Time to say farewell

The time has come to say farewell, not only for me, but for Frightening Journeys too. Earlier this week, I came to a decision to bow out of the blog. It wasn't easy. I don't like to give up or set things aside without a good reason. Still, I felt with my family obligations, I couldn't wholeheartedly commit to being here each week anymore and hadn't posted in a long time. I had yet to tell the others when Nicole contacted me about putting the blog to rest. After consulting with Nerine and Sonya, we all agreed it was time.


We started FJ in October of 2008. None of us were published, just hoping and working hard to make it there one day. Each of us had families, jobs and other commitments, but we also had a dream to become published authors, helping others by sharing our pitfalls along the way. We said farewell to four wonderful ladies Heather, J.K. Mahal and Barbra Annino who started blogging with us, and Sandra Sookoo who joined us later and became a must-read author. And welcomed Nerine Dorman, multi-published author and editor, and authors Sonya Clark and Melissa Glisan. We've all grown as writers since beginning FJ and I can't help but think we learned alot from each other along the way.


As for my absence, well my husband is in bad health and has been since his car wreck in 2007. March of last year, he caught pneumonia and wound up in ICU for a week. Then in May he got very sick. We thought he had a virus, but he was back in the ICU with Diabetic Ketoacidosis. A month later he was put in for the same symptoms and we learned he has Gastroparesis, a complication of Diabetes. Since he was diagnosed, he has been hospitalized at least once a month, sometimes twice, for a week or more at a time. At last count he's been in ICU at least ten times. Needless to say, the stress of spending days at work, evenings at the hospital until midnight, trying to keep up with contract deadlines, edits and just for fun lets throw in the kids volleyball and cheer obligations. Things went crazy. They still are and I'm not sure if they will be "normal" again. 


I'm nearing the end of my Elemental Magic Series. Miraculously, I've managed to finish four of the five books amidst the craziness. The fourth will release next month. My editor and publisher have been very understanding, moving release dates around to give me more time to compose when his illness keeps me from work.  My bosses at work have done pretty much the same, allowing me to be off when I need to, etc. I am blessed to work with great people and I thank God for them everyday. Right now I'm really thanking God for my job in the lovely air conditioning. It's a heat index of 100 outside and that's mild compared to last week.


So, thank you everyone for following along with us. This doesn't mean we have given up blogging for good. You'll be able to find us on our individual blogs.  I try to post every couple of days at brynnacurry.com. I hope you'll visit me there. 


Nerine, Nichole, Sonya, it has been wonderful working with you ladies. I wish you all the best in everything you do. Thanks for letting me be a part of your journey. 


Until we meet again, be blessed.


Brynna

So long, farewell...

They say all good things must come to an end, and that seems to be true for this blog. After this week, there will be no new posts here.

We’ve had a good run, I think, but each of us Frightening Journey bloggers have decided that we can’t continue. I’m a little saddened, I won’t lie. The idea of a blog where authors of paranormal mysteries was originally my idea. It morphed, obviously, into a blog for paranormal authors. And that was a good thing.

Now we seem to have morphed once again. Or maybe we just outgrew this stage, like a child outgrowing his favorite shirt.

I will miss my fellow bloggers, but I hope I won’t have to miss you. I plan to blog at my own site (http://www.nicholerbennett.com) on a more regular basis.

Thanks for joining us on this “frightening journey” toward publication and may all your dreams be achieved.

Blessings!

Nichole

Making room for the art

I'm sure just about everyone has heard about "art imitating life." For an author, that phrase is even more true. Even in the sci-fi or paranormal genres, an author does write what's familiar. At least a little bit.

Even as a "paranormal cozy mystery" author, my life does manage to make its way into my writing. Some of the characters in my work bear a distinct resemblance to people I know in my day-to-day life. The locations I write about are ones I've actually visited.

