Possible Blog Ideas for 2020 Unless Nothing Works

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m With Snoopy

I’ve been wondering a lot about what I’m going to do on the blog next year.  Some things have ended like ‘Bedlam’ and others really don’t work like interviews.  I’m having a lot of trouble thinking up Ye Olde Shoppe ideas lately too.  It doesn’t help that I’ve covered so many topics (some multiple times) that I keep running into copies when I check to see if I have a new idea.  This means it’s going to get dicey for a bit.

On the other hand, I will be using Thursdays to put up sections of a book I wrote in high school and it’s sequel.  These are the ‘Immortal Wars’ books and you’ll be able to see how different they are from what I do now.  Might be good for a weekly laugh.  Beyond this addition, I’m toying with a few other ideas:

  1. I have those 100 monsters for a possible series and I can occasionally make a post where I create 2-3 of them.  I have none of them in mind right now.  Thought about using some from Monster Maker, but they didn’t really sit with how I saw the adventure going.  I’ll have to check to see if any can be used for that.
  2. There are plenty of ideas that I have, which I might share on the blog for some feedback.  This would include that monster story and a variety of organization short story collections.  Not so much an origin, but ideas that are currently in the mental workshop.  (Mental Workshop might be what I call it.)
  3. Character origins is another topic, but I will have to go with those who haven’t turned up in books yet.  It would be spoiler free, of course.  This would include characters like Sin, Darwin Slepsnor, Ryusuke, the Project Phoenix crew, and a variety of others.  This can also help me jog my memory on the ideas that I haven’t been able to touch on since the divorce started.
  4. Speaking of Project Phoenix . . . I might dedicate a month where the Fridays involve this series.  I constantly have trouble with it because I can’t figure out exactly where I want to go.  Many changes have been made and it’s absorbed several other stories like Savior, The Psi-Child Saga, Starlets, Rose of the Damned, Jack, Gearhead Princess, Experiments and Ninja Never Wins.  Maybe this will be tackled next Sunday and I can get some focus on what to do next year.  After all, I don’t have a plan for February and that’s a short month, so I can dedicate a chunk of it to this headache.

I’m always willing to take requests too.  Beyond that, this is the plan.  If you can call it that.

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A Day in the Life of… Johann Conrad Dippel #Meetacharacter #Bundles #Frankenstein

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

eranamage's avatarLibrary of Erana

A Day in the Life of Johann Conrad Dippel (the real-life inspiration for Dr. Frankenstein)

(As told to DeAnna Knippling)

*Who are you?

Tell us about an average day in your life. I am an investigator of great renown, among those who study the chemical and esoteric elements.  My patron is Conrad Reiz, Baron Frankenstein.  Although he does not live in the castle here, he highly values my work.  Not many people have the intelligence needed to do so.  As far as what I do on any given day, it should be enough for you to know that I have the most rigorous practices, and do not stoop to equivocate my results.

Are you a lark or a night owl? I am a man, and do what it is necessary for men to do, regardless of the hour.

Do you have your own dwelling? If so, do you own…

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A 3-Day Weekend To Wri . . . Is It the Thought that Counts Here? (Big, Angry Rant Because I Think I’m About Done)

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

(This post started comically and with good humor, but then it took a big turn.  You’ll see why.)

Last weekend was fun with the little guy around.  I managed to finish a chapter section that was in limbo last Saturday and that was pretty much where my writing life ended for the rest of the week.  Promised some video game time with my son if he did extra reading and finished his drum practice without a problem.  Put together a big LEGO set, jumped in the leaves, and found a hiding place for a moth that he found in the leaves.  That was the whole weekend, so no time for writing.

Now, I have a 3-day weekend and my son is with his mother, which means starting Friday night-

Never mind.  I have a get together with some coworkers and I’ve had to miss the last few attempts, so I’m definitely there.  That means on Saturday morning-

Due to a situation, I have my son for Friday night and that means getting him to his Saturday morning classes.  This situation meant I couldn’t write on Wednesday and Thursday night either, but extra son time.  At least I have Saturday afternoon-

A friend needs help packing and moving stuff.  I’d feel like an asshole if I left them in the lurch for my writing.  So, Saturday is out unless I write at night.  There’s Sunday when-

A role-playing game that my friend has been trying to gather people for is supposed to happen.  I still get the morning for a little, but there’s laundry time needed.  No afternoon or evening, but I’ve got Monday . . . Anything?

