tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34607822575449184302024-03-05T09:53:23.108-08:00Coaching for WritersAdvice on the craft of writing, publishing, and marketing booksBrian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-42462122197038766232015-11-20T10:22:00.002-08:002015-11-20T10:22:36.296-08:00Deadly Reads Radio InterviewLast night I did a 2-hour interview on Deadly Reads Radio Show with Linda Barton and Lisa Vandiver. We talk about writing horror fiction, what inspires writers, experiences with the paranormal and I read excerpts from DARKNESS RISING and DEAD OF WINTER. My interview starts around 12 minutes into the show.<br />
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You can listen to it here:<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><br /></a><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="180px" src="http://percolate.blogtalkradio.com/offsiteplayer?hostId=927889&episodeId=8037649" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-1585060965337991202015-07-01T06:25:00.002-07:002015-07-01T06:25:40.678-07:00Cover Reveal and Excerpt for DARKNESS RISING<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My latest book, DARKNESS RISING, is a blood-tingling revenge story with a supernatural twist. The novella </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">releases as an eBook on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Rising-Brian-Moreland-ebook/dp/B00Y05TVUG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Amazon</span></a>
and other online bookstores September 1st. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Below is a description of the book
along with a sneak peek of how the book begins.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It’s
all fun and games until...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Marty
Weaver, an emotionally scarred poet, has been bullied his entire life. When he drives
out to the lake to tell an old friend that he’s fallen in love with a girl
named Jennifer, Marty encounters three sadistic killers who have some twisted
games in store for him. But Marty has dark secrets of his own buried deep
inside him. And tonight, when all the pain from the past is triggered, when
those secrets are revealed, blood will flow and hell will rise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-----------------------</span></div>
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<span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“From the first page I was
hooked and couldn't read fast enough. Moreland takes a wicked revenge tale and
supes it up, and then when you think things are resolved and you wonder where
he's going with it, he delivers the goods. Filled with brutal violence, great
prose, nasty characters and ones you root for, Darkness Rising is a must
read!!!</span></span><span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">!</span></span></span></span><span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="readable"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">--David
Bernstein, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goblins</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Witch Island</i></span></b></span></div>
</div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-----------------------</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Here’s
an excerpt from the book:</span></div>
<div class="ChapterHeading-Digital" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 30.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 30.0pt;">
<span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Prologue</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Deep in the Oregon woods,
the lake watched in silence as the woman crawled across the muddy banks,
dragging her wounded legs. A switchblade jutted from the back of one thigh.
Moonlight glinted off the exposed bone of her hip. Hair, caked with blood and
dirt, clung to the woman’s face as she clawed her way into the shallow water.
She found her husband, or what was left of him, floating facedown near the
shore. Hugging his butchered torso, she wailed, an animal cry that echoed
across the valley. A flock of ducks took flight. Behind the mutilated couple
stood the killer with the white rabbit mask, head cocked, a bloody machete
resting on one shoulder. Then two more joined the rabbit, a toad and weasel,
both taller, their clothes covered in dark stains. The three masked killers
admired their blood work. The frantic woman released her husband’s body and
attempted to swim away, flailing her arms, but Toad and Weasel waded in after
her and brought her screaming back to shore. Then Weasel picked up the video
camera and began filming again. White Rabbit continued torturing the woman.
Then Toad had his fun. At dawn, the woman’s screams finally ended. The lake
watched in silence as the three animals danced around her corpse, then slipped
into the forest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-----------------------</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The world had always been a cruel place for Marty Weaver.
