31+ Flavors of Story
November 19, 2018 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as categories, flavors, genre
Genre. Ugh. The subject gets more coverage than alien abduction, and it probably always will. The Internet is full of advice urging writers to pick a genre and then write to it; this before the opening sentence gets any thought. Writing to a genre gives the author a clear marketing path. There are warnings against cross genre work because it is hard to market, and then there are the arguments about what exactly, qualifies a story as belonging to a particular genre. Makes the head spin so I surprise myself, but I want to advocate a new genre.
I appreciate that genre categories help readers find a book – readers know what kind of story they like. I use those categories when I’m looking for a fresh read. It’s the best tool for digital browsing. Problem is, the categories are often restrictive. Amazon has denied several of my clients publishing their work in the genre category they’ve chosen. And they don’t explain what factors the decision was based on. Does that mean if your Regency era tale of love involves Aunt Middie, the humble poor relation whose secretive potions are powerful and move the plot along, you have a Romance – or a fantasy? You could publish in both categories but it would still be unseen by readers who didn’t check both those boxes.
Can a gripping good story feature a sexy vampire who steals the crown jewels, thwarts a terrorist plot, redeems the fallen countess as he exposes government corruption and solves the murder, all while meeting and winning his one true love? Of course it can. To me, the best books always have possibilities beyond what the author may have intended. I love genre-blending books, the mixed bag plots that weave in a load of improbable possibles and make it all work because the world building and plotting are strong enough for the necessary suspension of belief.
It’s a given that genre categories are necessary. I accept it and am glad that the categories themselves have expanded to include more contemporary fictional worlds such as Dystopia and Magical Realism. Still, that doesn’t cover those books that defy categorization by mixing literary elements. A.F. Scudiere, whose Nightshade series involves werewolves, the FBI, forensics, action and adventure and a developing love story is Amazon-ranked in thriller, suspense, fantasy, occult and mystery. That’s a pretty wide reach and each category fits in some way but I have to wonder how many readers browse all of them.
Ashley C. Gillis’s Detach & Target is a military thriller and a romance and neither element trips the other up. She is on Amazon under romance, war & military, and war. I wonder how many readers missed this exciting and well written book because the genre categories don’t exactly fit. I think a lot of readers may be missing a really gritty and realistic story of a special Marine unit’s action and interaction. If we had a genre category that spread a wider net, including any mix of literary devises in a cohesive, well written whole, it would be a great place to browse when a reader is hungry to taste something outside the conventional.
I propose calling this genre Salmagundi. It’s not just a salad anymore, it’s a new literary flavor.
I AM UNAVAILABLE (maybe you are too)
November 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster tagged as Amazon, business or writing, communication, Craft
This morning the wonderful author, Mindy Neff, forwarded a blog post by David Gaugrhran. I had to read it twice to understand that Amazon had a problem and it affected me. Somehow many of our books are now unavailable for sale in the European market. Most of these markets are very small and those readers access Amazon through the U.S. portal. Granted I don’t sell many books in Malta, but I would like to have a presence there. But these weren’t the only markets in play. Australia – a huge market for me – is compromised. The UK, another market where my sales were solid is now nonexistent. Canada also is showing unavailability.
I had noticed the sad state of affairs on my dashboard in the last few weeks, but I put it down to a change in fashion. Perhaps people were tired of thrillers; perhaps another sub-genre had edged out my procedurals. Now it seems that – best guess – the new software Amazon put in place to comply with the EU’s demands to protect their population from information gathering and sharing might be at fault. I applaud the effort Amazon made for compliance, but I am disappointed in the lack of communication regarding the problem.
There is also good news to be gleaned from this. First, the community of authors is generous. Thank you Mindy for passing along this information. Thank you David Gaugrahn for explaining the situation as you know it. Both have allowed me to be proactive in contacting Amazon. I haven’t heard back yet, but through the grapevine I understand Amazon is working hard on the problem. Next, this was a wake-up call for me. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information coming my way. Like a reader skipping to get to the end of a book, I can miss things that are crucial to my business. I am recommitting to staying on top of things. Finally, such an ‘event’ reminds me why I went wide. While I have an aversion to selling my work to one outlet based solely on principal, this reminds me that there are also real reasons not to so so. With Amazon dark in so many markets I am still available through Smashwords itself and the platforms to which they deliver.
Maybe now is the time for you to take a minute to reassess your publication strategy. Selling only through Amazon might be a perfect match for you. As for me? I want to do everything I can to remain available.
