2020 release schedule

I've got some great news! I have another short story coming out February 4th! My story, Stealing Thunder From the Gods, will be in Straight Outta Dodge City, edited by David Boop!

It's available for pre-order on Amazon.

I love this story and I'm thrilled to be in another Baen anthology! I'm also ecstatic that my name is on the cover! This is the first time my name has made it on the cover! Oh, and do you see the huge names that I get to share a table of contents with? I'd be honored to be in an anthology with any one of them but to be with all of them is amazing! It's hard to contain the squee!

I also have news about Oneiroi War 2. The official title will be The Closed Game and right now it's on track for a January 7th release. I don't have the cover art yet but I'll share it when I do. I've almost finished the final edit -- just seven chapters left! I don't foresee any delays so fingers crossed that nothing happens to postpone it. I'm eager to finally see the next installment out in the world! I know many fans of The Moonflower are eager to read it.

In other news I'll be attending Superstars Writing Seminar in February. I've been asked to give my presentation on how to make the most of book signings. There's still space available if you want to come hear it. You can also check out the list of instructors at the link above. It's going to be an informative seminar and I'm looking forward to it! That's all I have planned for next year so far. As always once plans solidify for anything else I'll post the details here.

Dead author walking

I love WorldCon! I'll fill you in on the many cool and wonderful events in the next couple weeks but I need to decompress a bit and sleep before I can actually turn those memories into words. What I can say is that I'm more thankful than ever that I went to Superstars. Not only does it prepare you for the business side of being a writer, it prepares you for a few of the better happenings at cons: the parties and running into scores of famous authors.

I remember the first time I passed one of the Superstars instructors in the hall (I won't say who so I can preserve some dignity) I nearly froze. Despite the number of authors living in the Pacific Northwest, I usually don't run into them at the grocery store or the car wash. Usually it's only at events, both public and private, that I get to see them. I was unprepared for the commonality of it and as a result got a bit starstruck. Superstars gave me the chance to acclimatize to it.

Yes, the number of bestsellers and living legends at the seminar is a fraction of what I encountered at the con, but there's no way I could have walked by George R R Martin, Robert Silverberg, and Harry Turtledove without gawking like a newb.

I also learned at Superstars the importance of parties and BarCon. There are a lot of parties at WorldCon and if you're a writer you can't miss out on them. Likewise, you shouldn't pass up a little downtime in the hotel bar. Important contacts can be made and insider information can be acquired at both, and usually from those in a position to know. There were a lot of writers here and quite a few of them never set foot in either and they really missed out.

I know I keep plugging the virtues of the seminar, but really. How can I not when I'm still discovering the lessons I was unaware of? If I hadn't gone to the seminar I wouldn't have had a clue how to been able to deport myself nearly as well. So what are you waiting for? Go sign up for Superstars Writing Seminar. You need it.

The Dark Contest

Last week I heard about a contest that made my inner child squee. The Jim Henson Company in partnership with Grosset and Dunlap are looking for someone to write a YA book in the world of The Dark Crystal.

I love The Dark Crystal.

In my opinion, it's one of the few kids movies that has gotten better with time. The story and characters are solid, the world is engaging...in short it's one of the few sandboxes (that aren't mine) that I'd love to play in. When I heard about the contest I thought this would be my chance to do just that. Well....

After reading the official rules I had to take that desire out back and shoot it execution style. It was for my own good, really. You see, according to the rules, all entrants have no independant rights to their entry, name, image, or anything else in conjunction with the contest. I understand why they don't want the entrants to sell their work independently. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Brian Froud worked very hard to make the world of The Dark Crystal what it is and I can't blame the company for wanting to protect that, especially in light of the recent fanfic ruling. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to let them have the rest of those rights. If I sent in a short story and I won, the story would become their property and there's nothing I could do to stop them. The simple act of sending an entry means that I would have agreed to ALL the terms and conditions. There's no room for exceptions or negotiations. It's a package deal.

But oh! It doesn't end there.

The winner is contracted to write a YA novel that may or may not be based on their winning entry and there's no mention of payment. Grosset and Dunlap also reserve the right to not award a prize if they don't think the entries are up to snuff. Take a moment to think of all the twisted implications of that. They will have all those entires -- and the full rights to said entires -- that they can publish to their heart's content and not only do they not have to pay the author(s), they don't have to award grand prize to anyone. Everyone loses but the publisher.

Now, I may not have much of a love life, but I'm not that eager to be screwed.

