# The SPECULATIVE FICTION high-five circle.



## S. Elliot Brandis

Why, hello.

I know there's a science-fiction thread here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,67482.0.html

_But_ it seems to be mostly self-promotion, with little discussion.

This forum is flooded with erotica and romance, so I thought it would be cool to start a thread where speculative fiction authors can just talk about things - I know there's a lot of interesting spec fic authors on kboards.

*All types of speculative fiction are welcome here!* Speculative fiction is a very diverse field. Feel free to talk about the genre and sub-genres, but please be respectful to your fellow authors. 

My main aim here is to meet and talk with other spec fic authors. Talk about what you're working on, what interests you, etc. Please don't promote your releases - this is better done elsewhere. The goal here is to have a supportive community of similar authors.

---

Heidi has set up a new blog, the *Speculative Fiction Showcase*: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com.au/. The purpose of this site is to support indie speculative fiction, and give readers a place to uncover it. I'll be updating this post with links to each of the features, as they run. For more information, post in this thread.

Features (updated 22-May-14):
Welcome Post
Irradiated by S. Elliot Brandis
Jason Gurley Talks About How He Writes
Threats of Sea and Glass by Jennifer Ellision
Dreaming of the Sea by Heidi Garrett
Warden (Book 3: Attack of the Aswang) by Kevin Hardman
Michael Patrick Hicks Talks About How He Writes
Sworn to Defiance by Terah Edun
The Lost Tales of Power, Volumes 1-3 by Vincent Trigili
The Edge of the Woods by Ceinwen Langley
Outage (Powerless Nation): Book One by Ellisa Barr
Benton: A Zombie Novel by Jolie Du Pré
Cat Amesbury Talks About How She Writes
Deep Breath Hold Tight by Jason Gurley
William D. Richards Talks About How He Writes
Bound in Blue: Book One of the Sword Elements by Heather Hamilton-Senter


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## Vaalingrade

You have my sword.

And also some more genres in the spec-fic umbrella: I'm mostly known for Superhero (which is NOT Fantasy, thank you very much Amazon), and Weird West.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

I do have to say, as a lover of comics, there's not enough superhero novels. Some superhero stuff I would class as fantasy, others as science fiction - but it definitely fits under the spec fic umbrella. 

I've also noticed amazon has a very underpopulated Westerns - Science Fiction category. My own stuff has some spaghetti western elements, I might try to use this. All in all, the amazon categories are batsh** crazy.


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## David Adams

Vaalingrade said:


> You have my sword.


And my axe.

I have to say that spec-fiction is a fun genre to write in. It's my favourite. I just wish it was... I don't know. More profitable?

Sure, romance floods everything, but it's also a very popular genre to read. I wish more people read spec-fic.

I don't know. It's good though.


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## jjfoxe

High five!  And good call.

One of the things I'm most interested in seeing in 2014 is the new Serenity comic book series - as you seem to like SF westerns you might be interested 

I write supernatural thrillers and dark fantasy/horror btw.


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## Patty Jansen

Am I the only one to see something lewd in the declaration of a sword? LOL


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## S. Elliot Brandis

David Adams said:


> I have to say that spec-fiction is a fun genre to write in. It's my favourite. I just wish it was... I don't know. More profitable?
> 
> Sure, romance floods everything, but it's also a very popular genre to read. I wish more people read spec-fic.


That's true, but surely the romance genre is more saturated - my impression from this board is that there's a million billion romance writers, maybe ten to one. Maybe it's a smaller audience, but it's a smaller pool of writers, too.


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## SLGray

And my bow. (I always wanted to be an elf.)

Fantasy (the otherworld low tech sort) and urban fantasy here.

*grabs a corner and gets comfy*


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## MT Berlyn

I am interested in the development of an entirely unique type of creature/character in the realm of Horror and/or Dark Fantasy, even if said creature/character is (somewhat) an extension of a more familiar concept (ie: the witch, the elemental, the immortal, etc.) I write Soft Horror and Dark Fantasy, and so am always attempting to bring a different element or layer to a central character or theme that an adventurous reader might not find elsewhere. Clive Barker is a great one for bringing unique characters into the foray, although he is often a bit too dark for my taste. 

It is very difficult to promote such stories, sometimes.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

jjfoxe said:


> High five! And good call.
> 
> One of the things I'm most interested in seeing in 2014 is the new Serenity comic book series - as you seem to like SF westerns you might be interested
> 
> I write supernatural thrillers and dark fantasy/horror btw.


There's space western, and science fiction western (apparently!).

Serenity (along with Firefly) is awesome, and a space western - a science fiction setting using western conventions. While science fiction westerns (and weird west, ect) are in a western setting, with science fiction elements included. I don't know where my stuff fits. It's post-apocalyptic sci-fi stuff, but it has a mad max-ish semi-western bent (but without cars!).

Who knows. I remember reading once that all westerns are spec fic.


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## Vaalingrade

David Adams said:


> I have to say that spec-fiction is a fun genre to write in. It's my favourite. I just wish it was... I don't know. More profitable?
> 
> Sure, romance floods everything, but it's also a very popular genre to read. I wish more people read spec-fic.


Here's the thing: Spec-fic (or as I like to say, Nerd Genres) is more popular right now than it has ever been. The problem is that our infrastructure needs are not being met by a self-pub industry that makes it gravy on romance and mysteries.

For example, no one I talk to online on a regular basis knows what in the seven interlocking hells Bookbub, or ENT or any of the other big agrigators are. No one. That's because when me or one of my fellow nerdlings wants a book recommendation, we'll start a thread, or jack into a favorite blogger's (usually not a dedicated book blogger) RSS feed and go from there.

At this moment, there's really no good, reliable way to reach our readers through the normally recommended channels. We need... well this thread, actually. We need to work together to find ways of tapping into those people who got LotR a mess of Oscars, helped the Avengers make all the money, and keep the bloated, stinking corpse ratings sensation that is Game of Thrones on television.

They're there, we just don't have line of site. If only we could get the self-pubbing game to switch to a hex grid...


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## NicWilson

S Elliot Brandis said:


> I do have to say, as a lover of comics, there's not enough superhero novels. Some superhero stuff I would class as fantasy, others as science fiction - but it definitely fits under the spec fic umbrella.
> 
> I've also noticed amazon has a very underpopulated Westerns - Science Fiction category. My own stuff has some spaghetti western elements, I might try to use this. All in all, the amazon categories are batsh** crazy.


They have that? Well crapspackle. I haven't delved into what the categories for my next release are going to be, but I'd been thinking it's somewhere between post apocalyptic scifi and horror, with some spaghetti western or gunslinger elements to the overall mise en scene and narration. That could be a perfect categorization for it. This post made my night! Now I have to figure out the keywords to get into it.


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## Guest

I'm not really sure what spec fiction is, but I have a feeling I might be writing it.


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## psychotick

Hi,

And my battleship complete with rail cannon!

I write sci fi (mostly space opera) and fantasy. And is it romance that's so hot right now or erotica? Honestly coming to KB a couple of years ago was an eye opener. I'd never heard of tentacle sex before (he says shuddering) or bigfoot sex etc. I read these threads and constantly think to myself - people really write this stuff? But it seems to be doing well right now so obviously there's a market.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Colin Taber

And my longship.

What, you mean I can't park it here!?!

I do dark fantasy and alternate history. My alternate history, which is about the Norse colonisation of North Norse America is the thing that's going great for me.

I do like a good green field to play in, and few fields are as green as those under a spec fic binary sun!


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## Guest

Hello S Elliot and Friends  

I write horror, just because it's easier if I just write one thing and not many. Helps to have focus. 

My goal for most part is to write books that will assault the minds of readers, without being gratuitous. The books I've read that have lasted with me, were always the ones that opened my eyes. The ones that broke a bit of my innocent core. So that's what I'll be generally striving for. Sales are pretty non-existent but I'm not blaming the genre nor my writing. At the moment I've just written a few random things. That will change. 

I would definitely like to see a greater presence for speculative fiction authors here on KB. It would give me something to post about at least


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## NoCat

I could go into a huge long rant about why SF is the most profitable movie genre but has such a tiny book market share, but I won't. I am thrilled, however, that we can now publish ourselves and write whatever for the market, because of how the traditional market has developed and how insular and incestuous certain parts of SF writerdom has become. (It would be a hecka-long rant, seriously). 

Fantasy, thank god, avoided a lot of that. 

Anyway. I write all kinds of spec fic. So, uh, hi.


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## Sam Kates

Hey, you're not going anywhere without me...

Great idea for a thread. I write science fiction, dystopia and horror (and general fiction, but don't hold that against me). I don't follow market trends and have never even considered confining myself to one genre. Like many, I suspect, I write what I got to write.


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## Sean Sweeney

Haven't written proper sci-fi or fantasy in a while, but I do love reading it.

It is indeed hard to separate you even when he is invited to a secret counsel and you are not.


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## HezBa

Yippee!!

I suppose I write quiet horror? Someone else mentioned soft horror. I don't know if it's the same thing or what. Usually I write ghosts and madness and all that, but it's never gory or real tangible type of scare. More atmospheric, I think.

I would love to write nothing but horror, but I also want to make some money. I go back and forth between different genres, just to test the waters, but horror is always what I come back to. Sort of like my writing home. I enjoy the other stuff, but my horror stories are always the ones keeping me up at night (either thinking about plot/characters, or just because I'm terrified).


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## S. Elliot Brandis

I love this thread already. Glad to see so many spec fic writers appear.



Greg Strandberg said:


> I'm not really sure what spec fiction is, but I have a feeling I might be writing it.


This is a fair enough comment. I entrust my overlord, wikipedia, to clear things up:

_Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature_.

I say spec fic instead of science fiction as it's more all encompassing. It also seems to break down the walls between "genre" writers and "literature" writers. Authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Attwood seem/seemed to fight against being classified as science fiction, for whatever reasons.



psychotick said:


> I write sci fi (mostly space opera) and fantasy. And is it romance that's so hot right now or erotica? Honestly coming to KB a couple of years ago was an eye opener. I'd never heard of tentacle sex before (he says shuddering) or bigfoot sex etc. I read these threads and constantly think to myself - people really write this stuff? But it seems to be doing well right now so obviously there's a market.


One of the reasons I wanted to start this thread! Every second signature has abs, tits, or arse! I don't want to sledge people who write that sort of stuff, but it's a whole different beast from spec fic - it's awesome if we can raise the profile of it. I think speculative fiction readers are very open minded, and open to new voices and new ideas. For us, this represents all sorts of opportunities for indie fiction.

My favourite spec fiction novels:

Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Wool - Hugh Howey
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess


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## O_o

*High fives*

I write horror, and it's difficult to see me ever writing anything else. Love the thread idea


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## HezBa

Doomed Muse said:


> I could go into a huge long rant about why SF is the most profitable movie genre but has such a tiny book market share, but I won't.


Maybe a little rant? I've always been aware of the huge difference between a movie with ghosts and a book with ghosts, but I never really gave much thought as to why. I figured it was just that it's harder to have something jump out and yell "boo" in a novel.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

HezBa said:


> Maybe a little rant? I've always been aware of the huge difference between a movie with ghosts and a book with ghosts, but I never really gave much thought as to why. I figured it was just that it's harder to have something jump out and yell "boo" in a novel.


It is interesting. I reckon at least half of the movie market is spec fiction stuff (including superheroes, horror, science fiction, etc). Or more. You see the top grossing movies here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2013&p=.htm and I reckon all of the top ten, beside fast and the furious 6, are spec fic.


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## jjfoxe

S Elliot Brandis said:


> It is interesting. I reckon at least half of the movie market is spec fiction stuff (including superheroes, horror, science fiction, etc). Or more. You see the top grossing movies here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2013&p=.htm and I reckon all of the top ten, beside fast and the furious 6, are spec fic.


If you read David Farland's book - I think it's his OUtlines book - he looks at the top 20 or 30 best selling movies of all time (with dollar figures adjusted for inflation). And he found that a big percentage of them - i think 90 per cent plus - were 'speculative' in some way. Either other time. Or imaginary world. And so on.

Food for thought.

Kudos for starting the thread btw....be very cool if we can work out some way of banding together and supporting each other!


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## Guest

S Elliot Brandis said:


> It is interesting. I reckon at least half of the movie market is spec fiction stuff (including superheroes, horror, science fiction, etc). Or more. You see the top grossing movies here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2013&p=.htm and I reckon all of the top ten, beside fast and the furious 6, are spec fic.


Exactly. I don't understand why Romance should be all the RAGE with reading, where it doesn't dominate film or TV. It's all storytelling. Come on Spec lovers, pic up a book.


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## FrankZubek

Not sure if paranormal counts but I support you guys in spirit.

You could start a face book page and post yourself on there once a day or something and build up some followers.....

Or begin a blog ( and advertise it on face book and twitter)

Maybe start your own anthology? We have two burning up the kboards at the moment- always room for another one.


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## unkownwriter

I've parked my asteroid-turned-spaceship in the back. Try not to run in to it, 'kay?  

As a reader, SF has always been my first love. I especially love post-apocalyptic fiction (Alas, Babylon rules). Horror (the not gory variety) follows close behind, with fantasy taking a respectable bronze. As a writer, it seems horror is number one, with SF neck-and-neck, at least right now. I'm dipping my toes into urban fantasy, too.

This thread is great. Glad to meet you all. Also glad to see others of the female persuasion stopping by.  

I think the idea of starting a Facebook page is great. No idea how to organize that, but it's something we can bat around for a bit.

Oh, and Doomed Muse, how about stepping up on the soap box, and get that rant going? This is the perfect thread to let it all hang out. Purely for edumacational purposes, as they say.


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## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

*Rubs hands together*
"You guys want to see my comic book collection?"

I like this idea A LOT. I've visited the SF thread under the Book Bazaar a couple times, but not what I was looking for. Posting now and bookmarking so I dont lose track of this thread. In my ideal storyland I dont have to care about formating, size, promoting or sales. None of that stuff. I just want to get my crazy fun story ideas that make me and my friends laugh out of my head and onto *paper*.

Chrispy


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## brendajcarlton

I offer my tail torch.  (You have to read Earthaways in my siggie to find out what that means.)  And you guys thought I was kidding about leprechauns from outer space.  

I only have one spec fic book, but it was an idea that demanded to be written, despite being outside of my usual realm.  Actually, I don't think I have a usual realm.  I have some associated follow up ideas that I might add if Earthaways starts to sell consistently, but so far, no dice.


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## O_o

Chris P. O'Grady said:


> *Rubs hands together*
> "You guys want to see my comic book collection?"


I kinda do


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## Writerly Writer

Definitely a spec fiction writer here. Fantasy with a twist, usually.


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## Usedtopostheretoo!

Fantastic idea...you can have my HK416 with ACOG and canted iron sights. 

My first novel was SpecFic, which has always been my favorite genre as a reader. I jumped ship to write a black ops series for a few years and recently returned with a Post-apoc, prepper-themed series.

The Romance market is awesomely insane thanks to the ebook revolution, not that it didn't fare well before...it's true potential lay dormant, in the masses of readers unwilling to bring the those purchases through the grocery line or onto an airplane. I remember seeing paperbacks with the covers torn off as a young adult while traveling. Ridiculous, but the stigma of Romance (especially erotica) was pervasive. It's never been like this for SpecFic readers. What you're seeing now is the true demand for the Romance/Erotic genre, and it's pretty amazing.

Still, very happy to see this circle of high fives.


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## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

KRG said:


> I kinda do


LOL, prior to reading books...I collected a bunch of comics. No super hero stuff per se, but lots of Weird War stories mixed with Mad, that kind of thing. Somehow had the forethought to perserve them in plastic for the last 35 years. You know I have to go find them and break them out today.


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## Samuel Peralta

Count me in. 

I started out in the ebook world with poetry, and although successful enough for poetry, over the Christmas season I had an epiphany in the bookstore.

(Yes, I still go to bookstores, despite buying hundreds of Kindle ebooks and most of my own poetry books only being available in digital form.)

Going through the shelves, I stopped to admire the poetry of Margaret Atwood, of which, at this writing, she has twenty volumes.

I pulled out “The Journals of Susanna Moodie” and leafed through page after page of indescribable beauty, pain, insight.

Every poem was a poem I wish I’d written.

And yet, of Atwood’s array of volumes on the shelf, all iconic titles – “The Edible Woman”, “The Journals of Susanna Moodie”, “Surfacing”, “Life Before Man”, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Cat’s Eye”, “The Robber Bride”, “Alias Grace”, “The Blind Assassin”, “Oryx and Crake”, “The Year of the Flood”, “MaddAddam” – only one was poetry.

Twenty books of poems, and only one on the shelf. All the rest - speculative fiction.

Hello world.


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## Quiss

Space Opera rulez!

My theory as to why sci-fi movies do so much better than sci-fi books?
VISUALS. Reading 4000-word epic space battle is often utterly boring. You can put the entire thing in a five minute movie action sequence that'll blow people's minds. Even if you end up with noisy, fiery explosions in a vacuum.

I've learned so much during my research for my books, which is a huge bonus for me.


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## KevinH

Vaalingrade said:


> You have my sword.


And my Wave Motion Gun.

I consider myself a sci-fi/fantasy author, and the more popular of my two series are my superhero novels. I like the vibe of this thread and look forward to participating here. Hopefully the thread will have a great deal of longevity.


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## Ken.Hagdal

S Elliot Brandis said:


> No offense to anybody, but I would prefer to keep this thread clear of romance, erotica, and young adult fiction (I'm aware these can cross lines with spec fiction, but they really occupy a different space). If you write science fiction, fantasy, or horror, then come on-board.
> 
> My main aim here is to meet and talk with other spec fic authors. Talk about what you're working on, what interests you, etc. Please don't promote your releases - this is better done elsewhere. The goal here is to have a supportive community of similar authors.


Nice premise... Speculative fiction is one of my favorites genre as a reader and writer. The Non-YA type. My upcoming novel is a dystopia/satire on inter-gender issues. Sort of a male version of the Handmaid's Tale. My next fiction project will take place farther off in the future, at a time when mankind has reached the end of its rope in terms of technology and exploitation of natural resources.

I'm glad to see favorite book titles in the thread... Some of mine: 1984, We, Brave New World, A Canticle for Leibowitz, War with the Newts.


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## olefish

what do you all think about publishing at the spec-fic mags to build an audience?


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## LindsayBuroker

Hey guys,

There may be a lot more indies making a living writing fantasy and science fiction than people realize. If you poke around the Top 100 in epic fantasy, for example, it takes a pretty high sales ranking to break in, and the last time I looked at the Top 100 overall on Amazon there were a lot of dystopians in the mix. There is definitely an audience for spec fic. As big as mystery, romance, and thrillers? Perhaps not, but we have an awesome fan base. A very _dedicated_ fan base. They're the folks who took Star Trek into three seasons through massive letter writing campaigns, who travel long and far to attend SF/F conventions in droves every year, and who caused Serenity to be made based on a TV show that was canceled after twelve episodes. If you can find them and win them to your side, they're amazing. I have the fan art hanging on the wall to prove it. 

What works for promotion and being found? I've used Wattpad, podiobooks, advertising (Goodreads, Facebook, Bookbub, ENT), blogging, and a perma-free Book 1 in a series. Though I think a lot of it is just being out there over time and continuing to publish stuff people like to read on a regular basis. I've never had a huge bestseller, but the readers trickle in over time, and I'm finding the 1,000 True Fans article to be accurate. That's about what you have to gather to make a reliable living at this.

Anyway, I know that wasn't the original question, but I sensed a lot of chagrined attitudes in the thread.  Stick with what you love to write!


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## wolfrom

Hello from the bowels of spec fic (post-apocalyptic). I did *okay* in 2013, but I'm certainly not replicating any successes so far this year.

I think spec fic is really great for the long game, if you believe in what you're writing. A good spec fic book can find its audience years down the line, and maybe now with self publishing and the long tail, we might see books take off after a decade or more of obscurity.

At least, that's what I tell myself when I have a day with no sales.


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## burke_KB

Vaalingrade said:


> Here's the thing: Spec-fic (or as I like to say, Nerd Genres) is more popular right now than it has ever been. The problem is that our infrastructure needs are not being met by a self-pub industry that makes it gravy on romance and mysteries.
> 
> For example, no one I talk to online on a regular basis knows what in the seven interlocking hells Bookbub, or ENT or any of the other big agrigators are. No one. That's because when me or one of my fellow nerdlings wants a book recommendation, we'll start a thread, or jack into a favorite blogger's (usually not a dedicated book blogger) RSS feed and go from there.
> 
> At this moment, there's really no good, reliable way to reach our readers through the normally recommended channels. We need... well this thread, actually. We need to work together to find ways of tapping into those people who got LotR a mess of Oscars, helped the Avengers make all the money, and keep the bloated, stinking corpse ratings sensation that is Game of Thrones on television.
> 
> They're there, we just don't have line of site. If only we could get the self-pubbing game to switch to a hex grid...


This is what I'm finding in my research. I write dark fantasy, and I'd love to book ads, but I don't see any sites worth advertising on. If I wrote thrillers I'd have dozens of options, and it looks like blog tours actually work for that genre.


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## wrenroberts

Oh hey guys, sorry I'm late. Finding parking for my space colony was surprisingly difficult.

I write the gamut of speculative fiction: fantasy, scifi and horror. Sometimes I combine them all and then get asked how many times I've watched Stargate. To which, I plead the 5th.

My first book, which is so painfully close to being ready to get out there, occupies the murky waters of science fantasy. And yes, I'm totally aware I'm probably setting myself up for a lot of failure before I see any success.


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## Duane Gundrum

I have been writing speculative fiction since my very early days of writing, and it's always been difficult to connect with a market. In the olden days, I used to publish nonstop through magazines that were publishing this kind of stuff. When the ebook revolution came along, we kind of got pushed aside, and next thing you knew every romance writer in the woodworks was popping out of nowhere. And they started including speculative features into their stories (the whole vampire thing and then werewolves, etc.) so that I think readers started to think THAT was speculative fiction. Those of us who do world-building and create fiction using harder sciences with less (or no) emphasis on sex have been sort of marginalized if we're not already big names beforehand.

I'd be very interested to hear from a lot of other speculative fiction writers to see how they're handling this continuous transition, aside from just giving in and becoming hybrid romance writers. Nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't really feel like a solution to me.


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## Saul Tanpepper

There are a number of reasons why writers of speculative fiction (specfic) have a difficult time defining who their audience is (and, thus, reaching them). The term itself isn't that well known; more folks identify with horror or fantasy or super hero. (To assist my readers, I have a page dedicated to what it is on my website.) Nor it the definition even that well-defined. Heinlein is generally attributed credit for coining the phrase, intending it as more broadly encompassing of multiple genres, but he then went on to restrict by claiming it's NOT Fantasy (I think most of us generally agree that some fantasy deserves a seat at the table). Also, readers in one genre under the specfic umbrella aren't necessarily happy crossing into another specfic genre (space opera versus horror, for example). As "specfic writers," especially those writing in multiple genres, our challenge includes targeting multiple target audiences rather than trying to find a single panacea for all of them. Marketing to a specfic audience is like trying to herd cats and gophers at the same time.


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## wrenroberts

burke_KB said:


> I'd love to book ads, but I don't see any sites worth advertising on. If I wrote thrillers I'd have dozens of options, and it looks like blog tours actually work for that genre.


Hey guys, you guys, hey. Why don't we build one?


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## CEMartin2

Specfic definitely sums me up. I like to call my series pulp-horror, but has milscifi, action, horror, fantasy, superhero etc elements all woven together

Inagree with LindsayB there's goit to be more of us than we think. I have one perma free, five novels, three shorts and two omnibuses out now and am consistently selling four or more copies a day (for two months now), yet my author rank is still around six thousand for kindle, and none of my paid works make it into any top 100, suggenres. That tells me lots of specfic is selling way better.

Regarding bookbub, etc for spec fic, how about we come up w a list of where to find out about spec fic and me or oine of the other AmazingStories bloggers here at kboads could write a short article listing them all? I totally agrre that specfic is really catching on--movies and tv series show that the genpop definitely likes specfic these days. Maybe romance's reign at the top is running out?


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## Ty Johnston

Hello all,

I write/publish mostly epic fantasy, but I tend to think of myself more as a horror writer, and I've penned the off science fiction piece from time to time, as well as some more literary works.

Glad to see this group here, especially concerning the promotions front.

Most of the "mainstream" promotion options don't seem all that inclined to help out spec-fic writers, through no fault of their own. For a generic example, most sites will advertise they send out thousands of e-mail notices to fantasy readers, but the term "fantasy" encompasses a lot of different sub-genres, and in my experience readers tend to heavily prefer one of those sub-genres over the others. Such as, I publish epic fantasy, but sending out thousands of e-mail shots to fantasy fans means I'm only likely to draw a portion of that crowd, perhaps even a relatively small portion of that crowd.

To combat this, I've been doing the permafreebie thing for a while now, but I've also been working to make some inroads into the fantasy tabletop gaming community. I've contacts with some folks who used to work directly or freelance for the larger gaming companies and who are now doing their own indie thing as far as fiction and tabletop games go. Anthologies have proven to be fun, pay a little, and offer a way to get my name out to more people. I've even managed to get my print books in a few gaming stores, though have had no success with indie book stores.

Target advertising for fantasy seems almost nonexistant, or overly expensive for little exposure.

Just tossing out ideas. Love to hear others.


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## HezBa

I know Find, Read, Love has separate facebook pages for Horror, Spec Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, etc. It's free and she posts pretty regularly. I sent her a request more than a couple of months ago, and I still see my books go up every now and then, without any further requests, so that's nice.


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## dkgould

pretty solidly post-apoc here.  First one was post-apocalyptic fantasy, second one was post-apocalyptic sci-fi, next one is post-apocalyptic horror (I could call the last two zombie books but the purists get mad)  And I love, love, love reading pretty much everything under the speculative fiction umbrella!  I think the key to specfic breaking out is going to be using other media.  I think we're going to be the ones that have to push the envelope and find ways to mix our story presentation (you know, somehow adding animated comics to graphic novels- or other novels or soundtracks to epic space novels or hooks that include video games, etc)  I think the fans are spread out across lots and lots of platforms and the key to finding them is going to be working together with other artists to reach them.


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## 31842

*swinging in on a rope* You have my stake!  ...erm.. axe... wait *dumping belt full of weapons on the table*  Take your pick.  I'm in.

I've loved speculative fiction since I was a wee little one.  My dad was a big sci-fi fan and we used to talk about why these books are important.  They have the power to look at deep philosophical issues from enough distance that an audience can examine it from all angles and be invited to grow, without being smashed over the head with "A Message".  There was a fantastic exhibit in Seattle about fantasy, and several of the big writers (George RR Martin, Jane Espenson) talked about what makes fantasy important.  They said that at its heart, fantasy is about an individual standing up against the forces which seek to destroy our individuality.  And the person who wins is not the prettiest or strongest.  It is the cleverest person with the strongest will.  The mind and heart will always trump evil.  I liked that.


----------



## KevinH

wrenroberts said:


> Hey guys, you guys, hey. Why don't we build one?


This. (Referencing a site for advertising speculative fiction.)


----------



## 41419

Writing a short SF atm. Fun break from HF.


----------



## HezBa

ゴジラ said:


> I consider myself a specfic writer, but I've always felt excluded from specfic circles because I write my books with sex and love and feelings, some of it YA. Not romances, exactly, just very "girly" fantasy. And posts like the OP, of course, telling me that my specfic dwells in a different place than your Real Specfic does not feel very inclusive for obvious reasons.
> 
> Not trying to pick a fight. But maybe some folks should think about why you don't consider books with romantic elements to be like "your" speculative fiction. (Also, not just OP in particular, who is a swell guy. Everyone in the community is responsible for these attitudes.)


I don't think he was talking about Spec fic with romantic elements, I think it was just the romance genre that he was trying to exclude from the thread. And he wasn't even trashing romance or erotica, he was just saying that those genres already get enough attention, while Spec fic doesn't
It's a shame that you feel you've been excluded from spec fic, but I don't think that's what this thread is about.


----------



## MT Berlyn

HezBa said:


> Yippee!!
> 
> I suppose I write quiet horror? Someone else mentioned soft horror. I don't know if it's the same thing or what. Usually I write ghosts and madness and all that, but it's never gory or real tangible type of scare. More atmospheric, I think.
> 
> I would love to write nothing but horror, but I also want to make some money. I go back and forth between different genres, just to test the waters, but horror is always what I come back to. Sort of like my writing home. I enjoy the other stuff, but my horror stories are always the ones keeping me up at night (either thinking about plot/characters, or just because I'm terrified).


A kindred spirit! I would say that quiet or soft horror are synonymous. Gothic horror would also be placed in this category, I think. I see atmosphere as an extremely important component in quiet/soft (and Gothic) horror storytelling. Ghosts, madness, all of it, contain a fabulous canvas for experimentation. Peter Penzoldt writes in "The Supernatural in Fiction", that the ghost story holds the greatest room for varying approaches because there are no set rules to interaction with the supernatural.

I was confused as to why the ghost story in literature did not enjoy the same reception as the theme of ghosts in say, television, but I think the difference is that ghosts in popular media are portrayed within a reality based theme...ie: ghost hunters, ghost adventurers, even The Blair Witch Project. Maybe it feels safer that way, I'm not sure of the dynamic, but it is there. Dark Shadows was exceedingly popular back in the 1960's, but a series revival in the 1990's with some great actors and atmosphere failed.


----------



## MT Berlyn

C.C. Kelly said:


> Spec fiction here as well, but fairly dark - not really 'feel good' summer reads - everything from sci-fi to horror to classic mystery style twist ending stories similar to the Outer Limits or Twilight Zone.
> 
> I write stories about damaged people in very bad situations, or how very bad situations damage people.


The flawed character is a staple in Southern Gothic literature. The creation of this type of character has a wide range of possibility in speculative fiction, for sure.


----------



## Duane Gundrum

Thayer Berlyn said:


> I was confused as to why the ghost story in literature did not enjoy the same reception as the theme of ghosts in say, television, but I think the difference is that ghosts in popular media are portrayed within a reality based theme...ie: ghost hunters, ghost adventurers, even The Blair Witch Project. Maybe it feels safer that way, I'm not sure of the dynamic, but it is there. Dark Shadows was exceedingly popular back in the 1960's, but a series revival in the 1990's with some great actors and atmosphere failed.


There are some places where the ghost story is doing well on television, like on shows like Supernatural, which has a huge fan base built into it. I think what we're finding is that the fans seem to be locked into a specific world (like that of Supernatural) so it is hard to pry them away from it into other words. I know when I was teaching at a community college last semester, one of my students was a dire hard fan of Supernatural, and I got the immediate impression that she wasn't interested in anything else. I'm wondering if that's somewhat of the same thing for a lot of people who get tied into one horror thing. I know it's very anecdotal (one case), but it's kind of made me wonder.


----------



## CEMartin2

ゴジラ said:


> I consider myself a specfic writer, but I've always felt excluded from specfic circles because I write my books with sex and love and feelings, some of it YA. Not romances, exactly, just very "girly" fantasy. And posts like the OP, of course, telling me that my specfic dwells in a different place than your Real Specfic does not feel very inclusive for obvious reasons.


Are your works specfic with romancical scenes, or romance novels taking place in a specfic setting? There's a big difference.

Take James Bond for example. Definitely not romance, despite all his manwhoring. The Destroyer series is even worse, with Remo Williams getting quite lurid in his activities in some books.

Perfectly okay for you to write what you want to write, but if the main element of your stuff is the romance aspect, then many Specfic readers and writers will be put off by it and consider it romance/erotica.


----------



## MT Berlyn

FrankZubek said:


> Not sure if paranormal counts


I think it very much counts. There is a wide range of possibility within the paranormal/supernatural genre. Lots of potential for a speculative approach.


----------



## SLGray

I would absolutely love (love!) to help set up a new site or a cross-promotion group or a blog or something to help get us more exposure. When do we start? 



ゴジラ said:


> I consider myself a specfic writer, but I've always felt excluded from specfic circles because I write my books with sex and love and feelings, some of it YA. Not romances, exactly, just very "girly" fantasy. And posts like the OP, of course, telling me that my specfic dwells in a different place than your Real Specfic does not feel very inclusive for obvious reasons.


I didn't get that vibe from the OP either, and I defend romance and romance writing a lot. I started out writing romance and went back to my spec fic reading roots when I realized that I'm not -good- at telling an industry-standard romance. I often throw romantic elements into my stories, but I just never really mastered romance-centered writing. I am in awe of those who do it well, and especially those who manage a good even blend of spec fic and romance.

Romance writers are also one of -the- most supportive group of writers I know. There are fabulous blogs and forums and facebook groups and advertising teams and and and...

So please don't feel we're trying to exclude you. We're just looking to try to build a little community here and support each other the way romance writers do.


----------



## Victoria J

Nice to see a thread for SpecFic writers. I can attest to the fact that things that work for writers of other genres don't always work for us. Been a science fiction and fantasy reader and writer since I was little, epic fantasy being my favorite. I've written a few traditional fairy tales and a bit of weird fiction as well and plan to write more in the future (even though they don't seem to have much of an audience.  ) Anyway, it's great to see SpecFic writers on Kboards coming out in force.


----------



## wrenroberts

CEMartin2 said:


> but if the main element of your stuff is the romance aspect, then many Specfic readers and writers will be put off by it and consider it romance/erotica.


I don't think that's true at all.


----------



## HezBa

Duane Gundrum said:


> There are some places where the ghost story is doing well on television, like on shows like Supernatural, which has a huge fan base built into it. I think what we're finding is that the fans seem to be locked into a specific world (like that of Supernatural) so it is hard to pry them away from it into other words. I know when I was teaching at a community college last semester, one of my students was a dire hard fan of Supernatural, and I got the immediate impression that she wasn't interested in anything else. I'm wondering if that's somewhat of the same thing for a lot of people who get tied into one horror thing. I know it's very anecdotal (one case), but it's kind of made me wonder.


I think with shows like Supernatural, it's more about the characters and their relationships than the actual supernatural aspect. I've only seen a few episodes, but I used to watch Buffy alllll the time (actually still do), and I wasn't there for the monster of the week, that's for sure. So maybe it wasn't the paranormal that your student was attracted to in the first place.

It is possible that people have specific tastes when it comes to Spec fic. I know I'm really picky when it comes to what I read, so it's more than possible that other people are the same.


----------



## HezBa

Thayer Berlyn said:


> Peter Penzoldt writes in "The Supernatural in Fiction", that the ghost story holds the greatest room for varying approaches because there are no set rules to interaction with the supernatural.


I think the "no-set-rules" thing is also what makes writing endings more difficult. And maybe why a lot horror endings are a bit...disappointing.


----------



## MT Berlyn

Duane Gundrum said:


> There are some places where the ghost story is doing well on television, like on shows like Supernatural, which has a huge fan base built into it. I think what we're finding is that the fans seem to be locked into a specific world (like that of Supernatural) so it is hard to pry them away from it into other words. I know when I was teaching at a community college last semester, one of my students was a dire hard fan of Supernatural, and I got the immediate impression that she wasn't interested in anything else. I'm wondering if that's somewhat of the same thing for a lot of people who get tied into one horror thing. I know it's very anecdotal (one case), but it's kind of made me wonder.


You have a good point. The dilemma for the speculative writer within the supernatural genre is how to entice the reader from remaining inside the box, especially if one is an independent author. I say this because I wonder if fans, say of fantasy author Charles de Lint, might feel distrustful of a similar approach by an unknown writer. Even with so many possibilities, people get stuck in what they believe to be the rule of the norm...even when it is, in theory, outside the norm.


----------



## MT Berlyn

HezBa said:


> I think the "no-set-rules" thing is also what makes writing endings more difficult. And maybe why a lot horror endings are a bit...disappointing.


This is interesting. When you say disappointing, do you mean unexpected? Or, predictable? Or, the pieces of the puzzle do not come together? A dismal ending?


----------



## Cherise

And my teeth.

In my fiction, all dogs are from other planets.


----------



## HezBa

Thayer Berlyn said:


> This is interesting. When you say disappointing, do you mean unexpected? Or, predictable? Or, the pieces of the puzzle do not come together? A dismal ending?


Predictable I can handle. I think with horror and ghost stories, there aren't that many possible endings. It's when it totally comes out of left feild and makes you say huh? that bothers me. A well known example could be Stephen King's IT. I loved it up until the ending...which was just awful.


----------



## Ty Johnston

Thayer Berlyn said:


> This is interesting. When you say disappointing, do you mean unexpected? Or, predictable? Or, the pieces of the puzzle do not come together? A dismal ending?


I won't speak for HezBa, but one of the downfalls I've experienced with some horror literature's endings is the very lack of rules concerning the supernatural and how to deal with it or face it. We all know the rules for vampires and zombies and werewolves, but what do you do when dealing with a ghost, for example? Call the Ghostbusters? The "rules" of Ghostbusters work for that particular franchise in no small part because they are comedic, but they don't carry over (or at least not well) to other stories and franchises.

This is one of the reasons I've felt some Japanese horror was so successful about a decade back and continues to be so in certain circles, because there are no rules, no way of coping with the supernatural. Ghost shows up, you're screwed, end of story. You can't fight it, can't run from it, can't banish it, etc. However, that does limit a writer's storytelling possibilities.


----------



## 57280

Cherise Kelley said:


> And my teeth.
> 
> In my fiction, all dogs are from other planets.


My poodle is certainly from another planet.

My short, GIFT FROM A MAGI is a sci fi retake on O.Henry's famous tale.

I grew up on spec fic, and love it dearly.


----------



## bmcox

I consider myself SpecFic, but my stories are more Magical Realism/Social/Soft SciFi (maybe). My also-boughts are all over the place. In the indie market I kinda feel out of place because many works are so clearly one specific genre/subgenre and my stories don't seem to link. For example, I am (re)writing a novelette about a boy, who occasionally turns into an elephant, on a quest to find his mom who turned into a housefly and was carried away by a strong gust of wind. It's clearly Fabulism and not a faerie tale or a fable, though it has elements. However, it'll be difficult to categorize in AZ when I publish it. I feel adrift in the great sea of categorization. Often I just mark "Literary."


----------



## HezBa

Ty Johnston said:


> I won't speak for HezBa, but one of the downfalls I've experienced with some horror literature's endings is the very lack of rules concerning the supernatural and how to deal with it or face it. We all know the rules for vampires and zombies and werewolves, but what do you do when dealing with a ghost, for example? Call the Ghostbusters? The "rules" of Ghostbusters work for that particular franchise in no small part because they are comedic, but they don't carry over (or at least not well) to other stories and franchises.
> 
> This is one of the reasons I've felt some Japanese horror was so successful about a decade back and continues to be so in certain circles, because there are no rules, no way of coping with the supernatural. Ghost shows up, you're screwed, end of story. You can't fight it, can't run from it, can't banish it, etc. However, that does limit a writer's storytelling possibilities.


Good point, but I think there are a few rules when dealing with ghosts. Burying remains, solving the murder, bringing justice, tying up unfinished business. Maybe rules is the wrong term, because they certainly aren't absolutes, like with vampires. Maybe guidelines, or suggestions?

I also prefer that sort of you're-screwed ending. It just feels wrong for a horror book/movie to end well for the characters. It's like if a romance ends with the couple hating eachother.


----------



## Edward W. Robertson

Anyways, you need people of intelligence on this sort of... Mission. Quest. ... Thing.

To date, I've done epic fantasy, post-apocalyptic, space opera, and time travel. One of the neat things about spec fic is its readers seem a little more open about switching between the bajillion different subgenres.

Re: ads--romance and thrillers will almost always produce better results than SF/F/H, but plenty of the big sites have a good readership for our books, too. Don't rule them out.


----------



## Duane Gundrum

Ty Johnston said:


> I won't speak for HezBa, but one of the downfalls I've experienced with some horror literature's endings is the very lack of rules concerning the supernatural and how to deal with it or face it. We all know the rules for vampires and zombies and werewolves, but what do you do when dealing with a ghost, for example? Call the Ghostbusters? The "rules" of Ghostbusters work for that particular franchise in no small part because they are comedic, but they don't carry over (or at least not well) to other stories and franchises.
> 
> This is one of the reasons I've felt some Japanese horror was so successful about a decade back and continues to be so in certain circles, because there are no rules, no way of coping with the supernatural. Ghost shows up, you're screwed, end of story. You can't fight it, can't run from it, can't banish it, etc. However, that does limit a writer's storytelling possibilities.


But I don't see why rules can't be constructed and then a world existing within those rules. I give an example of a really corny tv show, Ghost Whisperer. They established very defined rules for what ghosts were, how they worked, why they were there, and how to deal with them. Then they added onto it by creating season arcs around the extremes of those rules. If the show wasn't as corny with its main actress, it probably could have had its own Supernatural kind of following. But it definitely set rules to where we didn't have the Japanese equivalent of "nothing can be done here" like you mention.

I think what we're experiencing is a lack of world-building with some of the horror fiction out there, so that instead of creating interesting worlds where certain rules apply, we have a lot of one-shot stories where there isn't enough time to build a line of rules.

It might be interesting to come up with a world where horror exists AND THEN somehow attract the Kindle Worlds people around it so that more and more people could write within that world and help to solidify the rules.


----------



## NoCat

I don't think it is visuals, actually.  Here's the mini version of my rant.  Fantasy does well in both film AND novels and has plenty of both written and seen visuals. 

What has killed the SF book market, in my opinion, is that we don't have enough things like space battles, larger than life heroes, sense of sheer wonder stuff, etc. That's changing now, with the self-publishing stuff opening up the genre again, but for a long time through the late 70's, 80's, 90's, and early 00's that wasn't true. There was the "new wave" of sf writers who turned away from the perceived "pulp" of the earlier genre books and went deeply self-referential, experimental, and cerebral in ways that don't really appeal to the general reading populace.  Science fiction for a long time has been a genre that if you read in it, you really have to read a lot and be educated in the genre.  If you look at where the popular, best-selling science fiction has been located on shelves for the last 20-30 years, it isn't in Science Fiction.  It's the Michael Crichtons and the James Rollins of the authorial world who are writing the popular SF which their publishers just call "adventure fiction" or "action/adventure" most of the time. They sell extremely well, use all kinds of tropes and cliches from science fiction, and just dodge the label because that label shoves you into a self-referential, incestuous ghetto these days (and if you really want to know what I'm talking about, join SFWA!). 

So it isn't that space battles or alien invasions or time travel or apocalypses are boring to read about and way more fun to watch on the screen. It's that the people writing those things have snuck into other genre labels and ditched the tiny, murky pond of SF because they weren't welcome there by the people shouting "cliche!" "DONE!" "Boring!" "Derivative!"

When WOOL first broke big, there was a lot of grumbling in the SF trad trenches. Comparing it to Fallout, saying things like "but this has been done" "this is so derivative" "why can't people read something original", etc.  

In short, I think science fiction has shot itself in the guts over the last 30 or so years desperately trying to break new ground, be "original" and "experimental" and not actually hark to the things that make it awesome in the first place like sense of wonder, sense of discovery, crazy settings, exciting and exotic situations, and [email protected], [email protected] heroes/heroines.

One of the best parts of the indie revolution thing is that now we are getting more of that back, and seeing hits breaking out. I think it'll keep on going, and now we have the freedom to write that stuff and call it what it is, and change the face of the genre for the better.

/off soapbox


----------



## psychotick

Hi Guys,

_CE Martin: but if the main element of your stuff is the romance aspect, then many Specfic readers and writers will be put off by it and consider it romance/erotica.

WrenRoberts: I don't think that's true at all. _

Actually I think he's right. Not to dump on certain highly succesful books and films, but I love horror as well and truly hate Twilight. I truly enjoy a good vampire flick, and unfortunately got the impression that Twilight was one. Nearly an hour into the movie and trying not to hurl every time I saw that insipid teenager making eyes at shirtless and asking the age old question - "does he like me?", I finally understood that there was to be no neck biting. The blood and gore was missing, there was to be no fear or screaming. In short it wasn't a horror at all.

It may have vampires in it but that doesn't make it a vampire flick.

Now I may be a cold, loveless, teenager hating, red blooded male, but I've read sci fi, fantasy and horror since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I really enjoy it. Sparkly vampires I loathe.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Can I come play as well? Cause I write SF and fantasy of the more character driven sort, though I write other genres - including the dreaded romance - as well. Speculative fiction was my first love, however.

As for what Sara/Old Ben/Gojira said, I did get a certain dismissive anti-romance vibe from some posts in this thread. And those of us who write speculative fiction with romantic elements are pretty sensitive to that sort of thing, because there still are way too many people who feel that writers speculative romance don't belong to the speculative fiction genre. Now paranormal romance, SF romance or romantic urban fantasy may not be everybody's cup of tea and that's okay, but IMO they absolutely are part of speculative fiction.

BTW, Sara, did you mean this post by Ann Aguirre? Cause that's not exactly an isolated attitude.

Good point that many of the popular indie promo methods don't work for speculative fiction. As a reader, I have never subscribed to newsletters like BookBub, since I get my book recommendations from genre blogs and sites.


----------



## bmcox

CoraBuhlert said:


> Can I come play as well? Cause I write SF and fantasy of the more character driven sort, though I write other genres - including the dreaded romance - as well. Speculative fiction was my first love, however.
> 
> As for what Sara/Old Ben/Gojira said, I did get a certain dismissive anti-romance vibe from some posts in this thread. And those of us who write speculative fiction with romantic elements are pretty sensitive to that sort of thing, because there still are way too many people who feel that writers speculative romance don't belong to the speculative fiction genre. Now paranormal romance, SF romance or romantic urban fantasy may not be everybody's cup of tea and that's okay, but IMO they absolutely are part of speculative fiction.
> 
> BTW, Sara, did you mean this post by Ann Aguirre? Cause that's not exactly an isolated attitude.
> 
> Good point that many of the popular indie promo methods don't work for speculative fiction. As a reader, I have never subscribed to newsletters like BookBub, since I get my book recommendations from genre blogs and sites.


While not an indie book, The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Novel by Karen Lord was selected by Goodreads readers as one of the top Sci-Fi books of the year and it's a Sci-Fi Romance or at least has a romantic plot that's at the center of the story.


----------



## psychotick

Hi Cora,

I hope I'm not included in the dismissive element towards romance. I didn't intend to come across that way. It's just something that I would never intentionally watch or read and the problem with Twilight was that someone misnamed it as vampire causing me to. It's not.

Now if someone had marketed it more accurately as teenage paranormal romance or what have you, I would never have watched it and would never have known that I hated it.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## wrenroberts

psychotick said:


> Actually I think he's right. Not to dump on certain highly succesful books and films, but I love horror as well and truly hate Twilight. I truly enjoy a good vampire flick, and unfortunately got the impression that Twilight was one. Nearly an hour into the movie and trying not to hurl every time I saw that insipid teenager making eyes at shirtless and asking the age old question - "does he like me?", I finally understood that there was to be no neck biting. The blood and gore was missing, there was to be no fear or screaming. In short it wasn't a horror at all.
> 
> It may have vampires in it but that doesn't make it a vampire flick.
> 
> Now I may be a cold, loveless, teenager hating, red blooded male, but I've read sci fi, fantasy and horror since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I really enjoy it. Sparkly vampires I loathe.


Wait, so let me get this straight. Any spec fiction with romantic elements is disqualified from being spec fiction because Twilight isn't horror? Nevermind that Twilight isn't horror, doesn't try to be horror, and doesn't want to be horror?

Heck of a strawman there.


----------



## Ken.Hagdal

psychotick said:


> Actually I think he's right. Not to dump on certain highly succesful books and films, but I love horror as well and truly hate Twilight. I truly enjoy a good vampire flick, and unfortunately got the impression that Twilight was one.


I'm with you. There's a reason the label YA exists. And even when there's be some bonafide specfic in the books bearing the stamp, there still is a market segmentation that makes it a lot harder for those of us who write mainly for post-YA audiences to build a readership. Any writer with a good dose of romance or targeting teenagers just has to go on Wattpad, ring their bells and they'll have their first readers lining up within minutes.


----------



## Ken.Hagdal

wrenroberts said:


> Wait, so let me get this straight. Any spec fiction with romantic elements is disqualified from being spec fiction because Twilight isn't horror? Nevermind that Twilight isn't horror, doesn't try to be horror, and doesn't want to be horror?
> 
> Heck of a strawman there.


Like the OP, Greg didn't pass any judgment on romance or meant to define what's specfic or not. The point of the thread is to offer support to those of us who walk a more difficult path.


----------



## SLGray

Twilight is a "vampire flick". It has vampires. A large part of the movie (and the series) is -about- vampires and vampire society. It's not everyone's favorite type of vampire, but it's still a "vampire flick".

And now I -am- getting the dismissive, exclusionary vibe from some posts. We're trying to help each other out, right? Not cut other people down. Let's focus on that.


----------



## psychotick

Hi Wren,

No strawman at all. You can have romance elements in sci fi or horror and they can still be sci fi or horror. What you can't have is sci fi or horror elements in a romance and then call it sci fi or horror. That's the line that was crossed for me. And the film was marketed here in New Zealand as vampire. Grief there were damned posters of shirtless with his fangs out everywhere.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## wrenroberts

SLGray said:


> And now I -am- getting the dismissive, exclusionary vibe from some posts. We're trying to help each other out, right? Not cut other people down. Let's focus on that.


Seriously. Maybe we have such a problem getting our books out there because everyone's too busy squabbling about what belongs in their own precious genre and how dare someone define all these gross girlie books as being in that genre too?

Seriously, people. We need to get our [crap] together. It shouldn't turn into this conversation over what is or isn't spec fiction every. single. time.


----------



## NoCat

Why did this turn into a Twilight hater thread suddenly? Um...

I'm with SL Gray. Twilight is spec fic. It's fantasy, YA paranormal romance straight up. It's a vampire series. It has vampires. Who cares if they aren't Bram Stoker vampires? Writers can make up whatever they want. Just because you hate something doesn't mean it should be exiled from the genre it clearly falls under. Move on, peeps, seriously. This kind of "THAT thing don't belong in MY spec fic" is the thing that has helped to kill the popularity of science fiction right dead in so many ways. Why would we continue that exclusionism? It makes no sense to do so.


----------



## burke_KB

Is anyone here experienced with the google groups? I've never set one up, but the million words in 2014 thread lead to a google community, and it is pretty cool.

I'm not sure how to do it, but it would be nice to put genre information in an easier to search format.


----------



## psychotick

Hi,

And by the same token Catch 22 is a war story. Die Hard is a comedy. Thomas Covenant is a personal epic about a man with Hanson's disease.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## Bruce Blake

Hey everyone,

I write epic and urban fantasy in my novels, plus a little other stuff in my short stories (horror, sci-fi, etc).
The way I've always understood the 'definition' of the spec fiction genre is this: if the story cannot stand on its own without the spec fiction element in it, then it is indeed spec fiction. On the other hand, if that element is simply window dressing, then it probably falls into another genre.
Just my two cents...interpret how you like.


----------



## David J Normoyle

Doomed Muse said:


> I don't think it is visuals, actually. Here's the mini version of my rant. Fantasy does well in both film AND novels and has plenty of both written and seen visuals.
> 
> What has killed the SF book market, in my opinion, is that we don't have enough things like space battles, larger than life heroes, sense of sheer wonder stuff, etc. That's changing now, with the self-publishing stuff opening up the genre again, but for a long time through the late 70's, 80's, 90's, and early 00's that wasn't true. There was the "new wave" of sf writers who turned away from the perceived "pulp" of the earlier genre books and went deeply self-referential, experimental, and cerebral in ways that don't really appeal to the general reading populace. Science fiction for a long time has been a genre that if you read in it, you really have to read a lot and be educated in the genre. If you look at where the popular, best-selling science fiction has been located on shelves for the last 20-30 years, it isn't in Science Fiction. It's the Michael Crichtons and the James Rollins of the authorial world who are writing the popular SF which their publishers just call "adventure fiction" or "action/adventure" most of the time. They sell extremely well, use all kinds of tropes and cliches from science fiction, and just dodge the label because that label shoves you into a self-referential, incestuous ghetto these days (and if you really want to know what I'm talking about, join SFWA!).
> 
> So it isn't that space battles or alien invasions or time travel or apocalypses are boring to read about and way more fun to watch on the screen. It's that the people writing those things have snuck into other genre labels and ditched the tiny, murky pond of SF because they weren't welcome there by the people shouting "cliche!" "DONE!" "Boring!" "Derivative!"
> 
> When WOOL first broke big, there was a lot of grumbling in the SF trad trenches. Comparing it to Fallout, saying things like "but this has been done" "this is so derivative" "why can't people read something original", etc.
> 
> In short, I think science fiction has shot itself in the guts over the last 30 or so years desperately trying to break new ground, be "original" and "experimental" and not actually hark to the things that make it awesome in the first place like sense of wonder, sense of discovery, crazy settings, exciting and exotic situations, and [email protected], [email protected]*ss heroes/heroines.
> 
> One of the best parts of the indie revolution thing is that now we are getting more of that back, and seeing hits breaking out. I think it'll keep on going, and now we have the freedom to write that stuff and call it what it is, and change the face of the genre for the better.
> 
> /off soapbox


Good post. I think science fiction takes it itself too seriously. Personally I have no interest in hard science fiction, and that seems to be all that the core science fiction writers want to consider proper science fiction. I consider myself to be mainly a fantasy/sci-fi reader, but up until recently fantasy was dominating my reading. I read lots of Asimov and the good Orson Scott Card books, but finding their successors seemed difficult. The bookshelves seemed mainly StarWars or StarTrek tie-ins or else hard sci-fi. I think that is changing. The YA dystopian genre has introduced some great new storylines/characters with Divergent/HungerGames/Legend and obviously Wool was a great accessible sci-fi read.

I want science fiction with more concentration on great fiction, and less on being pseudo science textbooks. (Not saying get rid of hard science fiction or anything, just that's one niche rather than the whole genre).


----------



## wrenroberts

David J Normoyle said:


> I want science fiction with more concentration on great fiction, and less on being pseudo science textbooks.


This, this, a thousand times this! Who cares if the science isn't 100% believable or explained? If it works for the story, then it just _works._


----------



## Jay Allan

I think science fiction got to a point where there was a huge divide between what publishers wanted to publish and what a lot of core SF readers wanted to read.  Consequently, I think the SF market is one of the strongest self-pub markets.  It's never going to be anywhere near the size of romance, but the market is very strong, and very receptive to self-pubbed works.


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

I say we make up our own Genres and just write    I cant get enough Zombie! So where does that fit in here?


----------



## SLGray

burke_KB said:


> Is anyone here experienced with the google groups? I've never set one up, but the million words in 2014 thread lead to a google community, and it is pretty cool.
> 
> I'm not sure how to do it, but it would be nice to put genre information in an easier to search format.


Do you mean a google group or a google doc?

A google doc might be a good thing to have with all the members of our rag-tag band and websites and whatnot, for our sakes. Something more visible to the public would be best for building a readership, though. Like a group blog or something. Everyone pick a day, we can pick a theme for the month and everyone writes something about that, and have books on the sidebar or ... I don't know exactly what all. But it could be fun. Or handy. Or both.


----------



## Rachel Aukes

Chris P. O'Grady said:


> I say we make up our own Genres and just write  I cant get enough Zombie! So where does that fit in here?


I think most zombie is categorized under Horror or Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, so it still fits solidly as spec fic.

I love zombie fic, too. Before I wrote straight spec fic, I wrote spec fic romance (mostly sci-fi rom) because it was easier to sell. I've learned a lot since then, after discovering the amazing Indie galaxy.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

rachelaukes said:


> I think most zombie is categorized under Horror or Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, so it still fits solidly as spec fic.
> 
> I love zombie fic, too. Before I wrote straight spec fic, I wrote spec fic romance (mostly sci-fi rom) because it was easier to sell. I've learned a lot since then, after discovering the amazing Indie galaxy.


Zombie fiction does serve a deep need! How about Post-Apocalyptic-Zombie-Thriller Science Fiction?


----------



## horse_girl

Just skimming through this thread. It's great to see a focus on the spec fic genres in one place.

My first completed (forever unpublished) novels were science fiction. It's what I've always loved. Fantasy came to me more through my husband (his primary reading choice).

As far as romance goes, there is a difference between true romance (with spec fic elements/settings) versus romantic spec fic. If you notice, romance focuses more on the drama of the love story (regardless of setting) while spec fic focuses less on any romantic interludes and more on other plot elements. I'll never forget sitting in on one of Michael Stackpole's talks at Gen Con years ago, when he mentioned that the strongest factor for capturing readers is tied to romantic/sexual tension. And that was from his and other writers' experiences. Readers asked more about certain characters in romantic situations than anything else, he said.

So, please don't argue about romance not being part of spec fic. Human relationships are part of the human condition, and isn't exploring that from outside of our lowly, everyday limited-by-the-real-world existence the biggest appeal of spec fic?

Hi, btw, I also write romantic YA spec fic to dark fantasy and hard science fiction. My attempt at romance has had review comments about how developed the other world is, something that's not common in the romance sub-genres.


----------



## 41419

You know it's a spec-fic group when the first argument is about genre labels


----------



## horse_girl

dgaughran said:


> You know it's a spec-fic group when the first argument is about genre labels


So true. Unfortunately, I think as someone else mentioned, there are two opinions in spec fic--those who think it should be purely hardcore tech/futuristic/otherworld/space/etc. issues and those who accept emotions and the explorations of various relationships in their spec-fic.

It's not an either/or world. It's whatever is right for the author's vision of a story.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

HezBa said:


> I don't think he was talking about Spec fic with romantic elements, I think it was just the romance genre that he was trying to exclude from the thread. And he wasn't even trashing romance or erotica, he was just saying that those genres already get enough attention, while Spec fic doesn't
> It's a shame that you feel you've been excluded from spec fic, but I don't think that's what this thread is about.


Yes, I don't want to exclude anyone. I just thought spec fic writers really needed their own space on this board. If you think what you write is spec fic, then you write spec fic. 

Glad to see this thread booming already. So many authors, so many weapons.


----------



## MT Berlyn

Ty Johnston said:


> This is one of the reasons I've felt some Japanese horror was so successful about a decade back and continues to be so in certain circles, because there are no rules, no way of coping with the supernatural. Ghost shows up, you're screwed, end of story. You can't fight it, can't run from it, can't banish it, etc. However, that does limit a writer's storytelling possibilities.


You put that very well. Japanese horror is very much like French fatalism reflected in literature...a zen of it is what it is and that the best that can be achieved is only another in a string of it is what it is...or is what it becomes.

But, I'm not convinced that this limits the storytelling possibilities, at least not entirely. The skillful use of irony is essential. Rod Serling was great at inevitable endings...in a grim sort of way.


----------



## M T McGuire

Hello... edges shyly onto thread. Is it OK for another spec fic author to join? I write what I call humorous science fiction fantasy, because it takes place in a parallel universe, and some of it takes place in this one, but the 'science' is sort of 'explained' by quantum and there are funny bits in it. So... guaranteed to piss off the purists in every single one of my target genres... 

I agree with one of the early posters who said that we spec fic people don't seem to be as well organised vis a vis getting our stuff noticed. I have two books coming out in April which will bring the series I'm working on to a close. I suppose that sums it up, the 'trilogy' I've written which comprises 4 books. Maybe we're just all a bit scatty. Who knows. Anyway, hello.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## horse_girl

S Elliot Brandis said:


> Yes, I don't want to exclude anyone. I just thought spec fic writers really needed their own space on this board. If you think what you write is spec fic, then you write spec fic.


It's a can of worms. Like everything in life, some people have strong feelings. Me, I could care less, as long as I get to visit other worlds 



S Elliot Brandis said:


> So many authors, so many weapons.


*devilish smile* (No smiley for that)


----------



## Victoria Champion

I'm a spec fic author. My stories have romantic elements, and are character-driven.

There's a lot going on subtextually and genre-wise in each story, and I struggled for a while with categorization and branding and now struggle finding appropriate venues to like-minded readers (visibility). I list my genre subcategories in my author bios and in bold in the blurbs, and hopefully the right readers will find their way to my books.

I read all kinds of spec fic, and don't see the need to exclude one subgenre or another as less valid. We're dealing with fiction. Anything goes. There are no rules. The most hilarious meme is '_real vampires don't sparkle_' because hello, there are no real vampires. Stifling creativity is tantamount to censorship.


----------



## Craig Andrews

Still trying to catch up on all the posts, but I wanted to say "hi" and that I look forward to getting to know all of the other geeks out there.  My current series is contemporary fantasy about the evolution of magic within an ever growing urban setting. Or better explained... It has fireballs, ice blasts, electricity whips, and lots of explosions.  

-Craig


----------



## CEMartin2

You know,  it  seems to me that anytime someone expresses an opinion evenly remotely related to  Romance novels, if it  isn't all gushing with love foor romance, the poster is accused fo excluding or trash talking romantica. I think  that's an oversensitivity on the part of romance writers. 

All genres have merit, as  long as people buy them. But you shouldn't try and argue any one genre has more merit than another, just more sales. 

For those of you who write "character-driven" specfic with romance subplots, etc, do  this: Sum up the point of your novel in one sentence. Exclude the setting. Now see if its romance or specfic. 

I'll give some examples, using movies:

Titanic: Two lovers from different worlds try to stay together.
Alien: Marines battle monsters in space
Warm Bodies: (see Romeo and Juliet)

If someone wants to read spec fic and they end up reading about a romance set in the future, they are probably going to be dissapointed. Just having some scifi elements does not scifi make (the late Christopher Reeves' tiem travel movie springs to mind, as does Hugh Jackman's similar flick).  

The core  of your story,  the one thing you can't  remove without killing your story should determine your genre. After all, genre classifications are for the benefit of the reader, not to  trick  them.


----------



## MT Berlyn

horse_girl said:


> So true. Unfortunately, I think as someone else mentioned, there are two opinions in spec fic--those who think it should be purely hardcore tech/futuristic/otherworld/space/etc. issues and those who accept emotions and the explorations of various relationships in their spec-fic.
> 
> It's not an either/or world. It's whatever is right for the author's vision of a story.


I very much agree. It's easy to box in genres. Emotion is a facet of human nature, and it is going to reflect itself in any literature to one degree or another. Poe wrote Dark Romance that does not follow the trend of the happy ending. I see speculative fiction as often taking a common theme and bringing an uncommon component to it.


----------



## Victoria Champion

CEMartin2 said:


> You know, it seems to me that anytime someone expresses an opinion evenly remotely related to Romance novels, if it isn't all gushing with love foor romance, the poster is accused fo excluding or trash talking romantica. I think that's an oversensitivity on the part of romance writers.
> 
> All genres have merit, as long as people buy them. But you shouldn't try and argue any one genre has more merit than another, just more sales.
> 
> For those of you who write "character-driven" specfic with romance subplots, etc, do this: Sum up the point of your novel in one sentence. Exclude the setting. Now see if its romance or specfic.
> 
> I'll give some examples, using movies:
> 
> Titanic: Two lovers from different worlds try to stay together.
> Alien: Marines battle monsters in space
> Warm Bodies: (see Romeo and Juliet)
> 
> If someone wants to read spec fic and they end up reading about a romance set in the future, they are probably going to be dissapointed. Just having some scifi elements does not scifi make (the late Christopher Reeves' tiem travel movie springs to mind, as does Hugh Jackman's similar flick).
> 
> The core of your story, the one thing you can't remove without killing your story should determine your genre. After all, genre classifications are for the benefit of the reader, not to trick them.


I've done this (and I just did it again based on your post). And my stories are definitely spec fic with romantic subplot. They are not romance with spec fic window dressing. I will however write romance without any paranormal elements if I have to. I've done it before in the erotica genre. And like I was saying in my earlier post, I agree that all genres have merit.


----------



## Victoria Champion

Thayer Berlyn said:


> I very much agree. It's easy to box in genres. Emotion is a facet of human nature, and it is going to reflect itself in any literature to one degree or another. Poe wrote Dark Romance that does not follow the trend of the happy ending.


I love that term _Dark Romance_.


----------



## SLGray

S Elliot Brandis said:


> Yes, I don't want to exclude anyone. I just thought spec fic writers really needed their own space on this board. If you think what you write is spec fic, then you write spec fic.


This.

Now. How do we go about promoting us?


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## NoCat

Who cares about the set dressing? I like set dressing. If I want to read a romance set in space, I'm gonna go read one. I don't feel tricked because I get romance AND spaceships.

I guess though this kind of arguing sort of QEDs my point about how insular and infighting things get. Meanwhile, readers read what they like and don't care about if something is this AND that if they get what they want.


----------



## Cherise

C.C. Kelly said:


> ....fans are VERY specific about which flavor they enjoy and often HATE the other genres that fall outside of their preferred listening zone.
> 
> SF/F has gone through a similar splintering. Twilight IS spec fiction, sorry, but for better or worse it is.
> 
> ....And the important thing to remember is that there are tons of fans for every sub-genre. But fans of hard sci-fi are probably not going to like (or admit to liking) certain paranormal elements within spec-fic.
> 
> It's sad, but it's the truth.


True.

So.

If we do create a site for advertising spec fic, then it needs to be segmented into the different sub sub sub genres.

I really hope this gets done!


----------



## AngryGames

Yay, a thread just for _us_.

I've loved science fiction for my whole life. I remember picking up some book in our junior high library that was sci-fi aimed at younger readers like me, and for the life of me, the only thing I can remember about the book other than a vague memory of the plot, is that the author had my last name (Hill).

From there I found the "Deathlands" series by James Axler (who unfortunately passed away at some point, but the publisher brought on other writers to keep the 'men's adventure' series going). As a child of the 80's, I grew up under the threat of global annihilation. Some of you younger folk probably hear about this, but don't really have an understanding like we and our parents do (it was probably worse for our parents, they were taught things like 'duck and cover' if a nuke ever detonated, which really just meant your DNA would become one with the desk before it too disintegrated into ash).

While our parents worried about Russian bombers and short-range missiles from Cuba, we worried about the "30 Minute War" and "Mutually Assured Desrtuction" that could come within minutes. Movies like 



 and 



 filled me a strange kind of dread, yet awe. Even knowing that just a few warheads detonating would cause mass death on a global scale, I would read things like Deathlands, Roadside Picnic (classic Soviet post-apoc aliens, the video game series S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is based on it), Swan Song, The Wild Shore, continuing all the way up to The Road and Wool.

I began making up 'post-nuclear' stories when I was in junior high as a way to escape a terrible home life. I gave up writing for more than twenty years, but I never gave up my love of science fiction (nor horror, I read every single Stephen King book multiple times). Now, as an adult who spent twenty years at the top edge of computer technology, one that has consumed thousands of hours of movies, television, books, comics, and of course video games, it is easily my favorite genre to write in.

I like all kinds of different science fiction, yet with today's flood of self-publishing and indie movie making, I can't find enough to keep me interested. I'd like to think I've read/watched just about everything worth reading/watching, but then I'll find something new (like "Terms of Enlistment" by Marko Kloos) and for a little while I'll feel happy, satiated. I love time travel, space opera, cyberpunk, alternate history, even some romantic sci-fi. I love the 'hard' stuff like "Hyperion" and my all-time favorite "The Forever War." I love the soft stuff that has barely any science fiction in it (as long as it has a good story). I love crazy, mind-bending stuff (yes, I liked Inception). I love gritty, sad, hopeless sci-fi like "Never Let Me Go" (book or movie, take your pick). I especially love Philip K. Dick and his drug-induced literary insanity.

Anyway, that's my $.02. Actually it ended up being about $19.28, but that's because I never shut the hell up, especially when it comes to science fiction. Now that I've babbled on and annoyed everyone, I'm hopeful that this is a long-lived thread.

PS I absolutely do NOT see my fellow sci-fi/horror writers as competition. You guys (and gals) are like my teammates, and these genres are a team game. If you keep writing great science fiction or spec fiction or whatever labels people want to put on what we do, then you are helping me out tremendously. I hope I'm returning the favor (slowly but surely!).


----------



## MT Berlyn

Victoria Champion said:


> I love that term _Dark Romance_.


Lovely book covers you have, Victoria!

I think Dark Romance holds a lot of room for experimentation. Romance, like enchantment, tends to conjure a picture of lighter themes, but the definitions can be very dark, indeed.


----------



## Victoria Champion

Thayer Berlyn said:


> Lovely book covers you have, Victoria!
> 
> I think Dark Romance holds a lot of room for experimentation. Romance, like enchantment, tends to conjure a picture of lighter themes, but the definitions can be very dark, indeed.


Thank you! And yes, darker romantic plots interest me because of the chance to twist things awry, especially in supernatural ways.


----------



## Ty Johnston

C.C. Kelly said:


> *The problem is* the category is much too large for general marketing purposes and definitely too large for promotional strategies.


Quite true. One possibility might be to focus upon the various BISAC codes which, though not irrefutable, at least simplify the process for coming up with promotional possibilities. Using such for general marketing is a bit more difficult as the net tends to have a wider reach into broader audiences, but the BISAC codes usually don't get into sub-sub genres and the like, so this might not be as big a problem as I'm thinking it might. If that made sense.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Doomed Muse said:


> I don't think it is visuals, actually. Here's the mini version of my rant. Fantasy does well in both film AND novels and has plenty of both written and seen visuals.
> 
> What has killed the SF book market, in my opinion, is that we don't have enough things like space battles, larger than life heroes, sense of sheer wonder stuff, etc. That's changing now, with the self-publishing stuff opening up the genre again, but for a long time through the late 70's, 80's, 90's, and early 00's that wasn't true. There was the "new wave" of sf writers who turned away from the perceived "pulp" of the earlier genre books and went deeply self-referential, experimental, and cerebral in ways that don't really appeal to the general reading populace. Science fiction for a long time has been a genre that if you read in it, you really have to read a lot and be educated in the genre. If you look at where the popular, best-selling science fiction has been located on shelves for the last 20-30 years, it isn't in Science Fiction. It's the Michael Crichtons and the James Rollins of the authorial world who are writing the popular SF which their publishers just call "adventure fiction" or "action/adventure" most of the time. They sell extremely well, use all kinds of tropes and cliches from science fiction, and just dodge the label because that label shoves you into a self-referential, incestuous ghetto these days (and if you really want to know what I'm talking about, join SFWA!).
> 
> So it isn't that space battles or alien invasions or time travel or apocalypses are boring to read about and way more fun to watch on the screen. It's that the people writing those things have snuck into other genre labels and ditched the tiny, murky pond of SF because they weren't welcome there by the people shouting "cliche!" "DONE!" "Boring!" "Derivative!"
> 
> When WOOL first broke big, there was a lot of grumbling in the SF trad trenches. Comparing it to Fallout, saying things like "but this has been done" "this is so derivative" "why can't people read something original", etc.
> 
> In short, I think science fiction has shot itself in the guts over the last 30 or so years desperately trying to break new ground, be "original" and "experimental" and not actually hark to the things that make it awesome in the first place like sense of wonder, sense of discovery, crazy settings, exciting and exotic situations, and [email protected], [email protected]*ss heroes/heroines.
> 
> One of the best parts of the indie revolution thing is that now we are getting more of that back, and seeing hits breaking out. I think it'll keep on going, and now we have the freedom to write that stuff and call it what it is, and change the face of the genre for the better.
> 
> /off soapbox


Great rant. I agree with much of it. Indeed, from the mid 1990s I found it increasingly difficult to find SF I actually wanted to read. I tried a lot of SF and fantasy recommended by the "new, revolutionary, different" crowd and wound up hating most of it, which pretty much killed my desire to both read and write speculative fiction. After all, I could hardly write the stuff, if I couldn't even read it. And the speculative fiction I actually enjoyed was mostly decried by that crowd as cliched and old-fashioned.

Eventually, I ditched my "new, revolutionary, let's burn down the gates of the genre" pals and their recommendations and went back to reading whatever I enjoyed. By that point that urban fantasy and paranormal romance boom was just taking off (and there even was some SF romance as well) and the first works of speculative fiction I actually enjoyed reading again were urban fantasy with strong romantic elements, which is why I am so allergic to any attempts to shove those books out of the genre.


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## 57280

Doomed Muse said:


> I don't think it is visuals, actually. Here's the mini version of my rant. Fantasy does well in both film AND novels and has plenty of both written and seen visuals.
> 
> What has killed the SF book market, in my opinion, is that we don't have enough things like space battles, larger than life heroes, sense of sheer wonder stuff, etc. That's changing now, with the self-publishing stuff opening up the genre again, but for a long time through the late 70's, 80's, 90's, and early 00's that wasn't true. There was the "new wave" of sf writers who turned away from the perceived "pulp" of the earlier genre books and went deeply self-referential, experimental, and cerebral in ways that don't really appeal to the general reading populace. Science fiction for a long time has been a genre that if you read in it, you really have to read a lot and be educated in the genre. If you look at where the popular, best-selling science fiction has been located on shelves for the last 20-30 years, it isn't in Science Fiction. It's the Michael Crichtons and the James Rollins of the authorial world who are writing the popular SF which their publishers just call "adventure fiction" or "action/adventure" most of the time. They sell extremely well, use all kinds of tropes and cliches from science fiction, and just dodge the label because that label shoves you into a self-referential, incestuous ghetto these days (and if you really want to know what I'm talking about, join SFWA!).
> 
> So it isn't that space battles or alien invasions or time travel or apocalypses are boring to read about and way more fun to watch on the screen. It's that the people writing those things have snuck into other genre labels and ditched the tiny, murky pond of SF because they weren't welcome there by the people shouting "cliche!" "DONE!" "Boring!" "Derivative!"
> 
> When WOOL first broke big, there was a lot of grumbling in the SF trad trenches. Comparing it to Fallout, saying things like "but this has been done" "this is so derivative" "why can't people read something original", etc.
> 
> In short, I think science fiction has shot itself in the guts over the last 30 or so years desperately trying to break new ground, be "original" and "experimental" and not actually hark to the things that make it awesome in the first place like sense of wonder, sense of discovery, crazy settings, exciting and exotic situations, and [email protected], [email protected]*ss heroes/heroines.
> 
> One of the best parts of the indie revolution thing is that now we are getting more of that back, and seeing hits breaking out. I think it'll keep on going, and now we have the freedom to write that stuff and call it what it is, and change the face of the genre for the better.
> 
> /off soapbox


Yes yes yes.

Not everything has to be "new."

(In fact, I'm not sure "new" exists, does it? Hasn't _new_ all been done before, genres smashed together to form some new kind of hybrid?)

I agree with you, Doomed Muse. If there's anything TV has taught us, it's that people like to see similar things again and again. I know I do. And it's the same with my taste n books. I'd read another take on the whole FOUNDATION idea, or THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES or [fill in name of my other favorite sci fi books.] I mean, why do I re-read Foundation Trilogy every few years? I know what's gonna happen. Why do I read WRINKLE IN TIME, every October, and why I have I never missed an annual reading of it since 1964?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Cherise Kelley said:


> True.
> 
> So.
> 
> If we do create a site for advertising spec fic, then it needs to be segmented into the different sub sub sub genres.
> 
> I really hope this gets done!


I'd be happy to have a crack at this. We could create a website via WordPress and buy our own domain (it's cheap).

We would need to think about structure and content - it seems we definitely need to organise by subgenre.


----------



## Neil Clarke

I think the tricky part here is getting people to agree on the assortment of sub-genres. I'm interested in seeing what people come up with.


----------



## RinG

As an author who writes romance in a speculative fiction setting, I've been avoiding posting in this thread, so definitely getting a 'not welcome' vibe.

But I definitely consider my stories speculative fiction. The setting IS essential to the story. Sure, I could boil the romance angle down to one sentence that doesn't include the spec fix elements, but that wouldn't be true to the story. What I couldn't do is re-write my stories without the sci-fi/fantasy elements. Not without re-writing every single sentence, and turning them in to a completely different story.

And as a spec fic romance writer, I'm excluded by both communities! There's no way I want to promote my novels to sci-fi readers for just this sort of reaction, yet the romance promo sites won't list my books in romance because of the other elements!



KateDanley said:


> .I've loved speculative fiction since I was a wee little one. My dad was a big sci-fi fan and we used to talk about why these books are important. They have the power to look at deep philosophical issues from enough distance that an audience can examine it from all angles and be invited to grow, without being smashed over the head with "A Message". There was a fantastic exhibit in Seattle about fantasy, and several of the big writers (George RR Martin, Jane Espenson) talked about what makes fantasy important. They said that at its heart, fantasy is about an individual standing up against the forces which seek to destroy our individuality. And the person who wins is not the prettiest or strongest. It is the cleverest person with the strongest will. The mind and heart will always trump evil. I liked that.


This is why I write speculative fiction. I love the chance to explore issues that are there in today's world, but in a 'safer' environment for readers. They can enjoy the stories, thinking 'but it's sci-fi, it wouldn't really happen in our world'.


----------



## horse_girl

Sorry to hear it, Rinelle.

When you find the right audience, the work can have a wider appeal. I've learned that with my Starfire Angels (ya, romantic, sf) that a variety of people enjoy it. Some read it because it's YA and romantic, others love the SF more. Everyone is different. I tend to direct my marketing efforts more to the romance readers than SF readers. I've learned that Romance readers have as wide of a variety of tastes as spec fic readers. Coffee Time Romance will review works of any cross-genre that includes any amount of romance. They aren't hardcore romance.

Mixing genres is a great way to introduce people who never thought they would touch spec fic to give it a try with a flavor that appeals to them already.


----------



## Rachel Aukes

Rinelle Grey said:


> As an author who writes romance in a speculative fiction setting, I've been avoiding posting in this thread, so definitely getting a 'not welcome' vibe.


I think the thread is still finding its legs, Rinelle. But, there's a very supportive SFR group online... are you a member of the SFR Brigade? If not, definitely consider hooking up with them. PM me if you'd like to chat more...


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## heidi_g

I stick with fantasy and stories with fantastical elements


----------



## Cherise

Neil Clarke said:


> I think the tricky part here is getting people to agree on the assortment of sub-genres. I'm interested in seeing what people come up with.


Amazon's categories make as much sense as any other way to label. And they are likely to be the most well-known labels.


----------



## Edward W. Robertson

Of course Twilight is spec fic. It's got vampires in it, for heaven's sakes. They're even used in the same way they've been used since Dracula--strong, frightening creatures whose supernatural powers make our attraction to them even more dangerous.

It might not be the sort of thing "core" SF/F readers are into, but if that means it isn't spec fic, then you're not defining the genre by tropes or whether it asks a speculative "What if?" question. You're defining it by _audience_. And if spec fic by necessity excludes Twilight fans, then of _course_ our readership is going to be smaller than the readership for romance and thrillers. We keep kicking potential fans out the door!

If somebody liked Twilight, chances are there's plenty of other spec fic they'd like, too--_if_ we quit telling them, "Nope, what you like isn't _real_ SF/F/H. Away with ye to the shelves of romance/YA/etc.!"

Spec fic is the biggest umbrella there is. There's space for everyone under here.


----------



## psychotick

Hi,

OK at the risk of ruffling more feathers (and apologies in advance to any who feel that I have) I don't think we need sub sub genres. And I am at no point arguing that one genre is superior to another.

What I am saying is that if I want to read a sci fi book, I want to read a sci fi book. I don't want to read say a western with spaceships. So as a reader what I value most here is the equivalent of truth in advertising.

If your books a western that's fine. I don't want to read it and I don't want to be tricked into reading it by covers with aliens and spaceships and BISAC categories that list it as sci fi.

To me the simplest answer is to categorize the book first by what it actually predominantly is. Then sub genre it.

So if it's a western with spaceships list it as Western: Sci fi.
If on the other hand its a sci fi with cowboys etc list it as Sci fi: Western.

Now I won't read the first book, but I might or might not read the second. But at least I know as a reader what I'm getting into, so I can't really complain if I do. But if I read a book that's actually a western but promoted as sci fi, I can and I will.

Now to bring it back to the paranormal romance issue. My view is that you need to promote your book by what it primarily is about. If its primarily a romance list it as Romance: paranormal. If it's primarily paranormal list it as Paranormal: romance.

I know this may not always be easy to do, some books really do sit on the razor's edge, and I know that the BISAC categories may not adequately reflect this. But I think as an author it's something you have to do. And if you get it wrong you'll upset readers (and not just me.)

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Look guys, if I have to suck it up and accept _A Sword of Fire and Ice_ in my genre, you can suck it up and tolerate _Twilight_. Just because they're the same genre doens't mean we have to like them. And also just because that one is just awful doesn't mean there aren't books out there that do a good job of blending romance and spec-fic elements. Frankly, I'm pretty much a bonafide sucker for a good love story and discouraging the mix is against my own personal interests.

That said, that whole discussion is actually part and parcel with the marketing problem we have. Spec-fic is all about labels. Let's admit it: we as nerds love to catalog things and put them in little boxes to be weighted and measured.

...And the industry does a poor job of doing it for us. Amazon's categories are a cruel joke and theirs is one of the best if you manage to work the keywords treasure hunt. BISAC wasn't made to help readers, it was made to keep the books straight.

If we're going to do a site that promotes Spec-Fic, we need a robust search engine with lots of check boxes. Not only do we need to properly display sub-genres (and their alternate names, said the guy whose primary work is dungeonpunk and gaslamp fantasy), but also tone, element and possibly Asimov Kind (Gadget, Social, Adventure).

Our readers (and here I mean 'me') are the kind of person who might well be frustrated by everyone else's tendency to just drop a pile of general 'horror' or 'fantasy' in front of us and expect us to root around in it for the kind they like.

Every time I have to cycle through stories I don't want to find those I do, I feel like someone just filled my trough and said 'root for it, pig'.


----------



## SLGray

I agree that we probably need to break spec fic down into subgenres, but I think we have to be careful not to break them down -too- much. Some people will want the ticky boxes, sure, but I sort of feel like too many ticky boxes will scare new readers away. They may not know all the sub-sub-sub genres. Offering too many choices can be just as confusing or off-putting as not offering enough, so we should probably go for a happy medium.


----------



## NoCat

Blergh. I'm out.  This talk of subgenre and what is or isn't proper spec fic makes me ill. It's the kind of annoying delineations and bickering that has been ruining SF for years for fans and makes a lot of SF writers look like anti-social jerks.  I realize I'm bitter because I was told for years I couldn't be writing real SF since I was a girl and girls can't write about science, but seriously, who cares if your western has spaceships and aliens? Guess what? That makes it science fiction in my book. There are only so many plots under the sun. If your book centers on a mystery but the perp (or investigator) is a vampire, you are writing fantasy.  It's the trappings that MAKE the genre in my opinion.

I can't stand the slicing, dicing, and arguing. It's ridiculous.


----------



## RinG

psychotick said:


> Now to bring it back to the paranormal romance issue. My view is that you need to promote your book by what it primarily is about. If its primarily a romance list it as Romance: paranormal. If it's primarily paranormal list it as Paranormal: romance.


I both agree with this and disagree with it. Yep, I primarily promote my book as a romance, since that's what it primarily is. BUT (and it's a big but), it's also sci-fi, and to deny that, or hide it, would be just as dishonest to readers as calling it straight sci-fi.


----------



## wrenroberts

Why does everyone want to create some hierarchical genre/sub-genre list? What's wrong with a tag cloud? Find a decent search plugin to allow easy searching by multiple tags and boom. Done. Anyone can be as specific or non-specific as they want.


----------



## Cherise

wrenroberts said:


> What's wrong with a tag cloud?
> 
> Find a decent search plugin to allow easy searching by multiple tags and boom. Done. Anyone can be as specific or non-specific as they want.


AWESOME SOLUTION!

And Doomed Muse, please don't leave. It's only one person who is being that way.


----------



## SLGray

wrenroberts said:


> Why does everyone want to create some hierarchical genre/sub-genre list? What's wrong with a tag cloud? Find a decent search plugin to allow easy searching by multiple tags and boom. Done. Anyone can be as specific or non-specific as they want.


Personally? ...because I hadn't even thought of a tag cloud.   I just had visions of column after column of boxes to check or uncheck which would overwhelm me pretty quickly.

A tag cloud -would- allow authors to tag their books as they saw fit (assuming a site where authors could upload their own books) and allow readers to drill down as much as they wanted, it's true. Great suggestion.


----------



## antonnaseton

Doomed Muse said:


> I realize I'm bitter because I was told for years I couldn't be writing real SF since I was a girl and girls can't write about science, but seriously, who cares if your western has spaceships and aliens? Guess what? That makes it science fiction in my book. There are only so many plots under the sun. If your book centers on a mystery but the perp (or investigator) is a vampire, you are writing fantasy. It's the trappings that MAKE the genre in my opinion.
> 
> I can't stand the slicing, dicing, and arguing. It's ridiculous.


Wait, girls can't write real sci-fi? Oh dear, I never realised that was so.  I write sci-fi; mostly space opera. But I write short stories in the paranormal, post-apocalyptic genres too.

Sorry the slicing and dicing has upset you. But if you want to see even more slicing and dicing and bickering about genre, you should see what the Space Opera community is like.

Some argue that Star Trek Deep Space Nine is not space opera because the adventures take place in a space station as opposed to a space ship. Some people say Battlestar Galactica ain't space opera either because they don't really discover new alien cultures or planets. Some even question the inclusion of Star Wars, which to me, is the definition of space opera.

You know what, WHATEVAH. Like you, I stay out of the silliness. I like a good story and I don't care WHAT marketing slot it's given. To me, space opera are stories that take place in space. And that's all I need to know.

But anyway, I'm glad there's a thread for spec fic writers to hang out - many thanks to the OP! However, I hope it doesn't make those who write cross genre stuff feel left out. As a person who writes in multiple genres (because I'd get bored otherwise) and am even toying with a romance sci-fi, I understand how some may feel about that!


----------



## Vaalingrade

SLGray said:


> I agree that we probably need to break spec fic down into subgenres, but I think we have to be careful not to break them down -too- much. Some people will want the ticky boxes, sure, but I sort of feel like too many ticky boxes will scare new readers away. They may not know all the sub-sub-sub genres. Offering too many choices can be just as confusing or off-putting as not offering enough, so we should probably go for a happy medium.


I don't see too many choices as a problem given the target audience and just how damn big Spec-fic is. Like I said, there's nothing that I hate more about current agrigators is the fact that they offer zero help in narrowing my searches down.

The question that has to be asked if we're going to do a site like this is 'What are we offering Spec-fic readers they can't get from other sites?'. I feel the answer should not be 'an even more overt refusal to appeal to our needs'.

Go check out the system over at Archive Of Our Own something a touch better than that is what I as a reader would be looking for.

The problem I have with a tag cloud is 1) an annoying tendency for site that use them to load tag searches as previews instead of excerpted lists, meaning you're punished with a slower loading, more clumsy page if you use tags and 2) a tag cloud doesn't allow my to _exclude_ elements if I don't want them.


----------



## psychotick

Hi,

Sorry DoomedMuse, I'm not meaning to offend anyone. And for the record I have no issue with girls writing sci fi. Whoever told you that was a jerk.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## NoCat

psychotick said:


> Hi,
> 
> Sorry DoomedMuse, I'm not meaning to offend anyone. And for the record I have no issue with girls writing sci fi. Whoever told you that was a jerk.
> 
> Cheers, Greg.


As long as that sci fi doesn't have a mystery in it as the central plot point. Or a strong romantic subplot. Then, you know, apparently it ain't sf anymore. Or something. Sigh.


----------



## M T McGuire

wrenroberts said:


> Why does everyone want to create some hierarchical genre/sub-genre list? What's wrong with a tag cloud? Find a decent search plugin to allow easy searching by multiple tags and boom. Done. Anyone can be as specific or non-specific as they want.


Ta da! This might be the answer, even if we decided on some standard tags, they are somehow more fluid than genres.

So, caveat here, I'm writing from a different country and our perception may be different to yours, indeed fantasy and sci-fi are still considered pariah genres here but...

As a reader, I would be leery about reading pure sci-fi because I would be worried that it would be all dry science written for emotionally retarded blokes (sorry, I do actually love sci-fi but there is a it of that thing attached to it).

As a reader, I would want it sorted, a blanket title might be a bit intimidating, so if I was looking for something like Star Wars, I'd expect it to be listed under Sci-fi and, possibly, Romance. One of the great things about Star Wars, for me, is that it has all these cross over elements from other genres I love - woah yeh swords, and duels, like the Three Musketeers and yet also space ships and... robots.

So just taking a single writer as an example, Amazon allows me two categories but my books have elements of YA, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sci-fi, Action Adventure and Romance - or at least whatever it is that people falling in love with one another minus graphic sex scenes is called nowadays. It might even have elements of cops and robbers seeing as the first book is about a bank heist. Some readers class my work as Fantasy - because it doesn't happen in space - some think it's sci-fi - because the science is explained (vaguely). How would I categorise that? Because if a sci-fi purist read my work, he'd be seriously disappointed, if a fantasy purist read it, he'd be annoyed by the modernity of my imaginary world and the lack of dragons. (By the way, how is it fantasy if we're just writing about stuff other people have already made up?)

As a complete numb knut, doubtless I'm completely clueless but I thought the whole point of using the label 'spec fic' was that I get to side step that whole is it fantasy is it sci-fi issue and the reader would immediately know that it will have elements of both... and probably other things too.

So yeh, a tag cloud is the way to go I think.

Oh and DoomedMuse - I write er... my stuff and I'm a girl.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Rinelle Grey said:


> As an author who writes romance in a speculative fiction setting, I've been avoiding posting in this thread, so definitely getting a 'not welcome' vibe.


Hi Rinelle! Sorry if I/we made you feel this way, this was never the intention. I've edit the original post to welcome all types of speculative fiction authors. This thread is only a day or two old, and already I'm blown away with the number of spec fic authors here and the diversity of their work. So welcome, and I hope we haven't scared you off!



Doomed Muse said:


> Blergh. I'm out. This talk of subgenre and what is or isn't proper spec fic makes me ill. It's the kind of annoying delineations and bickering that has been ruining SF for years for fans and makes a lot of SF writers look like anti-social jerks. I realize I'm bitter because I was told for years I couldn't be writing real SF since I was a girl and girls can't write about science, but seriously, who cares if your western has spaceships and aliens? Guess what? That makes it science fiction in my book. There are only so many plots under the sun. If your book centers on a mystery but the perp (or investigator) is a vampire, you are writing fantasy. It's the trappings that MAKE the genre in my opinion.
> 
> I can't stand the slicing, dicing, and arguing. It's ridiculous.


Hi Doomed Muse. I know there's some pretty bad opinions floating about the internet, but I really don't want these negative arguments being dragged into this thread. I certainly don't think anyone here has implied, or would imply, that females don't make good spec-fic authors (we all know this is not the case).

I really hope we can keep this thread open and friendly, and keep discussions respectful and supportive.


----------



## M T McGuire

S Elliot Brandis said:


> Hi Rinelle! Sorry if I/we made you feel this way, this was never the intention. I've edit the original post to welcome all types of speculative fiction authors. This thread is only a day or two old, and already I'm blown away with the number of spec fic authors here and the diversity of their work. So welcome, and I hope we haven't scared you off!
> 
> Hi Doomed Muse. I know there's some pretty bad opinions floating about the internet, but I really don't want these negative arguments being dragged into this thread. I certainly don't think anyone here has implied, or would imply, that females don't make good spec-fic authors (we all know this is not the case).
> 
> I really hope we can keep this thread open and friendly, and keep discussions respectful and supportive.


I wonder if the slightly geeky nature of many spec fic authors puts us 'on the spectrum' so to speak. I suspect I am. Put a whole load of us slightly Sheldon Cooperish dudes on one thread and I suppose it's going to be a little lumpy until we all get used to one another.

Pipple toot.

MTM


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

M T McGuire said:


> I wonder if the slightly geeky nature of many spec fic authors puts us 'on the spectrum' so to speak. I suspect I am. Put a whole load of us slightly Sheldon Cooperish dudes on one thread and I suppose it's going to be a little lumpy until we all get used to one another.
> 
> Pipple toot.
> 
> MTM


Yep! I go to a spec-fic writing/critique group in my city, and its often hilarious, sometimes opinionated, and always good fun. We are a special class of people.


----------



## antonnaseton

S Elliot Brandis said:


> Yep! I go to a spec-fic writing/critique group in my city, and its often hilarious, sometimes opinionated, and always good fun. We are a special class of people.


Aren't we? We speak a language nobody does. I attended a writing course once and we were all asked about what we wrote. Almost everyone wrote literary, and when it came to my turn I just kinda squeaked, "Space opera" and there were blank faces all around ... except for one guy who beamed because he had found a kindred spirit.

I don't attend a spec fic writing group (I wish there was one in Adelaide! Or is there ... must go searching) but I am with a sci-fi group that watches movies and plays RPG games etc. We speak a language that nobody would get - though they must think I'm 1/2 geek because I ... have not watched a single episode of Dr Who. Yes, I confess now, I'm utterly clueless about the Time Lord.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Fellow Aussie! I'm in Brissie. We have a writer group here and I know there's one on the gold coast, too. Adelaide might have one, you just gotta track it down.

I'm the same re: Dr who. That and anime - don't watch either but I feel like the only one!


----------



## antonnaseton

S Elliot Brandis said:


> Fellow Aussie! I'm in Brissie. We have a writer group here and I know there's one on the gold coast, too. Adelaide might have one, you just gotta track it down.
> 
> I'm the same re: Dr who. That and anime - don't watch either but I feel like the only one!


Have watched anime! Woohoo ... I think there's a sci-fi writing group called Ad Astra. I'm not really sure about the benefits of joining a writer's group. I'm a bit wary of groups that do nothing but critique ...


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## 41419

Edward W. Robertson said:


> Spec fic is the biggest umbrella there is. There's space for everyone under here.


THIS.

And I hope my pithy remark (the first fight of a spec-fic group is always genre labels) didn't come across as minimizing the issues of those that feel excluded. There are issues with this in SF/F/WTF* and ancillary issues with sexism, that are very real and that we all need to be aware of (and fight).

*Stolen from Angry Robot, not meant in a pejorative sense!


----------



## 41419

And you know what? The beauty of digital publishing is that you don't have to be restricted by labels anymore. Booksellers might have had trouble with, say, Technothrillers, unsure whether to shelve them with Thrillers or SF. But, on Amazon, we can put books on multiple shelves. And you can position the book in the market however you please.

All of which seems perfectly natural. A book doesn't have to be Romance or SF. It can be both. It can appeal to readers of both. It can be marketed as either.

(And the world keeps turning)


----------



## quiet chick writes

I write spec fic in secret. (Like Rinelle, as a writer with a strong relationship bias in my fiction (though drama usually rather than romance), I'm sort of tip-toeing into the room...) 

I don't have any of it published yet, but hope to in the next year or two. I like alternate dimensions, metafiction, aliens, apocalyptic, and anything near future, preferably with a strong character-driven angle, though I'm not afraid of science or tech either. My favorite stories have both. 

And haters gonna hate, but I'm secretly plotting to make sci-fi/chick-lit happen. *dodges flying tomatoes*


----------



## Cherise

C.C. Kelly said:


> The majority of fans of... Twilight (all spec fic.) are not the fans of Moorcock, Asimov or Gibson, which probably don't have the same fans either.


I'm a big fan of all four! _Neuromancer_ is one of my all-time favorites, as are _I Robot_ and _Elric of Melnibone_. And making a note to check out _Beautiful Creatures_, since you lumped it in, LOL!



Laura Rae Amos said:


> And haters gonna hate, but I'm secretly plotting to make sci-fi/chick-lit happen. *dodges flying tomatoes*


It already happened long ago! Robert Heinlein's _Friday_ comes to mind.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Fantasy writer here.

One of the things I like about going to the public library or the bookstore is that all the SFF books are together in one section. I'm more interested in the tone or theme or quality of writing than plot and character specifics. It's fun to read different kinds of stories and come across unexpected jewels.

Regarding tag clouds or lists, I don't see them as an either/or. Why not both?

It would be nice if there were a way to filter out certain types of stories. There are some books you'd have to pay me a substantial sum to read. Other books I _cannot_ read for different reasons.



S Elliot Brandis said:


> We are a special class of people.


Everybody thinks they're special. None of us are. All of us are.

Any kind of elitism, even the elitism of the misfits, sets my back up. There's a whiff of "If I can't be in that special group, I'll make my own special group." I don't want to be in any special groups. I don't want to be part of any Us vs. Them.

Which takes us back to NO ROMANCE. I've read enough wish-fulfillment SF where the hero is rewarded with the beautiful babe at story's end to wonder why romance is a problem. Just don't read it, right?

@M T McGuire: Your _The Wrong Stuff_ cover cracks me up.


----------



## unkownwriter

Doomed Muse, firstly, please don't leave! Not everybody is going to agree with every point, but please don't let that keep you or anyone else from feeling comfortable here. Specfic is indeed a big umbrella. (Or we can beat it over the head and make it one!)

Secondly, I loved your comments about SF and what happened in the genre. It was hard for a long time to find stuff to read, which is why I began reading mysteries and thrillers.

Anyway, my thinking is that if you think your work is specfic, then it is. I'm going to trust people to have looked at genre classifications, and know what they write. We can narrow things down in regards to promotions, or helping readers find work they like, but I don't think we need to be coming down on one side or the other of the "that's not SF!" or "that's not horror!" or whatever.


Something I wanted to talk about -- and I don't mean to start anything -- is the possibility of needing to contribute funds to start a site. I may be the only one, but I have zero funds to spare. If I had any money, it would go to getting an editor, or a good cover. So if that's going to be necessary (donating money), I'm going to have to drop out. 

And yes, I know things cost money, but the well is dry over here. I wouldn't feel right being involved in something if I couldn't pay my way.


----------



## M T McGuire

Sandra K. Williams said:


> Which takes us back to NO ROMANCE. I've read enough wish-fulfillment SF where the hero is rewarded with the beautiful babe at story's end to wonder why romance is a problem. Just don't read it, right?


Amen to that, although I think you have to have lots of shagging for real romance nowadays don't you? Isn't the wish fulfillment type called cozy romance or something...? I get so confused with all the names things are called. I suppose it's a bit like the law. I'm told that with law, the more you start putting specifics into legislation, the easier it becomes to break. It's the really general laws that are the easiest ones to enforce.



Sandra K. Williams said:


> @M T McGuire: Your _The Wrong Stuff_ cover cracks me up.


In a good way, I hope ;-)

Cheers

MTM


----------



## Jim Johnson

olefish said:


> what do you all think about publishing at the spec-fic mags to build an audience?


Dunno if this got lost in the shuffle, but submitting short stories to the various magazines and ezines is a great way to promote yourself and your work if you can get in. Check out the costs of advertisements in Analog, Asimov's, and F&SF, for example. Can't hurt anyway.


----------



## Jim Johnson

I write space opera, sci-fi, weird west, historical fantasy, and high and low fantasy. Plus other speculative stuff I don't really know how to label.

The distinctions between paranormal, supernatural and the like are confusing to me. Like, X-Files and The Sixth Sense. Are they paranormal or supernatural? Does one have to have a romance subplot?


----------



## NoCat

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Doomed Muse, firstly, please don't leave! Not everybody is going to agree with every point, but please don't let that keep you or anyone else from feeling comfortable here. Specfic is indeed a big umbrella. (Or we can beat it over the head and make it one!)
> 
> Secondly, I loved your comments about SF and what happened in the genre. It was hard for a long time to find stuff to read, which is why I began reading mysteries and thrillers.
> 
> Anyway, my thinking is that if you think your work is specfic, then it is. I'm going to trust people to have looked at genre classifications, and know what they write. We can narrow things down in regards to promotions, or helping readers find work they like, but I don't think we need to be coming down on one side or the other of the "that's not SF!" or "that's not horror!" or whatever.


Oh, I know. But I'm super prickly about this whole "get X out of MY genre" or "X isn't spec fic because (insert stupid reason that probably relates solely to the fact that the person giving it doesn't like X)" and get tired quickly of people bashing things that a) they likely haven't read and b) clearly aren't to their taste. Not to my taste does not equal awful thing that doesn't belong.

And I know I'm writing spec fic. Pretty sure all these sf and fantasy magazines and anthologies that publish my work would have told me by now if I were completely clueless 

The genre is huge and full of subgenres for just about any work. I don't know how useful we could be in helping readers to find what they want in a way that the sales sites don't already. However, I do think using a group like this to put together like books into promo bundles or something to that effect could be useful. I'm sure there are people writing space opera whose audiences might like this other person but haven't heard about them, or the same with urban fantasy or slipstream or whatever. That seems like a pretty easy and useful way to use a group like this.

For the person who asked about selling stories to magazines, it's a great way to pick up some extra money. I have never noticed a single extra sale resulting from it on my other work, however, so don't use it as just a way to build audience. Go for the monies, hope there is some extra effect, in my opinion. (Though, I'm about to have some stories in an anthology series with a lot of pretty big name peoples that I think will get some extra love from the Zon, so perhaps my opinion will change here shortly)


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## Sandra K. Williams

M T McGuire said:


> In a good way, I hope ;-)


Definitely in a good way! It makes me smile.


----------



## Sam Kates

I don't fully understand all the nuances of genres and sub-genres and sub-sub-genres. I'm not particularly interested in trying to understand them all. But I thought (until catching up with this thread) that I understood what speculative fiction meant, or at least I have my own definition: it's any story that includes an element that could not possibly happen today based on currently accepted knowledge. Any story that could happen today, no matter how unlikely, is non-speculative.

So any tale involving vampires, werewolves, ghosts, aliens, faster-than-light travel, mythological creatures, sentient machines, made-up worlds, etc, etc is specfic, regardless of how secondary they may be to the main storyline. I don't want to tread on anyone's toes and it's not my thread, but I don't think anybody who writes stories with a fantastical element should be made to feel unwelcome here.

[Edited to fix unwanted italics.]


----------



## Carol (was Dara)

David Adams said:


> And my axe.


Dang it, David! You beat me to the punch! 

OP, cool thread idea. Thanks for starting this.


----------



## bmcox

Sam Kates said:


> I don't fully understand all the nuances of genres and sub-genres and sub-sub-genres. I'm not particularly interested in trying to understand them all. But I thought (until catching up with this thread) that I understood what speculative fiction meant, or at least I have my own definition: it's any story that includes an element that could not possibly happen today based on currently accepted knowledge. Any story that _could happen today, no matter how unlikely, is non-speculative.
> 
> So any tale involving vampires, werewolves, ghosts, aliens, faster-than-light travel, mythological creatures, sentient machines, made-up worlds, etc, etc is specfic, regardless of how secondary they may be to the main storyline. I don't want to tread on anyone's toes and it's not my thread, but I don't think anybody who writes stories with a fantastical element should be made to feel unwelcome here.
> _


_

Here, here.

I think that one of the issues here and elsewhere when discussing our little corners of the universe is an issue of representation. Representations of what we like, representations of our developed and received perceptions of what is supposed to be good and correct, and representations of self. Sometimes these representations cause conflict with other writers (and readers) and sometimes they cause conflicts within ourselves._


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## Vaalingrade

How about we not even have a cat list and just implement the hell out of tags?

Here's my wishlist:

You'd have the tag cloud and regular search by keyword and umbrella genre lists up front. Then you'd have Advanced Search where you can either checkbox or CTRL click multiple elements to search either 'must contain all' or 'must contain any'. There would also be a panel for 'must NOT contain any' and a 'filter by...'

The tags would include genres, sub-genres, elements, creatures, authors, themes--anything--because we want this site to actually be useful to spec-fic fans looking to find books to their tastes.

And there'd be a report feature in case someone mis-tagged stuff. Never again the lying blurb times.


----------



## wrenroberts

Vaalingrade said:


> You'd have the tag cloud and regular search by keyword and umbrella genre lists up front. Then you'd have Advanced Search where you can either checkbox or CTRL click multiple elements to search either 'must contain all' or 'must contain any'. There would also be a panel for 'must NOT contain any' and a 'filter by...'
> 
> The tags would include genres, sub-genres, elements, creatures, authors, themes--anything--because we want this site to actually be useful to spec-fic fans looking to find books to their tastes.


Yes! Yes!! This is exactly what I was thinking when I suggested tags in the first place. I think it would give people the most freedom to categorize their books how they see fit. Because in my world, science fantasy is a thing, dammit. ::shakes angry fist at amazon::


----------



## Nope

.


----------



## Becca Mills

Greetings! Looks like all the best threads happen when I'm offline for the holidays.

I write science-fantasy. Or, if actually trying to fit into a marking category, I'd call it contemporary/urban fantasy.


----------



## Vaalingrade

I feel like just finally allowing spec-fic readers to actually search for things they like will go a long way, then we could promote the _site_ because it would be offering something no one else really is at the moment.

In my experience, automated 'if you like this...' things are next to useless. Amazon continues to insist I'll like Sword of Truth even after I one-starred Wizard's First Rule.


----------



## Flopstick

Translovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism 4 lyfe!

The best thing about 'indie' publishing - or online publishing, at least - for me, is that it gives even very niche spec fic genres a potential global reach. If I had to rely on getting my stuff into a shop, and one of my readers happening to go into that shop, and then seeing and buying it, I'd be stuffed. The people reading my stories aren't generally casual horror fans. They're the ones who've already read everything by HPL, and CAS, and Bloch, and Lin Carter, and Ramsey Campbell, and who still want more. Thankfully, I just need to tag my books with 'Lovecraft' and they can find them. 

In the old days, the only way to reach them was by publishing in magazines - but that's never going to earn money, and it limits you to a few thousands words. Thanks to ebooks I can write stories to the length they need to be and know that people don't have to scour fanzine listings or publisher's lists to buy them. All hail t'internet!


----------



## David J Normoyle

A site with a search such as Vaalingrade outlined does seem cool. But at the end of the day, it's it just another book display site where authors put up their books but readers never come to. Getting readers to such a site would the hard part. Getting them to continually come back would be even harder.

Can't someone do more or less the same on Amazon? Put into the search term what they want. Plus on Amazon, they'll have a lot more choice, including all the bestsellers/big names. Plus on Amazon, search results will be ranked based on sales (which works as a pseudo quality control). And then this site will direct them back to Amazon or wherever, and where's the value in it for the reader to keep coming back?



C.C. Kelly said:


> But this doesn't help with promotions.


One way it could help is that you could get to see indie books similar to yours easily, so it might facilitate the grouping of books/authors. Then those authors could, if they wished, organize box sets or group promos with the similar authors.


----------



## Cherise

David J Normoyle said:


> A site with a search such as Vaalingrade outlined does seem cool. But at the end of the day, it's just another book display site where authors put up their books but readers never come to.


You're right.



David J Normoyle said:


> One way [some kind of database for the books of the authors in this thread] could help is that you could get to see indie books similar to yours easily, so it might facilitate the grouping of books/authors. Then those authors could, if they wished, organize box sets or group promos with the similar authors.


LOVE this idea!

I want to find books similar to mine to cross promo with.
Maybe even do a boxed set.

In the meantime, until we have such a database, PM me if 
1) you write optimistic G-rated urban fantasy and 
2) you are interested.


----------



## Carol (was Dara)

Ok, just skimmed the whole thread. On the subject of what is or isn't spec-fic, I'm content to let the author of the work decide. If someone categorizes a love story about teens in space as sci-fi, it's no skin off my nose. I'd just file it under three cats: sci-fi, romance, and YA. I'm not hard-core about genre definitions. I've read lots of fantasy that was 50 % romance and, while it wasn't always what I was in the mood for, that doesn't mean it wasn't real fantasy. Sarah Douglas comes to mind as a fantasy author who was hugely respected in her genre but whose books focused a lot on romantic/sexual relationships and situations. Juliette Marillier is another example. But their books are still very much fantasy. When I'm browsing the bookstore, I always mentally file fantasy books according to style and audience. Something like this:

Hardcore epic fantasy 
Gamer-style "nerd" fantasy (often called derivative and juvenile but probably my personal fave) 
Romantic fantasy 
Historical Fantasy 
Urban Fantasy

And so on. If I can tell the type of fantasy by looking at covers, blurbs, samples, and shelving (or in the case of ebooks, categories) I figure other readers can too.

* None of the above relates to the discussion of promotional efforts or a spec-fic website. Just my 2 cents on fantasy cats in general.


----------



## Vaalingrade

David J Normoyle said:


> Can't someone do more or less the same on Amazon?


No, not at all. Amazon is terrible at filtering. You get a big pile of a very, very general category and then you have to dig. You can't exclude anything, there is NO way to search for things like tone or theme beyond manually reading every blurb and even then they lie.

Plus, Amazon's keyword system is a cruel joke. It isn't there to help readers, but to just gate people through to (again) very general categories.

It's okay to use the search there if you know the book or author you're after already, or have four spare hours to dig, but otherwise... well there a reason ENT and Bookbub exist and are useful for mainstream romance, thriller, etc and a reason it's not good enough for a lot of spec-fic fans.

You guys know where _I_ got to look for stuff to read? Tvtropes. I just pop over to the Steampunk, Dungeon Punk, Weird West, or Functional Magic page, click the literature tab, then jump to the page for the work. If I don't see something like 'Crapsack world', Diablis ex Machina' or 'downer ending' in the trope list, I then go to Amazon or DTF for the book.


----------



## Ty Johnston

Flopstick said:


> Translovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism 4 lyfe!


Aw, h--- no! You ain't puttin' no _trans_- in my lovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism. Everybody knows it ain't _real _lovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism unless its _cis_lovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism.

The nerve of some people. Tryin' to dis my sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub genre like that.


----------



## M T McGuire

Doomed Muse said:


> For the person who asked about selling stories to magazines, it's a great way to pick up some extra money. I have never noticed a single extra sale resulting from it on my other work, however, so don't use it as just a way to build audience. Go for the monies, hope there is some extra effect, in my opinion. (Though, I'm about to have some stories in an anthology series with a lot of pretty big name peoples that I think will get some extra love from the Zon, so perhaps my opinion will change here shortly)


I've had short stories in two quite low profile anthologies, Indie Bites and A Splendid Salamagundi. I'm absolutely convinced that both of those made a difference to my sales. Like a Numb Nuts I missed all the anthologies this Christmas and my sales have suffered accordingly.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## bmcox

Karen Lord just published this quote from Alan Moore

__
https://72465792119
: "Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel."


----------



## Victoria Champion

bmcox said:


> Karen Lord just published this quote
> 
> __
> https://72465792119
> : "Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel."


Full Alan Moore quote:

"My experience of life is that it is not divided up into genres; it's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky."


----------



## 41352

removed


----------



## Jim Johnson

Vaalingrade said:


> No, not at all. Amazon is terrible at filtering. You get a big pile of a very, very general category and then you have to dig. You can't exclude anything, there is NO way to search for things like tone or theme beyond manually reading every blurb and even then they lie.
> 
> Plus, Amazon's keyword system is a cruel joke. It isn't there to help readers, but to just gate people through to (again) very general categories


Tangentially, I was reminded this past weekend how superior browsing Amazon is to shopping in a physical bookstore. I went into my closest Barnes and Noble, thinking I'd look for some new weird westerns or gritty low fantasy and was presented with several long shelves of books, arranged alphabetically, all lumped into the sf/f section. Just a big mess of books.

So I had to pull out my smartphone and pull up Amazon and searched on "weird western" and immediately got a long list of 400+ books. Sure it's not perfect and not granular enough, but it's a hell of a lot more useful for drilling down within a genre.


----------



## Cherise

Vaalingrade said:


> Plus, Amazon's keyword system is a cruel joke. It isn't there to help readers, but to just gate people through to (again) very general categories.


Keywords work in other ways, too. I am still trying to make them work for my fiction, but I have found books using keywords.


----------



## SLFleming

Hi there,
I like this thread!
I'm post-apocalyptic zombie chick-lit. Spec-fic? Seems so. Romance? Yep, it's also a love story. 
But I'm gonna hang out, if that's cool.  

-Sarah


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I think if a website is going to be attractive, then you need some good front page content, too. An interesting blog with original pieces - maybe each from a different author.

I'd also be careful not to scare off people that aren't hardcore sci-fi/fantasy readers. Sub-genres can be a turnoff as much as they can be an aid.


----------



## SLGray

Box sets are a great cross-promotion to help people out who are ready or want to do them, I think. Or anthologies. I'm hoping to do both of those.

We could also possibly do mini blog-tours if people are willing to host?


----------



## Maia Sepp Ross

Can I dip my toe in too? I'm writing a spec-fic for the first time right now - a near-future dystopia novella with humorous/women's fiction elements...I'd like to turn it into a series if it sells.

Would anyone here be willing to beta read it for me? I'll be done before the end of the month and I'd love some feedback from someone who's been doing this longer than me (which is about everyone ). I can repay with a beta read of your stuff, or...something else? Not sure what, but I'm open to suggestions...


----------



## Victoria J

A lot of fantasy and science fiction readers enjoy podcasts. Perhaps if we could build a site that also featured a fantasy/sci-fi podcast monthly episode (especially one featuring indie books they've read) that might draw readers. I do realize that this is very time consuming though. I used to podcast but no longer have the time. At least not right now.


----------



## burke_KB

I read about netflix having 75,000 sub genre classifications for movies and tv shows. So if you are into horror movies, you can drill down to 1980s-style-slasher-films-with-brief-nudity or something like that. It's like pandora for movies.

I think a curated site that took the effort to sort the dragons and elves from the particle accelerators would be nice, but it would take a ton of work. The traditional 30 categories doesn't get it done. To really pull it off would require a dozen people reviewing lots of books a week, and tagging them in spreadsheets. We'd need hundreds of genre identifiers, so you can find that action-packed-conan-style-arthurian-legend or the mars-terra-forming-with-a-space-elevator book.

If you had that kind of data, you could ask people for their favorite book and kick out a bunch of similar books like amazon's also boughts.

A simpler approach would be the "best speculative fiction of kboards" or something. Needs better branding. But a "best of" site would be easier to for everyone to promote on their social platforms. Build a centric mailing list on that site, and let everyone blast it with their latest releases.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

SLGray said:


> Box sets are a great cross-promotion to help people out who are ready or want to do them, I think. Or anthologies. I'm hoping to do both of those.
> 
> We could also possibly do mini blog-tours if people are willing to host?


Smaller anthologies could be cool. Say, find 8 or 10 like minded authors to put together an antho, and use it primarily as a promotional vehicle.


----------



## SLGray

S Elliot Brandis said:


> Smaller anthologies could be cool. Say, find 8 or 10 like minded authors to put together an antho, and use it primarily as a promotional vehicle.


Exactly. Use whatever royalties come out of it to pay for hosting a site, if we make one, if it was being sold for a price. Or just make it a permafree promotional tool.


----------



## Greg Banks

I tend to write dark Sci-Fi and Fantasy, currently focusing more on the post-apocalyptic and zombie genres.

I don't think that Romance is more popular. I think spec fic has become not only fractured into,a thousand different sub-genres, but also is more mainstream. Many many stories, even a lot of romance, has some sort of Spec Fic angle to it. It's hard to pinpoint a specific audience because Spec Fic is a long thread running through every other genre, including Romance (Paranormal Romance is a form of Spec Fic too, and it's very popular right now.


