Link to Guest Blog Series

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Just a quick note: Upon request (both from readers and Sarah), I have begun a series on solar, space, and geomagnetic weather on According to Hoyt. The first installment posted today. Future installments should post every Thursday for the next couple of months. I'll try to ensure that a new post goes up here to link my blog readers to it, also.

Here's the link:
https://accordingtohoyt.com/2016/08/18/solar-space-and-geomagnetic-weather-part-i-an-introduction-by-stephanie-osborn/

A Guest Blog: Lisa M. Collins and Archaeology

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Lisa Collins is an online friend of mine, a lady after my own heart for her interest in several sciences. So when she put out a request to guest blog for her latest release, The House Bast Made, I said, "Sure!" despite the fact that my blog has been inactive for several months. (Hopefully this will change in future; it seems that the various social media have not followed through on the intended charges for "advertising.") So here she is, to tell you a little about herself.

~~~

Archaeology and Me

by Lisa M. Collins

I have a deep and abiding love for all things ancient Egyptian. When I was little, I found an old, worn book about the country, which I still have to this day. Imagine me out in the backyard doing excavations trying to find bits and bobs of interest. In my mind, I was a great archaeologist. As time moved on, other subjects took the place of archaeology in my heart. By the time I graduated college, I considered myself a historian. What most people don’t understand about degrees in the humanities is that you must be able to communicate in written form. Without words how would the world have learned from Plato, Aristotle, the Prophets, Bertrand Russell, or Martin Luther King, Jr?

The written word is what accurately preserves ideas, leading to thought, and then to action. This drives me to present my words, thoughts, and ideas in writing. I studied not only the masters like Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Austen, Woolf, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, and Maya Angelou, but also speech writers for the White House and newspapers. Any time I find a writer who draws me into their story, I study how they accomplished the goal.

My desire to write starts off with a sad tale and a dash of memory. In 2008 the company I worked for downsized and I was one of the many who were let go. I had a small severance package so I didn’t immediately have to hit the byways looking for work. There I was, looking for what to do next and I was reminded of how, when I was little, I would tell stories to entertain my friends. To figure out how to begin writing my imaginings down for others I went to the wisest ‘person’ I know—that’s right, Dr. Google! I came across NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Being a total fiction n00b, I decided to take up the challenge and write 50,000 words in the month of November. Believe it or not, right out of the gate, I did it!

Later I got a job working for the State of Arkansas, but the itch to write never fell into the background. I kept dabbling and learning from others. Eventually, I had several things published in non-fiction venues, such as the state newspaper and journals, but passion was to write fiction. One thing you need to know about me is that I love goal setting and lists, so I set a goal of producing one new short story a month, and a secondary goal to find publishers who would print my work. As any of you out there in publishing already know, I got my fair share of rejection letters. My very first one hangs on the wall by my desk.

Rejection is hard, but I didn’t let that hold me back. I went back to the drawing board. Read books on craft. Read novels like I wanted to write. The day finally arrived in early 2013 when my first science fiction short story, The Tree of Life, was accepted into an anthology! I was over the moon! Rejections, however, still happen. I have come to the realization they are part and parcel of the writing life. Each one I receive proves to me I’m not standing still, I’m working, and I will prevail. Also in the last five to ten years a new way of presenting work to the public has exploded into the mainstream. Indie publishing. Now writers have the opportunity to showcase work directly to readers without a go-between. Some writers do all their work independently, others only work with publishers, but I find myself in between these two. I am both traditionally published and indie published. I love the freedom to chart my own course.

When I was writing my latest novella, The House Bast Made, I got to put my archaeology hat back on. It felt good, like I was revisiting an old friend…you know, the kind that gets you into trouble, but you love every moment. This book was such fun to write. I knew the setting in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings was going to be perfect for some fantastical paranormal fun. Our archaeologist, Reid Cannon, comes to the realization—myths need not be fairy tales. Reid and his friends get embroiled in a war between gods and goddesses that has raged for eons. Reid and his crew must come together to save a friend from the brink of death and the world from utter chaos. My hope is that you will enjoy your time in the Valley of the Kings and join us next time when Reid Cannon travels to South America!

Where can readers find out more about you and where can they buy The House Bast Made?

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-M.-Collins/e/B00PPV5QYO/

Twitter http://twitter.com/coolvstar650

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/lisaauthor

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisacollins

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/coolvstar650/

Google+ http://google.com/+LisaMCollins/posts

Instagram http://instagram.com/coolvstar650

Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/lisa-matthews-collins

Pen and Cape Society: http://penandcapesociety.com/lisa-m-collins/

Wookiees for Cookies Racing Team https://wookieesforcookies.wordpress.com/

For Deep Fried Dixie Goodness follow Lisa as Tea and Cornbread https://twitter.com/teaandcornbread https://www.facebook.com/teaandcornbread

And at the Tea and Cornbread blog http://teaandcornbread.wordpress.com/

Looking for more of:

Healthy Writer Series https://lisacollins.wordpress.com/category/healthy-lifestyle/

Author Interview Series https://lisacollins.wordpress.com/category/interviews/

Sign up to get the latest info on book launches and special newsletter only promotions!

http://wordpress.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=278e3f25f955d9e98afa61a9e&id=05f57a9e09