If there's one thing I took away from the Superstars Writing Seminar (other than the importance of reading contest rules and contracts) it's that it's impossible to make a living as a writer if you throw your rights away like rice at a wedding. The old sayings "Look before you leap" and "Cover your ass" need to be tattooed on the back of a writer's hand. Heeding those two phrases will prevent a lot of pain and heartache.

I do want to make perfectly clear that I'm not writing this post to tarnish the Jim Henson Company's good name. I love what they do and the passion they have for their work. But they're puppeteers and artists, not publishers. If this worst case scenario plays out the blame will be on the publisher for screwing over the unsuspecting entrants. Granted, I don't have proof that they're going to screw anyone but Grosset and Dunlap (and their parent company, Penguin Group) have been doing this long enough to know exactly what they're doing. I sincerely hope that their intentions are good and they do intend to award the prize and a contract that involves more favorable terms (including payment) to the winner. However, I'm cynical and wary enough that I don't want to jump into bed with a publisher without a pre-nup.

Together we stand, together we fall

Ahh, December. That wonderful time of year when good (and not so good) boys and girls start flooding Santa's inbox with requests for the funds to attend all the wonderful Cons, workshops, and seminars that will take place next year. If I can put my two cents in, anyone that is serious about writing should seriously consider going to the Superstars Writing Seminar. I know I've talked about it in the past but I can't emphasize enough how much I learned and gained from this seminar. If my previous post about it (To the Stars and Back) wasn't enough to convince you than perhaps a couple videos will persuade you.

This seminar isn't just for those who have already published a work or two. This is for everyone who wants to make a living as a writer. Need to revitalize your career as a mid-list author? Go to Superstars. Want to know how to make money without being screwed by a big publisher? Go to Superstars. Want to be inspired? Go to Superstars. Want to make friends in the industry? Go to Superstars. Want to be surrounded by familiar faces at WorldCon? Go to Superstars.

This isn't one of those seminars that hammers information into your brain and leaves you scared and exhausted at the end of the day. This is a friendly seminar. Don't mistake me, they do cover a lot of topics in a short amount of time. Brandon Sanderson likened it to drinking from a fire hydrant and he was right. I'm still digesting the information in the copious amount of notes I took. My point is that no one there is judgmental. When I signed up last year I was invited to join the Facebook group so not only were the returning attendees already acquainted, but new attendees like myself were as well.

The whole point of this seminar is to strengthen the writing community by gathering together writers of all walks of life and experiences so that we can learn from each other and be better -- better writers, better businesspeople, and more well connected. Because after all, we are colleagues. If we're going to survive in this ever changing market and keep it alive, we have to band together.


                                                      So go ahead and sign up already!

Click to register

To the stars and back

Last week I promised you I would talk about the Superstars Writing Seminar and since I'm a woman of my word, I'm doing just that.

Ahem......

The seminar was freaking awesome!!!






What's that? You want details? I'm sorry, I can't do that. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  :)


Oh, alright. I'll give you more, but only because I'm a softie (and because it was freaking awesome).

If you're not already aware of what the seminar is, it's a nuts and bolts discussion of publishing presented by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Eric Flint, Dave Farland/Wolverton, Brandon Sanderson, and a few guest speakers. This year the guest speakers were James A. Owen (the A stands for awesome), Dean Wesley Smith, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch (who unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute).

I want to make sure that you noticed that this seminar is chiefly about publishing and not writing. We did briefly touch on the subject of writing but the primary focus of this seminar is publishing, which is why this seminar is so essential. The industry is changing so fast and if you don't know how to navigate the changing labyrinth, you're going to become someone's lunch.

Don't become someone's lunch.

If you're writing for your own enjoyment, then this seminar isn't for you. But if you're like me and want to make money doing what you love, then you need to pay attention to what these seasoned professionals have to say -- and believe me, they have a lot to say. I have 18 pages of notes.

If you're allergic to people and learning about publishing is more than enough awesome for you, then follow the link (http://superstarswritingseminars.com/index.php/dvds-a-mp3s) and buy the discs. If you want the full freaking awesome experience then you need to pull out the credit card and attend in person because the best parts of the seminar happen between the lectures. That's when you network.

This is one of the best and easiest places to network. There's a private Facebook group so we could get acquainted before we arrived (and stay in contact after we left) so many of us didn't need to break the ice. As for the attendees we didn't know, we learned really fast that asking "what do you write?" was the perfect ice breaker. During the seminar there were many short breaks, in addition to meal times and BarCon which gave us ample opportunity to break said ice and converse.

I don't want you to think that it was just the attendees getting geeky together. The pros were there too.  And honestly, if you go and don't ask at least one of the speakers to join you for a meal, you're missing out. Some of the best discussions with the pros happened after hours.

