Biting Edge

Galaxy Fest

2012-01-25T13:09:00.001-08:00

Great local con-- check it out here

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More local news about a well-known local writer:

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America have announced that Connie Willis will be honored with this year's Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for her contributions to the literature of science fiction and fantasy. Willis is the author of 15 novels and more than 50 short stories and novellas. Her many prizes include seven Nebulas, eleven Hugos and four Locus awards. The award will be presented at the 47th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in Arlington, Virginia, May 17-20, 2012.

Connie is not only talented but friendly and a wonderful speaker. Some of you might remember her from a RMFW conference a year or two ago. The award is well deserved.

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I had never seen this YouTube video before. I was stunned. Then I was proud.

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From Shelf Awareness:

Jack McKeown's presentation of the Verso Digital survey of consumer purchasing behavior was a highlight of the Winter Institute and reinforced the sense among indies that there are plenty of opportunities for bricks-and-mortar bookstores in the post-Borders, digital era.

Among items covered in this interesting survey was how readers find out about books.

Readers find out about books mostly through personal recommendations (49.2%), bookstore staff recommendations (30.8%), advertising (24.4%), search engine searches (21.6%) and book reviews (18.9%). Much less important are online algorithms (16%), blogs (12.1%) and social networks (11.8%). These results "reaffirm the power and necessity of bricks-and-mortar stores and traditional marketing efforts," McKeown commented.

Among other topics of special interest to writers are Indies vs. Chains, the Borders effect on book buying, E-readers and E-books, E-book Piracy, E-Book/Print Book comparisons, pricing of E-Books. It's definitely worth a look.

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I don't know why I feel so reflective lately. Maybe because it's the beginning of a new year, maybe because it may be our last year (kidding, I don't really believe this even if that conservative sect of the Mormon religion posted those repent or get damned letters), maybe because I'm getting old(er)--I find I'm questioning a lot of things I took for granted. Does that mean I'm getting wiser (finally) or just accepting that there are thing I'm never going to change in this world?

Or does it mean nothing at all? I'm feeling the effects of the solar flare? Or the planets are misaligned? Or the moon is in some weird house?

I think I'd better get back to work...

A Personal Day for Mario...

2012-01-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Diego Azubel/EPA

Our friend Mario is attending a wedding out of state so while he's off sipping champagne and flirting with bridesmaids, we have to stumble along without him. I'm sure he'll be back next week with lots of stories we may or may not believe. In the meantime, Happy Year of the Dragon to you!!

Want to know more about the Dragon? Go here

I think I can, I think I can

2012-01-18T14:33:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's because it's January, there are all sorts of blog posts and videos about motivation floating on the Internet. I'm as susceptible (or as neurotic) as the next but these two were pretty good. See if they don't light your fire.

From YouTube

From wimp.com

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Tuesday night Mario and the rest of our critique gang went to the debut book signing of Jason Heller's Taft 2012 at The Tattered Cover on Colfax. Jason was funny, charming and as erudite as one might expect. Can't wait to read his book and if you missed his book trailers, scroll down to BE Monday Jan. 8 and check them out. The best I've seen. Hell, I'd vote for Taft. BTW, I'm sure TC has signed copies if you're interested.

Three other pals of the Biting Edge have books out this week--

Cindi Myers -- The Woman Who Loved Jessee James

Carol Berg - The Daemon Prism

J. A. Kazimer - Curses! A A F&%#ed-Up Fairy Tale

All three authors have signings scheduled at the Broadway Book Mall:

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2:00 – Carol Berg will discuss and sign The Daemon Prism, the 3rd in her Collegia Magica series. Consumed with despair, the blind necromancer Dante seeks refuge in a magical puzzle -- a puzzle that supposedly fulfills one's utmost desires. But it's actually a seductive trap, threatening to unleash the very cataclysm he fears.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 3:00 –

Cindi Myers, The Woman Who Loved Jesse James - Jesse was a dangerous puzzle: a loving husband to Zee and a father who kept his “work” separate from his family, though Zee heard the lurid rumors of his career as a bank robber and worse. Still, she never gave up on him. And he earned her love, time and again.

J.A. Kazimer, Curses! A F&%#ed-Up Fairy Tale - Definitely "not" for baby's bedtime reading, this hilarious and irreverent take on classic fairy tales--think "Shrek" for grown-ups--combines humor, mystery, and characters only a fairy godmother could love.

And in other author news, our Seattle contingent, Richelle Mead, Mark Henry, and Kat Richardson (among others) find themselves in unfamiliar territory--they have snow!! Lots of snow. Snow that probably should be here. If your friends with them on FB or Twitter, you've already heard how they're coping. All I can say is...

better them than me.

That's it for me. Off to the gym. If you're wondering why this is posting so late or even if you're not...the fucking power has been off for two hours. No explanation. No weather problems. No construction in the area. Why would the power go off? You tell me.

One more editorial comment. I know the anti-piracy bill(s) may be flawed...but I have one question--when did stealing become acceptable or a right of free speech???? I just don't get it.

Back from the Big Apple

2012-01-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

Late post because I spent the weekend in NYC to attend the Mystery Writers of America national board meeting as I'm the President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter. One of the perks of the job though the rest of the year they get their money's worth out of me.

Besides official business, it's a chance to reacquaint myself with old friends and meet new ones.

Among the reacquaintances:

The funny (and closeted pervy) Jess Lourey, one of my favorite writers and the author of the satirical Murder-by-Month cozy Mysteries featuring librarian amateur sleuth Mira James.

Gary Phillips, he of the booming voice, President of the Southern California Chapter, and all around pal of everybody in the mystery-writing business.

..and the new friends.

Greg Herren, President of the Southwest Chapter, a funny funny guy, and scourge of America's youth as a "gay pornographer." He and Jess spent an hour at Saturday's dinner critiquing New Orleans Mardi Gras costumes (and bodies) on his iPhone album.

Tim Broderick, president of the Midwest Chapter, another funny guy (humor helps in the noir murder business), and prolific graphic novelist.

And to pimp Jason Heller one more time before the book launch of Taft 2012 (Tue, Jan 17, Tattered Cover on Colfax), he got a plug by none other than the New York Post, who mentioned his book in Required Reading.

On Wednesday, January 18, I am one of the featured artists at The Lobby (2121 Arapahoe, Denver), exhibiting along with Greg Marquez and Zoe Tessier, Artists' Happy Hour, 5-7PM, curated by Art Pimp extraordinaire, Eric Matelski.

Clean Desk/Sick Mind?

2012-01-11T13:45:00.001-08:00

There is supposed to be a video here and I have no idea why it's not showing up...a blogger mystery!

January 11th: National Clean Off Your Desk Day

Monday was National Clean Off Your Desk Week. So, how's your work space? Send us a picture (before and after if you'd like) and let's see who has the messiest desk and whose cleaned up best.

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Photo credit: National Western Stock Show Photos

Denver's holiday season extends well in January with The National Western Stock Show. The mutton-bustin event where little kids try their luck on little sheep is a favorite of everybody. I think even the sheep have fun with his one!

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Let's see--by now most of you have heard who has been cast as Lee Child's Jack Reacher in the upcoming movie. In case you haven't, follow this link to an article in the WSJ and tell us what you think. All I can say is...huh?????

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Ah, a puppy bookmark. Isn't he cute?
From Buzzfeed

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From Flavorwire : 25 Greatest Epigraph's in Literature

The epigraph is a funny literary convention: excerpting lines of someone else’s work — or quotes, adages, lines of verse, lyrics, snippets of conversation, etc — to put before your own...They may seem a trivial part of the work they come attached to, but we think, if done properly, they can be very illuminating.

Here are my favorites:

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. — G.K. Chesterson
(from Coraline by Neil Gaiman)

Lawyers, I suppose, were children once. — Charles Lamb
(from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

Behind every great fortune there is a crime. — Balzac
(from The Godfather by Mario Puzo)

Have you ever used an epigraph in your writing? Want to share?

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What happens in a book store at night?
(I seem to have lost the credit for this one. I apologize.)

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Creative bookshelves:

More here at Crooked Brains.

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Let's finish off with one of my favorite funny men, author Mark Henry , the founding father of The League of Reluctant Adults. Here he expounds on his Goals for the Apocalypse.

Note to self: ask first if he grew them himself before eating vegetables at Mark's house.

On another note, here's the other Mark Henry... can hardly tell them apart.

Photo credit: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

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And speaking of the League, two members have new books out you should check out:

Sins of the Demon by Diana Rowland

And

Silver Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells

That's it for me this week. How's your January going so far? Let me know what's up.

A presidential retread and those pesky his and hers

2012-01-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

Two years ago I had the good fortune of meeting fellow scribe, Jason Heller, who writes for the AV section of the local Onion and was a contributor to Westword. Heller's a long time critic and raconteur of popular music and culture in general and a thoroughly funny guy. So who better to pen the story of former-president William Howard Taft running for the White House (again)? Heller's novel, Taft 2012 is getting excellent notice and his publisher is sparking up the buzz with these super book trailers.

Catch Heller at his book launch at the LoDo Tattered Cover, Tuesday, January 17, 7:30pm.

Another FOBE (friend of Biting-Edge), J.A. Kazimer is sponsoring a Goodreads giveaway for an ARC of her newest book, Curses, A F*cked
Up Fairy Tale. It's a great parody of the paranormal mystery genre, and here's your chance to score a copy.

If anyone has a crystal ball for the publishing industry, it might be Hyperion CEO Ellen Archer. In this posting on Digital Book World she shares her thoughts about the state of the business, the impact of ebooks (expected to be more than half of Hyperion's revenue by 2015), author advances (shrinking), and the importance of social media to your writing career.

Fellow Leagurer Carolyn Crane expounded recently about Some writing/reading things that she thought she'd never do but now does all the time. She discusses how Twitter has forced her to LOL and ROFL. And her beloved Roget's Thesaurus has been displaced by online versions. Like her, my dogeared thesaurus gathers dust next to the recycle box. It's so much easier to google *word* synonym. But progress brought an unexpected treat--the Merriam-Webster online dictionary's videos.

You get to see and hear brainy (and easy-on-the-eyes) librarian types pontificate on topics such as the pronunciation of troublesome words, flat adverbs, and the stinkeye. A favorite video addresses the whole clunky his or her construct. If you've ever had your hand slapped for writing "Everyone must bring their coat" because it's supposedly more grammatically correct to write "Everyone must bring his or her coat" then guess what? Vengeance is yours. Don't let the pinheads bully your use of the indefinite pronoun. And this video tells you why.

Out With the Old...

2012-01-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

Most everyone begins a new year with the goal to start fresh, reorganize, simplify. Here's one way to get rid of some dead wood...from Topless Robot : Ten Collecting Fads Worth Next to Nothing Today... good place to start. Time to get rid of all those Pogs, Beanie Babies, Homies and Cabbage Patch Kids.

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Coming January 20-- Kate Beckinsale has always been my secret favorite to play Anna on the big screen. What? I can fantasize, can't I?

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Johnny Depp talks Dark Shadows:

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From Shelf Awareness:

Author of the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series Jeff Kinney filed a lawsuit Tuesday in a Boston federal court alleging that DIARY OF A ZOMBIE KID, published by Antarctic Press, "blatantly infringed [Kinney's] intellectual property and diluted its trademarks."

Ya think????

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Now here's a story that if you put it in a book, no one would believe it:

Train hopping couple buried alive:

A young couple hopping railroad cars across the country was found dead under a mound of coal at a Florida power plant.

As the AP reports, officials at the plant are not sure if the couple was sitting on top of the coal when another load dropped, or if they were in a railcar that was dropping its payload. But they do know that Artes died from asphyxiation--meaning that he was likely buried alive. Hendershot died from blunt force trauma to the mid-section, meaning that she likely died from falling or by having coal fall on her.

Hmmm....seems they should have seen this coming, right? And why ride on top of a car full of coal? Can't have been very comfortable. Am I being too critical? Am I missing something?

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Okay, I think that's it for this week. What's new with you? How is the beginning of the year treating you? It has been surprisingly easy to get back into a routine. In fact, I'm enjoying it. I just wish I wasn't so HUNGRY all the time!!!

For you writers, I like this blog: 25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing (Right Fucking Now)
Despite the colorful title, a lot of good advice here . Check it out.

And pal Jeff Shelby, writing as Jeffrey Allen, has a new release: Stay at Home Dead.

Check it out here

The Countdown of 2012

2012-01-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Mario here:
Happy New Year to you all.

I started 2012 with a bit of a scrape about the upcoming Apocalypse, which you can read about at The League of Reluctant Adults blog.

And I finally got off my duff and posted the official 2011 Hollow Fang newsletter. What was supposed to be a monthly, or at least quarterly, offering got preempted by this blog, MySpace (which croaked), and Facebook. This issue of the Hollow Fang provides updates on vampiric doings and some helpful ways to augment your cash flow.

You'll need those pennies as you count down to the Apocalypse, December 21, 2012. Not sure what it will be. Earthquakes, financial Armageddon, our favorite--zombies!--or the 1% clearing real estate by unleashing a Doomsday machine.

Happy fanging!

HNY

2011-12-28T15:54:00.001-08:00

The above photo was taken from Cindy Sue Goertz-Truman's Facebook profile pic. Seemed very appropriate for today.

It also seemed appropriate because at the end of this week, this year, the neighborhood bar and grill where my critique group has met for the last three years is closing. The Pearl Street Grill is being shuttered so the owners can refashion it into what I'm sure they hope will be a more profitable venture--an upscale restaurant situated smack between Sushi Den and India's Pearl. So gone will be the comfortable, atmospheric, friendly place with a great staff and great food. And now comes the bitterest cut of all--having to start all over again to find a spot that will let us sit in a corner for two or three hours, eating, drinking and talking about things not often spoken of in public--how to dispose of a body, how to kill vampires and werewolves, how best to write a sex scene, how many ways the word "fuck" can be used in a sentence. (I think I won that one--if you've seen Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth has a t-shirt that reads: Fuck off you fucking fuck.)

So, I guess the moral is, the tide bringeth and the tide taketh away.

RIP Pearl Street Grill

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I didn't get very far in my movie-going quest this week. Only saw two flicks so far, MI, which I give 3 1/2 stars (out of 5). There were some good stunts and plenty of action, but breaking a hole in the window at the top of a 130 floor sky scraper has got to result in something more than a gently hair lifting breeze. Dubai is very impressive, though.

The second is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--4 stars and will probably rate higher when I can HEAR the dialogue. Too much background noise and music (except at the beginning when Led Zep's Immigrant Song is played while the credits roll-rock on!) But it was a splendid adaptation. Craig and Mara gave top notch performances.

One of the treats of movie-going for me is always watching previews. This one in particular looks very good:

I may have shared this before, but it's worth a second look.

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So here we are at the end of another year. Time for reflection, for cleaning out the closets, for setting new goals. I don't make resolutions. They become just another weight to haul around. Instead, I take stock. Of what I accomplished this year, of what I didn't and why. And I look at the beginning of every new year as just that...a beginning. A clean slate. A chance to start again and get it right.

That's what I wish for you. A clean slate. A vast horizon of possibilities. New beginnings.

And peace to us all.

Happy New Year.

Merry Xmas

2011-12-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

Happy holidays everyone.

Hope that your Christmas has been jolly and happy. Best wishes and we'll see you next week.
Wait, that's New Year's! Drink up and be healthy, happy, and safe.

Cheers!

Peace on Earth

2011-12-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

No matter what holiday you may be celebrating this season, this has got to put a smile on your face. Creative high schools students give a great rendition of silent monks doing the Halleluia chorus.

Youtube

Put me right in the spirit.

For anyone who has ever taken a writing class:

The Elements of Style from Jake Heller on Vimeo.

Cool....

Okay, that's it from me this week. I hope you are all safe and warm and happy. And my holiday wish for us all...said it in the subject line.

Peace.

Christmas stories

2011-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

Nothing says Merry Freakin' Christmas like an office party at Biting-Edge HQ. Admin assistants spiking the eggnog (started at 80 proof). Medical marijuana brownies. Mail clerks copping feels under the mistletoe. Jeanne pulling the fire alarm (ask her for those details).

Usually this season puts me out of sorts. Kinda hard to reconcile Good Will Toward All Men with the relentless Buy! Buy! Buy! of American consumerism. But this year I've set aside my usual cynicism and embraced a mood of good cheer. I'm even singing along with Christmas carols, especially my fave:

You see, I don't have young ones anymore to play Santa Claus to. I know that drill. It's a challenge to ask your kids to play down their expectations without feeling like the Grinch. Sorry kids, it's not that I don't care, it's that your college-educated father is a loser penny-pincher.
So like many of you, I became expert in finding the gotta-have presents of the day. In my primo dad days, it was He Man action figures, MicroMachines, Super Mario Kart, and Mortal Kombat.

