Michael Patrick Hicks's Blog, page 85

CONVERGENCE Book Trailer

Created by:

Glendon Haddix/Streetlight Graphics, LLC

http://www.streetlightgraphics.com/

Music:

Steel and Seething Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Convergence and the Path to Publication III: On Design & Advertising

This past week has seen a flurry of activity as CONVERGENCE marches toward a publication date.

On Sunday, the 16th, I submitted the final draft of my manuscript to Streetlight Graphics. By Monday night, designer Glendon Haddix sent me two potential cover designs to review and critique. I was floored in the best way possible. Both files were a play on what would ultimately become the final image and went through a significant amount of revision. The first cover image was a bit dark and didn’t quite capture the mood of the story, but I was still supremely happy with it. I sent back a suggestion to incorporate a bit more of the human element, and Glendon had already begun making some revisions after having slept on the initial design for a bit.

On Tuesday, I received two more image files, one of which I knew instantly was my cover. I’ve already received a few compliments on the design, and I really wish I could take more credit for it! Glendon definitely earned his dues on this one, and I am forever grateful for his rapid, professional, and confident work.

Before we started all this, I had zero idea what the cover should be. The one idea I did have involved a plot-point regarding the convergence web, which [insert clever plug and take advantage of this blog space and try to earn a sale] readers can learn more about in chapter ten of the book. In my mind’s eye, it looked a bit like a spider web, or a bunch of bicycle wheels stacked upon one another. As with the rest of the cover, Glendon captured the spirit of this idea far better than I could have conceived if left to my own devices. I liked his representation of this idea so much that the design work even made its way onto the back cover and pops up in between some chapter breaks in the print edition.

In my previous “Path to…” segment, I discussed the vital role that editors play. As far as I’m concerned, a professional design team is just as vital. I have next to no background at all in creative design. Even as a photographer, it’s an aspect of Photoshop I haven’t devoted much time to nailing down. I can draw an OK stick figure, but anything beyond that and I’m completely lost.

Enter Streetlight Graphics. I had done a fair amount of research on cover designers throughout 2013 was sold on this company by their strong portfolio, recommendations I came across while lurking on the kboards, and from author-publisher, and regular client of SG, Lindsay Buroker. I felt like I’d be in safe hands, and Team Haddix (Glendon and his wife Tabatha, herself an author, operate Streetlight Graphics) certainly did right by me. In fact, the experience has been ridiculously wonderful and they’ve gone out of their way to help guide this newbie author-publisher with tips on copyright and obtaining an ISBN. Glendon even went the extra mile and delivered a little something special, totally out of the blue, which I’ll be revealing to you all soon. In my estimation, Streetlight Graphics is truly a solid and helpful operation, and they’ve been working hard to help me put my best foot forward. The experience was so good, in fact, that I’m already looking forward to working with them again on my next novel.

A good book cover is essential. It’s the first thing potential readers see, and oftentimes it is what motivates somebody to pick up the book or click on the link to learn more about it. It needs to be compelling and vivid and interesting. With e-books, it also needs to look good and retain that same eye-catchingness in smaller thumb-nail sizes.

Look, there’s other, better bloggers out there who can extol and entertain you with the divine natures bestowed upon good book design etiquette. All I know is this: it’s important, regardless of how much the collective ‘we’ may lean on the old adage of never judging a book by its cover. It’s important to realize that people do, in fact, judge those covers and the content behind it all the time. You don’t want to risk having a bad cover or an amateur appearance to deter folks from the book as a whole. A good cover makes a good first impression, and it is the first step toward luring readers in and working to hook them.

As far as I’m concerned, Streetlight Graphics and Glendon excelled in this.

In addition to the cover design, Glendon also worked on formatting the manuscript. In short, he had to take the book I wrote and pound and force it into shape for the 5×8 print template, and corral it into an easy-reading experience for various e-readers. I’ll be launching CONVERGENCE on a variety of platforms soon, and not all e-reader formats are interchangeable. Word files are very different from Kindle files, which are different from Nook files, which are different from Kobo files, etc.  So, lots of work, lots of technical know-how. Again, I could have done this myself, but I seriously doubt I could have achieved the professional look that Streetlight Graphics brought to the table.

Every e-mail I got from Glendon made me happier and happier. I cannot even begin to express what a joy it was to receive a PDF of the print-file template and final cover design, and seeing how CONVERGENCE will look as a physical book. Running the e-book files through the various helper app viewers was a thrill of its own. Each step was bringing me closer and closer to publication, not to mention the overwhelming reality of all this.

Glendon also designed some Facebook images for me, which you can see (and, if you’re of a mind to, Like the page) here. Seriously, go check them out. They are awesome!

