It Takes a Village to Launch a Book…

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

by, Joel Pitney  , on The Book Designer site:

Some of us are natural born networkers. You know the type . . . they never lunch alone, they seem to specialize in connecting people in ways that benefit both parties, they have no problem promoting themselves or their projects or ideas in ways that aren’t off-putting.

In my experience, most authors aren’t natural born networkers (if you’re an exception, my apologies). We tend to be more of the wallflower types, happy to write and create and let others do the talking and promoting.

But in this day and age, most authors can’t afford to sit on the sidelines and more and more is being demanded of us to actively promote our own work. In fact, when it comes to launching a book, networking—or learning how to best leverage your networks—is perhaps the single most important factor driving your success. As…

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The Friends and Allies of Ichabod Brooks

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

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In each story of The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks, he has a friend, ally, or partner of some kind.  Well, almost each story because I can think of one or two that don’t really have a friend.  Traveling companion might work for one and another is a surprise for those that haven’t read the collection yet.  Actually, there’s a really short one that he’s solo on, so I’ve officially ruined my opening line.  Anyway, I wanted to highlight a few of them and maybe explain the relationship/partnership.

Dex Guzbern

This Dwarven mountaineer is one of my favorites because he just flowed out of my fingers as I wrote Ichabod Brooks & the Starwind Egg.  I wasn’t sure how he would come out, but he had this interesting combination of friendliness and gruffness.  He developed the same sarcasm as Ichabod, which quickly established them as best friends with a long history.  Oddly enough, he never really locked himself in as a fighter and seems more likely to hold his own.  Dwarves are naturally tough, so he depends on that and is more at home in a bar fight than a battlefield.  Hoping to give him a little more story time down the road.

Morgan

She probably should have come first since she was the sidekick in Ichabod Brooks & the City of Beasts.  She is a young monster hunter and a calico, which is a type of cat-person in Windemere.  Morgan looks human, but has ear tufts, a cat-like tail, retractable claws, and the natural agility of cats.  Also, a few of the cleaning habits.  I like using her because she’s both tough and takes on the role of Ichabod Brooks fangirl.  She can hold her own and he trusts her, but she still has a case of idol worship, which makes for some interesting interactions.  There’s a sense that she’s always trying to prove herself to him and occasionally emulating since she’s now sporting magical equipment.  Morgan is a character who might branch out from Ichabod and get something of her own.  The problem is that the only monster hunter story I have involves the main character being cursed by an unknown creature to share a body with a partner of the opposite gender.  I did consider having her and Ichabod’s grown up son being the two, who switch control when certain things happen.  Too much rambling?

Corso Felgrass and Pepper

Corso is the elf who trained Ichabod in archery and Pepper is a retired calico thief who went from enemy to friend.  I put these two together because they have a similar role in the stories that they appear in.  Like Dex, they have a history with Ichabod and help to flush that out.  The difference is that they aren’t active any more, so they take on a more casual relationship with him.  Almost like the two kind of show the life that Ichabod can achieve or wants to achieve.

Jet Orphanmaker

 I don’t want to reveal too much about Jet because he grew a lot in the story.  He’s more rival than friend, which made for fun exchanges.  In fact, the only reason I’m bringing him up is because I wanted to reveal his last name.  For the life of me, I couldn’t find a way to get that into the story.  Nobody was in a position to say it.

Tevy

This is a halfling priestess of Neberith the Healing Goddess and a woman who has a connection to Ichabod’s non-work life.  She’s a tough one to explain because she isn’t an adventurer.  More the person that Ichabod, and his wife, go to when they need to get patched up or have an undead problem.  There’s an almost sisterly relationship that they have, but it’s hard to tell who is in the role of older sibling.  I like writing her because she’s very blunt to her friends and kind to her patients.  It’s something that she can transition from in the middle of a conversation too, which was fun to write.