That’s pretty much the way things went this week.  I thought I’d get a few writing nights in, but things kept going wrong.  I was depending on the 3-day weekend, which has shrunk from a 3 chapter weekend to 1-1.5 at best.  I’m going to enjoy the party, the game, and helping my friend, but it does feel like something always comes up when I put away some writing time.  The next big chance I have to write is the last week in December when I’m off from work and my son is with his mom.  Unfortunately, my room is set to be painted, so I’m losing my writing space. I need to help with the painting too, which could take the entire week.  That brings it from a 5-7 chapter week to a . . . I’m starting to see why some authors became recluses.

Seriously, I know people are going to say to carve out what little time I can get or that I’ll get some free . . . WHY AM I GETTING RAPID FIRE TEXTED BY EVERYONE AT IT’S NIGHTTIME?!  You see what I have to deal with here?  I can’t even write a post without there being a barrage from people.  In this situation, one I understand because I started the conversation.  The other is something that isn’t urgent.  This is a really rough situation too because I don’t want to be antisocial or leave people in a bad spot.  Yet, I’m starting to put myself in a bad spot in terms of writing.  Nothing gets done.  No progress is being made unless you count backwards.  The last 5-6 years are going to rot because I can’t do anything else.  There is no positive here because an author who can’t write isn’t much of an author.  I know I do these rants every weekend, but for FUCKS SAKE I can’t get a damn break!  By the time I get free time, I’m too exhausted or sick to do anything.  The fact that a full week of my break has already been claimed feels like the universe wants me to shatter and become some soulless drone.  Why do I even try to believe that 2020 will be any different since NOTHING will be different with my situation?  Hell, I think it’s actually starting to get worse because now NOBODY on this side of the computer takes me seriously as an author.  If I’m not talking about my teaching career then they don’t want to hear about it.

I found this at a liquor store this week and will probably buy it at some point:

That’s a real thing for about $35.  Think I’ll buy it, gradually finish it off, and then refill the bottle with saltwater.  Unless I can cry enough to refill it with actual tears.  Unless a big break happens with little to no action on my part, I starting to think I’m fooling myself at this point.

Goals of the week?  I got nothing.  What’s the point anyway?  It isn’t like I’ll hit any of the writing ones and the rest are given.

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Questions 3: Your Blogging Journey

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

I tried to do another Ye Olde Shoppe skit, but it wasn’t working.  Fearing that the well has gone dry on those topics.  At least for a while since you need something you can give a lot of options for.  I found that blogging didn’t have the same impact as fantasy steeds, unique pets, houses, or whatever else I’ve done.  I did begin thinking about how we can share advice and experience for blogging.  I’ve given my thoughts so far, but I want to open up the floor.  The questions will hopefully focus the answers because we all know that we can run wild with this topic.

  1. What advice would you give your younger self right before they began blogging?
  2. What is something that you couldn’t get to work on your blog?
  3. How much has your blog changed from its initial conception?
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Derailing Bedlam: Murder Gods Part 3 #fiction #adventure

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

As usual, here is your warning that this story has cursing, sex (not graphic), innuendo, and violence.  It’s my Rated-R action adventure called Derailing Bedlam.  This is the fourth outing (third official) for Cassidy and Lloyd, so feel free to click on one of the two covers to see how it started.  Each one is 99 cents!

Cover by Jon Hunsinger

Cover Art by Jon Hunsinger

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Continue reading →

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Thursday – A Little Personal – Serang – A New Book by C.S. Boyack

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

John W. Howell's avatarFiction Favorites

“I see we have Lisa Burton in the house.”
“Yes, kids. So you have the day off.”

Craig and Lisa Craig’s Bust and Lisa

I am very pleased to again welcome Lisa Burton who as you know is C.S.Boyack’s Personal Assistant. She is also the host of Lisa Burton Radio on most Thursdays. Here is a link to the last show. Lisa is here to talk about C.S. Boyack’s latest book

So, Welcome to Fiction Favorites, Lisa.

