All About Writers & Books
- This week’s highlight was an interview with fellow Wicked Writer Gregory Marshall Smith over at Labotomy of a Writer. I finished reading They Call the Wild Muryah and Greg is quite the new talent in Sci Fi writing. The eBook is free on Smashwords and well worth the read!
- There’s an awesome new feature over at Book Chick City. A kinda Cribs for writers that features their writing space. This week, Where Stories Are Made: Tim Waggoner. Haven’t read his books, but they look pretty darn good, so Nekropolis also ended up in my reading queue.
- Over at Writing is About Putting Yourself to Words, How does an unknown author become a Kindle bestseller? Perseverance.
- I’m a new fan of Mark Henry, and he guest blogged over at Vampire Wire this week.
- And, I’ve got to support a Colorado writer in Guest Blog, Chat and Contest with Author Mario Acevedo over at Bitten by Books.
- Book reviews that caught my eye this week, and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:
- Kalayna Price’s Once Bitten and Twice Dead sure have gotten some mixed reviews. Still, I think I might give ‘em a try.
- I’ve got high hopes for the hero type I’ve been looking for in this review of Defeat the Darkness. But I’ll be starting with Dark Protector, the first in the Paladins of Darkness series.
- Bible Black because, “Clearly, it’s not for the easily offended. Really, really not.”
- Not new, but the Mageworlds series looks awfully good. I might have to move these one to the top of my read list.
- Being a girl from “sweet home Chicago,” I had to put the first in the Chicagoland Vampire series in my queue base on the review of Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill over at Bitten by Books
- And last but not least, Darkness on the Edge of Town.
- Don’t miss these every week:
- Nicole Hadaway’s movie & book reviews over at her All Things Smart & Scary blog. Nicole guest blogged for us this week over at the Wicked Writer’s Blog. And, Nicole finished the first draft of Return, her sequel to Release and I’m so excited for her.
- Win on Wednesday on All Things Urban Fantasy.
All About Writing & Publishing
- Whoa There, eBook Writer contains some excellent advice for writers and was probably my favorite post this week.
- Authors Who Don’t Read, doesn’t seem like a reality. What do you think about it?
- How are Multiple Book Deal Advances says it all in the title. Now I need to get one.
- Persistence, a little something I could use so far this year. You also might want to read What I Learned from My 3 Favorite Authors.
- Tips for Developing Character Voice from Dee Garretson over at Livia Blackburne blog reminds us writers each character not only has something different to say, they say it differently.
- Social Media Networking – Is It Working? from a writer’s perspective.
Other Blog Tours
- Literary Agent, Nathan Bransford’s This Week in Publishing post is a blog tour of sorts. I still haven’t gotten to all the links and it was posted last Friday. And, don’t miss his post Don’t Believe eBook Skeptics.
And…this week I added the following blogs to my watch list: Fantasy Literature & Paranormal Haven. If you’d like me to check out your blog, add a comment below and include a link.
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Very good news. I started writing the second Courier book last week. Not so good news. I have so much editing to do on the first book my head is spinning. Still it felt soooo wonderful to start the next book on my hand held recorder while walking the dogs. I’m going to leave it to an hour a day on the recorder, so I can really think through the storyline in book two and catch up on editing the first.
Cold/flu virus #4 of 2010 has invaded our home. So far I haven’t gotten sick, and am doing all the Voo Doo spells I can, short of signing a contract with Margery, to keep it out of my system. 
Now on to my Monday morning whine… Last night I started reading yet another romance novel that depicts the male figure as a womanizing beast. Now I haven’t read many romance novels because they’ve never really been my cup of tea. But recently I had a few paranormal romance authors highly recommended to me. So what the heck, I ordered them up from the library and away I read. I got 100 pages into the one I read last night and threw it to the side, sickened by the set up of a relationship between the heroine and an archangel who was more like a fallen angel. This was another novel where I got to a point I had to ask, how was the author hurt by men and projecting her own experiences into the story.
I’ve had absolutely wonderful men in my life who would fight to the death for me. That’s the sort of guy I like reading about. Prince Charming, who will come and rescue me. Although we watched the Shrek movies over the weekend, and Prince Charming in those movies is even a bastard. Is the strong male figure in romance novels dead? Are we women alone in saving ourselves?
