Chiseled in Rock

Chiseled Author E.C. Stacy is Interviewed!

2012-03-05T06:03:00.013-07:00

We’ve been asked, so today we’re offering answers to questions such as: Chiseled Staff? Are they really that chiseled? Are they completely off their Rockers? And what do they do behind closed doors?!

Over the next month you’ll see interviews with our own Chiseled Staff, and today we’re talking to E.C. Stacy.

E.C. loves swimming, traveling, and is a horror movie aficionado. Cougars are a common theme in E.C.’s erotic romance titles such as New Cougar in Town and Lust Bites. The Quench series (with Quenched co-authored by Ainsley) is about a vampire dating service in which the mortals pay with blood, and Devil Music, co-authored with Thia Myles Vincent, is a twist on the Faustian mythos. With several publication contracts pending that we can’t yet discuss, E.C. also reminded us that Charlaine Harris wrote the foreword to E.C.’s short story Sweets! Sweet!

CIR: How do you describe yourself (the top three things that come to mind)?

E.C.: Quiet in person, but a loud mouth on paper. A little sneaky, but charitable and fun. Yeah, I think that just about does it. Otherwise, I’m completely boring…except when the hubby and I go streaking on Halloween.

CIR: Being that you dabble in drawing, (the blog cartoons and your Erotic Coloring and Activity Pad) did you take art classes?

E.C.: Nothing other than classes in public school. My humble aptitude for art must have come from my love for checking out beautiful bodies.

CIR: Please describe the path of your writing career.

E.C.: Well, anything but a career. The royalties are unreliable right now. Maybe someday that’ll change. Per below, I have a day job.

CIR: What are your current writing goals and challenges? (What are you working on?)

E.C. Total E Bound will be publishing—I should note that the following is a working title—Comic Con Lust – Part I of the Fan Convention Escapades series by this summer. I have some other pans on the stove, but this manuscript is nailed shut.

CIR: What are the two toughest things about writing?

E.C.: Assuming the question means all the things related to the practice—because come on, sitting down and poking keys isn’t that tough—rejections and keeping up with all the sub-genres that seem to multiply like rabbits. Agents and editors will tell you to ‘stay on top’ of the market trends, but I think that’s simply impossible.

CIR: Do you prefer igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

E.C.: Let’s see…I’m ignominious for igneous, metaphoric for metamorphic, and sentimental for sedimentary. How’s that?

CIR: How has RMFW helped you advance your career?

E.C.: Again, what’s this career stuff you speak of? I discovered the erotic romance genre at an RMFW Gold Conference.

CIR: As we know, RMFW is an all-volunteer organization. Have you or do you volunteer elsewhere in the organization?

E.C.: Inside two years of learning about the erotic romance genre at said conference, I presented a workshop there.

CIR: What writers inspire you?

E.C.: Jennifer Crusie and my bud, J.A. Kazimer. There are a whole lot more, but these were my first impulses. And I’m very impulsive. Just ask my hubby. Think I’ll go smack him on the tush right now.

CIR: What genres do you read?

E.C.: It’s quicker to explain what I don’t read. Historical romance—no offence to the authors of it or fans—and any book regardless of genre that fails to demonstrate the basic craft of storytelling within the first few pages (i.e. setting a scene, description, problem, what’s about to change).

CIR: Do you ever get writer’s rock, er… block? If so how do you break through?

E.C.: Particularly, I have problems writing a male character who can sweep a woman off her feet. What is it like to be that silver tongued devil who can dazzle the woman into his bed? I don’t know. Can’t imagine being like that, but I enjoy trying to write them.

CIR: What do you feel your stories are born of?

E.C.: What I want to see out there in the book selections. It has happened where I think, man, I’d like for there to be a title about yada yada, and then I snoop around the internet and find that a yada yada already exists, and I stop right there because I’m glad someone did it. Typically, I’ll buy said title. But If I don’t see anything like my idea, I tack it on to my to-do list.

CIR: What one piece of advice would you offer to new writers?

E.C.: For the most part, there are two types of writers…seriously…those who love the written word, and those who love themselves. There are some who qualify for a get-out-of-jail-free card on those classifications, but all one has to do is look around at the scribes around them and notice the fairly typical dichotomy of attitudes.

If you can be the writer who hungers to set words on paper no matter what genre and rejoice when an agent or editor is willing to work with you to make that story the most marketable publication, you’ll make it one way or another. You also need to be able to produce copy. Just look at Nora Roberts.

That’s advice for the author who wants to get published and sell books. If you just enjoy stroking the keyboard as a hobby, you don’t need advice.

But if you write because you think you’re God’s gift to the language, you’re not going to listen to me anyway. No more explanation needed.

I’m not saying that you can’t be proud of your work. Just remember that the reader comes first. Speaking of, that’s why I like interviewing book buyers in the ongoing series on the Rock entitled Meet the Reader. I damn well want to know what readers are looking for to make my pages better.

CIR: What’s your favorite rock and roll song?

E.C.: Love Train by the Ojays. Hey…no snickering.

CIR: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

E.C.: When I realized that I even freakin’ loved writing office memos and business letters.

CIR: Do you also have a “day” job? Other interests or hobbies?

E.C.: It’s a government job and because they could really get all up in arms about my moonlighting, I write under a pseudonym. I also crochet. Yes, my pseudonym is a play of words with ecstasy. But Stacy is an Irish last name, and I just so happen to have some of the ol’ emerald lineage breathing in me.

CIR: Do you like rocking chairs?

E.C.: I like racing them. Crashed one last week.

CIR: If you could time travel, when and where would you go?

E.C.: Got ya! I can time travel. With age defying make-up, I’m now only 23 years old.

CIR: What do you predict for the future of the publishing industry and where you fit into that?

E.C.: It will surely be stopped by the Mayan prophecy. But if that happens, I guess lack of publishing will be the least of our problems.

CIR: And lastly, what did you dream of doing when you were twelve years old?

E.C.: Meeting the Bay City Rollers.

You can friend E.C. on Facebook! And thanks again for stopping by!

by Janet Fogg

Famous Rocks

2012-03-01T06:00:00.001-07:00

Even though it’s cool that this picture really pulls your eyes to it, we assure you that it’s not necessarily orchestrated to do so. It’s not fake or fabricated. Yes, in order to kiss the world famous Blarney Stone in Ireland—a famous rock, fitting for our kick off to the month of March and soon arriving St. Patty’s Day—one has to lay down, lean their head back under this arch in the Blarney Castle and give a big smooch. Just Google 'Blarney Stone' and you’ll see lots more pics like this one.

Those Irish…always so colorful and perhaps the culprits of a centuries-old practical joke. But it’s a lot of fun. Just like Chiseled in Rock!

What On Earth Does Van Halen Have To Do With Writing a Good Novel?

2012-02-29T06:20:00.002-07:00

By Gst Dv (If you know me, you can still tell it’s my name, right?)

Maybe it takes a whacked out mind like the one rattling between my ears to come up with a comparison as in the title floating above this blog cloud. Probably, it also has something to do with me being a guitarist. Hell, I even used to make money jamming. But I was no Eddie Van Halen. And a lot of my rockin’ and rollin’ buddies used to say the same thing about themselves. We simply idolized this skinny dude with the funny striped instrument.

In case you’re not familiar with Edward Van Halen, he is pretty much to rock guitar what Stephen King was to horror. Sure, there are some other giants like Clapton, Page, Hendrix, and so forth, but…well dammit, just hear for yourself on the You Tube link here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_lwocmL9dQ

Okay, so here’s the thing: when I’m listening to Van Halen’s melodic screams, power-packed scales and celestial trills…I find that I want to hear what he’s going to play next. He constantly keeps me dazzled. And a few days ago when Michael Jackson’s Beat it played on a nearby radio, featuring Eddie’s solo, the reverie struck an epiphany: I want to read books that amaze me the same way.

I want the story to go somewhere. If it has to slow down to provide some needed info, cool, but the author should make those words sing. Nothing ordinary. Don’t give me sentences that anybody at a keyboard could dial in. Yeah, clarity is paramount, but these little characters we call words can be stacked in oh so many ways, going up, down, and stirring up pictures and emotions in the reader. Like Eddie’s solos.

Rock on Eddie, and rock on my writer chums.

On Writing Well: A To Do List by Tina Ann Forkner

2012-02-28T06:00:00.002-07:00

This article was originally published in the Rocky Mountain Writer in March 2011

On Writing Well: A To Do List by Tina Ann Forkner

1) Slow down. Too many writers write too fast. When I first got published I put a lot of pressure on myself to write faster, but faster is not better. This time around, I’m slowing down. As my agent recently told me, it is better to take your time and make it great.

2) Don’t write for publication. Writing only so you can get published is a trap for bad writing, even if you already have a few books under your belt. Write because you love to write and do it to tell the story of your heart. Your motives will show in your writing, so let it be your passion and not your desire to get published.

3) Go beyond the spell checker. This one is so basic that even published authors make mistakes. Have a trusted friend look over your writing for spelling and grammar errors before entering a contest, querying an agent, or pitching it at a writing conference.

4) Always listen to your mom. Do seek the affirmation of your mom, dad, aunt, sister, best friend or anyone who is going to love you no matter how well you write. Let her/him read your work. Consider their advice and let yourself believe them when they say you deserve a Pulitzer prize in fiction even if they don’t really know what that is.

5) Never listen to your mom. Whatever you do, don’t listen to your mom. I know this is the opposite of what I just told you, so after you listen then take a minute to not listen. People who love you unconditionally might not tell you that your manuscript is riddled with errors, that your main character’s name keeps changing or that your ending falls flat. Get a second opinion from a good, but not best, friend or a real writer friend who can identify areas of your story that could be improved upon. This would be a good time to join a writer’s critique group.

6) Do it 6 days a week. Write almost every single day to create a writing habit. Sticking to a writing schedule is the only way your novel will ever get written. Be sure to give yourself one day of rest. For me, I honor the Sabbath. I used to write on Sundays, but now I do my best to spend that time with my family because it refreshes my writing and refocuses me on what is important in life (and it’s more than just writing books).

7) You are what you read, so read better books. There are so many books to read. Some of them are good and some are really, really bad. Don’t just read a book because it has a big glossy sign at the bookstore checkout area. Read books that sound good to you and that compel you to turn the page. Read a new genre. Read something that challenges you. Read books by writers who are better than you. Your own writing will be better for it.

8 ) Get out of the box. Just because you wrote one type of story doesn’t mean you can’t write something different or better the next time. Try to best yourself on each novel. If you are already published there will be a temptation to let yourself be put in a box where all of your stories become the same, only with new characters, each time. Don’t let the quest for book contracts saddle you with expectations that keep you from becoming a better writer.

9) Go out on a limb. Do not censor yourself. Write the crazy plot that you haven’t told a soul about. Sometimes the story that you long to write, but think would never go over, will be your breakout novel. Even if it’s not, you’ll be glad you wrote it and you will learn a ton about writing and about yourself along the way.

10) If writing is getting difficult, it’s a good sign. I am writing something right now that I have loved every minute of, but the story has been a lot more difficult to write than my previous novels. I could quit and delete the whole story, or I could follow the advice of a fellow novelist who told me that it’s a good sign when writing gets difficult. If writing used to be easy and now it’s hard, you might just be feeling some growing pains. Keep writing.

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Tina Ann Forkner wrote the first column for RMFW’s The Writing Life back when she received her very first book contract. She is now the author of two published novels, Ruby Among Us and Rose House, from Waterbrook Press/Random House. Her writing life as a published author has been an adventure in which most things haven’t changed all that much.

Find out more about Tina and her books at her website and two blogs, Random Ramblings and It is What It Is.

Chiseled Author Patricia Stoltey is Interviewed!

2012-02-27T06:03:00.008-07:00

We’ve been asked, so today we’re offering answers to questions such as: Chiseled Staff? Are they really that chiseled? Are they completely off their Rockers? And what do they do behind that closed door?!

Over the next few months you’ll see interviews with our own Chiseled Staff, and today we’re talking to Patricia Stoltey.

Pat’s first Sylvia and Willie mystery, The Prairie Grass Murders, was released by Five Star/Gage in 2007. Books in Motion released the audiobook on CD and MP3 download in 2008, and Harlequin published a mass market paperback book club edition in 2010. The Desert Hedge Murders was released in 2009 from Five Star and 2011 from Harlequin Worldwide. The ebook is coming soon. The Prairie Grass Murders is available now for Kindle and Nook.

CIR: Welcome, Pat! How do you describe yourself (the top three things that come to mind)?

Pat: Calm, cool, and collected. What would you expect from a person who drinks as much Tension Tamer and Sleepytime tea as I do?

CIR: Please describe the path of your writing career.

Pat: It was kind of weird. My brother and I wrote a really bad action/adventure novel about truckers and unions back in the 80s, and it actually made it to audio book in 2000. The company who published it stocked rental carousels in large truck stops, and I guess truckers rented audiotapes for those long hauls. I just hope that novel never put any truckers to sleep while they were on the road. After that, however, I was hooked on writing. My first mystery was picked up by Five Star after I met Deni Dietz at the 2005 Colorado Gold Conference.

CIR: What are your current writing goals and challenges? (What are you working on?)

Pat: I’m working to complete my NaNoWriMo novel. Another suspense manuscript is almost ready to submit to agents, but I need to ditch the current first chapter and fix a couple more little things. And I have a historical fiction that I asked an editor to review. Wouldn’t you know it? She suggested a new first chapter. There seems to be a pattern here.

CIR: What are the two toughest things about writing?

Pat: First chapters, for sure. I guess the second thing is knowing when to stop so we don’t revise the life out of a manuscript.

CIR: Do you prefer igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

Pat: Metamorphic. Change is good.

CIR: How has RMFW helped you advance your career?

Pat: RMFW puts on a great annual conference to educate writers and give them a chance to network with authors, agents and editors (and in my case, find a publisher). I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in a couple of the monthly programs, so that’s a bonus.

CIR: As we know, RMFW is an all-volunteer organization. Have you or do you volunteer elsewhere in the organization?

Pat: I try to volunteer at the conference in some way each year. Lately I’ve worked at Registration, but in the past I’ve also moderated conference sessions as timekeeper, hall monitor, and introducing the speaker(s).

CIR: What writers inspire you?

Pat: All of our RMFW authors who work so hard and write so well. Sandra Dallas for wonderful story-telling and public-speaking skills. Stephen King because he “just does it.” Oh, my, this list could go on forever.

CIR: What genres do you read?

Pat: All genres of fiction and tons of non-fiction as well. I probably read 50-60% crime fiction, and the bulk of the non-fiction I read is history, political science, and books about writing and the writing life.

CIR: Do you ever get writer’s rock, er… block? If so how do you break through?

Pat: I don’t suffer from writer’s block, thank goodness. However, I do suffer from blank page anxiety. Also severe procrastination. Taking on more tasks than I can accomplish in a reasonable amount of time. Chocolate binges. Addiction to prime time television. This list could go on and on.

CIR: What do you feel your stories are born of?

Pat: An overactive imagination which results in a lot of dreams and nightmares, fear of vampires and werewolves (which is why there are none in my stories), and the goofy need to see another book with my name on it. That’s such a kick.

CIR: What one piece of advice would you offer to new writers?

Pat: Write down everything that comes into your head and keep it forever.

CIR: What’s your favorite rock and roll song?

Pat: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” sung by Cyndi Lauper. Is that rock and roll? I mean, I can go way back to the 50s and 60s if you insist. I had this little metal record player for my 45s and bought stuff like “April Love” ( Pat Boone) and “Maybelline” (Chuck Berry).

CIR: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Pat: About the time I stopped attending mystery conventions as a fan and started checking the “author” box instead. That was 2006. I remember it well.

CIR: Do you also have a “day” job? Other interests or hobbies?

Pat: I’m a retired accounting/accounts payable manager. We traveled a lot at first, but now I’m into all things writerly. I’d like to get back to music, so I have a keyboard I play about twice a year. I crochet stuff. And I just bought a new camera so I can recapture my love of photography…if I can figure out how to use it. I need more time, lots more time.

CIR: What books have most influenced you?

Pat: In writing books, I think I’d say The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass because it gave me some great ideas how to put more zing in my suspense novels. In fiction, I’d say mystery author Sophie Littlefield. She does a brilliant job of fitting her narrative writing to the character and story.

CIR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

Pat: A high school English teacher liked a poem I wrote. I now have several folders of truly horrible poetry, and quite a few bad short stories as well. Nevertheless, I liked the idea of writing enough to learn how to do it properly. I’m still learning, but I’m having fun in the process.

CIR: Do you like rocking chairs?

Pat: Yeah, the old fashioned wood rockers that creak and groan. The one I remember had a seat worn to a velvety patina by the butts of those who used it over the years. I sat in that chair and rocked my colicky firstborn while singing Petula Clark’s “Downtown” (When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown). If you’ve ever had a kid with colic, you’ll understand why this song and the rocking chair were such a comfort.

CIR: If you could time travel, when and where would you go?

Pat: I’d like to pop back to Frontier Illinois about 1834 and see if it’s anything like I’ve described it in my novel.

CIR: What do you predict for the future of the publishing industry and where you fit into that?

Pat: My crystal ball tells me there will be continuing and rapid change and we better scramble to keep up. Anyone who doesn’t keep up is in trouble.

CIR: And lastly, what did you dream of doing when you were twelve years old?

Pat: I was still holding onto my dream of becoming a ballerina, even though I already had bad knees, had flunked out of tap dance class in one year, and was way too short (and clumsy too). In my mind, I was thin and agile and gorgeous. The birth of a fiction writer?

CIR: Pat, thank you so much for joining us today! You can learn more about Pat and her writing on her website or blog, follow her on Twitter @PStoltey, or friend her on Facebook.

By Janet Fogg

Meet the Reader: Speaking of Love, Our Guest is Kasey Love

2012-02-23T06:00:00.002-07:00

By the ever opinionated E.C. Stacy

Joining us on the Rock today for Meet the Reader is Kasey Love. And before we embark on our journey of questions, I just got to say it’s refreshing to see a reader who doesn’t feel the need to justify her rating points. There’s definitely too much analysis in the critic circles. Kasey says, “The rating I give to any book is completely subjective and purely based on the level of personal enjoyment attained while reading. Therefore, anything rated 3 stars or higher is considered a worthwhile read, in my opinion.”

CIR: I couldn’t help but notice that you rated Eclipse and New Moon with five stars but Twilight with four. This isn’t a gotcha question. I just wondered—do you really feel the later installments were better?

KL: I actually rated these books after I had read the series as a whole, so my ratings for these are based on a comparison all four books versus individual ratings based on the "feeling" I was left with at the end of each one. As such, I found that books 2 and 3 were stronger (meaning that they had more/better substance which supported the continuation of said series). Don't get me wrong, Book 1 (Twilight) was what lured me into reading the series, but the other two just felt like the author made a better effort (perhaps because she was on a roll?) - and to me, it showed.

CIR: Do you think an author’s voice does a lot to lull a reader into loving a book?

KL: Absolutely. But it's not that simple. For me, an author has to appeal to me by creating a believable voice that fits his/her characters and the tone of the story. One thing that always makes me say "Oh, no" is when (for example) an author is female, writing in a man's voice (or as a male character), and said character speaks with too many female-isms: "She was dressed in a beautiful chartreuse gown made of the finest silks and satins..." Oh, really? How many heterosexual males do you know that (a) would know what "chartreuse" is and (b) the difference between silk and satin? Yeah, that's a voice that never, ever works.

CIR: I’ve never read a ‘bodice-ripper’ which is a very cool term for historical romance. It would have been so hard to live back then. Is that why you think they’re popular…because if they were going to get undressed, it would definitely have to be for a breathtaking man?

KL: Actually, many of us who enjoy Bodice Rippers view them in a whole different category from your typical "historical romance." Yes, they are historical romances, but Bodice Rippers contain marked "un-PC" elements that not every romance reader enjoys. I suppose that the distinction is similar to the difference between a romance novel and a Young Adult romance. Both are still romances but there are elements in each which land them in separate categories.

That said, I'm not sure why they're so popular as of late, but I can tell you why I enjoy them: You see, a book that evokes strong emotions, whether it be hatred, fear, disgust or joy, passion, & fulfillment makes me weak in the knees. Add a romance factor (your mileage may vary on the romance thing, though) and I'm sold. I love the feeling of being swept away by a story - especially if the tale is so far removed from my reality. Bodice Rippers provide just that for me and I enjoy the emotional intensity.

CIR: A Megan Hart novel showed me that erotic titles were as good if not better than most romances, thus I started writing them. Tempted by Hart is one of our common reads and you said that it was so much more than an m/f/m thing. In fact, the emotions in it were what hooked me. Did you feel the same way?

KL: Referring back to my previous answer, Tempted, in particular, had me on an emotional roller coaster and I was not only pleasantly surprised but swept away by it. Granted, it wasn't as out there as a Bodice Ripper - perhaps because it's set in modern times - but I felt the characters' emotions deeply. I empathized with each individuals' reasons and although I may not have chosen the paths they did, I still understood (Megan Hart has a great "voice," by the way) and laughed, cried, and ached for them. In the end, I realized that the story was about love (and that there isn't just one way to love) and human nature. The fact that it was "Erotica" or that there were erotic elements was just a bonus.

CIR: Wuthering Heights, one of your high ranking selections, is an amazing piece of literature. I still can’t read it, or watch it for that matter, and see Catherine agree to marry Edgar over Heathcliff without slapping my head at her. Do you think it’s her warped perspective that makes you like this story?

KL: Yes, Wuthering Heights is one of those books that you either loathe or love. But I'm one of those readers who can find merit within stories that are considered "difficult" because of their emotional intensity. Again, that feeling of strong emotionality is key (for me). Did I think that Catherine Earnshaw was nuts for marrying Edgar? Definitely. But it changed nothing about the "love that was stronger than love" (to quote Edgar Allan Poe) which she and Heathcliff shared, as twisted as it was. And that absolutely tickled the reader in me, as I adore tumultuous and tempestuous and not-so-perfect romances. So, yes, her perspective definitely kept me on the edge of my seat thinking, "Why, Catherine?! Why?" and I simply had to read on to understand. In the end, I loved it - crazy and all.

CIR: What author do you feel is generally underrated?

KL: Oh, boy. Now that is a gotcha question!

Being that I'm a big romance reader, I'm going to stick to that genre to answer this one. That said, let me throw in a quick disclaimer here: I'm a huge fan of Bodice Rippers (so excuse me for putting my hand in the fire for a Bodice Ripper author). With that out of the way, I'm going to say that the late Christine Monson was quite underrated. Even now, within Bodice Ripper-lovers' circles. She wrote highly controversial yet emotionally charged stories (Stormfire, anyone?) that were either loathed or loved. Sadly, she was one of many during her time and now that Bodice Rippers have seen a resurgence, her stories are still not being acknowledged as I think they should.

CIR: Thank you very much, Kasey!

KL: No, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to participate and provide my two cents on something I enjoy. :-)

Five Finalists, Two Winners - Incite

2012-02-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

This Saturday the voting stops for the Incite Contest. Sunday, the five highest ranking entries will be notified of their success and go on as finalists to read more of their story at the Mercury Café on February 29th at 7PM. Each finalist will re-read their first 100 words then they will be given another minute to grab us more. Again, each one will be recorded live. After the five brave souls have drawn us into their manuscript, the crowd will decide the two winners by applause.

Then the videos of the winners will be posted on FB walls of our participating literary agents Marissa Iozzi Corvisiero and Katherine Sands!

And there will be gifts for all finalists courtesy of J.A. Kazimer who is holding her book launch party immediately after.

Don’t forget that there will be door prizes that anyone can win!

Three Authors, Three Questions: February 2012

2012-02-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

This month I’m pleased to welcome Minnesota mystery author Michael Allan Mallory, Colorado author of YA novels Amy Kathleen Ryan, and Colorado mystery author and President of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Mark Stevens to Three Authors, Three Questions.

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Michael Allan Mallory is the co-author, with Marilyn Victor, of two Five Star mysteries featuring zoologist Lavender “Snake” Jones. Death Roll, the first novel in the series, is now available as an e-book.

Michael works with assorted computer technologies for an architectural and engineering firm in Minneapolis. An avid animal lover, he has volunteered at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. Killer Instinct, the newest hardcover release in this series, involves a dispute between northern Minnesota ranchers and the federally protected gray wolf.

