eBook and Traditional Publishing

Spectacle Publishing Media Group, LLC

But wait, there’s more!

I have fantastic news for those of you dreading a return to the doldrums of every day life as this holiday season comes to a close. The twelfth day of Christmas isn’t until January 6th. That is when a very special (and in some countries, a quite epic) celebration called El Dia de Los Reyes takes place. Known in English as Three Kings’ Day or The Feast of the Epiphany, this is a holiday steeped in traditions, stories, music, culture and presents. Did I mention presents?

In honor of El Dia de Los Reyes, Spectacle is offering a very special bilingual children’s book called “La Caja Basia/ The Empty Box.” This book features hand-drawn illustrations by Freddy Sanchez with a Spanish storyline by Maria Goretti Sanchez, translated into English by me. A labor of love, come see what Manuel and Maria are up to this Dia de Los Reyes and join in the magic from my family to yours.

Read Stuff: Huldredrom – Dream of the Hid-Folk

Huldredrom – Dream of the Hid-Folk by Christopher R. Knutson

 

written by Eric Staggs

Review by Eric Staggs

 

This unique piece of literature came to my attention through pure chance. Since I have found that the best pieces of literature often do arrive via unforeseen channels, I agreed to read and review it.

 

I’m glad I did. The style of writing at first seemed simple, unsophisticated, but as I progressed, I found I was drawn into the unfamiliarity of the culture, the complexity of Norwegian proper nouns seemed to help heft the weight of their folklore and a new found Christianity.

 

The story takes place in a picaresque rural village; imagine fens and glens and heathers, buffered on all sides by brooding mountains whose caps are white year round. These snow caps help to anthropomorphize the mountains, giving them an ancient and wise presence. Within these mountains and valleys lives the Hid-Folk. Fey and spritely, these trolls, changelings and their kin live out long and mischievous lives just under the nose of the villagers. The Hid-folk have a habit of stealing human babies and raising them as their own.  The author opens with a classic I-told-you-so moment and the tragic disappearance of a baby.

 

The plot is at once simple and convoluted – the rules that govern the interaction of mortals and hid-folk are complex and not always logical, but offer a vivid peek into one of Europe’s oldest mythologies. Hid-folk live a semi-parasitic life, stealing lovers and food and cows and whatever else strikes their fancy from mortal villagers, who in turn have developed a whole array of protections against such incursions.

 

At times almost comical, these cultural clashes between the Hid-Folk and the Villagers carry with them a deeper sub-text. The old ways are under siege by the new Christ-God whose representatives have banned the worship of the Old Norse Gods. Yet, for our characters, the reality remains: Hid-Folk could be any stranger you meet while tending the sheep and elemental spirits might easily burst forth and offer you knowledge or simply wish for company. The only evidence of the truth of Christianity is the agony the cross and tolling bells causes the Hid-Folk.

 

Vivid imagery and thorough understanding of the culture push this story forward at a comfortable pace. Descriptions of place and time help bring to the reader’s mind concrete imagery and paint each scene in fluid detail – allowing for just enough personalization to make each reader’s experience unique.

 

Not quite a love story and not quite a fairy-tale laden with moral and metaphor, Huldredrom: Dream of the Hid-Folk­ by Christopher R. Knutson is an entertaining read for all ages and serves as a powerful reminder that there are beliefs in the world far older than those we commonly cling to.

Gifts For Writers Part IV

written by Jared Saathoff

by Jared Saathoff

When providing gifts for writers one of the key elements is playing to your writer’s sense of curiosity. Let’s face it, writers are worse than cats. Hours of useful time can be lost to something as simple as a squirrel or a website featuring only animated dancing robots. So, logically the best gift for a writer would be something to keep them on track and influence a more efficient manner of production— something like horse blinders or a dog’s shock collar.

But, as I found out the hard way it violates several labor laws to force workers to wear those shock collars. So unfortunately I don’t think your beloved writer will enjoy it much either.

Alas, the best way to appease your non-shock-collar-wearing writer is to get them something they’ll actually like. Truth is you can’t ever go wrong with Lego. But, you can go more awesome with this:

— Awesome Link — it’s big, it’s motorized, it’s Star Wars, and it’s Lego. Guaranteed* to amaze and dazzle at cocktail parties. But, in this particular case you’ll have to do some digging to find something like it. Lego, because they’re awesome and Danish, release the majority of these beautiful sets in a limited run. So, there is this: — Awesome Link — but it’s not motorized, you’ll have you use your imagination.

 

Or. There’s this really neat book. It’s a collection of the old engravings that used to grace the pages of the dictionary. Back when the dictionary was really cool and not online: — Awesome Dictionary Link — I am going to set mine right next to the Unabridged Oxford English Dictionary, which is also a really interesting and neat gift idea for anyone interested in words, but be warned it weighs more than a toddler and unless you feel like rubbing your nose against the pages, it requires a magnifying glass.