What this all shapes up to is the larger point of advertising the work. I need to expose it and get it out of the vacuum of my life and into the lives of others. I’m hoping the effort pays off and that all this can generate sales and good word of mouth. In my earlier piece on editing, I said that it wasn’t enough for an author-publisher like myself to get two out of the three fundamental aspects of book production correct. A well-written book can (and, likely, will) still be ignored by shoddy cover design. Worse yet would be a work that could be well-written, but poorly edited and riddled with errors, and have a nasty looking bit of art adorning it. These things don’t play well with savvy readers, so an author must produce a well-written, well-edited, and well designed novel. This is what I have striven for from the very first day I started writing CONVERGENCE back in August 2011. Only time will tell if I succeeded, but this has been a very exciting week and has given me some hope of success in this experimental publishing effort.

Just hours after receiving the final cover design, it gained some traction thanks to a supportive social media network. In some ways, the cover itself has become a sort of convergence web all on its own. I started my Facebook author page Wednesday morning and got some friends and family to join me there. I started getting ‘likes’ from their friends, people who were complete strangers to me. In turn, that page and the CONVERGENCE cover art drove some traffic to this blog, setting a record for the most views I’ve had here in a single day. Both FB and this blog have also, in turn, gotten me a few positive hits on twitter and some compliments (yay!) across all these various forums. To go from having very little recognition in this effort, aside from my wife and close relatives and friends, as well as a few devoted blog followers and twitter friends, to reaching total strangers has been a heady, heart-warming experience.

Now, keep in mind, these are just baby steps. But, in about 6 hours I reached 32 Likes on that Facebook page. Roughly half of that number are people I don’t even know. Things slowed down a bit after that initial burst, and by Thursday morning, I was up to 41 Likes, but still maintaining that half-and-half split as people outside of my immediate circle became drawn in. And the only thing to draw them to that page was the word of mouth from my immediate contacts, and the cover art (plus a very brief ‘about’ section, and a link to this page). According to Facebook’s Insights summary, over 70 people were reached by this initial cover post in those few hours. Within 24 hours, that reach had expanded to over 200 people and have 50 individuals talking about CONVERGENCE. This reach was organic and unpaid for, and there was a pretty strong engagement from those who liked the page and took the extra step of liking that cover image and sharing it on their walls. At the time of this writing (Sat., Feb. 22), my FB followers has doubled, that half-and-half split still pretty reliable but with a slight edge going toward the friend-of-a-friend margin. As such, my reach has more than doubled, as well. Not bad for only a few days. The true test, of course, will be how many strangers this reaches as the work builds momentum and generates more word of mouth. We’re only in the preliminaries here, and this door swings both ways. As I said, these are only baby steps, but still very important strides forward in these pre-release days.

My main goal in the days prior to unleashing CONVERGENCE and letting it loose into the wild is building on these levels of engagement and keeping people interested, and hopefully invested, in the work I’ve produced. Facebook is a good platform to build from, as is this blog. Both can open up avenues of conversation, and twitter is a useful tool for quick bites of back-and-forth. I can be reached at any of these levels, and use these tools to, (again) hopefully, reach others. I’d like to build up some level, even if only a tiny bit, of pre-engagement, a sort of priming the pump to get people ramped up to read. To that effect, I worked on getting a nice chunk of fresh material posted on this site and spreading the word in the form of a three-chapter PDF excerpt. Almost immediately, this link began drawing in new views to this site, and I had ten fresh hits to that single page within a half-hour of posting. It also saw a few Facebook shares and a couple tweets, and although those numbers are currently sitting in the single-digits for each share site, it is still a minor spread of word-of-mouth advertising and hopefully it’s whetting some appetites. On the stat side of things, this excerpt helped me maintain my blog hits  and number of site views with very little attrition over the last three days.

We’ll see how all this goes. If I’m lucky (and never underestimate the amount of luck required in this business of writing and publishing), the next part in this evolving “Path to…” series can look at some release news and maybe even some sales numbers! I’m in the very early days of all this, but so far it’s been incredibly exciting and rewarding. To those of you out there who have been following along and rooting for me – thank you! I appreciate your support tremendously; it means an awful lot to me.

CONVERGENCE Cover Reveal

Here’s your first look at the CONVERGENCE cover art!

 

About CONVERGENCE

Jonah Everitt is a killer, a DRMR addict, and a memory thief.

After being hired to kill a ranking officer of the Pacific Rim Coalition and download his memories, Everitt finds himself caught in the crosshairs of a terror cell, a rogue military squadron, and a Chinese gangster named Alice Xie. Xie is a profiteer of street drugs, primarily DRMR, a powerful narcotic made from the memories of the dead. With his daughter, Mesa, missing in post-war Los Angeles, Everitt is forced into an uneasy alliance with Alice to find her.