Hi, John. Always a pleasure to visit you during these book tours. Craig has a new book out, and this one ties into the Lanternfish trilogy. But it isn’t part of the trilogy, if that makes sense.

Let me try again. Serang was a popular character in Voyage of the Lanternfish. Her origin is pretty amazing, and Craig decided to turn that into a book. It supports the Lanternfish trilogy, but isn’t part of the…

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7 Tips to Blogging: You Would Think I’d Have a Category for These Things By Now

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m not going to talk about how to make money off your blog.  If I knew how to do that then I wouldn’t be where I am now.  This is all about how to enjoy and stretch your blog to the point of mild success.  Okay, tiny success . . . I make no promises.  With that being said:

  1. What works for one blogger, might not work for you.  This doesn’t mean to avoid things, but don’t get upset if you copy someone and it fails.  Maybe people notice you copied and compared it unfavorably to the original.  Perhaps you missed a few key points in the delivery or it doesn’t match up with your theme and style.  Never be afraid to put such post types down and only go back if you think you figured out the problem.  Although, you might want to return only a few times if it keeps failing.  Don’t want to be seen as a glutton for disaster.
  2. Open the door to as much as your life as you feel comfortable.  I’ve been told by many to throw everything into the light, but that doesn’t work out very well.  You can end up pulling in friends and family members who would prefer not to be hinted at on your blog.  That leads to drama, which you’ll put on your blog, make things worse, and continue the cycle because you get a ton of hits.  Seriously, think before you share because there are consequences.
  3. If you’re running out of topic ideas then try to get some public input.  This helps with interactions and makes you more relatable.  It will reveal some topics that you might have overlooked as well.  This can also show you how many people are paying attention as you get a request for something you’ve written about 5 times over the last year.  Some people might be new and missed them.  Others might have forgotten.  Either way, you need to decide on politely skipping or finding another avenue to touch on it for a 6th time.
  4. Be careful changing the physical theme of your blog.  The wallpaper and header is one thing.  Those are designed to change around at times.  When you swap out an entire theme, you might find that some of the toys you liked about the previous one are no longer available.  Gets worse if you learn that you can’t go back because they took that other theme away.  Not all themes are created equal and you can knock yourself back to square one in terms of design if you’re not careful.
  5. Use your blog as a hub for other social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and whatever else is there.  This keeps you active on all of them . . . Except Facebook, which no longer allows WordPress posts to show up for some people.  At least you might get a few curious guests with the others.  That is unless the LinkedIn connection is lost for the 10th time this month.  Does anybody use Tumblr any more?  It’s the thought that counts here.
  6. Do not think that every comment in the spam folder is spam.  Yes, the porn, medication, sneakers, porn, gibberish, porn, badly written offers, porn, porn, and porn are obvious problems.  Yet, you might have a new face hidden in there.  Older ones can be randomly shunted there too because only Cthulhu knows the requirements for banishment.  Just be careful and accept that technology can be a pain.
  7. Go to other blogs and comment.  This is really important at the beginning when you have no followers.  You can learn more about the platform such as picture usage, tags, categories, and whatever else the veterans are willing to share.  Eventually, you will find yourself in their shoes, so you better be ready to give sage advice.  That or shrug and admit that you have no idea what you’re doing.
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How to Back-up your Manuscript Easily and for Free

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

Harmony Kent's avatarStory Empire

Hello SErs. Harmony here. It always saddens me beyond measure when I read that a fellow author has lost all their hard work due to a computer failure, lost laptop, or any number of other reasons. While I have an Airport Capsule attached to my Apple Mac, I also ensure that I back-up my work another way too. Just in case. After all, the Capsule is hardware that will one day fail.

So, how do I give myself an easy and free back-up of my manuscript?

I email a copy to myself. Any basic Word file isn’t going to take up that much room on your server and will send quickly. If, like me, you use Scrivener, you will find that far too bulky a file to try and email. My work-around is to compile to a Word doc and then email that to myself. I let the email sit…

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Dirty Dozen Author Interview – L L Thomsen #Meetanauthor #Fantasy

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

eranamage's avatarLibrary of Erana

Author name: L. L. Thomsen

*Please tell us about your publications.