----------



## HezBa

Anyone else interested in doing a box-set for a little promotion? Show of hands?


----------



## M T McGuire

HezBa said:


> Anyone else interested in doing a box-set for a little promotion? Show of hands?


When you say boxed sets do you mean a package of novels by different authors on a similar theme like say, humorous spec fic (sorry I'm a bit thick)? If so yes, I'm on. I'd also be on for an anthology, too. I've been involved in two books of short stories and I am certain that both have brought new readers to my work and book sales.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## Becca Mills

HezBa said:


> Anyone else interested in doing a box-set for a little promotion? Show of hands?


I'd love to do one, but it'd have to be all permafrees.


----------



## Flopstick

burke_KB said:


> I think a curated site that took the effort to sort the dragons and elves from the particle accelerators would be nice, but it would take a ton of work. The traditional 30 categories doesn't get it done. To really pull it off would require a dozen people reviewing lots of books a week, and tagging them in spreadsheets. We'd need hundreds of genre identifiers, so you can find that action-packed-conan-style-arthurian-legend or the mars-terra-forming-with-a-space-elevator book.
> 
> If you had that kind of data, you could ask people for their favorite book and kick out a bunch of similar books like amazon's also boughts.


What you're describing sounds like a tag system, and of course the solution to the workload involved with that is to have authors and readers apply the tags.


----------



## legion

*pokes head in*
My weapons come in the form of curses and other such intangibles, so axes and light sabers down please!   *enters fully*

I've been focusing on other genres lately, but it seems I am a spec fic writer at heart since most of my short stories end up swinging that way, including a speculative element somehow.

My spec fic includes slipstream, dark fantasy and sci-fi, and quiet/soft horror.
Transmogrification, ghosts and other incorporeal beings, black magic, and superpowers (usually the power to transmogrify) tend to feature in my spec tales.
I've even dabbled in a zombie apocalypse story...which also ended up sort of a dark, slightly erotic romance?

Anyway, for all of the above, I blame The X-Files.
Until soon,
us


----------



## jnfr

I have three project 'sets' at the moment. One is a set of sword-and-sorcery shorts set in a specific world. One is a set of ghost stories which are unrelated except they all have ghosts. The other is a series of urban fantasy novels with a Wiccan circle/elemental magic contemporary setting. I tend to adventure stories more than romance though, with family life and groups of friends at the center.

So I'll bring my crossbows and chalices and random spirits intruding into everyday life and hang out with you all.


----------



## SLGray

It's quiet. Too quiet.

Anyone come up with any other outstanding promotional ideas? Or had great success with a particular method lately?


----------



## Quiss

I had the best single-day sales numbers EVAH yesterday. 

And my ranks slipped across the board  

Quit selling so many damn books, you people! You're harshing my buzz.


----------



## Vaalingrade

When the bundles ended Jan 1, I switched A Girl and Her Monster and We Could be Heroes to 'Pay What You Want' on DTF. There have been way fewer downloads, but sales are starting to happen over there, including purchases of later books where I had none before.


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## Quiss

I think I figured it out.
Just found a link to my freebie on SF Signal. It was posted on the 15th which is when I saw that nice little spike of my other titles. 
Don't know how it got there, but I like it


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## SLGray

Nice! Congratulations!


----------



## 68564

Just found this thread! I am one of those dopey Science-Fantasy writers (Magic in space!). Now to go back and see what I missed in this thread...


----------



## The 13th Doctor

VydorScope said:


> Just found this thread!


Me, too!

Well, I'm *finally* getting round to writing Book 1 in my Time Travelling Assassins series. The two prequels have been out since 2011... but a reader emailed me and gave me a well-deserved kick up the arse. With a few tweaks to the main character (everyday forty-something man to no-nonsense, fiftysomething Northern woman) and changing the narrative from third to first, the enthusiasm for this story has returned!



(Now to copy VydorScope, and read this entire thread!)


----------



## ElleChambers

I just found this thread, read the whole thing, and was a bit worried about posting because I don't read/write/watch sci fi or fantasy. So a lot of the references in this thread flew over my head, lol. You all are a spirited bunch, though, and I'm fascinated by the many subgenres that fall under the Spec Fic umbrella. Had no idea most of them existed. I write dark fiction (mostly horror, but also suspense - and I'm getting into dark urban fantasy and erotic horror soon) and it _is_ hard to find an audience for my work, especially since I write short. Oh well - I love what I do and even if I never make a dime from dark fiction, I'll keep writing it.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

As a horror writer, you definitely fall under the speculative fiction umbrella, Elle.


----------



## ElleChambers

CoraBuhlert said:


> As a horror writer, you definitely fall under the speculative fiction umbrella, Elle.


I kind of figured as much, but I felt odd seeing as though my tastes tend to be pretty narrow. At least compared to others here.


----------



## RichardWolanski

*high fives through nine pages*


Definitely a speculative fiction card carying member.  Mine tends to be satirical, allegorical, and irreverent. I've actually noticed a lot of the regulars have high fantasy series. 


*double high fives for that*


----------



## Fishbowl Helmet

Doomed Muse said:


> I could go into a huge long rant about why SF is the most profitable movie genre but has such a tiny book market share, but I won't. I am thrilled, however, that we can now publish ourselves and write whatever for the market, because of how the traditional market has developed and how insular and incestuous certain parts of SF writerdom has become. (It would be a hecka-long rant, seriously).
> 
> Fantasy, thank god, avoided a lot of that.
> 
> Anyway. I write all kinds of spec fic. So, uh, hi.


You mean how in most films they have a fairly basic premise that's almost painfully explained in simple terms for the audience whereas SF books often have a more complex premise and are more in the vein of figure it out for yourselves, numb nuts? There's also that most Hollywood SF movies are also heavy on the action, which translates quite well to the foreign market, more 'splosions less yakking makes for an easy subtitle or dub process.

But I definitely agree that SF could/should be bigger. It's just one of the least popular broad genres in the market in general, it's the same with traditional publishing as with self-. There are something like 3-4x more mystery and romance readers than SF readers. Something like 1.5x more fantasy readers than SF readers. More people simply like other genres. I wish that would change, of course. I'm not saying it can't or won't, just that it's not simply a matter of needing to get the word out about self-pubbed SF--that too certainly--but it's across the genre, not just self-pubbed ebooks.


----------



## zandermarks

When I think of genres, I tend to think in terms of "What's the reader's emotional/intellectual payoff?" i.e., what is it about the story that the reader expects or is looking for?

If we look at the non-spec genres, it's fairly easy to locate the emotional "payoffs." The emotional payoffs for romance, thrillers, cozy mysteries, police procedurals, etc., tend to fall within certain broad ranges.

But if we look to speculative fiction as a genre, we see that any, all, or none of these emotional "payoffs" may be at play. It depends on the specific stories and character arcs. So we could have a vampire tale that's pure horror, another one that is teenage romance, another that is social critique, and still another which is pure comedy. We could even have a vampire story set in a modern city which functions essentially as a western in terms of its underlying plot and character arc, even if there isn't an explicit "western" element in the world being depicted or a single horse to be found.

And although all of these are vampire stories, and all of them are speculative fiction, readers who respond strongly to the romance notes might not derive much from the city-vampire-western, and readers who like the pure horror might hate the pure comedy. Not because any one of these is less truly speculative (or any less truly "vampire"), but rather because each one of these is pushing different reader buttons.

So it seems to me that that's one challenge in cross promotion--finding ways to bundle or cross-promote titles which hit congruent notes with readers in addition to finding compatible forms. Because although certain readers might be quick to say "I don't do romance--it's just not my thing," they might also be as quick to say "I don't do horror--it's just not my thing" or "I don't do western, even city-vampire-western--it's just not my thing." Because they are looking for specific payoffs, and they get less out of the stories that do not provide the payoffs they are looking for.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Fishbowl Helmet said:


> You mean how in most films they have a fairly basic premise that's almost painfully explained in simple terms for the audience whereas SF books often have a more complex premise and are more in the vein of figure it out for yourselves, numb nuts?


It's a dark combination of Hollywood producers thinking audiences are too stupid to understand concepts and writers refusing the explain things to readers either out of some level of pretension or because that would be 'evil' telling or infodumping.


----------



## AngryGames

So... are we done fighting about what is and isn't spec fic? 

I hope so, I'd like to actually talk about spec fic without having to avoid another five pages of arguing.


----------



## Samuel Peralta

AngryGames said:


> So... are we done fighting about what is and isn't spec fic?
> 
> I hope so, I'd like to actually talk about spec fic without having to avoid another five pages of arguing.


What he said


----------



## ElleChambers

AngryGames said:


> So... are we done fighting about what is and isn't spec fic?


It looks like it  I too would like to get back to the regularly scheduled programming and, hopefully, learn from other spec fic writers (especially the ones who deal in horror) how to find and retain a nice-sized audience.


----------



## SLGray

I hadn't seen any "fighting" about genre definitions for several pages, actually. I think that answers the question, yes?

So who's got more cross-promotional ideas or suggestions to make? Anyone found a particularly good place to do promo yet?

I've tried a few small things so far but with only the one book out yet, I have not really seen much of a result.


----------



## Quiss

Does anyone know how paper sales of indie spec fiction compares to other genres?
I hardly ever sell the paperback for my space opera. I figure sci-fi geeks are pretty comfy with their e-readers. Am I right?

I did sell one yesterday, which means Matchbook sale. Not sure why someone would buy the paperback when it's my permafree title, but a sale is a sale


----------



## Cherise

Quiss said:


> Does anyone know how paper sales of indie spec fiction compares to other genres?
> I hardly ever sell the paperback for my space opera. I figure sci-fi geeks are pretty comfy with their e-readers. Am I right?
> 
> I did sell one yesterday, which means Matchbook sale. Not sure why someone would buy the paperback when it's my permafree title, but a sale is a sale


My best guess is they bought it as a gift.

Back in my younger days when I visited relatives regularly, I used to give gifts for birthdays and Christmas. My favorite gifts to give them were paperback copies of books I loved -- all of which were either fantasy or science fiction of some sort.


----------



## Cherise

zandermarks said:


> When I think of genres, I tend to think in terms of "What's the reader's emotional/intellectual payoff?" i.e., what is it about the story that the reader expects or is looking for?
> 
> If we look at the non-spec genres, it's fairly easy to locate the emotional "payoffs." The emotional payoffs for romance, thrillers, cozy mysteries, police procedurals, etc., tend to fall within certain broad ranges.
> 
> But if we look to speculative fiction as a genre, we see that any, all, or none of these emotional "payoffs" may be at play. It depends on the specific stories and character arcs. So we could have a vampire tale that's pure horror, another one that is teenage romance, another that is social critique, and still another which is pure comedy. We could even have a vampire story set in a modern city which functions essentially as a western in terms of its underlying plot and character arc, even if there isn't an explicit "western" element in the world being depicted or a single horse to be found.
> 
> And although all of these are vampire stories, and all of them are speculative fiction, readers who respond strongly to the romance notes might not derive much from the city-vampire-western, and readers who like the pure horror might hate the pure comedy. Not because any one of these is less truly speculative (or any less truly "vampire"), but rather because each one of these is pushing different reader buttons.
> 
> *So it seems to me that that's one challenge in cross promotion--finding ways to bundle or cross-promote titles which hit congruent notes with readers* in addition to finding compatible forms. Because although certain readers might be quick to say "I don't do romance--it's just not my thing," they might also be as quick to say "I don't do horror--it's just not my thing" or "I don't do western, even city-vampire-western--it's just not my thing." Because they are looking for specific payoffs, and they get less out of the stories that do not provide the payoffs they are looking for.


I agree. Wholeheartedly.

I only want to cross promote other family friendly fiction, for example. I've got one taker, so far!


----------



## AngryGames

Yay, now that we are done arguing, let's talk MASH-UPS!

I love mash-ups. I love reading stories like Vydor's that are weird 'magic in space' things (going to have to go download something of yours now, dammit). I loved Warhammer 40k with the Space Marines and mechs and the religious/cleric aspects. Riddick is another mash-up, though it's (to me) more sci-fi than anything.

Not that it's a bad thing. I like mash-ups within the same genre (time traveling space opera, anyone?), but we already see a ton of that. What I really am starting to get into, both writing and reading, is the mash-up between two completely different genres. I'm working on one that is kind of 'science fiction + horror' though it is mostly scifi. I'm also working on one that is 'religion + science fiction' which probably doesn't sound that odd except I'm about as atheist as one can get (yet I love writing about religion from the faithful's point of view, especially in sci-fi settings). 

I always liked the stories of 'magic versus science.' Well, not all of them, but good ones. Crime + horror is pretty good stuff too. Trying to think of some others but my brain is blank. Probably should get back to work. 

PS mash-ups is good stuffs because it blossoms a whole new field of stories. Oh oh, "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" which is of course the story the movie was made about. If you haven't actually read this story, give it a shot. Cartoons and pulp detective! 

Okay, for reals. Work times.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Love the Mashup. I personally have an obsession with magitech and magic-as-technology. I really wish I could find more non-dark magic-as-technology stories to read.


----------



## Ty Johnston

AngryGames said:


> PS mash-ups is good stuffs because it blossoms a whole new field of stories.


One of the greatest mash-ups I've ever seen was totally unexpected, which is a big reason I think it worked so well.

Ed McBain (aka. Evan Hunter) wrote 55 police procedurals of his famed 87th Precinct. All of them are serious thriller or msytery works with no magical or supernatural elements whatsoever.

Except for one book.

Right in the middle of the series is a little book titled "Ghosts." 95% of the novel is McBain's traditional great police procedural work, but there's an element of the supernatural that raises its head in a few parts, and there's one particular scene that is so mind-numbingly frightening and realistic it reminded me of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House." The scene took this haunting supernatural element and made it real, not just something one experiences from the safe distance of being a reader.

Maybe that's not exactly a mash-up, but it still worked, and I still get chills thinking about that particular scene. That scene worked so much, it's made me wish McBain/Hunter had been a horror novelist, but then the scene might not have worked so well if he had been, as it would have been expected to some extent.


----------



## M T McGuire

I love science/magic mash ups. So, imagine what would happen if someone from, say, the time of the crusades, could be here, now and watch you switch on an electric light. What would they say (apart from, 'burn the witch'). So my own personal, barking theory is that a lot of the unexplained now will be perfectly explainable by tomorrow's science. Ergo, I love books where the 'magic' is sort of explainable. As a writer I also love that, taking a grain of truth and embroidering it into the most enormous fabrication, which still sort of works, because of the grain of truth at the bottom.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## 68564

My most favorite stores are mashup of Magic and Science so that is what I write - It is a bit hard to market though! I am tyring to figure out due I push the SciFi angle and then BAM! look a wizard! Or do I push the magic and then BAM! Look a space ship!  

So would LOVE help in promotional ideas.   Mostly though - I need to get volume 6 written and released so I don't get lynched


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## M T McGuire

VydorScope said:


> My most favorite stores are mashup of Magic and Science so that is what I write - It is a bit hard to market though! I am tyring to figure out due I push the SciFi angle and then BAM! look a wizard! Or do I push the magic and then BAM! Look a space ship!
> 
> So would LOVE help in promotional ideas.  Mostly though - I need to get volume 6 written and released so I don't get lynched


Mwah ha ha haargh!

I love the way you put that!

You and me both. Mine are set in a parallel universe - fantasy - but the 'magic' is explained by very loosely applied quantum theory - science fiction. And there are no wizards but there are other species, blue furry ones, orange people with antennae etc - science fiction. And the cars fly - science fiction - but it's not in space - fantasy. You get the picture.

Currently I'm thinking of calling it an action adventure with fantasy elements.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## AngryGames

This is pretty much what "Ability" is. Some drugs to open the mind up, high technology mind 'flashing' or 'induction,' and people can suddenly do crazy, frightening things. I think a lot of it came from my love of the first season of "Heroes" because it was new, and fairly dark. 

I made it three episodes into season two before nearly kicking my television set so hard it entered another dimension and reached critical mass, destroying the space-time continuum. This is how I usually feel about TV shows that get me completely interested then totally disappoint (Dexter got to be so awful that I couldn't watch the last half of the last season, and let's not even talk about the last season of The X-Files). 

I love darker things, as unfortunately I'm one of those jaded types that believes if a person gets some kind of ability or power, 99.9999% of the time they'll end up being corrupted by it and turning evil... assuming they weren't already evil. I do believe there are some good people who would be responsible (as responsible as they could be, I suppose, with the power to flatten someone with a bus or burn them from the inside out). However, there are always consequences, which is kind of theme I like to stick to. Righteous or decent people sometimes have to do terrible things to achieve a goal for the greater good. 

I've sort of held back Part III of Ability because it is even darker than the first two parts. In the end, my wife forced me to repeat my rule of not really caring what readers think since I write stories for myself, so I'm waiting for Yoly @ Cormar to kick me a cover for the omnibus and I'll drop Part III and the full volume together. Then wait for the complaints to roll in. 



Which brings me to another issue for you spec fic peeps, since I'm so talkative tonight. 

How dark will you go? I rarely shy away from controversial issues (racism or other forms of bigotry, drugs, abuse for examples). I don't write things to purposely antagonize others, but I don't sugar-coat things either. My mantra is "I write adult stories for adult readers." 

Unless of course I'm writing a children's book/story (it's weird to write a whole story without using any curse words, sexual innuendo, or any other mature themes/situations/language) or a religious/spiritual story that I want everyone to enjoy (the faithful tend to avoid graphic sex/language/violence).


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I go as dark as the story warrants. The book I'm releasing soon is post-apocalyptic - so there's a healthy smattering of despair, self-interest, and violence.


----------



## 68564

OK - I have to ask - what is the meaning of "DARK" in this context?


----------



## AngryGames

VydorScope said:


> OK - I have to ask - what is the meaning of "DARK" in this context?


Anything not fuzzy, warm, Hollywood happy ending, etc.

I'm not saying dark needs to be evil pedophiles kidnapping children before drinking their blood in a Satanic ritual. Dark is subjective, but I think we all have a good idea of the difference between a dark story and one that isn't.


----------



## antonnaseton

AngryGames said:


> Anything not fuzzy, warm, Hollywood happy ending, etc.
> 
> I'm not saying dark needs to be evil pedophiles kidnapping children before drinking their blood in a Satanic ritual. Dark is subjective, but I think we all have a good idea of the difference between a dark story and one that isn't.


It's funny - about the Dark question. One of my friends considered the cover of my short story, Blood of Nanking, too gory and bloody and horrible and she had to cover her hand over the screen to type a facebook reply to my post. I thought it was rather tame! XD

For me, Dark means children and cute, fluffy animals being tortured and killed. I shy away from things like that and refuse to look at them or even THINK of them. The other day I read an article about dolphins being slaughtered and I was so haunted by that I wanted to cry and go to [the place where they kill dolphins] and thump some heads.

But I watch the Walking Dead right before bed time and dream good dreams.

I suppose people are different, heh.


----------



## ElleChambers

S Elliot Brandis said:


> I go as dark as the story warrants.


This. I do not shy away from uncomfortable topics (murder, rape, child abuse, etc.) and many of my stories have bleak endings. Horror is not pretty and no one is safe in my world.


----------



## Vaalingrade

VydorScope said:


> My most favorite stores are mashup of Magic and Science so that is what I write - It is a bit hard to market though! I am tyring to figure out due I push the SciFi angle and then BAM! look a wizard! Or do I push the magic and then BAM! Look a space ship!
> 
> So would LOVE help in promotional ideas.  Mostly though - I need to get volume 6 written and released so I don't get lynched


This is why I push the DungeonPunk/Gaslamp Fantasy angle. When someone asks what my setting is like, I go 'Have you played Eberron or the Pathfinder CS? Or have you read Girl Genius?' as a starter. Then I advertise on webcomics like GG or Widdershins.



AngryGames said:


> How dark will you go?


I don't.

Not to knock you guys, but I feel that there isn't enough Fantasy especially that isn't about some horrible world where everyone is scum, every surface is inexplicably covered with slime and vomit and raperaperaperaperape. There aren't enough heroes who aren't brooding and damaged, nor enough villains who aren't kiddy diddlers and Joker level sadists.

So I write to do something about it. I write to give people like me who don't want dystopia, death, hate and despair to always get top billing something they can enjoy.


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## 68564

Huh. Glad I asked cause I was thinking dark meant the story takes place at nighttime....or in space.


----------



## Quiss

PSSST. I just dragged a UK blogger into our niche. She's now happy to read and review sci-fi. Yep, my job is done.
http://a-reader-lives-a-thousand-lives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/book-sky-hunter-by-chris-reher.html

She seems to read a LOT so it might be worth checking to see if she'll take a look. She likes strong female leads rather than "masculine" hard sci-fi. She made some pretty astute observation about my book, so I'm happy.

I'm starting to pick up nicely in the UK so I'm doing what I can to get more reviews onto zon's .uk site.


----------



## AngryGames

Vaalingrade said:


> Not to knock you guys, but I feel that there isn't enough Fantasy especially that isn't about some horrible world where everyone is scum, every surface is inexplicably covered with slime and vomit and raperaperaperaperape. There aren't enough heroes who aren't brooding and damaged, nor enough villains who aren't kiddy diddlers and Joker level sadists.
> 
> So I write to do something about it. I write to give people like me who don't want dystopia, death, hate and despair to always get top billing something they can enjoy.


I agree, as I've seen it trend from sappy, love-fantasy stuff into some really dark themes, and back again.

However, sometimes darkness is just a small aspect of a story instead of an entire theme. Maybe just one character, or even smaller, maybe just one action that one character did.

But I'm an old man, a cynic, and I'm jaded by my time on this Earth and watching humans mindlessly kill each other over pieces of dirt, pieces of cloth, pieces of paper. I used to read a lot of post-apoc where the world was kind of bad and evil, but there was always this shining hope, the good army, whatever, that came and spread joy and cupcakes across the land. It's too unrealistic (the same as watching movies/TV shows do 'computer' things is the easiest way to get my anger up) for me.

I don't need child-mangling pit dwellers feeding on the marrow of unbelievers' bones. But in the event of an apocalypse, my view is that the world would be a very, very, very dark place. I like stories with dark themes and the 'hero' isn't the shining knight in mithril armor come to save the day. My favorite hero chars in books I read are usually just as flawed as the bad guys, if not more so, to where it is sometimes tough to tell who is 'good' and who is 'evil.'

Right. Shut up, Travis. Go to bed. I'm a bit delirious after spending most of the night publishing my first 'real' novel (and of course, it isn't anywhere near my normal genres of scifi/horror/humor).


----------



## SLGray

Just like a villain is the hero of his own story, I feel that there has to be some light in even the darkest book.

If we lived in a horrible, mangled dystopian society where we had to fend off roving bands of cannibalistic bikers who mounted the heads of kittens and babies on their handle bars, you'd still find -something- to laugh about or smile about somehow, wouldn't you? IMO, the answer to that would be a desperate yes. Find a way to not be horrified and terrified ALL the time, or go insane.

I haven't gone to the grimdark yet. I'm not sure I ever will. I can read it (as long as there are some moments of hope along the way), but my stories have just never gotten that, well, grim.


----------



## John Hamilton

I just rode in off the prairie, and I'm late to the party! <slams six-shooter down on table> You have my Colt!

I'm hard at work on a Weird West series, with book 1 finished and due for publication in a couple of months. I also write horror/fantasy.

Re. grimdark: There's grim, and then there's just plain sadism for its own sake. If it moves the story along or establishes character, I'm fine with that to a point. But there has to be a ray of hope to keep me turning the pages.


----------



## Becca Mills

AngryGames said:


> I love darker things, as unfortunately I'm one of those jaded types that believes if a person gets some kind of ability or power, 99.9999% of the time they'll end up being corrupted by it and turning evil... assuming they weren't already evil. I do believe there are some good people who would be responsible (as responsible as they could be, I suppose, with the power to flatten someone with a bus or burn them from the inside out). However, there are always consequences, which is kind of theme I like to stick to. Righteous or decent people sometimes have to do terrible things to achieve a goal for the greater good.


I think you're right about this. If you have a fantasy, I think you need to build reasons into the structure of the world for the empowered people not to be running amok. If you just imagine that they won't because they want to be good ... well, I just don't find that realistic.


----------



## Becca Mills

AngryGames said:


> Which brings me to another issue for you spec fic peeps, since I'm so talkative tonight.
> 
> How dark will you go? I rarely shy away from controversial issues (racism or other forms of bigotry, drugs, abuse for examples). I don't write things to purposely antagonize others, but I don't sugar-coat things either. My mantra is "I write adult stories for adult readers."
> 
> Unless of course I'm writing a children's book/story (it's weird to write a whole story without using any curse words, sexual innuendo, or any other mature themes/situations/language) or a religious/spiritual story that I want everyone to enjoy (the faithful tend to avoid graphic sex/language/violence).


I don't think I'd shy away from dark material, though the level of detail I'd go into about certain kinds of events would be limited.


----------



## Vaalingrade

John Hamilton said:


> I'm hard at work on a Weird West series, with book 1 finished and due for publication in a couple of months. I also write horror/fantasy.


Hell yeah, Weird West! A genre that's too rare right now.


----------



## John Hamilton

Vaalingrade said:


> Hell yeah, Weird West! A genre that's too rare right now.


I didn't even know it WAS a genre until recently. I just thought I'd latched onto a story that fired my imagination. In fact, I was a little worried about mixing Western tropes with the supernatural. Sure, I was aware of the "Wild Wild West" and "Jonah Hex" movies (bleh), but my favorite "weird" Western was always "High Plains Drifter." I definitely love that spooky undercurrent. With six-shooters!


----------



## Vaalingrade

Becca Mills said:


> I think you're right about this. If you have a fantasy, I think you need to build reasons into the structure of the world for the empowered people not to be running amok. If you just imagine that they won't because they want to be good ... well, I just don't find that realistic.


I don't buy that.

In this world, in the US, pretty much anyone can gain the power to point at anyone else and make them die (via firearms) within ~24 hours, depending on how concerned you are about following the law. And yet even among criminals, it's pretty rare (though sadly less rare) for someone to swiftly acquire and use that power to rack up a body count.

There's no reason to imagine that would change if we replaced firearms with laser vision and sure as heck wouldn't if we changed it to super strength because there's a pretty clear version in most people to literally get their hands dirty.

You don't even have to frame it as a question of good. Like anything else with a metabolism, humans are lazy. Society works because those of us who aren't actually good are still too lazy to get ambitious. Again, giving a random shmuck Zeus's Thunderbolts isn't going to give him the motivation or gumption to use them.

And even at the most cynical who you can't accept that someone somewhere might be altruistic: doing big, showy good things gets you showered with attention. And unlike big, showy bad things, those don't end with a bullet in your brainpan.


----------



## M T McGuire

On the dark and light thing. To be honest, I think it depends on why a person reads. I read to forget about all the miserable stuff happening in the world so I don't really want to be confronted with page after page of misery and bloodlust. Other people want to confront those things head on in their reading material. For McOther, the more hopeless and miserable a story - think Raise The Red Lantern - the better. Me I'm a sucker for a happy ever after ending.... If the characters have worked for it enough. I don't want to put a mirror to the world, although I suppose I do, to some extent, in my writing but I try to do it subtly and use humour. So I'm definitely more in the spirit of an Adams or Pratchett than King. 

In fact, I read very little horror although I probably ought to.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## Cherise

In another thread, someone perfectly described the difference between dark stories and light stories:

Dark = pessimistic

Light = optimistic

Light stories can have violence, etc, but they always have hope, if not a happy ending. I think the distinction between light and dark in spec fic is more important than the distinction between sub-genres. 

I dislike most horror because it is usually pessimistic. Count me among those who read to escape life's horrors and who write to help others escape them.


----------



## M T McGuire

Cherise Kelley said:


> In another thread, someone perfectly described the difference between dark stories and light stories:
> 
> Dark = pessimistic
> 
> Light = optimistic
> 
> Light stories can have violence, etc, but they always have hope, if not a happy ending. I think the distinction between light and dark in spec fic is more important than the distinction between sub-genres.
> 
> I dislike most horror because it is usually pessimistic. Count me among those who read to escape life's horrors and who write to help others escape them.


That's a brilliant way of putting it. I'm a light fantasy writer then. In my books there is murder, rape (off screen) torture and abuse but a happy ending. With all the loose ends tied up because I'm anal like that.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## ElleChambers

Cherise Kelley said:


> In another thread, someone perfectly described the difference between dark stories and light stories:
> 
> Dark = pessimistic
> 
> Light = optimistic
> 
> Light stories can have violence, etc, but they always have hope, if not a happy ending. I think the distinction between light and dark in spec fic is more important than the distinction between sub-genres.
> 
> I dislike most horror because it is usually pessimistic. Count me among those who read to escape life's horrors and who write to help others escape them.


This is about right, which is why I've found horror to be a tough sell for some people. Reality, and the economy in particular, is already very grim - a lot of people want escapism in their entertainment.

I wonder if anyone's ever done research on what the economy was like when horror fiction was uber-popular and could see a correlation between the two (good economy, high interest).


----------



## 68564

Cherise Kelley said:


> In another thread, someone perfectly described the difference between dark stories and light stories:
> 
> Dark = pessimistic
> 
> Light = optimistic
> 
> Light stories can have violence, etc, but they always have hope, if not a happy ending. I think the distinction between light and dark in spec fic is more important than the distinction between sub-genres.
> 
> I dislike most horror because it is usually pessimistic. Count me among those who read to escape life's horrors and who write to help others escape them.


Well then I definitely right light stuff by that definition. Practically super nova sunny even.  My two short stories I wrote for the the current charity offering (book 3) I was worried would be seen as dark, but both are stories about people fighting on with a hope for victory.


----------



## Becca Mills

Vaalingrade said:


> I don't buy that.
> 
> In this world, in the US, pretty much anyone can gain the power to point at anyone else and make them die (via firearms) within ~24 hours, depending on how concerned you are about following the law. And yet even among criminals, it's pretty rare (though sadly less rare) for someone to swiftly acquire and use that power to rack up a body count.
> 
> There's no reason to imagine that would change if we replaced firearms with laser vision and sure as heck wouldn't if we changed it to super strength because there's a pretty clear version in most people to literally get their hands dirty.
> 
> You don't even have to frame it as a question of good. Like anything else with a metabolism, humans are lazy. Society works because those of us who aren't actually good are still too lazy to get ambitious. Again, giving a random shmuck Zeus's Thunderbolts isn't going to give him the motivation or gumption to use them.
> 
> And even at the most cynical who you can't accept that someone somewhere might be altruistic: doing big, showy good things gets you showered with attention. And unlike big, showy bad things, those don't end with a bullet in your brainpan.


Sure, if the supernatural powers only make you as strong as a normal person with a gun.* Maybe rational armed people who have something to lose don't up and shoot someone who's annoying them because they know that would be A Bad Thing, but another ingredient in the decision-making process might be that they're unlikely to get away with it -- the suffering of the punishment exceeds the satisfaction of the murder. (That's the reasoning behind seeing laws as deterrents, anyway.) If your power transcends whatever law-enforcement can marshal by orders of magnitude, then the chance of reprisal goes way down. In that kind of environment, I think you'd have a lot more bad acting.

The way a lot of fantasy works (and this really annoys me, natch), is that the MC keeps discovering new powers as the series continues. After four or five books, he/she is pretty much invincible. And yet there's no temptation to misbehave. Or else you have tons of people with enough power to basically do whatever they want, but only a small subset become villains. It just doesn't seem realistic to me. I'd love to think that 95% of people who found there were no real limits on what they did would continue to behave like good citizens just because they want to be good, but it doesn't seem likely to me, based on human history.

*I like fantasies where that's the case!


----------



## Cherise

Becca Mills said:


> The way a lot of fantasy works (and this really annoys me, natch), is that the MC keeps discovering new powers as the series continues. After four or five books, he/she is pretty much invincible. And yet there's no temptation to misbehave. Or else you have tons of people with enough power to basically do whatever they want, but only a small subset become villains. *It just doesn't seem realistic to me.*


You're right, of course. 

(I think that's what makes it fantasy.)


----------



## NoCat

I don't want my fiction to sheer too close to reality. Reality is either boring or horrifying depending on how you look at it.  

Also, I don't go around killing people not because I fear the law, but because I don't want to kill people. I imagine a lot of people are like that. If I had super powers, I wouldn't use them to kill people either. Depending on what the powers were, I probably would use them to make money, but I'd try not to break the law or hurt anyone, because I don't *want* to break the law or hurt anyone.

And yes, I also drive the speed limit. Drives my husband nuts.  

Fiction is fiction. I like mine with a healthy dose of larger than life, cool, wizzy, wondrous, exciting stuff that isn't necessarily realistic.  Especially in my spec fic. Sense of wonder trumps reality for me. And "wow, cool" trumps reality, too. I read fiction to enjoy myself.


----------



## AngryGames

Becca Mills said:


> Sure, if the supernatural powers only make you as strong as a normal person with a gun.* Maybe rational armed people who have something to lose don't up and shoot someone who's annoying them because they know that would be A Bad Thing, but another ingredient in the decision-making process might be that they're unlikely to get away with it -- the suffering of the punishment exceeds the satisfaction of the murder. (That's the reasoning behind seeing laws as deterrents, anyway.) If your power transcends whatever law-enforcement can marshal by orders of magnitude, then the chance of reprisal goes way down. In that kind of environment, I think you'd have a lot more bad acting.
> 
> The way a lot of fantasy works (and this really annoys me, natch), is that the MC keeps discovering new powers as the series continues. After four or five books, he/she is pretty much invincible. And yet there's no temptation to misbehave. Or else you have tons of people with enough power to basically do whatever they want, but only a small subset become villains. It just doesn't seem realistic to me. I'd love to think that 95% of people who found there were no real limits on what they did would continue to behave like good citizens just because they want to be good, but it doesn't seem likely to me, based on human history.
> 
> *I like fantasies where that's the case!


Definitely in agreement. Having a little power during times of law and order, or even slight disorder, usually won't see the decline of humanity into 'evil'.

However... say a dude can suddenly drop a bus on you with his mind, or worse, penetrate your mind and take over and force you to do things against your will... suddenly a lot more 'bad' people start popping up. Add in the chaos of some major event like nuclear war or alien invasion or whatever kind of massive upheaval happens in various fantasy settings, and the 'threat' of law and order goes out the window.

Suddenly you've got a LOT more people with a lot of power (whether supernatural or conventional) deciding they are going to be the new sheriff in town. This is pretty much human nature, and if you study history, you can see this happening repeatedly. In fact, it's a major theme throughout history. Other than the 'dropping a bus on someone with your mind' type of stuff.

And totally agree on the hero having a ton of power and never doing bad, or spending 900 out of 903 pages waffling and hedging and tamping down the guilt of 'oh my god I accidentally killed a spider with a fireball when I toasted that evil wizard.' BS is what I say. Again, take a jaunt through real history and see how many 'heroes' or persons we consider 'good' did some truly awful things.

Case in point, look at the allies in WW2. We were the 'heroes' to most of the world. We did 'good' by defeating the Nazis and the Japanese Empire. However, we did probably as much damage to human lives as the Axis powers did, but ours was in the name of freedom and goodness. Tell that to the citizens of Tokyo who had their mostly wooden (at the time) city decimated with incendiary bombs. Look at Dresden in Germany where we pretty much did the same thing.

Our 'side' killed a ton of civilians, but at that time, some of it was truly necessary. We didn't have laser-guided GPS missiles. We flew a hundred bombers over a city/area that had maybe one oil refinery and two factories, dropped fifty tons of munitions from the sky, and hoped to God we hit the factories and the refinery.

Then of course there's Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For most of the world, it was a necessary evil to drop the A-bombs on Japan to get them to end the war (versus the possible 2-3 million more casualties the Allies would have faced invading the Home Islands). Sure, it's debatable now as to whether or not we really needed to blast them into ashes like that, but we have almost seventy years of hindsight and documents and such to sift through to make that judgment. Back then, we didn't, and not only that, we had the Soviets to worry about almost the instant Germany was defeated. Knowing how the Cold War went, again with hindsight, it was a necessary show of force as well.

There are so many moral grey areas during WW2 alone. Think of the rest of history. I think the 'good' part about it is that in the end, it was a light story because we 'won.' It was just an overall light story with a hell of a lot of dark moments that if it were fiction, would have been very fitting (even as horrible as some of the events were, like the concentration camps, the mass executions, the genocide, etc.) and appropriate as the dark spots gave the heroes a reason to keep going, a 'light' goal at the end that had to be achieved or else the world really would have plunged into darkness.

There's a Philip K. Dick story that is alternate WW2 about a Jew in San Fran who is trying to avoid being found out as the Japanese occupiers who control the western half of the USA would give him up to the Nazis, who controlled the eastern half of the USA. It's a good story that has really stuck with me for a very long time.

All right, I'll shut up once again


----------



## Redacted1111

Hi all, I'm taking a break from WOW to out myself. I write soft science fiction that merges with fantasy. The serial is kind of what I'd consider a dystopian present with conspiracies and alien cover ups and psychic spies. I also write... duh duh duh... paranormal romance, which if you think about it is speculative fiction. 

I love feels in spec fic, but I also believe science fiction should have, well, science in it (even soft science like economics or psychology).  I spend A LOT of time researching valid reasons why certain things happen in my scifi world. Still, I'd say my work is very character driven. 

It's nice to come out of the closet and proclaim my nerd glory even though I'm an erotic romance writer. Now I'm going to go back to imagining myself as a combo of Daenerys and Starbuck and rolling my twenty sided dice.


----------



## Vaalingrade

All I'm saying is, it seems to me that a lot of people say that _everyone else_ is about ten hairs and a police force from a baboon, but they never seem to be ready to declare that they're riding that knife's edge themselves.

I think this idea that level of power is the only thing between humanity and a howling orgy of blood is pretty much just a sociological construct created by the artificial climate of fear we're living in these days.


----------



## WDR

My take on humanity is to point out how many regular people dive into burning buildings or cars to pull victims to safety, jump into ice covered ponds to pull out skaters who've fallen through the ice, or jumped into rivers to pull children from the water before going over a waterfall, without even a second thought as to their own safety.

When the bombs went off in Boston, while some people ran, many others ran right into the blast areas to start helping the victims—and I'm not talking about public safety workers, just regular citizens. If it hadn't been for those people just running in, there would have been many more deaths.

There are some people, happily a minority, who are just a few hairs away from a baboon's bloodfest. Sadly, it only takes one to cause a lot of damage. But the majority of people, left to just their instincts, will rush in to help.


----------



## Vaalingrade

People tend to forget that whenever some dude shoots up a place, dozens if not _hundreds_ of other people instantly come into play to repair the damage. The ratio of good to evil is easily 50 to one.

The exception in war and business, but then you get into the science and discover that this is due the fact that the same traits that help rise to power in politics and business is the same list used to diagnose sociopathy, a mental illness that is most certainly out of the norm for the human condition. At that point, the same system of rewards and punishments that presumably keeps me from killing everyone forces normally good to neutral people to do nothing because the sociopath is In Charge.


----------



## M T McGuire

Doomed Muse said:


> I don't want my fiction to sheer too close to reality. Reality is either boring or horrifying depending on how you look at it.
> 
> Also, I don't go around killing people not because I fear the law, but because I don't want to kill people. I imagine a lot of people are like that. If I had super powers, I wouldn't use them to kill people either. Depending on what the powers were, I probably would use them to make money, but I'd try not to break the law or hurt anyone, because I don't *want* to break the law or hurt anyone.
> 
> And yes, I also drive the speed limit. Drives my husband nuts.
> 
> Fiction is fiction. I like mine with a healthy dose of larger than life, cool, wizzy, wondrous, exciting stuff that isn't necessarily realistic. Especially in my spec fic. Sense of wonder trumps reality for me. And "wow, cool" trumps reality, too. I read fiction to enjoy myself.


I love this answer.

My desperate need to pimp Real Life is why I write spec fic in the first place. In my books the cars fly and have torpedoes and machine guns behind the headlights. If I had them in real life, although I like to think I'd blow those pesky tractors, lorries and caravans out of my path with an all purpose torpedo I know I wouldn't. Instead I'd shoot the back tyre of the caravan so it had to stop, except that, then, I'd realise it was being driven by a couple of little old dears and I'd feel terribly guilty, and stop to help them, and end up being even later than I'd just sat behind them and crept to my destination at 20mph.

When it comes to humanity, generally. Yes, we have a dark side but I think that whether we submit to it or not is down to belief. If you believe the best of people (but accept you may get the worst) often the best is what you get.

So for example, I'm one of these people who thinks that the whole financial framework upon which we rely is a work of fiction in itself because it relies on us believing. If we believe things are prosperous they are, if we start to wobble and think that we've had it so good for do long that there's going to be a crash then, usually, there is. Sub prime? People stoppers believing. Currency speculation? People lost their faith in certain currencies. Interest rates? We stopped believing we could pay them. Dot com boom? It got too virtual to be real. Every recession is preceded by a whole raft of newspaper articles that say basically 'aaaaaaargh were gonna crash.' It's all about faith, I think and you could argue that everything is about perception and that, for each one of us, the world will be whatever we perceive it to be.

Sorry, rambling a bit. Does that make any sense?

Cheers

MTM


----------



## Cherise

M T McGuire said:


> I'm one of these people who thinks that the whole financial framework upon which we rely is a work of fiction in itself because it relies on us believing. If we believe things are prosperous they are, if we start to wobble and think that we've had it so good for do long that there's going to be a crash then, usually, there is. Sub prime? People stoppers believing. Currency speculation? People lost their faith in certain currencies. Interest rates? We stopped believing we could pay them. Dot com boom? It got too virtual to be real. Every recession is preceded by a whole raft of newspaper articles that say basically 'aaaaaaargh were gonna crash.' It's all about faith, I think and you could argue that everything is about perception and that, for each one of us, the world will be whatever we perceive it to be.
> 
> Sorry, rambling a bit. Does that make any sense?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> MTM


Not only does it make sense, but also I think it is the premise of 1984.


----------



## olefish

I do believe we underestimate how humans can be resilient in the face of crisis.  We are so coddled in the west, that we can't imagine people rising over bad circumstances in war torn areas. Take Syria or other some hell hole.  You'd still see children playing about, you'd still see parents trying to get to work.  People do make the best they can. Visit slums, it isn't all woe is me, sadness and despair.  

I firmly believe that it's impossible for the human mind to maintain sadness and despair for too long.  After a certain point, your brain conjures a mechanism that forces you to be more tolerant of your circumstances.  that's why you can see in the old literature across many advanced cultures with a high degree of social stratification, fatalism is a very dominant theme.  There would be a belief system that says your desolate lot in life is the order of divine principle. To fight against it is to fight against the gods or the cosmos. Or that your toil and suffering will be rewarded in an afterlife

While humans are capable of incredibly goodness in the face of crisis,  I won't underestimate ordinary, mundane propensity for evil either. Mob mentality is truly a finicky thing.  On one level, it builds community, and the other hand, it's truly frightening. People literally will bend over backwards to be accepted. Many people literally need to demonize the other, just so that they can maintain a sense of community.  

These same people trying to make the best they can, will turn swiftly against someone they deem the other. There's a case raging on in India right now. of a local village court that condemned a 20 year old woman for liking a boy from another village.  They ordered her to pay a fine, she couldn't. They had a 13 men posse rape her instead. And you know the women in village are claiming it didn't happen, the girl was just a slut trying to draw attention to herself.  On any other day of the year, these men and the women who abet them would be hardworking, honest folk just trying to support their families. But because you have transgressed the code, they'll turn against you.


----------



## Vaalingrade

In light of this thread, and specifically this post by me, I'm looking for other authors my readers might like and whose readers might like me to network with.

First phase is simple, a basic link exchange between author sites to direct our readers to one another. Also, if you don't have any discussion platform other than Facebook, I can hook you up with your own subforum over on my forums just for that.

My readers (based on my own work and interaction with them) are fans of a large cross-section of Spec-Fic and have been getting weekly and monthly doses of Bronze Age Superhero (lighter concepts and situations but mature character development) and Gaslamp Fantasy from me respectively. They've mostly been positive about my dabbling in other genes like Weird West, Urban Fantasy (one comment on the start of that miniseries as 'Finally!'), Supernatural Teen Drama, or Crime.

It might be a plus or a minus for you, but they're diverse with their platforms and were Not Happy when I announced the original run of books were in Select (meaning they couldn't get them on their Nooks, etc). They're also International and not afraid to call me on any perceived Amerocentrism.


----------



## unkownwriter

I've had a story idea since I was in my teens, about a girl who can pretty much do anything she wants. She's picked on and ridiculed, but uses her magic to hide from the real world. Her favorite place is an old whiskey bottle that she's made up inside to be exactly like the bottle on "I Dream of Jeannie".

I haven't gotten very far with the idea after all these years, because I didn't know if I had the ability to write the story that made sense -- does she end up misusing her power? What happens to her then? And so on.

Another idea that's percolating in my brain is about a ghost, what happened to her and what she ends up doing to the main characters. When I originally thought of the idea, it was fairly light, but as the idea works its way around it gets more dark. Not sure how far I'll go, but I believe in doing what is right for the story, so it's probably going to be pretty grim, with a hopeful ending. At least, so far.


----------



## M T McGuire

Cherise Kelley said:


> Not only does it make sense, but also I think it is the premise of 1984.


I'd forgotten that but it did seem a bit smart for me. I thought I must have got it from somewhere.


----------



## Quiss

Okay, who's as stoked as I am about the return of Cosmos tonight?


----------



## dkgould

Quiss said:


> Okay, who's as stoked as I am about the return of Cosmos tonight?


 I'm really glad they got Neil deGrasse Tyson to do it. I think he's going to be perfect. I just hope they put as much into it as they did the first time around


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose. 

Non-zombie, preferably.


----------



## unkownwriter

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose.
> 
> Non-zombie, preferably.


Drat. Every time I read a post like this, I kick myself for not having my PA novel done. No zombies, just folks trying to survive after an asteroid hits. By the time I get it done, no one will want to read it.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

It's never too late to write it, Sheila!


----------



## M T McGuire

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> It's never too late to write it, Sheila!


Amen to that. I spent eight years not writing my books because I believed Terry Ptatchett had written them all for me. Now I've written four I know they're not remotely like Pratchett. So seconded. Write what you want to write.

Cheers

MTM


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Thanks for bumping this thread... helped me find a new home within KBoards. 

I recently attended the Toronto SpecFic Colloquium, so that gives me a membership card, right? Right?

And of course the first book in my fantasy series I recently published. But is it Historical Fantasy? Or Epic Fantasy? Or both? And what do those terms mean to readers? So many questions. 

To Vaalingrade's point, going through the Amazon lists in those sub-genres doesn't do much to clarify what "should" be there. Unfortunately, when it gets more granular than that, it's often in a direction that has nothing to do with your particular book. (Ancient-Mediterranean Flavored Fantasy World with Art as Magic, exploring some darkness but with light at the end of the tunnel?)


And while you're mentioning TV shows... Orphan Black is back in one week. Good spec-fic TV set and shot in my hometown of Toronto.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Jamie Maltman said:


> And while you're mentioning TV shows... Orphan Black is back in one week. Good spec-fic TV set and shot in my hometown of Toronto.


I'll have to check it out. Always on the lookout for good scifi shows.


----------



## Marilyn Peake

High-five! I love spec fic books, movies and computer games, and I write mostly science fiction and fantasy. Thanks for starting this thread!


----------



## Marilyn Peake

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose.


If you haven't read Hugh Howey's *Wool* series yet, I'd highly recommend that. Amazing post-apocalyptic series!


----------



## Marilyn Peake

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Drat. Every time I read a post like this, I kick myself for not having my PA novel done. No zombies, just folks trying to survive after an asteroid hits. By the time I get it done, no one will want to read it.


Not true - especially every time the news mentions the possibility of an asteroid or meteor hitting Earth!


----------



## Marilyn Peake

Quiss said:


> Okay, who's as stoked as I am about the return of Cosmos tonight?


Oh my word, I love that show! I loved Carl Sagan's original version, but the modern special effects make the show something extra-special! And I love that Neil deGrasse Tyson has the same enthusiasm for sharing science that Carl Sagan did.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Marilyn Peake said:


> If you haven't read Hugh Howey's *Wool* series yet, I'd highly recommend that. Amazing post-apocalyptic series!


Yep, I'm already a fan of Hugh. I've read Wool, Shift, Dust, and Sand, already.


----------



## unkownwriter

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> It's never too late to write it, Sheila!





M T McGuire said:


> Amen to that. I spent eight years not writing my books because I believed Terry Ptatchett had written them all for me. Now I've written four I know they're not remotely like Pratchett. So seconded. Write what you want to write.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> MTM


Well, it's on the To Do list.  I hope to get to it later this year. I've just been so out of the writing habit due to family issues the last couple of years that I'm way behind on getting anything done.



Marilyn Peake said:


> Not true - especially every time the news mentions the possibility of an asteroid or meteor hitting Earth!


My luck, I'll finally get it done just as the world ends, so there won't be anybody left to read it.


----------



## tknite

Oh, I didn't know this thread was here. Thanks to whoever bumped it.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'll have to check it out. Always on the lookout for good scifi shows.


Crazy clones. And some seriously diverse and awesome acting from Tatiana Maslany.

And this is season 2 starting. You have to watch from the beginning, and if you're not hooked by the end of episode 1 (it got me at the end), then by about episode 3 you'll be wanting more... and by the end of the season, wow.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose.
> 
> Non-zombie, preferably.


Have you read *Yesterday's Gone* by Platt and Wright? I really liked season 1, and just got busy with other purchased items before I got to season 2. I haven't read their *Z2134*(?) that they did as an Amazon-pubbed serial. But that has zombies.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Jamie Maltman said:


> Crazy clones. And some seriously diverse and awesome acting from Tatiana Maslany.
> 
> And this is season 2 starting. You have to watch from the beginning, and if you're not hooked by the end of episode 1 (it got me at the end), then by about episode 3 you'll be wanting more... and by the end of the season, wow.


Sounds good. I'll check it out from the start (only way to do it!).



Jamie Maltman said:


> Have you read *Yesterday's Gone* by Platt and Wright? I really liked season 1, and just got busy with other purchased items before I got to season 2. I haven't read their *Z2134*(?) that they did as an Amazon-pubbed serial. But that has zombies.


I'm not against zombies, I just figure that the more people that do something, the harder it is to find the gems. Season One of Yesterday's Gone is only 99c, so I might give that a try. I'm not sure how I feel about ongoing serials, so we'll see. Thanks for the recommendation.


----------



## Marilyn Peake

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> My luck, I'll finally get it done just as the world ends, so there won't be anybody left to read it.


Perhaps a small group of people will survive and your book will be the only book that survives. Think how special a book it will be then.


----------



## mphicks

Orphan Black is on my to-watch list; very glad to see season 1 available on Amazon Prime video! 

Cosmos is my go-to Sunday night viewing. Great series, and Neil deGrasse Tyson is always awesome. For more NDT goodness, check out his podcast StarTalk. He's always got some interesting topics and each show is about 40 minutes, so not a huge time commitment. Well worth sampling.


----------



## NicWilson

mphicks said:


> Orphan Black is on my to-watch list; very glad to see season 1 available on Amazon Prime video!
> 
> Cosmos is my go-to Sunday night viewing. Great series, and Neil deGrasse Tyson is always awesome. For more NDT goodness, check out his podcast StarTalk. He's always got some interesting topics and each show is about 40 minutes, so not a huge time commitment. Well worth sampling.


I've been having a blast with StarTalk. I watch Cosmos when it makes it to Hulu, but StarTalk keeps me company at work, until I can go home and write.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

We have all the Cosmos episodes so far on the PVR, and just watched Ep 2 this afternoon. My 5 year old son loves it. And the 5 year old me would have too. (Anybody remember Connections and Connections 2 on PBS? Can't get enough of that kind of stuff.)


----------



## Marilyn Peake

Quiss said:


> My theory as to why sci-fi movies do so much better than sci-fi books?
> VISUALS.


That makes tremendous sense. The movie *Gravity* had a pretty simple, although profoundly moving, story...but, wow, the visuals and sound!


----------



## heidi_g

Would anyone like to participate in the Writer's Process Blog Tour? Whenever I get tagged for these things, I prefer to tag other spec fic authors.  The "tour" involves answering these 4 questions about your writing process:

1	What am I working on?
2	How does my work differ from others of its genre?
3	Why do I write what I do?
4	How does my writing process work?

Then you tag 3 other authors to do the same.

My post date is April 21, and if you'd like to participate, your date would be April 28th. I'd need a 75-ish word bio and website link to include on my post on the April 21st.

You can message me if you're interested! Thanks!!!!


----------



## WDR

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose.
> 
> Non-zombie, preferably.


Hugh Howey's _Wool_ series. He didn't rocket to the top for nothing!

I don't like post-apocalyptic, distopian stories. But _Wool_ had me absolutely riveted. That statement alone should be a clear recommendation of how good a read the story is. You will not be disappointed. (Note: _Wool_ is actually the first story of the Silo series, but most people refer to the complete collection as "Wool." )


----------



## NicWilson

Wool didn't do as much for me, personally, as it did for a lot of people, but I look for different things in writing. I prefer a minimalist tone, and Wool just didn't catch me.


----------



## Vaalingrade

heidi_g said:


> Would anyone like to participate in the Writer's Process Blog Tour? Whenever I get tagged for these things, I prefer to tag other spec fic authors. The "tour" involves answering these 4 questions about your writing process:
> 
> 1	What am I working on?
> 2	How does my work differ from others of its genre?
> 3	Why do I write what I do?
> 4	How does my writing process work?
> 
> Then you tag 3 other authors to do the same.
> 
> My post date is April 21, and if you'd like to participate, your date would be April 28th. I'd need a 75-ish word bio and website link to include on my post on the April 21st.
> 
> You can message me if you're interested! Thanks!!!!


How do I tag others? Is there a list, or is it like a chain letter and I have to find three others?


----------



## Cherise

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose.
> 
> Non-zombie, preferably.


Joseph Turkot's The Rain and The Snow

Elle Casey's Apocalypsis series

Travis Hill's It's Better This Way


----------



## AlexesR

Nice to read through this thread and see how many different sorts of books are being written. Thanks for starting this. I write what I guess is speculative fiction--stories where weird stuff goes on, that mostly get classified as science fiction or fantasy or a bit of both with some other stuff thrown in too.


----------



## Marilyn Peake

I finally read through this entire thread today, clicked on several links and checked out a number of books in the signature lines - took me several hours, but I found it all fascinating. What a lively thread! A number of topics totally piqued my interest.

I'm delighted to find a group interested in including writers of hard-core speculative fiction. Regarding the romance vs. science issue, writers of hard science fiction often have trouble finding groups to include them. I happen to love long, difficult literary novels and the older hard science fiction novels like *Encounter with Tiber* by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes. I enjoyed all the whaling details in Herman Melville's *Moby Dick* and I felt like *Encounter with Tiber* was written in the same vein&#8230;but in space! For years, that book was out of print. I follow Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Twitter, and one day he announced that *Encounter with Tiber* was going to be republished. I was so excited, I tweeted about it and Buzz Aldrin replied. That was a real thrill for me - Buzz Aldrin happens to be one of my heroes. After being out of print for years, *Encounter with Tiber* is now available both in paperback and on Kindle! - http://www.amazon.com/Encounter-Tiber-John-Barnes-ebook/dp/B00COWLXUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397540040&sr=1-1&keywords=encounter+with+tiber 

When I set about writing my first science fiction novel, *Gods in the Machine*, I researched astrophysics books for technical information on possible ways in which time travel could be accomplished and science articles on space elevators. Interesting stuff happened with that novel. A New York editor felt it could be a best-seller, but only if rewritten to emphasize the thriller aspects. A New York literary agent requested it, asked for certain parts to be rewritten, then passed on it because she didn't like the main character. So I self-published it on Amazon and the results have been interesting. It tends to be liked by UK readers. UK reviewer Rachel Dove went so far as to say: "This sci-fi novel won't be for everybody, it is a complex sci-fi story, but boy, does it work. I would watch the film version of this book and wear the t-shirt....and buy the mug and the keyring too." The book isn't selling, though, so I'm planning to remove it from Amazon and rewrite it in installments - each installment a complete short story or novella, concentrating more on character and plot and expanding the thriller aspect.

In regard to current events and dark stories, I'm a news junkie who sees our current world and much of history filled with both horrible events and heroes. I agree with those who pointed out that there always seem to be heroes, no matter how dire the situation. All my novels and short stories are dark with patches of hope. Even my YA novel ended up dealing with some of the most difficult current events, along with a hero and a side story of her graphic novel superhero. I guess I feel there's always hope and heroes delivering hope to those most in need of it.

Looking forward to participating more in this group and would love to participate in group promotional events!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

WDR said:


> Hugh Howey's _Wool_ series. He didn't rocket to the top for nothing!
> 
> I don't like post-apocalyptic, distopian stories. But _Wool_ had me absolutely riveted. That statement alone should be a clear recommendation of how good a read the story is. You will not be disappointed. (Note: _Wool_ is actually the first story of the Silo series, but most people refer to the complete collection as "Wool." )


Thanks, WDR. I'm already a fan of Mr Howey's work. He's one of my inspirations as a writer.



Cherise Kelley said:


> Joseph Turkot's The Rain and The Snow
> 
> Elle Casey's Apocalypsis series
> 
> Travis Hill's It's Better This Way


Thanks, Cherise. I might load my kindle up with some samples, tonight.


----------



## Cherise

Marilyn Peake said:


> Looking forward to participating more in this group and would love to participate in group promotional events!


Here's the Fantasy cross promotional thread
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,176642.0.html

And here is the Science Fiction cross promotional thread
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,176600.0.html


----------



## Daniel Dennis

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend me some good indie post - apocalyptic fiction? I'm thinking more character driven stuff, rather than big event based stories. E.g. tales that show how people survive after the fall. Must be well written, and I enjoy literary prose.
> 
> Non-zombie, preferably.


My series falls along those lines.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## heidi_g

Vaalingrade said:


> How do I tag others? Is there a list, or is it like a chain letter and I have to find three others?


well maybe you could tag others from here? and we could get everyone in the SPECULATIVE FICTION high-five circle on the "tour" I 've tagged two people so far, so if you wanted to do it, we could see if anyone else from here wanted to sign up to get your three? It's a pretty popular blog meme, and a lot of writers I know have already done it. I was kind of offline and out of the loop for a couple months, so, anyway, I though it would be nice to get a chain of Spec Fic writers from the Kindle boards going  But we'd need more interest... Hint Hint! Anyone else interested?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> well maybe you could tag others from here? and we could get everyone in the SPECULATIVE FICTION high-five circle on the "tour" I 've tagged two people so far, so if you wanted to do it, we could see if anyone else from here wanted to sign up to get your three? It's a pretty popular blog meme, and a lot of writers I know have already done it. I was kind of offline and out of the loop for a couple months, so, anyway, I though it would be nice to get a chain of Spec Fic writers from the Kindle boards going  But we'd need more interest... Hint Hint! Anyone else interested?


I'd be happy to take part, I'm just not sure If I'd know who to pass it on to!


----------



## von19

Duane Gundrum said:


> I know when I was teaching at a community college last semester, one of my students was a dire hard fan of Supernatural, and I got the immediate impression that she wasn't interested in anything else. I'm wondering if that's somewhat of the same thing for a lot of people who get tied into one horror thing. I know it's very anecdotal (one case), but it's kind of made me wonder.


Completely understand. I LOVE SF/F but the thing is, it requires a _ crap ton _ of world building. Once you get entrenched in one fantasy story your in it for life. Mostly because, I think, the world building. A good fantasy story has enough sub plots and hidden gems to last a person for a life time! Its hard to juggle multiple shows and/or books with complicated plots like this.



Vaalingrade said:


> Amazon's categories are a cruel joke and theirs is one of the best if you manage to work the keywords treasure hunt. If we're going to do a site that promotes Spec-Fic, we need a robust search engine with lots of check boxes.


This! This! So much of this! I just emailed Amazon a few days ago about this, requesting better search functionality.



Ty Johnston said:


> Aw, h--- no! You ain't puttin' no _trans_- in my lovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism. Everybody knows it ain't _real _lovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism unless its _cis_lovecraftian cosmic futilitarianism.
> 
> The nerve of some people. Tryin' to dis my sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub genre like that.


Lol.



AngryGames said:


> But I'm an old man, a cynic, and I'm jaded by my time on this Earth and watching humans mindlessly kill each other over pieces of dirt, pieces of cloth, pieces of paper. I used to read a lot of post-apoc where the world was kind of bad and evil, but there was always this shining hope, the good army, whatever, that came and spread joy and cupcakes across the land. It's too unrealistic (the same as watching movies/TV shows do 'computer' things is the easiest way to get my anger up) for me.


I cant agree with this enough. I'm so tired Knights in Shining Armor, The Heroes Journey, and Happy Endings. Bah! The world isnt a nice place, its dark and cruel and unforgiving. And the people that reside in it are even darker. So why is literature so different?



Becca Mills said:


> The way a lot of fantasy works (and this really annoys me, natch), is that the MC keeps discovering new powers as the series continues. After four or five books, he/she is pretty much invincible. And yet there's no temptation to misbehave. Or else you have tons of people with enough power to basically do whatever they want, but only a small subset become villains. It just doesn't seem realistic to me. I'd love to think that 95% of people who found there were no real limits on what they did would continue to behave like good citizens just because they want to be good, but it doesn't seem likely to me, based on human history.
> 
> *I like fantasies where that's the case!


This is perfect! I never understood this logic either. If I woke up tomorrow with all the powers of Superman I wouldnt go around saving kittens I assure you lol. I firmly believe a good 80% humans are corrupted to the core.


----------



## heidi_g

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'd be happy to take part, I'm just not sure If I'd know who to pass it on to!


If Vaalingrade participated, and I tagged her as one of my three, she could tag you, and if two more SPEC FIC authors signed up for her, and then three more for you... we could get the chain going... and folks could tag anyone they know that's not on this list... it's a pretty popular meme... but the hard part is: tagging the three authors, so if we got the members of this thread involved and maybe the ones from the Fantasy and Science Fiction promotional threads involved it would help everyone who participates! I'd be happy to kind of help connect everyone up, as they sign up, if that would be helpful.

The date of my post is the 21st, the next post, i.e. people I tag, would be April 28th. The next three would post on May 5th... and on... and on... until no one can find anyone else to tag


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'd be happy to take part, I'm just not sure If I'd know who to pass it on to!


I'm in the same boat. Heidi - would it be possible to work up a list on who to pass to? If we could work up an organized schedule, I'd be happy to participate. I'm not sure who's willing and ready to go...


----------



## ElleChambers

mphicks said:


> I'm in the same boat. Heidi - would it be possible to work up a list on who to pass to? If we could work up an organized schedule, I'd be happy to participate. I'm not sure who's willing and ready to go...


I second this request, please and thank you.


----------



## Cat Amesbury

ElleChambers said:


> I second this request, please and thank you.


Thirding the request- this sounds interesting!


----------



## heidi_g

I'll be glad to keep a list/make a spreadsheet and email the participants with the dates of their posts. 

So...

Cat Amesbury
ElleChambers
mPhicks
S. Elliot Brandis
Vaalingrade

Please, just confirm with a PM with your email address. I'll set up a spreadsheet and let everyone know their posting dates. You'll also need to send a 75-ish word bio and website link to the author who is tagging you (I'll let you know who that is) for their post the week before your post date. I'll also send some links to sample posts. We'll just keep it going as long as we can! After we fill up some dates with this thread, I'll post to the Fantasy and Science Fiction threads, to see if we can get more participants.

Thanks everyone, looks like it's gonna be fun!


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Sure, I could join in on this blog-tag thing.


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> I'll be glad to keep a list/make a spreadsheet and email the participants with the dates of their posts.
> 
> So...
> 
> Cat Amesbury
> ElleChambers
> mPhicks
> S. Elliot Brandis
> Vaalingrade
> 
> Please, just confirm with a PM with your email address. I'll set up a spreadsheet and let everyone know their posting dates. You'll also need to send a 75-ish word bio and website link to the author who is tagging you (I'll let you know who that is) for their post the week before your post date. I'll also send some links to sample posts. We'll just keep it going as long as we can! After we fill up some dates with this thread, I'll post to the Fantasy and Science Fiction threads, to see if we can get more participants.
> 
> Thanks everyone, looks like it's gonna be fun!


Awesome! Thanks Heidi. Just sent you a PM with my details.


----------



## heidi_g

Cat, Bill, Elle, mphicks, got your info. Thanks!

I've sent emails to Cat and Bill. I'll send the rest out before the day is over.

I've set up a spreadsheet, with the hopes that many will sign up! So if you're interested and haven't confirmed by sending me a pm with your email address, please do. The more people that sign up, the more authors we can help with their tags, and the more speculative writers we can get into the tour!

I'll be signing up people in the order that I hear from them!


----------



## heidi_g

I've got the spread sheet started, and have been sending out emails. Thanks everyone for your replies. We're up to May 12th. We're going to need a lot more authors to keep this thing going, so I'm going to go post on the Fantasy and Sci-Fi promotional threads.


----------



## KaryE

And my neurolink!

SFF writer here. I'm not caught up on the thread, but I thought I'd poke my head in. I dabble in a couple of different spec-fic sub-genres.  I like my sci-fi hard and my fantasy high, but every now and then I get an idea for a contemporary fantasy supernatural sort of thing.

I'm happy with myself this week because I finally got the last sale I needed for Active SFWA membership. The grinding was awful, and the mobs dropped way too many rat tails. 'Scuse me while I go turn in this quest. I think there's a decay timer on it.


----------



## RN_Wright

I might belong in this group. Thanks!


----------



## Vaalingrade

I'm still not sure how the tour think is working. I just don't want to be the guy having to go hunt down other writers for this. I'd much rather be assigned people to tag.


----------



## Rex Jameson

Glad to see so many speculative fiction authors on the boards these days!


----------



## heidi_g

Vaalingrade said:


> I'm still not sure how the tour think is working. I just don't want to be the guy having to go hunt down other writers for this. I'd much rather be assigned people to tag.


Vaalingrade, Thanks for checking in. The tour thing is wobbling a bit The whole point of getting signups here was to keep any author from being left in the lurch, although when we get to the end, of the signups that will be it. I'm willing to keep this thing going as long as we can, and think the best way to move forward is simply to do one-to-one tagging for Kindle Board authors. When I was following the chain, I noticed not all authors tagged three, and several tagged only one or two.

If we tag one-to-one from the board, each KB author can have the option of tagging another one or two authors *if they want, but it wouldn't be necessary*. If we do it that way, I think we've got authors to post up through May 19th.

For me, the cool thing would be to get a bunch of SPEC FIC authors involved in the tour. The main reason I'm doing this is cause the Kindle Boards has helped me so much, and it's just something I can do to give back.

So.... please, everyone sign up!!!! Just pm me with an email address and your website link and I'll send you the details and the date you post

The four questions for the post are:

1.	What am I working on?
2.	How does my work differ from others of its genre?
3.	Why do I write what I do?
4.	How does my writing process work?


----------



## NicWilson

I'm not quite sure how the tour thing works, but I'd be happy to participate. If we're writing up answers to stuff, though, I need a bit more time. I'm neck deep in a few first drafts, and don't want to lose momentum.


----------



## heidi_g

NicWilson said:


> I'm not quite sure how the tour thing works, but I'd be happy to participate. If we're writing up answers to stuff, though, I need a bit more time. I'm neck deep in a few first drafts, and don't want to lose momentum.


Nic, totally understand about the momentum thing. Would May 26th work for you? If so, please shoot me your email and website link in a pm, and I'll add you to the schedule. If that May 26th doesn't work, let me know a later date (on a Monday) that would work for you.

To make things clear for everyone. All posts are on Monday. I'm setting up a schedule for one-to-one tags of Kindleboards SPEC FIC authors. However, since authors on the tour tag anywhere from one to three authors, IF YOU WANT, you can tag two additional authors/friends. They don't have to be Kindleboards members or SPEC FIC authors. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAG ANY OTHER AUTHORS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO


----------



## NicWilson

Thanks, Heidi. I'll PM you to talk about when I can participate.


----------



## RJ Crayton

Heidi,

I'd like to sign up. I'll try to figure out how to PM you. I've lurked on the Kboards and posted once or twice, but not sure I've ever seen the PM button. However, would love to join the tour.

Thanks


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

The Guardian have started posting a series of articles called 'The genre debate'.

There was one titled "Science fiction travels farther than literary fiction" -- http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/18/genre-debate-science-fiction-speculative-literary

And the next was "Literary fiction' is just clever marketing" -- http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/21/literary-fiction-clever-marketing-genre-debate

I think I agree with the sentiments of both.


----------



## MLKatz

Greg Strandberg said:


> I'm not really sure what spec fiction is, but I have a feeling I might be writing it.


Me too!


----------



## Cherise

KaryE said:


> And my neurolink!
> 
> SFF writer here. I'm not caught up on the thread, but I thought I'd poke my head in. I dabble in a couple of different spec-fic sub-genres. I like my sci-fi hard and my fantasy high, but every now and then I get an idea for a contemporary fantasy supernatural sort of thing.
> 
> I'm happy with myself this week because *I finally got the last sale I needed for Active SFWA membership*. The grinding was awful, and the mobs dropped way too many rat tails. 'Scuse me while I go turn in this quest. I think there's a decay timer on it.


Wow! Congrats, Karen! Will you mentor me on who to submit to, now that you've "made it"?


----------



## Alex Kane

Hey, Kary! Fancy seeing you here. And congrats on the SFWA qualification. 

I write a mix of dark fantasy, science fiction (everything from space opera to postcyberpunk), and weird transgressive fiction.


----------



## KaryE

@Cherise - my sales were with the Grantville Gazette, Galaxy's Edge and Daily Science Fiction.  Galaxy's Edge is invite-only, but the other two are very open to new writers. For Grantville Gazette, you submit the story to an online forum (Baen's Bar, Universe Slush) where you get feedback from fellow Barflies and at least one editor. DSF buys a lot of flash, and that's what I sold them.

Are you involved with Sasquan?  I might be attending that one.

@Alex - Hey! Good to see you here! Alex is one of my Writers of the Future peeps. He's good, folks. Watch out.


----------



## mphicks

Hey all - I'm doing a small giveaway for my novel, CONVERGENCE, in the hopes of generating a bit of a signal boost: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/04/24/convergence-signal-boost-and-contest/

Kboarders are welcome to tweet an entry, so check it out!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

KaryE said:


> @Cherise - my sales were with the Grantville Gazette, Galaxy's Edge and Daily Science Fiction. Galaxy's Edge is invite-only, but the other two are very open to new writers. For Grantville Gazette, you submit the story to an online forum (Baen's Bar, Universe Slush) where you get feedback from fellow Barflies and at least one editor. DSF buys a lot of flash, and that's what I sold them.
> 
> Are you involved with Sasquan? I might be attending that one.
> 
> @Alex - Hey! Good to see you here! Alex is one of my Writers of the Future peeps. He's good, folks. Watch out.


Congrats, Kary.

Do you still think the SFWA is relevant? I don't ask to be rude -- I'm genuinely interested, given some of their recent controversies and their attitude towards self-publishing.

I'm not American so my perspective may not be the best on this.


----------



## KaryE

Re: SFWA - The answer is complicated, but I'm giving it a qualified "yes" under certain circumstances. If you're 100% a self-pubber, I don't think SFWA has anything of value for you - yet. Unless I've missed it, they haven't come out with a way for self-pubbers to qualify, so someone who's 100% indie couldn't get in which renders the question moot.  Me, though, I run my short fiction through some pro markets before I self-publish, and I've appreciated things like SFWA setting guidelines for what constitutes a pro rate in terms of payment, etc. I also think SFWA is good for networking purposes, especially if one can achieve Active status. 

SFWA's had a few black eyes recently over things like sexism kerfuffles, the expulsion of a certain member and the sometimes dismissive treatment of Associate members. On the sexism count, I think the recent furor(s) are indicative of an organization trying to change. Even as a non-member, I found myself speaking up in favor of corrective actions SFWA was taking, and that finally reached a point where I realized I needed to put my money where my mouth was and join. I did, however, wait until I could join as an Active member to avoid some of the attitudes allegedly directed at Associate members.


----------



## Marilyn Peake

KaryE said:


> I'm happy with myself this week because I finally got the last sale I needed for Active SFWA membership.


That's pretty darn cool. Congratulations!


----------



## KaryE

Thanks, Marilyn.


----------



## heidi_g

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> The Guardian have started posting a series of articles called 'The genre debate'.
> 
> There was one titled "Science fiction travels farther than literary fiction" -- http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/18/genre-debate-science-fiction-speculative-literary
> 
> And the next was "Literary fiction' is just clever marketing" -- http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/21/literary-fiction-clever-marketing-genre-debate
> 
> I think I agree with the sentiments of both.


These were great articles. Thanks for sharing. I liked this quote from "Literary Fiction"

"...in good fiction of whatever kind,* the imagination of the writer speaks directly to the imagination of the reader.* I want and expect to be entertained, enchanted, transported into the world of the writer, lost in a good book. I don't want to be lectured, have issues thrust down my throat or, dare I say it, be called upon to admire the beauty of the language."


----------



## heidi_g

mphicks said:


> Hey all - I'm doing a small giveaway for my novel, CONVERGENCE, in the hopes of generating a bit of a signal boost: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/04/24/convergence-signal-boost-and-contest/
> 
> Kboarders are welcome to tweet an entry, so check it out!


I did retweet, but sorry i missed the date


----------



## heidi_g

KaryE said:


> Re: SFWA - If you're 100% a self-pubber, I don't think SFWA has anything of value for you - yet. Unless I've missed it, they haven't come out with a way for self-pubbers to qualify, so someone who's 100% indie couldn't get in which renders the question moot.


Thanks for this.

Congratulations for getting in!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> These were great articles. Thanks for sharing. I liked this quote from "Literary Fiction"
> 
> "...in good fiction of whatever kind,* the imagination of the writer speaks directly to the imagination of the reader.* I want and expect to be entertained, enchanted, transported into the world of the writer, lost in a good book. I don't want to be lectured, have issues thrust down my throat or, dare I say it, be called upon to admire the beauty of the language."


Yeah, I found them quite entertaining.

The terms 'literature' and 'genre' have always confused me. Especially now 'literature' is a genre.

I walk into a book store now and I don't know where to look for a book. Is Kurt Vonnegut's "Sirens of Titan" filed under 'literature', 'fiction', or science fiction'. And why is Trainspotting now literature. It seems the value of a book changes based on how seriously people start to take it.


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> I did retweet, but sorry i missed the date


No problem, Heidi; thanks anyway! 

If you're a LibraryThing member, I'm giving away 10 copies of CONVERGENCE at http://www.librarything.com/er_list.php?sort=startdate&program=giveaway&country=0&offeredby=all&batch=open&publisherid=&media=ebooks. Maybe you'll get lucky there, and it runs until May 23.


----------



## Cherise

KaryE said:


> @Cherise - my sales were with the Grantville Gazette, Galaxy's Edge and Daily Science Fiction. Galaxy's Edge is invite-only, but the other two are very open to new writers. For Grantville Gazette, you submit the story to an online forum (Baen's Bar, Universe Slush) where you get feedback from fellow Barflies and at least one editor. DSF buys a lot of flash, and that's what I sold them.
> 
> Are you involved with Sasquan? I might be attending that one.


Thanks!

I might be involved with Sasquan, but qualifying for SWFA might unfortunately be a prerequisite. I will definitely be attending, as I live here in Spokane now. Would be very cool to meet up in person!


----------



## Cherise

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Congrats, Kary.
> 
> Do you still think the SFWA is relevant? I don't ask to be rude -- I'm genuinely interested, given some of their recent controversies and their attitude towards self-publishing.
> 
> I'm not American so my perspective may not be the best on this.


Conventions use SFWA membership as a qualification to put authors on panels.


----------



## KaryE

Re: qualifying for SFWA - you can become an Associate member with just one pro sale, and flash counts as long as it's to a qualifying market and you get paid more than $50.


----------



## Cherise

KaryE said:


> Re: qualifying for SFWA - you can become an Associate member with just one pro sale, and flash counts as long as it's to a qualifying market and you get paid more than $50.


Thanks. I'm not sure associate membership is good enough for the cons to put me on panels, though.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Cherise Kelley said:


> Conventions use SFWA membership as a qualification to put authors on panels.


Ah, that could make sense, then. Though surely it's not a good thing to exclude self-pubbed authors, given how much of the sci-fi market they make up, now.

Completely unrelated -- I've started interviewing indie authors lately. Just posted an interview with Michael Bunker (author of Pennsylvania). Next up is (kboards own) Jason Gurley. It's really enjoyable. I think I'll continue.


----------



## C. Gockel

> I don't want to be lectured, have issues thrust down my throat or, dare I say it, be called upon to admire the beauty of the language.


I actually really like a book to have BIG ISSUES in it. But I don't like them thrust down my throat. I like them cleverly bundled in something that is entertaining. I think sci-fi/fantasy are the perfect places for big themes to be played with... It's what I try to do with my fantasy.

Of course, if you dare to be funny and entertaining, you immediately get shoved into the "light reading" camp by some people. Some people don't believe that "funny" can be deep. Personally, I believe that anyone who is half-way intelligent can see a lot of what's messed up in the universe. To laugh at the universe, that takes grace.


----------



## Jim Johnson

KaryE said:


> Re: SFWA - The answer is complicated, but I'm giving it a qualified "yes" under certain circumstances. If you're 100% a self-pubber, I don't think SFWA has anything of value for you - yet. Unless I've missed it, they haven't come out with a way for self-pubbers to qualify, so someone who's 100% indie couldn't get in which renders the question moot.


SFWA is actively working on this, however. SFWA formed a self-pub committee late last year (including me and a few other kboard members)-- I had started a thread about it on here somewheres. I'll dig around for the link. Anyway, we pulled together some recommendations on making self-publishers eligible for membership along with a list of things SFWA would need to consider providing writers in order to even make it worthwhile for a self-pubber to become a member. That report is in the hands of the SFWA board and I'm confident it'll get hashed out this year one way or another.

Right now, SFWA doesn't have a lot to offer a writer going 100% selfpub. Making self-pubbers eligible for membership is easy compared to the harder work it'll take to make SFWA membership meaningful and useful. That'll take time and volunteers, both of which are always in short supply for any volunteer organization, including SFWA.

EDIT: Here's the thread in question that I started last year. http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,162583.0.html

I'd say most of the good ideas in that thread found their way into our report to the board in one form or another.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Ah, I'd been looking for this thread and now it appears on the front page.

Anyway, I run a monthly round-up of newly published indie speculative fiction on my blog. Yesterday's roundup just went live and may be found here, crossposted to my publisher blog here.

Check it out. Tweets, likes, shares, +1, etc... are also appreciated. And if you have a speculative fiction book coming out in May, let me know.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Cora, my novel should come out in May. Haven't decided the date, yet.

On SFWA, I take it there's controversy about Vox Day (Theodore Beale). I've just read some of the things this guy has said. It seems like an odd m nomination for an organisation trying to improve there image.


----------



## LeeBee

C. Gockel said:


> I actually really like a book to have BIG ISSUES in it. But I don't like them thrust down my throat. I like them cleverly bundled in something that is entertaining. I think sci-fi/fantasy are the perfect places for big themes to be played with... It's what I try to do with my fantasy.
> 
> Of course, if you dare to be funny and entertaining, you immediately get shoved into the "light reading" camp by some people. Some people don't believe that "funny" can be deep. Personally, I believe that anyone who is half-way intelligent can see a lot of what's messed up in the universe. To laugh at the universe, that takes grace.


Yeah, I expect sci-fi and fantasy to deal with big issues, probably because it traditionally has. And I adore stories that make me laugh as well as think. (BTW, when's your next book coming out?  )


----------



## Cat Amesbury

C. Gockel said:


> I actually really like a book to have BIG ISSUES in it. But I don't like them thrust down my throat. I like them cleverly bundled in something that is entertaining. I think sci-fi/fantasy are the perfect places for big themes to be played with... It's what I try to do with my fantasy.
> 
> Of course, if you dare to be funny and entertaining, you immediately get shoved into the "light reading" camp by some people. Some people don't believe that "funny" can be deep. Personally, I believe that anyone who is half-way intelligent can see a lot of what's messed up in the universe. To laugh at the universe, that takes grace.


This has certainly been something that I've run up against with my book. I think that humour can really throw the deeper issues into sharp relief, but having both in one book can sometimes... bewilder people. I've been very lucky that I've largely managed to hit a niche of people who enjoy that kind of contrast, but it definitely is a fine line to walk because we seem to unconsciously expect things to be one or the other.


----------



## KaryE

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Cora, my novel should come out in May. Haven't decided the date, yet.
> 
> On SFWA, I take it there's controversy about Vox Day (Theodore Beale). I've just read some of the things this guy has said. It seems like an odd m nomination for an organisation trying to improve there image.


SFWA didn't nominate him, and the Hugo is not a SFWA-based award. The Hugos are fan-based (WorldCon) awards, and if you continue Googling (that name, Hugos) you'll find out what happened.


----------



## C. Gockel

Hey LeeBee... I didn't realize you read my work.   I thought you'd be more discriminating!

I plan on having Warriors out by end of September. I'll probably publish "The Slip" and some other short stories before then though. They'll just be fun stuff to warm people up and get them back into the story...I wrote them while I was waiting for my betas to get back to me about Fates...I'll finish editing them while I wait for my betas to get back to me on Warriors. I think I'll be done with the rough draft by the end of June and want to give them a whole month to respond.


----------



## Jim Johnson

KaryE said:


> SFWA didn't nominate him, and the Hugo is not a SFWA-based award. The Hugos are fan-based (WorldCon) awards, and if you continue Googling (that name, Hugos) you'll find out what happened.


Yeah, for once there's a kerfluffle in the sf/f worlds and SFWA isn't actually involved.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ah, okay -- my mistake (I don't follow these things too closely, but the outcry was unavoidable).

Still, it seems odd that we live in an age where a billionaire can be (rightly) banned from the NBA for being a bigot, but the Hugo people are powerless to kick this guy off the ballot.


----------



## KaryE

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Ah, okay -- my mistake (I don't follow these things too closely, but the outcry was unavoidable).
> 
> Still, it seems odd that we live in an age where a billionaire can be (rightly) banned from the NBA for being a bigot, but the Hugo people are powerless to kick this guy off the ballot.


Dear God in heaven, I'm about to defend Vox Day. /facepalm Sort of.

So, is what he says reprehensible? Yes. Did he get enough votes to get on the ballot? Yes. Do the Worldcon peeps have any leg to stand on to throw him off the ballot? No.

And, in fact, I think they shouldn't. See, if they can throw him off the ballot for being a jerkface, then they can throw anyone off the ballot for pretty much anything. I've read samples of his work, and I haven't been impressed, so if enough voters agree with me, he won't win. But I don't think he should be thrown off the ballot. I don't endorse any of his views, but I can't back the idea that a writer can be removed from an awards ballot for odious personal opinions.


----------



## LeeBee

C. Gockel said:


> Hey LeeBee... I didn't realize you read my work.  I thought you'd be more discriminating!
> 
> I plan on having Warriors out by end of September. I'll probably publish "The Slip" and some other short stories before then though. They'll just be fun stuff to warm people up and get them back into the story...I wrote them while I was waiting for my betas to get back to me about Fates...I'll finish editing them while I wait for my betas to get back to me on Warriors. I think I'll be done with the rough draft by the end of June and want to give them a whole month to respond.


I'm a sucker for trickster gods.  And I've really enjoyed your series!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I can see both sides of the argument. 

I get the desire for impartiality. Though, the awards have a reputation to uphold. If the WSFA's goal is to promote science fiction, than associating with individuals who are detrimental to that goal is fair enough.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Nominating him stains the whole Spec-Fic genre even moreso than any other group because groups like the SFWA already have a bad rep for this. If we want to be relevant in today's word, we need to make it clear we're not constantly stepping in the cowpies of the past.

Not to mention how enraged I am at how my genre is one step closer to recognizing as one of the top of our field someone who wants to evict me from my own freaking country.

That's not even getting into the 'Sample Ballot' scam they ran to get in there.


----------



## KaryE

Vaalingrade said:


> Nominating him stains the whole Spec-Fic genre even moreso than any other group because groups like the SFWA already have a bad rep for this. If we want to be relevant in today's word, we need to make it clear we're not constantly stepping in the cowpies of the past.
> 
> Not to mention how enraged I am at how my genre is one step closer to recognizing as one of the top of our field someone who wants to evict me from my own freaking country.


I agree with this, too. For me, it's a *fan* award. It's not just about artistic merit, and never has been because being a fan of something, IMHO, includes being a fan (or not) of the *author.* I'd at least take a cursory look at the work, but I'm not going to argue with anyone who won't vote for him - or any other author - for personal reasons vs. artistic ones.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Being a fan award makes it worse because it makes it embarrassing and shameful to be even a fan in the same vicinity of people who are raising him up. Which is incredibly depressing for a fandom that includes mainstream stuff like Star Trek and X-men, which explain exactly why this guy should be shunned and ignored, or alternatively taunted and booed until my throat is sore.


----------



## mphicks

Hey all,

Heidi posted a little while ago about organizing a writing process blog tour, and it's been going well for the last few weeks. Cat Amesbury posted hers last Monday, and mine is up today at http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/. Enjoy!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

My writers' group were hoping to get our anthology to #1 in Science Fiction (Free) for the Australian Amazon store. We're all Australian, and the _.com.au_ store is still relatively small, so we thought it could be an outside chance.

In the end, we got to #2. What kept us from the top?

H.G. Wells - The War of the Worlds!

Held off by a hundred-and-something year old book. The old master has still got it.

I could pretend I feel bad, but I freaking love Wells. I think the heaviest/fattest book I own is his complete short story omnibus.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Heidi posted a little while ago about organizing a writing process blog tour, and it's been going well for the last few weeks. Cat Amesbury posted hers last Monday, and mine is up today at http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/. Enjoy!


Michael, your book sounds fantastic. The sample gives off a very strong 'film noir' vibe. I found myself reading it in the voice of the narrator in a PI movie, or something. Can't wait to read it.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Haven't been reading this thread much recently. Have I missed anything?


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Michael, your book sounds fantastic. The sample gives off a very strong 'film noir' vibe. I found myself reading it in the voice of the narrator in a PI movie, or something. Can't wait to read it.


Thanks for the kind words! I definitely drew on some noir influences for the book, and am a big fan of that genre and style.

Congrats on getting 18 up to #2 in the AU Amazon store - HG Wells is some stiff competition, but looks like you held your own pretty nicely.


----------



## WDR

mphicks said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Heidi posted a little while ago about organizing a writing process blog tour, and it's been going well for the last few weeks. Cat Amesbury posted hers last Monday, and mine is up today at http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/. Enjoy!


I just posted my entry into the blog tour.

Read and enjoy the ride and follow all the links to the other writers. There are some enjoyable and interesting entries in the tour. And you might find some pretty good reading that you may have otherwise missed.


----------



## mphicks

WDR said:


> I just posted my entry into the blog tour.
> 
> Read and enjoy the ride and follow all the links to the other writers. There are some enjoyable and interesting entries in the tour. And you might find some pretty good reading that you may have otherwise missed.


Great blog, Bill! Privateer sounds pretty exciting, and I'm adding T.J. Alexian to the TBR pile now.


----------



## heidi_g

Oh, yes! I'm excited about THE KINDLE BOARDS SPEC FIC CHAIN of the popular WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR!!!!! I can see some others have added their comments, and I just wanted to start a list AND.... Get some more folks to sign up, because it's going REALLY WELL. And I am LOVING reading all these posts. We have amazing authors here on the Kindle Boards 

So far, we've got these posts in the past four weeks:

Heidi Garrett: www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog
Cat Amesbury: www.catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Michael Patrick Hicks: www.michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Elle Chambers: www.indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Bill Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html

And here is the rest of the line up:

May 19th S. Elliot Brandis
May 26th 
June 2nd RJ Crayton
June 9th 
June 16th 
June 23rd David Pagan
June 30th Nicolas Wilson
July 7th

The Writing Process Blog Tour/Hop is a popular blog meme. However, not so many SPEC FIC writers have participated. *I'd love to keep this going for as long as we can, so if you'd like to participate, please send me a pm with your preferred two dates.*

We had some scheduling glitches in the beginning, but now that we're doing a one-to-one tag with KB authors it's going well. This allows for everyone to tag up to two other authors, IF THEY WANT TO. IF you don't want to, no worries!

Thanks so much to all who have participated and signed up!

So.... I've got a blogspot address that I claimed a while back, slaves to the muse, and I've always wanted to use it to promote SPEC FIC. I'm wondering if we could re-blog these posts there and also offer New Releases, especially the ones that we've written about in our writing process posts. I'm still thinking about that, because you know, I don't won't to get overwhelmed, lol. But I'd love to hear if anyone thinks that's a good idea or not!


----------



## mphicks

Hope nobody minds the intrusion with little bit of promo work, but I'm running a Thunderclap promotion, which just started today. If you're willing to support (no financial cost, just a bit of social media promotion), check it out at https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/11681-convergence-signal-boost. Thanks!


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## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> So.... I've got a blogspot address that I claimed a while back, slaves to the muse, and I've always wanted to use it to promote SPEC FIC. I'm wondering if we could re-blog these posts there and also offer New Releases, especially the ones that we've written about in our writing process posts. I'm still thinking about that, because you know, I don't won't to get overwhelmed, lol. But I'd love to hear if anyone thinks that's a good idea or not!


I'm all for it, Heidi! If you want to reblog my process post and promote my book, I will not stop you. lol 

Seriously, I think it's a great idea, and it'd be fun to have a sort of central repository for these blog tour posts. Thanks for compiling the full run-down thus far and for letting us know who's coming up. I'm looking forward to checking out the next batch of content. I think everyone's been really knocking it out of the park with their contributions, and I'm finding all sorts of useful information, insight, and, of course, more books to read.


----------



## ElleChambers

mphicks said:


> I'm all for it, Heidi! If you want to reblog my process post and promote my book, I will not stop you. lol
> 
> Seriously, I think it's a great idea, and it'd be fun to have a sort of central repository for these blog tour posts. Thanks for compiling the full run-down thus far and for letting us know who's coming up. I'm looking forward to checking out the next batch of content. I think everyone's been really knocking it out of the park with their contributions, and I'm finding all sorts of useful information, insight, and, of course, more books to read.


I second this.


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## mphicks

ElleChambers said:


> I second this.


Thanks, Elle. And great avatar, by the way.


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## ElleChambers

mphicks said:


> Thanks, Elle. And great avatar, by the way.


That's me without my makeup.


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## Sandra K. Williams

mphicks said:


> I'm all for it, Heidi! If you want to reblog my process post and promote my book, I will not stop you. lol
> 
> Seriously, I think it's a great idea, and it'd be fun to have a sort of central repository for these blog tour posts. Thanks for compiling the full run-down thus far and for letting us know who's coming up. I'm looking forward to checking out the next batch of content. I think everyone's been really knocking it out of the park with their contributions, and I'm finding all sorts of useful information, insight, and, of course, more books to read.


We should be tweeting all the posts, too. I'm sorry I missed tweeting the first ones as they occurred.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

The Writing Process blog posts are fascinating. I think Elle's cracked me up the most. She didn't think she could write about zombies and then went ahead and did it.

I've scheduled tweets for the previous blog tour posts, one per day till I catch up. I'm not very inventive, and I personally like to see what I'm clicking so all the links are full-length. Below is the format I'm using. Are there better ways to do it?

Kboards Writing Process Blog Tour wk1 Heidi Garrett http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## heidi_g

Sandra K. Williams said:


> The Writing Process blog posts are fascinating. I think Elle's cracked me up the most. She didn't think she could write about zombies and then went ahead and did it.
> 
> I've scheduled tweets for the previous blog tour posts, one per day till I catch up. I'm not very inventive, and I personally like to see what I'm clicking so all the links are full-length. Below is the format I'm using. Are there better ways to do it?
> 
> Kboards Writing Process Blog Tour wk1 Heidi Garrett http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


Sandra, thanks for all your support! I just sent you your detailed email. This has turned out to be a lot of fun, and the posts are just amazing! Yes, Elle's totally cracked me up too


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## ElleChambers

Sandra K. Williams said:


> The Writing Process blog posts are fascinating. I think Elle's cracked me up the most. She didn't think she could write about zombies and then went ahead and did it.
> 
> I've scheduled tweets for the previous blog tour posts, one per day till I catch up. I'm not very inventive, and I personally like to see what I'm clicking so all the links are full-length. Below is the format I'm using. Are there better ways to do it?
> 
> Kboards Writing Process Blog Tour wk1 Heidi Garrett http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


Sandra, I just totally cribbed this post and tweeted it, putting #specficwritersunite behind it. (I too forgot to tweet the posts...whoops.)

And thanks for the comments about my blog entry, Sandra and Heidi! That's what happens when I write at night - I get silly.


----------



## mphicks

Sandra, Elle - great points! I've been woefully behind in tweeting out these links. I cribbed Sandra's and did a bulk posting with the links using Elle's hashtag #specficwritersunite. I'll be posting a summary on my blog in a few days and will include all of the posts thus far, as well.


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## Guest

I don't know what's happening in this thread, but if anyone wants to catch me up, I'd be grateful.

I just thought I'd repeat an observation I'd made in another thread - for all you horror writers out there, have you had a look at the top 100 horror free books lately. It's ugly. Tonnes of generic uninspired covers - plus an onslaught of man-chesty girly rom is right there in the list. Didn't used to be that way. Not at all. I feel like I'm looking at a zone that's been disbanded, and anyone who appears there who is making an effort is supporting a book from 2012 and they have a ycky ZOMBIE on the front of it.

Okay, so i'm exaggerating in some respect, and maybe even being unkind. Stuff that. I'm looking at this horror shop for the first time in so long, and I'm seeing serious need of putting in authors who are writing horror fiction today. On my part, I have spent the last few months rubbishing myself with writing a romance serial which I have yet to conclude ... I want to come back to horror so bad. Horror needs me. It needs you too. The thing is PAID kills with King and Koontz etc. but the free store is a wasteland of stuff that is either not horror, really old, or just sub categorying in horror without being the real deal. I want the real deal. I want to bring it back. I think I'm going to try.


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## JenEllision

Oh! A friend tagged me in the My Writing Process blog tour a month or two ago. I had no idea that it originated here! 

*waves from YA spec fic land* I have a YA high fantasy coming out next week and an accompanying short story was just published in a literary magazine-- actually that's what lead me to click on this link as I thought there might be interest in the lit mag other spec fic writers. The magazine is called Inaccurate Realities and they're a literary magazine focusing on Young Adult speculative fiction.


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## RArcher

Oh hey! I'm writing speculative fiction!

I've always found the idea of "what if this had happened" a great basis of sci fi. It probably dates back to watching Gundam Wing in school (I know, I know) and the idea that the whole show was taking place not in some distant future but in the era that it was airing with some obvious (giant robot) changes.


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## heidi_g

ShaneJeffery said:


> I want to come back to horror so bad. Horror needs me. It needs you too. The thing is PAID kills with King and Koontz etc. but the free store is a wasteland of stuff that is either not horror, really old, or just sub categorying in horror without being the real deal. I want the real deal. I want to bring it back. I think I'm going to try.


I totally support you in writing what you feel passionate about. Well done horror is great to read!

What else is going on? We've started a KB Spec Fic chain of the popular Writing Process Blog Tour/Hop Meme, if you'd like to sign up we have openings starting in July (pending a couple of June confirms):

July 7, July 14th, July 21, July 28th... pm me if you're interested


----------



## heidi_g

JenEllision said:


> Oh! A friend tagged me in the My Writing Process blog tour a month or two ago. I had no idea that it originated here!


Jen, Hi! The Writing Process Blog Tour didn't originate here... I have tried to figure out where it REALLY originated but have had no luck! Anyway, we started a chain of KB Spec Fic authors in April and it's going really well!

Congratulations on your YA Fantasy coming out! Hmmm.... would you be interested in sending me about it? I'm thinking about setting up a blog that highlights KB Spec Fic authors: For right now, keeping posts to Re-blogging the writing process spots, and new releases... to see what the workload is. I'm hoping to get it started this weekend.


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## RArcher

I think maybe literary horror is in the tank because cinematic horror is in the tank. The success of just genuinely stupid horror movies sends a powerful and regrettable message about horror fiction in general. The co-opting of horror by hack young adult authors and the subsequent ruination of staple horror elements isn't great either.

Know what I want? A book about vampires. Vampires who only come out at night. Vampires who are revolting yet irresistible. Vampires that represent our own base nature given awful, heartless, hedonistic form. Vampires that don't sparkle under any circumstances whatsoever.

Mummies are also good.


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## LeonardDHilleyII

heidi_g said:


> I totally support you in writing what you feel passionate about. Well done horror is great to read!
> 
> What else is going on? We've started a KB Spec Fic chain of the popular Writing Process Blog Tour/Hop Meme, if you'd like to sign up we have openings starting in July (pending a couple of June confirms):
> 
> July 7, July 14th, July 21, July 28th... pm me if you're interested


Fantastic!


----------



## Cat Amesbury

I've unfortunately been off KBoards for a week or so and missed out on the cross-promotion of the blog hop, but I will try to see if I can collate the current posts and do a summary post sometime this week on my own blog.

A huge thank you to Heidi, who is both incredibly generous and incredibly organized. The blog hop posts are wonderful and thoughtful and my wallet is lighter for having followed it.


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## JenEllision

heidi_g said:


> Congratulations on your YA Fantasy coming out! Hmmm.... would you be interested in sending me about it? I'm thinking about setting up a blog that highlights KB Spec Fic authors: For right now, keeping posts to Re-blogging the writing process spots, and new releases... to see what the workload is. I'm hoping to get it started this weekend.


Hi Heidi! Absolutely! You've got a PM


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## Ceinwen

I think I can count myself a (young adult) spec fic writer. My first novel (which went live an hour ago!) is a fantasy, and other than the comedy I'm working on now I have a zombie trilogy and a few more fantasy works in the pipeline. 

Excited to join in on some spec fic chat


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## David J. Rollins

Hello, Everyone,

I am so glad I found this board. It's been something I have been looking for for a long time, only I don't think I realized it. I'm pretty sure I am Spec Fic writer. When I was younger, I called it Dark Fantasy, but Fantasy in the broadest sense, not the sense of dragons, elfs and orcs, oh my! Since then I have learned to laugh a little, so now I write Science Fiction Humor, and I am having an extremely hard time finding an audience. The few reviews I have managed to get are all good (well, except for one, but there is always one.) Any thoughts or advice on the finding audience would met with lifelong blessings. 

Anyway, I just wanted to offer two cents or more on the Romance selling better than Spec Fiction debate. I have to wonder if Romance sells better because it sells only one thing, Romance. The settings may be different, some many more graphic than others, but at the end of the day, everyone knows what they are getting when they read a Romance. Add that to the thought that it seems to me, and I have not proof of this, that more women read than men these days, it's no surprise that Romance is selling very well and probably always will. 

Spec Fiction is another beast altogether, with many appendages and subappendages. With Spec Fic, you don't really know what you are getting until you have it. There are so many niches in Spec Fiction that it makes it hard for a reader to find new Spec Fiction that is like the Spec Fiction they have read, so they just look for the authors they know. Is it bad that there are so many niches, personally, I like it. It provides a potential that no othe genre really has. But it does seem like it makes it hard for unknowns to find their audience. That said, I also think some journeys are worth taking and this is one of them.


----------



## heidi_g

Cat Amesbury said:


> A huge thank you to Heidi, who is both incredibly generous and incredibly organized. The blog hop posts are wonderful and thoughtful and my wallet is lighter for having followed it.


Thanks, Cat. Mine too... lighter wallet, lol.


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## heidi_g

Jen, thanks! Got it!

Ceinwen, Congratulations on your new release! 

So.... I THINK I'm going to try to set up that blog this weekend to showcase KB spec fic authors. After giving it some thought, I think I want to keep it to re-blogs of the writing process tour posts and new releases. Then I'll see how the workload is... I'll link back to this thread and KBoards ect. I've just wanted to create a place to showcase SPEC FIC writers for a long time and this might be one of the easiest and most effective ways to do that... It will be an experiment...

so, that being said.... Ceinwen, if I get things up, would you like to present your new release?  I know it's already out, but I might put two weeks before or after a release date... to give people a chance to get scheduled.

S. Brandis Elliot I'd like to feature your new release too, Irradiated. 
If you want to be included send me a pm, or email at [email protected] Thanks!


----------



## heidi_g

David J. Rollins said:


> Spec Fiction is another beast altogether, with many appendages and subappendages. With Spec Fic, you don't really know what you are getting until you have it. There are so many niches in Spec Fiction that it makes it hard for a reader to find new Spec Fiction that is like the Spec Fiction they have read, so they just look for the authors they know. Is it bad that there are so many niches, personally, I like it. It provides a potential that no othe genre really has. But it does seem like it makes it hard for unknowns to find their audience. That said, I also think some journeys are worth taking and this is one of them.


David, You make some excellent points! The variety is positive in many ways, but it can make finding that next perfect read more challenging I think readers who love spec fic are.... well, we're complex. Not that readers who read romance aren't But SPEC FIC is... well, as you said, it's the beast with many appendages and subappendages!


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## S. Elliot Brandis

David J. Rollins said:


> Spec Fiction is another beast altogether, with many appendages and subappendages. With Spec Fic, you don't really know what you are getting until you have it. There are so many niches in Spec Fiction that it makes it hard for a reader to find new Spec Fiction that is like the Spec Fiction they have read, so they just look for the authors they know. Is it bad that there are so many niches, personally, I like it. It provides a potential that no other genre really has. But it does seem like it makes it hard for unknowns to find their audience. That said, I also think some journeys are worth taking and this is one of them.


Hi David! I agree that it's really, really varied. I think Amazon's multiple sub-genres helps to make it a bit easier for people to find what they want, but even then books vary wildly. I was thinking about this the other day--my novel is dark, gritty, low-technology post-apocalyptic fare, yet it sits in the same overarching genre as space battles and alien colonisation. Sometimes it feels like there's more difference within the genre then between it and other genres.



heidi_g said:


> S. Brandis Elliot I'd like to feature your new release too, Irradiated.
> If you want to be included send me a pm, or email at [email protected] Thanks!


That sounds like a brilliant idea! I've just sent you an email.

Ceinwen... your new book looks so pretty. Who did your cover design?


----------



## Ceinwen

heidi_g said:


> Ceinwen, Congratulations on your new release!
> 
> Ceinwen, if I get things up, would you like to present your new release? I know it's already out, but I might put two weeks before or after a release date... to give people a chance to get scheduled.
> 
> If you want to be included send me a pm, or email at [email protected] Thanks!


Thanks! I would love to, I'll send an email ASAP.



S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Ceinwen... your new book looks so pretty. Who did your cover design?


Thanks, I'm so happy with it. It was done by Destiny Marie. She's just starting out and doesn't have a website up and running yet but I'd be happy to pass her email on to anyone who wants it. She's really lovely and easy to work with.

And I think David's right about the popularity of spec fic vs. romance. Romance readers seem more willing to take a chance on new/unknown authors than spec fic readers, though I'm such a stranger to the romance genre I couldn't comment any more than that. I also think there's a definite need for light and optimistic reading, which is where romance has a definite edge over a lot of spec fiction.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Thanks, I'm so happy with it. It was done by Destiny Marie. She's just starting out and doesn't have a website up and running yet but I'd be happy to pass her email on to anyone who wants it. She's really lovely and easy to work with.


It's fantastic. I'm surprised it's from an up and comer, it has a very professional feel. Not just the art, but the typography. How did you find her?

Heidi, I just had a thought... If you want more content for your blog, I'd be happy to do interviews with authors, sometimes. I've done a couple recently (Jason Gurley, Michael Bunker) and I quite enjoy it. I reckon I could only do one or so a month, as I like to get to know an author before asking questions, else there's not much point. Just an idea.


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## Ceinwen

I found her on 99 designs. I honestly wouldn't use the service again, but I'm so glad I found her as a result of it.


----------



## David J. Rollins

On a different note,

Can anyone recommend a Blog Tour Company that works with a lot of Science Fiction or Spec Fiction Blogs? I have been exploring running a Blog Tour for my Science Fiction book The Sales Crime Policeman, and most of the blog tour companies I am finding seem to deal mainly with Romance blogs. I'm not sure that is really the best audience for my tour.

thanks in advance,

David J. Rollins


----------



## heidi_g

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> If you want more content for your blog, I'd be happy to do interviews with authors, sometimes. I've done a couple recently (Jason Gurley, Michael Bunker) and I quite enjoy it. I reckon I could only do one or so a month, as I like to get to know an author before asking questions, else there's not much point. Just an idea.


Elliot, I wrote you back before I saw this I'm thinking lets wait on interviews, and see how things are going. I want to keep things simple as possible at first to see how much time everything is taking.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

I just put up my blog hop post!

http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

Enjoy.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> Elliot, I wrote you back before I saw this I'm thinking lets wait on interviews, and see how things are going. I want to keep things simple as possible at first to see how much time everything is taking.


Yep, you're right. I think I was getting ahead of myself


----------



## C.G.

I write Urban and Epic Fantasy, and it's been an uphill battle as far as sales and visibility. These days it seems it's all about the romance. I've gotten slammed for one of my books not having enough romance several times. It's great to see everyone's passion on this thread for spec fic. It's very encouraging.


----------



## Cat Amesbury

C.G. said:


> I write Urban and Epic Fantasy, and it's been an uphill battle as far as sales and visibility. These days it seems it's all about the romance. I've gotten slammed for one of my books not having enough romance several times. It's great to see everyone's passion on this thread for spec fic. It's very encouraging.


It's certainly a dilemma if you're writing contemporary fantasy! I deliberately didn't put my book in any of the romance categories and there has still been some confusion. I'm still grumbling over Amazon not having a "Fantasy-Adventure" subcategory, but, other than not putting the story in the Romance subgenres, I'm not sure what else to do to avoid confusing people.

Any good suggestions on this front would be very much appreciated!


----------



## heidi_g

C. G., I can relate. I have romance in my fantasy series but it's not the only plot point. Although some readers like that the romance doesn't override the story.

Cat, Fantasy-Adventure would be a GREAT category


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## heidi_g

The Writing Process Tour, which S. Elliot Brandis has aptly renamed the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop in his feature today:
http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

Has Sprouted
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/welcome-to-speculative-fiction-showcase.html

If you have a new release coming up, or have had one recently, and would like to be part of the showcase, please email me at [email protected]
Also, if you'd like to donate an ebook to one of the monthly giveaways starting in July, please email me. The current giveaway is a $50 Amazon gift card.
Finally, if you want to signup for the Writing Process Blog Tour, Speculative Fiction Blog Hop, please... email me We're scheduling in July now!


----------



## jdrew

I just found this thread and have not had time to read much of it.  Since I'll be gone for an extended period without internet access I'll have to bookmark this and read through it later.  Looks very interesting to me since just about everything I write is speculative in one form or another.  Keep it going and I'll catch up.


----------



## Cat Amesbury

heidi_g said:


> Cat, Fantasy-Adventure would be a GREAT category


Wouldn't it? It seems so obvious, but I think I might be a little bit biased.  It's just that it is very hard to put action or adventure-heavy fantasy somewhere if it isn't sword and sorcery.


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## S. Elliot Brandis

I updated the original post to include info about the new Speculative Fiction Showcase that Heidi has been kind enough to establish. My plan is to update the list of features each week, to make them easy to find and browse by our members.


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I updated the original post to include info about the new Speculative Fiction Showcase that Heidi has been kind enough to establish. My plan is to update the list of features each week, to make them easy to find and browse by our members.


Sounds cool. I been in and out dealing with real life stuff so lost track of this thread... I see it mentions giveaways on the web pages. I could be convinced to toss in my Volume 1-3 collection if I knew what the giveaway was/etc?


----------



## C.G.

Cat Amesbury said:


> I'm still grumbling over Amazon not having a "Fantasy-Adventure" subcategory, but, other than not putting the story in the Romance subgenres, I'm not sure what else to do to avoid confusing people.
> 
> Any good suggestions on this front would be very much appreciated!


One of the categories my epic fantasy book is in is: Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Fantasy
I just added "Action & Adventure" in my key words. Hope this helps!


----------



## mphicks

VydorScope said:


> Sounds cool. I been in and out dealing with real life stuff so lost track of this thread... I see it mentions giveaways on the web pages. I could be convinced to toss in my Volume 1-3 collection if I knew what the giveaway was/etc?


Hopefully I'm not speaking out of turn and Heidi can correct whatever I might get wrong here, but the giveaways are our spec-fic books. Right now, the giveaway is a $50 Amazon gift card, but soon the site will be offering up five titles to five winners for each title each month. I'll be offering up Convergence in July, and am keeping my fingers crossed that there's lots of entries!  The website itself is meant to act as a central repository outside of our individual blogs for our ongoing spec-fic writing process blog tour that Heidi started in this thread a short while back.


----------



## 68564

mphicks said:


> Hopefully I'm not speaking out of turn and Heidi can correct whatever I might get wrong here, but the giveaways are our spec-fic books. Right now, the giveaway is a $50 Amazon gift card, but soon the site will be offering up five titles to five winners for each title each month. I'll be offering up Convergence in July, and am keeping my fingers crossed that there's lots of entries!  The website itself is meant to act as a central repository outside of our individual blogs for our ongoing spec-fic writing process blog tour that Heidi started in this thread a short while back.


I will have to dig back and find that. Might take part in the tour. but not this week - got my 6th book that I am hoping to release in June... shooting for Friday the 13th, but wont know till I get through the pre-reader comments, my final edits and get the file off to my editor.


----------



## mphicks

VydorScope said:


> I will have to dig back and find that. Might take part in the tour. but not this week - got my 6th book that I am hoping to release in June... shooting for Friday the 13th, but wont know till I get through the pre-reader comments, my final edits and get the file off to my editor.


Cool, good luck! Heidi's been an awesome schedule-keeper for the tour, and if I recall right is booked through until July-ish. Still, wouldn't be a bad bit of attention to draw toward your next release. Keep us posted!


----------



## heidi_g

mphicks said:


> Hopefully I'm not speaking out of turn and Heidi can correct whatever I might get wrong here, but the giveaways are our spec-fic books. Right now, the giveaway is a $50 Amazon gift card, but soon the site will be offering up five titles to five winners for each title each month. I'll be offering up Convergence in July, and am keeping my fingers crossed that there's lots of entries!  The website itself is meant to act as a central repository outside of our individual blogs for our ongoing spec-fic writing process blog tour that Heidi started in this thread a short while back.


Michael, thanks for explaining things. No speaking out of turn You have a great grasp on the situation lol.

Vydorscope, please sign up. We want everyone to sign up. What I really want is to create an easy, simple to navigate site where readers can go and "meet" new spec fic authors and find new spec fic reads. The writing tour has been amazing and it will be nice to preserve the core posts in a single spot.

The giveaways: yes five titles to five winners each month starting in July. I waited, cause I wanted to make sure we drummed up enough interest to keep the giveaways going every month. We do have our five titles for July. But we'll need books for August... September...

And we're scheduling the writing process tour the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop, as S. Elliot Brandis renamed it out to July 21st and July 28th, with some folks already signed up in August. So feel free to contact me whenever you want to sign up.


----------



## heidi_g

mphicks said:


> Cool, good luck! Heidi's been an awesome schedule-keeper for the tour, and if I recall right is booked through until July-ish. Still, wouldn't be a bad bit of attention to draw toward your next release. Keep us posted!


thanks


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> And we're scheduling the writing process tour the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop, as S. Elliot Brandis renamed it out to July 21st and July 28th, with some folks already signed up in August. So feel free to contact me whenever you want to sign up.


I didn't even realise I was renaming it! In my mind, that's just what it was called...


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I didn't even realise I was renaming it! In my mind, that's just what it was called...


Aw jeez, now we all need to go back and rename our posts... Thanks a lot Elliot.....


----------



## 68564

Can some one link me to the blog post information? Like what is meant, how long, etc?  Thanks!


----------



## unkownwriter

Great start to the blog, Heidi! I tried to post a comment there, but I think something on my computer is blocking me (probably some security thing).

Is there an updated list for the blog hop? I'd like to post something about it, and have some sort of list of all the participants so far, with their blog links. I've seen craft blogs that have a grid with icons that link to other blogs on the hop, don't know if I can figure out something like that, but I'd have something.

I'm excited to do my post in August.


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> The Writing Process Tour, which S. Elliot Brandis has aptly renamed the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop in his feature today:
> http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
> 
> Has Sprouted
> http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/welcome-to-speculative-fiction-showcase.html
> 
> If you have a new release coming up, or have had one recently, and would like to be part of the showcase, please email me at [email protected]
> Also, if you'd like to donate an ebook to one of the monthly giveaways starting in July, please email me. The current giveaway is a $50 Amazon gift card.
> Finally, if you want to signup for the Writing Process Blog Tour, Speculative Fiction Blog Hop, please... email me We're scheduling in July now!


Ah! There that must be the secret information. Will check it out.


----------



## scifiwritir

Hi all: Jumping in to introduce myself. My name is Carole McDonnell. I write specfic. My latest novel is The Constant Tower. My first novel is Wind Follower. Those are published on wildside. My collection of short stories, Spirit Fruit is self-published on kindle and createspace 
http://www.amazon.com/Carole-McDonnell/e/B0034Q3BWG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Glad to be here.


----------



## scifiwritir

I'd like to join in...if you don't mind. 
http://www.amazon.com/Carole-McDonnell/e/B0034Q3BWG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

scifiwritir said:


> Hi all: Jumping in to introduce myself. My name is Carole McDonnell. I write specfic. My latest novel is The Constant Tower. My first novel is Wind Follower. Those are published on wildside. My collection of short stories, Spirit Fruit is self-published on kindle and createspace
> http://www.amazon.com/Carole-McDonnell/e/B0034Q3BWG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Glad to be here.


Hi Carole!  Great to see you on here.

I was just going to ask Heidi and all - I'm still a bit confused as to how the Blog hop works. I've never done one before. Do I blog first on my own blog?


----------



## mphicks

Hi Carole, Jessie!

Regarding the blog hop, you can schedule with Heidi. The spec fic blogs go up every Monday, and when you have your date she'll let you know who is preceding and following your post. Then, you exchange your bio and website info with those two bloggers. For instance, when Cat Amesbury did hers, she linked to my site. When I posted the following week, I linked back to her site, did my post, and linked to Bill Richards blog since he was following me a week later.

The blog post consists of answering 4 questions:
What am I working on?
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Why do I write what I do?
How does my writing process work?

It was pretty fun, and reading about the process of our fellow writers has been interesting, entertaining, and educational. Hopefully you'll join us!

