K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 84

Friday Link Pack 05/30/14

It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. 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? Let me know!

Writing:

Bring Reading Rainbow Back for Every Child, Everywhere

Reading Rainbow—the single most influential show in my young life—ended in 2009. Levar Burton, with the help of Kickstarter, is bringing it back! Donate, even a buck helps and goes a long way.

Eisler & Konrath Vs. Hachette

Indie publishing powerhouses Barry Eisler and J. A. Konrath teardown the Hachette memo in their typical snarky style. Regardless of where you stand on the debate, in my opinion the real loser in the Hachette/Amazon fight is the authors and their readers, not the giant publishing company or the giant tech company.

95k Words Later… Red Litten World is finished!

I finished a manuscript! I am excited about it. Now back to work.

Art:

Letter To A Young Artist # 1

Fantastic and candid letter from a talented older artist to young artists everywhere. Very much worth a read for any creative. Thanks to Kari-Lise for sending this my way.

The 2013 Winners Of The Nature Conservancy’s Annual Photo Contest

Stunning nature photography, my favorite is the bear on page 2. Beautiful.

Random:

Arcade Font Writer

This is way too much fun, write… well, whatever you want in the font/style from your favorite 8-bit video game. Thanks to Steve for the tip.

Meet the Ragtag Vigilantes at War With Mexico’s Cartels

A side to the fight in Mexico we don’t usually see. Fascinating and terrifying stuff, someone should write a book about these guys.

U.S. Measles Cases at 20-Year High

Yay. Thanks vaccine deniers. This is just what we always wanted: more preventable disease. Nothing beats putting a society in risk. Thumbs up.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

Winged Death

One of Lovecraft’s ghost written works. I honestly haven’t read this one, and this is a note to myself to rectify that over the weekend.

Farewell Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: animals, Arcade, Hachette, Lovecraft, Mexico, photography, Publishing, Reading Rainbow, Red Litten World, vaccine deniers

Thank You Maya Angelou

One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

— Dr. Maya Angelou

Rest in peace Dr. Angelou. The world is a lesser place without you in it. You were one of a kind. You will be missed.

Filed under: Inspiration, Quotes Tagged: courage, Maya Angelou, potential

95k words later…

Big happening over the weekend. I am quite happy to announce that 95k words later the first draft of Red Litten World is officially complete! Here is my standard I-finished-a-manuscript celebration: dram of Laphroaig, a cigar, and a read through of the prologue.

Woohoo!

Filed under: Red Litten World Tagged: Complete, First Draft, manuscript, Writing

Friday Link Pack 05/23/2014

It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. 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? Let me know!

Writing:

New Edition Of The Strangest Book In The World: Codex Seraphinianus

This October publishing house Rizzoli plans to re-release Luigi Serafini’s strange Codex Seraphinianus. Take a gander at its weirdness. I can’t wait.

Spritz

What would you say if you could read 500 words per minute, how about 700? What if you could finish a whole novel in 90-minutes. Well, Spritz—with the power of some smart technology—wants to help you do just that.

5 Common Problems I See In Your Stories

In classic PenMonkey style (aka nsfw), author Chuck Wendig offers five candid pieces of writing advice. There’s some good thoughts here no matter how long you’ve been at it.

Art:

Device 6 Title Sequence

One of my favorite sites—Art of the Title—featured the title sequence for one of my favorite games from last year: Device 6. I high recommend you check out this interview. It’s fantastic.

Animography

Typography…animated. This is the best thing I have seen all week.

Random:

Watch A Spectacular Supercell Take Form In Wyoming

Nature is amazing.

Spurious Correlations

What does the per capita consumption of cheese have to do with the number of people who died by becoming tangled in their bedsheets? You wouldn’t think there’s a correlation, but there sure seems to be something fishy going on.

Granny & Shady Lady

The most terrifying home-craft project you’ve ever seen.

How far can you walk/drive in 10 minutes?

Isoscope is built to help you figure that out. (It’s super cool.)

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

Since it’s a long weekend, why not a longer read. Follow Charles Dexter Ward as he becomes engrossed in researching his dark family history.

Farewell Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Animography, Art of the Title, Codex Seraphinianus, crafts, Device 6, Isoscope, Lovecraft, Spritz, Spurious Correlations, Supercell, Writing

Free Stuff!

I’d like to call attention to some restructuring here at the ol’ blog. The links to my books have moved under the “My Books” menu item so if you’re looking for a quick link to any of my book’s websites that’s where you’ll find them. There’s also a new section: Free Stuff!

For a while now I’ve been producing swag that I have been including in book orders from my store. It’s the same swag that I’ll be handing out for free at cons, things like bookmarks, stickers, and even buttons. Since conventions are generally hyperlocal I figured it’d be nice to offer that swag to those folks who won’t be able to make it out to my various con appearances. So if you’re interested in some bookmarks or stickers, just follow the instructions on the page and I’ll deliver a TSWR Swag Pack as soon as I can.

Going forward the plan is to continually update the Free Stuff page. I’m already working on more backgrounds, and as I mentioned I am looking into getting some buttons made as well. Check back often, you never know what I’ll be giving away.

Filed under: News Tagged: Bookmarks, Buttons, Cons, Free, Stickers, Swag, The Stars Were Right

Old Broken Road’s Epigraph

Life is a hideous thing, and from the background behind what we know of it peer daemoniacal hints of truth which make it sometimes a thousandfold more hideous.

