The Digger

Planning for the Digital Age

2010-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

("Murdermouth" cover, pencils by Derlis Santacruz)
Given the barriers and costs inherent in print publication, I'm going to be planning most of my comic book releases for digital platforms. The Apple iPad has a gorgeous comics application on it, and plenty of other tablets are in development that are going to change the methods of content delivery. There will still be barriers, especially as major computer producers will primarily be interested in Marvel and DC comics at first, but I sense a new Golden Age of comics coming (though I guess we'll have to change the term from "Golden Age" because of collectors. I guess the "Digital Age" is more apt.)

At any rate, I've told all my artists this will be the new goal. I am not quite sure how it's going to affect traditional layout and the all-important dance of panels and storytelling, but I welcome the opportunity to learn.

Since the Digger's already here...

2010-02-01T13:03:00.001-08:00

(ART BY KEWBER)
I'll be using this blog for my comics in development, including the DIRT series, coming to Ghostwriter Publications on Feb. 22 in the UK. Check back often for comic art, panels, previews, character sketches, and sample pages, as well as news where you can find DIRT and other Haunted Computer Production titles.

My regular book blog will remain at Haunted Computer.

Back to Haunted Computer

2010-01-24T19:49:00.001-08:00

I'm relocating back to hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com. Long story short, I finally figured out how to undirect from my Web site. I'll keep this up a while but I've exported it to the new blog. Hope you follow me over there! I'm trying to keep everything consolidated under the Haunted Computer label.

Scott

Patterson Inc

2010-01-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this link to an article on the James Patterson Industry.

I am well aware of the number of Patterson books out there, now infiltrating nearly every genre. At first, it was a curiosity, and now, it's something of a horror. I actually like his early Cross books and find them skillful (except once when he had his black detective Cross "hassled by the white cop" in Chapel Hill, which is one of the most diverse and international cities on the planet). Later books, eh. Competent but rather flimsy, and coinciding with the time he was giving most of the work to co-authors.

As a writer, I say "Good for him. He made a name for himself through force of will, and he gets people to buy books and read." As a writer, I say, "This is how publishing is putting another round in its chamber for the next Russian roulette spin." As a writer, I think, "If Patterson takes up all the tables at the front of the bookstore, nobody will need the other few thousand fiction authors behind him."

I understand completely that it makes more sense to sell five million books by one author instead of 10,000 books by 500 authors, or 100,000 books by 50 authors. Despite the deep discounting of bestseller hardcovers, it probably has a much more solid profit margin, with little risk. Sort of like Hollywood shooting for the high-profile remake instead of the stunningly original roll of the dice. I am sure the publisher is doing what's best to keep the doors open and pay employees, and perhaps give the stockholders a smile. And all that has nothing to do with art.

But that's okay. Art never has deserved to exist. And that's not to say Patterson isn't creating art. That's all subjective. What is objective is dollar signs. People make choices. Maybe they have limited choices, but nobody's holding a gun to their heads at the checkout line.

If I had my books packed on every paperback rack, would I slow down so that other people have a chance? I doubt it. If Patterson hired me as a co-author, would I do it? Hmm. Guess it would depend on how much. So I'm just like every other lazy hack out there clinging to art until it gets in the way of a decent meal.

And I fully expect the Patterson machine to keep chugging long after his death, just as the estates of VC Andrews and Robert Ludlum have done. In fact, if there's a future of "traditional" publishing, I'd say that's the future. And it is going to carry over to ebooks, because marketing is far more important than brilliance. In the long run, it probably all comes out the same. Colleges won't be teaching Sidney Sheldon or Jacqueline Susann, and few people talk about them now. New Pattersons will come along, or Patterson-like corporations that just happen to manufacture words instead of beans or widgets.

Maybe it's not the end of anything. Or even the beginning. I don't know how many times I've seen the words "the death knell for books" in the 13 years I've been a writer, yet people still read and write, somehow. Got to go now. Patterson is giving me a run for my money as the world's laziest hack, and I'm tired of typing...