~~~

A little more about Lisa:

Lisa M. Collins has always been interested in Outer Space, Adventure stories, and Southern culture. She was born in Dixie and has always lived south of the Mason Dixon Line. She graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in history with specializations in American and Russian history. Lisa lives in central Arkansas with her husband and an adorable cat, Baby Girl, who believes she is Lisa’s co-author. Lisa has one adult son who is married to his high school sweetheart.

Lisa’s non-fiction has been published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. . She copy edited and researched on Understanding Global Slavery by University of California Press. Her science fiction story, The Tree of Life, is in the 2013-2014 anthology by Holdfast Magazine. These days she edits for Metahuman Press, and is an upcoming creative contributor with Pro Se Productions and Mechanoid Press. She is a Sally A. Williams Grant winner from the Arkansas Arts Council for writing.

Meanwhile, as the blog break gave me a chance to get a brand-new book out the door (more about THAT later!), I'll try to get my act together and start posting again on a regular schedule, guys.

-Stephanie Osborn

http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Elements of Modern Storytelling: Romance, A Guest Blog by Mindy Klasky

By Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

[Today is a special day for me -- it so happens that we are discussing romance on my wedding anniversary. GO US! Ahem...now on to the regular blog.]

Today's guest in our ongoing series of elements of storytelling is Mindy Klasky!

Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her she could travel anywhere through stories. As a writer, Mindy has traveled through various genres, including hot contemporary romance. In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame her to-be-read shelf.

~~~

Mindy:

I've been following the various guest posts about Elements of Storytelling with great interest, especially the posts about romance.  Over the years, my own writing has transitioned from traditional fantasy to humorous paranormal romance to contemporary romance (with no magical or fantasy element.)  My writing has also become a great deal "spicier" than it was in my early books.  Therefore, I'm looking forward to chatting about an important Element of Storytelling:  The Love Scene. 

Okay.  Not everyone is going to call this subject matter a love scene.  A lot of people will say that I'm talking about sex scenes.  I used to think the difference was academic – a discussion point used by romance writers to remind the world that their work isn't just about sex; rather, we write about real emotions with real personal stakes. 

I've come to realize, though, that the nomenclature does matter.  Because when a scene-with-sex is done right, it becomes much more.  It becomes a scene about characters, a scene about emotions.   

Most readers are completely familiar with the mechanics of sex, both the basic physical function and its most common variants.  If the only purpose of a sex scene were to describe that relatively limited range of physical activity, our books would get boring almost immediately. 

But a well-written love scene does more than describe the mechanics of sex.  A proper love scene informs the readers of the emotions of the characters before, during, and after their physical interaction.  Those emotions become the engines of the scene, providing the layers that keep readers from skimming and yawning (or, occasionally, laughing uproariously at physically impossible actions). 

Imagine these scenes: 

• An imaginative woman seducing a willing man, making love for the first time and discovering each other's preferences and reactions to assorted stimuli (for example, a key love scene in my novel PERFECT PITCH) 
• A couple who have known each other for decades, never acting on their mutual attraction because of society's condemnation of May/December relationships (the background for CATCHING HELL) 
• An experienced lover with extensive knowledge of sexual stimuli seducing a willing but inexperienced and partner for the first time (the setup for REACHING FIRST [coming soon]) 

The mechanics can be identical in each of these scenarios – naughty bits will rub against naughty bits.  But the weight of the scene, the meaning of the actions, will vary vastly depending on the underlying emotional gloss.  Therefore, as an author of love scenes, I need to focus on the emotional words in the scene.  I need to pay especially close attention to my action verbs, to my adjectives, to my adverbs. 

Love scenes have a lot in common with action scenes in a novel.  Sure, it's great to know my hero is the greatest broadswordsman in the history of broadswordsmen.  But a truly great fight scene will show me what it costs him to use his weapon – how he needs to harness all his strength, what it takes for him to heft the blade after his ribs are broken by his opponent, how the bones of his arm jangle after each clash.  He must be aware of each cost of every action (and inaction) in every second of his battle – his deeds may result in his own injury or death and/or in the injury or death of all his allies. 

Violence.  Sex.  When written well, they both allow an author to reveal depths of a character. 

What books have you read that have effective love scenes – scenes that divulge information about the characters, even as they advance the story with the sexual activity they present? 

