No Rest for the Wicked!

Now, I don’t know that I necessarily qualify as wicked…LOL

I had an incredible weekend at a SCA event, where I was being the Merchant Steward. Basically, I was the go-to person for the merchants on site. Helped them get set up, tear down, all that fun stuff. Heard good things, almost everyone went home happy. The guy who had to call a tow truck when his car wouldn’t start probably wasn’t, but he got a good driver The guy even helped load up his vehicle with his pavilion, etc.

I was gifted with some pretty earrings and a necklace by the Baron and Baroness in charge of the event for my work. It’s a wonderful feeling to know your time and energy were worth something.

That same thought can be applied to books. Dedications are very personal for me, something that I can use to single out an individual or two for a contribution to either the book or my life that has had a great impact on me. It’s a public way to make a personal thank you.

Acknowledgements have a place, too. While I didn’t have those in my first two books, they’re going to start showing up. A good editor or cover artist can make a huge difference in a book, and deserves to be thanked for their time and effort.

Writing is a solitary craft. We sit at our keyboards, or desks with pen and paper in front of us, and create worlds. Taking it from that humble start to a completed novel that anyone in the world can enjoy is a group effort.

Next time you open a new book, take a few moments to read the dedication and acknowledgements. There are some true heroes listed in there. The names may not mean much to you, but they’re people that are very dear to the heart of the author. 

BB

Progress!

Good morning!

Well, it’s finally begun. I wrote the opening for ‘Wielder of Tiren’, the final book in the Raven Chronicles. The ideas are flowing, scenes are forming in my mind, and I’m moving forward.

I’m still working hard at Solstice, trying to find that balance between writing my own stuff and reading submissions. Somewhere in there, I’ve got my family and various things in the mix. Some days are harder than others. But I’m in a place now that I wouldn’t trade away cheaply. 

Could my life be better? Sure. I have yet to meet an author who doesn’t want more sales. ‘Mark of the Successor’ sales have slowed down. I’ll have to spend some time this week promoting the books. 

This is the balance I need. Taking the time I spend working, reading, writing, promoting, and fitting those around family needs. One of our cats ended up at the vet last week. She’ll be fine, though she does not like the cone. I’ve got a Society for Creative Anachronism event this coming weekend, where I’m in charge of the merchants, and I’m squaring everything away for that. Candles are being made, scones and camp food need to be cooked, the van needs to be loaded.

Today, though, I’m going to hit the ground running. Do as much as I can, as quickly as I can, for Solstice. Make candles while I’m working on that (yeah for a hobby I can do while multitasking!), maybe throw out a promo tweet or two.

Then, it’s back to Arwenna’s latest problem. Things aren’t so wonderful in paradise any more.

BB

Everyone welcome Carl Brush, Solstice Author Extraordinaire!

Everyone say hello to Carl Brush! He’s an amazing author, promoter, and all around good guy!

First of all, thanks be to Kate for providing me some space to air my ideas and talk a bit about my recent release, The Maxwell Vendetta (prequel to the previously published The Second Vendetta.) In addition to her terrific writing, Kate labors fruitfully in the Solstice Publishing vineyards (not to mention her roles as wife and mom), and we Solstice authors are lucky and thankful to have her.

Here, then are a few thoughts not only about my own book, but about the creation of villains in general. Hope they’re useful and enjoyable.

 

Snakes in the Garden

 

There’s nothing wrong with stories without bad guys. Kate Atkinson’s splendid Life After Life is only the latest example of many first-class novels without an archetypal antagonist. There’s plenty of conflict and bad behavior in Life, of course. Without that, there would be no story. For others of us writers, however, villains are our artistic bread and butter. They personify the constant threat that evil poses to the order of our lives and society. And they’re also fun to create.  They don’t have to wear black hats, after all. They can assume any form at all. “The devil has the power to assume a pleasing shape,” as the bard puts it. Or not. Your choice. And that choice will determine the shape of your story and the direction the action will take.

Nowhere does the power to assume pleasing shapes have more meaning than in the world of the fantasy/paranormal tales that have become so popular in recent years. And nowhere is that protean ability better exemplified than in the character of the Demon God Corse in Kate Marie Collins’ fine novel The Daughter of Hauk. When Shakespeare wrote that line about the devil, he was talking about humans, who can be confusing enough. “One can smile and smile and be a villain.” But the characters in the world of Hauk can do more than smile and don disguises. They can transform their physical personae, even assume that of a friend. Even for someone with magical powers like the heroine Arwenna, it gets next-to-impossible to tell friend from foe, and one mistake can doom not only herself, but all her people. What delicious suspense for the reader.