Rebecca Forster started writing on a crazy dare, now she is the USA Today and Amazon best selling author of over 35 books. Her thrillers have been called “Perfect. . .Impossible to put down” by the CBS legal correspondent, Laurie Levenson. Rebecca is married to a superior court judge and is the mother of two grown sons.
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The Talented Claire Davon
November 14, 2018 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as Claire Davon, romance, Urban Fantasy
Claire Davon can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t part of her life. Growing up, she used to write stories with her friends. As a teenager she started out reading fantasy and science fiction, but her diet quickly changed to romance and happily-ever-after’s. A native of Massachusetts and cold weather, she left all that behind to move to the sun and fun of California, but has always lived no more than twenty miles from the ocean.
In college she studied acting with a minor in creative writing. In hindsight she should have flipped course studies. Before she was published, she sold books on eBay and discovered some of her favorite authors by sampling the goods, which was the perfect solution. Claire has many book-irons in the fire, most notably her urban fantasy series, The Elementals’ Challenge series, but writes contemporary and shifter romances as well as.
While she’s not a movie mogul or actor, she does work in the film industry with her office firmly situated in the 90210 district of Hollywood. Prone to break out into song, she is quick on feet and just as quick with snappy dialogue. In addition to writing she does animal rescue, reads, and goes to movies. She loves to hear from fans, so feel free to drop her a line.
Jann: Today we are talking with multi-genre author Claire Davon.
Jann: Tell us about the world you have created for the Elementals’ Challenge.
Claire: This is a paranormal/fantasy world that overlays our human world. Humans cannot see the paranormal or supernatural beings around us, but they are there. In the Elementals’ Challenge series each Elemental (earth, air, fire, water) has an antagonist called a Demonos with similar element powers to the Elemental. Every so often, approximately once a century, both the Elementals and the Demonos become aware of that “Challenge” is coming. They must fight each other. If the Elementals win ALL their battles then humanity is safe. However, if any one of the Elementals lose then they have to fight a final Challenge together and if they lose that then the Demonos are allowed to wreak havoc over humanity. The last time it happened was World War II. They do not expect Challenge again this soon, but as the stories open, the Elementals feel the unmistakable call of Challenge.
Jann: Fire Danger, book one in the Elementals’ Challenge—did you have both Rachel Quinn and Phoenix characters in mind when you started to plot the book?
Claire: Yes I did. Fire Danger started over ten years ago when I had this idea for the Elementals. Phoenix pretty much 
came to mind right away, as did Rachel, but they evolved when I went back to rewrite. In the original draft Rachel was fully human initially and that just didn’t work with how I envisioned the story. I decided that each of the partners of the Elementals should have similar aspects to their powers, so fire to fire, air to air, etcetera. I wanted Rachel to be able to stand alongside a thousand-year-old immortal fire Elemental and hold her own.
Realizing that, as well as finding my way out of a terrible plot hole I had dug for myself, was what enabled me to re-start the series and energize it with my current ideas. The result is as you see!
Jann: Book Two in the series, Air Attack, which came first the characters, Clea and Griffin or the plot?
Claire: Griffin did. He has a minor part in Fire Danger so his character was partly established when I started writing Air Attack. I do that with all the books. Ondine has a small part in Air Attack as well and Masud and Shani (Sphynx) turn up in Water Fall.
Clea was later. I knew I wanted a goddess but I realized when I started getting deeper into writing paranormal and fantasy stories that I didn’t always want to go with traditional pantheons, so the Greeks/Romans/Egyptians were out. I love the pantheons I found, especially the Tuatha dé Danann, to create her backstory and her heritage. So much rich history there I was unaware of! Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Griffin. So handsome, such wonderful wings, so ready to fall in love and he doesn’t know it…hee hee.
It was interesting to research gods that aren’t in the everyday lexicon. In keeping with the idea behind Fire Danger I wanted Clea to have air powers, and she got them from both sides of her god heritage. Each partner is instrumental in helping the Elemental achieve their part of Challenge, which is a piece of the series that weaves throughout all five books. In the end that part of the puzzle will be important.
Jann: Lara’s and Sullivan’s story released in October, book three in the series, titled Water Fall. Books One and Two came out within six months of each other. When did you have the plot for book three?
Claire: Actually, Fire Danger originally came out in June of 2016 when Samhain Publishing released it. Unfortunately, Samhain closed two weeks prior to their March, 2017 release of Air Attack. I got the rights to both books back but redid the cover for Fire Danger and put it back out in May of 2017, and then sent Air Attack through another edit and cover design before releasing it in November of 2017.