I write character-led high medieval fantasy with a good slash of epic. I am working on a series titled, The Missing Shield – originally one large book that has been split into 11 episodes in order to make the workload more manageable. The 8th book (titled: All in a Day’s Work) is out now, and I am currently working on book 9. What you get in my books is lots of flawed characters that you may not feel quite sure about in the beginning. There’s magic, mystery, darkness, crime, plots, romance, backstabbing, manoeuvring, different races, and an end-of-the-world kinda deadline & quest.  I enjoy painting an immersive picture of the world I write about, so expect lots of depth and world-building. I try not to hold back and I try to write as close to real life as…

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Revisiting Legends: Sari the Soul Scarred Gypsy #fantasy #adventure

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

Sari entered Legends of Windemere with a vicious impact.  She comes from a nomadic people who are called gypsies.  This is the fantasy version where they are almost thief-like, but I never got far into the culture.  Mostly because Sari clan was attacked and slaughtered in the Prologue of her debut book.  She escaped only to be captured, handed over to a vampire, and put through a nightmarish life until Luke and Nyx stumbled onto her during their own adventure.  This is where things changed from the paper version.

I should point out something from the beginning.  Like the other champions, Sari was in the Dungeons & Dragons game.  She started up a relationship with Luke Callindor and  then . . . the player left college after most of a semester.  This left Sari in limbo, which was a challenge because she’d already been revealed as essential to the prophecy.  She spent the rest of her time either captured, comatose, or quietly following the group.  Due to being barely there in the game, I only had that first adventure to work with when it came to the books.  Honestly, I don’t even remember if the clan slaughtering was part of the game or something I added. Unfortunately, this didn’t really work in Sari’s favor and I kind of regret that.

Being a champion fueled by love, Sari spends a lot of her time being involved in the groups’ relationships.  She’s either struggling with being the third member of the Luke and Kira open relationship or meddling in Nyx’s love life.  This leads to more heartbreak and pain for her, but she never really dulls in power.  Sari always manages to find a new source of love to gain energy from even though she doesn’t notice this power.  It took me until near the end of the series to figure out why, but I don’t think it ever came across because she never learned this herself.  Another downside to Sari is that she is so focused on the outside world that she doesn’t really look at her internal world unless plagued by visions and spirits.

The thing I realized about Sari is that she never healed from her first trauma.  Similar to Nyx, her childhood friend, she is creating a family, but there is still a distance.  She fears losing loved ones again, so she ignores how deep her feelings run.  This doesn’t always come about because she’s a very loving and playful character, but you can see that she doesn’t spend a lot of time on herself.  I tried several times to give her more, but nothing stuck.  Sari routinely found a way to slip out of the deep relationships and became more of a cheerleader for the others.  Part of this might be caused by the addition of Kira Grasdon, which gave Sari competition for her original, uncontested relationship with Luke Callindor.  It was a shocker when I found that Sari wasn’t the better match and I tried to force it a few times with disastrous results.

I would actually say that Chastity Sullivan from War of Nytefall is closer to what Sari was originally going to be.  Seductive, playful, charming, powerful, and having no shame to counter the more uptight characters.  It never happened because I could never convince her to shed the emotional scars of losing everything.  Even if she ended up with Luke Callindor, I couldn’t see her being entirely happy because she’d wake up every day thinking it was the one where he would die.  Sari hated being alone and needed someone with her when she slept, but she could never let herself get so close that the loneliness would go away entirely.  I’m torn between thinking of her as a lost opportunity or accepting that some characters, much like people, can’t be put back to 100%.

A fun aside for Sari is that she still had a better post-prophecy plan than Nyx.  It ran contrary to Luke Callindor who wanted to settle down, which was another nail in their relationship’s coffin.  Sari wanted to build a magical cart that contained every candy in the world.  She would travel around to villages and throw parties where she would give the candy away.  It really worked for her and I did give her something similar to that, but it had to be changed to accommodate her situation.

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