I thought it was about time for a roundup of current news in my writing world.
Firstly, the big news is that I have been asked to contribute to an anthology on the subject of siblings - one of whom must have a dark secret - that is to be part of Hersham Press's pentanth series, to be published in September 2012.
The other four writers involved are Richard Farren Barber, Stuart Hughes, Sam Stone and Simon Kurt Unsworth.
This is tremendously exciting for me, as it's the first time I've been approached to write something that's not been vetted or auditioned first. The fact that there's an assumption I can write something good enough to compete with these other marvellous writers is singularly thrilling and terrifying.
However, one obstacle at least has been overcome. I've got an idea for my story, and I'm already 3,000 words in to the first draft. So I have plenty of time to polish it up to publishable standard. She says confidently...
And what of other writing projects? Work on my short story collection SOUL SCREAMS continues apace, though its release date has been put back a little. We are now expecting the e-book and the print version to be released in June. I will reiterate this will available in print as well as electronic format. So all of you who keep saying you don't like e-books and prefer 'proper' books have no excuses with this one. A paper version will be available.
On top of all this, I still have my two WIP novels on the go - the second Shara book, and the new horror novel.
So already 2012 is proving to be a very busy year, and it's only just started!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
In Praise of Dragons
This is the Year of the Dragon. While my Chinese astrology sign is the sheep/goat, I have an affinity for dragons, so I'm excited about what 2012 has to bring (besides Mayan doom prophecies and a Venus Transit).
I love dragons. To me, they're powerful creatures who are guardians and protectors. Seven dragons share my office in various guises from a small glass statue to a wall-mounted dragon holding a dagger. I even have books on drawing dragons and dragon mythology. But I've yet to write a dragon-centric story. No doubt there's one lurking somewhere in my subconscious. When I do write that work-in-progress, I'll let you know. :-)
To celebrate the Year of the Dragon (and my love of animation), I found this PiLi puppet video via a fellow author. The stop motion animation is extraordinary and I love the puppet designs. (Note: To me, animation is an art form and I have a high degree of respect for it.) For those who don't know, PiLi is a puppet show from Taiwan made by Pili International Multimedia.
Please enjoy!
I love dragons. To me, they're powerful creatures who are guardians and protectors. Seven dragons share my office in various guises from a small glass statue to a wall-mounted dragon holding a dagger. I even have books on drawing dragons and dragon mythology. But I've yet to write a dragon-centric story. No doubt there's one lurking somewhere in my subconscious. When I do write that work-in-progress, I'll let you know. :-)
To celebrate the Year of the Dragon (and my love of animation), I found this PiLi puppet video via a fellow author. The stop motion animation is extraordinary and I love the puppet designs. (Note: To me, animation is an art form and I have a high degree of respect for it.) For those who don't know, PiLi is a puppet show from Taiwan made by Pili International Multimedia.
Please enjoy!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Writing Lesson #16: How To Be a Publicity Tart
Listening to old-school writers - those whose first book was published forty years ago - I get the impression that the publishing industry is very different these days to what it was. In the old days, once you sold your book, all you had to do was write the next one. The publishing company took care of all the marketing, all the promotion, all the sales. The book jackets didn't always have author pics, there was no Internet, and you could live a lifetime never knowing what your favourite author looked like.
Nowadays, things are different. Writers are expected to play a much more proactive part in promotion. A lot of the small independent publishers don't have PR departments. Even if your publisher does have marketing people in-house, they are going to expect you to put yourself about. Signing sessions, panel appearances, public interviews. Whatever it takes.
I often think that this state of affairs is pretty ironic, given that the act of writing means shutting yourself away, alone, for months at a time, and subsequently writers are, by nature, generally introverts. But the world has changed. At the very least, a writer is expected to have a web presence. I have met one or two that don't, but they tend to be the veteran brand of writer I mentioned earlier - those that had already established a name and and a readership well before the Internet revolution took hold.