Da Vinci Code, symbology, and Scottology

2010-01-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

Being the kind who is usually 10 years behind the cultural trends, I'm just now getting around to "The Da Vinci Code," listening to an audiotape from the library. I can see why this is so popular. It's accessible, fast-paced, reasonably well-written, and provides a lot of information. I've known some writers who sneered at the book, considering it hack work. Of course, that comes from the position of assuming that 10 million people have to be "wrong" in a subjective matter. I have to admit, I picked up one bestseller and when I got to the line "I did a shrug," I thought, "Well, maybe I'm not in this book's audience."

But in thinking about my own work, I can't afford to take any kind of elitist position. I thought after 10 years I'd know how to write. The truth is, after 12 years, I am finally ready to LEARN to write. A big distinction. A little unsettling, a little intimidating, but also strangely freeing and transformative. In the last post, I was musing on my past. I can't disown it. Yet I also don't have to be "just my books."

By looking at the kind of books people like, instead of what I think they should read, I am more like the student I say every writer should be. I used to shudder when I heard about writers who calculated their plots and characters on whatever was popular at the time, deliberately copying big beats like First Kill, First Punch, First Kiss. But there's wisdom in it because it is the rhythm of our popular storytelling, and it didn't emerge in a vacuum. The reader completes the journey that the writer embarks upon alone. Everything is not Shakespeare. Sometimes you need some Patterson or Brown or Evanovich or Meyer.

that's a wrap, Mummy

2010-01-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

As I finish up the latest novel (the one closest to the end), I look around at the various crossroads, and on most of the detours, it doesn't really make sense to remain "Scott Nicholson." Indeed, I've already submitted one novel under a pen name, and another book I'm working on is in a distinctly different genre. I am very grateful to have published some books and I have some loyal readers. There's nothing as humbling, nor as clear a reminder of why we do this, as when you get a note from someone that says "You're my new favorite author."

Scott Nicholson is a decent commodity and has published some solid work. He is not a bestseller, just a humble hack pouring his heart and lungs out on a keyboard. The word "horror" is on the spines of his six novels but he doesn't feel horrible at all. The books just happened to have some ghosts and creatures in them. They are about faith and love, things Nicholson believes in. He doesn't believe in ghosts and creatures. They contain some darkness. Nicholson has seen darkness. They have some redemption. Well...it is FICTION, after all.

After a flurry of study, research, and inquisition, I've been able to take a more remote look at what I write, how it is presented, and, on the marketing end, how it is categorized out there in the wider world. One thing the online booksellers really excel at is compiling search histories and customer track records and seeing which books you're clumped with. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd never read the types of books I write, but I'm nowhere near my literary heroes. A lot of that comes to me, and how hard I work at it, and how much I want it. Boy, I love this job. Even though it's a part-time occupation, it's a full-time obsession. It is incredibly satisfying to be published. In the rank of things I wanted to do on this planet, that's probably in third, right after wife and kids (which are really tied for first, I suppose.)

But maybe Scott Nicholson needs to die. It won't be pretty, because I've known him long enough to know he won't go down without a fight. I may have to club him from behind with a shovel, or poison his coffee, or short-circuit his computer. He's got an incredible ego. He thinks what he has to say is important and that the world needs to hear it. Such people are dangerous and tend to persevere.

But if he were gone, I could convince myself to start fresh and never write a scary book. I could write about easy love and blind faith and sincere trust and happy endings. I'd have snappy, likable characters with indentifiable quirks. I'd create a series character. Two series characters, who quibbled over easy love.

But I suspect Scott Nicholson would slide out of his grave at night, dirt spilling from his rotted jacket as he sought his revenge. I'd go down a lot easier than he would.

Self-publish or self-perish?

2010-01-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

With self-publishing so easy that now even a lazy hack like me can do it, a lot of the old arguments for seeking the traditional route have moved to the wayside. Why should authors send off their efforts, or at least send queries about the possibility of sending off their efforts, when they can hit "Presto Change-O Publish-O" on their keyboards and immediately join the ranks of Stephen King and Dan Brown and Mary Higgins Clark?