I have trouble, however, making time for the art. Lately life seems to get in the way. Or, to use another phrase: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

I've been having trouble balancing my life and my art. Not just the writing part of my life, either. The knitting, the spinning, the painting...they've all been suffering lately as well. I'm not sure why. My theory is that there are a ton of changes going on in my world and it's sucking my creative juices right out of me. Maybe not, but it's better than having no clue at all.

So for all the creative people out there: what do you do when your creativity is on vacation? I'm looking forward to your suggestions!

Blessings!

Nichole

There’s more than one way to publish words

(Or how to get a bunch of authors hot and bothered)

You know, I didn’t really want to get dragged into this whole debate because, you know what, opinions are like assholes, and everyone’s got one. But yeah, I’m going to let mine hang out now.

What sparked this off was a passing comment by an unpublished author, that small/indie publishers are somehow not real.

Now that I’ve managed to unglue myself from the ceiling and I’m not spitting fire anymore, I want to ask you what makes one form of publishing any less valid than another. Granted, we may not *like* a particular form of publishing but the point remains is that words are still disseminated to readers. Hence, a story is published.

As we say in South Africa: finish en klaar, hey?

Well, yes and no.

What is clear is that the entire publishing industry is in a massive state of flux. When you have big names heading into self-publishing or starting their own publishing companies, then something’s up. Let’s not look at the analogy of rats abandoning a ship but yeah…

Plainly put, the old model of publishing is not sustainable. I’m not saying it’s going to fail. Hell no. It’s just that the big traditional publishers are going to have to seriously relook at the way they’re doing business.

What we’ve also seen is a massive influx of small and indie presses that have grabbed an opportunity with all the new technology coming online. Authors have never had such a wide variety of publishing options available to them and, with the growth in reading gadgets, avid book fanatics are spoilt for choice.

The problem comes in when one discerns quality. With so many authors now getting heard, it’s not always easy telling the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly. That’s not to say that the indie-published fantasy adventure that could have used a bit more spit and polish is somehow worth less than the polished traditionally published fantasy novel that may not have such an unusual storyline.

And even that’s a broad generalization. I kinda like my reading rough around the edges where authors have cut loose and experimented a little.

At the end of the day, the reader is the final arbiter, and some books certainly have more appeal to some readers than others. Does it really matter at the end of the day who published the book or how?

With regard to quality, the onus is on the author to ensure that his or her words are as good as they can be. An editor can only make so many suggestions. Obviously traditional publishers carry more clout with their editorial suggestions but it’s still up to the author to decide whether he or she will comply. It’s also up to the author to make sure that their writing evolves and that they don’t repeat the same mistakes over, and over again.

So, how do we wade through the glut of published novels to find the author we like? My answer to this is to follow authors’ and reviewers’ blogs. Follow your favourite publishers and authors on Twitter. Goodreads is also a fantastic place to find new authors to read or to discover which ones aren’t so hot. It’s kinda like an Easter egg hunt, or at least that’s the way I’m looking at it. And I can tell you this much, I’ve discovered some fresh voices that would have been lost to the world had it not been for the shift in the industry.

You may not like the books I read but you know what? That’s okay. Really. I probably won’t like yours either. Just be glad that we now have a greater selection that is almost instantly available in a variety of formats.

Just My Blood Type

While there's a lot going on behind the scenes, I'd love to share a bit of news. A few weeks ago, I teamed up with author Carrie Clevenger to collaborate on a bit of a short fiction entitled Just My Blood Type. At time of writing we're finalising the final proof before we upload, but we can share the cover art.

To give credit where it's due, the photography and retouching is by none other than my lovely husband, Thomas Dorman. You can see more of his artwork here.

The typographical treatment for this was done by the very talented Danielle Eriksen, who is available for layout work. She can be contacted at Danielle@dislocate.co.za

Of course the real star of the show is Xan Marcelles, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire who plays bass in the band Crooked Fang. Therese von Willegen, erotica author, swung by the town of Pinecliffe, Colorado, to interview him, and got a little more than she bargained for.

