Good Writer Links

The Read ...

Was deep into Ilona Andrews' second Edge novel Bayou Moon ... where one of the bad guys was lying in wait for the MC ... when I picked up Charlaine Harris' new Harper Connelly mystery, Grave Secret.

Granted the book is long with much more than enough description to convey character, setting, and action than needed (IMHO) ... still the book doesn't deserve to be put back in the to read pile.  The setting stands out from the run-of-the-mill paranormals.  The characters are well defined.  The creatures/inhabitants are not all Celtic fae, werewolves, and vampires -- actually they aren't in the book at all ... though magic  workers abound.  I'll be going back to it ... after I read the four or five other books I just bought.

If you are looking for a good example of how backstory and world building can be done without an info dump, the book is worth picking up.

Web and Other Stuff ...

In the process of setting up some priorities, I decided to make my second post of the week mostly about links.  These are highly selective as to what has interested me most about what I've read.  Either they have helped me with some problem I'm facing ... or they amused me.

So, I'll start out with a NaNoWriMo blog Let the Writers Begin.  This comes from Jennifer Duddy Gill at "From the Mixed-Up Files", a middle-grade writers blog where she tells us the tale of students who are writing novels for NaNo month.  Click the link to see how young the aspiring novelists are.  Maybe there's hope for the publishing world.

Then, for those who often wonder why they blog [like me], Milo James Fowler gives some encouragement in his blog Anniversary for "in medias res".  [While I don't have his publishing record (you have to submit), this blog has helped me clarify my thoughts.]

Then,  there's that idea thing:  What the heck am I going to write about?  Steve Tremp gives us an interesting take on using news items to create a novel for a guest blog on mystery author Pat Stoltey's blog:  My Journey as a Writer.

Back to Promotion of what you write.  One of my favorite sites, 1st Turning Point, has author Michael W. Davis rating promotion venues:  Comparison of Promotion Avenues.   Click to find out what worked best for him.  [I bookmarked this for future reference.  Even though I'm a grump, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think one of my novel manuscripts might actually get published someday.] 

Then, there are the uncommon agent links.

When I first sort of got serious about writing, I bookmarked a lot of agent websites.  Some of the agents have quit blogging ... or their wisdom has been absorbed in a combined blog.  Still, I thought I'd go back as see what I have looked at since I started my blog roll for my mutterings.

If you are thinking of doing the cross-over thing with romance, the Ellora Caves [publisher] crew offers a "Romance Recipe for Success" on their Redlines and Deadlines blog.

Then, for the heck of it:  Rachel at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management gives all of us a reason to be glad we don't have to commute in New York City in "My Life Would Make a Boring Memoir".

Progress ...

My critiques are caught up.  The critiques given are sitting in folders for me to work on them later.  The problem of having four manuscripts ready for revision.

Have decided to concentrate on revising Dark Solstice yet again.  Only as soon as I made the decision my days went kafluzzie and I haven't gotten back to it.  I've also got the free short story lanquishing in the wings.  We won't talk about the dragging artwork.

Trivia ...

Spent another night ... searching for artists.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

To-Read Pile Discoveries

The Read ...

Found two gems in my to-read piles ... in two separate piles.  First, award winning Connie Willis' Lincoln's Dreams, which turned out to be Robert E. Lee's dreams instead.  The main character is an author's research assistant who keeps tracing down obscure facts about various participants in the American Civil War.  What I found so intriguing was that Willis took all those facts and built a back drop for the love interest's mental/physical collapse.  I think the book classifies as a psychological thriller.

An example of the way Willis uses facts:  "We spent the rest of the day in the library.  Annie took notes on Lincoln.  I read Lee's letters and tried to find out what Annie [Lee's daughter] had died from.  Nobody seemed to know.  I found the chicken, though.  Its name was Little Hen.  She had walked uninvited into Lee's tent one day, and Lee had kept her for over a year.  She laid an egg under Lee's camp cot every day and sat on Traveller's [Lee's horse] back, which delighted the soldiers."

M. C. Beaton's A Highland Christmas, featuring Hamish Macbeth, was the other book I read -- if you can call 130 pages of large print a book ... even if bound like a mass paperback.  From what I can tell, if you are the author of a popular series, you often get rewarded by being asked to write long short stories or novellas for theme anthologies.  If you are close to the top of your game, your novella [or shorter] may get bound as a single.  Or, at least they did ten years ago.