Earlier, in my youth, our Christmas celebrations were Norman Rockwell with a good dose of Cantiflas. My mom would drag us to the annual Cantada de Navidad at the Spanish Baptist Church. Despite all the Hallelujahs and Away in the Manger's, the high point of the evening was the visit from Santa Claus. He'd give away paper bags filled with ribbon candy, pecans, and an orange. Which was much appreciated after all the sitting around listening to the church chorus. And I liked oranges.

My favorite Christmas tradition was the making (and eating) of tamales and fried bunuelos. My mother and aunts would make dozens of two kinds of tamales: red chile pork and sweet with pecan and raisins. Neither lasted long.

I learned not to peg my Christmas happiness on getting the perfect gift. Sometimes it happened like when I got my first bike and BB gun. Later on I really wanted a minibike--didn't get it despite all the goddamn hints--and an airbrush and compressor...didn't get that either. But I got a lot of sweaters, socks, and model airplanes.

My most memorable Christmas had to be when I was 18 and returned home on holiday break from the Army. My best friend Ron was also on military leave. We spent our ten days of freedom looking up old girl friends, crashing parties, and soaking up as much booze as our livers could stand. I got the biggest monster hangover of my life. But underlying the festivities was the ticking of the clock--until then I was never so aware of the weight of passing time--and the realization that try as we might to hang on to what was--the future was sweeping us away. Here's another favorite song, one that brings back the bittersweet memories of Xmas 1973.

What are your Xmas stories?

Happy Holidays, amigos!

How Many Days Til Xmas?

2011-12-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

So, how did you spend your Wednesday?

I spent two hours finishing my holiday shopping, five hours wrapping and putting packages together to mail, another two hours at the post office (where I did my bit to support the flagging postal service and I must say, with postal employees--my experience has been if you smile, they do, too), one hour cleaning up the debris in the living room and now it's almost nine and I don't have a thing ready to post.

I don't know if the link is still up, but you can check Lizzie T. Leaf's blog where I was featured yesterday and talked about the holidays and shared my mom's fudge recipe. It's the best.

Speaking of Lizzie, we'll be at Barnes & Noble in Westminster again this Saturday, (9370 Sheridan Blvd. Westminster CO 303-426-7733) 11 - 3PM.

Last duties of the season..finish up the cards. Wrap the packages I don't have to mail. Do some baking. Once that's done, I'll be ready to get back to what I want to be doing--writing! And maybe seeing new movies:

So, I suppose you're all finished with the shopping and wrapping and cards and are sitting back eating bon-bons and laughing at the rest of us. Will I ever NOT be stressed at this time of year?

What are your holiday plans? Traveling? Relaxing? Seeing movies (and if so, which movies are you looking forward to)? Drop by and leave a comment or two...Santa may just surprise you.

Adieu, Mr. Postman

2011-12-11T14:48:00.000-08:00

Mario here,

We writers have always had a special relationship with the mail. Mine started when I used to accompany my mom to the post office, a big imposing building downtown. The black ballpoint pens were chained to the counter and stamped: Property of U.S. Government. We'd worry about the penalties if the Feds caught you swiping one. The mail clerks (always men in those days) were very official and stern behind their bronze grates.

My first personal interaction with the postal service was in the fifth grade. Quaker Oats had this promotion claiming that their puffed wheat cereal was shot from guns.

If you sent two boxtops you'd get a model cannon. Unfortunately, the bargain with my mom was that I had to eat both boxes of the Quaker cereal, which was not anywhere as good as Super Sugar Crisp. I sent in the boxtops--Allow six weeks for delivery. (Try surviving in today's marketplace with an offer like that.) Those six weeks were the longest of my life. As the delivery day got closer, I'd run home to see if the package arrived. One day, my model of a Napoleon six-pounder was waiting for me on the kitchen counter. The mailman was my hero.

Moving forward to when I participated in the writers' submission ritual. Banging out a query letter on the Underwood, sending the letter and an S.A.S.E. to an agent or editor...and wait. We'd hold vigil around the mailbox and eventually some of those S.A.S.E.'s would find their way back home. It was common knowledge that if an agent or editor was interested in your manuscript, you'd get a special envelope or even better, a phone call, so the returned S.A.S.E. meant no-dice, pal. And when fortune did finally shine, there was your monster of a story packed up in a manuscript box or padded envelope. Revisions and galleys came by mail. As did advance checks. (Yeah!) One day you'd get boxes of your books. All delivered by the man or woman in USPS blue.

For better or worse, the mail carrier was our good friend.

The Internet has claimed many victims. We writers bemoan the loss of many local bookstores. Here in the Denver area we've lost Murder By the Book, High Crimes, Hastings, and of course, Borders, done in by the pitiless onslaught of Amazon. Craigslist has killed off scads of newspapers. And now the World Wide Web has a stranglehold on the Post Office.

Today, it's strictly email queries, which means rejections now come at the speed of light. Deadline time, you submit an electronic copy of the manuscript. Revisions are done in track changes.

According to various press releases, mail volume will drop by half within five years. To prevent bankruptcy, the USPS will close hundreds of outlets and layoff thousands. Postage rates will go up, and worse, mail delivery will slow and become uncertain. The standard delivery for first-class delivery is now next day. Three at most. The Post Office says to expect a week or longer. In other words, why bother mailing anything?

And so the USPS circles the drain.

They should've seen it coming. First UPS ate into their parcel delivery. In their arrogance, the Post Office dismissed the competition, and the man in brown has since replaced the man in blue. Then FedEx came around. People were willing to pay ten times the mail rate for guaranteed overnight delivery. To FedEx became a verb. Email replaced letters. You can pay bills through the Internet. USPS was nicknamed snail mail.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Think of it. For a mere 45 cents, they will deliver your letter anywhere in the U.S. with a certainty of nearly 100%. That's incredible service. Of course they lose money with each letter. What the Post Office needs to do is emphasize their service and raise their rates accordingly. Even at a dollar a letter, that's a deal.

I have another service that may not put the Post Office in the black, but could be a substantial source of revenue.

Promote the mailing of liquor. Right now we're treated to that rote question: Does your package contain anything fragile, liquid, flammable, or potentially hazardous? It's a gotcha so they can screw you in case you do mail something that violates their rules. But in fairness, we have the Unabomber and the Anthrax killer to thank for that question.

Why not allow people the opportunity to mail booze? Not cases of hootch but a bottle of wine, liquor, or a six-pack of beer. As long as you declared it and used the appropriate packaging.

So adieu to all the fond memories of the mail. Email will never replace the romance of the love letter. Remember pen pals? Somehow, putting pen to paper prompted an eloquence that no software can duplicate. On the flip side, porn no longer arrives via a plain brown wrapper. What special memories does the mail bring for you?

'Tis the Season...

2011-12-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

Facebook had some really cute holiday cartoons up this week. These were my favorite:

Now, I finished my shopping--if I can get my cards done, I'll really be ready to party!!! How about you? What are your plans for the holidays and are YOU ready?

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Also, found another gem: Mystic Mayan Power Cloak modeled here by Nigel & Helena:

Order yours here and be ready for the coming apocalypse...In fact, a cloak that allows you:

To survive the Apocalypse in style!

Raise your Spiritual Vibration!

Begin an Exciting New Life!

Master the Power of the Ancients!

Harness Unlimited Love, Money & Power!

Marvel at the Anti-fungal, Anti-bacterial fabric that makes bathing & deodorant use obsolete!

Enjoy Instantaneous Enlightenment!

would make an awesome Christmas present!! And think what you'd save on wrapping paper!

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It occurred to me that I haven't had a Whedon Alert in awhile. So here's the trailer for his Avenger movie, coming in May.

An interview with Joss here where he discusses the movie.

Something fun from how to be a lady nerd - the Buffy singalong -- with James Marsters!

The article here

Now I realize this was an amateur video and shot from a distance, but I couldn't help thinking how much better a job I would have done...especially opposite James Marsters.

What's coming up next for Joss? Here's the press release:

Bellwether Pictures proudly announces the completion of principal photography on MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy adapted and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel’s upcoming THE AVENGERS, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”). Filmed in just 12 days entirely on location in exotic Santa Monica, the film features a stellar cast of beloved (or soon to be beloved) actors – some of them veterans of Shakespearean theater, some completely new to the form. But all dedicated to the idea that this story bears retelling, that this dialogue is as fresh and intoxicating as any being written, and that the joy of working on a passion project surrounded by dear friends, admired colleagues and an atmosphere of unabashed rapture far outweighs their hilariously miniature paychecks.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is the first feature from Bellwether, a micro-studio created by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole for the production of small, independent narratives for all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a somewhat older story.

Shot in glorious black and white by Jay Hunter (PAPER HEART, “Dollhouse”), the film stars Amy Acker (CABIN IN THE WOODS, “Alias”) and Alexis Denisof (“How I Met Your Mother”, “Angel”) as Beatrice and Benedick, the world’s least likely lovers headed for their inevitable tumble into love. As Joss Whedon puts it: “The text is to me a deconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a love letter – to the text, to the cast, even to the house it’s shot in.” The supporting cast includes Nathan Fillion (“Castle”, WAITRESS) as Dogberry, Clark Gregg (AVENGERS, IRON MAN) as Leonato, Fran Kranz (CABIN IN THE WOODS, “Dollhouse”) as Claudio and Reed Diamond (“Franklin & Bash”, MONEYBALL) as Don Pedro.

The film was produced by Whedon, line-produced by Nathan Kelly and M. Elizabeth Hughes, and co-produced by Kai Cole and Danny Kaminsky. The super-impressive cast is listed below. Full tech credits (for the extraordinary crew) will be up shortly.

The Players: Amy Acker - Beatrice Alexis Denisof - Benedick Nathan Fillion - Dogberry Clark Gregg - Leonato Reed Diamond - Don Pedro Fran Kranz - Claudio Sean Maher - Don John

For more, go here

Shot in TWELVE days? I can't wait to see this. I love that Joss uses ensemble casts. I can't help but think that the actors must LOVE doing these spur of the moment movies!!!

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Now, here's one of my favorite contests: Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award. This year it goes to David Guterson for his fifth novel, Ed King. Here’s a sample:

"these sorts of gyrations and five-sense choreographies, with variations on Ed's main themes, played out episodically between 10 pm and 10 am, when Diane said, 'Let's shower'"; and "she took him by the wrist and moved the base of his hand into her pubic hair until his middle fingertip settled on the no-man's-land between her 'front parlour' and 'back door' (those were the quaint, prudish terms of her girlhood)".

Yikes!

Check here for samples from the other nominees. These weren't as awesomely bad as some have been in the past.

# # # #

I will leave you with this bit of frivolity: The twenty-five funniest auto corrects of Damn You Auto Correct's first year. See them in all their glory here

What about you? Got any auto correct bloopers to share?

Oh, and one other thing. Wednesday, I'll be sharing my mom's famous fudge recipe over at the fifteen days of Christmas on pal's Lizzie T Leaf's blog . It was a tossup as to whether I'd post the fudge recipe or my new favorite-- gingerbread pineapple upside down cake. Maybe if there's interest out there, I'll post that here next week!! What do you say?

Thy shall not suck

2011-12-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

Now that we're done with NaNoWriMo for 2011, the next question is: what to do with your literary masterpiece?

Simple answer: Get it published.

Uff! As daunting as writing a book can be, we've all learned that getting published is the next roll of barbed wire to crawl through. There's the ordeal of query letters and rejections, false starts with a bad agent, dashed hopes with a pussy-footing editor and publishing house...and the waiting, the waiting...for months...years maybe for something positive to happen.

Once you've done the run-around with the big New York publishing houses, you might look to a mid-sized press, and then smaller presses. Going for prestige, as it were.

And there's the siren call of self-publishing. At least you have a book in print. If that's all you want, then go for it. But if you want to reach the masses and perhaps make a little money, then self-publication presents huge challenges of its own. One of which is distribution for the mountain of books in your garage. A lot of those trials are spewed in this rant posted to another blog regarding self-publication:

I work as an event coordinator/marketer for an independent bookstore that has been inundated in recent years with self-published authors looking for shelf space and store events for their books. We get – and I am not exaggerating – between 400 and 500 requests a year from self-published authors asking us to stock and promote their book. On a slow week, we get 5-10 requests; on a busy week we’ll get 20.

If you ask most indie bookstore event coordinators about self-published authors, you will probably see some combination of eye-rolling, teeth grinding, or derisive laughter. Self-published authors are the bane of our existence. There are so, SO many would-be self-published authors that would do well to read this piece, and read it thoroughly. And then second-guess their decision to self-publish. But I know they won’t.

Why do I loathe (most) self-published authors? Here’s why. And I’m saying all this so maybe – MAYBE – there’s a self-published author out there who will read this and then understand what they are up against when it comes to marketing their self-published book through their friendly neighborhood indie bookstore.

1. Their books suck. There is no other way to say this. Bad writing, bad grammar, bad spelling, bad plot/character development, bad subject matter, etc. Don’t even get me started on do-it-yourself cover art. The book is bad. It’s bad. That’s why it couldn’t get published by a traditional publisher. But you can’t tell the self-published author of this monstrosity that their book is substandard and unsellable. Because they would act like you’ve just told them their brand-new firstborn child is ugly. Hey, I get it. You put a lot of work into this thing, and you ended up with an ugly baby. But that doesn’t change the baby’s looks, or the book’s ability to sell.

2. 90% of self-published authors are rude, pushy, completely self-absorbed, and relentless. This is my BOOK! It’s my MASTERPIECE. How dare you say it is not worthy of being stocked in your store, unless I pay for consignment?? How dare you, to not jump up and down and beg me to do an event for this book – even though I am not really from around here, I have no friends, and the book has only a very narrow niche appeal since it’s about my past life experience as a 16th century vampire with a skin condition?? Some of them don’t even bother to pitch the book themselves, but hire some poor hapless “freelance literary agent” to do it for them. Then relentlessly prod the “agent” to get them an event. THE BOOK SUCKS. IT’S NOT HAPPENING.

3. Self-published authors show a really appalling level of self-non-awareness. EVERY self-published author thinks they are the next Stephenie Meyer/James Patterson/That Guy on Amazon Who Sold a Million E-Books. EVERY self-published author thinks their memoir about going on a hiking trip to Alaska where nothing particularly dramatic happened is “special” and that “people will love it!” EVERY self-published author thinks they have written the new breakout bestseller, YA sensation, Great American Novel. I hear the same words from the same types of people over and over and over, about how their books are “different.” The books are never different. 50% of them have badly Photoshopped covers and are printed in Comic Sans.

You wrote a book. Congratulations. Let me make this clear. WRITING THE BOOK AND PAYING SOMEONE TO PRINT IT FOR YOU DOES NOT MAKE YOU SPECIAL. If the book is actually good – and in the several thousand requests I’ve processed, I’ve seen three or four that actually were – THAT makes you special. But please, PLEASE stop acting like paying AuthorHouse or Smashwords or any other vanity publisher a few thousand dollars entitles you to anything. It doesn’t. Not the adoration of untold legions of fans. Not the respect and admiration of your local indie bookseller. Not sales from your friends (who 80% of the time, from what I can see, end up with free copies rather than purchased ones). Not attention from local or national media. Self-publishing means that instead of the book manuscript being stuck in a drawer, there’s a 99% chance you’ll end up with boxes of unsold books in your garage. Fewer than 1% of self-published authors sell more than 150 copies of their book.
Please think about all this, self-publishing authors, before you give your credit card number to Smashwords.

Whew! Edan Lepucki at The Millions adds her two cents about why not to self-publish.

But the game changer is e-publishing and the growing availability of e-readers. No more stacks of books to buy. No more cranky bookstore managers to pester. While a lot of writers have flung their scribblery poo into cyberspace, e-publishing has given many worthwhile authors a second chance. The loudest screamer in this argument is of course, Joe Konrath.

But closer to home, is Lynda Hilburn's experience of buying back her book, The Vampire Shrink, and repackaging the manuscript as an ebook to restart interest in her work (which became an Amazon bestseller!), and garnered her a new publishing contract and this nifty new cover. You could say that both Konrath and Hilburn had the advantage of a known name.

But that's not always the case. For example, Elle Lothlorien, frustrated in trying to find a home for her thriller, gave up on the traditional route. She instead self-published a romantic comedy, The Frog Prince, on Amazon and made their bestseller list, elbowing aside competitors from traditional publishers. But there are others whose Internet sales can be counted in the teens.

With tens of thousands of choices, how do people chose an ebook?
Surprisingly, the decision is not too different from folks buying a traditional paper copy off the shelves.

The Big Five Reasons people buy a book

1) People are familiar with the author.
2) Word-of-mouth recommendations.
3) The cover.
4) The back cover copy (or the description on the website).
5) Reviews and press.

For you as yet unpublished, item 1 you can't do much about. 2 and 5 are iffy. In all three cases, learning the fine art of Blatant Self-Promotion is key. But the cover and back cover copy are yours alone to create, or screw-up.

Remember that adage: Don't judge a book by its cover?