For the rest of us, we need a website. And a blog. And a Twitter account. And a Facebook page. Whatever it takes to get our name Out There.
After all, the book being published is only the beginning. It has to sell. And how is it going to sell, unless people know about it? if the e-book revolution is making it easier to get your book published, it's also contributing to a very crowded market place. There are literally millions of books out there. How can you make the casual Amazon browser land on yours and want to buy it?
And this is where it's necessary to become a publicity tart. The Internet makes it easy to reach out to the world, and the more hits you have on the web, the more people will hear about your book.
So where should the aspiring publicity tart start? Get a website, if you haven't got one already. If you're completely ignorant of HTML code, like me, go with something like Weebly, which offers a user-friendly template with drag and drop features. Sign up, choose your template, decide which elements you want on your site, and off you go.
Start a blog. "But why would anyone want to read about my boring life?" I hear you say. It's human nature to be interested in other people's lives. That's why reality shows do so well. Just because something is boring and mundane to you, doesn't mean it's boring to everyone. I find my daily commute into London crashingly dull. But those who don't live in London are often interested in the little glimpses of London life that I experience on the train every day, and sometimes blog about.
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Librarything are all sites that offer you a way of reaching out to lots of people, all of whom could be potential readers, if they like the sound of your book. If you haven't got an Amazon author profile, set one of those up too. It costs nothing, and you can link all of your books to your account. So if your intrepid reader reads your latest book and enjoys it, she can visit your Amazon page to see what else you've written. And that gives her easy access to buying the rest.
Guest blogging is a very good way of promoting your own work whilst supporting other writers, too. If someone does a guest post on your blog, their fans will follow them to your blog. If you guest on someone else's blog, their existing followers will read your post, and they might decide to check our your blog, too. Everyone wins.
I would recommend getting some decent photos done. Remember what I was saying earlier about going years without ever knowing what your favourite author looks like? Those days are over. You could spend a fortune going to a professional studio, and in some ways this could be money well spent, as these studios include hair and make up artists in the price and you know you're going to look great in your pictures. But you don't have to spend loads of money. I went to a friend who's a semi-pro photographer. He charged me a reasonable fee, I did my own hair and make-up and went to his house with a couple of changes of clothing, and I came away with a good set of usable portrait shots. In fact, all of the images that I use online came from the same photo shoot. Once you have them done, you can use them over again, so every time you do an online interview and the interviewer asks for an author picture, you don't have to fret about not having a decent pic to use.
All of this might sound very exhausting. It's worth remembering that most social networking sites allow you to link to other social networking sites. So your post on Twitter will appear on Facebook, and on Amazon too. Your new blog post will appear on your Goodreads page and on your Facebook profile, and anywhere else you care to link it, too, so it reaches everyone at once without having to multiple post.
Does all this work actually make a difference? It's hard to say. Getting yourself 'Out There' is a very long, very slow process. It's now coming up to two years since the first novel was published, and I'm not exactly hitting the best-seller lists. Sales are decidedly modest, to say the least. But the average monthly sales for SUFFER THE CHILDREN in 2011 were roughly double what they were in 2010, so I think the hard work has made just a little bit of difference.
To check on my 'publicity tart' status, I periodically Google my name, just to see what comes up. There's quite a lot out there, actually. Not just the blog and the website, but every guest post and online interview I've ever done is still out there in Cyberspace, and comes back as a hit whenever someone does a search on my name.
Like it or not, publicity is part of the game for authors these days. Don't be afraid of it. Embrace your inner tart and put her to work. If only one reader decided to buy your book because she happened upon whilst surfing the internet, all the effort is worth it.
Nowadays, things are different. Writers are expected to play a much more proactive part in promotion. A lot of the small independent publishers don't have PR departments. Even if your publisher does have marketing people in-house, they are going to expect you to put yourself about. Signing sessions, panel appearances, public interviews. Whatever it takes.