The series, set in the "very far north of Scotland", easily contains over fifteen cozy mysteries where Macbeth's rogue supervisor presents a greater opponent than the criminals.  All the major secondary characters of the novels appeared in this volume.  I love the way Beaton skates across the Highland character cliches without getting bogged down.  The novelette is well paced and yielded many chuckles and some out loud laughs.  What more do you want for entertainment in the dentist's waiting room.

Web and Other Stuff ...

So, you're in the business to make money writing?  Well, Tim Ferriss who wrote the Four Hour Work Week, gives his opinion on his blog about "how writers really make money"[This via the an AW Water Cooler thread started by V-Man.]   The comments are interesting.

Then, there are the financial problems of Barnes & Noble.  While I don't think the behemoth will go to the bone yard any time soon,  their wrinkles are showing.

A couple days ago, after over a month of visiting other places to buy books, we happened into the local store.  Did my usual browse the display areas, the sci-fi/fantasy section, mysteries, and YA.  Can't remember buying a book.  Today, I browsed the grocery store book section while the old man restocked our light bulbs.  Found four new books.  We're talking Patricia Briggs, Christine Feehan, and similar names here.  Didn't see hide nor hair of them while at B&N.

Saggy, baggy bookstores, anyone?

Progress ...

This blog is so late, I had better have made some progress in my writing.  *smirk*,  *smirk*  I did.  I posted the second Renna's Tale -- As Subborn As a Half-Elven.  Still don't have any artwork, but we'll see what Sunday brings.

And, no.  I didn't query any agents.

Trivia ...

Embarrassment, really.  Chanced to look at a couple comments I left earlier on other blogs a couple days ago.  Oh, the typos.  No one would ever want me to be on their team for a spelling bee.  I don't even want to know how many typos can be found in the Renna stories.

Mining the To-Read Pile

The Read ...

Actually, went to the to-read pile for a book to read.  I only have four piles ... at last count.  At least I took care of three dust-catchers.  Two landed on the trade-pile after a few pages because I couldn't sink into them.  The other:  Anne Perry's Long Spoon Lane.  Frankly, I can't believe it was sitting there unread.  The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series has been one of my favorites since the Cater Street Hangman first appeared.

The book was enjoyable and competently written.  Sounds like faint praise, but when there are so many books in the series, that's a great compliment.  I was disappointed that Charlotte wasn't  featured more and that her family was almost absent.  [I like the dynamics in the juxtaposition of social class in late Victorian England.]  Still, Aunt Vespasia, one of my main ladies, got a decent role in this episode.

The book languishing on a to-read pile bothers me a bit.  I've completely missed a couple mass paperback editions somewhere I think.  Problem:  I think the lapses will continue to a greater degree since B&N has reduced their display space in favor of other peripheral merchandise.

Web Stuff ...

Have you noticed the buzz about censorship lately?  Well, lots of good people are speaking out against it.  I've read several blogs, but I think literary agent Janet Reids' "This I believe With All My Heart" blog gives you a good start with its links.  If you missed it, take the time to read it.  I know I'm a little late with the comment ... but reading is a basic right that needs to be monitored constantly.

Personally, I've always had problems with people who think childhood ... life, actually ... should have no problems.  While mine were mostly economic, others have had more shattering personal experiences.  Bottom Line:  I think books should discuss all the problems that life can present for kids ... if only to present possible solutions and examples that it is possible to survive.

Then there's the possibilities of making money blogging.  It's the secret keystone of building a platform -- you want to sell your book ... someday ... somewhere.  There's another way of making money, ProBlogger.  Along with lots of ads and information, they have a job board of people who want articles for blogs.  Didn't notice much for fantasy writers at the few listings I looked at, but if you're into memoir and personal experience -- you might find a source to increase your exposure and get paid too.  [I got the info from an article on "Buy Like Buffett" about three ways to make freelance money on the web.]

For fiction writers, Rachelle Gardner has another excellent blog; this time on selling your work.  While she's emphasizing crafting your pitch, the advise she gives also applies to writing your magnum opus.  If your story-telling doesn't cover the answers ... maybe you should go back to the revising board.

Progress ...