 

Writers, even those without shock collars, write. So why not make writing awesome with this: — Awesome Pen Link — Quite possibly the greatest pen I have yet to write with (I ordered mine yesterday (actually I ordered three)). Guaranteed* to help you make new friends and influence people to buy you beer. The only thing that could, maybe, be more awesome would be a sword-in-cane that also had a pen—but that just doesn’t seem practical.

 

And finally, if your beloved writer is annoyed with boring people being the only ones that come over to watch movies there is this solution: — Magic Link — guaranteed* to keep boring people out of your life and make TV and movie watching 98% more enjoyable.

 

* Guaranteed by me. Guarantee not from the manufacturer or the distributor or anyone else for that matter, except for my cat—my cat agrees with me 100% most of the time.

 

Gifts for Writers Part III

written by Eric Staggs

Every year it hits like a tidal wave – a rush of panic – what will you buy for the writer on your list? If you’re anything like me, the very idea of Black Friday sends chills through your bones. Here’s a handy guide to help select the perfect gift for writers (a notoriously difficult group to buy for) and most item can be ordered online. The best part is most of these things can be ordered online, allowing you to get some serious shopping done without the battle scars of yet another Black Friday Shopping nightmare!

Like any profession, writers need tools to do their job effectively. These tools vary widely and depend greatly on personal preference, but there a few gadgets that every writer shouldn’t be without.

 

Books
Reference books are a must for any writer. My top five desktop reference books are: A Dictionary of Theories, Dictionary of Astronomy, Medical Dictionary, Latin-English Dictionary and a Dictionary of World Mythology. That covers most of the basics for day-to-day writing.

 

Voice recorder
Micro-voice recorders are an excellent gift for any writer. It takes some time to get over the self-consciousness of talking your ideas out to a little machine, but after a while not only do you get used to it, but you feel like you’re in a sci-fi movie, making secret plans in case you’re captured by some galactic nemesis. The only “must haves” on these mini-voice recorders are USB output and a mini-jack for earphones. The slew of other features are just bells and whistles.

 

eReader
This little piece of technology is about the slickest thing next to pop-rocks we’ve come up with. There’s about a thousand flavors of them now. The Nook, the Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad offers apps for all .epub and .mobi files. many publishers are offering their own version of what I refer to as the miracle bookshelf. Do you research, make sure the titles your Giftee wants on available on the platform you chose. As well, some folks like the e-ink display better than the backlit LCD. You can’t go wrong with this gift.

 

Anthologies
Writers must read! This is necessary to stay inspired, to keep up with evolutionary changes to their favorite genre and to see how techniques and methods are working for other authors. However, often the selection of fiction piece can be random and a big commitment, for someone who wrestles with time management anyway. Anthologies on the other hand, are filled with dozens of short stories, already filtered and of top quality, in easily digestible, bite size chapters.

 

iPad2
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve got a Kindle and an iPad2 and the iPad trumps it hands down. Not only can it play games (because when I’m not writing like I should be, I am most certainly screwing off and playing games), but it’s an email-browso-dictaphono-notebook-o-meter. That thing does everything. It does things for me that I didn’t know I needed done. For example, when I’m not writing, it mocks me. When I am writing, it times me. When I’m upside down, it tells me. When I’m uneven it tells me. I can watch movies in bed AND read books. This thing IS the ultimate writer’s gift, technophile or not.

Gifts for Writers Part II

The Twelve Days of  the Season

by Tam Albright

 

Of all the many gifts you could give the writer in your life this holiday, there is really only one thing that writers want.

 

On the first day of the season,

Oh yeah. You are SO going into my novel for this.

my loved ones asked of me:

“Are there enough ideas for your WIP?”

 

So, on the second day of the season,

my loved ones gifted me, with

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the third day of the season,

my loved ones helped some more, with

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the fourth day of the season,

the blinking cursor mocked:

(Many four-letter swear words,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

But mom, it was all my work from NaNoWriMo this year!

On the fifth day of the season,

my loved ones distracted me:

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(More four-letter swear words,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the sixth day of the season,

I wrote my loved ones in:

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(F-dash-dash-dash word,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the seventh day of the season,

I vented to the Net:

Seven writing #hash-tags,

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(Still swearing swear words,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the eighth day of the season,

We'll see who needs to keep their day job, Aunt Melba.

my loved ones gave me advice:

Eight clichéd phrases,

Seven writing #hash-tags,

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(*eye-roll* Four-letter swear words,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the ninth day of the season,

my “hobby” was discussed:

Yeah, nine old trunked novels,

Eight clichéd phrases,

Seven writing #hash-tags,

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(“I’m a sailor” swear words,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

Then they'll quest for the seven magical keys of Ventoozler. Hey, I can make it a series!