The posts are also being compiled at http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/ so you should go check those out. As the posts start to pile up, you should get a better idea of what the tour has been like.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thank you very much, mphicks! I have read the thread through but was still a bit confused.

That's much clearer!


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> Thank you very much, mphicks! I have read the thread through but was still a bit confused.
> 
> That's much clearer!


Glad to help!


----------



## heidi_g

Mphicks, thanks for all your help in clearing up the confusion!

Has everyone got their questions answered? Just checking

Sheila I'm going to be begin posting a list of all the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop participants every Monday in this thread... I'll do that until someone tells me it's too long and annoying!

Also, we are going to be collecting them and reposting them on:

www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com

So... if you've already participated and want to have yours reposted, please send the core of your post (answers to the four questions) to [email protected] in a word or HTML format. I ask this because I'm trying to do posts every day and I don't have time to hunt everyone's stuff down all over the internet

Also, we'll have posts every day this week, but we need more new releases!!! if you've released a spec fic book in the past thirty days, please email me:
A cover jpg, blurb, excerpt of your choice to entice readers, author pic, author bio, and links. I suggest you include buy links if the book is currently available. Sandra K. Williams did recommend I pm Harvey about the whole site, and I did. He's given his blessing So we are good to go. Check out Nadinax's comment on the blog today:

"I love speculative fiction! But I had no idea that was the name for it. I love reading about different worlds and settings that could be a metaphor for our own. I read a LOT of YA Fantasy, it's not only fun but also thought provoking, and it's always a plus when the author injects their creativity in the world they decided to create."

That's why I wanted to create this showcase. I have an inkling MANY readers love spec-fic they just don't know it yet, lol. We're going to educate them Awesome!

Again, I have to give William D. Richards kudos for his great definition of spec-fic that is in the blog description.

And, yes, thank you S. Elliot Brandis for renaming the writing process tour the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop... for what we're doing, works much better! So... I'm having fun, I hope everyone else is.

One last thing. I did put the blog up last weekend and couldn't settle on a banner. I'll be looking for a black and white abstract something on Shutterstock this weekend... I want to keep the website design very simple to keep the eyes focused on covers and content!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'm updating the first post in this thread to include the features on the spec-fic blog.

One thing I really want to do is a "What is Speculative Fiction" post. I'll put this on my website, and on the new blog, if Heidi is interested.

For this, I want authors to answer the question "What is Speculative Fiction?" in 50 words or less.

This way, instead of giving a dry, dictionary definition I can develop a mosaic of short answers from spec-fic writers.

So, answer away!


----------



## 68564

I Will have a new release in June... hopefully Friday the 13th but might slip to the following week. Just have to see!


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> For this, I want authors to answer the question "What is Speculative Fiction?" in 50 words or less.


FIFTY WORDS. ON THE DOT. BAM!:

Speculative fiction is a game of what if, or how about. It contains elements that are not possible, either because we lack the technology, they are magical, or any other reason. It is about creating new worlds, universes, realms and telling the stories that happen in them and through them.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Mphicks, thanks for all your help in clearing up the confusion!
> 
> Has everyone got their questions answered? Just checking


I'm good! Thank you very much for your hard work in setting this up, Heidi. I've been enjoying reading the previous blog posts.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'm updating the first post in this thread to include the features on the spec-fic blog.
> 
> One thing I really want to do is a "What is Speculative Fiction" post. I'll put this on my website, and on the new blog, if Heidi is interested.
> 
> For this, I want authors to answer the question "What is Speculative Fiction?" in 50 words or less.
> 
> This way, instead of giving a dry, dictionary definition I can develop a mosaic of short answers from spec-fic writers.
> 
> So, answer away!


Thank you vvv much for updating the first post as this is a long thread to read through!

I'd love to try my hand at the 50-word definition but may need to have a think.


----------



## unkownwriter

Thanks, Heidi. I'll check Monday and get the updated list.

I'll have to work on a definition. Fifty words or less. Even tighter than flash fiction!


----------



## Ceinwen

Hard to think of a definition when Vincent's was so on the mark!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> Thank you vvv much for updating the first post as this is a long thread to read through!


No problem! I'll try and keep it up to date with the latest features.



Ceinwen L. said:


> Hard to think of a definition when Vincent's was so on the mark!


Haha, yeah it was pretty bang on. Perhaps focus on what it means to you. Why do you consider yourself a speculative fiction writer, rather than, say, a fantasy author? Why does the label even exist?


----------



## 68564

Ceinwen L. said:


> Hard to think of a definition when Vincent's was so on the mark!





S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Haha, yeah it was pretty bang on.


 
Wow, thanks. It was pretty seat of the pants.  I appreciated the question because I never considered it before... heck I never even heard the term till I came to kboards - and I was already on my 4th spec fic book!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Yes, that was pretty on the money, Vydorscope. It's going to be hard to come up with another one! (scratches head)


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'm updating the first post in this thread to include the features on the spec-fic blog.
> 
> One thing I really want to do is a "What is Speculative Fiction" post. I'll put this on my website, and on the new blog, if Heidi is interested.
> 
> For this, I want authors to answer the question "What is Speculative Fiction?" in 50 words or less.
> 
> This way, instead of giving a dry, dictionary definition I can develop a mosaic of short answers from spec-fic writers.
> 
> So, answer away!


Following in VydorScope's footsteps is indeed a tough act to follow! Here's my definition anyway....

Speculative fiction is anything outside the norm. Sci-fi, horror, apocalyptic; it's sort of a catch-all genre. It can be one of these, or maybe all of these, or any combination in between depending on the author's whimsy. Speculative fiction takes storytelling up a notch with it's what-if next-level conceit.


----------



## JenEllision

> I want authors to answer the question "What is Speculative Fiction?" in 50 words or less.


Take reality. Add a dash of _other._ Mix well. If it's an impossibility in the world that we know-- whether that means through magic, special abilities, or technology-- it's Speculative Fiction. Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Fantasy... we've got it all!

P.S. Heidi, loving the blog! Such a great way to stay up to date on indie spec fic.


----------



## heidi_g

First of all, I want to THANK EVERYONE who's participated in the blog hop and has submitted to the blog. Because of everyone's participation, it's all off to a successful start!

Elliot: I think your idea for the "What is Speculative Fiction" post would be a great fit for the website. Kind of a smattering of from different authors? Cool. I'll be thinking about this weekend!

JessieCar: I've got you in the July 28th slot for the writing process blog tour Speculative Blog Hop post. I'll confirm with pm so we can exchange emails.

This week on the Speculative Fiction showcase:

Welcome! http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/welcome-to-speculative-fiction-showcase.html
New Release: Irradiated by S. Elliot Brandis http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/irradiated-by-s-elliot-brandis.html
Jason Gurley Talks About How He Writes: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/jason-gurley-talks-about-how-he-writes.html
New Release: Threats of Sea and Sky by Jennifer Ellision http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/threats-of-sea-and-glass-by-jennifer.html
New Release: Dreaming of the Sea by Heidi Garrett http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/dreaming-of-sea-by-heidi-garrett.html

And we've gotten over 2K page views on the blog, and we're starting to get comments on the posts, and we're getting more entries in the $50 Amazon Gift Card giveaway. Yay.

So we have three more new releases to be featured next week with two more writing process Speculative Fiction Blog Hop posts. I love the variety we're getting in the new releases, and would love to have three new releases every week, if we can do that. So if you've released anything speculative fiction in the past thirty days, please shoot me an email.

Also, once we start the book giveaways in July, all the books in the giveaway will get a feature post in that month. So donating an ebook to a giveaway will be a great way to get any book featured that's not a new release. We have the July slots filled. But if you'd like to donate an ebook in August... let me know


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Also, once we start the book giveaways in July, all the books in the giveaway will get a feature post in that month. So donating an ebook to a giveaway will be a great way to get any book featured that's not a new release. We have the July slots filled. But if you'd like to donate an ebook in August... let me know


I will donate a copy of the new release I sent you yesterday for july or august giveaway. Running a sale on it in June so July or August would be better.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> First of all, I want to THANK EVERYONE who's participated in the blog hop and has submitted to the blog. Because of everyone's participation, it's all off to a successful start!
> 
> JessieCar: I've got you in the July 28th slot for the writing process blog tour Speculative Blog Hop post. I'll confirm with pm so we can exchange emails.


Thank _you _very much, Heidi, that's excellent. It's great to know that the blog has been getting hit and comments already! I've mentioned it to two friends who are Spec Fic writers - I think scifiwritir has already said hello, and another friend has expressed an interest.

About the giveaway - I'm hoping that the second book in my series, _The Glass Mountain_, will be coming out fairly soon. So I'd love to donate that for the August giveaway, if that's ok.

Ok, I tried to write a definition of Speculative Fiction in 50 words (headdesk):
Stories that invoke the imagination to explore the future of this world and the possibility of other worlds, whether by building a plausible universe based on reality, or by using myth and folklore to reflect on contemporary issues outside the arena of the mundane.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

I'm definitely up for donating a copy of my 1st book for right around when I release my second. Deep in editing right now and actually targeting July so that sounds perfect. And right around my blog hop slot.


----------



## mphicks

In honor of this thread's title, I have to give our very own S. Elliot Brandis a big high-five for his debut, IRRADIATED. Terrific read, and a great example of speculative fiction as we've been discussing here of late.

Heidi - congrats on hitting the 2K mark already with the new site. That's amazing! So glad to hear the stats are high and generating some feedback. I'm looking forward to that trend continuing and increasing as things progress.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> In honor of this thread's title, I have to give our very own S. Elliot Brandis a big high-five for his debut, IRRADIATED. Terrific read, and a great example of speculative fiction as we've been discussing here of late.


*returns high-five*

Thanks, Mike.

I just read your review on goodreads and damn you write a good review. You could write reviews for a living.

I have to ask--with the spaghetti western thing, did you draw that parallel yourself? I've been asked about it in two separate interviews, so was wondering if this is an independent observation.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> *returns high-five*
> 
> Thanks, Mike.
> 
> I just read your review on goodreads and d*mn you write a good review. You could write reviews for a living.
> 
> I have to ask--with the spaghetti western thing, did you draw that parallel yourself? I've been asked about it in two separate interviews, so was wondering if this is an independent observation.


That's funny, but yeah, I was getting a sort of Man With No Name trilogy or Hang 'Em High vibe at times; maybe it was just the cactus... Some styles of post-apocalyptic literature lend themselves very well to the comparison, though, with that gritty struggle for survival in desert settings.

Glad the review was up to snuff. Been a while since I wrote one, but I used to do reviews for the website Graphic Novel Reporter. I've only done a few sporadically since, as the mood strikes.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> That's funny, but yeah, I was getting a sort of Man With No Name trilogy or Hang 'Em High vibe at times; maybe it was just the cactus... Some styles of post-apocalyptic literature lend themselves very well to the comparison, though, with that gritty struggle for survival in desert settings.
> 
> Glad the review was up to snuff. Been a while since I wrote one, but I used to do reviews for the website Graphic Novel Reporter. I've only done a few sporadically since, as the mood strikes.


Yeah, I didn't pick up on this until I was reading my first draft and it dawned on me that there was a western flavour to some of it, especially when outside of the city. I quite like it, and it got me thinking about writing a space western.

From an interview I did:



> Allan Walsh: In your new novel, Irradiated, there appears to be a connotation towards the wild west. Was this intentional and if so, are you a big fan of westerns?
> 
> S.Elliot Brandis: I think this is a very natural, organic connection. I didn't sit down and try and infuse western elements into my novel. I do, however, think there is a huge overlap between a low -technology post-apocalyptic landscape and that of the old American frontier western. You take away petrol and electricity, made the landscape harsh and sparsely populated, and suddenly it begins to invoke the feeling of the ol' west. Every confrontation comes with the potential for danger, and people can get away with being a little more, well, wild.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Yeah, I didn't pick up on this until I was reading my first draft and it dawned on me that there was a western flavour to some of it, especially when outside of the city. I quite like it, and it got me thinking about writing a space western.
> 
> From an interview I did:


You nail it in that interview. That sort of old wild west mythos makes for some good flavoring, I think. Given what little I know about Australia, the terrain seems an appropriate analog to that western frontier expansion; lots of open space, sparse population, a sense of creeping danger from the elements and the random faces. You played it up well!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

I've just written about the blog hop on my Blog, _Living in the Maniototo_ (named after the book by writer Janet Frame!).

I hope that I've mentioned all the blog posts so far, both on the Speculative Fiction Showcase and elsewhere. If I've left anybody out, please let me know!

I'm also happy to re-blog things, though I haven't quite worked out to do this on Blogger yet.

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/a-new-story-camillas-chance-on-amazon.html


----------



## Cherise

heidi_g said:


> Oh, yes! I'm excited about THE KINDLE BOARDS SPEC FIC CHAIN of the popular WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR!!!!! I can see some others have added their comments, and I just wanted to start a list AND.... Get some more folks to sign up, because it's going REALLY WELL. And I am LOVING reading all these posts. We have amazing authors here on the Kindle Boards
> 
> So far, we've got these posts in the past four weeks:
> 
> Heidi Garrett: www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog
> Cat Amesbury: www.catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
> Michael Patrick Hicks: www.michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
> Elle Chambers: www.indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
> Bill Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
> 
> And here is the rest of the line up:
> 
> May 19th S. Elliot Brandis
> May 26th
> June 2nd RJ Crayton
> June 9th Cherise Kelley
> June 16th
> June 23rd David Pagan
> June 30th Nicolas Wilson
> July 7th
> 
> The Writing Process Blog Tour/Hop is a popular blog meme. However, not so many SPEC FIC writers have participated. *I'd love to keep this going for as long as we can, so if you'd like to participate, please send me a pm with your preferred two dates.*
> 
> We had some scheduling glitches in the beginning, but now that we're doing a one-to-one tag with KB authors it's going well. This allows for everyone to tag up to two other authors, IF THEY WANT TO. IF you don't want to, no worries!
> 
> Thanks so much to all who have participated and signed up!
> 
> So.... I've got a blogspot address that I claimed a while back, slaves to the muse, and I've always wanted to use it to promote SPEC FIC. I'm wondering if we could re-blog these posts there and also offer New Releases, especially the ones that we've written about in our writing process posts. I'm still thinking about that, because you know, I don't won't to get overwhelmed, lol. But I'd love to hear if anyone thinks that's a good idea or not!


Re-blogging is _never_ a good idea, in my opinion.

Google doesn't like it when the same content is posted in more than one location:
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66359?hl=en

Google is a blog's best friend. Must please Google.


----------



## wilsonharp

I was out of touch for about six months and just now saw this thread. I'll be spec-fic for at least the next five novels and next four of five short stories (with a 1920's Noir Detective short thrown in the mix). Glad to see that there is some effort to work together.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

I'm not in the list above, but Heidi should have me down for July 14th based on our correspondence.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Cherise - I am sure you are right. And I would not like to fall out with the Google!

Jamie - thank you! I think I'm blogging on 21st July, so right after you. I wonder who is booked for today - May 26th? I believe it is Memorial Day in the States, so I don't know whether anyone is scheduled.

I will update my blog post with the upcoming bloggers as I find out who they are.


----------



## Ceinwen

I'm in for August 11th so spaces must be filling up!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Ceinwen, I've added you to my list. (Though that sounds like something out of _Dad's Army_!)

I imagine that Heidi will update the Speculative Fiction Showcase Blog as the posts appear.


----------



## unkownwriter

I'm scheduled for August 25 (because I wanted enough time to finish a couple of books, and maybe some short stories). Heidi has said she will update every Monday, so I'm waiting for her post to blog about the hop.


----------



## Guest

I'm very late to this thread, but I'm pretty sure my zombie series would fall under speculative fiction!    (Kick me out if I'm wrong, but speculative fiction, from what I understand, is quite diverse.  Although my book falls under new adult/romance, it's also post-apocalyptic/zombie apocalypse.)


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Joliedupre said:


> I'm very late to this thread, but I'm pretty sure my zombie series would fall under speculative fiction!


Welcome, Jolie!

You're definitely at home here.


----------



## Guest

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Welcome, Jolie!
> 
> You're definitely at home here.


Thanks Elliot!!


----------



## Ceinwen

I'd definitely count zombies as spec fic. Looking forward to reading your take on them, Jolie! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Guest

ゴジラ said:


> I consider myself a specfic writer, but I've always felt excluded from specfic circles because I write my books with sex and love and feelings, some of it YA. Not romances, exactly, just very "girly" fantasy. And posts like the OP, of course, telling me that my specfic dwells in a different place than your Real Specfic does not feel very inclusive for obvious reasons.
> 
> Not trying to pick a fight. But maybe some folks should think about why you don't consider books with romantic elements to be like "your" speculative fiction. (Also, not just OP in particular, who is a swell guy. Everyone in the community is responsible for these attitudes.)
> 
> (Ann Aguirre has a great post about this but I don't feel like digging it up.)
> 
> Lindsay Buroker, it's awesome seeing on you here. We should cross pollinate our UF audiences sometime. Don't be a stranger.


I'm late to this thread, but I'm reading all the posts. Just came to yours. Because my series also falls under the categories of new adult and romance, I was hesitant to join this thread. However, I had to remind myself that speculative fiction is diverse and that diversity *includes* books that contain romantic elements.


----------



## Guest

Ceinwen L. said:


> I'd definitely count zombies as spec fic. Looking forward to reading your take on them, Jolie!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you!


----------



## Guest

Doomed Muse said:


> Why did this turn into a Twilight hater thread suddenly? Um...
> 
> I'm with SL Gray. Twilight is spec fic. It's fantasy, YA paranormal romance straight up. It's a vampire series. It has vampires. Who cares if they aren't Bram Stoker vampires? Writers can make up whatever they want. Just because you hate something doesn't mean it should be exiled from the genre it clearly falls under. Move on, peeps, seriously. This kind of "THAT thing don't belong in MY spec fic" is the thing that has helped to kill the popularity of science fiction right dead in so many ways. Why would we continue that exclusionism? It makes no sense to do so.


I'm up to this post now. Hoping the tone gets better as I continue to read.  Yes, Twilight is speculative fiction even though she made the vampires sparkle like Christmas sugar cookies. (She said she had never read a vampire book or seen a vampire movie before she wrote Twilight. Not even Stoker's. So, there you go.)


----------



## Guest

Cherise Kelley said:


> In another thread, someone perfectly described the difference between dark stories and light stories:
> 
> Dark = pessimistic
> 
> Light = optimistic
> 
> Light stories can have violence, etc, but they always have hope, if not a happy ending. I think the distinction between light and dark in spec fic is more important than the distinction between sub-genres.
> 
> I dislike most horror because it is usually pessimistic. Count me among those who read to escape life's horrors and who write to help others escape them.


This is an excellent definition. As for me, I like to read both.


----------



## Guest

Doomed Muse said:


> Also, I don't go around killing people not because I fear the law, but because I don't want to kill people. I imagine a lot of people are like that. If I had super powers, I wouldn't use them to kill people either. Depending on what the powers were, I probably would use them to make money, but I'd try not to break the law or hurt anyone, because I don't *want* to break the law or hurt anyone.


My books are set in the zombie apocalypse. Therefore, some folks will get killed.


----------



## Guest

mphicks said:


> Orphan Black is on my to-watch list; very glad to see season 1 available on Amazon Prime video!


My husband and I are addicted to Orphan Black. It's one of the best shows on television.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

JessieCar said:


> I wonder who is booked for today - May 26th? I believe it is Memorial Day in the States, so I don't know whether anyone is scheduled.


That's me!

http://sandrakwilliams.net/writing/2014/writing-process-blog-tour/


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> That's me!
> 
> http://sandrakwilliams.net/writing/2014/writing-process-blog-tour/


Excellent! (saves link for later).

JolieduPre - I reckon Spec Fic is a broad church. Lots of room for zombies! (And romance?) There's much more crossover going on.

>.> Post by Max Booth on Lit Reactor: 'Stop stressing over genre and just write.' http://litreactor.com/columns/stop-stressing-over-genre-and-just-write


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Joliedupre said:


> My husband and I are addicted to Orphan Black. It's one of the best shows on television.


They made the genius move of originally premiering it (here in Canada on Space Channel) on Saturday night after Doctor Who. I watched the first episode, and was hooked for good in the final 5 minutes. It's fantastic, and even more fun that it's shot and set right here in Toronto.

I got to meet the director of special projects for Space Channel at the Toronto SpecFic Colloquium a few months ago, who was busy then with pre-S2 launch activities for the series. He was the one that pushed hard for Space to pick up Doctor Who (from CBC) here in Canada. Really cool guy.


----------



## Guest

JessieCar said:


> JolieduPre - I reckon Spec Fic is a broad church. Lots of room for zombies! (And romance?) There's much more crossover going on.


Yep!



Jamie Maltman said:


> They made the genius move of originally premiering it (here in Canada on Space Channel) on Saturday night after Doctor Who. I watched the first episode, and was hooked for good in the final 5 minutes. It's fantastic, and even more fun that it's shot and set right here in Toronto.
> 
> I got to meet the director of special projects for Space Channel at the Toronto SpecFic Colloquium a few months ago, who was busy then with pre-S2 launch activities for the series. He was the one that pushed hard for Space to pick up Doctor Who (from CBC) here in Canada. Really cool guy.


The writing and the acting is excellent, and Tatiana Maslany is incredible.


----------



## heidi_g

Vydorscope: I can put you in July or August for the giveaway, which do you prefer? Also, you're new release will be this Wednesday on the www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com

JessieCar: Thanks for spreading the word about the Speculaitve Fiction showcase and writing process tour Speculative Fiction Blog Hop. If we all do a little, that helps. I have _The Glass Mountain_ down for the August Giveaway. But are you sure you don't want to do one of your other books? Just asking cause you can get a post for a new release and for a donated book. So if your donated book is different than your new release you can get two posts. Let me know

As far as putting links to the posts up, I was going to put all the links to the showcase up every Friday in one comment. For the writing process tour, do ya'll want me to post the whole list every Monday or not?

Jamie: I have _Brush with Darkness _as part of the July giveaway. And correct on the July 14th on the Blog Hop date for you!

mphicks: Great feedback on _Irradiated_, I'm planning on reading it too! The sister storyline has me totally intrigued. I'm almost finished with the deluxe edition of Elle Chamber's _Good Eats_. My my! I'm not a Zombie/Zombi fan, but her story is a GOOD READ, lol. Plus I got the deluxe edition with a few other really creepy shorts!

Oh, and mphicks your writing process tour Speculative Fiction Blog Hop post will be on www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com tomorrow!

Joliedupre: So yes, I definitely count Zombies as spec fic too!

Cherise: Thanks for posting about the reposting. I'm a little bit aware of this so we're not posting the posts in their entirety. I did think it would make a great addition to the showcase to have Spec Fic writers talk about their writing process, since writing spec fic is very different than other genres.

Anybody else have any thoughts?

Ceinwen: Yes, you are August 11th on the blog tour, and this coming Friday June 6th with your new release.

 And the tour is filling up. We have August 18th open, and then we're looking at September dates!

* HOWEVER we do need more new releases for June!!!! Please email at [email protected] if you have a Speculative Fiction brew release in June or in the past thirty days! Thanks!!!*


----------



## Davout73

A friendly FYI, your hyperlinks are missing the '.com' part.

Looking forward to some of these books!

Dav


----------



## heidi_g

S. Brandis Elliott are you still looking at 50 word descriptions of spec fic?

By using imagined elements and/or imagined worlds, Speculative Fiction gives tangible expression to the multiple layers of reality. Whether it be a created future, an altered past, the infinity of the inner realms, or the mysterious connection between people, Speculative Fiction delivers an expansive view of our reality.


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Vydorscope: I can put you in July or August for the giveaway, which do you prefer? Also, you're new release will be this Wednesday on the www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com


Ummmm *flips a coin* JULY wins!



heidi_g said:


> * HOWEVER we do need more new releases for June!!!! Please email at [email protected] if you have a Speculative Fiction brew release in June or in the past thirty days! Thanks!!!*


I will have a new release on June 20th if all goes to plan. Manuscript is with my editor now.


----------



## heidi_g

Davout73 said:


> A friendly FYI, your hyperlinks are missing the '.com' part.
> 
> Looking forward to some of these books!
> 
> Dav


Thanks!!!! 

Vincent, Have you down in July oops! Sorry, I had to go with August, I was looking at the wrong month! for the giveaway of_ The Lost Tales of Power_. As soon as you have your next new release, please send it  Thanks!


----------



## ElleChambers

heidi_g said:


> mphicks: Great feedback on _Irradiated_, I'm planning on reading it too! The sister storyline has me totally intrigued. I'm almost finished with the deluxe edition of Elle Chamber's _Good Eats_. My my! I'm not a Zombie/Zombi fan, but her story is a GOOD READ, lol. Plus I got the deluxe edition with a few other really creepy shorts!


Aw, thanks so much for that, Heidi! It's always nice to hear from people who don't typically read in that genre that they liked what I did there. I hope you enjoy the shorts, too. The second one, "Child's Play," seems to be everyone's favorite.

Oh, and I love your book covers.


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> mphicks: Great feedback on _Irradiated_, I'm planning on reading it too! The sister storyline has me totally intrigued. I'm almost finished with the deluxe edition of Elle Chamber's _Good Eats_. My my! I'm not a Zombie/Zombi fan, but her story is a GOOD READ, lol. Plus I got the deluxe edition with a few other really creepy shorts!
> 
> Oh, and mphicks your writing process tour Speculative Fiction Blog Hop post will be on www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com tomorrow!


Cool, thanks Heidi!

I definitely need to read Elle's book, and have added it to my list. I dig zombie stuff, and will be sure to get the deluxe addition for the added short stories. Cajun hoodoo has a very definite appeal to me!


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Thanks!!!!
> 
> Vincent, Have you down in July oops! Sorry, I had to go with August, I was looking at the wrong month! for the giveaway of_ The Lost Tales of Power_. As soon as you have your next new release, please send it  Thanks!


August 13th is my son's birthday, so August works too! Just drop me a PM or email and remind me of anything you need as you need it.  Cause there is NO WAY I will remember this convo come August


----------



## ElleChambers

mphicks said:


> Cool, thanks Heidi!
> 
> I definitely need to read Elle's book, and have added it to my list. I dig zombie stuff, and will be sure to get the deluxe addition for the added short stories. Cajun hoodoo has a very definite appeal to me!


If you read it, I hope you enjoy it!


----------



## Kristopia

Steven Konkoly said:
 

> My first novel was SpecFic, which has always been my favorite genre as a reader. I jumped ship to write a black ops series for a few years and recently returned with a Post-apoc, prepper-themed series.
> 
> Still, very happy to see this circle of high fives.


Hey, I'm reading the "Jakarta Pandemic" right now. I'm early in the book, but fyi, really enjoying the build-up. I read a lot of apocalyptic books - and am preparing to debut my first Apocalyptic novel.

Glad to find this thread.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Kristopia said:


> Hey, I'm reading the "Jakarta Pandemic" right now. I'm early in the book, but fyi, really enjoying the build-up. I read a lot of apocalyptic books - and am preparing to debut my first Apocalyptic novel.
> 
> Glad to find this thread.


I believe I have the same editor as Steven. He gave me a reference a few months ago.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> S. Brandis Elliott are you still looking at 50 word descriptions of spec fic?
> 
> By using imagined elements and/or imagined worlds, Speculative Fiction gives tangible expression to the multiple layers of reality. Whether it be a created future, an altered past, the infinity of the inner realms, or the mysterious connection between people, Speculative Fiction delivers an expansive view of our reality.


That's great, Heidi!

Keep them coming, everyone. I think I could use a couple more, at least.

I had a bit of a brain-rush on the bus this morning (it must have been the lack of sleep), but now I'm totally convinced that I want to write a Space Western with a gruff android as the protagonist. I basically wrote the first chapter in my head, and started plotting out the major story arc. Whatever will become of me...


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> JessieCar: Thanks for spreading the word about the Speculaitve Fiction showcase and writing process tour Speculative Fiction Blog Hop. If we all do a little, that helps. I have _The Glass Mountain_ down for the August Giveaway. But are you sure you don't want to do one of your other books? Just asking cause you can get a post for a new release and for a donated book. So if your donated book is different than your new release you can get two posts. Let me know


Hi Heidi - thank you very much! I think you are right and I will prolly donate one of the other books - will email you. I'm going on holiday for a few days so will be offline.



> As far as putting links to the posts up, I was going to put all the links to the showcase up every Friday in one comment. For the writing process tour, do ya'll want me to post the whole list every Monday or not?


I'm easy on this, Heidi - whatever you think best.


----------



## JenEllision

heidi_g said:


> * HOWEVER we do need more new releases for June!!!! Please email at [email protected] if you have a Speculative Fiction brew release in June or in the past thirty days! Thanks!!!*


Heidi-- Will be e-mailing you soon! I have a short prequel that accompanies my series releasing in June.


----------



## Kristopia

Joliedupre said:


> My husband and I are addicted to Orphan Black. It's one of the best shows on television.


Yep - I hated Sarah at first - but her character has grown leaps and bounds, and I'm not even finished watching Season 1  LOVE it!


----------



## Kristopia

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I believe I have the same editor as Steven. He gave me a reference a few months ago.


So far, so good. My novel is (**gasp**) Spec fic but YA - though I've written it for the YA, NA and adult audiences (no romance at this point - 15 year old girl just trying to survive).

I'm implementing my editor (and beta reader's) suggestions at this time, then it's out to my second wave of Betas while I work on cover design.


----------



## heidi_g

Elle, I'm almost finish with the shorts. Yes, "Child's Play" is a very good one... one of my faves too. But "When Daddy Comes Home," I had to laugh out loud at the hot-butt trollop, and Libby has to be one of the creepies zombi's ever! Oh, and thanks on the covers! We're getting ready to release an "anthology" of my three short stories and I'm very excited about THAT cover

Vydorscope and everyone, I'll be sending email reminders for whenever you signed up for stuff!

Kristopia, Glad you found us too! Apocalyptic is very popular. Shoot me an email at [email protected] when you're new release is ready so we can feature it in the Speculative Fiction showcase. The final novel in my fantasy trilogy, _Daughter of Light_, is going to be Apocalyptic too! The first book is getting ready to be rereleased in July. So excited

S. Elliot Brandis, a space western with a gruff android protagonist sounds fun. Have you read_ Unicorn Western_? It's on my TBR pile.

Jessie, great! Just get in touch whenever.

Jennifer, awesome, just send the new release stuff to me and I'll get it in the showcase!


----------



## heidi_g

Check out the awesome line up we had this week on the speculative fiction showcase!

http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/warden-book-3-attack-of-aswang-by-kevin.html
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/michael-patrick-hicks-talks-about-how.html
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/sworn-to-defiance-by-terah-edun.html
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-lost-tales-of-power-volumes-1-3-by.html
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-edge-of-woods-by-ceinwen-langley.html

More to come!!!!!

Plus, please remember to submit all your speculative fiction new releases to [email protected] 

Okay, back to the writing cave for me!


----------



## Kristopia

Thanks Heidi - I'll definitely let you know via e-mail when the book is ready - should be mid to late June.


----------



## SandraMiller

How did I miss this thread for so long?    I've been head-down for too long...haven't been on kboards like I ought to be.  

But...hello, everybody!  Love, love, love spec-fic (sold an article many years ago about why it's so important even though lots of people didn't take it seriously at the time) and I'm thrilled to find so many people here who agree.  I'm prone to lurk a lot but figured I'd poke my nose in and introduce myself.

So...hey!


----------



## Micah Ackerman

So I released my first novel "Wormwood" which I consider "speculative fiction"

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KN7WEW2

I'm super nervous and I'm getting frustrated with finding decent promo's for new releases. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Micah


----------



## ElleChambers

heidi_g said:


> Elle, I'm almost finish with the shorts. Yes, "Child's Play" is a very good one... one of my faves too. But "When Daddy Comes Home," I had to laugh out loud at the hot-butt trollop, and Libby has to be one of the creepies zombi's ever! Oh, and thanks on the covers! We're getting ready to release an "anthology" of my three short stories and I'm very excited about THAT cover


Ha! One of my betas said she cracked up at the hot-butt trollop line, too. Glad you thought Lib was creepy and that you're enjoying the stories. Can't wait to see your new cover. Your husband is doing a really good job - he's stepped his game up in a big way.


----------



## pauldude000

Speculative fiction can be a huge player in the book market, just ask Hugh Howey (Wool), Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games), Pat Frank (Alas Babylon), and Robert Heinlen (Farnham's Freehold) just to name a very few.

Over the last decade, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian are getting huge coverage in the TV and movie scene, with such shows as Revolution, The Walking Dead, The Hunger Games, Jericho, the remake of Red Dawn, etc.. This is also driving up the interest in other avenues, such as books. Speculative fiction is going mainstream in a big way, and is gaining millions of fans.

For instance, just the show Revolution has way over a million likes on Facebook. Datum like this show me that there is a true base for the genre, though the statement may not have been true just five or ten years ago.

I know that I was introduced by a mere handful of books when I was younger, this desire for more was satiated by amateur writers on various forums where dystopian and post apocalyptic writing predominated. While a couple of these writers have gone pro, many have not... though they should.

Everyone is worried about competition in this market, which drives me bat**** nuts. This illogical fear is stupid. Competition is only a problem in a saturated market. Speculative fiction is far from a saturated market and in fact could be arguably be called a starving market. The larger the base of written works and authors with differing styles, the larger the base of fans it can attract and hold. 

We speculative writers should be openly encouraging each other, helping other writers in need, and improving the quality of the entire base for our potential fans if nothing else. It will translate to a larger fan base for the whole genre. A larger fan base equals more sales for everyone writing in the genre. 

It is a win-win for everyone, and it will take decades before the market is saturated enough for competition to be an actual issue. 

I think too many people have bought into the 'dog eat dog' philosophy. Dogs don't eat dogs, and cooperation along with intelligence are the two survival traits that place man at the top of the food chain above lions, tigers, etc. 

With the extra impetus coming from the video scene, we have the chance to make speculative fiction a huge player on the field. The question is... will we do it?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I just crossposted the Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up for May to my personal and publisher blogs:

http://corabuhlert.com/2014/05/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-may-2014/
http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/05/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-may-2014/

Again, there are many books by KBoarders included. I also gave a shout-out to Heidi's Speculative Fiction Showcase.

As always, tweets, likes, shares, etc... are appreciated. And if you have a new speculative fiction book coming out in June, feel free to let me know.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> S. Elliot Brandis, a space western with a gruff android protagonist sounds fun. Have you read_ Unicorn Western_? It's on my TBR pile.


No, I haven't... I'll check it out.

The idea has been firming in my mind this past week. It's not going to be a Space Western, but a Post Apocalyptic Western, and I'm going to release it in 20k parts. My android cowboy is still the antihero.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SandraMiller said:


> How did I miss this thread for so long?  I've been head-down for too long...haven't been on kboards like I ought to be.
> 
> But...hello, everybody! Love, love, love spec-fic (sold an article many years ago about why it's so important even though lots of people didn't take it seriously at the time) and I'm thrilled to find so many people here who agree. I'm prone to lurk a lot but figured I'd poke my nose in and introduce myself.
> 
> So...hey!


Hello! It's a loong thread but check out the stuff about the Speculative Fiction Blop Hop and suchlike.


----------



## GardenGnome

Thayer Berlyn said:


> I am interested in the development of an entirely unique type of creature/character in the realm of Horror and/or Dark Fantasy, even if said creature/character is (somewhat) an extension of a more familiar concept (ie: the witch, the elemental, the immortal, etc.) I write Soft Horror and Dark Fantasy, and so am always attempting to bring a different element or layer to a central character or theme that an adventurous reader might not find elsewhere. Clive Barker is a great one for bringing unique characters into the foray, although he is often a bit too dark for my taste.
> 
> It is very difficult to promote such stories, sometimes.


You might try submitting stories to Garden Gnome Publications. They love experimentation.

http://gardengnomepubs.com/submissions/biblical-legends-anthology-series/deluge/


----------



## heidi_g

Today's stop on the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop is RJ Crayton!

http://rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/

I took Monday off on the the Speculative Fiction showcase Did anyone else have gorgeous weather with this weekend? I couldn't resist spending most of it in our backyard, dreaming... it was awesome!

Sandra, glad you found this thread too!

Micah, email me at [email protected] if you'd like Wormwood featured as a new release on the Speculative Fiction showcase: www. indiespecfic.blogspot.com

Elle, just finished "The Storyteller." Another good one Thanks on the covers&#8230; the next one will be done soon&#8230; impatient author, lol.

Paul, I think there's an untapped market and reader-love for spec fic too!

Cora, thanks for the shout out to the Spec Fic showcase! That was awesome!!!!

Elliot, A post apocalyptic western will probably be even better!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

A repost of past and new links for anyone who missed them.



heidi_g said:


> Heidi Garrett: www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog
> Cat Amesbury: www.catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
> Michael Patrick Hicks: www.michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
> Elle Chambers: www.indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
> Bill Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
> 
> And here is the rest of the line up:
> 
> May 19th S. Elliot Brandis http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
> May 26th Sandra K. Williams http://sandrakwilliams.net/writing/2014/writing-process-blog-tour/
> June 2nd RJ Crayton http://rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
> June 9th Cherise Kelley http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/
> June 16th
> June 23rd David Pagan
> June 30th Nicolas Wilson
> July 7th


Also the collection of posts and new releases is here: 
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/


----------



## ElleChambers

heidi_g said:


> Elle, just finished "The Storyteller." Another good one Thanks on the covers... the next one will be done soon... impatient author, lol.


Glad you liked it  And I know what you mean about impatience, lol.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Today's stop on the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop is RJ Crayton!
> 
> http://rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
> 
> I took Monday off on the the Speculative Fiction showcase Did anyone else have gorgeous weather with this weekend? I couldn't resist spending most of it in our backyard, dreaming... it was awesome!


Cheers, Heidi - will do some Tweety/Faceboky stuff. 

Sandra K Williams - thanks muchly for the updated summary. It's very helpful to have that in one place. I wonder if the OP could update the first post with it?

Was that S Eliot Brandis? (Sorry if I'm being cheeky).


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> The idea has been firming in my mind this past week. It's not going to be a Space Western, but a Post Apocalyptic Western, and I'm going to release it in 20k parts. My android cowboy is still the antihero.


YES! Do it! I need this book, man.


----------



## mphicks

Well, I wrapped up a short horror story today and need some suggestions for cover designers. I need somebody who could design art in the vein of a butcher's diagram, but can't afford to shell out a whole ton of cash (so $150 or less, preferably). If anybody could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.


----------



## ElleChambers

mphicks said:


> Well, I wrapped up a short horror story today and need some suggestions for cover designers. I need somebody who could design art in the vein of a butcher's diagram, but can't afford to shell out a whole ton of cash (so $150 or less, preferably). If anybody could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.


The Cover Collection is a very good place to go. I get a lot of my horror covers there (none in my sig - yet) and the price is pretty reasonable: http://www.thecovercollection.com/premade-ebook-kindle-covers/prices/


----------



## Jim Johnson

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> No, I haven't... I'll check it out.
> 
> The idea has been firming in my mind this past week. It's not going to be a Space Western, but a Post Apocalyptic Western, and I'm going to release it in 20k parts. My android cowboy is still the antihero.


Sounds awesome; bring it on! My wip is a weird western / ancient Egypt fusion novella series. I'm shooting (heh) for 30k words per installment.


----------



## mphicks

ElleChambers said:


> The Cover Collection is a very good place to go. I get a lot of my horror covers there (none in my sig - yet) and the price is pretty reasonable: http://www.thecovercollection.com/premade-ebook-kindle-covers/prices/


Thanks, Elle! I like their style, and just sent them a message. We'll see what happens.


----------



## ElleChambers

mphicks said:


> Thanks, Elle! I like their style, and just sent them a message. We'll see what happens.


My covers from them are premade, but they're awesome (I wish I had time to write faster so everyone could see them! lol) so I have no doubt they'll do a great job for you if you go for something custom. Plus, they have excellent customer service - I can't say enough good things about them.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> Cheers, Heidi - will do some Tweety/Faceboky stuff.
> 
> Sandra K Williams - thanks muchly for the updated summary. It's very helpful to have that in one place. I wonder if the OP could update the first post with it?
> 
> Was that S Eliot Brandis? (Sorry if I'm being cheeky).


Haha... cheeky is fine.

Do people want me to add it? There will be quite a lot of cross-over with the Spec-Fic Showcase posts, and might be tricky to keep track of.



heidi_g said:


> Elliot, A post apocalyptic western will probably be even better!





mphicks said:


> YES! Do it! I need this book, man.





JimJohnson said:


> Sounds awesome; bring it on! My wip is a weird western / ancient Egypt fusion novella series. I'm shooting (heh) for 30k words per installment.


Yep, this is definitely happening. I send the sequel to Irradiated to my editor this weekend, so I'll work on Part I of the Post-Apoc-Western while that's away. I have the story and characters worked out, but I have to decide on some of the (not so) finer points. Old guns or new tech, horses or no horses. You know, the usual decisions.


----------



## Ceinwen

I'm a fan of horses in post apoc settings. So if you're taking votes I say go horse! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Haha... cheeky is fine.
> 
> Do people want me to add it? There will be quite a lot of cross-over with the Spec-Fic Showcase posts, and might be tricky to keep track of.


I imagine it could get rather long!


----------



## mphicks

I'm giving myself a high-five for finally hearing back from Angry Robot Books after submitting Convergence to them during their 2013 Open Door period. They wanted to see the full manuscript!

Unfortunately, that evaporated pretty quickly. I was honest and upfront with them and let the contact know I had gone the self-pub route. Ah well. On the bright side, they said they'd be interested in future works unrelated to the Convergence/DRMR series, which is pretty cool, I think. So, not a bad way to start a Wednesday.


----------



## Ryan Sullivan

Hey, I'm a fantasy author. Just joining this thread now.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> I'm giving myself a high-five for finally hearing back from Angry Robot Books after submitting Convergence to them during their 2013 Open Door period. They wanted to see the full manuscript!
> 
> Unfortunately, that evaporated pretty quickly. I was honest and upfront with them and let the contact know I had gone the self-pub route. Ah well. On the bright side, they said they'd be interested in future works unrelated to the Convergence/DRMR series, which is pretty cool, I think. So, not a bad way to start a Wednesday.


That's pretty good mphicks, particularly as they said they'd be interested in future works. Definitely worth a high-five!

And Ryan Sullivan - hello! Fantasy and SF authors are here. And anyone else under the Spec Fic umbrella.


----------



## WDR

mphicks said:


> I'm giving myself a high-five for finally hearing back from Angry Robot Books after submitting Convergence to them during their 2013 Open Door period. They wanted to see the full manuscript!
> 
> Unfortunately, that evaporated pretty quickly. I was honest and upfront with them and let the contact know I had gone the self-pub route. Ah well. On the bright side, they said they'd be interested in future works unrelated to the Convergence/DRMR series, which is pretty cool, I think. So, not a bad way to start a Wednesday.


A high-five for you, Mike! That's really encouraging.

I am certainly not against going the traditional publishing route, so long as the offer made is compelling.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> I'm a fan of horses in post apoc settings. So if you're taking votes I say go horse!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Haha. Sure, let's vote.

I do think horses would work best. I just need to make sure I do them right--good ol' research is required.


----------



## mphicks

Thanks, Bill and Jessie! Agreed, if the offer is compelling, I'd be interested in a traditional path, but it'd really have to be worth it.

Elliot - I'm voting pro-horse.


----------



## Guest

Hooray! Today I'm featured at the Speculative Fiction Showcase - http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/benton-zombie-novel-by-jolie-du-pre.html


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Joliedupre said:


> Hooray! Today I'm featured at the Speculative Fiction Showcase - http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/benton-zombie-novel-by-jolie-du-pre.html


Great stuff, Jolie. Will tweet this!


----------



## Guest

JessieCar said:


> Great stuff, Jolie. Will tweet this!


Thank you!!


----------



## heidi_g

This week at the Speculative Fiction Showcase:

http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/outage-powerless-nation-book-one-by.html
http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/benton-zombie-novel-by-jolie-du-pre.html
http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/cat-amesbury-talks-about-how-she-writes.html

It was a shorter week of posts, I hit massive overwhelm Last week I finished the revisions on the first book in my fantasy series that I'm going to re-release-FINALLY! YAY! But it left me pretty wiped out. Then it was back to work on the paranormal romance series I'm collaborating on. It's a lot of fun, but I had to totally switch gears. Today it's going to be all about Dryads... working on my next fairy tale retelling...

Anyway, I've committed to 3-5 posts a week on the showcase, so it looks like that will work.

AND of course, PLEASE SEND SPECULATIVE FICTION NEW RELEASES to me at [email protected]

Also, the Spec Fic showcase is now open for guest posts. Anything spec fic related will work, and you can use the guest posts as a platform to showcase previously published works!!!!

Elliott, I definitely vote horses. Maybe something like a C3PO/R2D2 proto-type/equine droid... with personality

Mike, Congratulations on the traditional publishing lead. Probably great inspiration to start on a new project!

Ryan, glad to see on the thread!


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Elliott, I definitely vote horses. Maybe something like a C3PO/R2D2 proto-type/equine droid... with personality


Read the Warlock Unlocked (The Warlock Series) by Christopher Stasheff - he has such a horse.


----------



## heidi_g

So I was working on my next fairy tale retelling... it's going to be a retelling of Han's Christian Andersen's _The Dryad_... and it went all dystopian on me... very exciting...


----------



## Ceinwen

heidi_g said:


> So I was working on my next fairy tale retelling... it's going to be a retelling of Han's Christian Andersen's _The Dryad_... and it went all dystopian on me... very exciting...


Would definitely read!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> So I was working on my next fairy tale retelling... it's going to be a retelling of Han's Christian Andersen's _The Dryad_... and it went all dystopian on me... very exciting...


Everything I write ends up as a dystopian. Gotta love it.

Anybody have any good recommendation for cover designers? Preferably someone that won't break the bank--I'm planning to release a novel in four parts, so that means four covers. I'd go pre-made but it's basically impossible to find a pre-made cover that suits a post-apocalyptic western...

For a title I'm currently thinking "Once upon a time at the end of the world".


----------



## Ceinwen

Art By Karri (sorry, on my phone, but it should come up on google) is one of my favourite designers to keep an eye on. Her ebook covers are pretty affordable I think. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Art By Karri (sorry, on my phone, but it should come up on google) is one of my favourite designers to keep an eye on. Her ebook covers are pretty affordable I think.


She's talented, but I don't reckon she's a good fit for what I have in mind. Her work has quite a bright, surreal quality, whereas I'm after something quite raw and gritty, even pulpy.

It's really hard to find the right designer, though. I've been looking quite a bit today.

As an aside, I found this old novel and I think I'm in love with the cover.


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Everything I write ends up as a dystopian. Gotta love it.
> 
> Anybody have any good recommendation for cover designers? Preferably someone that won't break the bank--I'm planning to release a novel in four parts, so that means four covers. I'd go pre-made but it's basically impossible to find a pre-made cover that suits a post-apocalyptic western...
> 
> For a title I'm currently thinking "Once upon a time at the end of the world".


Drop Yoly at Cormar Covers (http://cormarcovers.wix.com/cormarcovers) a line. She is a member here, and as per her posted price charges $80 for custom cover. I think your chances are better that way. Or if you really want a pre-made, check out Go On Write's collection of Apocalypse covers: http://www.goonwrite.com/book-covers-apocalype_pre-made.htm and maybe there willl be something there for you.


----------



## 68564

Friday June 13th - Spectra's Gambit will be released! Yay!


----------



## Ceinwen

Congratulations, Vincent!



S. Elliot Brandis said:


> It's really hard to find the right designer, though. I've been looking quite a bit today.


Seriously, it feels a bit like internet dating sometimes!



S. Elliot Brandis said:


> As an aside, I found this old novel and I think I'm in love with the cover.


Very cool, I love pulp. I can actually really see something like that suiting your books. Have you thought about having an artist do some original artwork for you and then getting someone else to do the typography over it? Probably isn't ideal on a budget, but like I said in my review, I'd love to see artwork of your worlds! I'm sure plenty others would too.


----------



## JenEllision

Eep, haven't check in in a bit, but Heidi, your dystopian retelling sounds COOL. S. Eliot, I love the ideas you're shooting out about this post apocalyptic western!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> She's talented, but I don't reckon she's a good fit for what I have in mind. Her work has quite a bright, surreal quality, whereas I'm after something quite raw and gritty, even pulpy.
> 
> It's really hard to find the right designer, though. I've been looking quite a bit today.


The artist a couple of KB people (KJColt and ElHawk) used recently paints similarly to that cover, if that's what you're looking for. I can't remember the artist's name.


----------



## Ceinwen

Lane Brown! I thought their covers were fantastic so I bookmarked him. His gallery is really cool. http://www.lanebrownart.com


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Lane Brown is amazing. Any idea how many pretty pennies he costs?


----------



## Jamie Maltman

That is some beautiful work.


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Lane Brown is amazing. Any idea how many pretty pennies he costs?


I am gonna venture to guess more than 2 or 3...


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Seriously, it feels a bit like internet dating sometimes!
> 
> Very cool, I love pulp. I can actually really see something like that suiting your books. Have you thought about having an artist do some original artwork for you and then getting someone else to do the typography over it? Probably isn't ideal on a budget, but like I said in my review, I'd love to see artwork of your worlds! I'm sure plenty others would too.


I liked your goodreads review. 

I agree with you on the art. I had a thought, while writing Degenerated, that black and white comic-style art of my characters would be freaking cool. It would be fun to include some art panels in a novel, kind of like how Hugh Howey did with Sand.



JenEllision said:


> Eep, haven't check in in a bit, but Heidi, your dystopian retelling sounds COOL. S. Eliot, I love the ideas you're shooting out about this post apocalyptic western!


I sometimes think that my mind is its own person. It tells me things on a 'need to know' basis.

I sent my WIP to my editor this weekend, so decided I'd start work on the Post-Apoc-Western while it was away. I wanted to work on something different to flush out my system, take a break from my series, etc. I told myself it would be a less dark, perhaps even a bit cheesy. Then, in the very first chapter, my d*mn android cowboy shoots someone in the throat.


----------



## RaeC

And you have my cape...oh, what's that you say? I'm six months too late for all that? Hmm. Well this is _embarrassing_.

But on a serious note, I've loved speculative fiction in one way or another for close to 25 years now, and I've been writing it (on and off) for close to 15. It's great there's a place to come if I need to pick someone's brain. There's this one idea I have for a series that I just _know _is going to give me trouble when it's time to market (YA vs children's vs general superhero).


----------



## P.T. Phronk

VydorScope said:


> Friday June 13th - Spectra's Gambit will be released! Yay!


Congrats! That's the same day my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters, will be released! Um, HIGH FIVE! Am I doing this right?

I just couldn't resist having the release date fall on the only Friday the 13th of the year.


----------



## 68564

Phronk said:


> Congrats! That's the same day my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters, will be released! Um, HIGH FIVE! Am I doing this right?
> 
> I just couldn't resist having the release date fall on the only Friday the 13th of the year.


Congratulations! First release is huge!

My prior release was on Friday, December 13th, 2013.  shame that next release can't be another Friday the 13th.


----------



## Ceinwen

Phronk said:


> Congrats! That's the same day my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters, will be released! Um, HIGH FIVE! Am I doing this right?
> 
> I just couldn't resist having the release date fall on the only Friday the 13th of the year.


Congratulations! I really like your title.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Spectra's Gambit is a great name, too.


----------



## SA_Archer

Jumping in to say 'hi'! Thanks for this thread! I write urban fantasy and, like some others, not getting much in the way of sales at the moment. It was actually a relief to find this thread and hear some others mentioning the same thing. I've been reading the uber-awesome money posts by the romance and erotica authors and agonizing over the apparent ease with which others find success, while every pebble I toss into the Amazon ocean barely makes a ripple and vanishes into the dark void. Now I don't feel quite so bad, knowing the genre is just a tough one to work with.

One of the things I find frustrating is picking a category on Amazon. I am sure I am not the only one to notice that the subcategories offered in the KDP dash board are NOT the searchable subcategories on Amazon. What is up with that? And what are the ways around it, if any? Like, you can pick 'Action Adventure' in KDP, but that is as far down as your choices go. But if you search Amazon, Action Adventure does have a 'fantasy' subcategory. So how does one get into it? Keywords, maybe? 

I second the need for something like BookBub for speculative fiction. I wonder if that is a chicken and the egg question, though. Does BookBub work great for mystery and romance titles because they pushed those books and targeted those readers? Or is it because there are so many more readers for those genres that they've proved to Book Bub that mystery and romance books will get them more hits and more money, and therefore focus more on those genres? Just wondering.

I am also curious, have any of you experimented with YA vs adult fiction? My current series is adult urban fantasy, but I was wondering if the YA readers might be more voracious. I've been shopping around a fantasy YA to agents and getting the 'paranormal YA is a tread that is over' reply from most of them. But just because the publishing houses are tired of them doesn't mean readers are. I'm wondering if having a YA series was one of the reasons S.M. Reine was able to get such great traction with urban fantasy. Or maybe it was the paranormal romance elements that added the juice?

These are the thoughts that have me scratching my head. So glad to have some other spec fic writers to bounce them off of.


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Spectra's Gambit is a great name, too.


  Hey thanks! 

I have been moving to shorter titles because I like the way they look on covers better.


----------



## 68564

SA_Archer said:


> I second the need for something like BookBub for speculative fiction. I wonder if that is a chicken and the egg question, though. Does BookBub work great for mystery and romance titles because they pushed those books and targeted those readers? Or is it because there are so many more readers for those genres that they've proved to Book Bub that mystery and romance books will get them more hits and more money, and therefore focus more on those genres? Just wondering.


As I understand it, Romance and Mystery have been king with readers since long before there was an Amazon. SpecFic is usually 3rd to 5th in the list, but there is not very much left in the pie when you get down there.

There may be a rise of SciFi romance right now, and with the Star Wars hype coming - space opera might get a boost. Just something to think about if you are trying to guess the future.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

SA_Archer said:


> One of the things I find frustrating is picking a category on Amazon. I am sure I am not the only one to notice that the subcategories offered in the KDP dash board are NOT the searchable subcategories on Amazon. What is up with that? And what are the ways around it, if any? Like, you can pick 'Action Adventure' in KDP, but that is as far down as your choices go. But if you search Amazon, Action Adventure does have a 'fantasy' subcategory. So how does one get into it? Keywords, maybe?


I've heard of authors suddenly gaining a lot of sales just by perfecting keywords. I think the "key" is to include keywords or pairs of keywords that people actually search for. The best way to find out what those are is to search yourself, starting with an obvious word then adding a less obvious one along with it and seeing what Amazon suggests. For example, if your book is about dragons, and when you start typing "dragon w" into Amazon's search it suggests "dragon westerns," then that's probably a popular search. If that search doesn't come up with TOO many books, but the books that are there are popular, your book has a chance of coming up in that search and being suggested alongside the other books there if you include "dragon westerns" as a keyword.

Of course, that only works if your book is actually a dragon western, and I'm wondering how dragons would even hold revolvers.

(Credit where it's due: I first heard about this tip from Nick Stephenson at Noorosha.com)


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

There's a thread about how to use keywords to get into more categories. I don't remember what the thread's called, but here's the Amazon page that gives directions: 
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2G3ZMYDPB9VRM


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Cherise Kelley's post in the Kboards Super Duper Fantastic Writing Process Blog Hop is up:
http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html

She's included a terrific list of dog superheros, too, but I think hers are the only aliens.

Previous blog hop posts:
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://www.sandrakwilliams.net/writing/2014/writing-process-blog-tour/ 
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> This week at the Speculative Fiction Showcase:
> 
> http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/outage-powerless-nation-book-one-by.html
> http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/benton-zombie-novel-by-jolie-du-pre.html
> http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/cat-amesbury-talks-about-how-she-writes.html
> 
> It was a shorter week of posts, I hit massive overwhelm Last week I finished the revisions on the first book in my fantasy series that I'm going to re-release--FINALLY! YAY! But it left me pretty wiped out. Then it was back to work on the paranormal romance series I'm collaborating on. It's a lot of fun, but I had to totally switch gears. Today it's going to be all about Dryads... working on my next fairy tale retelling...


Heidi - and everyone - about fairy-tale retellings - The Book Smugglers (UK Bloggers) have just launched their 2014 compo. They are looking for 'subversive fairy tale retellings'!

http://thebooksmugglers.com/book-smugglers-publishing

Sandra K. - thanks for posting the link to the next post in the Super Duper Fantastic Writing Process from Cherise Kelley 



> Cherise Kelley's post in the Kboards Super Duper Fantastic Writing Process Blog Hop is up:
> http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
> 
> She's included a terrific list of dog superheros, too, but I think hers are the only aliens.


I have updated my Blog, Living in the Maniototo, with a list of all the hoppers (and hopped). Please let me know if I've missed anybody.
http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/new-posts-in-speculative-fiction-blog.html

(Sorry to have disappeared down a hole - my mother-in-law is in hospital after a stroke.)


----------



## mphicks

Thanks for posting the recent blogger; I've lost track of it, too, and will aim to get caught up soon. 

Jessie - sorry to hear about your mother-in-law; good luck!

Phronk and VydorScope - hope your book launches are a terrific success. And yeah, Vydor, great title with Spectra's Gambit.

Elliot - good luck with the lighthearted tone. Shooting people in the throat is always the best way to start. In comedy, you always want to go for the jugular.


----------



## Heather Hamilton-Senter

Phronk said:


> Congrats! That's the same day my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters, will be released! Um, HIGH FIVE! Am I doing this right?
> 
> I just couldn't resist having the release date fall on the only Friday the 13th of the year.


Friday the 13th for me too! We're all a little twisted, aren't we.......... 

Actually, I'm up already in kindle format because I'd committed to an email campaign on Tuesday:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KVU299O










Edited to add - I'm so glad I found this thread, but I think I'm confusing it with the other fantasy thread on the front page right now LOL! I originally replied to Cora, but I think she's on the other thread......I've got book launch brain I guess


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Heather Lori Harding said:


> Friday the 13th for me too! We're all a little twisted, aren't we..........


Congrats! And thanks everyone else for the kind words. Apparently June 13th isn't only a Friday the 13th, but the night of a full moon as well. Twisted indeed. 

I got mine up early too, after seeing someone else here point out that Amazon can take a while to approve books. Wouldn't want to miss my release date.


----------



## 68564

Phronk said:


> Congrats! And thanks everyone else for the kind words. Apparently June 13th isn't only a Friday the 13th, but the night of a full moon as well. Twisted indeed.
> 
> I got mine up early too, after seeing someone else here point out that Amazon can take a while to approve books. Wouldn't want to miss my release date.


That is why I have mine in Kobo, Apple, B&N, and Smash as PRE-ORDER. I will put the book on Amazon on the night of the 12th and based on my experience, by the time I get up for work it will be live on Amazon. I wish Amazon would let us do pre-orders for this reason alone. At least I only have 1 store to worry about on release day.


----------



## Heather Hamilton-Senter

Phronk said:


> Apparently June 13th isn't only a Friday the 13th, but the night of a full moon as well. Twisted indeed.


A full moon! How perfect! The 13th is a good luck thing in our family - family birthdays, our wedding day - hopefully the luck will continue!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> Elliot - good luck with the lighthearted tone. Shooting people in the throat is always the best way to start. In comedy, you always want to go for the jugular.


Haha, thanks Mike.

Its not particularly lighthearted, but I've settled into a groove with this one. The tone and feel just seemed to find me. It's got a sardonic sense of humour, and some great banter. It's basically writing itself, so far.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Haha, thanks Mike.
> 
> Its not particularly lighthearted, but I've settled into a groove with this one. The tone and feel just seemed to find me. It's got a sardonic sense of humour, and some great banter. It's basically writing itself, so far.


That's the best place to be at. It's always a great feeling when a fresh idea takes hold and does most of the hard work for you. Enjoy it!


----------



## unkownwriter

Congratulations to those with new releases, or about to be new releases. So exciting!

Only Friday the 13th, huh? Wonder if I can my zombie horror collection ready by tomorrow?  I only need to finish two stories, finish the cover, and format (thankfully, Scrivener can do that). Think I can make it? lol

I put a list for the hop on my blog. I used the list gadget on blogger, just cut and pasted the names and links. I can add to it as we get more posted.


----------



## Myrrh

Hi everyone! Newbie here (to the boards, not to writing)! I write everything from horror to suspense/thrillers with a little Sci-Fi thrown in for good measure.

Sure, I'm a relative unknown but in my mind, I'm a rockstar


----------



## mphicks

Welcome to the boards, Mary!


----------



## 68564

yay!! Live everywhere expect dopey B&N. Grr will have to contact support.



So now I become rich and famous right?


----------



## P.T. Phronk

VydorScope said:


> yay!! Live everywhere expect dopey B&N. Grr will have to contact support.
> 
> 
> 
> So now I become rich and famous right?


Woohoo, congrats! Nice cover there. I got myself the first in the series (for free, sorry) and will hopefully work my way up to Spectra's Gambit.

Stars and Other Monsters is up too:



It can never go perfectly though, eh? I can't find a good way to get a print version up on Amazon Canada. It's either royalties in the pennies or holding stock in my basement. Oh well, I'm sure we'll soon be rich and famous despite a few snags here and there.

Enjoy your Friday the 13th / full moon / release days.


----------



## 68564

Phronk said:


> Woohoo, congrats! Nice cover there. I got myself the first in the series (for free, sorry) and will hopefully work my way up to Spectra's Gambit.


Hey thanks! Hope you love it. I am puting the 1-3 bundle on sale on Monday for $1.99

...and I completely spaced making a paperback edition.  Ops.. guess that will be delayed a bit


----------



## heidi_g

This past week on the Speculative Fiction showcase we featured:

Jason Gurley: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/deep-breath-hold-tight-by-jason-gurley.html
William D. Richards: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/william-d-richards-talks-about-how-he.html
Heather Hamilton-Senter http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/bound-in-blue-book-one-of-sword.html

I'm still deep in my writing cave, probably will be til the end of June, so I apologize for getting this post up late, but I'm so happy to see all the activity on the thread. AWESOME! Also, running a little behind on my emails, but should catch up in a day or two!

Ceinwen, Art by Karri is a great recommendation for quality and price, and thanks for the thumbs up on the dystopian fairy tale.

Elliot, the Black Jack cover looks like a good type for a post-apocalyptic western.

Vydorscope, Cormac Covers looks like a great cover designer too, for quality and price. And you'll be up on the Spec Fic showcase tomorrow!

Jennifer, thanks!

Sandra, Lane Brown Art's work is beautiful! Thanks for posting the Spec Fic Blog Hop posts!!!!

Hi Adrian and Phronk and SA_Archer and Myrhh! Glad to see so many new people checking in!

Phronk you'll be on Spec Fic Showcase Wednesday!

SA_Archer, I've played around with my categories and keywords on Amazon, with varying success. I wish I could remember exactly what I did when I was selling more books! I've tried:

Requesting specific categories
Using keywords on that KDP list
Typing in Keywords and using those
Using categories as key words&#8230;

Jessie and Sheila, thanks for the shout outs on the Spec Fic showcase. They're much appreciated! And, Jessie, yes, sorry to hear about your MIL I hope she's doing better.

Congratulations Heather, Vydorscope and Phronk on your new releases!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

This week's Writing Process Blog Hop post is by Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699

He says it was late because he was editing his latest book, but I think he was actually on time because his Monday morning starts when everyone else in the U.S. is going to bed.

And previous posts...

Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> This week's Writing Process Blog Hop post is by Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
> 
> He says it was late because he was editing his latest book, but I think he was actually on time because his Monday morning starts when everyone else in the U.S. is going to bed.


Cheers, Sandra - will add this to the Hop-list on my blog and generally tweet and things.

Mphicks and Heidi - thank you! My mother-in-law seems to be slowly recovering. I'm on a writing/editing kick too, plus submitting things to various compos.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

JessieCar said:


> My mother-in-law seems to be slowly recovering. I'm on a writing/editing kick too, plus submitting things to various compos.


So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. My father-in-law was in the hospital last year for brain surgery, and his rehab was in the section with stroke patients. Stroke recovery looks like it's far from simple or easy.

I'm waiting patiently for _The Glass Mountain_.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. My father-in-law was in the hospital last year for brain surgery, and his rehab was in the section with stroke patients. Stroke recovery looks like it's far from simple or easy.
> 
> I'm waiting patiently for _The Glass Mountain_.


Thanks, Sandra - I hope your father-in-law made a good recovery? It seems they may be going to move my mother-in-law to a community hospital to give her time to recover. The problem is that she's very elderly (85) and has one or two other health problems.

I'm currently proof-reading _The Glass Mountain_ as my husband has formatted it. But I keep being distracted by things (like writing) ...


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

JessieCar said:


> Thanks, Sandra - I hope your father-in-law made a good recovery? It seems they may be going to move my mother-in-law to a community hospital to give her time to recover. The problem is that she's very elderly (85) and has one or two other health problems.
> 
> I'm currently proof-reading _The Glass Mountain_ as my husband has formatted it. But I keep being distracted by things (like writing) ...


It was amazing how well my father-in-law recovered. He's in his late 80s too. I think the biggest problem of living longer is having all the health issues pile up in the last few years.

That's a job for speculative fiction: think of ways to avoid having the last five years be one constant round of doctor visits.


----------



## unkownwriter

Sandra, thanks for listing all the blog hops, starting with the newest. It makes updating my blog so easy!

Congratulations to all with new books out or with books almost ready. Wishing you big sales and good reviews.

I've got a little bit to do to have my short story collection (zombies, yum!) out, hope to be done by the end of the month -- though sooner would be better.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> It was amazing how well my father-in-law recovered. He's in his late 80s too. I think the biggest problem of living longer is having all the health issues pile up in the last few years.
> 
> That's a job for speculative fiction: think of ways to avoid having the last five years be one constant round of doctor visits.


Yes! It seems so unfair for the person concerned.

As I get older, I keep thinking of Logan's Run. When I saw it originally, the age of 30 seemed reasonably old. Now is seems pretty young.

Sheila - I second what you say about Sandra's blog hop list. Maybe I can tweet yours too?

Zombie shorts sound fun...


----------



## unkownwriter

JessieCar said:


> Sheila - I second what you say about Sandra's blog hop list. Maybe I can tweet yours too?
> 
> Zombie shorts sound fun...


You can tweet my list, if that's what you mean, but it's just a gadget where I go in and list the links. My entry in the blog hop won't be until August.

I love writing zombie stories. My brain seems to be tuned into them all the time, to the point I have recurring dreams about the zombie apocalypse. I really need to see if they would work into a logical story (they seem to be all in the same "world", but different scenarios).

Tell me I'm not the only one who looks at places while I'm out and about -- or that I see on TV -- and judge based on their suitability as a survival location?


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Tell me I'm not the only one who looks at places while I'm out and about -- or that I see on TV -- and judge based on their suitability as a survival location?


Well, I hadn't before now. But there's so much talk of the coming zombie apocolypse I should probably get my head out of the sand. (Note: cliche used with intent  )


----------



## heidi_g

Another great week on the Speculative Fiction showcase!

Vincent Trigili has released the next book in his Tales of Lost Power, Spectra's Gambit and his collection of the first three stories is on sale for $1.99
http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/spectras-gambit-lost-tales-of-power-by.html
Phronk has released Stars and Other Monsters which is an Urban Fantasy/Horror, with I'm guessing loads of dry humor? Correct me if I'm wrong on that Phronk!
http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/stars-and-other-monsters-by-phronk.html
And Elle Chamber's fantastically funny blog post on how she writes is up!!!
http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/elle-chambers-talks-about-how-she-writes.html

So... here is the cover I was so excited about! My husband created it with signifiant contributions from Jason Gurley. I really love it



Ouch! That came out rather enormous! Sorry!

My grandma had a stroke when she was 92, and recovered nicely. Much better than the doctors thought she would. However it was a rough 6 months following, since she'd lost a lot of speech, etc. She's passed now, but her recovery at the time was amazing. If I knew then what I know now, I would have plied her with coconut oil and mct oil


----------



## mphicks

Neat cover Heidi!


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## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Phronk has released Stars and Other Monsters which is an Urban Fantasy/Horror, with I'm guessing loads of dry humor? Correct me if I'm wrong on that Phronk!
> http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/stars-and-other-monsters-by-phronk.html


I'd say that's accurate! 

I kinda had trouble categorizing it. Urban fantasy with humour and horror? Horror with humour and urban fantasy? Satirical urban horror? Who knows. Amazon seems to think it's Horror > Humorous, which I'm fine with.

Thanks for the post, Heidi. And that cover is awesome! Congrats...I hope you have lots of success with it.


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## 68564

Is the blog hop still going and looking for suckers...err great authors to post?


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## Ancient Lawyer

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> You can tweet my list, if that's what you mean, but it's just a gadget where I go in and list the links. My entry in the blog hop won't be until August.


That was pretty much what I had in mind. It sounds like Wordpress has a useful widget that Blogger lacks. 

I'm very fond of Shaun of the Dead...


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

VydorScope said:


> Is the blog hop still going and looking for suckers...err great authors to post?


Absolutely! I think Heidi has got a running order somewhere. There are definitely gaps.


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## 68564

I will try to get something written and then ask for Heidi for a date.


----------



## AngryGames

Not that anyone cares (I certainly don't), but Friday & Saturday = all 15 of my titles are free, including my new book. I can't remember the names of anything I've written, but that's simply an indication of how forgetful/terrible they are. Since they aren't free in print format, you can't burn a bunch of them and send me a picture (I'd pay $20 for a pic of it, to be honest). But I'm sure you can find something terrible to do with the digital editions. 

Like never download them. 

That's what I'd do. 

Thanks, also, for the blog hop stop at my shack. I totally tried to ruin everything you built, but I'm a failure at that as well.


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## ElleChambers

Your cover is awesome, Heidi. And thanks for the shout!


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## Ancient Lawyer

AngryGames said:


> Not that anyone cares (I certainly don't), but Friday & Saturday = all 15 of my titles are free, including my new book.
> 
> Thanks, also, for the blog hop stop at my shack. I totally tried to ruin everything you built, but I'm a failure at that as well.


Thank you for the heads up. 

Heidi - just seen the cover, it's wonderful. And congratulations to Vincent, Phronk and Elle! I'm such a dur brain, I missed Heidi's post after the zombie discussion (headdesk). 

It's very reassuring to hear about your Gran, Heidi. My mother-in-law is 85. She had improved massively but then got worse again. I think they forgot one of her other problems, but hopefully they've picked that up now.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> I'm very fond of Shaun of the Dead...


I *love* Shaun of the Dead. So good.

On the topic of spec-fic movies--I saw 'The Rover' last weekend, and holy hell... best post-apoc movie I've seen. It's not for everyone (very minimalistic and bleak), but I found it captivating. Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson (yes, that Robert Pattinson) are both fantastic. I really wish there was a bigger audience for this sort of work.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I *love* Shaun of the Dead. So good.
> 
> On the topic of spec-fic movies--I saw 'The Rover' last weekend, and holy hell... best post-apoc movie I've seen. It's not for everyone (very minimalistic and bleak), but I found it captivating. Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson (yes, that Robert Pattinson) are both fantastic. I really wish there was a bigger audience for this sort of work.


That sounds interesting - must check it out! I loved 'Stalker' which was also very minimalistic and bleak. I just checked and it was made in 1979!


----------



## 68564

VydorScope said:


> I will try to get something written and then ask for Heidi for a date.


Got a rough draft done... and sent Heidi and email asking for a date. So y'all get to read some drivel soon if you so choose.


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## Ceinwen

That's a really lovely cover, Heidi! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Cherise

AngryGames said:


> Not that anyone cares (I certainly don't), but Friday & Saturday = all 15 of my titles are free, including my new book. I can't remember the names of anything I've written, but that's simply an indication of how forgetful/terrible they are. Since they aren't free in print format, you can't burn a bunch of them and send me a picture (I'd pay $20 for a pic of it, to be honest). But I'm sure you can find something terrible to do with the digital editions.
> 
> Like never download them.
> 
> That's what I'd do.
> 
> Thanks, also, for the blog hop stop at my shack. I totally tried to ruin everything you built, but I'm a failure at that as well.


You're insane!


----------



## unkownwriter

Sandra K. Williams said:


> Well, I hadn't before now. But there's so much talk of the coming zombie apocolypse I should probably get my head out of the sand. (Note: cliche used with intent  )


I've been doing it for a long time, though getting more of a "thing" now. I've always loved apocalyptic fiction since I read Alas, Babylon when I was 12 or so, and I wonder if it's warped my brain somehow. 



JessieCar said:


> That was pretty much what I had in mind. It sounds like Wordpress has a useful widget that Blogger lacks.


I'm using Blogger's link list gadget. Whenever Sandra posts an update, I just go in and enter it on the list, moving it down to keep the list in order (I hope). I'm keeping up with this stuff on my new multi-blog template for Scrivener. So cool.

Wordpress seems to have nifty stuff, but I haven't gotten around to checking them out again, so I'm still at the blogspot. 

Sorry to hear about those of you with ill family members. It's tough to see them hurting. We worry about my father having a stroke or heart attack due to the issues with his bone marrow disease, but so far he's doing well with just a little high blood pressure. He's 84, and his family seems to just live for a long time and die in their sleep. It's not unheard of for them to get to their mid-to-late 90s in otherwise fine health. I hope I inherited that.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

AngryGames said:


> Not that anyone cares (I certainly don't), but Friday & Saturday = all 15 of my titles are free, including my new book. I can't remember the names of anything I've written, but that's simply an indication of how forgetful/terrible they are. Since they aren't free in print format, you can't burn a bunch of them and send me a picture (I'd pay $20 for a pic of it, to be honest). But I'm sure you can find something terrible to do with the digital editions.
> 
> Like never download them.
> 
> That's what I'd do.
> 
> Thanks, also, for the blog hop stop at my shack. I totally tried to ruin everything you built, but I'm a failure at that as well.


Bahaha, this is the best promotion I've seen here. Apparently one of your titles is called Ability (Omnibus), so I got that one. Sounds exciting and mysterious. Who _is_ Omnibus?


----------



## AngryGames

Phronk said:


> Bahaha, this is the best promotion I've seen here. Apparently one of your titles is called Ability (Omnibus), so I got that one. Sounds exciting and mysterious. Who _is_ Omnibus?


Omnibus is French for "garbage pile". It's also a Germanic word, one that used to mean "burning tire fire" back in the days when the Romans were conquering what is now Western Europe, but in the modern age, it now means "fecal matter."

This is what my other personality (he's a language expert, or so he claims) told me when I was released from the mental health facility. I've learned to trust the other people hidden in my brain. They only come out when no one else is around. Or when someone is drinking a Shasta Cola.

Yeah. Blast from the past there, right? Shasta. I wanna pop pop pop pop pop, I wanna SHASTA!

*ahem*

What were we talking about?


----------



## KaryE

I just made finalist in the Writers of the Future contest. Again. I'm excited, but this is my third time now, so I'd really like to win it so I can get off the merry-go-round. 

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11963951.htm

Minder's Bond and Kikayon were my other two finalists, in case anyone's interested.


----------



## mphicks

KaryE said:


> I just made finalist in the Writers of the Future contest. Again. I'm excited, but this is my third time now, so I'd really like to win it so I can get off the merry-go-round.
> 
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11963951.htm
> 
> Minder's Bond and Kikayon were my other two finalists, in case anyone's interested.


Very cool news! Congrats, and good luck!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Thought I'd come and say Hi. As a consequence, you may have full use of my M41A Pulse Rifle.

I'm Lucas. My debut novel comes out in a few weeks and I was invited by a couple of authors here to come and take a look at the Speculative Fiction High Five Circle.

I'm about to quit my job and move to another country and write full-time. Exciting, challenging times. As my debut is not even out yet, I can hardly say what I "write", but I intend to write science-fiction with a dystopian slant, either in the near or far future, as well as general suspense with a speculative/sci-fi edge to it. The Twilight Zone might cover this latter category as an analogy. If I'm to be categorised, I guess spec-fic (which I see as a very broad category) is a good one for me. I don't intend to put myself in any sub-genre as I want to write different stuff. I agree with Edward W. Robertson - spec-fic is a category with many heads: a bit of a hydra, if you like. Essentially, there are degrees to the spectrum and a romance spec-fic reader might not like hard sci-fi stuff, but they may, so having single umbrella for a reader to wander around under is a good thing. It's all about making your blurb clear so the reader can chose. Many of the challenges of the setting will be similar beneath this huge umbrella even if the stories are not. Other than that, I am certainly not going to say something is, or is not, within a particular category. Readers will work that out. Get it wrong as far as they're concerned and they'll head off somewhere else. Fair enough.

So I'm officially introducing myself and jumping into the great idea I think this is. I did have one thought, though...

Advertising and Promoting Spec-Fic
There's a great site which S.Elliot Brandis is updating at the top of this thread - haven't had a chance to read through it all yet, but wouldn't a Guide to Promoting and Advertising Spec-Fic be a good idea for this site? And this thread? For my debut book, I have read around the area of discoverability (blog post on three very good books here: http://www.lucasbale.com/blog/2014/2/15/discoverability-and-marketing-are-essentially-the-same-thing-1) and set out a Pre-Launch strategy, Three-Days-Before-Launch strategy, Launch-Day strategy, and Post-Launch Strategy. Essentially, there are checklists of things I am doing right now, and intend to do, to get my launch to work, and to keep it going. It's all theory as this is my first book, but it might be an interesting read for anyone who fancies it.

I think we could all go into some detail and perhaps a stick post on the site I mentioned would help newcomers look professional and get noticed? Help us support each other and build a sense of community - continuing the work this thread has done?


----------



## Guest

I have not read through the entire thread, but "Shaun of the Dead" was mentioned.  The zom/rom/com is one of my favorites!  It's hilarious!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Joliedupre said:


> I have not read through the entire thread, but "Shaun of the Dead" was mentioned. The zom/rom/com is one of my favorites! It's hilarious!


It's hilarious. Classic British humour. It was on the other night and I just sat and let it wash over me with a beer and a smile.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

> Got a rough draft done... and sent Heidi and email asking for a date. So y'all get to read some drivel soon if you so choose.


Vincent - give us a heads up when the drivel is online 

Sheila - do understand the worry about your Dad. It sounds as though he comes of long-lived family!



> This is what my other personality (he's a language expert, or so he claims) told me when I was released from the mental health facility. I've learned to trust the other people hidden in my brain. They only come out when no one else is around. Or when someone is drinking a Shasta Cola.


AngryGames - that's almost just a little too spacy!



KaryE said:


> I just made finalist in the Writers of the Future contest. Again. I'm excited, but this is my third time now, so I'd really like to win it so I can get off the merry-go-round.
> 
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11963951.htm
> 
> Minder's Bond and Kikayon were my other two finalists, in case anyone's interested.


Congratulations! That's lovely news.



Lucas Bale said:


> I'm Lucas. My debut novel comes out in a few weeks and I was invited by a couple of authors here to come and take a look at the Speculative Fiction High Five Circle. ...
> 
> I'm about to quit my job and move to another country and write full-time. Exciting, challenging times. As my debut is not even out yet, I can hardly say what I "write", but I intend to write science-fiction with a dystopian slant, either in the near or far future, as well as general suspense with a speculative/sci-fi edge to it.


Lucas - forgive me, but you say you 'intend' to write spec fic, but your debut novel is being published in a few weeks? I don't understand.

JolieduPre - me too...


----------



## 68564

JessieCar said:


> Vincent - give us a heads up when the drivel is online


Heidi agree to a date but it is a ways off. August 18th. So the drivel might be a bitten rotten and stinky by then.


----------



## Lucas Bale

"Lucas - forgive me, but you say you 'intend' to write spec fic, but your debut novel is being published in a few weeks? I don't understand."

Jessicar - I think once I've published my first novel, and maybe written a few more, I'll consider myself "writing" in a genre. And that's my intention.


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## AmpersandBookInteriors

Speculative fiction thread? I'm here!

My partner and I write Dark fantasy, epic fantasy, sociological scifi,  and... Whatever Raventide is. 

There also tends to be non-traditional characters, gay characters, interracial relationships and a heavy dose of psychology and emotion. 

Shaun of the dead is a favorite movie, along with several japanese horror films from the early 2000s, and fantasy movies from the 70s and 80s. 

Bookmarking this thread for further consumption...


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## P.T. Phronk

RaventideBooks said:


> My partner and I write Dark fantasy, epic fantasy, sociological scifi, and... Whatever Raventide is.


That alone made me buy Raventide. Ambiguous genres for the win.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Phronk said:


> That alone made me buy Raventide. Ambiguous genres for the win.


Well, thank you! We're much obliged 

Too bad ambiguous genre isn't an option on Amazon <_<


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

VydorScope said:


> Heidi agree to a date but it is a ways off. August 18th. So the drivel might be a bitten rotten and stinky by then.


Oh noes! I think my drivel might be too. Euw...



Lucas Bale said:


> Jessicar - I think once I've published my first novel, and maybe written a few more, I'll consider myself "writing" in a genre. And that's my intention.


That's very impressive. A lot of hard work, but fun hopefully!



RaventideBooks said:


> non-traditional characters, gay characters, interracial relationships and a heavy dose of psychology and emotion.


This sounds very excellent.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

JessieCar- thank you very much! Its craziness


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Lucas Bale said:


> Thought I'd come and say Hi. As a consequence, you may have full use of my M41A Pulse Rifle.
> 
> I'm Lucas. My debut novel comes out in a few weeks and I was invited by a couple of authors here to come and take a look at the Speculative Fiction High Five Circle.
> 
> I'm about to quit my job and move to another country and write full-time. Exciting, challenging times. As my debut is not even out yet, I can hardly say what I "write", but I intend to write science-fiction with a dystopian slant, either in the near or far future, as well as general suspense with a speculative/sci-fi edge to it. The Twilight Zone might cover this latter category as an analogy. If I'm to be categorised, I guess spec-fic (which I see as a very broad category) is a good one for me. I don't intend to put myself in any sub-genre as I want to write different stuff. I agree with Edward W. Robertson - spec-fic is a category with many heads: a bit of a hydra, if you like. Essentially, there are degrees to the spectrum and a romance spec-fic reader might not like hard sci-fi stuff, but they may, so having single umbrella for a reader to wander around under is a good thing. It's all about making your blurb clear so the reader can chose. Many of the challenges of the setting will be similar beneath this huge umbrella even if the stories are not. Other than that, I am certainly not going to say something is, or is not, within a particular category. Readers will work that out. Get it wrong as far as they're concerned and they'll head off somewhere else. Fair enough.
> 
> So I'm officially introducing myself and jumping into the great idea I think this is. I did have one thought, though...
> 
> Advertising and Promoting Spec-Fic
> There's a great site which S.Elliot Brandis is updating at the top of this thread -- haven't had a chance to read through it all yet, but wouldn't a Guide to Promoting and Advertising Spec-Fic be a good idea for this site? And this thread? For my debut book, I have read around the area of discoverability (blog post on three very good books here: http://www.lucasbale.com/blog/2014/2/15/discoverability-and-marketing-are-essentially-the-same-thing-1) and set out a Pre-Launch strategy, Three-Days-Before-Launch strategy, Launch-Day strategy, and Post-Launch Strategy. Essentially, there are checklists of things I am doing right now, and intend to do, to get my launch to work, and to keep it going. It's all theory as this is my first book, but it might be an interesting read for anyone who fancies it.
> 
> I think we could all go into some detail and perhaps a stick post on the site I mentioned would help newcomers look professional and get noticed? Help us support each other and build a sense of community -- continuing the work this thread has done?


Welcome, Lucas!

I saw your book on Goodreads. Very pretty cover. Sounds interesting, too.

Quitting your job before you've published is a huge jump. I'd be interested in hearing the background behind it... Good luck.

All credit for the website goes to Heidi G.


----------



## unkownwriter

JessieCar said:


> Sheila - do understand the worry about your Dad. It sounds as though he comes of long-lived family!


Yeah, I'm continually amazed at how long they live, and how good their health is, with mental facilities intact. I truly hope I can do the same, as I have lots of books to write, and I've gotten a late start. 

I remember my brother and I going with Daddy to visit _his_ grandma when I was about six or seven. She was in her nineties, and lived with her brother, also in his nineties.

Lucas, come on now. No "intend" about it, dude! You're writing. Welcome to the thread, it's fun here, what with AngryGames getting all philosophical and such. 

Welcome Raventide, glad to see you here. Katy, welcome and congrats being a finalist in the WotF -- I remember when that started, I always intended to send in stories but never did.


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Welcome, Lucas!
> 
> I saw your book on Goodreads. Very pretty cover. Sounds interesting, too.
> 
> Quitting your job before you've published is a huge jump. I'd be interested in hearing the background behind it... Good luck.
> 
> All credit for the website goes to Heidi G.


My fiancée and I are uprooting and moving to another country where I cannot continue my current career (which is no great loss). So I had to find something else to do for a living. I am already a freelance writer, and have been for around 18 months now, and have a long-term retainer with a magazine (it's not a huge amount, but it gives me a little breathing space). Thus, the risk, while always there, is not quite as significant as it would be were I alone and fending for myself. We have savings and I am well-used to hard work and long hours. We'll see what happens - I'll never know unless I take the chance.


----------



## SB James

I suppose Steampunk DOES fall into the Speculative Fiction category, doesn't it?
Therefore, I suppose I ought to throw myself into this group as well. Not sure why I didn't before...
I published my first book back in May, the second one (which is really a prologue) just a week ago.
I'm not a big reader of dystopian zombie books, though I may just have zombies in my next book, because, ZOMBIES!
Are there any other Steampunk authors here? I'm sorry I didn't go through all 24 pages to get to this one.


----------



## mphicks

Hey all,

Hopefully you don't mind me trying to solicit some feedback and critiquing on a blurb here, but I'd really appreciate some comments on this to let me know if I'm on the right track or not.

I've been working on a short horror story, which is a bit Lovecraftian/Cthulhu by way of Hannibal + Food Network. I'm planning on releasing _Consumption_ in October, so check out the blurb below and let me know your thoughts.

*You Are*

Six guests have been invited to a blind twelve-course tasting menu by renowned, yet reclusive, Chef Marcus Schauer. With snow blanketing the valley surrounding the Swiss manor, the guests feast eagerly, attempting to guess at the secret tastes plated before them.

*What You Eat*

As they eat, each guest is overtaken by carnal appetites, unaware of the savage plans of their host for the evening&#8230;or of the creature lurking below. One thing is clear: There is more on the menu than any of them have bargained for.

*Meat Is Murder*

_Consumption_ is a 12,000 word (approx.) short story. It contains graphic depictions of sex and violence, and is intended for mature audiences.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/

David's a proud pantser. (Yay discovery writers!) The way he collects his ideas sounds like a great idea.

And previous posts...

Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## unkownwriter

The blurb seems to be on the right track, Michael.

Welcome to the thread, S B James. I'm sure there are some other steampunk folks around, and they'll be along directly. I've got an idea for a steampunk romance novel, but no idea when I'll be able to get to it.

My writing news is that I think I've got all the stories finished for my zombie horror collection. I ended up with eight, which includes some new stuff (one I got the idea for while reading this thread a little while back) and some previously published.

Now I need to work on the cover (can't find the original image I wanted anymore, so I'm looking around at stuff), finish the story intros, a general book intro, write the blurb, and other fun stuff. 

I'm hoping for a release date before the end of the month, or if not then on July 1, it's my parents' wedding anniversary. I'm sure there's no better gift than a book about zombies, am I right?  

edited because:  stupid typo


----------



## mphicks

Thanks, Shelia! Congrats on getting the compilation sorted. Let us know when it's available. 

And welcome to the board SB James!


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## unkownwriter

mphicks said:


> Thanks, Shelia! Congrats on getting the compilation sorted. Let us know when it's available.


You're welcome! 

I've been fiddling with story arrangement a little this morning. I don't want all the shorter stories in one place and the longer ones in another, if that makes sense. I've decided to put the one I mentioned above first, and alternate length. That way the Look Inside will have a good amount of words.

Now I've just got to get the cover sorted out, write the blurb, finish the intros, and see how it compiles (have I mentioned how much I'm loving Scrivener?).

I'm debating on doing a print version, though I guess I might as well. I need to see how many pages it will be. The book might be too short.


----------



## mphicks

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> You're welcome!
> 
> I've been fiddling with story arrangement a little this morning. I don't want all the shorter stories in one place and the longer ones in another, if that makes sense. I've decided to put the one I mentioned above first, and alternate length. That way the Look Inside will have a good amount of words.


Makes sense to me! I think by alternating length, you get a better rhythm with the content and, as a reader, it can make things a bit more digestible. I'm a big fan of the variable approach, rather than lumping the book into halves based on word length parameters. And smart thinking on the Look Inside feature; you definitely want to give potential buyers a good sampling and put your best story up front.

I haven't used Scrivener yet. It's a piece of software that's on my wish-list, but I never quite get around to... Maybe the next time they have a good sale, I might spring for it. It definitely sounds handy for short story compilations.


----------



## unkownwriter

mphicks said:


> Makes sense to me! I think by alternating length, you get a better rhythm with the content and, as a reader, it can make things a bit more digestible. I'm a big fan of the variable approach, rather than lumping the book into halves based on word length parameters. And smart thinking on the Look Inside feature; you definitely want to give potential buyers a good sampling and put your best story up front.
> 
> I haven't used Scrivener yet. It's a piece of software that's on my wish-list, but I never quite get around to... Maybe the next time they have a good sale, I might spring for it. It definitely sounds handy for short story compilations.


Yep, break where the story feels right, not where the word count may lead you. Most work has a natural rhythm, anyway, so why fight it?

I hope the stories intrigue people enough to try the book. I'm up to nine stories now, after getting one of those flashes of brilliance(TM) for a story idea I had floating around. I'm thinking I should try for an even ten stories -- and with luck the next one will be a bit longer so I can get the word count up to about 25K. 

Many people will donate their coupons from NaNo (50% off!) if they don't need them or want them. Or you could participate yourself. That's what I was going to do, but other stuff got in the way; a kind forum member gave me his coupon and my son bought the program for my birthday earlier this year. I'm loving the program more and more, learning curve and all.


----------



## heidi_g

Michael, get Scrivener, you will love it!!!!

SB James, Steampunk is definitely Speculative Fiction!

Raventide, welcome!

Vincent, yes, got you in the schedule. And The Writing Process Blog Tour Speculative Blog Hop is scheduled through the end of August, I'll probably be putting shout outs for September and later at the end of July-ish.

Sandra, thank you so much for keeping up with the Monday posts here on this thread!

Elliott, thanks for the nod on the Spec Fic showcase. I would like to plead for any new releases in July! We don't have any yet! Contact me at [email protected] if you have one!

Lucas, thanks for checking out the showcase. Right now, I don't want to put any marketing tips on the site as the intended audience is readers. Sorry, but I think there's tons of great info available on marketing. If that's not what you were talking about in the comments, then I completely misunderstood! But glad you're here, you're move sounds exciting, and congratulations on the release of your upcoming debut.

Angry Games, Gosh! Sorry I missed that promo! I hope it went well.

Jessie, yes, keep the faith for your MIL, sometimes they can still amaze us. BTW, I don't think I ever got your email for the blog tour. I'll need it at some point to send you the detailed instructions. You can pm me with it, if you like.

Michael, Phronk, Elle, Ceinwen, thanks on the positive feedback on that cover. It is absolutely my favorite one to date.


----------



## heidi_g

Not that this would be some final blurb but just played with the wording to generate some fresh ideas!



mphicks said:


> *You Are*
> 
> Reclusive Chef Marcus Shauer welcomes six gourmands to his manor. The event: A blind twelve-course tasting menu.
> 
> *What You Eat*
> 
> While snow blankets the isolated Swiss valley surrounding his estate, the six guests feast eagerly. Their challenge: Guess the secret tastes plated before them.
> 
> *Meat Is Murder*
> 
> Rather than satisfying hunger or palate, each course spurs insatiable carnal appetite. One thing is clear: There is more on the menu than any of the diners have bargained for.
> 
> _Consumption_ is a 12,000 word (approx.) short story. It contains graphic depictions of sex and violence, and is intended for mature audiences.


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> Not that this would be some final blurb but just played with the wording to generate some fresh ideas!


Thank you, Heidi! That's awesome, and pretty damn punchy. I also like your formatting of it quite a bit better, so don't be surprised if I steal some of this.  Time to put my thinking cap back on for a bit.


----------



## AngryGames

Angry Christians (or other faiths) haven't demanded my excommunication or execution (or torture) yet, so I'm gonna say the promo went well. 

If you see me on CNN (scratch that, CNN is still trying to find the missing Malaysian airplane) or other major news networks, you'll know that my promo went from well to extremely unpleasant quickly. 

(actually, I'm hoping that Bill Donahue dude from The Catholic League starts ranting and raving and calling for my book to be banned... I mean, is there anyone here who WOULDN'T want their book to show up on a 'banned reading' list)

also: Scrivener

(that's all that needs to be said about Scrivener. I'm Travis Hill and I approve this message)


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Thank you to everyone who said, 'welcome!' There are 25 pages of this thread and I'm still trying to wade my way through it. <_<


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'm featured on the showcase today! Thanks, Heidi.

AngryGames--I think its harder to offend people than we think. When I published I was worried about profanity, as I have a character drop the c-bomb, and violence. Neither have been mentioned in any of my reviews so far, or anywhere, really.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sorry - rather behind here, to say the least!

Sandra - will also update my blog with a link to David Pagan to boost the signal.

Heidi - I've sent you a PM.

Sheila - that's sounding good. You must be very excited.

SBJames - hello - I'm steampunk too - sort of...


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'm featured on the showcase today! Thanks, Heidi.
> 
> AngryGames--I think its harder to offend people than we think. When I published I was worried about profanity, as I have a character drop the c-bomb, and violence. Neither have been mentioned in any of my reviews so far, or anywhere, really.


If you properly target your book, you are less likely to offend someone regardless of the materail.


----------



## unkownwriter

JessieCar said:


> Sheila - that's sounding good. You must be very excited.


Excited to finally be putting something out after so long (I'm not counting the two anthologies I'm in), also nervous and already angsting about sales.

Heidi, I'm looking at a release date of July 1, so I'll send the details along to you.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

VydorScope said:


> If you properly target your book, you are less likely to offend someone regardless of the materail.


I have to confess that my books have quite a lot of swearing as my characters swear. I don't use the c-word but not because of striking attitudes. 

S. Eliot Brandis - I'm very behind but will go over and tweet you on the showcase.

Sheila - totally understand about the nerves. 1st July sounds like a good date though!


----------



## heidi_g

Hey all, this weekend on the showcase it was:

The release of my collection of three short fairy tales: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-girl-who-believed-in-fairy-tales-by.html
S. Elliott Brandis talks about how he writes: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/s-elliott-brandis-talks-about-how-he.html
Jason has his very exciting release day today of _Eleanor_, it's already got more than a 100 reviews on Amazon! http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/eleanor-by-jason-gurley.html

Sheila, Yes! Please send me the info about your new release! So far, I don't have much for July!!!! Also, if anyone wants to do a guest post to showcase something that's already been released, please do. Just keep it on the topic of Speculative Fiction That shouldn't be too hard!

Michael, glad if the blurb ideas helped!


----------



## mphicks

So, I came across this today - scifi author Kameron Hurley has compiled a bunch of her essays and blog posts, including her Hugo nominated blog post "We Have Always Fought," for which the title of this collection comes from, into an eBook and is giving it away for free until Aug. 17. While this promotion does not currently apply to Nook and Kindle, both .epub and .mobi file are available on Smashwords, or you can get the PDF direct from her.

Hurley writes:


> Why put this collection together now? This project started out as shameless promotion, a tie-in to go with the Hugo nomination. But the more I looked at the essays I've been writing the last 2-3 years in particular, the more I realized how many of the posts I was writing fit into larger conversations happening in the science fiction and fantasy genre. We are a small community, all told, but the stories we write, the worlds we create, upstream often to major media channels - to movies, to comics, to TV - and various Comic-Cons have grown so large as to become forces of nature.
> 
> What we create here now - and what we talk about, what we deem to be important - is a good bellweather for both wider cultural shifts and the types of stories that will flood the internet and airwaves in five, ten, twenty years.
> 
> What we talk about is important. What we write about&#8230; is important.


I haven't had the chance to read it yet (and given my TBR piles at the moment, probably won't get to it for some time), but thought it could be of value or interest to some of the spec fic writers here. I'm certainly looking forward to reading it, and may have to shuffle some of my plans around to accommodate it.

Anyway, go check it out: We Have Always Fought.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks for the pointer, Michael. "We have always fought" is a great essay. And while I don't always agree with her, I always find it interesting what Kameron Hurley has to say.


----------



## SB James

Thank you all for the welcomes. I've been a bum and haven't been to this thread lately  .
I'm not feeling up to writing tonight (too much wine  ) so I'm catching up here.
I'm really starting to feel at home here.


----------



## Lucas Bale

mphicks said:


> So, I came across this today - scifi author Kameron Hurley has compiled a bunch of her essays and blog posts, including her Hugo nominated blog post "We Have Always Fought," for which the title of this collection comes from, into an eBook and is giving it away for free until Aug. 17. While this promotion does not currently apply to Nook and Kindle, both .epub and .mobi file are available on Smashwords, or you can get the PDF direct from her.
> 
> Hurley writes:
> I haven't had the chance to read it yet (and given my TBR piles at the moment, probably won't get to it for some time), but thought it could be of value or interest to some of the spec fic writers here. I'm certainly looking forward to reading it, and may have to shuffle some of my plans around to accommodate it.
> 
> Anyway, go check it out: We Have Always Fought.


I had a quick glance at this and certainly it seems interesting. Thanks for the heads up Michael.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I have to ask, Lucas--I just grabbed a free-copy of 'The Heretic' from your website, and the book is copyright 2012. Have you been holding on to this for a while?


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I have to ask, Lucas--I just grabbed a free-copy of 'The Heretic' from your website, and the book is copyright 2012. Have you been holding on to this for a while?


No, that's a typo. Thanks. I'll amend that. I doubt it will disturb your enjoyment of the book ;-)


----------



## unkownwriter

So, I've been working on a cover for the story collection. I've gone back and forth on what look I want (mainly wanted a zombie on it), but decided on something more generic.

Taking into account that I have zero funds to buy stock art or even go the Fiverr route, this is what I've come up with:

















Version 1, with tag and author name getting a glow/drop shadow effect.

















Version 2, changed the font colors and got rid of glow/shadow.

I'm not done I don't think, as there are more adjustments or layers I can do, change fonts, color, etc., but this is the basic idea I'm going for. Suggestions? Thoughts?