~~~

Nicely done, Mindy! Yes, I must agree -- a well-done love/sex scene is a powerful way of depicting the inner lives of the characters involved!

So, Gentle Readers, care to answer her closing question in the comments? What books can you think of that have love scenes that advance the story AND tell you more about the characters?

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Elements of Modern Storytelling: Romance, A Guest Blog by Sara Stamey

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com


Sara Stamey is a new friend! Word has been getting around in certain parts of the writing community about this blog series, and Sara was one of those who stepped up to the plate and said she wanted to be involved! So you and I will be getting to know her together, through her articles on the art of storytelling. From what I can tell, I think she may be a lot like me!

Enjoy!

~~~

Sara:

  Thanks, Stephanie, for the opportunity to explore approaches to incorporating romance into stories that span all genres – and thanks to the authors of the fascinating excursions already posted.

My own novels tend to cross genres, including mainstream, science fiction, fantasy, mystery/suspense, and thriller plots, but they all include romantic subplots. As other writers in this series have noted, where would the human interest lie without relationship tangles? A lot of those tangles involve romantic attraction and/or consummation. Where I depart from Romance as a genre is that the love/sex relationship is not my main plot, but rather interwoven into other urgent story issues.  It’s another thread of tension to pull readers along – will the lovers get together despite challenges? Maybe because of my style or themes, I usually avoid a “tied up in a bow” neat ending to the romance – more gray areas and ambiguity about where this relationship might go. Because, well, that’s life!

I’ll illustrate my approach by starting with my early science fiction series from Ace/Berkley, the first novel Wild Card Run. The main plot concerns a rebellious game-designer from a restrictive home planet who is challenging the control of humanity by the Cybers, an artificial-intelligence network. (I published this back in the 1980s, and I’m actually listed in some databases as one of the first “Cyberpunk” authors along with William Gibson and others, which tickles me.) Anyway, my heroine Ruth Kurtis is forced to return to her family farm and polyandrous culture (women have multiple husbands), where she has to resist her attraction to her mother’s newest husband, a young man the daughter’s age. This underlying romantic tension helps drive the main plot of her rebellion against the Cybers, and also contributes to one of the themes of the novel, examining the impact of new technologies on human values. And of course, it never hurts to raise issues of social taboos, and the loyalty and betrayal connected with forbidden love –  perennials in storytelling.

The next two novels in the series, Win, Lose, Draw and Double Blind, explore ramifications of nontraditional romantic possibilities – sexual love between different humanoid races, and between human and machine – which seems to be a hot topic today, with the film “Her.” These elements serve to advance my larger plot speculations about the difficulty of defining humanity and identity, which again are timeless themes keeping writers and readers busy over the past centuries.

My recent novels are more mainstream, but again melding genre elements. Islands, romantic

suspense with a psychic tinge, is my closest approach to a romance formula, but again the romantic relationship has a lot of ambiguity and is not central to the mystery/suspense plot. Set in the Caribbean, where I taught scuba years ago, it concerns a young archeologist who arrives on a tropic island to research petroglyphs and solve of the mystery of her brother’s drowning on a sunken treasure ship. The romance angle concerns her chief suspect, whom she investigates while being reluctantly drawn to him despite warnings about the danger she’s courting with this volatile war veteran. The sparks fly between them, but the sexual relationship isn’t thrown in just for heat – it functions to provide clues and red herrings, as well as challenging a lot of preconceptions my heroine carries about the nature of truth and right and wrong, contributing to a larger Faustian theme. How far will she push to learn “the truth”? What happens when you get too deep a glimpse into the “dark side”? Can love help redeem you?

My upcoming metaphysical thriller The Ariadne Connection weaves together three perspectives on a near-future crisis concerning a geomagnetic reversal and a New Leprosy plague. My three main characters become entangled in various romantic subplots, from a tension-filled love triangle, to transgendered love, to traditional heterosexual love with reservations and spiritual dimensions. The main thriller plot is the focus of the novel – a young Greek scientist is christened “Saint Ariadne” when she discovers she can heal the New Leprosy by “laying on hands.” Various dangerous factions pursue her for their own agendas, and the three main characters are mostly occupied with evading pursuit while Ariadne learns to control her growing powers, which have the capability to destroy as well as heal. Love and sex under conditions of extreme uncertainty and stress are opportunities to explore dimensions of the characters, particularly Ariadne, who must weigh eternal questions: Does the end justify the means? Should you use people who love you in the service of a higher goal? Is the focus on a mission strengthened or weakened by allowing intimacy with a partner?  Do we lose ourselves when we give too much to another person? Does the joy of loving outweigh inevitable pain and loss?

I guess it’s obvious that I’m fascinated by the nuances of human behavior, the way our desires color our notions of “truth” and “good versus evil,” and I love to throw characters into stressful situations that test their mettle.  Love is always a big challenge to throw in the path of a character’s goals, as that tug of irrational attraction can really toss in a wild card. Will the relationship strengthen or weaken our characters? What will they learn about themselves that we can share? I hope my stories entertain as well as involve my readers in these enduring explorations.

Author bio:

Sara Stamey’s extended travels in out-of-the-way corners of the globe include treasure hunting and teaching scuba in the Caribbean and Honduras, operating a nuclear reactor, and owning a farm in Southern Chile. Now resettled in her native Northwest Washington, she teaches creative writing at Western Washington University and offers editing services as a “book doctor.” She shares her Squalicum Creek backyard with wild critters and her cats, dog, and very tall husband Thor.

Her romantic suspense novel Islands is described by reviewers as “an intellectual thriller” and "a superior suspense novel….a stomping vivid ride.” A new eBook edition will be released by Book View Café on May 6.

~~~

Yep, I had a feeling I was gonna like this lady.

Be sure to check out her books, folks! They're worth looking into!

And we'll have her back soon to tell us about her upcoming book release!

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Elements of Modern Storytelling: Romance, A Guest Blog by Kenneth Johnson

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Today's guest blog on Romance as an element of modern storytelling is by Kenneth Johnson. Ken is an interesting individual. Principal Chief of the Florida Tribe of Cherokee Indians, Ken is also a polymath, a social scientist and culturalist. (J.R.R. Tolkien would have called him a "loremaster.") Ken Johnson is better known as "America's Culturalist." He writes primarily on issues of culture, conflict, and literary allegory. He is rather widely published in various magazines and webzines, and I thought his take on elements of modern storytelling would be intriguing and a bit different. I first "e-met" him after he read a couple of my books and contacted me; we met in person a few weeks later when I appeared at a convention local to him.