If you've been debating about going to a seminar, I highly recommend this one. Yes, it's expensive, but it's tax deductible and worth every penny. The friends, contacts, and opportunities I gained from this experience made it more than worth the expense.

Can you rewind that?

Sorry about the long gap between blogs. I spent the first half of last week in Las Vegas attending the Superstars Writing Seminar and the last half working both day jobs. (As a side note, I don't recommend going back to work the day you fly back.) The seminar was beyond amazing and I'll write about it over the next few weeks. However, right now I want to talk about the Avengers.

Please withhold all groans. This isn't another pointless review. We all know how awesome the movie is (and if you don't because you haven't seen it yet, what's wrong with you?) and that Joss Whedon is a genius. Besides, this is a writing blog, not a movie review blog. So, why bring it up? Because it's very well written. Now, I'm not saying that it's a masterpiece of cinema, but it is well constructed. In fact, I want to go back and see it several times so I can pick it apart and study it.

Two years ago I went to Dave Farland's Writer's Death Camp. As part of the course, we watched two movies (Avatar and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek) and looked for the various emotional beats and storytelling devices we'd been studying. Dave did warn us that once we learned how to do this, we wouldn't be able to simply watch a movie anymore. We would always be in dissect mode. He was right about that, but it hasn't ruined movies for me. In my opinion it enhances the viewing experience. Now, a good film can entertain both halves of my brain.

You see, last night, my right-brain fan girl was very happy. I was squeeing throughout the film. It was Avengers, it was action packed, it was Joss (squee! I love you Joss!), it had schwarma. What's not to love?

Well, there were a few inconsistencies, which my left-brain was more than happy to point out. But overall, my analytical left-brain loved it too. Why? Because the beats and devices were exactly where they needed to be in order to keep the viewer engaged. The big fight scene on the hover-ship stands out in particular. The way they jumped from character to character while moving the story forward was brilliant. We care about each of the Avengers in some way and exploiting that affection is, in my opinion, the ultimate device.

(spoiler alert)

Each Avenger is placed in individual danger as well as the larger group danger that the ship is facing, which is on top of the overlying threat of Loki destroying the world. At the beginning of the movie, the Earth is placed in danger by Loki's bid for world domination. This is also when Hawkeye is placed in personal danger when he's mind hacked by Loki. In the big hover-ship fight scene, each danger/threat is dealt with one by one. It's just done in such rapid succession that you don't notice unless you know what to look for.

The inciting incident for the fight is when Hawkeye shows up with his goons, shuts down engine 3, and attacks the bridge. While Cap and Tony are dealing with the engine repair (group danger), Natasha is running from the Hulk (personal danger). Of course, the Hulk's smashing is an additional threat to the ship which is why Thor stepped in (and he needed to save the damsel in distress). (I'd say that this places Thor in personal danger but it's hard to argue that when he's a god.) The Cap and Tony are each placed in personal danger when Hawkeye's goons attack and the engine rotors reach top speed. Since the group threat is mostly dealt with, they can deal with the personal danger quickly and get back to saving the ship. Meanwhile, back on the bridge, the goons have been dealt with but not before Hawkeye shuts down the computers and another engine (group danger). Cap finishes the goons and saves Tony just in time, which also saves the ship, just in time.

Ok, let's pause for a tally.

Personal danger: Cap (X)  Tony (X)  Natasha (X) Thor (in progress)  Hawkeye ()

Group danger: Engine 3 (X)  Hulk (in progress)  Bridge (X)

Earth danger: ???

Alright, back to the frey. Natasha puts on her big girl panties (no, that wasn't a deleted scene. I was speaking figuratively) and takes out Hawkeye, which of course solves his personal danger by literally knocking Loki out of his head. The final ship danger, the Hulk, is dealt with by a nameless, but not forgettable anonymous airman. The hulk's removal and descent could be argued as personal danger, but like Thor, his indestructible nature makes it a hard point to prove.

Now that the Personal and Group dangers have been dealt with they can get back the saving the earth, right? Wrong. Loki breaks out of his cell, tricks Thor (another arguable personal danger) and kills the lovable squire (personal loss for the group). Do you see what he did there? In typical Joss fashion, the plucky heroes are given a reason to put their differences aside, work together and kick Loki in the balls. Plus, it gave the heroes the final piece of the puzzle so they knew exactly where to go to do said ball kicking.

Now, this is just what I've picked up upon first viewing. I know there were some things that I didn't pick up on, so feel free to add to the discussion. Because, lets face it. There can't be too much discussion on the writing brilliance of Joss.