You can self-publish, get the same playing field at Amazon and B&N as most publishers get (one Web page per book), and then do your own promotion, which most authors end up doing anyway. You get more of the money in most cases. Plus, if you're truly timid, you don't have to face rejection. At least until somebody accidentally buys your poorly edited jumble of alphabet and demands a refund. Alternately, if you're assuming you're too (fill in the blank--"extreme, controversial, daring, literate, good-looking, intelligent, Billy Bob Thorntonish") for the mainstream publishing industry, then go ahead and lulu createspace kindle your way to fame and fortune and giving your momma something to brag about during bridge.

The reality is, getting accepted by a major agent or editor is darned hard, takes lots of work, and requires much luck. You have to be not only good but better than the thousands of other merely "good" writers. You have to not only land on the right desk, you have to do it at the right time with the right project. And even if you beat the odds and get accepted, then the real battle begins. Because thousands of writers are pushing from behind, and thousands of great writers ahead of you are pushing you off the shelves. Given all that, it makes perfect sense to slap up an e-book, or cram fodder through a print-on-demand press.

But you know what? The hard way's still worth it. It's a dream that's almost impossible to reach. In other words, the kind of dream worth having. But what do I know? I only have about 700 rejection slips and eight books out there killing trees. It's worth it.

Alexandra Sokoloff, a writer's writer

2010-01-05T08:22:00.000-08:00

Alexandra Sokoloff is one of the most brilliant writers around, especially in awareness of various storytelling techniques, tricks, and craft mechanisms. Because of her background in theater, screenwriting, and novel writing, she has broad experience from which to draw. Her genius is in analyzing what works in the best thriller and suspense classics, and to understand how those techniques affect audiences. Her blog The Dark Salon has sampling of her new work, and she's also released "Screenwriting Tricks For Authors" for Kindle.

I had the good fortune to teach with her at Pen To Press in 2008, and I believe I learned as much or more than the students did. She was also my bandmate in the original Thriller Killer Band that performed at the first Thrillerfest in Phoenix. If you love taut psychological suspense, give her fiction a try--she's the closest thing to Ira Levin I've found among modern writers.

After reading a few of her blog entries, I'm ready to prowl back through some of my work and add some more suspense. I love writers that make me work harder!

Kindle e-book pricing

2010-01-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

E-book prices are all over the map, from plentiful freebies to the typical "major publisher" price of $9.99.

This is a complicated issue and the best thing about Amazon Kindle is it lets the author set the price. I've published in mass market paperback and trade paperback, but when I released my first novel The Red Church on my own, I set the price at $1.99. I did this for two reasons--at this price, I make about as much in royalty as I did in print, and because I want to reach new readers. Readers are my primary goal, not money. I can make money elsewhere. At the same time, I want to value my work and this price seems fair while also (as others pointed out) encouraging people to try me who might not have heard of me before.
That novel sold well on release, probably around 35,000 copies, but it's been out of print for four years. I want people to read it because I still get excited about it. So any new readers and additional income is gravy to me. However, I could understand setting the price slightly higher for an original release--to between $2.99 to $3.99.
Major publishers are still caught in the dilemma of setting e-book prices high to protect paper sales. They are worried about themselves, not about readers. And that's what they should do, watch out for business, because they are under siege when an author can simply post the book themselves, make it available to a worldwide audience at virtually no overhead cost, and make decisions on when a book is released, what the sales price is, and how it is presented. The author still has to do most of the marketing but that's always been true for all but a hundred or so who are highly successful and in whom publishers have invested much.
I priced Burial to Follow at 99 cents because it's a 20,000-word novelette and I want an audience for it and it was published in a hardcover for limited edition so it hasn't had a chance to reach a big audience, and I consider it one of my top five works. I will soon be releasing a short story collection and mulling over the price now, and I'm putting together a free promotional writing-advice e-book.
This is my personal situation and that's why I've made these decisions--others obviously feel differently, but i modeled my prices after JA Konrath's, who is doing very well in both print and e-book.
And, when all is said and done, why not meet readers halfway, or even further on their side of the bridge?

