Welcome to Biting-Edge, a blog shared by authors and vampire experts, Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein. We’ll cover urban fantasy, vampires, pop culture, and all things Joss Whedon. Unlike other fantasy blogs, we don’t insist on body cavity searches (unless you ask politely). Snarkiness is most welcome...though we won't promise not to bite back!
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Geeks, freaks, cheers and beers.
Mario here:
What I'm reading this week:
Tainted Mountain by Shannon Baker.
Big congratulations and a fly-over of the corporate UFO to Rudy Ch. Garcia for his Honorable Mention in the category of Fantasy/ Science Fiction novel in the 2013 Latino Book Awards for The Closet of Discarded Dreams.
Warning! If you missed this year's Denver ComicCon, you might get your geek credentials revoked. Just sayin'
After a long absence (years!), I did my bit at the Larimer Square Chalk Festival. Three days on my hands and knees, getting so down and dirty that I'm surprised I wasn't arrested.
My fellow scriveners,
If you checked any of the above, then sign up for this year's Lighthouse Lit Fest. Bring your trusty writing implement, bend a knee, and learn from the fabulous Lighthouse faculty: Steve Almond, Robin Black, Andre Dubus III, Bill Henderson, Gordy Hoffman, Erika Krouse, Thomas Lux, David Wroblewski, and Jason Heller. Plus me, and I'll be teaching these craft seminars:
Monday, June 10. You Had Me At Hello.
A great story begins with a great intro. The opening lines of your novel should draw the reader into your house of magic. Make them suspend disbelief and follow you deep into the drama. In this workshop we’ll discuss masterful opening lines and analyze the techniques used to create a compelling tone and an engaging voice. Participants are invited to bring the first page of a fiction (or narrative nonfiction) work-in-progress.
Thursday, June 13. The Longest Distance: Putting Your Ideas On The Page.
It’s been said that the longest distance your ideas will ever travel is from your head to your hands. We’re writers and we live to write—or so we say. Then why don’t we write? Why are writers masters of procrastination? In this workshop we’ll discuss self-defeating behaviors, head trash, and those other nasty demons that keep hijacking our motivation. More importantly, we’ll discuss techniques to shorten the distance between your head and your hands.
Monday, June 17. Start With The Diamond: The Premise of a Great Novel.
Your brain is bursting with ideas for a wonderful novel—your big breakthrough. But you’ve been here before. A hundred pages into the manuscript, you peter out. Those great ideas stagnate and your plot turns into a soggy mess. In this workshop we’ll discuss how theme and character motivation drive the story. We’ll drill through your plot to find the true premise—the diamond—that you can build your story around. Participants are invited to bring an outline for a novel that we’ll discuss to find the diamond.
And...Thursday evening, June 13, I'll be on the salon panel, Yes You Can: Writing in a Subjective World.
Mario here:
What I'm reading this week:
Tainted Mountain by Shannon Baker.Big congratulations and a fly-over of the corporate UFO to Rudy Ch. Garcia for his Honorable Mention in the category of Fantasy/ Science Fiction novel in the 2013 Latino Book Awards for The Closet of Discarded Dreams.Warning! If you missed this year's Denver ComicCon, you might get your geek credentials revoked. Just sayin'
After a long absence (years!), I did my bit at the Larimer Square Chalk Festival. Three days on my hands and knees, getting so down and dirty that I'm surprised I wasn't arrested.
My fellow scriveners,
- Spinning your writer wheels?
- Looking for inspiration and support?
- Is a thirst holding your Muse hostage and you must pay the ransom with booze?
If you checked any of the above, then sign up for this year's Lighthouse Lit Fest. Bring your trusty writing implement, bend a knee, and learn from the fabulous Lighthouse faculty: Steve Almond, Robin Black, Andre Dubus III, Bill Henderson, Gordy Hoffman, Erika Krouse, Thomas Lux, David Wroblewski, and Jason Heller. Plus me, and I'll be teaching these craft seminars:
Monday, June 10. You Had Me At Hello.
A great story begins with a great intro. The opening lines of your novel should draw the reader into your house of magic. Make them suspend disbelief and follow you deep into the drama. In this workshop we’ll discuss masterful opening lines and analyze the techniques used to create a compelling tone and an engaging voice. Participants are invited to bring the first page of a fiction (or narrative nonfiction) work-in-progress.
Thursday, June 13. The Longest Distance: Putting Your Ideas On The Page.
It’s been said that the longest distance your ideas will ever travel is from your head to your hands. We’re writers and we live to write—or so we say. Then why don’t we write? Why are writers masters of procrastination? In this workshop we’ll discuss self-defeating behaviors, head trash, and those other nasty demons that keep hijacking our motivation. More importantly, we’ll discuss techniques to shorten the distance between your head and your hands.
Monday, June 17. Start With The Diamond: The Premise of a Great Novel.