On the tenth day of the season,

I became quite desperate:

Ten magical McGuffins,

Nine old trunked novels,

Eight clichéd phrases,

Seven writing #hash-tags,

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(Swear words just to say them,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the eleventh day of the season,

with my loved ones fast asleep, I had

Eleven cups a-coffee,

Ten magical McGuffins,

Nine old trunked novels,

Eight clichéd phrases,

Seven writing #hash-tags,

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(Four-letter swear words,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP.

 

On the twelfth day of the season,

Finally, peace and quiet. Now for my next dilemma--WIP or Facebook?

my loved ones got the drift:

Twelve uninterrupted hours,

Eleven cups a-coffee,

Ten magical McGuffins,

Nine old trunked novels,

Eight clichéd phrases,

Seven writing #hash-tags,

Six doomed characters,

Five times I forgot to hit “SAVE!”

(I still can’t believe I did that,)

Three unrelated plot bunnies,

Two back up hard drives,

And enough ideas for my WIP!

 

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Gifts For Writers Part I

by Ditrie Sanchez

 

Have you ever found yourself struggling to remember which notepad, receipt or napkin you once scribbled a really cool idea on? Maybe, like me, you have a collection of notebooks of various sizes, shapes, bindings and colorings strewn all about the house. Or maybe you’ve noticed the ideas in one of your notebooks are too scattered and unorganized to make any sense of them.

As a writer, you find that much of your world is constantly changing. One minute you’re researching World War II era American military clothing, the next you’re trying to pick the perfect color for your next unholy dragon. Organizing all of these fantastic but disparate ideas while not wreaking havoc on the naturally random creative flow is a skill every author needs to hone. Thankfully, now there is a tool to help.  The revolver journal, which is much less violent than it sounds, is basically a Transformer (lasers sold separately).



Now, let’s say that you’re busy working on your military drama piece but out of the blue you think, egads! Coral blue is the perfect color for my giant metallic dragon of doom! With the revolver journal, all you have to do is fold it into your fantasy journal and copy it down. You don’t even need to leave the couch! Consider it the Rubik’s cube of journaling. It’s color coded, switchable and makes you look really cool at parties. Or nerdy. Same thing, really.

 

In the writing world, we are expected to write what we know. This means that if you’re writing about a subject and you don’t know anything about it, it’s time to do some research. Now, research can be done in quiet libraries whilst poring over various tomes of knowledge, or it can be conducted at home through the comfortable, if somewhat detached resources of the world wide web. However, the most effective research comes from hands-on experiences. Live interviews, taking tours of story locations, learning to use the tools of the trade that a character should know.

Of course, this puts a certain group of writers at a researching disadvantage right off the bat. Science fiction and fantasy writers are no more able to visit their worlds or shoot their laser blasters than I’m able to sprout beans out of my nose (believe me, I’ve tried). However, I’ve discovered the one thing that can be a game changer for this poor, disadvantaged group of writers. And it comes in the form of a pen. A ray gun pen, to be more specific.

(pyew, pyew, pyew!)

Now science fiction and fantasy writers alike can revel in the chrome and lacquered goodness that befits any proper hero or super villain. Stop and ask yourself for a moment: is the pen truly mightier than the sword? This one is! Blast away the writer’s block blues and get one today.

Don’t Hide From Your Story!

It wakes you up in the middle of the night. It nudges you on the drive to work. Inside of you, somewhere in the dusty recesses of your mind, an idea is itching to be brought to life. You have a story waiting to be told, a story the world needs to hear.

So why are you sitting here reading this post? In the time you’ve been Tweeting, updating Facebook statuses and surfing the internet, you could have written the first paragraph of your next best-selling novel.

This is the problem all writers face at one time in their lives. Having the chutzpah to write every day come rain, snow, sunshine or zombie invasion is no small order. When it comes down to it, you’ve got to learn how to psyche yourself up to write. Here are a few ways you can do that:

1.) You will never have the time to write. Make the time. Pencil it in your calendar. Set an alarm. Stick a post-it note to your bathroom mirror. Do whatever it takes to get it done.

2.) It’s okay to write crap. That’s what first drafts are for. Even Stephen King writes first drafts. Say what you need to say and get it out. You can clean it up on the rewrite.

3.) Reward yourself. Writing is hard work. Recognize your accomplishments and use that as motivation to move forward.

4.) One day at a time. You will not write the best American novel in a day. Break down the project into smaller, bite-sized bits that you can achieve a day at a time. Don’t try to swallow an elephant.