Collins’ Corse is evil because, like that biblical snake, he’s simply wired that way. However, Michael Yellow Squirrel, my bad guy in The Maxwell Vendetta (and its sequel, The Second Vendetta), starts off with a legitimate beef. But, in addition, he’s wired to hold tightly to a grudge. And for a long time. The Army forced his Arapaho people onto a reservation in his childhood—the old story of broken U.S. promises—and Andy Maxwell’s grandfather played a key role in the struggle. That was in 1864. It’s now 1908. The grandfather is deceased, and everyone else has moved on, but Yellow Squirrel remains obsessed with wiping out every remaining Maxwell and their Circle M ranch to boot. What began as a true grievance becomes twisted into a fury against descendants who had nothing to do with the original incident. No one has the same trouble recognizing Yellow Squirrel as the Hauk characters do recognizing Corse, but my villain is every bit as clever and relentless and dangerous to the entire world of the family he threatens.

Done well, then, villains provide the yeast, the dramatic tension, that determines whether a story rises to delicious heights or falls flat. Like that yeast, they must be fresh, strong, attractive as the scent of rising dough. And they must be organic to the whole. You can’t just insert them like raisins or sprinkle them on for show after everything else has been kneaded and shaped. When readers taste the final product, the taste of that villain should season every bite. Without him or her, your loaf will be as tasteless as a Disney white bread in which nothing truly bad ever happens to anyone. In other words, no story, not really bread, at all.

You can buy the e-book The Maxwell Vendetta @
http://amzn.to/16KTlyU

 

Both the e-book and paperback versions of The Second Vendetta are available @

http://amzn.to/PXmxt8

Thanks for stopping by, Carl! 

Upcoming Posts, Tour Stops, and Stuff

Morning everyone!

Things are a bit topsy turvy around here this morning. Normally, my girls have late start (school starts an hour later than normal) on Mondays. This gives me an extra hour before they wake up to get things done, like writing blog posts. However, this goes away every year as school starts to wind down. No more late start until October. Sigh. I think I’ll miss that hour over the next two weeks they have left.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about what I’ve learned over the last 17 months since I got my first contract. Things I wish I’d known before I submitted a single story, how to deal with both publishers and other authors, stuff like that. I’m proud of myself that I’ve been able to keep my sense of humor some days! 

So, my plan for the next month or so is to do some posts that focus solely on those things I’ve learned/experienced that (I feel) are the most important to relay to anyone else out there wanting to get published. Both the good and the bad.

Also, I’ll be hosting a couple of other Solstice authors here this month. The first guest is tomorrow! Later this month, this blog will be part of a scavenger hunt for another Solstice author. 

For today, though, I’ll be moving along. It seems like Monday can be a rather busy day in my world. Maybe I’ll ignore it all and just write. It’s what I’m supposed to do as a author, yes?

BB

Good news!

I’m a bit excited this morning! If you’re a fan of ‘Daughter of Hauk’, this might make you smile a bit as well.

‘Son of Corse’, the sequel to ‘Daughter of Hauk’, is officially under contract with Solstice Publishing. It should come out later this year!

It’s shorter than DoH by half. Why? The story said it was done at that point. I’m planning a third book to close out the story, and will begin writing that one shortly. I’ve got the plot in my head, the opening scene is slowly materializing, and the ending…well, I’ve written it already. 

And it’s going to make everything before it fall into place.

‘Mark of the Successor’ continues to do well. I thank all who have bought a copy of either book for that. I can’t be a best selling author without you.

Vacation looms in our house. Not a long one, mind you. Just getting out of town for a day or two. Our school district builds in snow days. If they don’t take them (like this year), the kids get the days off school. 

Grab your favorite e-reader, download a new book, and be grateful for those who died so we can take today off. Both my biological father and father in law served in the armed forces, plus my dad is a police force veteran. Service to others, in all kinds of capacities, run deep in our families. If you see someone in uniform today, tell them thank you. They deserve that, and so much more.

BB

New Titles, and What They Really Mean

Thank you, everyone! “Mark of the Successor” launched last week to great fanfare and fun. To my great surprise, it even spent a brief few days on Amazon’s Best Seller list for fantasy – coming of age!

That means that I can officially call myself a best selling author.

Wow. I gotta admit. It’s humbling and exciting to see those two words in front of my job. The book peaked at #31, and dropped off the list over the weekend, but it’s still something I’m smiling about.

There’s the excitement of being able to say that, yes. But I also know how many books actually sold to put me on the list. The number’s not in the hundreds like most would assume. Last time I checked, I sold fewer than 15 copies.

That’s right. I made a best seller list with really small sales.

What does that mean? Well, Amazon’s got an interesting way to rank books for one. While it was an absolute thrill to see the cover on the list (yes, I ghosted the list way too much Thursday and Friday) and not far from books by Mercedes Lackey and Terry Brooks, it’s a sobering reality that it doesn’t take tons of sales to make the list. You just have to sell one more unit than the guy behind you.