Red Church for Kindle

2010-01-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

Took the plunge and got it online, along with Burial To Follow. Cover art by Neil Jackson of Ghostwriter Publications. If you have a Kindle, it's specially priced at $1.99. Hope you give it a try--I'm thrilled to get this back out there.

Testing testosterone 2010

2009-12-31T16:17:00.000-08:00

Nothing says "I love you" like a chainsaw.

My beautiful wife gave me a chainsaw for Christmas and it coincided with a major ice storm. So it's been a frenzy of firewood, beaver fever, wood woodies, bzzzzZZZZ. She digs the smell of sweat and sawdust so it all works out.

In writing news, I'm in the stretch run of the last paranormal novel and continuing on with the Richard Coldiron follow-up and planning a cool YA novel. It looks like 2010 will be a great year!

Testing the e-book waters

2009-12-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

With so many Kindle readers being sold and success achieved by writers like J.A. Konrath and Lee Goldberg, I am testing the waters with a couple of e-book releases. The first one I have planned is "Burial To Follow," a novelette originally appearing in the Cemetery Dance anthology Brimstone Turnpike. It's a test case to sort out formatting, but it's also one of my Top Five works ever, and the original release was limited to 626 copies. So this is a chance to get the story into the hands of many more readers, which of course is the real point. It also doesn't hurt that the money flows directly to the writer's bank account.

I am divided on e-books and I remember in the 1990s when everyone said e-books were the immediate future (indeed, some said it was the present). I guess along with personal jet-cars and robot house servants, we'll just have to wait a while, but the undeniable truth is that bookstores are closing, paper books cost money to bind and ship, and distribution is still the largest single barrier between a good writer and an audience. Like Konrath and Goldberg, I still say writers should get the agent/major publisher paper deal and try the most difficult path possible before taking the easy way out and slapping up a bunch of e-books and hoping someone will recognize genius.

Another undeniable truth is that a lot more e-readers are being produced and sold, not just the Kindle. If you use one of these devices, I'd love to hear from you. If my "Burial To Follow" experiment proves worth the effort, look for possible re-releases of The Red Church and a story collection. Now time to go last-minute shopping (no Kindles in the stocking this year, though.)

Giant Robot Panic in Hollywood

2009-12-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

I'm all for the "little guy makes good" in the creative world, because every one of those overnight success stories involves years and years of craft and hard work. But the "Giant Robot" YouTube bidding war strikes me as a little extreme even for Hollywood. Sure, there's talent here, and excellent composition, but I wonder if Fede Alvarez can hang a story together. Most people can only sit still for about three uninterrupted minutes of blowing stuff up, no matter how cool. What do you do for the other two hours? Where are the people we care about? But I'm a writer so I think character arcs are necessary, or maybe I'm just jealous and want a job...but I'd have brought back the little kid near the end, given him a crumpled baby shoe or something poignant. Are you reading this, Fede Alvarez? Sam Raimi? Let me put a heart in your robot! Make me an Internet sensation and send me viral! Let me--

(Writer is incinerated by alien robot ray)

Some writing links

2009-12-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

One of the pieces of writing advice I often give is "Be a student of the game." Like most people who give advice, I usually stop taking my own advice once I think I'm smart enough to give it. The 20th book on "How to Write And Edit A Bestselling Novel" is often quite the same as the first, and "How To Promote Your Book" is dated by the time it rolls off the presses. But in the interest of catching up from those years where I was raising tomatoes and chickens, writing comic books and screenplays, and finishing a few novels while not pushing the envelope (mass queries in the mail), I've begun reading some industry blogs I'll pass along:
http://www.therejectionist.com/--A toothy blog by an agent's assistant
Miss Snark has not been updated in a couple of years but it shoots from the hip on agency submission procedures, including the ever-popular terrible query letters
Joe Konrath's Newbies Guide to Publishing--here is a role model for any aspiring writer
Nihilistic Kid, author and editor Nick Mamatas's blog, full of brash opinion on the industry (as opposed to the many "It is what it is" blogs of people who are afraid to offend anybody, including potential employers or agents)
Scary parent, blog of writer Joe Schreiber