—H. P. Lovecraft, “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family”

I’m breaking my intended style a bit with this epigraph. Usually with this series the epigraph is selected to serve the title (case in point: The Stars Were Right and now Red Litten World) however for this book the title picked itself and this quote was exactly what I wanted.

Figured I’d share just because.

Filed under: Old Broken Road Tagged: Epigraph, Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family, Lovecraft, Old Broken Road

Friday Link Pack 05/16/2014

It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. 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? Let me know!

Writing:

The reason every book about Africa has the same cover

“We’re comfortable with this visual image of Africa because it’s safe. It presents ‘otherness’ in a way that’s easy to understand.” True, but also disappointing.

The all-new monthly literary prize – for self-published authors

With more and more established authors joining the fray The Guardian and Legend Times has decided to start a monthly indie award. Yay! Honestly, it’s about time something like this happened.

Famous Novelists on Symbolism in Their Work 

Some of the greats weigh in on symbolism in their work and if it was intentional or not. Very much worth a read.

Book Three Has a Name!

Since I am nearing completion on my rough draft I figured it was time to announce the title for book three. I also launched a Pinterest board filled with imagery that inspired the story.

Random:

Why Do We Never See Baby Pigeons?

It wasn’t until I saw the question asked that I needed to know the answer. Luckily, the Audubon Magazine steps in to give us the skinny on the babies of the dirty birds of the city.

How do you communicate with people 10,000 years in the future.

Great article from 99% Invisible on how the WIPP designed a system of communication for the folks that will come after us.

The Great Idaho Debate Supercut

“You have your choice folks: a cowboy, a curmudgeon, a biker, or a normal guy.” Whatever you choose, you should choose to watch this. It’s hilarious.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Evil Clergyman

Published posthumously this tale—a recounting of a dream—is taken from Lovecraft’s letter to his friend Bernard Austin Dwyer. The story is short and super creepy.

Farewell Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Africa, book cover, Idaho, Literature, Lovecraft, Red Litten World, Symbolism

Introducing: Red Litten World

“…legend said that it had come from a mysterious inner realm beneath the red-litten world—a black realm of peculiar-sensed beings which had no light at all, but which had great civilisations and mighty gods…”

—H. P. Lovecraft & Zealia Bishop, “The Mound”

For a while now my Project Tracker on the right side of the blog has listed an “Unnamed Waldo Bell Story.” Well, I’m nearing the end of the first draft (80k words at the time of this post) and I feel it’s time to announce the name for that project: Red Litten World.

I’m not going to go into detail on Red Litten World’s plot…yet. All these books are meant to work as stand-alone stories, but they do build upon one another. Since Old Broken Road isn’t out, it’s best I keep the details on the down-low. However, if you want to see the visuals that have inspired this project, you can hit up my new inspiration board over on Pinterest.

It is exciting to see this all come together. We started when The Stars Were Right, soon we visit the Old Broken Road, and eventually we’ll see the Red Litten World. Wow, this is starting to sound like a series!

Filed under: Red Litten World, Writing Tagged: Books, H.P. Lovecraft, Old Broken Road, reading, The Stars Were Right, Title Announcement, Waldo Bell, Zealia Bishop

Today he can breath.

I want you to meet a hero of mine: my friend Jake Rogers. Jake has Cystic Fibrosis and it has taken it’s toll on him for years. For many people dealing with that sort of genetic disease would destroy them. However Jake has remained undaunted, his attitude positive, his nature humble, and through it all he has shown serious courage. He is an inspiration. Last week he finally got the call he had been waiting for and thank to a generous organ donor Jake was able to receive new lungs. The results have been amazing, and well…I’ll let Jake tell it in his own words (grab some tissue):

 

Next time you’re given the option please make the decision to be an organ donor. Click that link or find out what you need to do to register in your country or state. It’s a simple selfless act that can help give life to someone else.

Filed under: Random Tagged: Cystic Fibrosis, Inspiration, Jake Rogers, organ donor

Friday Link Pack 05/09/2014

It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. 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? Let me know!

Writing:

25 Book Covers by Janusz Stanny

Here’s a collection of beautifully designed vintage covers from Polish designer Janusz Stanny. There’s some really unique approaches with his style, would be interesting to see some of it used today.

Get the Scoop on Fair Image Usage

A good post from Writers Helping Writers covering the ins and outs of using images you find on the web. This is a good one for the self-publishing/indie crowd.

The Number One Reason Writers Give Up

My friend Lauren Sapala explores the real reason why many writers abandon their work and give up. Lauren is also a writing coach, and editor, and an excellent beta reader (she read Old Broken Road). If you’re looking for help I’d highly recommend her.

Art:

New York City photographed with the Game Boy Camera in 2000

My friend Peter shared this with me. A fantastic collection of photographs of New York taken with an old Game Boy Camera.

Gan-Gan

“She had a good good heart. She was beautiful.” A haunting little video from Gemma Green-Hope for her grandmother.

Random:

Stanford study finds walking improves creativity

Hit a snag in your own creative endeavors? Go take a walk.

In Deep: The dark and dangerous world of extreme cavers.

Fascinating piece in The New Yorker following a group of people who spend much of their time in some of the deepest caves in the world.

Embarrassing dad at electronic music festival

This guy is just the best. Seriously.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Dreams in the Witch House

A creepy old croan and an even creepier Brown Jenkins.

Farewell Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Book Covers, Brown Jenkins, extreme cavers, Fair Image Usage, Game Boy Camera, Gemma Green-Hope, Janusz Stanny, Lauren Sapala, Lovecraft, New York, walking