I need to do a practice compile today or tomorrow, in .mobi and epub. I'm not doing a print version because this comes out to about 75 pages. At least I got a cover I can live with in progress. It's been a long time since I published anything, and my nerves are about shot. 

~~~ Wow, those are huge, even at half-size. Sorry about that! ~~~


----------



## unkownwriter

A bit better now:


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

The author name might work better in white.

ETA: Responding to Sheila's cover.


----------



## unkownwriter

Sandra K. Williams said:


> The author name might work better in white.
> 
> ETA: Responding to Sheila's cover.


After I'd taken a long look at the covers after I posted them here, I wondered the same thing! What about the tag line, white also? White would work, since it's already there on the cover. Oh well, I'll work on that tomorrow.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:

http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/

As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


----------



## tknite

CoraBuhlert said:


> The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> 
> As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


Thanks, Cora! Shared!


----------



## Geoff Jones

> The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> 
> As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


Rats, I wish I'd known! Is it too late to get added in for June? Thirty books would make a nice round number! (I published in very late May.) 

Geoff


----------



## P.T. Phronk

CoraBuhlert said:


> The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> 
> As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


Hey there's my book! Thanks Cora. I'll share the round-up all over the place tomorrow.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks for the shares, Phronk and Therin. Hope you get a bit of attention and maybe sales out of this.

Geoff, I'll include your book in the July round-up, even if it's a late May book. Because it's got dinosaurs and dinosaurs are cool.


----------



## Kristopia

heidi_g said:


> So I was working on my next fairy tale retelling... it's going to be a retelling of Han's Christian Andersen's _The Dryad_... and it went all dystopian on me... very exciting...


Sounds like great fun  I'd totally read that.


----------



## unkownwriter

Cora, I'll let you know when my zombie short story collection is up (hopefully live tomorrow). As usual, a nice listing of Spec Fic titles!


----------



## SB James

The glowing text is  , so the second cover is better. Make the author name white instead of green and I think you're pretty good. The green tagline is fine because it's the same color as the signs and against the blue sky, so it's visible. For some reason that green doesn't show up as well on the bottom.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Hey all, this weekend on the showcase it was:
> 
> The release of my collection of three short fairy tales: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-girl-who-believed-in-fairy-tales-by.html
> S. Elliott Brandis talks about how he writes: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/s-elliott-brandis-talks-about-how-he.html
> Jason has his very exciting release day today of _Eleanor_, it's already got more than a 100 reviews on Amazon! http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/06/eleanor-by-jason-gurley.html


Heidi - congratulations on the short stories! I have tweeted and, er, facebooked (is that a verb?) some of these and will continue.

Michael - thanks for the link, will check out the Kameron Hurley.

Sheila - I tend to agree about the fonts and lettering. I would make the signposts smaller relative to the background, and also put the author's name in a different colour. What do you think? (Sorry to hear about the nerves. Sympathies!)



CoraBuhlert said:


> The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> 
> As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


Cora - done. I am probably going to have a new(ish) work of speculative fiction coming out in July. I hope! It's not far off done but we keep getting interruptions. Should I send you a PM? (looks worried)


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> 
> As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


Will do, and my book 2 is prolly coming out in August.


----------



## Kristopia

CoraBuhlert said:


> The Indie Speculative Fiction Round-up for June is up, featuring a stunning 29 books, many of them by KBers, so check it out:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/06/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-june-2014/
> 
> As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated. And if you've got a new work of speculative fiction coming out in July, let me know.


Hey, my story, "Fallen Down World" is on there!   Thanks much. Sharing everywhere...


----------



## Geoff Jones

> Geoff, I'll include your book in the July round-up, even if it's a late May book. Because it's got dinosaurs and dinosaurs are cool.


Thanks! Let me know if you need anything from me.

Geoff


----------



## Cherise

VydorScope said:


> If you properly target your book, you are less likely to offend someone regardless of the materail.


Yay for Vincent's new book covers!


----------



## 68564

Cherise Kelley said:


> Yay for Vincent's new book covers!


  Thanks! I have had them for a bit now, but just today to updating my sig here.


----------



## heidi_g

Hey all since it's June 30, and I've been having trouble keeping up with the posts on the Speculative Fiction Showcase  I'm going to put it *officially* on hold as of July 1. I'll announce the winner of the gift card tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's participated! And I'm sorry to pull the plug so shortly.

It was an optimistic and worthwhile experiment!!!!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks for the likes, shares, tweets, etc..., everyone.

Jessie and Sheila, send me a PM with the Amazon link, when your books are available.

Geoff, I've got everything I need, thanks.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Hey all since it's June 30, and I've been having trouble keeping up with the posts on the Speculative Fiction Showcase  I'm going to put it *officially* on hold as of July 1. I'll announce the winner of the gift card tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's participated! And I'm sorry to pull the plug so shortly.
> 
> It was an optimistic and worthwhile experiment!!!!


It was fun while it lasted! Thanks Heidi. Hopefully our high five circle can continue. We can always use more high fives.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Hey all since it's June 30, and I've been having trouble keeping up with the posts on the Speculative Fiction Showcase  I'm going to put it *officially* on hold as of July 1. I'll announce the winner of the gift card tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's participated! And I'm sorry to pull the plug so shortly.
> 
> It was an optimistic and worthwhile experiment!!!!


Totally understand, Heidi - it's an awful lot to do on top of writing, day job and everything else. Thank you very much for all the hard work you have put into it. 

Will the Writing Process blog tour continue?


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> Hey all since it's June 30, and I've been having trouble keeping up with the posts on the Speculative Fiction Showcase  I'm going to put it *officially* on hold as of July 1. I'll announce the winner of the gift card tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's participated! And I'm sorry to pull the plug so shortly.
> 
> It was an optimistic and worthwhile experiment!!!!


Sorry to hear, Heidi, but totally understandable! It's a lot of work to keep up with. Let us know when/if it resumes. At least it had a terrific run while it was alive!


----------



## mphicks

Not sure how relevant it may be to all of you, but the Smashwords Summer Sale kicked off today and runs through July 31. I've enrolled my book, but Smashwords has really been my lowest producing outlet so we'll see what happens...

Anyone else taking part?


----------



## 68564

mphicks said:


> Not sure how relevant it may be to all of you, but the Smashwords Summer Sale kicked off today and runs through July 31. I've enrolled my book, but Smashwords has really been my lowest producing outlet so we'll see what happens...
> 
> Anyone else taking part?


Yea, I tossed my bundle in at 75% off. In the first few years that sale was a huge boost at Smash, but last year it really was not very exciting so I am less optimistic this year.


----------



## ElleChambers

heidi_g said:


> Hey all since it's June 30, and I've been having trouble keeping up with the posts on the Speculative Fiction Showcase  I'm going to put it *officially* on hold as of July 1. I'll announce the winner of the gift card tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's participated! And I'm sorry to pull the plug so shortly.
> 
> It was an optimistic and worthwhile experiment!!!!


Thanks for all of the work you put into it! I had a good time and discovered a bunch of writers I'd never heard of before. I'd count that as a win.


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Hey all since it's June 30, and I've been having trouble keeping up with the posts on the Speculative Fiction Showcase  I'm going to put it *officially* on hold as of July 1. I'll announce the winner of the gift card tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's participated! And I'm sorry to pull the plug so shortly.
> 
> It was an optimistic and worthwhile experiment!!!!


Sorry it proved to be too much for you - thanks for all you did! It is greatly appreciated!


----------



## heidi_g

Vydorscope,Elle, Jessie, Michael, & Phronk, THANKS SO MUCH!!! It totally was fun!!!!

Jessie, yes! The Writing Process Blog Tour is full through the last Monday in August. I'll kind of figure out then whether or not I can keep it going after that.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Vydorscope,Elle, Jessie, Michael, & Phronk, THANKS SO MUCH!!! It totally was fun!!!!
> 
> Jessie, yes! The Writing Process Blog Tour is full through the last Monday in August. I'll kind of figure out then whether or not I can keep it going after that.


Yay! (Does happy dance)


----------



## unkownwriter

Just popping in to catch up! Doing a final proofread of the stories, ready to do a compile. I had some trouble compiling at first, but I found a blog with some straight-forward instructions for Scrivener for Word and things went smoothly after that.

I've redone the cover (started over and did a better job cloning out the original street names) and I think it's looking a lot better. I'll post a pic later, don't have time to resize it right now.

Heidi, sorry to hear the web site was too much, maybe somebody can help with that down the road?

Still plan to upload today, maybe a couple more hours. Back to work!


----------



## unkownwriter

Well, it's live! What a long haul this one was. Between doing stuff around the house, my mother having some sort of health issue, and helping my brother with building something for the chickens, I kept getting pulled away from working on the book. I did the cover over (never got around to making a small version to put up here, though), made some glyphs to use as separators between the stories, and fiddled with everything inside the book until it looked good.

Then I had to deal with getting the formatting set up, which was ridiculously easy once I found the right instructions. Of course, I forgot all about needing the copyright thing for Smashwords (never did put the Kindle stuff in -- don't tell anybody!). Smashwords also said my cover was wrong, and I knew better, so I just uploaded the same file and it went through. Then I found out that uploading the epub won't convert to other formats, so I had to make a .doc file and upload _that_. I got to tell you, Scrivener can compile in literally seconds. Amazing.

Amazon took a long time to upload the cover and the file, too, and then it said I had six spelling errors (fixed five and let the other one go). I've compiled this book so many times I had a hard time remembering which one I was supposed to upload. My Recycle Bin is packed full!

Geeze, all this took forever! But it's my own fault for not taking care of things earlier, and forgetting how to do stuff. I'd gotten pretty good at uploading, and now I feel like I'm starting over. 

But it's done, and now I can start on my goal of getting 1400 + words a day until the end of the year. I want to finish at least three books (one a rewrite and the others partially finished) before the end of the year. I feel like I'll be catching up after the last two years, which I really need because I started this journey in 2011, and folks that started around the same time are way ahead of me in number of books out and sales.

Whew!


----------



## mphicks

Congrats Sheila! And good work on the final cover art, too; the white fonts and vignetting give it a much more balanced feel. Nice job; hope the sales go well.


----------



## heidi_g

Sheila,

Congratulations!!!!! I do like what you did with the cover and have tweeted it:

Love Zombies? Maybe Zombie Town should be your summer destination! A collection of Zombie Shorts by Griffin Carmichael http://ow.ly/yI8WH

And 1-Clicked!!!!

BTW I think you've got a great pseudonym!

Actually, if anyone would ever want to help down the road, that would be AWESOME!!!!! I was getting ready to sit down to create the July giveaway and I just got completely overwhelmed


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Congratulations, Sheila. The cover looks tons better. Will prob do a tweety thing too 

I hope the health thing with your Mum is sorted. It sounds rather like me flailing around in chaos over here.

Heidi - I may be able to help...can't promise but let's see.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Sheila- I like that version much better than what you'd posted. The filtering/lighting and change in sign helped a lot with depth and atmosphere... not to mention making the text easier to read.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

And here's this week's Writing Process entry. You'll have to read it to learn how many novels Nic has going at one time. Hint: A lot.

Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop

And previous posts...

David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## Ceinwen

Congrats, Sheila! The final cover looks great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## heidi_g

JessieCar said:


> Heidi - I may be able to help...can't promise but let's see.


Very cool! But, yes, let's see! I have two first drafts I need to finish by August 1, so let's see sometime after that!!!! Maybe restarting in the fall, September or some time around there might make sense. However, I think if it doesn't work out, it's pretty much all good But thank you for considering!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Hilarious quirk of fate.

I have been building up to launch day on Monday 7th July. My mailing list (remember this is my debut novel), numbers 70-odd. My blog is reasonably well-thumbed (around 1,000 hits each month for only a handful of posts). I have a few guest posts coming up for next week, a Goodreads Giveaway running, 6 reviews on GR already and I am poised to stagger my launch across a few days.

So I uploaded my book today to download a copy for myself to check and make sure the listings looked right, get the categories sorted, join the paperback and ebook versions and so on. Remember, no one knows it's on there.

Yet I've had a handful of sales already today and...

#26,412 in the UK Kindle Store and #57 in Kindle Store > Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Colonisation.

It did make me laugh - didn't think anyone would even see it there before I started making some noise about it. I guess the UK store just isn't as hard to get onto the lists.

Only thing annoying me now is I cannot get it to stay at 99p...


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Congrats! That's an awesome start.

My only question is: HOW?

I've been making quite a bit of noise (or at least as much as I can without feeling like an a-hole), and I'm pretty sure the only people who've bought my book and signed up to my mailing list are my close friends and family.

Which is just fine; I didn't expect much from a debut novel. But seeing that it's possible to inadvertently get strangers to see a book, I'm curious as to how that can happen.


----------



## mphicks

Lucas Bale said:


> Hilarious quirk of fate.
> 
> I have been building up to launch day on Monday 7th July. My mailing list (remember this is my debut novel), numbers 70-odd. My blog is reasonably well-thumbed (around 1,000 hits each month for only a handful of posts). I have a few guest posts coming up for next week, a Goodreads Giveaway running, 6 reviews on GR already and I am poised to stagger my launch across a few days.
> 
> So I uploaded my book today to download a copy for myself to check and make sure the listings looked right, get the categories sorted, join the paperback and ebook versions and so on. Remember, no one knows it's on there.
> 
> Yet I've had a handful of sales already today and...
> 
> #26,412 in the UK Kindle Store and #57 in Kindle Store > Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Colonisation.
> 
> It did make me laugh - didn't think anyone would even see it there before I started making some noise about it. I guess the UK store just isn't as hard to get onto the lists.
> 
> Only thing annoying me now is I cannot get it to stay at 99p...


Way to go! Sounds like things are off to a good start.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra - thanks for the writing process blog hop update. I'll try to put that on my blog and tweet links etc.

Heidi - that sounds like a really great idea. I'm hoping to do some work on my wip once we've published the second book in the series.

Lucas - that's pretty impressive!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Phronk said:


> Congrats! That's an awesome start.
> 
> My only question is: HOW?
> 
> I've been making quite a bit of noise (or at least as much as I can without feeling like an a-hole), and I'm pretty sure the only people who've bought my book and signed up to my mailing list are my close friends and family.
> 
> Which is just fine; I didn't expect much from a debut novel. But seeing that it's possible to inadvertently get strangers to see a book, I'm curious as to how that can happen.


Not a clue! Remember this is the UK store which I imagine is smaller.

Apart from the promotional work I did leading up to the book's launch - building anticipation within my mailing list (which I have been building for about three or four months), getting ARC copies out and reviews on GR, blogging about it, tweeting about it (and like you Phronk, I hate being 'in-your'face' when tweeting), I've not done much else. I've got launch-day and post-launch plans but nothing that should have come online yet! The only thing which might explain it is my other half told some friends at work about it in passing. It might be some of them? The power of word of mouth! It's not exactly my plan as the launch will be monday 7th and I wanted to get some traction going, but hey - it's a start!


----------



## unkownwriter

mphicks said:


> Congrats Sheila! And good work on the final cover art, too; the white fonts and vignetting give it a much more balanced feel. Nice job; hope the sales go well.


Thanks, Michael. I got some good advice here about the cover, and it seems I did it right. Yay! 



heidi_g said:


> Sheila,
> 
> Congratulations!!!!! I do like what you did with the cover and have tweeted it:
> 
> Love Zombies? Maybe Zombie Town should be your summer destination! A collection of Zombie Shorts by Griffin Carmichael http://ow.ly/yI8WH
> 
> And 1-Clicked!!!!
> 
> BTW I think you've got a great pseudonym!


Oh, Heidi, that's so nice of you. Thank You!

I've had that name picked out since I was a teenager (actually have a first name to go with it, Margaret), had always planned to change my name when I was 18 but never got around to it. Glad I can finally use it.



JessieCar said:


> Congratulations, Sheila. The cover looks tons better. Will prob do a tweety thing too
> 
> I hope the health thing with your Mum is sorted. It sounds rather like me flailing around in chaos over here.


Thanks, Jessie! My mother had some tests done the other day, and has been given an appointment for an MRI. Her blood pressure was fine, and the cardiologist has no idea what could be going on, so he wants a better look (EKG was fine as well).

Yep, life can be rather chaotic, eh? 



Ceinwen L. said:


> Congrats, Sheila! The final cover looks great!


Thanks also, Ceinwen!



Lucas Bale said:


> #26,412 in the UK Kindle Store and #57 in Kindle Store > Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Colonisation.


That's an awesome way to start, Lucas! That pre-launch work paid off already. 

I'm so grateful for this thread. You guys are wonderful and so supportive, I just can't say enough. Thanks again!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Lucas and Sheila, good luck for your new releases. I'll add your books to the July indie spec fic of the month round-up.


----------



## Guest

Lucas Bale said:


> Not a clue! Remember this is the UK store which I imagine is smaller.
> 
> Apart from the promotional work I did leading up to the book's launch - building anticipation within my mailing list (which I have been building for about three or four months), getting ARC copies out and reviews on GR, blogging about it, tweeting about it (and like you Phronk, I hate being 'in-your'face' when tweeting), I've not done much else.


Excuse me, but that's a lot! LOL! I'm not sure why you're downplaying the excellent promotion you've done so far. Great job, and congrats on the success of your book so far!


----------



## WDR

Phronk said:


> Congrats! That's an awesome start.
> 
> My only question is: HOW?
> 
> I've been making quite a bit of noise (or at least as much as I can without feeling like an a-hole), and I'm pretty sure the only people who've bought my book and signed up to my mailing list are my close friends and family.
> 
> Which is just fine; I didn't expect much from a debut novel. But seeing that it's possible to inadvertently get strangers to see a book, I'm curious as to how that can happen.


*Lucas:* Congrats! Nothing like a good strong start to buoy your spirits!

*Phronk:* I had the same question of my own stuff. I actually had a reader contact me and explain how he found my story: by following the "Just Released" list. There are people who check daily for the newest of the new and jump on it as quickly as possible. I already had over dozen sold before I even knew that my book was available.


----------



## Lucas Bale

WDR said:


> *Lucas:* Congrats! Nothing like a good strong start to buoy your spirits!
> 
> *Phronk:* I had the same question of my own stuff. I actually had a reader contact me and explain how he found my story: by following the "Just Released" list. There are people who check daily for the newest of the new and jump on it as quickly as possible. I already had over dozen sold before I even knew that my book was available.


Crazy - now up to #14 on the Kindle Store Hard Science Fiction list. #7,212 overall. THIS IS THE UK THOUGH!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Joliedupre said:


> Excuse me, but that's a lot! LOL! I'm not sure why you're downplaying the excellent promotion you've done so far. Great job, and congrats on the success of your book so far!


I wasn't intending to downplay it - I just thought that's what needed to be done! So I went and did it.

Thanks so much for all your support! I'm obviously really enjoying the fact that readers are seeing my book!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

WDR said:


> *Lucas:* Congrats! Nothing like a good strong start to buoy your spirits!
> 
> *Phronk:* I had the same question of my own stuff. I actually had a reader contact me and explain how he found my story: by following the "Just Released" list. There are people who check daily for the newest of the new and jump on it as quickly as possible. I already had over dozen sold before I even knew that my book was available.


Good to know! For me, this further emphasizes the need for a great blurb and cover. With people finding brand new books immediately, with no reviews or other information to go on, that's gotta sell it. The preview too I suppose. And I wonder if the promise of a series helps. Oh, and being firmly in a genre that readers know they like (which I've struggled with when releasing my first novel ... though it's quite possible my cover and blurb suck too).

And Lucas, I hear you about emphasizing that it's in the UK. It felt pretty great being in the top 20 horror novels for a few brief hours ... in Canada.  Still, looks like we're all off to a great start, so high fives for that.


----------



## Lucas Bale

Phronk said:


> Good to know! For me, this further emphasizes the need for a great blurb and cover. With people finding brand new books immediately, with no reviews or other information to go on, that's gotta sell it. The preview too I suppose. And I wonder if the promise of a series helps. Oh, and being firmly in a genre that readers know they like (which I've struggled with when releasing my first novel ... though it's quite possible my cover and blurb suck too).
> 
> And Lucas, I hear you about emphasizing that it's in the UK. It felt pretty great being in the top 20 horror novels for a few brief hours ... in Canada.  Still, looks like we're all off to a great start, so high fives for that.


I don't deny a secret smile...

Well done to you too! I like the fact that we can work out what works well, what doesn't and share on here; and everyone else does the same. It's great!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

A big congrats to Lucas and Sheila on the new releases. 

I have my own not too far away... should be around the end of the month. I'm trying to set up some promos on Irradiated around that time (the new release is the sequel, Degenerated). Should be fun.


----------



## unkownwriter

Thanks, Elliot! Hope your new book sells a lot. 

Cora, I keep meaning to send you the link, but I'm behind on other stuff and end up distracted. I really need to focus on getting it up on some promo sites. Thanks for including my collection on your blog for this month.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

It's all right, Sheila, I simply clicked on the Amazon link in your signature and took the info from there.


----------



## AngryGames

For all of you science fiction dorks (like me!) out there, just came across this article today that caused me to lose an hour or so of my life (but I'm glad I lost it, this is right up my alley, giggity!):

The Fermi Paradox (aka "why haven't we encountered life beyond Earth?")

(if you hate reading, don't click this link, there are MANY words to brain-fight with)



> When confronted with the topic of stars and galaxies, a question that tantalizes most humans is, "Is there other intelligent life out there?" Let's put some numbers to it (if you don't like numbers, just read the bold)-
> 
> As many stars as there are in our galaxy (100 - 400 billion), there are roughly an equal number of galaxies in the observable universe-so for every star in the colossal Milky Way, there's a whole galaxy out there. All together, that comes out to the typically quoted range of between 1022 and 1024 total stars, which means that for every grain of sand on Earth, there are 10,000 stars out there.
> 
> The science world isn't in total agreement about what percentage of those stars are "sun-like" (similar in size, temperature, and luminosity)-opinions typically range from 5% to 20%. Going with the most conservative side of that (5%), and the lower end for the number of total stars (1022), gives us 500 quintillion, or 500 billion billion sun-like stars.


***



> There's something called The Kardashev Scale, which helps us group intelligent civilizations into three broad categories by the amount of energy they use:
> 
> A Type I Civilization has the ability to use all of the energy on their planet. We're not quite a Type I Civilization, but we're close (Carl Sagan created a formula for this scale which puts us at a Type 0.7 Civilization).
> 
> A Type II Civilization can harness all of the energy of their host star. Our feeble Type I brains can hardly imagine how someone would do this, but we've tried our best, imagining things like a Dyson Sphere.


***



> We have no answer to the Fermi Paradox-the best we can do is "possible explanations." And if you ask ten different scientists what their hunch is about the correct one, you'll get ten different answers. You know when you hear about humans of the past debating whether the Earth was round or if the sun revolved around the Earth or thinking that lightning happened because of Zeus, and they seem so primitive and in the dark? That's about where we are with this topic.
> 
> In taking a look at some of the most-discussed possible explanations for the Fermi Paradox, let's divide them into two broad categories-those explanations which assume that there's no sign of Type II and Type III Civilizations because there are none of them out there, and those which assume they're out there and we're not seeing or hearing anything for other reasons:


----------



## SB James

WDR said:


> *Phronk:* I had the same question of my own stuff. I actually had a reader contact me and explain how he found my story: by following the "Just Released" list. There are people who check daily for the newest of the new and jump on it as quickly as possible. I already had over dozen sold before I even knew that my book was available.


I believe this exactly what spurred some of my earliest sales too. I _know_ it wasn't my Facebook page.


----------



## SB James

@AngryGames that post was great. But they didn't cover one possibility: Earth is actually a prison planet for the humans, and the other intelligent beings in the universe are not allowed any contact with us


----------



## AngryGames

SB James said:


> @AngryGames that post was great. But they didn't cover one possibility: Earth is actually a prison planet for the humans, and the other intelligent beings in the universe are not allowed any contact with us


That's kind of along my long-held belief (heh). Humans, always going to war and acting like assholes, are quarantined. I mean, humans, while weak, fleshy, and ignorant, have an extreme adaptability, and if we were to capture some alien technology, we'd create weapons. And maybe a bunch of ships to go to war with and act like assholes to other races. The only way we'll get out of quarantine is if we learn how to work together as a cohesive, mature species.

So... it looks like we'll be waiting for a drunken alien to crash into the planet just enough to kill it, but not harm too much of the ship, because if there's one thing humans are the best at in the galaxy (even if we aren't, we'll start a fistfight with any stupid alien dumb enough to challenge me and my ******* plasma shotgun), it's going to war and acting like assholes.

(okay, that seems a little pessimistic... which makes me happy enough to close the browser and go celebrate!)

(also, a story idea I've been kicking around kind of revolves around first contact with aliens... except they are humans. Kind of like BSG in that sense, but totally different in every other sense. Except for the attractive cyborg-alien woman. And maybe Barky or whatever that annoying robot dog from the original series was called. But anyway, how freaky would that be if we found out that we weren't a lost colony or prison planet, but somehow life evolved here almost exactly like it did with the hundred billion humans tooling around the Milky Way for the last 50k years?)

(probably not very freaky if I wrote it. "Annoying" is the word I would <will> use)

(now I'm gonna break out my original BSG dvd's that I bought years ago and never actually watched)

(and I'll stop typing in parentheses)


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> A big congrats to Lucas and Sheila on the new releases.
> 
> I have my own not too far away... should be around the end of the month. I'm trying to set up some promos on Irradiated around that time (the new release is the sequel, Degenerated). Should be fun.


Thanks Elliot and good luck with Degenerated. Let me know if there is any way I can help - interview on my blog, tweeting and so on.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Lucas Bale said:


> Thanks Elliot and good luck with Degenerated. Let me know if there is any way I can help - interview on my blog, tweeting and so on.


Thanks, Lucas. An interview would be good. I can return the favour. I interviewed Michael Bunker and Jason Gurley earlier in the year and found it really interesting.


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Thanks, Lucas. An interview would be good. I can return the favour. I interviewed Michael Bunker and Jason Gurley earlier in the year and found it really interesting.


I interviewed Michael and Jason for Pennsylvania and Eleanor respectively - nice guys. I have sent you a PM.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

They're both really good at marketing, too. Though I reckon only one of them will admit it. 

I'm guessing that was you I just got an email from?


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> They're both really good at marketing, too. Though I reckon only one of them will admit it.
> 
> I'm guessing that was you I just got an email from?


Yes, Jason is very self-effacing and quiet about that sort of thing. And yes, it was me ;-)


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

I've just updated my blog with a link to the latest Blog Hop post by Nicolas Wilson http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop and a round-up of the posts to date (thanks Sheila and Sandra for keeping the tally!). Sheila, I put in a link to your blog too, as I know you are keeping an updated list of the various entries.

Does anyone know who is due to post on 7th July, or is there a gap? Does anyone want to rush forward to fill the gap?

Elliot - good luck with Degenerated. Do you have a date set?

Lucas - best of luck with your launch tomorrow. Your web-site is amazing.


----------



## Lucas Bale

JessieCar said:


> Lucas - best of luck with your launch tomorrow. Your web-site is amazing.


Many thanks on both counts!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

heidi_g said:


> The Writing Process Blog Tour is full through the last Monday in August. I'll kind of figure out then whether or not I can keep it going after that.


Thanks for coordinating the blog hop. I enjoy reading the posts even thoughI rarely comment on them. It's fun seeing other writer's home turf, too.

Thanks too for all the hours you put into the showcase.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> Elliot - good luck with Degenerated. Do you have a date set?


Thanks, Jessie. No set date yet. It will probably be the last week of July.


----------



## unkownwriter

Thanks for putting a link to my blog, Jessie! As for who's next, Heidi knows. I think there was a post a while back with some of the upcoming schedule as of that point, but I have no idea how far back it is.

Cora, thanks for taking that extra step. Next time I promise to be on top of things!


----------



## unkownwriter

RaventideBooks said:


> Sheila- I like that version much better than what you'd posted. The filtering/lighting and change in sign helped a lot with depth and atmosphere... not to mention making the text easier to read.


It looks like I didn't thank you for your comment earlier, so please accept my belated appreciation!  Yes, the feedback I got from here was tremendously helpful.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Thanks, Jessie. No set date yet. It will probably be the last week of July.


Looking forward to it! If I can help at all, I'd be happy to (maybe a guest post by you or a feature release info page later in the month?).


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> Looking forward to it! If I can help at all, I'd be happy to (maybe a guest post by you or a feature release info page later in the month?).


A guest post would be cool. I haven't actually done one of those before... will need to think of a good topic.

I finished Convergence last week. Really interesting book. I wouldn't mind interviewing you (unless you have something else in mind?).

Oh -- my good news from last week: Irradiated is being translated into Spanish. I'm going to write a blog about it, but I've been waiting until the kinks in my updated website are ironed out.

Irradiada.


----------



## Christine Reyes

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Oh -- my good news from last week: Irradiated is being translated into Spanish. I'm going to write a blog about it, but I've been waiting until the kinks in my updated website are ironed out.
> 
> Irradiada.


How cool! Where did you find a translator? One of my goals (after I actually get up my courage to hit publish...) is to get all of my books translated into Spanish because more than half of my family speaks it as their first/only language.

(Also... hello everyone! I've been lurking on and off. Great to see so many spec fic writers here!)


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Christine Reyes said:


> How cool! Where did you find a translator? One of my goals (after I actually get up my courage to hit publish...) is to get all of my books translated into Spanish because more than half of my family speaks it as their first/only language.
> 
> (Also... hello everyone! I've been lurking on and off. Great to see so many spec fic writers here!)


I used a website called babelcube. They help authors find translators, and distribute the book (a bit like Draft to Digital) to the second language markets once its ready. Royalties are shared between the author and the translator, with the split depending on the level of earnings.

It's a really good website, but I reckon you need to pay close attention to the translators making offers. I've been really fortunate with Irradiated -- my translator is genuinely interested in the project, enjoyed the novel, and is well qualified (e.g. PhD in Spanish).


----------



## 68564

Christine Reyes said:


> How cool! Where did you find a translator? One of my goals (after I actually get up my courage to hit publish...) is to get all of my books translated into Spanish because more than half of my family speaks it as their first/only language.
> 
> (Also... hello everyone! I've been lurking on and off. Great to see so many spec fic writers here!)


Friend of mine does it, details here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,189080.msg2666740.html#msg2666740


----------



## Christine Reyes

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I used a website called babelcube. They help authors find translators, and distribute the book (a bit like Draft to Digital) to the second language markets once its ready. Royalties are shared between the author and the translator, with the split depending on the level of earnings.
> 
> It's a really good website, but I reckon you need to pay close attention to the translators making offers. I've been really fortunate with Irradiated -- my translator is genuinely interested in the project, enjoyed the novel, and is well qualified (e.g. PhD in Spanish).


Thanks! I figured it was babelcube. That seems to be the most popular option.


----------



## Christine Reyes

VydorScope said:


> Friend of mine does it, details here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,189080.msg2666740.html#msg2666740


Thanks for this!


----------



## Ceinwen

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I used a website called babelcube. They help authors find translators, and distribute the book (a bit like Draft to Digital) to the second language markets once its ready. Royalties are shared between the author and the translator, with the split depending on the level of earnings.


This is cool, (way) down the road I'd love to get into translated and audio versions. Need the money to roll in first! Irradiada sounds super badass, by the way.

Sorry I've been less of a contributor to the thread lately. I've been hammering away at a new novella (YA/MG fantasy - it would be really nice to get it out before the end of the year) and trying to get some regular paid freelancing gigs happening.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> A guest post would be cool. I haven't actually done one of those before... will need to think of a good topic.
> 
> I finished Convergence last week. Really interesting book. I wouldn't mind interviewing you (unless you have something else in mind?).
> 
> Oh -- my good news from last week: Irradiated is being translated into Spanish. I'm going to write a blog about it, but I've been waiting until the kinks in my updated website are ironed out.
> 
> Irradiada.


Yeah, I'm game for an interview, Elliot, thanks.

And kudos on the translation - that is very good news!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Today's author in the Kboards Spec Fiction Blog Hop is Marilyn Peake:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop

Parents, don't give your kids crazy names. As the description for Marilyn's book _Shade_ says, that's "catnip for bullies."

And previous posts...

Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## heidi_g

Lucas, congratulations on the success of your new release!

Sandra, thank you for your all your support with the blog hop and the site!!! It's been awesome of you to post those blog hop links here every week.

I finished the draft of my dystopian fairy tale, _The Tree Hugger_, last night after doing pretty much nothing else but writing this weekend. Yay!!!!!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> Today's author in the Kboards Spec Fiction Blog Hop is Marilyn Peake:
> https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
> 
> Parents, don't give your kids crazy names. As the description for Marilyn's book _Shade_ says, that's "catnip for bullies."


Cheers, Sandra - I'll do the usual signal boost. And update the list on my blog. And Sheila - I'll check the thread for the info.

Heidi - congrats on finishing your first draft. You must be really chuffed.

Elliot - thank you for sharing the info about babelcube. It will be really interesting to hear how you get on. Like mphicks - let us know if we can do signal-boost things.

Hi Christina! This is a lively thread...I have a job keeping up.

Ceinwen - that sounds really good. I've been neglecting my WIP and I need to bash on with it. Too many distractions, especially the internetz.


----------



## heidi_g

Jessie, Hah! Yes! Chuffed is a very good description 

And I am hitting another milestone... http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,189259.0.html after what proved to be a very slow start to 2014!

Okay, SPEC FIC WRITERS! I made a huge clerical error and we have a slot open on the Writing Process Blog Tour Speculative Fiction Blog Hop on *July 28th*! Any takers?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> Elliot - thank you for sharing the info about babelcube. It will be really interesting to hear how you get on. Like mphicks - let us know if we can do signal-boost things.


I'll keep y'all up to date on how it goes.

Before accepting the offer, I reviewed a translation of the first page (with help). There's another hold point after 20-pages for me to review, and then again at the end. I'm happy with my translator, so hopefully its smooth sailing, but its nice to know there's a process.

I agree that Irradiada sounds bad-ass. 

I'm excited that it opens up new markets. The translation will be in neutral Spanish, to make it accessible to both Europeans and South/Central Americans. She's going to translate some of the dialogue into regional dialects, to mirror the way they speak in English.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'll keep y'all up to date on how it goes.
> 
> Before accepting the offer, I reviewed a translation of the first page (with help). There's another hold point after 20-pages for me to review, and then again at the end. I'm happy with my translator, so hopefully its smooth sailing, but its nice to know there's a process.
> 
> I agree that Irradiada sounds bad-ass.
> 
> I'm excited that it opens up new markets. The translation will be in neutral Spanish, to make it accessible to both Europeans and South/Central Americans. She's going to translate some of the dialogue into regional dialects, to mirror the way they speak in English.


That's cool. We have thought of translating ours but we're worried about how it will come out- I mean, we don't speak these languages, so there's no way to verify that they translated and got the same tone.

That said, we'd love... love to translate our dark fantasy into German and French. The markets aren't huge, but we do get some downloads from those countries.


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Jessie, Hah! Yes! Chuffed is a very good description
> 
> And I am hitting another milestone... http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,189259.0.html after what proved to be a very slow start to 2014!
> 
> Okay, SPEC FIC WRITERS! I made a huge clerical error and we have a slot open on the Writing Process Blog Tour Speculative Fiction Blog Hop on *July 28th*! Any takers?


You already have me scheduled for sometime far enough in the future that I do not recall even when it is... but if it would help I can go earlier and that leaves the farther off date open which may be easier to get someone for.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I'd be willing to take the July 28th slot, if nobody else wants it. I just pressed "Publish" on a new novelette for my SF series, so it would be ideal.


----------



## heidi_g

CoraBuhlert said:


> I'd be willing to take the July 28th slot, if nobody else wants it. I just pressed "Publish" on a new novelette for my SF series, so it would be ideal.


Cora, Great! Can you pm your email? Thanks!


----------



## heidi_g

VydorScope said:


> You already have me scheduled for sometime far enough in the future that I do not recall even when it is... but if it would help I can go earlier and that leaves the farther off date open which may be easier to get someone for.


Vincent, hey thank you for being so flexible, but Cora picked up the date. What happened? I accidentally schedule Jessie for two dates, silly me It's all good now, we're on track and everyone's date is good!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

PM sent, Heidi.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'm looking for advice on my blurb. I'm thinking about taking a different route with it.

The original:


> A man thrust a baby into Jade's hands. It trembled in her arms. The man had a message: escape from the tunnels and never return, her parents were already dead. Jade had a sister; she was irradiated.
> 
> Thirteen years later, her sister, Pearl, is coming of age. Rows of sucker-caps line her arms and hands. Her skin is coral pink. Each night, her dreams fill with visions of violence, depression, and fear.
> 
> On the surface, people have grown wild and dangerous. They scavenge, fight, and steal. Below, in the tunnels, they're controlled by a ruthless leader and an army of beings known only as Shadows. When both groups come searching for Pearl, sensing the power her dreams may hold, only Jade can stand in the way.


My revised attempt:


> *Life as we know it is over.*
> Years have passed since the fall of civilisation. The city is a husk, picked bare by scavengers. Flood and drought has ravaged the land.
> 
> *The sun warps the genes of our offspring.*
> The remains of humanity are underground, living in a road tunnel, spurning the sun. They're ruled by the Queen, a brutal dictator who controls their lives with an army of beings known only as _Shadows_. The only law is her law, and the punishment for impurity is death.
> 
> *Two sisters are cast out. They struggle to survive.*
> A girl escapes the tunnel, clutching her new-born sister in her arms--mutated, reviled... _*irradiated*_. In a world with no rules, and an underground society that wants them dead, they must fight for their right to survive.
> 
> IRRADIATED is the first novel in a post-apocalyptic trilogy. The sequel, DEGENERATED, will be released July 30.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'm looking for advice on my blurb. I'm thinking about taking a different route with it.
> 
> The original:
> My revised attempt:
> *Life as we know it is over.*
> Years have passed since the fall of civilisation. The city is a husk, picked bare by scavengers. Flood and drought has ravaged the land.
> 
> *The sun warps the genes of our offspring.*
> The remains of humanity are underground, living in a road tunnel, spurning the sun. They're ruled by the Queen, a brutal dictator who controls their lives with an army of beings known only as _Shadows_. The only law is her law, and the punishment for impurity is death.
> 
> *Two sisters are cast out. They struggle to survive.*
> A girl escapes the tunnel, clutching her new-born sister in her arms--mutated, reviled... _*irradiated*_. In a world with no rules, and an underground society that wants them dead, they must fight for their right to survive.
> 
> IRRADIATED is the first novel in a post-apocalyptic trilogy. The sequel, DEGENERATED, will be released July 30.


Hopefully Heidi chimes in - she was a ton of help with my blurb for an upcoming story.

I like the track you're on the with the revised blurb, but IMHO I'd like you to, somehow, keep the info about Jade and Pearl, particularly the power of Pearl's dreams and how that makes her a target for the brutal Queen.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I second keeping Jade and Pearl in the blurb, because a teen girl with a newborn baby thrust into her arms and no other means of support immediately generates sympathy and makes a great hook.

Maybe keep the first paragraph of the new blurb as it is and then switch out the worldbuilding paragraph with a paragraph about Jade and Pearl.


----------



## heidi_g

Elliot, 
I like the second blurb, and I did try to fiddle with it quite a bit. But I had some problems because I wasn't clear enough about what was going on:

Is the city a husk above ground? If so, I'm not sure the logic is right, i.e. does the story start underground with the Queen, then the irradiated child is born, then they go up to survive in the city that's a husk? If it does, would the challenges the two sisters face come at the end of the blurb... i.e. the husk of the city?

When you say the sun warps genes, what does that mean? mutates? Also, what do impurities mean in the story?

The point is, the second blurb is better, but there's lots of non-action verbs and not necessarily cliches, but things being said about the story that aren't specific. I think if you kind of use the rhythm in the second, use more active verbs, get really specific with the elements of your story, and make sure none of the info is repetitive that will make it more punchy. i.e. things like "underground" and "spurning the sun" are saying the same things. Since a blurb is so short, you want to make every sentence provide unique information.

Anyway, I'd pretty much rather stick a fork in my eye than write a blurb any day 
Good luck with it!


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> Anyway, I'd pretty much rather stick a fork in my eye than write a blurb any day


Ugh. A thousand times yes. While I haven't been in the business long, it's been just long enough to know I hate writing blurbs!

OK - on an entirely different note and in keeping with the title of this thread, huge high-five to our friend Lucas Bale! I finished The Heretic this afternoon and dug the hell out of it. But man, now I need book 2 ASAP.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks for the feedback.

I hate writing blurbs. I use very little exposition in my writing, and blurbs are basically all exposition, so my brain screams in agony.

The first blurb is more character based, which I personally like, while the second one I tried to focus more on the setting. I thought that might be more immediately appealing to readers in my genre... but, it's a character based story so I found it hard to marry the two. 

Time for take three.


----------



## heidi_g

Elliot, your point about character vs. setting is well taken. I'd go with the character. I fiddled with that one. Rough, but maybe it will give you some fresh ideas.

*Her parent's are dead.*
A man thrust Jade's baby sister, Pearl, into her hands: Escape from the tunnels (road tunnel?) and never return.

*Thirteen years later.*
Rows of sucker-caps line Pearl's arms and hands. Her skin is coral pink. Every night, violence, depression, and fear fill her dreams.

*Two worlds.*
On the surface, wild and dangerous people scavenge, fight, and steal (any killing?)(point, make the world as graphic as possible with as few images!). Below, in the tunnels, a ruthless Queen and her army of Shadows control the population.

*Irradiated.*
[The mutant (?) ]Pearl's dreams are a source of power. When other's come to take her, Jade must save her sister again.


----------



## Ceinwen

I'd lose the 'a man' at the start. When I read the book I expected mystery man to be significant in some way. I'd open straight with the girls. 'Jade's newborn sister Pearl is thrust into her hands with one instruction. Run. But the only freedom is in the sun scorched wasteland above ground.' Or something. But that man distracts me every time. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Christine Reyes

mphicks said:


> OK - on an entirely different note and in keeping with the title of this thread, huge high-five to our friend Lucas Bale! I finished The Heretic this afternoon and dug the hell out of it. But man, now I need book 2 ASAP.


I know, right? I started it yesterday and have not been getting anything else done because I just want to read it. Lucas, it's a great book!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> Elliot, your point about character vs. setting is well taken. I'd go with the character. I fiddled with that one. Rough, but maybe it will give you some fresh ideas.
> 
> *Her parent's are dead.*
> A man thrust Jade's baby sister, Pearl, into her hands: Escape from the tunnels (road tunnel?) and never return.
> 
> *Thirteen years later.*
> Rows of sucker-caps line Pearl's arms and hands. Her skin is coral pink. Every night, violence, depression, and fear fill her dreams.
> 
> *Two worlds.*
> On the surface, wild and dangerous people scavenge, fight, and steal (any killing?)(point, make the world as graphic as possible with as few images!). Below, in the tunnels, a ruthless Queen and her army of Shadows control the population.
> 
> *Irradiated.*
> [The mutant (?) ]Pearl's dreams are a source of power. When other's come to take her, Jade must save her sister again.


Thanks, Heidi. I think this approach is right -- it stays focused on the characters, but make the format punchy. 


Ceinwen L. said:


> I'd lose the 'a man' at the start. When I read the book I expected mystery man to be significant in some way. I'd open straight with the girls. 'Jade's newborn sister Pearl is thrust into her hands with one instruction. Run. But the only freedom is in the sun scorched wasteland above ground.' Or something. But that man distracts me every time.


I agree about the man, and really love your alternative opening.

I'll revise my blurb tonight, with all this feedback in mind.


----------



## Lucas Bale

Christine Reyes said:


> I know, right? I started it yesterday and have not been getting anything else done because I just want to read it. Lucas, it's a great book!


Wow! Thanks guys! Not sure what to say to that - I'm speechless, possibly for the first time in my life! I promise _Defiance_ is in progress and I am getting there with it. In fact, I wrote 1,000 words this morning in the bright sunshine outside a cafe in Pimlico, London and I'm _really_ pleased with the way it's shaping up. My final day at work is August 15th and, from then on, I am full-time! I hope to have _Defiance_ ready in October and published shortly after that - once David Gatewood has finished with it and I have done my own revisions, taking his editing into account. Cover is done (reveal to come soon).

I am absolutely thrilled that so many people have enjoyed _The Heretic._ It's always nerve-shredding to put your book out there and hope people love it, but to have so much positive feedback is fantastic.


----------



## Lucas Bale

heidi_g said:


> Lucas, congratulations on the success of your new release!


Thanks, Heidi! How did you know?


----------



## heidi_g

Lucas, your updates on this thread!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Just catching up - Elliot, I hate writing blurbs too. I've edited mine many times. I did post on the Writer's Cafe asking for a critique, and ElHawk came up with the following suggestion:


> All good fiction blurbs have four things in common. They answer the following questions as clearly and as briefly as possible.
> 
> 1) Who is your main character? (The most important out of all your characters.)
> 2) What does he/she want?
> 3) What stands in his way of getting what he wants?
> 4) What is at stake if he fails?


I found that really helpful as a structure to hang the whole thing on.

Lucas - congratulations! Looks like it's going great guns.


----------



## Lucas Bale

heidi_g said:


> Lucas, your updates on this thread!


Ah, I see. For a second there I thought there was yet another site I should be watching! That's one of the complexities of this whole business - working out how to get yourself SEEN!


----------



## mphicks

On the topic of blurbs - Libbie Hawker, aka ElHawk here on Kboards, recently posted a two-part video series on writing blurbs/query/description that could be helpful to all of us. Original thread is over at http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,189261.25.html. Videos are linked to on page 2, unless the original post gets updated with the final info.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> On the topic of blurbs - Libbie Hawker, aka ElHawk here on Kboards, recently posted a two-part video series on writing blurbs/query/description that could be helpful to all of us. Original thread is over at http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,189261.25.html. Videos are linked to on page 2, unless the original post gets updated with the final info.


Thanks, Mike. I'll take a look this weekend.

I've been going through the edits on Degenerated, which is getting really close to publication. I might hold it back until the 30th, as I've been planning some stuff.

I'm running a $0.99 sale on Irradiated from 31-July to 6-Aug -- been trying to line up some promo spots. So far I have booksends, bookgorilla, peoplereads, and ebooksoda. Hopefully Pixel of Ink, too. Bookbub knocked me back, but that was to be expected.

Would it be a good or bad idea to publish Degenerated with an introductory price of 99c, too?


----------



## Ceinwen

I'd say keep Degenerated full price if you're dropping Irradiated down, unless you want to drop Degenerated for a few days prior to the main launch to give your mailing list/facebook fans who already have Irradiated time to get it for the lower price and score some happy goodwill points. All the new fans will still have to buy the first book anyway so there's not much point putting them both on special, I think.


----------



## heidi_g

Elliot, you can also try Bknights on fiverr: http://www.fiverr.com/bknights There's been a lot of buzz about them around the boards.

I might try them when I release my Dystopian Fairy Tale. BTW, I just got back that beta read from Frostbite Publishing: http://www.frostbitepublishing.com/beta/ And I'll definitely be using them again! Another Kboard find 

As far as dropping the price on _Degenerated_, I think you can really go either way. I've seen people who've done 99cent runs across the board and they've really gotten some traction.

Michael, gonna try to watch that blurb video before the weekend is over! Have you watched it? Did it help?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'll definitely add bknights to the list.

My thought with the dual-99c promo is that people who find Irradiated from a promotion might grab both books, simultaneously. I could add a note about the deal on the Amazon page. Not sure how well this would work.


----------



## mphicks

Good luck, Elliot! I'll keep an eye out for the sale and new release and see what I can do on my blog; hopefully it'll help a bit. I'm kind of torn...I get where Ceinwen is coming from, but I also think a limited simultaneous promotion could help alot. If you're doing KDP Select with Degenerated (or even Irradiated), you could offer different price points over the span of the first five days. Maybe do a $0.99 for the first two days, then slowly build it up toward full price?

I've heard good things about Bknights as well! In fact, I'll be running my first promo with them this weekend, on the 13th. I've put my book on sale, so hopefully I'll see some positive results over the next few days.

Heidi - I did watch the videos and they were very helpful. Lots of good pointers in there! Definitely some stuff to chew over for future releases. I also came across this link on Facebook, maybe by way of CreateSpace? Anyway, also worth a look! http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/06/karl-bunker/


----------



## Lucas Bale

heidi_g said:


> Elliot, you can also try Bknights on fiverr: http://www.fiverr.com/bknights There's been a lot of buzz about them around the boards.
> 
> I might try them when I release my Dystopian Fairy Tale. BTW, I just got back that beta read from Frostbite Publishing: http://www.frostbitepublishing.com/beta/ And I'll definitely be using them again! Another Kboard find


I used BKnights and two things to note - for five bucks, the support they give you is pretty fantastic (answering messages through fiverr etc). Secondly, I ran one of the promos and got at least 10 US sales I really doubt I would have otherwise got - had so little movement in the US to start with (as my mailing list is mostly UK). I really think they are worth it. I ran on their website, now I am doing their FB promo on Monday. Worth a shot, in my view.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> Good luck, Elliot! I'll keep an eye out for the sale and new release and see what I can do on my blog; hopefully it'll help a bit. I'm kind of torn...I get where Ceinwen is coming from, but I also think a limited simultaneous promotion could help alot. If you're doing KDP Select with Degenerated (or even Irradiated), you could offer different price points over the span of the first five days. Maybe do a $0.99 for the first two days, then slowly build it up toward full price?


Irradiated is currently in Select (the 99c sale is using my promo days), but I'll be pulling it out when this term expires (10-August). I'm not planning to put Degenerated into Select. I want to start distributing both books more widely.

Just penciled in bknights for the 1st of August. 

Oh, and Lucas -- congrats on The Heretic. Looks like it's doing really well. I've only read the first quarter of the book so far, but it's good stuff. Well written and an intriguing world.


----------



## Keith Soares

I'm quite late to the game, but I want to chime in as a spec-fic author. My first novel, The Oasis of Filth, is a realistic post-apocalyptic zombie (but they're not really zombies because they're not undead) story, and my second novel, launching very soon, is a combo alien invasion, superhero story. 

Oasis parts 1 and 2 are currently #4 and #5 on Amazon's post-apocalyptic scifi list (free). Yeah, they're both free. Call me crazy (it fits). Part 1 is permafree. Part 2 is free only this weekend. What can I say? Sales in May and June were amazing. July was like a brick wall. I had to do something...

K.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Welcome, Keith!

You have some nice covers. Who's your designer?


----------



## Keith Soares

Funny you should ask... Except for the Fogland cover, which was part of that collaborative project, I've done all of my own covers. It helps that I've been working in graphic design (among other things) for the past 20 years or so...
K.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Nice to meet you, Keith. The covers are striking!

Elliot - it would be great to know how you get on with bknights. I'm bringing out no. 2 sometime soon, but we've had a technical setback. My husband is converting the Word document into PagePlus, and the inverted commas have basically all come out as feet and inches, thus: *' "*

Find and replace doesn't recognise them so he is having to change them to smart quotes by hand. 

(This is probably because I had to scan a copy of the original paperback and then convert it into a Word file. I thought that PagePlus would automatically correct the inverted commas/quotation marks, but it seems that the formatting was crocked in the first place.)

If anyone knows of a solution, it would be brilliant, but otherwise we are stuck in the doldrums again.


----------



## heidi_g

JessieCar said:


> inverted commas have basically all come out as feet and inches, thus: *' "*
> 
> Find and replace doesn't recognise them so he is having to change them to smart quotes by hand.
> 
> (This is probably because I had to scan a copy of the original paperback and then convert it into a Word file. I thought that PagePlus would automatically correct the inverted commas/quotation marks, but it seems that the formatting was crocked in the first place.)
> 
> If anyone knows of a solution, it would be brilliant, but otherwise we are stuck in the doldrums again.


Jessie, I got stuck doing that once too. After doing a lot of the corrections manually, I think we figured out how to use the search and replace function using a combo of cut and pastes of spaces and quotes to replace spaces and the feet and inch marks. Not sure if that makes any sense. Good luck! Definitely a nightmare.

Hi Keith!

Elliot, yes, keep us posted. If I try them, it will be end of August.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

It might be hard to determine how well it works, as I have a few different ones lined up across the promo week. I think I have bknights and booksends on the same day.


----------



## heidi_g

Elliot, good point  

Michael, I watched both of Libbie's blurb vids yesterday. Definitely worth the  time!


----------



## Jamie Maltman

And I'm live for the Writing Process Blog Tour.

http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/

Thanks again, Heidi for connecting so many of us!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Jessie, I got stuck doing that once too. After doing a lot of the corrections manually, I think we figured out how to use the search and replace function using a combo of cut and pastes of spaces and quotes to replace spaces and the feet and inch marks. Not sure if that makes any sense. Good luck! Definitely a nightmare.


Heidi - I followed up your suggestion and found a solution on the Serif forums. It seems to work better than replacing all the things manually. Thanks!



Jamie Maltman said:


> And I'm live for the Writing Process Blog Tour.
> 
> http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
> 
> Thanks again, Heidi for connecting so many of us!


Congratulations, Jamie! 

I have updated my own blog, adding your name and the link, together with the full list of previous hoppers. Please let me know if I missed anyone out. I'm not sure whether my blog gets many page-views, but I guess it could boost the signal. I have been drawing on Cora Buhlert's updated list on here for the full list of bloggers.

Does anyone know who's up after Cora on 4th August?

Vincent, I know you are blogging down the line but I'm not sure what date that is.

Elliot - let us know if there is anything we can do to boost the signal.

In the mean time, here is my updated list of the Blog Tour extraordinaire. http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/new-week-next-writing-process-blog-hop.html


----------



## Ceinwen

I think that's me. I'm scheduled to do mine on the 11th.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Ceinwen L. said:


> I think that's me. I'm scheduled to do mine on the 11th.


I just checked, Ceinwen - and I've got you down for the 11th August. 

I'm not sure who is up between Cora on 27th July and you on 11th August.


----------



## mphicks

Heidi - glad to hear the videos were worthwhile!

My bknights promo launched yesterday, and I've seen an immediate uptick that I'm hoping will continue. I only had one sale earlier this month, but since bknights went live, I've had 10 sales with a 0.99 price promo. Fingers crossed for more!

For those that are interested, I've got a guest post running today from a new author whose debut is launching next month: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/14/guest-post-author-j-s-collyer-for-the-love/

If anyone else wants to do a guest post, hit me up and we'll see what we can arrange! I haven't had time to think about good questions for an interview piece, so that's on hold for a bit until things calm down a bit on my end...

Lucas Bale was kind enough to interview me for his site, though, and it's up at http://www.lucasbale.com/blog/2014/7/14/convergence-by-michael-patrick-hicks


----------



## 68564

JessieCar said:


> Vincent, I know you are blogging down the line but I'm not sure what date that is.


I dunno. I warned her if it was too far off I would lose track. And... I have. She said she would send an email to remind me... I think its like Aug 27th, 2024 or something.


----------



## SB James

VydorScope said:


> I think its like Aug 27th, 2024 or something.


Does the calendar app even go that far into the future?


----------



## 68564

SB James said:


> Does the calendar app even go that far into the future?


Not sure, have not looked to see if it goes past lunch yet....


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Jamie Maltman said:


> And I'm live for the Writing Process Blog Tour.
> 
> http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/


I went to look at your writing process post and got sidetracked by your "first ever vlog post." Beautiful cover!

And previous posts...
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> My bknights promo launched yesterday, and I've seen an immediate uptick that I'm hoping will continue. I only had one sale earlier this month, but since bknights went live, I've had 10 sales with a 0.99 price promo. Fingers crossed for more!
> 
> For those that are interested, I've got a guest post running today from a new author whose debut is launching next month: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/14/guest-post-author-j-s-collyer-for-the-love/
> 
> If anyone else wants to do a guest post, hit me up and we'll see what we can arrange! I haven't had time to think about good questions for an interview piece, so that's on hold for a bit until things calm down a bit on my end...
> 
> Lucas Bale was kind enough to interview me for his site, though, and it's up at http://www.lucasbale.com/blog/2014/7/14/convergence-by-michael-patrick-hicks


Michael - It would be great to hear how you get on with bknights. So far I've been reading that he's pretty good value. Will check out the interview and the guest post anon. I would love to volunteer for a guest post (if that is ok).

Vincent - glad to see that the Blog Hop will still be running in 2024. I hope we haven't all been carried off by a dystopian future, possibly featuring zombies. 

Sandra - thank you for iterating the list. This is such a long thread and it's really useful to have it repeated. May I copy and paste it to my blog?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> Elliot - let us know if there is anything we can do to boost the signal.


Thanks, Jessie.

Anything that can help spread the word about my promo would be great. I'm doing an interview with Lucas, and have an idea for a guest post for Michael. I'm open to anything.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Thanks, Jessie.
> 
> Anything that can help spread the word about my promo would be great. I'm doing an interview with Lucas, and have an idea for a guest post for Michael. I'm open to anything.


What I've been doing (so far) is sharing stuff on my page on FB and tweeting it. Would you do a guest post for me? (I have to say that I'm on a steep learning curve here.) When I launched Malarat in May 2013, I did a couple of interviews on friends' blogs. It was fun to do and also did flag up the fact that the thing was for sale.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'd be up for another guest post.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'd be up for another guest post.


Excellent! Send me a PM and we can chat about it tomorrow. It's getting a bit late here (eyes on stalks)


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

JessieCar said:


> Sandra - thank you for iterating the list. This is such a long thread and it's really useful to have it repeated. May I copy and paste it to my blog?


Certainly!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> Certainly!


Thanks! I will do an edit-y thing. 

ETA: I have updated my most recent post and added links to author web-sites for those who haven't blogged yet.

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/new-week-next-writing-process-blog-hop.html


----------



## 68564

JessieCar said:


> Thanks! I will do an edit-y thing.
> 
> ETA: I have updated my most recent post and added links to author web-sites for those who haven't blogged yet.
> 
> http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/new-week-next-writing-process-blog-hop.html


Umm... if you do not mind... I tend to prefer the TRIGILI spelling of my last name, rather than what you have.  Thanks!


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> Michael - It would be great to hear how you get on with bknights. So far I've been reading that he's pretty good value. Will check out the interview and the guest post anon. I would love to volunteer for a guest post (if that is ok).


Jessie - I'd be very happy to have you guest post! Hit me up with a PM or contact me through my site and we'll get it figured out.

The bknights promo worked out pretty well! He launched the promo mid-afternoon Sunday and I've had 17 sales (18 total for the month so far...). I was hoping to get 20 this month, so we'll see what happens in the wake of this promo, but, honestly, I'm expecting a pretty huge drop-off again. Still, it was a nice bump and it helped get my book into more hands, so I cannot complain.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

VydorScope said:


> Umm... if you do not mind... I tend to prefer the TRIGILI spelling of my last name, rather than what you have.  Thanks!


Vincent, I am so sorry. I am such a prune. I'll go and change it.

Michael - will drop you a line. The bknights promo sounds pretty good. And 17 sales is encouraging - I've had one sale so far this month! LOL


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> Michael - will drop you a line. The bknights promo sounds pretty good. And 17 sales is encouraging - I've had one sale so far this month! LOL


Got your message and am looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

17 sales was definitely a nice way to break the slump! And, I was able to get Indie Author Land to pick up the sale. They surprised me by making it their book of the day and featuring it at the top of the linked page. Pretty cool! Fingers are crossed again for some more positive gains.


----------



## WDR

Good to see that things are really popping! Sorry I've been such a lurker, but I'm in the final stages of finishing _Dragon_ before sending it off for editing. You all know how that goes. Keep up the good work! I've been enjoying all the points of view in the tour.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> 17 sales was definitely a nice way to break the slump! And, I was able to get Indie Author Land to pick up the sale. They surprised me by making it their book of the day and featuring it at the top of the linked page. Pretty cool! Fingers are crossed again for some more positive gains.


That's a really good sign. (Fingers crossed too).

WDR - that's the important stuff. I have been neglecting mine woefully.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Sandra K. Williams said:


> I went to look at your writing process post and got sidetracked by your "first ever vlog post." Beautiful cover!


Thanks, I love it.  My book 2 cover should be coming soon. Heavy into polishing, so I haven't been bugging my designer.


----------



## A.E. Williams

Congratulations on the print book, Jamie! That is a stunning cover!  

Nice vlog as well!  

A.E. Williams


----------



## unkownwriter

Hey, all! I've been MIA for a bit, working on getting covers for a series sorted out. I'm trying to get a template that will brand the series, and it's been a process. I learned how to make a photo look like a sketch, though. Fun times. 

I _think_ I've finally got Google Plus to keep all the information on my book and my account in place. Why do these sites make stuff so hard? I got D2D done in like five minutes, including uploading the blasted book. Argh!

Hope you all have easy writing and good sales ahead. Time for me to crash for the evening.


----------



## Lucas Bale

mphicks said:


> Got your message and am looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
> 
> 17 sales was definitely a nice way to break the slump! And, I was able to get Indie Author Land to pick up the sale. They surprised me by making it their book of the day and featuring it at the top of the linked page. Pretty cool! Fingers are crossed again for some more positive gains.


I have now run two BKnights promos - one on the website, one on FB. The first was 99p/99c, the second was $2.99/£1.98. The first was at least 15 US sales (maybe more). The second was 2-3. Lesson to be learned (if you can learn anything): BKnights can help with visibility, even at higher prices, but 99p/99c is what their readers are expecting. Also noteworthy - this is my only book and it's been out less than two weeks.

Huge three day slump since then ;-) My first experience of it, having sold 100 copies in two weeks and now nothing. It's a sobering experience after the euphoria of the first fortnight. Thanks to some of the more experienced authors, I know not to be too miserable about it and get back on the horse writing Book II in the series.


----------



## unkownwriter

Lucas, things will be better when you get more work out. You've got a good start, though, so keep plugging away at the next book, and then the next...

I've been busy today, though not writing on my novel. I set up a template in Scrivener to keep up with future short stories, and then got 2200+ words in a new short. I'm judging I'm about halfway done, so it's one of my longer ones. Makes a nice change from the flash fiction. 

I was inspired by a story I read by a board member here. Just something in the story gave me a "what if?", and I was off. Totally different from his story (which was very, very good, by the way) but it goes to show how any little thing can spark our imaginations. A tiny piece of a sentence, and I saw the story.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Lucas, my experience was much the same--Irradiated got off to a good start, and now is just ticking along. My second book comes out soon, so we'll see what happens. There are a lot of successful indies in our genre, but I don't see many overnight successes. I think you've just gotta keep chipping away.


----------



## Indecisive

Hi Lucas,
I did a BKnights promo/ 99 cent sale at the end of June and got a nice spike, with 40 sales on Amazon that one day. Since then, I've been trickling along at about one sale a week (just had one today, yay!).

This week I broke new ground by setting myself up on librarything and putting up a giveaway for 50 copies of my historical fantasy novella. I've hardly promoted it at all, so it will be interesting to see if this has any effect. 

Sheila --I have also been working on covers for my fantasy series. Since I have 5 books planned, I'm just doing them all at once. I found a series of similar glyph images which are going in the center. If I had the budget I might try for full illustrated covers, but for now I'm happy with what I have. I'll probably revise what I have a bit before book 1 hits the stores


----------



## unkownwriter

Amelia, I was going to use glyphs, but then I saw some covers to GRRM's books, which had a single object on the cover. I had the brilliant idea to make my images look like drawings, and have the covers be spell book pages. I'm liking it so far, and I got to learn something else in Photoshop.


----------



## Indecisive

Spell book pages as covers sounds cool -- should convey genre nicely without being more of the same. I'm going for a slightly art deco/early 20th century feel with my covers and wasted many happy hours staring at old book cover designs... not that what I have comes close to any of the great ones, but I'd like to think that I learned something from them.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Lucas, that sounds like a promising start. I think Elliot is right about chipping away. The rules seem to vary from genre to genre.

Sheila - sounds like a really productive day! I've been putting my book onto Ywriter, a program that I've found helpful in the past. It makes it easier to see the whole thing at a glance, which you can't do with word.

Amelia - would be interested to hear how you get on with your librarything giveaway. I got a good response, but no reviews or feedback.

I've just added my own post to the writing process blog hop, as I'm next in line after Jamie Maltman. And Cora Buhlert is next in line for 27th July.

Here's the link: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Just tweeted your post, Jessica. 

Plus, I just finished an SF novella today, which I've been working on for a year now and for twenty, if you count the original draft. Plus, I found the perfect stock photo for the cover.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thank you, Cora! Congrats on finishing your novella. That sounds a bit like the kind of time scale I work on.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

CoraBuhlert said:


> Just tweeted your post, Jessica.
> 
> Plus, I just finished an SF novella today, which I've been working on for a year now and for twenty, if you count the original draft. Plus, I found the perfect stock photo for the cover.


Congrats on finishing it! Sounds like quite a journey.

I have the first part of my post-apocalyptic western ready. It's novella length (20k words), edited and ready to go.

I think I've finally found a cover designer, too.


----------



## unkownwriter

Amelia, thanks. I'm hoping the covers will brand the series nicely.  I love Art Deco! Such an interesting design style. 

Jessie, I used yWriter before I got Scrivener. Great program (I think we're referring to the same thing?), and it was free.

Cora, isn't it great when we find the perfect thing for our covers?


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Elliot - would be interested to see your new cover art for the apocalyptic Western.

Sheila - I think it must be the same one - I typed it slightly wrong! It is free, and I really like it. I haven't tried Scrivener - is it also a formatting program, or is that something different?


----------



## markhealy

Hi all, I'm another lurker who's checking in for the first time in this thread.  I just finished the second draft of my first full length novel, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi, and it's currently with a few friends who offered to be my beta readers.  I'm also working away on cover art.  This is all new to me so it's great to read about your experiences, and hopefully I'll have some of my own to offer in the near future.


----------



## Ceinwen

Yikes, Elliot. I wish I wrote that fast! Congrats, though, look forward to reading it. 

Hi Mark


----------



## mphicks

Ceinwen L. said:


> Yikes, Elliot. I wish I wrote that fast! Congrats, though, look forward to reading it.
> 
> Hi Mark


Ditto to both! Welcome to the board Mark.

And Elliot - kudos. You're quick, man. Looking forward to reading this one, too.


----------



## heidi_g

Hi Everyone!

Michael and Lucas, thanks for the updates on Bknights. I have a countdown running this week and they're supposed to run an ad or whatever on Thursday, I'll let ya'll know

Welcome Mark!

Jessica's up on the writing process blog tour speculative fiction blog hop, gonna get over there in a bit and say hi! Cora's next, then Kevin Hardman. We're scheduled out to September 8th, with no one on Sept. 1st cause it's Labor Day in the US. Should we just skip Labor Day? Or does anyone want to pick it up? Thoughts?

Sandra, thanks for making the weekly posts. I know I and everyone else appreciates it!


----------



## mphicks

heidi_g said:


> Hi Everyone!
> 
> Michael and Lucas, thanks for the updates on Bknights. I have a countdown running this week and they're supposed to run an ad or whatever on Thursday, I'll let ya'll know


Yeah, please do! I was pretty happy with the results, and ended up selling a smidge over 30 copies as a result of the promo. I wrote a bit about it today, and if you're so inclined give it a read. I'll definitely be using them again for my title launch.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Hi there Mark! 

Heidi - that would be cool. Thanks!

Mike - is the piece about your Bknights promo on your blog? Will go and have a look...


----------



## ABBradley

Just finished the second manuscript for my 7 part YA coming of age fantasy. I've set a date to publish the first one (9-15) but it's kind of arbitrary. Should I publish part 1 in August instead? I keep hearing it's a slow time, and as my series is a Chronicles of Narnia meets Dia de Los Muertos, I thought publishing it closer to fall would be better...not so sure about that now. 

Also, for those of us with novel length series, what's the best time to publish the sequels? Select/KU or multiple platforms? I'm starting to pull my hair out!


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> Mike - is the piece about your Bknights promo on your blog? Will go and have a look...


It is, but here's a direct link before it gets buried in a glut of reblogging frenzy... http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/21/convergence-and-the-path-to-publication-part-v-on-promotion/


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, guys.

I don't reckon I'm that quick, really. I wrote 'Part One' while Degenerated was away for editing. I think I wrote it across four weeks (so, 5k a week), spent a week or two self-editing, and then sent it off for outside editing.

Writing in parts is actually really good, I think -- makes the process more discrete. I plan to release four parts, one at a time, and then bundle them up in an omnibus.

I'll post the cover art once it's done. I found a series of post-apocalyptic covers on Amazon that I really liked, so I hunted down the designer. Turns out he's a friend of the author--he's a graphic designer in his day job, and did them as a side gig. I reckon he's an untapped talent. Pretty excited to see what he comes up with--we're trying to capture a gritty western feel, but channel the post-apocalypse at the same time.



ABBradley said:


> Also, for those of us with novel length series, what's the best time to publish the sequels? Select/KU or multiple platforms? I'm starting to pull my hair out!


Yeah, it's a bit crazy. I have my second novel planned for July 30 (it's ready now, but I'm holding off on it to line up with promo stuff). Now this whole KU business has dropped, and I don't know how it will effect the launch. I was originally planning to withdraw by first novel from Select, and then start distributing both books more widely. Now, I'm considering putting them both into Select and seeing how this pans out.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> It is, but here's a direct link before it gets buried in a glut of reblogging frenzy... http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/21/convergence-and-the-path-to-publication-part-v-on-promotion/


Cheers, Mike. Will trot off to read!

Elliot - interesting to hear about your cover-artist. It sounds very promising. I agree that since the advent of KU it's a bit hard to know which way to jump. And there are so many different discussion threads on the board.


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Hi Everyone!
> 
> Michael and Lucas, thanks for the updates on Bknights. I have a countdown running this week and they're supposed to run an ad or whatever on Thursday, I'll let ya'll know
> 
> Welcome Mark!
> 
> Jessica's up on the writing process blog tour speculative fiction blog hop, gonna get over there in a bit and say hi! Cora's next, then Kevin Hardman. We're scheduled out to September 8th, with no one on Sept. 1st cause it's Labor Day in the US. Should we just skip Labor Day? Or does anyone want to pick it up? Thoughts?
> 
> Sandra, thanks for making the weekly posts. I know I and everyone else appreciates it!


If you can find someone for Labor day, I would not skip it. IMO


----------



## unkownwriter

JessieCar said:


> Sheila - I think it must be the same one - I typed it slightly wrong! It is free, and I really like it. I haven't tried Scrivener - is it also a formatting program, or is that something different?


Scrivener is a lot like yWriter in how it functions, and you can compile for different book formats in the program. Unless yWriter has changed, you can't do that (it exports in a couple of formats, like .doc and .rtf).

I'd love to see some cover reveals! I'm getting my series covers set up with a template, the title and author name font, and then finishing each "drawing" for individual books. Now I've got the backgrounds for each book to come up with. I'll need a decent handwriting font, and some "notes" to include.

Welcome to the thread, Mark! The more the merrier, I say. 

Summer is usually very slow, but I'd think a new book could catch the reader's eye right now, since a lot of writers wait until the slump is over. With KU now, who knows though? I want to sit back and see what happens, but I did that with Select and missed out on the good sales and borrows early on.

I still don't like that there's no selection process to get into Select (kind of defeats the whole purpose of the name) -- there's nothing special about it to readers, except for being able to borrow books if they have Prime.

Ah, well. I guess I'll see what I want to do once the novels are done and ready to publish. If I can get the rewrites done on the one that I'd previously published, I might try Select and see how KU does for me.

Decisions, decisions.


----------



## SB James

mphicks said:


> It is, but here's a direct link before it gets buried in a glut of reblogging frenzy... http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/21/convergence-and-the-path-to-publication-part-v-on-promotion/


Sorry, I've been sort of lurking around this particular thread recently. I enjoyed this post and liked it on WP.
Also, my bknights promo was nothing short of amazing for me anyway! I cannot say enough good about what it has done for my writing ego!  
I especially enjoyed being in the top 10 in the Teen & YA Steampunk, even if it was for a little while! I suppose this mean I can claim I have a Bestselling book, right?


----------



## markhealy

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'll post the cover art once it's done. I found a series of post-apocalyptic covers on Amazon that I really liked, so I hunted down the designer. Turns out he's a friend of the author--he's a graphic designer in his day job, and did them as a side gig. I reckon he's an untapped talent. Pretty excited to see what he comes up with--we're trying to capture a gritty western feel, but channel the post-apocalypse at the same time.


My favourite post-apoc artist is Jonas de Ro, but I don't think he takes commissions unfortunately. He does some inspiring work though, check this one out for example:

http://jonasdero.deviantart.com/art/Forsaken-264869414


----------



## Harry Manners

markhealy said:


> My favourite post-apoc artist is Jonas de Ro, but I don't think he takes commissions unfortunately. He does some inspiring work though, check this one out for example:
> 
> http://jonasdero.deviantart.com/art/Forsaken-264869414


That's some beautiful art, right there!

markhealy and S. Elliot Brandis, it's a pleasure to find some fellow post-apocalyptic writers. I look forward to seeing more details on both your projects! 

---

Hi there, guys. I'm Harry, and I'm going to be releasing my debut post-apocalyptic novel *25th August 2014*. I've been perusing KBoards a while now, and I have to admit this thread just kind of slipped through the net. I had no idea it was here at all. Strange, huh?

A little about me: I'm a student of Physics in the UK, I'm a huge fan of sci-fi and horror, along with a sprinkle of classic literary. Most of my work tends to operate in the dystopian/apocalyptic vein, and I've had short fiction published in magazines and e-zines. I enjoy blogging (more like keeping an online writer's journal, but occasionally I'll post articles), and tweet regularly under *@harry_a_manners*.

You can see a bit more about me here:

*Website* (made it myself, I'd love to know what you think): http://www.harrymanners.net
*Blog*: http://www.harrymanners.wordpress.com

A little about my upcoming novel:

_Ruin (The Ruin Saga #1)

Norman Creek has a destiny: to save the world.

Earth has been almost lifeless for forty years, since a mysterious disaster caused most of the world's population to vanish. With the greatest famine in decades at its peak, thousands lay dying in the ruins of once-great cities.

A high-ranking member of England's last true society, Norman will soon have to take up the mantle of leadership, and keep the ways of the Old World from becoming lost forever. But being a leader was never a life he wanted.

As starvation grips the country, and Norman becomes ever more desperate to escape his fate, a hostile coalition emerges; one that heralds the coming of a second Apocalypse, hell-bent on ending the Old World forever._

*Cover art*: You can see the artwork here: http://harrymanners.net/images/covers/ruin_web.jpg

I loved working with the artist on the cover. I was a huge fan of his work online, and tracked him down to commission him. I'm hoping use him for all my covers and generate a 'branded' feel for my work.

Recently, I've had a lot going on. I'm expecting my final, last proofreader to send the manuscript back today, and then it's off for formatting. I'll be posting a free excerpt online this week. Lately, I've been running around like a headless chicken: ISBNs, EIN, proofread, dealing with beta-readers, setting up my Goodreads Author Account, implementing the book portal on my website, getting my author photo, registering with the HMRC, the big cover reveal on social media, linking my social networking accounts, building my mailing list. Oh lord, it goes on!
But always, always research. Research, research, research!

And the members of KBoards, I can never thank enough. Such angels, helping one another out and giving away their hard-earned advice. I often don't have much to add in threads, but I love trawling the boards just for the sense of community. I hope to get some of you guys better. There's a hell of a lot of great work going around here!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Hi Harry.

Lovely cover.. who was the designer? Nice website, too. 

My second post-apocalyptic novel, Degenerated, comes out next week. 

Interesting that you're studying physics. I'm an engineer. A lot of the old sci-fi authors had technical degrees, too.

Good luck.


----------



## markhealy

Hey Harry, sounds like an intriguing concept and the cover art is great!  Look forward to hearing more from you.


----------



## Harry Manners

Hi Elliot, I was just looking over your site, and saw that your sequel was out this month. I'll be sure to pick it up!

Thanks for the comment on the cover. It was designed by Levente Szabo, a graphic artist. 


An engineer, huh? Strange how many technical people get drawn to writing. And yeah, Clarke and Asimov etc. seem to have set the trend with their background training. 

Take care. 

---

Hi Mark, thanks for the comments. I certainly look forward to seeing more of your work, as well.


----------



## RuthNestvold

Hi specficers! (hm, I think I'll have to rethink that one ...)

I haven't been on Kboards much in the past few months, and somehow I missed this thread. I write science fiction and fantasy, and I guess I'm what nowadays people call a "hybrid author" since a lot of my short stories and one of my novels have been published in the old fashioned way, submitting the manuscript and getting it accepted. 

Nowadays I mostly concentrate on indie publishing, but I do still submit short stories to traditional markets. 

What's the blog hop people are talking about upstream? I live in Germany, so I wouldn't have any conflicts on Labor Day -- but Sept. 1 is also my wedding anniversary. *g*


----------



## Ceinwen

Harry, I remember your cover from your feedback thread! It's really great, and I like the sound of the blurb. Look forward to checking it out! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

heidi_g said:


> Jessica's up on the writing process blog tour speculative fiction blog hop, gonna get over there in a bit and say hi! Cora's next, then Kevin Hardman. We're scheduled out to September 8th, with no one on Sept. 1st cause it's Labor Day in the US. Should we just skip Labor Day? Or does anyone want to pick it up? Thoughts?


I think it's better to not to skip any weeks. Consistency, etc.

This week's post:
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html

It's interesting how Jessica tried to fold fan fiction into her latest novel and how that worked out. She also mentions the differences in her fantasy. I read her first book a decade ago when it was trade published. I've remembered it all these years because reading it felt like drinking a glass of sparkling fresh water.

And previous posts...
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog



RuthNestvold said:


> What's the blog hop people are talking about upstream? I live in Germany, so I wouldn't have any conflicts on Labor Day -- but Sept. 1 is also my wedding anniversary. *g*


In WordPress you can schedule posts for later dates. BTW, I very much enjoyed your lace story in the Tiptree anthology.


----------



## Harry Manners

Ceinwen L. said:


> Harry, I remember your cover from your feedback thread! It's really great, and I like the sound of the blurb. Look forward to checking it out!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi Ceinwen, I remember you, too. Thanks again for the feedback you gave.

I'm on the home stretch towards my first publication now. Exciting times!


----------



## unkownwriter

Welcome Harry and Ruth! This thread tends to drop off the first few pages, until we have a flurry of postings. Boom!

The first apocalyptic book I read was Alas, Babylon when I was very, very young. It hooked me, and I've been like this ever since.  I also write apocalyptic/post apocalyptic fiction, among other genres. I seem to be stuck in a zombie mode lately, though, which is taking focus from a couple of other things that really should be done and published. 

Ruth, some of us (well, probably all of us by now) signed up to do a writing process blog hop, which has since been renamed the speculative fiction blog hop. There are some questions to cover, like what we write, why we write it, and how we write. If you want to join us, you could do like I did/will do and write your post early, and post it on the day you chose.


----------



## mphicks

Welcome to the board Harry! Both your sites look great, and I'm digging the cover art and description. I'll keep an eye out for this one come release - good luck with the book launch!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Great cover, Harry.

Also Harry, Ruth, Elliott and everybody else, let me know if you have a new speculative fiction book coming out, so I can include you in the Indie Spec Fic of the Month round-up, which is usually posted on the last day of the month.


----------



## Indecisive

How does one join this blog hop? I would be up for it sometime this fall. 

And yes, there has definitely been a flurry of posts lately!


----------



## jdrew

ameliasmith said:


> How does one join this blog hop? I would be up for it sometime this fall.
> 
> And yes, there has definitely been a flurry of posts lately!


Yes, how does one join the blog hop? How far back do I need to go to find info on it? I too would like to get in on it this fall. I'd really like to do it now but I am going crazy trying to get everything to come together so my next book gets published. Why is it there always seems to be one more thing that needs done, fixed, revised, etc.?


----------



## WDR

Harry Manners said:


> I'm on the home stretch towards my first publication now. Exciting times!


Good luck, Harry!

I found it kind of funny how anti-climactic it was to click on the "PUBLISH" button. One moment you're not published, the next you are. Where it really kicks in is when people start buying your book.


----------



## heidi_g

Ruth, I keep up with the blog hop. Would you like to sign you up for September 1? I agree with Sandra and Vince, best not to skip weeks so it would be awesome if that would work for you. You can pm me your email address if that works for you and I'll get you on the schedule.

Amelia and jdrew, would love to have you both sign up for the blog hop too! We've got September 15, 22, and 29th open. If you want to join in just pm me your email address and we'll get you on the schedule too.

Welcome Harry!


----------



## Harry Manners

Sheila: Alas, Babylon was one of the first in the post-apocalyptic genre I read as well. Loved it! But my personal favourites are definitely David Brin's 'The Postman', and George R. Stewart's 'Earth Abides'.

mphicks: Thanks for the comments, I'd be thrilled to know what you think of it when it comes out!

Cora: I'll be sure to let you know, I'd be keen to join in on the roundup.

WDR: I can imagine it is indeed anti-climactic, sitting there alone in front of the computer just like any other day. I'm already trying steel myself for publishing it up and getting only a trickle of sales. This being my debut, that's what'll happen, so I'm trying to mentally prepare for the lack of fanfare. But, as you say, it'll really feel great when I get a few readers, once my list starts growing.

Heidi: I'm also love to join the blog hop at some point if there are any open spaces. My debut will be out 25th August. 

Thanks for the welcomes and comments, everyone. You've all been very welcoming.


----------



## Lucas Bale

Harry Manners said:


> Sheila: Alas, Babylon was one of the first in the post-apocalyptic genre I read as well. Loved it! But my personal favourites are definitely David Brin's 'The Postman', and George R. Stewart's 'Earth Abides'.
> 
> mphicks: Thanks for the comments, I'd be thrilled to know what you think of it when it comes out!
> 
> Cora: I'll be sure to let you know, I'd be keen to join in on the roundup.
> 
> WDR: I can imagine it is indeed anti-climactic, sitting there alone in front of the computer just like any other day. I'm already trying steel myself for publishing it up and getting only a trickle of sales. This being my debut, that's what'll happen, so I'm trying to mentally prepare for the lack of fanfare. But, as you say, it'll really feel great when I get a few readers, once my list starts growing.
> 
> Heidi: I'm also love to join the blog hop at some point if there are any open spaces. My debut will be out 25th August.
> 
> Thanks for the welcomes and comments, everyone. You've all been very welcoming.


Welcome Harry. We already know each other through twitter, but welcome to the SFHFC. There's a great bunch people here.

WDR is right - I think it's not so much that it's anti-climactic per se, more that, for a little while, nothing much happens. No fanfare, no ticker-tape just the silence of waiting and the perpetual "refresh-click". As for your debut - I'd happily help promote through an interview, if that sounds of interest to you. Check out the ones I've done for Michael Bunker, Jason Gurley and Mike Hicks. If you like the look of it, I'll work with you on it. I normally get around 800-1,000 visits a month.


----------



## RuthNestvold

> In WordPress you can schedule posts for later dates. BTW, I very much enjoyed your lace story in the Tiptree anthology.


Why thank you! Looking Through Lace is still one of my favorite things I've written, even though it was pretty early in my career. But it came together magically somehow. Wish it always happened like that. *g*



> Ruth, I keep up with the blog hop. Would you like to sign you up for September 1? I agree with Sandra and Vince, best not to skip weeks so it would be awesome if that would work for you. You can pm me your email address if that works for you and I'll get you on the schedule.


Well, if we're supposed to answer the questions from the writing process blog hop, I was already tagged on that one and did those. If we can get a little creative and do something similar but not exactly the same, I'd be happy to fill the empty slot.

You guys could toss four random questions at me to answer, frex, similar but not exactly the same as the writing process questions.


----------



## Harry Manners

Lucas Bale said:


> Welcome Harry. We already know each other through twitter, but welcome to the SFHFC. There's a great bunch people here.
> 
> WDR is right -- I think it's not so much that it's anti-climactic per se, more that, for a little while, nothing much happens. No fanfare, no ticker-tape just the silence of waiting and the perpetual "refresh-click". As for your debut - I'd happily help promote through an interview, if that sounds of interest to you. Check out the ones I've done for Michael Bunker, Jason Gurley and Mike Hicks. If you like the look of it, I'll work with you on it. I normally get around 800-1,000 visits a month.


Hi Lucas! Great to see you here. 
Indeed, I'm braced for a few tumbleweeds after publication day - and a few months after that, most likely.

An interview would be wonderful! It's very kind of you to make such an offer. If there's anything I can do in return, let me know.

---

I just got the final manuscript back from my last proofreader. It's locked in, now, the words are set. Five long years of effort, and I'm finally here.

Now it's just has to go off for formatting, and it'll be ready for the digital shelf.

I'll be posting up a free excerpt in the next day or two.


----------



## 68564

Welcome to all the new posters - I have lost track of who is who already - so welcome one and all!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

CoraBuhlert said:


> Great cover, Harry.
> 
> Also Harry, Ruth, Elliott and everybody else, let me know if you have a new speculative fiction book coming out, so I can include you in the Indie Spec Fic of the Month round-up, which is usually posted on the last day of the month.


That's lovely of you to offer. I wondered how to get on that list last month 

We released a short story just last week!  Surreal Dark Fantasy http://amzn.com/B00LUYFC9E


----------



## unkownwriter

Harry Manners said:


> David Brin's 'The Postman', and George R. Stewart's 'Earth Abides'.


Lovely books! (Is that weird to say about PA fiction?) Every so often I re-read Alas, Babylon, and then usually go on to The Postman. Good times. Good times.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Oh wow! The thread exploded. xD

Sheila - I'm going to take a look at Scrivener for definite. Word drives me crazy.

Hello Harry - I'm another UK person - very taken with your web-site and cover art! I love the graphic design.

Ruth - nice to meet you, I'm a hybrid author too. I had two books published at the start of the noughties by the trad method and then...nothing. Until 2013 when I became an indie.

Sandra - thank you so much for the share and updating the list of blog posts. I'll return to posting the list on my blog next week, when Cora does her post. I'm really touched by what you said about my first book - that's one of the nicest things anyone has said.

And Raventide Books - congrats on your short story release!

(falls over)


----------



## Victoria J

Wow! I haven't posted in this thread since like. . .page 3! Anyway, hello again, everyone. I released my newest book at the beginning of this month, Mission: Flight To Mars. I ran a Bargain Booksy ad on it this month and I think I like Bargain Booksy almost as much as I like FreeBooksy ads. They will definitely stay in my contacts list of promotions that work.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

RaventideBooks said:


> That's lovely of you to offer. I wondered how to get on that list last month
> 
> We released a short story just last week!  Surreal Dark Fantasy http://amzn.com/B00LUYFC9E


No problem, I'll include yours and Victoria's latest as well. I'm up to 18 new indie spec fic books for July now.


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> No problem, I'll include yours and Victoria's latest as well. I'm up to 18 new indie spec fic books for July now.


I will have a new one, but it's in August. If it is late August, will it make it in, I wonder?


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Jessie- Thank you! We're excited! 

Cora- Awesome! I'll be waiting to tweet that post.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

SB James said:


> I will have a new one, but it's in August. If it is late August, will it make it in, I wonder?


If you don't make it into the August round-up, there's always September.


----------



## Harry Manners

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Lovely books! (Is that weird to say about PA fiction?) Every so often I re-read Alas, Babylon, and then usually go on to The Postman. Good times. Good times.


Not weird at all! They're my favourite sub-genre. The Postman just seems to sweep by, it's downright majestic.

*JessieCar* Thanks very much! Good to meet another Brit. I'm thrilled the cover and website have gone down so well. It's a real confidence boost leading up to the release.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Congrats to everyone who has a recent or new release as well! This thread goes so fast sometimes it's hard to keep up with, so I'll just make a large, generalize, impersonal sweeping statement... for all of you!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Victoria J - congrats on the new release! I am wondering about putting my first book in KDP Select (groan) and I think I had good success with BargainBooksy last time.

Cora - I don't think we'll make it for July. We're still stuck with the inverted commas nightmare.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

My polish is going a little slower than I'd hoped, so my next book is going to fall in August too... since I'm out of town next week.


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> If you don't make it into the August round-up, there's always September.


True that, and it may even make more sense. I really appreciate it too


----------



## Harry Manners

RaventideBooks said:


> Congrats to everyone who has a recent or new release as well! This thread goes so fast sometimes it's hard to keep up with, so I'll just make a large, generalize, impersonal sweeping statement... for all of you!


I feel so special. 

Thanks for the welcome!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Harry Manners said:


> I feel so special.
> 
> Thanks for the welcome!


You, of course, are quite special. 

You're welcome. Enjoy your time at Kboards!


----------



## meh

Uh, haven't really posted something to promote here in this thread, so I hope I'm doing it right.

Just published a fantasy / paranormal short story pack yesterday and highlighted it on my blog: http://wp.me/p2mfEO-1V5

Now I'll continue reading back in this thread to figure out how this all works.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Judy, I'll include The Wish into the indie spec fic of the month round-up for July.

Meanwhile, I was interviewed by KB's own K.J. Bryen yesterday.


----------



## unkownwriter

Cora, that was a great interview!

Harry, I love that about the book. I'll admit to liking the movie adaptation as well. 

Raventide, Judy, and anyone I've missed, congrats on the new releases. Isn't that fun? I'm already feeling the post-publishing let-down, and I'm looking at some other short stories to see if I can make up another collection or two to tide me over until I can get a novel out.


----------



## Ceinwen

Great interview, Cora! I'm working on answering some questions for KJ myself  

Today I sat down and plotted the first half of a dystopic/sci-fi trilogy set largely in space, which is not something I expected to do. I wrote a (very) short story a few weeks ago and had a good reaction by twitter followers when I posted it on my blog, and today the ideas just fell out. I'm actually really excited about it! So that's something to play with once I get this novella done. Though first I'm going to have to learn some stuff about… space.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Welcome to all those who are new to this thread!

My interview with K. J. Bryen is up as well: http://plungingintothenovel.blogspot.ca/2014/07/interview-with-phronk-author-of-stars.html. It was fun talking about my love/hate relationship with urban fantasy cliches, and I appreciate what K. J. is doing over there.

I also have a new short story up called Strangers at a Funeral. Kboards has been great for helping refine the blurb and cover, and for lighting a fire under my butt to write faster. So, thanks to everyone around here.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

CoraBuhlert said:


> Judy, I'll include The Wish into the indie spec fic of the month round-up for July.
> 
> Meanwhile, I was interviewed by KB's own K.J. Bryen yesterday.


Great blog, Cora! Have shared it on my Facebook page and done the usual Twitter thing.

judygoodwin - nice to meet you!

Sheila - know what you mean about post-publishing letdown. I wish I could write faster!

Ceinwen -


> Today I sat down and plotted the first half of a dystopic/sci-fi trilogy set largely in space, which is not something I expected to do.


Wow! I love things that fly in out of left field. That's wonderful.

Phronk - will check out your interview too. It sounds as though you have been very productive. And congrats on the short story!


----------



## Harry Manners

Phronk said:


> Welcome to all those who are new to this thread!
> 
> ...
> 
> I also have a new short story up called Strangers at a Funeral. Kboards has been great for helping refine the blurb and cover, and for lighting a fire under my butt to write faster. So, thanks to everyone around here.


Hi there!

I'd love to read the short, but it seems the link you provided is broken.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

JessieCar said:


> Phronk - will check out your interview too. It sounds as though you have been very productive. And congrats on the short story!


Thanks very much!



Harry Manners said:


> I'd love to read the short, but it seems the link you provided is broken.


Dang, you're right. It's fixed now (and also here: http://amzn.com/B00M3PTNUS). Thanks for letting me know. And let me return the favour: the link in your signature not only doesn't work, but is surrounded by traditional HTML rather than the weird code these boards require. It should be "url=(url)" in square brackets with "/url" after it. I'll sign up when it's working!


----------



## Harry Manners

Phronk said:


> Dang, you're right. It's fixed now (and also here: http://amzn.com/B00M3PTNUS). Thanks for letting me know. And let me return the favour: the link in your signature not only doesn't work, but is surrounded by traditional HTML rather than the weird code these boards require. It should be "url=(url)" in square brackets with "/url" after it. I'll sign up when it's working!


Ah, yes, thanks! 
I'll fix that right away.

And I'll get to reading your story, after I sign up for your mailing list.


----------



## heidi_g

Hey all! I owe a couple of emails on the blog hop, will get those out Monday!

My bknights promo of my countdown deal on Thursday was something of a bust. SOB. Anwyay, the KCD started Monday and across the board I've sold about 1 or 2 books a day, so the promo didn't give me a spike, but they are being awesome and refunding my money, so that is well: AWESOME. I'm going to try one more time with them in late August, after I release _The Tree Hugger_.


----------



## AngryGames

*Typical Angry wall of text ahead. Skip to the next post. I did.*

Right. I usually don't talk much about what I'm up to, unless specifically asked (and who is going to ask a turd like me anything but "why won't you STFU and get out of the way"), but this KU thing is still sitting at the front of my brain. I could probably post this in the KU megathread(s), but I like my spec fic peeps, and so I choose to annoy...er, engage with you instead.

I refuse to pull my books out of other channels and go exclusive again (many reasons, blah blah blah). But I've got a ton of shorts and serials just sitting around. I work on them here and there when I need a break from the novels. I've released a couple of shorts and novellas, but they don't sell all that well (though the longer the work, the better it will sell at $.99, at least in my experience, and keep in mind, I don't do erotica, or else I'd be writing 1500 word stories and buying a new Bentley by charging everyone $2.99 heh).

I was going to one day lump all of my shorts and such together, within the same genres anyway, and just roll out an anthology or collection or whatever. You know, nothing too serious. Then this KU thing came along. I've still got all kinds of questions and concerns (again, blah blah blah, beat to death already), but I'm also willing to give it a go. I missed the KDP Select frenzy, publishing well after that program was brought out. I don't want to miss the KU possible frenzy.

In that light, I've been picking and polishing some shorts and such over the last few days. If readers can pay $9.99 a month and read everything in KU that their brains will digest, then they'll be a lot more willing to chance some shorts and ongoing serials. At least, this is my prediction (hope). As usual, I'm not all that concerned with the money aspect, though we do need a few things around the house (like a new range hood so our house doesn't melt from the inside out in the summertime, and maybe a second MA for my wife now that she's addicted to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War).

Since I'm talking to myself and no one will read this, I'll just keep babbling. These are some nonsensical garbage fires that I'll be pushing out to readers in the next few days to week (or two).

Conviction: In a dystopian future ruled by The Society, criminals are no longer sentenced to prison, as prisons no longer exist. Convicted criminals are now injected with a nano solution that alters the color pigments in their skin and hair, the color determined by the severity / class of crime. When I say 'alters the pigments,' I mean absolutely, completely, and thoroughly. ALL skin and hair becomes a single unnaturally vivid shade of a solid color:
White - the lowest of misdemeanors (such as missing a required Society meeting, loitering, etc. And when I say "white" I don't mean "the color of caucasian skin" because that's peach-ish or creamy-tan, etc. This is an almost blinding, pure white, so vivid it makes albinos look like they've spent a week on a Cancun beach soaking up rays)
Blue - the lowest of felonies (such as drunk driving, light vandalism, etc)
Green - all drug crimes
Orange - violent assaults and/or weapons charges (all weapons are illegal in The Society)
Red - murder
Pink - rape
Yellow - terrorism / political extremism (ie: having a political stance different than the Society's)
Purple - pedophilia and other crimes against children
Gold - theft

Convicts remain 'colored' until their sentence is up. Crimes committed while serving a conviction = conviction status is changed to Gray. Gray is the worst, as grays are considered completely invisible. They can be killed by anyone, even another convict, without repercussion. Completed sentences gets you a single stripe of your conviction color under your right eye on the cheek, and a colored ring around your right index finger (should you lose fingers or such, it will be transferred to the next available digit). All businesses and persons are legally allowed to discriminate against any conviction status, so if a sign in the cafe window says "White, Blue, & Green Only" then those are the only convicts that can enter the premise. Yes, sort of like Jim Crow. Except it is illegal to discriminate against someone's natural skin tone (which is why there are no 'peach' 'black' or 'brown' conviction colors, and again, the nanos make a convict's skin impossible to mistake them with a law-abiding citizen). Not that this stops anyone from discrimination, of course.

That's the gist. Classic 'underdogs vs powerful ruling faction' sci-fi stuff. I thought it would be a neat take into both dystopian crime and discrimination. It's a broad story with 4-5 sets of "main characters" so I've easily begun to separate it into episodes of about 10k words (4 chapters or so) each. Probably be about 10-12 episodes.

Transfer: In the near future, we've discovered a way to make a full image of human consciousness. The government took this secret technology to Area 59 and trained a group of undercover agents. If the agent dies in the field, a cloned body is decanted and the last consciousness image is imprinted to it. The agent then has to piece together the events between his last memory (being imaged) and his death. There's a good amount of philosophical wrangling as the main character has to struggle with the knowledge that each time he 'wakes up' after being transferred, he's not really the him that died. He's just a copy of the last image made.

There's about 14 hand-written pages of concept behind this one, a new record for me, which means it's got a lot of depth (as much depth as a loser like me can imagine, anyway haha). Was going to drop it into a single novel, but now thinking I'm going to break it up into installments, and write each installment like the classic serial episode stuff my parents grew up on (Batman, lol). While it is science fiction, the majority of the story isn't. It's about working to capture the bad guy before the bad guy (guys in this case) unleashes blah blah blah and yadda yadda.

I love how I can make any story sound awful. Don't ever let me write blurbs for you!

Fangtastic: Okay. I HATE vampire shit. Seriously. Hate it. Absolutely hate it. Yes, I've read stellar vampire stories (Salem's Lot is probably my all-time fav). Twilight sort of ruined it for me, along with the bandwagon everyone climbed on. But I hate vampires. Refuse to write them. Until now. For some reason, my brother and I (who hates vampires more than me, if that's possible), came up with a couple of good ideas. Readers love vampires, so whatever, I'll try anything once (I think this makes me a 'trisexual'? trysexual?)

Return To Innocence - after nine centuries, Elian's long-time companion shows up and shows signs of becoming mortal again. It seems the Ellensburg Group (kind of my take on Van Helsing and his pals) began to gravitate toward technology in the 1950's, and instead of hunting down individual vampires, they've created a serum that is dormant in the human body, only activating when the enzyme from a vampire's bite is detected. They grew their network as the internet grew, and put their assets in tens of thousands of places, including (and especially) hospitals, specifically maternity wards. The Ellensburg agents 'infected' as many mortals as they could, and the active components of the serum are passed on, so any mortal infected passes the trait to his/her offspring.

Over a long enough timeline, enough of the world's population carries this infection, and any vampire that feeds on one of these persons begins to revert back to mortality. Elian realizes there is no way to reverse it, and the infection is now spreading at an almost geometric rate. He battles with himself over his fear of mortality and his desire to walk under the sun again, to taste wine and food, even enjoy sex as a mortal.

Capo - A vampire that has lived for two millennium has become so bored with 'life' that he's put himself to sleep for centuries at a time, hoping to wake up and enjoy a new, changed world each time. When he wakes up in the 21st century, he decides to become a hitman for a mid-level mafioso. He's the perfect hitman, but soon he desires to become the man at the top... (this is a relatively short story)

Moving On (working title) - With modern instant communications, constant surveillance, and revolutionary new forensic techniques, hunting prey has never been harder. But the one unfortunate group of humans that flies under the radar make the perfect feasts for a creature of the night. No one cares about the gangbangers, the crackheads, the poor minorities of the inner cities. When a body is found, it's attributed to just another crime in the ghetto that will forever be unsolved.

Jamal Everett is a detective for the San Jose PD. Before that he was a detective for the Seattle PD, Chicago PD, Houston PD, and Denver PD. His quirky isolationism makes him the butt of jokes in every department he serves, with rumors rampant that he's been chasing the bogeyman for most of his career. Jamal isn't concerned with how his coworkers view him. He's been chasing a... something... for sixteen years and five major metro areas. The pattern is always the same: poor, black or brown, bodies murdered in such a way as to mask the real cause of death: quad puncture holes near the carotid artery. Detective Everett feels like he's never been closer to the killer, and he's right. He's about to finally confront the shadow he's been stalking...

Again, I totally hate vampire stories, but I think we all have one or two within us.

Right. Last one...

Exchange Rate: Jefferson Taylor Charles has just made partner at his law firm in a small town in southern Idaho. His life has been an incredible string of successes, and the only path for him is to continue shooting straight up. On his way home from the office party thrown in celebration for him, he watches in horror as a body goes over the railing of the East Canyon Bridge, six hundred feet above the Snake River.

L'Tasha Allyson Mosely is fifteen, black, bisexual, and at the literal end of her rope. White, religious, conservative small-town Idaho is no place for her, and she can't go back to FL as she no longer fits in with her peers there either. After a disastrous breakup with a popular cheerleader she'd been in a secret relationship with (a fiery Baptist preacher's daughter, no less), she confides to her new boyfriend about it. Betrayed by him, and now the target of vicious, nonstop bullying, coupled with the fact her mother cares more about her new husband than her own daughter, Allyson decides to take a walk off the bridge to end the pain.

Jeff finds Allyson clinging to a bridge pylon and talks her into climbing back up. In a moment of happiness that the young girl didn't let go, he kisses her on the forehead. From that moment on, their lives begin to change. Allyson's will to live is ignited, and she goes on to be a spokesperson to bullied and suicidal teens (and adults) across the country, changing lives for the better. After Allyson gives an interview where she explained how Jeff 'rescued' her from certain death, Jeff's life becomes a jumbled mess of strangers camping in his yard, following him everywhere he goes, hoping he'll leave a small piece of himself in them like he did Allyson. As he 'rescues' more troubled persons, his life spirals into chaos until he finds himself standing on the same bridge years later, gun against his temple, unable to bear the pain of his miserable life anymore.

There's a few more stories I'm prepping, but these are the first ones I'll have ready.

I do cover some touchy subjects in a lot of my stories, racism or other forms of bigotry being one of them. I also like my stories like my coffee, very dark and sometimes bitter, with just a hint of creamy sweetness. Heh, that sounds straight out of an advertisement.

Right, anyway, sorry to annoy you with my walls of text. As you can maybe sense, I'm a bit excited about seeing if I can get any traction with this new KU program. I think marketing/exposure will be a bit different than the usual paths we go down. Not too different, there's still the need to drive readers to our books, but different in the sense we'll be targeting an entirely new group (even if it is made up of our normal readers). I'm thinking something along the lines of "try it, it's not like you spent money for it if you hated it!", though, of course, we'll never state it in such a way as that.

Well, I will. That's my gig. But the rest of you, I think that might be the underlying feeling (okay, me too)... convince readers to take a chance, and if they like it, give them a ton of appetizers and try to upsell them to the longer (better royalty) works like our $3.99+ books.

I'm also wondering... which services (BK, BB, ENT, etc) will we find the most effective for this new program? Does anyone think there might be a few brilliant minds out there right now trying to solve how to drive traffic to KU books and still get a piece? Especially now that affiliate links are probably nil for a program that has a flat cost.

Right. STFU, Travis. I apologize. As you were.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Some interesting ideas there, Angry. Good luck and hopefully KU will work out for you.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Cora, my novel Degenerated is being published right at the end of this month, so I'm not sure what side of the fence it will fall on. I'm putting it up on the 30th, to make sure it's live for the start of my Irradiated promos on the 31st.


----------



## Ceinwen

Hey Elliot, out of curiosity how much of Degenerated did you have written when you launched Irradiated? And did you wait until Irradiated was completely finished to start it, or did you start during editing or between drafts? Super impressed by how efficiently you're getting this trilogy out, so would love insider info in case I go ahead with one of my own.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Hey Elliot, out of curiosity how much of Degenerated did you have written when you launched Irradiated? And did you wait until Irradiated was completely finished to start it, or did you start during editing or between drafts? Super impressed by how efficiently you're getting this trilogy out, so would love insider info in case I go ahead with one of my own.


I finished the first draft of Irradiated back in November, and had it polished by early January. I had a false start with a horrible editor in Jan, and it took me a while to find someone right. I think I sent it to my current editor at the end of March, and published mid-May.

I started writing Degenerated in February, and sent it for editing in June. So when Irradiated was published I was a fair way away with the sequel.

The final book is planned for January 2015.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Today I was invited to talk about my trilogy at an all-female sci-fi book club in my city. The meeting's at the end of next month.

Completely out of the blue but super cool.


----------



## Ceinwen

Thanks for that! And an all woman sic-fi book club sounds seriously cool, congrats on the invite! Getting in with book clubs is a really great idea.


----------



## Harry Manners

AngryGames said:


> *Typical Angry wall of text ahead. Skip to the next post. I did.*
> 
> Right. I usually don't talk much about what I'm up to, unless specifically asked (and who is going to ask a turd like me anything but "why won't you STFU and get out of the way"), but this KU thing is still sitting at the front of my brain. I could probably post this in the KU megathread(s), but I like my spec fic peeps, and so I choose to annoy...er, engage with you instead.
> 
> I refuse to pull my books out of other channels and go exclusive again (many reasons, blah blah blah). But I've got a ton of shorts and serials just sitting around. I work on them here and there when I need a break from the novels. I've released a couple of shorts and novellas, but they don't sell all that well (though the longer the work, the better it will sell at $.99, at least in my experience, and keep in mind, I don't do erotica, or else I'd be writing 1500 word stories and buying a new Bentley by charging everyone $2.99 heh).
> 
> I was going to one day lump all of my shorts and such together, within the same genres anyway, and just roll out an anthology or collection or whatever. You know, nothing too serious. Then this KU thing came along. I've still got all kinds of questions and concerns (again, blah blah blah, beat to death already), but I'm also willing to give it a go. I missed the KDP Select frenzy, publishing well after that program was brought out. I don't want to miss the KU possible frenzy.
> 
> In that light, I've been picking and polishing some shorts and such over the last few days. If readers can pay $9.99 a month and read everything in KU that their brains will digest, then they'll be a lot more willing to chance some shorts and ongoing serials. At least, this is my prediction (hope). As usual, I'm not all that concerned with the money aspect, though we do need a few things around the house (like a new range hood so our house doesn't melt from the inside out in the summertime, and maybe a second MA for my wife now that she's addicted to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War).
> 
> Since I'm talking to myself and no one will read this, I'll just keep babbling. These are some nonsensical garbage fires that I'll be pushing out to readers in the next few days to week (or two).
> 
> Conviction: In a dystopian future ruled by The Society, criminals are no longer sentenced to prison, as prisons no longer exist. Convicted criminals are now injected with a nano solution that alters the color pigments in their skin and hair, the color determined by the severity / class of crime. When I say 'alters the pigments,' I mean absolutely, completely, and thoroughly. ALL skin and hair becomes a single unnaturally vivid shade of a solid color:
> White - the lowest of misdemeanors (such as missing a required Society meeting, loitering, etc. And when I say "white" I don't mean "the color of caucasian skin" because that's peach-ish or creamy-tan, etc. This is an almost blinding, pure white, so vivid it makes albinos look like they've spent a week on a Cancun beach soaking up rays)
> Blue - the lowest of felonies (such as drunk driving, light vandalism, etc)
> Green - all drug crimes
> Orange - violent assaults and/or weapons charges (all weapons are illegal in The Society)
> Red - murder
> Pink - rape
> Yellow - terrorism / political extremism (ie: having a political stance different than the Society's)
> Purple - pedophilia and other crimes against children
> Gold - theft
> 
> Convicts remain 'colored' until their sentence is up. Crimes committed while serving a conviction = conviction status is changed to Gray. Gray is the worst, as grays are considered completely invisible. They can be killed by anyone, even another convict, without repercussion. Completed sentences gets you a single stripe of your conviction color under your right eye on the cheek, and a colored ring around your right index finger (should you lose fingers or such, it will be transferred to the next available digit). All businesses and persons are legally allowed to discriminate against any conviction status, so if a sign in the cafe window says "White, Blue, & Green Only" then those are the only convicts that can enter the premise. Yes, sort of like Jim Crow. Except it is illegal to discriminate against someone's natural skin tone (which is why there are no 'peach' 'black' or 'brown' conviction colors, and again, the nanos make a convict's skin impossible to mistake them with a law-abiding citizen). Not that this stops anyone from discrimination, of course.
> 
> That's the gist. Classic 'underdogs vs powerful ruling faction' sci-fi stuff. I thought it would be a neat take into both dystopian crime and discrimination. It's a broad story with 4-5 sets of "main characters" so I've easily begun to separate it into episodes of about 10k words (4 chapters or so) each. Probably be about 10-12 episodes.
> 
> Transfer: In the near future, we've discovered a way to make a full image of human consciousness. The government took this secret technology to Area 59 and trained a group of undercover agents. If the agent dies in the field, a cloned body is decanted and the last consciousness image is imprinted to it. The agent then has to piece together the events between his last memory (being imaged) and his death. There's a good amount of philosophical wrangling as the main character has to struggle with the knowledge that each time he 'wakes up' after being transferred, he's not really the him that died. He's just a copy of the last image made.
> 
> There's about 14 hand-written pages of concept behind this one, a new record for me, which means it's got a lot of depth (as much depth as a loser like me can imagine, anyway haha). Was going to drop it into a single novel, but now thinking I'm going to break it up into installments, and write each installment like the classic serial episode stuff my parents grew up on (Batman, lol). While it is science fiction, the majority of the story isn't. It's about working to capture the bad guy before the bad guy (guys in this case) unleashes blah blah blah and yadda yadda.
> 
> I love how I can make any story sound awful. Don't ever let me write blurbs for you!
> 
> Fangtastic: Okay. I HATE vampire [crap]. Seriously. Hate it. Absolutely hate it. Yes, I've read stellar vampire stories (Salem's Lot is probably my all-time fav). Twilight sort of ruined it for me, along with the bandwagon everyone climbed on. But I hate vampires. Refuse to write them. Until now. For some reason, my brother and I (who hates vampires more than me, if that's possible), came up with a couple of good ideas. Readers love vampires, so whatever, I'll try anything once (I think this makes me a 'trisexual'? trysexual?)
> 
> Return To Innocence - after nine centuries, Elian's long-time companion shows up and shows signs of becoming mortal again. It seems the Ellensburg Group (kind of my take on Van Helsing and his pals) began to gravitate toward technology in the 1950's, and instead of hunting down individual vampires, they've created a serum that is dormant in the human body, only activating when the enzyme from a vampire's bite is detected. They grew their network as the internet grew, and put their assets in tens of thousands of places, including (and especially) hospitals, specifically maternity wards. The Ellensburg agents 'infected' as many mortals as they could, and the active components of the serum are passed on, so any mortal infected passes the trait to his/her offspring.
> 
> Over a long enough timeline, enough of the world's population carries this infection, and any vampire that feeds on one of these persons begins to revert back to mortality. Elian realizes there is no way to reverse it, and the infection is now spreading at an almost geometric rate. He battles with himself over his fear of mortality and his desire to walk under the sun again, to taste wine and food, even enjoy sex as a mortal.
> 
> Capo - A vampire that has lived for two millennium has become so bored with 'life' that he's put himself to sleep for centuries at a time, hoping to wake up and enjoy a new, changed world each time. When he wakes up in the 21st century, he decides to become a hitman for a mid-level mafioso. He's the perfect hitman, but soon he desires to become the man at the top... (this is a relatively short story)
> 
> Moving On (working title) - With modern instant communications, constant surveillance, and revolutionary new forensic techniques, hunting prey has never been harder. But the one unfortunate group of humans that flies under the radar make the perfect feasts for a creature of the night. No one cares about the gangbangers, the crackheads, the poor minorities of the inner cities. When a body is found, it's attributed to just another crime in the ghetto that will forever be unsolved.
> 
> Jamal Everett is a detective for the San Jose PD. Before that he was a detective for the Seattle PD, Chicago PD, Houston PD, and Denver PD. His quirky isolationism makes him the butt of jokes in every department he serves, with rumors rampant that he's been chasing the bogeyman for most of his career. Jamal isn't concerned with how his coworkers view him. He's been chasing a... something... for sixteen years and five major metro areas. The pattern is always the same: poor, black or brown, bodies murdered in such a way as to mask the real cause of death: quad puncture holes near the carotid artery. Detective Everett feels like he's never been closer to the killer, and he's right. He's about to finally confront the shadow he's been stalking...
> 
> Again, I totally hate vampire stories, but I think we all have one or two within us.
> 
> Right. Last one...
> 
> Exchange Rate: Jefferson Taylor Charles has just made partner at his law firm in a small town in southern Idaho. His life has been an incredible string of successes, and the only path for him is to continue shooting straight up. On his way home from the office party thrown in celebration for him, he watches in horror as a body goes over the railing of the East Canyon Bridge, six hundred feet above the Snake River.
> 
> L'Tasha Allyson Mosely is fifteen, black, bisexual, and at the literal end of her rope. White, religious, conservative small-town Idaho is no place for her, and she can't go back to FL as she no longer fits in with her peers there either. After a disastrous breakup with a popular cheerleader she'd been in a secret relationship with (a fiery Baptist preacher's daughter, no less), she confides to her new boyfriend about it. Betrayed by him, and now the target of vicious, nonstop bullying, coupled with the fact her mother cares more about her new husband than her own daughter, Allyson decides to take a walk off the bridge to end the pain.
> 
> Jeff finds Allyson clinging to a bridge pylon and talks her into climbing back up. In a moment of happiness that the young girl didn't let go, he kisses her on the forehead. From that moment on, their lives begin to change. Allyson's will to live is ignited, and she goes on to be a spokesperson to bullied and suicidal teens (and adults) across the country, changing lives for the better. After Allyson gives an interview where she explained how Jeff 'rescued' her from certain death, Jeff's life becomes a jumbled mess of strangers camping in his yard, following him everywhere he goes, hoping he'll leave a small piece of himself in them like he did Allyson. As he 'rescues' more troubled persons, his life spirals into chaos until he finds himself standing on the same bridge years later, gun against his temple, unable to bear the pain of his miserable life anymore.
> 
> There's a few more stories I'm prepping, but these are the first ones I'll have ready.
> 
> I do cover some touchy subjects in a lot of my stories, racism or other forms of bigotry being one of them. I also like my stories like my coffee, very dark and sometimes bitter, with just a hint of creamy sweetness. Heh, that sounds straight out of an advertisement.
> 
> Right, anyway, sorry to annoy you with my walls of text. As you can maybe sense, I'm a bit excited about seeing if I can get any traction with this new KU program. I think marketing/exposure will be a bit different than the usual paths we go down. Not too different, there's still the need to drive readers to our books, but different in the sense we'll be targeting an entirely new group (even if it is made up of our normal readers). I'm thinking something along the lines of "try it, it's not like you spent money for it if you hated it!", though, of course, we'll never state it in such a way as that.
> 
> Well, I will. That's my gig. But the rest of you, I think that might be the underlying feeling (okay, me too)... convince readers to take a chance, and if they like it, give them a ton of appetizers and try to upsell them to the longer (better royalty) works like our $3.99+ books.
> 
> I'm also wondering... which services (BK, BB, ENT, etc) will we find the most effective for this new program? Does anyone think there might be a few brilliant minds out there right now trying to solve how to drive traffic to KU books and still get a piece? Especially now that affiliate links are probably nil for a program that has a flat cost.
> 
> Right. STFU, Travis. I apologize. As you were.


Hey Angry. I'm right with you with keeping things out of Select. I'm not closing off any channels,no matter what the perks. And I think the anthologies are always worth producing, even if it fleshes out your list.

I'm enthused by your description of 'Conviction'. It sounds similar to a novel I'm releasing this December, 'Our Fair Eden'. I'll be sure to keep an eye our for it!

*Elliot*: You schedule's comforted me with regard to the production schedule of my own trilogy. The gaps are pretty identical with my first and second instalments. Here's hoping great minds think alike. Edit: Hey, congratulations on the speaking appearance!


----------



## markhealy

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Today I was invited to talk about my trilogy at an all-female sci-fi book club in my city. The meeting's at the end of next month.
> 
> Completely out of the blue but super cool.


I was going to ask for details so I could come along, since I'm a local, but then I noticed the all-female thingy... oh well. Hope it goes ok for you!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Thanks for that! And an all woman sic-fi book club sounds seriously cool, congrats on the invite! Getting in with book clubs is a really great idea.


No problem! I don't think I write fast, I just try to keep at it on a constant basis. I was overly cautious with my first book, and had a bad experience, so it sort of just worked out that my first two novels were quite close together. I think it's a blessing in disguise.



markhealy said:


> I was going to ask for details so I could come along, since I'm a local, but then I noticed the all-female thingy... oh well. Hope it goes ok for you!


Good to see a fellow Brisvegan! This one is women-only (besides me, apparently), but there's a great spec-fic writers group in our city called 'Vision'. See the anthology in my signature (1. We're even an official part of the Brisbane Writer's festival this year.



Harry Manners said:


> *Elliot*: You schedule's comforted me with regard to the production schedule of my own trilogy. The gaps are pretty identical with my first and second instalments. Here's hoping great minds think alike. Edit: Hey, congratulations on the speaking appearance!


Thanks, Harry. I think a tight schedule is great, so long as you can keep up with it. These days, I find I'm trying to slip all sorts of extra projects into the gaps. I'm probably slightly mad.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Just trying to catch up (pant pant). Heidi, I'm sorry you had a limited response to the Countdown promo. I'm not sure but I have seen other people having rather muted results with Countdown. And elsewhere on the Writer's Cafe I've seen people complaining of a diminution in sales. Nobody knows whether this is seasonal, something to do with the algorithms, or as a result of KU. If it's any consolation, I've sold one book so far in July.

Travis/Angry - wow, that was a long post! I think testing the waters with KU is a good idea. Good luck with the shorts - it would be interesting to hear how you get on. I haven't (yet) seen anyone on the boards discussing how to do promos for KU. I've been trying to follow all the various threads (and they are many) but so far there seems to be a lot of speculation and not much substance.

Elliot - it would be really interesting to hear how you get on with your gig at the all-female sci-fi book club. May I ask a question: if you are launching Degenerated on 30th July, why are you doing promos for Irradiated on 31st July? Are you planning to make Irradiated free at that point?