So let's sit back and see what Ken has to say.

~~~

Kenneth:

As a reader, the greatest feat that a writer can accomplish is maintaining a point of view that captures, and retains, my interest throughout a storyline.   I am extremely particular when it comes to emotional vs. sensual writing.  Oft times, I could care less what the character is feeling emotionally and instead I want the writer to be talking about the textures, smells, sensations, etc. of the moment.  As a reader, romance therefore messes things up for me when it is employed.  By this I mean that romance tends to blur the lines and therefore it is very much like dropping a flash bomb in a room.  When done right, it re-grabs the attention of the reader, re-focuses it, and uses the romance as a carrier to a much more elevated storyline.  However, there is far too much bad writing out there and thus the romantic twist just ends up twisting the story so far out of whack that the reader gives up on the book altogether. 

Indeed, in many ways, romance is to a story what salt is like to food.  Too little can make for a bland story.  Too much can kill a story.  So, the writer has to get that Goldilocks scenario of getting things “just right” – which can become a daunting challenge.

Initially, the writer should spend a great deal of time contemplating both the correct timing as well as the correct type of romance to use.  The writer also needs to take into consideration the culture of the reader as well as the culture that the character represents.  Finally, the writer has a professional duty to contemplate and account for the impact that said romantic twist will have on the reader.

It is on this latter concept of professional responsibility to the impact of romance that I first want to address.   Social scientists have well established a link between visual and actual responses to both romantic and carnal/lustful situations.  Researchers have concluded that the subconscious brain cannot distinguish between actually seeing something happen and seeing something depicted in an audio-visual format on television or in the movies.   That is to say, “You know, but you don’t know,” because your conscious brain is saying, “This is a television show,” while your subconscious is like some teenager yelling out, “They’re really getting it on!”  Some researchers are now beginning to hypothesize that this response to stimuli also applies to the written word.  A select few are now going so far as to say that the written word may be even more sensual than real life, meaning that the subconscious brain would be even less likely to differentiate between writing and the real thing.  This hypothesis takes into account the power of human imagination.  Thus, a literary tryst may have a more physio-emotional impact on the reader than them seeing the real thing.  Such arguments have specifically centered around juvenile-based comics, teen fiction, and even young adult fiction due to the added issue of hormones which can potentially, and adversely, “color” feelings and perceptions.

Of course, all of this is all well and good but it is still just theory.  Quite possibly the greatest impact concern that a writer should have is the reader’s expectations.   For instance, if one is reading a story about an Amish farm, one really would not expect to read about how Helga got ravished by Jacob and ended up covered in chocolate sauce in some barn.  However, by the same token, Jacob taking Helga by the hand, courting her, and stealing a kiss might be something that the reader would more likely expect.  Therefore, the writer not only has to ask, “Would the character do this?” but the writer should also consider, “How will my readers react if this romantic twist plays out this specific way?”

Verily, it is the romantic type that matters as much, if not more, than anything else.  Ultimately, all romance can be broken down into six types or categories:  puppy love, teenage drama, young adult passion, erotica, secondary romance, and golden romance. 

By far the simplest concept to understand is the “puppy love” concept where intentions are pure even though comprehension and motives are likely underdeveloped in the plot line.  While it is the simplest to understand, this type of romance can be the hardest to write because it is so underdeveloped in its motives, rationale, etc.  For this reason, most writers never touch the topic unless in brief to provide a background story or some other accentual element to a much greater storyline. 

Teenage drama is a hot button issue now.  Like puppy love, it lacks rationale – but that is what makes it so great to use!  You can have love, hate, sorrow, etc. all tied in together because the readers are teenagers and they are feeling the ravages of hormonal changes. 