Well, it ain't true. First of all, a good cover catches the eye and that's a huge plus. A cover tells readers what kind of a story to expect. Romantic comedy? Hard-boiled noir? Political thriller? A bad cover, and especially with self-published work, a cover that says Photoshopped will mark your work as amateurish and in need of serious editing. In other words to the reader, pass.

Thoughts or experience with ebooks, both as a writer or reader, are welcome. Until then, keep your head down as you crawl through the barbed wire.

Still Digesting?

2011-11-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

One big holiday down, how many more to go? 'Tis the season.

Three things before I share some tidbits from my web perusing this week--

First, Mario's blog entry on Monday got an A+ from me. Good job, pal!

Second, our mutual friend and fellow Leaguer , Stacia Kane , is recovering from a horrific couple of months in a UK hospital. It's good to have you back, Stacia. We missed you.

And third, pal Cherie Priest's Boneshaker is headed for the big screen. Details here from Variety.
Congratulations, Cherie!!

# # # #

HBO's first look at Season 2, Game of Thrones

Season 2 - In Production

New episodes return in April.

# # # #

A sad note from Shelf Awareness:

Anne McCaffrey, author of nearly 100 books, co-author of more than 30 and best known for the Dragonriders of Pern series, died on Monday ( Nov. 21) at her home in Ireland. She was 85.

McCaffrey was the first woman to win a Hugo Award (in 1968) and the first woman to win a Nebula (in 1969). She was the daughter of an army colonel, was born in Cambridge, Mass., and grew up in Montclair, N.J. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006.

# # # #

There was an interesting article in yesterday's WSJ about rethinking the book signing. Readings are out. Evidently, readers want to be entertained with power point presentations and stand up routines. What do you think? I do know I've come to realize after eight books that I must have some remarks prepared before each signing--which can be a challenge since I'm basically a pretty dull girl. The good people who come to see me every time deserve my best effort and new material.

So I put the question to you out there: what do you want to see/hear at a signing?

# # # #

And another topic near and dear to a writer's heart-- rejection. Flavorwire offers up some of the harshest rejections sent to the likes of Gertrude Stein, Ursula LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut, Vladimir Nabokov, and my personal favorite—Hunter S .Thompson’s note to his biographer, William McKeen :

McKeen, you shit-eating freak. I warned you not to write that vicious trash about me Now you better get fitted for a black eyepatch in case one of yours gets gouged out by a bushy-haired stranger in a dimly-lit parking lot. How fast can you learn Braille? You are scum. HST

So see, my writer friends,no matter the rejection-- it could be worse!

What's new in your world?

Falling off the mountain

2011-11-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

I get somewhat embarrassed when I'm on panels at fantasy/sci-fi cons, because as I've mentioned before, unlike most of my fellow urban fantasy writers, I didn't read much fantasy, horror, and science fiction during my formative years. Most of the other panelists recite lists of their favorites and I nod, pretending that I'm in the know.

My fiction reading back then was split between the pulps I bought at the used book store and the pot-boiler thrillers my dad brought home. My father would treat himself to a new book and he'd spend the weekend crashed on the couch devouring the latest by Follet, Forsyth, Clavell, Crichton, etc.,

I look back on all the books I've read and can pick off the few that really touched me. Now I have to acknowledge one novel--largely forgotten--that did key into me when I first read it. The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian.

Art professor and collector Dr. Jonathan Hemlock moonlights as an assassin for CII, a supersecret cell within the CIA. His job is carry out sanctions, killings to avenge the murders of friendly spies. A "retired" mountain climber, Hemlock is blackmailed into scaling the treacherous Eiger mountain and sanctioning one of his fellow climbers...unless he's murdered first.

As a young man in my early twenties, chomping at the bit for manly adventure, this book engaged me with its thrills, sophisticated patter and exotic tone. My best friend Ron and I would grab rope and carabiners to climb and rappel the local hills, all the time arguing which of us would make the better Jonathan Hemlock, outfoxing the bad guys and bedding femme fatales. What gave the book its cultured tone were the offhanded references to things it sometimes took years to discover what the author meant. Such as café au lait. That was in the prehistoric days before the Internet and Starbucks. (Back then, coffee was either regular or decaf--or Sanka bleah! ) Even the humongous dictionaries in the libraries were of no help. After weeks of searching, I stumbled upon a reference to café au lait and mystery solved.

Laphroaig was another challenge. It was Hemlock's choice of hootch and he asked for it frequently. Even Hemlock's enemies knew he drank Laphroaig. But no one I knew had a clue about Laphroaig. It took me two decades before I learned it was a peaty, single malt scotch. About that time I had moved to Denver from Fresno and my first priority in civilization was to find said beverage. Which I did, and I bought several miniatures to send to Ron for his 40th.

Many years (and bottles of hootch) later, I've come to revisit The Eiger Sanction. Why this book? I didn't even bother to keep a copy and there have been other books that I've continually endorsed.

I was curious to find out if Eiger retained its magic. Right before I was first published, I thumbed through a library copy and thought the style seemed dated. Then recently, I decided to give the book another read to see what had made it a bestselling sensation back in the 70s.

Here at Biting-Edge we do a lot of things, all of them consensual and mostly legal, but what we don't do is review books. We do, however, pass along recommendations for books that we enjoyed. I don't feel comfortable offering public critiques on the works of my fellow writers. Bad karma. You want to read negative press then pop on over to Amazon and get your fill of ignoramuses thinking they're being erudite and clever.

We writers of long fiction get a lot of shall not rules. Thy shall not start a book with the weather. Thy shall not deviate from a single Point-of-View and least of all, ever ever use authorial POV. Thy shall not touch backstory info dumps with a ten foot pole. Thy shall not use big words. And on and on.

Trevanian stomped all over these rules.

The Eiger Sanction, blockbuster commercial megaseller, starts with...the weather. Fitting as to mountain climber Jonathan Hemlock, the capriciousness of the elements could turn a jaunt up the slope from pleasant to miserable to deadly.

Trevanian weaves in and out of third person POVs and even slips into the royal we.

He drops backstory info dumps by the ton, which explain the why behind the story and stoke the drama.

Big words? We're taught that a reader's attention is so fragile that any mental bump will turn into a yawning excuse to toss the book and play with razors. So keep the vocabulary at mid-grade or below. Obtuse or unusual words will kill your story (though that hasn't hurt the career of China Miéville). Trevanian treats us to Laphroaig, scrofulous, abacination, lepidote, morganatic, and more.

Then what works? Everything. Trevanian hews to a clear story question. He is a master at setting. Pacing. Descriptions. Internalisations. All of his characters are motivated and layered. The emotional and physical stakes are sharpened on every page. Every passage of dialog is a tug of war.

Moreover, the book is a harvest of fresh writing.

***

Jonathan simply opened his eyes, and he was awake. Calm and happy. For the first time in years there was no blurred and viscous interphase between sleeping and waking. He stretched luxuriously, arching his back and extending his limbs until every muscle danced with strain. He felt like shouting, like making a living noise. His leg touched a damp place on the sheet, and he smiled. Jemima was not in bed, but her place was still warm and her pillow was scented lightly with her perfume, and with the perfume of her.

***

He looked across the up-tilted meadow to the gloomy north face of the Eiger. The unstable warmth of the weightless mountain sunlight was puffed away time and again by wisps of crisp highland air.
Touched only once a day and briefly by the sun, the dark concave face hovered malignantly above him, looking as though it had been scooped out of the body of the mountain by some olympian shovel, its brittle gray-black crescent rim cutting into the glittering blue of the sky.

***

Even after the crack petered out and progress slowed, Jonathan's feeling of indomitability persisted. Each square meter of face was a gameboard of tactics, a combat against the unrelenting, mindless opposition of gravity in which the rock was a Turkish ally, ready to change sides if the going got rough.

What was refreshing is that the story lacks the strained earnestness of most modern thrillers--must stop and waterboard al Queda, eco-terrorists, rogue liberals, zombie fascists. Adding to the appeal of the book was the mystery behind the author, Trevanian, the pen name of the secretive writer and film scholar Rodney William Whittaker (1931-2005). As the word processor hadn't been invented yet, I can see Trevanian banging out his many manuscripts on a Selectric. As much as I appreciated Eiger, I can't say the same for all his later works. The Loo Sanction seemed a rushed sequel. Shibumi, his most acclaimed book, I couldn't get into. The Main I did enjoy as a superb mystery and I'll have to reread it.

PS Avoid the movie version starring Clint Eastwood. It's a casserole of 70's cheese.

We won't give you the bird

2011-11-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

Hope you find plenty of turkey on your dinner table this Thursday. But you'll find no turkey of any kind this week on the Biting-Edge as we do Mondo pimpage!

To help solve your Christmas shopping dilemma, our ever thoughtful Jeanne invites you to check her out! Along with Melissa Mayhue and Lizzie T. Leaf...

Saturday, November 26, 11AM-3PM
Barnes & Noble Westminster
9370 Sheridan Blvd., Westminster, CO

More good news! The anthology, Tied with a Bow, featuring writer pal, Kimberly Frost, made the New York Times Bestseller list.

Back when in my pre-publication days, my sister passed along an ARC of Riding With The Queen by Seattle author Jennie Shortridge, and that book become one of my all-time favorite reads. Now ten years later (!!!) Jennie announces that her fifth book, Love Water Memory, will be published in spring 2013, by Simon & Schuster. That's a long time from now so to hold you over, Jennie offers the prologue.

With a planet of ideas begging for movie adaptation, Hollywood can often be very insular and navel gazing. In this case we have two movie projects on the same story: Snow White. Though I was certain I'd never be interested in any remake of this tale, both of these movies appear dazzling enough to make it to my must-see list. Sadly, in both cases, you must wait until 2012.

First we have a zany colorful retelling, Mirror, Mirror, with Julia Roberts as the evil Queen and Nathan Lane as her buffoonish minion.

Then in June 2012, we have this dark version with Snow White as a Joan of Arc character pitted against the evil Queen (an icy Charlize Theron) in Snow White and the Huntsman. Villainy was never so pretty.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat well!

Sniff-sniff-hack-hack

2011-11-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

Have a terrible cold so my brain is too fuzzy to be very coherent. You can tell I'm sick because I missed not only critique Tuesday night but dinner with pal Cherie Priest who is in town for a signing. I hate colds.

Anyway, here's the official Hunger Games trailer just released:

Photo: Lionsgate

And an article from MTV.com with more teasers from the film.

From Shelf Awareness:

BookBrowse.com recently completed its biennial survey of 3,400 readers, including members (20%), newsletter subscribers (60%) and "organic visitors" (20%). Respondents were predominantly female, most over 35 years old and with above average education (75% have a bachelors degree, 40% have a masters or higher). Some highlights from the survey:

Reading Habits

Respondents split equally between those who read e-books at least sometimes, and those who rarely or never do. Over two-thirds still read print frequently.

About half of those who read electronically own a Kindle. Tablets are the next most popular, followed by the Nook.

Buying Habits

90% buy at least one book each month, with 54% buying 3-plus, 27% buying 6-plus.

Frequency of visits to bookstores online, and libraries both online and in person, remains unchanged versus 2009; but the percentage saying they visit a store in person less than once a month has risen 5% to 24% since 2007.

Talking About Books
67% recommend three or more books each month.

More than 30% write reviews or blog, most for fun, some for a living.

8% are librarians or booksellers (and a further 8% volunteer in the library).

Book Clubs

Online book clubs are growing in popularity but in-person book clubs dominate.

Two-thirds of book clubs plan their reading 2-3 months in advance or less.

Overall, book clubs skew towards newer fiction but most read a wide range.

Two-thirds wait for a less expensive format to become available.

85% say they read books by local authors at least occasionally.

Very few book clubs feel they must have a reading guide, but most appreciate them.

Technology

65% regularly use social networking sites, ranging from 95% penetration among 18-34 year olds, to 37% for those aged over 75.

Facebook dominates, followed by GoodReads. LibraryThing and Shelfari trail.

Even though two-thirds use social networking, only 25% use it to keep up with websites. E-mail remains the preferred vehicle to stay in touch.

---

So as writers, what should we take from this? It's a very small sampling but it looks like people are still reading paper books though at least half read e-books at least occasionally. The percentage of those who visit a bookstore in person less than once a month rose to 24%. That does not bode well for brick and mortar stores. People talk about the books they read, recommending them to others or participating in book clubs which often wait to read a book until a less expensive format is made available. 95% of 18-34 year olds regularly use social networking sites. Facebook dominates.

As an aside, Shelf Awareness as well as Publishers Marketplace are two reference tools that are available to every writer. Shelf Awareness does not charge for a daily newsletter and can be joined by going here. Publishers Marketplace has both free and fee-based reports available. Check it out here .

Everybody ready for Thanksgiving? We'll be out gorging ourselves like everyone else next week so no Biting Edge on Thursday. May you and yours have a wonderful holiday. And may you steer clear of the damned cold germ...

Pimping the ladies.

2011-11-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

Mario here,

They say news comes in threes. And this week, we're happy to share three bits of ~~good~~ great news.

Eins. Riding on the coat tails of last week's blog about Steampunk, I have to mention this forthcoming appearance by the queen of Steampunk, Cherie Priest at the Broadway Book Mall, Wednesday, Nov 16, 7PM.

A Nebula and Hugo Award nominee and dedicated fashionista, Cherie will be signing her newest novel, Ganymede.

Zwei. Superbrain and fellow oenophile, Bonnie Ramthun, just signed a new contract for a...well, let's have her do the honors:

I'm very happy to announce that I have a four-book deal with Grosset & Dunlap publishing for my LEGENDS OF CENTERVILLE middle-grade series. My agent, Becca Stumpf of Prospect Agency, did an amazing job in landing the deal. The first novel in the series is scheduled for release in March 2013.

Ever classy and effervescent, Bonnie won't dwell on her tortuous and frustrating sojourn in the writing game. She's weathered enough setbacks to demoralize the faint-hearted and less committed. Let's jump through the hoops. A contract. Years with no contract. Her concept for a TV series Gamers gathered teasers from Tinseltown that ended in bupkis. Then a second big contract for the YA mystery The White Gates. Awards. Then no contract. Now's she back at it. In the ring. Hooking and gouging like the literary champ she is.

Drei. To survive in this writing biz you gotta be, if nothing else, nimble and clever. Long-time mystery writing pal CJ Lyons proves she's all of that and more. For her efforts, she got a major shout-out from USA Today for a three-book deal with Minotaur Books to repackage her bestselling self-published book Blind Faith.

CJ can tell you plenty about the trials and stumbles on her way to, and in the midst of, getting published. After her last contract ended, she decided to cultivate her literary efforts by self-publishing her manuscripts as ebooks. The books did well enough to catch the eye of Minotaur, and seeking to bet on a winning horse, they signed her on. Go CJ!

Why Would Anyone Want to be a Writer?

2011-11-09T17:50:00.001-08:00

This has been a strange week in the writing world. First there’s Q. R. Martin and his spy novel, Assassin of Secrets released on November 3. Turns out it was stitched together from John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Charles McCarry and a host of other well known thriller writers. Lifted word for word. Only the name of the protagonist was changed. Spy novelist Jeremy Duns even blurbed the book. His blog with his thoughts here . Now the book’s publisher, Mulholland Books, susposedly pulled it when the plagiarism(s) came to light, but it’s still on Amazon . In fact it’s ranked #151 in books.

And the reviews from Kirkus (starred), Publisher’s Weekly (starred), and several NYT Bestselling authors call it thrilling, smart, and, according to PW, (with an) obvious Ian Fleming influence(that) just adds to the appeal. I’ll say it has an Ian Fleming appeal. Most of it is plagiarized from James Bond novels.

So here is a book earning starred reviews from most of the biggest review sites in the business and it’s a fraud.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Today on a loop several authors discussed the publishing business and how so many of us are either in between contracts, pitching new series, or waiting to begin contract negotiations. Agents are telling us advances are on a downward trend. That it’s up in the air if contracts will be renewed at all. No one is confident about the future. Words like unsteady and fearful are bandied about.

And yet. There is an alternative now, isn’t there? E-pubbing. It’s no longer something we don’t want to think about or for books not considered good enough for a New York house. Well-established authors are releasing their backlists or putting new work on line.

I’m teaching an online writing class now. I want to be optimistic with my students. I tell them that talent and perseverance win out. That publishing with a New York house is the goal.

Is it really?

I don’t think I know anymore.

The for real Steampunk war

2011-11-06T15:55:00.001-08:00

Mario here:

Last week, Jeanne posted this nifty trailer of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes' movie, A Game of Shadows.

A definite must-see. What caught me were the period accoutrements--the costumes, the weapons, the gadgets--so very Steampunk. Then I realized it wasn't Steampunk at all, but historical verisimilitude (more or less).

Which got me to thinking. We've gotten so used to seeing the interplay of Victorian fashion with brass and steel as tropes of Steampunk that we've forgotten that was the way it really was back then.

Which got me thinking some more. What would a Steampunk war look like? Then I realized there had been one. It was called The First World War.