Meg Velringer

I have to be honest, I don’t know much about Meg’s past with Ichabod.  They know each other and have worked together.  She is a gnome inventor who specializes in the ocean, so she can’t come up too often.  I don’t think she has the same relationship with him that Dex does, so it’s more of a working connection than friendship.  This might change if I have her turn up again.  Right now, I don’t know if I have any more ocean adventures, but I’d like to do something.  Be interesting if her real connection is with his wife.

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Pre-Order Announcement: The White Arrow!

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

Unknown's avatarArcher's Aim

Today, I’m celebrating a little. Well, maybe a lot. It’s not release day yet for The White Arrow but it’s getting very close and there are a lot of details rounding into shape around the book.

As I mentioned a few days back, The White Arrow is now making its editing rounds. However, I’ve chosen to make good use of the time while it’s away and put it into pre-order everywhere. Since I had the cover and I have 90 days to finish up, I wanted to go ahead and begin pre-release activities.

For anyone who missed it, here’s a look at the cover as well as all the shiny new retail links along with the blurb (still working on that so there will be several changes). Also, I post a short excerpt from the rough draft that I’ve also shared at the end of the other book including the…

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Short Stories vs Novels: A Taste of Both Worlds

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

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With The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks, I’ve stepped more into short stories than I did before.  Normally, I’m more of a novelist with a love of series as you can tell from Legends of Windemere.  I dabbled a bit because you can’t get away with full-length novels in English classes.  You have to keep things short and tight since there are multiple students to grade.  Now, would I say one is better than the other?  No because they each have their own strengths and weakness.  Here are some from my own experience, which I’ll admit is limited.

Short Stories

Pro–  Takes less time to outline, write, and edit.  This makes it a great project when I have limited time and want to flex the imagination.

Con– Too many plot twists can ruin it because of the short length.  I love throwing curve balls and surprises, but I can only do 1-2 in a short story.  Otherwise, the plot collapses and the effect of the twists disappears.

Pro–  Helps focus on one character that might be overshadowed in a longer work.  The limited time and page amount means I can’t wander off to investigate another character or a fleeting idea.  The protagonists need to remain the focus.

Con–  A single short story is hard to rationalize for buying cover art and publishing.  This is more about the return since a single short story shouldn’t really be priced higher than 99 cents.  You won’t make your money back here.  Doing a collection can help, but then you’re pricing higher.

Pro–  You can experiment with short stories more than in a novel.  I can test out monsters, traps, style changes, and other things that I’m not sure about for a novel.  Some of these require that the short story be in the same world as the novels though.

Con– Limited page amount means my imagination can work against me.  My typical desire to follow every rabbit hole and see how the network connects could turn a short story into a messy novel.  So, I have to rein myself in at times.

Pro– Readers need less time to read the book.  Self-explanatory.

Novels

Pro–  More space for developing characters and world-building.  This is the big one for me because I love this part of writing.  Short stories can do this if you only have one protagonist to work with, but a group can flourish better in a bigger work.

Con– Takes longer to outline, write, and edit.  You can’t just do a novel on a whim even if you’re a pantser.  It takes more time that you have to carve out and I’m talking more than a 15-30 minute period.  Novels require longer stretches of time and a more winding continuity that you have to keep in mind.  The more breaks, the higher the chance of derailing.

Pro–  You can let your imagination run wild at times because you aren’t trying to keep the story in a small page amount.  Adding 15 pages because you found a spot where the hero can deal with a side problem that connects to the plot is okay.  You don’t have to feel like you’re casting good ideas aside and hoping something else will come along to absorb them.

Con–  The longer length means you have a higher chance of making a mistake.  The wide and expansive nature of a novel requires that the author remembering everything that happened previously.  Even a stand-alone needs you to connect the events of Chapter 12 to Chapter 1 without leaving any gaps.  It’s easy to get lost in your own ideas as you travel along the path.

Pro– You can pull more excerpts, quotes, and topics for promotions.  There is less of a worry about spoilers since you have more to work with.  Even if something slips out, there’s a higher chance of missing context turning it into a mystery.  You can stretch out a novel’s promotion for a lot longer than a short story.