I often think that this state of affairs is pretty ironic, given that the act of writing means shutting yourself away, alone, for months at a time, and subsequently writers are, by nature, generally introverts. But the world has changed. At the very least, a writer is expected to have a web presence. I have met one or two that don't, but they tend to be the veteran brand of writer I mentioned earlier - those that had already established a name and and a readership well before the Internet revolution took hold.
For the rest of us, we need a website. And a blog. And a Twitter account. And a Facebook page. Whatever it takes to get our name Out There.
After all, the book being published is only the beginning. It has to sell. And how is it going to sell, unless people know about it? if the e-book revolution is making it easier to get your book published, it's also contributing to a very crowded market place. There are literally millions of books out there. How can you make the casual Amazon browser land on yours and want to buy it?
And this is where it's necessary to become a publicity tart. The Internet makes it easy to reach out to the world, and the more hits you have on the web, the more people will hear about your book.
So where should the aspiring publicity tart start? Get a website, if you haven't got one already. If you're completely ignorant of HTML code, like me, go with something like Weebly, which offers a user-friendly template with drag and drop features. Sign up, choose your template, decide which elements you want on your site, and off you go.
Start a blog. "But why would anyone want to read about my boring life?" I hear you say. It's human nature to be interested in other people's lives. That's why reality shows do so well. Just because something is boring and mundane to you, doesn't mean it's boring to everyone. I find my daily commute into London crashingly dull. But those who don't live in London are often interested in the little glimpses of London life that I experience on the train every day, and sometimes blog about.
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Librarything are all sites that offer you a way of reaching out to lots of people, all of whom could be potential readers, if they like the sound of your book. If you haven't got an Amazon author profile, set one of those up too. It costs nothing, and you can link all of your books to your account. So if your intrepid reader reads your latest book and enjoys it, she can visit your Amazon page to see what else you've written. And that gives her easy access to buying the rest.
Guest blogging is a very good way of promoting your own work whilst supporting other writers, too. If someone does a guest post on your blog, their fans will follow them to your blog. If you guest on someone else's blog, their existing followers will read your post, and they might decide to check our your blog, too. Everyone wins.
I would recommend getting some decent photos done. Remember what I was saying earlier about going years without ever knowing what your favourite author looks like? Those days are over. You could spend a fortune going to a professional studio, and in some ways this could be money well spent, as these studios include hair and make up artists in the price and you know you're going to look great in your pictures. But you don't have to spend loads of money. I went to a friend who's a semi-pro photographer. He charged me a reasonable fee, I did my own hair and make-up and went to his house with a couple of changes of clothing, and I came away with a good set of usable portrait shots. In fact, all of the images that I use online came from the same photo shoot. Once you have them done, you can use them over again, so every time you do an online interview and the interviewer asks for an author picture, you don't have to fret about not having a decent pic to use.
All of this might sound very exhausting. It's worth remembering that most social networking sites allow you to link to other social networking sites. So your post on Twitter will appear on Facebook, and on Amazon too. Your new blog post will appear on your Goodreads page and on your Facebook profile, and anywhere else you care to link it, too, so it reaches everyone at once without having to multiple post.
Does all this work actually make a difference? It's hard to say. Getting yourself 'Out There' is a very long, very slow process. It's now coming up to two years since the first novel was published, and I'm not exactly hitting the best-seller lists. Sales are decidedly modest, to say the least. But the average monthly sales for SUFFER THE CHILDREN in 2011 were roughly double what they were in 2010, so I think the hard work has made just a little bit of difference.
To check on my 'publicity tart' status, I periodically Google my name, just to see what comes up. There's quite a lot out there, actually. Not just the blog and the website, but every guest post and online interview I've ever done is still out there in Cyberspace, and comes back as a hit whenever someone does a search on my name.
Like it or not, publicity is part of the game for authors these days. Don't be afraid of it. Embrace your inner tart and put her to work. If only one reader decided to buy your book because she happened upon whilst surfing the internet, all the effort is worth it.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
What's In A Name?