Water Fall took an interesting journey. Ten plus years ago all of my Elementals were male but when I went back to the series a few years ago that didn’t sit well with me. Therefore Ondine (and the female half of Sphynx) were born. I love Ondine/Lara because I think she brings the human side to the world of the Elementals. Ten years prior to the start of her story she was an ordinary human and then she suddenly is imbued with the power of the water Elemental when the prior Elemental is killed. In the span of a heartbeat she goes from being a human to being one quarter of some of the most powerful paranormal forces on the planet.
Here’s the really funny part about Water Fall. I wrote the first draft with a different character as the hero. The entire time I’m writing it the shark shifter, Sullivan, kept hammering on my brain. But I was stubborn and stuck with the other character until The End. Then I finished, took a beat and said “yeah…nope. Sullivan is her hero” and re-wrote the entire story with him as the MC.
The plot evolved once I knew her antagonist, the giant Iku-Turso (from a Finnish legend). Think of the Kraken and you have the idea of the Iku-Turso. I wanted to combine Lara’s journey into Ondine with the idea of this implacable underwater beast that is little understood. Add in some Haitian gods and other shifters and Water Fall became something I didn’t expect. But I like where it went!
Jann: July 25, 2018, Book One in your new Universe Chronicles series,Shifting Auras, made its debut. I understand you are working on Book Two. What can you tell us about this new world and the characters? When will book two be available?
Claire: This is such a fun series to write! Part X-Men/Gifted and part romance, the Universe Chronicles imagines a world where there are people with talents such as telekinesis and psychic powers that are loosely grouped into a U.S. agency (Universe) and a former Russian one (Night Stars). Both groups have had an uneasy existence with each other
this entire time, trying to get the upper hand on the other. As the series opens Maya Wingfield, who is an unaffiliated psychic, finds herself in Richmond and into the hands of Universe and handsome telekinetic Ian Sanderson, who is suspicious of her. Universe thinks she may be a Night Stars spy or, worse yet, part of a new group called Whisper that is targeting all talents who are twenty-five years old. The people behind Whisper, and the reason they are interested in people that age, make up the story arc that will go across the series. Each couple has their story but there is an underlying story that goes throughout.
There actually were U.S. and Russia agencies that looked into paranormal phenomenon decades ago. The U.S. agency was the Stargate Project and the Russian one was Blue Stars. The movie The Men Who Stare at Goats was loosely based on the Stargate Project.
Book two takes Ian and Maya’s boss Quillan on his own romantic journey. A Night Stars agent, Jiana Falco saves him from being hit by a car and declares she wants to join Universe. Jiana has an interesting talent where she can see and manipulate shadows. She and Quillan wind up on the run and – well – love and mayhem ensues!
As for when it comes out, my deal with Soul Mate Publishing is on a book by book basis. I am just about ready to query my editor and see if she wants to see it to publish it. Fingers crossed she will!
Jann: Can you share with us what’s on your writing horizon?
Claire: I am always writing something. At the moment I have stories in several different anthologies that should be out by the end of the year. They are as follows:
• The Only One Alive-Transcendent-release date TBA but by the end of the year. This is an odd little psychological story that is a touch horror and a touch weirdness.
• Encounter With a Spring Goddess-Spring’s Blessing-November, 2018. This is a fantasy story about little-known Spring goddess Artio and her encounter with two orphans in the woods.
• Touch of the Silver Dragon-Downstream-release date TBA. This is a lovely dragon story that works off the theme I’ve developed for any dragons I write. In this one a captured dragon and a hopeless, but not helpless, servant girl in China bond together to survive.
• Mother’s Night-Tell-Tale Press. An anti-Christmas story of sorts that weaves in pagan goddesses, St. Nick and a beleaguered Santa Claus. I don’t know the timing on this one.
• Of Water and Fire-Belle Muse Press/Voices of the Deep-this is part of a mermaid/siren box set that will be available for pre-order on November 14th and released November 23rd. This novella is a continuation of a short story I wrote a year and a half ago for a now defunct publisher telling the story of a college-age siren and the descendant of Hephaestus who gets involved with her. In this tale there is another demi-god on campus who wants her to sing for him and will go to any lengths to make that happen. The gods—and the volcanos—of Hawaii are displeased by this.
Next year I have stories in two box sets that I am still working on:
• Souls and Shadows box set-a collection of paranormal stories with magic elements and, of course, romance! I am working on this story but there will be a demi-god and a magical being who is affiliated with Hecate (yep, I went Greek on both of these box sets). This should release mid next year.
• When Darkness Falls box set-I’ve got another demi-god and a gorgon in this one. I think the gorgons were terribly mistreated and very misunderstood. In this book which will be the start of (yet) another series our gorgon and our half banshee/half Greek god are tasked with finding out who is killing gods. This should be out mid next year as well.