Con–  Just as the author needs time to write it, the readers need to invest more time in a novel than a short story.  Attention spans are shorter these days and it seems like everybody is wishing they had more time to read.  So they gravitate toward short stories and graphic novels.

Pro–  You can have a more winding character and plot development since you have more time.  A short story can only have so many rises and dips, but a novel is able to have as many as are needed.  For example, a hero in a short story getting betrayed halfway through probably won’t have much time to escape, train, and/or get revenge as well as finish the original quest.  It can feel rushed while a novel can show it all at a slower pace.

Final Thoughts

I’ve found that I do prefer novels for some ideas and that’s my more comfortable wheelhouse.  Yet, I also like the use of short stories in a compilation format.  I’m looking at a few series that were giving me problems and putting them in a short story compilation style.  I think it helps a lot with series that aren’t as endgame-focused as Legends of Windemere.  Characters who are going about their business being heroes can be put in a book where every short story is a new enemy to fight.  Hopefully, this is the key to solving my superhero problem and giving Ichabod Brooks a few more outings.

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What’s Stopping You?

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

Joan Hall's avatarStory Empire

Happy Monday, SE Readers. Joan here today. This post is directed more toward beginning writers, although many of us can relate to the subject matter.

If you read Craig’s post last week, he shared a bit about how he came to be a writer later in life. Like him, I waited a long time to fulfill my dream of becoming a published author even though I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was ten years old.

What stopped me? Fear.

Fear of sharing my work with others. Fear that I would never be good enough. Fear that people won’t like what I write. If someone rejects my work, does that make me a failure?

Fear can cripple us and stifle our creativity. But once I took that first step, which was more like a leap of faith, my fears began to diminish. And when I finally became…

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A Perfect 10 with Allan Hudson

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

Unknown's avatarDon Massenzio

This week, I have the pleasure of featuring Author Allan Hudson on this edition of A Perfect 10.

Please enjoy this week’s installment of A Perfect 10

If you want to check out past interviews, you can find them in the following links:

A.C. Flory, Steve Boseley, Kayla Matt, Mae Clair, Jill Sammut, Deanna Kahler, Dawn Reno Langley, John Howell, Elaine Cougler, Jan Sikes, Nancy Bell, Nick Davis, Kathleen Lopez, Susan Thatcher, Charles Yallowitz, Armand Rosamilia, Tracey Pagana, Anna Dobritt, Karen Oberlaender, Deby Fredericks, Teri Polen, Darlene Foster, Robert Rayner, C.C. Naughton, Sherry Rentshler, Linda Bradley, Luna St. Clair, Joan Hall, Staci Troilo

Also, if you are an author and you want to be part of this feature, I still have a…

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Hosts Wanted For December Finale Guest Posts

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m making this a sticky post since I know weekends are busy for people.

After speaking with C.S. Boyack about blog tours, he pointed out that I really need to give Legends of Windemere a big sendoff.  I know there’s still Path of the Traitors to release first and I’m aiming for September.  Yet, I should start preparing for Warlord of the Forgotten Age in December.  It’s a long ways off, but not that long since we’ve already passed the halfway mark of 2017.  A ‘Book is Live’ post that everyone posts might not do this justice.  It’ll work for the next release, but not the finale.

This is going to be tough. I’m not a member of the RRBC because I don’t think I can meet the reading requirements.  I’m not part of an author group that shares a blog and promotes each other.  Yet, I know I’m not alone.  I have people who follow my blog and have been watching Windemere roll toward the finish line.  So, what can I do here?

Unique Guest Posts

Every person who offers to help will get a post on a special topic.  Of course, I’d like to talk with the blogger about what they think would work best.  Some things would require a back-and-forth.  I’m always happy to be handed a topic because it’s fun to think about something I hadn’t considered before.  Ideally, I’d love to get over 20 special posts ready for when the book is live.  Craig did come up with a few ideas and I had some too, so I’ll share those below. A lot of these are going to be ‘first come, first serve’:

