JoZebwrites

Although, to be honest, I hit the ground running with writing, and I'm still going. Anyway, a few thoughts to sign off for a week enjoying my small family, and friends, and generally not doing a lot other than shooting the breeze about life, the universe, and everything. This writing thing is intense. It's all-consuming. There are so many areas where it's possible to get hellishly obsessive about. The writing of it, the plotting, the characters. The title. Hot dang (apparently that phrase needs used more) but the title. The editing. Add publishing the darn thing into the mix, and we can get started on the next ten things to obsess over. Covers, blurbs, fonts, formatting, marketplaces, POD, agent and trad vs self publishing. When it's published? Oh, boy, yeah, we can add in KDP tracking graphs, interviews (if you're lucky), obsessive review checking (hiding behind hands optional), amazon sales ranking. And in between that, you've got all the fun of the ea...

ON THE NOBLE ART OF BLAGGING One question I've been asked a lot this year is how I've managed to get coverage of myself as a writer, so I thought I'd do a blog about it. Sadly, the main advice I'm going to give is to seize opportunities - and my main message is going to be a huge, heartfelt thanks to those who have given me a chance, supported me, or even just lifted me when the road seems long. So, the bad news. You are one writer amongst thousands out there. Each has worked hard on their book, each wants to promote it. Mostly, each is doing it in the same small channels. 'Word of mouth,' is king, we get told - but what if no one is reading? How do we get word of mouth? How do we compete against internet-savvy authors who know more about Amazon than we do, or seem more able to promote? For me, the answer has been through people. I used blagging in the title, but that makes everything seem seedier than it should be, as if we're asking something for not...

A couple of reviews – The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers, and Mother of Eden by Chris Beckett. My work-work has been busy this last few weeks, which means I’m not writing much. And, when I’m not writing, I read. Which was great because I had a couple of books I really wanted to get to. I’d been hearing a lot about The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet and was really looking forwards to it. On a lot of levels, it didn’t disappoint. The alien portrayals were well done, thoughtful and clever. The writing was easy to follow with a light touch that kept the story moving along nicely. The scenario was a clever one, and nicely executed, and the characters were likeable. All of which meant, when I was struggling to fully engage, I found it hard to put my finger on exactly why. Eventually, it came to me – I think – and the answer lay around tension. There are plenty of areas where tension should be introduced, but wasn’t fully explored to my mind. ...

I'm joined on the blog today by Amy Cook, author of the Rabids series (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amy-Cook/e/B00MQGKLOG), who recently ran a book signing with awesome book topiary, and a nice buzz to it, so I thought I'd get some tips on running one. Book signings;  the big events that can leave  an y  author  weak in the knees with excite ment  and terror all in one. I held a signing last night fo r the release of my book, “ Instinct Ascending  Rabids Book 2”.  Here are a few things that I learned along the way.  Preparation-  #1. Network, network, network.    Weeks before the signing, you need to start sending out all those different pleas for people to come. Thankfully I had a few friends that were heading that end of matters for me. They printed up snazzy little ‘save the date’ cards featuring my book cover, with info about the event itself. They then placed these at the library and other high traffic areas in town. We pull...

This week I'm joined on the blog by Bryan Wigmore, not just one of the best fantasy writers I know, but also one of the most astute readers. Here, he talks about what the world in a story means to him. He also quotes Chief Wiggum. What's not to like? ‘We gods are only masks,’ Mictlantehcutli says. ‘Who wears us? Find it out!’ Grant Morrison, The Invisibles ‘What is your fascination with my forbidden closet of mystery?’ Chief Wiggum, The Simpsons I’m going to write about mystery. Not the kind of mystery of who shot who (at the Copacabana or elsewhere) but the deeper mysteries that for me are an important part of an interesting story-world. A story depends on its characters, but its characters in turn depend on their world, are formed by it. A world that differs fundamentally from ours can be interesting in itself, an intellectual curiosity, but it comes to life when it gives birth to characters who do or think the unexpected because their world has given them ...

HALF THE VIEW OF THE WORLD The first of two blogs looking at the role of world building in genre fiction. Next week, Bryan Wigmore, writer of awesome fantasy (really, really awesome fantasy) turns up with his take on the same. For this week, I’m going to talk about why, for me, the world isn’t what defines a book. Now, before you all come over all hissy and astonished at my audacity, I’ll just say that I like a good world as much as the next person. Genre is all about new worlds. It’s safe to say if it didn’t appeal to me – a lot, as it happens – I’d go off and read (and write) real-world books. I’ve read lots of world-based sci-fi and fantasy. I weaned my sff teeth on Heinlein, and Narnia via the Faraway Tree. As a teen, I moved onto the great worlds of Dune and Tolkien – with Dune stealing the show (I always was a sucker for space ships.) I drank in Star Wars and Blake’s Seven, hid behind the sofa at Doctor Who and graduated through many of the big sff worlds – A...

I was tagged by the awesome Thaddeus White, author of fabulous epic fantasy and the bone-achingly funny Sir Edric series. I had to take a work in progress, go to a page ending in 7 and show 7 lines, and then I have to tag 7 others to do so. Being me, I had a few wips in choose from, but I've went for Sunset Over Abendau, which is due out in March 2015:             “It ’ s rude to look at my thoughts.” It was a stupid thing to say, when he should really why he was Kalyn and why she had his eyes, but was too frightened of her answer.                   “As you say.” She shifted and winced.              “Can I do anything to help?” he asked, but she shook her head. He waited another moment, steeling himself. “You have my eyes.”          ...