Your brain is bursting with ideas for a wonderful novel—your big breakthrough. But you’ve been here before. A hundred pages into the manuscript, you peter out. Those great ideas stagnate and your plot turns into a soggy mess. In this workshop we’ll discuss how theme and character motivation drive the story. We’ll drill through your plot to find the true premise—the diamond—that you can build your story around. Participants are invited to bring an outline for a novel that we’ll discuss to find the diamond.
And...Thursday evening, June 13, I'll be on the salon panel, Yes You Can: Writing in a Subjective World.
Labels: Denver ComicCon, Hulk smash!, Jason Heller, Lit Fest, Rudy Ch. Garcia
¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 7:41 PM 4 comments
Thursday, June 14, 2012
What a way to start the day...
Well, I just lost my complete blog. Vanished into the either. I've been saving, too, so I don't know WTF happened. I just hope this isn't indicative of what the rest of my day is going to be like.
Anyway, the original title for this post was going to be An Exciting Week in the Life of a Writer. But I realized that sounded like I was being critical and getting and staying published are two of the best things that have ever happened to me.
But there are weeks, like the ten days ahead of me, when I have to do less writing and more of the promo stuff. I'm not good at it. My stomach gets tied up in knots.
Here's what I have in store:
Denver is hosting its first ever Comic Con June 15 - 17 at the Convention Center downtown. They've lined up a pretty impressive list of guests including my favorite, James Marsters. I have a small part to play, too. Here is my schedule:
Anyway, the original title for this post was going to be An Exciting Week in the Life of a Writer. But I realized that sounded like I was being critical and getting and staying published are two of the best things that have ever happened to me.
But there are weeks, like the ten days ahead of me, when I have to do less writing and more of the promo stuff. I'm not good at it. My stomach gets tied up in knots.
Here's what I have in store:
Denver is hosting its first ever Comic Con June 15 - 17 at the Convention Center downtown. They've lined up a pretty impressive list of guests including my favorite, James Marsters. I have a small part to play, too. Here is my schedule:
FRIDAY 7 PM
Local Author
Spotlight Hyatt Room 3
SAT 11 AM
New Horror and Urban Fantasy Lit C104
SAT 1 PM
Strong Woman Writers and
Characters in SF and Urban Fantasy -
Capitol 2
SAT 4 PM Hyatt Room 2
Paranormal Outer Limits
Since I haven't seen a program yet with panel descriptions, I can only guess from the titles what we'll be talking about. Friday night I think I'll be reading from Haunted, the next AS book out on August 28.
San Diego - Mon - Thurs
Then it's off to San Diego for four days to meet with my collaborator, Samantha Sommersby, on our new series. We plan to polish off the first book (which I assume will be out sometime early next year) and plot out the second. It will be four days of work. Maybe a little play. But mostly work.
When I get back, it's time for another Denver Con, Rom Con. Here's my schedule for that one:
Paranormal Slayers at 2:40 on Friday
Speed Date at 11:20 on Saturday
Paranormal Chat 1:30 on Saturday
Intimate Chat at 2:40 on Saturday
Book signing Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.
Full and busy weekend.
In between all this, I'm finishing off the ninth Anna Strong book, judging entries for the Colorado Gold Writing Conference and planning the book signing schedule for Haunted.
I have the first lined up, btw....mark your calendars...August 28, TC Highlands Ranch. First day you can get the book in your hot little hands.
I do want to return to the normal blog things I use to talk about, though. Hopefully, by the middle of July I can concentrate more on media stuff and less on what's going on with me. Which I realize isn't nearly as interesting as a sexy picture of James Marsters.
When I get back, it's time for another Denver Con, Rom Con. Here's my schedule for that one:
Paranormal Slayers at 2:40 on Friday
Speed Date at 11:20 on Saturday
Paranormal Chat 1:30 on Saturday
Intimate Chat at 2:40 on Saturday
Book signing Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.
Full and busy weekend.
In between all this, I'm finishing off the ninth Anna Strong book, judging entries for the Colorado Gold Writing Conference and planning the book signing schedule for Haunted.
I have the first lined up, btw....mark your calendars...August 28, TC Highlands Ranch. First day you can get the book in your hot little hands.
I do want to return to the normal blog things I use to talk about, though. Hopefully, by the middle of July I can concentrate more on media stuff and less on what's going on with me. Which I realize isn't nearly as interesting as a sexy picture of James Marsters.
Labels: Denver ComicCon, RomCon
¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 5:12 AM 8 comments
Sunday, June 10, 2012
What do they know?