Follow Xan Marcelles on Facebook, or look out for him @crookedfang on Twitter, and keep up to date with developments. We'll announce the short story's release soon.

Nichole discusses research

I really enjoy research.

Don't laugh. I do. It doesn't matter what I'm searching for, I love the thrill of it. Whether it's hunting for treasures in the Black Hills National Forest (a hobby called geocaching) or searching for a long-lost relative as I trace the family tree (I love ancestry.com), the idea of researching energizes me.

There's a lot of research involved in my writing, as well. I spend a lot of time looking for the right murder method: poison, gun shot, stabbing. I visit the locations where my books are set. Of course, it helps that I live in the area.

I even research the paranormal aspects. For Sleeping Bears, the second Cerri Baker novel, I've read everything I could get my hands on about fairies. For my second series featuring Allison Webber (at least I think that's going to be her name) I've been studying up on auras.

Researching the paranormal is harder than researching genealogy. Finding a document from the 1860s usually leads you to another document. Finding a website or book about auras doesn't normally lead you anywhere else. And often the next book or site you find will give you different information.

That's where the fiction writer takes over for the researcher. It's the fiction writer in me that determines which information to incorporate and which to ignore. And which to totally change for the world I've created. It's not always easy.

Sometimes I find that what I want to happen flies in the face of all the research I've done. But this is fiction, and that's okay. It just means I have to make sure that the rules in my world are consistent, even if there's no one else who believes what I need.

Maybe that's what makes fiction so enjoyable for me to write: it's an opportunity to learn something but still make up my own rules.

Blessings!

Nichole

Happy Memorial Day

To all the US, have a happy and safe Memorial Day. Rather than a fresh post today, I would like to just point you all to the post I did on Saturday at Second Wind Publishing's Blog.

Nichole

Call for Submissions: Meet me at Dusk

As Edgar Allan Poe once deep into darkness peered, to wonder, fear and doubt, he also dreamed dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. And Nietzsche, while warning against hunting monsters, was quite fond of that abyss which gazed back.

The light of our hearts' delight can only shine sweeter against a backdrop of despair. Darker stories swirl and fester in the midst of the mundane; mysterious creatures prowl at the edge of awareness to seduce and devour.

Conflicts bleed into our world, to snare unwary mortals; tantalize us with hints of magic and enigma beyond our ken. Love is lost and found, empires rise only to crumble, and few dare to step beyond the threshold.

Did you grow up reading Poe, Burroughs and Lovecraft? Do Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and The Sandman graphic novels languish on your bookshelves next to Poppy Z Brite's Lost Souls and Storm Constantine's Wraetthu novels? Lyrical Press is looking for works of dark fantasy that explore the contrasts of modern urban living with that of the supernatural, expressed in a gritty tone redolent with pop culture references and noir elements.

See the submission guidelines at http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.php and email nerine@lyricalpress.com with your query.

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

I've been really struggling with my writing the past month or so. It's not that I don't have ideas floating around in my head.

My problem is purely technical.

In early May, my hard drive crashed. I lost everything. Yes, everything.

I lost family photos. I lost passwords. I lost work files; I'm a web designer, so that goes hand-in-hand with the passwords. I had to re-install software. It was not a pretty sight.

I managed to recover most of my WIP*, thanks to my critique groups and some friends who I'd sent various parts for their input. All but one chapter, that is. The second to last chapter I'd written before losing everything.

You would think that losing a "middle chapter" wouldn't be so bad. And I'm more grateful then anyone will ever know to have only lost one chapter, believe me. And I know where I want the chapter to end up, I know what clues must be woven into the fabric of the story. I just can't remember exactly how I got there.

