Writers & Readers Websites Wednesday - Easy Street Prompts

Easy Street Prompts is a fun site for writers and readers with some curiosity and perhaps the urge to write. Can be for artists too - it's a creative nudge.  With a visual boost it supplies photos and videos and random words to nudge you toward creativity - check it out, have fun and read, write, create!

Oh, and the photo above?  A little more inspiration for you - a prompt if you want to use it as springboard. 

Blog Hop Next Big Thing

I have been asked by Jim Wright of the blog OlBigJim and author of New Yesterdays  to take  part in a blog chain called The Next Big Thing in which an author answers ten questions about his/her next (or most in need of a push) book. At the end of the blog post I must ‘tag’ other authors and they answer on their blog the following week. And, we all put it on our blogs and Facebook pages, and/or tweet it.”

So here we go --- 

And these are the 10 questions:

1) What is the title of your book?

The title of my book is “Stormrider”.

2) Where did the idea come from?

I've always had a great love for wolves, adventure and fantasy. It all kind  of came together when the first seeds of the idea came to me a few years back - then those seeds sat around before they germinated. Where an idea comes from is always hard for me to answer. It's usually just some little thing that starts the process - but there are many 'seeds' that never seem to get going. Because of my particular love for animals - and wolves - and elements of SciFi this one really took root.

3) What genre best defines your book?

I guess I'd have to say Fantasy but there are a number of SciFi elements in it as well. I'm getting positive reviews from folks who've put it in both and some who want to call it a romance.  Really???  Hmm, hard to cram it into a box.  How about just a great read?

4) What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

LOL - no idea whatsoever. Maybe Angelina Jolie as the lead, Stormrider because she does physical action so well.

 5) What is the one-sentence synopsis?

There's a whole lot more than wolves coming - how much more?

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It is published at Kindle on Amazon by The Fictionworks. I'm contemplating adding a paperback version a little later in 2013

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?

Maybe three months.  I was holding down a full time job at the time so couldn't dedicate as much time at a stretch as I would have liked to then.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I don't like to compare my story to others in my genre (if I even came close to defining that above). It's strong on adventure, touched with a bit of philosophy, spiced with SciFi and stands on it's own. There was no model in mind when I originated it.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My own love of Fantasy, SciFi and the strength of friendship - between people and between people and animals.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

It's set on a world in turmoil and Stormrider, dedicated protector of the people, by finding the Amulet which has been stolen, can help bring order and peace to her world. But, because she is believed dead by the Cirlce of Nine who'd sent her on her mission, they send a Bounty Hunter, a mercenary to complete her mission and she ends up rescuing him. After that the sparks fly pretty much everywhere and it is the wovles who've come together in a pack including Stormrider, who guide the mission.

Now, I must pass The Next Big Thing to five more victims… erm, friends. (a direct quote from Big Jim)

Watch for the answers provided by my nominees and support their efforts by picking up a copy of their books. If you like them let them know by posting a review. It’s your praise and criticism that keep us going!

And, the nominees are:

V.K. Ramsey, author of The Third Key (Guarding The LIght Part 1)  

and 

Jim Murray, author of Lethal Medicine and State of Illusion. 

There were to be more folks tagged and responding, but unfortunately due to the time of year, my own insane schedule with getting a new computer, these brave volunteers are the ones I have to share with you. 

Guest Post by Jim L. Wright - The Next Big Thing

 Repost as Guest - Jim L. Wright's Blog Post

~part of a blog hop for authors to help readers find new writers, genres and books~

The Next Big Thing

Posted on 11/12/2012

I have been asked by Francis Laveaux of the blog In The Shadow of the Dragon and author of Le Cheval, l’Alouette to take part in a blog chain called The Next Big Thing in which an author answers ten questions about his/her next (or most in need of a push) book. At the end of the blog post I must ‘tag’ five other authors and they answer on their blog the following week. And, we all put it on our blogs and Facebook pages, and/or tweet it.”

And these are the 10 questions:

1) What is the title of your book?

The title of my book is “New Yesterdays”.

2) Where did the idea come from?