If all that isn’t enough, once I finish with edits on Tracking Shadows (Universe Chronicles Book 2) I am going right into edits for Earth Tremors, the fourth Elementals’ Challenge book. I hope to get that out later next year.
If anyone wants to find out more about me you can visit my website at www.clairedavon.com, or if you want to join my Facebook author page that’s https://www.facebook.com/ClaireDavonindieauthor/
Thanks for hosting me!
Jann: Claire thank you so much for taking time to share your world.
Submitting Your Work by A. E. Decker
November 13, 2018 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as A E Decker, Moonfall Mayhem, Submitting, writing
This month on From a Cabin in the Woods we are featuring Submitting Your Work by A. E. Decker
A. E. Decker is a former ESL tutor, tai chi instructor, and doll-maker. She holds degrees in English and colonial American history. Her Moonfall Mayhem series, chronicling the adventures of a half-vampire girl run amuck in the land of fairytales, is published by World Weaver Press. Her stories have been published in Fireside Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and PhobosMagazine, as well as in numerous anthologies. She has been a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group since 2010, and edited two of their anthologies. Like all writers, she is owned by three cats.
Submitting Your Work
A. E. Decker
I’ve come around to the belief that the real bugaboo of a writer’s world is not that dreaded phantom, writer’s block, nor even learning to take criticism without curling in a ball and weeping.
The very hardest part about being a writer is submitting your work. I’ve watched a lot of friends twist themselves into contortions trying to avoid it. One man I worked with in a critique group refused to hear any recommendations for his perfectly saleable military sci-fi novels, saying “he only wrote for his own enjoyment.” I have one friend who insists she doesn’t know how to write a query letter, and another whose work always needs one more revision before it’s ready to show to an editor. Speaking of query letters, I also know plenty of writers who spend more time agonizing over the perfect writing that will infallibly catch the agent/editor’s eye than they do on the work they’re submitting.
I’m not excusing myself from methods of submission avoidance, either. I have a formula worked out for short story queries, so I can whip them off pretty quickly, but I rarely refrain from dabbling with my work before submitting it, fiddling with a few lines here, adjusting the grammar there, as if these miniscule changes will somehow make all the difference in the editor’s mind. And, as far as novels go, present me with a perfectly good market that requires a summary as part of its conditions, and I’ll find any excuse to procrastinate until the deadline passes rather than think “Hooray! This might be someone who’s actually interested in reading my book.”
Why is submitting so hard? Surely most of us—the man from my critique group aside—write in the hopes of someday having people read our work, and unless we’re ready to go the self-publish route, that means finding someone to represent us.
I think the answer can be summed up in a single word: rejection. Rejection is harsh. The mere term carries many connotations. We equate it with Not Good Enough. “Loser” and “failure” might even drift through our cringing subconsciouses. We envision the editor/agent as some mighty judge on high, handing down the final word on our literary merit.
Of course it’s all nonsense. Editors and agents are as much flesh-and-blood people we are ourselves. People have their own tastes. As much as we all want to write that one great novel that transcends genre and is beloved by all who read it, we have to recognize that it isn’t possible. I personally would have rejected The Great Gatsby, Moby Dick, and anything written by Ernest Hemmingway, if I were an editor, and I bet half of you nodded along with that list, and the other half substituted your own choices.
So, what does this mean, when it comes to dealing with rejections? Am I suggesting that the next time you receive one of those form letters you should shake your fist at the screen, shouting: “You fool! You just turned down the next Herman Melville!”
Actually, yes, if it sounds like fun, and doesn’t scare your cats or members of your family too badly. Because getting a rejection, even a form rejection that tells you nothing of the editor’s true thoughts, means that you submitted. You took a chance. And I can tell you, personally, through the carnage of hundreds of rejection notices, that submitting is mostly a number’s game. It’s not about polishing your writing until it’s “good enough” to be published; it’s about managing to put it in front of a person whose taste matches your style.
Think about it: you only really have to appeal to one person, so long as it’s a person with the ability to publish you. Suddenly, the eighteen varying opinions in your writers’ group don’t seem so weighty. (That said, if they all agree on an aspect of your work, you likely have a problem.) With this thought in mind, submitting becomes more of a hide-and-seek game, searching out that one agent or editor who thinks your writing is marvelous. Yes, they are out there somewhere. It’s up to you to find them.
So stop fussing with your story or novel, trying to make it “perfect.” Take a breath, make a list of agents or publishers, and get to work. Keep records of who sends you encouraging feedback—they might like your style, if not the piece you sent them. Most importantly, remember submitting isn’t like the lottery; you will win if you just keep playing.