His scars were many and deep. Growing up, his teachers and various foster
parents had labeled him autistic, a problem child, emotionally disturbed, while
the kids at the foster homes and at school called him names—nerd, wimp, dweeb,
freak and worse. He seemed to walk through life with a sign that read “bully me”,
even though what he wanted most was a circle of friends and family to love and
love him back.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">His best friends were dead poets―Yates, Hawthorne, Keats,
Byron, Frost and Poe, to name a few. They taught Marty how to pour the burdens
of his soul into poetry. With each poem he wrote and read to the lake, he
peeled back a layer of scar tissue and felt a sense of hope that he might one
day become a man others could love, maybe even a man who could learn to love
himself.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Tonight was a special night. Every full moon, in a
tradition he had started as a teenager, Marty did two things. First, he visited
the cemetery and put fresh flowers on his mother’s grave. Then he drove along
the wooded back roads that carved between the Blue Mountains to read his latest
poems to the lake. Writing poetry helped him deal with all his pent-up
emotions. It had helped him through his roughest times―the loss of his parents
when he was nine, all the hell he had gone through bouncing between foster
homes, and the rocky period that followed when he turned eighteen and ventured
out on his own. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He parked in the lot overlooking the water, eager to
share more about this radiant angel who had entered his life. As he climbed out
of his car, he noticed a van parked in the shadows of a tree with looming
branches. It looked like one of those custom vans with flames painted down the
sides. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This gravel lot, on the farthest side of the lake, was always empty.
Most people didn’t know this place existed because it wasn’t on the campground
maps and it took several dirt roads to get here. He came to this spot because
it was the special place his parents used to bring him to when he was a boy.
The lot and beach were completely hidden by dense woods. Across the water was
the most majestic view of pines and mountains. Occasionally a boat passed by,
but mostly this inlet was quiet and still. His mother had called their secret
spot “the Magic Cove”. She loved to swim here, sunbathe, and take him exploring
in the forest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">His father liked this cove because the fishing was good.
He taught Marty how to work a rod and reel, gut a fish with a knife, skin it
and flay it. Mornings were always spent with the two of them fishing for
whatever the lake offered that day, while Marty’s mother read her books or did
yoga. Then they’d have a picnic and cook their fish over a campfire. Those were
the best days of Marty’s childhood, before The Bad Thing happened.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">That someone had discovered his private cove made Marty
feel invaded. He watched the van for a moment, but it looked dark and empty.
Maybe someone had abandoned it there. Or some hikers had gone on a long trek
around the lake. He didn’t see anyone, so he didn’t concern himself too much
about the van. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He walked down the hill to the water’s edge with his
journal. The moon’s glow cast his shadow across the lake’s glassy surface. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hello, old friend. It’s been a few weeks. I’ve got some
new poems for you.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He opened his journal, feeling the worn leather cover
against his palms. The oversized book, filled with hundreds of pages of his
handwriting and drawings, was a memoir of his inner world from childhood to
now. The stiff, heavily inked pages crinkled as he turned them, and that sound
always made him feel a sense of nostalgia. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The book had been a gift from his
mother on his eighth birthday. Across these pages he had written countless
poems, short stories, and glued-together collages of magazine pictures of
things he wanted to one day own or become. At age eight, he had wanted to be
Batman and pasted cutouts from a comic book. At age nine, it was Aquaman. As he
got older, the pictures changed from superheroes to cars, to girls, to the
things he now aspired to have as an adult, like an education, professorship,
someday a wife. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Next to a pamphlet of St. Germaine College was a photo of him
and Jennifer at the campus gardens where they had taken a selfie standing in
front of a fountain. The last fifty or so pages were filled with his love
poems, some so sappy he felt embarrassed to read them. Most of his poems were
amateurish musings, while every now and then he wrote something he was proud
of. The only one who had ever heard any of his writings was the lake.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Marty held the big book open like a preacher about to
give a sermon, only his congregation was the frogs and the reeds and the dark
water. “I’ve been seeing Jennifer around campus more and more. Today she gave
me a gift and kissed me on the cheek. The way she acts around me sometimes, I…I
think I might actually have a shot with her.” He felt his heart expand just
thinking about her. “Her beauty has awakened something in me that I’ve never
felt for anyone. I can’t stop writing about her. I’ve got at least a dozen new
ones. This first one’s still a work in progress. The beats aren’t quite right,
but this is what I’ve written so far.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He read the poem aloud:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In her eyes, fireflies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sparks from my caress</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">On our faces, warm smiles</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cannons in our chests</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Time's first gentle touch</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Feathers along our flesh</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Tall grass all around us</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We whisper, touch, undress</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Butterflies in our heads</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Opening wings together</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Taking flight in purple skies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Evaporating like the weather</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The sound of hands clapping startled Marty. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“That is the most beautiful piece of shit I ever heard,”
a man’s voice echoed off the water, followed by laughter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Marty turned to see three silhouettes walking along the
shoreline towards him.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-----------------------</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Just finished Darkness
Rising and still reeling from the conflict, terror, horror and emotional
rollercoaster that Brian Moreland has weaved so magically into this novella . .