Young adult passion is becoming a more popular segment these days.  Indeed, a number of young readers are tired of carnal-focused romance stories and instead they want to experience the more sophisticated nuances of genuine love between two people who are now more mature and contemplating what to do with their lives. 

By far the greatest bulk of American romance is almost erotica based.  Some of the storylines being developed today are nothing short of something one would have expected from historical erotica writers like Anais Nin.  Such stories hone in on the frustrations of life and provide a release by one giving themselves over to cultural taboos.  But, again, audience and character background means everything.  As a Native American, I am used to intimate body parts being talked about in the casual.  However, the talk of breasts and such, in contemporary society, is deemed “intimate” and so this genre style can be fickle – especially if the writer has a diverse readership or only typically writes from one cultural vantage point. 

Of course, after a while, love oft-times will start to fade.  A growing trend in America is for middle-aged people to have two or more previous marriages in their histories.  So, romance writers have begun to focus on trying to write about reigniting flames in old relationships, finding the right relationship after a long-dead one has failed, etc. 

But, by far, my greatest love of romance storylines is the golden romance where love did not fade and a couple has held on to each other through the years to the point that it has blossomed into something that few people ever experience.  Using a real world example, I remember hearing a story of the late President Reagan.  He was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease and he decided to go on a routine walk with his Secret Service detail.  Walking past a person’s yard, he saw a beautiful rose.  When he tried to pick it, a Secret Service agent politely grabbed his hand and said, “Mr. President, this is not your home.”  To that, President Reagan replied, “I know, I am just getting this for my sweetie.”   For me, this is real romance.  I cannot imagine the horror of losing my mind.  It would devastate me.  Yet, through it all, he still wanted to show his wife love and affection with everyday simple gestures that contemporary society seemingly finds no value in anymore.  For this reason, golden romance is, in a way, much like puppy love – only matured.

Naturally, nothing matters more than timing.  You can have everything picked out and properly accounted for with the readers and characters and still mess up a good story with improper timing.  Simply put, you cannot have someone talking about Prussian military tactics one minute, and then having them in a loving embrace the second, without first properly setting the stage.  This is to say that romance happens on a very specific schedule. 

Case in point, golden romance can never happen between two teenagers because they are too young to understand it and appreciate it for what it is.  By the same token, two middle-aged individuals cannot suddenly break out in teenage romance because they should be old enough, and stable enough, that all of the, “I love you, I hate you, let’s make out, oh I feel so ashamed, let’s do it again,” erratic melodrama is well behind them.  

For this reason, the writer had better put serious thought into what type of romance takes what type of timing.  In the case of the Displaced Detective series, a lot of time had to expire for the two main characters, Sherlock and Skye, to get to know each other.  Even then, Sherlock had an inward battle he had to fight where he was nothing short of a cultural fossil trying to live in a new era with new norms.  This all had to play out.  Indeed, it was not until Skye nearly died that Sherlock had the emotional and traumatic stimulation needed for him to uncharacteristically break out of his cultural shell and engage in an atypical, erotic fashion.  Because both were older individuals, this type of romance had to quickly crescendo and move on to a more stable type of romance more fitting of their age and circumstance. 

Verily, when done right, there is no greater way for a writer to develop a storyline than by way of romance.  By its very essence, it is transcendental.  However, more so than with any other element, it has to be used in the appropriate amount, in the correct manner, and at the optimal point in time to give the story the most bang for the readers’ buck.  Some of the greatest stories of our era are won and lost in how the author handles romantic twists.