Run down the Steampunk checklist:

Women in long dresses and hats with feathers.
Handlebar mustaches.
Air ships.
Fancy-dancy khaki uniforms (notice everyone sported a 'stache--Steampunk metrosexual).
Submarines (so very Jules Verne).

Fantastic inventions like the Big Wheel. The Russians actually built a working version (which not surprisingly, got stuck in the mud).

The more practical British decided to flatten the Big Wheel concept into a land battleship (shades of H.G. Wells).

The flying machine.

Many young men were caught by the romance of adventure and signed up to serve in The Great War. Ernest Hemingway, for one, and was wounded. F. Scott Fitzgerald was commissioned in the US Army but the war ended before he could go. H. P. Lovecraft tried to enlist but was denied because of his poor physical condition. Considering his pessimistic view of humanity, it's interesting to wonder how much bleaker Lovecraft's assessment of civilization would've been had he served in the trenches. Provided of course, that he survived.

I've often said that I wasn't a fan of zombies or any supernatural monsters. How could they compare with the true horrors of one of the biggest blood baths in history? The same wonders of the Industrial Age that promised prosperity for mankind also delivered slaughter that devoured tens of thousands of men in a day...after day after day for years. The carnage spawned the Lost Generation, artists and writers disgusted with the war and the corruption and stupidity of the governments behind it. You'll find no nostalgia for The Great War in the works of the survivors who penned some of the greatest literature of the Twentieth century such as A Farewell to Arms and All Quiet On The Western Front.

So there was a Steampunk War but it was nowhere as charming and schmaltzy as we'd like to pretend it might have been.

Chatty Kathy

2011-11-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday and this is going to be a bit of a ramble (kind of like Mario's blogs) because I just don't feel like getting organized. So here goes:

First, a bit of pimping for Suzanne Lazear's upcoming release: Innocent Darkness. I'm waiting to get a copy of this new YA Steampunk. Here's the description from Suzanne's website:

Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform
school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that
dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and
brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed,
otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.

Innocent Darkness is set for release in August of 2012. Steampunk fairies--I LOVE it!!

I've been doing a lot of YA reading lately. Just finished Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and am almost finished with Nightspell by Leah Cypress. Any favorite YA authors you'd like to recommend?

It's snowing today. Good day to write, which is what I've been doing. There are still too many leaves on the trees though, and I'm afraid there will be a lot of broken branches when the sun comes out again.

Anybody doing NaNoWriMo? Started unofficially today but haven't logged in yet.

My editor emailed me to let me know Anna has been nominated for best UF protag (the second time, she won it in 2008) by RT Book Review Magazine. As always, the competition is against not only good writers, but this time, some of my friends!

Urban Fantasy
Protagonist

Angel Crawford
MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE
Diana Rowland
Daw (Jul.)

Darian
SHAEDES OF GRAY
Amanda Bonilla
Signet Eclipse (Dec.)

Sabina Kane
GREEN-EYED DEMON
Jaye Wells
Orbit (Mar.)

Kiera Kelly
BLOOD SACRIFICE
Maria Lima
Pocket (Sep.)

MacKayla Lane
SHADOWFEVER
Karen Marie Moning
Delacorte (Jan.)

Max
CRIMSON WIND
Diana Pharaoh Francis
Pocket (Jan.)

Anna Strong
CROSSROADS
Jeanne C. Stein
Ace (Sep.)

Jane True
TEMPEST’S LEGACY
Nicole Peeler
Orbit (Jan.)

I'm glad I don't have to choose. Diana, Jaye, Nicole and I are all League of Reluctant Adults members and therefore partners in crime. Maria Lima is a friend. The only two I don't know personally are Karen and Amanda.

Went to a movie this weekend, Ides of March. I don't think there was a single new idea in the entire movie. All the political cliches were there--backstabbing, the "honorable" politician who turns out not to be, dirty tricks, extortion. I guess the only good thing about the movie is that it sets the stage for the upcoming Presidential election. A reminder of what we're in for.

However, there was a trailer for a movie I can't wait to see:

| Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows | Movie Trailer | Review

Looks good!

And lastly, a shout out to pal Stacia Kane who is under the weather. Get better soon, kid!!

So those are my rambling thoughts for this week-- what's on your mind?

Halloween's chills

2011-10-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

First of all, last week at MileHiCon I had the pleasure of meeting Gardner Dozois, the award-winning editor and author of science fiction in short stories and novels. The Arapahoe Library District interviewed Dozois, and other presenters at the con, and you can listen to the podcasts for free on iTunes. Gardner's interview gives you a good idea of his wit and deep roots in the publishing biz. Of particular interest are his musings on the future of books and bookstores.

You'll also find chats with Jeanne and me, though I should caution you that she wasn't anywhere near as erudite and thoughtful as I was.

Now, on to Monsters.

It's Halloween and we love our creepy-crawlies. Most of our modern stories come from the movies. I'll admit that growing up, I wasn't a fan of supernatural monster movies or TV shows. Many of my friends, especially their sisters, were keen on Dark Shadows. Try as hard as I could, I couldn't get into Barnabas Collins. Or Dracula? Yawn. Zombies? Snooze.

Science fiction was a different story. Maybe because I lived in New Mexico and grew up on UFO sightings instead of ghost stories.

I was willing to overlook the cheesy special effects and suspend disbelief for movies like:

Them! (1954) What else could be the byproduct of nuclear weapons testing except for giant mutated ants? (The movie is better than the poster.)

Tarantula. (1955) A favorite because the monster is killed with a weapon that never fails--napalm! This movie includes one of the first big screen appearances of a young Clint Eastwood (as a pilot who drops said napalm.)

Back then, in the prehistoric days before the Internet and YouTube--in fact, even before cable-- catching monsters on TV was an iffy thing for me. There was one forgotten movie where a rocket ship lands on a Mars-like planet. The astronauts were stalked by a monster snake that burrowed through the sand and was killed with a bazooka (super cool idea to a pre-teen).

The monster movies that gave me the most chills were:

Alien. Even though the monster was played by a man in a suit (Bolaji Badejo), because of its convincing movements and details like the goo dripping from the jaws (genius!), this was at last a monster that really gave me the willies. The sequel Aliens ramped up the action and the terror.

The Thing (1982) The original movie (1951) was more of an intellectual exercise, but this remake didn't give you any chance to doubt the horror. The recent Norwegian prequel did a good job dovetailing into the story and is recommended for you monster fans.

Predator. A different kind of monster and one of the few cinema aliens smart enough to be worthy of the terror he brings.

Cape Fear. Okay, not your typical monster, but Robert De Niro played an ex-con villain who truly creeped me out.

The Day After. Again, no movie monsters but the terror came from thermonuclear war unleashed. The scene of the ICBMs shooting from their silos raised goose-bumps.

Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.

What about monster movies that disappointed? The blue ribbon for those turkeys must go to Starship Troopers. A great story premise ruined by bad casting, bad scripting, and really stupid, stupid soldiers. The movie got so bad that by the middle, my sons and I were cheering for the alien insects.

Halloween Treat (I Hope)

2011-10-26T13:19:00.001-07:00

In the spirit of the holiday, here's an adaptation of Little Red Riding hood by Angela Carter from her collection The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories published in 1973:

A girl goes to visit her grandmother, but encounters a werewolf on the way, whose paw she cuts off with a knife. When she reaches her grandmother's house, the paw has turned into a hand with the grandmother's ring on it, and the grandmother is both delirious and missing her hand. This reveals the girl's grandmother as the werewolf, and she is stoned to death. The girl then inherits all of her grandmother's possessions.

Of course when it's Anna involved, things are a little different.

The Wolf’s Paw

An Anna Strong Short Short

David is getting antsy.

Makes me smile since it’s usually me doing the squirming.

“What’s the matter? We’ve only been here an hour. You got some place better to be?”

I turn my face away so he can’t see the smile. I know he has some place better to be. I saw her in the doorway when I picked him up at his condo.

“Don’t be a smart ass, Anna. Tell me again what we’re doing here?”

“Easy money. Five thousand dollars, remember? Snatch and grab.”

“Snatch what? Where is the prick?”

A movement from the bushes on the opposite side of the road. David doesn’t see it. But I do. Vampire eyes. We’ve been watching the guy’s front door. There’s no back door out of the apartment.

Still. I catch a scent.

I reach for the door handle. “I’ve got to pee.”

David reaches for an empty coffee cup.

“Very funny. I’ll be right back.”

He mutters something under his breath but I’m already behind the car and bolting to follow the sound of the rustling bushes to our right. Vampire senses jump to the fore. Eyes pierce the darkness, turning night to day. Ears hear every insect crawling, skittering or buzzing out of my path. Nose catches the scent of the creature moving away from me.

Human. Familiar.

But something else.

Feral. Fur.

What the…?

David doesn’t know that I got close to the guy we’re after this afternoon. Got close enough to breathe in his scent, close enough to make the grab myself before I was interrupted by a pain in the ass who stopped me on the sidewalk to ask for directions. By the time I got rid of him, the skip had disappeared.

But it’s the same scent I detect now under the musk of fur and testosterone.

I move noiselessly through the bushes. Close the distance between us. He’s just ahead of me. But he’s moving faster than a man would be and is crouched low to the ground. It doesn’t take much of a jump to determine what I’m chasing.

I let vampire have her head. Fighting werewolves is not my favorite pastime. They can be nasty creatures. If I’d known that’s what I was chasing, I’d never have involved David. Can’t worry about that now.

Where’s the guy going? We’re in Balboa Park. It’s not quite dusk on a hot summer evening and I can’t make out where he’s headed. Until he takes a sharp turn and waits for traffic on the Prado to clear. Then he lopes across the road and straight into the dog park—the only area open to off-leash pets.

Curious. What’s he doing? Looking for a chance to get lucky?

I call Vampire back and proceed after him, fully human. The park is not yet as crowded as it’s going to be in an hour or so when the home-from-work crowd brings their pets for a romp. But there are a half-dozen dogs sniffing and scuffling, their owners chatting nearby.

The wolf pauses, watching. He’s bigger than most of the dogs but no one pays any attention. I enter the park and start toward him.

The wolf turns and meets my eyes. He lifts his nose. He recognizes vampire. But then he turns away, casually ignoring me, resuming his perusal of the animals as if searching for just the right one.

He makes his choice with a snarl and faster than I would have thought possible, he lunges.

Toward a child, playing off by herself to the right of the group of adults.

I reach her first, scoop her up and thrust her into the arms of a startled woman.

Wolf gathers himself to lunge at me.

If I call up vampire in front of all these people, it won’t be pretty. Instead, I pull the .38 from the waistband of my jeans, aim and fire.

I catch the wolf in midair, but I haven’t accounted for his speed and the bullet slams into his leg, blowing off a paw and breaking bone with a sickening crack. He lands with a howl, whirls on three good legs and stumbles off the way he came.

I want to go after him but my way is impeded by a group of frantic onlookers, all reaching out hands to thank me, all asking the same questions at once.

What was that?

Who are you?

Are you a cop?

By the time I finally get free, and make it back to David, he’s standing by the car, our skip, naked and bloody, already in handcuffs.

David has his cell at his ear. When he sees me, he clicks off. “Where the fuck have you been?”

I point to the skip. “What happened to him?”

David has fastened a tourniquet around the guys arm, just below the elbow. A stump at the end of his wrist drips blood. “Somebody blew this guy’s hand off. He isn’t saying who. I got him as he tried to sneak his way back into the apartment. The paramedics are on the way.”

The guy and I—wolf and vampire—stare into each others eyes. I wonder if we’re thinking the same thing…my, what big secrets we have.

Image from HellHorror.com

Happy Halloween from Anna and Me

Long times in the literary saddle.

2011-10-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Another con bites the dust. Specifically, MileHiCon 43, Denver's nexus for science fiction and fantasy literature since the 60's.

This year I was honored to be the Toastmaster, which gave me the opportunity to meet and introduce the Guests of Honor, from left, GoH Author Vernor Vinge, GoH Editor Gardner Dozior, GoH Author Glen Cook, and GoH Artist Theresa Mather. The lengthy and impressive résumés of each of these GoH's humbled me and my modest accomplishments. Much thanks to Rose Beetem for the invitation.

Besides the usual gang of suspects stalking the bar--among them Betsy Dornbusch, Jeanne Stein, Warren Hammond, Carol Berg, Carrie Vaughn, Bree Ervin, and David Boop, we had the über hipsters, Jason Heller (left, of the forthcoming Taft 2012) and Eytan Kollin (he and his brother Dani co-wrote the award-winning The Unincorporated Man).

At one panel I queried the audience about their thoughts regarding ebooks and e-readers. Interestingly, every reader who commented stated they enjoyed using an e-reader (Kindle, Nook, or iPad). They cited the ease of ordering a new book, the ability to browse through sample chapters, and the convenience of carrying dozens of titles in the e-reader for travel and vacation. None of them preferred a paper copy over an ebook and said that owning an ebook would not prevent them from buying a traditional paper copy as for a personal library. When I told fans that my next books may come exclusively as ebooks, none expressed any resentment.

Stay tuned.

I love fall...

2011-10-19T16:40:00.001-07:00

The colors, the smells, the chill in the air. Yesterday I saw my breath in the morning. Beautiful.

Mario mentioned the Robot Prom at the Art Salon on Facebook. Here he is in full costume:

I love the way families get involved in these things. Don't know who this cutie is, but he's got a great costume, doesn't he?

For more pictures check out Westword here

Ready to do a little Christmas shopping? The new Neiman Marcus catalog is out. How about an Assouline custom-build library for a mere $125,000.00?

If you live in New York, this is a much anticipated annual event: Penguin's Warehouse Book Sale.

“The Penguin Group will hold its annual warehouse book sale Nov. 12 and 14 through 19 at the former Maines warehouse on Terrace Avenue in Conklin.

"The sale runs from 1 to 8 p.m. Nov. 12, 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 through 18, and 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 19. There’s no entry fee and items are priced as low as $1. Cash and checks only will be accepted, and checks require two form of identification, including one photo ID.”

It's almost here...anyone else participating?

And once you get that novel finished, here's a new resource for you--

Avon Books Announces that Digitized "Slushpile" Creates New Opportunities in Publishing for Aspiring Authors --

Check it out here

This weekend Mario and I will be at MileHi Con at the Hyatt Regency - Tech center. Big book signing is on Friday evening at 8 and it's open to the public.

From one of our favorite blog commenters, Vickie: Cranium's up!!! James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter are going to on next week's episode of Supernatural!!!! *happydance*

From the website:

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) meet Maggie Stark (guest star Charisma Carpenter), a witch who has unleashed her wrath on a small town, resulting in numerous deaths. Sam and Dean track down her husband, Donald (guest star James Marsters), to see if he can help. Donald tells the brothers that Maggie is mad at him for having an affair and is taking it out on the townspeople. Phil Sgriccia directed the episode written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming.

That's tomorrow Buffybuds so get those DVR's set!!

And one last note of caution to all you writers out there:

I is what I is from my reading biz

2011-10-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

When my fellow writers and I get together, we often discuss the books we enjoyed in our formative years. Kat Richardson is an encyclopedia of science fiction, Mark Henry cut his writer teeth on psychological thrillers with a supernatural bent, Jeanne (bless her heart) enjoyed urban fantasy back before it even had a name. As a kid, my reading interests were all over the place, heavy in historical nonfiction--lots about airplanes--and bunches of speculative fiction.

I was twelve when I first perceived the Aha!--the epiphany that these squiggles on a piece of paper could immerse me so deeply in an invented world that I momentarily forgot everything else. That book was The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, and I pretended to be sick so I could stay home from church and finish the book. I had borrowed it from my dad, who like the characters in the story, was a government chemist, though he laughed at the strained earnestness of it all. None of the characters spoke or behaved like any federal civil servants he was familiar with.

Even though I was a book worm, there were plenty of school reading assignments I couldn't digest. I found Jonathan Livingston Seagull a simplistic bore. I slummed through Silas Marner and Wuthering Heights.

But a few assignments managed to break into my stubborn head.

Such as The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. High-school English homework and definitely outside my usual milieu. But McCullers's prose kept me hooked and made me admire the power of the well-crafted narrative.

1984 by George Orwell. This kick-to-the head hasn't lost any of its punch over the years. I recently thumbed through the story to pick up some passages to use in a writing class and I found Orwell's masterful prose incredibly fresh and as disturbingly visceral as anything in a horror novel. Wow.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Another story that remains inventive and crisp and remarkably prescient. Made me ponder the dark consequences of technology.

My private library was the shelf headboard of my bed and it was crammed full of books, mostly paperbacks that I had bought for 15-25¢ at the used book store by Surplus City. One notable read was The Penetrators, a Cold War cautionary tale by Anthony Gray, pseudonym for Hank Searls. That book has been long out of print and despite my fondness for the story, one recent reviewer called it a "poor man's Fail Safe."

My best friend Ron and I used to trade books and a favorite series that we devoured were the Travis McGee stories by John D MacDonald. Those books laid the foundation for my appreciation of pulp noir and seedy characters.