I'm curious because we are hopefully going to bring out the eBook version of The Glass Mountain sometime in August (I doubt we'll be ready in July). We are still debating how to do it, since it is the middle book in a series where books 1 and 3 are already out there.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

AngryGames said:


> I do cover some touchy subjects in a lot of my stories, racism or other forms of bigotry being one of them. I also like my stories like my coffee, very dark and sometimes bitter, with just a hint of creamy sweetness. Heh, that sounds straight out of an advertisement.


One of our books was compared to dark chocolate once. I use it.



> Right, anyway, sorry to annoy you with my walls of text. As you can maybe sense, I'm a bit excited about seeing if I can get any traction with this new KU program. I think marketing/exposure will be a bit different than the usual paths we go down. Not too different, there's still the need to drive readers to our books, but different in the sense we'll be targeting an entirely new group (even if it is made up of our normal readers). I'm thinking something along the lines of "try it, it's not like you spent money for it if you hated it!", though, of course, we'll never state it in such a way as that.


We decided to put all of our short stories in KU. No borrows so far, but we weren't getting sales, either. I plan to run a free promo on something soon just to get eyes on it and start (hopefully) moving copies. So, I get where you're coming from. I think it has good potential but I also haven't figured out how to market KU yet.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> Elliot - it would be really interesting to hear how you get on with your gig at the all-female sci-fi book club. May I ask a question: if you are launching Degenerated on 30th July, why are you doing promos for Irradiated on 31st July? Are you planning to make Irradiated free at that point?
> 
> I'm curious because we are hopefully going to bring out the eBook version of The Glass Mountain sometime in August (I doubt we'll be ready in July). We are still debating how to do it, since it is the middle book in a series where books 1 and 3 are already out there.


My plan is to help both books by promoting the first. Irradiated is still quite new, and is the entry point into the trilogy, so most of my push is focused on it.

I'm running a week-long 99c sale on both books, and have a bunch of promo spots lined up across it.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

My entry for the speculative fiction blog hop is up:

http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

Elliot, just send me the info for Degenerated, when you have it. Indie Spec Fic of the Month for July should go up on July 31st, so that's time enough to slot it in. And if there's a delay for some reason, I'll simply include you the next time.


----------



## SB James

AngryGames said:


> I'm also wondering... which services (BK, BB, ENT, etc) will we find the most effective for this new program? Does anyone think there might be a few brilliant minds out there right now trying to solve how to drive traffic to KU books and still get a piece? Especially now that affiliate links are probably nil for a program that has a flat cost.


Sorry, I didn't read the entire wall of text, but this question jumped out at me. My quick answer would be...ebook soda, since I got a borrow from that one, but not from anyone else on your list!  and I think you've got a good point about the affiliates program. Soon the email newsletter lists will have no more incentive to advertise Amazon books than any of the other booksellers...


heidi_g said:


> My bknights promo of my countdown deal on Thursday was something of a bust. SOB. Anwyay, the KCD started Monday and across the board I've sold about 1 or 2 books a day, so the promo didn't give me a spike, but they are being awesome and refunding my money, so that is well: AWESOME. I'm going to try one more time with them in late August, after I release _The Tree Hugger_.


  I'm sorry to hear that. Definitely give them another try!


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## Ceinwen

Lori at eBook Escapes posted a cool little mini interview/guest post on The Edge of the Woods  http://ebookescapes.com/?p=3578

I'm running an ebooksoda promo next weekend and dropping the price a bit, and I'm now enrolled in KU so hopefully I get some sales or borrows out of it. I'm finding it really hard to get into a writing groove at the moment. It's not so much writers block, as I've got plenty of ideas for what I'm working on, I'm just having trouble focusing for long enough to get it all down. Oh well. Hopefully I can get back on track soon.

Congrats to everyone powering through and prepping for releases!


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## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> My plan is to help both books by promoting the first. Irradiated is still quite new, and is the entry point into the trilogy, so most of my push is focused on it.
> 
> I'm running a week-long 99c sale on both books, and have a bunch of promo spots lined up across it.


Thank you for sharing that, Elliot. I'd be really interested to hear how you get on - so much of the info on other threads relates to different genres, and I think there is a marked difference in what 'works'.



CoraBuhlert said:


> My entry for the speculative fiction blog hop is up:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


Cora, I have updated my Speculative Fiction Blog Hop running list. It was interesting to read about the different types of genre you write in, from Science Fiction to crime and mystery.



Ceinwen L. said:


> Lori at eBook Escapes posted a cool little mini interview/guest post on The Edge of the Woods  http://ebookescapes.com/?p=3578
> 
> I'm running an ebooksoda promo next weekend and dropping the price a bit, and I'm now enrolled in KU so hopefully I get some sales or borrows out of it.


Will check it out, Ceinwen. I've been having a few problems with the 'writing groove' myself. In the UK, the weather has been too hot (for me), and we seem to have been absurdly busy.

Here's the link to the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop running tally! http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-blog-hop-new-and.html


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## Sandra K. Williams

Cora Buhlert, another one of the 22,000! 

It's fun reading the blog hop posts and finding how and why other people write.

Here's the complete list of blog hoppers so far.

Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


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## unkownwriter

Heidi, sorry about the countdown experience. I wonder if KU is messing things up?

Travis, keep on with the ideas, man. I saw at least three things that I would really want to read. Even vampire stuff can be good, if you have a different take on it.

Ack! Forgot to say that I'm thinking about putting my UF novel in Select, so try out KU. I've just got to finish checking it over, making sure I've done all the rewrites I want/need to do, and finish the new cover.


----------



## Harry Manners

Released a free excerpt of my debut (you can see it here if you're interested: http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/ruin-excerpt/), with the next chapter available for those who sign up to my mailing list as a freebie.

It didn't make the splash I'd hoped. In fact, I got zip. No reaction. Nada. 
My cover reveal looped me over twenty people, but this fell flat on its arse, it seems. Not sure what was different.

Oh well, onwards!

Keep my in line for a spot on the blog hop, guys! My book's out 25th August, and I'd love to make an appearance.


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## P.T. Phronk

Harry Manners said:


> It didn't make the splash I'd hoped. In fact, I got zip. No reaction. Nada.
> My cover reveal looped me over twenty people, but this fell flat on its arse, it seems. Not sure what was different.


If there's one thing I've learned in my month as a debut indie writer, it's that it's very very hard to get anybody to pay attention to a debut indie writer. Every eyeball looking at your work is hard-won when nobody knows who you are. Hopefully it gets easier with every eyeball, but I think low expectations for the first while are realistic.

Which I'm okay with! It's not like I buy books by people I've never heard of. But I'm starting to expect small reactions to everything I do, and aim to have them grow slightly every time.


----------



## Harry Manners

Oh, yeah, definitely! I sure wasn't expecting a big splash. In fact, if I get one fan with my debut, I'll be over the moon. It was just the discrepancy between the reaction to the cover reveal and the excerpt release. Perhaps that's normal.
Anyone have a similar experience?

In any case. thanks for the reassurance, Phronk. It can be a lonely life, this one. It's always good to hear a kind word or two.


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## Ceinwen

Phronk's absolutely right, it's hard to get anyone to care about your stuff when you're new and unknown. It's a bit demoralising, but the moments when you realise that a complete stranger has somehow stumbled on your book and loved it enough to leave really lovely feedback makes it totally worth it. 

And don't worry too much about the chapters, I posted the first few chapters of my book on my blog in March (published in May) and while it doesn't get too many comments, it's one of the highest viewed pages on my blog. People will make their way to you eventually


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## heidi_g

Hi everyone, the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop is scheduled through September 8th (no one on September 1st) There are two other authors who have expressed interest beyond that, however, I haven't scheduled them (I apologize!) cause I knew my schedule was going to be changing in the fall. Given that, I'm ready to pass the torch for keeping up with it if anyone is interested. If no one is interested, we'll have to celebrate a good run and have Carolyn McDonnell's post on September 8th be the last leg of this hop It's been a lot of fun for me and I appreciate everyone's participation.


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## Victoria J

As for releasing sample chapters on my blog, I've found that people are slow to get around to reading them but after a few weeks, sometimes months, they become the most popular posts on my site. It's a good way to get exposure but it's a slow build.


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## AngryGames

The one thing I've learned in the 18-ish months is that one must practice patience (and also practice not shooting up a busy workplace when the stress gets bad). Some guys get blown up with 10k sales in their first month. 99.99% of the rest of us, no. 

As many writers have said before me, the trick is to just keep writing, learn to ignore reviews, and learn to ignore your KDP sales page. Down the road, when one particular book or story goes critical and hits just the right reader(s) that will post on a blog or page somewhere and suddenly drive a ton of eyes to it, you'll want that backlist sitting there, waiting, collecting dust even.


----------



## Guest

heidi_g said:


> Hi everyone, the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop is scheduled through September 8th (no one on September 1st) There are two other authors who have expressed interest beyond that, however, I haven't scheduled them (I apologize!) cause I knew my schedule was going to be changing in the fall. Given that, I'm ready to pass the torch for keeping up with it if anyone is interested. If no one is interested, we'll have to celebrate a good run and have Carolyn McDonnell's post on September 8th be the last leg of this hop It's been a lot of fun for me and I appreciate everyone's participation.


Heidi, thank you, again, for featuring me when you did. I appreciate it.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Hi everyone, the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop is scheduled through September 8th (no one on September 1st) There are two other authors who have expressed interest beyond that, however, I haven't scheduled them (I apologize!) cause I knew my schedule was going to be changing in the fall. Given that, I'm ready to pass the torch for keeping up with it if anyone is interested. If no one is interested, we'll have to celebrate a good run and have Carolyn McDonnell's post on September 8th be the last leg of this hop It's been a lot of fun for me and I appreciate everyone's participation.


Heidi, what's involved? I'm interested but would like to think about it. You've done a fantastic job! I hope the schedule change in the autumn is for something good?



Phronk said:


> If there's one thing I've learned in my month as a debut indie writer, it's that it's very very hard to get anybody to pay attention to a debut indie writer. Every eyeball looking at your work is hard-won when nobody knows who you are. Hopefully it gets easier with every eyeball, but I think low expectations for the first while are realistic.


This. It's easy to get demoralised. But I seriously think sales in the summer may be flatter. Havong said that, I have been demoralised at regular intervals since I self-pubbed.

Sandra, thanks for updating the great list of doom. 

Sheila, it will be really interesting to hear how you get on with KU. I'm very ambivalent about it myself. Still reading round the subject.


----------



## heidi_g

Jolie, You're welcome! It is always fun to see you around

Jessie, I have the form letter (email o'doom as I believe it was you that so aptly named it, lol) I could send you the letter. I change the dates, names, and email addresses and try to get it out on Monday. I also have a Numbers spreadsheet where I have all the dates, authors, email addresses, and add the links to the posts, which I can also pass on to you. When we're getting away from about a month of no one on the schedule, I put a shout out on this thread, and that has been enough to keep it going. Two people are interested in signing up, so I'd pass their emails on to you (or whoever.) I can finish scheduling through September 8th.

Whether the changes that are coming will net out positive or negative it is too soon to say. I did try to do too much in the spring after not doing enough in the winter


----------



## WDR

Phronk said:


> If there's one thing I've learned in my month as a debut indie writer, it's that it's very very hard to get anybody to pay attention to a debut indie writer....


I think you would be interested to learn there are people who check the lists everyday for new books, especially by debut writers.

I learned this because even before _*I*_ knew my book was live for sale, it had already garnered over six sales! A couple of them within minutes of it going live. I commented on my astonishment on my blog, and one of the earlier adopters sent me an email explaining the situation.

However, this is a small group-dare I even say 'niche'. What you really want is the general reading audience to find your book. That's when the sales really start to take off.


----------



## markhealy

Harry Manners said:


> Released a free excerpt of my debut (you can see it here if you're interested: http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/ruin-excerpt/), with the next chapter available for those who sign up to my mailing list as a freebie.
> 
> It didn't make the splash I'd hoped. In fact, I got zip. No reaction. Nada.
> My cover reveal looped me over twenty people, but this fell flat on its arse, it seems. Not sure what was different.
> 
> Oh well, onwards!
> 
> Keep my in line for a spot on the blog hop, guys! My book's out 25th August, and I'd love to make an appearance.


Harry, I just read your excerpt and thought it was great. Beautiful descriptions, terrific atmosphere and an intriguing world upon which to build. I think you'll do well with this one.

Don't be disheartened. As others have said, it's hard to get people to take notice these days. I have a good following through my sci-fi music project Hibernal on Facebook, but when I posted about my first short story going live a couple of months ago I got very little response - and those are already fans of my work! It's early days yet, and I'm sure it will get better for you.


----------



## Ceinwen

Could someone do me a favour and check the price of The Edge of the Woods (sig) on Amazon? I changed it to 2.99 last night, and though I have the email saying the changes have gone through it's showing $3.75 on the Amazon.com page for me. I'm not sure if it's because I'm looking at it from Australia.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Could someone do me a favour and check the price of The Edge of the Woods (sig) on Amazon? I changed it to 2.99 last night, and though I have the email saying the changes have gone through it's showing $3.75 on the Amazon.com page for me. I'm not sure if it's because I'm looking at it from Australia.


Yeah, it shows a different price over here (even on .com). Irradiated is set at 2.99 but I see 3.75.


----------



## Ceinwen

Awesome, thanks!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

markhealy said:


> I have a good following through my sci-fi music project Hibernal on Facebook, but when I posted about my first short story going live a couple of months ago I got very little response - and those are already fans of my work!


This brings up an interesting point: it seems like being well-known for one thing rarely translates to success in another thing. I have lots of followers in various channels for various reasons, and if even a fraction of them bought my book, I'd be ecstatic. That hasn't happened though. I guess it's partly because I don't want to bug people too much. It's not like a mailing list where they signed up to hear about my books; people followed me on Twitter to hear about my breakfast. It feels like a betrayal if I'm suddenly going all promotional there.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Jessie, I have the form letter (email o'doom as I believe it was you that so aptly named it, lol) I could send you the letter. I change the dates, names, and email addresses and try to get it out on Monday. I also have a Numbers spreadsheet where I have all the dates, authors, email addresses, and add the links to the posts, which I can also pass on to you. When we're getting away from about a month of no one on the schedule, I put a shout out on this thread, and that has been enough to keep it going. Two people are interested in signing up, so I'd pass their emails on to you (or whoever.) I can finish scheduling through September 8th.
> 
> Whether the changes that are coming will net out positive or negative it is too soon to say. I did try to do too much in the spring after not doing enough in the winter


I've had a serious think about this, Heidi, and I don't think I can take this on. I'm happy to continue blogging and linking to the posts as long as they continue. But I think there's a risk that if I volunteer then further down the line I won't be able to sustain it. I'm prone to depression, so periods of frenetic activity often alternate with suddenly disappearing off.

I hope someone else will do it; it may also be possible to continue informally after September 8th.


----------



## Harry Manners

markhealy said:


> Harry, I just read your excerpt and thought it was great. Beautiful descriptions, terrific atmosphere and an intriguing world upon which to build. I think you'll do well with this one.
> 
> Don't be disheartened. As others have said, it's hard to get people to take notice these days. I have a good following through my sci-fi music project Hibernal on Facebook, but when I posted about my first short story going live a couple of months ago I got very little response - and those are already fans of my work! It's early days yet, and I'm sure it will get better for you.


Mark, thanks for your encouragement. It means a lot.

Fear not, I'm not discouraged. In fact, I'm even more stoked than before. I got the mobi file from the formatters today. Final changes have been sent back. I'll get the finals in a few days, then it's uploading time.

Onwards!


----------



## markhealy

Phronk said:


> This brings up an interesting point: it seems like being well-known for one thing rarely translates to success in another thing. I have lots of followers in various channels for various reasons, and if even a fraction of them bought my book, I'd be ecstatic. That hasn't happened though. I guess it's partly because I don't want to bug people too much. It's not like a mailing list where they signed up to hear about my books; people followed me on Twitter to hear about my breakfast. It feels like a betrayal if I'm suddenly going all promotional there.


Yep, I agree with that Phronk, I wouldn't want to annoy fans by inundating them with marketing about something they didn't sign up for, so I keep the cross-promotion to a minimum. Since my music project is set in the same universe as my stories, and since the albums contain their own complete narratives, I feel there should be some scope for fans to enjoy both. It's something I have to balance carefully though.


----------



## mcahogarth

Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly. 

*sets out coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and assortment of fruits and cheeses and crackers*

*starts reading*


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

mcahogarth said:


> Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly.
> 
> *sets out coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and assortment of fruits and cheeses and crackers*
> 
> *starts reading*


Welcome to SPEC FIC Megathread. I *still* haven't read all of it.


----------



## 68564

Those of you heading back into the bowels... some of us had some debate back there, but its all better now! Just a warning.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Harry Manners said:


> Fear not, I'm not discouraged. In fact, I'm even more stoked than before. I got the mobi file from the formatters today. Final changes have been sent back. I'll get the finals in a few days, then it's uploading time.
> 
> Onwards!


When _Ruin _comes out on 25th August - or before - would you be interested in doing a guest post on my blog? I've just done one for Michael Patrick Hicks and they're quite fun. Let me know if you might be interested.

Hello mcahogarth! That sounds like a promising selection of snackies. I think this thread is a bit like the Forth Bridge...by the time you've finished reading it, you need to start at the beginning again. Or something.

After much struggling and problems with inverted commas and M-dashes, we have almost got _The Glass Mountain_ ready for publication. Fingers crossed we will be bringing it out on 11th August. At that point all three books in the series will be available, which makes a lot more sense. (I should say that 'we' in this context is me and my husband, who has been doing all the formatting and type-setting).

PS Vydorscope - what debate happened in the bowels? Inquiring minds wish to know!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

markhealy said:


> Yep, I agree with that Phronk, I wouldn't want to annoy fans by inundating them with marketing about something they didn't sign up for, so I keep the cross-promotion to a minimum. Since my music project is set in the same universe as my stories, and since the albums contain their own complete narratives, I feel there should be some scope for fans to enjoy both. It's something I have to balance carefully though.


That is extremely cool! Checking out your music now. Maybe cross-promotion ain't so bad after all.



mcahogarth said:


> Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly.
> 
> *sets out coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and assortment of fruits and cheeses and crackers*
> 
> *starts reading*


Welcome to the thread! Oh, you brought hot chocolate? Don't mind if I do!


----------



## Harry Manners

JessieCar said:


> When _Ruin _comes out on 25th August - or before - would you be interested in doing a guest post on my blog? I've just done one for Michael Patrick Hicks and they're quite fun. Let me know if you might be interested.


Sure, I'd love to! Let me know what, when and where. 

Good luck with your release on the 11th. Having a complete trilogy finished on the shelves will be a great feeling, I bet. I can't boast the same traffic, but you're more than welcome to have a guest post on my blog for your title.

Cheers!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

JessieCar said:


> Cora, I have updated my Speculative Fiction Blog Hop running list. It was interesting to read about the different types of genre you write in, from Science Fiction to crime and mystery.
> 
> Here's the link to the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop running tally! http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-blog-hop-new-and.html


I just updated my post with a link to your running tally, Jessica.

And yup, I write in different genres, cause I tend to get bored with just one. It's also cyclical. For example, at the moment I find myself ambushed with ideas for crime shorts.


----------



## Indecisive

Hello MCA!

Your covers look great. I hopped over to your website and saw that you do the art yourself. For future reference, do you do cover art for other authors, too?


----------



## mphicks

mcahogarth said:


> Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly.
> 
> *sets out coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and assortment of fruits and cheeses and crackers*
> 
> *starts reading*


Well, of course we can't guarantee you won't want to bash of your head on a table... lol Regardless, welcome to the thread!


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> When _Ruin _comes out on 25th August - or before - would you be interested in doing a guest post on my blog? I've just done one for Michael Patrick Hicks and they're quite fun. Let me know if you might be interested.


Glad you enjoyed it Jessica! For those who want to read her post, check it out at http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/28/guest-post-jessica-rydill-author-of-the-shamanworld-series/

Elliot is on tap for tomorrow. And, if anyone else wants to post, let me know. There's been some terrific content this month from Kboarders in this thread - you all rock!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Harry Manners said:


> Sure, I'd love to! Let me know what, when and where.
> 
> Good luck with your release on the 11th. Having a complete trilogy finished on the shelves will be a great feeling, I bet. I can't boast the same traffic, but you're more than welcome to have a guest post on my blog for your title.
> 
> Cheers!


Excellent. I'm not sure my blog has massive traffic but I do think it may help with signal boost. I'll drop you a PM.

Thank you for that, Cora. I'm a great believer that nowadays there is much more overlap between different kinds of genre.

Cheers, Michael. I'll be on the lookout for Elliot's post tomorrow. You're most welcome to do a guest blog too (and anybody who fancies a go).

I'm quite apprehensive about the launch. Need to investigate some promo stuff. I'm rather afraid it will go Poop splat.


----------



## Harry Manners

You'll do fine! If you need a hand with anything, I'm always willing to pitch in.


----------



## mcahogarth

ameliasmith said:


> Hello MCA!
> 
> Your covers look great. I hopped over to your website and saw that you do the art yourself. For future reference, do you do cover art for other authors, too?


Alas, I wish I could, but I barely have time to do my own covers (and in fact, I hire out for some of them!). I was writing full-time until my daughter was born, but adding a third person to the family proved too costly for the amount of money I was making. (Apparently 'making a living' is relative. Who knew. -_- ) Now that I'm back to working a second job, I'm reeeeeally strapped for time.

Thank you for the kind comments about the covers though! I work hard on them and do a lot of research at bookstores to see what the current trends are before I deploy!

And thank you for all the welcomes! I am still reading. Very slowly. I read slowly unless it's on a kindle. Then apparently I eat books faster than I have budget for them. -_-


----------



## unkownwriter

mcahogarth said:


> Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly.


I'm always amazed to see how many pages this thread is getting up to. It's wonderful, if a little hard for new folks to catch up on. 

And thanks for trying to knock some sense into the SF old guard. Change is coming, with or without them. Be a shame if they missed out.

Heidi, I might be able to take on the scheduling, especially if you could make up a short "for dummies like Sheila" SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). We're getting new posters here all the time, and I would hate seeing the hop stop.


----------



## mcahogarth

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> And thanks for trying to knock some sense into the SF old guard. Change is coming, with or without them. Be a shame if they missed out.


I think I have officially given up, to be honest. There are some awesome people who really do see the changes for what they are, and want to take advantage of them, but the majority of them have these enormous blind spots that they refuse to acknowledge about the legacy system that we all grew up with.

I only have so much time and emotional energy for disappointment these days. I dumped about a year's worth of time and energy into trying to modernize my particular writer's organization and it just hasn't panned out the way I'd hoped, and I'm tired of constantly being asked to continue 'educating' people on the fact that indie publishing 'isn't vanity publishing anymore.' (Which not only should be self-evident, but indicates a very critical lack of understanding of the fact that vanity publishing still exists, is not the same as indie publishing, and still needs to be pointed out so people won't do it.) I can't even get most of them to use the word 'indie publishing'. They still want to call it 'self publishing.'

*sigh*

*glumly has some of her own decaf and a cookie* So I am hunting new places to hang out. People keep telling me the kboards are awesome and helpful, so... here I am. So far, the claims are true...!


----------



## heidi_g

Jessie, thanks so much for considering. That would be awesome if it continues on informally, and I think also fine if it doesn't. I think it's been a great run and have enjoyed doing it! And just to be clear, if anyone has missed, the blog hop will continue through September 8th!



mcahogarth said:


> Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly.
> 
> *sets out coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and assortment of fruits and cheeses and crackers*
> 
> *starts reading*


In my meandering path to self-publish I also spent too much time with a group who wasn't very pro-indie. I just wished I'd let go of them and found the Kboards sooner, but... here now Glad you are too!


----------



## AngryGames

MCA, you earned a lot of respect at TPV with your attempts at getting some sense knocked into the SFWA. Glad to see you around here.


----------



## Lucas Bale

mphicks said:


> Glad you enjoyed it Jessica! For those who want to read her post, check it out at http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/28/guest-post-jessica-rydill-author-of-the-shamanworld-series/
> 
> Elliot is on tap for tomorrow. And, if anyone else wants to post, let me know. There's been some terrific content this month from Kboarders in this thread - you all rock!


Yes - S. Elliot Brandis, the guy who took the time to start this thread, is releasing his second book tomorrow and we can all help. I'm interviewing him and posting August 1st, and tweeting a bit too. Can we all perhaps support Elliot and see if he can get a few more sales out of us?


----------



## Harry Manners

Sounds great, Lucas. I'll be sure to spread the word. Great of you to remind us, we all have to take care of one another.


----------



## mphicks

Lucas Bale said:


> Yes - S. Elliot Brandis, the guy who took the time to start this thread, is releasing his second book tomorrow and we can all help. I'm interviewing him and posting August 1st, and tweeting a bit too. Can we all perhaps support Elliot and see if he can get a few more sales out of us?


Yup! I just bought Degenerated a moment ago.


----------



## Patty Jansen

mcahogarth said:


> Yay, spec fic! Oh, my, 36 pages. I am late to this party! I spent too much time trying to convince old-guard SF/F people to see indie as a legitimate path and not enough time with people who won't make me want to bash my head on the table repeatedly.
> 
> *sets out coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and assortment of fruits and cheeses and crackers*
> 
> *starts reading*


Welcome! I remember you from the SFWA forums, but I've just let my membership lapse, so won't be over there anymore.

(incidentally, this blog post explains why I'm no longer a member, if you're interested: http://pattyjansen.com/blog/sfwa-self-publishing-lapsed-membership/)


----------



## markhealy

mphicks said:


> Yup! I just bought Degenerated a moment ago.


I just bought Irradiated AND Degenerated and I'm looking forward to digging into them ASAP.

All the best with the launch Elliot!


----------



## Indecisive

Huh. I prefer "Self-published" to "indie" because I think it is more clear. I may have spent too much time at that other forum (which I quit about a year ago except for very rare visits).


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Wow! Thanks Lucas, Harry, Mike, and Mark.

Yes, Degenerated just went live.

It's up a little bit early... I have a bucket-load of promos running on Irradiated from the 31st, so I wanted to make sure Degenerated was ready.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thanks, Harry, that's very kind of you.

MCA - very interested to hear that you fought the good fight in the SFWA broyges (one of them!). I'm seconding Sheila here. And Patti - def interested to read why you left SFWA. I'm not a member, mainly because being in the UK I didn't know I could be.

Sheila (falls on neck in gratitude) it would be wonderful if you could take on the Spec Fic blog hop. I'm very happy to do the weekly round-up, but I think me + scheduling = disaster. I think the hop has been brilliant, and it would be good if it could continue as more people join up (as it were). And Heidi - it bears repeating, thank you so much for all you've done. It has been fun.

Sorry this is turning into rather a long list (headdesk).

There's a guest post by S. Elliot Brandis on my blog about genre and the difference between dystopian, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/guest-post-on-genre-by-s-elliot-brandis.html

Very interesting! And worth reading. I second Lucas about the signal boost. Have also bought Irradiated and Degenerated.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for July is up and _Degenerated_ just managed to sneak it.

http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-july-2014/
http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/07/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-july-2014/

Again, we have a broad spectrum of books, including many by people who hang out in this thread.

As always, shares, likes, tweets, +1 are appreciated.


----------



## Ceinwen

Congrats, Elliot! Will pick up a copy tomorrow so you get the consistent sales boost. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## heidi_g

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Heidi, I might be able to take on the scheduling, especially if you could make up a short "for dummies like Sheila" SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). We're getting new posters here all the time, and I would hate seeing the hop stop.


Oops! Sheila, sorry I missed this! Yes, I'd be glad to walk you through everything. Let me set something up this weekend and send it to you and see what you think!

Jessie, thanks for the shout out! I wish I had more time so I could juggle everything. Alas, I think that's what we all wish for.. more time!!!!

Elliott, good luck on your latest release, I'm getting ready to press publish on _Half Faerie_! I am so thrilled to be getting this one out there!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Tweeted and G+ed, Cora.


----------



## Patty Jansen

RTed. Thanks for putting Heir's Revenge in the post.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks and you're welcome, Patty and Raventide.


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for July is up and _Degenerated_ just managed to sneak it.
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-july-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/07/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-july-2014/
> 
> Again, we have a broad spectrum of books, including many by people who hang out in this thread.
> 
> As always, shares, likes, tweets, +1 are appreciated.


Just RT'd!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks, SB.


----------



## Guest

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Yes, Degenerated just went live.


Congratulations!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Very awesome, S. Elliot! Good luck!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks Jessie, Heidi, Cora, Ceinwen, Jolie, and Raventide! I appreciate all your words of support. Unexpected, but very awesome.

I'm running a 99c countdown deal on Irradiated (USA only, unfortunately) and a 99c launch price for Degenerated. I've also got a bunch of promos planned:

Thursday, 31 July 2014	Peoplereads, Fussy Librarian
Friday, 1 August 2014	Booksends, bknights, Kindle Books and Tips
Saturday, 2 August 2014	  Bookgorilla, BargainBooksy
Sunday, 3 August 2014	Bargain eBook Hunter, Pixelscroll, Booktastik
Monday, 4 August 2014	Awesomegang
Tuesday, 5 August 2014 eBooksoda, eNewreader Today
Wednesday, 6 August 2014	Choosy Bookworm

I'm not expecting an explosion, but I'm keen to see how things go. I really just want to get the word out at this stage.

And a huge thank you to Lucas, Michael, and Jessie. I did a great interview with Lucas, and Mike and Jessie are hosting guest posts.


----------



## Harry Manners

Shot you a tweet. Am I right in saying you're only selling through 'Zon.com and not .uk? I want my copy!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Harry Manners said:


> Shot you a tweet. Am I right in saying you're only selling through 'Zon.com and not .uk? I want my copy!


Thankfully not!

I messed up pricing so it wouldn't let me do a countdown deal in the UK. (It's still super-cheap, though!)

Both books are available in all territories. 

Oh, and thanks!


----------



## Harry Manners

Ah, yes, I see it now. Bought and paid for. Cheers!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

CoraBuhlert said:


> Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for July is up and _Degenerated_ just managed to sneak it.
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-july-2014/
> http://pegasus-pulp.com/2014/07/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-july-2014/
> 
> Again, we have a broad spectrum of books, including many by people who hang out in this thread.
> 
> As always, shares, likes, tweets, +1 are appreciated.


Will share and (re)tweet, Cora.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Thanks Jessie, Heidi, Cora, Ceinwen, Jolie, and Raventide! I appreciate all your words of support. Unexpected, but very awesome.
> 
> I'm running a 99c countdown deal on Irradiated (USA only, unfortunately) and a 99c launch price for Degenerated. I've also got a bunch of promos planned:
> 
> Thursday, 31 July 2014	Peoplereads, Fussy Librarian
> Friday, 1 August 2014	Booksends, bknights, Kindle Books and Tips
> Saturday, 2 August 2014 Bookgorilla, BargainBooksy
> Sunday, 3 August 2014	Bargain eBook Hunter, Pixelscroll, Booktastik
> Monday, 4 August 2014	Awesomegang
> Tuesday, 5 August 2014 eBooksoda, eNewreader Today
> Wednesday, 6 August 2014	Choosy Bookworm
> 
> I'm not expecting an explosion, but I'm keen to see how things go. I really just want to get the word out at this stage.
> 
> And a huge thank you to Lucas, Michael, and Jessie. I did a great interview with Lucas, and Mike and Jessie are hosting guest posts.


Elliot's guest post on my blog went live this morning, so do check it out! http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/31/guest-post-s-elliot-brandis-its-not-the-end-of-the-world/

Good luck with the promos and sales, Elliot!


----------



## mcahogarth

AngryGames said:


> MCA, you earned a lot of respect at TPV with your attempts at getting some sense knocked into the SFWA. Glad to see you around here.


Thank you, Travis. It was a big relief to me not to have made a laughingstock of myself in my efforts. Don Quixote thought he was doing Noble Deeds, but the rest of the world thought he was pitiable. :,

Patty, I think it's a good investment at this point to keep the money and Wait and See if things get any better. There's a turning point coming in November when the vote goes in--that's where we'll finally have some cards on the table. I am no longer very hopeful that things will work out well, but who knows? Maybe I'll be wrong. A couple of really good people just got elected to the Board; maybe that will be enough to change things.


----------



## Geoff Jones

> As always, shares, likes, tweets, +1 are appreciated.


Done!

Thank you for including The Dinosaur Four!

Geoff


----------



## heidi_g

It's going to be a soft release with no promo but _Half Faerie_ is live! Gosh that was fast. I even waited til 12:05am over here on US west coast to press publish and it still has a July 30th release date! I had entered everything in draft mode by last week, so I wonder if that's why. I so wanted a July 31st publish date for no reason at all... Oh well, didn't get it, but at least it's out.

Also, swung by Elliot's guest post on Michael's site, it's an excellent post on what drives dystopian fiction.
http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/31/guest-post-s-elliot-brandis-its-not-the-end-of-the-world/

One more thing! In my need to pare down just about everything as I prepare for my schedule changes, I've gotten off Twitter. At one time I had about 4K followers with a few hundred less following. I began tweeting well before I ever published... but for me Twitter has changed so much since January 2012 and I just don't enjoy it now, so that's why I'm not tweeting anymore  Just in case anyone wondered. I am however experimenting with Pinterest, which I love, and struggling some with FB. My own blog has fallen terribly by the wayside, so I'm hoping to pick that back up a bit too at some hazy date in the future although...not holding my breath on that one either! Mostly, I'm just shifting my focus to writing and publishing because after a personally rough first six months of the year, I've begun writing quite a bit again, and all in all, that's what makes me the happiest right now.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Congratulations, Heidi! That's really good. I'm sorry you've had a bum first half of the year. I love Pinterest myself because a lot of the time it's just fun creating boards and collecting images. 

Have snagged a copy of the book for future perusal.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks for the shares, likes, tweets, etc..., everybody. 

MCA, welcome and thanks for fighting the good fight at SFWA.

Congrats on the new release, Heidi. Alas, you just missed the July round-up, so Half Faerie is officially the first book for the August round-ip.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> Elliot's guest post on my blog went live this morning, so do check it out! http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/07/31/guest-post-s-elliot-brandis-its-not-the-end-of-the-world/
> 
> Good luck with the promos and sales, Elliot!


Thanks Mike! Looks great.

And congrats Heidi on your new release!


----------



## Patty Jansen

Having an ad at KND (the $29.95 option) for Watcher's Web today. Five hundred downloads so far. That's fair, considering I need to sell only 10 books of books 2, 3 and 4 to make back the investment.


----------



## SB James

heidi_g, I love Pinterest! It's best when you're stuck waiting for a restaurant table or at the doctors' office or getting an oil change, using the app on the phone and just pinning all kinds of stuff you like! My favorite board is my "Places Featured in my Books" board, since my character is going all over the world. LOADS of great fantasy artwork there too!


----------



## Ceinwen

Congrats, Heidi! 

I started making some 'story inspiration' Pinterest boards a year or so ago, and then forgot all about it. Do you guys get many followers or is it more a fun tool for yourselves? The places featured sounds like a great idea for a travelling story, SB. At this point mine would just be pictures of trees!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> Having an ad at KND (the $29.95 option) for Watcher's Web today. Five hundred downloads so far. That's fair, considering I need to sell only 10 books of books 2, 3 and 4 to make back the investment.


That looks good, Patti - very encouraging. Which one is KND?


----------



## Patty Jansen

Kindle Nation Daily. I ended up with about 700 downloads, which is not Bookbub-territory, but I'm finding that constantly submitting to small (and free!) sites can be effective in producing a constant level of sales.


----------



## mcahogarth

I love Pinterest too! I mostly use it to pin images that help me with a story's setting/culture/etc, but I also do art reference pictures, recipes, etc.

I've found that having a pinboard for a particular setting/alien race is very helpful when you're hiring book cover folks. You can say, "Oh, yes, the architecture? Fashion? Etc? Go here, it's like this, that's the look I want."

I've worked with two book cover artists, and both of them loved having access to that kind of material. I know as an artist, I find it really helpful too.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

That's really interesting, Patti. I've tried my first (tentative) submission to Bookbub, but I noticed from reading Wayne Stinnett that you can get good sales from using numerous smaller outlets.

MCA, I find Pinterest quite addictive. I like the fact that one can use it as a resource, but also just for play. One of my favourite sections is the illustrations. And it feeds back to deviantART too.


----------



## WDR

I've been curious about using Pinterest as a marketing resource. That all sounds promising. I guess perhaps I should open an account and get to work there.


----------



## JenEllision

I love Pinterest! I have no idea if what I do there is effective from a marketing standpoint, but like mcahogarth said, my "pinspiration" board was great for sending to my cover artist. Additionally, it helps me as a "vision board" for my works in progress.


----------



## Harry Manners

I got two people sign up to my mailing list, and a few new twitter followers because of my cover reveal on Pinterest, and I haven't even published my first novel yet.
So far as I'm concerned, it's well worth the effort -- though it is a huge time suck!


----------



## heidi_g

Cool that so many of us love Pinterest!!!! I read somewhere that 4% of readers get new books from Twitter and 14% from FB. Gosh, kind of daunting, huh? Over the past two years, I've kind of watched authors on Twitter vs. sales and many of the bestselling authors aren't very active on Twitter. Not sure about FB. I've got a lot of boards on Pinterest but only one of them is how I really want it to be: http://www.pinterest.com/garrett2957/daughter-of-light/

So far I don't have many followers, but I'm getting a ton of folks repinning my pins. That's really increased in just the last few weeks. I'm trying to get more reciprocal on Pinterest, but I haven't had a lot of time, so as I'm kind of weaning myself from other social media, I'm going to try set up a board like_ Half Faerie_ for all my books and stories. I've got several started but they're very disorganized. I'd love to follow you ladies (any guys?!?!?) on Pinterest... can we put our links here? Anyway, I love to have time to spend on Pinterest cause I can just turn on some music and spend hours going through all the pics. It's really amazing! And it is awesome for story inspiration and as a "vision board" and the book cover idea is great too. I'm writing a paranormal romance right now and doing some search on witches led me to some witchy high fashion... so I was inspired to create a hip & chic Seattle coven.... the main story is set in Spokane, lol. I would never have come up with that if I hadn't been on Pinterest.

Jessie, thanks for picking up a copy! I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, Cora, thank you!

Thanks Ceinwen and Elliot!!

Patti, Congratulations on your successful promo.

Harry, exciting to get people signing up on your list!

TGIF everyone


----------



## 68564

My pinterest is my sig, but I am not hugely active there. I have a few boards... it is just one more thing to keep up with when I am already swamped.


----------



## heidi_g

ooh, good point, Vincent! I should add Pinterest to my sig! Duh, lol! Thanks! Off to follow you


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thanks Heidi - I am looking forward to reading it, though I have a virtual TBR stack of large proportions (which is how I like it).

That's a good idea about Pinterest. I have to say I tend to just play there a lot - though I've got a pin-board with my books, I don't think it has led to sales.

By the way, WDR - I saw your blog post about Apple acquiring Lampbooks - that does sound interesting. I signed up to another 'discovery' app relating to iBooks - Uncovered Books - but it has produced zero sales. I think it is significant that Apple have actually gone to the trouble of acquiring this company.


----------



## aleah.barley

Okay, count me in. I'm writing a zombie series set in detroit. It's definitely outside the norm


----------



## P.T. Phronk

I'm on Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/phronk/ . It's mostly home stuff and other randomness but there's occasional book stuff there as well. I'll start following you guys too!


----------



## heidi_g

Phronk, I followed your awesome Steampunk board and Jessica I'm following quite a few of yours. You've got some very cool ones. Also picked up the first book in your series, so I've got yours and Sheila's books on my kindle and on my radar! Totally understand about the mountainous TBR pile 

Shelia, I'll probably send you that email tomorrow!

Elliott, Congratulations on the great success of your sale!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

aleah.barley said:


> Okay, count me in. I'm writing a zombie series set in detroit. It's definitely outside the norm


Welcome!!! Outside the norm sounds good to me. Especially in speculative fiction, where it's easy to drown in cliches and tropes. Best of luck getting your book written.


----------



## David J. Rollins

Hello, Everyone,

I wanted to post this here, since I publish Science Fiction Humor, and from what I have been reading, every genre seems to have its own pricing scheme. What better place to go to get advice on Speculative Fiction pricing? 

I was curious what everyone here thinks about pricing and what works in this genre. 

I have a series of novellas I am currently publishing (maybe novelettes). They are around 16,000 - 17,000 words each. I had them priced at $1.99, which seemed fair to me. 

That said, I have been reading some things about pricing that have me kind of stuck. I've seen quite a few things saying that the $1.99 price is to be avoided at all costs. That it is the sort of dead zone of pricing, and that nothing really sells at that price at all. And I have read that $.99 is a dangerous place to be because there are so many people there that it is developing somewhat of a bad stigma. Many of the people pricing at 99 cents are doing so because their work doesn't sell otherwise, and it's not that good. At least, that is what I have read in other posts about pricing. It's not a personal opinion.

I am also concerned about posting for 99 cents, because that makes it hard to do promotional sales, since I am not in the KD Select Program anymore. (I wanted to publish other places.) Not to mention, if I published a short story, what would its price be?

And another point I have read quite a bit is that most readers do not pay too much attention to the length. If they see something they are interested in, they buy it.  

Bear in mind, I am also pretty much an unknown at this point, and I am still working building my platform.

Somewhat after I publish the last book in the series, I was going to consolidate all the novelettes in to two volumes, but for now, I was curious to see if people were having success with fiction that short published at the $2.99 level. 

Any thoughts would be really helpful.

FYI - I have raised the prices to $2.99 just experiment for a few weeks.

Thanks.


----------



## 68564

David J. Rollins said:


> FYI - I have raised the prices to $2.99 just experiment for a few weeks.
> 
> Thanks.


I would suggest you leave it at 2.99 for at least a month, if not two before you judge the effectiveness at that price. Price changes need to be done slowly.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Phronk, I followed your awesome Steampunk board and Jessica I'm following quite a few of yours. You've got some very cool ones. Also picked up the first book in your series, so I've got yours and Sheila's books on my kindle and on my radar! Totally understand about the mountainous TBR pile


Cheers Heidi! That's really nice of you. I've followed some of your boards, and Phronk's too. And I did follow Michael's, I think?

Aleah, zombies in Detroit sounds promising...even likely!

David - to be honest, I don't have a clue about pricing. Amazon has a price-suggestion tool that told me both mine should be $2.99 so I've had them at that price for a while.

I have read several books and threads. Some people say that you shouldn't price them *too* low. But all the tweaks that I have tried - different price points, etc - seem to have made little or no difference to sales.

I do think that Vydorscope is right, though. You need to leave them at a price you've chosen for a while to see what happens. I'm terrible given to flailing around and I'm sure that's not a good idea.

Having said that, I'm gearing up to do a promo on my first book when my second comes out. But it's all very much experimental.


----------



## mcahogarth

All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.

My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-

Hit me!


----------



## 68564

mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.
> 
> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


That's easy for me: The first book in my sig, The Enemy of an Emeny. Its optimistic Space Opera, and free, and the first book in my series.

Michael Bunker's Pennsylvania is also a great read, its AMISH SCIFI. Tracy Banghart's Rebel wing is great for a clean coming of age kind of story with female heroin.

Those are the last two decnet books I read at least. One other to consider, which is next on my TBR is The Robot Chronicles - an anhtology of 13 (?) independent authors.

So there you go


----------



## 68564

VydorScope said:


> That's easy for me: The first book in my sig, The Enemy of an Emeny. Its optimistic Space Opera, and free, and the first book in my series.
> 
> Michael Bunker's Pennsylvania is also a great read, its AMISH SCIFI. Tracy Banghart's Rebel wing is great for a clean coming of age kind of story with female heroin.
> 
> Those are the last two decnet books I read at least. One other to consider, which is next on my TBR is The Robot Chronicles - an anthology of 13 (?) independent authors.
> 
> So there you go


Forgot the links...


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I've got this feature on my blog called _Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month_ which is chock full of newly released indie spec fic books.

As for my own works, how about a funny and offbeat fantasy short about dancing bananas, talking pigs and magic? Plus, it's only 99 cents.


There's also my sig.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

VydorScope said:


> Forgot the links...


My book shows up in the 'also bought' panel for The Robot Chronicles! 

Very cool.

There are so many great indie science fiction books. Why not try some of our homegrown talent? 'Convergence' by Michael Patrick Hicks and 'The Heretic' by Lucas Bale come to mind.


----------



## mcahogarth

*downloads many samples!* Excellent, folks, keep them coming! Cora, your blog was an amazing resource...! I want in! Lol.


----------



## David J. Rollins

mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.


Great idea. I would recommend The Sales Crime Policeman. It's a great fun read.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Oh, forgot to mention--My own books are both on sale for 99c (until Wednesday), so get all up on that.


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Oh, forgot to mention--My own books are both on sale for 99c (until Wednesday), so get all up on that.


Thanks for the mention Elliot and congratulations on a very successful launch - I can see how well both are doing at the moment! Well done!


----------



## Patty Jansen

mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.
> 
> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


Depends on what you're into. Books 1 of my fantasy trilogy, my space opera series and my latest history-inspired fantasy are free. I also have a political space opera thriller at $2.99. All are in my signature.


----------



## Ceinwen

MCA, The Edge of the Woods (in my sig) is 2.99 this week  I've also been enjoying C. Greenwood's stuff if you're into high indie fantasy. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## P.T. Phronk

mcahogarth said:


> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-


What about hopefully grim? I'd say that's an accurate description of my short story Strangers at a Funeral, which I'd hesitantly recommend for some light reading.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Well, you could always try...



mcahogarth said:


> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


Aw man. Nevermind 

If.you're ever in the mood for something darker the first red book down there is permafree 

Oh, and Masque will be free tomorrow all day  Dark Fairytale there.


----------



## DRMarvello

Just poking in to say, "Hi." I like to read and write high and low fantasy. This looks like a promising group with lots of familiar faces and potential goodies for my TBR pile. Best wishes to all my fellow SpecFic writers. I can't believe the thread got to 39 pages without me seeing it!

(*Bookmarks thread to read in detail*)


----------



## CoraBuhlert

mcahogarth said:


> *downloads many samples!* Excellent, folks, keep them coming! Cora, your blog was an amazing resource...! I want in! Lol.


If you have a new SFF book, just let me know and I'll include you in the round-up.


----------



## tknite

mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.
> 
> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


Echoes isn't a bad choice if you're aiming for fun (check my sig). Lots of sarcasm. Action. Some drama. And it's a quick read. 

Nothing "hopelessly grim" in Echoes -- it's the beginning of my most light-hearted series -- but please avoid Othella like the plague if "grim" really isn't your thing.


----------



## Lucas Bale

CoraBuhlert said:


> If you have a new SFF book, just let me know and I'll include you in the round-up.


Thank you, Cora, for including _The Heretic_ in your round-up.


----------



## AngryGames

Diabolus if you are into hard scifi/cyberpunk/religion and want ninja-bishops crashing through your window and admonishing you for reading heresy. 
Chasing Time if you like time travel without too much hard scifi and you're okay risking ninja history teachers crashing through your window and clearing their throats really loud. 
One Bad Job if you like crime fic, Russian bad guys, and novellas. 
Enforcer if you like long crime fic novels, bad accents, hate Romanians, and at least have heard of ice hockey. 

The rest of them are all bitter, unhappy, everyone dies at the end tragedies that make puppies die anytime someone is foolish enough to read one. It's why they read like they're written in crayon with my wrong hand. If I read one to edit it... puppies... you know...


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Greetings, DRMarvello! Welcome to this (ever-burgeoning) thread!

MCA - gads, that's a difficult question!

I'm going to recommend The Derring-do Club and the Empire of the Dead 

which is a ripping yarn with everything from Austro-Hungarians to zombies. It's funny. (srsly)


----------



## mphicks

mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.
> 
> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


Not sure if mine qualifies as "hopelessly grim" or not... Maybe not a beach read, but hit up the sample and see what you think.  Link in my signature, and since it's the only book I have out right now it makes picking one out for you easy!

I can vouch for Lucas, Elliot, and Therin's OTHELLA - all good reads and very fun. OTHELLA might be a bit dark, but not one I'd classify as hopelessly grim. We may have different metrics through! lol


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> My book shows up in the 'also bought' panel for The Robot Chronicles!
> 
> Very cool.
> 
> There are so many great indie science fiction books. Why not try some of our homegrown talent? 'Convergence' by Michael Patrick Hicks and 'The Heretic' by Lucas Bale come to mind.


Thank you Elliot! Much obliged! 

I see Degenerated on page 1 of 'also bought' for The Robot Chronicles and Irradiated on page 2 - very, very cool! Hopefully these books are finding their audience. Nice rankings on each, too, by the way. You might also be happy to know that Irradiated shows up on page 1 of also boughts to Convergence as well.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

DRMarvello said:


> Just poking in to say, "Hi." I like to read and write high and low fantasy. This looks like a promising group with lots of familiar faces and potential goodies for my TBR pile. Best wishes to all my fellow SpecFic writers. I can't believe the thread got to 39 pages without me seeing it!
> 
> (*Bookmarks thread to read in detail*)


Welcome! I don't envy the task ahead of you; 39 pages and growing is quite the read, especially with largely uninteresting ones like mine clogging it up. But the people here are awesome, so I'd say it's worth it.


----------



## mcahogarth

All right! Looks like I have a lot of samples to get through. Thank you, everyone! I've been poking your sigs, too, because I am sneaky like that.

I'm in a good place to take a serious reading break. I spent July putting together a kid's book and a few coloring books, and now that I've finally kicked them out the door I can relax a little before jumping back on the 'write another novel or two this year' bandwagon. I am looking forward to my vacation.


----------



## RuthNestvold

Wow, forget to check in last time I was on Kboards and the thread has exploded! *g*


----------



## unkownwriter

MCA, my collection wouldn't meet your criteria (grim, sad endings abound), but you are so nice for asking. Hope you have a wonderful vacation.

Heidi, whenever you've got time to send it. 

I'm going to hit this thread and look at everyone's Pinterest boards later, got to get back to editing the novel. Sadly, it refuses to do it on its own. Stupid book! 

We used to have a Pinterest thread here, where a bunch of us put up our links. It was quite a while back, though. I have a few boards, only one about my own writing. I've been thinking about making boards for each book, though. My boards are here: http://www.pinterest.com/sheilaguthrie/

Welcome to all the newbies, we're glad to have you here! It's a good thread.


----------



## jdrew

Hi all,
Great to see this thread so active and full of good posts.

No grim ending to my sci-fi book Shepherds. 

And to those who are Pintrest literate, help me out, please. I have an account but hardly use it as I don't really know how to go about doing anything useful. I see mentioned that perhaps a pin for each book would be good. Can someone explain or provide more details?
Keep it up and good luck.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sheila - will have a look at your Pinterest. 

Does anybody know who's done the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop post today? I haven't seen any reference to it.

Unless I've totally missed it...


----------



## heidi_g

Sheila, email sent! Picked up your Writing and Tonner Witch boards on Pinterest. That witch one is awesome!

Kevin Hardman's up today... I'm sure Sandra will be posting the weekly list but in the meantime here's a link to Kevin's post today:
http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html

This thread is exploding! Awesome!


----------



## heidi_g

Phronk said:


> What about hopefully grim?


Hah hah Phronk, that's right up my alley!

Does anyone else feel more self-conscious about salivating over dark than salivating over salacious?!!?!?!

Anyway... Phronk, I see both your books are in Kindle Unlimited! Yay! I dived in with my trial membership and quickly found out you can only have 10 books checked out at any one time. As soon as I return two, I'm going to pick up both your stories, cause I have to say your dry sense of humor is wicked!

So anyone else dive into KU as a reader? I'm getting addicted


----------



## Guest

I love Pinterest, too, but my focus is Facebook and Twitter.



mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.
> 
> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


Beach read? Check out my zombie volume one in my sig line. It's 99 cents, or you can borrow it through Kindle Unlimited or the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

heidi_g said:


> So anyone else dive into KU as a reader? I'm getting addicted


I haven't, but it is intriguing for the possibility of piling up the short stories! I couldn't imagine taking out 10 novels, but 10 shorts? Perfect.

Edit: I have officially begun page 40! In honor of this moment, we shall be handing out dark, fantastic, grim, depressing, exciting, horror-ible cookies and tea! *sets out plates*


----------



## mphicks

RaventideBooks said:


> I haven't, but it is intriguing for the possibility of piling up the short stories! I couldn't imagine taking out 10 novels, but 10 shorts? Perfect.
> 
> Edit: I have officially begun page 40! In honor of this moment, we shall be handing out dark, fantastic, grim, depressing, exciting, horror-ible cookies and tea! *sets out plates*


Score one for grimtea!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> Thank you Elliot! Much obliged!
> 
> I see Degenerated on page 1 of 'also bought' for The Robot Chronicles and Irradiated on page 2 - very, very cool! Hopefully these books are finding their audience. Nice rankings on each, too, by the way. You might also be happy to know that Irradiated shows up on page 1 of also boughts to Convergence as well.


Yeah, just the other day Degenerated started popping up everywhere. Really cool. I'm hoping that these 'also bought' listings help a little bit in the long run.

Would Irradiated classify as hopelessly grim? Certainly grim.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

mphicks said:


> Score one for grimtea!


Mmm... though I'm so drawn to the horror-ible cookies <_<


----------



## mcahogarth

I don't think I'm allowed to drink grimtea after my little spat with Games Workshop. They might send a battle nun to tut tut again. >.>


----------



## RuthNestvold

Here's my Pinterest board:

http://www.pinterest.com/ruthnestvold/

I have several boards related to my books and research. Also recipes and whatnot. 



mcahogarth said:


> I don't think I'm allowed to drink grimtea after my little spat with Games Workshop. They might send a battle nun to tut tut again. >.>


I wouldn't recommend my novel Yseult either, unfortunately.  It's a retelling of the tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde, and since I didn't do a First Knight on my source, it ends up, um, tragic.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

mcahogarth said:


> I don't think I'm allowed to drink grimtea after my little spat with Games Workshop. They might send a battle nun to tut tut again. >.>


I bet it was quite the 'spat,' as they say. Better not risk it.

Also, Pinterest? Pinterest??

T. A. Miles has a Pinterest. 

http://www.pinterest.com/tamilessheehan/


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Hah hah Phronk, that's right up my alley!
> 
> Does anyone else feel more self-conscious about salivating over dark than salivating over salacious?!!?!?!
> 
> Anyway... Phronk, I see both your books are in Kindle Unlimited! Yay! I dived in with my trial membership and quickly found out you can only have 10 books checked out at any one time. As soon as I return two, I'm going to pick up both your stories, cause I have to say your dry sense of humor is wicked!
> 
> So anyone else dive into KU as a reader? I'm getting addicted


Aw thanks Heidi! You'll be my first borrows! I had no idea there was a 10 book limit, though that makes sense (except for, you know, the name "unlimited"). I'd give KU a try if I could from here in Canada. If nothing else it'd help check out and support all these wonderful Kboards authors.

I think I used to feel a bit uncomfortable admitting to being attracted to grimness, because it really is pretty contradictory to actively seek out something designed to be repulsive. I wrote a dissertation on the psychology of horror fiction to try figuring that out, and found that attraction to horror is a pretty deep part of human nature. So I don't think we should feel bad admitting to it.


----------



## AngryGames

mcahogarth said:


> I don't think I'm allowed to drink grimtea after my little spat with Games Workshop. They might send a battle nun to tut tut again. >.>


I KNEW I knew your name from somewhere haha. You had a ton of video game nerds (me included) cheering for you.

SPACE MARINES, ATTACK!

(I'm actually not too much of a W40k nerd, but the first Dawn of War RTS game is like... top 5 all time favorite for my wife and I... we constantly, to this day, find ourselves quoting lines from the game).


----------



## Vaalingrade

mcahogarth said:


> All right, folks... I am loading up my kindle for an enforced internet vacation this month. So point me at your #1 book (the one you would want a stranger to start with from your entire list). And hey, if you have recommendations of other indie authors, I'm all for those too. I read everything from military SF to historical romance.
> 
> My one caveat is that I don't want unhappy endings. I'm aiming for beach reading. Fun, or at least, not hopelessly grim. -_-
> 
> Hit me!


If you're okay with some action-violence, the Rune Breaker series never falls into grimdark no matter how much Ru expects it to.

And the Descendants actually started out as an explicit rejection to all the darkness in Superhero stories. If you get into the much later issues, I start doing one-off parodies of 90's action heroes 

Edit: Oh snap, I recognized you too. I think I've gone on two separate rants on my blog over what they did concerning you. Then I made a joke about a GW doing something with Space Seamen.


----------



## WDR

Vaalingrade said:


> I think I've gone on two separate rants on my blog over what they did concerning you. Then I made a joke about a GW doing something with Space Seamen.


Sounds like a sticky situation.


----------



## markhealy

AngryGames said:


> I KNEW I knew your name from somewhere haha. You had a ton of video game nerds (me included) cheering for you.
> 
> SPACE MARINES, ATTACK!
> 
> (I'm actually not too much of a W40k nerd, but the first Dawn of War RTS game is like... top 5 all time favorite for my wife and I... we constantly, to this day, find ourselves quoting lines from the game).


Same here. It's also the only game where I sat and watched the intro movie every time I started it up to get in the mood. It was phenomenal.


----------



## mcahogarth

AngryGames said:


> I KNEW I knew your name from somewhere haha. You had a ton of video game nerds (me included) cheering for you.
> 
> SPACE MARINES, ATTACK!
> 
> (I'm actually not too much of a W40k nerd, but the first Dawn of War RTS game is like... top 5 all time favorite for my wife and I... we constantly, to this day, find ourselves quoting lines from the game).


Yar, yes, that was me, Lord help me. My one day of fame... my stomach was such a mess I could barely eat. I do not recommend this method of attracting attention, no matter how astonishing it is to be emailed by BBC and Wired writers for your story.

(Amusingly, despite the predictions of both the GW apologists who thought I had ulterior motives AND the nice people who were rooting for me, that incident did not 'make my career.' I got a sales bump that month--that week!--and then boom, the next month I was back to the exact same numbers as before. Most of the people who bought the book to support me admitted to not ever reading it. In the reviews, even! Ouch.)


----------



## P.T. Phronk

mcahogarth said:


> Yar, yes, that was me, Lord help me. My one day of fame... my stomach was such a mess I could barely eat. I do not recommend this method of attracting attention, no matter how astonishing it is to be emailed by BBC and Wired writers for your story.
> 
> (Amusingly, despite the predictions of both the GW apologists who thought I had ulterior motives AND the nice people who were rooting for me, that incident did not 'make my career.' I got a sales bump that month--that week!--and then boom, the next month I was back to the exact same numbers as before. Most of the people who bought the book to support me admitted to not ever reading it. In the reviews, even! Ouch.)


I had to Google the story to see what everyone's talking about, but that's quite the spat. Reminds me of Facebook going after anything with the word "book" in the title. Ridiculous. I'm glad you came out on top.

I'll second the lesson that brief brushes with fame won't make your career. I've been there a few times (Google "baboon fart" for a good time), and while it certainly hasn't hurt, it's not like people see names in newspapers then look them up to send money and praise. It's almost as if the only way to succeed around here is to write amazing books and make sure people can find them, and there are no shortcuts. Weird.


----------



## markhealy

Phronk said:


> I've been there a few times (Google "baboon fart" for a good time)


Haha, I did, and I wasn't disappointed. Love the cover!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Heidi, I might be able to take on the scheduling, especially if you could make up a short "for dummies like Sheila" SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). We're getting new posters here all the time, and I would hate seeing the hop stop.


It's great the blog hop will keep going. Thanks, Sheila, and big thanks to Heidi for getting it started.

Is it okay if I add a note at the bottom of the weekly links? "To participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie"?

FWIW, I've been working on a sooper secrit side project that's been taking up all my time and am just now catching up on other stuff.

Current list of blog hop posts:
And previous posts...
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog


----------



## P.T. Phronk

markhealy said:


> Haha, I did, and I wasn't disappointed. Love the cover!


Hey thanks! Would you believe I didn't even hire a designer?


----------



## ravenkult

Hey thread!
I run the Arcane Bundle over at www.arcanebundle.com

Once in a while I put together a few books and sell them on a pay-what-you-want model. If anyone wants to participate, send me a PM or contact me through the email on the website. We're still pretty small but hoping to grow.


----------



## heidi_g

Phronk said:


> Aw thanks Heidi! You'll be my first borrows! I had no idea there was a 10 book limit, though that makes sense (except for, you know, the name "unlimited"). I'd give KU a try if I could from here in Canada. If nothing else it'd help check out and support all these wonderful Kboards authors.
> 
> I think I used to feel a bit uncomfortable admitting to being attracted to grimness, because it really is pretty contradictory to actively seek out something designed to be repulsive. I wrote a dissertation on the psychology of horror fiction to try figuring that out, and found that attraction to horror is a pretty deep part of human nature. So I don't think we should feel bad admitting to it.


Yes, I'm definitely going to download your stuff as soon as I get some kindle unlimited space. Confession: I'm not just reading fiction on my KU account, I'm also downloading bodyweight workout books, stretching, 4 minute workout stuff, blah, blah, blah But the cool think on KU you can just download them, scan them and return them, very awesome. Right now I have about 5 fiction books and 5 nonfiction books. I discovered the 10 limit when I realized I could download all this short books on workouts and stuff. Some good reference stuff out there!

BTW Elliot, I realize your KU too, so I'll get to your books too!

Phronk! You wrote your dissertation on the psychology of horror fiction! That is awesome! After I read your books would you do a guest post on my blog?!?!?!?! I'm just fascinated by my fascination (and others!) with dark... so I'd love to hear any insight you'd like to share about that. One reason I didn't follow all your pinterest boards was all the skulls. GAH! I hate skulls, lol, Sorry! But I love dark. IN fact last night I started reading this supposedly really dark story that I got on KU, The Decimation of Mae. I got about half way through it and it's basically just a sex-slave-in-training story. I was pretty disappointed.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Clearly, I'm uneducated as to where everyone already knows each other at. Is there another Spec fic online forum you all have in common?


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Phronk! You wrote your dissertation on the psychology of horror fiction! That is awesome! After I read your books would you do a guest post on my blog?!?!?!?!


For sure! I could blab about that stuff for hours.  Just let me know when you'd like a post.

Yeahhh I may overdo it with the skulls though. I just put up skull wallpaper to make sure it's constantly creepy around here.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

RaventideBooks said:


> Clearly, I'm uneducated as to where everyone already knows each other at. Is there another Spec fic online forum you all have in common?


As far as I know we just stalk each other online after seeing posts here. That's pretty much like being old friends isn't it?


----------



## markhealy

heidi_g said:


> Phronk! You wrote your dissertation on the psychology of horror fiction! That is awesome! After I read your books would you do a guest post on my blog?!?!?!?! I'm just fascinated by my fascination (and others!) with dark... so I'd love to hear any insight you'd like to share about that. One reason I didn't follow all your pinterest boards was all the skulls. GAH! I hate skulls, lol, Sorry! But I love dark. IN fact last night I started reading this supposedly really dark story that I got on KU, The Decimation of Mae. I got about half way through it and it's basically just a sex-slave-in-training story. I was pretty disappointed.


Phronk is a man of many talents! Now if we can work the baboons into some kind of horror setting, we might be onto something...

I love dark as well, and it tends to come through in my writing. My current WIP is very dark and bleak - to me it's just a fascinating aspect to explore.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Phronk said:


> As far as I know we just stalk each other online after seeing posts here. That's pretty much like being old friends isn't it?


In a group of Spec Fic writers, I'm pretty sure that's being family.


----------



## Karen Mead

*waves*

Hi everybody. Urban Fantasy fits under the Speculative Fiction umbrella, right? To be honest I've always been a little fuzzy on the definition of the term.

I have Kindle Unlimited but really haven't dove into it yet. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also kind of afraid I won't get anything else done ever again.


----------



## 68564

RaventideBooks said:


> In a group of Spec Fic writers, I'm pretty sure that's being family.


And if you can't have a few baboon farts among family, what good are they?


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Karen Mead said:


> *waves*
> 
> Hi everybody. Urban Fantasy fits under the Speculative Fiction umbrella, right?


Sure is. Welcome!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

VydorScope said:


> And if you can't have a few baboon farts among family, what good are they?


I forgot to mention at the beginning of page 40 that the complimentary gas masks are at the front door.


----------



## WDR

Phronk said:


> (Google "baboon fart" for a good time)


_**CRAMP!**_ I'm still laughing

There should be a literary award for literature of that caliber. I will nominate you.


----------



## WDR

mcahogarth said:


> Yar, yes, that was me, Lord help me. My one day of fame... my stomach was such a mess I could barely eat. I do not recommend this method of attracting attention, no matter how astonishing it is to be emailed by BBC and Wired writers for your story.


It was because of you and what you went through that I purposefully did some quick editing in the manuscript last year for my hard sci-fi, _Privateer_, and made the protagonist and his father Space Marines. The really nice part of that, it really made for a more interesting backstory for the protagonist.

Consider me a fan.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

To pull us totally off topic... I wish there was a spec fic badge.


----------



## markhealy

Karen Mead said:


> *waves*
> 
> Hi everybody. Urban Fantasy fits under the Speculative Fiction umbrella, right? To be honest I've always been a little fuzzy on the definition of the term.
> 
> I have Kindle Unlimited but really haven't dove into it yet. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also kind of afraid I won't get anything else done ever again.


Hi Karen, welcome.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Kevin Hardman's up today... I'm sure Sandra will be posting the weekly list but in the meantime here's a link to Kevin's post today:
> http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html


Thanks Heidi and Sandra K. Have updated the list here: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/kevin-hardman-does-speculative-fiction_5.html

Karen, nice to meet you. I suspect that Speculative Fiction is a *large* umbrella.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

heidi_g said:


> BTW Elliot, I realize your KU too, so I'll get to your books too!


Haha, thanks. I'm having some borrows lately... It's nice.

Ooh, and 1000 posts for the thread. We are unstoppable.


----------



## mcahogarth

RaventideBooks said:


> Clearly, I'm uneducated as to where everyone already knows each other at. Is there another Spec fic online forum you all have in common?


This is my first time here! I don't think I know anyone here, except that maybe Travis AngryGames seems to recognize me from The Passive Voice blog, which I comment on once in a while. Otherwise, I was on the SFWA forums for a bit before I gave that up, and before that... dunno.

I'm mostly new. As I noted elsewhere the indie SF/F circles and the trad SF/F circles don't mingle as much as I wish they did. There are some people who move back and forth between them, but not as much as I had hoped.


----------



## mcahogarth

WDR said:


> It was because of you and what you went through that I purposefully did some quick editing in the manuscript last year for my hard sci-fi, _Privateer_, and made the protagonist and his father Space Marines. The really nice part of that, it really made for a more interesting backstory for the protagonist.
> 
> Consider me a fan.


Hee! That is awesome! Space Marines unite! 

The ridiculous thing is that I didn't hate the WH IP or anything. I like Dan Abnett's work and he wrote some magnificent stuff for them: in the "grim but still has heart" category, the Gaunt's Ghosts series is still some of my favorite creepy military SF. At the time of the blow-up, I had some friends trying to get me to play Deathwatch with them, and I about fell over laughing when I realized that I literally couldn't play a female character without choosing an NPC class, or a class from some other book. It's not that I think guys shouldn't have their all-guy casts and stuff, but... literally, no girls allowed! I admit, I tittered like something out of a historical romance. No girl cooties allowed into the treehouse!

And then, of course, GW comes after me because they think someone's going to confuse my book, which has a giant woman's face on the cover, with their IP, which... doesn't allow women to be space marines? All their books have studly dudes in armor on the covers. I am... pretty sure there would be no confusing the two, no matter the name. 

I can laugh about it now. Back then I spent a lot of nights sniffling into my husband's shoulder about why GW decided to pick on me. :,


----------



## Patty Jansen

mcahogarth said:


> As I noted elsewhere the indie SF/F circles and the trad SF/F circles don't mingle as much as I wish they did. There are some people who move back and forth between them, but not as much as I had hoped.


BIG FAT THIS

There is a thing going on in Australian SFF called snapshot2014. A couple of people ask SFF writers five questions and post interviews on their blogs. They do this every two years. I was part of the 2012 crop and have done this year as well. I've read a whole heap of other interviews, and was frankly *shocked* by the number of trade writers who read each other's work and don't venture much further than that.

Also by the number of writers who stated that the changes in the publishing industry had no impact on them except for their dramatically shrinking advances. Most replies showed not a shred of initiative or understanding of those changes and the opportunities they bring.


----------



## mcahogarth

Patty Jansen said:


> BIG FAT THIS
> 
> There is a thing going on in Australian SFF called snapshot2014. A couple of people ask SFF writers five questions and post interviews on their blogs. They do this every two years. I was part of the 2012 crop and have done this year as well. I've read a whole heap of other interviews, and was frankly *shocked* by the number of trade writers who read each other's work and don't venture much further than that.
> 
> Also by the number of writers who stated that the changes in the publishing industry had no impact on them except for their dramatically shrinking advances. Most replies showed not a shred of initiative or understanding of those changes and the opportunities they bring.


I feel really bad about all of it, because I often ask for book recs (when I read, I read a lot at a time, and quickly), and people keep recommending trad offerings, or my author acquaintances will point out their trad offerings, or those of their friends, and I squirm and say, 'I really want to read your work, but $10 for an e-book is way over budget for me. Do you have any indie things? A backlist you've published yourself I can investigate?' And the answer is almost always no.

I really like my author friends, and I would really like to support my author friends, but I have to sacrifice 3-4 hours of entertainment to afford one of their books, and I just can't do it. I usually download the sample so when I go to the library I can remember to check there for whatever they've got out.

I explain this reasoning and inevitably get that I'm an unusual person and that most people are willing to pay for _their _books no matter the cost, because they can't be replaced by some other author; authors aren't replaceable! I can't penetrate that argument. To a lot of authors (and artists of any kind, really), the idea of putting a monetary value on their work, such that it can be subject to budgeting and other forms of valuation separate from 'but it's good art' is inconceivable. I had one friend tell me flat out, 'I can't think rationally about that' and walk out on me.

It is a rough truth, but once a story comes out of your head and is packaged for sale, it's a product--and worse, a luxury item!--and no matter how much people might want it, they will buy it according to whether they can afford it, or if something else is a better use of their money. And while no one's art is replaceable, the purpose served by it--to entertain, uplift, amuse, etc--can be filled by other people, and few authors are so adored that they can't be swapped for someone or something else when someone's wallet starts shrinking.


----------



## mphicks

RaventideBooks said:


> Clearly, I'm uneducated as to where everyone already knows each other at. Is there another Spec fic online forum you all have in common?


I think most of us just got to know one another through this board (at least in my case). A number us of did a spec fic blog hop and linked up with each other through that. I'm not all that active on other forums, so this is kind of home base for me whenever I can touch in.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mcahogarth said:


> Hee! That is awesome! Space Marines unite!
> 
> The ridiculous thing is that I didn't hate the WH IP or anything. I like Dan Abnett's work and he wrote some magnificent stuff for them: in the "grim but still has heart" category, the Gaunt's Ghosts series is still some of my favorite creepy military SF. At the time of the blow-up, I had some friends trying to get me to play Deathwatch with them, and I about fell over laughing when I realized that I literally couldn't play a female character without choosing an NPC class, or a class from some other book. It's not that I think guys shouldn't have their all-guy casts and stuff, but... literally, no girls allowed! I admit, I tittered like something out of a historical romance. No girl cooties allowed into the treehouse!
> 
> And then, of course, GW comes after me because they think someone's going to confuse my book, which has a giant woman's face on the cover, with their IP, which... doesn't allow women to be space marines? All their books have studly dudes in armor on the covers. I am... pretty sure there would be no confusing the two, no matter the name.
> 
> I can laugh about it now. Back then I spent a lot of nights sniffling into my husband's shoulder about why GW decided to pick on me. :,


I'm with you now. <ggg> The 'girl cooties' thing has cropped up in several places.


Patty Jansen said:


> BIG FAT THIS
> 
> There is a thing going on in Australian SFF called snapshot2014. A couple of people ask SFF writers five questions and post interviews on their blogs. They do this every two years. I was part of the 2012 crop and have done this year as well. I've read a whole heap of other interviews, and was frankly *shocked* by the number of trade writers who read each other's work and don't venture much further than that.
> 
> Also by the number of writers who stated that the changes in the publishing industry had no impact on them except for their dramatically shrinking advances. Most replies showed not a shred of initiative or understanding of those changes and the opportunities they bring.


Patty - have found this to be the case too. Though a lot of writers in SF&F have found themselves without new contracts and are starting to self-pub. But there still seems to be a great divide down the middle, the size of the Olduvai gorge.


----------



## jdrew

Hi all,
This thread grows faster than I can keep up.
Glad to see the blog hop goes on, one of these days I need to find a way to get in on it.
Not sure about others here but other than this thread I don't think I know anyone else here.
Maybe it's me and I should get out more.
Keep it up.


----------



## heidi_g

Karen, I think UF is definitely under the big Spec Fic umbrella as I consider my fairy tales with magical elements and paranormal creatures Spec Fic. I also put magical realism under the Spec Fic umbrella. So welcome!

Great News all! Sheila Guthrie is going to be picking up the Spec Fic Blog Hop scheduling for posts after September 8th! THANK YOU, SHEILA!!! Victoria and Amelia, I've passed your email addresses on to her.

Also, if anyone does want to sign up for September 1 (that's US Labor Day) please let me know! It's open. Ruth I think you mentioned wanting to do that day but with a different format. Since all the authors have been using the same format and that's the spirit of the blog hop, I feel more comfortable sticking with that. I don't think there's anything wrong with answering the same questions for a different point in time. I might sign up for the blog hop again when I have totally new WIPs Two down, one to go, lol.

Oh, Phronk, Thanks!!!! I'll be in touch after I read your books about a post

Last thing: I've met everyone here through this forum too. I joined Kboards last year and it's been such a rich resource. Also in a world inundated with romance, thrillers, etc. I love to promote Spec Fiction because it's kind of what I believe in, so I was so glad when I discovered Elliot started this thread.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the last thing. If folks are interested in reviving the Spec Fic Showcase and we can spread the posts around it would be nice to do sometime after Labor Day. Each post can take between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the post.

If we could come up with something like:
New Releases
Interviews
Blog Hop reposts
Giveaway Post
Guest Posts showcasing our books...

And get a group of three to five folks helping I think it would be awesome. Although 15-30 minutes doesn't seem like a lot, it kind of adds up if you're doing it everyday. But if we could have three to five folks posting once a week, it would really lighten the load and keep things going. Like maybe two to three folks could handle New Releases, One could handle Interviews, One could handle guest posts. If we handled it like this it might also strengthen our growing community! Plus we could also experiment with if people need to opt out then they can and have others step in?

Let me know if anyone has any thoughts or any interest in this. Here's the address if anyone wants to check out what was started!
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.com

If we do start it back up, I'd like to have the authors who signed up for the giveaway still be included in the blog's first month giveaway. I'd be willing to set up the monthly rafflecopter for the giveaways and do one post a week. Although I'm not particular about which kind of post I do, it might make sense if I did the posts for the monthly giveaway. Since we've discussed five a month, that would be at least my once a week.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

mphicks said:


> I think most of us just got to know one another through this board (at least in my case). A number us of did a spec fic blog hop and linked up with each other through that. I'm not all that active on other forums, so this is kind of home base for me whenever I can touch in.





mcahogarth said:


> This is my first time here! I don't think I know anyone here, except that maybe Travis AngryGames seems to recognize me from The Passive Voice blog, which I comment on once in a while. Otherwise, I was on the SFWA forums for a bit before I gave that up, and before that... dunno.


Ah, okay. I've visited Passive Voice a few times but never really got deep into it. Maybe I should.



> I'm mostly new. As I noted elsewhere the indie SF/F circles and the trad SF/F circles don't mingle as much as I wish they did. There are some people who move back and forth between them, but not as much as I had hoped.


Oh yeah. One side of my family is 'nope nope nope' in regards to indies and ereaders and the other side is just going with the flow, which I'm pretty sure means they'll read whatever is popular in the genres.

We will not let others deter us, however, not even family. (As much as we love 'em.) But... I don't hang out at trad pub spec fic forums, either. The negativity would drive me crazy.


----------



## AngryGames

TPV is a really good place to have some excellent discussions (though usually one-sided, but we're all indie authors, so that's a bit of a given). Even if you just lurk, you'll see a lot of familiar names (talking a bunch of smack hahaha). 

(just kidding, it's pretty serious discussion for the most part, unless Suzan Harden shows up, then it's like instant party for me).


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

heidi_g said:


> Okay, maybe that wasn't the last thing. If folks are interested in reviving the Spec Fic Showcase and we can spread the posts around it would be nice to do sometime after Labor Day. Each post can take between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the post.


I'd be happy to help if that's ok, Heidi.


----------



## antonnaseton

Hello everyone,
I'm almost always a lurker, and I love going this thread and looking at everyone's covers  Thought I should reintroduce myself because it has been a LONG time since my last visit. 

I write mostly spec fic and am currently building a space opera world where I hope to write endlessly about. I'm weeks away from finishing my first three-novella series so hopefully my book list below would look less pathetic at year's end.  

Was wondering if I could ask you guys for advice? I'm a little torn about releasing my series as Ep 1-3, or simply just bundle them straight away into a book. Each novella has a complete arc, with a specific setting (for example Ep1 takes place on a frontier planet, Ep2 in the Capital world, Ep3 in a space port) but ends at a cliffhanger. I hear that readers really hate cliffhangers and would crucify you in the reviews.

So I was thinking of offering Ep1 and the complete book at the same time, thus readers would have the option of choosing. Anyone tried this strategy?


----------



## 68564

antonnaseton said:


> Hello everyone,
> I'm almost always a lurker, and I love going this thread and looking at everyone's covers  Thought I should reintroduce myself because it has been a LONG time since my last visit.
> 
> I write mostly spec fic and am currently building a space opera world where I hope to write endlessly about. I'm weeks away from finishing my first three-novella series so hopefully my book list below would look less pathetic at year's end.
> 
> Was wondering if I could ask you guys for advice? I'm a little torn about releasing my series as Ep 1-3, or simply just bundle them straight away into a book. Each novella has a complete arc, with a specific setting (for example Ep1 takes place on a frontier planet, Ep2 in the Capital world, Ep3 in a space port) but ends at a cliffhanger. I hear that readers really hate cliffhangers and would crucify you in the reviews.
> 
> So I was thinking of offering Ep1 and the complete book at the same time, thus readers would have the option of choosing. Anyone tried this strategy?


I tend to only write longer works (100k+ words) but one strategy that many have used well is to release your episodes one at a time, a few weeks apart on a regular schedule (building your mailing lists as you go) and after they are all out releasing a bundle of all of them.

I have not personally used this method, but it is fairly popular and many have success with it.


----------



## WDR

Jeff Tanyard said:


> Just checking into this thread.
> 
> I was about half-way done with the first draft of my space opera when Kindle Unlimited was unveiled. After reading what everyone here said about it, I concluded that it might be better to concentrate on short stories for a while, so that's what I'm doing. The novel will have to wait.
> 
> So that's where I am now. I figure I'll try to get a few short stories up, then return to the novel. Maybe it'll pay off, maybe not. I'm new at all this, and not really sure what I'm doing.


I pulled out my space opera, blew the dust off it and I've begun reworking it with the idea in mind of breaking it into pieces as a serial. Release those, then later combine the collection back into a full novel again.

Let's face it, if this is what the customers want, then who am I to deny what the market demands?

The nice part for me is that the structure of this story lends itself well to serialization.


----------



## Vaalingrade

If you look at reviews, t's not really what customers want, it's just the structure that takes the most advantage of the new sca... program. Customers in fact complain about 60k novels being too short.


----------



## heidi_g

Anton, if you have everything ready you might experiment with releasing the episodes as others have said about two weeks apart, with it clearly stated in the description that it's a serial and when the next installment will be available. OTOH, it's true, readers can get really ticked with broken up stories, so personally, I wouldn't go in this direction. OTOH, maybe they won't get so aggravated if the episodes are picked up through KU? Too soon to tell.

Jessie, awesome! I wish we could get at least one more person so we could have three posts a week, and everyone would only have to do one post a week.

I started reading both  and last night. They are both rife with dry humor which is something I thoroughly enjoy!


----------



## HarryK

*pops in for a quick high-five*

Spec fic FTW! If I ever finish my WIP I will happily join in with you guys for more high fiving. For now, congrats to those that have a nice catalog going, and well wishes for those like me, that are still trying to get things going.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Cheers, Heidi! It would be great if some other bods could volunteer. (looks around nervously)

High-five, HarryK. Good luck with the WIP.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

HarryK said:


> *pops in for a quick high-five*
> 
> Spec fic FTW! If I ever finish my WIP I will happily join in with you guys for more high fiving. For now, congrats to those that have a nice catalog going, and well wishes for those like me, that are still trying to get things going.


Welcome! And best of luck with the WIP. If you need advice as you get going, there is plenty to be found by lurking and asking around here. High five etc.


----------



## Victoria Champion

I haven't posted in this thread since page 5, but I finally finished reading through all of it. Just wanted to reconnect and say hello and ask for some advice.

I took some time to write a zombie novel, which I'll be releasing this month. On Amazon, what categories are most zombie novels placed under? I know we get 2 categories. What should I choose? Keyword suggestions?


----------



## DRMarvello

mcahogarth said:


> I explain this reasoning and inevitably get that I'm an unusual person and that most people are willing to pay for _their _books no matter the cost, because they can't be replaced by some other author; authors aren't replaceable! I can't penetrate that argument.


You aren't _that_ unusual, unless both of us are unusual--which is distinctly possible. 

My wallet "can't penetrate that argument" either. I just don't buy their books. I have purchased a lot of books from KBoards authors because they price more sensibly. I like to think I'm willing to spend $4.99 for an ebook, but the fact is that I have never spent more than $2.99 on an ebook. Any more than $3, and I have to absolutely know I'll enjoy it, which is pretty much impossible unless I've read it before. I'll still buy trade published authors when their books are priced reasonably. In fact, I recently bought a J.A. Jance novel, but it was priced at, you guessed it, $2.99. I won't spend $10 on a paperback, and I sure as heckfire won't spend that on an ebook.


----------



## unkownwriter

Man, I take my eyes off you guys for five minutes, and the thread takes off like greased lightning! 



heidi_g said:


> Sheila, email sent! Picked up your Writing and Tonner Witch boards on Pinterest. That witch one is awesome!


Aw, thanks.  I've added a couple of new pins to the Tonner Witch board (the Tonner company followed me! Wicked.) today, when I should have been doing other things, but my mind is a wreck.

And thanks for the kind words about the collection. I hope you enjoy the stories.

Jessie, thanks for checking out my Pinterest. I'm going to go back and pick up everyone's links and check out all of your boards. I meant to search for the old thread, but got distracted with the editing. Oy, editing!

Anybody who wants to schedule a day for the blog hop, just PM me with your email address and I'll get you the information and the available dates. As Heidi noted, we have September 1st open, and after September 8th.

Sandra, yes, you can add that at the end of the list. That way people coming in later can know who to contact, and I'm only a PM away. I'm not sure if I should put my email out on the boards. Don't want any spam bots to pick it up. What do you all think?

I'd love it if we could get some more folks to help with the other site. I don't think I can squeeze it in myself, but it would be fun to have a site for all this good stuff about Spec Fic indies.

It's getting late, got a full day tomorrow. Hopefully I won't get so far behind on this thread again. I know I've missed stuff I wanted to comment on.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I could easily crosspost my Indie Spec Fic of the Month feature to the Indie Spec Fic Showcase site, since I have all of the info compiled and ready anyway.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

I would help with the blog hop, but unfortunately I don't have a personal blog right now.


----------



## C. Gockel

Hey guys,

The purple book up at the top is mine!










It's in a tiny little subgenre: Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Myths & Legends > Norse & Viking

For those of you who don't know my series, it features several incarnations of Loki -- and dinosaurs! The Norse mythology, Hindu mythology, pop culture references, and quantum physics. Anyway, I don't think this will last beyond today, but it's very exciting.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

So I decided to finally experiment with Select for the first two books of my series (well, Brush With Darkness for now, and book 2 once I get it finalized). I figured, why not now, since I'm not planning to get the 3rd book out in the next 90 days anyway, and I'm not focusing much energy on marketing until the release of Book 3, or possibly Book 4.

Which means I'm jealous of all of you US-based KBoarders who can now try it with your first free Kindle Unlimited month, if the idea of arts-based magic in a place a lot like ancient Rome would strike your fancy. 

Can someone confirm to me that it shows the Kindle-Unlimited button... whatever that looks like? 


Interesting how they immediately gave the CS paperback a discount at the same time as it became available on Prime.

(Oh, and for the record, it only took 3 days to get all the delisting done on SW/D2D/KWL. Most took hours, but a few stragglers took days, some with a bit of prodding.)


----------



## tknite

Jamie Maltman said:


> Can someone confirm to me that it shows the Kindle-Unlimited button... whatever that looks like?


It does! Looks good.


----------



## 68564

C. Gockel said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> The purple book up at the top is mine!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's in a tiny little subgenre: Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Myths & Legends > Norse & Viking
> 
> For those of you who don't know my series, it features several incarnations of Loki -- and dinosaurs! The Norse mythology, Hindu mythology, pop culture references, and quantum physics. Anyway, I don't think this will last beyond today, but it's very exciting.


CONGRATS!!!!


----------



## Ceinwen

Congratulations! Number 1 in any sub genre is reason to celebrate in my book, no matter the size!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Harry Manners

Huge congratulations on getting to #1!

This thread is rocketing along. Awesome to see so many sci fi writers coming together.

I'm down a little over two weeks until my debut release. Nerves!


----------



## Jamie Maltman

C. Gockel said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> The purple book up at the top is mine!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's in a tiny little subgenre: Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Myths & Legends > Norse & Viking
> 
> For those of you who don't know my series, it features several incarnations of Loki -- and dinosaurs! The Norse mythology, Hindu mythology, pop culture references, and quantum physics. Anyway, I don't think this will last beyond today, but it's very exciting.


That's very cool. Congrats!

I ranked decently well on a few random sales days in the > Greek & Roman version of that... which is an example of how the keywords come together in an interesting way. I don't have Greek and Roman gods, but I do have gods and myths, and places much like ancient Greek and Rome... so it's definitely a good fit for flavor, if not for exact details.


----------



## heidi_g

Hi Harry!

Hi Victoria! I don't know much about zombies, but I'm sure some others here do.

I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to Sheila for picking up the scheduling of the blog hop. It will be wonderful to keep it going.

OMG! Cora, that is a fantastic idea! I'll send you an invite to be an author on the blog, will that work? Do you post it on the first day of of each month? Whatever day it is, we'll reserve that date for you.

Anyone else one to join the Spec Fic Showcase fun? If we get at least one other poster, everyone will only have to do one post a week to have three posts every week. If we can get a few more, we could have a post everyday with all the "blog authors" only having to do one post a week. That would be kind of cool. Also, I'm thinking about creating a thread just for the showcase. Having lots of signups helps and having a thread committed to signups might help with that. Not sure, but I'd point back to this thread on that one, and keep the links to this thread from the showcase as well...

Jamie, Congratulations on your #1 Book. It's not over her on the US side?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Heidi, I always put of the Indie Spec Fic of the Month post on the last day of the month, i.e. the next one would go up August 31.


----------



## heidi_g

CoraBuhlert said:


> Heidi, I always put of the Indie Spec Fic of the Month post on the last day of the month, i.e. the next one would go up August 31.


okay, well we reserve that day for your post! I'll send you an invite in bit


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sympathies about the editing, Sheila. I'm in a flat panic (is there such a thing?) with Glass Mountain due to come out on Monday (uh-oh...) It's great that you're taking over the Spec Fic Blog Hop.

C. Gockel - congrats! That's really cool.

(rushes out again).


----------



## CoraBuhlert

The July Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up has now been reposted at the Speculative Fiction Showcase. Future round-ups will be crossposted directly.


----------



## unkownwriter

@C. Gockel:  congrats on making the top of the list! It doesn't matter how small the niche, it's still a feather in your cap.

@Jamie:  I'm planning on putting my novel that's currently in editing (and behind, as usual) into Select to see how it goes now that Kindle Unlimited is on. I figure it can't hurt, and after 90 days it can go out to other retailers.

@Jessie:  yeah, editing is da bomb!  SO close to being ready, so tantalizingly out of reach. Gah!

@Cora:  Wow, that's a great idea! I love reading your roundup of spec fic for the month -- and other stuff on your blog, too, of course.

@Heidi:  I just couldn't let the blog hop die, it's so much fun, and very enlightening, to read about how other writers work.

I've got Harry Manners down for the empty September 1st slot (big thanks, Harry!), and Heidi already had Carole McDonnell for the next hop on the eighth. After that it's wide open, so if you haven't participated, think about signing up. 

You can PM me your email and web address, and I'll send you the information about the hop.

I wish I could commit to one post a week on the showcase, but I don't think I can budget the time right now. I'm trying to push out three books by the end of the year, so I'm pretty much fully booked right now. Maybe after the first of the year, if I can work something out.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I think if anybody has a blogpost of interest regarding indie spec fic, it could easily be reposted on the Showcase. For example, I sometimes do author interviews on my blog. I haven't done one for a while now, but when I do one, I could crosspost it or at least post a link.

Maybe someone could even do a weekly round-up of links of interest regarding indie speculative fiction.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

CoraBuhlert said:


> The July Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up has now been reposted at the Speculative Fiction Showcase. Future round-ups will be crossposted directly.


That's brilliant, thanks, Cora. I've done the usual sharing and also reblogged it on my blog. I think cross-posting to the Speculative Fiction Showcase is a great idea. There is a lot of interesting material out there.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

CoraBuhlert said:


> The July Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up has now been reposted at the Speculative Fiction Showcase. Future round-ups will be crossposted directly.


Awesome stuff. I'll share the post with everyone I know.

Thanks for including me! By the way, Strangers at a Funeral is free today. On a whim, I decided to make use of KDP Select and see what happens.

I noticed that the links in the Spec Fic Showcase aren't affiliate links. Why not make a small percentage of any sales that are made as a result of the posts? Might as well make a few bucks as you're helping readers and writers!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I simply copied the post (with some formatting adjustments) from my website and I don't use affiliate links there. If Heidi or Jessica want to use affiliate links for the Showcase, I'd be happy to add the respective tag.


----------



## unkownwriter

So, I was messing around in Photoshop earlier (cause those covers won't make themselves, don't ya know  ) and I remembered someone saying we need a badge for our group. At least, I think it was this group. If not, then... feel free to ignore. I plead editing brain meltdown.

Viola!










I think it still needs a little work, so suggestions? And it's huge! I need to resize it, for sure.


----------



## unkownwriter

I've got no issue with Heidi using affiliate links on the Showcase. Sounds like a good idea, actually.


----------



## heidi_g

I am pretty clueless about affiliate links, but I did have a conversation with Harvey (Kboards moderator Harvey!) at Sandra K. Williams suggestion before we started the showcase because we kind of promote Kboards and definitely promote Kboards authors on the boards. He was good with everything so we proceeded. Anyway, whenever I can, I use a Kboard affiliated link on the showcase to support Kboards. Is that what you're talking about Phronk? To be honest I guess I'm leery of doing much else cause I really want to keep things simple, so we can keep the showcase going, i.e. if things get too complex it gets overwhelming and just too much to keep up with. Not sure if I'm speaking to your suggestion, but like I said, I'm not really up on affiliate links.

In that vein, Cora just added her post to the blog for July and we're going to officially restart August 31.
http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com/2014/08/indie-speculative-fiction-of-month-july.html

Let's see. Anyone else, want to sign up for posting once a week?!?!?!? 

As far as reposting, I'm okay with that. I don't think we want the showcase to be predominantly re-posting cause that's not good for quality content. I do like reposting the Spec Fic Blog Hop posts, cause I feel like they definitely add to the whole purpose of the showcase. I do think Cora's idea of a weekly roundup of links would be another great add to the showcase. Is anyone up for taking that on?

Thank you to everyone who's sharing the showcase!


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Let's see. Anyone else, want to sign up for posting once a week?!?!?!?


LOL well I post a weekly webcomic...

Episode 9 - The Back Issue


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Anyway, whenever I can, I use a Kboard affiliated link on the showcase to support Kboards. Is that what you're talking about Phronk? To be honest I guess I'm leery of doing much else cause I really want to keep things simple, so we can keep the showcase going, i.e. if things get too complex it gets overwhelming and just too much to keep up with.


I meant using your own affiliate links. It is pretty simple; you sign up at https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ , then whenever you browse Amazon there will be a "link to this page" banner at the top of every product page. Click there, and voila, you have your affiliate link and get 3 or 4% of whatever people buy after clicking it. It doesn't even have to be the book you link to. If someone clicks the link, then goes and buys a toaster afterward, you're 3% of a toaster richer.

I just figure you're putting so much time into supporting authors, that you should get something back. The same way Kboards does by inserting their affiliate links on these forums. It's win-win for everybody.

Though I suppose if there are different people putting effort in, and there's reposting and whatnot going on, it could get complicated. Just figured it was something to consider.

P.S. I always use my affiliate link when posting about my own books anywhere else. Might as well make an extra 3% on top of the royalty, and like I said, there's a chance they'll continue browsing Amazon using the link and buy something else.


----------



## Ceinwen

My entry for the blog hop is up! Hopefully it's also officially the 11th in the other timezones as well 

http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


----------



## 68564

Ceinwen L. said:


> My entry for the blog hop is up! Hopefully it's also officially the 11th in the other timezones as well
> 
> http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


Scary! That means I am next!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

@Ceinwen - Enjoyed reading about your rough drafts and how they grow in edit.

Complete list of blog hop posts:

Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Ceinwen L. said:


> My entry for the blog hop is up! Hopefully it's also officially the 11th in the other timezones as well
> 
> http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


Cheers, Ceinwen. Will like, share - and read!

@Sandra...good to see the mighty blog list o'doom.

I'm not sure whether this is a high-five, but I finally published The Glass Mountain


----------



## Ceinwen

Definitely a high five! Congratulations!


----------



## 68564

JessieCar said:


> I'm not sure whether this is a high-five, but I finally published The Glass Mountain


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Ceinwen, just tweeted and +1 your entry in the blog hop.

Congrats on the new book, Jessica. I'll include it in the August round-up.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

JessieCar said:


> I'm not sure whether this is a high-five, but I finally published The Glass Mountain


Congrats and highest of fives!


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Another high five for Jessica, and I'm so close to having my next book ready.


----------



## Harry Manners

congrats, JessieCar!
My own release date approaches. Into the abyss!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

JessieCar said:


> I'm not sure whether this is a high-five, but I finally published The Glass Mountain


Congratulations! Your covers are really eye-catching


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thank you all very much! Vincent, I love the hand.

It would be great if you could include the book in the August round up, Cora.


----------



## mphicks

Jessie - congrats on the release of book 2! I bet the hubby is glad to be done with the formatting! 

Shelia - I don't know if the badge was for this group or not, but I like it. Nice work.


----------



## markhealy

Congrats Jessie, that's awesome! I will add my high five to the collective.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> So, I was messing around in Photoshop earlier (cause those covers won't make themselves, don't ya know  ) and I remembered someone saying we need a badge for our group. At least, I think it was this group. If not, then... feel free to ignore. I plead editing brain meltdown.
> 
> Viola!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think it still needs a little work, so suggestions? And it's huge! I need to resize it, for sure.


I suggested it! I like it so far, Have you looked at it smaller? The urge to rework it might pass if its at it's signature size.

Maybe it needs a smear of blood somewhere


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thank you, Mike and Mark. And Sheila, I really like the badge too.

I think Raventide is right. Maybe it needs some gore (or a small dragon).


----------



## 68564

JessieCar said:


> Thank you, Mike and Mark. And Sheila, I really like the badge too.
> 
> I think Raventide is right. Maybe it needs some gore (or a small dragon).


DRAGON DELIVERED


----------



## Elisabeth Roseland

Hi, everyone!

Jumping into my first post with a high five for my fellow spec fic writers. I'm mostly a romance writer, but a crazy story took up residence in my brain and wouldn't leave me alone, so you know how that goes. I couldn't sell it to save my life. Most people were like, "WTF *is* this?!" And I was all, "Um...like a story about people with superpowers, but not YA, with sex and stuff and kind of a romance with M/F and F/F but also like a thriller with car chases and explosions and a mystery at its center and um...you know what? Let me just have that back. Thanks." 

So I'm calling it speculative fiction and leaving it at that. Full stop.

So hello. And can I sit at your table and speculate about all the things?


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Elisabeth Roseland said:


> Hi, everyone!
> 
> Jumping into my first post with a high five for my fellow spec fic writers. I'm mostly a romance writer, but a crazy story took up residence in my brain and wouldn't leave me alone, so you know how that goes. I couldn't sell it to save my life. Most people were like, "WTF *is* this?!" And I was all, "Um...like a story about people with superpowers, but not YA, with sex and stuff and kind of a romance with M/F and F/F but also like a thriller with car chases and explosions and a mystery at its center and um...you know what? Let me just have that back. Thanks."
> 
> So I'm calling it speculative fiction and leaving it at that. Full stop.
> 
> So hello. And can I sit at your table and speculate about all the things?


Welcome to the table. It's not really here, though, so don't set your glass on it.


----------



## Elisabeth Roseland

RaventideBooks said:


> Welcome to the table. It's not really here, though, so don't set your glass on it.


Okay, which one of you has been telepathically altering my sense of reality? Fess up!


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Elisabeth Roseland said:


> Okay, which one of you has been telepathically altering my sense of reality? Fess up!


Well, to be perfectly honest... we don't know what's causing it. It could be telepathic mental impressions. It may be the physical plane tearing with too much applied weight. It could be a holographic image. We just don't know. We can only...speculate.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

JessieCar said:


> I'm not sure whether this is a high-five, but I finally published The Glass Mountain


Got it! I've been waiting 10 years to read it. 

I hope you're using some of the good reviews you got when the books first came out in your promotional materials. I think SF Site (?) still has reviews up.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Elisabeth Roseland said:


> Hi, everyone!
> 
> Jumping into my first post with a high five for my fellow spec fic writers. I'm mostly a romance writer, but a crazy story took up residence in my brain and wouldn't leave me alone, so you know how that goes. I couldn't sell it to save my life. Most people were like, "WTF *is* this?!" And I was all, "Um...like a story about people with superpowers, but not YA, with sex and stuff and kind of a romance with M/F and F/F but also like a thriller with car chases and explosions and a mystery at its center and um...you know what? Let me just have that back. Thanks."
> 
> So I'm calling it speculative fiction and leaving it at that. Full stop.
> 
> So hello. And can I sit at your table and speculate about all the things?


Uncategorizable books are my favourite category. I speculate that I'll have to give your book some space on my Kindle. Welcome to Kboards!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome to KBoards and to the Speculative Fiction high-five circle, Elisabeth.


----------



## Patty Jansen

I have a newsletter that goes out to a small but increasing number of subscribers (this is not my new releases newsletter, which is a lot bigger). This newsletter contains links, discussions, blog posts, stuff about art, and I also include one book but someone other than me. I randomly choose books that I think my subscribers might like. A lot of my subscribers are Australian, so for the last newsletter, I chose Elliot Brandis' Irradiated. I hope you got some sales from it.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Patty Jansen said:


> I have a newsletter that goes out to a small but increasing number of subscribers (this is not my new releases newsletter, which is a lot bigger). This newsletter contains links, discussions, blog posts, stuff about art, and I also include one book but someone other than me. I randomly choose books that I think my subscribers might like. A lot of my subscribers are Australian, so for the last newsletter, I chose Elliot Brandis' Irradiated. I hope you got some sales from it.


Thanks, Patty! That's really sweet of you.


----------



## unkownwriter

@Raventide:  Oh, thank goodness you suggested it. I really didn’t want to read back through this whole thread to find out if I’d made a total fool of myself. Not that that’s ever happened. Ever.

@Elizabeth:  Welcome! Always room at the table, even if it’s not always here. It’s an inter-dimensional table. Fairly irritating if it’s not here when you want to grab your glass for a sip. Actually, that’s really irritating. I need to buy new glasses all the time.   Congratulations on your book. Spec Fic is the place to be.  

@Jessie:  Thanks! I debated adding gore, but wasn’t sure how it would look. Maybe I should work in some time to fiddle with it. I’ve looked at it in a fairly small size, but have no clue what size it should be for the forum/any sites you guys wanted to put it on. Any suggestions for that?

@Vydorscope:  It’s perfect now that there’s a dragon!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sandra K. Williams said:


> Got it! I've been waiting 10 years to read it.
> 
> I hope you're using some of the good reviews you got when the books first came out in your promotional materials. I think SF Site (?) still has reviews up.


(Does happy dance).

Thank you, Sandra! I hope you like it (worries). Amazon have already incorporated the old reviews.  I need to do something about Goodreads.

Vincent - I love the dragon!

Welcome Elizabeth. Chaos reigns...also under the table.



Patty Jansen said:


> I have a newsletter that goes out to a small but increasing number of subscribers (this is not my new releases newsletter, which is a lot bigger). This newsletter contains links, discussions, blog posts, stuff about art, and I also include one book but someone other than me. I randomly choose books that I think my subscribers might like. A lot of my subscribers are Australian, so for the last newsletter, I chose Elliot Brandis' Irradiated. I hope you got some sales from it.


Patty - that sounds really good. Is there a link to sign up on your blog?

Sheila...I'm not sure about the size thing but isn't there a kudos badge that writers can put in their sigs on here? Maybe it should be about that size.


----------



## Patty Jansen

The newsletter subscription form is on my blog (http://pattyjansen.com/blog/). It should come up with the second page you click on the site, or use the box in the top right hand corner. It's not the same form or the same newsletter that's attached to my main website, which is only for new releases.

In the newsletter, I usually post a section with links from all over the web, including funny pictures from Twitter. Then there is a section for a book not written by me. Then something about my fiction, about a WIP,about background for fiction. I often have a section with artwork, and usually a link to a full-size photograph that people can use as desktop or something. I often take pre-dawn photos somewhere in town on a Monday morning. The newsletter is not really about selling my books.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> The newsletter subscription form is on my blog (http://pattyjansen.com/blog/). It should come up with the second page you click on the site, or use the box in the top right hand corner. It's not the same form or the same newsletter that's attached to my main website, which is only for new releases.
> 
> In the newsletter, I usually post a section with links from all over the web, including funny pictures from Twitter. Then there is a section for a book not written by me. Then something about my fiction, about a WIP,about background for fiction. I often have a section with artwork, and usually a link to a full-size photograph that people can use as desktop or something. I often take pre-dawn photos somewhere in town on a Monday morning. The newsletter is not really about selling my books.


That sounds really interesting, Patti. Will go and check it out. 

I'm just updating my blog listing for the Speculative Fiction Blog hop with a link to Ceinwen's post, and it has struck me that I'm a bit vague about the running order.

I've got Sheila for 25th August - or should that be Vincent? I'll post it as is and update this evening.

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/ceinwen-langley-does-speculative.html


----------



## Harry Manners

The newsletter sounds great, Patti. I'll take a peek.

Jessie: I believe I'm on for September 5th.

I've just uploaded my debut to Amazon, it's now live. It's before the launch date (25th August) but I have friends and family waiting, and some advance reviewers. Maybe I'll even get one or two purchases before the 'official' launch. Every little helps.

The main reason I hit the 'publish' button just to get rid of the voodoo. I'm a published author now. Big whoop.
Now, I have to sell some books; my birth as an artist is out of the way, and my career can begin.


----------



## heidi_g

Jessie: definitely a HIGH-FIVE!!!! And your covers are gorgeous.

Vincent: Will you really do a weekly spec-fic webcomic?!?!?! You could start by posting the badge/dragon that you and Sheila created?!?!?!?!?  Let me know and I'll send you an author invite to the blog.

Greedy me: Yes I want more people to sign up to be authors on the SPEC FIC SHOWCASE!!!!! We have two... three if Vincent will do his webcomics!!!

Elisabeth: Welcome!

Shelia: Your blog hop email is coming today. I'm officially calling us OFF September 1st... otherwise at this point the links and e-mails will get all messed up. Ceinwen loved your post. Vincent next week, then Sheila, and then OFF, and then Carole...

Phronk: I just finished  last night. It is a tongue-in-cheek tabloid splatterfest (well, you know, those Wal-mart scenes). Lots of cleverness. I liked Stan. And Bloody. Except I think I liked her more when... NO SPOILERS!!!!!  So where are you going next with your writing?


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> Vincent: Will you really do a weekly spec-fic webcomic?!?!?! You could start by posting the badge/dragon that you and Sheila created?!?!?!?!?  Let me know and I'll send you an author invite to the blog.


ERRRRR That is NOT what I said   What I said is I currently am posting a webcomic weekly to my site. You can see them here: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/category/robby/

I am on episode 9. I try to remember to post them every Sunday. They are not really Spec Fic, they are more real Astronomy. 

I half heartedly mentioned it as a joke in case you want to just reblog it each week. Did not expect 1) you to take it serious, or 2) for you to change it into me writing a new web comic just for this site.  I would love to, but there is the whole time issue.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> @Raventide: Oh, thank goodness you suggested it. I really didn't want to read back through this whole thread to find out if I'd made a total fool of myself. Not that that's ever happened. Ever.


Nope, not fooled today!  There's some saying somewhere about a foot in the mouth, or something, and I think I do that more than anyone.

And, ah yes. Mailing lists. We have five people. I'd love to get more. (And I have put a link directly to it in the back of every ebook, as well as having a link to it at the top of every webpage. Ah, well. These things take time, I've heard.)


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Harry Manners said:


> The newsletter sounds great, Patti. I'll take a peek.
> 
> Jessie: I believe I'm on for September 5th.
> 
> I've just uploaded my debut to Amazon, it's now live. It's before the launch date (25th August) but I have friends and family waiting, and some advance reviewers. Maybe I'll even get one or two purchases before the 'official' launch. Every little helps.
> 
> The main reason I hit the 'publish' button just to get rid of the voodoo. I'm a published author now. Big whoop.
> Now, I have to sell some books; my birth as an artist is out of the way, and my career can begin.


Congratulations, Harry! And a high-five.

Thank you, Heidi - still rushing about.  I'll update my blog with the correct dates...

Raventide - I think I have 0 people on my mailing list.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

A big congrats to Jessie and Harry on your new books. (I'm a bit behind--have I missed anybody?)

I love that the blog hop is still going strong. Yours was a great read, Ceinwen.

Harry - I think you need to add Ruin to your author's page on Amazon. It's not linking up with your author profile, yet. Also, you can use keywords to get your book into a number of sub-categories. Right now you're in two (Post-Apoc and Dystopian), but you can typically get in about seven or so. Just a tip to help with visibility. Good luck!


----------



## Elisabeth Roseland

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! You ladies and gents make me feel a little less weird (and I mean that with heartfelt love!)

Is there any way I could be added to the blog hop? I'd love to get a little more connected with the spec fic world. Thanks!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on the new book, Harry. I'll include it in the round-up for August as well.


----------



## Harry Manners

Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

@Elliot: Great, thanks for the tips! I honestly had no idea about how keywords affected sub-categories.


----------



## Patty Jansen

I'm just about to publish a new book, first of a series of episodes, under another name. This is an experiment and it's both scary and exciting. Because I don't have any other parts in the series up, I'm not expecting a great deal. In fact, I'd be highly surprised if it sells any copies at all until I have part 2 out, but still, it's exciting.


----------



## unkownwriter

JessieCar said:


> Sheila...I'm not sure about the size thing but isn't there a kudos badge that writers can put in their sigs on here? Maybe it should be about that size.


Good idea! I'll see if I can get the properties off one, and work on ours a little later today. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of editing at last, hoping to get the book out by Monday next (I hope).



Elisabeth Roseland said:


> Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! You ladies and gents make me feel a little less weird (and I mean that with heartfelt love!)
> 
> Is there any way I could be added to the blog hop? I'd love to get a little more connected with the spec fic world. Thanks!


Wait a minute... We're supposed to feel less weird? ::::wanders off to look at the bylines:::: 

To get on the blog hop, just send me a PM (look at the icons under my avatar <-----) and I'll get you the information. We do these on Mondays, so any Monday after September 8th is open.

In fact, here are the upcoming posts we have:

August 11: Ceinwen Langely
August 18: Vincent Trigili
August 25: Sheila Guthrie (AKA, ME!)
September 1: Harry Manners
September 8: Carole McDonnell

Patty, good luck with the new book! I hope I never lose the excitement of uploading a new book. I wouldn't mind losing the nausea, though.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Harry Manners said:


> Thanks for the encouragement, guys.
> 
> @Elliot: Great, thanks for the tips! I honestly had no idea about how keywords affected sub-categories.


No problem. I was a debut novelist not very long ago, so I know how much there is to take in. 

I'm probably still muddling my way through a lot of it.

See this list of keywords: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2G3ZMYDPB9VRM


----------



## mphicks

Harry - congrats on the release of RUIN! Definitely check out Elliot's list of keywords; it's a phenomenal help.


----------



## mphicks

Not too long ago, Elle Chambers pointed me in the direction of The Cover Collection for the art on my next release, a short horror story. Heidi and a few others were very helpful in advising me on the blurb, and the story goes off for formatting next month. After that, I'll be getting pretty darn close to releasing CONSUMPTION and am targeting early October for a release date.

However, if anybody wants an advanced copy, feel free to put in a request. Check out the blurb and if it strikes your fancy, I'm happy to send you a copy when it's released.

You can also get a peek at the final cover, which I've revealed today! http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/08/13/consumption-cover-reveal/


----------



## Harry Manners

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> No problem. I was a debut novelist not very long ago, so I know how much there is to take in.
> 
> I'm probably still muddling my way through a lot of it.
> 
> See this list of keywords: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2G3ZMYDPB9VRM


Ah, you're a star! That's great, I'll dive right into this. Thanks again!

@Michael: Thanks for the congrats. And that cover for Consumption is to DIE for! Beautiful! And I'd love to check it out, if you could put me down for a copy. Cheers.


----------



## mphicks

Harry Manners said:


> Ah, you're a star! That's great, I'll dive right into this. Thanks again!
> 
> @Michael: Thanks for the congrats. And that cover for Consumption is to DIE for! Beautiful! And I'd love to check it out, if you could put me down for a copy. Cheers.


Thank you, Harry! I'm making a note and adding you to the list. Cheers!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Phronk: I just finished  last night. It is a tongue-in-cheek tabloid splatterfest (well, you know, those Wal-mart scenes). Lots of cleverness. I liked Stan. And Bloody. Except I think I liked her more when... NO SPOILERS!!!!!  So where are you going next with your writing?


Thanks so much for reading it! And for the nice Amazon review. Tongue-in-cheek tabloid splatterfest is what I was going for, so that makes me happy. 

I've started planning on a sequel, partly because of the Kboards "write a series or you'll die poor and alone" advice, but mostly because I want to know what happens next.

Thanks again Heidi!


----------



## 68564

JessieCar said:


> That sounds really interesting, Patti. Will go and check it out.
> 
> I'm just updating my blog listing for the Speculative Fiction Blog hop with a link to Ceinwen's post, and it has struck me that I'm a bit vague about the running order.
> 
> I've got Sheila for 25th August - or should that be Vincent? I'll post it as is and update this evening.
> 
> http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/ceinwen-langley-does-speculative.html


I am on the 18th, and my post is all written.  It is set to show up automagically on 8/18 @ 9am EST. Sheila comes after me.


----------



## mphicks

I've gone and signed-up for SciFi November, which you can find more details about at http://www.ohthebooks.com/sci-fi-november-2014/

Anyone else taking part?

Now I just need to figure out what to blog about...lol I'll be doing some book reviews, I'd expect, which I normally do anyway but will have more of a sci-fi centric bent for that month.

Is anyone interested in doing guest posts or planning on having new titles out that you would like to have featured? If so, PM and let's get the ball rolling!


----------



## markhealy

Harry Manners said:


> I've just uploaded my debut to Amazon, it's now live. It's before the launch date (25th August) but I have friends and family waiting, and some advance reviewers. Maybe I'll even get one or two purchases before the 'official' launch. Every little helps.


Congrats Harry, you really sprung that one on us! Hope it's going well for you.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Uploaded my pen name project.  I have some sales! That's better than expected, because it's clearly marked book 1 and there isn't a book 2 yet...


----------



## Harry Manners

markhealy said:


> Congrats Harry, you really sprung that one on us! Hope it's going well for you.


Thanks, Mark. I'm glad I did it, because there are niggly details to work out.

Example: My Amazon catalogue cover was uploaded at the recommended 1.6 width-height ratio, but it looks stretched and narrow compared to other titles (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MN5X0LG/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_9Hl7tb1QEYCZ9).

I tried uploading afresh, then the same ratio but at different dimensions, but I still have the same problem.

Any ideas why, guys?

Thanks again for the kind words, Mark.


----------



## unkownwriter

Congrats to everybody for all their good news (I'm just stopping in here really quick to catch up).

I worked on the badge a bit, even got it into my signature. Yay me! lol Anyway, this code should work, if anyone wants to put it in:










Edited to add: Okay, forgot to take the img tags off. Copy this link:

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/thystlemoon/My%20Writing/blog%20stuff/specficbadge_zpsbf9f0d92.png

To use, add img in brackets in front and /img in brackets (the [] things) at the end. I made it about 100 pixels, since that seemed to be the size of another badge I saw on the boards. Probably need to resize to use on a webpage, but I'll have to get to that later. Editing calls!

You guys hold the fort while I'm gone, yeah?


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Congrats to everybody for all their good news (I'm just stopping in here really quick to catch up).
> 
> I worked on the badge a bit, even got it into my signature. Yay me! lol Anyway, this code should work, if anyone wants to put it in:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Edited to add: Okay, forgot to take the img tags off. Copy this link:
> 
> http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/thystlemoon/My%20Writing/blog%20stuff/specficbadge_zpsbf9f0d92.png
> 
> To use, add img in brackets in front and /img in brackets (the [] things) at the end. I made it about 100 pixels, since that seemed to be the size of another badge I saw on the boards. Probably need to resize to use on a webpage, but I'll have to get to that later. Editing calls!
> 
> You guys hold the fort while I'm gone, yeah?


Very cool. Good luck with your editing! I'll put it in our sig once I get to a real computer again.


----------



## heidi_g

Gosh, I cannot keep up with this thread! That's a good thing.

Congratulations, Harry!

Sheila, I sent your email with instructions to tag Carole. I'm assuming you have info to tag Harry instead? Do you want to send Carole her email o'doom? I got an email from Vincent today, he's ready to go.

Phronk.. so I was thinking about a great guest post for you. Would you like to do a guest post on GORE, HORROR, and HUMOR? I think, correct me if I'm wrong, those are all strong elements in _Of Stars and Monsters_. They were also strong elements in one of my favorite TV shows ever, _Dexter._ Although I'm not a gore fan! (Sorry!) Is that a guy thing? Any female gore fans out there?!?!?! I do love a mix of horror and humor and outrageousness... Maybe GORE, HORROR, HUMOR, and OUTRAGOUSNESS!!!! We could cross-post on the Spec Fic Showcase? Stanley is definitely a great character and would make for a good series. Will Bloody have character growth, lol. I mean she had quite a character arc in the first book in the series Can Stanley please get a bionic finger or something!?!?!?!? Let me know if you're up for a guest post. I'll get your short story in too.

Let's see... I'm getting nervous about restarting the showcase... time factors after last two days of writing crunch... no more volunteers?!?!?!?!

Vincent: Can't blame a girl for trying


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> Uploaded my pen name project. I have some sales! That's better than expected, because it's clearly marked book 1 and there isn't a book 2 yet...


That's great news, Patty.

Mike, I spotted the cover reveal on your blog and it looks really good - creepy and funny.

I really like the new badge Sheila. Look forward to adding it!

Heidi - I'm off to Worldcon tomorrow for the weekend so hope to brainstorm about the showcase next week. Will also update my Spec Fic listing on Monday.

I'm currently dead for tax reasons (Douglas Adams) so will try to catch up after the weekend.


----------



## heidi_g

I just set up a pre-order for my next release!!!!! 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQAUKS4
(the age group is wrong, have to fix that as soon as it gets out of review mode!)
But still, it's exciting!
I'll see if I like it and whether or not I want to do it for more books.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

heidi_g said:


> I just set up a pre-order for my next release!!!!!
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQAUKS4
> (the age group is wrong, have to fix that as soon as it gets out of review mode!)
> But still, it's exciting!
> I'll see if I like it and whether or not I want to do it for more books.


T.A. saw.this earlier. I'm really excited to have a hard and defined heavy promo period now.  Good luck with yours!


----------



## markhealy

Patty Jansen said:


> Uploaded my pen name project. I have some sales! That's better than expected, because it's clearly marked book 1 and there isn't a book 2 yet...


Congrats Patty! Maybe good cover and blurb are reeling them in?


----------



## Patty Jansen

markhealy said:


> Congrats Patty! Maybe good cover and blurb are reeling them in?


I don't know. It is an experiment. It's definitely SF/F. I'm not expecting any kind of results from it until I have another book or two done in the series, and then I may report on the experiment and "out" the pen name. Ideally, I would like to draw the project back into my real name author page, because it even uses one of my existing worlds.

At his point in time, the pen name project is still kinda dormant. It has no mailinglist, no website, no Twitter or Facebook and no advertising. I guess I'll have to run a few ads when book 2 comes out, but I'm trying to see if this thing will swim on its own.