~~~

Interesting point of view, and I had not thought of dividing up the different "types" of love before, nor of how they necessarily provide for different timing! 

If you'd like to read more of Ken's work, you can find a lot linked to his website: 

http://kenjohnson.americasculturalist.tripod.com/ -- enjoy!

-Stephanie Osborn

http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

A New Idea for an Old Blog

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

I've been trying to figure out some interesting options for this blog. It's been around a few years now, and I wanted to do something different for my readers. An online chat with a friend and fellow author generated a spark, and I have that idea, and more, agreement from the appropriate people to help me pull it off.

So, starting next week, I'm going to have a running series of posts -- some guest, some my own -- that answer the question,

Where does [insert element here] fit as an element of modern storytelling?

Hopefully this will result in some interesting dialogue between authors and readers, hopefully in the comments of this blog (which for some reason, people seem to be shy about commenting upon, despite the fact that I have a goodly international readership), and elsewhere. So please stick around while anywhere from 8-12 authors discuss the elements of telling stories and how each one personally incorporates them. And by all means, post your thoughts and reactions in the comments.

I think it will be worth your while. And I think we're all about to learn some stuff.

Heads up: Next week we begin...
Where does ROMANCE fit as an element of modern storytelling?


-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Surprise! Cover Reveal for Joann H. Buchanan's New Book!

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Joann is a fellow author and friend on social media! She's having a book cover reveal today and I offered to take part! Enjoy!

~~~

Click on the image to enlarge.

Destiny chose her, vengeance drove her. Seventeen year old Carly was born to be a hunter, a destiny she rejected until one fateful night when the only person she had in the world was taken, her mom. Now Carly is on a mission to hunt down the entity that destroyed her world.

Excerpt:

My name is Carly. I belong to The Order of the Hunters—a group of chosen who are given the gift to track and kill those beings that go bump in the night. Oh yes, they are real, the monsters that creep in the darkness. They hide in the gardens of our own minds by making us believe they are nothing more than myths and legends. I’ve traveled this road for two years now. It’s not the same highway, but at times, when the sun is high in the sky and the road sweats from the heat, it feels like it. I wish I could say what brought me to this point was a sense of honor and nobility. In reality it was much simpler, it was revenge. Mom was taken by Shai, the weigher of souls.

The Hunter is scheduled to be released on January 31st 2014

~~~

Congratulations, Joann!