Fun Andy Weeks piece at Fango

2009-12-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Andy Weeks did a very generous article on me for Fangoria.com

http://fangoria.com/moviestv/4749-scott-nicholson-knows-more-than-one-way-how-to-frighten-fans.html

The changing publishing industry

2009-12-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

Someone was asking me about publishing industry changes and I don't even know the half of it because everything has changed since I started, and I obviously don't know even half the story. But here's my ill-informed perspective, based on experience, observation, and talking to a few people in the know. The major change that I see now is that most agents don't even bother to respond to you, even if they ASK to see your manuscript. And the publishers are even worse, because they're doing the same thing to agents. I believe everybody is running scared both because of the economy and the rapid changes in the industry and technology that are blurring the definition of "published" and even the chain stores aren't sure how to deal with it.

Bookstore orders are roughly determined at about the time the publisher offers a contract--if the publisher pays you $10k it's going to print enough (and pretty much ONLY enough) copies to make its money back, and the bookstores see that figure and judge the publisher's amount of advertising (which will be none for practically any book below bestseller) and pretty much pick a "typical" number for that publisher's midlist sales in that particular genre. Say, Harlequin Hottie line sells 8 titles per store, so they will order 8 copies NO MATTER who the author is. Once your own name is out there for a couple of books, they go entirely on that data, which is why you need to do as many signings and promo events as possible in the three months after your book comes out. Very rarely does anyone suddenly get a big swell in sales, usually the opposite happens, unless you get great word of mouth or get real lucky.

There's really not much you can do besides all you can! Unfortunately this Amway method puts all the onus on the author, who can least afford the time and cost and has not much money to gain, with the real threat of never being able to sell another book if your sales tank (unless you get a pen name). Cheers. That's not to say I've been eating sour grapes. Authors are obviously still selling books and stores are still open, so somebody's doing something right somewhere. And I believe every great book--and most good ones--will eventually find a proper home.

The good news is, all that has not a lot to do with the real reason for writing--to express, to scream, to run naked, to giggle, to survive.

Handicapping Tiger's tarts

2009-12-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

While the sports media focuses on "Can Tiger focus on the game?" and mainstream press is already spinning how he can rehabilitate his image, and tabloid blogdom tracks down photos of the major players, I am more interested in who is best going to capitalize on sleazy celebrity. As of this writing, there is no telling how many more tarts will come out of the rough (or how many have already taken their payoffs and will never be known, until they realize they can make more cash by spilling the dirt.) If you're offended by my referring to these women as "tarts," they ALL knew Tiger Woods was married, so I don't care how "misunderstood" Tiger felt, or whether it was fueled by drinking or Ambien, or if they secretly thought they could cash in at some point. It's not like Tiger lied to them about not being married. That makes them tarts in my book. But not all will actually strike gold and attain the level of true whoredom. Here are the odds:

Double bogey: Rachel Uchitel, the original tart, flubbed her golden opportunity by apparently lying about lying. She should have known there were more like her around, and now she's playing the "too many secrets to talk" game, hinting that she can spread the wealth if she so chooses and thus is a valuable asset to the trash media. Sorry, the spin cycle on any one tart will be too short and there are already so many players you need a score card. Still she nabbed a reported $3 mil, so at least she's set the bar.

One over par: Jamie Jungers, allegedly linked to alleged infidelity; tied with all the others who will soon emerge (a fifth has reportedly gotten a lawyer and two others have reportedly sold their stories to the press). The ones who move the fastest will strike the most gold, unless one of them hit the jackpot with a secret sex tape.

Par: Kalika Moquin, who apparently is playing it cool and seems content to cash in while not appearing trashy--presenting herself as an "above it all" no-comment and maybe hoping to come out as somehow respectable and thus having a chance at a life where she's not remembered as a tart.

