start.