----------



## Dean F. Wilson

Hi all,

Fantasy author here, happy to join the circle 

I've submitted a PM about the blog hop.

Nice to meet you all!

-D


----------



## Lucas Bale

Harry Manners said:


> Thanks, Mark. I'm glad I did it, because there are niggly details to work out.
> 
> Example: My Amazon catalogue cover was uploaded at the recommended 1.6 width-height ratio, but it looks stretched and narrow compared to other titles (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MN5X0LG/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_9Hl7tb1QEYCZ9).
> 
> I tried uploading afresh, then the same ratio but at different dimensions, but I still have the same problem.
> 
> Any ideas why, guys?
> 
> Thanks again for the kind words, Mark.


Hi Harry,

I can't help with the cover - it looks perhaps ever-so-slightly stretched, but it's not noticeable unless you are looking for it and you are probably hypersensitive about it for obvious reasons. It's not something I think should concern you. And I am not sure how you'll resolve it. In any event, well done on uploading! I uploaded three days before the official publication date to download a copy and check for problems - very useful advice I received some time ago and it seems you're doing the same. I like the layout inside too. Good luck with it and I hope it does well.

Remember, if I can help in any way, please let me know.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> Phronk.. so I was thinking about a great guest post for you. Would you like to do a guest post on GORE, HORROR, and HUMOR? I think, correct me if I'm wrong, those are all strong elements in _Of Stars and Monsters_. They were also strong elements in one of my favorite TV shows ever, _Dexter._ Although I'm not a gore fan! (Sorry!) Is that a guy thing? Any female gore fans out there?!?!?! I do love a mix of horror and humor and outrageousness... Maybe GORE, HORROR, HUMOR, and OUTRAGOUSNESS!!!! We could cross-post on the Spec Fic Showcase? Stanley is definitely a great character and would make for a good series. Will Bloody have character growth, lol. I mean she had quite a character arc in the first book in the series Can Stanley please get a bionic finger or something!?!?!?!? Let me know if you're up for a guest post. I'll get your short story in too.


Thanks Heidi! That sounds like a great idea for a post. I loved Dexter too, and a lot of stories that cleverly mix humor and horror. I think the two go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and it's something I addressed in my research a bit, so I can certainly write a post up. When would you like it? Should I DM it to you?

Gender and horror have a fascinating relationship too. I think there are a lot of women who like gore in their horror, though there's a tendency toward liking it for different reasons. The whole idea of "liking" something becomes complicated when looking at horror fandom, because who really "likes" the gory parts? It's not like people actually feel joy as they cover their eyes and half-watch the gory parts. But if a guy puts his arm around a girl to make the scary parts feel less scary, and the date goes really well because of it, so they're happy walking out of the movie, does that mean they liked it?

Anyway:

Haha yeah Bloody's transformation as a character is probably going to continue. The implications of what happened to her are one of the things that made me think that maybe this is a series instead of a standalone book.  I'm sure Stan would love a bionic finger, but with the thriller-like pacing I'm planning on writing him into, he probably won't have time to go find one. Poor characters. Sometimes I think us writers aren't very nice to them.


----------



## Ceinwen

Congrats, Harry! I look forward to reading Ruin!

I'm using two of my free Kindle Select days today and tomorrow and have run a Bknights ad. I've already given away 19 copies which is double my best sales day, so I'm pretty happy!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Good luck, Ceinwen.


----------



## Ceinwen

Thanks, moneybags


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Gotta help the little guys. After all, y'all can't afford to drive cars and stuff.

[/topical Australian politics reference]


----------



## Patty Jansen

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Gotta help the little guys. After all, y'all can't afford to drive cars and stuff.
> 
> [/topical Australian politics reference]


yegads, for some things, this nutball is actually our local MP

*hides in hole before Betsy realises we're talking about politics and uses the cattle prod*


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Maybe we can convince her they're actually a roving comedy troupe. 

We wouldn't even have to lie.


----------



## Ceinwen

Ba dum!


----------



## Cherise

Elisabeth Roseland said:


> Hi, everyone!
> 
> Jumping into my first post with a high five for my fellow spec fic writers. I'm mostly a romance writer, but a crazy story took up residence in my brain and wouldn't leave me alone, so you know how that goes. I couldn't sell it to save my life. Most people were like, "WTF *is* this?!" And I was all, "Um...like a story about people with superpowers, but not YA, with sex and stuff and kind of a romance with M/F and F/F but also like a thriller with car chases and explosions and a mystery at its center and um...you know what? Let me just have that back. Thanks."
> 
> So I'm calling it speculative fiction and leaving it at that. Full stop.
> 
> So hello. And can I sit at your table and speculate about all the things?


You just sold a copy to me. 

Welcome to our table!


----------



## Cherise

Dean F. Wilson said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Fantasy author here, happy to join the circle
> 
> I've submitted a PM about the blog hop.
> 
> Nice to meet you all!
> 
> -D


Welcome, Dean.


----------



## Harry Manners

Lucas Bale said:


> Hi Harry,
> 
> I can't help with the cover - it looks perhaps ever-so-slightly stretched, but it's not noticeable unless you are looking for it and you are probably hypersensitive about it for obvious reasons. It's not something I think should concern you. And I am not sure how you'll resolve it. In any event, well done on uploading! I uploaded three days before the official publication date to download a copy and check for problems - very useful advice I received some time ago and it seems you're doing the same. I like the layout inside too. Good luck with it and I hope it does well.
> 
> Remember, if I can help in any way, please let me know.


Cheers for the feedback, Lucas. Nice to hear that I might be overreacting. Thanks for the support, Lucas. If the guest post slot on your blog is still open, I'd love to get in on that.


----------



## jdrew

heidi_g said:


> I just set up a pre-order for my next release!!!!!
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQAUKS4
> (the age group is wrong, have to fix that as soon as it gets out of review mode!)
> But still, it's exciting!
> I'll see if I like it and whether or not I want to do it for more books.


Heidi, tell us more about the pre-order and how it works out. I'm curious as I hope to be coming out with my next book in a month or two. Been saying that for 4 months already so we'll see. Still if this works I'll probably give it a try.


----------



## 68564

Judy Goodwin (member of these boards) interviewed me today:

https://judygoodwin.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/author-interview-vincent-trigili/

I probably made a total fool of myself, but at least you can have something to point and laugh at. 

_edit:fixed typos_


----------



## Jamie Maltman

VydorScope said:


> If your like and and stuff Judy Goodwin (member of these boards) interviewed me today:
> 
> https://judygoodwin.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/author-interview-vincent-trigili/
> 
> I probably made a total fool of myself, but at least you can have something to point and laugh at.


I don't think that was embarrassing at all.  Yay interviews!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Dean F. Wilson said:


> Fantasy author here, happy to join the circle
> 
> I've submitted a PM about the blog hop.
> 
> Nice to meet you all!


Welcome, Dean! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your books and stuff.


----------



## Ceinwen

I woke up to 2,800 downloads! My sales graph is now unreadable and I wish even a quarter of those were paid, but that's still pretty bloody cool! I'm topping two of my sub categories in the free charts and there's still a few hours of day 1 to go 😃


----------



## Patty Jansen

Ceinwen L. said:


> I woke up to 2,800 downloads! My sales graph is now unreadable and I wish even a quarter of those were paid, but that's still pretty bloody cool! I'm topping two of my sub categories in the free charts and there's still a few hours of day 1 to go &#128515;


The "unreadable" sales graph is a nice problem to have. I take it as a sign that when my sales graph becomes readable, I need to do another freebie promo.


----------



## Keith Soares

Hey folks - I introduced myself here a short while ago... Well, I've got a new short story collection that I've just released. Sci-fi, fantasy, revenge, suspense. I'd love to get some professional opinions on it, so please PM me if you'd like a free ebook copy - I'll send it as a gifted version via Amazon.

Thanks!
K.


----------



## heidi_g

jdrew said:


> Heidi, tell us more about the pre-order and how it works out. I'm curious as I hope to be coming out with my next book in a month or two. Been saying that for 4 months already so we'll see. Still if this works I'll probably give it a try.


Okay, this is my understanding:

You can set your pre-order up to 90 days out. Mine was about 11. 
You'll need your cover, a blurb, all your categories, and key words selected.
You can submit a draft of the novel that needs copy editing or proofreading.
Ten days prior to publication date, you must submit your final file. I emailed Amazon and they said the file is locked for the ten days prior to publication, although you can upload new flies after that... you know, for those mysterious typos... we'll see as my deadline is midnight tonight. I just uploaded my final file a little while ago.
If you don't upload your final file, which involves ticking off the box, you will lose the ability to take advantage of pre-orders for a year.

I don't know if it's going to make any difference for me on this release because I'm doing so little marketing this year. But I just wanted to try it and see how the process worked! If I like, I'm going to have to re-engineer my publishing process since I usually do blurb, categories, key words, etc. at the tail end.


----------



## Cheryl M.

heidi_g said:


> Gosh, I cannot keep up with this thread!


I can't either! Heh.

It doesn't help that I haven't been able to get on much. Hoping to have some consistent writing time soon.

But it's been fun reading the posts!


----------



## heidi_g

Phronk said:


> Thanks Heidi! That sounds like a great idea for a post. I loved Dexter too, and a lot of stories that cleverly mix humor and horror. I think the two go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and it's something I addressed in my research a bit, so I can certainly write a post up. When would you like it? Should I DM it to you?
> 
> Gender and horror have a fascinating relationship too. I think there are a lot of women who like gore in their horror, though there's a tendency toward liking it for different reasons. The whole idea of "liking" something becomes complicated when looking at horror fandom, because who really "likes" the gory parts? It's not like people actually feel joy as they cover their eyes and half-watch the gory parts. But if a guy puts his arm around a girl to make the scary parts feel less scary, and the date goes really well because of it, so they're happy walking out of the movie, does that mean they liked it?
> 
> Anyway:
> 
> Haha yeah Bloody's transformation as a character is probably going to continue. The implications of what happened to her are one of the things that made me think that maybe this is a series instead of a standalone book.  I'm sure Stan would love a bionic finger, but with the thriller-like pacing I'm planning on writing him into, he probably won't have time to go find one. Poor characters. Sometimes I think us writers aren't very nice to them.


Maybe we should take this to messages But as a goal date for the post how about any time after September 1. Bummer on his finger! It is just soooooooo gross, lol. You make some obviously good points about horror and date night. Hmm...


----------



## heidi_g

Keith,  Congratulations on your release!!!

Dean, Welcome!

Jessie, Have a blast at World Con!

Ceinwen, YAY!!!! On you free day Super Success! Picked up a copy


----------



## unkownwriter

Heidi, I'll make myself a note about bumping Harry into my tagging spot. I can send the email to Carole, if you want. 

I now have Dean F. Wilson (hey, there!) for September 15, so we're free on any Monday after that if there's anyone who wants to get in on the blog hop.

Editing is driving me (more) insane. I reworked some boring stuff early on, and now I've hit a spot that references stuff that no longer exists. Cue massive cutting and rewriting! Egad. I must be crazy, if I willingly do this to myself.  

With any luck -- and providing I'm satisfied with the cover -- I think I can get it published Monday. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope I can make it. This book needs to be published so I can get to work on the next project up.

Anyway, I've got to book (<--- see what I did there?), so congratulations to everybody that had good news, and a big ol' hug to the rest of us.


----------



## SA_Soule

Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what genre you write in, especially if your work crosses over several.

For example, my Spellbound series for teens could be "supernatural mystery" or "horror" or "paranormal romance."

My adult novel, IMMORTAL ECLIPSE could fall under "horror" or "dark fantasy" or "supernatural murder mystery"  or "Gothic" or even "paranormal romance."

My other YA series, the Starlight Saga is "Upper YA" and "soft science fiction" and "humor" and "paranormal" and even "romance."

So, does my work qualify as speculative fiction?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome to the speculative fiction high-five circle, Dean and Sherry.

Sherry, I think your work absolutely is speculative fiction, so you'll fit right in.

For all newcomers, if anyone has a new speculative fiction release in August, please let me know so I can include your book in the Indie Spec Fic of the Month round-up. I've already got Keith's and Harry's new releases.


----------



## WDR

heidi_g said:


> Okay, this is my understanding:
> 
> You can set your pre-order up to 90 days out. Mine was about 11.
> You'll need&#8230;


Thanks, Heidi! That's good information to have. I figure once I'm through the first round of the editing cycle, I'll pop my next book, _Dragon_, into pre-order. I find the first round of edits to be the hardest to work around because they usually involve rewrites. The subsequent edits are more error catches and corrections and go much quicker.

It would be a relief to get income generating orders in sooner than later.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Newsletter has gone out with Michael Hick's Convergence as reading suggestion.

I'm open to suggested titles for the next one. Each newsletter contains one book. Also stuff about writing, links, freebies, art and a full-size photograph.

(You can subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/DMPzL)


----------



## Victoria Champion

So, I uploaded my new zombie novel to Amazon and about an hour after it went live, it received its first sale and an immediate refund. Damn that was sucky. Think it was pirated? I know it's not formatting, grammar, or length vs price. And the story is solid. That's the M.O. for pirating, right? I wouldn't even know where to look. Nothing shows up on my Google Alerts.

Anyway I'm still in soft launch mode while the other distributors post it live. They have until Tuesday then I'm announcing the official release. No other sales yet besides that one return. I checked and I was on page 4 of zombie new releases so I'm thinking it was pirated.

I keep telling myself they and whoever they let download it weren't going to pay for it anyway.


----------



## Victoria Champion

CoraBuhlert said:


> Welcome to the speculative fiction high-five circle, Dean and Sherry.
> 
> Sherry, I think your work absolutely is speculative fiction, so you'll fit right in.
> 
> For all newcomers, if anyone has a new speculative fiction release in August, please let me know so I can include your book in the Indie Spec Fic of the Month round-up. I've already got Keith's and Harry's new releases.


I just released a new zombie novel. It's in my sig. Zombie Flood.


----------



## Ceinwen

Congratulations on the new release! It sucks on the pirating, but I think you've got the right attitude about it. Fingers crossed for plenty of actual sales on Tuesday


----------



## Patty Jansen

I get that all the damn time. First copy sold is almost always returned immediately after. Now that I expect it to happen, I'm surprised if it doesn't. With the pen name book I published last week, the first copy sold actually stayed sold. That was a novel experience.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Ah, well, I've signed a pact with the devil and am trying some of my published (in PAPER magazines! Remember paper?) in KU. One of the stories has just gone live. I've been at a loss what to do with shorter work. I can't dismiss something out of hand without trying it at least once. This is your chance, Amazon! This is your chance!


----------



## mphicks

Patty Jansen said:


> Newsletter has gone out with Michael Hick's Convergence as reading suggestion.
> 
> I'm open to suggested titles for the next one. Each newsletter contains one book. Also stuff about writing, links, freebies, art and a full-size photograph.
> 
> (You can subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/DMPzL)


Thank you so much Patty!

How about Lucas Bale's or S. Elliot Brandis for the next one? Harry Manners also just released a title that looks good too.


----------



## Patty Jansen

mphicks said:


> Thank you so much Patty!
> 
> How about Lucas Bale's or S. Elliot Brandis for the next one? Harry Manners also just released a title that looks good too.


I did Elliot Brandis in the last newsletter. I'll have a look for the next one. I like space-y covers. I like hard SF and space opera. The more space ships, the better. You can never have enough space ships.


----------



## mphicks

Patty Jansen said:


> I did Elliot Brandis in the last newsletter. I'll have a look for the next one. I like space-y covers. I like hard SF and space opera. The more space ships, the better. You can never have enough space ships.


Lucas has got you covered on the spaceships then. The Heretic is the start of a pretty promising sci-fi series and it's got a touch of Firefly in its genes.


----------



## 68564

My entry is up: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

So now I have set the bar low enough that everyone that comes after me will look great!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

VydorScope said:


> My entry is up: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


The first step in your writing process is absolutely shocking and I can't repeat it on a public forum. 

And previous posts...
Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.



Patty Jansen said:


> You can never have enough space ships.


----------



## 68564

Sandra K. Williams said:


> The first step in your writing process is absolutely shocking and I can't repeat it on a public forum.


*snicker*


----------



## Harry Manners

Shocking, Vincent. How could you? 

One week to go until the 'official' release of my debut, Ruin! I'm glad I soft-released early, because the novelty of being published has well and truly faded now, and I'm finding it easy to look upon it with a clear business mind.

Now to get writing all the newsletter, blog and social media posts in advance. To the keyboard!


EDIT: SOMEONE BOUGHT MY BOOK! WITH REAL MONEY! AND I HAVEN'T EVEN ADVERTISED IT YET. 

Ahem, sorry. Got a tad excited. I guess it was probably one of you guys, right? Come on, own up. Hehe.


----------



## 68564

Y'all did read the WHOLE post right?


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

I'm just back from Worldcon.

Vincent, looking forward to read your writing process with Rude Bits. Will update the Spec Fic thing anon.

Harry - congrats on your first sale!

ETA: Ok Vincent have now read your post. Very shocking!

NB. But I liked the bit about Vogon Poetry. I have actually had a real-life experience that was very slightly similar.

And...have updated the running list o'Doom. http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop-with.html


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Harry Manners said:


> Shocking, Vincent. How could you?
> 
> One week to go until the 'official' release of my debut, Ruin! I'm glad I soft-released early, because the novelty of being published has well and truly faded now, and I'm finding it easy to look upon it with a clear business mind.
> 
> Now to get writing all the newsletter, blog and social media posts in advance. To the keyboard!
> 
> EDIT: SOMEONE BOUGHT MY BOOK! WITH REAL MONEY! AND I HAVEN'T EVEN ADVERTISED IT YET.
> 
> Ahem, sorry. Got a tad excited. I guess it was probably one of you guys, right? Come on, own up. Hehe.


I remember that feeling from back in March. Except I was lying in bed with food poisoning and vertigo. We'd hit publish the night before, and sales trickled in before I'd told ANYONE. Not lots of sales, but actual sales, from another country no less.  Extremely cool feeling.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Hi gang,

I'm revamping my book description in advance of launching book 2, and made a thread asking for advice. Would love if any of the gang here could stop by:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=192744.msg2716934#msg2716934

(I'm also dropping the price to $2.99 as soon as I get the new description ready to go live. So if you like the sound of it, wait a bit. Unless you're in Kindle Unlimited, then grab it now. Ha!)


----------



## Patty Jansen

Worldcon. I'm jealous. I went in 2010, and it was my first time in the SFF community (yeah, I know I should go out more).

Then again, I don't really like long plane trips, so there's that. Or any plane trips. Or places where I need to carry all sorts of weird dooveys just to make my electrical stuff work, because some idiot thought it was fun to divide the world into random sections and decree: you lot use this kind of plug, you lot use this type, and you lot over there can be the King of Annoyance and use half the voltage that everyone else uses. AAARRRGGHH!!!

What hope is there for a settlement on Mars if we can't even agree on a standard electrical plug?


----------



## heidi_g

Vincent, just stopped by your blog hop post!

And now... the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop torch is officially passed to Shelia


----------



## Ceinwen

SimonePond said:


> I'm supposed to be working on my third speculative fiction novel, but instead I've ended up lost in the kboards. But it appears I'm not alone. Happy to be among the few and the proud. I'd love to hear about how you guys reach speculative fiction readers.


I love your covers! Welcome to the thread!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Harry Manners said:


> EDIT: SOMEONE BOUGHT MY BOOK! WITH REAL MONEY! AND I HAVEN'T EVEN ADVERTISED IT YET.
> 
> Ahem, sorry. Got a tad excited. I guess it was probably one of you guys, right? Come on, own up. Hehe.


Congrats! Wasn't me, but I remember way back in my early days (like, a month ago) when a stranger first bought my book. It's a nice feeling to know that somebody out there stumbled across it and found it interesting enough to spend real money on. Best of luck with a lot more of that.


----------



## Harry Manners

Phronk said:


> Congrats! Wasn't me, but I remember way back in my early days (like, a month ago) when a stranger first bought my book. It's a nice feeling to know that somebody out there stumbled across it and found it interesting enough to spend real money on. Best of luck with a lot more of that.


Thanks! 

It's everything I wanted from writing. One person cared enough to part with hard-earned cash.


----------



## Ceinwen

It's the best feeling. And soon you'll be feeling it a lot more often!


----------



## JenEllision

Congratulations! It is a wonderful feeling. Cherish it, because you've earned it!

PS, Vincent-- the first step in your writing process is revolutionary ^_~


----------



## Harry Manners

With any luck. 

Thanks, guys. Next milestone: 100 sales. Then: the world! *eyes squint*


----------



## mcahogarth

Well, WorldCon is over and I can now say that several of my books have cover art by a Hugo-award-winning artist! I am all gleeful. They couldn't have given the award to a nicer and more talented person.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on your first sale, Harry.

M.C.A., I was thrilled to hear that Julie Dillon won the Hugo in the best pro artist category. The cover for Earthrise is great BTW.


----------



## 68564

Harry Manners said:


> EDIT: SOMEONE BOUGHT MY BOOK! WITH REAL MONEY! AND I HAVEN'T EVEN ADVERTISED IT YET.


Congrats!!! Well done!


----------



## mcahogarth

CoraBuhlert said:


> M.C.A., I was thrilled to hear that Julie Dillon won the Hugo in the best pro artist category. The cover for Earthrise is great BTW.


She had it long coming, I think! I backed her current Kickstarter too, so I could get a print to hang on my wall. She does such amazing work with color!


----------



## unkownwriter

heidi_g said:


> And now... the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop torch is officially passed to Shelia


Yes, and I'm scared witless I'm going to mess something up horribly! 

I'm not doing much lately because I'm having a flare up of the carpal tunnel in my right hand, and it's killing me. I have to rest it a lot, so typing is at the bare minimum.

Congrats to all with good news and deep commiseration to the rest of us.

Welcome to the new folks! Stick around and join in the madness that is the spec fic thread.


----------



## Patty Jansen

heidi_g said:


> Vincent, just stopped by your blog hop post!
> 
> And now... the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop torch is officially passed to Shelia


Should I take part? What's involved?

*too lazy to read this entire thread*


----------



## Ceinwen

Send Sheila an email and she'll schedule you in. And then just read one of the posts Sandra linked to to get a feel for it


----------



## 68564

Ceinwen L. said:


> Send Sheila an email and she'll schedule you in. And then just read one of the posts Sandra linked to to get a feel for it


You can read mine... but apparently only if your are okay with being shocked. 
http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


----------



## Patty Jansen

VydorScope said:


> You can read mine... but apparently only if your are okay with being shocked.
> http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


I read it yesterday. Does everyone answer the same questions?


----------



## 68564

Patty Jansen said:


> I read it yesterday. Does everyone answer the same questions?


Yep.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

The Speculative Fiction Showcase has a new feature called Indie Speculative Fiction Links of the Week, so check it out.

And if you have a link you think might be suitable for the link round-up, please PM me.


----------



## 68564

CoraBuhlert said:


> The Speculative Fiction Showcase has a new feature called Indie Speculative Fiction Links of the Week, so check it out.
> 
> And if you have a link you think might be suitable for the link round-up, please PM me.


wow I made the first feature!  Thanks for the mention.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Gwon, Patty. Join the Hop. It's rather addictive. I have to confess I've never been to a Con outside the UK, but I feel your pain with regard to travel and electrical alliances. We're also looking for victims - uh - authors to interview for the Spec Fic Showcase, which is what Cora's new post of links emanates from...('we' are Heidi, Cora and myself...there is room for another person as well to help run the showcase).



CoraBuhlert said:


> The Speculative Fiction Showcase has a new feature called Indie Speculative Fiction Links of the Week, so check it out.
> 
> And if you have a link you think might be suitable for the link round-up, please PM me.


That's a great round-up, Cora - it looks very promising. I probably have some links to send for the next one and will do the usual signal boosting.

Sheila - w00t! And I hope the carpal tunnel gets better. That is not fun.

MCA - I didn't go to the Hugos as we only went to Worldcon on Saturday, but that's really brilliant about your cover artist - congrats! I'm not sure whether you were there but the venue was so huge I only saw a few people (apart from the ones I was with). I wish I had seen David Tennant. I did get a photo of Slender Man though and a very cool Jedi.

Sorry this is a shopping list - but Jamie, I popped up in the other thread and made some blurb suggestions. Though I find blurbs extremely difficult to do.

Last but not least - hi Simone! Welcome to the explodo-thread.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

I've just updated the Speculative Fiction showcase with a guest post from Harry Manners.

http://indiespecfic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/guest-post-by-harry-manners-author-of.html


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> I've just updated the Speculative Fiction showcase with a guest post from Harry Manners.
> 
> http://indiespecfic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/guest-post-by-harry-manners-author-of.html


Thanks Jessie!

Harry, the Saga sounds really ambitious and awesome - kudos! Going a bit beyond your teaser, are you thinking something along the lines of The Dark Tower and King's associated works, sort of like a spoke-wheel universe?


----------



## Harry Manners

Thanks a bunch again, Jessie!

Michael: Cheers for taking a peek, I'm glad you like the sound of it. It will indeed be something similar! I'll be focusing more on the fantasy / horror genres as opposed to western / adventure, but I sure took inspiration from TDT. I get a rush every time I think about the arena I'm setting up for myself to play in.


----------



## Harry Manners

Apologies for double posting. But it's release day for Ruin.

http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/

Baaaaah! Social media and mailing lists have all gone whizzing away. Retailers are coming online. Blog and website updated. Now to wait for the crickets. But still, what a buzz. Imagine what I'd have been like if I hadn't soft-released...

Thanks for all the support and advice from you wonderful people these last few months. Cheers!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Harry Manners said:


> Apologies for double posting. But it's release day for Ruin.
> 
> http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/
> 
> Baaaaah! Social media and mailing lists have all gone whizzing away. Retailers are coming online. Blog and website updated. Now to wait for the crickets. But still, what a buzz. Imagine what I'd have been like if I hadn't soft-released...
> 
> Thanks for all the support and advice from you wonderful people these last few months. Cheers!


Good luck Harry. Your interview is up and running, and I'll tweet through the day. Already had a couple of favourites for the interview tweet so hopefully they'll translate into sales for you.

Here's the link: http://bit.ly/1qbfNZu


----------



## Lucas Bale

mphicks said:


> Thanks Jessie!
> 
> Harry, the Saga sounds really ambitious and awesome - kudos! Going a bit beyond your teaser, are you thinking something along the lines of The Dark Tower and King's associated works, sort of like a spoke-wheel universe?


Yes. I got TDT too and I love that series. I think Harry has something really good here.


----------



## mphicks

Lucas Bale said:


> Yes. I got TDT too and I love that series. I think Harry has something really good here.


It certainly sounds like it! I'm looking forward to checking out the work soon. Great interview, you guys.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Just tweeted and +1 your interview with Harry, Lucas. I'll also include it in the next indie spec fic link post.


----------



## Ceinwen

Dug your interview, Harry!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Lucas Bale said:


> Good luck Harry. Your interview is up and running, and I'll tweet through the day. Already had a couple of favourites for the interview tweet so hopefully they'll translate into sales for you.
> 
> Here's the link: http://bit.ly/1qbfNZu


Great interview, Lucas and Harry! All the best with the launch.


----------



## Harry Manners

You're all angels, thank you so much for the kind words. I'm still at work, which is probably a good thing--I'd only be endlessly refreshing the sales page if I was sitting at home.
Looking forward to this evening!


----------



## Adrian P

ㅈㅈ said:


> I could go into a huge long rant about why SF is the most profitable movie genre but has such a tiny book market share, but I won't.


Wait, how does that even work?


----------



## mcahogarth

Adrian P said:


> Wait, how does that even work?


I suspect it's because SF/F is a genre that lends itself really well to stunning visuals/impressive costumes/CGI effects. Imagining it can be an effort, especially if the author's not great at painting pictures of the world. Movies and TV put that burden on the production team, and if they're good at it, they can create an immersive experience that can really excite people's sense of wonder.

Plus, only nerds read science fiction. *lopsided smile*


----------



## heidi_g

That's a fascinating discussion topic: Commercial success of sic-fi movies vs. books... I've never thought about it. Was that true before all the new technologies? Lost in Space, Star Trek... but those are TV shows... hmmm... definitely interesting point!

I'm doing a $0.99 sale this week on all my books  If anyone wants to help out, you could tweet this:

#.99 Aug 26-28
#YA #Adventure #Fantasy

I went through freediscountedbooks, and will give an update when it's done!

Cora and Jessie, email is coming soon, latest tomorrow. Great Guest Post Harry, thank you for submitting it. And Cora, thanks for posting this links. Did I miss something? I thought Cora mentioned something about Harry wanting to join as a Speculative Fiction showcase blog author?!?!?!? Is that true  That would be awesome!


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Sheila Guthrie's blog hop post is up:
http://newsfromsheilasworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-writing-process.html

If you visit Sheila's blog, go ahead and check out her chicken posts too.

And previous posts...
Vincent Trigili: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.


----------



## unkownwriter

Sandra, thanks for for the latest update post. I do tend to run on about the chickens, don't I? _sigh_ My life is so thrilling, except when it's being horrid (today was kind of sucky, actually). Anyhoodles...

We've got some more folks signed up for the blog hop -- got a couple of new fish on the hook, soon as I get the date they want. 

Upcoming posts:

September 1: Harry Manners
September 8: Carole McDonnell
September 15: Dean F. Wilson

October 6: Amelia Smith

Hope everybody is having good sales days. I managed to get my reworked novel up, but haven't had the time to get it in my signature yet. I put it in Select, mainly to try out the KU deal. I really need to take a minute and run a free promo. Guess I'll get to that tomorrow.

I actually sold a copy of the short story collection on Scribd last month. I was surprised, didn't really expect that. So far, B & N is doing pretty good (I'm going through D2D).


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Cheers, Heidi!

Sandra and Sheila, thanks for the updates. I'll do my sharey (ugh neologism) post tomorrow. Sheila, I'm sorry your day was sucky. Mine was a bit too - we went to Blandford Forum in Dorset to look round, and the Heavens opened.

Great stuff about getting the revised novel up! It would be interesting to hear what you think of KU. Since I went permafree with my first book, there has been a steady trickle of sales of the others. Not massive, but a prawny milestone.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Hooray! New Release!

My 2nd book, Blood of the Water is finally live on Amazon.com, after only 42 hours in publishing limbo. Not too bad by this week's odd standards. 



*Fire returned in a blaze of war and destruction. 
What will Water bring to the one who finds her?* 
#fantasy #adventure #KindleUnlimited

Just in time to hit the August lists around here.  And some upcoming interviewy things.


----------



## markhealy

Congrats Jamie, looks great!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on publishing No. 2, Jamie. Love the cover.

I've already included your book in the August round-up which should go live on August 31.


----------



## kyokominamino

Hey, guys! I'm new to this thread because I, uh, wasn't sure what qualified as speculative fiction until I read the definition. Just wanted to announce that my first UF novel is now permafree. I'm terrified. Hold me. ._.










Here's the blurb in case anyone's interested. I mean, c'mon. Free. *wiggles fingers, oohs-and-aahs*

_Jordan Amador. 21. New Yorker. Waitress. Mild alcoholic. Murderer.

Two years ago, Jordan accidentally shot and killed a Seer: a person who can see, hear, and talk to ghosts with unfinished business. Her crime came with a hefty price, too. She has two years to help a hundred souls cross over to the afterlife or her soul is bound for hell. Tough break.

As if that weren't bad enough, two days before her deadline a handsome pain-in-the-ass poltergeist named Michael strolls into her life. His soul is the key to her salvation, but the cost just might be more than she can handle. Solving his death puts her right in the crosshairs of Belial: a vain, bloodthirsty archdemon who won't rest until she's his slave. Can she rescue Michael and save her own soul, or will they both be dragged down into the clutches of the eternal black parade?_


----------



## mphicks

Great cover Jamie! Congrats on the new release.


----------



## Ceinwen

Awesome, Kyoko! I've been meaning to pick up The Black Parade for a while now. Hope the permafree gives you a boost!


----------



## Harry Manners

Jamie and Kyoko, I thank you for your visual delights. My eyes are belching in satisfaction. 

Congrats on the releases, the both of you. Do let us know how everything goes!


----------



## kyokominamino

Ceinwen L. said:


> Awesome, Kyoko! I've been meaning to pick up The Black Parade for a while now. Hope the permafree gives you a boost!


Thank you! Yeah, me too. I'm trying to work out a marketing strategy for it, but so far, I haven't seen any threads on how to market a permafree just yet. :/


----------



## kyokominamino

Harry Manners said:


> Jamie and Kyoko, I thank you for your visual delights. My eyes are belching in satisfaction.
> 
> Congrats on the releases, the both of you. Do let us know how everything goes!


Thank you!


----------



## Ceinwen

kyokominamino said:


> Thank you! Yeah, me too. I'm trying to work out a marketing strategy for it, but so far, I haven't seen any threads on how to market a permafree just yet. :/


I had really good luck with a bknights promo last week. Maybe you could start there?


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Congratulations, Jamie and Kyoko! The covers are beautiful.

About promos for permafree - I second Ceinwen. I had a spot with BKnights from Fiverr for my new permafree, and the 'sales' got a huge boost. Since then I have had daily downloads of the free one, and even sales of the other two!


----------



## jdrew

Congrats to everyone who got through to publishing.  It takes a lot of persistence and that alone should be reason for kudos.  I'll be interested to hear how things go - downloads, sales, etc.  One of these days I'll actually get my next novel out.  There just always seems to be one more thing I need fixed, revised, done better.  But that's coming to an end.
Let us know how things go.


----------



## heidi_g

jdrew said:


> Congrats to everyone who got through to publishing. It takes a lot of persistence and that alone should be reason for kudos.


Ditto!!!!

Kyoko, if you're on Goodreads and are a member of any groups, you might try posting your permafree in their author folders.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

jdrew said:


> One of these days I'll actually get my next novel out. There just always seems to be one more thing I need fixed, revised, done better. But that's coming to an end.


Agreed! There's always more to do.

I've just posted the Spec Fic blog hop round-up, focussing this week on Sheila Guthrie's post.
http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop-this.html


----------



## kyokominamino

Ceinwen L. said:


> I had really good luck with a bknights promo last week. Maybe you could start there?


I've done it for She Who Fights Monsters twice now, so I don't want to overexpose myself to the same demographic. It did incredibly well, but just that one day. The sales have all but slid into the toilet now. Sigh.


----------



## kyokominamino

heidi_g said:


> Ditto!!!!
> 
> Kyoko, if you're on Goodreads and are a member of any groups, you might try posting your permafree in their author folders.


Oh, I forgot about doing that. Thanks for the reminder!


----------



## kyokominamino

JessieCar said:


> Congratulations, Jamie and Kyoko! The covers are beautiful.
> 
> About promos for permafree - I second Ceinwen. I had a spot with BKnights from Fiverr for my new permafree, and the 'sales' got a huge boost. Since then I have had daily downloads of the free one, and even sales of the other two!


I've done that with each book. I can't do it every day of every week. I need a sustainable marketing strategy instead of just a boost once every month or so. That's what I haven't found yet. I've submitted to some free sites for listings, so I'll have to see if that made any difference.


----------



## 68564

Look what I found in my local library on the shelf!


----------



## C. Gockel

> Look what I found in my local library on the shelf!


Totes awesome!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

kyokominamino said:


> Hey, guys! I'm new to this thread because I, uh, wasn't sure what qualified as speculative fiction until I read the definition. Just wanted to announce that my first UF novel is now permafree. I'm terrified. Hold me. ._.


Welcome! I've been intrigued by The Black Parade for a while, so I'll most definitely give it a download now. (I'm cheap). I hope you keep us updated on how the whole perma-free thing works out. Good luck!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

That's awesome, Vincent.

Kyoko and anybody else with speculative permafrees (or flash fiction on your blogs), one place to submit them is SF Signal's Free Fiction Tip Line. SF Signal is a popular speculative fiction blog with a regular free fiction round-up. And best of all, it's free.


----------



## kyokominamino

Phronk said:


> Welcome! I've been intrigued by The Black Parade for a while, so I'll most definitely give it a download now. (I'm cheap). I hope you keep us updated on how the whole perma-free thing works out. Good luck!


Thank you! And I certainly hope you enjoy the book!


----------



## kyokominamino

CoraBuhlert said:


> That's awesome, Vincent.
> 
> Kyoko and anybody else with speculative permafrees (or flash fiction on your blogs), one place to submit them is SF Signal's Free Fiction Tip Line. SF Signal is a popular speculative fiction blog with a regular free fiction round-up. And best of all, it's free.


Cora, do you ever stop being awesome? Please say no. You are so helpful. I adore you. Thanks again.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

kyokominamino said:


> Cora, do you ever stop being awesome? Please say no. You are so helpful. I adore you. Thanks again.


Thanks. You're making me blush.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Harry Manners said:


> Jamie and Kyoko, I thank you for your visual delights. My eyes are belching in satisfaction.
> 
> Congrats on the releases, the both of you. Do let us know how everything goes!


Thanks. And you might need to have someone look at those eyes...


----------



## heidi_g

http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/7588857011/ref=zg_tr_tab_t_bsnr

With the $0.99 sale _Half Faerie_ hit #2 on Hot New Releases in Fairy Tales! Not sure how long that will last but pretty cool! Don't think I've ever made the list before


----------



## Harry Manners

Brilliant, well done, Heidi!


----------



## 68564

Jamie Maltman said:


> Hooray! New Release!
> 
> My 2nd book, Blood of the Water is finally live on Amazon.com, after only 42 hours in publishing limbo. Not too bad by this week's odd standards.
> 
> Just in time to hit the August lists around here.  And some upcoming interviewy things.


Congrats on your release! And that is a great looking cover!


----------



## 68564

kyokominamino said:


> Hey, guys! I'm new to this thread because I, uh, wasn't sure what qualified as speculative fiction until I read the definition. Just wanted to announce that my first UF novel is now permafree. I'm terrified. Hold me. ._.


Welcome to the paradoxical free club - where we give stuff away in hopes of making money!


----------



## 68564

heidi_g said:


> http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/7588857011/ref=zg_tr_tab_t_bsnr
> 
> With the $0.99 sale _Half Faerie_ hit #2 on Hot New Releases in Fairy Tales! Not sure how long that will last but pretty cool! Don't think I've ever made the list before


Hey, cool! Well done!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

That's really good, Vincent.  And Heidi - brilliant news about the Hot New Releases!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

heidi_g said:


> http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/7588857011/ref=zg_tr_tab_t_bsnr
> 
> With the $0.99 sale _Half Faerie_ hit #2 on Hot New Releases in Fairy Tales! Not sure how long that will last but pretty cool! Don't think I've ever made the list before


Congrats Heidi! I hope it keeps up, and helps people find your other books as well.


----------



## Indecisive

I can't keep up with this thread! 

Congratulations where congratulations are due.

Heidi, I especially love the font on Half Faerie. I don't think it would quite fit any of my upcoming books, but just out of curiosity, what is it?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on hitting the hot new release list, Heidi.

Over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase, Jessica posted a WorldCon report and I posted the weekly link round-up. We'll do a separate thread for the Speculative Fiction Showcase later on.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Cora, that weekly link roundup is wow. 

In my news, I was interviewed in episode 1 of NewWriterPodcast last night. Audio AND video. I probably had too much fun.  When I listened to it again I was shocked at exactly how many things we talked about in 32 minutes. Apologies for my blurriness--webcam is on its last legs. At least the sound quality/buffering is good.

http://www.newwriterpodcast.com/jamiemaltman/

He's looking for future interviewees, so if you've interested, give him a shout:

http://www.newwriterpodcast.com/calling-all-artists/


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> I do tend to run on about the chickens, don't I? _sigh_ My life is so thrilling, except when it's being horrid (today was kind of sucky, actually).


Chickens are fun, if you're not the one cleaning out the henhouse. (I never did it, but my brother did and he was always quite fragrant when he came home.) I grew up in the Egg Basket of the World and am always happy to hear chicken stories.



Jamie Maltman said:


> My 2nd book, Blood of the Water is finally live on Amazon.com, after only 42 hours in publishing limbo. Not too bad by this week's odd standards.


You have beautiful covers.



VydorScope said:


> Look what I found in my local library on the shelf!


Getting on library shelves is my dream accomplishment.



heidi_g said:


> With the $0.99 sale _Half Faerie_ hit #2 on Hot New Releases in Fairy Tales!


Yay!

This thread is almost a forum by itself.


----------



## heidi_g

Phronk said:


> Congrats Heidi! I hope it keeps up, and helps people find your other books as well.


Phronk, thanks! my successes tend to be fleeting so i try to embrace them 

Thank you everyone for your well-wishes, they mean a lot. Sometimes I do get discouraged. Unpublishing and republishing my fantasy series really set me back in terms of sales and momentum in general, although in the long-run I really believe it was the right thing to do for the series. Anywho... just trying to remind myself to keep the faith and be patient until the series is completed next year!

Amelia, the font is: Aphrodite Pro Regular

Jamie, congratulations on your interview!


----------



## Andrew Broderick

Not sure how many are fantasy sci-fi writers on here, but I am very much hard sci-fi, of the A.C. Clarke school.

My first two books are sci-fi action novels. There will be a trilogy eventually, to be released in quick succession. Anyone interested in beta reading, PLEASE get in touch!

Here's the synopsis of the first one.

ZARA'S FLIGHT

Young Zara has already experienced a lifetime of sorrows, when her father abruptly leaves her: he sets out to become the first human being ever to leave the Solar System. He finds out, after it's too late to turn around, that he will die, gasping for breath, within a few short years.  His ship has been sabotaged by his lifelong nemesis.

Emotionally crippled by the loss of her mother at age four, Zara grows up distant from her father as he becomes the richest man in the world. As she enters adulthood, he leaves her life for good.

Already devastated, Zara finds out that he only has a short time to live. Galvanized by pain and love she finally realizes she has for him, Zara sets out to save him. She rallies a team of powerful friends and veteran spaceflyers. They hire an elite assault team. There is only one chance to both save him and even the score in one stroke: by stealing a quarter-trillion dollar spaceship, 1,300 kilometers above the Earth, on its way to Jupiter. The mission is intensely personal for Zara: the ship belongs to the saboteur.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

That's very good about the interview, Jamie. 

Heidi - I know what you mean about getting discouraged. But I think the Hot New Releases thing is a good thing.

Nice to meet you, Andrew.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Yes, Andrew, I write hard SF. Not everything I write is hard SF, but I definitely have some. My hard SF story His Name In Lights is even free. That was published in the Universe Annex (Baen) and I also put up two stories in the KU library that were published in Analog.


----------



## heidi_g

Cora, Jessica, and I are restarting the SPECULATIVE FICTION Showcase *http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com* and we've created a dedicated thread to seek submissions to make it more visible and not clutter up this thread with a lot of housekeeping:

*http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,193539.0.html*

We're already starting to get submissions so if you're interested, everything's going to be on a first-come-first-serve basis.

We decided to set aside the monthly giveaway for the time being. Keeping up with the posts will be enough for now, although we might revisit giveaways, etc. in the future!


----------



## heidi_g

Andrew, Welcome! Unfortunately I have a group of writers who I exchange beta reads with and my calendar's full. However, I also use Frostbite http://www.frostbitepublishing.com/beta/ and highly recommend them!


----------



## Jamie Maltman

I had someone tag me for another blog hop, this time with a focus on one of your characters and what they're up against in your book. Would anyone here be interested? Send me a PM if you'd like to get tagged.


----------



## kswalker

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking off and on here for a while, and I figured it was time to introduce myself. My name is Kristen and I write fantasy. I also read pretty widely in the speculative fiction genres--fantasy, sci fi, horror, etc. Some day I may branch out in my writing, but for now I'm concentrating on fantasy.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for all of the great discussions here. It's very helpful to see conversations about spec fic. A lot of self-publishing discussions are generic or aimed at romance/mystery, which leaves me wondering if I need to do anything different as a fantasy author. Also, love to see all of the interesting book covers in the sigs--I think I know where to go when I'm looking for my next read!


----------



## Harry Manners

Hi there, Kristen! Always great to have another face around here.

My, my, our numbers are sure swelling. We'll have our own board, at this rate!


----------



## markhealy

Hey Kristen, welcome!  This thread is a great source of information for sure.  Lots of helpful folk, too.  The only problem is keeping up with all the new posts!


----------



## Nigel Henry

*tentatively raises hand in air for high five* Hi everyone, my name's Nigel. My books are a mash-up of fantasy and the undead. I'm really looking forward to learning from the rest of you.


----------



## heidi_g

Hi Kristen! Yes, it was great that Elliot started this thread. Sometimes the world of romance and erotica is just overwhelming and I need to flee! Lol. (oh, yeah, mystery too!)

Hi Nigel! I love the term mash-up! I just do So a mash-up of the fantasy and undead... is that z-z-z-ombies?!!?!?!?


----------



## Nigel Henry

heidi_g said:


> Hi Kristen! Yes, it was great that Elliot started this thread. Sometimes the world of romance and erotica is just overwhelming and I need to flee! Lol. (oh, yeah, mystery too!)
> 
> Hi Nigel! I love the term mash-up! I just do So a mash-up of the fantasy and undead... is that z-z-z-ombies?!!?!?!?


It is! Nothing makes an epic quest harder than a bunch of shambling zombies!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Hello Kristen and Nigel! Nice to meet you.

Heidi's right, it's good to have a dedicated thread for speculative fiction, since the publishing stuff seems to be different to romance, thrillers etc.

And I'm a fan of mash-ups too...


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome, Kristen and Nigel.

I just posted the Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up for August to my blog and crossposted it to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

BTW, Heidi has started a separate thread for the Speculative Fiction Showcase, so check it out if you want to see what we (i.e. Heidi, Jessica and myself) are up to or if you have a new release, interesting link or other tip.

As always, links, tweets, +1, likes, etc... are appreciated.


----------



## hs

Hi everyone!

I found this thread through the Speculative Fiction Showcase submission thread. I'm a YA speculative fiction writer (mostly sci-fi although my first YA fantasy story will be published soon), and it's great to see a place dedicated to writers of the genre. Also, a big thank you to Heidi, Cora, and Jessica for putting together the Speculative Fiction Showcase site!


----------



## Nigel Henry

Hi HS, what's your story about?


----------



## SB James

I haven't been posting on this particular thread in a while, but I'd love to welcome all the new people!
Things are hectic by me right now. I've got my next book due out any day now, and I've got a pile of other things I need to do. But I can't help but come back over here and see what's going on with everyone else on kboards, so I try and fit in some time here too!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Hello HS! I love your avatar. 

SBJames - good luck with the new release. When is it coming out?


----------



## PaulLev

I've started a Pinterest board with pictures of the real characters in my first two time travel (Sierra Waters) novels http://www.pinterest.com/paullev/real-people-in-my-science-fiction-novels/


----------



## SB James

JessieCar said:


> Hello HS! I love your avatar.
> 
> SBJames - good luck with the new release. When is it coming out?


Thanks! September, first half, depending on how quickly KDP can upload the book...


----------



## heidi_g

Nigel Henry said:


> It is! Nothing makes an epic quest harder than a bunch of shambling zombies!


hee hee!

Just popping in to say: Hi HS and everyone


----------



## hs

Nigel Henry said:


> Hi HS, what's your story about?


Do you mean the soon-to-be-published story? It's about a kingdom where people with special powers have to hide or face imprisonment and death. My previous novels are in the YA dystopian and sci-fi genres.



JessieCar said:


> Hello HS! I love your avatar.


Thanks! It's from the cover of my first novel, _George and the Galactic Games_. 



heidi_g said:


> Just popping in to say: Hi HS and everyone


Hi, Heidi! I plan to submit to the Speculative Fiction Showcase when my new book is ready.


----------



## Harry Manners

Hi, Nigel & hs! Great to have you both aboard. I can't believe how fast this thread is flourishing!

-----------------

Okay, people, so I have my speculative fiction blog hop post live on my blog. Thanks again to Sheila for bringing me into the loop.

http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

Naturally, as usual, any retweets, like and re-posts are much appreciated. Good luck to those who are lined up to take part.


----------



## heidi_g

hs said:


> Hi, Heidi! I plan to submit to the Speculative Fiction Showcase when my new book is ready.


HS... or hs That's great! The showcase is off to a great start, I think Jessica, Cora, and I were a bit overwhelmed this weekend with all the submissions, but that's better than the alternative.

So... I did this thing for _Half Faerie_ with www.freediscountbooks.com. You pay them $45 and they send your book to 20 sites over 3 days. I just can't stand marketing so it was worth it to me. I never checked to verify what sites posted the book, but I set all my books to $0.99 and got some lift. I've been selling about 12-15 books a month and we sold I think 69 in August. I know, not stunning, but for fairy tail-ish stuff, I was happy.

The thing is, before the "promo" everything was coming out of Kindle Unlimited. But when I did the promo, my sales dwarfed KU... now I'm seriously considering pulling everything out of Select so I can send out review copies, etc. and get back on Apple and Kobo.

I did see something on another thread where KU is great for romance, mysteries, and perhaps erotica.

Also, at this point, I'm not focused on making money. I really just want to connect with readers. Anyone fantasy-types doing great in KU?

When I originally published in 2012 I had books everywhere. But when I unpublished my fantasy series, I took everything down and just stayed with Amazon because that's where 90% of my sales came from. I committed to stay with Select thru 2014. All my books will be coming to end of their terms between now and November and I've unselected the auto-renew... Hmmmm....

Any thoughts?


----------



## heidi_g

Harry Manners said:


> Okay, people, so I have my speculative fiction blog hop post live on my blog. Thanks again to Sheila for bringing me into the loop.
> 
> http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
> 
> Naturally, as usual, any retweets, like and re-posts are much appreciated. Good luck to those who are lined up to take part.


Yay, Harry


----------



## SB James

heidi_g said:


> The thing is, before the "promo" everything was coming out of Kindle Unlimited. But when I did the promo, my sales dwarfed KU... now I'm seriously considering pulling everything out of Select so I can send out review copies, etc. and get back on Apple and Kobo.
> 
> Any thoughts?


Hi, Heidi!
Frankly, I did TERRIBLE as far as borrows with the one month my book had left on KU/KOLL. 
I think that KU will be good for shorter works. Borrowers will be able to read through a lot of books in one month and feel like they are getting their money's worth. I'm thinking like Harlequin romances type-books, in length, and with the type of reader they generally attract.
During my promotion period, I outdid my KU/KOLL borrows by 25 to 1. I would rather have my book up everywhere else and sell next to nothing than have them in Select anymore.


----------



## Patty Jansen

I haven't been part of Select for a long time, but started an experiment with some short stories in the KU library. I'm not planning on using any of my free days, just having a library of my short stories for borrows.

While I'm at it, I'm wondering if a few people can do something for me:

Can you go to the Kindle ebooks store (root directory), and type in the search field: "Hard science fiction"

What I want to know is which suggested searches Amazon comes up with for you.

It will be a list with search terms like:

Hard science fiction
Hard science fiction ebooks
Hard science fiction Kindle

My question is:

Does your list contain a suggested search term "hard science fiction short stories"

I'm just wondering how sensitive these suggested search terms are for individual people.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SBJames - keep us posted! 

Harry...will share and +1.

Heidi - I came out of KDP a while ago. My books were with Lulu and no sales at all. When I moved them to Draft2Digital, I got sales right away. But so far the main difference has been down to making the first one free (and doing a promo with BKnights on Fiverr) when the second one was released. (Technically re-released).

Patti - I checked out the search terms in the US store. When I type in *Hard sci* - I get the following results:
*hard science fiction
hard science fiction kindle books
hard sci fi
hard science fiction bestsellers* etc

The list has about ten entries, and includes *hard science fiction collection* and *hard science fiction short stories*.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

PaulLev said:


> I've started a Pinterest board with pictures of the real characters in my first two time travel (Sierra Waters) novels http://www.pinterest.com/paullev/real-people-in-my-science-fiction-novels/


Thanks for sharing this Paul - will check it out. I'm addicted to Pinterest.


----------



## Patty Jansen

JessieCar said:


> SBJames - keep us posted!
> 
> Harry...will share and +1.
> 
> Heidi - I came out of KDP a while ago. My books were with Lulu and no sales at all. When I moved them to Draft2Digital, I got sales right away. But so far the main difference has been down to making the first one free (and doing a promo with BKnights on Fiverr) when the second one was released. (Technically re-released).
> 
> Patti - I checked out the search terms in the US store. When I type in *Hard sci* - I get the following results:
> *hard science fiction
> hard science fiction kindle books
> hard sci fi
> hard science fiction bestsellers* etc
> 
> The list has about ten entries, and includes *hard science fiction collection* and *hard science fiction short stories*.


Thanks for this. The weird thing is that this short story listing didn't used to be there on Monday last week.

And the fact that when you click it, my stories show up on the first page.

.


----------



## PaulLev

JessieCar said:


> Thanks for sharing this Paul - will check it out. I'm addicted to Pinterest.


Enjoy!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> Thanks for this. The weird thing is that this short story listing didn't used to be there on Monday last week.
> 
> And the fact that when you click it, my stories show up on the first page.
> 
> .


Perhaps you have started something...?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

First of all, welcome Nigel and HS.

I have never been with Select, because I sell decently at other platforms. For example in August (which was a very good month for me), Amazon.com only made up approx. 38% of my total sales with Amazon.de another 19%. The other Amazons were about 3%, the remaining 40% were non-Amazon outlets (and a couple haven't reported in yet). So Select doesn't make sense for me.

Patty, when I search all departments, I only get hard science fiction books and hard science fiction movies. When I search under "books", I get a long list of entries including hard science fiction short stories. Hope that helps.


----------



## SB James

Patty Jansen said:


> I haven't been part of Select for a long time, but started an experiment with some short stories in the KU library. I'm not planning on using any of my free days, just having a library of my short stories for borrows.
> 
> While I'm at it, I'm wondering if a few people can do something for me:
> 
> Can you go to the Kindle ebooks store (root directory), and type in the search field: "Hard science fiction"
> 
> What I want to know is which suggested searches Amazon comes up with for you.
> 
> It will be a list with search terms like:
> 
> Hard science fiction
> Hard science fiction ebooks
> Hard science fiction Kindle
> 
> My question is:
> 
> Does your list contain a suggested search term "hard science fiction short stories"
> 
> I'm just wondering how sensitive these suggested search terms are for individual people.


All I had to do once I got into the Kindle store was type Hard Science... and yes, "hard science fiction short stories in kindle store" did come up as a suggested term.
JessieCar, the people of kboards will be the first to see my new cover, most likely, though I usually unveil it at my blog right after I publish. Confession: It's really book 3 that I'm chomping at the bit to write!


----------



## Ceinwen

Heidi, my fantasy has been doing pretty well in KU (by my standards.) My sales are a little better than they used to be, though not by any significant amount, but I'm getting 5+ borrows every day. I was barely selling on the other platforms, so for me it's worth it to stay in for a while


----------



## heidi_g

Thanks for everybody's feedback on their Select experience. It seems to really vary. I'm leaning for getting out and canceling my KU subscription. I wonder how many will be like me?!?!?!?! Gah!!!

Cora, that's great news that you do so well on other sites. I guess what I'm ready for again is the freedom to do what I want, when I want to do it Anyway. I may release stuff in KDP then take it out after 90 days. There's probably a reason they set that term.

Patty, I get no *hard science fiction short stories* only *hard science fiction movies* and *hard science fiction*

Ceinwen, that is great to hear your book is doing so well! Celebration!!!!

So... I'm kind of excited. I've had this short story collection surrounding the world in _Daughter of Light_ that I've literally wanted to publish for years and I finally got them sent off to beta readers today. It just felt so good!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

It took a while to get traction on the non-Amazon sites, B&N in particular, but once you do it's also a lot more sticky. 

Speculative fiction writers should particularly look into DriveThruFiction, the fiction arm of an online RPG retailer. They're very good to work with, offer some great promotional tools such as easy bundling options (even multi-author bundles) and their readership is the target audience for speculative fiction. Plus, when someone buys your book there, they'll often buy up your entire catalogue soon thereafter.


----------



## Patty Jansen

CoraBuhlert said:


> It took a while to get traction on the non-Amazon sites, B&N in particular, but once you do it's also a lot more sticky.
> 
> Speculative fiction writers should particularly look into DriveThruFiction, the fiction arm of an online RPG retailer. They're very good to work with, offer some great promotional tools such as easy bundling options (even multi-author bundles) and their readership is the target audience for speculative fiction. Plus, when someone buys your book there, they'll often buy up your entire catalogue soon thereafter.


Hmmm. I signed up with them but can't even remember what I put on there. Might have to check it out again.


----------



## 68564

I am there - but never was able to gain any traction there. Not sure what the secret is there.


----------



## hs

Patty,

"hard science fiction short stories" comes up as the fifth suggestion for me.



Patty Jansen said:


> And the fact that when you click it, my stories show up on the first page.


Yes! Your stories are the first three listed on the page for me!


----------



## Patty Jansen

hs said:


> Patty,
> 
> "hard science fiction short stories" comes up as the fifth suggestion for me.
> 
> Yes! Your stories are the first three listed on the page for me!


Yes, and the funny thing is that this category didn't used to exist when I put the stories up last week. I was wondering if I was just seeing things that were being shown only to me, as happens with so many of these sites.


----------



## unkownwriter

Hey, all. Trying to catch up, been sick for a few days. I actually had a fairly decent stretch the other day, but bombed out before I got to this thread. Y'all post a lot!

I see we have some new folks posting: Welcome! Congrats to all with new releases and/or new promos. Hope you get lots of sales.

I've got some more interest in the blog hop, still waiting to hear from one person about a date, and just sent an email today (thanks to Carole for tagging someone).

So far, the next hops are:

Sept 8: Carole McDonnell
Sept 15: Dean F. Wilson (sending his email today while I'm still upright)
{Sept 22: open}
Sept 29: S. B. James
Oct 6: Amelia James Smith (I actually know your name Amelia. I'm pleading drugs.)

Anyone else who is interested, you can pm me your email and a date you'd like to be scheduled for. I'll get back to you ASAP. Newbies to the thread -- or to the genre -- are more than welcome to participate.

Other than a surprise burst of writing, which finished a short story I'd been working on, I haven't done much writing. My head is befuddled from medications, and sinus congestion isn't generally conducive to writing for me. No idea why. 

I did mess around with Photoshop a little, making sure the repair on my graphic pen would hold. I worked on a digital ATC card I'm thinking about giving away to readers of my urban fantasy who sign up to my mailing list. Still haven't gotten the book in my signature.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Harry Manners' post is up along with a bonus photo of his workspace:
http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

And previous posts...
Sheila Guthrie: http://newsfromsheilasworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Vincent Trigili: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Hard on Sandra's heels, I've just...just...done the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop update with Harry and Sheila's updated list of forthcoming Hoppers! This is the list for September 1 with Harry Manners.
http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/speculative-fiction-blog-hop-harry.html

Sorry to hear you've been unwell, Sheila. I'm totally pooped tonight after spending a chunk of the day wrapping up a vintage bed frame.

SBJames - it's really great that you're chomping at the bit over book 3. I'm making very slow progress with my number 4, rather like wading through treacle.

Cora, I haven't come across DriveThruFiction and will check it out. Thank you very much for the suggestion!

That's really good news about KU, Ceinwen - congrats. And Heidi - good news that you got your short story collection off the beta readers!


----------



## AA.A

I want to include The Clout of Gen. It is the defination of "What if......"


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Ahmad_Ardalan said:


> I want to include The Clout of Gen. It is the defination of "What if......"


You're welcome. Sheila Guthrie is the person to contact for the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop.


----------



## Indecisive

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Oct 6: Amelia James Smith (I actually know your name Amelia. I'm pleading drugs.)


Just sticking my head up to say I'm still following the thread, more or less. I actually considered using Amelia James as a pen name, but it was already taken (more so than Smith) by a writer of erotica, which would have probably been bad for branding.

Enjoyed Harry's post, looking forward to Carole's.


----------



## jdrew

CoraBuhlert said:


> It took a while to get traction on the non-Amazon sites, B&N in particular, but once you do it's also a lot more sticky.
> 
> Speculative fiction writers should particularly look into DriveThruFiction, the fiction arm of an online RPG retailer. They're very good to work with, offer some great promotional tools such as easy bundling options (even multi-author bundles) and their readership is the target audience for speculative fiction. Plus, when someone buys your book there, they'll often buy up your entire catalogue soon thereafter.


Thanks for the DriveThruFiction tip. I'll have to check into it.


----------



## Harry Manners

Good tip on the DriveThruFiction, Cora. Like it. 

I'm finally started to get to grips with Goodreads. Only last week it felt like stumbling around in the dark. But now, I've had two people agree to review my debut today, and I've been invited for a guest blog post. Also, I hit double sales figures today! *Burst of jive*

It's a tiny start, but I hear wheels rolling and cogs ticking!


----------



## Luis dA

I previously saw this thread’s title and ignored it. Speculative fiction? To quote another commentator on the thread, “I don’t know what it is, but I think I may be writing it.”

I read the first two pages of posts, and they are eye opening. I think I do write this genre. Based on the input from the thread, this may explain my struggle to categorize my most recent book. Wow, I’m not alone! 

Instead of writing a genre novel that neatly fit into the standard forms, I allowed myself to just let the tale go its own path. I don’t mean to suggest that I would let the story be unstructured. On the contrary, my writing background is in scriptwriting, and so I’m disciplined to keep a hold on plot and story. 

In any case, what I ended up with does not neatly fall into the standard clean categories that retailers offer, and that readers expect. What to do, what to do. 

I do believe that there’s risk in writing cross-genre or multi-genre. It’s bound to upset or disappoint many readers. My title includes paranormal, supernatural, horror, urban fantasy, mystery, suspense, detective crime murder, possibly sc-fi, and a romance facet, but none of these genres alone represent the book best, and readers may feel et down regardless of story due to this. I believe that could cause a higher than average refund rate.

I mention there’s a romance element to the book. It’s a facet of the story. The book is not romance. However, it’s unfortunate that although the issue of love and loving and even romantic love is fundamental to the story, I adjusted the description to tone down any message of romance in the book. Considering the genres the book falls into, it would not be unusual for some readers to take that as a cue, I think. 

In any case, thanks for this helpful thread. 

Oh, I’d like to mention something that occurs to me regarding speculative fiction. I think that without the opportunity from Amazon to publish and sell through KDP, this book and most non-traditional genre / multi-genre titles would find it unlikely to ever see the light of day. Although the reception of my book is less than enthusiastic so far, I’m thrilled and grateful to Amazon for the ease and no cost way to publish a hybrid novel.

Best.


----------



## SB James

ameliasmith said:


> Just sticking my head up to say I'm still following the thread, more or less. I actually considered using Amelia James as a pen name, but it was already taken (more so than Smith) by a writer of erotica, which would have probably been bad for branding.
> 
> Enjoyed Harry's post, looking forward to Carole's.


I share a pen name with someone who writes LGBT Erotica, but she's only got the one book and I've been trying like heck to keep my SEO over hers. So far, it seems like it's working; Today when I googled my pen name I get the usual S & B James Construction and then comes my blog. I didn't even seen her Twitter handle on the first page like I used to, but who knows what tomorrow will bring, LOL.
I didn't care, I had picked out my name before her book was published. Well, I cared, but I don't plan on doing anything about it.


----------



## heidi_g

Luis dA said:


> Oh, I'd like to mention something that occurs to me regarding speculative fiction. I think that without the opportunity from Amazon to publish and sell through KDP, this book and most non-traditional genre / multi-genre titles would find it unlikely to ever see the light of day. Although the reception of my book is less than enthusiastic so far, I'm thrilled and grateful to Amazon for the ease and no cost way to publish a hybrid novel.
> 
> Best.


Hi Luis, Welcome! I pretty much agree  I love how indie authors break the molds!


----------



## kyokominamino

Afternoon, awesome authors!

I've only posted here once, so forgive me if I'm supposed to go elsewhere, but I wanted to ask a question to fellow writers of the spec-fic variety, particularly those who have at least one book set to permafree: *what sort of marketing plan have you done for a permafree title*?

I ask because my first novel has been permafree since August 22, and I am rapidly losing traction and my paid sales are exactly the same as before I went permafree. I'm kind of freaking out about it a little and I need some advice, but I couldn't find anything in the KBoards search part tailored towards permafree marketing. Everyone just keeps saying, "If you get into Bookbub, you're home free." Well, guess what? Rejected twice already. What am I supposed to do in between the eleventy billion more rejections I'm going to get from Bookbub?

Specifically, how can I drive sales and not just sell 10-20 free copies each day? My summer months weren't that bad. May was my second highest rate of sales and I broke $100 in profits this past month, but seriously, I'm down to like 1-2 sales/borrows per day, totaling in about $10/week. And I'm in between jobs at the moment, so it's kind of important for me to get a small revenue stream going.

So far, the only thing that gets me results is having free days for my novels once a month and running BKnights alongside 20+ different free sites, but it only works for the one day I put one of my other two books for free. A handful of sales trickle in, but nothing stays constant. I'm trying to get past the cheap people and break into ranks of paying customers. However, when I posted this question to the main KBoards threads, I got nothing.

I'm open to any references, advice, or anecdotes that might point me in the right direction. I've got Write, Publish, Repeat on my TBR list for this week, but I haven't started it yet. Sorry for the word vomit. I just need some help and I'm not sure what I might be doing wrong. And liquor probably, so I'll calm down.

Thanks for listening.


----------



## Harry Manners

Hey there, Kyoko! From the sound of things, you're not doing anything wrong, and for a debut self-pub, you're doing really bloody well. With only one book on the market, you can't expect big sales, or a profit anywhere near a living wage. That would make you one of the exceptions billed as 'success stories' which are really just freaks of statistics, and are the result of luck, good timing, crazes, or pre-existing notoriety.

You're fine. I'm curious what the others have to say, but so far as I can tell, you're doing the right things: regular updates, good website, permafree periods etc.
The best thing you can do is write more. Get more books out there, ASAP!


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## Patty Jansen

You're definitely not home free with Bookbub.

You get a boost that lasts between a month and 4-5 months. Then it's pretty much back where you were before.

Rejected twice by them is nothing. Before my first acceptance, I was rejected about 12 times. After that I was rejected twice and after my second acceptance, I've not been able to get anything to stick with them.

The most important thing about this writing gig is: there is no home free.

You have to keep working. Permafree, Bookbub, other advertising are all tools that will work temporarily, but will wear off. They're not magic bullets.

Permafree is a good advertising tool that costs you nothing. Keep submitting your permafree to whatever lists will accept them. I submit regularly to all sites I can find that don't require payment, and choose a few that cost money.

Meanwhile:

- try different categories and keywords
- try different blurbs and covers
- of course write more books


----------



## kyokominamino

Harry Manners said:


> Hey there, Kyoko! From the sound of things, you're not doing anything wrong, and for a debut self-pub, you're doing really bloody well. With only one book on the market, you can't expect big sales, or a profit anywhere near a living wage. That would make you one of the exceptions billed as 'success stories' which are really just freaks of statistics, and are the result of luck, good timing, crazes, or pre-existing notoriety.
> 
> You're fine. I'm curious what the others have to say, but so far as I can tell, you're doing the right things: regular updates, good website, permafree periods etc.
> The best thing you can do is write more. Get more books out there, ASAP!


Thanks for the feedback!


----------



## kyokominamino

Patty Jansen said:


> You're definitely not home free with Bookbub.
> 
> You get a boost that lasts between a month and 4-5 months. Then it's pretty much back where you were before.
> 
> Rejected twice by them is nothing. Before my first acceptance, I was rejected about 12 times. After that I was rejected twice and after my second acceptance, I've not been able to get anything to stick with them.
> 
> The most important thing about this writing gig is: there is no home free.
> 
> You have to keep working. Permafree, Bookbub, other advertising are all tools that will work temporarily, but will wear off. They're not magic bullets.
> 
> Permafree is a good advertising tool that costs you nothing. Keep submitting your permafree to whatever lists will accept them. I submit regularly to all sites I can find that don't require payment, and choose a few that cost money.
> 
> Meanwhile:
> 
> - try different categories and keywords
> - try different blurbs and covers
> - of course write more books


Oh, I should've clarified when I said "home-free." I meant that it seems like everyone who gets into Bookbub saw their status, book sales, and reviews turn a corner and get them into Phase Two, not that they're set for life. It's kind of frustrating because 99% of the success stories I keep seeing in these threads are "I got into Bookbub" because that is completely beyond my control. I need a marketing plan I can actually implement day to day or my numbers are going to keep slipping. I also don't know why my KU borrows have fallen right off. Still trying to find a solution for that equation too. Sigh.

I forgot about keywords. I might have to try messing with those for my second novel, because its sales/borrows were great in late July, decent in early-mid August, and now they're dead. No one's touched my short story collection in days now so I'm running a free promo for it on the 11th. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a look at those.


----------



## Patty Jansen

> I also don't know why my KU borrows have fallen right off. Still trying to find a solution for that equation too. Sigh.


Honeymoon period. Applies to everything. Hardly anyone ever tells you about it, or dares admit that after a good bump, sales slide.

I don't even know about getting solidly into phase two because of Bookbub. More books is the only thing that will do that. Bookbub will get you more reviews, and, if you set it up properly, more people on your mailing list. But other advertisers will do the same thing, just not with the same numbers. Also try LibraryThing if you want reviews. It's a bit of a hit-and-miss, but then again, you're only giving away ebooks to potential readers, so there's no harm.


----------



## kyokominamino

Patty Jansen said:


> Honeymoon period. Applies to everything. Hardly anyone ever tells you about it, or dares admit that after a good bump, sales slide.
> 
> I don't even know about getting solidly into phase two because of Bookbub. More books is the only thing that will do that. Bookbub will get you more reviews, and, if you set it up properly, more people on your mailing list. But other advertisers will do the same thing, just not with the same numbers. Also try LibraryThing if you want reviews. It's a bit of a hit-and-miss, but then again, you're only giving away ebooks to potential readers, so there's no harm.


I actually just signed up with LibraryThing, but it's honestly so frustrating to navigate that I haven't worked on it since I set up my account and imported my novels. I hate the format. I really do, and it's tough starting from scratch trying to figure out a new social media. I will just have to hunker down and try again once I'm feeling patient enough. It took forever, but I have my books on shelves at Goodreads, and now I have to start ALL OVER again with LT. It never ends.

See, that's the one thing I don't understand that everyone keeps telling me is advice: write more books. I don't get it. I have three books almost no one is reading. Why would it make a lick of difference if I have seven books or eight or ten if no one's reading them? I don't understand why that's useful, considering I'm going to write them anyway, but I don't feel like that's good advice. Are people trying to say that after you've written ten books, suddenly readers will discover you? I guess if someone could finally elaborate on the point, I'd get it. Do more books give them more chances to find me, I suppose? No disrespect meant to you, either, just confused about that.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Don't worry about setting up shelves or anything at LT. Just do a member giveaway. That's the only thing that site is useful for.

More books works because:

- More chance for people to find you
- Each time you publish a new book, you get a boost
- More books for you to run promos on without banging on about the same book all the time (when you run a promo on one book, there is often a follow-on to other books)
- More different works to experiment
- Slightly different genres can help you being discovered
- More opportunities for freebies
- When people like one book, they will often go through your entire inventory = more sales.


----------



## kyokominamino

Patty Jansen said:


> Don't worry about setting up shelves or anything at LT. Just do a member giveaway. That's the only thing that site is useful for.
> 
> More books works because:
> 
> - More chance for people to find you
> - Each time you publish a new book, you get a boost
> - More books for you to run promos on without banging on about the same book all the time (when you run a promo on one book, there is often a follow-on to other books)
> - More different works to experiment
> - Slightly different genres can help you being discovered
> - More opportunities for freebies
> - When people like one book, they will often go through your entire inventory = more sales.


Ahhhh. No one told me that it's really just for the giveaway. Duly noted. I'll get one put together soon, then.

Thank you. Those were the details I needed. Good news is I've got a schedule nailed out for more books--the third book in my UF series will be spring 2015 and my new YA epic fantasy debut will be fall 2015, so at least that puts me at five books this time next year. Then 2016 will be either my new UF YA novel and another novel of undetermined origin (I have a couple options.) At the very least, there are four more novels in my future. Here's hoping I'm better off in a year.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> Honeymoon period. Applies to everything. Hardly anyone ever tells you about it, or dares admit that after a good bump, sales slide.


Thank you for that, Patti - it's really useful to have it summarised like that, clearly and in one place. I haven't got into Bookbub so far - only one attempt and I was turned down.

I just wanted to add that Carole McDonnell's contribution to the writing process blog hop is up now: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/speculative-fiction-writing-blog-hop.html

And I've updated my weekly summary of the previous posts in the blog hop: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/speculative-fiction-writing-blog-hop.html


----------



## Jamie Maltman

I was tagged for another Blog Hop, this one focused on "Meet My Character". Anyone else interested? Here's my contribution:

http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/09/08/meet-my-character-elysia/

Contact me and I can connect you to the people downstream.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Jamie Maltman said:


> I was tagged for another Blog Hop, this one focused on "Meet My Character". Anyone else interested? Here's my contribution:
> 
> http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/09/08/meet-my-character-elysia/
> 
> Contact me and I can connect you to the people downstream.


That sounds fun, Jamie. I'd be interested! (Off to read your post).


----------



## erikhanberg

Hey everyone,

Two years ago I was in an early group of authors for StoryBundle.com for my mysteries.

If you don't know, the site sells a bundle of books available under a pay-what-you-want rate, but if you pay above a certain amount, you get extra books. My return was pretty good (second only to Bookbub in sales), and that was two years ago. I'm hopeful it would be higher now since they (in theory) have more subscribers.

Jason who runs the site asked me if I was interested in putting together a sci-fi or spec fic bundle. If you're interested in something like that, please PM me and let me know! I'm looking for sci-fi books *not* in KDP Select or that will be out of it soon.

I'm hoping to put together something resembling a common theme (my book, The Lead Cloak will be in there. Set in 2081, high-tech book with adventure) but I could envision a lot of ways that very disparate books could be tied together depending on what common thread I can find.


----------



## Patty Jansen

I PMed you.


----------



## 68564

Patty Jansen said:


> I PMed you.


Same.


----------



## erikhanberg

Replying.


----------



## Harry Manners

PMed, also.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Jessica already mentioned Carole's post. (Is it really Wednesday already?)

Here's the current complete list:
Carole McDonnell: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/2014/09/speculative-fiction-writing-blog-hop.html
Harry Manners: http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Sheila Guthrie: http://newsfromsheilasworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Vincent Trigili: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Erik, I PM'ed you too!

Thanks for the great list of doom, Sandra.


----------



## Harry Manners

Thanks, Sandra.

I just got my first ever unadvertised mailing list sign-up! Another little milestone to tick off.


----------



## unkownwriter

Hi, guys! I'm finally starting to turn the corner on this sinus infection, thanks to whatever higher spirits are out there. Gosh, it's been a long haul, and to top it off, last week I tripped over the dog and fell, and a few days later I nearly knocked myself out when I bent over to pick up a dropped spice bottle. Who knew the corners on TV stands were so hard?

Anyway, I wanted to apologize for basically falling down on the blog hop job. I know my being behind has made it tougher for others to get their stuff done on time, and I'm really sorry. Hopefully I'm going to be back on track now.

That said, I'm going to call September 22 a down day. No one has shown any interest in signing up, so the next person up (Dean F. Wilson) will be linking to the post on the 29th (that would be S. B. James). Unless someone can jump in, in which case I need to know now.

We only have a post scheduled for October 6th after that, so anyone who would like to participate, please PM me with your info and desired date (always a Monday). Don't forget to give me your email, and your blog/site where the post will appear. 

Anyone who isn't sure how the posts go, you can check out Sandra's helpful listing of past hop posts (thanks so much for keeping up with that, by the way!). It's only four questions, a link to the previous hop and a short bio and link to the person following you. Easy!

Carole did an awesome job (which for some reason Google won't let me post a comment on). If you haven't read her post yet, you should. Nice to see another writer who dreams about her stories. 

So, there you have my little update. Congrats to all with sales/promos and new books, and a big welcome to the newest folks. Glad you could join us!


----------



## kyokominamino

Good morning, friends!

Just wanted to let you guys know that my short story collection, The Deadly Seven, is free all day long. I'd be super grateful if anyone wanted to grab a copy or pass the word along.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K706A5M/

Plus, anyone who signs up on the mailing list gets any one of my books, even ones that have yet to be released for free: http://shewhowritesmonsters.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4ba8ccbae099c5359b97b0fae&id=d11536275e


----------



## Harry Manners

kyokominamino said:


> Good morning, friends!
> 
> Just wanted to let you guys know that my short story collection, The Deadly Seven, is free all day long. I'd be super grateful if anyone wanted to grab a copy or pass the word along.
> 
> Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K706A5M/
> 
> Plus, anyone who signs up on the mailing list gets any one of my books, even ones that have yet to be released for free: http://shewhowritesmonsters.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4ba8ccbae099c5359b97b0fae&id=d11536275e


Tweeted a link. Good luck with the release!


----------



## kyokominamino

Harry Manners said:


> Tweeted a link. Good luck with the release!


Thank you!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

I'm sorry to hear you've been in the wars, Sheila. That does not sound fun. I have mentioned the blog hop in other places, but no-one has rushed forward yet.

I've been sharing the blog posts and doing a weekly round-up on my blog. Hope you feel better soon!


----------



## unkownwriter

Thanks, Jessie, for the good wishes and sympathy, and also for sharing and linking. Maybe it will hit the right group of people and take off! I've had someone ask about the hop, who has also told some other writers about it, but I haven't heard anything back yet. 

I'm feeling much better (antibiotics finally kicked in, I guess). I even got nearly 1K words done yesterday. I'm very careful now of where the dog is laying, and he's so scared of tripping me he gets up and moves every time I start to walk around, even if he's not in my path. Poor thing. Wasn't his fault mommy was sick and staggering off to nap.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

1K words is pretty good! I've been writing longhand so no idea what my word count is. 

I had to smile at the thought of your dog hastening out of the way.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Sorry to hear about your illness and accident, Sheila. Somehow, these things always seem to cluster together. Though I'm glad to hear the blog hop will be continuing. I also very much enjoyed Carole's entry.

Jamie, that character bloghop looks very interesting. I'll contact you about that.

Meanwhile, I've got two new releases in my Shattered Empire space opera series, a short story called _Seedlings_ and a novella called _Debts to Pay_.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NCYU3G2

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NCYTZXO

I've also utilised the easy bundling option at DriveThruFiction to make a Shattered Empire series bundle at a seriously reduced price:

http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/135220/Shattered-Empire-BUNDLE

The bundling option at DriveThruFiction is great BTW and I should really promote my available bundles more.


----------



## Vaalingrade

So I was pitching my main Fantasy setting and pointing out that it's not under Medieval Stasis and instead up to 1860's technology.

It was then that it hit me like a thunderbolt: the 1860s coincide with the founding of the Secret Service and a rudimentary version of the CIA.

And it was then I realized that Ere is fully capable of logically containing secret agents. High Magic. Secret Agents.

I love my job.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

That sounds really cool, Vaal.

Espionage has been around for almost as long as there have been human, which is why I always wonder why there are so few spies in fantasy.


----------



## mphicks

That is a very cool idea, Vaal! Have you read any of Brian McClellan's PowderMage series? New stuff, I think he just released book 2.

I'm amazed at how much this forum has grown. I've been busy and fallen rather far behind, but am glad to see there's still lots of activity here.

Hopefully it's not too gauche, but here's what I've been busy with - I'm prepping the release of a short horror story, quite a different work than Convergence was. I'm also working up a list of advanced readers to give a copy to, so if anyone here is interested check out my blog post for the details: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/09/15/free-consumption-arc-last-call/

Harry - kudos on the mail list subscriber! Mine is still pretty empty and disused, but maybe that'll turn around soon.

And thank you Sheila, Cora, Jessie, for keeping the blog hop running. Lots there for me to get caught up on, too. There'll be free time one of these days, right?!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

There's almost too much to reply to and my brain is befogged as usual.   But I had to say, Vaal - your fantasy sounds very interesting from my point of view as I'm camped out in the 1850's (but with medieval bits). Where does the phrase 'medieval stasis' come from?

Congratulations on the new releases, Cora. I'm still intrigued by the bundling facility at DriveThruFiction. I am very keen on the idea of imaginary worlds that develop like an agglutinative language. 

Mike, I am struggling to keep up too. Not gauche at all! The story looks fascinating (and alarming!). I've been doing some writing - and even reading! Which makes a nice change as I'd been stuck in a non-reading phase for months, apart from proof-reading.


----------



## mphicks

Thanks Jessie! I hope people like it; it's a bit of a departure for me and one I HAD to write just for myself and decided to throw out there. We'll see what happens. For now it's a bit of an experiment and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.


----------



## Cherise

Vaalingrade said:


> Here's the thing: Spec-fic (or as I like to say, Nerd Genres) is more popular right now than it has ever been. The problem is that our infrastructure needs are not being met by a self-pub industry that makes it gravy on romance and mysteries.
> 
> For example, no one I talk to online on a regular basis knows what in the seven interlocking hells Bookbub, or ENT or any of the other big agrigators are. No one. That's because when me or one of my fellow nerdlings wants a book recommendation, we'll start a thread, or jack into a favorite blogger's (usually not a dedicated book blogger) RSS feed and go from there.
> 
> At this moment, there's really no good, reliable way to reach our readers through the normally recommended channels. We need... well this thread, actually. We need to work together to find ways of tapping into those people who got LotR a mess of Oscars, helped the Avengers make all the money, and keep the bloated, stinking corpse ratings sensation that is Game of Thrones on television.
> 
> They're there, we just don't have line of site. If only we could get the self-pubbing game to switch to a hex grid...


*These may be just the drones we're looking for:*
http://science-fiction-outreach.org/

---------------------quote---------------
We go to comics conventions and find the book readers!

Experience from events in London and San Francisco has shown that our fans do exist. We want the book readers. We want the potential fans who like books and want to discuss them, and talk about them, and then let them know of the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention (LoneStarCon 3), local conventions, fanzines like File 770 and Argentus and other aspects of science fiction fandom.

Would YOU like to help?

We need books. Lots and lots of books! Science Fiction, fantasy, and related genre books are what we are looking for.

We accept both second hand and new books! Donate your books and they won't just be recycled, they will be the lure for new fans. They will help promote reading and literacy. They will go to a good new home.

Hardbacks or paperbacks - all are welcome. We ask only that they be in readable condition.

Please check our Contact Us page for more details.
------------------------end quote------------


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

New blog hop post up! [2 days ago  ]

Dean F. Wilson: http://deanfwilson.com/2014/09/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

Dean, I also work with separate chapter files. Gives me a chance to pat myself on the back with every chapter completed.

And previous posts...
Carole McDonnell: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/2014/09/speculative-fiction-writing-blog-hop.html
Harry Manners: http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Sheila Guthrie: http://newsfromsheilasworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Vincent Trigili: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Oh corks, Sandra - do you know, I completely forgot this week? I'm onto it now - sorry, Dean.

Cherise - thank you for posting the link. The only thing that slightly worries me is that they are asking people to donate books - which is splendid but for struggling authors, most would hope to sell books. Of course second-hand, library loans and the rest all help to boost the signal and promote reading. But I feel there's a slight tension between that and trying to make a living?

ETA: Here's the weekly round-up featuring Dean F. Wilson. As Sheila mentions, there's a week off next week, and then the blog hop resumes with S.B. James.

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/speculative-fiction-blog-hop-dean-f.html


----------



## 68564

Cherise Kelley said:


> *These may be just the drones we're looking for:*
> http://science-fiction-outreach.org/
> 
> ---------------------quote---------------
> We go to comics conventions and find the book readers!
> 
> Experience from events in London and San Francisco has shown that our fans do exist. We want the book readers. We want the potential fans who like books and want to discuss them, and talk about them, and then let them know of the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention (LoneStarCon 3), local conventions, fanzines like File 770 and Argentus and other aspects of science fiction fandom.
> 
> Would YOU like to help?
> 
> We need books. Lots and lots of books! Science Fiction, fantasy, and related genre books are what we are looking for.
> 
> We accept both second hand and new books! Donate your books and they won't just be recycled, they will be the lure for new fans. They will help promote reading and literacy. They will go to a good new home.
> 
> Hardbacks or paperbacks -- all are welcome. We ask only that they be in readable condition.
> 
> Please check our Contact Us page for more details.
> ------------------------end quote------------


Print books?


----------



## DanDillard

Thayer Berlyn said:


> I am interested in the development of an entirely unique type of creature/character in the realm of Horror and/or Dark Fantasy, even if said creature/character is (somewhat) an extension of a more familiar concept (ie: the witch, the elemental, the immortal, etc.) I write Soft Horror and Dark Fantasy, and so am always attempting to bring a different element or layer to a central character or theme that an adventurous reader might not find elsewhere. Clive Barker is a great one for bringing unique characters into the foray, although he is often a bit too dark for my taste.
> 
> It is very difficult to promote such stories, sometimes.


A fantastic challenge to create a memorable creature. I strive to do that as well. A memorable character that is also something else, something not human. Doesn't have to be a villain or a monster necessarily. Just the thought of making the next Dracula, or the next Bilbo Baggins or the next Candyman or Pinhead (since you mentioned Clive Barker)... That's the goal. Build a world where my new legendary creature can exist and let the readers bring them to life! The classic monsters are getting a bit stale, no?


----------



## Indecisive

Here's the deal. It's September 18th, just over two weeks since I sent my mss. off to a copy editor. She's a local person who has been a full-time, professional copy editor for a few decades. I respect her opinion, but...

She thinks my book is not ready, that the plot drags too much, that it needs _at least_ another draft before it's ready for copy- or line-editing. Some of her thoughts on upping the ante are OK, but they would take the plot in a different direction, which could derail the entire series. My beta readers generally said that the story picked up toward the end, so I'm thinking that since she gave up at the end of chapter 7 (a little past the 1/3 point) I may be just dealing with a couple of chapters that need to be cut and/or need more bridging conflict.

I have also put it up for pre-order on Amazon, for December 1st, (http://www.amazon.com/Scrapplings-Anamat-Book-Amelia-Smith-ebook/dp/B00NJ6DV9E/ I have an updated version of the cover in limbo, fixing that typo. Yikes). I really, really want to get the book to some reviewers ahead of time, too. I know that a month and a half is like an eon to some of the speedier writers here on KBoards, but I have kids and life etc. and I would need to get another copy editor booked in a tight time-frame, bringing my real revision time down to no more than a month, a month during which my life is especially chaotic. I'd like to keep working with this editor, partly because she is super-critical and because I know her IRL, but if need be I can work with someone else.

*Would any of you be willing to do a quick beta-read sometime next week, after I have a go at shoring up the saggy middle?* If so, PM me or email me.

Worst comes to worst, I can pull it from pre-order/blow my pre-order priviledges and/or not send out ARCs, I guess.


----------



## Christine Reyes

ameliasmith said:


> Here's the deal. It's September 18th, just over two weeks since I sent my mss. off to a copy editor. She's a local person who has been a full-time, professional copy editor for a few decades. I respect her opinion, but...
> 
> She thinks my book is not ready, that the plot drags too much, that it needs _at least_ another draft before it's ready for copy- or line-editing. Some of her thoughts on upping the ante are OK, but they would take the plot in a different direction, which could derail the entire series. My beta readers generally said that the story picked up toward the end, so I'm thinking that since she gave up at the end of chapter 7 (a little past the 1/3 point) I may be just dealing with a couple of chapters that need to be cut and/or need more bridging conflict.
> 
> I have also put it up for pre-order on Amazon, for December 1st, (http://www.amazon.com/Scrapplings-Anamat-Book-Amelia-Smith-ebook/dp/B00NJ6DV9E/ I have an updated version of the cover in limbo, fixing that typo. Yikes). I really, really want to get the book to some reviewers ahead of time, too. I know that a month and a half is like an eon to some of the speedier writers here on KBoards, but I have kids and life etc. and I would need to get another copy editor booked in a tight time-frame, bringing my real revision time down to no more than a month, a month during which my life is especially chaotic. I'd like to keep working with this editor, partly because she is super-critical and because I know her IRL, but if need be I can work with someone else.
> 
> *Would any of you be willing to do a quick beta-read sometime next week, after I have a go at shoring up the saggy middle?* If so, PM me or email me.
> 
> Worst comes to worst, I can pull it from pre-order/blow my pre-order priviledges and/or not send out ARCs, I guess.


Sent you a PM.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Oh, I agreed to terms for an audiobook version of 'Irradiated' this week! 

I'm from Australia, so usually ACX is out of limits, but Joe Nobody runs a work-around for international-peeps. I put Irradiated up a few weeks ago. I received a small handful of submissions, but the very first stood out. She's a very emotive voice  that really brings out the rhythm of the prose.

It won't be a quick process... but I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens. The sample gave me chills.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

That sounds really exciting, Elliot. And good for Joe Nobody for setting up the workaround!

I think having your book read aloud is a dream, rather like having someone illustrate it (as happens on deviantART with ASOIAF).


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

JessieCar said:


> That sounds really exciting, Elliot. And good for Joe Nobody for setting up the workaround!
> 
> I think having your book read aloud is a dream, rather like having someone illustrate it (as happens on deviantART with ASOIAF).


Yeah, it's really surreal hearing somebody read your book! It really takes on another life.


----------



## SB James

I would love to eventually have audiobooks done of this series. I think they would be fabulous with a British accented narrator!
One of my other, unwritten as of yet series, will feature a vampire from New Jersey. I think I can read that one myself


----------



## Jamie Maltman

I'd love to do my own audiobooks... but right now I'd be better off writing the next book. But I do want to do some test runs with a few short stories. I really do enjoy reading out loud.


----------



## SB James

A tad off topic (sorry) but I was reading a blog this morning about how podcasting might become the next big marketing tool. While I'd love to do some sort of a Steampunk themed podcast, I would be very worried about how my voice sounds. If I hear my voice on a phone in particular, I just cringe


----------



## Jamie Maltman

People generally give me good feedback on my voice. And I've been podcasting for what... 3 weeks now?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I have a pretty horrible voice. I'm not sure how I'd do on a podcast haha.


----------



## Cherise

My voice is my best feature!  Not to brag or anything, but I'm a singer. I'm 51, and on the phone people think I'm 21. I would love to be a guest on some popular podcasts, but I don't have enough ideas to run my own.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

I have a rather plummy voice. Not your actual Downton Abbey, though.


----------



## danielsolomonkaplan

Just tossed my hat into the ring today with my first book. 

A steampunk podcast could be super fun! I love the genre and I might be writing a steampunk story as my next series.


----------



## Ceinwen

I've been told I sound like an Australian Daria, so I'm definitely out for doing my own audiobooks! A podcast would be fun, if I had anything to talk about.  

Congrats on your book, Daniel!


----------



## Indecisive

danielsolomonkaplan said:


> Just tossed my hat into the ring today with my first book.


Congratulations! It looks like you've got a pretty strong showing out of the gate. Your blurb/book description looks good, as does the cover, and I see that you're in KU/Select, but I'm wondering if you're doing anything else for advertising/publicity (she says, planning to launch again in 2 months or so).


----------



## SB James

danielsolomonkaplan said:


> Just tossed my hat into the ring today with my first book.
> 
> A steampunk podcast could be super fun! I love the genre and I might be writing a steampunk story as my next series.


Ah! But if I only had the time too...
I had a small taste of the "EMP" apocalypse last night. I came home to find all the lights off AND I had no cell phone signal! No 4G, not even any phone service AND no wifi!  I was cut off from the world for forty five minutes!
I still have no cell phone service in my neighborhood. I have to drive within the range of the next nearest tower.


----------



## Harry Manners

Elliot: Great news on the step into audio! I'm looking into it for _Ruin_, myself. I really feel it adds something visceral, gives your work a real solidity. Let me know how things progress -- I shall be watching closely!

Daniel: Congratulations on the hat-throwing, and welcome to published-author island. 

---

A little about what's going on with me: I've not been able to do any writing or promo of late due to a catastrophic home-life breakdown, on top of moving back to university for the commencement of my degree's second year. So that's why y'all haven't seen much of me. But fear not, I'm lurking, and striving to do all I can. 
Case in point: this morning I sent off 42 copies of Ruin to my LibraryThing Giveaway winners, and I've already received some replies promising prompt reviews. It looks like a few of them might even be on Kobo and B&N, which will be great to add to my presence on the alternative retailer websites.

I'll see you around, everyone. Be good, and keep those fingers tappin' those keys!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SBJames, what is the EMP apocalypse? It doesn't sound too good. I hope you get reconnected before too long.

Harry - I'm so sorry to hear about the home-life breakdown. I hope all is well, or as well as it can be. I hope your second year at Uni will provide some light relief (as well as work).

I'm semi-lurking myself mainly because of the Spec Fic showcase but also because I'm flat-out reading (historical murder mysteries).


----------



## SB James

JessieCar said:


> SBJames, what is the EMP apocalypse? It doesn't sound too good. I hope you get reconnected before too long.


One of the most popular tropes in apocalyptic books is the EMP scenario: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse
where either some major solar flare hits the earth and fries all our electrical things, or some terrorist group/enemy of the free world shoots a nuclear weapon into the atmosphere and detonates it, with the same result of frying all our electrical things. 
I was semi-joking around about the apocalypse part (I had no wifi for 45 minutes, boo hoo!  ) but I actually still don't have cellular service until tomorrow sometime. 
Which is why (Public Service Announcement Commencing) you must always back up your work often! In multiple places if possible!


----------



## Christine Reyes

danielsolomonkaplan said:


> Just tossed my hat into the ring today with my first book.
> 
> A steampunk podcast could be super fun! I love the genre and I might be writing a steampunk story as my next series.


Ooh, is that superhero fiction I see? *downloads sample* I just need to finish reading Degenerated first...


----------



## markhealy

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Yeah, it's really surreal hearing somebody read your book! It really takes on another life.


Agreed. I haven't done an audiobook yet, but I've worked with voice talent through my Hibernal music project, where the voice talent acts out the story and I intersperse the prose with original music and sound effects. The first time I received auditions it felt incredibly weird to hear my own words being spoken by professional actors.

I love the moment of hearing 'the one' - the person who suits your character perfectly. It's a thrill. I've actually spent months auditioning to find the right person at times.


----------



## markhealy

Ceinwen L. said:


> I've been told I sound like an Australian Daria, so I'm definitely out for doing my own audiobooks! A podcast would be fun, if I had anything to talk about.
> 
> Congrats on your book, Daniel!


Oh, btw Ceinwen, I told my wife about your book a week or two back and she ended up buying it and reading it within about 24 hours. She liked it quite a lot!


----------



## Mark Tyson

Just got here! I write mostly sword and sorcery type fantasy with my own brand of twist on the old tropes. Can I still *high five*?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

The cover for Part 1 of my upcoming Post-Apocalyptic Western...










*Warning:* Contains androids, revolvers, whiskey, and ray-guns.

All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Christine Reyes said:


> Ooh, is that superhero fiction I see? *downloads sample* I just need to finish reading Degenerated first...


I've been meaning to write superhero fiction for a while, but haven't found the right idea (and other ideas keep hitting me!). I love a good comic book.

Hope that other book is good...


----------



## Harry Manners

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> The cover for Part 1 of my upcoming Post-Apocalyptic Western...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Warning:* Contains androids, revolvers, whiskey, and ray-guns.
> 
> All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers.


Oh, my. Yes. Yes, we like this one.

Well done, sir.


----------



## markhealy

Mark Tyson said:


> Just got here! I write mostly sword and sorcery type fantasy with my own brand of twist on the old tropes. Can I still *high five*?


Hey Mark, welcome! I'm sure there's a spare high five or two we can give you.


----------



## 68564

Mark Tyson said:


> Just got here! I write mostly sword and sorcery type fantasy with my own brand of twist on the old tropes. Can I still *high five*?


As long as you put the sword down first....


----------



## Indecisive

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> The cover for Part 1 of my upcoming Post-Apocalyptic Western...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Warning:* Contains androids, revolvers, whiskey, and ray-guns.
> 
> All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers.


Great cover! I'm getting pretty attached to my self-designed covers for my current series, but will totally check this place out for future covers.


----------



## 68564

ameliasmith said:


> Great cover! I'm getting pretty attached to my self-designed covers for my current series, but will totally check this place out for future covers.


Yoly did all the covers in my sig, except the first one. She is great!


----------



## 68564

My first audio book is almost done! Here is the announcement and a sample for anyone who is curious:

http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/09/23/the-enemy-of-an-enemy-audio-book/


----------



## heidi_g

Elliot, I want a cowboy hat... or a boot! Maybe something in the font?!?!?


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SB James said:


> One of the most popular tropes in apocalyptic books is the EMP scenario: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse
> where either some major solar flare hits the earth and fries all our electrical things, or some terrorist group/enemy of the free world shoots a nuclear weapon into the atmosphere and detonates it, with the same result of frying all our electrical things.
> I was semi-joking around about the apocalypse part (I had no wifi for 45 minutes, boo hoo!  ) but I actually still don't have cellular service until tomorrow sometime.
> Which is why (Public Service Announcement Commencing) you must always back up your work often! In multiple places if possible!


That's so true about the backing things up. No wi-fi for 45 minutes is an apocalypse! (Almost) I hope the cellphone network has come back now.

Elliot - that is a great cover. Post-apocalyptic western = what's not to like?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Love the cover, Elliot. I'm getting a 1960s Italian western vibe from it.

SB, I hear you on the "no WiFi" thing. I'm just back from a trip and the hotel only offered 30 minutes of free WiFi per day (or pay through the nose). Of course, I could've grabbed my netbook and headed for a coffee shop with free WiFi, but I can't do that in my pyjamas.

Mark, welcome. I think you'll fit right in here.

Harry, sorry to hear about your problems. Hope you'll get it sorted soon.


----------



## Ceinwen

Elliot, that cover is wicked.



markhealy said:


> Oh, btw Ceinwen, I told my wife about your book a week or two back and she ended up buying it and reading it within about 24 hours. She liked it quite a lot!


Thanks Mark! I'm glad she enjoyed it


----------



## mphicks

Elliot - congrats on the audio deal and the great cover for the new book! I love the old spaghetti western feel to it, straight-up Sergio Leone goodness.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks y'all!

The story is certainly spaghetti western inspired, with a sci-fi twist. I even rewatched a bunch of Leone movies to tap myself into the vibe. Though I'm Australian... so maybe it's a 'boomerang western'.

Yoly did a fantastic job on the covers. She's great to work with. Very patient. 

I actually have a set of four covers (there's four parts). Only showing off the first one, so far.  

I'm trying a few new things with this -- giving away Part 1 to everyone on my mailing list, and considering doing it with future parts too.


----------



## DRMarvello

Mark Tyson said:


> Just got here! I write mostly sword and sorcery type fantasy with my own brand of twist on the old tropes. Can I still *high five*?


I'll *high five* you. I love new twists on old fantasy tropes.


----------



## Guest

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> The cover for Part 1 of my upcoming Post-Apocalyptic Western...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Warning:* Contains androids, revolvers, whiskey, and ray-guns.
> 
> All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers.


Dude, your cover is wicked!  (I just saw that Ceinwen said the same thing. I swear I didn't copy her. Ha Ha! Your cover IS wicked, dude!)


----------



## Patty Jansen

Wootiwoot! A new short story in my Kindle Unlimited library.



So far, these are all pre-published short stories, this new one from a magazine that no longer exists.


----------



## Ceinwen

Joliedupre said:


> Dude, your cover is wicked!  (I just saw that Ceinwen said the same thing. I swear I didn't copy her. Ha Ha! Your cover IS wicked, dude!)


Great minds, and all that


----------



## Lucas Bale

Sorry I've been a little quiet of late, but we emigrated recently. Moving house is hard work at the best of times, but add in another country, a new language, two boys and a wife starting a new job - well, I guess you can imagine.

Also, I've been slaving away on _Defiance_ ripping through the first draft and, also, as is my way, doing some of the editing as I go. I think the first draft, and my own editing, will be finished by the end of next week, possibly the week after, then it's out to beta readers. My editor, David Gatewood, will be taking it in around late October and I will be pulling in beta readers' comments and his during early November to release it around mid-to-late November.

And I'll be writing book three at the same time. Busy, busy, busy!  Anyway, just thought I'd check in whilst I take a break.

Elliot, that's a great cover - reminds me of Andy Weir's The Martian cover. Sounds like a great book!

Harry, sorry to hear things are not working out at home. I wish you well and, if they can, I hope they resolve themselves soon.

As for audible - I'm certainly not discounting it, but I've spent most of my life speaking in public so I don't really think I fancy recording it too! Also, I'd like to focus on getting a backlist done before I focus on anything else. I will of course watch the experiences of others with interest.

Good luck everyone and I'll pop back as soon as _Defiance_ is finished.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> Wootiwoot! A new short story in my Kindle Unlimited library.
> 
> 
> 
> So far, these are all pre-published short stories, this new one from a magazine that no longer exists.


Two thumbs up, Patty!

Lucas, it sounds as though you have been super-busy. I hope the move has gone well - very exciting.


----------



## mphicks

Well, the button has been pushed and the pre-order is live on Amazon for Consumption. You can even see the link below in my updated author signature! So, there's no going back now. Official release date is Oct. 14, and I'm already feeling the new release jitters.


----------



## AgincourtDB

Well, a friend pointed me here, so here goes...

I am a writer of genre flashfiction, mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and zombie apocalypse fiction, with a smattering here and there of general fiction, superhero fiction, horror. I have three collections and a short story up on amazon. Most of my stuff can be read for free at my fiction website.

Meanwhile I'm trying to gear up to write a novel. I have four novel ideas that I like, but getting started is a big hurdle.

That's me.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Another nice cover there Elliott! 

Speaking of covers, I just finished off one for my free intro short story. Wanted to try out Canva for a free one, but reusing some other images I had/got together.










If anyone wants to check out said free short story, about a girl who discovers a love for sculpture... that unlocks her magical Talent, here's the link.


----------



## heidi_g

Patty Jansen said:


> Wootiwoot! A new short story in my Kindle Unlimited library.
> 
> 
> 
> So far, these are all pre-published short stories, this new one from a magazine that no longer exists.


Good Luck with the release, Patty!


----------



## heidi_g

mphicks said:


> Well, the button has been pushed and the pre-order is live on Amazon for Consumption. You can even see the link below in my updated author signature! So, there's no going back now. Official release date is Oct. 14, and I'm already feeling the new release jitters.


You, too! Michael!

Agincourt, Welcome!


----------



## mphicks

Thanks, Heidi!

Agincourt, welcome to the board - stick around!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> The cover for Part 1 of my upcoming Post-Apocalyptic Western...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Warning:* Contains androids, revolvers, whiskey, and ray-guns.
> 
> All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers.


I saw the thread where you worked through ideas for this cover, and I love how it turned out. The title and cover work together to get across the genre and (I assume) feel of the story, show that it's part of a series, and still be eye-catching enough to stand out. Nice job.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> Well, the button has been pushed and the pre-order is live on Amazon for Consumption. You can even see the link below in my updated author signature! So, there's no going back now. Official release date is Oct. 14, and I'm already feeling the new release jitters.


Good luck, Mike! I think this is a really good idea. Have you got any promos booked?

Greetings, Agincourt. Good to meet you.

Jamie - wow! Very vivid cover.


----------



## RM Prioleau

It was suggested that I propose a boxed set here to join. Is there anyone doing a boxed set and looking for more authors to join?


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> Good luck, Mike! I think this is a really good idea. Have you got any promos booked?


Thanks, Jess! Yes, two promos booked so far. One with eBookSoda - I had tried them with Convergence, but didn't have the book marked down then and got zero sales. I'm curious to see if I fare any better with a 99c title. I'm also using BKNights again, since I had some positive results when I used their gig during my Convergence 99c sale. I'm hoping for a good launch and will be checking out a few other places, too.


----------



## Cherise

AgincourtDB said:


> Well, a friend pointed me here, so here goes...
> 
> I am a writer of genre flashfiction, mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and zombie apocalypse fiction, with a smattering here and there of general fiction, superhero fiction, horror. I have three collections and a short story up on amazon. Most of my stuff can be read for free at my fiction website.
> 
> Meanwhile I'm trying to gear up to write a novel. I have four novel ideas that I like, but getting started is a big hurdle.
> 
> That's me.


Welcome, Agincourt!

You have to just do it. Set yourself a goal of say 500 words per day. Schedule yourself time every day. And just do it.


----------



## SB James

A big high-five to all the newer people here!
A congratulations to everyone with their new releases. I hope like crazy I will be joining your ranks any day.


----------



## unkownwriter

Hey, all. I've been falling down on the job again, and not getting emails out properly for the blog hop. I just wanted to post an update, and also let all the new/newish folks how it works (welcome, by the way!).

So, the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop morphed from a writer's process blog hop.

Here's how we do it:

Step 1: Send a 75-ish word bio and your blog address to the author preceding you as soon as possible. (You'll be given the link.)

Step 2: On the date of your post, you will:

a) Link your post to the blog preceding you in the chain. (Linking directly to the blog tour post is best.)

b) Answer these questions:

What am I working on?
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Why do I write what I do?
How does my writing process work?

c) Link to the author(s) you're tagging. (Again, you'll be given the link.)

We've got the following folks scheduled:

*September 29: S B James*
*October 6: Amelia Smith*
October 13: Open
October 20: Open
October 27: Open
November 3: Open
November 10: Open
*November 17: Jessica Fry*
November 24: Open
December 1: Open
December 8: Open
December 15: Open
December 22: Open
December 29: Open

As you can see, there are lots of open days. Anyone who'd be interested, you can pm me (see link under my avatar). Please be sure to give me your email address and site address, and the date you'd be interested in. I'll add you to the schedule.

Anyway, I apologize for messing up on sending the emails (though I could swear I sent some, my outbox says otherwise) on time. It's not like I don't have little notes up to remind me to do it, but I guess my brain really was fried when I was sick. (I'm still afraid to look at the 3K words I wrote on a short story. It's probably so horrible I'll relapse.)

But there it is. 

Congrats to those with good stuff going on, and big hugs to those with not-so-good stuff going on.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> Thanks, Jess! Yes, two promos booked so far. One with eBookSoda - I had tried them with Convergence, but didn't have the book marked down then and got zero sales. I'm curious to see if I fare any better with a 99c title. I'm also using BKNights again, since I had some positive results when I used their gig during my Convergence 99c sale. I'm hoping for a good launch and will be checking out a few other places, too.


That's interesting, Mike. I was very pleased with BKnights' promo for my permafree. The sales have never been stratospheric, but now there are sales.  I haven't tried eBooksoda yet.

Good to see you, Sheila! I've been blogging the writing process hop weekly, and I know Sandra always post the links.

Which leads me to...help! LOL 

I'm participating in a 'Meet my character' Blog hop. Last week it was Stacy Claflin. Tomorrow it's me. But the chap who's due to blog next week seems to be without computer at the moment.

Would anyone like to be the next victim blogger? That means you'd be posting your 'meet my character' post a week tomorrow, and tagging the next person.

All I'd need in the interim would be a short bio, author photo and links. There's a good example of what's involved on Stacey Claflin's blog here: http://stacyclaflin.com/2014/09/22/meet-my-character-macy-mercer/


----------



## Vaalingrade

Dude, the blog hop no longer asks me to figure out who else to tag? That I can do. Probably not this week, but soon.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I'd be up for a "Meet my character" thing, Jessica, if no one else is interested.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

CoraBuhlert said:


> I'd be up for a "Meet my character" thing, Jessica, if no one else is interested.


That would be great, Cora. I've got the next person pencilled in, but I imagine he can always join in again later once his computer woes are sorted. I'll drop you an email.


----------



## SB James

Jessica, I can also do a "Meet my character" post. The timing will be really good, with my next book coming out very soon!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SB James said:


> Jessica, I can also do a "Meet my character" post. The timing will be really good, with my next book coming out very soon!


I'm so glad, SB! This blog hop doesn't have anyone co-ordinating it so i think if I tag Cora and then Cora tags you (and so on). I got invited to do it by our own Jamie Maltman, and I was tagged by Stacy Claflin. If you see what I mean!

I hope that makes sense...


----------



## SB James

To tell the truth, I've always been a bit leery of ever tagging someone. I don't even like to do it on Facebook.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SB James said:


> To tell the truth, I've always been a bit leery of ever tagging someone. I don't even like to do it on Facebook.


I know what you mean (unless it's someone you know). Well maybe someone else will be interested on here? There's no pressure, anyway.

I'll send you a PM.


----------



## SB James

I always figure that if I post something on my blog, like the blog hop, I could always edit to post to add a link to someone else's page later on. I would just need the link.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SB James said:


> I always figure that if I post something on my blog, like the blog hop, I could always edit to post to add a link to someone else's page later on. I would just need the link.


I think that's right, SB.

On the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop front, SB James is doing the writing process post this week: http://sbjamestheauthor.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/ 

and here is my round-up of the posts so far. http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/speculative-fiction-blog-hop-s-b-james.html


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Read your post yesterday JessieCar, and that's a character with some interesting backstory! 

Glad to see things are continuing on. I'm not one to tag anyone for anything either... I put a call out for volunteers and go from there, making a few connections. Worked so far.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for September 2014 is up on my blog, crossposted (with two slight differences) to the Speculative Fiction Showcase:

http://corabuhlert.com/2014/09/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-september-2014/

http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/09/indie-speculative-fiction-of-month.html

Lots of great stuff there, so check it out. As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated.

Oh yes, and I tweeted and +1 Jessica's and SB James' respective blog hop entries. The Meet My Character blog hop is really interesting and I'm up next week. SB, would you like to go after me?


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for September 2014 is up on my blog, crossposted (with two slight differences) to the Speculative Fiction Showcase:
> 
> http://corabuhlert.com/2014/09/30/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-september-2014/
> 
> http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/09/indie-speculative-fiction-of-month.html
> 
> Lots of great stuff there, so check it out. As always, likes, shares, tweets, +1 etc... are appreciated.
> 
> Oh yes, and I tweeted and +1 Jessica's and SB James' respective blog hop entries. The Meet My Character blog hop is really interesting and I'm up next week. SB, would you like to go after me?


Thanks Cora! Yes, that would probably work well. I just am not sure who will come after me.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Well, we've got two weeks to find someone.


----------



## SB James

I've got one or two people in mind, but one of them has already done a "meet my character" blog post, so he's probably out.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I think William Richards was originally supposed to go after Jessica, but he's having computer troubles and had to bow out. So maybe William could do it after you.


----------



## Guest

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Hey, all. I've been falling down on the job again, and not getting emails out properly for the blog hop. I just wanted to post an update, and also let all the new/newish folks how it works (welcome, by the way!).
> 
> So, the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop morphed from a writer's process blog hop.
> 
> Here's how we do it:
> 
> Step 1: Send a 75-ish word bio and your blog address to the author preceding you as soon as possible. (You'll be given the link.)
> 
> Step 2: On the date of your post, you will:
> 
> a) Link your post to the blog preceding you in the chain. (Linking directly to the blog tour post is best.)
> 
> b) Answer these questions:
> 
> What am I working on?
> How does my work differ from others of its genre?
> Why do I write what I do?
> How does my writing process work?
> 
> c) Link to the author(s) you're tagging. (Again, you'll be given the link.)
> 
> We've got the following folks scheduled:
> 
> *September 29: S B James*
> *October 6: Amelia Smith*
> October 13: Open
> October 20: Open
> October 27: Open
> November 3: Open
> November 10: Open
> *November 17: Jessica Fry*
> November 24: Open
> December 1: Open
> December 8: Open
> December 15: Open
> December 22: Open
> December 29: Open
> 
> As you can see, there are lots of open days. Anyone who'd be interested, you can pm me (see link under my avatar). Please be sure to give me your email address and site address, and the date you'd be interested in. I'll add you to the schedule.
> 
> Anyway, I apologize for messing up on sending the emails (though I could swear I sent some, my outbox says otherwise) on time. It's not like I don't have little notes up to remind me to do it, but I guess my brain really was fried when I was sick. (I'm still afraid to look at the 3K words I wrote on a short story. It's probably so horrible I'll relapse.)
> 
> But there it is.
> 
> Congrats to those with good stuff going on, and big hugs to those with not-so-good stuff going on.


Holy crap! How did I miss this! Thanks!


----------



## Guest

Also, I'm totally up for a "Meet My Character" deal.  (I don't quite understand how it works, but I'm a fast learner.)  I'm vacationing in New York October 2 -5, and I'll probably be playing more than working.  However, I'm up for a date after the 5th.


----------



## Christine Reyes

Jolie, I just want to say that I really like your new book covers!

(not sure how actually new they are, I kind of pop in and out of this place...)


----------



## CoraBuhlert

So far, "Meet the Character" has me next week (October 5) and SB James the week after (October 12), so you could go the week after that (October 19), unless William Richard gets his computer troubles sorted out and wants to go first.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Plus, I made a trailer for the Shattered Empire series using stock imagery and Stupeflix, a free (sort of) online program.






I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.


----------



## Guest

Christine Reyes said:


> Jolie, I just want to say that I really like your new book covers!
> 
> (not sure how actually new they are, I kind of pop in and out of this place...)


Thank you, Christine! They're new. 



CoraBuhlert said:


> So far, "Meet the Character" has me next week (October 5) and SB James the week after (October 12), so you could go the week after that (October 19), unless William Richard gets his computer troubles sorted out and wants to go first.


I'm fine with that. Just let me know!



CoraBuhlert said:


> Plus, I made a trailer for the Shattered Empire series using stock imagery and Stupeflix, a free (sort of) online program.


Love the music and images!


----------



## markhealy

CoraBuhlert said:


> Plus, I made a trailer for the Shattered Empire series using stock imagery and Stupeflix, a free (sort of) online program.


Looks cool, Cora! Very professional too.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

All right, I came up with a sort of preliminary schedule for the Meet My Character blog hop:

14.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards (?)
02.11.2014: free
09.11.2014: free

Sorry, the dates are in German rather than US format, since I cut and pasted this. But I think you get the idea.

William D. Richards is only preliminary so far, because he has computer troubles and is only rarely online. If anybody wants November 2 or 11, please post here.

Regarding the trailer, Stupeflix is rather useful for book trailers and the results look very professional. They've got a couple of themes to choose from. The one I used was free, but there are paid themes as well. They've also got a library of music in different styles, though you can also upload your own and also do voice overs.


----------



## AgincourtDB

heidi_g said:


> Agincourt, Welcome!


Thank you  I am only toe-deep as yet...


----------



## AgincourtDB

mphicks said:


> Agincourt, welcome to the board - stick around!


Thank you!


----------



## AgincourtDB

JessieCar said:


> Greetings, Agincourt. Good to meet you.


Thanks, likewise


----------



## AgincourtDB

Cherise Kelley said:


> Welcome, Agincourt!
> 
> You have to just do it. Set yourself a goal of say 500 words per day. Schedule yourself time every day. And just do it.


Yeah, that's good advice. I do tend to wait for 'inspiration' (and I don't believe in the whole 'grind it out and fix it later' approach _at all_) but I need to develop better habits, and resist distractions.


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> All right, I came up with a sort of preliminary schedule for the Meet My Character blog hop:
> 
> 14.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
> 21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
> 28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
> 05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
> 12.10.2014:	SB James
> 19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pre
> 26.10.2014:	William D. Richards (?)
> 02.11.2014: free
> 09.11.2014: free
> 
> Sorry, the dates are in German rather than US format, since I cut and pasted this. But I think you get the idea.
> 
> William D. Richards is only preliminary so far, because he has computer troubles and is only rarely online. If anybody wants November 2 or 11, please post here.
> 
> Regarding the trailer, Stupeflix is rather useful for book trailers and the results look very professional. They've got a couple of themes to choose from. The one I used was free, but there are paid themes as well. They've also got a library of music in different styles, though you can also upload your own and also do voice overs.


Thanks a lot Cora, I appreciate the schedule. 
Also will look into Stupefix, if it doesn't cost much or anything. I'd have to hire someone from Fiverr to do a voice-over, though


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Stupeflix has a silent movie style theme which looks like it would be ideal for steampunk.


----------



## Guest

CoraBuhlert said:


> All right, I came up with a sort of preliminary schedule for the Meet My Character blog hop:
> 
> 14.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
> 21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
> 28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
> 05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
> 12.10.2014:	SB James
> 19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pre
> 26.10.2014:	William D. Richards (?)
> 02.11.2014: free
> 09.11.2014: free
> 
> Sorry, the dates are in German rather than US format, since I cut and pasted this. But I think you get the idea.
> 
> William D. Richards is only preliminary so far, because he has computer troubles and is only rarely online. If anybody wants November 2 or 11, please post here.
> 
> Regarding the trailer, Stupeflix is rather useful for book trailers and the results look very professional. They've got a couple of themes to choose from. The one I used was free, but there are paid themes as well. They've also got a library of music in different styles, though you can also upload your own and also do voice overs.


Right on! Thank you!


----------



## SB James

CoraBuhlert said:


> Stupeflix has a silent movie style theme which looks like it would be ideal for steampunk.


I definitely need to check that out!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thanks for doing the schedule Cora. I've never come across Stupefix and it looks very interesting.


----------



## Vaalingrade

I'm up for the slot on the 2nd.


----------



## WDR

CoraBuhlert said:


> William D. Richards is only preliminary so far, because he has computer troubles and is only rarely online. If anybody wants November 2 or 11, please post here.


Thanks, Cora! I confirm I'm on for the 2014-10-26 date.

I'm still having computer issues, I'm borrowing my father's computer when available so I can get work done. This is going to continue until sales of my second book-not released yet-can raise enough money for a new computer. Such is life.

I can still be reached via email or my website. Those get forwarded to my phone, so I know when I get email. There's always a way around problems, it just sometimes takes a little more time.


----------



## SB James

WDR said:


> Thanks, Cora! I confirm I'm on for the 2014-10-26 date.
> 
> I'm still having computer issues, I'm borrowing my father's computer when available so I can get work done. This is going to continue until sales of my second book--not released yet--can raise enough money for a new computer. Such is life.
> 
> I can still be reached via email or my website. Those get forwarded to my phone, so I know when I get email. There's always a way around problems, it just sometimes takes a little more time.


Hang in there! I hope you can get your next book up soon with your father's computer.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

William, I hope you get your next book done and your problems sorted out.

Vaal, I've pencilled you in for November 2. 

The schedule now looks as follows:

14.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: free
16.11.2014:	free


----------



## kyokominamino

Hey guys! I'm having a mini-contest on my Facebook page and it'd be super helpful if anyone wanted to participate. If we get this post to 10 likes by 5:00pm EST, I will post an all-new excerpt from my upcoming third novel, The Holy Dark: https://www.facebook.com/161227150647087/photos/a.176062272496908.23057.161227150647087/514434188659713/?type=1. My Facebook fans are notorious for lack of involvement, so I'm trying to get a response. Any signal boosting is appreciated. Thanks!

If we do pull it off, the excerpt will be posted at 6:00pm EST for your reading enjoyment.


----------