To learn more about Michael and Marilyn and their books, visit the Snake Jones Zoo Mysteries website. Michael is on Facebook, but I don’t think we’ve lured him onto Twitter (at least, not yet).

1. Michael, how do you keep track of the traits and background information for your series protagonist and secondary characters?

For now it’s mainly from memory. I do remember a lot of details. And for things I don’t recall, electronic searches on the final manuscripts save the day. But I definitely see that as a mystery series progresses one would need to keep a notebook to have this information in one handy location.

2. How did you choose the setting(s) for your novels?

The Snake Jones novels feature wildlife, and the settings reflect that. Death Roll had to be set in Snake’s home turf, as she’s a zookeeper at the fictional Minnesota Valley Zoo. For Killer Instinct she was taken out of her comfort zone and sent to the North Woods of Minnesota. Why? This is where the wolves are. The story involves Minnesota’s large population of gray wolves. It was also a nice change from the enclosed habitats of a zoo to roam the wild expanse of Superior National Forest.

3. Where have you been most active on the Internet for promotion purposes in the past, and what will you do differently in the future?

I find the DorothyL forum the most useful as its members are writers and readers, reviewers, librarians, bloggers, booksellers and other fans of crime fiction. By discussing the works of other authors you also help promote yourself. With luck, your comments may pique the interest of some DLers to check out your books. The same goes for posting thoughtful remarks on author blogs: it gets your name out there. On the other hand, I find Facebook a mixed bag. It doesn’t necessarily generate many new readers, but it can help, and is a ‘must-do’. I have many author friends who are still trying to figure out if Facebook has any appreciable effect on book sales. But promotion is all about getting your name out there and making connections with people. What would I do differently? Nothing really. You can only do so much with your time and energy.

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Amy Kathleen Ryan is a full-time writer living in Colorado. She has studied anthropology and Spanish language, has a Masters in English literature, and an MFA in creative writing.

Glow, Amy’s most recent YA novel, is the first book in the sci fi Sky Chasers series from St. Martin’s Griffin. It was chosen by School Library Journal as one of the best books of 2011!

Amy’s website contains more information about her books. She posts articles and information at Amy’s blog and can also be found on Facebook.

1. Amy, how do you keep track of the traits and background information for your series protagonist and secondary characters?

I created a PowerPoint presentation with pictures of my characters that I chose from the Internet. The photo doesn't have to be exactly like the picture I have in my head of the person, it just needs to be the same type, to remind me. Then I write a brief description of that character in the PowerPoint presentation. When that character comes up as I'm writing, if I need a refresher about what they look like, or any biographical info, the presentation is a quick reference, right on my computer.

2. How did you choose the setting(s) for your novels?

I suppose I let the action dictate the setting. If I need a character to fall off a cliff, I create a cliff for him/ her to fall off. The setting is so integral to the story and characters that it grows as a natural consequence of the writing process.

3. Where have you been most active on the Internet for promotion purposes in the past, and what will you do differently in the future?

I have a website and a blog that I try to write for about once a week. I hired a designer for the website, and that has been where I've put most of my money for promotion. I think it's worth having something professionally done online, as it represents who you are as a writer. I also have a Facebook presence that I use to feed into my blog. A status update about a new blog post can generate up to 30 hits for me, maybe more. As far as what I'll do differently, I don't have plans to revamp my online approach right now. I'm busy enough with writing!

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Coloradoan Mark Stevens is the author of Antler Dust and Buried by the Roan, mysteries featuring Allison Coil, hunting guide. Both books are now available in print and as e-books.

Mark has been a journalist, producer of field documentaries, bartender, and now works in public relations while he writes mysteries set in Colorado. Buried by the Roan focuses on fracking (hydraulic fracturing), a controversial technique for extracting oil or natural gas from certain types of rock.

You can get to know Mark better on Facebook and on Twitter as @writerstevens He also reviews books on his blog, Don’t Need a Diagram.

1. Mark, how do you keep track of the traits and background information for your series protagonist and secondary characters?

Rely on editors? Hope for the best? I wish this was an area of strength. I’ve heard of others who use spreadsheets but I can’t imagine the discipline required. For now, I go back and check. And then I go back and check again. (And repeat.) All tips welcome. It’s not just characters and their traits for me. It’s the landscape details, too. Making sure I’m not repetitive but also accurate when I return to the same location. You don’t want houses or rivers or barns to move around on their own. Not good.

2. How did you choose the setting(s) for your novels?

The Flat Tops Wilderness in western Colorado chose me. I was on a horseback ride and watching the scenery was like drinking the best champagne you’ve ever sipped. I felt like I’d been beamed to another planet. I find the Flat Tops calming, serene. We were led by a stellar guide (who inspired the Allison Coil character). In my mind, this stunning and smart female guide and the Flat Tops were inextricably linked. I was sure I had the basis for a character. Well, two. The guide and the Flat Tops. Lucky me, two main characters. And a killer setting.

3. Where have you been most active on the Internet for promotion purposes in the past, and what will you do differently in the future?

I believe in social media. It’s the Times Square of the 21st Century and I believe every writer can decide how often he or she wants to step outside and on what basis. The quality and quantity of those connections and conversations are your choice. I participate on Facebook (a personal page and one for my main character, Allison Coil ), Twitter, LinkedIn, Goodreads. I also maintain a book review site. Here’s my take: if this doesn’t come naturally, don’t do it. If you enjoy going to conferences and bumping into random people and striking up a conversation, social media is one endless cocktail hour, but you don’t have to worry about what you’re wearing.

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Mini-interviews were conducted and compiled by Pat Stoltey. Chiseled in Rock thanks Michael Allan Mallory, Amy Kathleen Ryan, and Mark Stevens for graciously agreeing to participate in the Three Authors, Three Questions series.

Chiseled Author Karen Duvall is Interviewed!

2012-02-20T06:03:00.010-07:00

CIR: What do you feel your stories are born of?

KD: Fear and wonder. I write urban fantasy and enjoy scary stuff, and I never have nightmares. This could be why.

CIR: What one piece of advice would you offer to new writers?

KD: Balance! It's so easy to concentrate mainly on one craft direction or another without paying enough attention to all parts of the whole. Do NOT write a lopsided story. I will come after you.

CIR: What’s your favorite rock and roll song?

KD: I go weak in the knees for Nickleback. Every song they do stirs me up. Love them!

CIR: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

KD: When I was three and recited a story to my mom so she could make the letters because I didn't know how. Then I drew the pictures.

CIR: Do you also have a “day” job? Other interests or hobbies?

KD: I do. I'm a graphic designer. I don't do as much of it these days, but that's not for lack of trying. It's a tough industry and there's less call for it than there used to be, and more competition for what work there is.

CIR: What books have most influenced you?

KD: I already mentioned that Armistead Maupin is my literary hero, but I'd say the writers in my genre are the greatest influence. Clive Barker is often misunderstood as a horror author, but I've read and reread several of his brilliant fantasy novels. He has a compelling literary style that sticks with you. Neil Gaiman is fabulous and I'll read anything he writes. I used to enjoy Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series up until the ninth book, so she was a powerful influence on me for a while.

CIR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

KD: As a child, as soon as I learned how to make my letters, I got busy writing the stories that lived inside my head.

CIR: Do you like rocking chairs?

KD: I'm not a cat with a tail at risk, so yes, I do like rocking chairs. I have one in my office.

CIR: If you could time travel, when and where would you go?

KD: Not far, I can assure you. I'm rather attached to my creature comforts. I might go back to the fifties because my mom told me it was the golden age.

CIR: What do you predict for the future of the publishing industry and where you fit into that?

KD: I predict there will be more readers because technology is making it easier and more fun to read books. The ebook revolution is a boon to education, and good stories that are well written will be in demand just as they always have been. I want to be one of the authors writing those good books.

CIR: And lastly, what did you dream of doing when you were twelve years old?

KD: Oh, dear. This is embarrassing. I suppose I could lie, but… Le sigh. I wanted to be, a uh *cough* uhm… A model. There, I said it. I dreamed of wearing the latest fashions and parading them down the runway, having my picture on the cover of Seventeen Magazine, and traveling the world doing fashion shows. And of course I'd be writing stories on the plane while flying from country to country. There. Happy now? (Turns crimson and, head down and shoulders hunched, trudges out of the room)

CIR: Yes, we’re happy – happy you joined us today! Thank you again. Hope to see you back in Colorado soon!

You can learn more about Karen and her writing on her website or blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter @KarenDuvall.

by Janet Fogg

Law and Order : A Chiseled in Rock Staff Interview

2012-02-16T06:00:00.002-07:00

Over the next few months you’ll see interviews with our own Chiseled Staff, and today we’re talkin’ to Matthew Swihart, Esq. He is providing this interview in lieu of this month’s legal article. Be sure to tune in next month for a new legal article by our tame attorney.

CIR: How do you describe yourself (the top three things that come to mind)?

MS: Awesome. Stunningly good-looking. Amazingly talented. (Hey, it’s a poor dog that can’t wag his own tail.)

CIR: Please describe the path of your writing career.

MS: Meandering. I, “knowing how way leads on to way,” took Robert Frost a little too much to heart. However, I’ve never looked back, as my writing has only benefited from the maturity and depth of perspective my life experiences have wrought.

CIR: What are your current writing goals and challenges? (What are you working on?)

MS: My debut novel, “The Rings of Fate”, the first in an epic fantasy trilogy, is currently under consideration by an editor (I’ll reserve saying whom, lest I jinx it). This is directly attributable to a successful pitch session at the last RMFW Colorado Gold Conference and all the wonderful writers, agents, and editors who have helped me over the last few years. Currently, I’m approximately halfway through the second book in the trilogy. I’m also working on an urban fantasy which presents a new twist on the therianthrope theme.

CIR: What are the two toughest things about writing?

MS: Finding time to untie my muse from the tight bonds of stress, then finding more time to let her sing to me. Generally, by the time I’ve freed her, I’ve run out of time to actually write. But I’m told obtaining the winning Powerball ticket frees up a lot of the time we waste at our day jobs.

CIR: Do you prefer igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

MS: My love of Franz Kafka inclines me toward the metamorphic. My life is layered like gneiss: I have lived an amazing life, and been blessed with traveling the world and experiencing uncountable blessings and trials alike. Life must be a continual metamorphosis; if we ever stop growing and changing, we either become trapped like cooled granite, or wither away like sandstone in the wind.

CIR: How has RMFW helped you advance your career?

MS: I have been writing since I was 17 years old, but I have done so in a vacuum. I never felt a bond or connection with any writers, and was never an active part of any private critique groups for truly serious writers. All this, despite the fact that my BA is in Creative Writing. Three years ago, after deciding to relocate to Colorado from Florida, I attended the AWP conference in Denver, where I met a few RMFW members. On their recommendation, I attended the RMFW conference later that year, and was hooked. RMFW is unique in providing support, acceptance, and mentoring. As a result, I have grown more as a writer and a writing professional in the last two years than in the previous twelve.

CIR: As we know, RMFW is an all-volunteer organization. Have you or do you volunteer elsewhere in the organization?

MS: No. I hate you all.

CIR: What writers inspire you?

MS: For me, it’s less about the writer, and more about the writing and story-telling. It’s all about the story—what John Gardner describes as the “vivid and continuous fictional dream”. I want to be transported somewhere and partake in an enthralling story. I want to lose track of time. Dan Chaon is the reigning King o’ Craft—a truly masterful writer I encourage everyone to experience, especially his collection of short stories, “Among the Missing”.

CIR: What genres do you read?

MS: As with selecting writers, I have difficulty selecting a specific genre, for the same reasons. To me, genre is nothing more than an organizational tool. Like the aisles at Home Depot. In order to create something truly masterful, I must obtain tools and supplies from a multitude of sections of the store. I tend toward literary fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Gonzo journalism.
CIR: Do you ever get writer’s rock, er… block? If so how do you break through?

MS: Some writers are sculptors, constantly chiseling at the block until something beautiful emerges. Others, like me, are botanists, patiently coaxing a blooming flower from a seed and soft earth. For me, there is no such thing as true writer’s block. The story is always growing and changing—what others consider writer’s block, for me, is the roots of the story growing underground, unseen but not without affect. During these times of background development, I must either work on another part of the project, or walk away until the scene or character blossoms in my mind. For me, this makes my actual time writing more productive; but it also means I live with my stories 24-7.

CIR: What do you feel your stories are born of?

MS: Absinthe.

CIR: What one piece of advice would you offer to new writers?

MS: Learn to see all sides of an issue, and the merit in all points of view, regardless of your own. This allows you to craft truly three-dimensional characters, and not just cut-outs of yourself and those like you.

CIR: What’s your favorite rock and roll song?

MS: It’s a toss-up between Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and Kenny Rogers’ “Condition”.

CIR: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

MS: At times, I still don’t.

CIR: Do you also have a “day” job? Other interests or hobbies?

MS: By day, I work as an attorney (in other words, I’m a full-time writer, just often of boring things called “Pleadings”). I’m also a martial arts instructor. I am a 4th degree black belt in Chito-Ryu Karate, and have also earned the titles of Renshi (technical expert) and Deshi (disciple). I also have rank in Shotokan Karate and Ryu Kyu Kobudo Hozon Shin Ko Kai. In addition, I love to climb rocks, play at playing my guitar, and geek out about cars. Finally, I’m an Apologeticist for http://www.allaboutgod.com/.

CIR: What books have most influenced you?

MS: John McNally (author of a great short story collection called, “The Troublemakers”) once told me to read and re-read the classics and anything which either wins a significant prize or remains on the bestseller list for longer than two months until I understood what it was about them that made them resonate with their audience. While I’ve not lived up to this charge (Twilight Series. Really?), I’ve often been surprised at the books, short stories, and poems which have influenced me, and how they have done so. However, not to sound like That Guy, but the Book which has had the most impact on my life has been The Bible.

CIR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

MS: I have always been a storyteller, creative exaggerator, and reader. There is a famous sculpture of a samurai, though I know neither title nor sculptor. The samurai is kneeling against a rock, naginata planted in the ground behind him, katana and wakizashi sheathed on his hip. His back is straight, and his eyes are focused—on the book in his hands. The samurai were required to be more than just warriors; they were also required to be authors, poets, sculptors, or painters. To be well-rounded, to be a true man (or woman), one must be more.

CIR: Do you like rocking chairs?

MS: No.

CIR: If you could time travel, when and where would you go?

MS: Despite all the romantic and exciting depictions of the past, I find myself unwilling to go to any time or place which lacks toilet paper, q-tips, or digital music and books, or where women don’t shave the majority of their bodies. So the past is out. As a Christian, I have a sincere fear that with my luck any trip into the future would deposit me squarely in the Tribulation, so that’s out as well. So, I’ll stick with traveling back to right before the SuperBowl, and betting all my money on the Giants.

CIR: What do you predict for the future of the publishing industry and where you fit into that?

MS: “In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive, they may find,” brick-and-mortar bookstores are obsolete, just like video and music stores, as all entertainment is fully digital and on-demand. Traditional publishing will still exist, though in a far different form than any of the current models. I will fit into this future as a Neo-Modern Classic author whose works are mandatory reading in High School English classes. This is because, as stated above, this is the year 2525, so of course I’m not alive, and this is my imagined future, so there’s also a statue of me somewhere important.

CIR: And lastly, what did you dream of doing when you were twelve years old?

MS: I wanted to be the first person to set foot on Saturn (still my favorite planet). To accomplish this, I was going to be an interplanetary geologist, since at even my young age of twelve, I was pretty sure Buck Rogers needed some talent beyond shooting lasers and flirting with alien women in order to get selected to visit distant planets. In case you’re wondering, this dream never materialized into reality. Because we haven’t landed on Saturn. Yet.

Other blogs: http://www.arschristianica.blogspot.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/matthew.swihart

In Case You Missed It...

2012-02-15T06:00:00.002-07:00

Featuring Gusto Dave and his son whose name he doesn't want splashed all over the internet yet.

What's New from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers?

2012-02-14T06:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are a few of the recent and upcoming releases from members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers:

All the Old Lions
#1 of the Thea Barlow Wyoming mystery series
By Carol Caverly
Now available as an ebook $.99

"Magazine editor, Thea Barlow, goes to Wyoming to nurture the author of a manuscript she wants--the detailed history of a local 19th century bordello, Halfway Halt. She quickly becomes the focus of an irate group of townsfolk who don’t want old family secrets revealed. One of them wants nothing less than to see Thea dead."

Carol is busy getting her remaining backlist uploaded as e-books as well. For more information, visit her website.

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Mary Gillgannon announces that two more of her series novels are available as e-books.

The Dragon Bard $2.99
The Dragon Prince $2.99

You can find the rest of the story at Mary’s website.

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Curses! A F**ked-Up Fairy Tale
By J. A. Kazimer
Kensington 2/28/12
ISBN: 978-0758269126
Trade paperback $15.00
E-book $9.99

"When Cinderella is run over by a New Never City bus, her not-so-ugly stepsister, Asia, suspects murder. So she hires RJ, a private eye, to investigate. Little does she know RJ is actually a villain on mental health leave from the Villain's Union. Cursed with an inability to say no to damsels in distress, RJ travels to the Kingdom of Maldetto, meets the rest of Cinderella's family--including her fiancé, the flamboyant Prince Charming, Cinderella's crazy stepmother, and a seriously twisted version of Hansel and Gretel--and dodges bullets, explosions, fires, and his own ex-wife to slip his own version of glass handcuffs on the wrists that fit. All while falling for Asia, who has a curse of her own to deal with..."

Everything you ever wanted to know about J.A. Kazimer can be found at her website and in this recent Chiseled in Rock interview.

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Michael Madigan

"You've been here before! Standing in a line out to the parking lot, trying to buy this year's "must-have" gadget for your kid's Christmas. The experience inspired Michael Madigan to stretch the idea, and his short story has made the finals of the Labello Prize in Ireland. Winners receive cash and a spot in an anthology."

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Back to Salem
By Alex Marcoux
Bella Books 2/14/12
ISBN 978-1594933035
Paperback $15.95

"Jessie Mercer has it all—fame, fortune, and a best-selling novel being made into a major motion picture starring the alluring Taylor Andrews. When disturbing, real-life events begin mimicking the movie's plot, Jessie and Taylor find themselves drawn into a cosmic web of passion, treachery, and deception that began centuries ago! As the terror mounts, Jessie realizes she is the target and must go back—all the way back to Salem, where answers to the mystery unfold—before the evil from the past destroys her!"

"Back to Salem has been dubbed a "gender-bending thriller" and is a Lambda Literary Award Finalist for best lesbian mystery." Alex’s website and blog have lots more information about her and her books.

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The Woman Who Loved Jesse James
By Cindi Myers
Belle Bridge Books 1/15/12
ISBN: 978-1611940824
Trade Paperback $14.95

"Zee Mimms was just nineteen in 1864—the daughter of a stern Methodist minister in Missouri—when she fell in love with the handsome, dashing, and already notorious Jesse. He was barely more than a teenager himself, yet had ridden with William Quantrill’s raiders during the Civil War.

'You’ll marry a handsome young man,' a palm reader had told her. 'A man who will make you the envy of many. But . . . there will be hard times.'

Zee and Jesse’s marriage proved the palmist right. Jesse was a dangerous puzzle: a loving husband and father who kept his “work” separate from his family, though Zee heard the lurid rumors of his career as a bank robber and worse. Still, she never gave up on him. And he earned her love, time and again."

Learn more about Cindi and her books at her website.

This list was compiled by Pat Stoltey

Speaking of Public Speaking

2012-02-13T06:03:00.007-07:00

by Janet Fogg

In my recent Book Marketing Inventory series I mentioned that writers might want to hone their public speaking skills. This comment likely sent waves of horror through many a reclusive writer.

The fear of public speaking. Glossophobia. Unless you’re a natural orator, politician, teacher, or well-practiced from your “day job,” the thought of speaking in front of a group can create fear and anxiety. Early in my “day job” career I tackled public speaking, and while I still get hit with a thorough case of dry mouth before an event, my heart no longer palpitates nor do my hands shake.

A number of lessons learned have stayed with me from the Dale Carnegie classes I attended, the primary being practice, practice, practice. This means retreating to the basement or some other silent haven to practice your speech out loud. Over and over again. Trust me, if your speech is important to you, this repeated practice is equally important. The point isn’t to memorize what you’ll be saying, but rather to wrap your lips and tongue around the words and concepts so you feel more at ease, so you know your material and don’t have to “read” your speech, which bores an audience.

Oh, and since I mentioned that terrifying audience, remember, they’re on your side. They want you to succeed! They’ve attended your event to be educated and entertained.

You’ll also find that the more often you speak in front of a group the easier it becomes. In fact, back in the dark ages when I had to speak publically at least weekly, I rarely even blinked. Just part of the job.

But if you haven’t had the opportunity to orate, and you’re looking forward to book signings, speaking at conferences, and accepting countless writing awards (I hope we’re all looking forward to that!), then you might want to consider a class on public speaking. Two options are Dale Carnegie and Toastmasters, though there are many other choices.

One of Dale Carnegie’s mottos is “Act enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic,” and there’s a great deal of truth to that in many aspects of life, including public speaking. If we combine that with the Scout’s motto of “Be prepared,” now might just be the time to de-gloss that glossophobia!

Ahem... Is that an adjustable mike?

Meet the Reader : Chrissy

2012-02-09T06:05:00.002-07:00

By the ever opinionated E.C. Stacy

Today, on a YA edition of Meet the Reader, Chrissy gives us writers a good dose of what's booming in that genre and why. She even tutors in reading!

CIR: I notice that you haven’t rated Marlene Perez’s titles very highly. What drew you to read more of them?

CD: The reason I never really rated them high was because I felt the story was a bit short and I never really got a chance to get into the book and learn about the characters as well as I would have liked to. The reasons why I kept reading them were because I didn’t really get to broaden my view of books and authors until I got onto Goodreads. This is where I learned about a lot of other books and authors in the genres I liked and expanded my library as well. I also hoped that as I continued to read the series I would get more into it and enjoy them better, but after I felt like I could predicate the story line, but I just couldn’t pass up and new book with a mystery.

CIR: This question is kind of the same except for the Twilight titles. You gave the first of the series high marks, but not so much on the others. What made you read more?

CD: I really liked the first books of the series but the last couple of books I felt like they were very redundant and kind of gave me un-necessary information. Also everyone was reading this series and many people who knew I liked to read told me to give the series a shot. But the main reason I wanted to finish the whole series was because I didn’t want to stop in the middle of the series I thought that if I started I might as will finish. I mean why stop in the middle of an adventure?

CIR: You have a category on your Goodreads profile called Because-of-school. I’m guessing these were assigned readings. Looks like you were impressed with most of them. Does that inspire you to boast about classic literature?

CD: I really liked these books and honestly I would have never read them if it was not for my teachers assigning them. I do judge a book but its cover I usually would never go for older books, but I've been training myself to try and read everything because you just never know what lies within those pages. Also my dad has read a lot of the classics and has to told me to give them a shot, he really enjoyed them as a youth and thinks I would as well. It does make me want to boast about classics, at school I tell the younger grades when I tutor them how I enjoyed the book and how they will as well, if they give the book a chance. I really would like to read other classic, because they teach you lessons that newer books I feel don’t. And well, classic literature is just timeless.

CIR: From one of the covers, Pretty Little Devils looks kind of like a cute romance, but it’s a scary/creepy mystery and you marked it as a favorite. You’ll have to forgive my age on this question since I graduated high school in the eighties, but are evil teenagers a popular genre?

CD: I think evil teenagers are a popular genre especially now when many books are being turned into TV shows. For example Pretty Little Liars is kind of the same things as the book Pretty Little Devils, and many of my friends and kids from school do watch the show, including me. Teen books will always be a popular genre, because many teens find this a way to compared and related themselves with the characters, or to escape from reality of there life. I've read a couple of books just like this one and it does fascinate me. I like the way an author can put many elements in one book.

CIR: What author would you like to meet?

CD: I have two authors I would love to meet because I'm in love with their books. But the author that started my love for books and their series would have to be Sophie Kinsella. I love her witty style of writing and her great characters. I became introduced to this author by my cousin and every since then I've loved all of her work. I own some of her books which I've read over 6 times because I never get books of the way she tells a story and takes me on an adventure through her humorous, girly and witty characters.