Mesa’s abduction is wrapped up in the secrets of a brutal murder during the war’s early days, a murder that Alice Xie wants revenged. In order to find her, Jonah will have to sift through the memories of dead men that could destroy what little he has left.

In a city where peace is tenuous and loyalties are ever shifting, the past and the present are about to converge.

Convergence and the Path to Publication II: On Editing

Chuck Wendig recently posted the following two blogs over at his site, which, inexplicably, have become a source of some controversy to some folks: Self-Publishing Is Not The Minor Leagues and Follow-Up On Self-Publishing: Readers Are Not Good Gatekeepers. Both are well worth the read. Even more recently, he followed-up with Slushy Glut Slog: Why The Self-Publishing Shit Volcano Is A Problem.

Mr. Wendig is dead-on correct, IMHO, particularly when he writes:

If you’re charging money for your work, you owe it to the reader to give them your best. Not your most mediocre. Not your half-assiest.

I point you to his posts, first of all because Mr. Wendig has plenty of great points amongst this trio of blogs. Also, I want you know directly where I’m coming from, particularly since I will be experimenting with self-publishing for my first novel.

Although self-publishing has become more mainstream of late, it still has a bit of a bad rap. Some writer’s skimp on editing, they have bad covers, they can’t spell. This does a disservice to the whole of self-publishing, particularly if that lack of grace and effort is viewed as the norm. It’s why Wendig is so passionate about raising the bar, because, really, we should be putting our best foot forward. Even if a professionally designed cover doesn’t attract me, I may be swayed by a well-written description of the book, enough to click the preview button. At that point, if I’m confronted with amateurish writing, riddled with errors, that book just lost a potential reader. (This is true of both Big 5 releases and artisanal authors.) It’s not enough to get two out of three right. You have to hit all three out of the ballpark, no questions asked. Mind you, there are, in fact, plenty of good reads out there from self-published authors (Wendig’s Atlanta Burns series among them). My sincere hope is that there will be an audience for my book(s) who feel secure enough with my effort(s) to include me in that grouping of self-pubbers who care and strive for quality.

This is why I’ve held off on publishing CONVERGENCE for more than a year and spent that time refining and honing my work to make it as good as I possibly could. After earning a spot in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarter-finals, I began working with a team of editors at Red Adept. I hired a content editor to help me make my book better. I brought in a line editor to help me make it better still. A proofreader helped make sure my sentences were coherent. In between each step, I read through each successive draft that was produced to weed out any further errors, to clean up the manuscript further, and to exercise the new tricks and tips I was learning. I rewrote, I removed entire sections, added entirely new scenes, then rewrote those, cut them down, parsed them into a form that was as good as I was capable of. All for the sake of improvement. Working with my team of editors at Red Adept was eye-opening. And not just in terms of realizing first-hand how vital and necessary their efforts and assistance were. They worked with me to take CONVERGENCE up to the next level, and were absolutely invaluable. In the end, I do believe that my manuscript is better, stronger, and tighter for it. More importantly, I believe that it is worth publishing. Not simply because I can, not just because I have that option, but because this novel I wrote has been honed into a worthwhile product that I can be proud of.

Had I published CONVERGENCE as soon as it was finished, or, hell, if I had even published the draft that has now been sitting with Harper Voyager for more than a year following their Digital Submissions period back in October 2012, the same draft that earned me a spot in the quarter-finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013, the draft that Publisher’s Weekly gave me a mound of praise for – if I had published that draft? I would have been taking the easy way out. I would have been selling a lesser product. I would have been half-assing it. Yeah, that draft survived a lot of stiff competition and went up against some staggering odds to make it as far as it did, but it also never was quite able to make it to the finish line. Which meant, to me, maybe it wasn’t entirely ready. Maybe it wasn’t finished yet. It hadn’t reached its maximum boiling point.

And I’ll tell you another thing, and it’s as true for that earlier, rougher around the edges draft as it is of this finished, polished work that I will happily be presenting soon. It has my name on it. To me, that means something. This book bears my name. I poured a lot of my heart and soul into this novel, and then I put my fucking name on it. Which means I am claiming ownership of it and responsibility for it, and as such, it is up to me to make it as good as possible. It’s up to me to make it as best as it can be. If I’m putting my name on it and selling it, it needs to be professionally done. It should not be half-assed. It should not be riddled with typos and errors. It’s bad enough when one of the professional Big 5 publishing houses put out work like that. Go pick up the first hardcover edition of Vince Flynn’s American Assassin as a good example of how bad Atria fumbled in their editing efforts – words missing or misspelled, even one scene where character’s names get mixed up. I paid $14 through Amazon when that book was released and it was riddled with problems that nothing more than additional time, a good editor, and proofreader could have fixed. It had the same mistakes that far lesser self-published efforts bear. For a Big 5 publisher, that should be an embarrassment. And if it’s an embarrassment for them, it should be equally embarrassing for a self-published author to churn out similar, low-quality, mistake-riddled books. Now go to Amazon and read some of the reviews for American Assassin, particularly the 1-star reviews that lambasted the book solely for these issues.