This week’s posts over at the Wicked Writer’s blog were all about where we are in regards to publishing our latest works. It was my week for the guest blogger, so I thought it only appropriate we have a publisher join us. I did an interview the Gaynor Stenson of Vamplit Publishing in two parts. Part 1 was about her company and their approach to publishing. In Part 2 she provided valuable information for writers seeking to publish their novel and changes in the publishing industry.
Read the other writer’s opinions:
- C. J. Ellison, Publish Your Passion
- Greg Marshall Smith, Where am I? On the Road to Hard Knocks
- Supriya Savkoor, Switching to My Editor Hat
All About Writers & Books
- I really enjoyed Fairy Tales Gone Naughty over at Book Junkie because I’ve dabbled in writing a few of my own. This week wrapped up with guest posts by Brenna Lyons and Natasha Moore
- If you’re looking for new releases, check out New Vampire Books for March 2010. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith looks really interesting and FUN!
- Fellow writers, read some good news over at C.J.’s Daily Grind to remind yourself that the path is not always a difficult one. CONGRATS on all your success, C.J.
- More from Ian LeWinter over at Overbury Ink in Why We Write, Part 4. And if you missed Part 1 & Part 2 & Part 3.
- Book reviews that caught my eye this week, and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:
- Wished I could have added Dark Legion by Isabella Jordan, reviewed on Bitten by Books, but it’s not on GoodReads.
- This review of Blood Cross by Faith Hunter over at Book Lovers, Inc read good enough that I put the first in the series, Skinwalker, in my queue.
- I’ve seen the book cover to Shift, by Rachel Vincent everywhere this past week. Does that mean I should read the Shifters series? Will I like it or hate it? So I decided to take a moment and read the interview with the author over at Fantasy Literature. Nothing really grabbed me hard about the series, but I did go ahead and put Stray in my to-read list. The reviews are all over the place though, so this one will get ordered up from the library.
- Angelology, and if you hurry, you can enter to win a free copy.
- Don’t miss these every week:
- Nicole Hadaway’s movie & book reviews over at her All Things Smart & Scary.
- Win on Wednesday on All Things Urban Fantasy.
All About Writing & Publishing
- One of my favorite posts this week was Contests and My Tedious Ramblings About E-Piracy & Publishers’ Websites over at Vampire Wire. I suggest you read through the comments as well.
- I had to chuckle a little reading Seven Questions You Should Never Ask a Writer over at Storytellers Unplugged.
- A link to All About Sequels came to me from Supriya Savkoor, fellow Wicked Writer. I enjoyed his post as well as a few older ones, and sure hope I don’t have acute sequelitis. He sure opened my eyes to the publishing industries take on new writers publishing serial novels.
- This scares me: How Publishers Can Use Virtual Currency
Other Blog Tours
- Wasn’t sure I’d find one this week, but WOW came through. Bonnie Hearn Hill, YA author of Aries Rising, launches her blog tour! Doesn’t see look a little like Frasier’s agent, what was her name? Bebee?
And…this week I added the following blogs to my watch list: Bookgasm, Nathan Bransford-Literary Agent. If you’d like me to check out your blog, add a comment below and include a link.
Okay, I actually started this week’s whine on Tuesday, just one day after last week’s whine, when I woke up from a nap realizing I was iron and B12 anemic, again. I forced myself into an adrenalin rush to get my index cards done and suffered the rest of the week as a result of it.
First of all, I think this behavior is something we women do really well, especially when we have small children. Second, we get so good at it, to the point it becomes a habit. But in my case, mixing it with the anemia is a recipe for too many crash and burns. I ain’t doing it anymore.
A couple weeks ago I whined about needing more exercise and a better diet. I’m extending that plan to meditation. About four years ago I meditated, a lot. It’s what helped me realize how out of whack my physical body had gotten, and sent me on the path to finding out I have Celiac’s Disease. At that time I slowed, then stopped mediating to concentrate 100% on my physical health and here I am today.
I’d also like to whine about today being March 1st already, and I’m still screwing around with the first book of The Courier. It’s like someone just slapped me across the face with a cactus. ARGH!!
Side note. I’m loving picking the pictures of whinny kids and baby’s every week. There’s certainly plenty of ‘em, and today’s little guy is especially adorable.
This week’s posts over at the Wicked Writer’s blog were all about writing dialog. My post was about writing for a memorable performance.
Read the other writer’s opinions:
- C. J. Ellison, When Life is Like Seinfeld
- Greg Marshall Smith, did he just say “intercourse”?