And readers, make sure you check out The Hunter!

-Stephanie Osborn

http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Buy, Read, Talk: How to Help a Writer's Career, by Katherine Addison

I know that last week I promised a blog on SPEARED today, but I encountered this blog recently and I just can't say how important it is that the readers of a particular writer know these things and do them whenever possible. So with her permission, I am reposting this blog of Katherine Addison/Sarah Monette, which she posted first in her Notes from the Labyrinth blog. I promise you an article on the emergency orbital atmospheric re-entry device later this month!

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

~~~

Back in 2009, when my career as a novelist went into a nosedive, somebody asked me what my readers could do to help. I apologize wholeheartedly to that person, for I no longer remember who they are. At the time, I didn't have a good answer, both because I really didn't know and because there was, at that point, nothing readers could do.

But now, five years later, when The Goblin Emperor is finally coming out this April (under my penname Katherine Addison, since alert readers have pointed out that I should probably mention that), I do have an answer, and I'm offering it up--not merely on my own behalf, but so that you all, as readers, know how to help the career of any writer whose work you like. And, as it turns out, the answer is simple. There are three major things any reader can do to support a writer:

1. BUY THE BOOK

I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. Buying the book is absolutely the best thing you can do to help a writer. And that means buying the book when it comes out.

That's easy for my book in this particular instance: it's a standalone. But I know there are a lot of people--and I'm one of them--who much prefer to wait to buy the books of a series until the series is complete. The problem is that the message that strategy sends to publishers isn't, "I'm waiting to buy this book until I can buy all the books." The message it sends is, "I'm not going to buy the book." And you end up with a situation like I was in in 2009: by the time the fourth book came out, the second book was out of print (so that readers who were waiting for the series to be complete were now unable to buy all the books), and Ace had already decided not to offer me a new contract. By the time the series was complete, in other words, my publishing career with that publisher was already over; people buying the fourth book (and Corambis, like The Mirador, is still in print) had no effect on my career at all. It was too late.

Another grim--and frequently realized--possibility is that later books of a series never come out at all. Publishers don't necessarily buy all the books in a series when they buy Book One. (Again, to use me as an example, Ace bought Mélusine and The Virtu together, but they didn't buy The Mirador and Corambis until two years later when they'd had a chance to see the sales figures on Mélusine, which is the only one of the four that earned out its advance.) If they don't like the sales figures on Book One, they may choose not to buy the later books at all. Again, the people who were waiting to buy the series never register as potential sale; they register as No Sale.

So if you're one of those people who prefers to wait (and I promise you, I understand and I sympathize), buy the book anyway. Again, this isn't just about my career, because it isn't just in my case that publishing works this way. Any author you like, if they start a series, buy the books as they come out. Nobody will make you read them until the series is complete, and buying the books as they appear is the only direct way you can tell the publisher you want the series to continue.

2. READ THE BOOK

(I know this is self-evident, but it just felt weird leaving it out.)

3. TELL THE WORLD

There is an indirect way you can tell the publisher you want the series to continue, or the author to be offered another contract, and that is to tell everyone you know that you like the book.

Seriously.

Nobody actually understands why readers choose to buy the books they do. Nobody understands why J. K. Rowling took the world by storm and Diana Wynne Jones never did. Nobody understands why The Name of the Rose was a best-seller. Or Fifty Shades of Gray. Or A Game of Thrones. Publishers are trying their damnedest to find the books that will replicate this phenomenon, but they do it by guess and gamble, and when they succeed, they don't know why, either. Nobody knows why people buy books.

The thing we do know is that word-of-mouth is the best and most persuasive way for a potential reader to find out about a book.

So if you like the book, tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your co-workers. Tell anyone you know who you think might like it. Blog about it. Write an Amazon review of it. Ask your library to buy it. (And if you can't afford to buy the book yourself, getting the library to buy it and checking the book out is an excellent alternative.) Get your book club to read it. Spread the word.

Now, none of this is obligatory. I'm not issuing commands here. I'm saying that, if there is a writer whose books you like, these are the best things you can do to help their career continue. And it holds true for self-published authors, as well. The mechanics are different, but those fundamental needs are the same. Authors need readers first and foremost to read their books, because without that, none of this even matters. But to make their careers flourish, authors need readers to buy their books and to talk about them.

Buy, Read, Talk. (Like Eat, Pray, Love, only for books.) That's my answer. That's how readers can help the career of an author whose works they enjoy.

And my first resolution for 2014 was to make this post.