  • Author interview (Want to keep this to 1 or 2)
  • Character interviews (First come, first serve for characters and the host would have to give the questions)
  • Character evolution posts (First come, first serve again. Can’t have 5 Nyx posts)
  • Feelings on finishing a series.
  • The infamous Luke/Kira/Sari romance (I still get hate for this one)
  • Writing a main villain who spends most of the series sealed away
  • What I’ve learned about *insert subject*  (This would be a tip post)
  • Tips on bundling large novels
  • Anything world building related like Windemere races, monsters, magic, cities, cultures, etc.
  • A post on any supporting or villain character that you personally liked
  • Tips to planning and writing a long series
  • What’s next for Windemere

That’s all I can think of, but I’m happy to work on something that comes to a host’s mind.  This is for December too, so I’ll probably make a volunteer request every other Sunday in the hopes of gathering a big push.  For any authors out there, I’d be happy to trade promos and host you if you’re willing to do the same.  If you know anybody who does guest posts then I’d be really appreciative of a hookup.  Needless to say, I’m nervous and might have been downplaying the push because of my ‘coming to the end’ anxiety.  Time to shed that and get things ready for the finale.

Feel free to volunteer for the basic ‘Book is Live’ post for Path of the Traitors too.

Finally, doing all of this does make me wonder what I’ll be posting on my own blog.  Maybe I’ll take the topics that nobody else does?  I know it’s dangerous asking other questions here because they can distract from the main post.  Still, I should probably figure that out.

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Meet Guest Author, Chuck Jackson…

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog


My name is Chuck Jackson. I am a retired accountant living in Southeast Florida. Before retirement, I spent my last twenty-five years working as the budget manager for a special district in Palm Beach County. I was a member of Government Finance Officer’s Association (GFOA) and the Florida GFOA. I graduated from the University Texas at San Antonio with a BBA in Accounting.

My dad was career military and I grew up being what we called a “Military Brats”. We moved frequently, consequently never establishing roots anywhere. Our family had the opportunity to go to Okinawa and Japan. An experience I will never forget. After high school and a year of college, to avoid the selective service draft, I followed my dad into the Air Force. Unlike my dad, I left the military after my four-year enlistment expired.

When I left the military, I attended a year of mortuary science…

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Almost Back to Normal: Progress Has Been Made

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

This feels like a whirlwind of a week and I can barely remember the beginning.  I believe I was going to put these into sections for easier reading too.  Well, let’s get this clown car on the road.

Return of the Laptop

The laptop finally came back Monday and I spent most of the afternoon testing it.  The speakers had to be replaced and now the sound works.  Poor thing kept getting pushed to do updates though.  I’d be writing along and suddenly get a message about needing to restart the system.  The worst was one that had a timer, which is the easiest way to make a guy panic.  Just writing along with nary a care in the world.  Suddenly, you have a countdown on the screen and feel like you’re in a James Bond movie.  The first few seconds are lost to confusion and then a few more to flapping your arms in a wild panic.  That second part might just be me.  Either way, the laptop is back and I can get back to writing at my normal pace . . . except:

The HEAT!

It’s been so hot and humid here.  I know people live in areas that are worse, but it’s just oppressive here.  One reason is because the houses here were designed to retain heat for the New York winters.  Back in the day, you didn’t have to worry about this.  Now, it’s like Florida weather followed me here.  Even worse, I tend to work upstairs and that part of the house becomes a sauna.  Not quickly too, so I’ll be toiling away and gradually cook like that frog in boiling water thing.  I’ve had to retreat to the dining room and ask for the air conditioning by about noon, which still leaves me drained.  Nothing says fun like sweating up a storm and getting a ‘there goes the power bill’ comment when the air conditioner is turned on.  Really makes me miss how Florida operated. They knew you needed the AC on all day to keep things cool and avoid mold/mildew.  The power company didn’t take advantage of that like the ones here.  At the very least, you didn’t have to feel guilty about taking steps to avoid sweating enough to fill a public pool.