For everyone who is nodding sagely, thinking "run an anti-virus" or "make sure you back up," I have another confession. It was my Mac that bit the dust. It had nothing to do with spyware or malware or viruses. A section of the hard drive lost it's magnetism. (Or some such thing...the computer guy tried to explain it to me, but I was still devastated at the time.) And I own an external hard drive. It's even connected to the computer in question.

But external hard drives are only useful if you actually put stuff on them.

Learn from my misfortune. Back up your important files. Heck, back up the things you don't think are that important. Then you won't be missing a section in the middle.

Blessings!

Nichole

*That would be Work In Progress. Or the novel I'm currently working on.

Superstitous?

The word "paranormal" can mean a whole lot of things. Ghosts. Witches. Shape shifters.

No matter what, though, there are almost always superstitions attached to the word.

Personally, I'm not really superstitious. I don't "knock on wood" or hold my breath crossing a bridge.

Some superstitions make a lot of sense. Really, is it bad luck to walk under a ladder? Maybe not, but I don't think it's that smart. If you bump the ladder, whoever is on it might fall. Or they might drop that bucket of paint all over you. It may not be bad luck, but it doesn't seem smart, either. Does one apple each day keep the doctor away? Doubtful. But people who pick more healthy foods are usually, well, healthier. What about the idea that a cat will try to steal a baby's breath? Not true. But a cat will try to get that milk all over the baby's face and can (in extremely rare cases) smother the baby while doing so.

Some superstitions have made their way into the realm of tradition. How many brides have worn something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?

One of my "favorite" superstitions, however, happens this week. Friday, to be exact. Friday the 13th.

Friday the 13th is a combination of two different superstitions: Friday and the number 13.

Most people have heard of the number 13 being unlucky. And anything to do with that number is "taboo." Hotels skip the 13th room, buildings the 13th floor, city's the 13th street. It's not lucky to have 13 letters in your name: Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy. Planning a dinner party? Avoid having 13 people at the table. One is said to die within the year, a superstition that dates back to the time of Jesus when he dined with his 12 disciples.

Bad luck on Friday is a less common belief. Most people I know look forward to Fridays, since it's the last day of the traditional work week and the start of the weekend. Sailors, however, avoid Fridays. Years ago the British government wanted to quell the "Friday superstition" and did everything they could to prove how silly it was. They commissioned the HMS Friday, christened the ship on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected the crew on a Friday. They even put Captain Jim Friday in charge. The ship disappeared on her maiden voyage.

Combine it all, and it's understandable why some might be tempted to stay home this Friday. Those who don't may have some "bad luck"—or they may find themselves victims of a self-fulling prophecy.

Me? I'll be going out to dinner with the family. No, not as a way to thumb my nose at fate. Instead, my family will be celebrating. It's not every Friday the 13th that the baby of the family turns 18, is it?

Blessings!

Nichole

When an author's creations come to life

While I can't show the visuals, I had an awful lot of fun on Saturday with some of the BlackMilk crew, who offered to help me shoot some promotional visuals for my next vampire novella, What Sweet Music They Make. Now, if all goes well, my publisher will like the final results well enough to use for the front cover. Or at least that is my intention. And even if the visuals don't make the grade, I've some stunning prints to use as promotional material when release day swings round.

Why am I doing this? Many years ago I majored in illustration and photography when I studied graphic design, and I'd always hoped one day to have a shot at cover design. While I'm no PhotoShop wizard, I do have an idea of how to style visual communication.

The secret now: work with professionals. I am heavily indebted to the expertise of Leon Visser, who is the cinematographer and editor for BlackMilk Productions, an indie film production company here in Cape Town. Thanks go to my husband, for lending us his professional lights. Many thanks also to Lohan Koegelenberg and Anika Molnar, who took the roles of Severin and Tersia respectively, for this shoot. The two happen to be close friends and when I'm ready to show the final results, you can definitely see the chemistry.

In the meanwhile, you'll have to contend with the after-shoot silliness where my creations spring to life to give me a nibble, or two.

