K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 67
June 12, 2015
Friday Link Pack 06/12/2015
It’s Friday, and it’s my Dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!), and it’s my parents wedding anniversary (Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!) Also, it’s time for the Friday Link Pack! The post where I share a few links I’ve found over the last few days. Some of these I mention on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Have a link I should feature in the upcoming link pack? Click here to email me and let me know! (Include a website so I can link to you as well.) Let’s get to it…
WRITING:
25 Reasons Why You Don’t Make Any Money At Comic Cons
Absolutely fantastic post. So often I see professionals, very talented artists, and writers, doing the exactly what is being listed here. It’s all good advice. Take it. [Thanks to Lola for sharing this.]
Dear Authors: Don’t Respond To Goodreads Reviews
Frankly, you shouldn’t respond to any reviews. Ever. At all. If you need to respond to anything, respond to your email. That’s important.
Top 5 Literary Languages
In this old post, The Stage discusses their favorite made-up languages. Which is your favorite? Anything you think this list is missing?
Cthulhu The Wimp
This week I wrote a guest post for Michael G. Munz’s blog. In it, I pick on everyone’s favorite old one. What do you think? Am I right, or am I way off base? Check it out and let me know.
Red Litten World Cover Reveal Giveaway
The giveaway ends in just a few days! Enter for your chance to win signed copies of The Stars Were Right and Old Broken Road, as well as a Bell Caravans patch, swag, and a $50 Amazon gift card. Entering is easy and there are a lot of ways to increase your chances to win. Do it today!
ART:
20 Contemporary (Women) Artists You Oughta Know
From sculptures to painters to photographers. A handy guide of some of the best women artists working today.
The Photography Of Gautier Pellegrin
I’m in love with these photographs. The more and more I look at photography, the more I am attracted to photos that really drive home emotion. For me, Pellegrin’s work does exactly that.
Pejac In Hong Kong
Absolutely love some of these pieces from the street artist Pejac. The window work stood out in particular.
RANDOM:
51 TV Writers Reveal Their Favorite Thing They’ve Ever Written
This is a fun list. There are a few shows on here I loved (Parks and Recreation, Veronica Mars, The X-Files, Portlandia, Scrubs) and it’s always neat to see which parts the writers were most proud of. [Thanks to Mike for sharing this.]
The Future According To Anime
Hopes & Fears compiles a list of their favorite predictions from anime, from World War 3 to space travel. Only time will tell if anime got it right.
How To Cook Turmeric Chicken, Rice, And Peas. In Space
Admit it. You always wanted to know.
WEIRD WIKIPEDIA:
Aachenosaurus
“Aachenosaurus is a dubious genus of prehistoric plant. It was named based solely on fossilized fragments of material that were originally thought to be jaw fragments from a duck-billed dinosaur (a hadrosaur). However, the fossils turned out to be petrified wood, to the great embarrassment of the discoverer.”
LOVECRAFT STORY OF THE WEEK:
In the Walls of Eryx
Here’s something you don’t usually see from the grandfather of horror. A near future science fiction tale on the planet of Venus!
GIF OF THE WEEK:
Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: aachenosaurus, anime, art, Conventions, cooking, cthulhu, Giveaway, goodreads, h.p. lovecraft, Hong Kong, in the walls of eryx, languages, photography, Red Litten World, Reviews, space, street art
June 11, 2015
Cthulhu The Wimp
At Norwescon, I was happy to meet fellow writer and Seattle Geekly alumni, Michael G. Munz. Michael is another Seattle-based speculative fiction author. While we were at the con he asked me if I’d be interesting writing a geeky guest post for his blog. He left it open to anything I wanted and mentioned something Lovecraftian would be nice. I was more than happy to oblige and had the perfect idea. Hence my post for his Guest Geek section, where I pick on everyone’s favorite elder god, Cthulhu the Wimp. Here’s how the post starts:
We see Cthulhu everywhere. In art, he’s usually rising from the ocean on the back of his ruined city. His narrow glowing eyes stare at the viewer. His face draped with writhing tentacles. Membranous wings stretch from his expansive back. It’s an engaging image and it has seeped into pop culture. From fan art to toys, from toys to plushies, from plushies to video games, Cthulhu is everywhere. His terrifying visage has certainly ubiquitous among Lovecraft’s creations. He’s the de facto and beloved mascot for the mythos. But, what if all this love and terror is based on false presumptions? What if I was to tell you that Cthulhu wasn’t all that terrifying. That he’s more a product of good marketing and overzealous rumormongering? What if Cthulhu is, in fact, a wimp?
You can read the rest of my post over at Michael’s blog, I had a lot of fun writing it. Check it out and tell me what you think. Am I right? Is Cthulhu a wimp or am I completely off base? Leave a comment, I want to know!