Seriously, why the hell would I want to release a product like that? And Flynn’s work isn’t even an aberration. There are plenty of other examples out there. It’s a common occurrence among the Big 5, but we typically let it slide because their such powerhouses, movers and shakers. It’s also this same kind of sloppiness that gives self-publishing such a bad image. It’s why indie authors have to rise above such inadequacies and produce stronger works. If we are going to shake that bad image, then we need to not give excuses for producing bad work, or act like its defensible. Now, look, I’m a pretty forgiving reader when all is said and done. I don’t make a fuss over a few typos or misspellings. But when such errors are so prevalent that the story suffers, that reading becomes an act of self-inflicting torture? That’s a problem. If we are to own and control our novels and act as publisher, then it is in our own interest to make damn sure the work is shined to a professional finish and that it’s actually worth the asking price. I’m publishing CONVERGENCE myself, so I must bear the burden of ensuring that my best work is released to the public. I’m charging money for this novel, and even though it’ll be a hell of a lot less than $14 I want to make sure it is as free of typos, mistakes, and other assorted problems as can be reasonably expected. This is my book, and I want you to enjoy it. I don’t want readers struggling through a sea of mistakes in an effort to determine my intent and meaning.

Editing is crucial. Editing is a must. If you are writer and think you are somehow above editing – you are wrong. Put the ego aside and realize one thing: Every single writer needs an editor. The end. Self-edits are an important first step, but they are merely a first-step. A professional editor is needed. They are a valued resource. A rich commodity. They not only improve your work, they help you grow as a writer. You can learn how to be much less sloppy through their efforts.

One of the most valuable things I learned from my editors was the power of word choice. I mean, sure, I knew that going in and did my level best to keep the prose punchy and have a few nice turns of phrase. But, I also knew that I had a tendency to fall into a comfortable routine of select words, many of them just filler. Words like “just” or “like.” They’re easy to use and they fit comfortably into sentences. As do words like “while” or “so.” And more often than not, they are supremely unnecessary and easily eliminated, in most cases, without changing the importance of the sentence they once inhabited. Those words, though…they’re empty calories. They don’t bring anything to the table. They’re a quick crutch to lean on. They are also annoyingly repetitive. CONVERGENCE is a fairly violent affair, and my editors were smart to point out my overuse of ‘blood’ and ‘bloody.’ After a while, it got to be a boring description, and I needed to come up with other gory, visceral ways of describing violent aftermath. My editors and I worked together to eliminate these troublesome words and find other, higher-quality words to give the sentence more oomph. We also worked on making sentences flow, to trim them of fat. In my time as a freelance journalist, one thing that was hammered into me was this: never use three words when one can do. For every time I broke that simple command, there was an editor to reign it back in and fix it. Obviously, without the crutch of an editor, I break this rule freely and frequently… There is no need to over-complicate a sentence or to use flowery prose unnecessarily. Short and punchy, that’s where it’s at. And a good editor can help you achieve this.

My content editor provided a lot of valuable input. She sussed out a lot of my gaps in logic and the weak points of the story. She helped me beef up the plot and make sure all those dots were connected and that the story arc was structurally sound. She also helped and encouraged me to eliminate a lot of unneeded world building, while also making sure that said world building was flush and well-rounded. It was all about “show” rather than “tell.” Again, I think she did a great job and that CONVERGENCE is stronger because of her efforts and guidance.

My proof editor went through and made sure the i’s were dotted, the t’s crossed, that words weren’t missing, and that sentences were complete. Sadly, she found many, many things to fix. I’d read the book so many times over that my mind began to fill in the blanks, or insert words that were actually missing from the text. Thankfully, she brought fresh eyes to the pages and caught stuff the rest of us overlooked.

Each draft that I received from each editor were filled with red marks. More than I had ever seen. It was humbling. And it was necessary. Each flaw they found, every mistake they pointed out, every suggestion they made proved how vitally necessary the task of editing is. There is absolutely no reason to compromise here, or mince words. Editing is a must.

Is CONVERGENCE 100 percent error free? Honestly, I don’t know. I’d really like to say yes, but there’s always something that slips through the cracks, no matter how many eyes have gone over it. To err is human, as they say. No book is perfect and error free (hell, I just found a typo in my supposedly final draft last weekend, and I worry there are others we’ve all missed), but, with work and focus, we can go a long way toward getting those problems closer and closer to zero. Between myself, my wife, and my Red Adept editors, this book has been through at least five sets of eyes, each pair working to ensure it was as correct a copy as it could be. If it were as good as any random Big 5 book, I’d be happy. But, the truth is, in this day and age, in this climate of self-publishing and reader savviness, it needs to be better. As a soon-to-be self-published author, I demand that it be better.