Follow me on Twitter: @nerinedorman or like my Facebook author page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374

Paying it forward

When I was just starting out with getting into author-mode a few years ago, I bumped into an old friend of mine who was a little further along the way than me. She was already **gasp** agented, and she graciously offered to beta read for me. And boy oh boy did she poke sticks at my writing; made me cut reams of exposition **sobs** and generally tell it like it is in publishing.

I value this woman’s no-nonsense judgment. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for her. She can say horrible things about my writing at times but I know I deserve it, because good constructive criticism freely offered is worth more than paying an editor to do it for you. By the same measure, she praises, telling me when she can see where I’ve improved. And I feel like I can believe her. To be honest, I’d sooner have honest judgment than vague reassurances that everything’s just hunky dory. ’Cos it’s not. There’s always room for improvement.

What matters now, more than ever before in publishing, is a buddy system. I remember the encouragement I received from the likes of Dave Wolverton, Fiona McIntosh and John Everson, who always replied to my emails with sound advice. Yes, I may still be in awe of these people, but they never lost that essential human touch. They weren’t up on a pedestal.

While I’m nowhere near reaching their stellar heights, I’m already much further along the line than I was when I sold my first novel in 2008. I’ve made an effort to make friends, not only with my fellow authors, but also with the authors for whom I’m now playing editor. We help each other, be it a friendly eye or a guest-blogging slot or review. Hell, sometimes we give the go-ahead for a bit of name-dropping. It all helps. The publishing pond is big enough for everyone and I’m amazed at some of the doors that have opened to me because I haven’t developed an attitude.

And if I develop an attitude, I expect my buddies to slap me upside the head.

A funny thing has started happening now. I’m paying it forward. It’s a weird feeling. Aspiring authors are turning to me now for advice, are looking up to me as someone who's been around the block a bit, and, while part of me wants to shake her head and exclaim what the hell, I’m able to pass on some of the advice I’ve been given.

I can’t tell you how great it feels to see an author take those first toddling steps, get their first contract offered, or start making those sales. Then later I get a quiet email on the side saying, “Hey, I just want to thank you, I’d never have…”

Feck. It feels good. And I’m going to carry on paying it forward. It makes the overall experience better for everyone concerned.

Music for writing

I'm of the belief that creative people are creative in lots of different areas. I, for example, spin and knit and sew and paint and well, lots of things.

But sometimes it's tough to get into the creative mood. Those juices don't always come on demand.

Those are the times I listen to music. And lots of it. There's just something about music that helps to inspire me.

And I like all kinds of tunes. As a child of the '80s, I fondly remember the "big hair bands" like Warrant, Poison, and Stryper. My first album was a Men at Work one. At some point I found a few country artists who spoke to me: Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift.

Then there's the classics. Sometimes it's better to have the instrumentals just so I don't get caught up in the words.

However, my favorite writing music has a Celtic undertone. Enya and Celtic Women are often heard from my office as I crank out a few thousand words for the day.

Like any other "mental devise," though, even my stand-by selections don't always work. I'm often in search of new bands, new songs to add to the mix.

What music do you suggest? What inspires you? What is good to write to?

Blessings!

Nichole

In praise of free reads

Free reads are awesome. In the age of digital books and the internet, it's very easy to find perfectly legal free reads. And I don't mean just contests to win books, though that's cool too. I mean a totally free ebook, through various sources. Booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have free sections. Publishers will offer temporary promotional freebies to get readers hooked on an author or series or a niche genre they publish. Authors will offer free short stories on their websites to entice readers.

Speaking as a reader who doesn't have a lot of money to spend on books, I really appreciate all these sources of legal free reads. Sure, there are duds out there. Some of what I've gotten for free I never finished because I just didn't care for the book. But I've lucked into some really good stuff for free too. One of the freebies I got from Amazon introduced me to an author who is now an auto-buy for me. All these freebies are a great way to test drive authors that are new to you, authors that you might not otherwise be too sure about spending money on. But once you've tried them and know you like their work, if you're like me you probably wind up searching for their back list. Especially if that initial free read hooked you on a series.