Wasted my writing time last night formatting Dark Solstice for submission to a small e-publisher.

Still, since I'm doing the website thing, I feel compelled to go back and market.  Ugh!  Still have some Word stuff to clean up.  More Ugh!!  

Someday, I may get the next Half-Elven story written.  In the meantime, I blogged about writing short stories.  Need to get in my noodle that the arc of a short story is like the arc in a chapter.  Anyone want to go back to writing one-oh-one with me?

Trivia ...

Time to praise asters, black-eyed susans, and fall crocus.  Without them, there'd be little color in the garden.  On the other hand, the zucchini aren't dead yet. 

Castle is back.  At first it seems like he was giving the team the brush off, but they made up in the end [no surprise since this is a television series, after all] in the process of solving a nicely complicated murder mystery.  Think it's going to be an enjoyable season if they mine the possibilities indicated in the course of the action.  Love still developing characters. 

Series End or Just Shifting Gears?

The Read ...

Ilona Andrews' Magic Bleeds feels like the end of the series.  I clenched my teeth as I read it.  I liked the fast pace and development of the primary and secondary characters in their books and would hate to see the Kate Daniels' world end.  [Like, I'm green with envy ... especially after reading the scene where the hyena alpha tried to manipulate Daniels.]

What clues suggest the ending of the series?  Andrews ties up so many loose ends very little is left hanging.  The only hope in the book the team will continue writing the series is the suggestion of Daniels going freelance.

Since there are three more Kate Daniels books under contract, I can look forward to Kate's continued fights with Curren because the Daniels series is shifting gears to maintain freshness.  Even if they become a couple, I can't imagine them not fighting.  Their characters are too consistently drawn -- the super-protective male and a snarly, independent female, both intelligent.

How do I know about three more titles?  I checked the Andrews website for Kate Daniels series, of course.  You might check it out if you are thinking about site building.  It's one of cleanest, easy to follow sites I've seen.

Website building is whirling around in my mind thanks to WolfSinger Pubs.  I'm in the process of setting up a Half-Elven site, and the Ilona Andrews team has given me a great model.   Just hope Go Daddy's templates have something a computer idiot can manipulate.

Ta-Da for the Web Notes ...

Amazon's crowing about their Kindle sales.  Digital Book World  has a blog putting the hype in perspective.

I have problems with having one company controlling all the books I'm able to buy.  My e-reading device must allow my to buy books from any vendor ... now just the owner of the reader.

Hey, all you distopian writers ... how about a media mogul buying a corrupt Congress to write the laws so his company is the only one that can sell books?

Progress ...

Got my freebie story, set in the world of the Half-Elven [Cavern Between Worlds], more or less revised.  The old man only has to copy-edit the thing, I hope.  It's intended as bait to build a readership/fan base for the Half-Elven world [along with two other short stories].  Hopefully, I'll be able to sell more than a 100 copies of Taking Vengeance when it's published next year.  I'm still in the midst of studying how one does it ... but I'll try the best I can.  It'd be embarrassing if I only sold 20 copies.  [I can see my fiction career whirling down the drain.]

My head's spinning from the projects on the table.  Remember the guy on the Ed Sullivan show who spinned  a bunch of plates on top of dowls?  While musing while giving the cat his lap [aka outlining the next freebie story] I discovered I could remember some of the secondary/minor characters' names.

I'm concentrating my revision efforts on There Be Demons.  I'd rather drag my feet so I'll have an excuse not to query agents.   Maybe if I have the queries out, I won't be tempted to fiddle with the manuscript and can get on with revising Voices.  

Voices may be the most salable of the manuscripts I have endings on -- since it's more conventional.  Just a girl coping with talking to ghosts and bullies.  Mariah is a grandmother and an elf -- which should be a high fantasy quest but centers on a society coping with genetic drift in a small hybrid population.  Demons features a skewed pastiche of Catholic dogma which isn't all that complementary. 

Oh, I forgot Emma.  She's fairly conventional too but is able to see fae and travel to new Faery -- while coping with bullies .

Trivia ...

The raspberries are producing $5.00 bowls over and over again.  Glad they waited until we got back from the family trek.  

Oh, a heads-up.  I'm going to be blogging twice a week -- unless something drastic happens.  I've just got too much on my plate.