BOSCH Pilot

Earlier this month, Amazon Instant Video unveiled their latest round of TV pilots for users to watch and review. Among them was an adaptation of Michael Connelly’s eponymous series detective, Harry Bocsh, who has headlined sixteen of the author’s twenty-five novels (and had cameo appearances in many of Connelly’s other works, and even popped up in a Robert Crais novel). Connelly’s fiction is no stranger to adaptation – Clint Eastwood turned Blood Work into a film, and Matthew McConaughey starred in The Lincoln Lawyer. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood set their sights on Bosch.
Thankfully, the wait was worth it.
Co-written by Connelly, the pilot episode has actor Titus Welliver taking on the role of Detective Harry Bosch. The episode itself is a mature bit of drama, atmospherically reminiscent of HBO’s The Wire thanks to the inclusion that series’ writer and producer, Eric Overmeyer, as well as cast members Lance Reddick (Fringe) and Jaime Hector. It also carries that same slow, jazzy burn that brings the characters front and center. The honest and realistic depiction of cop-life helps deliver the story, as expected given the talent involved here. Prior to becoming a full-time author, Connelly was a crime beat reporter for the Los Angeles Times. His TV work now bears the distinction of being the first series to actually shoot on location inside LAPD’s Hollywood station, while real police officers carried out their work.
Welliver fits the role well, and is the perfect choice to lead this show. He imbues Bosch with the right amount of dedication to the job and devotion to the victims, his lone-wolf mentality, and the certainty that he is right and his actions justified. I was never struck by any out-of-character moments, or discordant notes that drew me out of the viewing. Watching Welliver on screen, it never occurred to me that he was not the Harry Bosch I’ve been reading for well over a decade. I’ve been supportive of his casting since first learning of it last fall, thinking he would be great and do the role justice. Frankly, he does even better.
During the show’s opening moments, Bosh chases down a suspect and kills him in a rain-soaked alley. The pilot picks up two years later, with Bosh caught up in a civil trial, following the LAPD’s clearing of the shooting as a good one. In between court scenes, Bosch becomes involved in the discovery of a child’s bones. Devoted readers may recognize the story elements from Connelly’s novels The Concrete Blonde and City of Bones.
The pilot is clearly aimed at earning Bosch a full series-pickup from Amazon, as the story elements introduced here are left unresolved. The episode merely opens the door on what is intended to be a season-long story arc, and I am now fervently hoping we get to see these plots unravel and resolve. If green-lit for production, I expect this to be another strong entry in a series of terrific cop shows, standing tall with The Shield, The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street. Bosch could very well level the playing field and do for Amazon Studios what House of Cards and Orange is the New Black have done for Netflix. At the time of this writing, Bosch has a 5-star rating with over 4,000 reviews. Amazon would be wise to take heed of this and satisfy their audience’s demands sooner rather than later.
So, did you watch Bosch and what were your reactions? Thoughts on any of Amazon’s other pilots? Share below!

February Reads!

February is shaping up to be a strong month for reading material. Here’s what’s on my TBR radar:

The Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price. I found out about Price’s work Thursday morning thanks to Chuck Wendig’s wonderful blog, and Price’s contribution to it with his “Five Things” piece. It sounds like a terrific bit of alt-world sci-fi, and his publisher was gracious enough to offer up the e-book for a very affordable $2.99 on Kindle and Nook until Feb. 12. At 600 pages, that’s a lot of bang for so few bucks, so go buy it!

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. Chalk this up as another discovery by way of the Wendig. If you aren’t a regular visitor to his site, I suggest you become one immediately. He regularly hosts authors and provides reading recommendations, which is one of the reasons my TBR pile is always well-stocked. Annihilation sounds like another great sci-fi read about an expedition into the strange, uncharted territory of Area X, and is marketed as a cross between J.J. Abrams and Margaret Atwood, which is enough of a pitch to peak my interest. It’s the first part of a trilogy which will continue with the publication of Authority in June and Acceptance in September, so you won’t be left hanging for years waiting on a resolution.

Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler. I’m a big fan of Eisler’s work, and any new John Rain story is a must-read. This one takes a trip back to Tokyo, 1972 for a peak at Rain’s past and his early days with the CIA.

The Troop by Nick Cutter. The Troop sounds like a promising and scary trip into the woods, with a dash of bio-engineered horror. Stephen King called it “old-school horror at its best,”so bring it on!

