K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 70

Signed Copies Of The Stars Were Right Are Now Back In Stock

Boxes arrived yesterday. Fresh copies of The Stars Were Right are now back in the store and ready to be signed. Thanks everyone for your patience. I hadn’t expected to run out at Norwescon (a good problem to have, not going to lie) and there was some slight delays with printing, but they’re here!

Grab your signed copy today →

Stick around. I am still planning on doing a reading of The Stars Were Right today here on the ol’ internet but I’ll have more on that a little later.

Filed under: The Bell Forging Cycle, The Stars Were Right Tagged: books, norwescon, shipment, store

Friday Link Pack 04/17/15

BOOM! It’s Friday! That mean it’s time to 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.) Enough chatter, let’s get to it…

Writing:

How To Talk About Your Novel

I have been to a few conventions now and it surprises me how many authors aren’t able to talk about their books with readers and other authors. It’s important! Thankfully, author and editor J. W. Troemner has some great insight on how to solve some of the common pitfalls folks have when discussing their work.

Goodnight Dune

It’s no secret that Dune is amazing. If you appreciate Frank Herberts masterpiece like I do, then you’ll love the classic children’s book Goodnight Moon retold with an Arrakis theme. (If you’re more of a George R. R. Martin fan, Laughing Squid put together a Goodnight Westeros for you.)

One Indie Author’s Debut Year Income

We’ve seen authors talk about their year-to-date earnings, and it’s awesome to see folks so open about the money they’re making (or not making.) Romance Authors Jessi Gage opens up and compares her 2013 to her 2014.

Top 105 Blogs And Websites For Writers

It’s always good to have a stable of great sites to read. In the name of excess, e-booksindia had put together a list of one-hundred and five blogs and sites for you to browse. Here’s a handy list of some great resources for writers.

I’m Doing A Live Reading This Saturday, Here’s How You Can Tune In

If you missed my post from yesterday, I am doing a live reading using the new app Periscope and you can tune in. Hit the post for details. See you tomorrow!

Art:

Antigirl – A Love Story Documentary in the City of Angels

I love it when artists bear their souls. So often we feel like we’re alone in our journey of creativity, it’s encouraging to know others out there go through similar struggles. With that in mind I highly recommend you watch this rad documentary about the journey of Tiphanie Brooke and Mike Polson, two incredible LA-based artists.

The Art of Alyssa Winans

Beautiful artwork from illustrator and game artist Alyssa Winans. I really dig her See America series, but all her work is solid. I’m a fan.

Nicolas Martin, Paintings

If you have been following my blog for any length of time you’ll know that I love atmosphere. You see why I dig French artist Nicholas Martin’s work. Moody and beautiful. See more on his website as well.

Random:

Professor Decodes 10 Words From Mysterious Voynich Manuscript

One of histories weirdest mysteries, the Voynich manuscript has remained untranslated since its discovery. Now Stephen Bax, a professor of applied linguistics at the University of Bedfordshire in England, has translated ten words in the strange codex. More info on his site.

Mapping Migration in the United States

I love maps. So when I saw this New York Times map showing the migration patterns within the United States I knew I’d be sharing it here. Interesting how so many folks in our melting pot of a nation don’t move too far from home. West stays to West, East to East, and South to South.

Arcology: Cutaways Of The Future City-Hives That Never Were

The futurist idea of arcologies is a mainstay of science fiction. I even play with the concept in the Bell Forging books. So when I saw this post from Cory Doctorow about Paolo Soleri’s 1969 book: Arcology: The City in the Image of Man. It was something I was very interested in. The book sounds fascinating, but the images… you need to see the images. [Thanks to Steve for sharing this.]

Random Wikipedia Article of the Week:

Agloe, New York

Agloe is a fictional place in Delaware County, New York, that became an actual landmark. In the 1930s, General Drafting Company founder Otto G. Lindberg and an assistant, Ernest Alpers, assigned an anagram of their initials to a dirt-road intersection in the Catskill Mountains: NY 206 and Morton Hill Road, north of Roscoe, New York. The town was designed as a copyright trap.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Curse of Yig

Don’t mess with the snake god.

Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: agloe, alyssa winans, antigirl, arcology, Dune, h.p. lovecraft, marketing, migration, nicolas martin, talk, united states, voynich manuscript, yig

Let’s Do A Live Reading

So, my good friend Jake had an idea: with the arrival of Periscope people can stream anything to the world. So why not use this awesome new technology to do a live reading of one of my books for the whole internet. Brilliant, right? So, it’s going to happen and best of all it’s going to happen this weekend. I am going to do a reading of the Prologue of The Stars Were Right and you can tune in.

How can you tune in? Well there’s two ways:

If you have an iPhone all you need to do is download Periscope , create an account, follow me (I am @KMAlexander) and then this weekend when I go to do my reading you’ll be notified and you can view my stream directly from your phone. It’s as simple as that.
Don’t have a smartphone or using an Android phone? Fret not , you can still watch. Just follow me on Twitter and when my stream goes live Periscope will automagically tweet and you be able to tune in live from the web.

The plan is to do this on Saturday afternoon (PST). I’ll make another blog post before I begin. So keep an eye out. The way Periscope works I won’t see any questions while I read, but I’ll be happy to take any questions after. If Saturday works out, I’ll do it again on Sunday.

Writing this out is getting me all excited. I’m really looking forward to this, it sounds like it’ll be fun. Plus, it’ll be good practice for my reading at CthulhuCon next weekend. So follow along… readings are coming.

Filed under: Reading, The Stars Were Right Tagged: cthulhucon, live, periscope, stream, The Stars Were Right, twitter

Come See Me At CthulhuCon

We’re now a week and a half away from CthulhuCon in Portland, Oregon. This convention is an official spin off from the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and will be two days of gaming, panels, readings, art, and music. The event takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on April 25th & 26th and includes guests like Lovecraft historian S. T. Joshi, artist Liv Rainey-Smith, author Sean Hoade, author Wilum H. Pugmire, and historical reenactor Leeman Kessler. With a lineup like that it’s sure to be a fun event.

I shall be there, along with fresh copies of The Stars Were Right and Old Broken Road. I’ll also have Bell Caravan patches and a bunch of free swag. So come on by, visit me in the Dealer Room, chat me up about the world of the Territories, and let’s talk Lovecraft.

More info (like booth number and such) as I get it. Get your tickets here (There’s only a few remaining.) I’ll see you at the Con!

Filed under: News, Upcoming Appearances Tagged: Conventions, cthulhucon, lovecraftian horror, Old Broken Road, portland, the bell forging cycle, The Stars Were Right

Friday Link Pack 04/10/2015

It’s Friday! That mean it’s time to 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.) Enough jibba-jabba, let’s get to it…

The Hugos & Puppygate:

I am not going to spend any time commenting on this as the internet doesn’t need another block of text to sift through. But, since it’s “rocking” the sci-fi/fantasy world, I feel that I’d be remiss not to at least mention a few articles. Basically it’s about what you’d expect:

Sci-fi’s Right-Wing Backlash: Never Doubt That A Small Group Of Deranged Trolls Can Ruin Anything (Even The Hugo Awards)
How Sci-Fi’s Hugo Awards Got Their Own Full-Blown Gamergate
George R. R. Martin Has A String Of Posts On His Blog

Writing:

The Hermit Life: The Isolation Of Writing And The Necessity Of Others

Fellow writer and my good friend J. Rushing explores our consistently lonely existence as writers and his solutions on injecting a bit of human interaction into his life. (You should also subscribe to his blog.)

Sorry, Ebooks. These 9 Studies Show Why Print Is Better

“Better,” for now. Look, I don’t care how you read. Just read. Still, interesting information. Wonder how long it’ll remain valid. I think we’ll see a fundamental shift in the near future.

10 Twenty-First Century Bestsellers People Tried to Ban (and Why)

The stories behind people trying to ban books is always fascinating to me. History has proven that when one tries to impose prohibition the effect is usually opposite of the intent. What was it Mark Twain said? Oh yeah: “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky. It is the prohibition that makes anything precious.”