CIR: To a writer who has not read any YA, what title would you recommend for them to read to get a good start on that genre?

CD: One of my favorite series in YA had to be the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I would recommend this as a start because I loved the style of writing and her ability to take the reader to another world. From the romance, to the thrills, this set of books has it all. You would honestly go through a whirl wind of emotions for the characters and instantly fall in love with them.

Thanks Chrissy! Follow Chrissy's blog at http://inthelifeofchristinar.blogspot.com/

Literary Agent AND Executive Editor Gina Panettieri

2012-02-08T06:08:00.001-07:00

Founded in 2003, Talcott Notch Literary is a rapidly-growing boutique agency representing the freshest new voices in both fiction and nonfiction. Their President and Executive Editor, Gina Panettieri has expertise in every aspect of writing and publishing and has helped thousands of writers achieve their goals. She has successfully placed hundreds of books with such well-known publishers as Berkley , St. Martin 's Press, Adams Media, Palgrave-Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons and many others.

CIR: Where did the name Talcott Notch come from? It’s unique.

GP: Talcott Mountain is located in Connecticut, and Talcott Notch (on the mountain) is where my original office was located. The views are phenomenal for this area of New England, though probably nothing to compare with what you get in the Rocky Mountains!

CIR: How did you get into this business?

GP: I came in a different route than many agents. I was originally a writer with my own agent, but as more and more unagented writers who knew me from critique groups or organizations began to ask me to assist them with their contracts or to help them in finding a publisher, my role as agent took form rather organically. I suppose you could say it chose me rather than the other way around! Finally one day a rather prominent author sort of shook me and said 'Hey, all this work you're doing, that's a job, you know!' A short time after, I made it official.

CIR: You’re a classic film buff! Incidentally, I saw Casablanca for the first time over the holidays and was blown away. They just don’t make a lot of movies like that, especially today which leads me to this question. Do you think fiction in general is losing the ability to be innovative?

GP: I adore classic movies, and old-time radio shows like Suspense and The Whistler, as well. I think that those films and radio dramas, like Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre radio theatre and films, were innovative but reflective of the times. Citizen Kane was inspired by a major publishing figure of the period. Our fiction now is reflective of our times, but you would easily find its parallels in earlier periods. Isn't there a resurgence in interest in 'pulp' fiction, and a new appreciation for genres that 70 or 80 years ago were considered purely commercial? Now I see books written in the form of text messages, which is clearly taking fiction into a new era of language and communication. And we have books written from dogs' point-of-view, like THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein. No, we're not losing anything in terms of innovation.

CIR: Talcott Notch represents an impressive balance of non-fiction and fiction. Is this by design? I don’t think I’ve seen such dedication to both sides in many other agencies.

GP: Yes and no. It does work to help insure against market fluctuations. But it also happens I love everything. That might be a weakness. My husband gets annoyed because I can turn on the television and whatever is on, I can become instantly fascinated in. It could be The History of Salt and I'll be wrestling for the remote, demanding he leave it on. I was watching C-Span last night fighting sleep to learn about whether the Brookings Institute thinks we should cut the number of large flat-deck carriers in the Mediterrean to 10. Hubby's learned to work that in his favor but tuning it to UFC or ShoBox before hitting the power button. The same thing happens with manuscripts. I'm discerning about quality, but I'm an omnivore when it comes to subject matter. Teach me something I can't learn anywhere else and I'll be hooked. Tell me a story I haven't heard before. Introduce me to characters I'll find fascinating, even if they're not nice. But be authentic and be accurate. I'll know when you're not since I have an amazing array of experts in my little bag of tricks.

CIR: And we always have to ask a bizarre question. Would you write if you lived in the 18th century and could only use a quill?

GP: Yes, but I'd write laws. We needed to get out of the blocks a bit faster. I'd probably also write inflammatory political tracks and get myself hanged. Wait a minute, maybe.... no, I'd still do it. I can't keep my mouth shut now and wouldn't have been able to then. That's why I'm an author's advocate.

Thanks, Gina! Rock readers are invited to leave comments. Learn more about Talcott Notch Literary Agency at http://www.talcottnotch.net/

Interview conducted by Gusto Dave Jackson

Ten Things About Writing Most Writers Don't Love

2012-02-07T06:00:00.002-07:00

by Pat Stoltey, who loves writing most of the time:

1. Writing takes an enormous amount of time with no guarantee of success. The best advice a writer receives is “Don’t give up your day job.”

2. In order to get published, a writer must write a whole book, revise it multiple times, self-edit the final draft until it shines, then make another round of revisions and editing changes (or two) to satisfy an agent and/or editor.

3. Finding an agent and/or publisher could take years because the competition is fierce, the submission process is cumbersome, and writers are prone to procrastination.

4. Many agents and editors don’t send confirmations when they receive a query or partial, and many don’t send rejection notices. They employ other torture devices as well: offering pitch sessions and slush pile critiques at conferences, taking submissions only on referrals, or conducting public floggings (often called critiques) on their blogs.

5. Once a contract is signed with a traditional publisher, it can still take eighteen months or more for the book to be released (assuming the publisher doesn’t go out of business before the release date, opening the whole new problem of getting your rights back).

6. Self-publishing gets a book published faster, but there are additional expenses involved and the amount of time required for book promotion is even greater. You still won’t be able to quit your day job.

7. The publishing and bookselling industries are changing so fast it takes hours of reading to keep up. Hours of time you don’t have, by the way.

8. Non-writers think all writers make a lot of money. This one always cracks me up.

9. Most writers don’t make a lot of money. Many writers spend more money on editors, supplies, organization dues and conferences, and book promotion than they make in advances and royalties.

10. If a writer gets lucky and produces a bestseller, he will be inundated with requests for free books, blurbs, whole manuscript critiques, public appearances, blog posts, interviews, and money. Success at last?

Chiseled Author j.a. kazimer is Interviewed!

2012-02-06T06:03:00.001-07:00

By Janet Fogg

We’ve been asked, so today we’re offering answers to questions such as: Chiseled Staff? Are they really that chiseled? Are they completely off their Rockers? And what do they do behind that closed door?!

Over the next few months you’ll see interviews with our own Chiseled Staff, and today we’re talking to j.a. kazimer.

With a master’s degree in forensic psychology, j.a. has worked as a PI, bartender, and at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Books include The Junkie Tales (Obscure Publishing, 2010), Stolen Kidneys, Dead Hookers & Other Nursery Crimes (Obscure Publishing, 2010), and The Body Dwellers (Solstice Publishing, 2011).

Forthcoming books include CURSES! A F***ed-Up Fairy Tale (Kensington, March 2012, with the second book in her Fairy Tale series scheduled for 2013), and Holy Socks and Dirtier Demons (Champagne Books, April 2012).

CIR: j.a., thank you for joining us today! How do you describe yourself (the top three things that come to mind)?

j.a.: Writerly nerd with delusions of grandeur and a cat.

CIR: Please describe the path of your writing career.

j.a.: I started writing in 2001, nine years, seven manuscripts, an agent, and over 1,000 rejections later, I landed my first big publishing contract with Kensington for the F***ed-Up Fairy Tale series.

CIR: What are your current writing goals and challenges? (What are you working on?)

j.a.: Keeping sane with my first big book release on March 1st. There is so much self-promotion to do that I’m finding it hard to write new stuff.

CIR: What are the two toughest things about writing?

j.a.: Writing and writing...oh and spelling, that’s a bitch at times...

CIR: Do you prefer igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

j.a.: I’m a fan of shale. Not sure where that falls in, but I like a rock that I can use as a chalkboard.

CIR: How has RMFW helped you advance your career?

j.a.: Other than being the very reason I got a book deal (met my editor at the 2010 Colorado Gold Conference, where he requested the full manuscript and we signed a deal less than a month later) I’ve met so many excellent writers and now friends, I can’t begin to say how much I love RMFW. In fact, if you buy CURSES! you’ll see that I’ve made a special mention of RMFW and its wealth of talent.

CIR: As we know, RMFW is an all-volunteer organization. Have you or do you volunteer elsewhere in the organization?

j.a.: I volunteered as well as taught at the 2011 conference. I hope to do so again this year.

CIR: What writers inspire you?

j.a.: Christopher Moore is the big one, but I also love Tim Dorsey, Mario Acevedo, Jeanne C. Stein, Cindi Myers, Jennifer Crusie, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Oh, I could go on all day.

CIR: What genres do you read?

j.a.: Mystery, romance, urban fantasy, biography, thrillers. More to the point, I read anything with a fancy cover.

CIR: Do you ever get writer’s rock, er… block? If so how do you break through?

j.a.: Why would you curse me like that?

CIR: What do you feel your stories are born of?

j.a.: The need to answer a question. For example, CURSES! A F***ed-Up Fairy Tale was born of the question, What if being a villain was merely your job instead of a way of life?

CIR: What one piece of advice would you offer to new writers?

j.a.: Read. Write. Try again. Very few of us sell our first manuscript.

CIR: What’s your favorite rock and roll song?

j.a.: Oh, the pressure.... Let’s go with...Lou Reed’s Ecstasy...oh wait, hope about Jim Bianco’s I’ve Got a Thing For You...But then again, I do love the song La Vie Boheme off the musical RENT’s soundtrack...I’m also a sucker for Jesse’s Girl...Damn, why would you do this to me? I have a deadline to meet... Okay, final answer....

CIR: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

j.a.: Two days ago, but I’ve since revised my opinion.

CIR: Do you still have a “day” job? Other interests or hobbies?

j.a.: Since my cat and I like to eat, yes, I have a day job at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics...yeah, you should see my business card.

CIR: What books have most influenced you?

j.a.: Where the Sidewalk Ends. I still pray each night for the Lord to break my toys so none of the other kids can play with them.

CIR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

j.a.: After 9/11, I couldn’t emotionally process what was happening, so I started to jot down notes filled with statics, which then morphed into stories of survivors. Now I write f***ed-up fairy tales. I think I’ve come full circle.

CIR: Do you like rocking chairs?

j.a.: The rockier the better.

CIR: If you could time travel, when and where would you go?

j.a.: Not the holocaust or the assassination of JFK. I selfishly (and guiltily) would travel seventy-five years into the future to check to see if I was right about Larry King being a cyborg. I’m betting I am.

CIR: What do you predict for the future of the publishing industry and where you fit into that?

j.a.: I think writers need to keep their options open right now. Don’t jump ship too quickly for indie publishing, and don’t sign a traditional book deal without considering the e-book ramifications. I am happy to be firmly in both worlds, in that I have e-published stories and a short story collection, and am traditionally published with international distribution.

The foolish writer is one who sees publishing through only one model.

CIR: And lastly, what did you dream of when you were twelve years old?

j.a.: To grow boobs. Seriously, the women in my family are...well-endowed and I get these? WTF?

CIR: Thank you for joining us today, j.a.!

You can learn more about j.a. and her writing at http://www.jakazimer.com/, or by visiting her blogs: http://thenewnevernews.blogspot.com/ and http://jakazimer.blogspot.com/. She’s on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jakazimer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jakazimer.

BOOK SIGNING: j.a. and Cindi Myers will be signing books at 3 P.M. March 3, 2012 at the Broadway Book Mall, 200 S. Broadway, Denver, CO.

CURSES! A F***ed-Up Fairy Tale is definitely not for baby’s bedtime reading, this hilarious and irreverent take on classic fairy tales—think Shrek for grownups—combines humor, mystery, and characters only a fairy godmother could love…

Interview with Agent Sharon Belcastro

2012-02-02T07:00:00.004-07:00

Interview with Agent Sharon Belcastro
by j.a. kazimer

It is my pleasure to interview my agent, Sharon Belcastro of the Belcastro Agency for the Chiseled in Rock Blog. Sharon's been my agent for over four years, and I cannot say enough good stuff about her, but I'll let you read for yourself.

JK: Welcome Sharon. Thank you for taking time to answer a few questions for us. First off, can you tell our readers what genres you accept and what sort of thing you're currently looking for?

SB: Thank you Julie. I am so humbled by your kind words and your interest to interview me because I’m really not that interesting. Ha ha. We accept fantasy, all things paranormal, historical fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, YA, crime, thriller and suspense, true crime and crime fiction. We aren’t so crazy about chick lit, erotica or straight romance. Right now we are looking for that novel that is unique and addictive regardless of genre. One that grabs us from the first chapter. You know like, "Opening my good eye, I tried to focus, something I regretted immediately. Ivan wasn’t wearing pants, or underwear, or skin for that matter. He stood in front of me in full muscle, veined, and skinless splendor. 'Laundry day?' I gestured to his sagging pectorals." (from The Body Dwellers by me. I told you that Sharon rocks!).

JK: How did you get started in the publishing/agent business?

SB: I’ve always been a geeky book worm. While all the other kids in the neighborhood were playing kick the can, I was sitting on the steps reading a book. But it took me a lot of years to realize I could actually do something with that passion. After a degree in engineering, a master’s in business and 20 years in corporate America, I decided I wanted to really LOVE my job rather than just make a good living. So I took all that I had learned from the business side, took a year studying the publishing business, brought on the talent I needed from the writing side in my partner Ella Marie and launched Belcastro Agency.

JK: How many queries do you receive in an average week? From those, how many requests do you make?

SB: We receive about 50 queries per week and may request 2-3 full manuscripts although we only sign 1 in several hundred manuscripts.

JK: What unique features make you sign a client/manuscript?

SB: A really unique voice and concept and a writer that is not completely head over heels in love with themselves.

JK: What is the most important thing a writer can do for their career?

SB: When it comes to writing, read-read-read. After being published, get your name out there through every outlet applicable. Find all the Facebook pages and communities that relate to your genre and get engaged. Share your advice, experience, expertise, articles you find helpful, everywhere and anywhere you can. Of course mentioning your book as often as you can without being too obnoxious about it.

JK: (CURSES! CURSES! CURSES! CURSES! CURSES! CURSES! CURSES! CURSES! CURSES!) Oops, sorry about that...

JK: What are your current favorite books?

SB: Besides those from our beloved authors of course, I’m tending toward the quirky or the literary these days. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein, anything Christopher Moore, Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, Water for Elephants, The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S King, Henrietta Hornbuckle's Circus of Life by Michael de Guzman and currently reading The Midget's House (A Circus Story...A Love Story...A Ghost Story) by Anita Bartholomew. I could go on for hours. And I just noticed there seems to be a circus theme running through my list. Hmmmmm.

JK: Thoughts on E/Indie Publishing? Will it eat all of publishing as we know it?

SB: Given the way of movie and music stores, I’d say it’s really going to put up one heck of a fight if it doesn’t.

JK: And finally, what advice do you have for new writers?

SB: Read, read, read. Learn what agents and editors are looking for and not looking for in terms of writing. Ask for and take criticism well. And finally, don’t start your query letter with, “I’m giving you two weeks to read my future best selling novel…………”

Thank you, Sharon, for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us
Thank you girl. Love you loads!
.
If you are interested in learning more about or the guidelines for submission at the Belcastro Agency, please visit http://www.belcastroagency.com/

Author Takes The Long Way Home

2012-02-01T05:59:00.004-07:00

Tamela Buhrke begs forgiveness for a moment of poetic indulgence

In the beginning, was the words...

Creative. Euphoric.

Honey drizzled across your mind.

Passion. Conviction.

Path to Publication.

Words become pursuit.

Classes and courses.

Critique groups. Betas.

Black holes in my plot?

Character flaws.

Query. Synopsis?

Pitch! Knees knocking.

Self publish. . .

Edit. Format. Submit.

eBook. Voila!

I am published!

Market. Market. Market.

Blog. Tweet? Chirp. Squawk.

The next book?

Heart types. Brain sells out.

Write. Market. Blog. Write. Edit.

Red pens. Blog Reviews.

Don’t stop now. So close.

Can’t hear myself between my thinking.

Tripping. Flailing. Crash.

Breathe.

Cup of tea.

Window.

Cat.

Words float. Words dance.

My words.

An Informal Education by Joanne Kennedy

2012-01-31T06:00:00.003-07:00

This article was originally published in the January 2012 Rocky Mountain Writer, the official newletter of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.

I have a confession to make: I don’t have a college degree. My misspent youth was spent collecting the many experiences that have fed my fiction, but I was never focused enough to spend much time in the classroom.

Part of the problem was that colleges didn’t seem to teach what I needed to know. I wanted to write, but I didn’t have a talent for poetry or short stories. I didn’t have anything profound to say, no matter how well they taught me to say it.

So I veered off the beaten path and cobbled together my own course of study. I don’t have a degree to show for it, and I never got to toss a mortarboard in the air and declare myself done. But it was fun, and I didn’t end up wrangling a crippling load of college loans.

I don’t recommend skipping school. When you’re a writer, every experience counts, and I’m sorry I missed that one. But once you’ve laid the groundwork and gotten your degree, you’ll still need to take a crash course in writing popular fiction. Here are ten easy steps that worked for me.

Read. This is the fun part. Read books you love, in your genre and others. Study story structure and character development. Watch what makes you turn pages, and what makes you turn away. If you read enough, storytelling will be second nature and the rhythms of prose as natural as breathing.

Write. Focus and determination matter as much as talent in this business, so write a whole book, start to finish. Don’t obsess over the first few pages and stall your career before it even starts. You need to learn storytelling as well as style, so get the plot on paper and then make it pretty. And then write another one. And another.

Connect. Find people who share your passion. The support, knowledge, and friendship of your peers will last a lifetime. Writing conferences offer opportunities to meet other writers and learn from the best in the business. They’re one of the few building blocks in this education that will cost you real money, but the benefits are huge.

Critique. Find a writing group that fits you—one that offers constructive criticism and sends you home energized and ready to write. If you feel down and defeated at the end of the session, you’re hanging out with the wrong writers.

Synopsize. I’ve learned a lot about writing from crafting synopses and query letters. Putting your story into a marketable framework may send you back to the revision process as it reveals the weaknesses in your story, but you’ll have a better product when you’re done.

Submit. I believe in submitting to agents before you risk rejection from editors. It always helps to have another pro on your team, and since agents don’t get paid until they sell your work, it’s a win-win proposition.

Endure. Got a thick skin? Good. Rejections are a part of the process. I received over 90 before I was published. A rejection doesn’t mean your work isn’t good enough; it just means an agent isn’t willing to stake her career on it. How many books have you read that you would risk your livelihood for? Keep trying.

Listen. Editors and agents have been my best teachers, showing me how to take a good story and make it glow. You don’t have to slavishly follow every one of their whims—it’s your book, and most of them respect that. But don’t ever discount their advice.

Read some more. If you’re having trouble breaking into the market, read novels in your genre and then check out customer comments on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well as professional reviews. By learning what readers like and dislike, you’ll find the flaws that are holding you back.

Enjoy. Whether or not your writing education pays off in the traditional sense, I guarantee that thinking like a writer will make every experience in life richer and more meaningful. It’s a writer’s job to observe and record—and that means paying attention to the world around us, being conscious of meaning and connection, and finding the magic in the everyday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joanne Kennedy is the author of contemporary Western novels with ranch settings. Her most recent book release is Tall, Dark and Cowboy. Cowboy Crazy and Cowboy Tough are coming soon. She hangs out on Facebook, too, so drop by and say hi.

Book Marketing Inventory – Part 4 of 4

2012-01-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

By Janet Fogg

Whew!

Today is the fourth and final installment of developing your book marketing inventory (let’s say it together – “Thank goodness!”) We’ve looked at the basics, such as social networking, your bio, website, and a one-page book summary, and then we started to review questions you could answer to develop your text and document inventory, which, along with all of the research we’ve discussed, will translate directly into a solid start for your marketing plan. But first we need to review a few more questions and then consider some odds and ends.

1. Do you know of any facts or unique selling points for your book which could be used to demonstrate its importance and relevance to the present time, i.e. anniversaries, celebrations, topical news related stories?

What’s in the news and does it happen to be a part of your book? A Presidential campaign? Fracking? Earthquakes? What’s relevant? If you do have something timely, use that information when you query newspapers or magazines about writing an article. Think about whether you would you be willing to discuss your research on the radio.

2. Prepare a list of organizations for potential speaking events, signings, etc., including book clubs.

Again, think outside that dratted square box. For example, our neighbor invited us to speak at the local Experimental Aircraft Association meeting, but we were skeptical - our book is about WWII. Yet pilots love to hear about and discuss flying, and we had a rapt crowd who enjoyed our presentation. (Thank you again, Paul.)

By the way, if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of actually speaking in front of an audience, now would also be the time to sign up for a public-speaking course! Don’t shudder, it will serve you well.

3. Create a list of nearby towns and then a sub-list of local papers, bookstores, radio and TV stations, libraries & Friends of the Library, and library associations.

You’ll probably be sending press releases to some or all of these folks, so get organized. As for radio and TV, can you say, “public speaking is my friend?” If not, as I mentioned above, get signed up for that class!

4. List any interviews (television, radio, print) you’ve done in the past two years and have copies of those interviews on hand. Include dates and contact details.

These are handy as you might mention a previous interview in a new query, and you could also contact the person who interviewed you to see if they might be interested in your new book and a new interview.

5. Prepare a short 300–500 word “article” about your new book. If you’ve been published before, include your other books. Local papers will often pick up these articles as might a number of ezines. Make sure to sign all your articles with your name, website and publisher contact info.

6. Odds and Ends (Other items to consider or research):

a. Do you want a book trailer? Or video interview?

b. How about a PowerPoint presentation so you’re ready for future speaking engagements?

c. Webwork: There are numerous sites where your bio and/or book or book trailer may be posted along with a link to your website or blog. (In some cases your book has to be traditionally published.) Here are just a few examples – you can find more!

Manicreaders
Goodreads
Authorsden
Shelfari
And don’t forget your author page on Amazon!

d. Should you develop a Facebook fan page for yourself? How about a page for your book?

e. Are you considering a blog tour? If so, start a list of pertinent sites and contact the blog owners so you can schedule your tour.

f. Awards: There are a number of awards for recently published books, and having your writing honored not only feels great it creates extra publicity. The awards I’m aware of are annual events and your book has to have been published within that calendar year to be eligible. A few examples include the Rita and Golden Heart Awards, HOLT Medallion, Edgar, and the Colorado Book Awards. There are many, many more for various genres, and you'll need to research submittal criteria and deadlines.

And now to summarize, over the past four weeks we’ve looked at everything from the basics, such as social networking, your bio, website, and a one-page book summary, to questions you can answer to develop your text and document inventory, which, along with all of the research, translates directly into your marketing plan.

A marketing plan!

Just think, your text will have been massaged and spiffed, you’ll know who you want to contact and how to contact them so those press releases and interview queries will simply fly off your computer. Plus, when you are interviewed, by having already drafted answers to questions similar to those you’ll be asked, your responses will have been embedded in your brain. You’ll appear cool, calm, and collected. Okay, maybe you’ll be nervous but you’ll also be prepared – and able to speak confidently about yourself and your book.

Oh, and a couple of final thoughts… Remember to plan your book signings and launch party! Celebrate!

Famous Rocks

2012-01-27T16:22:00.003-07:00

It's smooth. It's creamy, charming you with oh so crunchy almonds and dreamy marshmallows. And the chocolate renders you weak in the knees. Rocky road ice cream has earned its trophy in gourmet fame.

Just like Chiseled in Rock is rapidly becoming one of the most famous blogs for writers!

Meet the Reader: Danna

2012-01-26T06:00:00.001-07:00

By the ever opinionated E.C. Stacy.

I like one word names. Our guest for Meet the Reader today prefers to go by one name. Danna is a voracious reader with candid opinions. If you think E books are all the rage, check out Danna’s two cents about them.

CIR: According to your rating system, a four star has beautiful imperfections that prove to be perfections. I love that philosophy. Care to suggest a favorite book that shows this?

D: Books are like humans and we all are not perfect. If we were – if books were – there would be nothing special about us, so imperfections are the only thing that keeps (or make) us who we really are, helps us develop our own identity and individuality. The same applies to books.