5.) Build community. Stay in regular communication with writers and other creatives that motivate and inspire you. Feed off of each other’s energy. Spur each other on to greatness. (But remember, spending five hours chatting and zero time writing does not count. That, my friends, can be filed under procrastination.)

Halloween Catch Up

Some Scary Links
Some Scary Books
 
  1. On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears
    I took a class from the author of this book, great professor and a gifted writer. Professor Asma’s insight into the human condition is almost supernatural. As he walks you through the various culturally constructed terrors of modern society, he expertly points out the folly and inconsistencies in each of those superstitions.
  2. Malleus Malificarum
    We’re not going to link to this book since you can get various versions from a dozen sources ranging from free to well past not-free. This is the original Witch Hunter’s Manual, written by a pair of charlatans.
  3. Frankenstein
    Considered a classic of horror literature, one might consider the deeper meanings in this troublesome tale. Is this a Luddite’s warning about science unchecked or a challenge to the existence of God? Literature professors worldwide still waste undergraduate’s time with this heady and unresolvable debate. But if you haven’t read it, you need to.
  4. World War Z
    If you haven’t read this one by now, you need to throw off that rock you’re hiding under and get with the program. This well researched, cleverly constructed historical account of the Zombie Apocalypse is true a modern horror classic. The audio-book version, though abridged, stars the voice talents of Allen Alda, Mark Hamill, Henry Rollins and a whole slew of other professional actors.

Tips for Wary Writers

There’s always a scam. Someone’s always trying to pull something over on someone else. There’s a specialized scam for each industry, for demographic, even writers. On one hand, one thinks, “Wow, this is so elaborate it’s got to be real.” Then you come to your senses.

 

But if you’re new to an industry, breaking in to writing and publishing for example, you might not know what to look for in a scam. With the Interwebs extending the reach of everyone, making marks and tracks in otherwise unattainable terrain, a writer has to be especially savvy to avoid some of these pitfalls, booby traps and cons.

 

Here’s a quick list to shuffle through and keep in your back pocket.

 

Paying to be published
This is an absolute scam. If an agent, publisher or any claiming to be affiliated with either asks you for money, it’s a scam. That’s not how it works. You have the talent and the craft. They market it. You both get money. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this con. “The Literary Society of Peewackanee has chosen YOUR short story for inclusion in their latest anthology. To be included, send $10.00…” Yeah, that’s a scam.

 

Paying to be entered into contests
This is not a scam. It’s crappy and an unnecessary drain on the oft already strained wallets of struggling artists with true talent, but it’s something that is considered legitimate. Entry fees range from $5.00-$50.00 (though I’ve no doubt they go higher), and usually there’s a discount for poetry or multiple submissions. For the record, Spectacle Publishing never charges for entry into their fiction contests. One more thing – I’ve never known anyone who has won one of those contests. I’m just sayin’…

 

Write your novel in thirty days
Thirty days. That’s about 10 pages a day, which seems entirely feasible, until you figure in work, sleep, laundry, showers, bathroom breaks, picking the kids up from school, making (and eating) dinner and all the rest of the things that occupy our days. Recently (actually what inspired this article) I read a post on this very topic from a woman who claims to be able to write a novel in a weekend. For 280 pages in in 48 hours, you’d have to write 10.285 pages per minute. Not eating, sleeping or thinking about plot go without saying. Your book is done when it’s done. There is no other magic book, workshop or course that will get you writing a novel a month. Not unless you’re stealing ideas, rewriting things that have already been written and don’t have a shred of artistic integrity.

 

Vanity Press
The real advantage of working with a publisher is selectivity. Anyone can self-publish. Even the lady who claims to write ten pages a minute. But what a writer needs, wants and really deserves is recognition from an outside authority that says “This work is good. I will share it.” Self-publishing doesn’t quite have the same bang. You don’t need new authors popping corks every time they post on their blog. So, in my opinion, the vanity press falls into that grey area of “scam-like.” You weren’t really published. No one picked your work out of hundreds. You just uploaded it. That’s being tricky. Scammerly, in fact.

 

Editing Services
Here’s another fine distinction between scam and not. In many screenwriting magazines you see ads for “professional script readers,” who only charge $100/script or $5 per page. Well, that an extravagant price and entirely too fluid if you consider how fast a person may or may not read. If you even trust them to report fairly. Do you really not have a friend who is willing to sit down and edit with you or read your script? Then again, a professional dedicated editor will tell you things your BFF won’t, like “This sucks.”

 

Since you’re a writer and can’t help yourself, it’s doubtless you’ll bump into one of these scams sooner or later. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is be wary and do your research. Find out where these people and their offers are coming from. It should, of course, go without saying that you should always register your work with the WGA. Register novels, scripts, treatments, proposals, synopses, outlines, all of it, before you share it with anyone. Seriously.