A Book Marketing Truth Few Experts Will Admit

When it comes to marketing, a lot of writers listen to experts and are frustrated with results. Angela Ackerman brings some advice about setting expectations when it comes book marketing.

A Norwescon 38 Debriefing

Last weekend I attended Norwescon in SeaTac, Washington. In this post I breakdown all the stuff I experienced. Spoiler: I had a great, if not somewhat exhausting, time.

Art:

The Art of Sandeep Karunakaran

Since I spend a lot of time immersed in the Lovecraft fandom I occasionally come across some great artists. Recently I found the work of illustrator Sandeep Karunakaran and fell in love. I’ll probably feature him in a Visual Inspiration post in the future.

Science Fiction And Fantasy In The Marvel Universe

Seventies nostalgia blog, Diversions of the Groovy Kind, highlights a 1978 article from FOOM magazine featuring some incredible art. The cover alone is worth seeing.

Michael Tunk, Collages

It’s no secret I love westerns. (Hell, just read Old Broken Road.) So when I found this western/modern collages by Michael Tunk I fell in love. They’re both fascinating and evocative. See more on Tunk’s tumblr.

Random:

Two Medieval Monks Invent Bestiaries

Admit it, you always wanted a glimpse at the hilarious conversations going on behind the scenes as monks illustrated their illuminated manuscripts. Thankfully The Toast is here for you. Two Medieval Monks is now a whole series, so don’t forget to check out Two Medieval Monks Invent Dinner Parties and Two Medieval Monks Invent Maps. [Thanks to Emily for sharing this.]

Own Your Own Submarine Pits

For the small price of twenty-one million dollars you to can own your own private submarine pits used during the Cuban Missile Crisis. What’s twenty-one million these days? [Insert your favorite San Francisco housing-price joke here.] Seems like a bargain for land that will be underwater in the few decades.

The DEA Has Trippy Looking Patches That Make You Kinda Want To Do Drugs

I love patches. So when my friend Tara shared this link I was all over it. The title isn’t lying, these are some trippy looking patches. I mean, that’s a scorpion wearing headphones. [Thanks to Tara for sharing this.]

Random Wikipedia Article of the Week:

Bloop

“Fox’s hunch is that the sound nicknamed Bloop is the most likely to come from some sort of animal, because its signature is a rapid variation in frequency similar to that of sounds known to be made by marine beasts. There’s one crucial difference, however: in 1997 Bloop was detected by sensors up to 4800 kilometres (2982.582 miles) apart. That means it must be far louder than any whale noise, or any other animal noise for that matter. Is it even remotely possible that some creature bigger than any whale is lurking in the ocean depths? Or, perhaps more likely, something that is much more efficient at making sound?”

Of course, we mythos fans already know the answer…

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Statement of Randolph Carter

The main character from Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle attempts to explain to police why he was found wandering a swamp in shock and what happened to his friend Harley Warren.

Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: ban, bloop, dea, ebooks, foom, h.p. lovecraft, hugos, isolation, marketing, medieval monks, michael trunk, norwescon, print, puppygate, sandeep karunakaran, writing

A Norwescon 38 Debriefing

This weekend I wrapped up my second convention. That means it’s time for a con debrief! (See the last debrief here.) I spent four amazing days hanging out with the good people of Norwescon 38 in SeaTac, Washington. There’s something very awesome about small sci-fi/fantasy conventions. Everyone is always warm and friendly, and there is a lot of support from fellow attendees, the whole place feels a bit like a family reunion.

The convention was four days. I arrived on Thursday afternoon. I took what pictures I could but I didn’t get nearly enough. (There’s a few more on Instagram.) Unlike other dealers a guy with a couple of books doesn’t take long to setup. So I was ready to go pretty quick. Before the dealer room even opened I had already sold a few books.

