Monthly Archives: October 2016

One Click In This Blog To Chill Your Halloween Bones

Posted on by under authors, books, dailies, e-books, fiction

Okay these stories I bring you may not chill your bones, but might give pause, make you ponder-weak and weary- though some may haunt your mind. The following comes from my brief synopsis from Cemetery Tales and other Phantasms:

“Tales for the darkness in your mind. Eight stories from the twilight zone of shadows, cemeteries, castles; where life and death mingle in haunting dimensions of reality and unreality, of eerie journeys, strange beginnings, strange endings, and revenge from the grave.

A man quits his job and finds himself drawn into a world that does not really exist. In another story, a young high school graduate journeys to a strange English castle. In “Due Date” a writer returns to his home town to find the young woman who inspired his writing  journey and meets her in a shadow world. The final four stories take place in a cemetery where some are dying to get in while others are dying to get out.

Here are two reviews:

“If you’re a reader who’s tired of blood and gore, or who’s never liked it, you should enjoy these suspenseful Twilight-Zone style stories. Some of them leave the reader wondering (which can be good or bad) but most are neatly tied up.” -Miss Scarlett, Amazon review.

“Eight stories with neat little Twilight Zone twists that sometimes work and sometimes don’t. My favourites were ‘Flowers For Martha Clements’, for the hauntingly melancholy vibe that sucks you into the story, and ‘Desecration’, for the fact that revenge is justly served.”-Rachel, Amazon review

2.99 click to my Amazon page for this e-Book

But wait says the Undertaker, there is more. This from More Cemetery Tales and Other Phantasms:

“There is a theatre that runs favorite films of every member of the audience. But the price may be high. There is a house in the woods that may or may not be haunted; it is for you to decide. There is a man walking in a cemetery who has trouble communicating with those he meets. The fourth story is my humble attempt to reimagine the ending of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” There is a crazed killer who-no, I can’t tell you. Another story is about a boy going to his first parade. Ah, how sweet. So you might think before reading this story. There is a man who wakes up and finds a dead woman in his bed and has no idea who she is. And the final story is about what happens to a writer creating stories like the previous seven, a story where some characters will be familiar.

It has not been reviewed, but feel free to do so, if reviewing doesn’t scare you that is.

2.99 click to enter Amazon and purchase these stories.

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Why I Celebrate Being An Indie Writer

Posted on by under authors, books, fiction, Uncategorized, writers

Most writers want an agent, a three-book publishing deal, an author tour, speaking engagements, and everything in between and surrounding the dream. Few achieve it.

Assuming you get a deal, how long does it all take. I found this in a blog from Steve Laube at his agency:

“What is average?

In my experience:

From idea to book proposal to your literary agent: 1-3 months
From agent to editor and book contract offer: 2-5 months
From contract offer to first paycheck: 2-3 months
From contract to delivery of manuscript to editor: 3-9 months (sometimes longer)
(From delivery of manuscript to editor actually working on it: 2-5 months)
From editor to publication: 9-12 months

Total time from idea to print: approximately 2 years

Your mileage may vary.”

I have read similar timelines from other agents, though the two year window is more often for non-fiction, and fiction maybe a year, a year and a half. The bottom line is that is a long time, but as an Indie author, I can write and proofread and when ready I can click on the publish button on Amazon and my e-Book is ready.

Agents seem to be trained to say no. Which is a main reason best sellers so often are rejected over and over, but persistence finally found a publisher. Stephen King getting rejected with his first novel. Yes. Everyone gets rejected.

I am used to rejection. The army rejected me for flat feet. That meant I was not going to Viet Nam. Some rejections you can live with and say thank you. Others, like getting turned down for a date by that cute blonde, brunette, and the redhead is another matter. And when you pet rejects you have problems.

I can live with rejection, but I want my stories in the marketplace, I want to connect with readers sooner rather than later. Being part of the Indie Cyber world provides me more interaction and more control. I can set the price, I can control the advertising. In fact I can control everything from beginning to end.

This month Amazon is celebrating Indie authors. They have a landing page where you can explore Indie writers, so give it a try. There are many good Indie writers.

As for me, here are my indie e-books. At the top of the page you can click on titles to read more about them as well as review quotes.

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Why Word.doc IS a Writer’s Tool Despite What Some Think

Posted on by under creative writing, e-books, fiction writers, Uncategorized

The following revised and updated blog entry was first published in 2013 in my first blog that I wrote under The Quill, the e-word, the looniness. I like the title, but though it had many followers, it was too long of a title, so I reset to this blog. This was my opening blog, my first entry into blogging. I hope you like it:

“There is a bestselling writer, definitely old school, who is adamant that using Word doc. is not writing. He contends writers write longhand, or, his choice of weapon, the typewriter.

Sholes typewriter, 1873. Museum, Buffalo and E...

Sholes typewriter, 1873. Museum, Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I must say the statement was made some years ago and I am only 95% sure of who made the statement, and he may have revised his original opinion in the interim, which is why I won’t reveal his name.

I have written two e-book novels in my loony series (three now) and his statement fits within my view of the world. We are all a bit loony.

But consider the absurdity of the statement. Shakespeare used a quill pen to write. Had the typewriter been invented during his life, would he have rejected it because only a true writer uses a quill? Old Will would have learned how to use the new tool and be thrilled not to be continually dipping his quill in ink over and over.

The quill was the tool of Will’s day. A typewriter is a tool. A PC with Word doc. is a tool. All writers are storytellers and they use the tool that more easily tells the story. And writing in Word is far easier than a typewriter that has no spell check, no grammar check, nor needs reams of typewriter paper. With Word you can revise as you write.

That being said, the experience of Word and formatting, in my case, blogs, movie reviews, and e-book novels, is far from easy. Word may be easier than the quill and the typewriter, but both Word and Cyberspace bring their own set of problems.

And that is what led me to create a blog, one I hope you, whether a writer or not, will interact with me on, to discuss the looniness of writing in cyber world.

Speaking of spellcheck and looniness, as I wrote the previous paragraph a red line popped up under ‘looniness’ indicating it is misspelled or is not a word. But my American Heritage dictionary says otherwise.

So I hope you will join me on this journey, sharing the looniness of writing in cyber world. Quill pen anyone?”

I did not use a quill, pen and paper, or a typewriter in creating these cyber books.

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