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet", Juliet says to Romeo, arguing against the notion that he has the name of a rival family.
I have to disagree with her on this point. Names are important. It's why I still insist on being Ms Townsend, even after getting married, and why I don't write under a pseudonym. I've been Sara Jayne Townsend for 42 years, and I'm not about to change now. I've played about with hyphenating the two names, and had a very brief spell, aged about 13, when I decided I preferred 'Sarah' to 'Sara'. But ultimately this is my name, and it might not be very special or significant, at least to anyone else, but it's mine, and it's part of what makes me who I am. With a different name, I'd feel like a different person.
The same can be said for character names. They must be chosen very carefully. I'm writing in the 'real' world, on the whole, so perhaps have an easier job than SF and fantasy writers, who have to make up names. But even so, much thought goes into character names. It's why a book of baby names lives on my shelf of writing reference books, in spite of the fact I am well known as a person with no interest whatsoever in having children.
Sometimes characters seem to name themselves, but the names that attach themselves to the characters conjure up connotations and aspects of how that character is developing in my mind. The young protagonist of SUFFER THE CHILDREN, Leanne, seemed to name herself without a great deal of thought from me. It's a name that to me conjures up connotations of a tough but vulnerable person. It's a fairly modern name, so it suited a young person. The character Carrie, on the ther hand, I purposefully named after a Stephen King novel, because I wanted to pay homage to a writer who has provided a great deal of inspiration to me for most of my writing life.
As for naming the boys, I have to say that when I write men - and I am of the opinion I'm not terribly good at writing men - I do tend to write about my ideal men, as I'm sure a lot of writers do. However, my concept of the ideal man is sensitive, intelligent, introverted and geeky, which pretty much describes Simon in SUFFER THE CHILDREN. The aggressive Alpha male is not a turn on for me. Give me a geek any day.
My first two serious adolescent crushes - the kind when you start writing their names in hearts all over the cover of your school exercise books - were, firstly Mark Hamill (I first saw Star Wars a month before my 13th birthday, and it was a revelation - up until then boys had largely been an alien species for me), and shortly afterwards, Simon Le Bon, when I first got into Duran Duran. So the names Simon and Mark have, to me, always suggested desirable men. No real surprise, then, that the hero of my first published novel is called Simon, and the hero of my current WIP horror novel is called Mark.
It's difficult, though, with names, especially when you're going with real-life ones, because sometimes people you know make the assumption that if you use their name in a book, you are basing the character on them. The horror WIP has characters called Helen, Mark and David. There are people with these names in the writing group, but I can say, in all honesty, that none of my characters are based on anyone in the writing group. If I do base characters on people in real life, I don't give them the same name as the real life person. For instance, the character of Jonathan in DEATH SCENE is based on a real person. But that person's name isn't Jonathan. And that's all I'm prepared to say on that subject.
Where do you get inspiration from for your character names?
I have to disagree with her on this point. Names are important. It's why I still insist on being Ms Townsend, even after getting married, and why I don't write under a pseudonym. I've been Sara Jayne Townsend for 42 years, and I'm not about to change now. I've played about with hyphenating the two names, and had a very brief spell, aged about 13, when I decided I preferred 'Sarah' to 'Sara'. But ultimately this is my name, and it might not be very special or significant, at least to anyone else, but it's mine, and it's part of what makes me who I am. With a different name, I'd feel like a different person.
The same can be said for character names. They must be chosen very carefully. I'm writing in the 'real' world, on the whole, so perhaps have an easier job than SF and fantasy writers, who have to make up names. But even so, much thought goes into character names. It's why a book of baby names lives on my shelf of writing reference books, in spite of the fact I am well known as a person with no interest whatsoever in having children.