Because I have seen myself and other readers spend money on authors first encountered as a free read, as a writer I am a big proponent of the idea. That's why I have a Free Reads page on my blog with two short stories for download that serve as prequels of a sort to my May release Mojo Queen. I think it's a great idea for any author, especially one just starting out, to give readers a free taste of what you can do as a writer. I'm hoping people might come across these stories and decide to give Mojo Queen a try. Even if it only nets a few sales, it's worth it to me. Besides, I wrote these stories out of love for the characters so it only makes sense to share them. It certainly can't hurt anything.

Work in progress

After what feels like an eternity I’m getting round to the all-important revisions for my urban fantasy novella, What Sweet Music They Make. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I’m not superwoman, and that I cannot write new works in progress while revising AND still try to keep on top of my editing obligations for Lyrical Press. And while this all happens, I’m still beta-reading for my fellow authors, reviewing books and writing blog posts and newspaper articles.

There’s more than enough work present to keep me out of mischief. What’s worse is that my revisions have been piling up. I still have my steampunk novel featuring vampires and pirates waiting in the wings, not to mention some hard decisions about revising Camdeboo Nights, my only foray into YA urban fantasy. So the buck stops here. I’m in revision mode. I’ve just completed second-round edits on Hell’s Music, my next Therése von Willegen novel, so I have no excuses keeping me from the other titles languishing in the wings.

I had fun writing What Sweet Music They Make. It combines two of my greatest loves: vampires and music. The story is a dip into the same setting where my current Lyrical release, The Namaqualand Book of the Dead kicks off. I’ve spent time working out how vampires function in my milieu and the reason why there are always fewer vampires than mortals. C’mon, we can’t all be undead and sparkly.

Jokes aside, my vampires don’t sparkle. And after many decades, most of them lose the taste for immortality, though they remain tenacious, anachronisms in many cases.

I’ve had some great feedback from my betas so far. Two chapters need to bite the dust at the start. This doesn’t pain me as much as I’d have thought, because I’ll be releasing the first chapter as a freebie prologue in anticipation of the story’s actual release. Yes, yes… I know I haven’t sold the story yet, but that’s the least of my worries. What I do know is that I’ll need to add additional material near the end, and the epilogue may go the way of most prologues upon submission.

This is the fun part of revising, where the novella is still fluid, where I can tweak and layer, make people care more about my characters. And you know what? I’m in no mood to rush, either. I’m going to savour this time where I can return to the world of Severin and Tersia, and groom them into memorable characters.

Follow me on Twitter @nerinedorman or like my Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374?v=wall

Is the world ready for this?

When I woke up Friday morning, I heard voices.

That may not have been a bad thing if they were the voices I was used to hearing. Instead, these were new voices with new stories.

So, I have come here to ask if the world is ready for the new voice in my head.

My idea is for a young, rich woman to purchase a bed and breakfast in western South Dakota. The B&B would be located on a sheep ranch, so there is a small herd that came with the house. Because of the sheep, there would be an opportunity for knitting and spinning circles at the home, especially in the "off-tourist" season. She also sees ghosts.

There are ghost mysteries. There are knitting mysteries. There are B&B mysteries. But is the world ready for a three-for-one combo? I'd love your thoughts!

Blessings!

Nichole

Some thoughts on self-publishing

Nerine had a good post yesterday about self-publishing and traditional publishing. I don't think I've said much directly about self-pubbing but since it is one of the hottest topics in the publishing world, everybody gets to have an opinion, right?