Also, be sure to check out Michael’s books including his latest: Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure (which is currently sitting on my nightstand) and his ongoing near future sci-fi series the New Aeneid Cycle.
Filed under: Lore & Mythos Tagged: cthulhu, cthulhu mythos, great old ones, guest post, h.p. lovecraft, michael g. munz, norwescon, seattle geekly
June 8, 2015
It Is Good To Have An End
“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.”
Filed under: Quotes Tagged: journey, the end, ursula k. le guin, writing
Thank You Bloggers
Last week was the cover reveal for Red Litten World, the third book in The Bell Forging Cycle. I worked with CBB Book Promotions to do a cover reveal tour and I couldn’t be more pleased wth the results. (Highly recommend them.) The response was wonderful. I was really happy to see so much interest generated in the book and a big part of that success due to the efforts from those bloggers who participated. So I wanted to extend a big thank you to:
Candace at Candace’s Book Blog
Tamara at The Avid Book Collector
Maureen at Maureen’s Books
Natalie at Book Lovers Life
Ravyn at Ravyn Rayne
Melissa at Books Can Take You There
Daniela at Daniela Ark
Laurie at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Hope at Hope to Read
Cristina at Remember the Books
Mary at Mary’s Cup of Tea
Debra at 3 Partners in Shopping
Katy at Glorious Panic
Jen at My So-Called Book Reviews
Lisa at My Favorite Things
Vidya at Books Are Magic
Alecia at Chosen By You Book Club
I really appreciated everyone’s willingness to help out. I loved reading the kind word and the comments. It was fun to see everyone get so excited over the giveaway as well. The giveaway is still going on, (almost two-thousand entries!) and there are lots of ways to increase your chances to win. Just hit the link below and you can enter for a chance to win a prize pack that includes: signed copies of The Stars Were Right and Old Broken Road, a Bell Caravans patch, a bunch of book-related swag, and a $50 Amazon Gift card.
Filed under: News, Red Litten World Tagged: blogging, cover reveal, Giveaway, thank you, the bell forging cycle
June 5, 2015
Friday Link Pack 06/05/2015
Wow, what a week. I come down from Lilac City Comicon and right into a whirlwind of a cover reveal. However, today is Friday. That means it is time for the Friday Link Pack where I share a few links I’ve found over the last few days. Some of these I mention on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Have a link I should feature in the upcoming link pack? Click here to email me and let me know! (Include a website so I can link to you as well.) Let’s get to it…
WRITING:
Amazon.com Announces The Most Well-Read Cities In America
And guess who is at #1? Spoiler Alert, it’s my hometown. The emerald of the West Coast, the one, the only: Seattle, Washington! YAY! Hometown pride aside, there is some interesting revelations in this list. I can’t tell if Vegas reading the most romance is the sweetest or saddest thing.
Physical Attribute Thesaurus Collection
I really like these collections from Writers Helping Writers. When I write it’s common for me to forget the simplest of words and I find these Thesauruses useful when I need help loosening up. I actually own a few books from their Thesaurus collection, in both physical and ebook editions. Highly recommend them.
The Kindle Finally Gets Typography That Doesn’t Suck
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time you know I am a stickler for good typography. I appreciate a well-designed book and it all starts with the type. It has always hurt my heart a bit when viewing books on the Kindle. However, there is some big upgrades coming and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.
Red Litten World Cover Reveal
Yesterday, I announced the new cover for Red Litten World, book three in my Lovecraftian urban fantasy series, The Bell Forging Cycle. The response across the internet has been stellar, twitter has blown up, and I’ve been getting some great emails. I can’t wait to share this one with everyone.
Red Litten World Cover Reveal Giveaway
Along with the cover reveal, I am doing a giveaway. Win signed copies of The Stars Were Right and Old Broken Road, as well as a Bell Caravans patch, swag, and a $50 Amazon gift card. Entering is easy and there’re a lot of ways to increase your chances to win. Do it today!
ART:
Kari-Lise Featured In Beautiful.Bizzare Magazine, Issue 009
The latest issue of the pop surrealism magazine, Beautiful.Bizzare has arrived and inside you’ll find a feature on my incredibly talented wife and partner, Kari-Lise Alexander. I highly recommend checking it out.
The Art Of Sandeep Karunakaran
I’ll occasionally stumble across a great artist on DeviantArt. This week the sci-fi/horror work of Sandeep Karunakaran really stood out. It’s a fun blend of the terrifying with an animated style that I really appreciate. I think you will too.
Maskull Lasserre Carves Skeletons Into Souvenir Sculptures And Decoys
Stumbled across Lasserre’s work last week and wanted to save it for the next Link Pack. Something very satisfying within these pieces. It’s as if Lasserre is revealing a secret world we all hope exists.
RANDOM:
I’ve never done shrooms, but this article is hilarious regardless. As my friend Rob pointed out, this is the Magic: The Gathering version of James Blagden’s Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No. [Thanks to Rob for sharing this.]