Sometimes characters seem to name themselves, but the names that attach themselves to the characters conjure up connotations and aspects of how that character is developing in my mind. The young protagonist of SUFFER THE CHILDREN, Leanne, seemed to name herself without a great deal of thought from me. It's a name that to me conjures up connotations of a tough but vulnerable person. It's a fairly modern name, so it suited a young person. The character Carrie, on the ther hand, I purposefully named after a Stephen King novel, because I wanted to pay homage to a writer who has provided a great deal of inspiration to me for most of my writing life.
As for naming the boys, I have to say that when I write men - and I am of the opinion I'm not terribly good at writing men - I do tend to write about my ideal men, as I'm sure a lot of writers do. However, my concept of the ideal man is sensitive, intelligent, introverted and geeky, which pretty much describes Simon in SUFFER THE CHILDREN. The aggressive Alpha male is not a turn on for me. Give me a geek any day.
My first two serious adolescent crushes - the kind when you start writing their names in hearts all over the cover of your school exercise books - were, firstly Mark Hamill (I first saw Star Wars a month before my 13th birthday, and it was a revelation - up until then boys had largely been an alien species for me), and shortly afterwards, Simon Le Bon, when I first got into Duran Duran. So the names Simon and Mark have, to me, always suggested desirable men. No real surprise, then, that the hero of my first published novel is called Simon, and the hero of my current WIP horror novel is called Mark.
It's difficult, though, with names, especially when you're going with real-life ones, because sometimes people you know make the assumption that if you use their name in a book, you are basing the character on them. The horror WIP has characters called Helen, Mark and David. There are people with these names in the writing group, but I can say, in all honesty, that none of my characters are based on anyone in the writing group. If I do base characters on people in real life, I don't give them the same name as the real life person. For instance, the character of Jonathan in DEATH SCENE is based on a real person. But that person's name isn't Jonathan. And that's all I'm prepared to say on that subject.
Where do you get inspiration from for your character names?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Musing About Mysteries
About a week ago, I came across some old radio episodes of Philip Marlowe. Why yes, another distraction, along with Facebook, Twitter... Kidding!
I'm totally into mysteries lately. But I'd never read the masters of the genre so I decided to remedy that. Went to the library and checked out Dashiell Hammett (Maltese Falcon), a Raymond Chandler omnibus, a Ross MacDonald omnibus, Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express), and Ngaio Marsh (Light Thickens). Although it wasn't part of my library list, I happened across Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla and 12 Other Classic Tales.
I see Bouchercon will be in Cleveland this year. Now if I could just sell enough books to be able to go. :-) Killer Nashville is another con I'd like to go to this year (re: mystery cons).
Would be even better if The Ripper's Daughter had a publishing contract, too. Maybe it's not so much a paranormal mystery as paranormal suspense. But so far I haven't wanted to run over my characters with a tank carrier. And believe me, after rewrites, retooling characters' motivations & goals, and generally upending a story, I'm ready to kill off all my characters. LOL
Still writing the urban fantasies. Horror, fantasy, and mystery/suspense have always been my favorite genres. I know some people think you should only focus on one genre. I say write the stories you want to write.
Will I succeed at writing mysteries? Hell if I know. But when has that ever stopped me before?
I'm totally into mysteries lately. But I'd never read the masters of the genre so I decided to remedy that. Went to the library and checked out Dashiell Hammett (Maltese Falcon), a Raymond Chandler omnibus, a Ross MacDonald omnibus, Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express), and Ngaio Marsh (Light Thickens). Although it wasn't part of my library list, I happened across Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla and 12 Other Classic Tales.
I see Bouchercon will be in Cleveland this year. Now if I could just sell enough books to be able to go. :-) Killer Nashville is another con I'd like to go to this year (re: mystery cons).
Would be even better if The Ripper's Daughter had a publishing contract, too. Maybe it's not so much a paranormal mystery as paranormal suspense. But so far I haven't wanted to run over my characters with a tank carrier. And believe me, after rewrites, retooling characters' motivations & goals, and generally upending a story, I'm ready to kill off all my characters. LOL
Still writing the urban fantasies. Horror, fantasy, and mystery/suspense have always been my favorite genres. I know some people think you should only focus on one genre. I say write the stories you want to write.