I know every book has an imperfection, and Flowers in the Attic and The Blue Lagoon prove it: two couples who practically grew up together are struggling to survive: one on an isolated island and the other in a locked room. They have no one else to hold on to but themselves. So, at some point, nature works its magic and they do it. I know many people banned these books because of these scenes, but I see those as perfections –Richard and Em, Chris and Cathy – trapped in an imperfect world. I mean, this is the way things are supposed to be from the very beginning, natural and perfect…. LOL I know, it's complicated. (- :

CIR: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is one of my favorite novels and I noticed you gave it top ratings. I wish that every author could tell an epic tale and teach something as complex as cathedral building in his or her writing with such finesse. Do you think Follett’s mastery for writing exceptional thrillers early in his career gave him the ability to hook his readers into Pillars of the Earth?

D: In fact, I am not familiar with any of his mystery novels, although I know they're considered at a very high level, so his style must have captured the readers. Judging from his historical-fiction pieces, he can sure write everything and fascinate his readers under any circumstances!

CIR: Who was your favorite character in Pillars?

Now we're talking! I think it was Aliena. I am very connected to female characters because of three reasons:

a) I am a big believer in feminism and girl power and a strong heroine makes a books a million times better! Aliena is amazing, as a woman and much beyond: she had guts and has been through a cruel rape, hunger and a drastic, sudden change in her political, social and economic status all at once;

b) She still survived, physically and mentally, and managed to be successful on her own (with the wool business) – that's a real hero;

c) All through the story she is mainly accompanied by her brother Richard, and Follett strongly highlighted differences between them, which reflects her unbelievable personality: as strong and capable as her brother could only dream of being;

d) I am a female and am very proud of her!

CIR: In your opinion, what makes fantasy fans keep reading that genre?

D: It might be some sort of taking a break from reality when you feel like unwinding. Some do that with a bubble bath or something and others choose to dive deep into a world they could never reach but in their imagination.

CIR: You gave high marks to La Princesa Prometida (The Princess Bride) by William Goldman. I, too, love Goldman’s works. He uses the elements of classic story telling but puts such original twists in them that Hollywood couldn’t resist adapting several of his novels for film. What part of The Princess Bride won you over?

D: Look, this is one of the best adventures books ever written, in my opinion: classic piece of pure joy! My favorite part would be when they describe the pasts of Fezzik, Inigo and Vizzini… And when Buttercup and Westley enter the Fire Swamp!

CIR: Do you prefer printed or E books?

D: I happen to have quite a theory about that. Well, e-books are part of what has been called lately 'the digital age', which we apparently are in right now. 'Digital age' is simply when we all use technology, such as computers, phones, televisions and see this as a main part of our lives. This, combining with the fact that not many people today read as they did in the past, proves that books, sadly, probably belongs to the past.

Well, I suppose there are two sides to every story, eventually - on the one hand - e-books seem to blend in quite well among the technology we all use on a daily basis. On the other hand, books have souls. Computers don't. Books are written with passion and love and reflect whole lives - not only fictional. It has a meaning. It has the writer's personality, and in a paper book you can literally feel it. This is the beauty of a book, if not to consider the story in it. I love books. I love it that every book old and new, big and small, has its own smell and feeling. Books are personal. To me, turning books to something completely different than what it feels is sort of like underestimating its value, in a way. I like to think that there is nothing more human than a good book.

I would love to end with a nice quote (: I LOVE quotes!

“Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul.”

Think of books while reading it… You'll see what I mean.

CIR: Thank you, Danna!

My Agent Is My Publisher?

2012-01-25T06:00:00.004-07:00

If you haven’t heard about the latest trend in publishing your response to my title was probably similar to mine when I discovered these new hybrid publishers. I very intelligently said: Whuh? Literary agency publishing houses? Are they nuts?

Just typing my title made me glance around to see if I’d accidentally fallen into a parallel universe. Nope. Still here. Living in a world where the publishing industry is breaking down and reforming itself like the fractals in a kaleidoscope.

I have to admit, after the initial shock, a literary agency publishing house becomes an intriguing idea. I mean, who would know if a book is good enough to epublish, but the discerning eye of an agent? And a lot of literary agencies have large social networking and marketing platforms where they can market the book.

The idea could have merit.

However, you might wonder how your agent—the person is supposed to represent you in your negotiations with you publisher—can represent you effectively when they are your publisher?

Hmm.... Good question.

Not a lot of answers—yet.

Let’s face it. The publishing industry is changing so fast that most organizations are making up rules as they go. Right now, each of these hybrid agency/publishers has their own epublishing rules and regulations. And no one is monitoring them.

So let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks to this arrangement.

Benefits

ePublishing Your Backlist

It all started as a way for agents to publish their client’s backlist. I mean, how great is that? The author already has a following of readers, so any books that were not under contract were just sitting there gathering dust when they could be selling at the lovely 70% royalty levels on Amazon.

It was a natural instinct of the agency to help their clients and themselves to earn additional revenue by e-publishing any books that were out of print and out of contract. They have the skill to do it for their clients. The clients starts earning revenue on what was essentially a dead book. Win-Win.

New Authors Experience A Publishing Wasteland

Agents have been grumbling a lot lately. They represent too many great manuscripts that are going unsold. The big houses just aren’t picking up new authors in the same numbers as in the past. So, after they’ve exhausted the traditional publishing route, some agencies are backing their authors by epublishing them.

What’s not to love? A new author gets some traction on their career. The agency gets to build them up and make them ready for traditional publishing. They might even teach the author a thing or two about book marketing.

So far, it's a love fest. Except for a few unsightly details....

The Drawbacks

There’s only one drawback that I can think of, but it’s a doozy. Who represents you?

I’m not saying that your agency is doing anything wrong. They probably have the best of intentions. However, no one is really representing you in this transaction. It’s a conflict of interest for them to be your agent and your publisher. So no matter how much you love your agent and how excited you are about being published, you need to tread carefully.

Options for Covering Those Pretty Assets of Yours

This agency/publisher hybrid might be a great way to launch your writing career in a tough publishing environment, but don’t let it go to your head. Take your time deciding. Do your research. Here are a few things you'll want to consider:

There are other epublishing companies. And you can epublish yourself. So look around at other ebook publishing companies. Contact them to see what they have to offer in comparison. I bet they’ll have no problem making you an offer once they know your agent wants to publish you.

Compare what else these companies have to offer, beyond royalty rates. Do they have a marketing system for you? Are they willing to promote you? Do they provide cover design and layout? What kinds of rights will they have and for how long? Are there any other terms you need to consider?

Nail down the issues of tracking the sales and percentages. Are the royalties a percentage of the gross or the net? If net, then what is included in the net expenses?

Define what this means for your future books. Will your agency represent you in future books that you want to get traditionally published? How does this publishing contract effect the rights of your books if you get picked up by a publisher later? Think long term as you explore your options.

Ahem. Royalties. We all know writers are shy and just super excited to get any kind of publishing deal, but this is your livelihood we are talking about, so don’t be afraid to negotiate. Find out what other epublishing companies are offering, then use that information to negotiate to get what you want.

Finally, memorize this phrase: All contracts must be looked over by a contract lawyer before you sign anything.

These new hybrids might be a wonderful opportunity for an author or it could be a nightmare. Success or failure will depend on the agency and your own good sense.

Acquisitions Editor Terri Bischoff Interviewed at Chiseled in Rock

2012-01-24T06:00:00.005-07:00

Interview conducted via e-mail by Pat Stoltey

Terri Bischoff owned a mystery bookstore for several years, but now she’s the acquisitions editor for Midnight Ink, publisher of crime fiction in almost all its forms. Several Colorado authors have been signed by Terri—Shannon Baker, Beth Groundwater, Linda Hull and Cricket McRae—and Terri also joined us at the 2011 Colorado Gold Conference where she took pitches from hopeful authors.

We welcome you to Chiseled in Rock blog, Terri. Thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Pat: It’s obvious you’ve been interested in crime fiction for a long time. But what about when you were a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up?

Terri: I read everything I could. I specifically remember Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardy Boys. I have a memory of me in elementary school, waiting for the bus after school, reading a really fat romance book. I would skim over the naughty parts, but I had run out of things to read and I found that at home!

Pat: What did you like best about owning a mystery bookstore? What did you like least?

Terri: There are several things I loved about owning a mystery bookstore. I have a bunch of author friends, some of whom I have the pleasure of publishing now. I also became great friends with many customers. And when I got a box of ARCs, it was like Christmas! What did I like least? Running the actual business. Huh, sort of mirrors my likes and dislikes as an acquisitions editor!

Pat: You are now the acquisitions editor for Midnight Ink. Tell us about your typical work day (and especially how many manuscripts you usually have waiting in your e-mail Inbox).

Terri: I don’t really have a typical day. I am checking and answering emails all day long. I can have three meetings a day or none. (Note that in one meeting, we could address four different books.)

As an acquisitions editor, I walk the book thru the entire process. I present it to the acq. ed. board which requires me to research the book and its comparable titles. If we ok it, I make an offer and negotiate the contract. With the input of others, we request revisions – then I have to read the revisions when they come in. I present cover ideas, title ideas and tag lines and we decide on those as a group. For each season, I present at an internal sales conference. I discuss each book and place it in the market so sales, marketing and publicity have all the info they need to do their jobs. And these are just the highlights. Juggling is important in my world.

Sadly, I spend the least amount reading submissions. I don’t know right now how many submissions I have, but I am over a year behind, which is why I had to partially close submissions.

Pat: According to the Midnight Ink online submission guidelines, you do not take unsolicited submissions, but will accept submissions from agents or from contacts you’ve made at conferences or mystery conventions in the last twelve months. For those writers who are interested in pitching to you in person, which conferences will you attend this year? What do you look for in an 8-10 minute pitch?

Terri: So far I am only scheduled for three conferences – Love is Murder, Malice Domestic and Bouchercon. I am also doing the RMFW May Education Event (May 19th at the Renaissance Hotel in Denver).

What do I look for in a pitch? First, I am a person just like any other person – talk to me and make eye contact once in a while. Second, know your book. Don’t call it a cozy if you graphically blow away four people in the first two pages. Third, tell me the key parts – word length, genre, main character info and plot info. Leave me time to ask questions – don’t mindlessly prattle.

Pat: When you review a crime fiction manuscript, what are the five most important things you look for in the first chapter?

Terri: Five things? I don’t know that I have any rules… the first chapter has to grab me. Either the character or the crime has to intrigue me.

Pat: In subgenres, what are you tired of seeing and what would you love to see?

Terri: I don’t know that I am tired of seeing anything. Even though vampires are trending down, if a well-written, well-conceived manuscript came my way, I would give it a shot. I don’t chase trends because it’s a waste of time. I am only interested in finding the best crime fiction out there.

Pat: Do you reject manuscripts for excessive violence or gore, profanity, or certain kinds of crimes?

Terri: I personally don’t like crimes involving kids, but I wouldn’t necessarily reject it. The only types I reject without hesitation are horror or fantasy/sci-fi crossovers.

Pat: At this time, are you more interested in mystery series or standalone novels and why?

Terri: We publish mostly series books because that is what most mystery readers are interested in – readers want the plot but also characters they can come back to. But as I expand the line and publish more thrillers and such, I will be picking up standalones. Thrillers rely more on the action and plot rather than the character development.

Pat: Writers are often advised to have a web presence before even selling their first manuscript. Of the following web and social media opportunities, which do you consider most important for the debut author: a website, a blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads? Are there any others you recommend to your authors?

Terri: I wouldn’t recommend a heavy social media push until you have a contract in hand. Most books take 12-18 months to publish with a traditional publisher. That is plenty of time to drum up interest. I would rather an author spend his or her time revising their book. And when book one is turned into the publisher, start working on book two immediately. I would not EVER recommend getting a website with the character's name or the name of the book until your editor has confirmed that name – publishers change titles most of the time, so don’t waste your money.

Pat: What do you do for fun when you’re not being an acquisitions editor?

Terri: Hmm… I used to read, but not so much these days! I love sports, so going to a baseball game or watching football is what I do on most weekends. I bowl. Fishing if someone is there to take the fish off! I also have three boys, aged 6, 4 and 4. They are a handful, so mostly I just try to keep them fed.

Pat: Terri, thanks so much for answering our questions. We hope to see you at another Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference soon.

Terri Bischoff blogs at Under Cover of Midnight—The Midnight Ink Blog with Terri Bischoff. Her January 3rd post on New Year’s Resolutions lists her personal and professional goals for 2012 (after she mentions her entertaining reasons for never making resolutions). The blog also features guest authors (and photos that reveal more about what an acquisitions editor does at work and at play).

Terri can also be found on Facebook and Twitter @TerriBischoff

For more information about Midnight Ink and its books and authors, visit the publisher’s website. The authors’ blog is InkSpot.

Book Marketing Inventory – Part 3 of 4

2012-01-23T05:23:00.007-07:00

by Janet Fogg

Two weeks ago I mentioned some of the basics, including social networking, your bio, and a one-page book summary, and last week we began to consider what information will help you market your book. By having research well underway and an inventory of text and documents on hand before your book is released, your marketing process will be streamlined and you’ll be able to enjoy book signings and celebrations instead of fretting about sales.

We’ll now continue the Q&A exercise for your book marketing inventory with these questions:

1. Why did you write this book?

2. How does your book stand out from similar books? List those books and compare.

3. What is it about your life experiences that led you to this book?

4. What are some of the highlights you enjoyed while writing it?

5. When did you first realize that you wanted to become a writer?

6. What is it about writing that appealed to you?

7. Do you have any advice for budding authors wanting to get published?

8. How much research did you do for the book? Can you give us some tips on this?

9. How long did it take you to write it?

10. What do you like most about your book? Why should we read it?

11. Where and when do you usually write?

12. Who are your favorite authors, fiction and non-fiction, and why?

13. How do you relax? Do you have any hobbies or interests?

14. Have you read anything lately that you'd like to recommend?

15. What are you working on at the moment?

By answering Questions 1 through 15, you’ll essentially have an interview ready, one that could be sent to blogs, newsletters, etc. You’ll also find yourself cutting and pasting portions of your responses to re-use in query letters and to post on FB, etc.

16. Make a list of key blogs, websites, twitterers, Facebook profiles, forums, and any other online communities you or your publisher should be contacting.

This could be a very long list, so get started! And then make a plan for contacting them. (Yes, this is part of your marketing plan!) If you’re doing it all yourself, decide how many you’ll contact each week. Pace yourself!

17. Do you have a personal mailing list of friends, relatives and work colleagues, etc. who would be interested in purchasing a copy of the book?

Your publisher might offer to do a mailing, but if they don’t, shouldn’t you? So get to work on that list, including mailing addresses and email addresses. Then you should prepare a postcard and email version of that card so you can begin a mailing campaign. You can post announcements on FB and in other venues, but having at least a few physical postcards will be handy, as you can use them at book signings and as leave-behinds at speaking events.

Now would be a good time to think about what other leave-behinds you might want or need. Bookmarks? Business cards? Press-release kits? Posters for signings?

That's enough for today! Next week I'll conclude the Q&A inventory exercise and run through some odds and ends for you to consider as you begin to implement your marketing plan.

See you bright and early, Monday morning!

Copyright (Very) Basics

2012-01-19T07:00:00.002-07:00

By Matthew Swihart, Esq.

Before we delve into the thrilling world of the law (if you’re honest, you’ll admit “ooh, thrilling!” was the first thought that came to mind when you read the title), a proper introduction is necessary: I am Matthew Swihart. Pleased to meet you. Oh, and there should be an “Esq.” after my name, because I’m an attorney and mediator licensed in all state courts in Florida and Colorado, as well as federal court here in Colorado. I handle a wide variety of civil litigation issues, including contract and intellectual property litigation.

These articles are word-limited (not because RMFW is particularly stringent, but because we recognize there are limits to people’s attention span for legal matters), so I promise to keep these short. I can only address general questions here, so if you have more detailed questions, I urge you to seek out the counsel of the attorney of your choice.

However, I feel compelled to point out, since most of the law is fiction, writers should find it more interesting than they do. For example, the law took already fictional entities (corporations) and anthropomorphized them into citizens. Of course, there is a rational purpose behind this—so these entities could sue and be sued, since only citizens are able to drag other citizens before the court—but that doesn’t make it any less fictional. And the law is replete with other fictions, each more fantastical than the other, but all with at least an ostensibly rational purpose.

One of those fictions is copyright.

First, the boring stuff: Copyright law is governed in the United States by the 1976 Copyright Act. This is the culmination of a long line of common and statutory law, none of which is of any interest to you, unless you’re an attorney, in which case this article isn’t of any interest to you (and, really, why would you be reading it, then?). Authors in particular are further protected internationally by such succinctly-named treaties as the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and others.

Here, I will primarily discuss U.S. copyright laws. I could go into a long article about copyright, but (a) I don’t have the space, and (b) the federal government has already done it for me in twelve pages of can’t-put-it-down excitement: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf. I will provide some brief highlights here, which answer the most basic questions I’m often asked.

What is copyright?

In its simplest form, copyright is a property ownership interest in creative works which are manifested in a tangible form. In other words, it means you can be credited for, control, and profit from your writing and art. There are exceptions, such as things not fixed in a tangible form, titles, slogans, and so on. However, many of these exceptions (but not all) enjoy protection in the form of trademarks or patents.

When is a work copyrighted?

Copyright attaches the instant you put your creative ideas in a tangible form. The WORD document you use to draft your manuscripts is sufficiently tangible, and even has a date and time stamp in the metadata which serves to help prove the moment of creation if it is ever necessary.

Do I need to register my copyright with the federal government?

The answer to this question, as with most legal questions, is, “It depends.” It depends on your purpose in registering your copyright. The 1976 Copyright Act vitiated the need to register your copyright, so formal registration is not necessary. However, it can serve as formal notice to the world, because the law accepts the (fictional) concept that two people who never met or read each others’ work can create the exact same things at or about the exact same time, and a registered copyright is prima facie notice to the world of your work. Of course, the same can be accomplished by mailing yourself a copy of your work and not opening the letter once it arrives, or simply publishing it. Self-publishers may have more interest in formal registration than other authors. If you elect formal registration, pay the money to have an attorney help you—the law is rife with traps for the unwary, and online forms were not made with your best interests in mind.

Formal registration is not a prerequisite to placing a copyright symbol (©) after your work. However, because some people will assign more value to the symbol than your name on the work (especially for items posted on the internet), it is sometimes prudent to put the symbol, your name, and the year after your work before posting online (e.g., © Matthew E. Swihart, 2012). Consider your audience and the work you are posting when deciding whether to do this. I would strongly recommend it for chapters, short stories, novellas, poems, and reprints (use the date of the original creation, not the date of the reprint), but not as strongly for standard blog posts.

It is important to note that publishers will not want you to have registered your copyright. This is because you will sign over some or all of your copyrights for a period of time to the publisher in exchange for them publishing your book, and a formal copyright registration will complicate and delay the process. Further, do not put the copyright symbol (©) on any work you submit to an agent or publisher.

But the paranoid among you need not fear: no agent or publisher wants to steal your work—though it is always wise to retain a copy of anything you send out—they will take you on if they like the concept and execution, and they will reject you if they are not fond of one or both.

Is A Small Press Publisher Right For You?

2012-01-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

From the wandering mind of Tamela Buhrke

If you are wringing your hands over whether to jump into self publishing or wait until a traditional New York publisher notices your brilliant work, then maybe it’s time to consider something different.

Small press publishers are getting some great (and some not-so-great) interest these days. Why? Because small presses are delivering what the large publisher used to deliver—personal service and a passion for their authors.

But, just like everything in life, there are successful small presses and there are wonky operations that will gut you and leave you bleeding. There are also vanity presses that masquerade as small presses. So it is important that you do your research. And don't sign any contracts that you haven't passed under the nose of a contract lawyer.

But dastardly evil-doers aside, there are plenty of great, successful small presses. But in the age of self publishing, you may be wondering why you should choose a small press? Why not just self publish? Well, for one thing, some people don't want to create a personal publishing empire. They don't want the hassles of dealing with all the details. So let's take a look at some of the ways that small presses might be chosen over self publishing and even the big publishers.

Advantages Of A Small Press

Distribution

Many small presses have built up some rocking good distribution channels within their niche. If you have a book that fits into a particular market, a small press can get you more exposure than you ever could on your own.

Book Packaging

Let’s face, everyone judges a book by it’s cover. It’s just human nature. That means a self publisher will need to fork out some dough for a stunning cover. With a small press, you will have your cover and book formatting done by professionals—with no harm done to your wallet.

Editors

Small presses hire editors to go through your book. Editing can be very pricy and your mom just isn’t as good at it as she thinks she is. So if you don’t want to pony up $3+ a page to spiff up your manuscript, then check out a small press.

Support & Encouragement

Writing is a lonely job. And when you finally present your masterpiece to the world, you might get some nasty reviews. If that happens, it’s nice to have a team on your side. People who believe in your work and found enough value in it that they invested their time and money.

Marketing Support & (Sometimes) Training

While it may not be a huge budget, small presses can help you with marketing. Most of all they can provide guidance. They have experience in selling to that specific market. They can look at your marketing efforts and tell you: Blog this, not that. Check out these online communities, avoid those. Etc. Self published authors are often walking around like the blind, tapping everything with their cane until they figure out the right path.

Career Building

Going through the process with a small press can earn you points from the big guys in New York. You’ve been through the experience of publishing and marketing yourself. You’ve worked with editors. The experience can help you grow your career and be a stepping stone to larger publishers.

So you can see how a small press can offer the best of both worlds. You often have more control over the publishing process than you would with the big guys. You also get the full experience of working with a publisher and the insights into your market that you wouldn’t get by self publishing.

However, there are times when a small press won't be a good fit. Let’s take a look at potential problems that may arise.

Disadvantages A Small Press

Limited Marketing Budgets

Small presses often have some kind of marketing budget for you, or they wouldn’t have taken you on as an author. However, don’t expect the full choir singing your book’s praises. You are going to be responsible for a lot of the marketing yourself. And often, the small press will be pushing you to do more. If you are not up to marketing yourself, this might not be the right experience for you.

Giving Up Royalties

Obviously, self publishing pays the highest royalties. However, that may not mean much if your only selling 5 books a month. With a small press you are going to be earning less per book, so you want to be sure that the services they offer are worth that loss.

Less Control

Self publishing offers complete control over everything from the cover to the pricing. Traditional publishers offer very little control. Small presses fall somewhere between. Where they fall in that spectrum is up to them. So you need to determine how much control you want and where you are willing to give.

Instability

In this economy, you want to be sure that the publisher you are signing with is going to be able to survive. You don’t want to invest your time and fork over rights to a company who may not be in business next month.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider. Do your due diligence. Research the company. Contact authors who have worked with them to find out the type of experience they’ve had.

Intrigued by the possibilities?

Here are some sources for reputable small presses:

http://www.pw.org/small_presses

http://www.agentquery.com/publishing_ip.aspx

http://querytracker.net/publishers.php

http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ click on publisher in the navigation.

Three Authors, Three Questions: January 2012

2012-01-17T06:00:00.002-07:00

Our three honored guest authors for this first installment of Three Authors, Three Questions are Colorado writer of vampire mysteries Lynda Hilburn, Wyoming mystery writer Craig Johnson, and Massachusetts thriller writer Michael Palmer.

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Lynda Hilburn is the author of The Vampire Shrink, now available as an ebook, and other paranormal novels of humor and/or romance. She has been a rock-and-roll singer/musician, a typesetter/copy editor for various newspapers and magazines, a professional psychic/tarot reader, a licensed psychotherapist, a certified clinical hypnotherapist, a newspaper columnist, a university instructor, a workshop presenter and a fiction writer.

Since switching from writing nonfiction to fiction in 2004, she’s had a wonderful time creating stories about her favorite paranormal characters. She has been a rabid fan of all things paranormal – especially vampires – since she first got her hands on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Lynda’s blog is Paranormality. Blood Therapy, the new sequel to The Vampire Shrink, will be released in 2012.

1. Lynda, where did you grow up and what do you remember most about your childhood in that part of the country?

I grew up in the inner city of Detroit. At the time, I wasn’t aware that I was living in a dangerous neighborhood. I thought the police were a constant presence on everyone’s block. During the early years, I remember playing kickball in the alley behind the apartment building, and the Halloween when a bunch of teenage guys stole my goodie bag and my mother took off running down the street after them. One of the best things about being a kid in Detroit was living near Motown and seeing all the recording stars who hung out there.