## unkownwriter

I wanted to let everyone know that since I haven't gotten any takers for any of the dates in October past the sixth, I'm going to have Jolie** send her bio and stuff to Amelia for her post. Jolie is scheduled for November 10. On November 17, we have Jessica Fry scheduled, and then that's it. Still lots of open dates, for anyone who'd like to participate.

Jessie, thanks for blogging about the hop. Also, thanks to Sandra and to Cora (and Heidi, and anyone I'm drawing a blank on) for their posts, and the other stuff they do for the hop and for the showcase.

** I'll send you an email, Jolie.


----------



## unkownwriter

WDR said:


> Such is life.


I get you, William. I live in fear my old computer is going to bite the dust, and I'll be reduced to working on an old Netbook.  We've already replaced the hard drive, with a second-hand one, and were lucky I didn't lose anything -- except what my son didn't transfer over, because he didn't think I "needed" it!.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Just updated my sig! Part 1 of my post-apocalyptic western is officially out in the world.


----------



## The 13th Doctor

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Just updated my sig! Part 1 of my post-apocalyptic western is officially out in the world.


Congrats! I'll need to put it on my To-Buy list. Since I'm releasing a western (and steampunk) book myself next month I've really got into the genre and I find the addition of post-apocalyptic in your western very interesting. 

As for my High Five moment, my urban fantasy book, The Trouble With Pixies is currently #1 in the Kindle Short Reads > 30 mins > Science Fiction and Fantasy (free) list on Amazon.com! I used SweetFreeBooks.com for a promo today and it's netted me over 150 downloads.

*Amazon Best Sellers Rank*: #1,427 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy
#4 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Literature & Fiction

This sort of thing never happens to me (being that high in a list) so I'm very happy.


----------



## SB James

garam81 said:


> Congrats! I'll need to put it on my To-Buy list. Since I'm releasing a western (and steampunk) book myself next month I've really got into the genre and I find the addition of post-apocalyptic in your western very interesting.
> 
> As for my High Five moment, my urban fantasy book, The Trouble With Pixies is currently #1 in the Kindle Short Reads > 30 mins > Science Fiction and Fantasy (free) list on Amazon.com! I used SweetFreeBooks.com for a promo today and it's netted me over 150 downloads.
> 
> *Amazon Best Sellers Rank*: #1,427 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
> #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy
> #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Literature & Fiction
> 
> This sort of thing never happens to me (being that high in a list) so I'm very happy.


Nice! Enjoy it!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on the new book, Elliot. Looks great.

And congrats on your good sales, Gayle.

My entry in the "Meet My Character" blog hop is up: http://www.amazon.com/Cora-Buhlert/e/B005F04ZJW/

And here is the schedule so far, amended because I completely forgot E.W. Pierce:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: free
16.11.2014:	Gayle Ramage/Izzy Hunter?
23.11.2014: free
30.11.2014: free

I've provisionally put Gayle in for November 16, because her book comes out in November 14. So November 9 is still free, as is November 23 and up.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'll sign up for the 'meet my character' hop. The 9th of Nov is fine.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I've pencilled you in, Elliot. 

Here is the updated schedule for the Meet My Character blog hop:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Gayle Ramage/Izzy Hunter
23.11.2014:	free
30.11.2014:	free


----------



## Harry Manners

Huge congrats, Elliot. Looks like a great story!


----------



## The 13th Doctor

Thanks for adding me, Cora. 

We can just use the Izzy Hunter name. I need to add a page for that pen name on my website, anyway.


----------



## Patty Jansen

And! Book 3 of the For Queen And Country series is live (see my signature).


----------



## The 13th Doctor

Patty Jansen said:


> And! Book 3 of the For Queen And Country series is live (see my signature).


Congrats, Patty.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Thanks. Now waiting for the massive deluge of sales... oh, wait!


----------



## The 13th Doctor

I've just downloaded a copy of Innocence Lost. Love the cover!

By the way, it's doing well over here on the UK site -

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,039 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#34 in Kindle Store > Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Historical


----------



## Patty Jansen

Thanks!

My sales in the UK have been better than in the US for the last few weeks.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on the new book, Patty.

And if anybody else wants to participate in the "Meet My Character" blog hop, November 23 and up are free.


----------



## The 13th Doctor

Clicked on Watcher's Web and downloaded a copy, as well. Jessica sounds like my kind of gal!



Patty Jansen said:


> My sales in the UK have been better than in the US for the last few weeks.


We obviously have better taste.


----------



## Todd Gunn

Ahh...This thread looks like a home for me.

Hello!  And I'll be back in a week when i have read through it


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Just updated my sig! Part 1 of my post-apocalyptic western is officially out in the world.


Congratulations, Eliot! And Patty and Gayle. 

Cora, I'm off to meet your character...


----------



## unkownwriter

Elliot, Patty and Gayle, congratulations!

Somebody give Todd the map so he can find his way back. He's got a lot of catching up to do!

Cora, that link goes to your Amazon author page, but I clicked on your blog link from there, and loved your post. Holly sounds like the kind of character I can enjoy reading about.

I'd be willing to do a Meet My Character hop post in December, if you want to pencil me in. I should have more work up by then, so I'll have a choice of characters to write about.


----------



## Ceinwen

Congrats on the new releases, everyone!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Oops, my bad. Here is the real link:

http://corabuhlert.com/2014/10/05/meet-my-character-holly-di-marco/

As for the blog hop, I have expanded the schedule through December, so there are plenty of free dates to sign up:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Gayle Ramage/Izzy Hunter
23.11.2014:	free
30.11.2014:	free
07.12.2014:	free
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	free
28.12.2014:	free


----------



## Guest

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> I wanted to let everyone know that since I haven't gotten any takers for any of the dates in October past the sixth, I'm going to have Jolie** send her bio and stuff to Amelia for her post. Jolie is scheduled for November 10. On November 17, we have Jessica Fry scheduled, and then that's it. Still lots of open dates, for anyone who'd like to participate.
> 
> Jessie, thanks for blogging about the hop. Also, thanks to Sandra and to Cora (and Heidi, and anyone I'm drawing a blank on) for their posts, and the other stuff they do for the hop and for the showcase.
> 
> ** I'll send you an email, Jolie.


Hello! Back from New York. I got your email, and I'll take care of that now. Thanks for giving me November 10th. I look forward to it!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> I wanted to let everyone know that since I haven't gotten any takers for any of the dates in October past the sixth, I'm going to have Jolie** send her bio and stuff to Amelia for her post. Jolie is scheduled for November 10. On November 17, we have Jessica Fry scheduled, and then that's it. Still lots of open dates, for anyone who'd like to participate.
> 
> Jessie, thanks for blogging about the hop. Also, thanks to Sandra and to Cora (and Heidi, and anyone I'm drawing a blank on) for their posts, and the other stuff they do for the hop and for the showcase.
> 
> ** I'll send you an email, Jolie.


Thanks, Sheila! Sorry, I missed this earlier.


----------



## RuthNestvold

Hi folks! I haven't been on Kboards much for a long time, must try to remember to stop by a bit more often.  

Congrats on the new releases, Patty, Gayle and Elliot! 

I'd sign up for the Nov. 23 meet the character slot. I have a new novella coming out Oct. 28, so that might be a good addition to other promotional efforts I'm trying to do. Hopefully it won't be too long after the publication date.


----------



## Randall Boleyn

Hey Cora,
I sent you a request for my newest release Wave Links for your 11-23 Character slot if it is still available.
Thanks


----------



## Indecisive

I can't keep up with this thread! Congratulations to all where congratulations are due!

I've got my post up on the Spec Fic Blog Hop! http://ameliasmith.net/2014/10/speculative-fiction-writing-process-blog-hop/

Things are pretty busy around here today, so I'm sprinting off again!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

ameliasmith said:


> I can't keep up with this thread! Congratulations to all where congratulations are due!
> 
> I've got my post up on the Spec Fic Blog Hop! http://ameliasmith.net/2014/10/speculative-fiction-writing-process-blog-hop/
> 
> Things are pretty busy around here today, so I'm sprinting off again!


Woohoo! Thanks Amelia (and Sheila). I'll be doing my weekly round-up tomorrow (all being well).


----------



## 68564

So my first audio book is finally out!


http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Enemy-of-an-Enemy-Audiobook/B00O4DCA9S/


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Vincent, congrats on the audio book.

Sorry, Ruth, but I already gave November 23 to Randall, because I saw his request first. However, I've pencilled you in for November 30.

If you want to do some promotion for your new release closer to the release date, you can always submit it to the Speculative Fiction Showcase for a new release spotlight or do an author interview or a guest post. This goes for everybody else as well. The submission info is here: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/p/authors.html

The updated meet my character blog hop schedule now looks as follows:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Gayle Ramage/Izzy Hunter
23.11.2014:	Randall Boleyn
30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
07.12.2014:	free
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	free
28.12.2014:	free


----------



## markhealy

VydorScope said:


> So my first audio book is finally out!
> 
> 
> http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Enemy-of-an-Enemy-Audiobook/B00O4DCA9S/


Very cool! I had a listen to the sample and it sounds great.


----------



## SB James

VydorScope said:


> So my first audio book is finally out!
> 
> 
> http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Enemy-of-an-Enemy-Audiobook/B00O4DCA9S/


Exciting! Congratulations!
Also, Cora, I thinks it's so great that there are so many slots filled for the Meet My Character hop! And one of these days I think I'll be up for the Speculative Fiction Showcase. If I can ever get this book finished.


----------



## markhealy

I'm finally finished my first novel and I've locked in Nov 3 for the release date. I'm very excited because I started writing novels over 20 years ago, and now I'm finally going to have one see the light of day. I thought I'd share the cover and blurb with you all!

--
*The Earth is in ruins. Cities and nations destroyed. Those who survive the onslaught succumb to the cold blackness of winter. A handful of machines finally emerge into the light, lost and directionless. They are the last remnants of civilisation.

Brant is a synthetic - a machine who has the appearance and emotions of the humans who made him. He is hunted across the wasteland by cruel scavengers known as Marauders who are intent on cannibalising his body to prolong their own lives.

Brant carries a great burden as he tries to return home: a secret that can change the world. Against the unforgiving desert, the twisted denizens of this new world and his own dark past he needs to find a way back at any cost.*


----------



## 68564

markhealy said:


> Very cool! I had a listen to the sample and it sounds great.





SB James said:


> Exciting! Congratulations!





CoraBuhlert said:


> Vincent, congrats on the audio book.


Thanks all!  Now to get book two....


----------



## mphicks

markhealy said:


> I'm finally finished my first novel and I've locked in Nov 3 for the release date. I'm very excited because I started writing novels over 20 years ago, and now I'm finally going to have one see the light of day. I thought I'd share the cover and blurb with you all!
> 
> --
> *The Earth is in ruins. Cities and nations destroyed. Those who survive the onslaught succumb to the cold blackness of winter. A handful of machines finally emerge into the light, lost and directionless. They are the last remnants of civilisation.
> 
> Brant is a synthetic - a machine who has the appearance and emotions of the humans who made him. He is hunted across the wasteland by cruel scavengers known as Marauders who are intent on cannibalising his body to prolong their own lives.
> 
> Brant carries a great burden as he tries to return home: a secret that can change the world. Against the unforgiving desert, the twisted denizens of this new world and his own dark past he needs to find a way back at any cost.*


I'm digging the cover, Mark, and nice blurb, too; sounds really interesting. I'm going to have to mark the calendar for 11/3. Good luck!


----------



## hs

markhealy said:


> I'm finally finished my first novel and I've locked in Nov 3 for the release date. I'm very excited because I started writing novels over 20 years ago, and now I'm finally going to have one see the light of day. I thought I'd share the cover and blurb with you all!
> 
> --
> *The Earth is in ruins. Cities and nations destroyed. Those who survive the onslaught succumb to the cold blackness of winter. A handful of machines finally emerge into the light, lost and directionless. They are the last remnants of civilisation.
> 
> Brant is a synthetic - a machine who has the appearance and emotions of the humans who made him. He is hunted across the wasteland by cruel scavengers known as Marauders who are intent on cannibalising his body to prolong their own lives.
> 
> Brant carries a great burden as he tries to return home: a secret that can change the world. Against the unforgiving desert, the twisted denizens of this new world and his own dark past he needs to find a way back at any cost.*


Congratulations, Mark! It sounds very interesting, and I think the cover looks great!


----------



## heidi_g

Mark, Congratulations, the cover is awesome!

Vince, Congratulations on your audiobook!

And to any I missed! (eek! sorry!) this thread is moving fast


----------



## Jamie Maltman

After seeing Jessica's review by Donald Crankshaw at Black Gate (fantasy magazine), I tried my luck at contacting him and he accepted.

So here's the solid review (for my first book), with some spoilers:

http://www.blackgate.com/2014/10/05/85456/

It's so interesting how one person's favorite part of a book is another's least. I find it absolutely fascinating.  I guess it's because I have some historical setting stuff, a little bit of war/battling, some politics/machinations, some romance, some mentoring/learning about magic. If you like all of those things, great, but if you like some to the exclusion of others... your review may be mixed. And I'm cool with that.

(Certainly better than the one guy who reviewed my book and thought the plot was confusing... as opposed to everybody else who haven't said anything in that direction whatsoever. Outlier.)


----------



## markhealy

Thanks Michael, HS and Heidi!


----------



## SB James

Jamie Maltman said:


> After seeing Jessica's review by Donald Crankshaw at Black Gate (fantasy magazine), I tried my luck at contacting him and he accepted.
> 
> So here's the solid review (for my first book), with some spoilers:
> 
> http://www.blackgate.com/2014/10/05/85456/
> 
> It's so interesting how one person's favorite part of a book is another's least. I find it absolutely fascinating.  I guess it's because I have some historical setting stuff, a little bit of war/battling, some politics/machinations, some romance, some mentoring/learning about magic. If you like all of those things, great, but if you like some to the exclusion of others... your review may be mixed. And I'm cool with that.
> 
> (Certainly better than the one guy who reviewed my book and thought the plot was confusing... as opposed to everybody else who haven't said anything in that direction whatsoever. Outlier.)


It is fascinating, which is why discerning readers consider all of this when reading reviews of a book.


----------



## R. M. Webb

Just popping in to say hello, I think I belong here.


----------



## markhealy

Hey R. M., welcome! Nice to see another new face.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Hello R.M! Welcome to the longest thread in the history of the multiverse 

Vincent and Mark, congratulations on the new books, and awesome cover art.

Jamie - so glad you got reviewed by Black Gate. I think that Donald Crankshaw is one of the few bloggers/magazines to seriously review indie SF&F. I've approached so many places and either heard nothing, or found that they only review trad published stuff.


----------



## SB James

JessieCar said:


> Hello R.M! Welcome to the longest thread in the history of the multiverse


Yes, I think this thread did get longer than even the KU thread, didn't it?


----------



## 68564

I think the thread which should not be named is longer... but I fear to go digging and look.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

The thousand word a day club is definitely longer (at 66 pages currently) and "Have you posted to your blog recently?" is longer as well.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Looks great, Mark!

And congrats on the Audiobook, vydorscope. I heard the first 15 mins of mine the other day.

Oh! And my new novella is currently #2 in 'Western Science Fiction'.


----------



## Vaalingrade

I blame my friend for this: I'm doing a Rune Breaker Xmas special. It, of course, features, the wholly frivolous use of epic magic because Ru can never use his spells in a reasonable manner.

Speaking of which, if folks want to put together some Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Superhero stuff for Christmas, I'm already putting some thought into doing a Free short collection themed around Fantasy stories about Christmas Analogs. Because I read too much TV Tropes, I'm internally calling it 'Happy Crystal Dragon Jesus Day' (after the name of the trope for Spec-Fic stories with analogs to Real World religions). This will NOT be the final name.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Oh! And my new novella is currently #2 in 'Western Science Fiction'.


Congratulations, Elliot! That's really nifty.



Vaalingrade said:


> Speaking of which, if folks want to put together some Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Superhero stuff for Christmas, I'm already putting some thought into doing a Free short collection themed around Fantasy stories about Christmas Analogs. Because I read too much TV Tropes, I'm internally calling it 'Happy Crystal Dragon Jesus Day' (after the name of the trope for Spec-Fic stories with analogs to Real World religions). This will NOT be the final name.


I think that 'Happy Crystal Dragon Jesus Day' sounds a pretty irresistible title.


----------



## SB James

I got my "Meet My Character" blog hop post up:
http://sbjamestheauthor.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop/
And, it's my 50th post on the blog! I can't believe I made 50 blog posts...
Of course, if I go and delete the two posts I did about my book cover dilemma, then I'd be back down to 48 again.


----------



## Ceinwen

I love your cover, Mark! Congrats on the looming debut date!


----------



## Guest

CoraBuhlert said:


> Vincent, congrats on the audio book.
> 
> Sorry, Ruth, but I already gave November 23 to Randall, because I saw his request first. However, I've pencilled you in for November 30.
> 
> If you want to do some promotion for your new release closer to the release date, you can always submit it to the Speculative Fiction Showcase for a new release spotlight or do an author interview or a guest post. This goes for everybody else as well. The submission info is here: http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/p/authors.html
> 
> The updated meet my character blog hop schedule now looks as follows:
> 
> 07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
> 15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
> 21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
> 28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
> 05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
> 12.10.2014:	SB James
> 19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pre
> 26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
> 02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
> 09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
> 16.11.2014:	Gayle Ramage/Izzy Hunter
> 23.11.2014:	Randall Boleyn
> 30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
> 07.12.2014:	free
> 14.12.2014:	free
> 21.12.2014:	free
> 28.12.2014:	free


*ATTENTION* - *William D Richards*!!!! I hope you're reading this! I need your info for this hop. My post is this 19th, and I need to introduce you!!!! Please PM me.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Sorry to miss the last few blog hop announcements. I've been been moving and am now pretty much settled into my new home. Kitty is coming out from her hiding place more frequently, so she's settling in too.

What I like about the blog hop is getting that nudge to go visit the site of someone whose posts I read all the time on Kboards.

Amelia Smith: http://ameliasmith.net/2014/10/speculative-fiction-writing-process-blog-hop/

S B James: http://sbjamestheauthor.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/

And previous posts...
Dean F. Wilson: http://deanfwilson.com/2014/09/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Carole McDonnell: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/2014/09/speculative-fiction-writing-blog-hop.html
Harry Manners: http://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Sheila Guthrie: http://newsfromsheilasworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Vincent Trigili: http://www.losttalesofpower.com/2014/08/18/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Ceinwen Langley: http://ceinwenlangley.com/2014/08/11/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Kevin Hardman: http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
Cora Buhlert: http://corabuhlert.com/2014/07/28/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Jessica Rydill: http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/speculative-fiction-writing-process.html
Jamie Maltman: http://www.jamiemaltman.com/2014/07/14/writing-process-blog-tour/
Marilyn Peake: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6593691-speculative-fiction-blog-hop
Nic Wilson: http://nicolaswilson.com/index.php/announcements-1/spec-fic-blog-hop
David Pagan: http://davidpagan.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Travis Hill: http://www.angrygames.com/?p=699
Cherise Kelley: http://size12bystpatricksday.blogspot.com/2014/06/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html
RJ Crayton: http://www.rjcrayton.com/2014/06/02/speculative-fiction-writing-method-blog-hop/
Sandra K. Williams: http://sandrakwilliams.net/?p=360
S. Elliot Brandis: http://selliotbrandis.com/2014/05/18/the-speculative-fiction-blog-hop/
Elle Chambers: http://indiespiritpress.com/2014/05/12/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
William D. Richards: http://blog.williamdrichards.com/2014/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html
Michael Patrick Hicks: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2014/05/05/the-writing-process-blog-tour/
Cat Amesbury: http://catamesbury.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/the-writing-process-blog-hop/
Heidi Garrett: http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html#blog

If you're a spec fic author and want to participate in the blog hop, contact Sheila_Guthrie.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

SB James said:


> I got my "Meet My Character" blog hop post up:
> http://sbjamestheauthor.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop/
> And, it's my 50th post on the blog! I can't believe I made 50 blog posts...
> Of course, if I go and delete the two posts I did about my book cover dilemma, then I'd be back down to 48 again.


Great stuff, SB! Congratulations on your 50th post. Have you managed to get hold of William D, Richards? I think he has an email addy on his blog...



Sandra K. Williams said:


> Sorry to miss the last few blog hop announcements. I've been been moving and am now pretty much settled into my new home. Kitty is coming out from her hiding place more frequently, so she's settling in too.
> 
> What I like about the blog hop is getting that nudge to go visit the site of someone whose posts I read all the time on Kboards.
> 
> Amelia Smith: http://ameliasmith.net/2014/10/speculative-fiction-writing-process-blog-hop/
> 
> S B James: http://sbjamestheauthor.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/speculative-fiction-blog-hop/


I'm so glad the move went ok, Sandra. I've rather dropped the ball, but have now updated the running list with a link to Amelia's post.

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/speculative-fiction-blog-hop-amelia.html


----------



## Indecisive

Thanks for keeping the blog hop going. I'm glad I could join in!

I'm currently tearing my hair out over formatting. I feel like I'm re-learning from scratch again. Maybe I'll get the hang of it eventually.


----------



## WDR

JessieCar said:


> Have you managed to get hold of William D, Richards? I think he has an email addy on his blog...


Yup, I'm in there.

Best place to reach me first is via my website which has a contact page that goes directly to me. The blog doesn't actually list my active email.

I'm still sans computer, but borrowing/sharing is working adequately. I'm not quite up to my previous level of production, but that is improving as I adapt to a new norm for now.


----------



## bethrevis

Hi all--I'm so happy to see a spec fic thread, and wanted to introduce myself here (hoping this is the appropriate place and this okay?).

I write science fiction for teenagers. My first trilogy, starting with _Across the Universe_, was published by Penguin/Razorbill and was a wonderful experience. But the next SF I wrote, _The Body Electric,_ didn't fit with my publisher's catalog, so I took the leap and self published it earlier this month. It's been a steep learning curve, but I've really enjoyed the whole process and am eager to see if I can make self publishing work as a viable option for me.










The quick tagline for this book is: _Blade Runner_ meets _Total Recall_. It's about a teen who can use a unique technology to enhance people's memories, but when she discovers that she can also spy on those memories, the government wants her to use them to stop a terrorist plot. However, she soon learns that someone's already tampered with her memory, and there's no one she can trust, not even herself.

This is one of my first posts on the K Boards, and I'm eager to learn more! Thanks for the awesome forum.


----------



## heidi_g

Hi Beth, welcome! If you'd like to get your new book as a new release on the Indie Spec Fic showcase

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,193539.0.html

please send me an email

Hi everyone! Good to see the thread keep busy. Just got back from a road trip to Indie Recon. It wasn't Spec Fic but there were many spec fic authors there. The con was focused on the business side of things and I'm hoping to make at least one post to the showcase. It seems the consensus is that as far as marketing: Nothing that used to work is, and no one really knows what will


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome to KBoards, Beth. I enjoyed your _Across the Universe_ trilogy a whole lot and I think you'll fit right in here.

Heidi, good to have you back. Hope you enjoyed Indie Recon.

William, good to hear from you again. Could you send your bio and info and any links to Jolie du Pré for the "Meet My Character" bloghop, if you haven't done so already? Up after you is Landon Porter a.k.a. Vaalingrade. He should send you his bio/info/links. If he doesn't, let me know.

Here is the schedule of the Meet My Character blog hop. The entire December is still free, so there are some excellent opportunities to introduce people to your character ahead of the holidays.

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Gayle Ramage/Izzy Hunter
23.11.2014:	Randall Boleyn
30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
07.12.2014:	free
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	free
28.12.2014:	free

I'll also do a post, probably over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase, collecting all the posts in the blog hop to date, because we've met some really fascinating characters so far.


----------



## Ceinwen

Elliot, I just finished Once Upon A Time With The Very Long Title and loved it! Can't believe you're pumping this out while working on a trilogy.


----------



## Vaalingrade

CoraBuhlert said:


> William, good to hear from you again. Could you send your bio and info and any links to Jolie du Pre for the "Meet My Character" bloghop, if you haven't done so already? Up after you is Landon Porter a.k.a. Vaalingrade. He should send you his bio/info/links. If he doesn't, let me know.


What all needs to be sent?


----------



## SB James

JessieCar said:


> Great stuff, SB! Congratulations on your 50th post.


Thanks! I've always been such a slacker with blogging in the past!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Vaalingrade said:


> What all needs to be sent?


Definitely your bio, an author photo or book cover (whichever you prefer) and any links you'd like to have included. You can contact William via the contact form on his website.


----------



## taiweiland

Hi there! I'm new. Write space opera. Hope to release Distant Stars Episode 1 in December. Can I join in the fun eventhough I've not published a word yet?


----------



## 68564

taiweiland said:


> Hi there! I'm new. Write space opera. Hope to release Distant Stars Episode 1 in December. Can I join in the fun eventhough I've not published a word yet?


Sure! Welcom!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Elliot, I just finished Once Upon A Time With The Very Long Title and loved it! Can't believe you're pumping this out while working on a trilogy.


Thanks, Cei!

I saw your review on Goodreads this morning -- really glad you liked it.


----------



## Guest

WDR said:


> Yup, I'm in there.
> 
> Best place to reach me first is via my website which has a contact page that goes directly to me. The blog doesn't actually list my active email.
> 
> I'm still sans computer, but borrowing/sharing is working adequately. I'm not quite up to my previous level of production, but that is improving as I adapt to a new norm for now.


William, I'm contacting you via your website now! I need your info A.S.A.P.!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Holy moley. I finished the first draft of a short story / novelette today. It's for a currently unannounced anthology of awesomeness. 

I'm really excited about my story. I merge space exploration with baseball and country music. I love it so much.


----------



## Victoria J

Vincent, that audio book looks cool!

I just released the second book in my Mission series (also in my sig below)










Congrats to everyone with new releases!


----------



## Guest

My *Meet My Character* post is up.

http://www.preciousmonsters.com/2014/10/meet-my-character-jennifer-benton.html

(William, I never heard from you. So I went ahead and put in the information that I have. If you'd like it expanded, email me!)


----------



## 68564

Victoria J said:


> Vincent, that audio book looks cool!
> 
> I just released the second book in my Mission series (also in my sig below)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats to everyone with new releases!


Hey thanks! and Congrats on your release!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Adding my congrats on your new release to Vincent's, V.A. Your cover looks great.

Jolie, I love your introduction of Jennifer Benton. I've tweeted and +1 your post. Sometime next week, I'll also do a round-up of "Meet My Character" posts to date over on the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

If anybody else wants to introduce one of their characters, we still have free dates in December and beyond.


----------



## Guest

CoraBuhlert said:


> Jolie, I love your introduction of Jennifer Benton. I've tweeted and +1 your post. Sometime next week, I'll also do a round-up of "Meet My Character" posts to date over on the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


THANK YOU!!


----------



## Victoria J

CoraBuhlert said:


> Adding my congrats on your new release to Vincent's, V.A. Your cover looks great.


Thanks!


----------



## WDR

Vaalingrade said:


> What all needs to be sent?


 Val, just send a quick contact message to me and I can respond from my actual email address.

(My email is heavily filtered, so the website contact page is the best way to get around the filtering.)


----------



## erikhanberg

bethrevis said:


>


Beth, I seriously love this cover. Great look!


----------



## Andrei Cherascu

Hey guys, 

I'm a life-long reader and month-long author of sci-fi and I'd love to join your merry band of spec-nerds. (I had intended to write spec-fic nerds first, but I speak German and it just sounded wrong) Hope I'm not late to the party. Looking forward to getting to know you all. 

Andrei


----------



## Vaalingrade

Welcome to tha party, pal!

Oh, and hey, has everyone seen this thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,188422.0/topicseen.html

In the shadowy cabal of another group I'm part of, I've started the ball rolling on putting together a Superhero reader App with subgenre sorting capability, but we should be discussing it too for Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Fantasy, etc.

Just as a personal note, I'd kill for an app where I could narrow by setting. Steampunk without zombies; High magic, low darkness setting; Sci-Fi with magical technology--that sort of thing.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome to the party, Andrei. So you speak German (me, too)? Going by your name, I would have assumed you're Romanian, but then there's quite a few German speaking Romanians.

The "fic" in "spec fic" doesn't bother me, probably because it's spelled differently from the other word that would make Betsy get out her cattle prod. However, I can never say the name of the well known SF trade magazine Locus out loud without dissolving into giggles, because "locus" is also a euphemism for toilet in my region. 

Vaal, yup, I've seen the other thread. I like the idea of genre specific apps, especially since they don't seem to have an SF app at all. The closest they have is a horror app and a paranormal/vampire/dystopian app, which is where my space opera landed. Still, I got sales I didn't have before, so I'm quite happy.

BTW, would superheroes include masked and costumed avengers with no superpowers? Cause in that case, my Silencer series would fit.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Yup, that'd still be a superhero. I have a series of posts on my site where I give a walkthrough of a genre; what is is, what i can be, and one part is all about defining 'superhero'. Powers isn't the important part, it's that they address a conflict that the society they live n either cannot or will not even though they recognize it as a problem.

So anyone that takes on criminals the cops can't tough (physically or legally) ticks that box, but there are a few others. Superhero is actually as big and broad a pool as Fantasy, it's just relatively new and the boundaries haven't been tested yet.


----------



## Andrei Cherascu

CoraBuhlert said:


> Welcome to the party, Andrei. So you speak German (me, too)? Going by your name, I would have assumed you're Romanian, but then there's quite a few German speaking Romanians.
> 
> The "fic" in "spec fic" doesn't bother me, probably because it's spelled differently from the other word that would make Betsy get out her cattle prod. However, I can never say the name of the well known SF trade magazine Locus out loud without dissolving into giggles, because "locus" is also a euphemism for toilet in my region.
> 
> Vaal, yup, I've seen the other thread. I like the idea of genre specific apps, especially since they don't seem to have an SF app at all. The closest they have is a horror app and a paranormal/vampire/dystopian app, which is where my space opera landed. Still, I got sales I didn't have before, so I'm quite happy.
> 
> BTW, would superheroes include masked and costumed avengers with no superpowers? Cause in that case, my Silencer series would fit.


Cora, thank you. It's great to be part of the community  I am actually Romanian but I speak German because my grandmother was Austrian. I studied German in high-school and university. In fact, the first book I ever published was a collection of German poetry called _Das Ende der Kindheit_ (Childhood's End for those who don't speak German - yup, I totally stole the title from Arthur C Clarke; even then, in 2004, I was dreaming of one day writing a scifi ). If you google my name and the title you might find some signs of it in some dark corners of the internet 

I always laugh at the Locus thing too, but for another reason. I used to work in tech-support for a big company. Most of my customers were German and a lot of the time they would call to complain that their Lotus Notes wasn't working. You can imagine what they called it


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I used Lotus Smartsuite way back when, but I actually could remember the correct name, probably because calling it "toilet" would have been too embarrassing.

Anyway, I made a round-up post over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase (which is open for submissions, if you have a new release to announce, a guest post to submit or would like to do an interview) of the "Meet My Character" blog hop posts to date.

As you can see, we still have dates free in December, so if anybody is interested in introducing their character, please let me know.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Victoria J said:


> Vincent, that audio book looks cool!
> 
> I just released the second book in my Mission series (also in my sig below)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats to everyone with new releases!


Congratulations on the new release, V.A!

Andrei, good to meet you. I've got the Spec Fic stuff and will be emailing soon.


----------



## heidi_g

Victoria J said:


> Vincent, that audio book looks cool!
> 
> I just released the second book in my Mission series (also in my sig below)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats to everyone with new releases!


Victoria, Congratulations on your new release! Your first series looks awesome!

Jolie, love your new avi. I'm a huge Amy Winehouse fan, she's on my ringtone!

Andrie, Welcome!

It's always awesome to see this thread so busy


----------



## tiffanycherney

Hi all,
I've been lurking in this thread long enough so I thought I'd finally introduce myself. I write mainly fantasy, though I'm working a sci-fi hybrid series for next year in between books of my epic fantasy series. I look forward to hanging out with you all.


----------



## Andrei Cherascu

Tiffany, welcome! 

I'm actually trying to write a scifi with a fantasy "feel" right now, so I guess that would be a hybrid too.   Good to have you on board!

Andrei


----------



## Andrei Cherascu

JessieCar said:


> Congratulations on the new release, V.A!
> 
> Andrei, good to meet you. I've got the Spec Fic stuff and will be emailing soon.


Jessica, it's great to meet you too  Glad to know you got my e-mail, I'm always paranoid about e-mail delivery since working in IT. (that's why I wrote that comment about the Spam folder)


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Andrei, I know what you mean. I check my Spam folder regularly.


----------



## mphicks

Is anybody from here taking part in Sci-Fi November this year?

I'll be posting some stuff throughout the month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it can help me net a few sales, but am mostly just looking to have some fun and get my geek on for a few days. I'm curious is anyone else from this group is doing the same.

If not, and you want more details, check out http://www.ohthebooks.com/sci-fi-november-2014/. It's being hosted by Rinn Read and Oh, The Books!


----------



## Lucas Bale

mphicks said:


> Is anybody from here taking part in Sci-Fi November this year?
> 
> I'll be posting some stuff throughout the month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it can help me net a few sales, but am mostly just looking to have some fun and get my geek on for a few days. I'm curious is anyone else from this group is doing the same.
> 
> If not, and you want more details, check out http://www.ohthebooks.com/sci-fi-november-2014/. It's being hosted by Rinn Read and Oh, The Books!


I'll take a look at that, thanks Mike. Also, I thought I'd post about my upcoming release strategy and, if anyone wants to help promote, that would be great. All three are on Goodreads now, so if you want to take a look, click on my author page below.

I have written an 11,000 word short called _What it Means to Survive_ and my intention is to release that on November 10th. A day before, November 9th, I will put _Defiance_ (the second book in my series) up for pre-order. I intend to price the short story as free for three days, so it will be in KDP Select. Hopefully, that will increase pick-up, and a short means, if readers like it, they might pre-order _Defiance_ straight away, especially as it might be almost immediately available after they've finished. After the three days, it will be permanently priced at 99c.

_Defiance_ will be available on November 17th, so it'll be up on pre-order for a week only. When I release _Defiance_ I am going to make _The Heretic _free for a few days too, and set _Defiance_ at 99c for a week. It's a full-length novel. I'll probably put it at $2.99 or $3.99 permanently after that, excepting the odd promotion.

I am going to look at advertising _Defiance_ on Book Bassett, and apply for Bookbub for _The Heretic_. I know Bookbub is a shot in the dark, I know. But I intend to do Book Bassett on December 15th, for _Defiance_ at 99c and make _The Heretic_ and _What it Means to Survive_ free for two days then.

Additionally, I intend to do a GR Giveaway (5 signed books) which starts a week before release (i.e. November 10th) and finishes a week after. Most authors see there is only really uptake at the beginning and end of a GR Giveaway, so a long period is not necessary. Also, when it finished, I noticed quite a few sales (those who didn't win). So I'm thinking that will help as my ranking begin to fall at the end of the week.

There you have it. NaNoWriMo, Sci-fi November and two books out. November will be busy...

One question: *where do you promote free books? Where would your default "always promote here" places be for a book having a free run?*


----------



## WDR

Character Blog Tour entry is now up and running: http://goo.gl/M5wT9w

Just a few hours late.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

WDR said:


> Character Blog Tour entry is now up and running: http://goo.gl/M5wT9w
> 
> Just a few hours late.


Much better late than never! Glad you finally made it, today, and this week.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Good to see that you made it, William. I've +1 and tweeted your post and will also include it the next time I make a round-up post for the blog hop.

Anyway, here is the schedule as it currently stands. Izzy Hunter had to bow out, so we now have an opening on November 16, if anybody wants to take it. December 14 is also still free as well as December 28 and anything beyond:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	free
23.11.2014:	Randall Boleyn
30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
07.12.2014:	Robert Dahlen 
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	free
04.01.2015:    free
11.01.2015:    free


----------



## Christine Reyes

Vaalingrade said:


> Yup, that'd still be a superhero. I have a series of posts on my site where I give a walkthrough of a genre; what is is, what i can be, and one part is all about defining 'superhero'. Powers isn't the important part, it's that they address a conflict that the society they live n either cannot or will not even though they recognize it as a problem.
> 
> So anyone that takes on criminals the cops can't tough (physically or legally) ticks that box, but there are a few others. Superhero is actually as big and broad a pool as Fantasy, it's just relatively new and the boundaries haven't been tested yet.


This is such a great definition of superhero fiction! I definitely want to read that series of posts when I get a chance...

Is anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year? I'm trying to increase my productivity and am hoping that having a solid, external deadline will help motivate me.


----------



## RuthNestvold

Welcome Andrei from an infrequent poster and another speaker of German! (I'm American, but I live in Germany.)

The sci-fi month looks interesting, I'll have to spend a bit more time checking it out.

I published my new fantasy novella today! I never got around to contacting the showcase, because I was already pretty booked with guest posts on other blogs. But now that those are all written, maybe I can still sign up for something there.

Anyway, here's the cover and description for _Island of Glass_:










Seventeen-year-old Chiara Dragoni is a master glassmaker of Venice, a position that is both a privilege - and a trap. For the glassmakers of Murano are forbidden to ever leave the islands of the Venetian lagoon.

When Chiara's uncle is caught on the mainland and thrown into the dungeon of the Doge's Palace, she must use all her talents, including magic, to help free him. But the gift she creates for the prince of Venice has unintended consequences, and now Chiara must decide whether to give up everything - and everyone - she knows and loves in order to save her dream.

Set in an alternate historical Venice with alchemists, witches and magic, the story uses familiar motifs from the beloved fairy tale "Cinderella" to tell a tale with a very different message.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NVGGSL0


----------



## Robert Dahlen

CoraBuhlert said:


> Good to see that you made it, William. I've +1 and tweeted your post and will also include it the next time I make a round-up post for the blog hop.
> 
> Anyway, here is the schedule as it currently stands. Izzy Hunter had to bow out, so we now have an opening on November 16, if anybody wants to take it. December 14 is also still free as well as December 28 and anything beyond:
> 
> 07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
> 15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
> 21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
> 28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
> 05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
> 12.10.2014:	SB James
> 19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pre
> 26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
> 02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
> 09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
> 16.11.2014:	free
> 23.11.2014:	Randall Boleyn
> 30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
> 07.12.2014:	Robert Dahlen
> 14.12.2014:	free
> 21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
> 28.12.2014:	free
> 04.01.2015: free
> 11.01.2015: free


Cora, thanks for adding me! If no one else jumps in, I can take the 11/16 spot, but if someone else wants in, go ahead.

Oh, I haven't posted in this thread yet, have I? Um...hi. First time here, but I've been around KBoards the last few months. I write humorous adventure fantasy with cranky guinea pig sorcerers and awesome covers (by Willow). Book one is out now, and I'm hoping to release the second on Black Friday. What I write is different from almost everything else out there, but I hope to find a fanbase someday, and I'm having fun writing the stories.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Christine Reyes said:


> This is such a great definition of superhero fiction! I definitely want to read that series of posts when I get a chance...


Ask and ye shall receive:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3



> Is anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year? I'm trying to increase my productivity and am hoping that having a solid, external deadline will help motivate me.


Yep, doing a bunch of short projects: Two from the World of Ere, one from The Descendants.


----------



## twaltz

I'm new as well. So far I'm doing NA alternative history (the Chinese have colonized the US through a mostly bloodless economic attack). Planning to release two or three when covers are completed. My previous books are all in Chinese so I doubt even free days would boost them up the rankings much.


----------



## heidi_g

twaltz said:


> I'm new as well. So far I'm doing NA alternative history (the Chinese have colonized the US through a mostly bloodless economic attack).


that's alternative history?!?!? heehee

Welcome! and best luck on your new releases. When you're ready submit them to www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com!


----------



## heidi_g

Eden, welcome to you too! Please also submit your new releases to the Speculative Fiction showcase!


----------



## Vaalingrade

I need info from S. Elliot Brandis for the Meet My Character post.


----------



## unkownwriter

Hi, guys and gals! Long time no type. Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone about the two upcoming blog hop posts in November:


November 10:  Jolie du Pre
November 17:  Jessica Fry

As there hasn't been any further interest in participating in the hop, I'd like to call it closed after these two. Or at least let someone else take over organizing. 

I've been involved in some other stuff, and it looks like the rest of my year is going to be full. I'm still hoping to get the SF novel out, and maybe the sequel to the book in my signature. Add the writing load to all the work involved in getting things around my little homestead ready for winter, and I'm maxed out. 

So if anyone is interested in taking the reins, let me know. There's an email set up, and if you have Scrivener I can send the stuff I was using to keep up with everything (not that I was that great at it, but stuff happens, I guess).

Looks like there are some new members, welcome. This is a great group. Congratulations to everybody on sales and new books. It's such a thrill to be doing this, isn't it?


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Christine Reyes said:


> Is anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year? I'm trying to increase my productivity and am hoping that having a solid, external deadline will help motivate me.


I'm doing it! I've never managed to finish so far, but it seems like a great idea.



she-la-ti-da said:


> Hi, guys and gals! Long time no type. Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone about the two upcoming blog hop posts in November:
> 
> November 10: Jolie du Pre
> November 17: Jessica Fry
> 
> As there hasn't been any further interest in participating in the hop, I'd like to call it closed after these two. Or at least let someone else take over organizing.


Hi Sheila - nice to see you! I wonder if that particular blog hop has run its course? As there is the new "Meet my character" Blog Hop running now, maybe we should call it closed.

Greetings, earthlings! eden, twaltz and Robert. Nice to meet you. And Ruth - congratulations on_Island of Glass_! It has a beautiful cover. We would love to feature it on the Showcase when you're ready.



RuthNestvold said:


> Anyway, here's the cover and description for _Island of Glass_:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seventeen-year-old Chiara Dragoni is a master glassmaker of Venice, a position that is both a privilege -- and a trap. For the glassmakers of Murano are forbidden to ever leave the islands of the Venetian lagoon.
> 
> When Chiara's uncle is caught on the mainland and thrown into the dungeon of the Doge's Palace, she must use all her talents, including magic, to help free him. But the gift she creates for the prince of Venice has unintended consequences, and now Chiara must decide whether to give up everything -- and everyone -- she knows and loves in order to save her dream.
> 
> Set in an alternate historical Venice with alchemists, witches and magic, the story uses familiar motifs from the beloved fairy tale "Cinderella" to tell a tale with a very different message.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NVGGSL0


----------



## Jamie Maltman

RuthNestvold said:


> Welcome Andrei from an infrequent poster and another speaker of German! (I'm American, but I live in Germany.)
> 
> The sci-fi month looks interesting, I'll have to spend a bit more time checking it out.
> 
> I published my new fantasy novella today! I never got around to contacting the showcase, because I was already pretty booked with guest posts on other blogs. But now that those are all written, maybe I can still sign up for something there.
> 
> Anyway, here's the cover and description for _Island of Glass_:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seventeen-year-old Chiara Dragoni is a master glassmaker of Venice, a position that is both a privilege -- and a trap. For the glassmakers of Murano are forbidden to ever leave the islands of the Venetian lagoon.
> 
> When Chiara's uncle is caught on the mainland and thrown into the dungeon of the Doge's Palace, she must use all her talents, including magic, to help free him. But the gift she creates for the prince of Venice has unintended consequences, and now Chiara must decide whether to give up everything -- and everyone -- she knows and loves in order to save her dream.
> 
> Set in an alternate historical Venice with alchemists, witches and magic, the story uses familiar motifs from the beloved fairy tale "Cinderella" to tell a tale with a very different message.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NVGGSL0


Oooh, I like everything about your novella. Great cover, good blurb, and I love reading and writing fantastical history. Might just have to read it sometime soon.


----------



## markhealy

Hello to all the newcomers - it's hard keeping up with you all these days!

Ruth, I love the tone and the palette of your cover!  Really nice work.

I've now released my debut novel 'After the Winter' yesterday and it was #42 in Cyberpunk when I woke up this morning.  Pretty happy with that!


----------



## Christine Reyes

Vaalingrade said:


> Ask and ye shall receive:
> Part 1 Part 2 Part 3


Thanks much!

@everyone who's doing NaNo -- my username is chrissyreyes if you want to be buddies! Can't wait to get started on Saturday...


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Vaalingrade said:


> I need info from S. Elliot Brandis for the Meet My Character post.


What do you need, Vaal?


----------



## hs

Christine Reyes said:


> @everyone who's doing NaNo -- my username is chrissyreyes if you want to be buddies! Can't wait to get started on Saturday...


I signed up to participate in NaNoWriMo and added you as a buddy.  
My username is hswriting.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

From today (October 31) to November 4th,
I'm doing a simultaneous KDP free days + Goodreads Giveaway for my first book, Brush With Darkness. If you'd ever been thinking of giving it a try, now is the time to download. 



Historically-inspired fantasy in a world like ancient Rome, where art is magic.


----------



## Vaalingrade

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> What do you need, Vaal?


Links, my friend! To your blog, to your books, and (one I forgot when I sent stuff to William) to your social Media stuff.

Also a link to the cover of the book your character appears in. PMs will be fine.

Actually I just finished my Hop post. I let Ru answer the questions instead o f me


----------



## CoraBuhlert

First of all, welcome to everyone who's new.

Your new novel sounds fascinating, Ruth, and I love the cover.

Meanwhile, I posted the Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up on my blog, crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


----------



## rachelmedhurst

Hello everyone, 

Nice to meet you all!

I've recently realised that I write in the spec fiction genre and it's so nice to actually have a clear knowing of what I'm writing.

I write in sub genres...Fantasy Romance (Avoidables) and I think* Paranormal (Deadliners).

*Ghost/Supernatural but not scary.

Just trying to find my niche so I can get a clear brand and thought I'd introduce myself.


----------



## unkownwriter

Jessie, I think the blog hop has run its course as well. People seem more interested in the other one.

So listen up everyone: Unless someone really wants to take over (and people want to join in), the blog hop is closed. If the remaining two participants want to drop out, that would be fine with me. Just let me know if I should send you the email with the instructions or not.

I'm not officially doing NaNo this year, but I'm going to try to make the goal. It's only 1667 words a day, and I've been averaging that the last month anyway. I'm trying to push out some work, especially shorter stuff that seems to be doing okay in KU.

Last month turned out to be my best month ever, surpassing what I've made a year since I started self-publishing over three years ago. Only _very_ low double-digits, but still! Money! I think I may be on the right track. Finally.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

she-la-ti-da said:


> Jessie, I think the blog hop has run its course as well. People seem more interested in the other one.
> 
> So listen up everyone: Unless someone really wants to take over (and people want to join in), the blog hop is closed. If the remaining two participants want to drop out, that would be fine with me. Just let me know if I should send you the email with the instructions or not.
> 
> I'm not officially doing NaNo this year, but I'm going to try to make the goal. It's only 1667 words a day, and I've been averaging that the last month anyway. I'm trying to push out some work, especially shorter stuff that seems to be doing okay in KU.
> 
> Last month turned out to be my best month ever, surpassing what I've made a year since I started self-publishing over three years ago. Only _very_ low double-digits, but still! Money! I think I may be on the right track. Finally.


Sheila, I'm trying to do Nano (I have a very poor record of keeping it up!) But congratulations on the money! I'm not getting double digits yet, but there is a trickle starting to flow.

Nice to meet you, Rachel!

About Nano - hs and Christine, my name is razumova on there if you want to be buddies. Though I have a very high drop-out rate!


----------



## Christine Reyes

JessieCar said:


> About Nano - hs and Christine, my name is razumova on there if you want to be buddies. Though I have a very high drop-out rate!


No worries, so do I! November is possibly the worst month of the year for me to get serious writing done, but what can I say! I still love a good challenge.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on having your best month ever, Sheila, and good luck to all the NaNo participants.

Talking of blog hops, here is the updated schedule for the "Meet my character" blog hop:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Randall Boleyn
30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
07.12.2014:	free 
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	free
04.01.2015:	free
11.01.2015:	free


As you can see, we have two free dates in early December, plus everything after December 21st.


----------



## SB James

I'm doing NaNoWriMo. The Inventor's Son was a 2013 winner, BTW.
I also participated in Camp NaNoWriMo in July, and The Scientist's Son was a winner from that one. I bombed the April Camp  
I'm supposed to be doing word sprints. I don't feel up to it tonight. I've got 1200 words written of my new book so far anyway, mostly from the morning.
I'm S B James on NaNoWriMo. I'll be looking for some of you there if you've expressed interest in having writing buddies.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Christine Reyes said:


> No worries, so do I! November is possibly the worst month of the year for me to get serious writing done, but what can I say! I still love a good challenge.


I absolutely agree. If we fail, we fail tremendously (and have fun in the process). S B - I'll look out for you! That's really good to have had a winner.

Cora, I hope more people will sign up for the 'Meet my Character' blog hop - it was great fun.


----------



## Ceinwen

I'm Cei on NaNoWriMo, always happy to have new writing buddies!

I'm working on the YA scifi I mentioned here ages ago. I'd already written quite a lot, but I lost control of the draft and decided to do a page one restart. I've said it before, but I'm a pretty slow writer, so if I can make 1600 words a day I'll be incredibly proud of myself


----------



## Vaalingrade

My post is ready to go, but I don't have S. Elliot's info yet. Should I just push it and edit it in later?


----------



## rachelmedhurst

I'd be interested in the Meet My Character blog hop.

How can I get involved please? xx


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Vaal, if you can't get hold of Elliot (who's in Australia as far as I know and therefore probably going to bed soon), just take the bio, pics and links from his Author Central page: http://www.amazon.com/S.-Elliot-Brandis/e/B00KC82Y54/

I think we've done this before with someone who was difficult to reach.

Rachel, if you want to take part in the blog hop, just pick a date that's still free (currently December 7 is the earliest) and suits you and let me know and I'll enter you in the master list.


----------



## rachelmedhurst

Thanks Cora! 

Can I have the 7th December please?


----------



## bobbic

Hi all! When recently whining to a friend about the problems with branding my fiction, she just shrugged and said "Call it speculative and you can get away with anything." LOL. Although I participate a lot on the other mystery groups and have a published mystery novel and short stories, most of the fun stuff I write is "other." I recently published my first short story collection that I promoted as "macabre" but turns out, it's really mostly fantasy with some "lite" horror (comic ghost and zombies). In addition, I'm a published playwright who has some crazy mash-up plays out for youth theatre--fairy tale adaptations/spoofs.

The thing that does tie all of my work together is that it's comedic and strange. I've been thinking seriously lately about how to brand (or re-brand?) myself so that interested readers can find these kinds of stories.  After recently running into some "comic fantasy" anthologies and books, I've decided that's really where I need (and want!) to be. I don't really fit in well with the whole cozy mystery thing, anyway.

So, here I am. Looking forward to the conversation. Oh, I'm a big fan of the Weird Western, Firefly, Dr. Who and classic sci-fi movies.


----------



## Victoria J

Jamie Maltman said:


> From today (October 31) to November 4th,
> I'm doing a simultaneous KDP free days + Goodreads Giveaway for my first book, Brush With Darkness. If you'd ever been thinking of giving it a try, now is the time to download.
> 
> 
> 
> Historically-inspired fantasy in a world like ancient Rome, where art is magic.


Nice covers!


----------



## Vaalingrade

Meet My Character: Ru Brakar is now live! I accidentally set it to update the same times as this week's Descendants and forgot to check and see if it was live yet. Doh.

http://www.descendantsserial.paradoxomni.net/meet-my-character-blog-hop-ru-brakar/


----------



## SB James

Vaalingrade said:


> Meet My Character: Ru Brakar is now live! I accidentally set it to update the same times as this week's Descendants and forgot to check and see if it was live yet. Doh.
> 
> http://www.descendantsserial.paradoxomni.net/meet-my-character-blog-hop-ru-brakar/


Just checked it out, and it's awesome! Makes me want to go to my blog and do another character post...


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Looks great, Vaal. I just tweeted, shared, etc...


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Vaalingrade said:


> My post is ready to go, but I don't have S. Elliot's info yet. Should I just push it and edit it in later?


Sorry with the slow response! I'm fine with what you've posted. Thanks for covering, Cora.


----------



## Jamie Maltman

Victoria J said:


> Nice covers!


Thanks!  I'm quite partial to them.

So I'm in my last day of the free promo, and peaked at #129 on the .com free list, and #1-5 free on all my categories, plus as high as #1 in free fantasy Canada, and #2 free fantasy Germany. We'll see what comes out of it in terms of reviews, mailing list signups, book II sales, or whatever... but it felt good seeing that green line jump into territory the sales line has never gone. And only spending time submitting to free sites, not paying a penny for promo yet.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Vaalingrade said:


> Meet My Character: Ru Brakar is now live! I accidentally set it to update the same times as this week's Descendants and forgot to check and see if it was live yet. Doh.
> 
> http://www.descendantsserial.paradoxomni.net/meet-my-character-blog-hop-ru-brakar/


I see your character tried to take over the post. 



Jamie Maltman said:


> So I'm in my last day of the free promo, and peaked at #129 on the .com free list, and #1-5 free on all my categories, plus as high as #1 in free fantasy Canada, and #2 free fantasy Germany. We'll see what comes out of it in terms of reviews, mailing list signups, book II sales, or whatever... but it felt good seeing that green line jump into territory the sales line has never gone. And only spending time submitting to free sites, not paying a penny for promo yet.


That's amazing, Jamie. You must be really pleased! Especially good about the free sites.


----------



## Guest

she-la-ti-da said:


> Hi, guys and gals! Long time no type. Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone about the two upcoming blog hop posts in November:
> 
> November 10: Jolie du Pre
> November 17: Jessica Fry
> 
> As there hasn't been any further interest in participating in the hop, I'd like to call it closed after these two. Or at least let someone else take over organizing.
> 
> I've been involved in some other stuff, and it looks like the rest of my year is going to be full. I'm still hoping to get the SF novel out, and maybe the sequel to the book in my signature. Add the writing load to all the work involved in getting things around my little homestead ready for winter, and I'm maxed out.
> 
> So if anyone is interested in taking the reins, let me know. There's an email set up, and if you have Scrivener I can send the stuff I was using to keep up with everything (not that I was that great at it, but stuff happens, I guess).
> 
> Looks like there are some new members, welcome. This is a great group. Congratulations to everybody on sales and new books. It's such a thrill to be doing this, isn't it?


I'll have mine ready for November 10th!


----------



## kswalker

I'm also doing NaNo this year. I'm sarasvati.river on the site if anyone wants to add me as a buddy.  I'm writing a sequel to my epic fantasy novel, this one's called The Warrior Duchess. I don't know if I'll match my numbers from last year (I wrote an entire 90K novel last November, and I've never been able to get that speed again), but any progress that I get is good, especially since I'm working on other projects at the same time.


----------



## Guest

Oh Crap! I forgot. Does anyone have *Jessica Fry*'s blog link? I need to get a hold of her. My spec fic post goes up tomorrow, and I forgot to contact her.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

she-la-ti-da said:


> Hi, guys and gals! Long time no type. Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone about the two upcoming blog hop posts in November:
> 
> November 10: Jolie du Pre
> November 17: Jessica Fry
> 
> As there hasn't been any further interest in participating in the hop, I'd like to call it closed after these two.


It had a good run. I think a lot of people are more comfortable with talking about their characters instead of themselves, or maybe the topic's just not fresh anymore.



CoraBuhlert said:


> Meanwhile, I posted the Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up on my blog


What a very tempting collection of books.


----------



## Guest

My Speculative Fiction Blog Hop post is up. Jessica, please contact me if you see this post.

http://www.preciousmonsters.com/2014/11/speculative-fiction-blog-hop.html


----------



## Lucas Bale

Christine Reyes said:


> Thanks much!
> 
> @everyone who's doing NaNo -- my username is chrissyreyes if you want to be buddies! Can't wait to get started on Saturday...


I'm doing it, but I was too late to sign up as usual. However, I'm keeping a tally of my work count and I'm 8,973 words so far. Slow start for various reasons, but I'll pick up! Good luck to you all.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I just put up my 'meet my character' post!

http://selliotbrandis.com/an-interview-with-the-android-or-the-meet-my-character-blog-hop/

Nearly got killed.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I just put up my 'meet my character' post!
> 
> http://selliotbrandis.com/an-interview-with-the-android-or-the-meet-my-character-blog-hop/
> 
> Nearly got killed.


I see he's a robot (I mean android) with a short fuse!


----------



## Vaalingrade

*Drums. Drums in the deep. Manic laughter booms from all directions, but especially from below. From the blackest forge, the ringing blows of a hammer have ceased, the impetus to what comes next.

Still hissing with steam from the fire and sweat of its creation, the eldritch work is dragged from the iron womb it occupies and lifted aloft by calloused fingers. Things have begun in earnest which cannot be stopped. The world at large turns on in ignorance of the crucible of its transcendence springing into being.*

Soul Battery: Children of Agmar is complete.


----------



## WDR

Vaalingrade said:


> *Drums. Drums in the deep. Manic laughter booms from all directions, but especially from below. From the blackest forge, the ringing blows of a hammer have ceased, the impetus to what comes next.
> 
> Still hissing with steam from the fire and sweat of its creation, the eldritch work is dragged from the iron womb it occupies and lifted aloft by calloused fingers. Things have begun in earnest which cannot be stopped. The world at large turns on in ignorance of the crucible of its transcendence springing into being.*
> 
> Soul Battery: Children of Agmar is complete.


<applause>Congrats, Vaal! It's always an awesome thing when a writer can sit back and declare a manuscript complete.</applause>


----------



## Robert Dahlen

I've just put up my contribution to the Character Blog Hop. Or, rather, Michiko's contribution since I've been busy. 

http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2014/11/character-blog-hop-meet-michiko-monkey.html


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks for another great entry in the "Meet My Character" blog hop, Robert.

Meanwhile, next week's slot in the "Meet My Character" blog hop (i.e. November 23) is currently free, because someone dropped out on short notice. So if you're eager to tell the world about a character from your books (it doesn't even have to be speculative fiction), let me know and send your bio to Robert.

I've got another free slot on December 14. December 28 and everything after is up for grabs as well. 

Here is the full schedule to date:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	free
30.11.2014:	Ruth Nestvold
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	free
04.01.2015:	free
11.01.2015:	free


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Bumping this to point out that we have a free slot in the "Meet My Character" blog hop on November 23.


----------



## RuthNestvold

Sorry about this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop out of the blog hop too. Got some bad news on the weekend that will mean a lot of changes around here that have to be dealt with, and I just can't focus on things like character interviews at the moment.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

RuthNestvold said:


> Sorry about this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop out of the blog hop too. Got some bad news on the weekend that will mean a lot of changes around here that have to be dealt with, and I just can't focus on things like character interviews at the moment.


Very sorry to hear that, Ruth. I hope that whatever it is, all will be well. I think it has been a horrible year in some ways. (Hugs)


----------



## CoraBuhlert

RuthNestvold said:


> Sorry about this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop out of the blog hop too. Got some bad news on the weekend that will mean a lot of changes around here that have to be dealt with, and I just can't focus on things like character interviews at the moment.


Sorry to hear this, Ruth. Hugs and I hope everything will turn out all right.

So now we have two free slots in the "Meet My Character" blog hop for November 30 and December 7. If anybody wants one of those slots, please let me know.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

CoraBuhlert said:


> Sorry to hear this, Ruth. Hugs and I hope everything will turn out all right.
> 
> So now we have two free slots in the "Meet My Character" blog hop for November 30 and December 7. If anybody wants one of those slots, please let me know.


Cora, like I mentioned in my earlier email, I'll be glad to do a second Blog Hop post for this Sunday if we want to keep the momentum going. After all, I do have two main characters. 

Ruth, best wishes to you and yours. Hope things turn around quickly for you!


----------



## RuthNestvold

Thanks, you guys. Yeah, this year has had a lot of wallops in store. Here's hoping three's a "charm" and it's over now.


----------



## Harry Manners

Hey, guys!

Sorry I seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth. Finally got a chance to check in. I've managed to read up on the last few pages -- glad to see everyone's busy!

I've been inundated with my 2nd year at uni. Physics is hard. :| 
(I may have also overcommitted with a bazillion other things like Skydiving and Comedy and volunteer teaching and hosting a radio show, but we won't mention that.)

But I've kept writing! My new cli-fi novel has been sent off to the editor, and I'm nearing the end of the first draft of the second instalment in the _Ruin_ Saga!
Fun times. I've also just got the paperback finals for _Ruin_ from my cover designer. Check it out.










Ooh, I do love him.

I'm looking forward to a Christmas release of the paperback. I've been holding back all advertisments thus far, planning on really starting as the release date for the second instalment nears. At this rate, I'll have three books out by late Spring. Fun times!

Hope you're all well. Take care, and be good.
Harry

---


----------



## ShawnaN

lurking on this thread, but just wanted to say that is one cool cover, Harry!


----------



## Jamie Maltman

I haven't been here much lately, mostly due to writing @NaNo. Over 39K as of yesterday, and feeling good.

A group of us also released a short story anthology set in Engine World (the open Steampunk fantasy world from Platt and Truant's Fiction Unboxed project: The Dream Engine):

23 authors each writing their own short story in whatever genre they wanted, working together to beta read, one author/editor did developmental editing input, and our KBoards friend Stacy Claflin designed our cover. A ton of fun to be a part of, and there's some great ones in there, and something for everyone.

Oh, and it's FREE everywhere (well, except for the odd Amazon regional stores that haven't priced matched yet. If you can help with that too, awesome!)

My story _Dreaming Mountain _riffs on history in the context of what they revealed so far... but in China 1000 years earlier. 



Waldron's Gate, capital of Alterra. A land powered by steam, but inspired by the power of dreams, and surrounded by the mysterious Fog.

The Dream Engine explored this city. Now you are invited to go Beyond The Gate.

Twenty-three authors will take you over, under, into, and beyond the Fog in this cross-genre compilation of short stories.

From time travel to romance, young adult to horror, science fiction to historical fantasy, you'll discover tales that delight, intrigue, and maybe even shock you.

This is only the beginning.

Including: 
Bobby Bigsby and the Sky Shaw -- Jay Rosenkrantz 
The Crown Reading -- Monica Leonelle 
The Wailing Woman -- Blaine Moore 
Dreaming Mountain -- Jamie Maltman 
Everyday Battles -- A.T. Schubert 
Upon a Misty Morning -- E.W. Pierce 
Round-about -- Lisa Harvey 
Missing Ivy -- Stacy Claflin 
Colin's Garden -- Ephraim Mallery 
The Secrets of Storytelling -- John McGuire 
Untitled -- Jack Worr 
Decision Day -- Cathy Pelham 
The Tinker's Tale -- Joseph Mello 
Scarletina: A Crumble Fairy Tale -- Abe Cedarian 
Betrayal -- Kayla Halleur 
Flight -- Hal Leonard 
Fog-born, Shifty and on the Fringe -- Rob Laman 
My Strength Will Ease Your Sorrow -- Paul Jenny 
The Cloud -- Michael Hustleborn 
Overflow -- Missy Morgan 
Gatekeeper -- Karl J. Leis 
Like Oil and Water, Steam and Electricity -- Thomas Dattoli 
The Short Adventure of Beatrix Weiland -- Hector Manuel Elias Oliver


----------



## Ceinwen

The paperback looks amazing, Harry. I want it!


----------



## Harry Manners

Thanks, Ceinwen! I'm hoping for a Christmas release.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Harry, the paperback edition looks very promising. You must be excited about the upcoming release. And Jamie - neat anthology! I'm doing Nanowrimo as well but I'm just over 33,000 words, so lagging behind rather.

I'm doing a KDP promo on 25th November for my short story, _The Alukah_,  which will be free for five days - I'm blowing all my KDP Select free days in one go and have got a Bknights Fiverr promo.

The good thing is that my beastly fourth book now has a bit more substance, and Nano has been a really useful exercise in turning off my internal editor.

The other thing is that A. E. Williams has done a really exciting guest post for the Spec Fic showcase, a treatise on manned space flight, and he does know whereof he speaks. This should be coming up on 26th November and is one for fans of hard SF and just about anyone who's ever been interested in the space programme.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

Since there weren't any other volunteers for this week's Character Blog Hop, Cora gave me the okay to do a second post. So this week, meet Beth McGill! http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2014/11/character-blog-hop-meet-beth-mcgill.html


----------



## mphicks

That paperback design is beautiful, Harry. Kudos to the designer!


----------



## Harry Manners

Cheers, guys!

Brace for a complete meltdown-bitch-vent-post later today concerning my agent...


----------



## CoraBuhlert

First of all, I've been featured in an SF Signal Mind Meld about great book openings together with a lot of other cool people.

Harry, that paperback looks great.

Thanks to Robert for jumping in on short notice to do another "Meet My Character" blog hop.

We still have an opening for this Sunday, November 30, so if anybody has a character you'd love to introduce, let me know and answer a few short questions. December 14 is also free and then every date following December 28.

Here is the full schedule:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	free
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	free
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	free
04.01.2015:	free
11.01.2015:	free


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

CoraBuhlert said:


> First of all, I've been featured in an SF Signal Mind Meld about great book openings together with a lot of other cool people.
> 
> Harry, that paperback looks great.
> 
> Thanks to Robert for jumping in on short notice to do another "Meet My Character" blog hop.
> 
> We still have an opening for this Sunday, November 30, so if anybody has a character you'd love to introduce, let me know and answer a few short questions. December 14 is also free and then every date following December 28.


Congratulations, Cora! Those mind-melds are really fun.


----------



## jdrew

CoraBuhlert said:


> We still have an opening for this Sunday, November 30, so if anybody has a character you'd love to introduce, let me know and answer a few short questions. December 14 is also free and then every date following December 28.
> 
> Here is the full schedule:
> 
> 07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
> 15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
> 21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
> 28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
> 05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
> 12.10.2014:	SB James
> 19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pre
> 26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
> 02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
> 09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
> 16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
> 23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
> 30.11.2014:	free
> 07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst
> 14.12.2014:	free
> 21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
> 28.12.2014:	free
> 04.01.2015:	free
> 11.01.2015:	free




Cora,
I'm interested in the December 14 opening but I'm not sure what I need to do. If that spot is still open, let me know what I need to do next.
Thanks.


----------



## Ted Cross

That sounds interesting, and I'd take any free date. Like JDrew said, I'm not sure what else I need to do (new to this!).


----------



## Robert Dahlen

CoraBuhlert said:


> Thanks to Robert for jumping in on short notice to do another "Meet My Character" blog hop.
> 
> We still have an opening for this Sunday, November 30, so if anybody has a character you'd love to introduce, let me know and answer a few short questions. December 14 is also free and then every date following December 28.


Glad to help, Cora! If anyone takes this Sunday, PM me with the info you'd like me to put up to link people to your websites etc, and I'll do the same.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Thanks, Jessica. It was a lot of fun to do, too, plus I'm in excellent company there.

J. Drew, Ted and anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.

If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you: 
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/10/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop.html 
So you can check out the format and also the way they answered the questions.

Let me know if you want a spot. Currently, November 30, December 14 as well as December 28 and anything thereafter are free.


----------



## PaulLev

Harry Manners said:


> Cheers, guys!
> 
> Brace for a complete meltdown-b*tch-vent-post later today concerning my agent...


That's the way I used to feel just about every day about my agent, before I left his lack of services.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Ted Cross has now taken the December 14 date. November 30 is still free as is December 28 and every date thereafter.

Here is the full updated schedule:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	free
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	Ted Cross
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	free
04.01.2015:	free
11.01.2015:	free


----------



## jdrew

Cora,
Thanks for the info.  Snooze you lose so more power to Ted on the 14th.
I'm going to check out the blogs so far and will see what others have done before I decide anything.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.


----------



## Harry Manners

PaulLev said:


> That's the way I used to feel just about every day about my agent, before I left his lack of services.


Yeah. So here goes:

My agent first approached me around 18 months ago, just when I was first about to self-publish my debut. She said she wanted to try and sell it to trad-houses, and I took her up on it. But I put in a proviso that I'd give it a year--I'd already invested significantly in the project and couldn't afford to sit on it indefinitely. So a year went by and we came close to two deals with major publishers, but ultimately the editors couldn't justify commissioning a trilogy from a debut author. Fair's fair. 
Then things went quiet and I didn't hear from her until after the deadline we had sent elapsed. Nothing seemed to be happening. So I sent a polite email to thank her for everything, but I was going ahead with self publishing, and I'd approach her later with my new projects.
No reply.
So a week ago she finally gets back to me, saying she's been trying to sell it somewhere in Europe. Then she demands to know why I self published without telling her. I informed her about the email, and reminded her of our agreement. She claimed no email had been received, so I forwarded her a copy. She then called me to try and sort things out. The resultant conversation amounted to her accusing me of lying about our deal, claiming I wanted things 'both ways', and that she considered self-publishing 'a hobby' (after claiming in the first instance that she agreed with me in thinking that hybrid-authors were the way forward). She also claimed that self-publishing was a 'waste'. 
I tried to talk her down and explain things. She told me to 'stop patronising her' and then said that we couldn't work together. I was surprised, but by then it was clear that she was impatient and profit-oriented--not the kind of person I want to work with. I was in the middle of thanking her for everything, and wishing her well, when she interrupted me with a quick 'ciao' and put the phone down on me.

So yeah... I'm a little wounded. A bit miffed.

Mostly, I'm embarrassed that I didn't know she was like that from the outset. She's been representing me for over eighteen months, after all... I'm afraid she behaves that way with everyone.

Urgh. In the meantime I've just got the manuscript for my new sci-fi back from my editors, both lovely women who I adore working with. I've also received the final proofs for _Ruin_'s interior from my formatters, who are also great people. In addition, my cover designer just started working up the cover for the upcoming sci-fi, and I'm really excited by his ideas.

People in self publishing are nicer people. I'm sticking my feet firmly on this side of the fence for the time being.

Rant over. Now, I need a slice of cake.


----------



## mphicks

Harry Manners said:


> Yeah. So here goes:
> 
> My agent first approached me around 18 months ago, just when I was first about to self-publish my debut. She said she wanted to try and sell it to trad-houses, and I took her up on it. But I put in a proviso that I'd give it a year--I'd already invested significantly in the project and couldn't afford to sit on it indefinitely. So a year went by and we came close to two deals with major publishers, but ultimately the editors couldn't justify commissioning a trilogy from a debut author. Fair's fair.
> Then things went quiet and I didn't hear from her until after the deadline we had sent elapsed. Nothing seemed to be happening. So I sent a polite email to thank her for everything, but I was going ahead with self publishing, and I'd approach her later with my new projects.
> No reply.
> So a week ago she finally gets back to me, saying she's been trying to sell it somewhere in Europe. Then she demands to know why I self published without telling her. I informed her about the email, and reminded her of our agreement. She claimed no email had been received, so I forwarded her a copy. She then called me to try and sort things out. The resultant conversation amounted to her accusing me of lying about our deal, claiming I wanted things 'both ways', and that she considered self-publishing 'a hobby' (after claiming in the first instance that she agreed with me in thinking that hybrid-authors were the way forward). She also claimed that self-publishing was a 'waste'.
> I tried to talk her down and explain things. She told me to 'stop patronising her' and then said that we couldn't work together. I was surprised, but by then it was clear that she was impatient and profit-oriented--not the kind of person I want to work with. I was in the middle of thanking her for everything, and wishing her well, when she interrupted me with a quick 'ciao' and put the phone down on me.
> 
> So yeah... I'm a little wounded. A bit miffed.
> 
> Mostly, I'm embarrassed that I didn't know she was like that from the outset. She's been representing me for over eighteen months, after all... I'm afraid she behaves that way with everyone.
> 
> Urgh. In the meantime I've just got the manuscript for my new sci-fi back from my editors, both lovely women who I adore working with. I've also received the final proofs for _Ruin_'s interior from my formatters, who are also great people. In addition, my cover designer just started working up the cover for the upcoming sci-fi, and I'm really excited by his ideas.
> 
> People in self publishing are nicer people. I'm sticking my feet firmly on this side of the fence for the time being.
> 
> Rant over. Now, I need a slice of cake.


That's really disappointing to hear, but maybe I've heard enough "agents behaving badly" stories that I'm not completely surprised. Still, a horror story is a horror story. Shame she didn't have more professional tact in parting ways. Ah, well. Her loss, Harry!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

jdrew said:


> Cora,
> Thanks for the info. Snooze you lose so more power to Ted on the 14th.
> I'm going to check out the blogs so far and will see what others have done before I decide anything.
> Happy Thanksgiving to all.


First come, first served, sorry. Feel free to sign up for any of the other dates, though. December 28 and after as well as this Sunday are still free.

Harry, I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. The many agent horror stories you hear make me glad I never got around to getting an agent.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

That's insane, Harry.

Look at it this way:

By self-publishing, you achieved more in a matter of moments than she managed in 18 months. 

And,

If that's what she considers professional behaviour, you've dodged a bullet.


----------



## Harry Manners

Thanks, guys. It was quite a shock. But as you say, I've definitely dodged a bullet!

Anyway, I'm now putting together my first IngramSpark title. Exciting stuff. I can't wait to see what the proofs turn out like.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Today is the last day of the month, so it's time for the ever popular feature Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, posted to my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

So if you're looking for some new speculative fiction to read during the holiday season, look no further.


----------



## Ted Cross

CoraBuhlert said:


> Today is the last day of the month, so it's time for the ever popular feature Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, posted to my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.
> 
> So if you're looking for some new speculative fiction to read during the holiday season, look no further.


Thank you for doing this! It's nice to see my new book on there.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

CoraBuhlert said:


> Today is the last day of the month, so it's time for the ever popular feature Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, posted to my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.
> 
> So if you're looking for some new speculative fiction to read during the holiday season, look no further.


Cheers, Cora!

Following on from Robert Dahlen last week, I'm blogging in the "Meet my character" Blog hop - this week. I'm introducing my character, Annat. And next weekend, Rachel Medhurst will be taking up the torch!

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/meet-my-character-annat.html


----------



## P.T. Phronk

CoraBuhlert said:


> Today is the last day of the month, so it's time for the ever popular feature Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, posted to my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.
> 
> So if you're looking for some new speculative fiction to read during the holiday season, look no further.


Thanks for including me! I think I've said this before, but I'm blown away by how many of these books look amazing.

We are all awesome.

Oh and Harry: ugh, that suuucks. I hear so many agent horror stories. It seems like getting an agent, getting a _good_ agent, having that agent sell to a publisher, having the book actually come out, and actually earn out the advance, has about the chances of winning the lottery five times. I'm overjoyed for the people who do manage it (and there are plenty of great agents out there), but I'm glad we have options that rely less on chance now.


----------



## Harry Manners

Thanks Phronk. You're right, the odds are insurmountable--that may be very well why I signed up in the first place; top starry-eyed and gushing at being considered by an agent to keep a clear head. But it's all part of the journey. I'm glad I had the experience, because I learned a lot about the realities of the industry that just wouldn't have sunk in before.
But for now, I'm definitely glad I stuck to my guns and went down the self publishing route.
Onwards and upwards!


----------



## S Jaffe

I can't believe I'm only finding this thread now! Sheesh! Sometimes I think Kboards might be a tad too big. But then where would we put all this wonderfulness?

Anyway, hi folks! Glad to see this thread exists. Sorry to see that Harry Manners had a tough agent experience, but sadly, that's not unusual.  And, Harry, be glad the worst that happened was a loss of time and a bitchy phone call. I know plenty who have had far uglier things happen.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Ted Cross said:


> Thank you for doing this! It's nice to see my new book on there.





Phronk said:


> Thanks for including me! I think I've said this before, but I'm blown away by how many of these books look amazing.
> 
> We are all awesome.


Well, you folks make it easy by writing so many good books.


----------



## Indecisive

Hi folks!

I'm kind of giving up on my attempt to get away from kboards. If it's not one time-suck, it's another, and I do like the community here.

Anyhow, it's launch day! I'm doing a semi-soft launch, with a few ads for free days later this week and a minor blog tour. I haven't decided when to mention it all on Facebook to get family and friends to run over and maybe buy _Scrapplings_ http://www.amazon.com/Scrapplings-Anamat-Book-Amelia-Smith-ebook/dp/B00NJ6DV9E/. I should add it to my sig line here. I think I'll do that now.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

ameliasmith said:


> Hi folks!
> 
> I'm kind of giving up on my attempt to get away from kboards. If it's not one time-suck, it's another, and I do like the community here.
> 
> Anyhow, it's launch day! I'm doing a semi-soft launch, with a few ads for free days later this week and a minor blog tour. I haven't decided when to mention it all on Facebook to get family and friends to run over and maybe buy _Scrapplings_ http://www.amazon.com/Scrapplings-Anamat-Book-Amelia-Smith-ebook/dp/B00NJ6DV9E/. I should add it to my sig line here. I think I'll do that now.


Congratulations, Amelia - and good luck!



CoraBuhlert said:


> Well, you folks make it easy by writing so many good books.


Well said, Cora


----------



## WDR

Harry Manners said:


> Yeah. So here goes:
> 
> My agent first approached me around 18 months ago, just when I was first about to self-publish my debut. She said she wanted to try and sell it to trad-houses, and I took her up on it. But I put in a proviso that I'd give it a year--I'd already invested significantly in the project and couldn't afford to sit on it indefinitely. So a year went by and we came close to two deals with major publishers, but ultimately the editors couldn't justify commissioning a trilogy from a debut author. Fair's fair.
> Then things went quiet and I didn't hear from her until after the deadline we had sent elapsed. Nothing seemed to be happening. So I sent a polite email to thank her for everything, but I was going ahead with self publishing, and I'd approach her later with my new projects.
> No reply.
> So a week ago she finally gets back to me, saying she's been trying to sell it somewhere in Europe. Then she demands to know why I self published without telling her. I informed her about the email, and reminded her of our agreement. She claimed no email had been received, so I forwarded her a copy. She then called me to try and sort things out. The resultant conversation amounted to her accusing me of lying about our deal, claiming I wanted things 'both ways', and that she considered self-publishing 'a hobby' (after claiming in the first instance that she agreed with me in thinking that hybrid-authors were the way forward). She also claimed that self-publishing was a 'waste'.
> I tried to talk her down and explain things. She told me to 'stop patronising her' and then said that we couldn't work together. I was surprised, but by then it was clear that she was impatient and profit-oriented--not the kind of person I want to work with. I was in the middle of thanking her for everything, and wishing her well, when she interrupted me with a quick 'ciao' and put the phone down on me.
> 
> So yeah... I'm a little wounded. A bit miffed.
> 
> Mostly, I'm embarrassed that I didn't know she was like that from the outset. She's been representing me for over eighteen months, after all... I'm afraid she behaves that way with everyone.
> 
> Urgh. In the meantime I've just got the manuscript for my new sci-fi back from my editors, both lovely women who I adore working with. I've also received the final proofs for _Ruin_'s interior from my formatters, who are also great people. In addition, my cover designer just started working up the cover for the upcoming sci-fi, and I'm really excited by his ideas.
> 
> People in self publishing are nicer people. I'm sticking my feet firmly on this side of the fence for the time being.
> 
> Rant over. Now, I need a slice of cake.


Contracts! Always have a signed contract with anyone before accepting professional services from them. I've seen so many organizations, businesses, and individuals get screwed over one way or another because they didn't have concrete terms spelled out on paper. Verbal agreements are worthless, as they cannot be documented or defended.

Remember: YOU are in the driver's seat. This is YOUR business. If they want to do business with you, then they have to agree to your terms. That means, they must sign the contract you have written up and send you the original, signed copy. Not a photocopy. They must send you the original or the contract is null and void, and you will send a copy of the contract once you have received it. (Note: send no paperwork to be signed until negotiations for terms have concluded and both parties agree to the terms of the contract. No penciling in last-second changes before they sign it. "Oh, at the last second, I decided I wanted a 25% share instead of 15% share&#8230;" They must sign it first, then you sign it, even though it is your contract. Read it to make sure they didn't pencil in an alteration and claim you agreed to it in a pre-signing phone call.)

Make sure your contract states very clearly the termination points for the contract. My contracts basically say, "If you can't get anything done by such-and-such a date, then the deal is off. If you can't sell it by then, you are unlikely going to be able to do anything with it. Thank you very much."

What's going on with her attitude is that she is a salesperson. They get their sales by being thick-skinned, insensitive, and often bullying their way into the deal. They take the attitude, "If I complain loudly enough, the restaurant manager will give me my meal for free just to get me to shut up." I hate to admit it, but these people have gotten results over the years, and this is why commerce has evolved over the past century or so to the state it is currently in. Most salespeople are extroverts to the max. Most writers are introverts, the very opposite. What the salespeople do best are the very things we writers find most emotionally and personally difficult to do.

Self-publishing has only recently become vogue and acceptable. So the people who have cut their teeth in the traditional publishing industry have never really had to deal with a writer that does not need them. They don't quite know how to handle us or how to react to us. They don't understand that self-publishing writers can take them or leave them-that this new breed of writer doesn't actually need them. The old tactic of "cow them into submission" doesn't work with us. Just as the publishing industry is being forced to change, the writer's agent business will also have to evolve to adapt to this new breed of writer.

Where do I need an agent's services? There are many things about being a writer that I don't know about yet. Such as, what do I charge if a fan convention wants me as a guest? How do I even get my name out there as available for public appearances? A lot of new writers perk up and say, "What? They _pay_ you to come to conventions?!" Yes. Remember: travel, hotel, and food all cost money. Also, during the time you are traveling, you still have to put food on the table, pay your utilities bills, buy clothing, put your kids through school, etc. The issue is, I don't know what fair compensation I should be asking. A headliner for a convention can command between $10,000-$20,000 for their appearance on one day. The big names (Shatner and Stewart) can command $75K or higher. If that seems excessive for a fan convention, do the math. A recent convention near my home sold over 17,000 tickets at $50 a head. They certainly had the budget for it. The conventions are big money makers for the participants. As I am nowhere near the level of a headliner-I have to pay for my own ticket to get into a convention-I'd like to think I might be able to get between $500-$5,000 for compensation, depending on how much in demand I am. Truth is, at this point, I'd be happy with the cost of a train pass and parking. Or at least a free lunch. (Okay, 50% coupon for the food court?)

Yeah, I'm years away from worrying about that. But what I need is a publicist who can go out and find these opportunities for me. Right now, I'm very happy popping in for reading groups and book clubs in my local area, and I seem to be getting very good reviews for my appearances. But to get beyond that, I need someone who knows where to find these opportunities. That is what I need an agent for. In truth, more of a manager than an agent.


----------



## Harry Manners

Great post.

I would like to point out for my ego's sake that I had plenty of clauses put into the contract, which is the reason I managed to sever ties with my agent without any namby-pamby squabbling. The phone went down, one email sent, and bye-bye.


----------



## WDR

Harry Manners said:


> Great post.
> 
> I would like to point out for my ego's sake that I had plenty of clauses put into the contract, which is the reason I managed to sever ties with my agent without any namby-pamby squabbling. The phone went down, one email sent, and bye-bye.


Awesome! A gold star for you!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

WDR said:


> Contracts! Always have a signed contract with anyone before accepting professional services from them. I've seen so many organizations, businesses, and individuals get screwed over one way or another because they didn't have concrete terms spelled out on paper. Verbal agreements are worthless, as they cannot be documented or defended.
> 
> Remember: YOU are in the driver's seat. This is YOUR business. If they want to do business with you, then they have to agree to your terms. That means, they must sign the contract you have written up and send you the original, signed copy. Not a photocopy. They must send you the original or the contract is null and void, and you will send a copy of the contract once you have received it. (Note: send no paperwork to be signed until negotiations for terms have concluded and both parties agree to the terms of the contract. No penciling in last-second changes before they sign it. "Oh, at the last second, I decided I wanted a 25% share instead of 15% share..." They must sign it first, then you sign it, even though it is your contract. Read it to make sure they didn't pencil in an alteration and claim you agreed to it in a pre-signing phone call.)
> 
> Make sure your contract states very clearly the termination points for the contract. My contracts basically say, "If you can't get anything done by such-and-such a date, then the deal is off. If you can't sell it by then, you are unlikely going to be able to do anything with it. Thank you very much."


Great post, William. I also wanted to stress that you should always read every contract you sign and also check the whole contract again, if there's been a supposedly minor alteration.

In my day job, I'm a professional translator, so I see a lot of contracts. With many contracts, I suspect I'm the only person who ever actually reads them. And lots of contracts are full of clauses that are unclear or badly formulated, clauses that are contradictory and clauses I would never ever agree to.

Here's a cautionary tale: Last year I was hired a translate a partnership contract for a start-up company. The contract contained a really nasty non-compete clause, so I told one of the prospective partners (who's also a family member) to insist on getting that clause thrown out. He succeeded, the clause was stricken, the contract signed.

A bit later, one of the clauses of the contract was declared illegal and had to be changed. I translated the changed contract and the paperwork involved in registering the company. Only a single clause had supposedly been changed, but I ran a document comparison between the old and new contract anyway, just to be on the safe side. And promptly realised that the new contract had magically reverted to the original draft version with the nasty non-compete clause. So I called up the partners to inform them about the issue. Once I got them to actually listen to me, they said, "Oops. We accidentally submitted the old draft version."

For a while, I thought this was an honest mistake, that someone had just called up the wrong document and no one actually checked it. However, half a year later, the start-up company imploded very messily (they still owe me money, too), which makes me wonder whether the attempt to sneak in the already stricken non-compete clause again wasn't deliberate. Only that the annoying little translator foiled it by actually checking the document.

So in short, trust no one. Always read the small print.


----------



## Patty Jansen

I just wanted to say that I'm running a 99c SFF cross-promo from my blog on 1 January. Details here:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,203568.0.html

The more the merrier.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

This week's entry in the "Meet My Character" blog hop is by Rachel Medhurst, who introduces her character Hope, so check it out.

Here's also a reminder that the "Meet My Character" blog hop is still ongoing and that we have free spots on December 28 and every week thereafter. So come on, who wants to have a go?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I sent 'Aberrated' to my editor this morning! It's the third and final book in my trilogy. Feels good but a bit sad at the same time.


----------



## Harry Manners

Congratulations, Elliot! Must be a real sense of achievement, getting a whole trilogy finished off. But, like you said, I bet it's strange to be leaving it all behind.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, Harry.

Yeah, it's a big achievement--but at the same time, I'll really miss the characters. I've spend so much time with them while writing this--it almost feels like losing friends. It's probably something only us writing folk will understand. Or maybe I'm just mental.


----------



## Harry Manners

Suppose we're all a little mental. But I definitely know what you're saying. I'm not looking forward to finishing off my third instalment. I'm actually finishing off my second instalment's polish today for shipping to the editors. I know I'm writing a different book between this and the third instalment, and even that kind of prospect makes me miss them already. 

Strange to miss a figment of your imagination, eh?

Like I said, I suppose we're all a little mental.


----------



## Patty Jansen

CoraBuhlert said:


> This week's entry in the "Meet My Character" blog hop is by Rachel Medhurst, who introduces her character Hope, so check it out.
> 
> Here's also a reminder that the "Meet My Character" blog hop is still ongoing and that we have free spots on December 28 and every week thereafter. So come on, who wants to have a go?


OK, I'll play. Can I have 28 December? Where do I post?


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Patty Jansen said:


> I just wanted to say that I'm running a 99c SFF cross-promo from my blog on 1 January. Details here:
> 
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,203568.0.html
> 
> The more the merrier.


Sounds great, Patti.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Patty Jansen said:


> OK, I'll play. Can I have 28 December? Where do I post?


On your blog. Here is the info, copied from a post one or two pages back:

anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.

If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you:
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/10/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop.html
So you can check out the format and also the way they answered the questions. I'll also do another blog hop round-up post at the Spec Fic Showcase before Christmas

Let me know if you want a spot. Here is the full list (cut and pasted from my person doc, hence the German date format):

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	Jessica Rydill
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	Ted Cross
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	Patty Jansen
04.01.2015:	free
11.01.2015:	free
18.01.2014: free


----------



## Harry Manners

Hey Cora, that sounds great. I've been wanting to pitch into this, but haven't had the time of late. I'll take the 04/01/2015 slot if that's up for grabs!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Wonderful, Harry. I've pencilled you in. Patty, too.


----------



## Vincent Caine

Hi Cora, great idea. I'll take the 11/1/15 slot if it's still available. My first novel will be out - can't wait. Mine is more of a thriller, but it's got transhumanism, space travel, and - most importantly - speculation, so I think it qualifies.

Just read through some of the other entries. Super way to find other writers.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I pencilled you in for January 11, Vincent.

If your book's a new release, you could also submit it to the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a group blog run by a few KBers, which grew out of this thread and now has its own thread. http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/


----------



## Ted Cross

Today was my day for the character blog hop -- http://tedacross.blogspot.com/2014/12/meet-my-character-blog-hop.html


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Today at the Speculative Fiction Showcase, we have a round-up of all the posts in the "Meet My Character" blog hop to date.

We still have free dates in January, so if anybody is interested. Plus, you should find plenty of inspiration in the roundup post.


----------



## 68564

Bragging on Yoly my cover artist time again. 
( http://www.cormarcovers.com/ )

This time I made it hard on Yoly, as I did the artwork myself (no stock photos or etc).  Then I handed her the mess of a psd and said "You are the pro, make this look like a book cover!"

My work is on the left, in case that was not blindingly obvious:










My readers are already telling me it is their favorite cover so far. Thanks Yoly!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

That's a great cover, Vincent.


----------



## 68564

CoraBuhlert said:


> That's a great cover, Vincent.


Thanks! I hope to have the book out by mid February.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

VydorScope said:


> Bragging on Yoly my cover artist time again.
> ( http://www.cormarcovers.com/ )
> 
> This time I made it hard on Yoly, as I did the artwork myself (no stock photos or etc).  Then I handed her the mess of a psd and said "You are the pro, make this look like a book cover!"
> 
> My work is on the left, in case that was not blindingly obvious:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My readers are already telling me it is their favorite cover so far. Thanks Yoly!


Beautiful cover art, Vincent.


----------



## mphicks

Hey all, I thought this LitReactor post could prove helpful: http://litreactor.com/columns/ursula-k-le-guin-master-of-realism

It's all about some of the character building techniques Ursula K. Le Guin uses in her sci-fi, and provides some great food for thought. I'm in the early stages of developing the third book in my DRMR series, and after an action-heavy second book (due out in 2015!), I feel like slowing things down a bit and focusing more on character and shades of personality. I found this article really useful, and it's provided a terrific bit of exploration for how I can use my characters in a (hopefully!) deeper fashion.

Happy writing!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

That's a great article, Michael, and it will go into the weekly link round-up over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


----------



## markhealy

Good article, thanks Michael!


----------



## Indecisive

Bookmarked that article for when I'm feeling more awake (so jetlagged!).


----------



## S Jaffe

Cool article. Thanks!


----------



## Harry Manners

Some excellent cover art, Vincent.

And Michael, I'm loving that article. Thanks a bunch!

Ah, you guys. I love this thread.


----------



## 68564

Harry Manners said:


> Some excellent cover art, Vincent.


Thanks!!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Thanks for the link, Mike. I'm a great fan of Le Guin.


----------



## WDR

Good catch, Mike! LeGuin is one of my favorite writers. I've always been envious of her ability to create and name characters.


----------



## 68564

BTW - I am enjoying all the triumphs I am reading in this thread, but have not had time to post much at all. Congrats to all of you, sounds like things are going well! I just need to finish my already late WIP and get it out the door so I can breath again.


----------



## mphicks

Glad the Le Guin article is coming in handy. I've got it saved myself.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

I just want to show off the new cover for my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters. It's by the wonderful artist Keith Draws, http://keithdraws.wordpress.com/custom-covers/ . It was a pleasure working with him, so I can't recommend him enough.










It's not to everyone's tastes (apparently), but I love it, and I think it gets across the feel of the book.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Great cover, Phronk. I'm a sucker for illustrated covers and I think the look matches your style quite well.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Phronk said:


> I just want to show off the new cover for my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters. It's by the wonderful artist Keith Draws, http://keithdraws.wordpress.com/custom-covers/ . It was a pleasure working with him, so I can't recommend him enough.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's not to everyone's tastes (apparently), but I love it, and I think it gets across the feel of the book.


LOL, that's you on the cover isn't it?


----------



## 68564

Phronk said:


> I just want to show off the new cover for my first novel, Stars and Other Monsters. It's by the wonderful artist Keith Draws, http://keithdraws.wordpress.com/custom-covers/ . It was a pleasure working with him, so I can't recommend him enough.
> 
> It's not to everyone's tastes (apparently), but I love it, and I think it gets across the feel of the book.


It is clean, easy to read, and very professional looking. Very well done, and unique. Those are big factors. So well done! 

It does not matter if "everyone" loves it, it only matters if your target audience will recognize it as a book made for them.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Phronk said:


> It's not to everyone's tastes (apparently), but I love it, and I think it gets across the feel of the book.


I love what he did with the title. Without knowing anything about your book I get a strong sense of it being fun and full of action.

It's really helpful that you included "by" too. It prevents that deadly moment of confusion. I don't know about other people, but when I get confused with the words on the cover it's an instant pass.


----------



## Harry Manners

Absolutely stellar cover, Phronk. Sandra's right on the money: I know exactly what I'm in for, just looking at it.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Sandra K. Williams said:


> I love what he did with the title. Without knowing anything about your book I get a strong sense of it being fun and full of action.
> 
> It's really helpful that you included "by" too. It prevents that deadly moment of confusion. I don't know about other people, but when I get confused with the words on the cover it's an instant pass.


Thanks Sandra, and everyone else! Keith is awesome at what he does.

Yeah, I figured that since my pseudonym sounds more like a sound effect than a name, I better add some clarification. 



Patty Jansen said:


> LOL, that's you on the cover isn't it?


Hahah, this thought has crossed my mind too. Stan has more hair than me though.



Harry Manners said:


> Absolutely stellar cover, Phronk.


"Stellar." Nice.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Love the cover, Phronk.


----------



## Indecisive

My blog hop post is up! http://ameliasmith.net/2014/12/meet-my-character-blog-hop/

I seriously underestimated the difficulty of finding time to write on this vacation (staying with inlaws, being jetlagged, kids, etc.).


----------



## Jamie Maltman

A few long-on-the-backburner activities are finally done or reached a milestone on my side, so I might be around here a bit more.

Finished one revision round and got alpha reader feedback on Kallara's Song, my Arts Reborn 2.5 Novella.
Finally finished print proofing/sneaky edit round of book II: Blood of the Water.
Half done book III first draft.

Next up: revision round 2 on Kallara's Song, engage my cover designer, and then continue writing book III. 

And my first two books are on sale for $0.99 on Amazon today, along with a whole bunch of other Indie Sci Fi and Fantasy reads from Fantasy and Sci-Fi Network (FSFNet) Authors:


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Amelia, you have my sympathies. Time seems to run out rather fast! LOL I hope "Scrapplings" is doing well.

Gosh, Jamie, it sounds as though you have been super-busy (and productive). After Nanowrimo in November I've not done as much as I would like. I like the look of Santa's Best Fantasy and Sci-Fi eBook bargains!


----------



## Gregory Lynn

Greetings y'all. I write speculative fiction as well, generally some kind of fantasy. Nailing down which kind can be difficult at times, but what can ya do?

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk


----------



## Claire Frank

Hey all. I keep popping in on this thread, so I thought I should jump in and actually participate . My first book just came out a couple of weeks ago. I write swords and sorcery or maybe epic-ish fantasy. I'm working hard on book 2, but wishing book 1 wasn't quite so invisible. I'll keep on keepin' on though. 

Nice to "meet" you all!


----------



## Christine_C

Claire Frank said:


> Hey all. I keep popping in on this thread, so I thought I should jump in and actually participate . My first book just came out a couple of weeks ago. I write swords and sorcery or maybe epic-ish fantasy. I'm working hard on book 2, but wishing book 1 wasn't quite so invisible. I'll keep on keepin' on though.
> 
> Nice to "meet" you all!


Congrats on getting your first book out! I've never posted in here either. I just published my first book yesterday - a YA urban/dark fantasy. No idea what I'm doing.


----------



## Aurora Springer

Hello everyone,
I'm new to KBoards and started publishing my science fiction and fantasy last April. I have 2 full-length novels and several shorter works. A couple of weeks ago, I published a holiday-themed short story Gifts of Jangalorehttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R0AIG36/, which is part of a new series.
The first novel in the new series is on Kindle Scout now https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1PP0XPW0JBQ38 So you can read the first two chapters. I plan to publish in any case early in 2015.

Enjoy writing in the New Year!


----------



## Harry Manners

My my, lots of new faces all of a sudden. Welcome to you all, it's great to have you join the rapidly expanding spec clan!
Good luck with all your releases in the coming year. If you ever want to coordinate with promo or join in with guest blogs, jump in with the Blog Hop and the Scec Showcase.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Hello - nice to meet you! The thing Harry was mentioning is the Speculative Fiction Showcase where we promote new releases and other stuffs.

(Sorry, sales pitch over). 

http://indiespecfic.blogspot.co.uk/


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome to everyone who's new. And as Jessica said, if you have a new release (i.e. released in the past 30 days) or would like to submit a guest post or be interviewed, come on over to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Where does one find the rules for the blog hop?

I'm posting tomorrow, but apparently I'm supposed to mentioning who went before and after?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Patty, the person ahead of you is Amelia Smith, the one after you is Harry Manners. And here is the full blog hop info again.

Anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.

If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you:
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/12/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop-revisited.html
So you can check out the format and also the way they answered the questions.

New people and anybody else, let me know if you want a spot. Here is the full list (cut and pasted from my person doc, hence the German date format):

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	Jessica Rydill
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	Ted Cross
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	Patty Jansen
04.01.2015:	Harry Manners
11.01.2015:	Vincent Caine
18.01.2015: free
25.01.2015: free
01.02.2015: free


----------



## Marina Finlayson

Seems there are a few new book babies in the world lately. My first came out on Christmas Day, an urban fantasy. Congrats to my fellow debut authors!

I've never looked at this thread before, since I didn't have anything to high-five about. Now that my writing career's finally achieved lift-off I hope to get to know you all!


----------



## Jennifer R P

Could I have one of those last three spots? Any of them will work (I can always schedule if I think I'm going to be too busy that day).


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Someone already contacted me about January 18, but you can have January 25, Jennifer, if that's okay with you.


----------



## Jennifer R P

January 25 is...oh wait. That's the middle of my vacation. Hrm...might not be a good idea. I guess I'll have to wait until next time (Dang. I NEED to make sales...having a bad "life" right now).


----------



## CoraBuhlert

How about February 1 or February 8 then? Both dates are currently still free.


----------



## Jennifer R P

February 8 would be better. I'll be back by then.


----------



## Marina Finlayson

I'd like Jan 25, Cora, if it's still free.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Marina, I've pencilled you in for the 25th and Jennifer for February 8th. Meanwhile, here is the full schedule again plus instructions:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	Jessica Rydill
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	Ted Cross
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	Patty Jansen
04.01.2015:	Harry Manners
11.01.2015:	Vincent Caine
18.01.2015: C.N. Crawford
25.01.2015: Marina Finlayson
01.02.2015: free
08.02.2015: Jennifer R. Povey
15.02.2015:	free
22.02.2015:	free

Anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.

If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you:
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/12/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop-revisited.html


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Meanwhile, the Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up is up at my personal blog, crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

Lots of exciting new releases by names and faces that will be familiar from this thread and board as well as by non-KBoard authors.

As always, tweets, shares, likes, +1, tsu shares, etc... are appreciated.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Welcome to all the new people! New faces are the best faces.



CoraBuhlert said:


> As always, tweets, shares, likes, +1, tsu shares, etc... are appreciated.


Tsu shares are already a thing worth mentioning? Weird. I posted it on mine though (https://www.tsu.co/Phronk). Seems like a lot of writers are embracing Tsu, which is cool. Nice to have an alternative to Twitter and Facebook.


----------



## Becca Mills

Hey, thanks for listing my new release! So nice.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

You're welcome, Becca.


----------



## ElleChambers

Man...I go missing for half a year and this thread explodes. Congrats to all the people with new releases!


----------



## Aurora Springer

Cora,

If there are dates free in February or March, I'd like to join the Blog Hop. 
Happy New Year!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Aurora, I already posted the updated schedule a few posts above, but here it is again:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	Jessica Rydill
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	Ted Cross
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	Patty Jansen
04.01.2015:	Harry Manners
11.01.2015:	Vincent Caine
18.01.2015:  C.N. Crawford
25.01.2015: Marina Finlayson
01.02.2015: free
08.02.2015: Jennifer R. Povey
15.02.2015:	free
22.02.2015:	free
01.03.2015: free
08.03.2015:	free

Basically, all of February and March is free except for February 8. Let me know which date you'd pefer.


----------



## Aurora Springer

Cora,
I'd like Feb 15, to give me time to see how it works. 
Thanks


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Sure, I'll pencil you in for February 15, Aurora.


----------



## ElleChambers

Cora, may I have the February 1st slot?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Sure, Elle, I'll pencil you in.


----------



## ElleChambers

CoraBuhlert said:


> Sure, Elle, I'll pencil you in.


Thanks!


----------



## Harry Manners

https://harrymanners.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/meet-my-character/

My Meet Your Character Blog Hop post is up today.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Since we have a couple of new people on this thread, I'd also like to point out the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a blog for all things indie speculative fiction, which was born in this very thread due to the initiative of Heidi Garrett and is now run by Jessica Rydill and myself.

http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.de/

So if you have a new speculative fiction release (new means released in the past 30 days) or would like to do an author interview or submit a guest post, let us now. More detailed submission info may be found here. http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.de/p/authors.html

Finally, we also have a dedicated thread for updates to the Speculative Fiction Showcase here at KBoards: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,193539.0.html


----------



## Cactus Lady

I peek in sometimes, but I'd like to start participating. I'd like to do the character blog hop; is Feb. 22 still open? Or the 29th?

Also, I have a question about the New Release feature - It's too late to submit book 1 in my new series; can I request a feature on book 2 when it comes out?

Yesterday's featured book, To Whatever End, looks like exactly the kind of story I like!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Kyra, February 22 is still free, if you want it.

And I don't see a problem with submitting book 2 of your series, once it comes out. We've had a few sequels so far without having featured the previous books.


----------



## Cactus Lady

Awesome, thanks   I'll put the blog hop on my schedule, and also send in a submission when the next book is out (hopefully by the end of the month)


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Kyra Halland said:


> Awesome, thanks  I'll put the blog hop on my schedule, and also send in a submission when the next book is out (hopefully by the end of the month)


Kyra, I was going to add to what Cora said - that if your first book came out more than 30 days ago, we could still offer something like a guest post or an interview - if you look back on the blog you'll see that various authors have talked about their book(s) and a whole lot more in this way.


----------



## SB James

Hi everyone! I've been absent from this thread for a long time, since NaNoWriMo, I think  
I'm hoping to get some amazing things done in 2015, which is why I have to be selective about how much time I spend here on kboards and not getting sucked into some of the negative threads.
Still working on Book 3, and also I've been thinking of revising my permafree. I ran this idea by someone who promptly told me it was a bad idea to add material to a book I've already released and asking Amazon to update it. On the other hand, I would like to beef it up a bit, get a sneak peek for Book 1 in there, and update my front and back matter for all of those who downloaded the book in August and September. Oh, and I want to get updated covers to all people who have downloaded any of the books in the past... What do you think?


----------



## 68564

CoraBuhlert said:


> Kyra, February 22 is still free, if you want it.
> 
> And I don't see a problem with submitting book 2 of your series, once it comes out. We've had a few sequels so far without having featured the previous books.


Yeah, I think the fifth book in my series was the first one featured on the showcase....


----------



## WDR

Claire Frank said:


> Hey all. I keep popping in on this thread, so I thought I should jump in and actually participate . My first book just came out a couple of weeks ago. I write swords and sorcery or maybe epic-ish fantasy. I'm working hard on book 2, but wishing book 1 wasn't quite so invisible. I'll keep on keepin' on though.
> 
> Nice to "meet" you all!


Nice to meet you, Claire. I'm at the other side of your situation. First book out over a year now and still cranking on Book 2. Sadly, Book 1 fell off the charts and garners no more sales. So, I'm hoping the release of Book 2 will rejuvenate the sales on Book 1.

The best thing you can do is keep on cranking them out. Eventually, your audience will find your books. For now, focus on writing for the enjoyment of writing your stories. You'll get better that way.


----------



## WDR

Phronk said:


> Welcome to all the new people! New faces are the best faces.
> 
> Tsu shares are already a thing worth mentioning? Weird. I posted it on mine though (https://www.tsu.co/Phronk). Seems like a lot of writers are embracing Tsu, which is cool. Nice to have an alternative to Twitter and Facebook.


Phronk (and others), any insight you can give about Tsu?

Unfortunately, it seems to be a closed-gate community so I can't just go a peruse around to see what its about.

Along these lines, I'm in Ello now: http://www.ello.co/w_d_richards

It's always good to get started early with a new social network, before it becomes a sophomoric pile of halfwits and cute kitty photos.


----------



## SB James

I've heard about both Ello and tsu, but tsu more so. A lot of people who I know of that are on there seem to like to invite others to tsu. I think if you know someone on there, they could just give you a link to their profile and from there you can join.


----------



## Cactus Lady

JessieCar said:


> Kyra, I was going to add to what Cora said - that if your first book came out more than 30 days ago, we could still offer something like a guest post or an interview - if you look back on the blog you'll see that various authors have talked about their book(s) and a whole lot more in this way.


Cool, thanks  I knew about guest posts and author interviews; I hadn't thought about using them to introduce my series. Right now I'm slogging my way out of holiday exhaustion, but this is top of my list of things to do when my brain is working again.


----------



## Claire Frank

WDR said:


> Nice to meet you, Claire. I'm at the other side of your situation. First book out over a year now and still cranking on Book 2. Sadly, Book 1 fell off the charts and garners no more sales. So, I'm hoping the release of Book 2 will rejuvenate the sales on Book 1.
> 
> The best thing you can do is keep on cranking them out. Eventually, your audience will find your books. For now, focus on writing for the enjoyment of writing your stories. You'll get better that way.


Thank you! Good luck on finishing book 2!


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Kyra Halland said:


> Cool, thanks  I knew about guest posts and author interviews; I hadn't thought about using them to introduce my series. Right now I'm slogging my way out of holiday exhaustion, but this is top of my list of things to do when my brain is working again.


Sounds good to me! Couldn't agree more about the non-working brain thing.

Hello Claire! Nice to meet you.


----------



## Jennifer R P

I think I'm going to try and get a new release announcement on book 2. Which I can start doing final edits on once I've finished this proofreading and written the February episode of my web series...yeah...uh...*buried*


----------



## P.T. Phronk

SB James said:


> I've heard about both Ello and tsu, but tsu more so. A lot of people who I know of that are on there seem to like to invite others to tsu. I think if you know someone on there, they could just give you a link to their profile and from there you can join.


That's how I understand it too. There's some sort of family tree structure in place, where people you invite go under you in a hierarchy. There's also monetization tied to that. I think people higher in this vaguely pyramid-shaped scheme get a few more pennies in advertising dollars.

It's all kind of odd, but I've been enjoying checking in occasionally to get away from the noise of Twitter. http://www.tsu.co/Phronk is my URL, or there are threads with a lot of other people's profiles if you don't wanna be part of my weird Tsu family.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I debuted the cover art for Part 2 of my post-apocalyptic western today. I really like it--I think it aligns well with theme established with _Part 1_.


----------



## Harry Manners

That's some beautiful artwork, Elliot. Totally agree with you on the inkeeping with the tone of the first.
I'm assuming this will be a trilogy? If so, I can already picture the set sitting pretty on a bookshelf.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Looks great, Elliot.


----------



## Becca Mills

Wow. Love that cover, Elliot!


----------



## Cactus Lady

Great cover! And I'm going to have to check out those books; grabbed the first one.


----------



## Jennifer R P

I have book 2 of my series coming out on February 6 (pre-orders open now). I seem to recall you do release announcements?


----------



## Robert Dahlen

Willow, the amazing artist who does the covers for my Monkey Queen books, just turned in the final art for the cover for the third book, and it is gorgeous! I just had to share.


----------



## Lunachick

it's gorgeous Robert


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, everyone. 

All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers.



Harry Manners said:


> That's some beautiful artwork, Elliot. Totally agree with you on the inkeeping with the tone of the first.
> I'm assuming this will be a trilogy? If so, I can already picture the set sitting pretty on a bookshelf.


This series is a bit different. I'm calling it a mini-series--I have four parts planned. Each is about 20k words and shifts the attention to a different character (within the same overarching story).

I'm having a good start to the year. Irradiados, the Spanish translation of Irradiated, came out in Dec/Jan. ...at the End of the World (Part 2) will come out in Feb, and Aberrated (the final novel in The Tunnel Trilogy) is on track for March! Plus I have a 10k word story in an upcoming anthology. 

Which brings me to my next issue... I've been thinking about my next novel. I'm going on a weekend writers' retreat in a couple of weeks, and hope to start writing it then. The retreat is beachside (google Stradbroke Island), which suits my novel quite well. The problem I'm having is that I want to call the novel "The Pearl Diver", but a quick search tells me there's at least two novels with that name already (though not in my genre). Do you think it's important to have a unique name for your books?


----------



## Claire Frank

I don't think it's a big deal if your novel has the same name as a couple others, especially if they are in different genres. If there were tons of them, I'd probably pick a new name, but one or two wouldn't bother me. Will it be part of a series? Because that would help differentiate it as well (although if it isn't, I wouldn't say that's a deal breaker). Just my two cents .

I'm having a heck of a time coming up with a title for my WIP. Ugh. I have an artist starting on the cover next week, so I need to get cracking pretty quick here.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Yeah, coming up with a title can be tough. That's the main reason I don't really want to change names.

I find having a title early on can help when writing the book. It's a good motivator. Though I wrote 'Irradiated' without having a title yet. My working title was 'Heat and Respirators' haha.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Great cover, Robert. Willow outdid herself again.



Jennifer R P said:


> I have book 2 of my series coming out on February 6 (pre-orders open now). I seem to recall you do release announcements?


The Speculative Fiction Showcase (which actually has its own thread) indeed does new release announcements and we'd be happy to feature you (this goes for everybody who has a new spec fic release). The submission info is here. We usually need: cover, blurb, excerpt (approx. 500 words), buy links, release date, genre/subgenre, author photo and bio.

You can send the info when the book is out or now, if you have it, and we'll schedule the announcement.


----------



## 68564

Love it!! Great art!


----------



## Robert Dahlen

VydorScope said:


> Love it!! Great art!


Vydor, were you referring to my cover, or Elliot's? Either way, you're right.  Lunachick and Cora, thanks for the kind words! I'll pass them on to Willow.

Elliot, my one thought on your title: Will your book be easy to find by just the title if someone is searching for it on Amazon or Google but doesn't know or forgot the author's name? That shouldn't be the only factor in picking or sticking with a title, but it may be something to consider.


----------



## 68564

Robert Dahlen said:


> Vydor, were you referring to my cover, or Elliot's? Either way, you're right.


hehe, both!   Really both are great, but I really like how your artwork came out!


----------



## Robert Dahlen

VydorScope said:


> hehe, both!   Really both are great, but I really like how your artwork came out!


Thanks! But all the credit has to go to Willow. She did all the work, after all.


----------



## Lunachick

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Do you think it's important to have a unique name for your books?


As a reader it wouldn't bother me so long as it wasn't a really famous title. If I heard about your book and was motivated to search for it I would be happy to read the blurbs of 2 or 3 books to find the one I wanted. I would definitely look at covers to see which book I would investigate first, so if the covers match the genre I would say it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Great cover too btw


----------



## Harry Manners

It definitely depends on genre, too. There are several books that share the name with my post-apoc debut, but they're all romance series. No readers have complained thus far about finding it.


----------



## Jennifer R P

I think I'll wait, that way I can give the B&N link as well (hopefully).


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Great covers, Eliot and Robert.


----------



## Ceinwen

I wouldn't stress about a few other books sharing your title, unless it was a mega seller. We're at the point where there are so many ebooks out there it's going to be pretty tricky to come up with something completely new without getting into some weird wording!


----------



## WDR

Claire Frank said:


> I'm having a heck of a time coming up with a title for my WIP.


How about _Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying_? 

_(Couldn't resist. Every time I have trouble titling a story, that one pops into my head&#8230 (I'd've suggested _David Kopperfield_, but I suspect the ghost of Edmund Wells would have risen up with his ex-parrot to smite me.)_


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Bill, this reminded me of a story about Herge, the artist who created Tintin.

When he wanted to do a book about a moon landing, he chose the title _On a marche sur la lune_ which is called _Explorers on the Moon_ in English.

His publishers at the time didn't like the new title because it contained no reference to Tintin. Herge refused to compromise, and threatened to call it _No salami for Celimene_ unless they agreed to his demands.

(Who is Edmund Wells and his ex-parrot?)


----------



## Claire Frank

WDR said:


> How about _Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying_?
> 
> _(Couldn't resist. Every time I have trouble titling a story, that one pops into my head...) (I'd've suggested _David Kopperfield_, but I suspect the ghost of Edmund Wells would have risen up with his ex-parrot to smite me.)_


At this point, I'm seriously considering "The Book With No Title," so your suggestion beats that. Perhaps I'll just have to write in an aardvark for good measure.

My husband and I have been throwing titles at each other all day via skype and text. I hate all his ideas and he hates all my ideas. I'm not sure this is going to end well.  (And I'm being dramatic - but seriously, I did not have this much trouble with book one. I don't know what my deal is.)


----------



## 68564

Claire Frank said:


> At this point, I'm seriously considering "The Book With No Title," so your suggestion beats that. Perhaps I'll just have to write in an aardvark for good measure.
> 
> My husband and I have been throwing titles at each other all day via skype and text. I hate all his ideas and he hates all my ideas. I'm not sure this is going to end well.  (And I'm being dramatic - but seriously, I did not have this much trouble with book one. I don't know what my deal is.)


 Go here: http://fantasynamegenerators.com/book-title-generator.php


----------



## WDR

LOL! You people get out too much.

Here is the reference for _Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying_: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me3f7rI9AOk

(One of my favorite Monty Python sketches, though this is an earlier version with Cleese and Marty Feldman. I couldn't find a recording of the one from the _Contractual Obligation Album_.)


----------



## Claire Frank

VydorScope said:


> Go here: http://fantasynamegenerators.com/book-title-generator.php


My hero! *holds hand up to forehead and swoons*

Actually, this title generator is fun. How about "Bleeding at the River" or "Turtles of the Banished". Good, yes?


----------



## 68564

Claire Frank said:


> My hero! *holds hand up to forehead and swoons*
> 
> Actually, this title generator is fun. How about "Bleeding at the River" or "Turtles of the Banished". Good, yes?


Ha! Glad to be of service! 

That site has a TON of name generators. Whenever I get stuck on a name, I go there and run through a few interations and usually find something that I can use pretty fast (though I often tweak spelling to fit my society/world better).


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I use these generators for planet and city names, because a Galactic Empire has so many planets (and planets have cities) that naming them all is something of a chore.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

WDR said:


> LOL! You people get out too much.
> 
> Here is the reference for _Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying_: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me3f7rI9AOk
> 
> (One of my favorite Monty Python sketches, though this is an earlier version with Cleese and Marty Feldman. I couldn't find a recording of the one from the _Contractual Obligation Album_.)


Thank you, Bill. LOL. The awful thing is that I believe some bookshop customers really behave like that!

The name generators are fun.


----------



## NotHere

I tend to straddle the line between the real and unreal. I'm not sure what the current state in speculative fiction in indie publishing is at this point. I still haven't completely determined a genre, but have a vague idea.

I'm just going to chill, and see what you guys are up to.^^


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

I'm running my first free promo and it started going bezerk. It's still day 1 and I've moved 1300 copies. I was *really* confused because I don't have any advertising planned until tomorrow. I haven't even announced it anywhere. 

Turns out Pixel of Ink picked me up as one of their morning deals. I didn't even apply. Crazy stuff.


----------



## SB James

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I'm running my first free promo and it started going bezerk. It's still day 1 and I've moved 1300 copies. I was *really* confused because I don't have any advertising planned until tomorrow. I haven't even announced it anywhere.
> 
> Turns out Pixel of Ink picked me up as one of their morning deals. I didn't even apply. Crazy stuff.


From what I've understood, that's how Pixel of Ink works. Congratulations!!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

SB James said:


> From what I've understood, that's how Pixel of Ink works. Congratulations!!


So it seems!

I've been knocked back by BookBub a billion times, so to get picked out of the blue by PoI is a really cool experience.


----------