One under par: Jamie Grubb--she is giving the impression that she will do anything (and probably has) for a buck, and she is eager to dish out whatever it takes, even if she has to err on the side of sensationalism. The only sand trap is she is a little trashier than the rest of the card, so attention may go to those with better quotes.

Hole in one: Elin Nordegren, the estranged wife. And after this week, no jury on Earth would convict her of assault. Considering the rich opportunities for disease, she could easily claim self-defense. But one wonders if it will be worth $80 million to show up at golf tournaments, smile, and wave to the camera while standing by her man?

And Tiger? You have to wonder why he ever got married. If it was just to further his image as the squeaky-clean, hard-working family man suitable for corporate sponsorships, then he deserves everything he has coming to him.

Another thought: Instead of trying to pay off all these tarts and turn them into whores, why doesn't he just tell them to go ahead and spill the beans? He might even get more tarts if the reports are favorable.

Harlequin horrors

2009-11-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

From HWA:
Dear HWA Members,

Recently, Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd. announced the launch of a new imprint, Harlequin Horizons, a self-publishing venture for aspiring romance authors. This venture is prominently promoted on Harlequin Enterprises' website and is touted in the manuscript submission guidelines for all of its imprints.

The Horror Writers Association is very concerned about the conflict of interest created by this new venture. Harlequin Horizons is a joint venture with Author Solutions, and it is a vanity press that relies on payments from aspiring writers to earn a profit. The fact that this business venture shares the Harlequin name may mislead writers into believing they can improve their chances to be published by Harlequin Enterprises if they pay for this service.

HWA asks that Harlequin acknowledge that the imprint does not represent a genuine opportunity for aspiring authors to hone their skills, because no editors will be vying for or editing the manuscripts. HWA supports the basic principal that writers should be paid for their work, not pay because they aspire to write.

The HWA does not believe that changing the name of the imprint in an attempt to disguise the relationship with Harlequin, changes the intent. We call on Harlequin to discontinue this imprint immediately. If this matter does not find a positive resolution, the HWA will take appropriate action, which may include removing Harlequin from the list of HWA approved publishers, declining future membership applications from authors published by Harlequin and declaring that books published by Harlequin will not be eligible for the Stoker Award.

We are taking this action because we believe it's crucial to alert and protect our members from unethical and predatory publishing practices that take advantage of their desire to be published. The HWA hopes Harlequin Enterprises Ltd will take the appropriate measures to correct this matter posthaste.
Deborah Leblanc, HWA president

Murder, Madness, Mayhem...amen

2009-11-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

A new anthology from Comet Press, releases Nov. 23. Like the title says...dark crime. With stories by Tom Picirrilli, Simon Wood, John Everson, more. My own entry is "The Name Game," about what happens when you lose face...or die trying.

Appalachian Winter Hauntings

2009-11-15T06:52:00.001-08:00

A new release from editors Mark Justice and Michael Knost and Woodland Press. Features tales from the hills, including my entry "Apple Head Dolly," and stories by Ronald Kelly, Elizabeth Massie, Steve Vernon.

Tater Bear

2009-11-11T11:29:00.001-08:00

I don't know what's creepier, the fact that this spud looks like a bear or that it is so obscenely large. This guy brings in mutant fruits and vegetables every year to the newspaper to be photographed--I wonder if radiocative material is buried on his farm.

Shane Montgomery

2009-11-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

Here's my friend Shane Montgomery, she has written a great novel called "Ether." Some agent needs to represent it and some editor needs to buy it. Let's make her rich and famous because she is funny and we'll all be happier.