2. Of all the characters you’ve created in your novels (including the bad guys), which one is your favorite and why?

I really like my main female character, Dr. Kismet Knight, best because I get to live out my wildest fantasies through her. She’s an idealized version of me: thinner, younger, prettier and having lots of relationships with appealing vampires and interesting humans. Her clients are even more fun. I like watching her grow and change over the series. She has to decide every day if the benefits to being a mortal in the bloodsucking world are worth the cost.

3. If you could return to the beginning of your writing career, and if you knew everything you’ve learned along the way, what would you do differently?

Oh, lots! I wouldn’t take anything personally. I wouldn’t waste time comparing myself to other authors or trying to “write to market.” I’d figure out which rules I wanted to ignore even faster than I did. I would realize the advice: write, write, write was key. You can’t sell what you haven’t written. Now, with the state of ebooks and self-publishing, I can put up everything I write (with required good cover, good blurb, good editing, good formatting, etc.) and make money from them. I can’t believe how much time I wasted re-writing the same things over and over. I’d remember agents work for us (and not vice versa) and that without authors, there would be no publishing.

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New York Times Bestselling author Craig Johnson has received high praise for his Sheriff Walt Longmire novels which have received a superfecta of starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal. The seven books have garnered awards such as the Wyoming Historical Association’s Book of the Year, the Western Writer’s of America Spur Award as well as the Mountains and Plains book of the year. The seventh book in the series is Hell is Empty.

Johnson’s novels have been translated into numerous languages and have won the Le Prix du Polar Nouvel Observateur/Bibliobs, and the Le Prix 813.

The books are now being produced as a television series for 2012 entitled Longmire for the A&E Network starring Robert Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips and Katee Sackoff.

1. Craig, you live in Wyoming and so does your series character, Walt Longmire. What do you love most about that part of this great country?

My wife Judy has a wonderful saying about Wyoming , about how it’s a place you can go to get away from just about everything—but yourself. There aren’t very many people, but I’m okay with that. Somebody once described France as an oil painting and Wyoming as a charcoal sketch which is fine; things become more apparent in the contrast of black and white. The high plains give me the solitude and focus that I need to write the books. I enjoy the touring and the travel; meeting people and talking with them about my work, but what I enjoy the most is the peace and quiet of being at my ranch and writing. I like to think that’s something that Walt and I have in common, an ability to draw strength from place.

2. Of all the characters you’ve created in your novels (including the bad guys), which one is your favorite and why?

The Longmire novels are written in first-person, which means that the sheriff is never very far from my thoughts or narrative. I tend to refer to Walt as a detective for the disenfranchised, a man whose secret weapon is his compassion for the less fortunate or forgotten members of society. I think he has an empathy for the outsiders because, in a sense, he’s one himself; a rogue male somewhat driven off from the herd, even if it is a self-imposed exile.

Another thing I like about him is his ability to surprise me. I was talking to Greer Shephard, the producer of the A&E series based on the books and she asked me if thought of Walt as being a verbose person and I said yes. She told me to go through one of my books and highlight his dialogue, what he actually says… She was right; he thinks a great deal but doesn’t say much.

3. If you could return to the beginning of your writing career, and if you knew everything you’ve learned along the way, what would you do differently?

My greatest regret, and I work at having none, is that I didn’t get started writing earlier in life, but to be honest I don’t think I could’ve written the books I have until later. I feel pretty happy about where I am in my writing, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t nurse a certain artistic dissatisfaction. I think the worst thing that can happen to a writer is to start believing that you’ve arrived. I think when you associate yourself with an art as subjective as writing it’s kind of like being on a fast and willful horse; you may think you know what you’re doing, but that can change very quickly.

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Michael Palmer, M.D., is the author of seventeen political/medical thrillers translated into thirty-five languages. He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals, spent twenty years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine, and is now an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s physician health program.

Michael’s 17th novel, Oath of Office, introduces Dr. Lou Welcome, a 42-year-old ER doc in Washington D.C., who lost his medical license for an alcohol and drug addiction and, subsequently, lost his marriage as well. Oath of Office is scheduled for release February 14, 2012. Inspired by Robert Kenner’s 2008 Academy Award nominated documentary Food Inc., Oath of Office exposes the often overlooked realities in the corporate food system.

1. Michael, where did you grow up and what do you remember most about your childhood in that part of the country?

I was born and raised in Western Massachusetts in the industrial city (then 200,000) of Springfield. The city, just east of the beautiful Berkshire hills (or small mountains) had a diverse population that was mostly separated with white middle class in the east and immigrant/black/economically stressed in the north. We lived in a suburban-like area called Forest Park. I went to the same elementary school, junior high, and high school as my father, an optometrist.

Once an elderly English teacher in 9th grade got angry at me to talking in class, and shouted at me using my father's name. I was a terrible behavior problem in school, constantly acting out, seeking attention, and getting mostly Bs and Cs. My parents were asked, not so politely, to get me to a private school. Instead, they moved to Longmeadow, a suburb with a harder high school. I must have matured during the move, because I got all As until I graduated and ended up at Wesleyan in Connecticut, the college of my choice.

2. Of all the characters you’ve created in your novels (including the bad guys), which one is your favorite and why?

Dr. Jessie Copeland, star of The Patient is certainly one of my favorites. She is a self-made woman with an M.D. and a PhD in bio-engineering. Despite pressure from her mother to settle down and "find a nice man", Jessie continues her research in robotics and work in her specialty--neurosurgery. Because of her MRI-guided surgical robot and other successes in the OR, she is chosen by one of the most secretive, remorseless assassins in the world to operate on his brain tumor.

More recently, I have grown fond of Dr. Lou Welcome, the protagonist in Oath of Office and the currently-underway Political Suicide. Lou works in the ER part time, and part time as an associate director of the D.C. Physician Wellness Program caring for sick doctors. It's job similar to the one I have in Massachusetts.

3. If you could return to the beginning of your writing career, and if you knew everything you’ve learned along the way, what would you do differently?

The truth is, my writing life has been close to perfect for me. Perfect agent . . . perfect editors . . . perfect publishers. Success and money mean something to me, but have never been motivators to write harder. I did what I enjoy, and if it no longer was fun and rewarding, I would have stopped. Of course, it never hurt to have an M.D. degree to fall back on. The only thing I might choose to do differently is to write faster earlier in my career. But if writing faster meant curtailing my medical life, I wouldn't do it until I was absolutely ready to cut back.

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Mini-interviews arranged and compiled by Pat Stoltey. Many thanks to Lynda Hilburn, Craig Johnson, and Michael Palmer for graciously agreeing to participate in the Three Authors, Three Questions series.

Book Marketing Inventory – Part 2 of 4

2012-01-16T05:23:00.009-07:00

by Janet Fogg

Last week I mentioned some of the basics you need in your book marketing inventory, including social networking, your bio, photo, and a one-page book summary. Now we’re going to think about your book and what information will help you market it. The answers to the following questions could become part of a marketing plan that you’ll refer back to, so you might want to copy and paste these questions to start your own document(s). A few of these questions apply more to traditionally published non-fiction, but if you pause and reflect, you can also apply them to marketing your novel.

1. Where do you think the main market for your book lies? Remember to identify market(s) beyond the obvious.

Here’s an example. For Fogg in the Cockpit, the main market would be readers interested in World War II, since the book is about my late father-in-law’s life as a fighter pilot during the war. A secondary market would be railroad fans. Railroad fans? Yep. Post-war, Howard Fogg pursued his dream of becoming an artist, painting railroad and locomotive scenes, ultimately becoming famous in that specialty, so fans of his art might be interested in the book. How about historical societies and railroad historical societies? What about WWII museums or railroad museums? And so on.

Now list the various possibilities for your novel or book - and be creative! Don’t build any artificial roadblocks!

2. What journals, magazines, or blogs do book reviews on your genre or topic(s)?

Spend time researching this. Read their reviews so you can see what they like and don’t like.

For example, the editor of Flying Models Magazine was interested in Fogg in the Cockpit. What does Flying Models have to do with our WWII book? Quite simply - flying. The editor was excited about our query and requested a copy of the book. Here was an audience we hadn’t anticipated. Of course we sent requests to WWII magazines and railroad magazines, but we found an unexpected opportunity. So can you! Remember to turn ninety degrees to see who is looking over your shoulder.

3. Prepare a list of colleagues, associates, or experts you know who can offer a review of your book on Amazon, as well as those who might provide an endorsement.

I suggest you make a list of a dozen or more names and addresses, including email addresses. If you’re seeking an endorsement or quote for your book jacket, obviously you’ll need to plan ahead, as the colleague or expert will need time to read the manuscript draft. Many may graciously decline this opportunity. Don’t take it personally! They may be under deadline and simply don’t have the time to read your book.

As far as book reviewers, ask your publisher whether they’re willing to send ARCs or the final book to potential reviewers. Casemate was terrific about this – if we had a nibble for a review they’d immediately send a copy of the book. You can do this as well, and should, but remember to communicate your efforts to your publisher.

4. List names and addresses and contact names of any associations, societies and institutions, local, national and international, having members to whom your book should be of interest.

For example, if you’re writing a lumberjack murder mystery series, include lumberjack associations as well as arborists, orchardists, and perhaps even gardeners. What other societies leap to mind?

With this list, you’ll be poised for action, ready to send the association a query and press release about whether they might publish an announcement in their newsletter. Or, if they’re looking for articles, offer to write one! Again, think big and take ninety degree turns. Websites and newsletters are hungry for interesting, well-written content.

5. List any colleges/universities that may be interested in using your book as a text for continuing education.

While this is most applicable to non-fiction, there may be exceptions, so think about it!

6. Names and addresses of public personalities (other writers, bloggers, and experts) whose opinions about your book might help it find a larger audience, or who might specifically like to review your book on publication.

Know anyone famous? How’s your six degrees of separation? Well, you don’t really need to know a famous personality to query them as you can track down mailing addresses on the web, and you could be surprised by who might respond. (We certainly were!) A professional query goes a long way, and if the subject of your book is of interest, a public personality might just say they’ll review your book.

With that vision of stars dancing through our heads, it’s time to pause until next Monday, when I’ll continue to look at developing your book marketing inventory, with questions such as, “Why did you write this book?” and how your response might be utilized.

Meet the Reader: Veronica Morfi

2012-01-12T06:00:00.002-07:00

By the ever opinionated E.C. Stacy

So, if we writers hope to sell books, shouldn’t we want to know just a little bit about what book buyers want? Let’s face it. We can tickle the keyboard with our clever tales, amusing ourselves for hours, but at the end of the day in order to be a professional writer, we need to know if we can market these pages.

Please allow me to introduce you to Veronica Morfi. She lives in Greece—how cool is that?—studies Computer Science, and would like to write a novel one day, but the key thing is: she reads LOTS of books. I mean tons. To me, Veronica is the kind of expert whose preferences I want to hear about and I’m glad she agreed to be our first guest on Meet the Reader a series dedicated to keeping writers in touch with the street.

CIR: I noticed that you’ve read a few Storm Born titles by Richelle Mead. Do you prefer Mead’s graphic novels or her books?

VF: I have only read her graphic novels and I found them great, but I always think the books are better, even without reading them. I am ashamed to admit I haven't read any of her books... :P

CIR: Mead’s voice and humor make her reads interesting to me. What about Storm Born appeals the most to you?

VF: Besides the story and the beautiful writing I love the Otherworld with all its history and world building.

CIR: Based on your Goodreads ratings, the Harry Potter series struck a chord with you. To me, the premise of the thing alone should have garnered the attention of every agent and editor, yet J.K. Rowling was rejected quite a few times. A kid with sorcerer powers, I mean…come on! Was there anything you found to be an obvious selling point about the first story?

VF: Hmmm...I haven't read the first book in a while, but I still remember thinking that the author had great knowledge about a lot of things. Nicholas Flamel, the philosopher's stone and other elements of her books were real and she combined them great with her imaginary world. And of course who could say 'no' to Hogwarts! I mean, it's like our inner child's dream school.

CIR: Our inner child’s dream school. I never thought of that before. Great point. What would you like to see in fantasy publications in the next decade?

VF: Hopefully my book...kidding! Well, not so much... :P Anyways, I think I want more action, I can't take any more sappy love stories that just have paranormal elements, I want smart, headstrong heroines fighting to save the day and not waiting the prince to come and rescue them.

CIR: I’m glad you mentioned the fighting heroines, Veronica. Agents and editors are definitely trying to locate those types of protagonists in fiction from what I understand. Are there any titles you would like to recommend to writers as a good reference?

VF: Surprisingly enough I can't think of anything...lol. I thought I had this all figured out. Hmmm...maybe something like Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Thank you so much for this interview it was really fun! :)

You can check out Veronica’s blog at http://mostlyreviews.blogspot.com/

Is Micro-publishing The Game Changer?

2012-01-11T06:00:00.006-07:00

From the wandering mind of Tamela Buhrke.

“Having worked with several micro-publishers this past year, I have noticed that personal empowerment earned via micro-publishing is powerful. It’s like a gateway drug to authorhood.” Christina Katz

It’s like she read my mind... but wrote it better.

Last week I wrote about the changes in the publishing industry and how those changes have given authors more control over their lives. I suggested that these new options provide authors with the power to choose their own publishing route. Then yesterday, Christina Katz (the woman who literally wrote the book on author platforms) wrote a blog post about that very thing.

In fact, she suggests that we no longer look at independent publishers and traditional publishers as an “Us vs. Them,” but as a spectrum of opportunity. Opportunity that comes from getting our hands dirty in the world of publishing and marketing books.

In the post Stop, Drop, and Micro-publish, Katz writes: “Doesn’t it make a lot more sense to try and do everything publishing-wise you can in your lifetime?”

Instead of sending queries and waiting for someone else to decide our fate, this new publishing era has provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to grow and experiment. We can decide the best publishing model for our current book project. Then we might use a very different model on our next project.

Now isn’t that better than just waiting for someone else to hand you your author career?

Katz even suggests that we ditch calling it indie publishing, and switch to micro-publishing. That’s because “indie” suggests that they are different or apart from traditional publishers. In truth, most are doing nearly everything that the big publishing houses do, just on a smaller scale. Calling them micro-publishers acknowledges that a self-published author actually has a greater understanding of the entire publishing process.

Micro-publishers learn fast that they are selling a product. It's an artistic product, but still a product. It needs to be a good product—also known as good writing. But it also has to be a sellable product. That means it needs to find a market. And for those that worry this will stifle creativity, think again. Creative micro-publishers are learning how to find the niche that will buy their type of writing; usually in markets that have been under represented by traditional publishing.

All of this leads to authors who are more confident. They aren’t lined up against the gymnasium wall, terrified that they won’t get picked for the team. They are out there, creating their own game. Finding their own niche and building themselves an author business.

So are micros done with traditional publishing? Heck no! Time and again, we see micro-publishers getting contracts with publishing houses. Some of them are small houses and some large. But savvy micros are choosing them.

Choosing them!

How’s that for a game changer?

Micro-publishers actively create their own publishing options. They build an author platform. Find their markets and build their brand. Then when their books reach a point where further distribution is necessary, they approach publishing houses with all the pieces in place. They go into negotiations with an understanding of how the industry works, where they are in the process, and what they need from a publisher.

Even better, the publisher benefits from this arrangement. They no longer have to take a risk on an author that isn’t tested by the market. They get an author who understands the industry from the inside out. Plus, they can easily build a successful campaign because the author has already laid the marketing groundwork.

And for those who’s micro-publishing ventures didn’t succeed?

They still come out of it with a greater understanding of the market and the publishing process. They see the author experience a lot more clearly. They understand the difficulties and the rewards. Then most of them roll up their sleeves, take what they’ve learned and apply it to their next book publishing adventure.

So what about you? Are you ready to go micro in 2012?

What's New from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers?

2012-01-10T06:00:00.003-07:00

Here are a few of the new releases from members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers:

The Daemon Prism: A Novel of the Collegia Magica
by Carol Berg
Penguin Group January 2012
ISBN: 978-0451464347
Paperback $16.00 (also available as an ebook)

"Dante the necromancer is the most reviled man in Sabria, indicted for crimes against the living and the dead. He salves bitterness with a magical puzzle - a desperate soldier's dream of an imprisoned sorceress and a faceted glass that can grant one's utmost desires. But the dream is a seductive trap. Haunted, blind, driven to the verges of the world, Dante must risk everything he values to unravel a mystery of ancient magic, sacred legend, and the truth of the divine..."

Visit Carol's website at Carol Berg, Author and her blog at Text Crumbs.

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Sentinel: Archive of Fire
by Betsy Dornbusch
Whiskey Creek Press January 2012
ISBN: 978-1-61160-218-0
E-book $6.99
print versions available at Whiskey Creek

"Twins Aidan and Kaelin didn’t realize until they got to university that most guys don’t learn five ways to kill a man by the age of fourteen. Still, since their estranged father descends from the demon Asmodai, it's probably worth knowing how to defend themselves. But as years pass and threat never materializes, the twins suppose their mom is just paranoid - until she disappears. Their father tells them Asmodai has taken possession of their mother in order to infiltrate Sentinel, a treacherous coalition of demidemon rebels determined to protect humankind from the demon legions. The twins form a grudging alliance with Sentinel to rescue her, but when Asmodai murders their father to incite war, Sentinel starts to implode and Aidan and Kaelin must battle an enemy who wears their mother’s face."

Betsy's blog is Sex Scenes at Starbucks.

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Beyond the Sea Mist
by Mary Gillgannon
E-book: $2.99

"Irish princess Ailinn has already lost her home and family. Now her Viking captor intends to sell her as a bedslave in the markets of Dublin. Her only hope is another Viking, Magnus Gunnarson. Dare she trust this bold, young seaman to rescue her and help her fulfill her destiny...beyond the sea mist?"

For more information about Mary and her books, please visit her website. She has written as Tara O'Dell, Molly Marcort, and Nikki Donovan.

Mary has also re-released Storm Maiden, Dragon of the Island, and Dragon's Dream as e-books for Kindle and Nook:

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Murder in the Dojo
by Sue Star
D. M. Kreg Publishing January 2012
ISBN: 9780615570723
$14.99 in trade paper
$4.99 in e-book format, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

"Nell Letterly’s dream job as a karate instructor involves a few little first-day glitches. She finds the guy she replaced very dead–killed with her martial arts weapons. The police don’t bother to investigate anybody else. Her boss suddenly disappears. The dojo is a dump and the students know nothing. Plus, she faces foreclosure on her house, and her teen-age daughter hates her. Line the students up and look positive. After work, find the killer before the killer finds her."

Author Sue Star is Rebecca Bates in disguise. She shares Rebecca's blog at Rebecca Writer.

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List compiled by Pat Stoltey

Book Marketing Inventory – Part 1 of 4

2012-01-09T05:23:00.007-07:00

by Janet Fogg

So you’ve just sold your first book? Or decided to self-publish? Congratulations! After you recycle those champagne bottles and generally sweep up the debris, what’s next?

If you’re being traditionally published, it might be a year before your book is actually released, so what should you be doing until the day that lovely brown truck rumbles down your drive and delivers a box of books into your eager, shaking hands? Of course you’ll need to work on edits, and also keep working on the new manuscript that you’ve started, but what else should occupy your time?

Marketing!

Now don’t groan and roll your eyes. Oh all right, you can moan just a little, but if you prepare your book marketing inventory now and then slowly implement your marketing plan, maybe, just maybe, it’ll be fun instead of a burden. (How’s that for positive spin?) And if you’ve decided to self-publish, you need to jump on your inventory and action plan right away!

I’ve had two books published; a novel by a small press and a non-fiction by a large press, and I’ve learned a heck of a lot between book one and book two. I fumbled along in my marketing efforts for the first, my novel Soliloquy, and while the editors and staff at The Wild Rose Press were wonderful to work with, they rely on their authors to do the bulk of the marketing. So I became involved in loops and groups and joined Facebook, but I didn’t have a plan and it showed. I stuck my toe in the social networking pool, held my breath, and backed away slowly. For example, I did some blogging but didn’t have a theme, nor did I seek guidance on how to link to other blogs, or proactively look for blogging partners, all of which I have done since.

Seeing as you’re reading this blog you likely know quite a bit about tweeting and blogging and all such social stuff, but if you don’t, please look back at some of the blogs here on the Rock, such as “Catch that Twitter Love” by Tamela Buhrke. I’m not going to delve into the specifics of social networking in this series, other than to reiterate how important networking is, but instead will focus on preparing a book marketing inventory - an inventory of documents and text as well as suggested research for use in your marketing plan.

Let’s start with a few basics.

1. Think about your web presence, both professional and personal. Do you have a website? Do you have accounts with Facebook, Twitter, etc.? Do you contribute to any online forums, websites, communities, or blogs?

It’s my very great pleasure to inform you that from now on, it IS all about you, so don’t squirm. As I mentioned earlier, if you haven’t plunged into social networking, get started NOW. You don’t have to do everything, but you should get involved somewhere, somehow, and soon. Facebook is certainly one of the largest venues, but there are many others, such as Google+, Linkedin, and so on. If you don’t have a website (or blog that substitutes as your website), start one soon.

2. Make an appointment for a professional photo, as your “author photo” will be used repeatedly. In this digital age that picture will hang around forever, so you want a flattering photo that can be used on your book jacket, website, in press releases, and so on. If you hire a professional photographer, request full rights before the shoot. Most will be amenable to this, if they receive acknowledgment whenever possible. Get a written release from the photographer that you own those rights. If a friend or relative is a good photographer, that’s great, but get a release from them as well. Also, if you have the software, you might want to save the photo in various sized jpgs, pdfs, and tifs.

3. Next? Draft several versions of your bio. A very short (single paragraph) bio plus a medium length and longer version, though no more than one page. You’ll edit this text later on, and spin it slightly depending on where you’re using it, but it will be very handy having multiple versions saved and available to edit. In the long version also include the book’s topic and highlights and where a reader can learn more (your website).

Include most if not all of the following details – and of course, keep it interesting!
Name in full (including degrees, honors, title etc.):
Nationality and place of birth/ hometown
Possibly your date of birth
Summary of Education
Previous books (with dates and publishers)
Periodicals which you have contributed to
Any professional or civic organizations to which you currently belong and does your writing appear in any newsletters?
Anything personal which you think might be of relevance

4. Now you can start on the draft of a one-page summary about you and your book. You’ll need ISBNs, page count, pricing, and your book cover image to complete the one-pager, but text and format can and should be underway, so you’ll have this summary ready to attach to press releases.

Ultimately, your one-pager would include:

Book title and author
Book cover
Blurb/book description
Author photo
Author bio
ISBN(s)
Retail price
Publisher’s name, address, phone, website
Page count
Publication date
Your website and/or blog
Your email

Okay, that wasn’t too bad, was it? Next week we’ll begin to think about what else you need in your book marketing inventory. If you’re fortunate, your publisher will be your marketing partner, and the answers to the questions I’ll pose will be helpful to you AND to them.

See you next Monday!

The Typo Imp

2012-01-05T06:00:00.003-07:00

Can you use garlic, or a silver bullet, or something to get rid of this creep? Is there anybody out there that can surgically remove them? Because I’m pretty sure I got a Typo Imp stuck to my shoulder. It makes me feel like I should stuff my dreams of being a writer in the dumpster. Have you ever felt this way?

It would be easier if it were a devil on my shoulder tempting me to do naughty things. Then I could negotiate such enticements. With a refusal, I could be proud of taking the high road. But the Typo Imp slithers in between my imaginative clouds and jams the controls of my fingers. The monster forces me to write things like, “If your ever around town…” when I freakin’ know that it’s supposed to be YOU’RE! For cryin’ out loud, I learned the proper spelling of these words in elementary school! Even though I have a Bachelor’s of Science degree, the Imp reduces me to a slobbering fool on the page.

Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s what edits are for. Raise your hand, though, if you’ve edited something several times and still found goofs like these. That’s because the Typo Imp has got ya, man! We’re flippin’ doomed! In a query I sent out, not only did I miss this flub, but five—count ‘em, I said five—other authors did as well: “Charlaine Harris wrote the forward for my short story…” Forward? FORWARD? Arrrgghhhh! It wasn’t until the third submission that I caught it and changed the blooper to foreword. I had to go the boxing gym and attack the bag to keep from the throwing my computer through the wall.