Clever Glass Fountain Pen Lets You Write With Any Liquid
Okay, it probably says a lot about me that the first thought I had when I saw this was: BLOOD! I don’t know if it says anything good. But there you have it. [Thanks to Lola Landekic for sending this my way.]
Seinfeld’s Never-Before-Seen Fourth Wall
I’m a huge Seinfeld fan, so finding out little details like this really makes me happy.
WEIRD WIKIPEDIA:
Devil’s Footprints
“The Devil’s Footprints is a name given to a phenomenon that occurred in February 1855 around the Exe Estuary in East Devon and South Devon, England. After a heavy snowfall, trails of hoof-like marks appeared overnight in the snow covering a total distance of some 40 to 100 miles. The footprints were so called because some people believed that they were the tracks of Satan, as they were allegedly made by a cloven hoof. Many theories have been put forward to explain the incident, and some aspects of its veracity have also been called into question…”
LOVECRAFT STORY OF THE WEEK:
Medusa’s Coil
What starts with a pleasant drive ends in B-movie schlock.
GIF OF THE WEEK:
Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: amazon, beautiful.bizzare, Cover, devil's footprints, Giveaway, Kari-Lise, kindle, magic: the gathering, maskull lasserre, physical attributes, Red Litten World, sandeep karunakaran, seinfeld, typography
June 4, 2015
Giveaway Time! Win Books, Swag, And A $50 Gift Card!
As a way to celebrate the big Red Litten World cover reveal, I’m doing a big giveaway! One lucky winner from anywhere in the world can enter to win a bunch of cool stuff. The Red Litten World Prize Pack includes: signed paperback copies of The Stars Were Right and Old Broken Road, a Bell Caravans patch, and all the swag for both books (stickers, buttons, and bookmarks), and a $50 Amazon gift card! Entering is super easy, and there’s lots of ways you can increase your chance to win. Hint the link below, login, and follow the instructions, good luck!
Filed under: Contests, Red Litten World Tagged: bell caravan patch, gift card, Giveaway, Old Broken Road, roader pack, Swag, the bell forging cycle, The Stars Were Right
The Red Litten World Cover Reveal
Hooray! It is June 4th! As I promised it’s time to reveal the cover of my next novel: The Bell Forging Cycle, Book III: Red Litten World. Let’s get to it:
The city of Lovat is dying. It just doesn’t know it yet. Trapped behind blockades, its citizens starve. Only the wealthiest can afford to snatch up what food does slip through, leaving the poor jostling for scraps. But money only goes so far. Inside their gleaming towers, the well-fed elevated are being killed off one-by-one.
Caravan Master Waldo Bell—only a few months removed from the harrowing events along the Broken Road—just wants to keep his head down and be left alone while he waits for the blockades to break. But when familiar symbols written in blood appear at a crime scene and an old debt comes calling, Wal finds himself thrust into chaos.
Now, forced onto Lovat’s blood-soaked upper levels, Wal faces his most dangerous challenge yet: within a city on the verge of self-destruction, he must fight to save not only his own life—but the life of every Lovatine struggling below.
Isn’t it lovely? Once again, Jon Contino returned to lend his considerable talents by creating the lettering for Red Litten World. I’ve always been an admirer and fan of Jon’s work and there is something with his focused Arts and Crafts approach that captures the feel of the Bell Forging series. He nails that looming sense of unease prevalent throughout but adds an undercurrent of approachability which I really appreciate. As always, I am honored to have his help. Thanks a ton, Jon.
The background image comes once again from the late 19th-century french artist, Gustav Doré. (Sensing a theme, perhaps?) I love Dore’s work, and I’ve used his illustrations on the last two covers as well. This time the engraving was selected from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, in this case, Inferno. There Minos stands, centers on the lounging former Cretan king, Minos, now judge of the damned at the gates of hell. As with the previous books in the series, this illustration was selected specifically for Red Litten World. There’s a hint on the cover at what lies inside the pages.
I like scattering Easter Eggs throughout my work, and not only in prose. Each of these little details add to the overall experience when a reader picks up one of the Bell Forging Cycle novels. From the choice of the background image, to the little symbols I place along the spine. Everything is selected to give readers a little more depth should they go looking.
So there it is! The cover for Red Litten World is revealed! I think it fits perfectly within the series while bringing its own unique look. Check out how great Red Litten World looks in a lineup with the other two books:
Perfect right? Red Litten World is due out later this year and there will be a launch announcement coming soon along with a sample chapter. I cannot wait to get this into your hands. I think you’re going to love this one.
What do you think of the new cover? Which cover is you favorite of the series so far and why? Leave a comment. Let me know!
Filed under: Cover Design, Red Litten World Tagged: cover reveal, Gustav Doré, indie publishing, jon contino, the bell forging cycle
June 3, 2015
I Knew Nothing About Writing
“I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.”