NC Writer Events in November

2009-11-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

TUE NOV 10, 7pm-8:30, PUBLIC FORUM, GREENSBORO: Elizabeth Zelvin, NYC
psychotherapist and mystery author of *Death Will Get You Sober* and *Death Will
Help You Leave Him.* She'll discuss "Alcoholism and Codependency Can Be Murder:
How a Therapist's Whodunits Help People Understand, Live With, Even Recover
from Addiction to Booze and Bad Relationships." Q&A, refreshments.
Unitarian-Universalist Society of Greensboro, 5603 Hilltop Rd., two miles south of W.Wendover. 336-856-0330 or 336-209-0628. http://www.uugreensboro.org/directions.html

SAT NOV 14, 9am-4, CHARLOTTE, fiction writer's intensive with award-winning
author and book editor Chris Roerden. Learn why most submissions are rejected instantly, discover new options for developing your writer's voice, and enjoy succeeding in your publishing efforts. Charlotte Writers Club 2nd annual writers education day. (The 1st in 2008 was presented by NY literary agent Donald Maass, author of *Writing the Breakout Novel* and *The Fire in the Fiction.*) Fifty writers have registered so far; $55 for the day including lunch ($50 for members). For location, registration form, and a list of 27 topics that Chris will cover: http://www.charlottewritersclub.org

SAT NOV 21, 10am-12 Winston Salem
and
SAT NOV 21, 2pm-4 Greensboro
"The End? Is Just the Beginning: Editing, Critique, & Craft, led by
Elizabeth Zelvin, NYC psychotherapist, Agatha Award finalist, author of the
mysteries *Death Will Get You Sober* and the just-released (by Macmillan's
Minotaur) *Death Will Help You Leave Him*, as well as published poems, short
stories, and many professional articles. http://www.elizabethzelvin.com
In Winston: Central Library, 660 W. 5th St. http://wswriters.org
In Greensboro: Sternberger Ctr, 712 N. Summit Ave. http://triadwriters.org

For more events, please visit http://www.writersinfo.info and click on the
microphone.

Get your Dirt Shirt!

2009-10-29T05:31:00.000-07:00

Get your Digger T-shirt! A full-color quality shirt from Poetic License Printing, be the first on your block to proudly display a creepy old dude who discovers a book of weird tales that can only be told in a comic book series.

wow, they would ban a book over anything

2009-10-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

I grabbed this off the shelf at the local library as an audiobook, and because I have an interest in goats and am plotting out a young-adult novel. However, the book has nothing to do with goats. I was surprised by its bluntness and honesty and thought, "This is how kids really think, and not the way adults would like them to think." Which is why young-adult books sometimes are lousy, because they are written to placate and reassure adults. But teens are much harder to fool than adults.

Then I discovered it has actually been on the "banned books" list. I can understand why honesty would upset some people--the same kind of people that don't want to see those behavioral-health surveys that show what the kids are really up to. This book is 20 years old but still feels fresh. It's worth a read.

Haunted Wilkes Paranormal Conference

2009-10-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley...here is the Old Wilkes Jail where Tommy Boy stayed while awaiting a rope around his neck. Some say he still "hangs out" here, and we'll find out this weekend at the Haunted Wilkes Paranormal Conference! The jail is one of six hunt sites we'll be exploring in Wilkesboro, NC.

Ziggy to ground control

2009-10-12T09:56:00.001-07:00

Lego is cool, Bowie is cool, and now...Bowie Lego! The grandpappy of glam rock is now one of the stars of the Lego Rock Band video game that will be out this year. Hard to believe the cross-dressing creator of "Major Tom" and "The Man Who Sold The World" didn't just jump the shark (thanks to Let's Dance, Labyrinth, brilliant marketing, and Web guru-ness), he practically coaxed it into a kiddie pool and hand-fed it gummy worms.

The Hills Have Thighs

2009-10-06T05:44:00.001-07:00

Normally, I'm not a fan of anything that makes fun of hillbillies, which is the last socioeconomicultural group that it's still okay for mainstream media to ridicule. But Bubba Cromer is one of "us," and he handles his hillbilly silliness with great sincerity. He assembles an amazing cast of non-actors and somehow gets them to buy into his over-the-top vision. Bubba, whose inaugural film "Bigfoot' took a legend to the woodshed and beat the tar out of it, returns with a story that promises laughs, banjos, and just a little bit hipper social commentary than your average Us magazine column. I don't know who is the "us" in Us, but I'm more at home with Bubba's folks.