Another book that I reveled in because it fed into my adolescent anarchistic streak was Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. Ron and I became somewhat fluent in Nadsat and the slang still creeps into our conversations.

Even though I'm an urban fantasy author and a frequent panelist at Science Fiction/Fantasy cons, a lot of people assume I was a keen reader of vampire and supernatural fiction, which I wasn't. I enjoyed learning the myths but I couldn't get swept into the stories like I should have been. Same was true for most science fiction. I found a lot of the books dense and meandering. One exception were the John Carter series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Thoats. Radium guns. Green giants. Naked Martian women. More fantasy than science fiction but what was not to love?

There was also a collection of short stories that really grabbed me, Science Fiction Terror Tales, edited by Groff Conklin. "Lost Memory", by Peter Phillips really gave me the chills.

One book that I liked quite a bit back then was Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse. The book was about as spiritual as I've ever managed to finish and at the time (I must've been 16) the story spoke to me. Many years later, my oldest son had this book as his high-school assignment and I took the opportunity to reread it. This time however, as an adult, I found the main character Siddhartha, to be an ungrateful whiner. Get over yourself already.

Another book I thoroughly enjoyed but which does not age well, is The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian (né Rodney William Whitaker). Like the garish pink of the original book jacket, the prose seems dated (though I will gladly trade his sales numbers for mine). However, at one time, I could picture myself the intrepid and dangerous mountaineer sipping Laphroaig and fending off the affections of countless women. Trevanian's later novel The Main, about a police detective in Montreal, holds up much better and is one of the best mysteries I've ever read.

Next weekend, October 21-23, I'm the Toastmaster at the fabulous MileHiCon 43. Guests of Honor include authors Vernor Vinge and Glen Cook, editor Gardner Dozois, and artist Theresa Mather. Come join the fun and shenanigans.

me, me, me

2011-10-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

This has been one of those weeks--busy, busy, busy. Working on a new project, did a podcast for Anton Strout, here , (which I haven't been able to see because I can't figure out how to find it), and did an interview for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Chiseled in Rock you'll find here .

Like Mario, I'm teaching a class, too, over at Margie Lawson's Writer's Academy next month. Details here . I've taught this one before but the class title, So You Want to Write Urban Fantasy is misleading. Yes, we talk about the ins and outs of the UF world, and yes, there are interviews with UF writers, but it's really a basic course on genre writing and an introduction to understanding the publishing world--from finding an agent to querying to how the business of publishing works.

Speaking of classes, pal Tamela Buhrke is teaching a Building a WordPress Blog/Website class for writers. Details here . This lady knows her stuff so for $27.00, this is the real deal.

So besides the above mentioned, I've also been reading the Young Adult novels sent to me for consideration for a 2011 Bram Stoker Award . Right now I'm reading Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. And I like it. It's going on my keeper shelf.

After all that, you must be asking yourself just what does all this have to do with me? Or if you're super smart, you've already guessed. I've got nothing else for you this week. Nada.

Well, maybe one thing. Kudos to Penguin (my publisher) for once again holding the Read Pink Program to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. From Shelf Awareness: Under this year's initiative, more than 300,000 copies of eight bestselling mass market titles--by Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Lynn Kurland, Amanda Quick, Bertrice Small and Lauren Willig--will have Read Pink seals on the cover. In the back of each book, Penguin is including information to make readers aware of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Penguin is again donating $25,000 to the foundation.

Look for this seal on participating books:

On the side of good, for once.

2011-10-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Mario here,

Pass the word. I'm teaching a class, Make it Fresh, at the fabulous Lighthouse Writers workshops. You'll learn something about adding oomph to your narrative, make friends, and wow your brain in a truly awesome writerly space. And you get to drink wine during class.

Friend of Biting-Edge and critique group ex-pat, Jeff Shelby, is back in print. His book, Liquid Smoke, is the third installment of his ultra cool Noah Braddock series. I had a chance to read the original manuscript back when and if this book isn't on your TBR pile, then You. Are. Wrong.

Jeanne and I are big fans of two of the best online resources available to writers, Absolute Write Water Cooler and Writer Beware. In fact, I have both bookmarked on my browser. Besides giving lots of great advice about writing and getting published, both sites also warn you about scams, such as bogus literary agents and vanity presses. You'd think this was a good thing. But not according to folks lurking behind something called the Write Agenda. Last week, word got out that this Write Agenda was calling on a boycott of and impugning the motives of Absolute Write Water Cooler, Writer Beware, and the fearless champion of the forthright scribe, John Scalzi. So the League of Reluctant Adults saddled up and charged into the fray on behalf of the side of good. (Strange, yes, cuz usually the League is for all things evil and pervy.)

Our battle cry? Basically we dropped trou and shouted, Boycott this, suckers!

Get your Robo-freak on. Next Saturday, October 15, it's the event of the season, a pre-Halloween Bacchanalia we've dubbed Robot Prom. Robots, robot dancing, robot parade, robot drinking, and maybe even robot love. At the Art Salon, 2219 E 21st, Denver, CO. Tickets available through MegaRobota.com

Happy Anniversary Jane Eyre

2011-10-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

Published October 6, 1847...big date for Romancelandia...thanks to Anna Campbell on FB for reminding us.

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From Publishers Marketplace

Some interesting figures re: publishing deals made so far in 2011. Note especially the number of Children's and Nonfiction deals and the correlating number of six-figure deals. Children's and Nonfiction seem to be the hot tickets. Also of note--Women's fiction/Romance leads the way in sales. Another tip of the hat to Jane Eyre, huh?

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For those who are waiting for their HP EBooks, this from Pottermore Blog:

When will the Pottermore Shop be open?

As our first priority is to get as many people onto the site as possible, we have decided to open the shop in the first half of 2012.

We will keep you updated with news about the Pottermore Shop here on the blog over the next few months.

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Appropo to nothing-- Weird pic from the Wall Photos of Rebel Without a Cause (FB)

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And finally, because I, too, have a heart, this graphic. The world has suffered an incredible loss.

Keeping my promises.

2011-10-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Mario here,

I'm not keen on resolutions, but I did promise myself that I needed to read more and would.

Truth is, I have been slacking off. So last week I grabbed a stack of titles, blocked off a chunk of the weekend, and started to plow through them. I was familiar with either the titles or the authors. What surprised me was how subjective this reading process can be. One of the books was a reach from my usual fare, a literary read. But as the author had won a cache of awards (Ploughshares, Pushcart, and O. Henry), I thought I was in for a nice juicy story. Well, I had problems with the book, both in terms of structure and style. We writers distance ourselves from Amazon reviews, but I sauntered there anyway and learned pretty much everyone agreed with my opinion.

However, two of the books did give me the big WOW! I was looking for.

Machine Man by Max Barry. You don't have to listen too hard to catch the buzz on this book, and it deserves every Oo and Ah! Dr. Charles Neumann loses his leg in a laboratory accident. Ever the obsessive geek, Neumann decides he can engineer a better leg than the prosthesis he's been given. Which he does and decides his artificial leg is better than his real leg so he arranges another "accident" to lose that limb as well. Neumann is dismissive of nature, claiming that nature stops at the best compromise rather than seek the best solution. His newly created prothestics can move on their own, they have GPS, WiFi, run fast as a train and jump up tall buildings. But as smart as Neumann is, there's a lot he doesn't understand or anticipate. For example, he falls in love with his physical therapist and his super-intelligent legs get jealous. When he chooses not to allow his employer--the Better Living corporation--to use his technology for weapons, Nuemann finds himself the subject of a manhunt and conspiracy. The story is a barbed critique of corporate greed (Nuemann is given a pass after murdering the CEO if he returns to the lab and keeps working) and the off-kilter personality of the obsessive myopic geeky tinker who pursues an interest past the point of common sense.

The Adjustment by Scott Phillips. This is one of the best books I've read all year. It's a masterpeice of character-driven noir. We have the image of World War Two vets--the greatest generation--as these gooder-than-good hero types and Phillips adds a fresh and much appreciated perspective with this pulp tale about Wayne Ogden, a recently discharged army sergeant returning home to Wichita, Kansas. Though he initially signed up, to as he put it, "kill Nazis with his bare hands," Ogden was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps, a move better suited to a man with larceny in his heart. He spends the war enriching himself selling government material on the blackmarket, and dealing in narcotics and whores. He brags about his Purple Heart even though the wound was the result of a stabbing from a rival pimp.

The book starts with Ogden driving one of his boss' flings to an abortion clinic in Kansas City. Though Ogden is married to a beautiful woman--who is as horny as she is a bad cook--he doesn't waste time bedding every available woman--ex-girlfriends, hookers, and lonely housewives. Ogden is man with an eye open for every opportunity to make a dollar on any vice: gambling, prostitution, pornography, bootlegging, narcotics, and extortion. He's a flawed character with a twisted heart, the supreme anti-hero, though he's so charming (at least in his point-of-view) that we cheer him on at every break-in, beatdown, and scandalous rendezvous.

Phillips breezily leads us a through a story spiced with contemporary slang and attitudes. B-girls! Blind pigs! Hopheads! What's also surprising about this book is that one, it almost didn't get to market when Phillips' original publisher went bankrupt, and two, it comes from Counterpoint, a smaller press from Berkeley, CA, instead of one of the major NY houses. Which puzzled me as why such an excellent story has been so overlooked. But at least it's here and The Adjustment is not only highly recommended but also one of those books I'll buy plenty of copies to give away.

I've got more books on my TBR pile. Keep reading.

New Treatments for Old (and New) Stuff

2011-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan, but since I know a lot of you are, here's the trailer:

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From EW’s Shelf Life Sept 14 on Border's demise:

This photo by Reddit user Jessers25 is just heartbreaking. While the subject matter is inherently sad, the thoughtful composition is what elicits an even stronger emotional response. The first thing that comes to mind with this photograph is the “rule of thirds”; note the way the structural components of the store cut the image into separate, contrasting color blocks: the gunmetal of the industrial carpet, the shadowy off-white of the ceiling, and the glare of corporate red. Note the curious placement of the wood panels—the asymmetry throws the viewer off-balance, leaving her unprepared and therefore devastated by the quiet irony of the Thomas Jefferson quote. Only after moments of reflection do you realize that “World History” are sneakily the cruelest words of all:

I cannot live without books....

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For Stephen King fans--from io9

At an awards ceremony at George Mason University last Friday, Stephen King regaled audiences with a chapter from Doctor Sleep, his upcoming novel about a grown-up Danny Torrance from The Shining.

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I've been housebound this week ( a medical problem that was taken care of) and believe it or not, it's been great! I started serious work on a new project, read three books from author's who asked me to blurb, did a guest post, even did a couple of projects around the house I've been putting off.

Sometimes not being able to go to the gym, shop, run errands, or do housework frees you to let your creative juices flow. I know I have to get back to a regular schedule soon (in one more week) but I'm going to enjoy every moment of my house arrest.

Got a friend with a new book out this week, too. Cherie Priest's steam-punk Ganymede.

From her website: ... I do very much hope you’ll take a chance on this, my fourth Clockwork Century novel,* set in my alternate history universe with a drawn-out American Civil War complicated by a peculiar form of zombie uprising!

Cherie is a terrific writer and this is at the top of my TBR pile.

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I keep thinking of the blog post I did this week for Mina Kahn . She's doing a series of posts about inspiration. It got me wondering...what (or who) inspires you? As a writer? As a person? As an artist? Is inspiration an external or internal thing? I don't know exactly when my post goes up, but when it does, I'll share what I said. For the time being, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Feeding the beast

2011-09-25T13:44:00.001-07:00

Mario here:

Last Friday, I attended a Friday 500 at Lighthouse Writers and the guest writer was cultural raconteur Jason Heller, which many of you Denver metroplex locals might recognize from his contributions to The Onion's AV section and Westword. Jason pimped his forthcoming book, the political satire Taft 2012, where former-president William Howard Taft reappears and is drafted to run--again--for US President.
Jason discussed how he came to pen this novel and the evolution of his writing process, from angst-ridden wordsmith to professional literary sausage machine. In fact, I was there at the beginning when at last year's MileHiCon, Jason and I kicked around ideas for the book, which he was starting to draft. The novel is from Quirk Books, those folks responsible for masterpiece mash-ups such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Taft 2012--> Due January 2012

Now to vent:

The new Facebook...I hate the updates.

In the prehistoric days of the Internet--like a couple of years ago--when social media was so new a concept that it lacked a name (as in social media)...

Lo, there was MySpace, a good thing we writers were told. Go forth and friend your way to the bestseller list. But MySpace became as cumbersome as a brontosaurus.

Then Facebook arrived and starved out MySpace (and its dinosaur cousin Friendster). Facebook was the place to be. But the pitiless and relentless cycle of high-tech Darwinism continues and now Goggle+ threatens to choke FB.

FB attempts to justify its relevance by reinventing itself, at our expense. What don't I like?

The news feed for starters. What am I supposed to do with that? It's just more noise. As it is, I've tuned out the side banner chatter. FB assumes it is a priority in my life on the Internet, but it's not. And now with its changes, even less so. I don't have the time nor the inclination to futz around with FB, and resent that I've been forced to.

Some of you say, don't complain, because FB is a free service. Make no mistake, you are paying dearly. Zuckerbeg and his minions track your every move and click. They've assembled a detailed profile on each of us and that information is gold to marketers. One of the new changes is that FB has made it easier for third parties to latch onto you, and trust me, FB pockets coin with every exchange. So you have every right to complain, since you are the fodder that put the Billionaire in front of Zuckerberg's name.

Wanderings...

2011-09-21T06:37:00.001-07:00

I posted this on Tweet yesterday but I think it's worth repeating:

The mysterious case of Edinburgh's beautiful paper sculptures, which have been placed by an anonymous artist in various locations as gifts "in support of libraries, books, words, ideas," began last March, when the staff at the Scottish Poetry Library discovered a "poetree" left on a table, Central Station wrote.

In June, the National Library of Scotland "found themselves the recipient of a similar piece," and since then new works have made their stealthy appearance at the Filmhouse and the Scottish Storytelling Centre. In late August, two more were found during the Edinburgh International Book Festival, followed by yet another in the Central Lending Library on George IV Bridge.

Check out the other remarkable and beautiful sculptures by clicking on the link.

# # # #

A couple of trailers I found interesting-- the first for David Fincher’s version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" based on the novel by Stieg Larsson.

Followed by the Muppets version for their own movie The Pig With The Froggy Tattoo

Love it!! Now I'm not usually too keen on remakes, but the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo stars Daniel Craig. Do I have to say more?

# # # #

It's Wednesday afternoon and I've been home about twenty-four hours. The trip to SoCal was wonderful. I hope all who came and took pictures will send me copies. The new Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach store is something! A separate events area, a space for a cafe in front, the usual spectacular display of books. Thank you for inviting me to sign. Both events went well and I always feel so at home. Here are a few pictures.

If you look closely, you can see Elizabeth holding the story Elizabeth and Anna's Big Adventure from the anthology A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters from DAW. This is Elizabeth!!! And her mom, steampunk author Suzanne Lazear.

The beautiful interior and the industrious, always serious staff

Patrick "The Great" Heffernan entertains my sister, Connie after the festivities

And one picture taken at the San Diego store the next day:

I love the Mysterious Galaxy and now that they have two locations, there's twice as much to love!

A couple of pics I especially like-- Here's Sarah Brackett and Gina Silva at our first meeting about three years ago at the Mystery & Imagination Bookstore in Glendale...

And here we are last weekend at MG:

When we first met, Sarah was pregnant. Here's the cute as a bug result:

Thanks, Sarah and Gina, for sharing these pics.

Something else special happened to me on this signing trip. I received some very special gifts from some very special people.

A hand-knit scarf and cap from LaRay and Nikki Gillison, a bottle of Vampire wine from Kathy Self, the Writer's Click from Linda Rohrbough, and a tee shirt from an anonymous reader. Thank you's are on the way!

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Anybody watch Ringer on Monday? I liked it. Sarah Michelle Gellar is still cute as a Buffy, but It's just convoluted enough to appeal to me. What did you think?

My Big Bad Opinion

2011-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

I was at my local watering hole when the conversation among my fellow barflies turned to movies we hated. Not surprisingly, people disagreed on the choices and the same movies could be either praised or ridiculed with equal gusto.
(<-- painting by Jennifer Mosquera)

Two popular movies goad me to fits. The first is American Beauty, which for some bizarre reason, won five Oscars, including Best Picture. This movie is one of the reasons I've come to dislike Kevin Spacey, as I'd already panned him for The Usual Suspects and Seven ( two other movies I hated (see super-criminal remark below) but not to the degree of AM). Why did I dislike this movie? Let me count the ways:

When Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) learns he's about to get the ax, he behaves as though he's the only white-collar drone that's ever been booted out the door. But at least he blackmails his boss into a better than average severance package. (A weakly played plot twist.) Then Lester goes to work at a fast-food place to assuage his cynicism. All the while he's lusting after the under-age ingenue Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari--who did little for me.) So while my alarms are screaming Red Alert-Don't Be An Asshole, Lester does the obvious and bangs her. Then there is the retired Marine Colonel Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper), a lugubrious creepy homophobe. And his wife (Allison Janney) is unbelievably unrealistic as a military spouse because no woman could make it through a career in the service being such a thoroughly spineless dishrag. Of course, their son (Wes Bentley) is as wise and clever as his parents are dull. The openly gay neighbors are picture perfect, which is meant to contrast with Col Fitts' latent homosexuality. The upright ex-Marine makes a pass at Lester, gets rejected, and goes on a murderous spree. The movie had many opportunities to turn convention on its head but everyone in this dreck plods along in dopey, predictable steps.