. Weaving its superbly crafted way through demons, vengeance and an indomitable
spirit, this is a real winner. 5 star horror all the way!</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">”</span><span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="readable"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="readable"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">--Catherine
Cavendish, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dark Avenging Angel</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Pendle’s Curse</i></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyPt2TiT4VtQ8NNOlvQhnhFBXgKyBjZ_Sx6ljLhNv_I4KoIDu64Bhl0dxR9e7KpRC4WULVa2fzV2gcbZWy0uewej2Yf5DsVynFPqPoemCGdIo9UuMSZTqrJuFeMPpxTkbI-aocL-x4StP/s1600/Darkness+Rising+72+lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyPt2TiT4VtQ8NNOlvQhnhFBXgKyBjZ_Sx6ljLhNv_I4KoIDu64Bhl0dxR9e7KpRC4WULVa2fzV2gcbZWy0uewej2Yf5DsVynFPqPoemCGdIo9UuMSZTqrJuFeMPpxTkbI-aocL-x4StP/s200/Darkness+Rising+72+lg.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Darkness Rising is now
available for pre-order:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Rising-Brian-Moreland-ebook/dp/B00Y05TVUG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Amazon
Kindle</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/darkness-rising-brian-moreland/1121969551?ean=9781619231184"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">BarnesandNoble.com</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/darkness-rising-13"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Kobo</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/darkness-rising/id997241786?mt=11"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">AppleiTunes</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5557/darkness-rising"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">PDF</span></a></span></span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-86078339548202555442014-09-20T07:52:00.000-07:002014-09-20T07:54:27.750-07:00Guest Author Anthony Hains on Writing Dead Works<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">Today, guest author Anthony Hains talks about writing
his new horror novel <i>Dead Works.</i> If you like a good mix of psychological
suspense and supernatural horror, you’ll like Anthony Hains’ stories. I also
enjoyed his novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Offering-Anthony-Hains-ebook/dp/B00F3KMOJC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411224241&sr=8-2&keywords=anthony+hains" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Birth Offering</span></span></span></a>.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLapgvdSzyFn0E6mTdw0A6BZfoeja1sKRZwBvXfEyFMJEM2nuMKuui3W8wc9MHmRIrZjCEXe9Xt4acrAuUVkeuX09nkLu1QtR8OiMYkzlmZnWAm2d6x6bkiQLYpYsl6vu4ywEuvbceo0M/s1600/Deadworks_200x300_dpi72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLapgvdSzyFn0E6mTdw0A6BZfoeja1sKRZwBvXfEyFMJEM2nuMKuui3W8wc9MHmRIrZjCEXe9Xt4acrAuUVkeuX09nkLu1QtR8OiMYkzlmZnWAm2d6x6bkiQLYpYsl6vu4ywEuvbceo0M/s1600/Deadworks_200x300_dpi72.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The final version of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead Works</i> is only remotely similar to
the original version. My initial plot for the novel involved the mishaps of
ghost hunters exploring a 100 year old mansion situated in a glorious setting
on Long Island Sound in New York. One of the characters had a back story that
involved him in therapy as a child - an account that may have topped out at 800
words. So, this wasn’t a huge focus, but rather an interesting tidbit to
illustrate a character.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The only problem with this
back story idea was that I couldn’t shake it from my mind. The issues involving
the therapy became more complex, even if I didn’t start out with the intention
of putting them on paper. It was only a matter of time until this back story
became more interesting than the original plot. I realized that I <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>needed to jettison the ghost hunter notion and go with the
kid-in-therapy narrative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Since I am a psychologist
and a professor of counseling psychology, I immediately knew the angle I was
going to take. The main character was going to be a graduate student – a
counseling psychologist in training. The young man would be in a practicum
class where students are placed in a clinical setting and conduct therapy under
the supervision of an on-site psychologist and a university instructor. After
all, I live this stuff on a daily basis. I have taught at least one practicum
class a year for the past 25 years. I know how students think and act. And,
even though it has been a very long time, I still remember what it is like to
be a graduate student. The client, of course, needed to be a kid – again, no
problems since my professional area of focus is pediatric psychology and I have
been studying and interacting with adolescents most of my professional career.