Came across this quote today and figured it’d be worth sharing. It resonates a lot with me. In the end, when all is said and done, the important thing is that you told the best story you can tell. Keep at it.
Oh! Remember the Red Litten World cover reveal and giveaway is coming tomorrow!
Filed under: Quotes Tagged: cover reveal, edgar rice burroughs, Inspiration, Red Litten World, Success, writing
June 1, 2015
A Lilac City Comicon Debriefing
Over the weekend I attended Lilac City Comicon with my good buddy, illustrator Josh Montreuil. Of the three conventions I’ve attended this spring, this was the shortest, being only a single day. This was also the first solidly comic-focused convention I’ve attended as an exhibitor, SpoCon, Norwescon, and CthulhuCon tended to be more varied. Going in I was unsure what to expect.
Overall, I was stunned by the response. I came in with two-and-a-half boxes of books and only left with one. The crowd was great. The people were friendly and excited. In one day at Lilac City I got to meet more new readers than I did working a table for three days at SpoCon. An incredible and flattering response.
Since the convention lasted only one day things were fairly hectic and harried. So let’s get right to the highlights…
All. The. Cosplay. Seriously, some really incredible work. It was really difficult to narrow it down for the images with this post and I’m leaving a lot out. I should throw more of my pictures somewhere so you can see everyone’s hard work. It blew me away.
Having my family come in to hang out. Thanks for the coffee, mom!
Spending time at the table with my friend Josh Montreuil . I’ve know the guy since college and it’s always a good time hanging out with him. He had a great convention as well. He sold out of a few posters which is always a good thing.
Selling so many books, obviously.
Talking about The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath with a fellow Lovecraft fan. Underrated work, I highly recommend it.
Having a new reader buy The Stars Were Right , and then come back later after he read the first few pages to pick up Old Broken Road . That was a pretty cool moment for me. It’s awesome to see readers enjoy my books so much. Makes me excited to get Red Litten World out there.
Picking up a signed copy of Vol. 1 of Matt Nelson’s Catbeard the Pirate . Matt’s a great guy and his books are really fun.
My selfie with Odin.
Watching Josh create some incredible sketches for his fans. Everything from a smirking Loki, a Black Lantern Batman, to a goalie version of Superman. Fun stuff. (You can see some of his work below.)
Late night pizza and the Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles movie.
Did I mention the cosplay? If not… the cosplay.
Watching a friend of the family experience her first convention. It’s always a bit overwhelming when you first walk in, but everyone remembers their first convention. It’s cool to see.
Seeing and catching up with some old friends from Spokane.
I was really impressed with the new addition to the Spokane Convention Center. It’s a lovely building and really perfect for a convention the size of Lilac City Comicon.
The Z Nation fans. The show is filmed here in the Pacific Northwest and the crew was at the convention so there were a lot of fans among the attendees and they were all great and very excited about Z Nation.
Seeing some folks from SpoCon! It’s nice to see a little community across conventions. Was great seeing people.
Me emberassingly being adamant that a bearded individual had changed out of his costume, despite him having never worn a costume. (After going through my photos I realized I was super wrong. Not all white beard-having men look the same, K. M., jeeze.)
Going to see Mad Max: Fury Road with Josh the night before the convention. Seriously, go see that movie. It’s incredible.
The decompression dinner with some fantastic Spokanites: Josh, Matt, Lars, Peter, Jen, Kevin, and Curt. Was fun to chat and hangout in old haunts and talk about our Lilac City Comicon experience. Everyone had a great time.
I came away from Lilac City Comicon feeling pretty happy with the result. It was a great weekend and I’ll definately be back next year. Going into this I had expected LCCC to be my last convention for 2015, but I’d wager there might be a few more conventions in my future. More on that later.
DON’T FORGET: The Red Litten World cover reveal happens this Thursday! If you want a sneak peak ahead of everyone else click here to sign up for my newsletter. Subscribers get to be first in line for special events and announcements. I’m looking forward to the big reveal and I hope you are too!
Filed under: Con Reports Tagged: books, catbeard the pirate, Conventions, cosplay, Josh Montreuil, lilac city comicon, matt nelson, odin, Red Litten World, Spokane, the bell forging cycle
May 29, 2015
Friday Link Pack Guest Post
I am traveling to sunny Spokane, Washington this weekend to participate in Lilac City Comicon with my good buddy Josh Montreuil. That mean there’s no Friday Link Pack here. However, once again my friend and fellow writer Drew Gerken has stepped up and put together a Friday Link Pack Guest Post over on his blog in my absence. It’s a great collection. Check it out:
Read today’s Friday Link Pack at Drew’s blog →
Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Drew Gerken, Josh Montreuil, lilac city comicon, Spokane, Travel