- Supriya Savkoor, “This Story Needs Some dialogue,” She Gasped
- Steve Liskow, Make ‘em Talk the Talk
All About Writers & Books
- I really enjoyed this interview with Pamela Samuels Young over at Book Junkie, especially when she talks about trying to get people to critique her first novel.
- New Way of Book Reviewing was good for a chuckle. It’s one student’s comparison of ‘Titanic’ and ‘My Life’ by Bill Clinton.
- Where have I been hiding? I’m wondering because I’ve run into quite a few book reviews lately, like Defeat the Darkness and Spider Bite, that seem like they’d make better comic books or graphic novels.
- Book reviews that caught my eye this week and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:
- Over at Paranormal Haven a review of Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This is an old book and first in a series I might get hooked on.
- Don’t forget to check out the regulars:
- Nicole Hadaway’s Writer Wednesday over at her Vampire Blogspot.
- More from Ian LeWinter over at Overbury Ink in Why We Write, Part 3. And if you missed Part 1 & Part 2.
All About Writing & Publishing
- Kristin over at the Pub Rants blog brings up some interesting points on required contract verbiage changes due to the whole evolution of eBooks. This post is specifically about publishers holding reserves on eBook editions.
- Social Networking for Authors: Tips from Margo L. Dill. Title says it all.
Other Blog Tours
- WTFckery or Not, You Decide is sort of a blog tour of bizarre stuff.
And…this week I added the following blogs to my watch list: Book Junkie & Query Shark.
I didn’t think I had anything to whine about this week until I put together a list of suggestions for the Wicked Writer’s second quarter blog topics. I mentioned that writing about writing was getting boring in my email to the group. And in my post last Friday, I projected bored. C.J. mentioned I started whining three weeks ago, and I hadn’t realized it until I went back and read the post Rebel Writer without a Cause. Oops! I guess the title even reeks of it. But everyone is in agreement that we’ll start writing more for readers as well, so hopefully my bad attitude will cease. So sorry fellow bloggers and readers.
On a more positive note, Betty Crocker makes an AWESOME gluten-free brownie. My main issue with other mixes has been the consistency being more like a cake. Sorry, but brownies need to be oowie gooie. Even the other non-Celiac’s in the house had kind words to say about the brownies. I’ve tried all the other new gluten free baked goods by Betty Crocker and so far I’m pretty impressed. So kudos to Betty and no whining here.
This week’s posts over at the Wicked Writer’s blog were all about crossing genres. My post explores subgenres, dark fantasy, splatterpunk and cow mutilations. We also had our third guest blogger this week, Heidi Noroozy, a multi-cultural mystery writer born in Iran.
Read the other writer’s opinions:
- C. J. Ellison, Cross Genre = Where Do We Put Your Book
- Greg Marshall Smith, Hey, Some of My Best Stories are Mixed
- Steve Liskow, A Spoonful of Romance Makes the Violence Go Round
All About Writers & Books
- I found Guest Blog: DSB on What is Dark Urban Fantasy? interesting but still left me a little in the dark, wondering if The Courier falls into this genre. Also drop by All Things Urban Fantasy for Win on Wednesday, a list published weekly containing urban fantasy contests and giveaways.
- Found another book I had to buy in an interview with Keith Melton, author of Blood Vice over at Book Lovers, Inc. Let’s just say they had me at “Vampire Mafia story,” so I dropped by Keith’s website to read the first chapter. Bought it for the Kindle.
- Don’t forget to check out the regulars:
- Nicole Hadaway’s Writer Wednesday over at her Vampire Blogspot. I just finished reading Release, Nicole’s first published novel about vampires, werewolves and demons in the middle of Nazi Germany. Look for a book review soon.
- More from Ian LeWinter over at Overbury Ink in Why We Write Part 1 & Part 2.
All About Writing & Publishing
- Had to add my two cents over at Defining Perfect Distraction on the WOW blog. It was the first post that jumped out at me yesterday morning with good reason. I’m seriously in distraction mode with my own work, especially while I try to figure out some of the evil side of The Courier.
- Fellow Wicked Writer, Steve Liskow guest blogged over at KD Easley’s blog this week.
- Tambra over at Writers Gone Wild asks Do You Have a Snoozy Muse? She used to teach a class on the subject and provides some excellent advice.
And…this week I added the following blogs to my watch list: Vampire Librarian,
