K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 86

Some Old Broken Road News

Work is getting done and miles continue to roll past on Old Broken Road. There’s a lot of little things going on and it’s kept me from being as active as usual. (Sorry!) For my dedicated readers that’s not a bad thing! It means we’re getting close. Here’s what’s been happening:

As of last week the cover for Old Broken Road was finalized. That means the cover reveal is just around the corner. I’ll have an official date soon. As always people who subscribe to my newsletter get the first peek. So if you haven’t subscribed just hit this link and sign up. I rarely send emails, but when I do it’s usually for pretty awesome reasons. This is one of them.
You might have missed it, but there’s a teaser site now living at OldBrokenRoad.com. The looping animation comes from the 1926 Faust and sets the perfect atmosphere for the story. The line: “Some roads should stay less traveled.” is a reference to Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken  and hints at things to come.
Oh! If you’re not caught up, you can get the eBook versions of The Stars Were Right  for only $2.99! So if you’ve held off on purchasing a copy now is a great time to do it. Tell your friends!

That’s it for now. Stick around, there’s a lot more exciting things to come.

Filed under: Old Broken Road, The Stars Were Right Tagged: cover design, Faust, Old Broken Road, Publishing, reading, Robert Frost, Writing

Friday Link Pack 4/11/14

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:

The Stars Were $2.99

I’m having a sale! For a limited time ebook editions of The Stars Were Right can be purchased for only $2.99! Grab a copy today.

Writing Fiction: 5 Lessons From Game Of Thrones

Nice article from The Creative Pen examining the strategies the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones use to keep viewers engaged.

The Grimly Grim Hallmark Of Awfully Bad Writing

Thanks to Josh for grimly sharing this grim article about the overuse of grim in modern sci-fi and fantasy. It’s an easy enough fix, but something to be grimly mindful of, even I have grimly observed my own grim use of the word.

Random:

The Firefly Time-Lapse

(The bug, not the series.) Awesome little video of fireflies lighting up the night.

France just made it illegal to answer work emails after 6pm

…and now I want to move to France.

Travel to the alien jungle with the sci-fi short ‘Prospect’

Nice product value. Great atmosphere. A solid 13 minute short that was filmed in my own backyard. Recommended.

The Most Grotesque Humanoid Monsters of the Early Modern Age

io9 collects images from the 15th century depicting disturbing and ultimately sorta silly monsters.

Overlook Hotel Carpet Socks

I MEAN REALLY! LOOK HOW AWESOME THESE ARE!!!

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

Celephaïs

A man and a city and a dream.

Farewell Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack, Writing Tagged: animated gif, Fireflies, France, Game of Thrones, Grim, Lovecraft, Overlook Hotel, Socks, The Stars Were Right

The Stars Were $2.99!

Ebook readers: for a limited time you can get copies of The Stars Were Right for only $2.99, that’s less than the price of a grande latte at Starbucks. So if you’ve been holding off now is a great time to pick up a copy for your Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iPad, or get a DRM-free ePub direct from my store. This sale won’t last forever so pick up your copy while you can!

Filed under: The Stars Were Right Tagged: eBook, reading, The Stars Were Right

Friday Link Pack 04-04-14

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:

The Shapes of Stories, a Kurt Vonnegut Infographic

Designer Maya Eliam recreated Vonnegut’s classic Shapes of Stories into a rad infographic—if you’re unfamiliar with Vonnegut’s presentation make sure you watch this video. It’s well worth your time.

JUST WRITE IT! A fantasy author and his impatient fans.

“The online attacks on Martin suggest that some readers have a new idea about what an author owes them. They see themselves as customers, not devotees, and they expect prompt, consistent service.”

What Killed It For Me #4: Clichéd Characters

Great article about how to go beyond a list of positive or negative traits to break away from cliché when it comes to writing engaging characters.

Tracy Hickman’s Sobering News for Aspiring Writers

I debated including this link this week. However I feel it’s important to show all sides of the disruption in the book market. What can you take away from this? Well, as the old way of book marketing crumbles around us those who don’t adapt to the new paradigm risk being left behind.

Random:

How History’s Biggest Thinkers Spent Their Days

Great graphs showing how some of the most famous people in history spent their time. I couldn’t get over Balzac’s 50 cups of coffee a day.

Medieval Castle Anatomy 101

From barbicans to the portcullis—Setus over at Katana Pen posted this really handy guide to all the random terms for the different parts of a castle.

A Matter of Electric Sheep

One of the coolest Blade Runner theories I have read in a long time.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

Polaris

Into the north window of my chamber glows the Pole Star with uncanny light. All through the long hellish hours of blackness it shines there…

Farewell Gif of the Week:

Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Blade Runner, castle anatomy, cliché, Fans, George R. R. Martin, Kurt Vonnegut

#Roaders roll deep.

Thanks to Brittany, David, Sky, and Kari-Lise for submitting these photos of themselves reading their own copy of The Stars Were Right. Want to get in on the action? From now through the end of April take a photo of yourself reading the book, post it to your favorite social media site (Twitter, Instagram, wherever), tag it: #Roader and link to thestarswereright.com then email me and let me know where it’s posted and I’ll send you a swag pack full of stickers and bookmarks for free!

Filed under: The Stars Were Right Tagged: reading, Roaders, The Stars Were Right

Four Secrets to my Writing Process

Last Thursday my friend Lauren Sapala tagged me in a blog hop wherein I reveal 4 secrets to my writing process, and then tag a few people I follow to continue the hop. If you have been a follower of my blog for any time I am not sure how secret any of these answers are, but here it goes…

What are you working on?

