Story Structure

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/31/25-things-you-should-know-about-story-structure/

The Dystopian Virtue

Please check out this awesome blog post... while The Spaces Between flirts with dystopian ideals, it's nowhere near where it could be--where I was almost afraid to take it.

The Dystopian Virtue

KDP Select - Promotion

A big THANK YOU to everyone who took advantage of the Amazon promotion that ran this weekend. I am glad that you got your hands on a copy of The Spaces Between, and I really look forward to hearing feedback about the book.

I'm happy to be able to tell a story, and even happier when people read it.

Indie Publishing or Traditional Publishing?

There is a great discussion going on on the Kindle Boards (that I started) about traditional versus indie publishing.

Follow it here: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,100847.0.html

And here is what I wrote:

Is the perception of indie publishing declining? In one of the other “reader-only” forums, someone mentioned that they refuse to read any more indie works because of sock-puppet reviews, paid reviews, and other under-handed behavior by independently-published authors.

I’m clawing and scratching to break into traditional publishing, mainly because I don’t have time or money to promote my work 24x7, or to shovel my way through the chaff and onto readers’ radar. It’s too easy for people to create an .epub file and fire it off into cyberspace, such that there is a lot of junk out there (maybe my stuff is junk, too, who knows). So getting into the traditional market allows one to have that line of distribution behind them, the power to setup signings, market locally, and not come across as someone who just downloaded Calibre and uploaded to Amazon.

There is a plethora of awesome indie books out there, and I’ve read many and been very impressed. But there is so much noise that it just doesn’t seem like the fight is worth it... getting a traditional contract is looking more and more appealing.

Does anyone share similar thoughts?

Iron Chef!

I just found this terrific site for old Iron Chef episodes. Not this new American version, but the original Japanese show. We don't have all the cable channels at our house, so we don't necessarily get to watch these great old shows. Thanks to this awesome site, we do now!

Go check it out, I've even linked it to my feeds.

 http://ironcheffans.info/wordpress/

Sick of Vampires Yet?

I have watched the phenomenon of Twilight and all the spin-offs and knock-offs with interest, being a fan of vampires. I’m not really into the romantic style that Twilight embraces, and even Anne Rice is a little tame for me. However, as an author, I applaud the success of Twilight and am amazed at the popularity. Go, Stephenie Meyer, go!

This is not a criticism of anything Twilight—there’s too much of that. Rather, I’d like to point out a vampire series that describes the darker, more sinister, and downright evil nature of these bloodsucking creatures.

Folks, if you have not read Brian Lumley’s Necroscope series, you are missing some absolutely awesome vampire stories. It is not without flaws, and sometimes I’d wish he’d back off on the whole paranormal/ESP think. But the vampires?

There is nothing romantic about them.

Think of a large leech living inside you, attached to your entire core, being part of you. It is you, you are it. It needs to feed, and doesn’t care how—and if it has to reproduce, beware of pulsating tentacles and rudimentary body parts lifting from the very earth!

Links:

The first book, Necroscope, my favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Necroscope-Brian-Lumley/dp/0812521374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325871532&sr=8-1

#2, Wamphyri! http://www.amazon.com/Vamphyri-Necroscope-Vol-Brian-Lumley/dp/0812521269/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1325871532&sr=8-2

#3, The Source. http://www.amazon.com/Necroscope-Source-Trilogy-Brian-Lumley/dp/0812521277/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1325871532&sr=8-3

Deadspeak and Deadspawn make up books 4 and 5 of the “trilogy”, there is a Vampire World trilogy in the middle between even more Necroscope books. But my favorites are the first 3 in the original trilogy and the Vampire World. I stayed up all night reading "The Last Aerie"... amazing.

Now, the whole source of vampires is what intrigues me, and where I could almost believe it could happen, given our knowledge of wormholes and all that.

I love the series, but if Lumley had cut out all the ESP/paranormal information, I think he could have condensed the five books into 3, and then done the 3 Vampire World Series. I have to curtail myself as an author, because there is much more to go on, but I need to remember that I am trying to stick to 3. No biggie, just some thoughts.

So.. fans of Twilight, if you’re looking for more gore, evil, self-serving, parasitic vampires with nothing redeeming about them, pick up the Necroscope today!