The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind by Michio Kaku. Admittedly, I’ve been negligent on reading Dr. Kaku’s past works, despite being very interested in the topics he explores. His latest non-fiction work is an exploration into the brain, and promises to cover, among other topics, the recording of memories.This is the biggest selling point for me, personally – not only is this something I’m keenly interested on a scientific level, but it also happens to be central to my first novel, CONVERGENCE (coming soon!). And with that shameless plug, I shall wrap up this post…

What looks good to you this month? What’s on your reading docket? Give a shout-out to some works that seem interesting to you in the comments below!

If Indiana Jones had only had a satellite … The many wonders of space archaeology

Originally posted on TED Blog:

Probably the most famous pyramids in the world… those at Giza, near Cairo, shown here in a high resolution satellite image. By studying such images, archaeologists can be very precise about on-the-ground research, saving both time and money.

Strange as it may seem, archaeologists often look to the sky to discover sites buried deep beneath the earth. Space archaeology, as it’s called, refers to the use of high-resolution satellite imaging and lasers to map and model everything from hidden Mayan ruins in Central America to specific features on the ancient Silk Road trade route in Central Asia. The process saves research teams years it would have taken to do the same work using ground-based survey techniques.

Archaeologist, Egyptologist, University of Alabama at Birmingham professor and TED Fellow Sarah Parcak makes extensive use of this technology in her work, and she has done much to popularize space archaeology. She wrote the world’s first overview book on the subject, and gave a riveting talk at TED2012 to explain how borrowing the tools of space exploration helped her identify an ancient Egyptian city that had been hidden for thousands of years. Here, she tells the TED Blog more about how it all works — and how she applies it to her on-the-ground explorations.

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Alien: Out of the Shadows

A short while ago, I wrote about winter-time horror faves, particularly books. The following day, thanks to Chuck Wendig’s “Ten Questions About…” article featuring author Tim Lebbon, I learned about the publication of Alien: Out Of The Shadows.

When I think of winter-time horror, I tend towards the frigid frights of the arctic, such as John Carpenter’s The Thing. I also have to give props to Ron Moore’s new SyFy television series, Helix, which seems to be embracing the viral-horror vibe nicely, using an isolated scientific research lab in the Arctic Circle as its setting. The show is layered with threats, from viral infection to the crazed and paranoid populace, and the omnipresent danger of the freezing cold.

But, really, what’s colder than the vacuum of space?

Alien is an absolutely terrific horror flick, one I would argue fits suitably well for winter-time frights. Released in 1979, director Ridley Scott and lead cast member Sigourney Weaver ushered in a new era of horror films aboard the cold, dull, dingy confines of the spaceship Nostromo. There’s little that is warm and inviting about the film and it’s a perfect choice to curl up to on the sofa during a nasty winter storm.

While I love arctic-themed horror, I also have an enormous weak spot for the claustrophobic confines of space-based sci-fi horror. Of course, Alien is the prototype, but Event Horizon has a few things going for it, and the tightly focused scares of the Dead Space series of video games are immensely absorbing (and kudos to part 3 for embedding some arctic survival horror niceties). Unfortunately, these outings seem to be in short supply in literature (or, perhaps I’m just not aware of them, in which case I urge you to name some favorites below!).

With the release of Lebbon’s Alien novel, 20th Century Fox may be in the process of correcting this short-coming as we near the 35th anniversary of Scott’s film. Out of the Shadows is the first in a trilogy of officially sanctioned novels set in the Alien universe. The other two books should be out over the course of this year, with the next, Sea of Sorrows, slated for July. (Side note: Dark Horse Comics are relaunching their corner of the Alien universe this summer, with all new comic books for both the Alien and Prometheus franchises, as well as Alien vs. Predator and Predator. To top it off, a video game, Alien Isolation, is due out soon and focuses on Ripley’s daughter, Amanda. So, it’s a good time to be a fan of these properties!)

I, for one, welcome the expansion of the Alien franchise into literature. It’s worked well enough for both Star Trek and Star Wars for more than 20 years, so why not take the gamble? The thing I like about these canonical stories is that it gives fans a chance to dive deeper into the stories, to crawl into the heads of its characters, and to keep the franchise inhabited between their filmed counterparts. It also allows, when done right, the opportunity to explore the lives of established characters and get inside their heads in a way that the filmic properties cannot.

With Alien: Out of the Shadows, Lebbon brings back Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, and crafts for us an untold story that falls nicely between the 57-years worth of cracks left from the climax of Alien and the opening moments of Aliens. Think of it as Alien 1.5.