The idea for New Yesterdays was germinated in the 2011 NaNoWriMo. The story was originally about three young boys, modeled after my brothers and me, living in rural Alabama in the 1960s. I thought the story was going well for a few days there, but then the characters decided to go in a completely new and different direction. Remember, these boys were my brothers and me so I knew how headstrong they were so I decided to just follow along and let them tell the story. When the tale finished was both surprised and satisfied with what they’d done.

3) What genre best defines your book?

I reckon I’d have to classify it as a Young Adult Fantasy. However, I think that most adults will find it entertaining, as well. To bolster that belief, I’ve had a good many reviews and emails from adults from 30-75, all saying they enjoyed it very much! So, nuts to the classification system!

4) What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

I don’t know much about child actors nowadays, so I’d have to reach back to the past. I can see little Ronny Howard (of the Andy Griffith Show) playing the role of Jim and perhaps Johnny Crawford (of the Rifleman series) as Dustu. Co-stars could include Adam Beach as Adahy, Saginaw Grant as Tooantuh and Elaine Miles as Hiawassee, Dustu’s mother. The roles of Principal Chief John Ross, President John Adams, and President Andrew Jackson might be a bit more difficult since they are actual people.

 5) What is the one-sentence synopsis?

A fanciful rewriting of one of America’s ugliest eras.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It is self-published at Createspace and Amazon.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?

Believe it or not, the first draft was banged out in thirty days.  However, I had spent the better part of the previous year outlining and researching the story. I spent the next four months editing and passing it around to beta readers before finally publishing at the end of February 2012.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Honestly, I can’t say I’ve ever read anything quite like this story, with which I could compare it. Certainly, I didn’t have a “model story” in mind as I wrote it. As I mentioned earlier, the boys are the ones who actually wrote it; I was merely the stenographer!

 9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My two brothers, Tony and Michael were my inspiration for the story and my love of history and my heritage helped me to research and finish it.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

I think that the way I deal with the actual history of the tragedy of the Cherokee people will interest most readers, even if they have only a casual interest in it. I also think my way of telling a story has a way of holding people’s interest. There’s nothing stilted or formal about it. I just write my stories the same way I tell them round the dinner table or over a nice hot, steaming cup of coffee!

Now, I must pass The Next Big Thing to five more victims… erm, friends. Watch for the answers provided by my nominees and support their efforts by picking up a copy of their books. If you like them let them know by posting a review. It’s your praise and criticism that keep us going!

And, the nominees are:

• Ruth Watson-Morris, author of The Reptilian Series
• Tony Levy, author of A Turnkey or Not
• Tom Rydder, author of The Clearing, due out from Greyhart Press in early 2013
• Michelle Patricia Browne, author of And the Stars Will Sing
• Peggy Bechko, author of Out of Thin Air

About olbigjim

Ol' Big Jim, a teller of tall tales. My stories should take you on a journey. I want to make you laugh, thrill you, and maybe even frighten you just a little. I hope you'll enjoy reading them and let me know about it.

View all posts by olbigjim →

 

Writers Worry - A Lot

Friend writers have you ever thought about how many things we writers worry about, think about, consider and fret over that we can't do anything about?

I mean really, there's enough for us to get our angst on about like characters, chapter length, artwork for the book cover, how the editor is doing, what the next book will be, and on and on, without chewing our nails over what we can do nothing about.

I dunno, maybe writers like to worry.  Maybe it's in the blood. 

Whatever.

It's time to man-up, woman-up, shake it off and realize things change. They evolve. Sometimes they get better, sometimes worse, sometimes the whole change thing seems like it wasn't worth the effort in the first place but it happens anyway.

People in general hate change. Writers may be even worse, locked away in our own little worlds, creating those worlds, tucked away in whatever comfort zone feels best and just keeping things normal and comfy.

So, let's face it, we need to direct our focus away from things beyond our control.

Such as:
Your agent is retiring. Well it had to happen some time. So find a new one. Get folks to refer you. Go it alone. Move forward. You can't change the fact that that particular agent is going to his or her rest - oh, um, I mean retiring, though my advice would remain the same if he or she outright died on you.

The future of books is another biggie.  And I do mean biggie.  It's a broad subject. I mean why are we as writers gnashing our teeth over whether books are going to be conventional print or Ebooks or audio books or print on demand books or... well you get it.  First of all, really really big corporations are going to have a lot of input as to how that sifts out. Secondly, we as writers have much more control these days. We can do POD or digital editions, even audio editions on our own if we want. That we can fret over and worry over. What the big boys choose to do we can't change.