~~~

This is great advice. And it is all very true. For example, with my Displaced Detective series, the initial contract was for the first four books. All books after that are not guaranteed. If sales should dip, or if the publisher doesn't like a manuscript for whatever reason, she has the option to not buy it. But if sales are going great, she is apt to buy it even if she personally doesn't much like the manuscript -- because, obviously, others do, because they're buying 'em.

Moreover, it is better for the author in the long run if you purchase your books through a regular dealer -- Amazon, Barnes-Noble, an independent bookstore -- than from the author at an event (convention, book fair, et cetera). The reason for this is that the books purchased from the author were purchased directly from the publisher BY the author, and don't factor into things like royalty statements, let alone sales ranks. In other words, they're mostly invisible to the publisher, unless s/he sits down and actually reckons up how many books you've sold -- a situation which rarely happens. Yes, the author gets the benefit of instant cash, but that may be at the cost of future books.

I would like to respectfully request that my readers follow this procedure whenever possible. If you like my stuff, tell others. If you like someone else's stuff and think I would too, tell me! This is far and away the MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING on the entire planet.

And most importantly, thanks for reading my stuff!

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Guest Post: Love is a Verb by Christine Amsden

This week, we're book-bombing Christine Amsden's Cassie Scot series, starting on November 19! That series includes: The Immortality Virus, Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective, and Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2)! (A book bomb is where we ask all fans and readers to buy the book on that date or the next. It creates a lot of movement in the books' rankings, which in turn draws attention from other potential readers!)

From Publisher’s Weekly:

“In this entertaining series opener, Amsden (The Immortality Virus) introduces readers to the eponymous Cassie, a decidedly mundane member of a magical family. …Readers will enjoy Cassie’s fish-out-of-water struggles as she fights magical threats with little more than experience and bravado.”

Here are some of Christine's thoughts about her books, and why she did what she did!

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

~~~

Love is a Verb

by Christine Amsden

 

From our earliest pre-teen days, chatting about boys and wondering over the mystery that is romance, we've tried to define love. We've asked our girlfriends (who didn't know any better than we did), and our parents (who may also not have known). We watched TV and we read books. But it seems to mean something a little different to everyone, so what exactly is it?

I won't pretend like I know the answer better than the rest of you, but I've spent the past few years of my life writing a romantic series with one idea in mind: Love is a verb. I know – it's not a definition, it's a part of speech – but that's the best I've got.

Love is something you do. It's the act of loving, and it's a little different for everyone because we're all a little different. We want and need different things.

Love is a choice you make, every day. It's thinking of someone else's needs before your own, and considering their feelings as at least as important as yours. It's making a big sacrifice because what he needs is more important than what you want. It's about making little sacrifices just because, well, you may not like kale but he does so every once in a while you make it for dinner.

 

Chemistry is great. Aside from feeling good, it makes the choice to love someone a little bit easier. Good thing, too, because loving can be a difficult thing to do.

A lot of people say the words, but actions speak louder. That's why I get frustrated with romance novels that hinge on the utterance of those three magic words – you know which ones I mean. :)

Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective is the first book in a four-part fantasy series. Cassie is the only ungifted member of a magical family, trying to earn a living as a “normal” detective in a town where everyone knows her family's reputation. So of course, she's going to get pulled into a paranormal investigation.

Cassie is extremely attracted to powerful, sexy, and dangerous Evan Blackwood. Who wouldn't be? But will she choose to love him? After all, love is a verb.

~~~

Interested? I am! Want to buy?

Buy Links for Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

OmniLit

Audible (audiobook)

Buy Links for Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2)

 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 

Go out there and enjoy!

 

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com