Doggie on hydrant target No. 2. No Country For Old Men. Another Best Picture Academy Award winner, which might explain why I also dislike this movie. Alas, it's from the Cohen brothers, whose The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona remain among my favorite live-action Loonely Tunes.

What didn't I like about NCFOM? To begin with, Javier Bardem plays the uber criminal Anton Chigurh (unlike Spacey, I do admire Bardem as an actor). Chigurh is practically super-human in his ability to outwit everybody, which I didn't buy. When criminals don't get caught--it's not because they're so smart--it's because of the randomness of their crimes. And worse, in this movie, bossy pants Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) dismisses all other law enforcement efforts in his chase after Chirgurh, and when he corners the assassin, Bell shits his drawers and lets the murderer escape. Sheriff Bell later gives an eloquent speech that serves as a parable about why he turned yellow (to save his Texas hide). The movie ends with Chigurh wiping the blood of his last victim from his boots and disappearing. At that, I went HUH? People argue that not every crime is solved. True. But that is not the end of the story, especially with murder. If the Cohen brothers were okay with Bell wussing out, then they should've gone to Fargo and enlisted Sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDomand), who though a woman and pregnant, didn't hesitate hounding those murderous perps to justice.

Okay folks, here's your chance to vent.

Mish Mash

2011-09-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

This will be a bit of a disjointed blog this week..a little of this, a little of that. I'm in San Diego. Here's the schedule for the trip:

Thursday: Library Program – La Mesa Library 6:30 PM
8074 Allison Ave. La Mesa, CA 619-469-2151
http://lamesalibrary.wordpress.com/

Saturday: Mysterious Galaxy – Redondo Beach 2 PM
2810 Artesia Blvd. Redondo Beach, CA 858-288-4747
www.mystgalaxy.com

Sunday: Mysterious Galaxy – San Diego 2 PM
7501 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 858-288-4747
www.mystgalaxy.com

I'm really excited about being part of MG's soft opening for the new Redondo Beach store.

And here's a pic of me at the Tattered Cover signing here in Denver last week. Thanks to all who came!

And last weekend, I signed at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference. I shared a table with Mark Stevens, If you haven't tried him yet, I have only one question...why not?

His newest:

For more pics from the con, go Facebook and you can see what's been sent to me. Thanks, Tamela for sharing.

So cute!!!! To be included with Deathly Hallows Part 2 Ultimate Edition DVD.

Very funny book trailer of the day: Record Collecting for Girls: Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd, One Album at a Time by Courtney E. Smith (Mariner Books).

Okay, that's it for now. Off to press the flesh in San Diego. I love this place!!!

It was Gold!

2011-09-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Another Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold conference has come and gone. Like the rest of the US, we looked back at where we were ten years ago during 9/11. Our invited agents and editors were stuck in place as a result of the nation-wide lock down of the airlines. We had discussed canceling the conference but decided that the show must go on. It was understandably a subdued event, but those of us who managed to make the conference bonded for much needed camaraderie and laughs.

Fast-forward ten years~this conference was one of the best ever, a fabulous weekend crammed with workshops and festivities. Congratulations to the contest finalists and winners.

Besides reacquainting with old writing pals and making new friends, there were the wonderful panels as well as the copious consumption of alcohol. (Surprise!)

Two celebrations were the awarding of the much anticipated WOTY pins to our Writers Of The Year. And huzzah to Robin Owens for her second WOTY!

During the awards banquet, I was reading the program and wondering when and if I would ever be worthy of a Jasmine Award. Bestselling author Jasmine Creswell is one the the founders of RMFW and graciously set up the award to honor a member for Exemplary Leadership and Service to RMFW. So I was stunned to learn I was this year's recipient. May I remain worthy.

There was much to learn at the conference, and much to relearn: like people at breakfast are a lot more interesting when you're drinking mimosas.

See you next year!

Stay Tuned...

2011-09-08T05:15:00.000-07:00

I will be late posting today. I have some DragonCon pics I'm gathering to share. See you this afternoon...or thereabouts. Still suffering the D*Con hangover but it's getting better...It's called sensory overload.

Okay-- first, a few costume pictures for your enjoyment. This is such a small sampling. Most of the time I didn't have my camera handy to snap pics and I don't know how to take pics with my phone (I know, I know...) so I missed a lot. But here are some that caught my eye when I had my camera.

I asked this young man how he made such a realistic looking woumd and was told it was done with tissue!!

# # # #

Had some really great panels. The Vampire panel with Laurell K. Hamilton, me, JF Lewis, Charlaine Harris and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro was standing room only. I swear I was in fan girl heaven!

I also had panels with other old and (new) favorites.

From L to R: JF Lewia, James Ray Tuck Jr., Carol Malcolm, Faith Turner, David B. Coe and me.

Me, James Ray Tuck Jr., Carol Malcolm, Carole Nelson Douglas, JF Lewis.

Me, James Ray Tuck Jr., Carol Malcolm

I can't wait to read James' book--he was funny, articulate and I loved his family!!

One of Bitten By Books reviewers, Rocky Shields. He and Carol Malcolm (who is the best moderator ever) and Derek Tatum who handles the Dark Fantasy programing are the reasons D*Con is my favorite con.

# # # #

Now, here's the other reason I love this Con so much. Got to spend time with my buddy, Charlaine Harris and her bff, Paula. Here they are dressed in their Victorian finery for one of the True Blood panels.

Speaking of which:

Charlaine with "Hoyt" and the King of LA

And last but not least, Charlaine and the inimitable Derek Tatum

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Next up--RMFW CoGold Con here in Denver. Followed by a signing at WhoElse Books at the Broadway Book Mall on Monday. Then on to San Diego-- La Mesa Library on Thursday, Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach on Saturday and Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on Sunday. Details are all on the website. Hope to see you soon!

The irony of it all

2011-09-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Jeanne's still at DragonCon and her name has yet to come up on any police blotter reports, which means she might be behaving herself.

Last week at Bubonicon, one of the big draws was Connie Willis, bestselling novelist and winner of a starship load of awards--the Hugo(s), Nebula(s), Locus(es), Arthur C. Clarke(s), World Fantasy(ies), John Campbell, and one from the British Science Fiction Association. I sat in on her presentation, Irony in Action. She defined irony as the Law of Unintended Consequences put into effect and offered this wonderful example:

"Irony is when you buy a suit with two pairs of pants and burn a hole in the coat."

Willis discussed her favorite ironic metaphor, the luxury ship Titanic, and the tragic "what-ifs" that led to so much loss of life: Had the Titanic taken no evasive action and hit the iceberg straight on, the ship wouldn't have sank so quickly.

Or had the telegraph operator suspended routine message traffic, he would've received the iceberg warning. And had the telegraph operator on the California stayed on duty another five minutes, he would've heard the Titanic's distress message.

Willis said that irony was her favorite literary device as it shows that history often hangs in the balance of trivial details (as when the duty officer at Pearl Harbor dismissed the radar report of a large inbound formation of airplanes) and that despite their best intentions, people make counterproductive choices (Oedipus). Willis explained why she didn't like grocery books (those bestsellers near the check-out stands) because of their hit-you-on-the-head earnestness and lack of irony. Everyone's favorite bestselling punching bag, Stephenie Meyer, was mentioned...several times. Willis said the Bible and the great works of literature were framed in irony. Among her favorite masters of irony, Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

So I looked back at my favorite books and movies and behold: irony in action all over the place. Even Disney reveled in it and one of the studio's best-known tearjerkers drops irony like the blade of a guillotine.

I'm talking about Old Yeller.

****Spoiler Alert!****

It's post-Civil War Texas. Young Travis (played by Tommy Kirk) reluctantly adopts a stray yellow mongrel dog. Though Old Yeller does typically dog-dumb things, it does show its worth by repeating fending off varmints and dangerous critters. Then Old Yeller protects the family by tangling with a marauding wolf and so contracts rabies. Travis watches his beloved companion go mad and vicious and can either let Old Yeller die a tormented death...or he can put the dog out of its misery. So in doing the right thing, Travis has to shoot his best friend. *sniff* Hand me a tissue.

Any other great stories of irony to share?

DragonCon

2011-09-02T05:27:00.001-07:00

Sorry folks for not doing this yesterday...was on my way to Atlanta for DragonCon. Here's my schedule if you're here:

Friday:
2:30 PM Vampires are the New Vampires
Speakers: Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, J F Lewis, Jeanne C. Stein, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Moderator: Carol Malcolm
A roundtable discussion about the eternal appeal of vampires.
Regency VI-VII (Hyatt)

Saturday:
8:30 PM The Adventure Continues…
Speakers: David B. Coe, Faith Hunter, J F Lewis, Jeanne C. Stein, James Ray Tuck, Moderator: Carol Malcolm
Creating and sustaining dark and urban fantasy series.
Cairo (Hyatt)

Sunday:
7:00 PM Shadowed Streets
Speakers: Carole Nelson Douglas, J F Lewis, Jeanne C. Stein, James Ray Tuck, Moderator: Carol Malcolm
Grit and grime in urban fantasy fiction.
Cairo (Hyatt)

thanks so much for making the first signing of Crossroads a success!

See you next week!

Jeanne

What happened to my future?

2011-08-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Just got in from Bubonicon 43. Had an awesome time with the usual libations (courtesy of the Starfleet USS Anasazi), the bawdy guests, and generally outrageous behavior. Ahem...

The con theme was Steampunk, and I moderated the panel: Steampunk Definitions: More than Victorian Clothing. We discussed the growing popularity of Steampunk, especially considering that not long ago, quite a few in the publishing industry were convinced the subgenre was a short-lived gimmick. Of course steampunk hasn't faded, but flourishes. The panel batted around ideas about why the genre endures and one that caught hold was steampunk fills the Wow! void since science fiction has lost much of its sense of wonder and amazement. I mean, we are in the 21st century and what happened to the promise of intergalactic travel, anti-gravity boots, and flying cars?

Star Trek may have had warp drive and teleportation but the audience's gee-whiz factor has been hijacked by the iPhone. In this respect, we've outpaced the future. And consider, the US no longer has a manned space program and our astronauts will have to bum rides into orbit from the Russians.

So readers and writers have turned back the calendar and extrapolated the cool What Ifs? of the past. Airships, check. Steam-powered cars and robots, check. Clockwork what-have-youze, check.

If it's Thursday, it must be Jeanne...

2011-08-24T07:11:00.001-07:00

Every author I know would love to do this:

# # # #

The top ten bestselling authors between May 2010 and April 2011:

James Patterson ($84 million)
Danielle Steel ($35 million)
Stephen King ($28 million)
Janet Evanovich ($22 million)
Stephenie Meyer ($21 million)
Rick Riordan ($21 million)
Dean Koontz ($19 million)
John Grisham ($18 million)
Jeff Kinney ($17 million)
Nicholas Sparks ($16 million)
Ken Follett ($14 million)
Suzanne Collins ($10 million)
J.K. Rowling ($5 million)

Every author I know would love to be on this list, too.

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The newest wrinkle in the e-book world: From Shelf Awareness and the New York Times

In the film versions of “Pride and Prejudice” the music jumps and swells at all the right moments, heightening the tension and romance of that classic Jane Austen novel.

Will it do the same in the e-book edition?

Booktrack, a start-up in New York, is planning to release e-books with soundtracks that play throughout the books, an experimental technology that its founders hope will change the way many novels are read.

Its first book featuring a soundtrack is “The Power of Six,” a young-adult novel published by HarperCollins, soon to be followed by “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Jane Eyre,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Three Musketeers.”

So what do you ebook fans think of this idea? Would you like it or would it be distracting?

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Ray Bradbury's classic to be adapted for the screen. From Deadline.com

Mike Medavoy and Doug McKay, Vice-President of Production at Phoenix Pictures, have teamed up with legendary writer Ray Bradbury, RGI Productions’ Rodion Nahapetov (who is penning the screenplay), and producer Natasha Shliapnikoff to produce the feature film adaptation of Bradbury’s classic novel “Dandelion Wine.”

Bradbury, who turns 91 on Monday remarked, “This is the best birthday gift I could ask for. Today, I have been reborn! ‘Dandelion Wine’ is my most deeply personal work and brings back memories of sheer joy as well as terror. This is the story of me as a young boy and the magic of an unforgettable summer which still holds a mystical power over me.”

Does this get you Ray Bradbury fans excited? Can't believe he's 91!!!

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I love pieces like this.

20 Celebrities With Stunning Home Libraries

From Shelf Awareness and Accredited Online Colleges

Celebrities who are also readers have a slight advantage over the rest of us, in that they "often making tens of thousands of dollars for just showing up somewhere, have no such financial restraints and may indulge themselves with those epic home libraries the rest of us can only dream about." Presented as evidence by AccreditedOnlineColleges.com are "20 celebrities with stunning home libraries."  

My favorite is Diane Keaton's (above).

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Another bit from Shelf Awareness:

Don't try this with a Kindle. Summer reads will take on a whole new meaning next year when waterproof paperbacks hit the beaches and pools. The Telegraph reported that a "clear wax sealant will prevent running ink and stop pages from becoming soggy and tearing when wet. The tough polymer coating is tear-resistant and promises to increase a title's shelf-life by up to 200%." Alan Cork's The Greater Bad will be the first book to receive the coating, and should be available next May.

Hmmm.. I don't recognize this from a Bond film.

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Another bit of trivia that caught my fancy... The Guardian UK

Agatha Christie may have been one of the U.K.'s first "stand-up" surfers, according to researchers who discovered that the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple "was something of a pioneering and diehard wave-rider. At a time when many of her contemporaries were chugging cocktails in Blighty, Agatha Christie was paddling out from beaches in Cape Town and Honolulu to earn her surfing stripes," the Guardian reported.

# # # #

I loved Mario's post on Monday. We all try to figure out what we can do to jump that hurdle into NYT's Bestsellerdom but as far as I know, the only one who can make that happen is your publisher. Erin Morgenstern's story is a case in point. There are others, Marie Liu springs to mind, who are being positioned to be the NEXT BIG THING IN YA...but it's always a crap shoot. I look forward to reading both Erin's and Marie's books. I admit it. I'm a sucker for YA and I read them trying to figure out what the magic formula is that tripped that agent or editor's fancy enough to offer the big bucks.

I have to add, though, that I know how lucky I am to be published with seven books out there and a dozen short stories in various anthologies. My hope is to keep building that readership and keep those contracts coming.

# # # #

Two more chances to win books and goodies before the debut of Crossroads:

Dark Fairie Tales on August 27... Anna meets the big bad wolf

Paranormality - August 29 - Lynda Hilburn's blog where we discuss immortality-- the lure of the vampire

Here's what arrived on my doorstep today:

It's beginning to feel real!!!

The secret formula

2011-08-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

It's the dream of every novelist. Your debut novel scores a fat advance. And a movie deal. Your publisher pulls out all the stops to market the panties off your book. Buzz for your novel sizzles everywhere.

I'd like to tell you, dream on pal. But it does happen.

In fact, despite the cold shoulder most writers get from publishers, their editors are always on the prowl for The Next Big Thing. Winner to get scads of fame and dump trucks of cash.

You can do it. All you need is this simple formula: young love + fantasy = drama.

After Harry Potter ran its course, New York was out in the hustings, beating the brush for their anointed one. Out of the blue, they discovered Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon suburban housewife whose tale of chaste human and undead lovers was inspired by a dream. So this unlikely source begat the biggest vampire craze ever.

We're aware of the Twilight backlash, and so you're probably familiar with this bit of snark from the Master of the Macabre, Stephen King:

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

I'm not going to critique or defend Meyer's books but I will point out that King, for all his smarts, missed the point of the Twilight fables.

(Sidebar: I never read any of the Twilight books, they're not for me. And I seldom read horror, either. Or much fantasy. I lean toward hard-boiled mysteries where sketchy people do dastardly deeds. Vampires? A zombie plaque? Yawn. But a crack head breaking into my house and gutting me for pocket change--that I can relate to.

I'm often complimented on my luck to have written vampire novels during the Twilight meme. About the only thing Twilight has done for my career is remind me how low I exist on the publishing totem pole. All but the smallest dogs can pee on me.)