And until then, you can yell at your screen. Just don’t scare your cats.
Celebrating Veterans Day; Honoring the Veterans in my family
November 12, 2018 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby, Writing tagged as Family, history, military, research, storiesCelebrating Veterans Day; Honoring the Veterans in My Family
By: Denise M. Colby
Since my post is set for the day we celebrate Veteran’s Day and I love history, I thought it would be fun to celebrate my family in the military and do a bit of research. I don’t have a long list of family members in the military, nor do I have a lot of stories passed down from generation to generation. What I do have are snippets and a few photos.
My great-great-great-grandfather was a Mounted Ranger and a First Dragoons
1832-34 Mounted Volunteers, Mounted Rangers, First Dragoons
I will start with my great-great-great-grandfather James Clyman, who I wrote about a few months ago. He wrote down information in his journal and it is here that I learned he enlisted as a private in a company of Mounted Volunteers on June 16, 1832. He was in the same company with Abraham Lincoln for a month (and together they fought in the Black Hawk War). He is quoted in James Clyman, Frontiersman (quoting a quote from another book by R.T. Montgomery, “Biographical Sketch of James Clyman”) of saying “We didn’t think much then about his ever being President.”
Military Inventory with James Clyman’s name on it. 1833-1834
He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant of Mounted Rangers, and later appointed as assistant commissary of subsistence for the company. It’s here that several of the receipts and inventory papers he signed are in the Huntington Library. I was able to go through these papers and take photos a couple of years ago, which was an amazing experience. And finally, I get to use them in something I’ve written.
Clyman transferred to the First Dragoons and nine months later sent in his resignation, which was accepted on May 31, 1834. He wanted to get back to his farm and business and, according to the Frontiersman, after he returned home, “he was besieged with accounts from the Commissary General of Subsistence at Washington, requesting the return of vouchers and abstracts of ration issues made during campaigns in the field, some of which were dated back to the time of his predecessor in 1832. Clyman stood charged on the books with over $400.” I’m interpreting this as basically the government sent bills to pay for the vouchers and ration issues made while he was in the field.
Unknown Stories Needing to be Found
I believe that my grandfather, Carroll W. Marsh, Sr. was in the military, but I don’t have any specifics on him. As I’m writing this, I realize I need to ask and find out something. We have lots of details on my grandmothers side of the family, but not my grandfathers.
My dad, Carroll W. Marsh, Jr.
1950 Army National Guard
Next on my list is my father, Carroll W. Marsh, Jr., who left the National Guard long before I was born, so I didn’t know him in that capacity. Nor, was his service really talked about. He didn’t fight in any wars that I’m aware of, nor did he have any big stories that were shared to me as a child. My dad passed away over twenty-one years ago and the information I have on my dad and his stint in the Army National Guard is actually very small. But, I decided to find out more.
It’s amazing to be able to research via Google. This large company photo has a title above it that says “Local Boys In Sonoma County’s National Guard Company”. One of the men holds a banner with 579HQ on it. I was able to search up the number. The 579th was an Engineering Battalion, based in Petaluma and still exists today. My dad turned 18 in 1950. I don’t know how many years he served, although I do know he was still in when my parents were married, which would’ve been beyond 1952.
My nephew, Jason
Present-day United States Navy
My nephew, Jason Burrows, just retired from the Navy earlier this year after twenty-four years of service. We are close in age, raised more like brother and sister. I’m quite proud of him. He’s been all over. Italy, Japan, Florida. On the Atlantic and the Pacific. The few times our families have gotten together, I have loved hearing his stories. The little things, that as nation we have no visibility to. The inside scoop. I remember staying on the U.S.S. Midway with my family for a scout event and finding how tiny the bunks were for even myself. I couldn’t imagine how they were for him for six months at a time given he’s 6’4”. He said when on ship he’d jog for exercise but would have to duck to clear the doorways. I loved every minute of my twenty hours on board, feeling closer and gaining an understanding of where he was and what he did.
I remember when my dad was sick and close to passing, email was new. Hard to believe now, but given my corporate job at the time, I was the only one in the family that could communicate with Jason and keep him updated so that he could be flown off the ship when the time came to come home.
I have lots more stories, but I had originally planned to keep this short, so I will save them for another time.
Another picture of my dad
As I’ve written this, I realize I have much more information than I thought I did about my family and their military history. I’m very thankful I have the ability write about it and an audience to share it with. Thank you for joining me in learning more about my family and its military roots.
I wish you and yours a Happy Veterans Day.
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