Unlike SpoCon, I solo’d Norwescon. Not sure I’d do that again. I spent most of Friday and Saturday on my feet 11+ hours straight. Evenings involved me returning home, killing a martini, and then crashing out. That said, the exhaustion was worth it, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

My biggest news: by the end of the con I sold every copy of The Stars Were Right that I had on hand. I even had to bring in my last box for Saturday. Everyone was excited to pick up the series and honestly I hadn’t expected such enthusiasm. I hope everyone enjoys the beginning of Wal’s story. There’s a lot more to come and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

Okay, to the highlights:

Obviously, selling out of The Stars Were Right and most of my stock of Old Broken Road. I never expect this. (You can still get paperbacks from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I’ll have more copies soon.)
Meeting Ace , Rob , Dizzy , Xoie, Jennifer , Friday , Michael , Little Bear, Lee , other Michael, and all you other wonderful folks who I either missed or whose names I forgotten. You made a guy feel pretty darn great. Thank you.
The cosplay. Oh, my stars and garters, the cosplay! It was all so good. You all outdid yourselves.
Hearing from folks who had started my books before Norwescon was even over. I love it when folks are that excited. Thanks for stopping by and telling me that you were enjoying them.
The official Norwescon social media stream. Seriously, follow them on Instagram and Twitter , they’re awesome.
The Philip K. Dick Awards — Congrats to the winner,  Meg Elison and to the special citation winner,  Jennifer Marie Brissett . Well deserved.
Seeing Matt and Shannon from Seattle Geekly . Great people.
The name tag ribbons, no… seriously. I had no idea.
Ace’s resonate reading of the first page of The Stars Were Right. (Seriously, dude, consider VO work. Say it with me: “In a world…”)
Meeting the badass  Michael G. Munz . Go buy his book:  Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure .
Having folks who attended SpoCon swing by to tell me they loved The Stars Were Right and were eager to dive into Old Broken Road.
Finally meeting Lee French in person. We’ve followed each other on Twitter for a while. There’s a pic of us smiling over on her wrap-up post . I recommend checking it out.
Whoever was playing the violin on Sunday. It was lovely.
Having an entire group of roommates buy copies of my books. (Instant book club! I’m sorry I can’t remember everyones names.)
Talking hiking with a con attendee. I learned about some hot spring in the Olympics I never knew existed. Now to find time to go hike to them.
George R. R. Martin taking his picture on the Iron Throne with fans.
Did I mention I SOLD OUT of The Stars Were Right? I need to hustle to get fresh copies for the next con!
Everyone person who offered to spell me (especially you Diz, Ace, and Friday) your willingness to help me out meant a lot. I owe you one.
I met the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa! He was as charming as you’d expect and also happened to be one of Norwescon’s founders.
The diversity and openness and acceptance between attendees. Everyone was super considerate and really encouraging.

I’m still dealing with the comedown portion of the con. It was surreal going back to a world where folks didn’t wear steampunk costumes and didn’t dress like elven princesses every day. (Seriously, what’s wrong with the world today?) Sunday night I arrived home exhausted, feeling very accomplished, and missing all you crazy people. I’m glad I went.

There’s no rest for the wicked. Work had been crazy this week and I’m already waist deep in preparing for my next outing. After all, CthulhuCon is coming.

Filed under: Con Reports Tagged: books, Conventions, cosplay, norwescon, nwc38, Old Broken Road, seatac, The Stars Were Right, Washington

Why We Write

It’s been awhile since I have shared anything from Grant Snider’s Incidental Comics. (See my previous posts about The Story Coaster and All I Need To Write.) My friend Ben sent this to me a while back. As with most of Snider’s work, it’s incredibly accurate and wonderfully charming. Click on the image or follow this link to see the comic full sized. I also highly recommend following Snider on Twitter as well.

Filed under: Inspiration, writing Tagged: go write, Grant Snider, incidental comics

Come See Me At NorWesCon 38

We’re only a couple days away from NorWesCon 38 here in Seattle, Washington. I will be there along with copies of The Stars Were Right, Old Broken Road, awesome 3″ Bell Caravan Patches, and a bunch of FREE swag (1″ buttons, bookmarks, and stickers).