## Ceinwen

Pixel of Ink picked me up on my first free run and it sent my downloads through the roof. They're good people


----------



## Meryl Stenhouse

Dropping in to wave hello, and so I can track the thread 

M


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Ceinwen L. said:


> Pixel of Ink picked me up on my first free run and it sent my downloads through the roof. They're good people


I agree! Great people.

They've pushed me into the Top 100 for free books. Boggles my mind.


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I agree! Great people.
> 
> They've pushed me into the Top 100 for free books. Boggles my mind.


That is awesome, Elliot and very well deserved. Congrats!


----------



## mphicks

OK, I'm having too many difficulties trying to get a good-sized image posted here, but you can head over to http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2015/01/22/cover-reveal-no-way-home/ for the cover reveal of a new anthology, NO WAY HOME. Authors include our very own Lucas Bale, S. Elliot Brandis, and Harry Manners, as well as me, with the short story REVOLVER. Release date is March 2, 2015, so please give it a look-see and feel free to share!


----------



## Stewart Matthews

mphicks said:


> OK, I'm having too many difficulties trying to get a good-sized image posted here, but you can head over to http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2015/01/22/cover-reveal-no-way-home/ for the cover reveal of a new anthology, NO WAY HOME. Authors include our very own Lucas Bale, S. Elliot Brandis, and Harry Manners, as well as me, with the short story REVOLVER. Release date is March 2, 2015, so please give it a look-see and feel free to share!


Upload your image at imgur.com. You can resize it there, then post it here.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

mphicks said:


> OK, I'm having too many difficulties trying to get a good-sized image posted here, but you can head over to http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2015/01/22/cover-reveal-no-way-home/ for the cover reveal of a new anthology, NO WAY HOME. Authors include our very own Lucas Bale, S. Elliot Brandis, and Harry Manners, as well as me, with the short story REVOLVER. Release date is March 2, 2015, so please give it a look-see and feel free to share!


That's great, Mike. Good-looking cover and anthology.


----------



## mphicks

JessieCar said:


> That's great, Mike. Good-looking cover and anthology.


Thanks, Jessica! I've read a few of the stories appearing, and they were all top-notch stuff. Can't wait to see how the rest turns out, but I think people are going to dig it.

Stephen - good call on imgur! Thanks for the reminder on that.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Here's the cover:








So excited to be part of this!


----------



## Patty Jansen

This is a really nice cover. Who did it?


----------



## Patty Jansen

On the subject of new releases, in my sig file you can see that book 3 of the Ambassador series is now out and live everywhere (including Apple ggggrrrr). Here is a larger image of the cover. Cora, I forgot where to apply to have it included in the specfic monthly new releases post.


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Here's the cover:
> 
> So excited to be part of this!


Great cover!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Patty Jansen said:


> This is a really nice cover. Who did it?


Jason Gurley.


----------



## Patty Jansen

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Jason Gurley.


That's why I was asking. Judging by the sepia monotone filter, I thought it was him, but I also thought he didn't do covers anymore.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Patty Jansen said:


> That's why I was asking. Judging by the sepia monotone filter, I thought it was him, but I also thought he didn't do covers anymore.


Yeah, he's retired for the most part. We got a bit lucky.

The colours are very Jason.


----------



## Aurora Springer

I'm releasing my latest in parts, as the editing gets done. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SG91AHE
The complete work will be a trilogy.


----------



## Aurora Springer

Trying to get cover image.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Patty Jansen said:


> On the subject of new releases, in my sig file you can see that book 3 of the Ambassador series is now out and live everywhere (including Apple ggggrrrr). Here is a larger image of the cover. Cora, I forgot where to apply to have it included in the specfic monthly new releases post.


I'll include it, no problem.


----------



## Claire Frank

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Here's the cover:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So excited to be part of this!


This cover is the BOMB. Love it.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Here's the cover:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So excited to be part of this!


I'm glad he's popped out of retirement, because that cover is beeeauuutiful.


----------



## mphicks

Thanks for posting the cover, Elliot! You've saved me from opening yet one more website account...


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Very nice cover, Elliot. _Ambassador _looking good too, Patty!


----------



## scifi365

That cover is awesome, Michael and the whole concept sounds great.

If you've got a minute to ping us an ePub of the completed book, we'd be happy to take a look. I can see our subscribers loving that. We always, always do well with short story anthologies.


----------



## Andrei Cherascu

Really cool cover and awesome-sounding anthology. I'm definitely picking it up!


----------



## mphicks

scifi365 said:


> That cover is awesome, Michael and the whole concept sounds great.
> 
> If you've got a minute to ping us an ePub of the completed book, we'd be happy to take a look. I can see our subscribers loving that. We always, always do well with short story anthologies.


Noted! I just sent you an e-mail regarding this.


----------



## mphicks

Andrei Cherascu said:


> Really cool cover and awesome-sounding anthology. I'm definitely picking it up!


Thanks, Andrei! Keep an out for purchase links soon. Release is March 2.


----------



## 68564

Sooooo umm I kind of have a tiny new release... and by tiny I mean its only 6k words, and 99 cents... and my first book in my 5 years of publishing to be in Select/KU.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on the new releases, everyone.

Feel free to submit them to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

It's time again for Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, the massive monthly round-up of newly released indie SF, fantasy and horror, which was actually born right here in this thread. Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month is posted on my personal blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase:

http://corabuhlert.com/2015/01/31/indie-speculative-fiction-of-the-month-for-january-2015/
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2015/01/indie-speculative-fiction-of-month-for.html

As always, shares, likes, tweets, +1s, tsu shares, etc... are appreciated.


----------



## Cactus Lady

I'm still planning on submitting something about my previous book; its term in Select ends tomorrow so I've been busy getting the different editions ready to upload everywhere else on Monday (and had another one come out of Select last week, so I was taking care of that too). And the next book in the series is coming out sometime in February, so I'll let you know about that. And I'm still on for the Meet My Character blog tour on the 22nd; is there a list showing who is going before and after me?


----------



## Aurora Springer

Kyra,

I'm doing Meet My Character on Feb 15th. 
My blog is http://AuroraSpringerNovels.blogspot.com

Aurora


----------



## Victoria J

I finally have a new release out this month. Feels great to have it finished and out there. I think i'll work on some other projects and take some time to do some reading of other indies before starting on my next book.


----------



## WDR

Hey everybody: the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Association is now accepting membership for self-published writers and small press publishers.

Blog entry with links here: http://goo.gl/QOR0Cd

This move helps legitimize self-published writers in the industry and makes it possible for us to now be nominated for the Nebula Award.


----------



## henderson

New poster, but have visiting this board for a long time.

My new and first book, Hondus Pointe, was published yesterday.

Hondus Pointe is the first book in the NAMBROC SEQUECE, which is a fantasy novella series.


----------



## Cactus Lady

Aurora Springer said:


> Kyra,
> 
> I'm doing Meet My Character on Feb 15th.
> My blog is http://AuroraSpringerNovels.blogspot.com
> 
> Aurora


Great, I've got you bookmarked and will add to my calendar


----------



## Jarrett Rush

Noticed that some conversation happened late last month about free runs. I was curious what kind of sell-through you all see with those. I am considering a free run on the first book in my series, Chasing Filthy Lucre, in a couple of weeks. Hoping that it will get me more reviews. I've been stuck on 15 forever. Also hoping that it will get more eyes on the second book, Finding Faded Light, that came out last week. My book did fine on Day 1, but that was the usual suspects buying. I haven't been able to move many copies since, and I don't want to waste those valuable days I have on the New Release list.

So, how have free days worked for you all?

And, for those curious, the books are future noir. A little bit Blade Runner and a little bit Fight Club. Not sure if I'm writing in too niche of a genre and maybe there's just not much audience there for my books.


----------



## WDR

Jarrett Rush said:


> Noticed that some conversation happened late last month about free runs. I was curious what kind of sell-through you all see with those... ...So, how have free days worked for you all?
> 
> And, for those curious, the books are future noir. A little bit Blade Runner and a little bit Fight Club. Not sure if I'm writing in too niche of a genre and maybe there's just not much audience there for my books.


_*Edit:* 2015-02-06 update: I originally had "Bublish" below where I meant BookBub. I was distracted and didn't proofread my post before sending it off. I have corrected the entry below. Bulblish is a competitor to BookBub. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused._

On freebie offers, whether a temporary run or "perma-free", it depends. Flipping through my memory of earlier conversations about free giveaways, it seems the authors most successful with it are those that have at least four other books available for purchase in their title list. Some writers swear by it, others had no luck.

One factor that plays heavily into whether or not a free giveaway is successful is proper advance marketing of the event. BookBub seems to be a very effective channel through which to promote a sale price or a free giveaway, as BookBub has built up a good following among readers. If you just set up the giveaway without giving advance notice, you are not likely to see much traffic on it. A favorite quote used by a publisher I used to work for was, "A man who doesn't advertise is like a man who is winking in the dark. He knows what he is doing, but nobody else does."

As far as the question is your story in too small a niche? I don't think I can give a clear answer for that. Any good story will stand out, no matter how oddball or focused it is, no matter what genre it is in. (Or not in.)


----------



## Jarrett Rush

Forgot to mention that I'd be doing some promotion around the free days. As a lark, I did promotion-free free run before my days ran out on another book and the results were lackluster. But I had no expectations for that run. It was just to see what would happen.

This time I'd put a little bit of weight behind it to try and drive traffic.

But thanks for the advice. Especially the part about having more books. I have four, but they are two each in unrelated series. I keep telling myself that this year is all about building the base. Get a nice foundation of books published, then you can worry about how you will promote them all. It's hard though. You spend so much time getting something to the point of publishable that you don't want it to just sit and languish at the bottom of a deep pile of books available.


----------



## mphicks

WDR said:


> Hey everybody: the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Association is now accepting membership for self-published writers and small press publishers.
> 
> Blog entry with links here: http://goo.gl/QOR0Cd
> 
> This move helps legitimize self-published writers in the industry and makes it possible for us to now be nominated for the Nebula Award.


That's great news! I don't qualify either, just yet, but maybe someday. It's heartening to see SFWA recognizing indies as legitimate authors. Very cool.


----------



## Stewart Matthews

WDR said:


> On freebie offers, whether a temporary run or "perma-free", it depends. Flipping through my memory of earlier conversations about free giveaways, it seems the authors most successful with it are those that have at least four other books available for purchase in their title list. Some writers swear by it, others had no luck.
> 
> One factor that plays heavily into whether or not a free giveaway is successful is proper advance marketing of the event. Bublish seems to be a very effective channel through which to promote a sale price or a free giveaway, as Bublish has built up a good following among readers. If you just set up the giveaway without giving advance notice, you are not likely to see much traffic on it. A favorite quote used by a publisher I used to work for was, "A man who doesn't advertise is like a man who is winking in the dark. He knows what he is doing, but nobody else does."
> 
> As far as the question is your story in too small a niche? I don't think I can give a clear answer for that. Any good story will stand out, no matter how oddball or focused it is, no matter what genre it is in. (Or not in.)


What's bublish? From what I can tell, it looks like a marketing platform that lets you share out quotes from your book? Is that effective?


----------



## Marina Finlayson

WDR said:


> This move helps legitimize self-published writers in the industry and makes it possible for us to now be nominated for the Nebula Award.


Oh, I hadn't considered the awards nomination angle. That could be huge!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Indies actually could be nominated for the Nebulas before and Linda Nagata was nominated for an indie published book. Though it was hard for non-SFWA indies to get nominated.


----------



## samvsuel

This seems like as good of a place as any to make an unofficial introduction.
I'm gearing up to crank through some speculative fiction short stories this year (targeting 12.5k words or less). 

Seems like a lot of you are already off to a killer start this year.

Cheers, and High-Five!


----------



## WDR

M Stephen Stewart said:


> What's bublish? From what I can tell, it looks like a marketing platform that lets you share out quotes from your book? Is that effective?


Ugh! Major editing error. The result of trying to rush through the post too quickly.I meant BookBub. Bublish is another ebook promotion site that I've tried, but just didn't seem to be as successful as other authors do on BookBub.

At the bottom of my website, I have a Bublish bubble showing off my first book, Nobody. Essentially, it is an ad that allows the reader to read a sample of the book right there, without having to go to another site to download the file before reading it. I figured it was worth a shot and it was free.

With BookBub, there is a fee for running a promotion through them. Makes sense, they are an advertising firm. Not having any money, I haven't done a BookBub promotion yet.


----------



## Jarrett Rush

I don't write long enough for BookBub and don't make enough money to justify the cost of an ad there. My experience with other promo sites have been hit or miss so far, so I'd really like to see what kind of results I could get with a BB ad since they seem to be the gold standard.


----------



## Victoria J

WDR, do you find using Bublish effective for attracting readers? Do they check out your website or other books after having read your stuff there? I've been on the fence about using it.


----------



## Jennifer R P

The Silent Years: Crone is live. Still waiting on the editor on Maiden.


----------



## Sandra K. Williams

Jennifer R P said:


> The Silent Years: Crone is live. Still waiting on the editor on Maiden.


Wait a minute, aren't those books out of sequence?


----------



## WDR

Victoria J said:


> WDR, do you find using Bublish effective for attracting readers? Do they check out your website or other books after having read your stuff there? I've been on the fence about using it.


I tried them as a freebie, but I cannot attribute any traffic or sales to Bublish. It's possible there was traffic via them, however I have no way of discovering how much traffic they may have generated. It is highly possible that I simply haven't utilized their tools the way they are supposed to be used and therefore my lack of results is my fault.

I do like that they allow a sample of the book to be read within the ad they create. I think that's a great idea, especially if I utilize that in an ad campaign-which is what I believe it is supposed to be used for. Of course, that means not only do I have to pay for the Bublish service, I would also have to pay an ad server (Google, Apple, etc.) to actually carry the ads. The costs build up and at the moment I am far below even a shoestring budget. So, again, I'm probably not utilizing Bublish in the way it is supposed to be used.


----------



## Jennifer R P

Yes, technically Maiden should have been first, but it refers to the life stages of the MCs (a woman with children, an older woman in a position of power and, in the last book, a teenaged girl).


----------



## 68564

Gonna brag a little.... Audiobook Monthly not only reviewed BOTH of my current audio books, but my narrator was interviewed for the issue!

Intreview: http://www.audiobookmonthly.com/page672.html
Book 1 Review: http://www.audiobookmonthly.com/page670.html
Book 2 Review: http://www.audiobookmonthly.com/page667.html


----------



## Marina Finlayson

That's pretty cool, Vydor. Congrats!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats, Vincent. That's pretty cool.


----------



## Cactus Lady

I'm on for the Meet My Character blog hop this Sunday, the 22nd. I've got the link to Aurora Springer, who went before me; I need to know who comes after me so I can link to them.

(Or did I kill the hop?   )


----------



## Victoria J

Thanks WDR. Vydor, that sounds awesome!

I've stared a new podcast to 'audio cast" my short fiction. it's called Other Worlds podcast. I'm thinking of eventually hiring a narrator do do my full length novels and go through Podiobooks but i think I can handle my short stories. The first episode is up!

http://theotherworldspodcast.blogspot.com/


----------



## CoraBuhlert

At the moment, there is nobody after you in the Meet My Character blog hop, but if anybody wants to have a go, we have plenty of free slots:

Here's the full schedule plus instructions:

07.09.2014:	Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014:	E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014:	Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014:	Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014:	Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014:	SB James 
19.10.2014:	Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014:	William D. Richards
02.11.2014:	Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014:	Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014:	Jessica Rydill
07.12.2014:	Rachel Medhurst 
14.12.2014:	Ted Cross
21.12.2014:	Amelia Smith
28.12.2014:	Patty Jansen
04.01.2015:	Harry Manners
11.01.2015:	Vincent Caine
18.01.2015: C.N. Crawford
25.01.2015: Marina Finlayson
01.02.2015: Elle Chambers
08.02.2015: Jennifer R. Povey
15.02.2015:	Aurora Springer
22.02.2015:	Kyra Halland
01.03.2015: free
08.03.2015:	free
15.03.2015:	free
22.03.2015:	free
29.03.2015:	free

Anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.

If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you:
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/12/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop-revisited.html
So you can check out the format and also the way they answered the questions


----------



## Cactus Lady

Thanks, Cora. I'll check back before I put up my post to see if anyone signed up. Or they can contact me directly via my site: www.kyrahalland.com

I hope I didn't kill the hop!  

Update: here's my Meet My Character post: http://www.kyrahalland.com/blog/meet-my-character-lainie-banfrey
If anyone decides they want to go next, I'll be happy to update the post to link to them. Just let me know!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

In blog tour related news, I just put up my stop in the 'work in progress' blog tour -- http://selliotbrandis.com/the-work-in-progress-blog-tour-the-pearl-diver/. I get to link to two of kboard's own -- Ceinwen Langley and Christine Reyes.

I apologise in advance for my dodgy sense of humour.

Keep hoppin'!


----------



## Robert Dahlen

The preorder for the third book in my Monkey Queen series wrapped up, and it's now live.

In related news, I am a very happy writer.

In other related news, I need to update my sig when I have more time. 

ETA: Time found!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

It's the last day of the month (well, here in Germany it already is), therefore it's time again for Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, my round-up of newly released science fiction, fantasy and horror books by indie authors.

The post is up on my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

Meanwhile, the meet my character blog hop seems to have run out of participants, so let me know if you'd like to take part.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Since there were no takers for the "Meet My Character" blog hop for today, I did another post introducing Richard Blakemore a.k.a. the Silencer. You can read it here: http://corabuhlert.com/2015/03/01/meet-my-character-richard-blakemore/

Also, if anybody wants to do a "Meet My Character" post, let me know. Here is the full schedule and the instructions again:



> Here's the full schedule plus instructions:
> 
> 07.09.2014: Jamie Maltman
> 15.09.2014: E.W. Pierce
> 21.09.2014: Stacy Claflin
> 28.09.2014: Jessica Rydill
> 05.10.2014: Cora Buhlert
> 12.10.2014: SB James
> 19.10.2014: Jolie du Pre
> 26.10.2014: William D. Richards
> 02.11.2014: Landon Porter
> 09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
> 16.11.2014: Robert Dahlen
> 23.11.2014: Robert Dahlen, take 2
> 30.11.2014: Jessica Rydill
> 07.12.2014: Rachel Medhurst
> 14.12.2014: Ted Cross
> 21.12.2014: Amelia Smith
> 28.12.2014: Patty Jansen
> 04.01.2015: Harry Manners
> 11.01.2015: Vincent Caine
> 18.01.2015: C.N. Crawford
> 25.01.2015: Marina Finlayson
> 01.02.2015: Elle Chambers
> 08.02.2015: Jennifer R. Povey
> 15.02.2015: Aurora Springer
> 22.02.2015: Kyra Halland
> 01.03.2015: Cora Buhlert (take 2)
> 08.03.2015: free
> 15.03.2015: free
> 22.03.2015: free
> 29.03.2015: free
> 
> Anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:
> 
> First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:
> 
> 1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
> 2) When and where is the story set?
> 3) What should we know about him or her?
> 4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
> 5) What is the personal goal of the character?
> 6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
> 7) When was the book published?
> 
> Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.
> 
> If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you:
> http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/12/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop-revisited.html
> So you can check out the format and also the way they answered the questions


----------



## 68564

Yay! My 7th book is up for pre-order!


Sac'a'rith: Rebirth

Decided to put it on sale during the pre-order period too, cause I figure only my best readers will order ahead of release.


----------



## 68564

VydorScope said:


> Yay! My 7th book is up for pre-order!
> 
> 
> Sac'a'rith: Rebirth
> 
> Decided to put it on sale during the pre-order period too, cause I figure only my best readers will order ahead of release.


Oh Cora... look for an email later for the website... thanks!


----------



## Cactus Lady

Cora: I've updated my post with the link to yours.

This morning I got a tweet from a reader saying they enjoyed books 1 and 2 in my series and asking a question about later on in the series   I guess I have a fan   Made my day!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

New book added to sig. 

A new anthology, featuring several kboarders - Michael Hicks, Harry Manners, Lucas Bale, myself.

We're having a launch party over on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1383839981931731

Sales are good at the moment, especially in the UK.


----------



## mphicks

The US is shaping up really nicely as well! #2 in Hot New Releases in SciFi Anthologies and ranking nicely in several categories! Not a bad first day. 

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,709 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

    #14 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies & Short Stories
    #15 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies
    #56 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Hard Science Fiction


----------



## Christine Reyes

No Way Home was a fantastic read. Glad the launch is going well!


----------



## Shei Darksbane

Holy crap I just realized I'm a Speculative Fiction Author! 

Woo!  *high fives are on me tonight!*

I had no idea what that genre tag meant >_< 
Then again, I'm the author who was told by her sister a couple weeks ago that she wrote "Genre Fiction".

Where do all these come from?  I'm not a literary major. And apparently I've always just read books people gave me and never really thought too much about which genre tags they belonged in.
My friends know what I like haha. 

I feel like a dolt right now.  

HI ALL!


----------



## mphicks

Christine Reyes said:


> No Way Home was a fantastic read. Glad the launch is going well!


Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Christine.


----------



## 68564

Arshness said:


> Holy crap I just realized I'm a Speculative Fiction Author!
> 
> Woo!  *high fives are on me tonight!*
> 
> I had no idea what that genre tag meant >_<
> Then again, I'm the author who was told by her sister a couple weeks ago that she wrote "Genre Fiction".
> 
> Where do all these come from?  I'm not a literary major. And apparently I've always just read books people gave me and never really thought too much about which genre tags they belonged in.
> My friends know what I like haha.
> 
> I feel like a dolt right now.
> 
> HI ALL!


Welcome to the asylum!


----------



## 68564

mphicks said:


> The US is shaping up really nicely as well! #2 in Hot New Releases in SciFi Anthologies and ranking nicely in several categories! Not a bad first day.
> 
> Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,709 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
> 
> #14 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies & Short Stories
> #15 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies
> #56 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Hard Science Fiction


Yay!!! Congrats!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Kyra Halland said:


> Cora: I've updated my post with the link to yours.
> 
> This morning I got a tweet from a reader saying they enjoyed books 1 and 2 in my series and asking a question about later on in the series  I guess I have a fan  Made my day!


Thanks for the link, Kyra. I'll post an updated "Meet My Character" round-up post at the speculative fiction showcase on Thursday. *And if anybody else wants to introduce us to their character, March is still entirely free.*

Tweets from fans are great, aren't they? I'm always superthrilled, when I get one, because at least I know people are actually reading and enjoying the books rather than hoarding them or - worse - not enjoying them.

Congrats on the success of the anthology, Michael, Elliot and everybody else involved.

Arshness, welcome. I have a feeling you'll fit right in.


----------



## Aurora Springer

Hurrah! My new book releases tomorrow! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM... to the laptop for book 2 with 30k of scenes.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on your new release, Aurora.

Meanwhile, I have posted the updated "Meet My Character" blog hop list over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase:

http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2015/03/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop.html

As you see, we have run out of participants. If anybody is interested in introducing us to your character, please let me know.


----------



## 68564

Aurora Springer said:


> Hurrah! My new book releases tomorrow! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM
> It's book 1 in a trilogy, so back to the laptop for book 2 with 30k of scenes.


YAY!!! New releases rock!


----------



## Ted Cross

My second novel has gone live for pre-release on Amazon. It's in my signature line. I decided to try out Kindle Unlimited for this one, just to see what the difference is with my experience from the first one.


----------



## Shei Darksbane

Ted Cross said:


> My second novel has gone live for pre-release on Amazon. It's in my signature line. I decided to try out Kindle Unlimited for this one, just to see what the difference is with my experience from the first one.


Congrats Ted! And good luck!


----------



## Indecisive

Ted Cross said:


> My second novel has gone live for pre-release on Amazon. It's in my signature line. I decided to try out Kindle Unlimited for this one, just to see what the difference is with my experience from the first one.


Let us know how it goes. I did it the opposite way around. I did Select for 90 days and just went wide on Monday (to deafening silence), and am planning to go wide from the start with book 2, now on preorder.


----------



## Ted Cross

ameliasmith said:


> Let us know how it goes. I did it the opposite way around. I did Select for 90 days and just went wide on Monday (to deafening silence), and am planning to go wide from the start with book 2, now on preorder.


Well, I sell a lot on Amazon with the first and not much at all outside of Amazon. I've had single days on Amazon with more sales than all the other places altogether. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to give six months to Amazon on this one and see what happens.


----------



## Tyler Danann

David Adams said:


> And my axe.


And my bow.

Well I sometimes struggle to come up with a genre for my stuff as most of it takes place in a new epoch following an EMP-esque disaster.

Sci-Fantasy but with a twist from the very bowels of the earth!


----------



## Harry Manners

Woowoo, looks great, Aurora!

My second book is available for pre-order, and is released 20th March.

Excited to get back out there! My first dystopian, and I've taken the climate-change angle. I really enjoyed tackling environmental issues and building an autocratic nightmare on top.

Take a peek if you want:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TN80ETM

I'll post up progress on how it's going. Wish me luck!


----------



## csmanley

Hi! I just discovered this thread. Great idea.
I released my first book about a week ago. It's a modern sci-fi thriller with some horror elements. I'm currently just kind of letting it sit there in select while I plug away at the rest of the trilogy. Figured I'd focus on marketing once I've got a bit more of a backlist. Anybody have any thoughts on that strategy? I'm really pretty clueless about all this digital publishing and online presence/marketing stuff. Any feedback is welcome. Thanks.


----------



## Vaalingrade

Not a release announcement I'm having cover issues), but I did want to announce that this week will mark the 1st Anniversary of the Pen and Cape Society, a group dedicated to boosting the profile of the Superhero genre in prose.

Anyone that write in the genre and hasn't at least come by penandcapesociety.com should do so. We're all about working together, cross promotion and discussing the genre.


----------



## nek07

Thank you for posting this. I'm hoping my first novel fits the category.


----------



## Stephanie Marks

Oh fun! My urban fantasy short story "Hidden Falls" went live today. It's the first book to be published under my real name *happy dance*. My Silverlake Stories collection are short stories set in the same world as my novel. So I'm hoping that when my novel comes out, people will have already started to be invested in the world.


----------



## RN_Wright

I uploaded the complete episodes of Orlo Suggs, Space Dick yesterday. It's available for pre-order.


----------



## WDR

I got _Nobody_ accepted into Mark Lawrence's project to get blog reviewers to look at self-published books. Details here: http://goo.gl/BpqAb1

What I like about the structure of this challenge is everybody wins.

Ten reviewers get 25 books each to go through and choose their favorite. When all ten have put their suggestion into the pool, then all the reviewers will grade each of the ten semi-finalists. The winning book from the ten gets reviewed on all ten blogs at the same time. Plus, the reviewers can review any of the other books in their blocks as well.


----------



## Ancient Lawyer

Nice to see everyone still here (and lots of new people!).

Bill, that looks like a great idea - I hope it produces a result!

Congrats on all the new releases. It looks as if everyone has been very busy.

I'm out of hospital recuperating and hoping my brain comes back one day. Totally knackered at the moment but looking forward to getting back to the Spec Fic Showcase so Cora doesn't have to do everything herself!


----------



## Cherise

We are proud to announce that NASA Astronaut Dr. Kjell Lindgren is a Special Guest of Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention August 2015 in Spokane, Washington! 
http://sasquan.org/2015/03/new-guest-kjell-lindgren/

Dr. Lindgren will be participating in Sasquan while serving as a flight engineer on the International Space Station during NASA Expeditions 44 and 45. 
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition44
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition45.

Yes, for the first time in Worldcon history, we will be in direct communication with a member of our community - out of this world!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

That's really cool news about Sasquan.

Meanwhile, the Meet My Character blog hop is still going on. Genevieve McKay will be posting tomorrow and the week after (March 22) is still free, so if anybody would like to have a go, let me know:

Here is the current schedule:

March 15, 2015: Genevieve McKay
March 22, 2015: free
March 29, 2015: Sandy Hunter
April 05, 2015:	free
April 12, 2015:	free

And here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.


----------



## Victoria J

Don't have a new book out right now but I have a new podcast out, called Other Worlds. Two episodes are out right now. 

http://theotherworldspodcast.blogspot.com/


----------



## jdrew

I put one of my science fiction novels, _*Shepherds*_, on sale for 99 cents and already it has passed all my other books.
I am trying to spend more time writing a sequel, so what am I doing here?
Talking to all of you.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

I just finished the fourth Monkey Queen book. And by "finished", I mean "Could go to the formatters now, but I need to wait for the cover art so I'm still going to review the whole dang thing at least three times and make minor changes". 

I wanted to finish it today, 3/16, because it was two years ago today that, while looking for something else I was considering writing, I found the synopsis for a comic book series I had created 15 years earlier. I read it for the first time in years and came to a conclusion. The next night, I started writing the first Monkey Queen book.

I've been smiling every chance I get today, in gratitude that I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, even when I didn't realize it. I'm telling stories.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on finishing Monkey Queen book No. 4, Robert. And also congrats on the new podcast, Victoria.


----------



## Marina Finlayson

That's a great story, Robert. Congrats on your anniversary!


----------



## Robert Dahlen

Thank you, Cora and Marina! I decided to carry things over into today, to mark the two-year anniversary of when I actually started writing again, by putting a standalone excerpt from the fourth book on my blog: http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-author-archer-and-king-of-magpies.html


----------



## 68564

Robert Dahlen said:


> I just finished the fourth Monkey Queen book. And by "finished", I mean "Could go to the formatters now, but I need to wait for the cover art so I'm still going to review the whole dang thing at least three times and make minor changes".
> 
> I wanted to finish it today, 3/16, because it was two years ago today that, while looking for something else I was considering writing, I found the synopsis for a comic book series I had created 15 years earlier. I read it for the first time in years and came to a conclusion. The next night, I started writing the first Monkey Queen book.
> 
> I've been smiling every chance I get today, in gratitude that I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, even when I didn't realize it. I'm telling stories.


yay! Congrats!


----------



## 68564

Got me a new set of covers for an upcoming series:










They are by a brandy new cover artist named Adam : http://www.aroundthepages.com/


----------



## Josh St. John

VydorScope said:


> Got me a new set of covers for an upcoming series:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They are by a brandy new cover artist named Adam : http://www.aroundthepages.com/


Wow! Love those covers!


----------



## Robert Dahlen

VydorScope said:


> yay! Congrats!


Thanks! And allow me to also say "cool covers". What's the series about?


----------



## PaulLev

A real experiment: I wrote a short story last week - "The Other Car" - surreal, new weird, slipstream, alternate reality ... and put it on sale on Amazon for $0.99

As fate would have it, I sold a similar kind of story, "The Wallet," at about the same length - 5500 words - to _Sci Phi Journal #4_ a few months ago. I was paid 5-cents a word. (I could have tried magazines that pay twice as much per word and more, I know, but the philosophy theme of _Sci Phi_ was so in line with "The Wallet" that I couldn't resist.)

So - I know how much I made from _Sci Phi Journal_, and could have made if I sold "The Other Car" to a higher-paying pub. Will I do better with "The Other Car" on Amazon Kindle as a short story, priced at $0.99? That currently yields .30 per sale, but if it's chosen as a Kindle single, I'd get .70 per sale. And it's in KU, which pays around $1.40 per download.

I'll seriously report back here in a year, and let you know if I've exceeded the money I made from _Sci Phi Journal_ for "The Wallet," and might have made double if I submitted "The Other Car" to a 10-cents a word or better magazine. At this point, less than a week after publication, I've made about 1/5 of what I would have received from _Sci Phi Journal_ for the story. (The cover is three over from the right in my signature.)


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Gorgeous covers, Vincent.

Paul, let me know if you want us to feature "The Other Car" at the Speculative Fiction Showcase, cause we do take short stories.


----------



## PaulLev

CoraBuhlert said:


> Paul, let me know if you want us to feature "The Other Car" at the Speculative Fiction Showcase, cause we do take short stories.


I'd love that, Cora - thank you! What, if anything, do you need me to send to you?


----------



## 68564

PaulLev said:


> I'd love that, Cora - thank you! What, if anything, do you need me to send to you?


Chocolate never hurts.


----------



## 68564

CoraBuhlert said:


> Gorgeous covers, Vincent.


Thanks! I think Adam has a bright future!


----------



## 68564

Robert Dahlen said:


> Thanks! And allow me to also say "cool covers". What's the series about?


Thanks!

I am still working on the blurb, but this is my current draft:

The Silverleaf Chronicles: Season One follows the life of Silverleaf, a dragonmaster who was born into a world without dragons, and doomed to die as a madman alone in the wilderness until a young woman enters his life, and a mysterious army marches across the land destroying all its path.


----------



## Harry Manners

Vincent: Those are some wicked-looking covers! Silverleaf sounds like one to watch!

---

It's release day for my new dystopian novel, _Our Fair Eden_. Ads are all lined up, ARC reviewers poised. It's been a lot of fun this time around!

I've been so busy with university that I haven't really had the time to put together a rigorous campaign, so I've just taken it as read that this is going to be more of a learning experience, and I intend to just enjoy the ride. So far, the support has been amazing. Readers and fellow indies are a wonderful bunch.

What do y'all think of the cover?










Won't bore you with all the bumpf, so if you're interested then you can read about it here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25000611-our-fair-eden

---

Oh, and yesterday was my best sales day ever for _Ruin - Ruin Saga Book #1_. Woop woop!


----------



## Indecisive

Nice covers, Vincent.

Harry ... Sorry, I have a real aversion to titles in red, and the red spraypaint look against the pink floral background is just not working for me. I would go for a different title font and fade out the image in the middle (or make the frame grey) and possibly re-arrange the title around the central image, rather than on top of it.


----------



## Victoria J

Nice covers!


----------



## PaulLev

VydorScope said:


> Chocolate never hurts.


Never does


----------



## 68564

Harry Manners said:


> Vincent: Those are some wicked-looking covers! Silverleaf sounds like one to watch!


Hey thanks! Once the movie deal hits (  ) it will be one to watch!


----------



## 68564

PaulLev said:


> Never does


There is another thread with the details called :The SPECULATIVE FICTION Submissions requested (or something like that)


----------



## 68564

ameliasmith said:


> Nice covers, Vincent.


Thanks!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Here is the submission info for the Speculative Fiction Showcase. Jessica is still recuperating, so send everything to me for the time being.

For a new release spotlight, we need the cover, blurb, a short excerpt of approx. 500 words, buy links (Amazon and others, if applicable), a short author bio and author photo, if applicable.

Paul, Vincent, Harry, whoever has a new speculative fiction release, feel free to send me your info.


----------



## PaulLev

Thanks, Cora - just sent all of that via email your way - Paul


----------



## 68564

CoraBuhlert said:


> Paul, Vincent, Harry, whoever has a new speculative fiction release, feel free to send me your info.


I will when I actually have one... just have covers, still editing teh bok.


----------



## kyokominamino

Good afternoon, spec-ficcers!

I have a question, since I'm still kind of new to all of this: where would be a good place (other than Goodreads and LibraryThing) to look for fantasy readers to give my ARC of my upcoming urban fantasy novel, The Holy Dark? I'm planning on doing a Goodreads giveaway soon, but I couldn't find that many threads about ARCs in any of the groups I was in. Suggestions are most welcome. It's set for release in late April. I should have a date nailed down by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Thanks, guys!


----------



## RN_Wright

Paperback version is ready in the Createspace store! 
https://www.createspace.com/5368190


----------



## PaulLev

forgot to post this the other day ... proof that a short story, not connected to any series, can do well on Amazon as a standalone (The Other Car has dropped a little in the rankings since then, but it's still in the Top 40)


----------



## Indecisive

kyokominamino said:


> Good afternoon, spec-ficcers!
> 
> I have a question, since I'm still kind of new to all of this: where would be a good place (other than Goodreads and LibraryThing) to look for fantasy readers to give my ARC of my upcoming urban fantasy novel, The Holy Dark? I'm planning on doing a Goodreads giveaway soon, but I couldn't find that many threads about ARCs in any of the groups I was in. Suggestions are most welcome. It's set for release in late April. I should have a date nailed down by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Thanks, guys!


I think that Goodreads is really your best bet. Run a giveaway and tactfully approach a few select non-winners with an offer of a free ebook. LibraryThing can yield a few results, too. I did a 2-month run with Patchwork Press's Netgalley coop and got about 7 reviews out of that, maybe 8, with maybe 5 or 6 posted on Goodreads and only maybe 3 or 4 of those on Amazon. You can also get some by approaching book review bloggers directly, but it's very time consuming.

I'm currently trying out this review service: http://readingdeals.com/reviews I've gotten a couple of new reviews in the past few days but they don't appear to be related.


----------



## PaulLev

kyokominamino said:


> Good afternoon, spec-ficcers!
> 
> I have a question, since I'm still kind of new to all of this: where would be a good place (other than Goodreads and LibraryThing) to look for fantasy readers to give my ARC of my upcoming urban fantasy novel, The Holy Dark? I'm planning on doing a Goodreads giveaway soon, but I couldn't find that many threads about ARCs in any of the groups I was in. Suggestions are most welcome. It's set for release in late April. I should have a date nailed down by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Thanks, guys!


You can also try Absolute Write - http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30

Best luck with your work.


----------



## kyokominamino

ameliasmith said:



> I think that Goodreads is really your best bet. Run a giveaway and tactfully approach a few select non-winners with an offer of a free ebook. LibraryThing can yield a few results, too. I did a 2-month run with Patchwork Press's Netgalley coop and got about 7 reviews out of that, maybe 8, with maybe 5 or 6 posted on Goodreads and only maybe 3 or 4 of those on Amazon. You can also get some by approaching book review bloggers directly, but it's very time consuming.
> 
> I'm currently trying out this review service: http://readingdeals.com/reviews I've gotten a couple of new reviews in the past few days but they don't appear to be related.


Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into them. Goodreads giveaways are super helpful for getting people to add me to their TBR pile, but I've found the follow through of actual reviews is pretty dismal. You should see the one for The Deadly Seven. I'm on like 400 people's TBR shelves since May 2014 and the poor thing has 34 ratings and 9 reviews. It's just awful. This really is a game of patience, huh? ^^;


----------



## kyokominamino

PaulLev said:


> You can also try Absolute Write - http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30
> 
> Best luck with your work.


Thanks for the link and well wishes!


----------



## mphicks

kyokominamino said:


> Good afternoon, spec-ficcers!
> 
> I have a question, since I'm still kind of new to all of this: where would be a good place (other than Goodreads and LibraryThing) to look for fantasy readers to give my ARC of my upcoming urban fantasy novel, The Holy Dark? I'm planning on doing a Goodreads giveaway soon, but I couldn't find that many threads about ARCs in any of the groups I was in. Suggestions are most welcome. It's set for release in late April. I should have a date nailed down by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Thanks, guys!


Any past reviewers that you can contact? Or check out some reviewers of similar titles in the fantasy genre and see if you can reach out to them.


----------



## MarkTH

Hey, I'm brand spanking new to writing.  I've been a spec fic, SciFi, Fantasy nerd for as long as I can remember.  I'm writing what amazon calls space marine, though they haven't gotten off Earth yet.  I also wrote a book about good and evil working together, with two main characters, Lazarus and Lilith, shoved together by their bosses, God and Satan, to fight an outside threat.  I have no idea what genre that might be.  I've gotten a few good reviews, but I can't really get anybody to read it.
So, I pledge my hammer (I'm a big guy with a dwarven outlook on life).  Hopefully we can all help each other out.


----------



## kyokominamino

mphicks said:


> Any past reviewers that you can contact? Or check out some reviewers of similar titles in the fantasy genre and see if you can reach out to them.


I have considered that, but haven't reached out quite yet. Last time I did that I didn't get much in the way of follow through, but I will give it a shot anyhow. Thanks for the suggestion!


----------



## mphicks

kyokominamino said:


> I have considered that, but haven't reached out quite yet. Last time I did that I didn't get much in the way of follow through, but I will give it a shot anyhow. Thanks for the suggestion!


No problem, and good luck!


----------



## Scott_SA

I published a new short story (6500 words/99 cents). It's mostly a futuristic noir crime story. Already have 2 buyers who aren't me.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on publishing your story and getting your first two sales, Scott.

And since it's the last day of the month (well, in my part of the world at any rate), it's time for Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, the monthly round-up of newly released indie speculative fiction by indie authors, on my blog, crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.


----------



## Jennifer R P

How would I go about getting Maiden, release date April 3, added to the next roundup?


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Just send me the details, Jennifer. Here is the Speculative Fiction Showcase submission info. And if you want a new release spotlight for Maiden, let me know.


----------



## Aurora Springer

I recommend http://www.sfrstation.com[URL] for ...ww.facebook.com/events/1545629019032391/[URL]


----------



## JVRudnick

As a sciFi reader for over 50 years and a writer of same for a decade, I just wanted to let any of you who do sciFi short stories and there is a new magazine called NonLocal here - http://nonlocalscifi.com/ - that is looking for submissions for Issue #2!

I have a story in Issue #1 and it's been a great lot of fun working with this new magazine as it gets off the ground...Dan the Publisher/Editor is also a sciFi writer so you know it's a passion of his...

You should drop by and hit the Submissions button and send along a piece...that's what I did and I got published!!!


----------



## Jennifer R P

I'm a little concerned with their somewhat vague rating/morality stuff. You know the publisher - how likely is it that he would take issue with LGBT content?


----------



## Robert Dahlen

Today, to celebrate April Fool's Day, I've posted the new Monkey Queen short story "Three Women In A Stew (To Say Nothing Of The Guinea Pig)" to my blog. http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/three-women-in-stew-to-say-nothing-of.html

Today, to celebrate April Fool's Day, I've posted the new Monkey Queen short story "A Game Of Scones" to my blog. http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-game-of-scones-monkey-queen-short.html


----------



## Harry Manners

Got my first two-star review today. The reviewer is considering never doing R4R again.

I feel validated as an author now. I've finally annoyed someone. Yay!


----------



## Ceinwen

Haha congrats, Harry!


----------



## Lucas Bale

Harry Manners said:


> Got my first two-star review today. The reviewer is considering never doing R4R again.
> 
> I feel validated as an author now. I've finally annoyed someone. Yay!


I got a 1-star the other day that I think may be so insulting to other reviewers, it may actually persuade people the buy the book. Bless him, he couldn't have been more unpleasant if he tried. Ignore it Harry. When you get into the area of having more than a hundred reviews on your books, especially on Goodreads, there will always be some who don't like it and some who can't say that without being unpleasant about it.


----------



## Harry Manners

Oh I'm definitely taking it as a plus. You can't please everyone.
Okay, he didn't like it, but he gave his honest opinion, and that's exactly what I was looking for--an Amazon page full of glowing, plastic five star reviews is no good to me.


----------



## mphicks

Harry Manners said:


> Oh I'm definitely taking it as a plus. You can't please everyone.
> Okay, he didn't like it, but he gave his honest opinion, and that's exactly what I was looking for--an Amazon page full of glowing, plastic five star reviews is no good to me.


I'd like to think the one-star review I received a couple weeks ago gives me a little more authenticity. I'm not sure how honest his opinion is, since his reviews of other indie titles are all one-star as well, so it seems like he has a bit of an axe to grind. And his is the only severely dissenting opinion (there's some solid praise from a couple Top Amazon reviewers, plus my Publisher's Weekly review from the ABNA contest a few years ago, which helped supposedly sucker him into reading my book). But it off-sets all the positive reviews, so we'll see what happens. I guess I'm a full-fledged author now!


----------



## WDR

Harry Manners said:


> Got my first two-star review today. The reviewer is considering never doing R4R again.
> 
> I feel validated as an author now. I've finally annoyed someone. Yay!


Congrats, Harry!


----------



## PaulLev

The Plot to Save Socrates back in Kindle Top 100.


----------



## Harry Manners

That's excellent, congrats Paul!


----------



## 68564

PaulLev said:


> The Plot to Save Socrates back in Kindle Top 100.


Congrats!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congratulations, Paul.


----------



## PaulLev

Thanks - Harry, Vidor, and Cora!


----------



## mphicks

All right folks, here's the cover art for my upcoming sequel to Convergence:










You can see a bigger version of the image at this blog post: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2015/04/14/emergence-cover-reveal/

I'm really thrilled with the way this one came out!


----------



## Harry Manners

Loving it, Michael! The eyes are fantastic. So vulnerable, yet intent.


----------



## mphicks

Thanks, Harry!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

That's a great piece of artwork, Michael.


----------



## mphicks

Thanks, Cora! I'll be sending you an e-mail with release details a little later for the Showcase.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

mphicks said:


> All right folks, here's the cover art for my upcoming sequel to Convergence:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You can see a bigger version of the image at this blog post: http://michaelpatrickhicks.com/2015/04/14/emergence-cover-reveal/
> 
> I'm really thrilled with the way this one came out!


Love it!

It compliments your first cover so well.

I just released Aberrated today--the final novel in my tunnel trilogy. Feels really good to finish my first series. I'm running a big promo on all books to celebrate.


----------



## Harry Manners

Great news, Elliot. A complete trilogy, what an achievement!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, Harry!

The first book in my _next_ series is already in editing, so I'm feeling totally ahead of the curve right now. Loving it.


----------



## Harry Manners

Oh, man, that's a good place to be.

Time to kick back! (Yeah right, imagine an indie writer relaxing.)

Seriously, well done. I hope you're rewarding yourself somehow.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Harry Manners said:


> Oh, man, that's a good place to be.
> 
> Time to kick back! (Yeah right, imagine an indie writer relaxing.)
> 
> Seriously, well done. I hope you're rewarding yourself somehow.


Of course. By writing a story for the next anthology. 

Actually, I'm really enjoying my writing lately so none of it feels like work. My next book just rolled off the brain.

Plus, I'm planning for my next US holiday in September... which is almost as fun as the actual holiday.


----------



## Harry Manners

I'm working on my antho story, too. I love putting these together!

It's always great when it just pours out of your fingers. Almost makes up for the times when you have to scrape it out of your brain with a pen-knife.

Holiday planning! I just got back from 2 weeks in California. Amazing doesn't do it justice (pretty sure I want to move there).
What part of the states are you off to?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Harry Manners said:


> I'm working on my antho story, too. I love putting these together!
> 
> It's always great when it just pours out of your fingers. Almost makes up for the times when you have to scrape it out of your brain with a pen-knife.
> 
> Holiday planning! I just got back from 2 weeks in California. Amazing doesn't do it justice (pretty sure I want to move there).
> What part of the states are you off to?


Yeah, it was a great feeling. I'm itching to write the sequel--will start once I finish my antho piece.

This is my second trip the states. Last time was Texas-Louisiana-Florida. This time it's Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee-North Carolina, with a stint in LA on the way home. Most people in Aus do the LA-NYC-LV-SF combo, and don't really get it. But it aligns with my interests of baseball, bourbon, country music, hiking, and theme parks...


----------



## Christine Reyes

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I just released Aberrated today--the final novel in my tunnel trilogy. Feels really good to finish my first series. I'm running a big promo on all books to celebrate.


Congrats, can't wait to read it!


----------



## mphicks

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Love it!
> 
> It compliments your first cover so well.
> 
> I just released Aberrated today--the final novel in my tunnel trilogy. Feels really good to finish my first series. I'm running a big promo on all books to celebrate.


Thanks, Elliot, and kudos on the release! That signature line of yours is building up nicely.


----------



## Harry Manners

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Yeah, it was a great feeling. I'm itching to write the sequel--will start once I finish my antho piece.
> 
> This is my second trip the states. Last time was Texas-Louisiana-Florida. This time it's Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee-North Carolina, with a stint in LA on the way home. Most people in Aus do the LA-NYC-LV-SF combo, and don't really get it. But it aligns with my interests of baseball, bourbon, country music, hiking, and theme parks...


Sounds like a great route. Be sure to let us know how it goes!


----------



## henderson

Earlier this week, I published Crepier the third book in the Nambroc Sequence, a fantasy novella series.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

henderson said:


> Earlier this week, I published Crepier the third book in the Nambroc Sequence, a fantasy novella series.


Congrats! I love your themed covers.



mphicks said:


> Thanks, Elliot, and kudos on the release! That signature line of yours is building up nicely.


Now that you mention it, it is pretty satisfying seeing them all side by side. I remember when I could wait to release Irradiated, so I could put a book in my sig.



Christine Reyes said:


> Congrats, can't wait to read it!


Hope you enjoy it, Chrissie.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Oh, and in other exciting news... I'm going to release a paperback omnibus version of the trilogy. To make it a bit spesh, I commissioned some illustrations to use as the frontispiece for each book.

Sneak peak:










(I'm keeping the third one to myself for now...)


----------



## Ceinwen

I'm so glad you found Ben. Those pictures suit it so well.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on the new releases, Elliot and R.D. Contact me, if you'd like a new release spotlight at the Speculative Fiction Showcase. Submission info is here.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, Cora.



Ceinwen L. said:


> I'm so glad you found Ben. Those pictures suit it so well.


He's so easy to work with, too. Really nice guy.


----------



## Lucas Bale

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I just released Aberrated today--the final novel in my tunnel trilogy. Feels really good to finish my first series. I'm running a big promo on all books to celebrate.


Well done, Elliot! Completing a series is something to be proud of. Plans afoot already for your next series?


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Lucas Bale said:


> Well done, Elliot! Completing a series is something to be proud of. Plans afoot already for your next series?


Thanks, Lucas. Feels good. 

My next series is very much in the pipeline. I've written a book called 'The Pearl Diver'. Just got it back from my editor today, so it's not far away at all.


----------



## Ceinwen

It blows my mind how fast some of you guys can put work out. I need to learn your ways!


----------



## PaulLev

The complete run, more or less, of readings and dramatizations from the late, lamented Seeing Eye Theater - Neil Gaiman, Greg Bear, all kinds of science fiction and fantasy luminaries http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=19883&cpage=1

They even managed to include my May 1, 1999 reading from The Silk Code - recorded right before I convened the ceremonies as SFWA President at the 1999 Nebula Awards banquet in Pittsburgh http://ia600507.us.archive.org/12/items/SeeingEarTheatre_917/SetPaulLevinson-TheSilkCode-21-7-99.mp3 (starts 30 seconds in)

all free, MP3s


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> I just released Aberrated today--the final novel in my tunnel trilogy. Feels really good to finish my first series. I'm running a big promo on all books to celebrate.


Congrats! That is a level I have not unlocked yet. I am 7 books into my first series and have no clear indication of how long it will run yet.


----------



## kyokominamino

Hey, fellow spec-ficcers! Just wanted to let you know my fourth book, The Holy Dark, launched today! I sold 41 copies last night when it live at midnight, which sounds tiny, but it's a record for me (especially since this is the first time I've been brave enough to keep the price and not promo it for free on release day). If you're curious, click it on the sig below. Otherwise, just wanted to celebrate and say thanks for the support, especially from Cora.


----------



## 68564

YAY!!! Record breaking releases are the best!


----------



## kyokominamino

VydorScope said:


> YAY!!! Record breaking releases are the best!


They are! Totally put a smile on my face when I saw the numbers.


----------



## Indecisive

41 sales sounds big to me! Congratulations.

I have a release on Monday and also put my book up in paperback first. I have a couple of Goodreads reviews but none on Amazon yet... but I don't want to bug people too much about putting them up there. Maybe I'll send out an email tomorrow morning. 

Did you get those reviews before release or after?


----------



## Ceinwen

41 sales in one night is amazing, congratulations Kyoko!


----------



## PaulLev

41 sales in one night is fabulous - congratulations!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on your great launch sales, Kyoko.

We also featured _The Holy Dark_ over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase today.


----------



## kyokominamino

ameliasmith said:


> 41 sales sounds big to me! Congratulations.
> 
> I have a release on Monday and also put my book up in paperback first. I have a couple of Goodreads reviews but none on Amazon yet... but I don't want to bug people too much about putting them up there. Maybe I'll send out an email tomorrow morning.
> 
> Did you get those reviews before release or after?


I sent out somewhere between 10 and 15 ARCs, and this time, they came through for me. I got 4 reviews yesterday and 2 posted today. That was the main reason I gave the pre-order a try: to see if it meant that I could secure some reviews faster than usual. It actually seemed to work out this time. I sent two reminders to the reviewers: one when the pre-order went live, and then one just now since the book has been out for 24 hours. That way there was enough time between the two reminders that it didn't feel like I was bugging them. It's a good practice since some reviewers who read multiple books may have just forgotten to do it.

And congratulations! Fingers crossed that you have a great release day. =D


----------



## kyokominamino

Ceinwen said:


> 41 sales in one night is amazing, congratulations Kyoko!





PaulLev said:


> 41 sales in one night is fabulous - congratulations!





CoraBuhlert said:


> Congrats on your great launch sales, Kyoko.
> 
> We also featured _The Holy Dark_ over at the Speculative Fiction Showcase today.


Thank you all so much! You rock!


----------



## Cactus Lady

I'm running a 99 cent promo on Beneath the Canyons and on book 3 in the series, The Rancher's Daughter, this weekend. I got an ad for Beneath the Canyons in Ereader News Today for today, and so far today it's sold 36 copies (as well as 12 copies over Friday and Saturday) and at this moment is sitting at #1 in paid for Westerns --> Science Fiction! *faints* Also The Rancher's Daughter is #1 in Hot New Releases in the category, and book 2, Bad Hunting, is #10 paid in the category! *faints again*     Yes I'm just a little excited!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats, Kyra. Those sales and downloads are impressive.

BTW, let me know if you want a new release spotlight at the Speculative Fiction Showcase for _The Rancher's Daughter_.


----------



## Cactus Lady

CoraBuhlert said:


> Congrats, Kyra. Those sales and downloads are impressive.
> 
> BTW, let me know if you want a new release spotlight at the Speculative Fiction Showcase for _The Rancher's Daughter_.


thanks, Cora! This has totally been my best sales day ever  And yes, thanks, I would like a new release spotlight for The Rancher's Daughter. I'll get in touch with you.


----------



## Indecisive

Congrats, Kyra!

I have a new release as of yesterday, the second book in my series. I'm experimenting with the 99 cent launch and I've booked advertising form the following:

1. http://www.ebooksoda.com/. $10 (running today, I think)
2. https://www.fiverr.com/bknights $21 (can't remember which day!)
3. genrepulse, booked. $24 (started last night)
4. ebookhounds $3 Today? tomorrow?
5. Submitted to &#8230; readcheaply.com for a free listing. 
6. Also Speculative Fiction Showcase.

Tomorrow, the last day of my 99 cent promo, I'm also going to have my husband announce it on his Facebook page, which has just over 20,000 followers now, though they're more video-watchers than book-readers.

So yesterday I had 10 sales of the new book and 3 sales of book 1, on Amazon, but oddly none on any of the other sites. Hmm. Still, I'm excited to get into double digit sales!


----------



## StephenLivingston

The Wheel of Justice - hilariously funny dark humor and biting satire combine in this speculative fiction short-story set on an American TV game-show of the near future.

US - http://www.amazon.com/The-Wheel-Justice-short-story-ebook/dp/B004YR07A

UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wheel-Justice-short-story-ebook/dp/B004YDR07A



Available FREE today and tomorrow.


----------



## Joe Mynhardt

Congrats on everyone's success. Hearing your stories is what made me move into publishing in the first place. I'll be your biggest supporter for life. 

Anyway, I have a new book coming out May 8th called The Outsiders. It's a Lovecraftian collection with five 10k plus stories about a gated community worshipping an Old One.
The stories are more about the people who live there, and how being part of a cult affects their lives.

Here's a bit more info:

Inside Priory awaits a lot more than meets the eye. The people might seem friendly, but only because their enigmatic leader Charles Erich accepts nothing less.
The cottages within this gated community seem simple enough, and even though what lurks beneath them is more ancient than mankind itself, can anything be more evil than the people worshipping it?
If you dare follow this UK invasion of five prime authors as they each tell their own story of the people living behind Priory's steel gates and high walls, you'll quickly find yourself an outsider, as well.

Stephen Bacon - James Everington - Gary Fry - V.H. Leslie- Rosanne Rabinowitz

The Priory. A community of one mind and purpose. A place of order, commitment, peace, and service. A perfect world, building on mind shattering secrets from beyond the pale. Enter&#8230;if you dare.​
Please support and share this release. This project took me over two years to put together, and I'm very proud of it. I'll update the website page tomorrow with author photos and some nice quotes from them
and their stories, but here's the official page: http://www.crystallakepub.com/the-outsiders.php

Have a great week,
Joe


----------



## Ted Cross

Our anthology _The Dragon Chronicles_ releases today and is doing well so far With 17 reviews already on Amazon. We're sitting at #24 in Anthologies and #5 in Hot New Releases.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

So I finished the first draft of the fifth Monkey Queen book, but now I need to go back to the fourth, _A Tiding Of Magpies_, and get some revisions done this weekend before I send it to the formatters. Why? Inspiration...from this gorgeous cover from Willow.









_
©2015 Willow. All rights reserved; used by permission._


----------



## Ted Cross

The Dragon Chronicles has hit #1 in Amazon Hot New Releases for anthologies.


----------



## 68564

Robert Dahlen said:


> So I finished the first draft of the fifth Monkey Queen book, but now I need to go back to the fourth, _A Tiding Of Magpies_, and get some revisions done this weekend before I send it to the formatters. Why? Inspiration...from this gorgeous cover from Willow.


Love that cover!


----------



## Robert Dahlen

VydorScope said:


> Love that cover!


Thanks! So do I...but I'm biased.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Congrats on the No. 1, Ted.

Robert, Willow has outdone herself on your cover again.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

CoraBuhlert said:


> Robert, Willow has outdone herself on your cover again.


Thanks! It's always a thrill for me to get her sketches and works in progress in my inbox. Even her basic sketches for these covers are filled with life and excitement.


----------



## mphicks

Today's the official launch day for EMERGENCE. Like Amelia, I'm experimenting with a 99c launch, and am also offering up Convergence for Free. We'll see how this goes, but I've got ads lined up with Book Barbarian, ENT, Freebooksy, Bargain Booksy, and eBookSoda. 

Links are in my sig if you want to check out the titles, but two full-length novels for less than a buck? Not a bad deal, methinks. One strange thing, though, is that Amazon lists EMERGENCE has having a page count of around 240 - it's actually closer to 400 in the paperback. Ah well.


----------



## 68564

mphicks said:


> One strange thing, though, is that Amazon lists EMERGENCE has having a page count of around 240 - it's actually closer to 400 in the paperback. Ah well.


If the Paper back is linked, and really has that page count, contact Amazon and ask them to fix it. They have done it for others.


----------



## Indecisive

Congratulations on your launch! It looks like you're doing pretty well, ranking in some categories. As I looked, you had a rank off 11,000 something, and were in the top 100 for cyberpunk.


----------



## mphicks

Vincent - great idea, thanks! I just sent Author Central an e-mail about this, so we'll see what happens.

Amelia - the launch has been going really well so far. At the moment, the free copy of Convergence has moved more than 2200 copies today and is #93 in the Free Store. Emergence has popped up on couple lists and Hot New Releases for cyberpunk. I'm pretty thrilled with the results, overall. More ads are slated throughout the week, so I'm hoping for a strong return and lots more sales.


----------



## Kristopia

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Yeah, it was a great feeling. I'm itching to write the sequel--will start once I finish my antho piece.
> 
> This is my second trip the states. Last time was Texas-Louisiana-Florida. This time it's Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee-North Carolina, with a stint in LA on the way home. Most people in Aus do the LA-NYC-LV-SF combo, and don't really get it. But it aligns with my interests of baseball, bourbon, country music, hiking, and theme parks...


This is my second trip the states. Last time was Texas-Louisiana-Florida. This time it's Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee-North Carolina, with a stint in LA on the way home. Most people in Aus do the LA-NYC-LV-SF combo, and don't really get it. But it aligns with my interests of baseball, bourbon, country music, hiking, and theme parks...
[/quote]I grew up in Missouri, but now live in NC - if you've completed your trip, I'd love to hear where you went in NC. So many good hiking trails, and here in Durham, some really good food. Oh, and Kentucky has great bourbon, too. My current favorite is called "Larceny."


----------



## Lucas Bale

VydorScope said:


> If the Paper back is linked, and really has that page count, contact Amazon and ask them to fix it. They have done it for others.


It takes a few days and it will automatically change - as soon as it links properly with the Createspace page and the "Contains Real Page Numbers" moniker appears. Normally, you can just ask Amazon to sort things like that, but you probably don't need to. It's only if you think it's likely to lose you sales in the short term.


----------



## 68564

Lucas Bale said:


> It takes a few days and it will automatically change -- as soon as it links properly with the Createspace page and the "Contains Real Page Numbers" moniker appears. Normally, you can just ask Amazon to sort things like that, but you probably don't need to. It's only if you think it's likely to lose you sales in the short term.


I have seen people wait for months an months and it not change. Sounds like he has already been waiting a while, probably time to contact them. I know some of my books have page count wrong, but I have not bother to follow up with it yet. Been like that for years though.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

The cover for my upcoming YA SciFi novel:


----------



## Robert Dahlen

Elliot - sweeeeet cover!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Stunning cover, Elliot.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, Robert and Cora!  

All credit goes to Yoly from Cormar Covers. She's quickly becoming my go-to (and I met her on kboards). 

Oh and I forgot to mention -- If anybody wants a free advance review copy (ARC), just give me a bell at [email protected]

Very excited about this story (and series), and want to spread the word far and wide.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Let me know if you want a new release spotlight at the Spec Fic Showcase, Elliot.


----------



## Trans-Human

Hello everybody!

I'm sorry for arriving late on this party, but in case you didn't know, its a long way from Delta Pavonis to here, so ...

I'm a fellow writer (not yet a published author) with many works in the "kitchen" being "cooked" still (and will probably be "overcooked" soon, I need to get them out the "oven") and that's a one pun to many so ... I write science fiction, fantasy, mystery, adventure, horror, paranormal, alternate history for the most part. A touch on drama, romance, philosophy here and there, trying things out, but yeah, mainly those listed.

So, I hope that you will have me? One can never have too many friends, or at least, network buddies. Especially if they share the same interests and geek out on the same cool, awesome stuff.



olefish said:


> what do you all think about publishing at the spec-fic mags to build an audience?





wrenroberts said:


> Hey guys, you guys, hey. Why don't we build one?





KevinH said:


> This. (Referencing a site for advertising speculative fiction.)


I like the idea of fellow genre authors helping each other out. Other than a writer, I'm also a reviewer (when time constraints bug off and allow it) but even though I have a blog, its only a year old, with two entries, a few dozen views and couple of subscribers, so not sure how much blog review help I can be at this moment.

Though I'm breaking some ground with twitter where I gained close to 600 followers in 2-3 days time (prior that I had 34 followers for 4 and a half years), and its all due to adding up the right folks, mainly other authors, a lot of them also specfic as a sort of network. We also have lists there in case twitter has prevented any of you from following back others if they've added you, and I'm also building lists of bloggers, marketers, musicians, artists and even filmmakers, all of which could probably be contacted and interviewed on how they feel about being part of this conspiratorial specfic takeover of the indie publishing game and possibly collaborate on varied multimedia projects to help each other out.

I'll try to see if I can match similar results with my blog like I did with twitter, but i need more entries there and I may need to actually publish something to gain new eyes to see and possibly subscribe there. If I gain foot, I plan to promote other authors' works too other than my own there, so that's guaranteed if the conditions are met. Although I think a website where we all become members and continue to grow it would be an even better idea, and possibly perform just as swell, if not better than working on getting everybody to contribute individually, but in separate platforms.

--------------------------------------------------

*If this has already been done, as I see 70 more pages after my quoted pieces here, and my eyes hurt like hell and are red as a vampire's and i need some sleep and .. you get the idea, if that's the case, just disregard the above, and please let me have a piece of the cake (joining in the network I mean).*


----------



## geronl

Could we? Should we? Try to put together a monthly science fiction e-magazine on KDP? 

Would we need several shorts, a novella, a serial? Feature article? 

It would be a fascination adventure.


----------



## 68564

If you do, I suggest you start quarterly or something simpler till you get a good flow going. It is A LOT of work. A LOT. Did I mention it was A LOT of work yet? Cause it is.


----------



## geronl

I'm not ready for a project like that   

I'd love to be contributor though


----------



## geronl

VydorScope said:


> If you do, I suggest you start quarterly or something simpler till you get a good flow going. It is A LOT of work. A LOT. Did I mention it was A LOT of work yet? Cause it is.


Apparently, something like that exists.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LAL7JDE/?tag=kbsig-20

So where so I sign up?


----------



## Trans-Human

geronl said:


> Could we? Should we? Try to put together a monthly science fiction e-magazine on KDP?
> 
> Would we need several shorts, a novella, a serial? Feature article?
> 
> It would be a fascination adventure.


Well, TOR is publishing an edition of multiple novellas with the same theme (I think the current ones are space opera, and another one was about something cyberpunk-ish - I could be wrong on the latter though).

I guess something can be worked up like that. If it takes off, we can add an POD option and go physical too.

@Vydor - Yes, a lot of work. But we have varied people in the network and can always add more. Something done by one person, a team, and a gang, is not the same. And we have an army here. We just need to see who can bring what to the table, what are their skills, contacts, plans etc. and figure out how to utilize everything to work something up. Sure, it wont fly on the first try, but unless we try something at least, we won't know the potential mistakes, and the learning experience associated with them.

I'm not scared of a lot of work. I'd be scared if I'm the only one seriously considering this "lot of work" thing.


----------



## Indecisive

I don't think there's anything wrong with the idea, per se, but it's not something I'd be interested in. I write very little short fiction, and when/if I do, I prefer to submit it to the SFWA qualifying markets. I figure if I can't get a sale there (I haven't yet), I can possibly use a short story or two as a newsletter signup giveaway, or a freestanding permafree to tie in to my main series. Also, I have too much to do as it is!

Good luck with it, though. Could be a fun project.


----------



## geronl

Gaulvinov said:


> I'm not scared of a lot of work. I'd be scared if I'm the only one seriously considering this "lot of work" thing.


True, maybe starting off with one issue or anthology and see what happens would be better than trying to commit to do a certain number over 1.

Tickety Boo Press is also taking submissions for an Anthology for "aliens" and another for a NASA-type story, both accepting until late June or July.


----------



## Trans-Human

geronl said:


> True, maybe starting off with one issue or anthology and see what happens would be better than trying to commit to do a certain number over 1.
> 
> Tickety Boo Press is also taking submissions for an Anthology for "aliens" and another for a NASA-type story, both accepting until late June or July.


I saw that 

I'm working on it. Slowly, but working. Should be done by June I think.

Though, that venture is external I suppose, if its done. This was to be something internal, sprouting roots here, among us.


----------



## geronl

I am gathering a bunch of short stories and other things, I am going to need to dig out an older computer tomorrow for a funny story I wrote a couple of years ago, maybe others. I think I might be able to get at least a dozen things together, maybe approaching 20k words. I am thinking of putting it together as an e-book of short stories.


----------



## jdrew

geronl said:


> I am gathering a bunch of short stories and other things, I am going to need to dig out an older computer tomorrow for a funny story I wrote a couple of years ago, maybe others. I think I might be able to get at least a dozen things together, maybe approaching 20k words. I am thinking of putting it together as an e-book of short stories.


What's stopping you? I pulled together three supernatural/horror shorts and put them out as an ebook. No cost to me, every copy that sells (I set my collection at 99 cents though have considered making it free) I make a couple of cents and just maybe someone reads it, which doesn't take long, likes what they read and will check out my novels.
Go for it.


----------



## geronl

As a test I put one of the shorts on KU with a simple cover last night.


----------



## jdrew

geronl said:


> As a test I put one of the shorts on KU with a simple cover last night.


Did you promote it anywhere? And what has happened?


----------



## geronl

I wouldn't know how to promote it. lol. It's definitely not something I would normally write.

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Your-Life-Floyd-Looney-ebook/dp/B00XXT9N26/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432154586&sr=1-1


----------



## PaulLev

"The Orchard" cracks the Top 100


----------



## Ceinwen

Great work, Paul!


----------



## PaulLev

Thanks!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Wooo, new book added to sig. 

It's also the first time I've done a paperback version (other than appearing in anthologies). Can't stop flicking through it haha.


----------



## The 13th Doctor

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Wooo, new book added to sig.
> 
> It's also the first time I've done a paperback version (other than appearing in anthologies). Can't stop flicking through it haha.


Those covers are great! And good luck with the new book and paperback!

My Steampunk Western, A Town Called No Hope, has hit the Top 10 in Western Science Fiction.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

I posted the much awaited Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up, crossposted to my personal blog.


----------



## jdrew

CoraBuhlert said:


> I posted the much awaited Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month round-up, crossposted to my personal blog.


Cora,
Thanks for the listings. Lately I've tried to focus my reading more on Indie published novels and have not always been able to find lists of new work that I might be interested in. I'm going to try to remember to check your posting next time I go to buy something to read.


----------



## PaulLev

new little essay by me about time travel, with my picks in novels. short stories, movies, and tv http://fwfife.com/2015/06/10/guest-post-the-paradoxical-irresistible-appeal-of-time-travel/


----------



## PaulLev

honored that dark fantasy/mystery writer Ed Gorman just put this on his blog http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-consciousness-plague-on-special.html


----------



## Lady Q

(Eek! First post on the Kboards!)

Hi, everyone, 

Finally decided to take the plunge and join these boards after being intimidated by them for a while. I write on the fantasy side of the speculative fiction spectrum, but I am not shy about throwing nanotech and battle suits into my stories as I see fit. I like to steal from bits and pieces from various sub-genres (steampunk, urban fantasy) and I also break fairy tales. 

I've dabbled in self-publishing for a few years, which mostly amounted to me blithely putting out whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with no marketing strategy at all. Er... yeah. Now I'm getting serious about this publishing business because my writing habit has to support itself. 

Which is why I'm here, where all the savvy indie writers hang out.

I'm currently working on a fantasy series set on a sunless world with both steam-powered technology and magitek (a word I just learned today!). I've always been a standalone kinda girl as a writer, but am training my brain to work in series. I write fantasy; I have to know how to write series, right?

Looking forward to chatting with you all.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

Lady Q said:


> (Eek! First post on the Kboards!)


Welcome aboard! I like the ideas behind the series you're working on; sounds intriguing.


----------



## Mat Ridley

Hello there,

Another newbie signing in to this thread for the first time. I _think_ it's cool for me to be here (my recently published fantasy novel sure has a lot of "what if" about it), but apologies if I'm barking up the wrong tree. But even if I'm not considered a spec fic author, I love to read it at least


----------



## PaulLev

Mat Ridley said:


> Hello there,
> 
> Another newbie signing in to this thread for the first time. I _think_ it's cool for me to be here (my recently published fantasy novel sure has a lot of "what if" about it), but apologies if I'm barking up the wrong tree. But even if I'm not considered a spec fic author, I love to read it at least


Welcome, Mat! Don't be concerned about how well what you write fits in with any genre. Just write what you like, and the best you can, and if it has even the vaguest connection to speculative fiction, you'll do just fine - here and in the world at large.


----------



## Mat Ridley

PaulLev said:


> Welcome, Mat! Don't be concerned about how well what you write fits in with any genre. Just write what you like, and the best you can, and if it has even the vaguest connection to speculative fiction, you'll do just fine - here and in the world at large.


Thanks, Paul


----------



## JLD

Speculative Fiction is a great umbrella for many thing and I think it makes as much sense to use  SF to call it out;  but would probably devastate the Simon Pure Science Fiction People. My stuff tends to be more SFF so I think that it works well to call it Speculative Fiction.


----------



## Marina Finlayson

Welcome, Lady Q and Mat!

I've added a new book to my sig since the last time I posted on this thread: _The Twiceborn Queen_. Hoping to have the third in the trilogy out by November,which would mean the whole trilogy published in less than a year. Can't do that in traditional publishing! Gotta love being an indie.


----------



## Mat Ridley

Marina Finlayson said:


> Welcome, Lady Q and Mat!
> 
> I've added a new book to my sig since the last time I posted on this thread: _The Twiceborn Queen_. Hoping to have the third in the trilogy out by November,which would mean the whole trilogy published in less than a year. Can't do that in traditional publishing! Gotta love being an indie.


I think my favourite speculative fiction idea at the moment is "what if... I actually had time to write as many books as everyone else on Kboards seems to be able to do"


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Welcome, Mat, JDL and Lady Q. Always good to see more spec fic writers here.

I'd also like to take the time to point everybody to the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a blog focussed on indie speculative fiction that began its life here in this thread and is currently run by Jessica Rydill and myself.

If you have a new SF, fantasy or horror release (new = released within the last 30 days) or would like to do an interview or a speculative fiction related guest post, feel free to contact us. Submission info is here.


----------



## Guest

Congratulations to everyone with new releases!


----------



## Marina Finlayson

Mat Ridley said:


> I think my favourite speculative fiction idea at the moment is "what if... I actually had time to write as many books as everyone else on Kboards seems to be able to do"


Wish I had a Like button for this! One author I know is writing and releasing 4 novels (shortish, but still novels) in the space of 2 months. I don't know how people do it.


----------



## henderson

I have added another title to my signature since the last time I posted.

Look to get the next fantasy novella published in August.


----------



## Marina Finlayson

I love your covers, henderson!


----------



## Mat Ridley

Marina Finlayson said:


> Wish I had a Like button for this! One author I know is writing and releasing 4 novels (shortish, but still novels) in the space of 2 months. I don't know how people do it.


Perhaps... they're _not really people at all

_


----------



## Lady Q

Thanks, everyone!

Being on these boards is super-motivating. I'm very eager to get my series out there soon (book 1 done, almost done with 1.5, book 2 at 25K). I need a place like this. On my own, I tend to coast. 

henderson, Clarissa did your covers, right? She'll be doing some for me, too. I love her work.


----------



## henderson

Marina Finlayson said:


> I love your covers, henderson!


Thank you, Marina.


----------



## Mat Ridley

CoraBuhlert said:


> Welcome, Mat, JDL and Lady Q. Always good to see more spec fic writers here.
> 
> I'd also like to take the time to point everybody to the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a blog focussed on indie speculative fiction that began its life here in this thread and is currently run by Jessica Rydill and myself.
> 
> If you have a new SF, fantasy or horror release (new = released within the last 30 days) or would like to do an interview or a speculative fiction related guest post, feel free to contact us. Submission info is here.


Just to say thank you to Cora for featuring my book on the Speculative Fiction Showcase yesterday  It's really kind of you to help authors out in this way!


----------



## RN_Wright

Welcome Mat, JDL, and Lady Q to the best single source of info for self-publishers and trad-publishers! Also a superb community.


----------



## bberntson

I don't think I even knew this thread existed!  How cool.  What do you guys do here?  Maybe I should have read more of the thread!


----------



## Lady Q

bberntson said:


> I don't think I even knew this thread existed! How cool. What do you guys do here? Maybe I should have read more of the thread!


I came late to the party, so I'm just standing around, trying to look nonchalant but probably failing. 

Thanks for the welcome, RN_Wright.


----------



## taiweiland

*Waves to everyone* After months of heehawing I finally have a blog! Posted my first post today: https://taiweiland.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/space-opera-is-back-on-tv/

Can't wait to join the fun!

My books are still months away from release (am trying to complete three books first before launching) but it'll be cool to get to know more folks in the spec fic community


----------



## Lady Q

Tai, What's the genre and premise of your series?


----------



## geronl

taiweiland said:


> *Waves to everyone* After months of heehawing I finally have a blog! Posted my first post today: https://taiweiland.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/space-opera-is-back-on-tv/


Nice blog!


----------



## taiweiland

Lady Q said:


> Tai, What's the genre and premise of your series?


The genre - space opera. The premise: A ship full of former enemies going where no man has gone before?  Basically I created the world during Nanowrimo 2012 to be a sandbox I can play in. I already have 11 books planned in my head. I'm currently finishing Book 2, which I will release back to back with Book 1 and a prequel novella, which I will publish right after Book 2.

You can find out more about the books here: https://taiweiland.wordpress.com/books/


----------



## taiweiland

geronl said:


> Nice blog!


Thanks! And thanks for stopping at my blog


----------



## geronl

taiweiland said:


> The genre - space opera. The premise: A ship full of former enemies going where no man has gone before?  Basically I created the world during Nanowrimo 2012 to be a sandbox I can play in. I already have 11 books planned in my head. I'm currently finishing Book 2, which I will release back to back with Book 1 and a prequel novella, which I will publish right after Book 2.
> 
> You can find out more about the books here: https://taiweiland.wordpress.com/books/


I have tons of stories I need to get around to finishing. Some of those would be good as series if they ever got written. lol. I really need to win a small lottery, just so I can write full time.


----------



## taiweiland

geronl said:


> I have tons of stories I need to get around to finishing. Some of those would be good as series if they ever got written. lol. I really need to win a small lottery, just so I can write full time.


I so relate. In between my studies, day job and other commitments, I'd be lucky if I can push a few hundred words a day!


----------



## Lady Q

taiweiland said:


> The genre - space opera. The premise: A ship full of former enemies going where no man has gone before?  Basically I created the world during Nanowrimo 2012 to be a sandbox I can play in. I already have 11 books planned in my head. I'm currently finishing Book 2, which I will release back to back with Book 1 and a prequel novella, which I will publish right after Book 2.
> 
> You can find out more about the books here: https://taiweiland.wordpress.com/books/


Sounds like a lot of fun! I like the cover of episode 1, too. Good luck with it!


----------



## Aurora Springer

I'm celebrating the release of a new book next week and added it to my signature. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104OFJJ8
It is book 2 of a trilogy. I'm at 22k on book 3 and moving slowly between day job etc.


----------



## Mat Ridley

Hi guys,

If this isn't worthy of a spec fic high five, then I apologise, but I'm kind of excited that my book is now (as of today) available as a paperback, and just wanted to share 

I mean, publishing the ebook version was nice and all, but now it's a real-life, proper book made of _paper_. You can use it to swat insects and balance wobbly tables, just like a real book!


----------



## Lady Q

Sure it is, Mat! *High fives* There's nothing quite like seeing your fiction in print for the first time. I use my copies as dust magnets, for the days I need to aggravate my allergies. 

Congratulations, Aurora. And good progress on book 3!

This weekend I'm outlining a third book in a series. Looking at what I have so far, I suspect this might be a door stopper.


----------



## Lunachick

Mat Ridley said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> If this isn't worthy of a spec fic high five, then I apologise, but I'm kind of excited that my book is now (as of today) available as a paperback, and just wanted to share
> 
> I mean, publishing the ebook version was nice and all, but now it's a real-life, proper book made of _paper_. You can use it to swat insects and balance wobbly tables, just like a real book!


Woo woot!


----------



## heidi_g

Sorry guys and gals, I haven't been around in a while, and this may already have been talked to death ... but is anyone here going to Sasquan next month? I'll be there and would love to meet up


----------



## Not any more

Lady Q said:


> I'm currently working on a fantasy series set on a sunless world with both steam-powered technology and magitek (a word I just learned today!). I've always been a standalone kinda girl as a writer, but am training my brain to work in series. I write fantasy; I have to know how to write series, right?


I love you! "magitek". My current WIP is a space opera where FTL is achieved by a person casting a spell that funnels magical energy into a machine that amplifies the energy to hold open a wormhole long enough to allow a starship to pass through. And now I have a word for it!!!!!


----------



## Lady Q

brkingsolver said:


> I love you! "magitek". My current WIP is a space opera where FTL is achieved by a person casting a spell that funnels magical energy into a machine that amplifies the energy to hold open a wormhole long enough to allow a starship to pass through. And now I have a word for it!!!!!


I used magitek to send probes and small vessels into space in my current WIP. Great minds... 

I am all about throwing science fiction and fantasy elements together. Prayer magic manipulates the world at a subatomic level. A Chosen warrior is injected with nanobots to turn him into a fighting machine. Mechanical universes and space dragons, oh my!

My kids are currently watching the cartoon staples of _my_ childhood (*cough*Thundercats*cough*). I can see where I came by this happy mashup of elements.


----------



## 68564

New covers!

Top row is the old covers, bottom is the update...










Courtesy of Yoly at Cormar Covers (http://www.cormarcovers.com)


----------



## Lady Q

I like your new ones! They look very good all together. Congratulations!


----------



## P.T. Phronk

That's a big improvement, Vincent. Very nice.


----------



## James R Wells

I made two discoveries yesterday on Amazon.

My first discovery was that for each genre there is a Top Rated list that is best on review ratings.

My second discovery was that my book is ranked #18 in Hard Science Fiction. It is one step below a book by another KBoarder, but that one has 10,358 reviews.

For me that's definitely a high-five moment!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/digital-text/158595011/


----------



## Lady Q

James R Wells said:


> I made two discoveries yesterday on Amazon.
> 
> My first discovery was that for each genre there is a Top Rated list that is best on review ratings.
> 
> My second discovery was that my book is ranked #18 in Hard Science Fiction. It is one step below a book by another KBoarder, but that one has 10,358 reviews.
> 
> For me that's definitely a high-five moment!
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/digital-text/158595011/


It certainly is! Congratulations!


----------



## 68564

James R Wells said:


> My second discovery was that my book is ranked #18 in Hard Science Fiction. It is one step below a book by another KBoarder, but that one has 10,358 reviews.
> 
> For me that's definitely a high-five moment!
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/digital-text/158595011/


Yep! Do not worry about the over all lists, rank in your sub-category. That is where your audience will be looking for you.


----------



## James R Wells

VydorScope said:


> Yep! Do not worry about the over all lists, rank in your sub-category. That is where your audience will be looking for you.


Thanks - it's hard for me to figure out what matters and what doesn't amid all the lists. I'll be tracking this one for sure.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Love your new covers, Vincent! Yoly is great. She did my Pearl Diver cover, which I adore.

I've also done some rebranding recently. These are the new covers for my post-apocalyptic trilogy, courtesy of Natasha Snow:
























I've been working on a couple of short stories. One is a 11.5k length piece called _Bang:Bang_, for an anthology called _Crime and Punishment_ (curated by Lucas Bale, edited by Alex Roddie). It's the follow-up to _No Way Home_, which has been doing great. The second is a work-in-progress for _The Doomsday Chronicles_ (curated by Sam Peralta, edited by Crystal Watanabe) titled _Flesh_. Really excited about both!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

The new covers are gorgeous, Elliot.


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Thanks, Cora!

There's another one coming, too. I'm producing an omnibus version titled 'TUNNELS'.


----------



## Harry Manners

Loving the rebranding!

I haven't been around for a while, again. Quick update: I'll be releasing a new short in the same anthology with Elliot, and also releasing a prequel novella to my Ruin Saga trilogy on the same day (planned 31st August).

Check out the cover. I rather like this one.


----------



## Shei Darksbane

So I published *Awakened *at last! (Link in sig!)

I'm super excited that I'm hanging out in the Top 10 on LGBT Fantasy, and doing not so shabby in Urban Fantasy.
I've been around 6-7k in the Paid store since yesterday. (Yay!)









I'm here for *high fives* ^^


----------



## 68564

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Love your new covers, Vincent! Yoly is great. She did my Pearl Diver cover, which I adore.
> 
> I've also done some rebranding recently. These are the new covers for my post-apocalyptic trilogy, courtesy of Natasha Snow:
> 
> I've been working on a couple of short stories. One is a 11.5k length piece called _Bang:Bang_, for an anthology called _Crime and Punishment_ (curated by Lucas Bale, edited by Alex Roddie). It's the follow-up to _No Way Home_, which has been doing great. The second is a work-in-progress for _The Doomsday Chronicles_ (curated by Sam Peralta, edited by Crystal Watanabe) titled _Flesh_. Really excited about both!


Thanks! Love your new covers too!


----------



## 68564

Shei Darksbane said:


> So I published *Awakened *at last! (Link in sig!)
> 
> I'm super excited that I'm hanging out in the Top 10 on LGBT Fantasy, and doing not so shabby in Urban Fantasy.
> I've been around 6-7k in the Paid store since yesterday. (Yay!)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm here for *high fives* ^^


----------



## Patty Jansen

Today I got the first edits for The Sahara Conspiracy, an Ambassador series novel, which will be my 20th book. There was nothing more serious to address than sentence-level comments, so the book will be out soon. Can't wait to show off the Tom Edwards cover!


----------



## S. Elliot Brandis

Harry Manners said:


> Loving the rebranding!
> 
> I haven't been around for a while, again. Quick update: I'll be releasing a new short in the same anthology with Elliot, and also releasing a prequel novella to my Ruin Saga trilogy on the same day (planned 31st August).
> 
> Check out the cover. I rather like this one.


Killer cover, yet again.

Mr. Smith meets Wolverine...


----------



## TraciLoudin

I've been following this thread for a while, and am glad I finally have something to post...

*My first ever novel is now on Amazon!*

Super excited. Like Lady Q, I love a good mash-up. This one's set on Earth, 300 years after the apocalypse, with mutants, aliens, and magic. And thanks to Evenstar's monster thread on keywords, I've managed to get it in a ton of categories. 









Cover by Rebecca Weaver (Frank)

http://www.traciloudin.com/book/the-last-of-the-ageless


----------



## Harry Manners

Hi Traci! Welcome. That's an ace cover you have there.
Best of luck with the launch. Sounds like just my kind of thing.


----------



## Christine Reyes

Hey spec fic writers,

Long time no post! Is anyone here looking for a weekly critique group? My writing group has a couple open spots. We are specifically sci fi/fantasy, so I thought this would be a good place to check! PM me if you're interested.


----------



## Lady Q

TraciLoudin said:


> I've been following this thread for a while, and am glad I finally have something to post...
> 
> *My first ever novel is now on Amazon!*
> 
> Super excited. Like Lady Q, I love a good mash-up. This one's set on Earth, 300 years after the apocalypse, with mutants, aliens, and magic. And thanks to Evenstar's monster thread on keywords, I've managed to get it in a ton of categories.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cover by Rebecca Weaver (Frank)
> 
> http://www.traciloudin.com/book/the-last-of-the-ageless


Congrats, Traci! Love the cover.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Shei Darksbane said:


> So I published *Awakened *at last! (Link in sig!)
> 
> I'm super excited that I'm hanging out in the Top 10 on LGBT Fantasy, and doing not so shabby in Urban Fantasy.
> I've been around 6-7k in the Paid store since yesterday. (Yay!)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm here for *high fives* ^^


Woohoo, congratulations Shei! That's an amazing start! It's so nice to have seen your hard work over the last few months, and now a real live book as a result. Wishing you a whole bunch of success.


----------



## RN_Wright

Congratulations, Traci! Awesome cover!


----------



## 68564

TraciLoudin said:


> I've been following this thread for a while, and am glad I finally have something to post...
> 
> *My first ever novel is now on Amazon!*
> 
> Super excited. Like Lady Q, I love a good mash-up. This one's set on Earth, 300 years after the apocalypse, with mutants, aliens, and magic. And thanks to Evenstar's monster thread on keywords, I've managed to get it in a ton of categories.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cover by Rebecca Weaver (Frank)
> 
> http://www.traciloudin.com/book/the-last-of-the-ageless


Congrats! Love the cover!


----------



## TraciLoudin

Thanks everyone! 

It managed to reach top 100 best sellers in post apoc (#46), alien invasion (#45), genetic engineering (#32), fantasy adventure (#39), and men's adventure (#6) over the weekend, as well as the hot new release sections for each over. For some reason I was never able to get it into the science fiction adventure category at all, even though I used that as a keyword.

Anyway, it's slipping back down now. I think it's still decent in hot new releases, but the only one it's still a best seller in is men's adventure and maybe one other category. Most of my sales came from Google+, where I've managed to cultivate a good following. I was pretty happy with the results!

Thanks again for all the well wishes!


----------



## WDR

That's awesome, Traci! Congrats!

I love the title. That just brings to the imagination so many possible images.


----------



## Lady Q

Just released _Quartz_, the first novel in an epic fantasy series.










A fugitive diplomat and a mysterious free agent team up to find their sunless world's most precious resource--a pillar of light-bearing quartz--before it falls into their enemies' hands.

Here it is on Amazon.

I have very mixed feelings about this publication thing right now. On one hand, I want to shout from the rooftops that I have a new book that I think people will enjoy. On the other hand, I want to slink back into my writing hole and not deal with the marketing aspect at all. Doesn't help that I'm in the middle of writing the second book, so my brain is all about Story! and not at all about How Do We Sell This Thing We Already Wrote?

But hey, I just a published a _novel_. Still darned proud about that.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Lady Q said:


> But hey, I just a published a _novel_. Still darned proud about that.


Congrats and may it bring you much success! Thanks for putting it on KU. I just borrowed it and will give it a read.


----------



## Indecisive

Nice cover! And congratulations!


----------



## Lady Q

Thanks, Jim and Amelia.


----------



## RN_Wright

Wow. Orlo is up to #3 FREE in Hard Science Fiction today!


----------



## geronl

I will have a story on *Aurora Wolf*'s site in October called "Hullabaloo on Cora"

I will have a science fiction story in the first *Odd Tree Quarterly* (Kboarder Joel Ansel's new _thang_)

My new ebook is getting some touch ups and revisions, I haven't decided on a new title yet.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

geronl said:


> I will have a story on *Aurora Wolf*'s site in October called "Hullabaloo on Cora"
> 
> I will have a science fiction story in the first *Odd Tree Quarterly* (Kboarder Joel Ansel's new _thang_)
> 
> My new ebook is getting some touch ups and revisions, I haven't decided on a new title yet.


Ah, so I'll finally get to read the story set on a planet named after me. 

Anyway, congrats!


----------



## geronl

CoraBuhlert said:


> Ah, so I'll finally get to read the story set on a planet named after me.


Something like that.


----------



## 75845

Thanks to this board's discussion of commercial success, my literary fiction's refusal to sell, and a revelatory visit to the Seattle Science Fiction (and fantasy) Exhibition in the Experience Music Project, I've returned to my reading roots and written a fantasy novel (my first attempt to write a novel - aged 13 - was a Hobbit rip-off). It was written as part of a kboards cabin at Camp NaNoWriMo in July although first inspired by the Haldir's death scene in Peter Jackson's _The Two Towers_ in the dim past of 2002. This board's promotion of series also led me to change mid-novel from a stand-alone approach to a series, so I'll be back. The inspiration from Haldir was to write a novel about what it would be like for ageless beings who could be killed to go into warfare and how that is made harder when living among mortal races. LonCon3 inspired a story of rebellion and a lesbian feminist twist, so 2014 also played an influence in the final form. Keeping with the movie theme, the main character Mayu is a sports champion at sword fighting an idea inspired by the sparring scene in _Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon_.


----------



## paigemarcella

So glad to find this thread. My debut novel Compliant is definitely speculative (however soft it may be) and I'm finding it VERY difficult to categorize when running promotions. Any tips? Any commiseration?


----------



## WDR

paigemarcella said:


> So glad to find this thread. My debut novel Compliant is definitely speculative (however soft it may be) and I'm finding it VERY difficult to categorize when running promotions. Any tips? Any commiseration?


The first question: what genre do you _want_ it to be in?
The second question: what genre do you _think_ it could be in?

As you ponder those two, it should pretty much do nothing more than stir up the already muddy water.

The first question is vital, because that's what you were targeting when you first wrote the story. If you envisioned it as a romance, then would that story actually fit in the romance market? Would readers of that genre go for the story you created? If not, then you may either want to rework the manuscript to reflect more of a romantic story, or find another genre that it would best fit. This is going to be your primary market, it should be crafted appropriately to appeal to that audience. If you are touting it as a romance, but it is actually a hardcore science fiction, you might have problems selling it in the romance market.

The second question comes into play because this gives you options to expand your market. Let's say you wrote a romance that occurs in the near future-two astronauts working science on the new moon base who come to find a common understanding between each other and thus springs a passionate love affair. While a romance, this could appeal to some in the science fiction market. So selecting that as a secondary genre to promote it could expand your sales. At the same time, because of the things going on around them, this could also fall under the adventure category. It could also be a political thriller as the two astronauts could come from countries that don't see eye-to-eye politically.

My _Aggadeh Chronicles_ series is listed as an epic fantasy. But it occurred to me that it could also fall under the adventure category. This expanded the promotional options by adding that as a sub-genre. Adventure is a broader category and has a larger audience. So, adding my titles to that category expanded the potential audience, and I did see a noticeable increase in sales after I did so.

So, think of which readers your story might appeal to and market it thusly. That's all that genre categorizing is: marketing. Who is most likely to buy your book? If you want to try your book in a genre that you aren't sure of, try having someone you know who is a fan of that genre read your book and tell you what they think. Erica Jong's _Fear of Flying_ might be popular among romance readers, but if it was put in the science fiction section, I doubt it would sell very well. By the same reasoning, Robert Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_ would never have seen the sight of day if it was being sold in the romance section.


----------



## AliceS

Just found this and glad about it!

I have 2 Scifi - Post Apocalyptic - survivor - rebuilding books out. Whew. I think that genre has a lot of subgenres.

I am also on the 2nd draft of a Space Fantasy. I think I am going to have to brainstorm some key words for that one. It involves paranormal (no romance), aliens, interplanetary space flight (Star Trek-ish) and spies.

Lots of good ideas on here.


----------



## SJCress

I've been flailing around trying to market for a few months now (book release was in July) but the last couple weeks I've been perusing the boards here looking for promotional tips and I found quite a bit in this forum. 

So I'm trying a few promotions this week (Bargain Booksy, BKnights, and the "featured book" promo here on KB). Fingers crossed! Hopefully some future high fives


----------



## jdrew

SJCress said:


> I've been flailing around trying to market for a few months now (book release was in July) but the last couple weeks I've been perusing the boards here looking for promotional tips and I found quite a bit in this forum.
> 
> So I'm trying a few promotions this week (Bargain Booksy, BKnights, and the "featured book" promo here on KB). Fingers crossed! Hopefully some future high fives


Good luck with the promotions. Let us know how it turns out.


----------



## robert eggleton

When is an okay time to risks spoilers of the new Star Wars?


----------



## Darius Brasher

I'm pretty psyched to have found this thread as I'm in the middle of writing a series about a private detective who has superpowers. I've spent almost no money on promotion, but will be changing that when the third book is released next month. I'll be reading each post in this thread carefully for pointers. So, thanks in advance and hello to everyone!


----------



## taiweiland

Hello everyone,
Not sure if this is the right thread to post this but since I write space opera so I guess this is the right place 

I've written a novella, nearly two novels, a few short stories all set in a world I've created. I keep pushing the date to publish the stories because I'm hung up over this stage: Editing!

I have no idea where to find an editor to work with. It seems daunting. Where do I even begin? Who can I afford? So after finishing a story I put it aside and start another one. LOL.

So now I have about maybe four to five pieces of fiction that needs to be edited. How do you guys go about finding someone to edit your work? What's a reasonable price?


----------



## WhyNotZoidberg?

Tai, look through the threads here and you'll find no shortage of people offering editing services.

Ones I've spotted here in just the last few days include:

Clio Editing Services clioediting.com
Emily Nemchick emilynemchickediting.com
EditingDoneWrite brandisalazarediting.com

And I'm sure I've missed many, many more. Their sites will tell you their rates and explain in considerable detail how the process works.

BTW, who did your covers??


----------



## AliceS

taiweiland said:


> So now I have about maybe four to five pieces of fiction that needs to be edited. How do you guys go about finding someone to edit your work? What's a reasonable price?


I would use beta readers before spending money on editors. Having someone you trust read your work is very helpful. They can tell you if everything came out of your head and made it on to the paper coherently. I've had beta readers ask me questions about things I thought I explained quite clearly, only to go back and see I didn't.

Find someone that reads in your genre and let them know you want feedback. Give them a specific time in which to do it. For my novels, I ask people to do a "content" read - continuity, flow, loose ends, etc. And I ask for a turnaround of 2 weeks. There's no point in fussing over grammar or punctuation if it might change, so ask them to ignore any typos. When they give you feedback, do a rewrite for the things that make sense to you and send it to another person. I like to do 3 rounds of betas before I do a final draft that with then go to a line editor/proofreader.

And listen to what they are asking for. I had a really good beta reader ask me to change a minor character into a POV character. That didn't make sense for the story. I asked another reader her opinion and she agreed with me. So sometimes they can want things that won't work for you. But take it all in, look at similarities in feedback and use what makes sense for the story you want it to be.


----------



## taiweiland

WhyNotZoidberg? said:


> Tai, look through the threads here and you'll find no shortage of people offering editing services.
> 
> Ones I've spotted here in just the last few days include:
> 
> Clio Editing Services clioediting.com
> Emily Nemchick emilynemchickediting.com
> EditingDoneWrite brandisalazarediting.com
> 
> And I'm sure I've missed many, many more. Their sites will tell you their rates and explain in considerable detail how the process works.
> 
> BTW, who did your covers??


Hi her name is Yoly. She is awesome isnt she? Not sure if u mean just this cover on my sig or you have been to my site. If you visit my site you will see some covers. i created the Chase cover myself with inDesign. I have experience in designing covers but not as technically skilled with adobe photoshop. so the complicated ones i give Yoly to do.

Thanks for the rec on the editors. Will try check them out.


----------



## taiweiland

AliceS said:


> I would use beta readers before spending money on editors. Having someone you trust read your work is very helpful. They can tell you if everything came out of your head and made it on to the paper coherently. I've had beta readers ask me questions about things I thought I explained quite clearly, only to go back and see I didn't.
> 
> Find someone that reads in your genre and let them know you want feedback. Give them a specific time in which to do it. For my novels, I ask people to do a "content" read - continuity, flow, loose ends, etc. And I ask for a turnaround of 2 weeks. There's no point in fussing over grammar or punctuation if it might change, so ask them to ignore any typos. When they give you feedback, do a rewrite for the things that make sense to you and send it to another person. I like to do 3 rounds of betas before I do a final draft that with then go to a line editor/proofreader.
> 
> And listen to what they are asking for. I had a really good beta reader ask me to change a minor character into a POV character. That didn't make sense for the story. I asked another reader her opinion and she agreed with me. So sometimes they can want things that won't work for you. But take it all in, look at similarities in feedback and use what makes sense for the story you want it to be.


I have thre really good beta readers.when i realised they all gave me the same feedback i made the necessary changes. They are indeed very valuable!


----------



## WhyNotZoidberg?

Yeah, all three are great. You said you did The Chase yourself?  Where are you getting space stock imagery like that??


----------



## WDR

Welcome, Tai, and good luck!

What Alice said above is excellent advice: give you stories to people to beta read. I find it is wiser to have strangers or casual acquaintances read it-friends might try to be kind and not tell you they had problems with what you wrote. Fortunately, there is no shortage of people who don't mind beta reading. They enjoy reading the newest stories in their rawest state; there is something to be said about seeing what first came out of an author's head vs. what was eventually released officially.

What I do when I self-edit is set aside my manuscript for about a week or two and read really good books. Then I look at my own material. The well-edited books I just read stand as good examples of proper writing and editing, and that makes my errors really stand out.

Another resource for editors is The Editorial Freelancers Association. You will find editors of every level of experience from beginners to high-seasoned professionals and editors with focus in pretty much every genre. As well as multiple price levels.

Don't just go with the first "Yes!" you get. Choose up to five different editors and read work they have edited. _Interview_ them! You need to find someone you can work with to help you grind and polish your manuscript into a real book. Some people need R. Lee Ermey's 'Gunny Hartman', other people need Fluttershy. You don't want someone who is a bully, but you need them to be clear, professional, and honest. They also need to know the basics such as proper grammar usages. The last thing you want is to discover that your editor is a seventh grader who doesn't know the difference between there, their, and they're.

Know and understand the differences between a beta reading, line editing, copy editing, and development editing. Then you will know what you are looking for in an editor. And don't think one is more important than the other. Each has a role to play. Some editors do multiple roles. But if you send your manuscript for copy editing and expect development editing, you will be wasting everybody's time and be greatly disappointed with what you get back.


----------



## A. S. Warwick

Not sure how I missed this thread given how long I've been kicking around on kboards for.  Next step is to go back through it and read it all 

I float all over the sf/f spectrum - sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy, epic fantasy, gunpoweder fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk, cyberpunk, urban fantasy/cyberpunk, space opera and others.  Most of what I do is short fiction - short stories and novellas.  A lot of it is bits and pieces of half written stuff but there is a medium size collection of completed short fiction I really need to start getting out there.


----------



## jdrew

Just a follow up on an early post I did in December.
Promotions went well on some sites, not nearly as well on others. Best of the bunch were EreaderNews Today, Kindle Books and Tips, and Robin Reads. With the sales and promos it was my best month in sales ever so that made it worthwhile. At 99 cents it was not a big financial success.
Anyone looking for some good info on promo sites you might try either of these websites:
http://www.readersintheknow.com/list-of-book-promotion-sites
http://www.sharonkaraa.co.uk/#!for-authors/tst10


----------



## Cherise

I'm recruiting for Worldcon 2016 this summer in Kansas City, Missouri. August 17-21. Link in my signature.

I especially want to hear from you if you will be attending and:
Live in the area and will be able to help set things up August 15 and 16 or take stuff down August 21 and 22
-or-
Are good at editing videos


----------



## spellscribe

Oh THIS is the thread I've been looking for 

My book is out today (woohoo!) But I need help find really similar books for genre targeting. 

It's basically Harry Dresden for girls. It's set in London; it's a bit softer around the edges, with less snark; and its a tiny bit more fantastical in nature with the open world magic and mythical creatures that interact with normal people on a daily basis. 

I love snark and usually seek out books with a lot of it, and it does feature in my.book but it's more secondary. Do you guys have any suggestions of books, targeting women but with little to no romance, featuring snark-lite, in the urban fantasy (Fae and goblins, not shifters and vamps) genre?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


----------



## The 13th Doctor

spellscribe said:


> Oh THIS is the thread I've been looking for
> 
> My book is out today (woohoo!) But I need help find really similar books for genre targeting.
> 
> It's basically Harry Dresden for girls. It's set in London; it's a bit softer around the edges, with less snark; and its a tiny bit more fantastical in nature with the open world magic and mythical creatures that interact with normal people on a daily basis.
> 
> I love snark and usually seek out books with a lot of it, and it does feature in my.book but it's more secondary. Do you guys have any suggestions of books, targeting women but with little to no romance, featuring snark-lite, in the urban fantasy (Fae and goblins, not shifters and vamps) genre?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


Oh, I remember your cover thread a while back and that I loved that your book was a London-set UF story. I've just gone to Amazon UK to buy a copy but it says it's not out until tomorrow (25th). I've pre-ordered it anyway. 

ETA: Just realised you are in Australia so of course it is now the 25th Feb for you. So congrats on the book release!


----------



## AliceS

"Do you guys have any suggestions of books, targeting women but with little to no romance, featuring snark-lite, in the urban fantasy (Fae and goblins, not shifters and vamps) genre?"

I can't think of any off the top of my head, but will be eager to see any responses to add to my TBR list!


----------



## Zaitsev

I'm not entirely sure what speculative fiction is ... would Slipstream be included in this?


----------



## spellscribe

Nanny Ogg said:


> Oh, I remember your cover thread a while back and that I loved that your book was a London-set UF story. I've just gone to Amazon UK to buy a copy but it says it's not out until tomorrow (25th). I've pre-ordered it anyway.
> 
> ETA: Just realised you are in Australia so of course it is now the 25th Feb for you. So congrats on the book release!


Aww thank you Nanny Ogg! And yes, it's out at my house but nowhere else yet >.< Making it sooo hard to be patient!


----------



## 68564

Zaitsev said:


> I'm not entirely sure what speculative fiction is ... would Slipstream be included in this?


Yes.


----------



## PaulLev

Just published last week - the Kindle edition of my 2001 novel Borrowed Tides - "Levinson does a terrific job ....[reminiscent] of the philosophic space fiction of James Blish or the reality-testing scenarios of Philip K. Dick." -Locus. Dedicated to the editor of the original hardcover, David G. Hartwell, and I was thrilled to be able to put Mikey, my brand-new grandson born just last week, into the Acknowledgements.


----------



## A.E. Wasp

spellscribe said:


> Oh THIS is the thread I've been looking for
> 
> My book is out today (woohoo!) [snip]. Do you guys have any suggestions of books, targeting women but with little to no romance, featuring snark-lite, in the urban fantasy (Fae and goblins, not shifters and vamps) genre?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


Congratulations. I know this is a little old, but i just downloaded your first book.

I don't have any recommendations, but I'm working on writing one. I know that doesn't help you, but it helped me to know there are other people writing the same kind of thing.

- Amy


----------



## spellscribe

A.E. Wasp said:


> Congratulations. I know this is a little old, but i just downloaded your first book.
> 
> I don't have any recommendations, but I'm working on writing one. I know that doesn't help you, but it helped me to know there are other people writing the same kind of thing.
> 
> - Amy


Oh thanks! 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


----------



## Cactus Lady

I released For the Wildings, the 6th and final book in my fantasy-western series Daughter of the Wildings, late last month.  

And now I find myself 10,000 words into book 2 of the follow-up series. The world and characters weren't done with me yet!


----------



## Indecisive

spellscribe said:


> I love snark and usually seek out books with a lot of it, and it does feature in my.book but it's more secondary. Do you guys have any suggestions of books, targeting women but with little to no romance, featuring snark-lite, in the urban fantasy (Fae and goblins, not shifters and vamps) genre?


A couple of my characters might be snarky enough, but my books are epic fantasy, with some dragons but no fae or goblins. Otherwise they do fit the bill of targeting women but not focusing on romance (except for the second-to-last book in the series, sort of, and that relationship does not have a happy ending -- I don't think that even counts as a spoiler).


----------



## 68564

PaulLev said:


> Just published last week - the Kindle edition of my 2001 novel Borrowed Tides - "Levinson does a terrific job ....[reminiscent] of the philosophic space fiction of James Blish or the reality-testing scenarios of Philip K. Dick." -Locus. Dedicated to the editor of the original hardcover, David G. Hartwell, and I was thrilled to be able to put Mikey, my brand-new grandson born just last week, into the Acknowledgements.


Yay! Congrats!! New family member and a new book!


----------



## 68564

Kyra Halland said:


> I released For the Wildings, the 6th and final book in my fantasy-western series Daughter of the Wildings, late last month.
> 
> And now I find myself 10,000 words into book 2 of the follow-up series. The world and characters weren't done with me yet!


Congrats! I am sure the new spin off will be a lot of fun for you too


----------



## PaulLev

VydorScope said:


> Yay! Congrats!! New family member and a new book!


Thanks!


----------



## Marina Finlayson

VydorScope said:


> I GOTS A MAP!!!


Ooh, pretty!


----------



## 68564

Marina Finlayson said:


> Ooh, pretty!


Thanks! I am so glad I found this artist, she is wonderful!


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Kyra Halland said:


> I released For the Wildings, the 6th and final book in my fantasy-western series Daughter of the Wildings, late last month.
> 
> And now I find myself 10,000 words into book 2 of the follow-up series. The world and characters weren't done with me yet!


Congrats! I love the Daughters of the Wildings series.

Kyra, Paul and everybody else who has a new release, feel free to submit your book for a new release spotlight at the Speculative Fiction Showcase. http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/p/authors.html


----------



## spellscribe

Hey guys, anyone have any stats or links about the reader cross over between the spec fic subgenres?  IE, will a UF lover read SF, and what else do steampunk lovers buy?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## AliceS

spellscribe said:


> Hey guys, anyone have any stats or links about the reader cross over between the spec fic subgenres? IE, will a UF lover read SF, and what else do steampunk lovers buy?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


I'd bet there's a lot of it. Are you using it for targeted marketing? I read my first steampunk book only because Jim Butcher wrote it. And I only read his UF on a recommendation from another author that I liked. So there might be more sideways movement like that, which is difficult to qualify. I like Eric Bledsoe's Eddie Lacrosse Knight Noir series and read his Tufa books which are more Mountain Magic set today. I might not have picked up the Tufa books if I hadn't already known that I liked the author.


----------



## spellscribe

AliceS said:


> I'd bet there's a lot of it. Are you using it for targeted marketing? I read my first steampunk book only because Jim Butcher wrote it. And I only read his UF on a recommendation from another author that I liked. So there might be more sideways movement like that, which is difficult to qualify. I like Eric Bledsoe's Eddie Lacrosse Knight Noir series and read his Tufa books which are more Mountain Magic set today. I might not have picked up the Tufa books if I hadn't already known that I liked the author.


Not so much marketing as deciding what to write next. I want to branch out without losing too many existing readers.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## Marina Finlayson

Spellscribe, you could try polling your mailing list, either on what other genres they read, or give them some options of what you're thinking of writing and ask them to vote.


----------



## 68564

spellscribe said:


> Hey guys, anyone have any stats or links about the reader cross over between the spec fic subgenres? IE, will a UF lover read SF, and what else do steampunk lovers buy?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


This is based 100% on my readership...and my impressions from communicating with them, but little to no formal data to back it... I write Space Opera and High Fantasy. I would say that it appears better than 80% of my readers that read one series, went on to read the other.

Fantasy and SciFi are *VERY* similar though. So I am not surprised by this.


----------



## Robert Dahlen

It took forever and then some...it underwent a lot of changes...I have no idea when it'll be published, in part because Willow the cover artist is recovering from tendinitis...

But I finally finished the first draft of _The Crown Of Kylthena_, the sixth Monkey Queen book, earlier today.

Now? A few hours of quiet celebration...and then getting to work on the next book.


----------



## jdrew

VydorScope said:


> This is based 100% on my readership...and my impressions from communicating with them, but little to no formal data to back it... I write Space Opera and High Fantasy. I would say that it appears better than 80% of my readers that read one series, went on to read the other.
> 
> Fantasy and SciFi are *VERY* similar though. So I am not surprised by this.


I'd like to think that's true. I've written a couple of scifi novels and my next one is a full blown fantasy. So we'll see what happens. I'm hoping for the best because I like both fantasy and scifi, which is why I write both.


----------



## paigemarcella

I finally released Eminent (Omnibus), my second full length speculative novel. This one is definitely categorized as dystopian, unlike Compliant, my debut novel that is very hard for me to categorize.

Now what to do next...?


----------



## JAAndrews

Hello! I'm brand new to kboards and publishing. My first novel (epic fantasy - if you tone down the epicness of epic and and some humor, but keep the elves and dragons...) is coming out tomorrow. I'm having fun reading through this whole thread!


----------



## matthewsnee

Hi my name is Matt Snee and I'm a speculative author. 

I published my first novel in July, and it's been a fun experience so far.  I tend to write stuff that's more off-the wall but still with a serious bent. I was featured on Cora's blog in the beginning of august, and that's how I found this forum.  

I'm working on three novels now -- rewriting the sequel to the one I just published, writing the draft of a fantasy novel that takes place in 1920s OKlahoma, and also writing a draft of a 1st person superhero novel.  I serialize these last two on Scriggler and Niume to get feedback, and have gotten a lot of hits and positive reinforcement.  

I try to be pretty active on social media, not only advertising and marketing, but just engaging with other authors. I'm on google plus, and facebook writers groups, etc.  You never know what you'll learn, and I try to post positive, affirming things to help people out, though sometimes the negative nancies come out of the closet at that.  

I've just been through a lot and I've learned out outlook shapes our worlds around us. 

Right now I'm reading a couple books - Michael Moorcock's fantasy writing book, the new Harry Potter, and Samuel R Delany's Neveryonia book.  Interesting stuff.  

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself!


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## archaeoroutes

My first full length scifi, Liberty, has been out for a little over a week now. I'm amazed at the difference between selling popular science, scifi shorts and scifi novels. Liberty has already surpassed my previous download total.

PS: Love the phrase snark-lite


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## CrissyM

Ohh, spec fic. 

I use to say that I wrote science fiction and fantasy, but I had to stop saying that after a bit. My short stories were too diverse, but they all fall under the speculative fiction umbrella. A few are more thriller/horror-esk, some are SF, lots of fantasy, and my novels are a bit dark fantasy. But all speculative fiction. 

I guess it makes sense, that's what I read as well. the only thing I haven't written that I do enjoy reading is Paranormal Romance. I'm just not a romance writer, which is too bad. I hear that's the best way to sell books, lol.

The last thing I worked on was The Witch's trilogy and the accompanying short story. Right now I'm working on my next series, another fantasy series about a half blood sorceress. So, yes, spec fic is in my blood.


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## AliceS

Spellscribe - I just finished reading _Heirs of Grace_ by Tim Pratt. It was a lot of fun. Normal girl inherits a magic house, but not really. Very snarky, good characters, very lighthearted and fast paced. I don't usually go for the - suddenly they got magic - stories. But this one was set in NC, where I live, so I gave it a try. Maybe call it a cozy urban fantasy - no serious gore or torture or bloody bits. Held my interest.


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## Joseph J Bailey

VydorScope, I love your map!

I just published _Wild Mage_, the second in my Legacy of the Blade series, last weekend.

I just posted its sequel _Stone Singer_ for consideration through Amazon's Kindle Scout program.

Lots of snark, especially in book one (_Soul Stealer_).


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## PaulLev

wide-ranging, brand new interview about all things science fiction https://www.facebook.com/Chris-and-Carls-Film-Box-1780826852154208?__mref=message_bubble


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## CrissyM

I actually just finished reading "Rat Queens". It's a spec fic graphic novel, and pretty awesome. NSFW, a little violent and has some nudity in it. But it's about a group of women adventurers that go on quests to make money, and starts with the town getting really tired of the town getting messed up when they are around. Good story line, great art.


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## PaulLev

this my month for interviews ... just completed this afternoon, extensive interview about my science fiction novels https://michaelaventrella.com/2016/08/15/interview-with-author-paul-levinson/


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## jdrew

Finally my new epic fantasy novel, _*Fall of the Western Kings*_, at least the ebook version, is set to release on August 21 exclusively at Amazon for the introductory price of 99 cents or free through Kindle Unlimited. As discussed in some earlier posts, my other books are not fantasies so this will be a test of whether scifi readers might jump at a fantasy novel by the same author. Hoping that they will with my fingers crossed. The book is now available for pre-order and so far that has not generated much excitement. We'll see.

​


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## CrissyM

PaulLev said:


> this my month for interviews ... just completed this afternoon, extensive interview about my science fiction novels https://michaelaventrella.com/2016/08/15/interview-with-author-paul-levinson/


How do you manage to get so many interviews Paul?


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## PaulLev

Believe it or not, these kinds of multi-interview months can be years in the making, and their all happening so close together is complete coincidence. The Chris and Carl Film Box interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-sAc5-EKok came from Carl, who interviewed me back in 2008 on MySpace (!), contacted me several months ago on Facebook, said he was starting a new podcast show, and would I like to be interviewed sometime this summer. The Michael Ventrella interview https://michaelaventrella.com/2016/08/15/interview-with-author-paul-levinson/ arose from a panel Michael and I were on a Luncon (a science fiction con) in New York this past March. So the upshot is - hang out and talk in as many online places as possible, same for conventions, and the interviews will come.


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## AliceS

I'm doing my first convention as an author! Yikes! I applied to be a panelist for Atomacon and they accepted me. It's a smaller con and the people seem nice. This is going to be an interesting experience. It's also the first con I've been to since Dragoncon gave me major overload a couple of years ago. Now I get to start an Appearances page on my website. How silly is that?


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## PaulLev

AliceS said:


> I'm doing my first convention as an author! Yikes! I applied to be a panelist for Atomacon and they accepted me. It's a smaller con and the people seem nice. This is going to be an interesting experience. It's also the first con I've been to since Dragoncon gave me major overload a couple of years ago. Now I get to start an Appearances page on my website. How silly is that?


Not silly - good promotion!


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## AliceS

Sometimes I feel like I'm playing at being an author. When something is so enjoyable, it can't really be work, right?


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## PaulLev

In writing and promotion, usually the more enjoyable it is, the more effective


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## smashthegamestate

> Fans of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams will find a lot to like here. Spindler's created an interesting world with unbound potential and I'm looking forward to more content from this author.


5 Star Amazon Review



> A short tale that mixes smart commentary and a comic spin on SF. I especially enjoyed the end. If Douglas Adams is your cup of tea, you might be interested.


4 Star Amazon Review

Colin Spindler's CULT Group Coffee Sequence is a mystical space yarn for lovers of psychedelic science fiction.

CULT Group, a corporate entity shrouded in mystery and connected somehow to humans' colonization of Mars, is promising the impossible. It claims that the human mind can be separated from the body via a strange VR-like process called Sequencing. If CULT Group's claims check out, then human beings might just be able to cheat death.

Could disembodied immortality be at last within humanity's grasp? Or is CULT Group full of beans? The mysterious Participant sets out to investigate.

Of Bots and Beans introduces readers to the reclusive actress Dame Saffron Von Scruplescotch, the fumbling Director Jerubimbo Gripebagger, the mysterious Participant, the eccentric ideas of Sir Francis Buildobare, and the ever-present metamorphic nanobiotech bots crawling all over everything.

Of Bots and Beans is a Kindle Unlimited short read SF fans won't want to miss.



Phobos Eclipse of the Heart picks up the wild tale where Of Bots and Beans left off.

Follow the mysterious Participant's continuing misadventures in Sequencing. Learn about The Scullythorne Thesis, an authoritative document which can be twisted into providing support for any and every argumentative perspective. Uncover a nefarious plot to bring down the Dos Boletos facility. Mourn the tragic end of Sir Francis Buildobare and the loss of the Vladimarino Gripebagger Expedition. Puzzle over the controversial Alley Cat Initiative.

Revel in the mysteries of the nanobot-haunted Cosmos!


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## PaulLev

from review of Touching the Face of the Cosmos (anthology with science fiction stories and essays) in September 2016 Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine 

"enough fascinating ideas here to fill weeks and months of thought ... If you're looking for a state-of-the-art snapshot of the current relationship between science fiction and religion, this is definitely the book is for you."


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## PaulLev

This just in from The Portable Story Series Time-Travel Writing Contest, for which I was judge:

BIG NEWS! We're delighted to announce the winner and runners-up for our second short story contest, our Time Travel contest!

Congratulations to CHRISTI NOGLE and her winning story, CUBBY. CUBBY will be read by a narrator and recorded at CDM Sound Studios, Inc. in Manhattan. The Grand Prize audio production of the story will be posted for download in October.

Christi teaches college writing in Boise, Idaho. She has published fiction in the local Log Cabin Literary Center's Writers in the Attic anthology. This is her first story distributed to a national audience.

Congratulations also to the runners up, including:

Imminent Domain, by David Armstrong
Time and H. G. Wells, by Robert Grossmith
Our Friend John, by Christopher Fox
Somewhere Else, by Ryan Bloom
Hands of Time, by Carolyn Croop

Many thanks to our Time Travel contest judge, Paul Levinson. And writers, thank you for your submissions; we couldn't do Portable Story Series without you!

STAY TUNED, as we'll be announcing our newest contest theme soon! In the meantime, you can download our inaugural winning story (and donate!) here: http://portablestoryseries.com/#listen


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## jdrew

So far, my new fantasy novel is selling better than I expected, beating all my best previous launches by a lot. One thing clearly has come out of this is don't expect much for cross-over buyers between fantasy and scifi. Maybe I should have know that.
Fall of the Western Kings, is available for free through Kindle Unlimited and is introductory priced at 99 cents.

​


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## PaulLev

Here's a video just released by international pop star Rita Ora, for fashion line Tezenis, with the title of my novel The Silk Code (winner of Locus Award for Best First Science Fiction Novel of 1999) emblazoned on the screen.


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