Surely by now you’ve had the impulse to utter that we’re all human. I embrace being a flawed creation. It’s truly what makes us beautiful. Now the rebuttal. If the piece of writing was a live performance, I could easily live with the errors. I play guitar and part of the fun of soloing is knowing that you could pluck a sour note. Sometimes those dissonant notes can actually embellish an improvisational rendition! Unfortunately, misspellings don’t make a written composition sweeter. We have plenty of time and technology to weed them out, yet fail to detect them way too often. It’s not fair.

So join me. Let’s hold hands, make a circle, and exorcise this mischievous culprit. Typo Imp you will NOT disturb my hand again. Typo Imp you will NOT…

Crap. Did I misspell Charlaine?

Gusto Dave

New Year, New Publishing Possibilities

2012-01-04T06:00:00.002-07:00

From the wandering mind of Tamela Buhrke

Happy New Year! As 2012 gets underway, I've been thinking back on all the new opportunities for authors that 2011 made possible. There used to be just one path to publishing. Now there are a plethora (my favorite word) of options.

Let's take a look at how this wonderful new world of publishing sprang to life.

The Era of One Path

For as long as there has been a publishing industry, the fate of an author has been at the mercy of that machine. That process. It cultivated a mindset of having no control over your own career. Authors felt like employees of chaotic companies. Their futures, their incomes at the whim of an editor or a marketing person. Having their books stranded when their editors were fired or transferred. Sometimes having no input over simple things like the cover of their own books.

But then something happened that changed everything...

Amazon: The Dawn of Two Paths

With the advent of the self publishing revolution, aspiring authors ran to Amazon. This was the answer to an aspiring author's dreams. They could snub their noses at the agents and big publishing houses (and often used social networks to do it publicly). Authors could take back their power. They could forge their own destiny.

At the same time, traditionalists argued against self publishing. It lacked the quality of the big houses. It lacked the distribution channels. Don't do it! You'll ruin your career.

For almost a year there were blog wars waged over which path was best. Camp Traditional vs. Camp Indie. Who would win? Then the Indie camp won a few large battles with successes like Amanda Hocking and J. A. Konrath. The tides seemingly turned back toward Traditional when Ms Hocking accepted a traditional publishing contract. But in a surprise move, traditionally published authors like Barry Eisler started turning down contracts and moving into camp Indie.

Then J.K. Rowling snubbed them all to start her own ebook publishing & retail site—Pottermore.

Self publishing and self distribution?!

Madness.

What will these authors want next? Full control of their entire project?

Yes, please.

Multiple Paths

Though not all of us have the resources of a J.K. Rowling, we do have much greater control over our author path. Unfortunately, the options available can be overwhelming. To combat this overwhelm, a cottage industry of publishing services are springing up like t-shirt vendors at a Justin Bieber concert.

Now you have multiple paths to publishing and multiple options within those paths:

Traditional: Large houses, medium houses, small press, imprints
Self publishing: epub, traditional print, POD, Amazon, Smashwords, iPad, Nook etc.
Independent publishing (yes, that's different from self publishing)
ePublishing houses
Book packagers
Vanity press (still evil)
Combinations of above

Each has their benefits and drawbacks. However, now you can choose different options for each of your books. This gives you the flexibility of using a publishing option that fits a particular books needs, instead of trying to fit all your books into one system.

So for the next few weeks, I plan to explore all the various publishing options. We'll delve into the possibilities and help you make decisions about what path is right for you.

Planning Ahead for Social Media Opportunities

2012-01-03T06:00:00.001-07:00

by Pat Stoltey

If we all made plans and stuck to them, we'd not only read and write more, but we'd get more exposure for our blogs and books. Here are a few ideas for 2012.

The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2012

Not just for writers, this blog challenge has grown into a huge project in just three years. The brainchild of Arlee Bird who blogs at tossing it out, the A to Z Challenge now has its very own blog. If you stop by, you'll find posts from past participants describing the new online friends they've made and the new blog followers they've attracted with their A to Z April posts.

I plan to complete the challenge again in 2012, although I scheduled guest bloggers in April and now need to figure out a way to make their guest post titles conform to the demands of the challenge. I may need to get creative this year.

Sign-up for this challenge opens on January 30th, so mark your calendar. I know you won't regret it.

Chiseled in Rock's Author Features

For RMFW, we have a monthly announcement of new releases called What's New From Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers? Don't be left out. Make sure I know about your books. If you go to my personal blog, you'll find a link to my e-mail address in my Blogger Profile.

A new monthly feature called Three Authors, Three Questions is another opportunity for you. Membership in RMFW is not required to participate in this one, but I do hope to feature at least one RMFW member in each group of three.

Guest Blogging on Writerly Blogs

If you have a book coming out in 2012, you might want to pay attention to the RMFW members who have blogs and are open to featuring guest bloggers. On my own blog, I present a guest author every Thursday, and I'll also schedule Monday and Friday guests when necessary, especially for writers doing blog book tours.

I'm not the only RMFW author/blogger, so check out the blogroll in the Chiseled in Rock sidebar and see who hosts guest writers from time to time.

And if you're a book blogger who's open to guest authors, support RMFW by spreading the word. We invite you to post your blog's link below in the comments section.

Touch the Ball Every Day

2012-01-02T05:23:00.012-07:00

by Janet Fogg

First, I want to compliment you on the terrific concept you've developed for your new book. Don’t shrug and turn away, I mean it! It will grab an editor by the throat.

You’ve written how many words? That’s not bad, though not as many as I expected. Oh, so you haven’t worked on it since September? I’m sorry to hear that. Your voice is exceptional and I am really looking forward to reading that first draft.

Do I have any ideas on how you might get the ball rolling again? Well, we’ve both heard about how helpful it is to write every day, but I agree, sometimes that just doesn’t happen. And when your friends are consistently cranking out 2,000 words during their lunch hour, and they also have time to go for a walk, you can’t help but feel inadequate. Of course I understand that you’re happy for them, but we’re here to talk about you, remember? It sounds as if the daily word count goal you set last summer was too aggressive, that it backfired and overwhelmed you.

Here's one idea that might help. A friend shared the following analogy with me, and I think of it every time my writing stumbles to a stop. She said, “Instead of worrying about word count, just touch the ball every day.” That’s what a professional ball player does – he holds the ball so he'll never forget what it smells like, how much it weighs, and the exact curve of his fingers against the leather. This keeps the game fresh even if he’s not actively playing. My friend suggested that writers could embrace the same concept.

Touch your manuscript every day. If you don’t have the time or energy to write fresh words, let that be okay, because you can find five minutes to sit quietly and read several pages or your last chapter. This will keep the plot points active and your characters alive. Then the next time your fingers do touch the keyboard, the ball will be familiar and ready to fly from your hands.

What do you think? Instead of putting so much pressure on yourself, how about simply touching the ball every day?

The Rock 2012 Preview

2011-12-21T09:00:00.006-07:00

There are so many previews to announce that they’re like gifts under a Christmas tree. But basically, each new feature is a step up in our game to better help you find your way to publication or market your titles.

First off, we have to say that there are MORE agent and editor interviews in the queue than last year! Apparently, they just love our let-your-hair-down, kick-your-shoes-off style of blogging.

Now, try this on for size:

Incite...

Got a story with strong inciting incident? Show us. You've got 5 minutes to tell your tale. Start by giving us your first sentence. An audience will vote if they want to see more. Then give us a paragraph. Voting will judge who will go on to do a live presentation at Mercury Café in Denver on Wednesday February 29th. You can bring on actors to read your piece. Do a power point. Do a media presentation. Make us cry. Make us laugh. Most of all, inspire us. We’ll pass the videos of the winners and runner ups on to agents and editors!

The Rock is also pleased to announce the addition of a local attorney to our staff. Matthew Swihart, Esq., will provide legal insight and advice on a monthly basis. In January, Mr. Swihart will tell us a little about himself and explain a few basic copyright issues.

This Crazy Business: agents, editors, and other publishing industry professionals will be given a topic ranging from Amazon, to hooks, to authors who have pop star status. Then the pros will weigh in. Like a live panel at a conference, each topic will have at least three different perspectives that an author can stash in his or her tool box.

Denver Comic Con! The Mile High City will host its first giant comic book convention in the summer of 2012 and several Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers urban fantasy authors will be guest panelists there! Our own Tamela Buhrke is on the convention staff and will be supplying the latest and greatest updates.

E.C. Stacy unveils Meet the Reader. Want to know what’s selling and why? Let’s go directly to readers; to bloggers who read thousands of books and ask what’s hot and what’s not. If you’re published, these postings will be a great way find review blogs for your titles! If you’re still experimenting with genres, Meet the Reader promises to be a one-stop shop to best get in touch with the market.

Three Authors, Three Questions – bestselling authors will be asked a triad of in-depth questions about the road to publication and the responses might surprise you!

Publishing options. There are so many ways to get published now. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. I thought I'd feature one each week: Traditional, indie options, small press, ebook publishing companies, Amazon, Smashwords, warnings against the vanity presses, how to tell the difference between a small press and a vanity press, how mid-list authors can benefit from having indie publications, how indie publishing can lead to traditional publishing contracts, how to do it wrong and mess up your career through indie publishing, and highlight changes in the publishing industry as they come out.

Plus more humor!

And there are projects in the works even bigger than these that will be announced by next fall!

We’ll be closing shop until January 2nd. From all of us on Chiseled in Rock, Happy Holidays. See you next year!

Gusto Dave

Janet Fogg

Karen Duvall

Tamela Buhrke

Pat Stoltey

J.A. Kazimer

Matthew Swihart, Esq.

Erotica at a Well Known Coffee Chain: Editor Interview -- Betsy Dornbusch

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

It became obvious how much editing runs in Betsy Dornbusch’s blood when I collaborated on a publicity campaign with her. Working that closely with an editor of her caliber taught me that editing is not just catching mistakes; it’s an art unto itself. And Betsy excels at it.

And why shouldn’t she? Betsy has a degree in Education from the University of Kansas with a minor in English, fiction publication credentials, and a teaching background with Front Range Community College in Westminster, Colorado. Oh, and she’s also an editor for only one of the most up-and-coming online fiction magazines, Electric Spec, which helped launched the career of Stuart Neville.

Besides writing and editing speculative fiction, she enjoys snowboarding, exploring life through her blog Sex Scenes at a Starbucks http://www.betsydornbusch.com/ , and pretending to be a soccer mom. (Nobody’s buying the soccer mom bit, though.) When reading for Electric Spec, she’s always on the lookout for dark twists of fate, character, and emotion.

CIR: My standard warped question must come first this time because I think readers will want to know. Where the hell did you get the title for your blog?

BD: Years ago, I was actually trying to write a sex scene at a Starbucks, and I was failing miserably. It struck me how pathetically cliché I was in that moment, the unpublished writer tapping away on my laptop at Starbucks. SS@S also has a few tongue in cheek meanings that you’d have to be a regular reader to get. ;)

CIR: Even though I go through my manuscripts several times, then a second party checks it, then a third, either I at a later date or a fourth party will find just a couple of missing words or tiny mistakes. I almost believe it’s impossible to get a novel word-perfect. An editor wouldn’t reject a submission on something so tiny would they?

BD: Not this one. But I will sometimes judge a submission on how much work it takes to fix. I wouldn’t call me lazy, but I’m busy like anyone. So the more errors I find, the better, exponentially, the story has to be. But generally a few errors aren’t a problem because writers either have a solid toolbox or not. Once I had a writer tell me it was MY job to fix all his errors and grammar, and there were a lot. And I have one word for that writer: Slushpile. More stories come in every day.

CIR: Any tips for catching these beasts that seem to spring up later?

BD: I think it’s important for writers to know what their crutches and common errors are, and critique helps with that. My first drafts are riddled with people looking at each other, at things, they even say “look” in their dialogue! But I know my issues so I know to look for it. (See what I did there?)

CIR: Would a premise alone be a strong persuader for you to accept a submission?

BD: Maybe in my early days, but not any more. We require the full meal deal: a great story that’s well told with firm craft.

CIR: I heard tell once that an agency contacted your publication looking for recommendations of writers. Can you elaborate?

BD: Yeah, it was an interesting way for them to reach out. I interviewed the agent, Ethan Ellenberg, who represents John Scalzi, among others. It’s in the February issue from last year.

CIR: When you begin editing, what’s on your mind?

BD: As far as editing, it’s all about making a story the best it can be. Usually it’s about unearthing gems of prose, letting them shine. But often it’s about streamlining a good story that’s too long. Readers are generally less patient with online reading and Electric Spec accepts up to 7K words so we tend to get longer subs. We find few stories of that length that don’t need some cutting. The very best stories require a great deal of concentration to polish. If I’m thinking more about editing than story while I’m reading your story in slush, it’s probably going to be a rejection.

As far as reading slush, the very best stories carry me along without my noticing. If I have to say good stories have one characteristic in common, it’s that the prose doesn’t get in the way of the story. Great prose tends to match the story in voice and tone—there’s just an innate appropriateness among all the parts that equals to a greater whole.

Interviewed by Gusto Dave

Ten Cheap Ways to Relax When You Have Too Many To Dos on Your List

2011-12-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

By Pat Stoltey (originally published on April 19, 2011 -- but during the holidays, we can use all the de-stressing tips we can get)

1. Stand up. Take four boxing jabs that do not connect with a living creature or anything hard enough to hurt your hand. Sit down. Repeat ten times.

2. Spend exactly one hour on a priority project, then pat yourself on the back for making outstanding progress. Go to the kitchen and get a cup of coffee or a glass of ice water (or whatever), and stand at the window for five minutes to watch the weather. Repeat as needed. You never know what the weather might do if you aren't paying attention.

3. Spend thirty minutes to an hour doing a chore that will raise your heart rate. I took my box cutter to the garage and spent an hour cutting cardboard for the recycle bin. It's harder than you think, but I feel good (and I didn't cut myself, either).

4. Stand with your back against a wall. Make sure your heels, butt, and shoulders touch the wall. Suck in your gut and try to press the small of your back to the wall. If you can actually do this, don't tell me because it will make me feel like a wuss. Hold. Relax. Drop your head to stretch your neck and touch the back of your head to the wall. Hold. Relax. Repeat the lower back and neck stretch five times. Roll your shoulders.

5. Get up very early. Brew a pot of Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer herbal tea. Drink it iced or hot. While you drink the tea, sit quietly in a chair and think. Relax your shoulders. Close your eyes. Don't drop the tea in your lap. When you finish the tea (not the whole pot, silly), check the sunrise. Admire it. Take a picture.

6. Examine your To Do List and pick something you don't really have to do. If your personal life and your career will not suffer, cross the item off the list. There. Doesn't that feel better? For best results, do it again.

7. Take a ten minute music break. Put your favorite CD in your boom box. Sit still and listen or sing along. Get up and dance if you want to. A little Friends in Low Places will lift your spirits. Oh, what the heck, make it a thirty minute or more music break and play the whole CD.

8. Yell. Okay, first wait until everyone is out of the house. Then holler as loud as you can. I personally don't care what you say when you yell, but if your neighbors can hear you, you might want to yell song lyrics or something similar that won't offend or alarm. You only need to do this for a minute.

9. Buy a small drum and learn the basic hand positions and rhythms (or not...it works even if you have no idea what you're doing). Take occasional five minute drumming breaks. It feels great. If you're sticking to a strict budget, buy a kid's tambourine. Or use a waste can turned upside down. Be creative. The point is, pound on something and feel the beat (but don't hurt yourself).

10. Stop working. Think. Why are you so stressed? Can't say no to new projects? Your husband is practicing Morse code right across the hall? You left your holiday baking until the last minute and your company arrives tomorrow? Whatever the reason, own it. You got yourself into this mess, you need to work your way out of it. Now go to the bakery and buy goodies. When you get home, pull the plug on hubby's noisy hobby. Take a deep breath. Then another deep breath. Doesn't that feel good?

The Secret of the Tree - A Memory of Christmas

2011-12-19T05:16:00.005-07:00

On December 20, 2010 I shared this memory. With Christmas week upon us, I was again reminded of the secret of the tree...

I have never, ever, been a good sleeper. Even when young I slept very lightly and would awaken in the silent, early morning hours, my mind busy with my own version of instant replay. Sometimes I’d tiptoe out of the bedroom I shared with my sister to curl up on the couch and enjoy a few rare hours of privacy and quiet. If it was close to Christmas I would plug in the tree lights and that gentle, multi-colored glow illuminated my thoughts.

When I was nine or ten years old I was awake but warm in bed when I heard a scrape and muffled thud. I slipped out from beneath the blanket and met my mom in the hallway. Together, we peeked into the living room. The Christmas tree had tipped over and ornaments now decorated the carpet. The two of us quietly pushed the tree straight, tightened the screws that pressed into the tree trunk to hold it upright, and used a couple of dishtowels to sop up the water that had spilled from the stand. My dad, three brothers, and sister slept on.

The silver angel atop the tree tilted drunkenly to one side as she supervised our efforts. She’d been pulled sideways by the fall and the weight of her power cord. Mom carefully straightened our cherished tree topper as I scampered behind the tree to plug in the cord. Haloed now by faint blue, the angel smiled down at us, her heart glowing.

That angel is with us still though a hole now pierces her bodice, the heat from the bulb having melted through the old plastic decades ago. So the angel has retired. Each year she briefly supervises my sister’s decoration efforts when fragile old ornaments are unwrapped and admired, reminding us of our youth, of our mother taken from us, too young. The angel’s smile is as sweet as my memories demand, yet it was long ago that she plummeted to the carpet and long ago that my mom died. My tears, though, are as fresh as the day we lost her and the hole in my heart is as real as the angel’s. It shall never mend.

And now, with the holiday season upon us, I thought I would share the secret of the tree, of that long-ago adventure I shared with my mom. In a few days I’ll visit my darling sister. We’ll hug and weep a little and our love will take flight as we cherish the memory of our mom’s gentle smile, now the smile of an angel.

by Janet Fogg

What Are You Getting For Christmas? You Already Have a Gift.

2011-12-15T06:00:00.001-07:00

By Gusto Dave

How many bloggers does it take to put up a Christmas tree? Believe me, I’ll get to the points that back up the post title in a bit, but it’s always nice to start with a joke. And you’ve never heard this one because I made it up just this last week after doing a comedy gig.

So how many?

Countless. It goes on and on forever.

Because they all have to go over to everybody else’s houses and leave comments on the other bloggers’ trees.

Anyway, the holidays can prove difficult for many of us. Heck, for us guys we become downright terrified. When I asked some of my lady friends if nose hair trimmers were an appropriate gift for my wife, they assured me that it would be grounds for divorce. Although I’ll take their word for it, I don’t understand why a perfectly good tool can be a bad gift. I’d love a set of trimmers.

But I digress. Back to the point. As a writer, I find the holidays difficult because I’m very sensitive. Quit laughing. I’m serious. Yes, at the center of hairy-knuckled, beer guzzling Dave there is a romantic heart. We writers are blessed with them. We see humanity in a beautiful light and it makes us want to capture it on the page. Sadly, there is not enough time in a life to put all these snapshots on paper. So when I see my wife glowing because I really did buy her the perfect gift (And yes, I do pick out good presents for her) I know that it’s one of those records that I have to suffice with writing in my head.

On Discovering New Ideas by Pam Nowak

2011-12-13T06:00:00.004-07:00

One of the most frequent questions authors field is “where’d you get the idea for your story?” Personally, I have a head (and a file drawer) full of them. I amass ideas like junk mail…lots and lots of junk mail…and I find them nearly everywhere. But, since not all of us do things the same, I thought I would share a bit this month on where I discover story ideas.

My favorite idea spots are bookstores—actual bookstores where one can wander the aisles. Used bookstores are often especially fruitful because they house unusual topics that may not be “current” enough for inclusion in new book stores. As a writer of historical romance, the nonfiction sections draw me. Local history sections are gold mines, as are museum gift shops and stores in tourist towns. I can spend hours browsing titles, looking for unusual topics or histories of events. I’ve discovered books about gold rushes, frontier medicine, Indian life, women telegraphers, and beer brewers (among others). I’ve found information on famous people and completely unknown people in unusual situations. Suffice to say, I buy a lot of books.

And then there are magazines. For historical writers, there are an abundant number of periodicals with articles on everything from the history of ice skating to medicine healers to undertaking. I subscribe to at least one history magazine at any given time. I’ve also found intriguing character, plot, and setting ideas in travel magazines, women’s magazines, and Readers’ Digest. If something strikes my imagination, it goes to my idea file (usually in the form of the torn out pages of the article but sometimes via handwritten or computer-generated notes).

Visits to places can also prompt ideas. Sometimes, it is the setting itself that might conjure up a situation. This means ideas can come from the beach, a vineyard, or a mountain road. It might be the entire setting or it could be something that occurs there (such as a burro ride as opposed to the Grand Canyon). And don’t forget museums—especially historic home tours with their wealth of information on period lifestyle, the inhabitants, and events of the era. Museums can inspire with displays or an off-hand comment by a tour guide. Displays contain information and within the information are often tidbits that have the potential to blossom into stories—not to mention that almost every museum has a gift shop with books.

News items can offer more ideas. Natural disasters, crimes, and human interest features can launch a myriad of stories. Just think about it: one evening’s news might include spots on a hurricane, an autistic child, a crooked home-repair business, and a freak accident. Hmmmm…all sorts of stories there if one combined them.

And, of course, there’s peoplewatching. Traits, whether physical or behavioral, can be fodder for creating characters that are vivid but believable. Looking around, it’s easy to spot the outlandish things people do or say. Sometimes, it might be a mannerism. Other times, it might be how someone looks. Noting real-life situations can springboard ideas for how characters might respond or how conflict might be increased.

Ideas? They abound. All the writer need do is remain aware, take notes, and start tossing settings, characters, situations, and conflicts together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pamela Nowak was the 2010 RMFW Writer of the Year. Chances was the recipient of the 2009 HOLT Medallion for Best First Book, a WILLA Award Finalist for Historical Fiction, and was named to Booklist's Top Ten Romances of 2008. Choices, received a 2010 HOLT Award of Merit in historical romance.

This article was reprinted from the Rocky Mountain Writer, RMFW's newsletter, with permission of the author.

Literary Agent Marisa Corvisiero, Esq. is interviewed

2011-12-12T05:15:00.013-07:00

Today, Chiseled in Rock is delighted to speak with Marisa Iozzi Corvisiero. Last week Marisa shared some exciting news with us about new changes in her career, and we’re pleased to share that information.

But let’s back up for just a moment to properly introduce Marisa. An experienced attorney, Marisa founded The Corvisiero Law Practice, a boutique law firm in midtown New York City. While continuing to practice law, Marisa also became fascinated by the publishing business, and works with the L. Perkins Agency as an agent.

Marisa represents science fiction, fantasy, thrillers, adventure, and romance, as well as young adult and children's literature. In non-fiction, she enjoys business, spiritual, parenting, self-help, and mainstream science.

In June of 2011 Marisa partnered with Jo Ann Kairys, a colleague, author, editor, publisher, and friend to form Literary Powerhouse Consulting, LLC. Their mission is to provide a comprehensive package of literary advisory services to anyone needing guidance within the publishing industry. Marisa is very excited about the myriad services and opportunities they’re providing.

CIR: Marisa, please tell us about your dual professions and your start as an agent.

MC: I started wearing my agent hat after some of my author friends and colleagues asked me to represent them in their book deals through my law firm. We all know how difficult it is to find the right agent and to have editors take authors seriously if they are not represented or already self-published. In fact, many of the traditional publishers don’t accept un-agented work. So I started out by lending a hand. I lost a couple of paying clients when I started representing them as their agent (because agents are not paid until they sell the work). But it all worked out in the end. One thing led to another and eventually I joined Lori Perkins’ Agency, where I’ve learned lots of lessons. Today, I continue to practice law at the Corvisiero Law Practice, and I represent several very talented authors.

CIR: Will you also describe the services you’re providing with your new endeavor – Literary Powerhouse Consulting - and tell us why you decided to form LPH?