While this group can be a pain in the butt for many professionals, I rather
enjoy the population.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The challenge came with
making the process authentic without losing a reader. Losing a reader can
happen a couple of ways with this type of narrative. First, if I wrote an
accurate account of therapy, the layperson would become increasingly
frustrated. Unlike screen portrayals of therapy, there are rarely (if ever)
those dramatic eureka moments when the client gains insight and the problem is
solved within minutes. In most cases, the problem and the goals of therapy are
identified early, and the difficult work involves the client learning and
practicing new ways of coping or behaving to address personal concerns. This
takes time, depending on the nature of the problem.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Second, if I did go for the
dramatic denouement and make the therapy passages unrealistic or simplistic, I
would run the risk of personal embarrassment if my colleagues or students
actually read my fiction (so far, none have as far as I know). Pure vanity (or
maybe self-respect?) on my part, I know.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So, I provided excerpts of
five therapy sessions involving my graduate student protagonist, Eric, and his
thirteen year old client, Greg. I deleted some of the more mundane interactions
between them, and stuck to the more “thrilling” proceedings. By the way, the
boy sees ghosts, so much of the interactions involve the kid learning how to
make sense of these events. I portrayed my student character as being competent
at this level of training. He makes all the “correct” responses in therapy and
his inner narrative is consistent with what graduate students might be
thinking.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Finally, you can’t get
around the fact that this is a ghost story and the topic of therapy involves
seeing ghosts. Most problems addressed in actual therapy are not
“other-worldly”. The terrors, fears, and concerns of clients are grounded in daily
realities. Sometimes these horrors exceed our experience, but we know about
them anyway: abuse, addiction, suicide… You don’t need ghosts when you have
these things to deal with. Nonetheless, every once in a while something rather
strange appears on the radar screen in therapy. I can think of three or four
times this has happened in my work. How do you address it? There is no one way
of doing it, but I think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead Works</i>
provides some indications. Curious? I hope you read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Works-Anthony-Hains/dp/1629291463/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1411224308&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Dead Works</span></i></a> to find out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QeRYUwS5UiLQ8oV-ynDyTMd0KPu098iBhjitaIPH3IfWgt6ZWY6XDerE9HiQjbj7GUVm4YCeIombWmwNGN0lrPckVJNff-wlvRQ5z_8WS9ug6zXeus9Gt8OkFNZQ9qQLFwVeaRFSv5Et/s1600/AnthonyHains-Web.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QeRYUwS5UiLQ8oV-ynDyTMd0KPu098iBhjitaIPH3IfWgt6ZWY6XDerE9HiQjbj7GUVm4YCeIombWmwNGN0lrPckVJNff-wlvRQ5z_8WS9ug6zXeus9Gt8OkFNZQ9qQLFwVeaRFSv5Et/s1600/AnthonyHains-Web.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony Hains is a university
professor in counseling psychology, with a specialization in pediatric
psychology – his research involves working with youth who have a chronic
illness. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is the link to my website: </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.anthonyhains.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://www.anthonyhains.com</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-77752303626518039962014-08-16T09:04:00.000-07:002014-08-16T09:04:58.419-07:00Guest Author Eric Red on Researching Horror<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My latest guest writer is
someone whose work I’ve been a fan of since the 1980s, when Eric Red was
writing screenplays and directing movies. Two movies he wrote I consider
classics. You may have seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hitcher</i>
(1986) and the vampire flick <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Near Dark</i>
(1987). When I was studying screenwriting at UT Austin back in 1989, my
professor talked about Eric Red and his screenplays, and we discussed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hitcher</i> in depth. I admired Red’s
early success as a writer. In 1991, I went to the theater to see the horror
movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Body Parts</i> and there on the big
screen was Written and Directed by Eric Red. Mr. Red went on to write and direct
some other recognizable horror movies, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Moon</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">100 Feet,</i> to