I am currently working on a bunch of different things at the moment. First: I am in the process of finishing up my latest novel Old Broken Road which is coming out soon. Really excited about it. It continues the story setup in The Stars Were Right but also works as a stand alone book. I’m also in the middle of writing the third in that same series, keeping that pretty close to my chest for now. Finally I’m spending some time working on a new near future sci-fi currently being written under the working title Deep. Clearly, I’m a busy guy.

How does your work differ from others in the genre?

Most of my work I write is cross genre. So if you want to read something different, read my books. I write new weird, but it could also be described as urban fantasy or even post-apocalyptic sci-fi. I really strive to write prose that is easy and approachable. I like rich description woven into the story so I try to avoid info dumps and as a result my books are often fast paced, fun, easy reads. My influences are writers like H.P. Lovecraft, China Miéville, Neil Gaiman, Mark Twain, and Cormac McCarthy.

Why do you write what you write?

I like to write what I want to read. I write genre fiction but I get quickly bored with generic settings. I’m fascinated by crossover: books, film, television that can be firmly one thing and also something else. I think there’s a lot of room to explore those gray spaces that often fall through the cracks or are ignored.

How does your writing process work?

It’s going to be really hard to fit this into one small response, but I’ll try…

First: I write every damn day. Sometimes it’s hard, most of the time it’s sloppy, often it’s not a lot, but I still do it. I think that discipline is very important to success. I’m a planner but I am not as strict as I once was, so these days my outlines are fluid. I follow them until I see something that doesn’t work and I’m willing to make adjustments. I’m also not afraid to throw away work. Failure is a part of success, if something’s not working: cut it.

Second, and equally as important: I make it a point not to get hung up in what distracts me. Often aspiring writers spend too much time navel gazing and not enough time working on their craft. It’s a temptation for everyone in every creative field faces and I have forced myself to not get caught up in that and I try to channel that energy into my work. Here’s the best writing advice I can give anyone: go write.

The Hop

Now the torch must be passed. What’s funny is this was a tough one for me since a lot of the folks I would have linked have already filled out this hop! Anyway, here’s four others I would recommend checking out:

Drew Gerken

Drew is an aspiring writer that often writes really deep introspective blog posts on his process. He’s been documenting his journey as he goes along. Really good stuff. I recommend checking him out. I can’t wait to read what he produces.

Chuck Wendig

Chuck is the irreverent and often potty-mouthed blogger behind terribleminds. His advice is honest and candid and he doesn’t candy coat anything. Something I appreciate.

Dean Wesley Smith

For the last year Smith has been blogging about writing in his series Writing in Public. It’s basically a year-long version of this hop. He goes into a lot of details and explains everything from his work to his process to his schedule.

Hugh Howey

The current king of indie writing also keeps a great blog where he talks about everything from writing to publishing. Very much worth a read.

Filed under: Writing Tagged: 4 secrets, blog hop, Inspiration, process, The Stars Were Right, Writing

The Stars Were Right at ECCC!

Right: Andrew Wilson‘s ConGirl (Detail) Left: The Stars Were Right

Sadly I will be absent from #ECCC this year. However that doesn’t mean a few copies of The Stars Were Right won’t be attending! My friend Andrew Wilson has graciously given up a bit of table space at his booth and it is there you’ll find signed copies of The Stars Were Right for a con only price of $10!

Andrew is an amazing illustrator and artist and he has a ton of awesome books and prints for sale of his own. Make sure you check it all out at BOOTH 702. He’s throwing in free postcards with any purchase and you’ll also find three flavors of free bookmarks available just because I love you. Who doesn’t love free swag?

3 Bookmarks (Left to Right) – Skeletons, Saint Olmstead, and Russel & Sons

Look for the big Andrew Wilson ConGirl banner (pictured in the header) and make stop by and say hello. Have a great #ECCC! Wish I could be there with ya’ll!

Filed under: News, The Stars Were Right Tagged: Andrew Wilson, Conventions, ECCC, Emerald City Comic Con, fantasy, reading, scifi, The Stars Were Right

Signed copies are back!

As promised signed copies of The Stars Were Right are back in the store and for sale alone or in a Roader Pack. (One for you, one for a friend.) Thanks for everyones patience, I sold out right before I went on vacation and it took some time to get fresh copies. So, those of you who have been waiting: get your signed copy here.

Filed under: The Stars Were Right Tagged: Road Pack, Signed Copies, The Stars Were Right

Gaze into my eyes…

Over the weekend I was blown away when my talented friend Dave Bastian posted an amazing portrait of me he created. I had to share it here:

See what I mean!? Part magician, part count, part The Phantom of the Opera, all amazing. Not going to lie, I think Dave might be onto something, I’m now seriously inspired to start dressing like this every day.

You can see more of Dave’s amazing portraits on his instagram feed (there’s a ton more) or check out more of his work at his website: http://davebastian.com. Thank you so much Dave! I’m so flattered by this, didn’t expect it at all.

Filed under: Art Tagged: count, Dave Bastian, Illustration, K. M. Alexander, magician, portrait, The Phantom of the Opera

New Address: blog.kmalexander.com

I’m doing a little bit of backend work on the blog, it’s very exciting stuff and will focus mainly around me moving the ol’ blog to its new address. Ooooo…yeah, okay, it’s not that exciting but it’s for the best. None of my regular readers will have to do anything everything should be done automagically on the backend. In fact you should already be seeing I Make Stories at its new location: blog.kmalexander.com.

Have a good weekend!

Filed under: News Tagged: Blog, kmalexander