I recognize that people choose to self-pub for different reasons, I just hope they do it for the right ones. Want to keep your backlist out there without having to sign a contract? That's a reason that makes sense to me, especially if you can afford good cover art and book design. You've already got a foothold in commercial publishing and want to experiment with putting out a short work by yourself - I get that one too. Especially if you can afford the cover art, book design, and editing. You've been rejected time after time by both the Big Six and small press - okay, to be honest, this is the one I don't get.

Self-publishing is not for me for a number of reasons. The top reason is money - I can't afford to hire out freelance cover art, book design, and editing. I don't spend my money on books with cover art that looks like a bad Photoshop job or the free Kindle sample is littered with editing problems. I would never even consider asking a reader for money for something like that that I released. So I have to be good enough for a publisher to offer me a contract. Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. When I'm not I keep working on the story and it'll either get better or it goes in the trunk. I'm a big believer in writing the next story.

That's another reason why I would not self-publish. To quote Nerine: "if a novel has been rejected countless times, even by the small presses, there’s usually a very good reason for this." I agree with this so very much. If that first book keeps getting rejected, it's okay to let it go. Put that paper in a drawer, put that file on a flash drive, raise a toast to it as a valiant effort, mourn for what could have been and will never be - then tell it goodbye. Let it go like a leaf on the wind and get busy hunting for your next book. Because the truth is, if you're a writer, there's going to be a next book. There can't not be a next book, because you are a storyteller and this is what you do. The only way there won't be a next book is if you were more interested in being published than being a writer. If that's the case, then choosing to self-publish is probably more about vanity than anything else.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but there it is. Look, I really don't have anything against self-publishing. If it's something a person wants to do and they can afford it, I wish them the best of luck. Depending on your reasons I may not understand you, but I will always wish you luck.

What I do not like is when self-publishing gets lumped in under an umbrella term like digital publishing. The term digital publishing, to me, means small press commercial pubs that are digital first / digital only. Examples include Lyrical Press, Loose Id, Samhain, Carina, Noble Romance - there are quite a few. When you're pubbed with these digital presses you get editing, cover art, all the usual stuff - and authors do not pay for these things. So to me there is a huge difference between self-publishing and getting a contract with a small press that happens to be digital. Unfortunately not everyone sees this.

Now you have my thoughts on self-publishing and frankly I hope I won't be revisiting the topic. Next week I'll talk about why I think posting stories for free can be a great thing for a writer to do. Yes, really.

Trotting out that old pony, again

Once again I’m thinking about self-pubbing vs. traditional publishing. Because, yes, face it, self-published authors, once they’re established, have the potential to earn oodles more money than traditionally published authors. Or so it seems if certain sources are to believed.

But I’m scared to do it. Really. Even though Smashwords makes it ridiculously easy to put material out there, I’m not entirely certain I want to do that. At least not yet. Granted, I’m happy to put out my short stories in that manner. After all, the paying market for short stories isn’t worth it when I consider the amount of effort that goes into the submissions process.

Making my short stories freely available to my readers makes sense. They’re already following me on Twitter or Facebook because they **want** to read my writing. That way my short stories also don’t get lost in anthologies or buried deep in links with online magazines.

My longer works?

Why I keep working through reputable small presses is because a) I don’t have to worry about cover art; b) I have an editor assigned to me (face it, mistakes always creep through, it helps to have a second set of eyes); and c) I don’t have to worry about dealing with vendors.

But… What I will do one day when my first rights revert to me (usually after three to five years) is I’ll start putting my back list upon Smashwords. Now that makes sense. It means I’ll be able to revise and apply a lot of the new tricks I’ve learnt to older works that have already undergone an editing process. I’ll be able to choose my own cover art. It means my older works will be archived under a unified banner.

Yes. I think that is what I’ll do.

Granted, there are works that may be difficult to home some time in the future. Self-publishing will offer me the chance to put them out. This is only after careful consideration, however. My feelings are that if a novel has been rejected countless times, even by the small presses, there’s usually a very good reason for this.