Will I succeed at writing mysteries? Hell if I know. But when has that ever stopped me before?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Prep work
I've been in a kind of "project limbo" for a while, with most of my writing being on my serial. I had a few ideas kicking around in my head and it looks like I've finally settled on a story. Or perhaps I should say, a story has settled on me. Of course, the one I’m going with is the one I thought I would put off until I felt more ready to handle it.
The working title is FreakTown and it's very different from anything else I've written, except for having magic as the paranormal element. It's futuristic, dystopian, romance, and has a plot straight out of noir. (Somewhere in the story someone is going to say to the main male character, "Forget it, Nate, it's FreakTown." Just because.) I've already done a lot of world-building and written just shy of ten thousand words, and the need for an actual outline has presented itself. Normally I'm a pantser but with the kind of twists and turns I want for this story, an outline is going to be necessary. Right now I'm momentarily paused on the writing so I can work out more plot details. I'm also thinking of doing some characterization exercises so I can have a better handle on my characters, especially the two main ones. By this I mean, opening up a doc and rambling about their background, what they want, what they're afraid of, strengths, weaknesses, and since I relate to music so well figuring out a playlist for each one.
This is going to be the most challenging thing I've ever written. The world-building, the complexity of the plot, the emotional depth - in just about every way, it's going to be harder. At some point, I think you have to do that. You can stay at a level that's comfortable, or you can decide it's time to level up. I can't say if every writer recognizes when it's time to challenge themselves. It wasn't some cosmic signal that told me, you're ready to take your writing to another level. Because I don't know if I am ready. But the desire is certainly there. The desire is very much there. I figure this will either result in a really good book that might actually have some success, or it will blow up in my face and I'll trunk it. Hopefully the former.
Back to the practical. I think that when you're starting a story that you know is going to be really challenging it's a good idea to give yourself a solid base to jump from. All the world-building I've done helps with that and so should the character exercises. It may not sound as romantic as the idea of a writer pouring a story out with no planning, but the truth is I'm tired of not knowing what a book is about until I've written two-thirds of it.
So I'm off to outline my twisty plot and ramble about my characters.
The working title is FreakTown and it's very different from anything else I've written, except for having magic as the paranormal element. It's futuristic, dystopian, romance, and has a plot straight out of noir. (Somewhere in the story someone is going to say to the main male character, "Forget it, Nate, it's FreakTown." Just because.) I've already done a lot of world-building and written just shy of ten thousand words, and the need for an actual outline has presented itself. Normally I'm a pantser but with the kind of twists and turns I want for this story, an outline is going to be necessary. Right now I'm momentarily paused on the writing so I can work out more plot details. I'm also thinking of doing some characterization exercises so I can have a better handle on my characters, especially the two main ones. By this I mean, opening up a doc and rambling about their background, what they want, what they're afraid of, strengths, weaknesses, and since I relate to music so well figuring out a playlist for each one.
This is going to be the most challenging thing I've ever written. The world-building, the complexity of the plot, the emotional depth - in just about every way, it's going to be harder. At some point, I think you have to do that. You can stay at a level that's comfortable, or you can decide it's time to level up. I can't say if every writer recognizes when it's time to challenge themselves. It wasn't some cosmic signal that told me, you're ready to take your writing to another level. Because I don't know if I am ready. But the desire is certainly there. The desire is very much there. I figure this will either result in a really good book that might actually have some success, or it will blow up in my face and I'll trunk it. Hopefully the former.
Back to the practical. I think that when you're starting a story that you know is going to be really challenging it's a good idea to give yourself a solid base to jump from. All the world-building I've done helps with that and so should the character exercises. It may not sound as romantic as the idea of a writer pouring a story out with no planning, but the truth is I'm tired of not knowing what a book is about until I've written two-thirds of it.
So I'm off to outline my twisty plot and ramble about my characters.
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