There's a lot of fretting, teeth gnashing and general twitterizing over what Amazon is going to do next.  I don't know, do you? I mean it's the elephant in the living room of publishing and no doubt it will remain so. There you are. Will worry, hair-tearing and tooth-grinding change anything for a writer in the 'what will Amazon do" arena?  Nope. Use the tools and shake it off.

There's a lot of worry and a lot of local hand-wringing about what future a small bookstore will have in all this publishing upheaval. I understand the small bookstore owner worrying.  I also understand readers perhaps afraid they'll lose their favorite small bookstore to the current economic climate (I don't want to see the indie bookstore close either). But the truth of the  matter  is we writers can't do a thing about the small bookstore's economics. We can just keep writing - so we do. It probably would be better for us if we did it with a bit less high anxiety.

I see a lot being written pro and con about blogging and facebook and twitter and pinterest and, well, you know the whole social networking thing. Here's the thing, we as writers are going to have to promote.  It's likely we'll be responsible for more promoting than ever before. I blog. You can to if you like, but you don't have to. You can social network - or not. The decision is yours. So stop worrying about it. Do it, don't do it, let go already.

A writer writes. The more writing the better. So it would seem a little less time spent on worrying and fretting and gnashing and hair-tearing - unless you want to do that over your latest creative writing endeavor - and a bit more time actually writing would be of great benefit.

What do you think?

Writers Websites Wednesday - Pub Rants with Kristin Nelson

Pub Rants is a great little blog with lots and lots of articles, websites to inform and protect writers, links to other blogs and agents and more. Ms. Nelson has agented 13 New York Times bestsellers and is willing to share clear and specific advice. You might want to visit.

Heads Up Writers - The Weather Is Your Friend

Okay, writers, listen up.  Despite all those jokes about “A dark and stormy night” via Edward Bulwer-Lytton and the ongoing Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest the simple fact is the weather can be and frequently is a writer’s friend.

At the risk of rattling a few cages and creating some writers’ angst, there’s a whole lot you can do with the weather whether in a script or a novel or short story. For one thing you can’t avoid the weather, it’s there. And it offers the opportunity for all sorts of descriptive, atmospheric and elements to advance a plot.

The intrepid writer can utilize weather to raise the stakes in a book or movie - hey, there are lots of weather conditions that can turn life-threatening and add great interest to a story (provided you’re not tossing it in just for some action and it doesn’t relate to the plot). I mean look, things are pretty tricky if a protagonist has werewolves on his trail, but things get that much worse when he gets trapped by a rising flood inside a high-rise WITH the werewolves and no way out.

A writer could simply set the mood for his or her story with weather. Many times sadness is reflected with drifting snow outside a window or a drizzling rain falling from gray skies. Weather affects us all and contributes to our moods. Adding a bit to your story wouldn’t hurt.

Have you noticed weather can put forth irony as well?  What about a beautiful sunrise, chirping birds and the news a loved one has died? Maybe the opposite - a raging blizzard, a computer that works and gives up the information the protagonist has just won the lottery but can’t get out of the house.

It can also be a way to present your reader of your writing or watcher of your movie some symbolism. Weather can be evocative of memories; happy ones of a snowy Christmas - or a palm-bedecked Christmas if in the tropics. And what of the character who’s always sunny and happy no matter how dismal the weather?

Weather can also create an interesting setting. Bring color into your writing. Add rain, snow, sleet, ice, wind, whatever and add spice to a scene. Take a scene of a couple merely standing and talking and turn it into a bit of a comedy by having them slipping and sliding on the ice, clutching each other to keep from falling. Zip things up.

So don’t hesitate to use weather to your advantage - but remember to use a light hand and in small doses, interwoven with action and dialog and remember to use it when it’s important. As a writer you don’t want to plague your readers with endless pages of snow drifting lightly down on the trees, covering the walks, making driving slow and difficult, coating the little birds’ heads, melting into ice patches, etc.

Use it the right way and add spice, color and life to your story, but like everything else, in moderation.

Come on, tell me when you’ve used weather to spice up a story or add drama. Who's afraid of Bulwer-Lytton?