Mario here:
Over at the League of Reluctant Adults, we had a lively discussion when Kevin Hearne wondered what to do about an especially snippy email from a reader, one that Kevin shared with us on the loop. Kevin's first reaction was to pen an especially nasty reply worthy of the sender's asshattediness. But we talked the gun out of Kevin's hand and calmed him down. Of course, when we send such a message, we expect the recipient to roll over and whimper, "Thank you so much for pointing out what worthless human being I am. Allow me to eat worms and grovel at your feet." But that doesn't happen. If nothing else, we'll get the bile spewed back by some waste of skin who has less to lose than any of us, so our response tends to be to ignore the fool.
So how do you respond to crappy "fan mail" and lousy reviews? We in League shift through the bilge of our one-star reviews on Amazon. We critique our favorites on the League loop and wonder (not too hard) about the personal issues afflicting said reviewer. We speculate about their demented fetishes, usually involving farm animals, funnels, and the ingestion of various bodily fluids and excretions.
Since one factor that leads readers to your books are reviews, we have an interest in gathering as many positive reviews as possible. Elle Lothlorien regards her one-star reviewers as unsatisfied customers and engages them directly and in many cases the reviewer substitutes their poor review for a better one. (Which gets back to the League's position that a one-star review is less about the perceived quality of the book than it is the reviewer needing therapy.)
In the long run, how effective are reviews? The critics initially crapped all over F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and we see how that book got pushed into the literary Dumpster.
The top book right now on my TBR pile is Hammer of the Gods, The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis. In their review of LZ's first American tour, Rolling Stone wrote: "...they will have to find a producer, editor and some material worthy of their collective talents." We see how history gave that critic a well-deserved noogie.
You'll get no noogies at the ongoing Lighthouse LitFest. I'll be reading at their first ever book fair, Friday, 1:45PM, at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, 1515 Race St, Denver.
But if you get a noogie at Denver ComicCon 2012, it'll be done with a pencil or a space blaster.
Check me out next weekend at the Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver.
Saturday June 16, 4pm “Paranormal” with Tamela Buhrke, Jeanne Stein, Lynda Hilburn. (Hyatt Capitol Room 2)
Saturday 6pm “The State of Horror in this Pre-Apocalyptic Age" with Carrie Vaughn, Molly Tanzer, Lynda Hillburn, and David Boop. (Room 104 )
Sunday 10-11am “Great SF/fantasy/horror books” (Room 104)
Extra! Extra!
My first novel, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats is on sale at Amazon for $2.99.
Over at the League of Reluctant Adults, we had a lively discussion when Kevin Hearne wondered what to do about an especially snippy email from a reader, one that Kevin shared with us on the loop. Kevin's first reaction was to pen an especially nasty reply worthy of the sender's asshattediness. But we talked the gun out of Kevin's hand and calmed him down. Of course, when we send such a message, we expect the recipient to roll over and whimper, "Thank you so much for pointing out what worthless human being I am. Allow me to eat worms and grovel at your feet." But that doesn't happen. If nothing else, we'll get the bile spewed back by some waste of skin who has less to lose than any of us, so our response tends to be to ignore the fool.So how do you respond to crappy "fan mail" and lousy reviews? We in League shift through the bilge of our one-star reviews on Amazon. We critique our favorites on the League loop and wonder (not too hard) about the personal issues afflicting said reviewer. We speculate about their demented fetishes, usually involving farm animals, funnels, and the ingestion of various bodily fluids and excretions.
Since one factor that leads readers to your books are reviews, we have an interest in gathering as many positive reviews as possible. Elle Lothlorien regards her one-star reviewers as unsatisfied customers and engages them directly and in many cases the reviewer substitutes their poor review for a better one. (Which gets back to the League's position that a one-star review is less about the perceived quality of the book than it is the reviewer needing therapy.)
In the long run, how effective are reviews? The critics initially crapped all over F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and we see how that book got pushed into the literary Dumpster.
The top book right now on my TBR pile is Hammer of the Gods, The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis. In their review of LZ's first American tour, Rolling Stone wrote: "...they will have to find a producer, editor and some material worthy of their collective talents." We see how history gave that critic a well-deserved noogie.
You'll get no noogies at the ongoing Lighthouse LitFest. I'll be reading at their first ever book fair, Friday, 1:45PM, at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, 1515 Race St, Denver.
But if you get a noogie at Denver ComicCon 2012, it'll be done with a pencil or a space blaster.
Check me out next weekend at the Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver.
Saturday June 16, 4pm “Paranormal” with Tamela Buhrke, Jeanne Stein, Lynda Hilburn. (Hyatt Capitol Room 2)
Saturday 6pm “The State of Horror in this Pre-Apocalyptic Age" with Carrie Vaughn, Molly Tanzer, Lynda Hillburn, and David Boop. (Room 104 )
Sunday 10-11am “Great SF/fantasy/horror books” (Room 104)
Extra! Extra!
My first novel, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats is on sale at Amazon for $2.99.
Labels: Denver ComicCon, Led Zeppelin, LitFest, noogies
¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 11:57 AM 7 comments