Wampus kitty and tales o' West Virginny

2009-09-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Legends of the Mountain State Vol. 3 is now available, with a forward by Homer Hickam and tales from Elizabeth Massie, Mark Justice, John R. Little and more, featuring local legends of West Virginia. My own entry is "Wampus Cat," based on an Appalachian legend of, well, the wampus cat. Editor Michael Knost is doing a real sharp job with his different projects, which includes the Writers Workshop of Horror. He's rapidly becoming one of the most reliable editors around--and that is no small feat.

2009-09-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

As a football fan, I am always annoyed when the game moves away from "pure game" and becomes a celebrity, pop-culture fest--the Super Bowl being the biggest offender, when the commercials seem to tbe the reason for the game and all the timing rules are changed to allow more talking-head blather and corporate sloughage. It's the age when what a player does with his Twitter account gets more attention than what happens on the field. But major props to Eagles DB Sheldon Brown for this pre-game Jason mask. As far as I know, no footballs were slashed in the making of a crushing Eagles defeat, but hey, he'll be back for a sequel, count on it.

Frankie B. Washington

2009-09-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Interview with artist Frankie B. Washington

How did Marooned on Mogo Come About?
2009 - Spring, I answered an ad on http://www.digitalwebbing.com for a children book illustrator. I've always been fascinated with the genre yet my attempts in the past to try and get a job doing such work never came to fruition. MY thought when I sent my reply to the ad was that I was most likely not getting the gig. As a professional illustrator you have to be a realist when approaching any new potential clients- there's a 50/50 chance every time.
Well my odds turned into 100%, because Andrew S. Leiter chose me over 95 other artist to try and launch his newest title: Marooned On Mogo.

I asked Andrew where the concept came for the story- so here's his quote :
"Originally, I did not have desire to write an easy reader book. I was encouraged by a pre-school teacher and my wife because of a discussion they had. They had both come to the conclusion that there was not enough easy readers books geared for boys and tons for girls. Then shortly after that, I had two other people totally out of the blue state suggest that I write for young kids. So the Seed was planted.

I don't recall exactly how I came up with the idea Marooned on Mogo. I knew I always wanted to do a story about people being stranded on another planet. I decided to pick four kids Two boys and two girls because I knew it would appeal to both sexes of readers. I came up with the Clark Lewis name because of the famous explorers Lewis and Clark. Than I just named the other three kids with names that started with C's and of Course Lewis was their last name. Next, I thought about what appealed to kids. Pirates, dragons, dinosaurs, treasure, alien creatures cute and aggressive and incorporated them into the story."

When I saw the script, I immediately thought about Johnny Quest and Lost In Space. I could totally see everything in an animated way but definitely high adventure with a strong message of family as the strength of the story. My hope is that my illustrations help to amplify Andrew's story and in the end become something memorable for our readers.

Marooned on Mogo is available through Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com you can reach it through our website : http://www.maroonedonmogo.com

Fetal typewriter

2009-09-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

There's a general consensus that 10 years is more or less the gestation period of a writer. I'm a year or two past that now, so I guess I was getting published during my apprenticeship. Some writers never seem to improve once they get published, because they figure--quite reasonably, if it's paying the bills--that what they're doing is working. others regress in a desperate attempt to find what's trendy. others create new challenges and blossom both artistically and commercially. I'm not sure which future is mine. All three look possible for me, except I can never figure out what's trendy, so that detour is probably off the map. I do know that when I put in a good day's writing and fight the good fight, I feel nigh on invincible, whether such stuff gets published or not. I always tell writers to write for that feeling, that moment of triumph, because that might be the only reward. Now if I can believe it myself..

Jonathan Maberry reads from "The Dragon Factory"

2009-09-07T17:56:00.001-07:00

Jonathan Maberry reads the prologue from "The Dragon Factory" at DragonCon
The Dragon Factory: A Joe Ledger thriller due out in March 2010

2009-09-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

Live (for the most part) from DragonCon, Scott Nicholson, Jonathan Maberry, Stacia Kane, and Cherie Priest. Dark fantasy and horror authors, on a panel about scary stuff.