MC: LPH is my baby - an entity that my partner Jo Ann Kayris and I formed in order to provide Literary Consulting services. Jo Ann is an award winning author and founder of Story Quest Publishing. Her expertise and temperament complement mine quite nicely – we met at a writers critique group years ago and hit it off right away. Through the years we have been in touch and have helped each other in various capacities, from editing to legal services.

Our decision to pair up and offer these services evolved from numerous requests we received independently for literary consulting, guidance and coaching within different facets of publishing. After some discussions we decided to make it official and actually offer these much needed services to help authors navigate the deep waters of the publishing industry. As we started putting out heads together, we decided that our expertise and contacts would really be invaluable for anyone from authors to book sellers, so we expanded our services into a comprehensive package that will provide "one stop shopping" for anyone in the industry. We knew right away that we were onto something pretty cool – creating a service that is much needed in the industry. We feel that there is so much information out there, and that there are so many rules and procedures to follow, that it is easy to be discouraged by the whole thing. Nor is information that is out there offered all in one place. So that is exactly what we decided to do.

This idea however, became even bigger when we decided to do something interactive and special on our site. As we developed our Webpages with the genius of Erin Gilman, we decided to create a social media platform that would be exclusive to industry folks. The goal was to have a closed universe in publishing where people could meet, socialize, promote, learn, and share with others with similar interests without the worries of outsiders, advertisers, and hackers. We loved this idea and ran with it, and as we did, each time we had a brainstorming session each of us brought a plethora of amazing ideas to the table. As a result, what started of as a wonderful consulting services website has now evolved into what we have dubbed a “Portal.” We call it a Portal because it is going to be so huge and so unique, that entering it will be like traversing a Portal into the literary publishing dimension where anything is possible.

The Literary Powerhouse Portal will include "PowerTools" to help authors get published and get lots of sales, help agents work their wonder, help publishers with contacts and promoting sales.

The Power Tools are services or capabilities made possible with special software designed with our goals in mind. These PowerTools are intertwined with the social media site and discussion forum, allowing users to join and set up groups, attend seminars and workshops online, create a new blog or link their existing blog, manage projects, video chat, IM, share files, report book publishing deals, find and submit to agents and publishers, track submissions, find and apply to contests, submit projects to book reviewers, find the right PR firm, and so much more. We have huge ideas for this site above and beyond anything that is out there now. It's going to be amazing! We are shooting to launch it early next year and are about to put a countdown clock on the site so folks know when they can start signing up.

CIR: How will LPH interface with the other professional services you provide? (And do you ever sleep?!)

MC: The good thing about what I do is that all of my endeavors complement each other - I'm able to offer a full package. Most authors, at some point or another, will likely need some or all of our services - from the time they finish their manuscript to when they figure out how to find and sign the right agent, to making deals with publishers and promoting their books. If anyone needs help with any of these things we coach them through it. If they need an agent, they can submit to me and I will consider their work. If they need help with a contract that I didn't negotiate as an agent, or other legal services, I help them through the law firm. We are very careful to keep things compartmentalized for the sake of avoiding conflicts or crossing those ethical boundaries. …And do I sleep? Not as much as I'd like to.

CIR: You believe authors should be published in both print and e-pub format. With e-pub sales strengthening, are your contract negotiations with publishers changing in regard to, for example, the amount of an advance? Or any other contract terms?

MC: E-books are the wave of the future, but I don’t think that print is going extinct anytime soon. So we strongly believe that every book should be out there in every media form. When negotiating with publishers, if they want to acquire the right to put a book out in all of these mediums, then my job is to make sure that the author is compensated accordingly, and that the publisher will in fact use these rights. If they can’t give the proper assurances, even though nothing is ever one hundred percent certain, then we try to retain the rights and offer them to someone else.

CIR: What do you enjoy most about representing authors to the publishing industry? Least?

MC: I love reading and pitching books to publishers. I only represent books and projects that I really believe in, and so my enthusiasm gives me an extra umph when telling others about it. I get very excited. What I like the least is that publishers have a certain quota of books that they will acquire, and so often they have a specific list of things that they are looking for and may pass up a great project just because they need to keep looking for the perfect fit. It can be discouraging, especially when you are the one breaking the news.

CIR: Do you hope to increase your client base?

MC: Yes, I’m looking for new talent. I periodically suspend submissions so that I can catch up, so anyone who would like to submit to me should first look at my submission guidelines listed on my blog. I update this all the time, so I suggest people look at the blog and not the website.

The good news is that in the past year or so I’ve been working with some wonderful people whom I now call my team. Brittany Booker and Jordy Albert have now become my Jr. Agents and they are helping me do submissions and review queries as they learn hands on. We also have a couple of good interns that have huge potential. So everything is growing and we are making good progress towards offering efficient and wonderful services.

CIR: Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to submissions?

MC: I think that sometimes I’m more tolerant than other agents when it comes to queries. Of course, I don’t like it when someone misspells my name or sends me a query that is part of a mass e-mail, but I don’t think that it justifies turning an author away because of it. Do I take it into consideration if the rest of the query is weak? You bet. My real pet peeves though, are sloppy and difficult to read formats. I don’t like queries that start by telling me what the character was thinking or doing. To me, that should be in the middle of the letter. A good query should start by telling me that they have a romance (or other genre) 80K word (proper word count for age group and genre) finished manuscript that they think I will like it because…. I think that research is paramount. The author should know the genre of his or her work, the target readers (at least gender and age), and by knowing this, they can learn how long the work should be. I will be writing a blog post on this soon to put the info out there all in one place. In the mean time authors should keep in mind that the younger the reader the shorter the work should be. And the more sophisticated the reader (sci-fi/fantasy) the more allowance they have to get creative with a longer manuscript. But don’t go crazy. If your novel is longer than 115K especially for a debut, you should consider some edits. I know that there are novels out there that were the author’s first, and are much longer than that… etc, etc. I know. I’ve read Twilight and Harry Potter too. But they are among the few, and just because they made it, it doesn’t mean that it was easy. I think that they are wonderful series, but in a way they were lucky. Having said that… I’m not telling everyone to conform. I’m just saying that there are certain ‘rules,’ if you will, in the industry. If you really believe in your work and it doesn’t follow the norm, trust your self (to a realistic level) and go for it with gusto. Just be prepared to know that it will harder than hard, but if you keep at it you just might get lucky too.

CIR: Any predictions about what might be the next big thing in publishing? What trend(s) do you see fading?

MC: Superpowers are still big, but we are not looking to them as part of the future. I’m looking for fresh material and ideas. I want to be wowed by the next big thing. I had predicted mermaids to jump into the waters, but the ideas were contrived and have not done so well.

If you’re wondering about vampires and think that the market is saturated, think again. We are just obsessed with vampires and can’t seem to get enough. The trend that I do see is a new age of vampires that are not so sweet and glamorous (I’m obviously not including True Blood). Traditional vampires are back.

CIR: What one piece of advice would you offer to authors seeking representation?

MC: Do your research and always put your best foot forward. Learn about the industry, but don’t forget that in the end your writing speaks for itself. So hone in on your craft, keep learning and perfecting your work. And most importantly, never give up. This is a tough industry to break into. Agents are incredibly busy and will unfortunately review your work looking for reasons not to represent you, because unfortunately, that’s how most editors review work. So don’t give them any. Always submit finished work, the best work that you can possibly produce, and then be professional and attentive. It’s okay to innocently stalk your agent’s Facebook page and blog to see what they are up to, but don’t bombard them with follow up emails. Know the agent’s policy on responses and when it is okay to follow up or assume that they are not interested if you have not heard back.

The Literary Powerhouse Portal will be a wonderful source to use when researching Agents and their guidelines, response time, and the deal that they make. When you do hear back always respond quickly and be ready to provide a synopsis and your manuscript. If you meet an agent or make a connection somewhere, follow up graciously and always strike while the iron is hot. Don’t let them forget you.

CIR: What are you most excited about, with the launch of LPH?

MC: There are so many things to be exited about. Calling LitPow mine and having the control over our services and our presence is wonderful. I’m good at seeing the whole picture and how it fits into a scene. And because of it, sometimes it is difficult for me to leave the vision to others.

I do have to say though, that I’m most exited about the Portal and everything that we will offer with that membership. The PowerTools are wonderful and powerful - and yes that pun is intended… that is actually how we came up with the name Literary Powerhouse. I personally can’t wait to use them and to also see how everyone else takes advantage of the benefits they will bring to them. These tools will provide information, resources, organization, networking and more. They offer some services and information that can be gathered from various resources, now packaged and enhanced in one organized place …at the user’s fingertips. And to make it even better we uniquely connected those resources to our services. Our presence and the participation of our expert connections, colleagues, clients, and friends will make it a valuable experience every time the member logs in.

Lastly, I’m exited and happy to say that this Portal will help authors and industry people at all levels. I think that it has the potential to change how many people do their research, their submissions and their publicity. All in all, this will be the only site they will ever need!

CIR: Now to digress, and in accordance with our CIR M.O., I would like to ask an off-track question. What did you dream of doing when you were twelve years old?

MC: LOL I like this one...I wanted to be an Astronaut or Singer… you know, because the two have so many elements in common. So naturally, I became a lawyer.

CIR: You can visit Marisa at www.thoughtsfromaliteraryagent@blogspot.com for submission guidelines and updates, or www.literarypowerhouse.com (may still be under construction) for detailed information about their services. You can follow her on Twitter @mcorvisiero and the website for her law firm is www.corvisierolaw.com.

Thank you, Marisa! And best of luck in your new endeavors!

Janet Fogg

(CIR first interviewed Marisa in February 2011 and she has kindly answered additional questions for today's post.)

Pointers From Assistant Editor with Grand Central Publishing Latoya Smith

2011-12-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

Interview conducted by Joanne Kennedy and Gusto Dave

Grand Central Publishing offers fiction and non-fiction titles from authors like Chelsea Handler, David Baldacci, Queen Latifah, Nicolas Sparks, Pam Grier, and James Patterson just to name a few. Some pretty heavy hitters. Before she took the position with Grand Central, Latoya Smith was an editorial assistant at Kensington. While acquiring her degree, she worked for New York Times bestselling author Teri Woods who started self-publishing with success long before the E-book revolution and now is widely regarded as a visionary who predicted our present publishing landscape. All of us here on the Rock think so anyway.

Dave: From Temple University, you earned a Bachelors in Journalism. Did you ever give network news a shot?

LS: Unfortunately, I did not, though I did want to write for the newsroom when I first started at Temple. However, once I began working for Teri I knew that book publishing was the career I wanted to pursue. Sadly, there wasn’t a degree program at Temple for book publishing at the time, so I took the next best thing which was Journalism with a concentration in magazines. At one point, I thought I’d start my own magazine but after learning the failure rate of the magazine business, I decided to stick with books.

Joanne: I know it’s impossible to pick a favorite child, but do you have a couple of recent or upcoming books you’re particularly proud of?

LS: There are three projects that I am extremely excited about coming in 2012. The first is a new low-country contemporary romance series by Rochelle Alers. The next is a wonderful Alice Sebold-esk novel from bestselling author Dorothy Koomson, which publishes in April. And last but not least, the newest addition to the GCP list, New York Times bestselling author, Carl Weber whose next book comes in the fall.

Dave: A writer should take editing and polishing their manuscript as seriously as possible. However, if you receive a manuscript and enjoy reading it, but there are a couple of errors in it—for example, an omitted conjunction and maybe a dangling modifier, both of them towards the back of the book—would that be a deal breaker? I always worry about this even though I edit mine three times then send them to a couple of proof readers.

LS: I understand that no one is perfect. However, sometimes errors can hinder the reading experience. I cannot say that I’ve ever passed on a novel because an author misspelled a word here or there or forgot to add a comma. What I am looking for is a unique plot, characters I can become enthralled with, great and natural sounding dialogue, and a world—whether contemporary or paranormal—that will suck me in from page one through to the end. Ultimately, I am looking for a satisfying reading experience.

Joanne: It’s time for the standard “trend” question. Is the dark urban paranormal subgenre still going strong? Do you see any other subgenres making a resurgence right now?

LS: Dark paranormal is still going strong! I think the greatest thing about paranormal is the author’s ability to take the story anywhere they like, so the reader gets an exciting, new experience every time! That’s what draws people in. Sexy historical romance and small-town contemporary romance is also making a strong comeback. What’s special about these genres, at least to me, is that they allow the reader to escape into another world for 300 or more pages.

Dave: Who are some of the cool people you’ve met thanks to your job?

LS: Wow! That list is large but I will do my best to mention them all: Pam Grier, Man-Kind, Chris Jericho, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Dr. Cornell West, Sonia Sanchez, T.I., Sherri Shepherd, Jimmy Fallon, Isaiah Washington, Tyrese, Tasha Smith, Faith Evans, Jamie Hector, Marsha Haygood, Leslie Small, Terrie Williams, and lastly the crew from The Today Show.

Dave: Lots of journalists write books at some point during their careers. Are you working on a ‘tell all’ or a fiction piece?

LS: I’ve actually done some ghost-writing in the past. A few people have asked me to write an inspirational piece, specifically geared to young adults trying to become successful, not only in publishing, but in life. I am seriously thinking about it, but haven’t started yet. I do think I’ll complete my first novel or work of non-fiction very soon.

Joanne: What do you feel are the best promotional tools for writers? While I’m busy writing the next (even better) book, what are the best ways for me to spend my limited time and money?

LS: SOCIAL MEDIA! I can’t tell you enough how much we have taken advantage of the various online tools that cost little to no money. No matter the avenue, word of mouth will always be the strongest tool for an author. Making sure people know about you and your product is most important. Utilizing social networks, blog talk radio, blog tours, book club outreach, in addition to attending conferences and creating various tchotchkes to promote your books are great and inexpensive ways to promote yourself and your brand.

Dave: If I’m ever in Philly on a book tour (Okay, I’m dreaming a little, but I am interviewing an assistant editor with Grand Central Publishing…I got to at least sound confident) where do I go for the best cheese steak sandwich?

LS: Ha! I know people always talk about Jim’s on South Street but I happen to be a HUGE fan of cheese steaks from Max’s on Broad and Erie. Delicious!

Joanne: I know you’re looking for a great hook, a unique voice, and compelling characters—but what else can a writer do to make their query intrigue you? Does a website or self-promotion make a difference?

LS: Of course! An impressive resume can go just as far as a good story.

Thanks, Latoya.

Your Blog's Little Black Book

2011-12-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

So you’ve been active on the social media sites and worked darn hard to get the traffic flowing to your blog. Luring them in took time and effort, so don’t let your visitors sample your wares and then just slip away. You deserve more than that.

You deserve a commitment.

In your case, commitment is adding their contact information into the modern-day version of the little black book -- your mailing list.

Every time I say “mailing list,” I hear groans. Trust me, I hate spam as much as you do. This is not about you becoming a spammer. This is about you being able to reach out to your fans, the people who love your work, and send then a reminder each time you have a book coming out. It is not some random mailing list. Your list will contain people who signed up to hear from you.

The second reason writers groan when I say mailing list, is that they envision doing a lot of work to build that list. If you don’t want (or don’t have time) to put together contests, newsletters or short stories to entice people out of their email addresses, then here are a few lazy ways to build it:

The easiest option is to have them sign-up to receive a summary of your weekly blog posts by e-mail. Several of the mailing list companies can do this for you automatically. That makes it the perfect low maintenance approach to building a mailing list.
Another option is to have a sign-up for special announcements. Let people know that they will not receive weekly, monthly or regular contact from you, but will only hear from you when you are announcing new books, release dates, public appearances, virtual book tours or other important events. That way people know that they are signing up for periodic advertisements from you about your books. Provide them with a one-time valuable item, like an ebook, podcast or videocast.

Don’t feel like you have to choose just one of these. Mix and match as you like. Just promise me you won’t let them sneak off after partaking of your goods.

Posted by Tamela Buhrke

What's New from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers?

2011-12-06T06:00:00.001-07:00

Here are two of the new releases from members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers:

The Taming of Enkidu
by Theda Hudson
Renaissance EBooks, Sizzler Editions, November 2011
ISBN: 9781615088683
Novella $4.99

"Historical, paranormal erotic romance. When the people of Uruk beg the gods to do something about their despot God King, they make Enkidu, a wild man. Enkidu is set down on the plains where he becomes the animals' champion, disrupting the hunters who prey on them. When the hunters complain about Enkidu to the king, he sends Shamat, one of Ishtar's temple harlots, to the wild plains to seduce the savage man and make him civilized. Over seven hot days and hotter nights, Shamat will teach Enkidu it means to be a man and the scorching pleasure to be found in the experienced arms of a Goddess' harlot."

Theda Hudson is the pseudonym of RMFW member Thea Hutcheson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Her Sights
by Robin Perini
Montlake Romance, November 2011
ISBN: 978-1612181523
Paperback $13.95

"Jasmine “Jazz” Parker, Jefferson County SWAT's only female sniper, can thread the eye of a needle with a bullet. But she carries a secret from her past that she thought she buried for good at the age of fifteen. Two years ago she even drove away the one man she believed she could love—ex-Army Ranger turned reporter Luke Montgomery—to keep her past hidden. Now, in a fleeting second, the time it takes for one clean shot, one perfect hit, to save the life of the governor's daughter, Jazz's world begins to crumble around her.

Luke splashes her face and name across the front page of the newspaper, reawakening her past with a vengeance. A vicious enemy is now bent on destroying her life, forcing Jazz to turn to the one man she can never have in order to stop a killer before she and everyone she cares about pays the ultimate price."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Information compiled by Pat Stoltey

The Four Horsemen of the Apostrophe

2011-12-05T05:04:00.001-07:00

by Janet Fogg

And I feared when an agent would read my query, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of four horsemen saying, “Come, study writing.” And I beheld a white horse: and he that sat on him embraced the elementary rules of usage and the elementary principles of composition. And the white horse went forth carrying these Elements of Style and his name was Strunk and White. And it was good.

And I feared when an editor would read my synopsis, and I heard the second horseman whisper, “Come, read many books and learn.” And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to read, and also to share and preserve knowledge. And there was given unto him a precious card to carry, and the horse was called Library, and it was good.

And I feared when an editor would read my manuscript, and I listened when the third horseman said, “Come, learn of story-telling, the call to adventure, and the refusal. Learn of fulfilled quests.” And I beheld a black horse; and he that sat on him studied The Hero’s Journey, and it was by Joseph Campbell. And it was good.

And I feared to set aside old works, to start a new manuscript, and I heard a voice in the midst of the four horsemen say, “Seek The Fire in Fiction and you shall infuse your writing with life, and it shall never pale.” And when I sought the fire upon this pale horse and received a publishing contract, I recalled the voice, and it was Donald Maass. And it was very good.

You BETTER Be Coy, Roy

2011-12-01T06:07:00.001-07:00

Guest Commentary by Amanda Sue Dunham

Even though I’m new to this writer thing, a fresh member of RMFW, and still trying to just figure out life, I saw an utterly absurd opinion on one of the networks a few weeks ago and I had to opine in rebuttal even at the risk of upsetting whoever wrote it.

The point of ridicule is a loop email that had a subject to the effect of: don’t be coy with your blog titles.

I had several rebellious impulses when I first read that since it came across as bossy, but I’m quite histrionic being a drama major, and having been told this multiple times, I abated my urge to fire off an email that would have essentially laughed at this person. I was also trying to fit in, not make waves, but that’s been taken care of thanks to some ultra hip members of RMFW. I also saw that hardly anyone responded to that email, which I interpreted as no one agreeing with the author.

So I kept quiet and continued to watch the RMFW loop. Last April on the first, this Gusto Dave guy sends an email that read: The Very Final Posting from Chiseled in Rock. Riveted, I clicked on the link and saw the April Fools reference. At first, I cussed at this a**hole.

Then I grinned. Because that home boy's got game. Without that hook to make me check out the blog, I wouldn’t have been turned on to the uber jazzy J. A. Kazimer.

Most blogs are nothing but vanity with hosts who blather on and on about themselves. If you’re Oprah Winfrey, you can get away with that. If you’re Fred Johnson from the farm thinking that you’re witty with your self publication, sorry, no one is going to click on you.

Unless you’re coy.

I mean…RMFW is full of commercial fiction writers (and I love that word commercial because this is about selling books) and if you want to sell books, you got to pique the interest of the consumers.

In other words, hello, book sales are sucking wind thanks to video games and on-demand movies. Don’t be coy? Seriously? Journalists choose the most shocking headlines for their stories. Movie producers drill the most memorable and snappy titles into your brain. I’ve never picked up a novel that had a name that wasn’t well thought out to attract book buyers.

In closing, the sender of that email can’t be reading this posting because by clicking on my coy title he or she would be conceding that I’m right. But most importantly, I hope to God that no one else was misled by that person’s amateur assertion. Shakespeare would turn over in his grave.

Are You a Twitter Pied Piper?

2011-11-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Recently, I taught an “Introduction to Twitter” class and was amazed at how quickly students, who initially thought of Twitter as a marketing burden, were urging me to show them how to build a huge group of followers. They were caught up in a frenzy of building numbers before they even understood what to do with them.

As an avid Twitter user, my philosophy is quality over quantity. There are plenty of programs and gurus offering schemes to build your following into the tens of thousands overnight. Some of them even work. But does having a huge following mean success for your book sales? Not necessarily.

This frantic numbers game overlooks the purpose of using Twitter in the first place -- building your readership. You don’t just want a following. You want a following of readers who are interested in your genre or style of writing. What you really want is people who love your work enough to plunk down some cash.

For that, you can't just buy a list, you will need to earn those reader's respect and trust.

So let’s go over some ways you can populate your Twitter followers with qualified readers who could potentially become book buyers.

Create Your Plan

If you've read my previous posts, you know that I’m always harping on creating a plan. Interestingly, a recent study showed that 60% of companies don’t know if their social media campaign is working. Any guesses on the percentage of companies who began their social media campaigns without a plan? Yep, the same 60% Coincidence? I think not.

The truth is that most people don’t have a plan when they tweet. They post random thoughts about their day or interesting posts they find online. That is a drain on productivity. In my humble opinion, the best way to build a quality following is to have a plan for your tweeting. That plan should consist of three components:

Your message
Tweeting to reinforce or enhance your message
Building relationships around your message.

I know what you are thinking -- yawn.

This may sound like dry marketing drivel, but bear with me for a moment. The reason it won’t be boring is because your message will come from the themes in your writing. When you build your message, you choose topics from your books and stories that you are passionate about. Revolve your entire twitter campaign around those topics and you will build a Twitter following who loves them too. It is just like writing a novel. Great novels have a strong position and voice. So too do great Twitter campaigns.

Of course, some of your tweets will be general conversation. That’s fine. However, if you stick to your plan, the majority of the tweets you send out will offer interesting information drawn from the themes in your novels or other writing. You will educate, entertain and thrill your audience with your wicked wit or emotional appeal. It is that passion that will attract people who are interested in you and your message.

As you build a base of followers who are interested in the same topics, you use your common interests to build relationships. You may have a follower that lives on the opposite sides of the world but you both love forensic science or space exploration or haiku. Whatever the topic, you chat about the things you love and have in common. Then that follower tells their friends how inspirational you are on this topic. You get more followers that are dedicated to that message.

You are the Pied Piper, creating a beautiful music that attracts the right kind of follower. That’s what will make your Twitter time more productive and more attractive. It may build slower but it will be a more dedicated and adoring group. One that will be waiting anxiously for your upcoming book.

Still need more? For those of you still itching for the "how to's" of getting followers, next week we’ll go into greater specifics on where to find your followers and how to woo them.

From the Desk of Tamela Buhrke

Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner Interviewed at Chiseled in Rock

2011-11-29T06:00:00.001-07:00

This is a modified version of the interview conducted via e-mail by Pat Stoltey, originally published on May 3, 2011

CIR: One of the agent's who took pitch appointments at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold 2011 in Denver is Rachelle Gardner, an agent with WordServe Literary Group, representing both fiction and non-fiction.

She’s looking for mainstream commercial projects for both the Christian and general markets. In non-fiction and memoirs, she looks for authors with established platforms, strong marketing hooks and an understanding of how to use social media. Non-fiction authors must have a book proposal and three sample chapters to be considered. She’s also seeking all kinds of fiction, and authors must have a completed manuscript to be considered.