I’ll be holed up at Booth #47 at the end of Author’s Row. Come on by and say hello! I highlighted my future tiny kingdom below:

If you live in the area and are interested in attending you can find out more about NorWesCon 38 at norwescon.org. Guest this year include: some guy named George R. R. Martin, Astronomer Amy Mainzer, and the incredible artist Julie Dillon. Looks to be a great group of guests. You can check out the full NorWesCon 38 schedule here. I look forward to meeting folks and seeing you there.

(Only two more days!)

Filed under: Upcoming Appearances Tagged: norwescon, Old Broken Road, Seattle, Swag, the bell forging cycle, The Stars Were Right

Friday Link Pack 03/27/2015

Friday is here. That mean it’s time to 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.) Enough prattle! Let’s get to it…

Writing:

30 Times The Novel Has Been Declared Dead Since 1902

The more things change the more they stay the same.

The No-Stilettos Rule: My Approach As A Woman Creating Scifi Book Covers

Loved this post from Lauren Panepinto on her thought process in cover design. Some great advice here. [Thanks to August for sharing this.]

Six Famous Authors Who’ve Written Fanfiction

I really love seeing the openness that is happening in the industry right now. It’s encouraging to other authors to know that even famous literary types write things like fanfiction. So often that sort of behavior was veiled behind some strange secrecy or scoffed at by the industry. Pretentiousness is dumb.

Art:

Post Punk Icons Reimagined As Marvel Heroes

Illustrator Butcher Billy takes some of the famous faces from the 80’s post-punk/new-wave scene and renders them as Marvel superheroes. Make sure you check out the DC Comics version as well.

Pixar Artist Turns R-Rated Films And Into A Children’s Book

Those iconic scenes that weren’t meant for the eyes of the little ones? Well, yeah… Josh Cooley has taken those scenes and reworked them, and they are adorable. These and more are now collected in his new book: Movies R Fun!: A Collection of Cinematic Classics for the Pre-(Film) School Cinephile (Lil’ Inappropriate Books).

Random:

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence

My friend Nick, a hella talented designer and incredible musician, has moved to a remote cabin in northern Wisconsin to live by himself. Lucky for us, he has been documenting his experiences.

Massive Ancient Underground City Discovered In Turkey’s Nevşehir

Underground cities aren’t actually uncommon, especially in the Cappadocia region of turkey. However this recent find is special as it could be the largest underground city ever found.

Isoscope — Exploring Mobility

A neat little tool that “creates aesthetic visuals about locations that are reachable by car in a chosen time from a chosen location.” Would love to see this for more than just cars. Would be interesting to compare walking, public transportation, and biking as well.

Oldest Footage Of New York City Ever

I love stuff like this, plus pairing it with a map so you can see where the film was recorded is a huge plus. It’s always neat to see how much doesn’t change.

Random Wikipedia Article of the Week:

American Redoubt

“The American Redoubt is a political migration movement first proposed in 2011 by best-selling survivalist novelist and blogger James Wesley Rawles which designates three states in the northwestern United States (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), and adjoining portions of two other states (eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington) as a safe haven for conservative, libertarian-leaning Christians and Jews.”

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Slaying of the Monster

“Great was the clamour in Laen; for smoke had been spied in the Hills of the Dragon.” Thus begins this tiny tale with a tiny (and pretty obvious) twist.

Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Book Covers, cappadocia, Fan fiction, h.p. lovecraft, marvel, mobility, movies, new york city, pixar, post-punk, sheep, the american redoubt, the novel

Kari-Lise Is Having A Studio Sale

A while back I shared with you the latest work from my wife, oil painted Kari-Lise Alexander, for her show Inflorescence at Distinction Gallery in Escondito, CA. Well, today she is having sale featuring prints from that show. So if you’re looking for some fresh art to hang in your home or office I encourage you to check it out. Some of my favs:

“Shallow” — 10″x12″ signed giclée print (Timed release.)
“Ophelia” — 12″x12″ Sign & hand embellished giclée print. (Edition of 10)
“Will You Wait For Me” — 10″x13″ signed giclée print (Timed release.)

A few of these are timed released, which means they’ll only be available for the next 48 hours or so. So if you’re wanting to get ahold of sale