I’ve gotten some good reviews so far, and I’m hoping sales continue to move upwards. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get another day on the list once the long weekend hits and people go looking for a new read. 

If you’re in need of a good book or two, I can recommend titles

BB

Guest Bloggers Today!

Today, I’m thrilled to share my space with a pair of amazing authors. I hope you enjoy what they have to say!

Hello All,

 

Joe E Legend and myself, Kristal McKerrington, are honoured Kate has given the chance to speak to you all. We are on a wild promotional media tour at the moment for our new book Charlie’s Journal: A Man’s Desperation and Dragon. We are looking to talk to you about these wonderful books with you today. Joe will also share with you some of his movie news he has.

 

Dragon is our first Fantasy novel with Media Aria CDM LTD, its due out in 2015. Here is the upcoming blurb for the novel: Dragon’s being hunted by the dark magic shifters. She’s got one hope. Knox’s school of shape shifting, only she’s setup to be far more. She might have lost everything, but she has the chance to set everything right. Can she?

 

Media Aria CDM LTD link:
http://www.mediaaria-cdm.com/author-profiles/

 

Charlie’s Journal: A Man’s Desperation is our first wrestling romance book together. Its being published by Firefly & Wisp publishing. Scheduled release is September 2013. Here is a taster of this wonderful book: “My wife died, daughters are going off the rails and everyone is looking to me to fix everything. A betrayedfriends set to destroy me. I’ll do anything for my daughters, but in the end will it end the world I know?”

 

Firefly & Wisp Publishing link:
http://www.fireflyandwispbooks.com/charlies-journal.html

 

Kristal McKerrington is preparing to release her first book with Solstice Publishing called “Calling You Home” here is a taster of the book coming very soon.

 

“Jason finds out May’sback in town. The woman he let got all those years ago has returned. Now they could have the future they dreamt of. She carried a secret away from him. Now she’s back and her secrets come home to roost. Follow Jason and May on their adventures through their complicated love affair. These small Ebookswill make lunchtimes fun again. We will bring you a country experience unlike any you’ve ever experienced before.”

 

Solstice Publishing’s Website Link:
http://www.solsticepublishing.com/

 

Joe E Legend is going to be appearing in the following films on his own.  Vampire Soul – Hidden in Plain Sight (Seattle, Washington, USA/ American Production), Salvatus (England/Scotland/ UK Production),  Broken Nation (England/ UK Production), 4) Pandemonium (Carribean/ Eastern Europe/ USA/ American Production),  Untitled Horror/Slasher Film (Canada/ Canadian/American/Japanese Production) , The Second Chance (Italy/ Italian Production, English language)

Further, Joe E Legend’s and myself have signed on to star in a reality series to shoot around the USA, following me and a series of wrestlers and dancers as we make efforts to get our other TV series (a drama) signed while still pursuing our wrestling and dancing careers.

Joe will be wrestling, a lot over the next year. He’s scheduled to tour India for some large stadium shows shortly which are meant to be broadcast across all of India and other parts of Asia. With the same company, he’s scheduled to be shooting their TV tapings (several months of content) for broadcast in more than 20+ countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He has appeared for several years now for this promotion and is a writer for them.

 

He is also the head writer for a promotion in Turkey where our TV product is watched by 1,500,000 fans per episode according to the last ratings. Further, Joe is scheduled for a tour of Pakistan in the Summer which will get big media attention in this country, and also scheduled to return to Canada for a huge Heavy Metal festival called “Heavy TO” which draws a live crowd of over 25,000 per day over 2 days and has been given a writing job there as well.

 

Joe’s  in negotiations to return to Japan (he’s toured there 14 times) and have a strong fan base there. He is also the “World Heavyweight Champion” for a promotion in Russia and have a strong fan base there as well as Switzerland where I’m champ as well.

Please follow us on our intense Media tour which is currently going on. We are scheduled to appear on the following places:

 

May 20th- UK Radio with Mike George- Joe E Legend
May 21st– Spotlight @ Passion for Romance – Kristal McKerrington

May 21- Ken Reedy Show- Joe E Legend
May 25th – Skype Interview with Patricia Ann Show- Joe and Kristal
May 26th- Skype Interview with Novel Idea Live- Joe and Kristal
June 5th- Romance blog- Kristal with mentions of Joe
June 6th- Calling Spots Magazine for Print and Online interview- Joe E Legends
June 13th- Romance Radio Station with a Bestseller- Joe E Legends and Kristal McKerrington
July 23rd- Night Owl Reviews- Joe E Legend and Kristal McKerrington

 

Thank you for stopping by and we hope to see your reviews, thoughts on the following social media pages relating to this tour: 

 blo