name a few.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDdPuJVht4ofOFc7LTLDtoB0JBqyXbwcahQgKXhSxT01YP9-9yxh1jJ1_js5oh8L9t1hDIpzJnp6AnaruREPgFnXUtQXzelE5RiZyUtcRcaBXCXr-8ShCu4bZe8-92uQd6JNO-j1G83q6/s1600/Eric+Red's+movies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDdPuJVht4ofOFc7LTLDtoB0JBqyXbwcahQgKXhSxT01YP9-9yxh1jJ1_js5oh8L9t1hDIpzJnp6AnaruREPgFnXUtQXzelE5RiZyUtcRcaBXCXr-8ShCu4bZe8-92uQd6JNO-j1G83q6/s1600/Eric+Red's%2Bmovies.jpg" height="176" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">After making his mark on the
movie business, Eric Red has gone on to write comic book series, graphic novels
and channeled his talents into writing horror short stories and novels. I was
thrilled when he joined the team of authors at my publisher Samhain Horror. Now,
with the release of his latest Sci-Fi monster novel, <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It
Waits Below,</i></b> I’m honored to have Eric Red as a guest on my blog as he shares
his wisdom about researching for a horror novel.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/eric-red-pa-1782.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/eric-red-pa-1782.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOZRI5Yy352B__1fcIoCF5QDoKCqcnFiYYlyBII6wrnJKHG5hPEciYvalOU1j2mlIHedESS697EQjsS-8C9tZlWUT-Hl4PEOw0rjac7u4iYlb2OHWDmTTh2SlhVE53Y85WrZyfOFZTHjR/s1600/ItWaitsBelow.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> What does research matter in
horror? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">You’d think doing research
as an author would be less important for a horror novel than other literary
genres, because monsters and the supernatural aren’t real—or at least some
think so. But in my opinion, the more realistic the everyday details, technology,
ordinance, hardware, professional behavior, and science, the more the reader believes
what’s going on, increasing their involvement in the story. Even though the
reader knows a horror st<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>ory is unreal, I believe the greater
the verisimilitude, that on an unconscious level people believe what is happening
just a little bit more—and it’s that much more scary. It all comes down to
suspension of disbelief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I knew two things before
writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It Waits Below</i>, my new
Samhain novel about the crew of a three-man Deep Submergence Vehicle who
encounter an alien life form at the bottom of the ocean. One, the book had to
be technically accurate. Two, I didn’t know shit about subs, and needed
technical advisers who did. With the help of The National Academy Of Sciences,
I was introduced to one of the top Alvin sub pilots in the world and his wife,
a prominent oceanographer and microbiologist. For months they gave me
invaluable help explaining how these subs are operated and what the crews
encounter many miles down. They answered a million questions and shared
fascinating materials that provided inspiration for some of the most terrifying
scenes in the book. Later, I would run finished scenes by them and ask if this
could happen or that could happen. Without the help of my technical advisers,
the novel would have been about as convincing as an old <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea</i> TV episode.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Some writers are
research-wonks, but originally I wasn’t. When I started writing scripts for
movies like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hitcher</i>—road
thrillers set in a spare highway iconography—what the hell did you need to
know? Get a map of Texas. Find out the makes of the police cars and what kind
of guns they carried. The rest was pure imagination. But over the years, as my
subject matter grew more involved, so did the research entailed. What I
discovered was some of the most creative ideas often sprang from the research.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For instance, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Containment</i>, my IDW zombies-in-space
graphic novel about to be re-republished, I had to research long-distance space
exploration and immediately realized the movie cliché of these cavernous space
arks is a total myth. The fact is everything would need to be built as small and
compact as possible to conserve weight and mass for propulsion. The creative
opportunity was since the story involved cryogenic zombies on a spaceship, the
more cramped and claustrophobic the surroundings, the greater the tension and
suspense.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It Waits Below,</i> the alien comes to earth and ends up at the bottom
of the ocean on a falling asteroid that destroys a Spanish treasure ship in the
1800’s. Centuries later, a salvage dive by treasure hunters sets the story in
motion. Again, a little research paid off. I hunted down some footage of meteor
strikes and was astonished by one event filmed not too long ago in the Eastern
Block by witnesses on DV cams and iPhones from every conceivable vantage point.