So the point is, Twilight books are the few I've heard discussed at length at parties, in cafés or bars. Only by women, for sure. Note the key word: women. Sixty percent of fiction readers are women. A lot of critics dismiss Twilight as an adolescent read for naive teenage girls. Yet I've heard worldly, experienced, even skanky-type females gush over Meyer's stories. Not all women, but enough (along with the teenagers and tweens) to have made the Twilight franchise a behemoth that kept the publishing industry from sinking like a dying tuna. During the darkest days of the recent publishing implosion, Meyer's books represented 18 percent of the entire publishing market. So while horror, science-fiction, traditional mystery, and literary fiction lost readers (or more correctly, buyers), novels about love--romance-->finding a boyfriend<--continued to sell big time.

Which brings us to The Next Big Thing, The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. The story premise? Young love and fantasy--in this case, magic. (Where have we seen that formula before?) Which garnered six hundred large as an advance from Doubleday. Summit Entertainment bought the world rights and is shopping for a television deal. Morgenstern's path to success hasn't been a gilded ride--she's had her share of setbacks and stumbles--but the Gods of Fortune smiled on her. We'll see if the hype pans out. It doesn't hurt that considering her audience, Morgenstern's publicity photo looks like this:
As opposed to the picture of this scribe-to-a-vampire:

There you have it, the secret formula for literary success. Young love plus fantasy. You have no excuse not to be a filthy-rich author.

I'm Baaaacccckkk....

2011-08-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to redeem my slovenly ways the last two weeks, here is a plethora of goodies for your pleasure!

Cautionary tale: what to expect on your first day in prison--

From Lee Lofland's The Graveyard Shift

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Want to feel old? From Shelf Awareness:

Winnie-the-Pooh turns 90 on August 21. If you'd like to send him a birthday card, the New York Public Library will be celebrating his birthday at the Library's Children's Center at 42nd Street all month and is accepting cards on Pooh Bear's behalf. It's an appropriate destination, since Christopher Robin Milne's "original Winnie-the-Pooh doll set--including Winnie, of course!--is at the Library, on view in the Children's Center, in a special room surrounded by art of the 100 Acre Wood!"

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From Buzzfeed : 10 Famous Fictional Characters You Didn’t Know Were Based On Real People. This is pretty cool!

Shrek's appearence is based on that of pro-wrestler Maurice Tillet, a man born with a rare disease called acromegaly.

Who knew? Check out the others.

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Don't think I've posted this masterpiece yet-- the winner of the Bulwer-Lytton prize for bad writing went this year to:

"Cheryl's mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories"

YUCK on so many levels!!

# # # #

Now this is interesting: George R. R. Martin says Game of Thrones scripts stolen...by a postal worker yet. The story here . The scripts, signed by Martin and co-creator David Benioff as well as Alan Taylor, director for the last two episodes, were to be auctioned off at WorldCon's charity auction this week. They would have fetched big bucks. Martin tells his fans to keep their eyes peeled for word of the scripts appearing on line.

# # # #

Movies to consider!

Knights of Badassdom--who could ask for anything more?

# # # #

Conan--I love Ron Perlman!!

# # # #

And speaking of Ron Perlman...

Perhaps my favorite TV show!! New season starts next month. And to show how prepared I am:

# # # #

I think I mentioned going to Ikea ...This place is humongus. I bought a goose down pillow and the care instructions are written in 29 languages--unfrigginbelievable!

You literally need a map to get around!

OKAY-- I have to slip in a paid political announcement here-- Crossroads debuts in two weeks (August 30). Please check my website for signings and con appearances. Short list is here:

Tattered Cover – Denver (Signing at the Highlands Ranch location August 31 7:30PM)

Broadway Book Mall – Denver (Signing September 12 7PM)

Mysterious Galaxy – Redondo Beach (Signing September 17 2 PM)

Mysterious Galaxy – San Diego (Signing September 18 2 PM)

Barnes & Noble – Westminster (Signing September 24 1 PM)

For you Southern Californians, I'm also doing a library program on September 15 at the La Mesa Library, 8074 Allison Ave. La Mesa, CA at 6:30 PM.

For more details see the schedule page at www.jeannestein.com

For a chance to win free books and other goodies, here are some contests going on in and around the blogverse:

Amberkatze Book Blog Going on Now

Sizzling Hot Book Reviews August 19

Dark Fairie Tales August 27

Paranormality August 29

And thank you for your attention!!! See you next week. When my nails will be bitten to the quick and the bags under my eyes because I can't sleep become steamer trunks...This is the downside to being a writer!!!

He done good

2011-08-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

The big news is that my oldest son, Alex (the family money man), graduated this week with his MBA from the Daniels School of Business at the University of Denver.

The procession where you can see the master's hoods. The colors indicate discipline and university.

The provost carried the official university mace--a.k.a the beatin' stick--made of Colorado silver, gold, and precious stones. Despite howls of protest (mainly from me), the mace wasn't used to sacrifice anyone to appease the gods.

My other son Emil with his older brother.

Yikes

2011-08-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

I promise, I promise, I swear that next week I'll have something good for you. My bestest friend, Ron Jessee, is here from San Diego and we're off for three days of fun...starting with seeing Harry Potter which neither of our partners want to see. That's why I love having him here. He does things I like to do...so today it's Ikea, smart lunch, Harry Potter, home for scallops and a movie marathon. Wow-- it's like a vacation!!!

XOXOXOX

Done hexing...for now!

2011-08-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Mario here,

Sayonara Mucho Mojo and RomCon2011. It was nice. It was real. And it's over.

The loooooong weekend started with Thursday's Mucho Mojo hijinks at MadWines, courtesy of Denver Public Library's Fresh City Life program. Jeanne, Kimberly Frost, and Nicole Peeler laid us out with their assorted charms and pervy erotic readings. We cooled off afterwords at the Mercury Cafe where Kimberly and Nicole posed under the famous flying tiger.

Olivia Cunning shows off her fabulous RomCon Readers Crown trophies (major jealousy here at Biting-Edge corporate headquarters. We want one!)

The dealers room included jewelry sales that support the Colorado Association of Libraries benefit for Bulgarian libraries. Major cool move.

Besides panels and schmoozing, we all had plenty of real-world homework (that unfortunately interfered with our drinking). Jeanne and Kimberly practically shoot sparks out their ears as they hack at deadlines.

Once the con fun and games were over, we hoofed it to the Broadway Book Mall for a signing that included Lizzie T. Leaf (center) and to her left, Melissa Mayhue (who was so proud of her sparkly covers!)

To cap off the fun and gird ourselves for the return to planet Earth, we trekked to the Interstate Kitchen & Bar, where Nicole shared her appreciation of good head.

Sorry...

2011-08-04T05:06:00.001-07:00

Dead air again. Getting ready for a weekend of fun at RomCon...beginning tonight with this:

Then onto a weekend of fun and games at RomCon

And finishing up with a signing at the Broadway Book Mall

Mario and I will be hanging around together all weekend. Pray for me. And check out Westword
for a peek at some spicy passages from our Mucho Mojo buddies....

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On a sad note: As most of you know, Leslie (L.A.) Banks passed away this week. I met Leslie at a book fair in Georgia when The Becoming was first released. She was warm, welcoming and so funny, she had us all in stitches. I didn't know her well, but I her knew her well enough to really like her. She will be missed.

If you follow this link to the Reluctant Adults League blog, you will read some other comments by authors who share their memories of Leslie with readers.

We're Going to HEX you up!

2011-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Like most of you out there in Internet land, we're melting like chocolate truffles on a hot plate. Hot? Try scorching! And made even hotter and more scorching by Denver's first ever County Fair! After a hundred and fifty years, zilchero until this weekend.

Being a county fair, urban farming got a major plug. Lots of prize tomatoes, squash, and other veggies plus the newly allowed (within the city limits) chickens, ducks, and dwarf goats. Also on display, raptors that eat said chickens, ducks, and goats.

Being Denver, everything got a big-city snarky twist, from kid's dioramas...

to Steampunk...
Local MileHiCon fans should recognize the fashionable Chelsea Lowe and Zachary Byron Helm...

and their stylish wheels for the urban commute...

Take a deep breath! Now pump your little fists and let out a big SQUEEE!
It's almost here! Mucho Mojo!

This Thursday, 7-9pm, August 4, at MadWine Bar, 1200 Acoma St, in Denver. In conjunction with Fresh City Life and those good folks at the Denver Public Library, Urban Fantasy authors Kimberly Frost, Nicole Peeler, and our own Jeanne Stein, promise to Hex You Up!
You'll get free DIY mojo bags for special talismans provided by the authors. And then we'll get down with some adult erotic readings from each others' work. Things could get STEAMY! Fortunately, you'll have the opportunity to cool off with appropriately adult beverages.

Over the weekend, catch us at RomCon 2011.

And then, Mucho Mojo Round Two, Sunday, 4pm, August 7 at the Broadway Book Mall, 200 S Broadway, Denver. We'll be joined for a reading and signing by Melissa Mayhue and Lizzie T. Leaf. Five times the urban fantasy, five times the literary awesomeness!

What a week...

2011-07-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

I love ComicCon. It's sensory overload to the 100th power, but there's an energy generated by a crowd (mostly) intent on having fun. It's the best people watching in the world. It's visiting with my editor (Jessica Wade) and publicist (Rosanne Romanello) and all the great Penguin people. It's breakfast with the Buffybuds and Sam Sommersby and Maryelizabeth Hart and Jeff Mariotte. It's seeing authors I admire like Rachel Caine and Kim Harrison and Carrie Vaughn. It's speaking with readers like the lovely Nikki Gillison who I met in person for the first time (she and her partner LaRay, did the Anna Strong photo tour). It's spending three days with my sis and doing nothing but watching movies and eating good Mexican food. It's spending time with my best bud, Ron Jessee and his partner, Louis Perez. It's being invited to my cousin's talented and gracious critique group and being honored by their willingness to share their work with me. It's walking up to Balboa Park with my hubby in the early morning and remembering why thinking of San Diego still makes us homesick.

Ah, but now it's back to reality...and work!

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Well, I'm on twitter. My "handle" is JeanneCStein. Very original, huh? Don't know how much time I'll actually tweet, but I joined for Wednesday's Hexed "chat" and that really was fun. I'll have to lurk for awhile and see how people use it. What about you? If you're on, let me know and I'll follow you. What do you talk about? How often a day do you post?

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New John Carter trailer—movie coming next year. From i09 :

Andrew Stanton's adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, "rips you open with the sword of Martian awesomeness," io9 observed, adding: "It's chock full of swordplay, heroic destiny, cool-looking ships, and insane Martian vistas. Can we wait? We cannot."

Me, either! I imagine all the ERB fan boys in our critique group are counting the days, right, Mario, Warren, Aaron?

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This is kind of cool...can you guess what it is carved from?

Go here to find out

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Sometimes I make myself nuts because I miss the most obvious things. If any of you have checked the product description on Amazon for Crossroads, this is what you read:

After the death of Anna's old vampire mentor causes ripples in the mortal world, Anna needs to lie low. But when Max-an FBI agent and Anna's former flame-comes to her with reports that bodies are showing up on the Mexican border drained of blood, Anna has no choice but to get involved, both with the case and with the man who broke her heart.

What the...??? First, Max is a DEA agent, not an FBI agent. Second, this segment was one episode and really had nothing to do with the main plot of the book. Third, the man who broke Anna's heart? Please...

Both my editor and publicist are working on getting it corrected. It should read something like this:

As a bounty hunter, Anna Strong knew how to find trouble. But now that she’s a vampire, trouble seems to have a knack for finding her…

The death of Anna’s old vampire nemesis is causing ripples in the mortal world. His forensic report has brought up some anomalies and people are asking questions—questions that no vampire wants to answer.

Anna needs to lie low, but the sudden discovery of a slew of drained bodies near the Mexican border brings an old flame back into her life and with him, a new challenge.

Then, some stunning news from an unexpected source sends Anna and her friend Daniel Frey on a journey that may change both their lives—forever.

Doesn't that sound more like an Anna Strong story?

Julie Newmar, Jennifer Aniston...RAWR!

2011-07-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Quote of the Week...comes from ComicCon--specifically the panel reuniting the cast of the Batman TV series: Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar (the first Catwoman). West revealed how he got the role: "I was hired to play Batman because they saw a commercial I'd done for Nestle's Quik," West recalled, and they said, 'This is the turkey to play him.' "

From The Hub/Discovery via TheWrap.com.

Julie Newmar, back when.

I was in the fourth grade when the TV show first came out, and I ran to Woolworths to buy a Batman cap/mask. It was a black-felt beanie with small Batman ears. The short bill had eye holes and was sewn to point down instead of horizontally. I took mine to school the next day but was too embarrassed to wear it until I noticed everyone had one. Holy Geekdom! For a while, those ridiculous Batman cap/masks were everywhere, and now you can't even find one eBay.

I've been slacking on my reading so no book report this week. Blame the heat which I escaped in a nice, cool air-conditioned theater. Twice.

First up. Captain America. Lots of dazzle. Wonderful 1940s aesthetics but the story didn't measure up to the SFX. A comic book on the big screen. More of a prequel than anything else.

And then...Horrible Bosses. Three put-upon schmucks scheme to kill their tyrant bosses. Well...ahem...seeing Jennifer Aniston as the über-cougar Dr. Julia Harris practically fall out of her dentist's smock while talking so filthy she'd make Mark Henry blush, that alone was worth the price of admission. So I vote YES! For purely artistic reasons, of course.

The funniest scenes were of the three white guys wandering into a seedy ghetto bar in search of a hit man. They find Jamie Foxx--an ex-con poser whose most bad-ass trait is his moniker: Motherfucker Jones. ;-)

Foxx's character could've easily stolen the show but he was kept on a short leash. Why didn't he volunteer to take care of Dr. Harris' nymphomania?

No spoilers but the ending was a little too contrived and cute. Still----------------------->

Any summertime movie favorites on your list?

Don't forget...Mucho Mojo Nicole Peeler, Kimberly Frost, and Jeanne Stein, Thursday, Aug 4, 7-9pm, at Madwine Bar & Novo Coffee, Denver.

And then Lizzie T. Leaf and Melissa Mayhue join the team for a signing on Sunday, Aug 7, 4pm at the Broadway Book Mall, Denver.

RIP

2011-07-20T06:26:00.001-07:00

It hurts my heart when ANY bookstore closes.

I'm in San Diego getting ready for ComicCon by taking a few days off with my sis. We had a Hercule Poirot marathon and just got started on film noir but I found so much stuff for this week's blog, I thought I'd better get started.

What to do first? Maybe Harry Potter? From Buzzfeed :

20 Alcoholic Beverages Inspires by the Harry Potter Series

Just two of my favorites:

Gryffindor Shot

Ingredients:
1/2 part Cinnamon Aftershock
1/2 part Goldschläger Instructions:
'First layer the Aftershock, then layer the Goldschläger on top. It's best if you shake the Goldschläger first so you can get some gold flakes.'

Sybill Trelawney

From Wikia

Ingredients:
1 part gin
1 part vodka
2 parts cranberry juice
1 splash Grenadine Instructions:
'Combine ingredients in a snifter over ice. Dry ice optional.'

Mmmmmm...

And this nice piece that I think I got from Shelf Awareness or UK Guardian, but for some reason I didn't not the source. My apologies. In it, she thanks a fan who wrote how much the HP books meant to her. Worth searching out a magnifying glass.... oops-- found the link

Particularly liked the last line... Classy lady.

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Doggy Bookends from Buzzfeed —under the heading, it’s always nice to include your pets in household duties.

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Sonething punny--er--funny

In Pun We Must from Independent Weekly on Vimeo.

In Pun We must Vimeo

A short examination of the art of the pun, narrated by George Gopen, Professor of the Practice of Rhetoric at Duke University and principal judge for the inaugural Durham Pun Championship at The Regulator Bookshop, July 9, 2011.

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This from Deadline Universal declines to make Stephen King's Dark Tower...

Universal has passed on going forward with the project, dealing a huge blow in the plan for Ron Howard to direct Akiva Goldsman's script, with Brian Grazer, Goldsman and the author producing and Javier Bardem starring as gunslinger Roland Deschain. Now, the filmmakers will have to find a new backer of what might well be the most ambitious movie project since Bob Shaye allowed Peter Jackson to shoot three installments of The Lord of the Rings back to back.

Hey, Ron! I've got a series you could pitch....

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12 Famous Fairy Tales Deconstructed

I love this-- from buzzfeed

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All I have to say about this next is WOW... Hunger Games Exclusive Motion Poster. See it in all it's fiery glory here

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Today I meet with my cousin's critique group at the home of another cousin in Oceanside. Should be fun...and interesting. I'm going to offer critiques. Hope I'm invited back.

So, what are you up to? Denverites, is it still hotter than hades??? I've updated my website (thanks, Jay Salam) so all upcoming appearances to date are noted. Stop by and take a look...

PS I have to add, back from my cuz's and his critique group has some of the most talented writers I've ever had the pleasure to visit with. Every item submitted was polished and well-written and every voice unique. I have a feeling we'll be hearing from some of them very soon. They were that good. So, thanks, Cousin Al, for inviting me! And Cousin Rich for sharing his beautiful home. And the Corona Writers Group for sharing their work.