Sleep Apnea Appliance Has Arrived

Sleep Apnea Oral Appliance

This is what I have to wear to bed for the rest of my life.  Went to pick it up on Tuesday and I have to go back for adjustments in 2 weeks.  It’s weird since the upper part feels like it’s yanking my teeth, which hurt for a few minutes after I take it off in the morning.  The bottom one is fine, but my tongue managed to pop it out on the first night before I went to sleep.  To explain, this pulls my jaw forward, which pulls my tongue away from my throat where it tends to bunch up when I sleep.  A big reason for this is because my tongue is too big for my mouth.  That’s the gist of it.  Maintenance isn’t too bad since I have to brush it with alcohol free mouthwash.  Haven’t done the weekly denture tablet cleaning yet, but I’ll do that Sunday.

So far, I can’t tell if it’s helping me sleep.  People can’t hear my snoring through the vents and my wife says it’s reduced.  Might never be gone completely, but it’s a gradual change of things.  Do I feel like I have more energy? Not really.  One of the issues is that I’m up at 5:30 AM on the weekdays to get things ready for my son’s summer school and get some work done before everyone wakes up.  I don’t set an alarm for this.  I just happen to wake up at this time and I can never fall asleep before 11 PM.  Weekends will be the main test because I can crawl back into bed after hitting the bathroom.  Fingers crossed that it works out.

Bedlam

There aren’t any other projects that I’m working on.  I finished a few chapters and only have 9 left of Derailing Bedlam.  Reese did get brought up in passing as long as Lloyd doing a ‘that should tide you over’ comment.  One thing I’ll always enjoy about this series is reacting to the audience through the characters.  Will Reese make another physical appearance? No idea.  We’ll have to wait and see.

Another thing I have to figure out is if I put a link to Protecting Bedlam on the next installment.  It seems weird to do it with a blog book.  I feel like it would be wrong to take it all off the blog and make it a published work too.  Does it make sense to list a ‘blog only’ on the list of previous rampages?  Not to mention I’m still not sure how I’m going to pull off another release.  Doubt and worry is still going strong.

Life in General

Not much going on here.  I’ve fallen in love with the pretzel dog at Sonic and their shakes are delicious.  Thankfully, it’s not the easiest place to get to and you have to sit and wait for your food even if you’re taking it home.  So, I won’t be going too often.  This is going to work with me simply not saying no if somebody suggests going.

Next week is going to be a little busy, but not as bad as this one.  An event that I’ll mention next Saturday is looming.  There might be something else to mention here, but life has basically been covered above.  I really should do something about this notepad, brackets, cut out names, and Michael Jackson hat that’s been sitting in the corner all this time.  It was going to be a fun project with the kid.  Get him to help me choose the characters for each fight and then roll dice to see who will win.  Just haven’t gotten the chance because of homework or lack of privacy.  Doing stuff like this around people who already look at me strange tends to make the procedure more aggravating than fun.  Nothing like doing something quirky for a story and being questioned like you’re an idiot.

So, what’s up for this week?

  1. Write more Derailing Bedlam.
  2. Continue getting used to the oral appliance.
  3. Stop laughing when I write or say ‘oral appliance’.
  4. Read more Claymore.
  5. Help prep for next weekend’s big event.
  6. Try to stay cool.
  7. Remember what I was going to write about here and forgot.  Swear there was something I missed.
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Dirty Dozen – Character Interview – Gwyn Blaidd – Fantasy/Bundle

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Charles Yallowitz

eranamage's avatarLibrary of Erana

CHARACTER NAME: Gwyn Blaidd

  • Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a Heroka of the wolf totem. The Heroka are a race of shapeshifters. We are linked to our totem species, drawing our vitality from them, with the power to control those animals and to take their form.

I’m over 100 years old and have been living a life of a recluse in my wilderness retreat, surrounded only by my wolf brothers. I’m not big on humans. I have my reasons. Probably something to do with them killing anyone I ever loved.

  • Tell us why you’re embarking on this adventure?

Didn’t have a lot of choice, did I? First an old friend, Ed Three Rivers, emails me. His granddaughter, Mary, has been killed. Maybe a wild animal. Maybe a Heroka. He wants my help.

Then Mitch Ducharmes, head of the Circle of the Heroka, shows up with a teenage girl…

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