CIR: Rachelle, thank you for agreeing to this interview on Chiseled in Rock blog. Since CIR is closely related to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and since you’ll be a guest agent at this year’s Colorado Gold Conference in Denver in September, we’re interested in learning more about you. I’ll begin with an off-track question: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

RG: At times I wanted to be a psychologist; other times I wanted to be a screenwriter or movie director.

CIR: How and when did you decide to become a literary agent?

RG: I decided in October of 2007 after several years of being an editor. I felt like being an agent would give me more opportunity to engage with writers on a more long-term basis, helping them not only with their books but with their entire careers.

CIR: Tell us a little about WordServe Literary Group.

RG: We have two agents (Greg Johnson, the founder, and me) along with an administrative assistant (Cathy) and our fiction specialist, Sarah, who reviews incoming submissions and helps me with other fiction-related projects. (Note: since this interview, a new agent, Barbara J. Scott, has joined WordServe.)

CIR: Does your group’s Denver base cause you any problems with access to the New York publishing houses?

RG: Well, we don’t have lunch with editors every day. But we get a great response from editors, whether they’re in New York or not. I think the main thing that matters is if we’re bringing them quality projects or not, and of course that’s what we always try to do.

CIR: How and where do you find most of your clients?

RG: Mainly through referrals from current clients and others in the business; conferences; queries.

CIR: What are your personal and professional expectations when you attend a writers’ conference?

RG: I always hope to be able to help as many writers as possible through both advice and encouragement. I hope to have a good time networking with writers, editors and agents. And if I find a writer I really want to represent, I consider it a bonus.

CIR: What do you find most aggravating at a conference?

RG: I am generally pretty easygoing at conferences and don’t get bugged easily. I know it’s hard for writers sometimes—they may feel nervous and uncomfortable around agents and editors. So I try to go easy on them!

CIR: Do you have any advice for authors who have 8 to 10 minutes during a pitch session to sell you on reading their manuscripts?

RG: Treat it as a conversation, not as a “pitch.” Remember, the agent sitting across from you is a person. Begin as you would any conversation—with an introduction and by putting your project in context. You’ll want to say hi, give your name, etc., and say something like, “I’m writing a paranormal romance targeted at the teen market. It’s about…”

CIR: When you invite an author to send a partial or full manuscript after a query or pitch session, what do you want to see on that first page? What turns you off?

RG: I want to see your best work. What turns me off is obviously bad grammar or typos, or entry level writing craft mistakes.

CIR: As a rule, do you inform an author when you reject a query or submission?

RG: On queries, I try to always respond, but it’s not always possible. Our agency policy states that if you don’t hear from us in 60 days, you can consider it a pass.

CIR: If you’re interested in an author’s manuscript but feel the work needs additional editing, do you provide that service?

RG: I can’t answer that question in a global way; it’s entirely dependent on the situation. There are cases where I believe someone is a really great writer and just needs some help polishing a book before submission, and in many cases, I’ll offer to rep them and then do the necessary editing.

CIR: It was pretty hard to find questions to ask that you haven’t already answered on your excellent blog at Rants & Ramblings: On Life as a Literary Agent. You also have a presence on Twitter and Facebook, and perhaps other social media venues as well. What is the minimum amount of social media exposure you recommend for authors who are ready to submit their work to agents and editors?

RG: For a fiction author, I hope that they at least are familiar with Twitter and Facebook, and maybe have started a blog, even if they haven’t gotten it going yet. Fiction authors need to realize that their platform won’t sell their book, but once they’re repped and especially once they get a contract, they’re going to have to work to help sell their work, so they need to know what this means.

For non-fiction authors, a pretty good sized platform is required. Either they’re well-known in their field, or they are a speaker who speaks in front of large audiences once a month or more, or they’ve got a blog with 50,000 hits a month (this is an arbitrary number).

CIR: Thanks again to Rachelle Gardner for answering our questions. In addition to accepting pitches at the conference on Saturday morning and participating in an agent panel on Sunday morning, Rachelle also conducted a three-hour workshop on Saturday afternoon (September 10th): From Proposal to Publication (and Everything in Between) "An overview of the publishing process, including how agents work, what publishing contracts look like, and what to expect when working with a publisher."

How do I love three? Let me count the ways...

2011-11-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

By Janet Fogg

I love three to the depth and breadth and… well, maybe not that much.

But there is a lot of love for three. The Three Stooges. The Three Little Pigs. Musketeers. Kings. Bears. Billy Goats. Wicked Stepsisters. Mice. Three, three, three. I could go on and on.

Let’s start with the Rule of Three. It goes way back. Think about storytelling from Aristotle’s Poetics. A beginning, middle, and end. A progression that creates tension, escalates tension, and then offers a satisfying release. Whew!

Syd Field suggests a three-act structure for screenwriting that’s a simple outline for any storytelling. Setup, confrontation, and resolution punctuated by two plot points or reversals. The first reversal is an event that sends the protagonist on a new pathway. The second is a major event that makes everything look impossible. Works for me.

Giving a speech? Max Atkinson offers examples on the use of three-part phrases, or “claptraps,” to evoke a response in the audience, in his book Our Masters’ Voices. Ah, claptraps, when your speech or story makes an audience applaud.

Tell me a name three times and I’ll likely remember it. Tell me once, maybe not. So if you need to emphasize an idea, tell me three times or use three adjectives.

Then there are all sorts of slogans. “Location, location, location.” “Go, fight, win!” “Veni, vidi, vici.”

Aren’t descriptions more effective in threes? Think of a “three dog night.” On cold nights indigenous Australians would sleep in a hole in the ground embracing a dingo. On colder nights they’d sleep with two dingos, and if the night was raw and freezing it was a “three dog night.” (Or a 1965 band.) But pause for a moment and picture your hero shivering in that deep, cold hole you’ve dug. You want your readers to shiver with him, exhale frosty breath. What's going to best describe that bone-aching cold? One dingo or three?

Now let me think, how many times does Jack climb the beanstalk? On the count of three, let’s all say it together. One. Two. THREE!

Thanks a Lot, Mac!

2011-11-23T16:40:00.002-07:00

In spite of how self absorbed or goofy my friends think I am, there are many things that I truly appreciate. Most of them will surprise you…

Heat when I’m cold, good sleep, peanuts, my left ear (the right one is argumentative), laughter, teachers, honesty, funny noises, running water, children’s smiles, tears, high fiber cereal and laxatives, denim shirts, women, summer breezes, deodorant, windshield wipers in the rain, simplicity, music, naval lint, dogs, the sound of a motor, my imagination, nude jogging, fellow scribes, snow, my wit and gift for gab inherited from my father and mother respectively, dinkdoys, coffee, innuendo, math, cotton, silly ideas dressed in plaid suits and white shoes, beer, Lucasfilms, new socks, my robust whiskers, baby gouda cheese

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

And our friends who read the Rock!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gusto Dave

Living the NaNoWriMo Experience: Week Three

2011-11-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

By Pat Stoltey

Once I passed the 30,000 word mark on Saturday, I knew I could make 50,000 by the end of the month (provided the Yellowstone volcano doesn't erupt or something equally disastrous happens). When I laid out the writing schedule for the month, I scheduled a write-in at the library for Sunday the 20th, and marked seven full days the rest of the month as "stay at home and write" days.

It helped a lot that we're not having company for Thanksgiving, and that hubby was surprisingly agreeable about my plan to eat out on Thursday. He's been very supportive (and even reduces the volume on his ham radio during my writing sessions).

Here's what I've learned from my NaNoWriMo experience so far:

1. Writing two to four hours a day is exhausting. I think I better establish my daily goal at 1,000 words after November (for certain male overachievers--and you know who you are--, let's not forget a woman's work is never done).

2. In spite of the fatigue and early bedtime, my sleep patterns are disrupted by a busy mind. I often spend an hour or two in the middle of the night, thinking about possible new scenes for the story.

3. The least little thing that happens can inspire a new direction or scene for the novel. I read about a friend's "bad mommy moment" in her blog. A bad mommy moment is now part of my story. A member of my critique group has been sending me ninja writing warrior e-mails where the evil ninja writing cat tries to foil my NaNoWriMo progress. Now there are three tiny abandoned kittens in my story and my characters (including a little old lady shopkeeper with a double-barreled shotgun) are on the alert for trouble.

4. There is an amazing cheerleading network for NaNo participants, and much of it takes place on Facebook. That's fun.

5. The best part. By the end of the month, I'll have at least 50,000 words of a first draft for a story I've been thinking about for years.

Would I do NaNoWriMo again? Absolutely.

By the way, it's not to late to try NaNoWriMo 2011. You have nine days left (including today and Thanksgiving), so you'd only have to churn out 5,556 words per day.

I Cut My Finger On The Mashed Potatoes!

2011-11-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

by Janet Fogg

(In honor of all the potatoes that shall be consumed on Thanksgiving.)

To be truthful, I didn’t cut my finger on the mashed potatoes, but my cousin Susan Guenther Garcia did cut hers, and she has graciously allowed me to quote her.

I’ll often read an excerpt that immediately triggers a memory, one where I might laugh out loud, be thrust through time, or travel to a different world as I envision the lives of characters in books.

My cousin’s phrase is distinctive, and if I used it in a novel I might then explain that she really did cut her finger. She’d allowed the potatoes to dry in the pan and when cleaning up, the crusted edge of potato sliced her finger, made it bleed. Would I go into that much detail in a book? Probably. Would I need to? It depends.

Larry Schafer wrote, “She’s learning to breathe thru her feet.” Reading that, I paused for a long moment to consider what he meant. How in the heck do you breathe through your feet? I still don’t know, yet that phrase has stayed with me, as has his name.

Then there’s one that I can’t attach a name to, though I wish I could. “She looked like a hen in a fit.” Can’t you hear the fuss; envision the flapping as a cloud of dust filters through the air?

“Regular old cough drop she is, too,” from Georgette Rougier. No further description is needed. I can see the old woman quite well, hear her querulous voice.

A gentleman named Sam made me laugh out loud when he said, “His brain is as large as a pimple on a flea.” I don’t know if those are his words, an old saying, or a phrase he borrowed, but I remember it to this day.

“And the trumpets sounded for her on the other side.” Harriet is cradling Peter’s head after he hesitantly steps into her room so that together, they can face down his demons at the end of Dorothy Sayers’ Busman’s Honeymoon. Such a simple phrase, yet it carried all the power and glory of their love.

The words penned by our own Carol Berg often capture me, but one phrase made my tears flow as I read the last few pages of Breath and Bone. “She touched me that day – dipped her hand in the pool, and I burned with such fire at the remembrance of her hands...” Ah, Valen.

Simple words, quilted together in a multitude of patterns. Joy, agony, desire. Hope. Culmination of a story that tickles your funny bone or pierces your heart.

What phrases echo and rebound within your soul?

Editor with Kensington Peter Senftleben

2011-11-17T07:33:00.003-07:00

If you attend a conference and meet an editor, hopefully you’ll get to chat with someone as cool as Peter Senftleben. We of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Chiseled in Rock have a special place in our hearts for him because he discovered our friend J.A. Kazimer. Her novel Curses, a hilarious and irreverent take on classic fairytales—think Shrek for grownups, goes on sale March 1st 2012.

Maybe his cheerful disposition has something to do with the fact that his background is in engineering and math and he dodged them to do something he loved for the next fifty years. He’s a bit of a Renaissance man.

Peter frequents writers conferences in the Colorado area and we look forward to having him back soon to our Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold.

CIR: Is there lots of pressure from publishing companies to their editors to choose titles that will sell?

PS: Of course, that’s how anyone makes money! Ideally, all the projects we acquire will sell well, but the truth of it is that many don’t. And they ultimately become labors of love for us. We acquire books that we feel passionate about and hope that translates to the general book-buying public, but with so many options out there, it’s not always that easy. The challenge for us is to find books we love that also stand out enough to make people pick them up and get them to read them above all the other choices. For whatever reason, people still may not connect with a book on a grand scale the way we do personally, but those are inevitable and risks pretty much any publisher will take for the right books.

CIR: I’ve heard countless times that writers have to be working publicity angles even if they don’t have a book sold yet to be considered for publication. Is this really a deal breaker if they aren’t?

PS: It depends on the book. That’s much truer for nonfiction than fiction. If a book is good, fits our list, and we think there’s a market for it, pre-sale publicity efforts don’t matter to me (also, what would you be publicizing if you don’t even have a publisher yet?). It’s great to have a website and maybe a blog, Facebook page, Twitter account—for yourself as an author rather than a specific book—as a jumping off point, but there’s enough time between the sale of a manuscript and the publication date that you can get things up and running in the meantime. We’re getting more pressure to include early endorsements, especially for debuts, so personal connections with bestselling authors in your genre are the best thing to develop.

CIR: How important is it for a writer to be flexible about changing their manuscript?

PS: Authors always need to be open to revisions of any size. It’s very rare that a manuscript comes in perfect, and almost never by a new writer. One of the first books I worked on, I basically had the author rewrite nearly three-quarters of the book to change the points of view. There was much resistance, but in the end, he and I both agreed that it was much stronger because of those changes. I’ve also asked authors to change character names because too many started with the same letter. Often, writers get too close to their work and can’t see the weaknesses in it, so they need to be receptive to constructive advice. No editor is out to make the book worse, trust me. If an author is so attached to every single word as they’ve written them, then they should probably look into self publishing instead. Also, inflexible authors are nightmares and nobody wants to work with them, so chances of a renewed contract are slim; sorry, but it’s true.

CIR: What is your dream as an editor? Finding the next J.K. Rowling?

PS: That would be nice, but I think it’s a little bit more personal for me than finding a blockbuster out of the gate (though I suppose Harry Potter took a bit to get going). I have so many books and authors that I truly love and can’t extol their brilliance enough—T. Greenwood, Ken Wheaton, and Lee Houck, to name a few among many—and it would be a dream if more people discovered them and became as fanatical as I am. Also, if they were mega-successful and made tons of money, because then it would just be validation of my tastes and I would be satisfied knowing that I helped make it happen. And maybe I’d get a bigger raise…

CIR: Kensington has open submissions, no agent necessary. Has Kensington found lots of good writers through this submission path?

PS: I know that we have acquired some projects that way—I personally have a couple—so it’s possible, but I can’t speak to the company as a whole or how successful they are. I just don’t know the path every author has taken to get here or their sales figures. But since we’re so commercial and publish a lot of genre books (romance, mystery, thrillers, etc.), we are able to get some quality projects directly from writers, be it because agents haven’t taken them on for whatever reason or authors simply haven’t even tried to find agents. On the flip side, it opens us up for a lot of terrible submissions, too. Like, can barely write a sentence bad.

CIR: Now, staying in accordance with my M.O., I must ask something off track. You had interest in doing stand up comedy. Did you ever try it?

PS: No way! I’m much too shy. That was just a pipe dream for another life.

The genres that Peter accepts are posted on the Kensington webpage.

Gusto Dave

Text Abbreviation Outcasts

2011-11-16T06:46:00.002-07:00

When the cool kids met and threw together a make-shift committee to start the acronym revolution on cell phones, these were some of the suggestions that got shot down.

EB: Eating bacon – An explanation for the texter being away from their cell phone to savor the pork entrée. Includes smelling.

OMDB: On my death bed. Rejected because the committee realized that it might not be important for a texter in this situation to get to their cell phone.

WTC: What the chuck? – As in Chuck Norris.

EBV: Extended bathroom visit – another quick explanation as to why the texter isn’t responding because they are purging something that ripped apart their stomach. Especially bad bacon.

WATB: What a total bore! – This is reserved as a comment about upper class and rich cutouts who not only get to lay around a pool and constantly browse social networks, but incessantly post gripes and every detail about their cushy lives. The suggestion was shot down because the committee realized that 80% of texters were going to be like this.

AOD: Abbreviations only. Driving – Used when a texter is in a pinch weaving through traffic so has to type acronyms to smart off to their friend’s gripe about their cushy life.

WIGUTMIFADMOMPDC: When I got up this morning, I found a dead mouse on my pillow. Damn cat. – Rejected because the committee feared that PITA would harass them.

JFG: Jaw fell to my groin – An astonished reaction to an outrageous posting. Rejected because, unfortunately, nothing surprises people anymore.

Gst Dv

What's New from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers?

2011-11-15T06:00:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of the recent and upcoming releases from members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers:

The Past Came Hunting
by Donnell Ann Bell
Bell Bridge Books, September 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1611940480
Paperback, $14.95

Fifteen years ago a young Colorado Springs police officer arrested a teen runaway accused of aiding a convenience store robbery and attempted murder. She was innocent, but still served prison time briefly. Her testimony sent the real thief to jail for much longer.

Now she's a young widow raising a son, and the man she put in prison is free and seeking revenge. She moves to a home in a new neighborhood-then learns that her next-door neighbor is the by-the-book officer who arrested her. Now he's a Colorado Springs P.D. Lieutenant. Like it or not, he may be the only one who can protect her and her son from the past he helped create.

Learn more about Donnell and her writing at her website. She is also on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Second Book of Joy: Blood of Angels
by Alexis Brooks de Vita
Double Dragon Publishing/ Blood Moon Publishing
Trade Paperback, $13.99
ISBN-13: 978-1-55404-891-5
eBook: ISBN-13: 978-1-55404-862-5

The Second Book of Joy: Blood of Angels is the first notebook of family lore that Professor Bo Wolfson researched in The Books of Joy: Burning Streams. These are the magical tales about their enslaved ancestors that his lover Eva Dennison fought with him to destroy.

From the tale of a beautiful woman imprisoned in a tower to save her village from slave raiders to the murdered girl whose spirit is trapped in her bedroom mirror, these stories build to a bloody battle between the shape-shifting freed people hiding in plain sight and the bounty-hunting patrollers who pursue them. The blue-eyed African American girl who masquerades as the freed people’s owner must learn, in the end, to choose the love and freedom in hiding that she can have or succumb to the death that is its only alternative.

Author Web Site: www.alexisbrooksdevita.com
Books of Joy Series Site: www.alexisbrooksdevita.com/thebooksofjoy

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A Real Basket Case
by Beth Groundwater
Re-release by Midnight Ink, November 8, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0738727011
Trade paperback, $14.95

This is the first book in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series, which was a finalist for the Best First Novel Agatha Award when it was released in hardcover in 2007.

Feeling neglected by her workaholic husband, forty-something Claire joins an aerobics class at the urging of her best friend Ellen. Divorced and bitterly unhappy, Ellen and most of the other women in the class add a little vicarious excitement to their lives by flirting with the handsome instructor, Enrique. In a moment of weakness, Claire agrees to let the charming Enrique come to her house to give her a massage. She realizes she has made a deadly mistake when Enrique is shot and killed in her bedroom and her husband Roger is arrested for the murder.

Visit Beth at her website and her blog. She can also be found on Facebook.

List compiled by Pat Stoltey

Elements of successful novels: the first two pages

2011-11-14T06:09:00.003-07:00

This post from Julie Kaewert was written for the Sisters of the Quill blog, and my sisters, including Julie of course, have kindly given me permission to share it here. Janet Fogg

I've just returned from two glorious weeks at the University of Iowa Writing Festival in Iowa City. It's always a little like drinking through a fire hose; as usual a great deal of useful information on writing was exchanged. I have a fun and useful tip to share.

We all know the first few pages are crucial to keep the agent or editor reading, so I signed up for the week-long course, "Beginning the Novel." The tone of the workshops tends to be literary rather than commercial, so our wonderful workshop professor, Gordon Mennenga of Coe College, apologized for coming dangerously close to being formulaic before sharing this. He'd gone into a bookstore, the classic Prairie Lights (Iowa City's Tattered Cover), and picked up all of the bestselling and otherwise successful novels of the past year or two. Each of them had all of the following on the first two pages (brace yourself!):

a sentence containing three commas
a one-word sentence
alliteration
food (the universal ritual)
body fluid--sweat, blood, tears, urine
reference to sex or death
something sinful or painful
a color
a physical feature
a personality trait
question mark
mention of nature
anything with a brand name
furniture
body part or parts
smell/odor
metaphor, each of which saves five pages of description
city, state or street
walk/gesture/overbite/musculature

He had us go through our first two pages and check off how many of these we had included. Most of us had two or three; one of us had ten or so (way to go Alan!). As far as evoking sensations in the reader, we realized we were writing at about 1/10 power. You might enjoy going through your first two pages and seeing how many you instinctively included...and then add the rest! You can always take them out again if it feels too much, or too contrived, but it's a useful exercise in writing vividly with all the senses.

Happy writing.
SP

Is There Some Romance in Your Nanowrimo Draft?

2011-11-10T06:30:00.001-07:00

Cindi Myers knows romance. Multi-award winning author of over 36 titles, spanning across publishers such as Berkley, Kensington, and Harlequin, she is an authority on the subject.

Hungry to be an author, I tried my hand at penning the dramatic love genre and was fortunate enough to get pointers from Cindi. Several things dawned on me soon after as a result of her guidance. These epiphanies were noticing that: most movies and books--be they suspense, horror, sci-fi, or any of the countless sub genres--usually have some kind of love interest in them; Shakespeare always employed the romantic element in his plays; and ultimately, most tales really are love stories at the core.

Here’s the axiom that I gained from reading Cindi’s publications and paying attention to her expertise: writing romance forces an author to capture emotion on the page. Every writer should have this in their toolbox.

The characteristic that I absolutely must tout about Ms. Myers and will keep praising is that she constantly produces quality manuscripts. If you make it as a writer, then you should embrace the job and keep putting out titles. With the Harlequin special release of Things I Want to Say in August of 2010 and The Woman Who Loved Jesse James releasing in January 2012, one can see that Cindi is a prolific committed professional.

At the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Colorado Gold Conference, I caught up with Ms. Myers and we talked a bit about the genre in which she prospers.

CIR: Do you agree that at least a thread of romance is in most stories?

CM: Absolutely! While romance may not be the focus of every story, it's often in the background. Hard-boiled detectives brood over the woman who got away and the complications of romance form a powerful subplot as aliens take over the world in a science fiction epic.

CIR: What is your take on why love pops up in so many genres?

CM: Romance – wanting it, having it, remembering it, pursuing it – is an important part of human life, so it's important to fiction, too.

CIR: Obviously, I’m most impressed with how productive you are. How do you kick out so many books?

CM: Sheer terror at the idea of having to go out and make a living at a "real" job. I am constitutionally unsuited for corporate life, as I learned after ten years working for a large medical corporation.

CIR: Erotic romance has bumped up as one of the bestselling genres. Harlequin has its Blaze line (Ms. Myers has a few titles in this category) which is pretty steamy and then the Spice titles which are outright erotic. What do you envision in the future as far as erotic romance vs. traditional. Will they be the same thing before long?

CM: Interestingly enough, two of the areas of romance which currently show the strongest sales are erotica and inspirational romance. Which I think shows there are readers hungry for both extremes. I think erotica is a way for the romance market to capture another segment of readers, but not to the exclusion of other types of romance, including sweet romance. That said, editors and readers seem to prefer sex with romance, even if it's not out and out erotica.

CIR: Because I have to be different, one question way off the beaten path. I hear that you dabble in belly dancing; how did you get into that?

CM: Sitting on your butt in front of a computer all day is hazardous to your health, not to mention your figure, so I was looking for some form of exercise that wouldn't bore me out of my skull. A friend invited me to a belly dancing class and I was hooked. I've been doing it about four years. I'm part of the Mountain Kahai Dancers and we perform at festivals and shows around the area. We recently did two shows at the Taste of Colorado.
(And the heroine of my October book, DANCE WITH THE DOCTOR is a belly dancer.)

CIR: Is there any thing that you wished someone would have told you when you started writing romance?

CM: That this is a wildly unpredictable business and the only thing you can really control is the story you choose to tell and the writing itself. Try to enjoy yourself as much as possible and have fun with your writing. Don't be so deadly serious all the time – millions of people envy the fact that you get to create, so don't waste today by worrying over what you don't have or what might happen tomorrow.

Gusto Dave

Famous Rocks

2011-11-09T16:08:00.003-07:00

The hit NBC show 30 Rock has so much in common with Chiseled in Rock. Our staff is just like the cast on the show…

Janet Fogg – Liz Lemon

Karen Duvall – Kenneth Parcel

Tamela Buhrke – Jenna Maroney

Pat Stoltey – Tracy Jordan

Gusto Dave – Jack Donaghy

Here’s to both Rocks having a long following!