PPS Two upcoming chats that you might drop in on--

Fresh Fiction Chat with the authors of Chicks Kick Butt

July 26 8pm Eastern / 7pm Central / 6pm Mountain / 5pm Pacific

The URL is http://freshfiction.com/chat

And

Twitter chat with Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James and moi for Hexed

July 27 3pm Eastern/2pm Central/1pm Mountain/noon Pacific

Since I haven't set up a Twitter account yet (will this weekend) this one should be interesting!

Okay, now I really am done!!

How to be a real Dick!

2011-07-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Jeanne is presently at ComicCon, no doubt checking out superhero packages. Research she calls it.

Mark your calendars! We're about to slay you with more Mucho Mojo entertainment and snark than you can possibly stand. Not once, but twice.

Uno! A tag-team of professional snarkologists--Nicole Peeler, Kimberly Frost, and our own Jeanne Stein--will pound your funny bone silly (I love when that happens!) on Thursday, Aug 4, 7-9pm, at Madwine Bar & Novo Coffee, Denver.

Dos! Before the wounds heal, get ready for a second bruising when Lizzie T. Leaf and Melissa Mayhue join the team to take you on mano-a-mano! Sunday, Aug 7, 4pm at the Broadway Book Mall, Denver.

And now, our Feature Presentation!

Our exclusive interview with the real-life PI duo of Colleen Collins

and Shaun Kaufman.

Thanks Colleen and Shaun for this interview.

Thank you for having us!

Tell us about your latest project and when can we expect it to hit the streets?

It’s a non-fiction ebook How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths, which hit the virtual streets this month on Kindle and Nook. It is a compilation of our articles and suggestions to fiction writers writing sleuths, including examples from courses we've presented at regional and national writers' conferences. We also include dozens of writers’ questions, and our answers, about what a fictional sleuth might do in various scenarios.

What bugs you the most about reading PI fiction?

Colleen: When a fictional PI breaks the law and doesn’t seem to know or care. At least let me, the reader, know you’re committing a felony but that you’re doing it for a very good reason (to find a missing child, for example). It ups the stakes in the story when a PI is willing to break the law to do the right thing.

Shaun: Reading endless descriptions. We are conversation-driven in our work. Our jobs consist of talking to lawyers, clients, witnesses, police and other people about the case. I even have a dialogue with myself when I am alone in the field (and hear that dialogue in my head). I have read a lot of annoying PI literature that is not realistic because it consists of an author’s intellectual descriptive prose.

What true story or case would you like to fictionalize in a novel?

Two Tales of Self-Defense because the resolution of each made someone’s life better. One was set in the city, and another on an isolated ranch. The common thread between both was how hard we had to work to find exculpatory evidence. In our urban adventure, a young man was attacked by eight rival gang members. He stabbed two and claimed self-defense. No one would corroborate his story. He was charged with serious assault crimes. We handed out fliers and knocked on doors in a tough neighborhood in search of some anonymous witnesses (people didn’t want to come forward for fear of gang retaliation). Eventually, we found three neutral witnesses who we convinced to talk to us -- based on our interviews, the D.A. dismissed the case. In the second instance, out in the fields of eastern Colorado, our client was accused of shooting at some people who’d trespassed on his ranch. He claimed he fired warning shots away from the accusers; they claimed he tried to kill them. We spent hours with metal detectors on acres of barren ranchland before we found the bullets in a place that confirmed his story. The moral of the story: a PI has to work hard to get ahold of the truth.

Who are your favorite fiction PIs and why?

Colleen: Max Alan Collins, who knows how to craft page-turning hard-boiled stories. Lori Armstrong blows me away with her gritty, complex ex-sniper investigator-protagonist Mercy Gunderson. The unveiling of Reed Farrel Coleman’s PI character Moe Prager is as compelling as the storylines. Marcia Muller’s “first female detective” Sharon McCone for her tenacity and smarts. I could go on, but I’ll stop here.

What special powers (legal or supernatural) would you like to have as a PI?

Shaun: For all of our clients to pay full retainers.

Colleen: To be invisible!

What came first? Being a PI or being a writer?

Colleen: Writer, then PI.

Shaun: Lawyer, writer, PI.

What new writing projects are on the horizon?

We’re currently writing another book in our “dick” series: How to Be a Lawyer’s Dick: Legal Investigations 101. Might be our last dick book, not sure yet. Colleen’s fiction book The Zen Man (a contemporary tale of Nick and Nora) is making the rounds of agents.

You’ve got an impressive career as a writer. Where can we find some of your titles?

Colleen: I’ve written 20 novels, published by Harlequin (and one by Dorchester). If you look up “Colleen Collins” on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, they’re all there. Or most of them, anyway.

Shaun: The Colorado Department of Corrections.

Who are your favorite authors (or books)?

Shaun: Loren Estleman, Hunter S. Thompson.

Colleen: Jay McInerney, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Ken Bruen, Dennis Lehane, everybody I mentioned earlier, and many others…

What is your writing process? Pantser or plotter?

Colleen: Plotter. If Shaun wrote fiction, I’d put money on his being a pantser. Which in a way is how we handle investigations, too.

Do you get many “Aha!” moments for your writing? When do they usually happen and what do you do with this inspiration?

Colleen: Aha’s happen at any time. Because I don’t trust my memory, I grab anything available and jot down the idea.

One final question? If I’m paranoid that I’m being shadowed by a PI, what are some things I can do to cover my tracks?

Shaun: Walk or drive in the direction that you were going from when you noticed the tail.

Colleen: Look for (and toss) any GPS attachments under your vehicle. Take different routes in your daily routines. Drive a different vehicle. Dress differently (better yet, bring a change of clothes, hats and shoes with you so you can change on the fly). If you want to “one up” the PI, hire your own PI to track the PI and find out why you’re the subject of an investigation.

Thanks for the interview. Good luck gumshoeing!

Thank you, Mario, and Biting Edge! We enjoyed being your gumshoe guests.

Cheers!

I think we ARE in Kansas...

2011-07-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

I know many of you live in CO-- what the fuck was that storm last night?????? I've never experienced an hour of solid thunder and lightening...not the flash, crack kind but the strobe-light-and-ground-shaking-earth-moving-never-letting-up kind. I love the rain and my lawn has never looked so good but last night was downright scary.

In other news...Mario did a very good job of recapping the Fox news thing-- my biggest complaint is that if this "researcher" had read either book, there is no way she could have confused them. In any case, it's over ...at least I think it is! I must admit, though, my new title, "Corrupter of the Youth of America", was kind of cool.

So, who's going to see Harry Potter the first night? Let's post a few reviews..I'm sure I won't see it until next week sometime (I'll be in San Diego for ComicCon) so I'm curious to hear what your reactions are.

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And speaking of ComicCon, here are the details of my panel:

Thursday: 4:00-5:00 No Damsels in Distress Here— Female voices in sci-fi and fantasy create kick-ass heroines. Danger just might be these girls' middle name. But no amount of bad guys can keep these ladies from doing what's right. Whether standing up for friends and family, or just plain kicking some ass, these girls don't shy away from a fight. Damsels on the panel include Marie Lu (Legend), Kathy Reichs (Bones & Virals series), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires series), Jeanne Stein (The Anna Strong Chronicles), Merrie deStefano (Feast: Harvest of Dreams), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville series), Seanan McGuire (The October Daye series), and Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunter novels). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 25ABC

Should be fun. And the rest of the week is full of visiting and eating and sneaking in to see some of the panels. No Joss Whedon stalking this year. I've given that up. And James Marsters isn't attending so that's out, too. I did hear that Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford would be hosting a sneak preview of Cowboys and Aliens but since that means standing in line for four hours, I'll pass on that one, too.

Hmmm. I must be getting old.

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Plot Device--I want one of these!

Plot Device from Red Giant on Vimeo.

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Another video--this from CJ Lyons--that I think a lot of our writer friends will appreciate:

5 Easy Steps to Format Your Ebook

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I think it's just about time for True Blood's new season to begin, isn't it? Seems the fans of TB are taking things seriously. This from Variety :

True Blood Fans Bare Buying Fangs

A long list of items will be in play this summer, as the new season of "True Blood" kicked off June 26. Six different versions of "True Blood" V-Moda headphones will hit stores, priced from $39.99 to $199.99. Both Sephora and Ultima stores will carry upmarket cosmetics line Tarte's new "True Blood"-branded cheek stain, lip liner and an eye shadow palate that comes in a specially designed box, with prices ranging from $24 to $52. And high-end handbag purveyor Hammitt will feature a new line of "True Blood" bags named after five of the show's characters. Prices for the bags, available only at select retailers, will land between $395 and $675.

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Coolest Bookcovers for 2011 (so far) from Huffington Post This is my favortie:

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And one last thing, I've posted my schedule for the release of Crossroads. I hope to see some of you at one or two of the events. In the meantime, this is something I'm doing next month as part of the RomCon experience. Mario made the poster. Ain't it grand????

What's going on in your world???

Another Fox News Fuck Up

2011-07-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

The big news rattling around last week in these parts of the Internet was this piece of pseudo-science from Fox News. Seems our own Jeanne was singled out in this bit of invented controversy of how YA books are surprisingly X-Rated. Which raised eyebrows around here as:

1) Jeanne's Anna Strong series is not YA

and

2) while Jeanne doesn't shy away from sex (or her character Anna, for that matter), you'll find more explicit sex in the Bible.

Well, it turns out the study researcher, Sarah Coyne, isn't much on research as she confused Jeanne's book Chosen for PC Cast's Chosen. Let's see, different authors, different publishers, different covers...an easy mistake to make if you're a lazy academic and more interested in pulling things out of your ass than providing the truth. Coyne could've contacted Jeanne, but that would've involved doing actual research and adhering to professional standards.

This last weekend I attended a family reunion in New Mexico and learned that my niece Nicolette Young (actually the daughter of my cousin Ana) was selected as Miss New Mexico's Outstanding Teen. Boo-ya! She was awarded a magnificent sash--and not merely a tiara--but an awesome crown. (So awesome, I'd wear it!) Next stop, Florida, for the Miss USA Outstanding Teen competition. Go Nicolette!

This week's book.
Inca Gold by Clive Cussler.
It's an eleven-hour drive from Denver to Las Cruces, NM. Coping with that dreadfully boring trip has led to the family tradition of listening to audio books. We've learned after several hit-and-misses with other writers that nobody spins a yarn like Cussler. It would be easy to dismiss this offering as yet another formulaic read, but Cussler is a master at delivering a set-piece pot boiler that grows increasingly intricate and engrossing by the minute. We cheer when Dirk Pitt shows up, one of the literary world's most enduring bad-asses. If you want heroes and villains, high adventure, and a damn good story, then Inca Gold shines like a treasure.

New League Books Out...among other things

2011-07-06T15:07:00.001-07:00

First order of business is to pimp our League associates who have books out this week. Click on this link to get a recap of all the books and to see the covers. Thanks to Carolyn Crane for putting this together. Below is a list of the books and authors and their Amazon links.

In alphabetical order:

1. Dakota Cassidy Burning Down the Spouse

2. Kevin Hearne Hammered

3. Michelle Rowen Bloodlust

4. Diana Rowland My Life as A White Trash Zombie

5. K. A. Stewart A Shot in the Dark

Good reading here and all, of course can be found by contacting your favorite local Indie

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One last piece of pimpage--I have updated my website for the release of Crossroads so check out the schedule here

I'll be adding more along with links to interviews as we go... Thanks, Jay Salam, for your good work and your gentle reminders that I need to update my website occasionally!!

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From Hollywood Reporter

KMazur/WireImage

Warner Bros won a multi-studio bidding war for the novel by Ally Carter. Screenwriter Shauna Cross is set to adapt.

Drew Barrymore is attached to produce with an eye to direct Heist Society, a young adult thriller being made by Warner Bros.

Barrymore joins Denise Di Novi and Di Novi Pictures' Alison Greenspan as producers on the project, which Warners won last year in a multi-studio bidding war for the novel by Ally Carter. Screenwriter Shauna Cross is set to adapt.

The book follows a young woman named Katarina Bishop who hails from an extended family of cat burglars and master thieves. The girl leaves her illicit life behind, but when her father is the prime suspect in the case of a mobster's missing art collection, she assembles a crew to track down the art and steal it back.

The studio is aging the characters a notch into their early 20s. Barrymore will also supervise the writing.

Now I haven't read the book, but this sounds a lot like the TV series Leverage but with twenty-year-olds, doesn't it?

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For an exclusive sneak peak of HP's episode in Gringott's Bank check here . Spoiler alert, though, Inside Movies says if you don't want to know what happens, don't peek.

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Want to test your literary home IQ? Whose house is this? The answer (and more literary houses) here

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Another site I love--- Bookshelf Porn

Here's an example:

Can't you just imagine what's outside that window? What glorious view? Has to be water...the ocean maybe or a lake. And can't you imagine yourself curled up in that chair with a good book and a glass of wine? It's my fantasy library.

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So Wednesday was Mario's birthday. We celebrated at critique on Tuesday night and I'm sure he's still celebrating as we speak. He and I just finished a short story for the Bubonicon program which I think I can convince him to share with you after the con. We've decided we may just have to collaborate on something else. We actually had fun! He listened to me and everything!

And I guess I've made the big time. Excerpt from an article from Fox News:

In fact, researchers reported online June 8 in the Journal of Sex Research, books aimed at 12- and 13-year-olds were no less sexy than books aimed at readers ages 14 and up. In addition, sex was rarely presented in a healthy light: Contraceptives and practical consequences were almost never mentioned, said study researcher Sarah Coyne, a psychologist at Brigham Young University. (Brigham Young University is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is the largest religious university in the United States.)

"I would never argue for censorship," Coyne told LiveScience. "But I do think we're missing something here."

The "Gossip Girl" books and a vampire series "The Anna Strong Chronicles" were two series that were particularly focused on sex, Coyne said.

Huh? The title of the article is Some Teen Books Surprisingly X-Rated... read it all here if you want. And note where the expert study was conducted. They could have at least mentioned my name so any teen perverted enough to want to find me, could. I mean, really....

What wine goes best with weenies?

2011-07-03T16:12:00.001-07:00

Mario here:

Happy Fourth everybody. Enjoy the fireworks, picnics, and friends. And booze. Drink responsibly...meaning: share generously with your local writers and artists. Being creative makes us thirsty.

Despite the long weekend, we're not slacking off a bit at the Biting-Edge world corporate headquarters. In fact, we're turning up the Pimpage Machine to promote:

1) Lighthouse Writers Workshop has a new home. The Milheim House at 1515 Race Street in the Mile High City. Real classy digs that'll make you feel all writerly just walking through the front door. (Don't know what happens if you enter through the back.) Can't wait to bust the locale's cherry with a literary Bacchanalia. Soon, very soon.

2) Our mystery writer pals, Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins, real life husband-wife PIs, have published an awesome how-to ebook for you wanna-be gumshoes, How to Write a Dick. Buy your copy here.

3) Drop by the signing, 7:30PM, this Wednesday, July 6, at the Tattered Cover on Colfax for the collection, An Elevated View, Colorado Writers on Writing. Fellow authors include Kathy Brandt, Laurie Wagner Buyer, Margaret Coel, Mara Purl, Joe Stone, and Susan Tweit. Edited by W.C. Jameson. I've contributed an essay, "Cowboy Up," where I share the ups and downs about being an ink-stained scribe to the Muse. Needless to say, the process has kept me humble.

Nice work!

2011-06-29T13:18:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Catfriend, Suzanne, unseelieme and Vickie for filling in last week. Good job--if you'd like an autographed copy of HEXED, email me at jeanne@jeannestein.com.

Vickie, send me that zombie movie the kids made and we'll post it right here!

Here's the video submitted by unseelieme--it's pretty cool!

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For you Neil Gaiman fans, here's an interview where he talks about his new TV series:

Tags: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

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From Prime Books (and me) ;

Sean Wallace | Jun 27, 2011 in NewsVampires: The Recent Undead is now available in Kindle and Nook formats through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. (Eventually it will be in the iBookstore, Kobo, Sony, and Borders—they just take longer to process.) We also have it available for direct purchase for a limited time for only $6.99!

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From Buzzfeed : A very cool poetry seamstress

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From Shelf Awareness:

Yesterday, Penguin released the Penguin Classics Complete Annotated Listing app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In addition to featuring annotated descriptions of more than 1,500 Penguin Classics titles, the app challenges readers to test their Penguin Classics knowledge and features a "Discover the Classics" section that lets readers choose which classics they should read based on their interests (or they can give their iPhone a shake and let the app pick a title for them).

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There's still time to check out Larissa's Bookish Life and get in on my seven book giveaway. Check it out here

And our pal Mario is the featured interviewee on the Chiseled Rock Blog wherein he talks about Machine Guns, Vampires and the Writing Life.
Check it out here

That's it for me this week. What's going on in your world?