And yes, you know what, no matter what people say, I’m still aiming for that Holy Grail of a book contract with one of the Big Six. What’s nice about publishing now is that authors have a lot more freedom. There’s no such thing as “out of print”.

Follow me on Twitter @nerinedorman or like me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374?v=wall

A dash of BlackMilk

What I love about being in touch with some of the avant garde happenings in Cape Town is that occasionally I get to play fly on the wall when stuff is created. As you can well imagine, this creates much fodder for my future writings. What I’d like to share with you today is a short film the BlackMilk productions crew created over this past weekend.

My husband is one of the directors and I’ve been behind the scenes for all their films. This is hardly as glamorous as it sounds, let me assure you, but with all the hard work also comes some pretty riveting entertainment.

On Saturday some of the BlackMilk crew dropped by my house so they could work on their shot list. Of course nothing is quite that simple. We’re talking about a bunch of creatives here.

At about 10pm they hauled out our cache of musical instruments and started making a god-awful racket with piano, accordion and violin. Which they recorded (well, of course).

Please bear in mind that none of them could actually **play** any of these instruments with any degree of proficiency.

They then started talking about doing a short film since they’re currently finding creative ways in which they can promote their DVD boxed set. So… On Sunday they got all dressed up, painted and posed…

And if you click through on the link here: http://www.youtube.com/blackmilkproductions#p/a/u/0/Sra94gOiSdI

Granted, I know everyone in this but when I saw the rushes as they came off the camera, I laughed so much I cried. I thought by the second or third time I saw this I’d not laugh as much but I was wrong.

You really have to watch this about two or three times just to get all the facial expressions. One day I’m sure I’ll write a novel about an indie filmmaking crew but for now I’m just stoked that I’m able to see things in action and watch these guys grow in their art.

It's a very inspiring to be surrounded by so many fascinating people and it's definitely making me feel that I'm not the only one fighting against mundania.

The idly curious are welcome to click through here to check out the official BlackMilk website. http://www.blackmilkproductions.com/

Can I have a coffee IV, please?

It never ends. And I never feel like I’ve done enough. Yesterday was a public holiday in South Africa and my husband and I spent the day at his office. He was busy on some awful newsletter of about 16 pages while I flattened about 40 000 words of editing. Half of this was for a Lyrical Press author I’m working with and the rest was my urban fantasy novel, Inkarna.

But there’s so much work that still needs to happen this year I’m honestly frightened because I don’t know when I’m going to find the time. This is without considering the editing work I do. Next on my “to do” list is second-round edits on my Therése von Willegen novel, Hell’s Music, which is due for line edits at the end of April. I need to finish way before then.

I still have my next urban fantasy novella to revise so I can submit to Lyrical, more vampires in a story entitled What Sweet Music They Make. Then I must finish writing a short fantasy romance story I still don’t have the right title for, though it’s called The Slavemaster’s Daughter. Tentatively. I’m about 6 000 words in. Let’s not even think about that one going anywhere any time soon. I still have to put it through my crit group.

The Black Goat is still languishing on my hard drive. I’ve done a major revision on chapter one but the novel’s been stagnant for such a long time I suspect I’m going to roar through it with massive revisions when I do get there. But let’s place emphasis on when. Ironically, it’s Inkarna that’s going onto the submissions mill way before The Black Goat, which was written more than a year ago.

On top of all this, I still have a safari-style erotic romance to write for the Therése von Willegen brand. And I’ve tentatively started outlining my next epic fantasy. Let’s not even suggest a working title for that one. You’re going to laugh. I’m calling it The Bird Girl because I can’t think of anything else right now.

Between this madness I’m still reading submissions from my existing authors and considering cold submissions that come through Lyrical. And I have a full-time day-job.

How the hell did this happen? Please can someone tell me because I honestly didn’t see this coming. I need another cup of coffee.



Now go and like my Facebook fan page, okay: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374?v=wall