The Deep Space Mining Orbital Marion and the planet LV136 are the setting for this story, and Lebbon crafts a horror-survival story on par with both Alien and its James Cameron-helmed sequel, Aliens. He absolutely nails the claustrophobic, fight-for-your-life atmosphere of the films, and the palpable threat the alien creatures pose. They are swift, violent exterminators, and the Marion crew-members are dispatched with horrific expediency.

When adapting a character like Ripley, who was so well-defined by Signourey Weaver in this series of films, it is crucial to get the “voice” right in prose. Thankfully, Lebbon succeeds and makes her transition from screen to printed page a smooth one. The dialogue rings true, and you can easily hear Weaver’s voice. Readers should also appreciate the brief forays into Ripley’s history and parental guilt presented across a series of nightmares.

Of course, by tackling a story centered between the first two Alien films and bringing Ripley in for such a central role unfortunately means that a large reset button needs to be hit in order to not disrupt the film continuity or leave any lingering questions. Thankfully Lebbon fleshes out the crew of Marion well enough that, in the end, the book doesn’t feel superfluous. By focusing on the characters and the dangers of their situation, Lebbon is able to really draw readers in and keep them hooked. The book is a terrific page-turner, and I’m looking forward to seeing what author James A. Moore brings to the table with the follow-up, Sea of Sorrows, this summer.

PW Select January 2014: A Look Ahead to Self-Publishing in 2014

Very interesting read for self-publishers and indie-authors. 2014 could be a solid year!

PW Select January 2014: A Look Ahead to Self-Publishing in 2014.

2014 Reading Challenge: One Month Down

Time flies when you’re reading good books! January, and the first month of the 2014 annual reading challenge at Goodreads, has gone by very swiftly.

I read six books this month, for a total of 2,530 pages. In my opinion, the challenge is off to a good start! For comparison’s sake, in January 2013, I read five books and 2,039 pages. (Note: page number information comes from the details page of individual books on the Goodreads site. I have noticed some discrepancies in my history as a Goodreads user, but for the purposes of these stats it’s sufficient enough, even if it may not be 100 percent exact.)

My books so far have been:

1. The Cormorant by Chuck Wendig. I’ve become an unabashed fan of Wendig’s over the last few years, and his Miriam Black series is one my favorites. It’s a terrific bit of urban fantasy that revolves around Black’s psychic ability to witness how people die. She’s a foul-mouthed loner, sharp, quick-witted, and scrappy. She also has a tendency to get caught up in some serious trouble, usually of the serial killer variety. Wendig has some strong story-telling chops and good knack for dialogue, often crafting some truly laugh-out-loud funny (and funny-disgusting) stuff. I’ll leave the review of these books up to others who can really wax poetic on it, but this series is a ridiculously compelling read, and reminds me a bit of Dean Koontz in his younger years.

2. Night Film by Marisha Pessl. I just don’t even know where to begin with this one. It’s a divisive novel, and I’m not quite sure where I want to stand on it. Maybe the fact that it’s gotten me so tripped up and has stuck with me for so long after having finished it is a positive sign. But I also have problems with it, most of which can be squared away by other issues within the narrative, and…it’s puzzling. The plot revolves around an investigative journalist and his two allies to solve the mystery of a woman’s suicide. The woman is the daughter of a famous horror film director, who is notoriously reclusive and possibly a practitioner of the occult. The book ducks and weaves its way through the horror and mystery genres but never comfortably settles on either. The reader gets enough information to piece together an answer on the mystery of the suicide, but there’s also enough reason to disbelieve such answers and the compulsion to dismiss them as too pat-and-dry, particularly in light of the history and character building around Cordova, a figure so prominent in the novel but also so illusive that he never even actually appears in the novel. Or does he!? Pessl’s work garnered a lot of comparisons to Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, largely due to the incorporation of photographs, transcribed interviews, and news clippings, to convey information and help bolster the moody atmosphere of the story, as well as the incorporation of online elements for mobile device apps. I think the comparison between these two author’s works is somewhat unfair given the disparities between their plots and resolutions. If I had to pick between the two, I would go with House of Leaves for the win. However, I can’t not recommend Night Film, as it does have plenty going for it, but I found it to be, in turns, both infuriating and enjoyable. The horror elements were well-crafted, and the book provides plenty of psychological mindfucks. I gave it three stars because, ultimately, I ended up feeling very middle-of-the-road with this, unable to flat-out dislike it and unwilling to rave about it. Your mileage may vary, of course.

3. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins. One of my reading resolutions for 2014 is to explore more non-fiction. I have plenty of titles to choose from on my Kindle and found myself to be in a particular mood for some science literature. As such, Dawkins seemed a natural go-to. He has a very elegant and natural way of explaining evolution, and it makes, mostly, for easy reading. Although some of it is a bit dry and slow-paced, the effort is, of course, more than worth it. Dawkins has fun ribbing creationists a bit (and rightly so!), explaining frequently why they are wrong and providing plenty of illustrative evidence and explanation of scientific methodology. Make no mistake – there is only one theory for how humans developed and populated the earth, and it is evolution. This book tells you the whys and wherefores in glorious detail, and anybody who wishes to learn more about the subject owes themselves the time to devote to reading this work. The Greatest Show on Earth is supremely edifying, and should be a must-read for those endeavoring to learn more about the development of life. Perhaps it should even be made mandatory in American classroom across the nation, given the debates between evolution and creationism, and the troubling statistics surrounding US reality-deniers.. Really, there shouldn’t even be a debate, as there is only one plausible, scientific theory for how we all got here, and you likely won’t learn about it in a church.

4. Poe by Brett Battles and Robert Gregory Browne. The first book in the Alexandra Poe series sees this bounty-hunter being contracted by a private security firm to infiltrate a women’s prison and extract a Middle Eastern weapons dealer. It’s a good hook, and Poe is given a reasonable emotional connection to the plot, which sees her taking on the job in an effort to locate her missing father. Following the death of her mother, her father disappeared and is now considered a traitor to the US. Surveillance efforts link papa Poe with El-Hashim, the arms dealer, and Alex is determined to find out what their connection is. To complicate matters, an assassin hired by the shadowy group El-Hashim works for has been dispatched to kill the terrorist. The book has a solid premise, and I gave it three-stars per the Goodreads ratings metric. I might have nudged it up to a 3 1/2 on my own personal rubric, as it was a decent page-turner. Poe is not a bad intro for a new series, and I’m curious enough about the character and this novel’s dangling plot threads to check out the follow-up, Takedown.

5. Let’s Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should by David Gaughran. After tinkering with my own novel, CONVERGENCE, for the better part of two years now (you can read a bit more about this and my terrific experience with the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013 here), and seriously contemplating the path towards self-publishing, I’ve been trying to pay attention to the publishing world and keep abreast of current information. I rely pretty heavily on J.A. Konrath’s blog, Barry Eisler, who walked away from a half-million dollar publishing contract in order to self-publish and retain control of his work and sales, as well as hybrid-author Chuck Wendig. I’ve found these sources, as well as several others, to be hosts of valuable information and a terrific resource to writers new and old (and have taken the liberty of linking to their sites at the right). Along the way, I became introduced to David Gaughran’s blog and twitter feed, and picked up this book during either a promo sale or a giveaway. At the time of this writing, it is on sale for $2.99, but even at a higher price it provides enough worthy content and is a cheap resource for those thinking of publishing their own stories electronically. Gaughran provides a nice, brief history lesson on traditional publishing, and explores the differences between publishing electronically and traditionally, including authorial control and the necessity for good cover design, editing, and marketing. Some stuff is obvious – even if a lot of self-published authors, for whatever reason, don’t do this – like hiring an editor (tip: if you believe you do not need an editor, you are dead wrong!) and having a good cover to make your book attractive to potential reader’s eyes. Obvious, sure, but their importance cannot be understated and should always be emphasized. There is a reason these two subjects come up time and time again on these sorts of blogs, and the advice should only be ignored at your own peril. Gaughran’s writing is smooth, the pace is brisk, and it made for a quick, easy read. Also included are accounts from 33 self-published authors, who share their stories on breaking into the business. It’s loaded with information and indie writers (or author-publisher, or artisinal publishing, or whatever your preferred label) would behoove themselves to check it out as Step 1 in their road to publication. On a side-note, I also aim to check out Wendig’s series of books on writing, as well as Guy Kawasaki’s APE.

6. The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman. This horror novel is billed as young adult (with the emphasis here leaning decidedly toward the adult), but provides enough dark atmosphere to keep older audiences glued to the page, and is quite violent and foreboding. Wasserman takes a serious tone and channels a bit of Stephen King’s penchant for detailing everyday, small-town life. Instead of Derry, Maine, or Castle Rock, we’re taken to Oleander, Kansas, which is rocked by a series of murder-suicides in the book’s opening chapter. A year later, a powerful tornado decimates the city and Oleander is placed under quarantine, its communications cut off from the rest of the world by the United States government. What follows is a string of violence, as the townspeople slowly begin to turn against one another, gripped by a Salem-like religious hysteria and compelled by a voice – but is it the voice of God, the devil, or something else? Wasserman crafts a strong, resonant work of horror, slowly ratcheting up the action and suspense as Oleander is thrown into a paranoid fit that recalls not only King’s Needful Things, but a bit of Under the Dome, as well. She packs in a lot of characterization and gives each of her cast members their due, along with some shocks and surprises to rattle the readers.

So, what about you fellow readers? Are you taking part in the Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge? What have you read so far?