An actual large asteroid impact didn’t look like I imagined, or had seen in
movies—it was a pulsing light over the world that turned in day to night to day
to night and back again; utterly apocalyptic and chilling. So the crashing
meteor that hits the treasure gallon in the opening of the novel was described
in just such a manner.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Even when you know the
technical realities of the subject matter, you inevitably take certain
liberties. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It Waits Below</i>, for
dramatic purposes, I needed a second chamber in the DSV that houses a specially
designed diving suit—people have to run and hide from aliens somewhere in a fifteen-foot
sub, after all—and neither of these exists in actual submersibles. Still, I ran
it all by my Alvin sub pilot consultant, and made it as “speculatively
accurate” as possible.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The space monster
stuff—well, that I made up!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">------------------------- </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Here’s the synopsis for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It Waits Below</i>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It waits no more!</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
In the 1800s, an asteroid carrying an extraterrestrial life form crashed to
earth and sunk a Spanish treasure ship. Now, a trio of salvage experts dives a
three-man sub to the deepest part of the ocean to recover the sunken gold.
There, they confront a nightmarish alien organism beyond comprehension, which
has waited for over a century to get to the surface. It finally has its chance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As their support ship on the
surface is ambushed by deadly modern-day pirates, the crew of the stranded sub
battles for their very lives against a monster no one on</span> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Earth
has seen before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOZRI5Yy352B__1fcIoCF5QDoKCqcnFiYYlyBII6wrnJKHG5hPEciYvalOU1j2mlIHedESS697EQjsS-8C9tZlWUT-Hl4PEOw0rjac7u4iYlb2OHWDmTTh2SlhVE53Y85WrZyfOFZTHjR/s1600/ItWaitsBelow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOZRI5Yy352B__1fcIoCF5QDoKCqcnFiYYlyBII6wrnJKHG5hPEciYvalOU1j2mlIHedESS697EQjsS-8C9tZlWUT-Hl4PEOw0rjac7u4iYlb2OHWDmTTh2SlhVE53Y85WrZyfOFZTHjR/s1600/ItWaitsBelow.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It Waits Below</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> is
available through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waits-Below-Eric-Red/dp/1619224216/ref=la_B0034OY3T8_1_11_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407882384&sr=1-11" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Amazon</span></a>,
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/it-waits-below-eric-red/1119936819?ean=9781619224216&itm=1&usri=eric+red+it+waits+below" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Barnes and Noble</span></a>, and <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/eric-red-pa-1782.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Samhain Horror</span></a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagWY1TvIE21mX7Xd6Shox_1aAho9Yw7UZq7yJb-kU7H8n5CJ_MT6X8HDAW70DFQWhKsBYfbOC490dvtB1BVBwNxYtPS3nJLvNrs9iL0RUNSlQScm1RYVEDEdpvSHnw7LM2njetvkj0eV4/s1600/Eric+Red+author+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagWY1TvIE21mX7Xd6Shox_1aAho9Yw7UZq7yJb-kU7H8n5CJ_MT6X8HDAW70DFQWhKsBYfbOC490dvtB1BVBwNxYtPS3nJLvNrs9iL0RUNSlQScm1RYVEDEdpvSHnw7LM2njetvkj0eV4/s1600/Eric+Red+author+photo.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Eric Red is a Los Angeles
based motion picture screenwriter, director and author. His original scripts
include <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hitcher</i> for Tri Star, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Near Dark</i> for DeLaurentiis Entertainment
Group, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blue Steel</i> for MGM and the
western <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Last Outlaw</i> for HBO. He directed and wrote the crime film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cohen And Tate</i> for Hemdale, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Body Parts</i> for Paramount, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Undertow</i> for Showtime, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Moon</i> for Warner Bros. and the ghost
story <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">100 Feet</i> for Grand Illusions
Entertainment.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/eric-red-pa-1782.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/eric-red-pa-1782.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-WEDVpaF1BizPBuu5zMKKN00JFuVsTkaHoyVgj3zk_0opMDvSm6Hk6z6Vg5aROAEAvnW93y9RuNA-qzlyO04DPfz-7ZhXEQlFNkNX_VkkQEkPvfioxof-n4p_Oba1UShl5JFLqeGCjHR/s1600/The+Guns+Werewolf.jpg" height="244" width="320" /><span id="goog_455924970"></span></a><span id="goog_455924971"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Mr. Red’s first novel, a
dark coming-of-age tale about teenagers called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t Stand So Close</i>, is available from SST Publications. His
second and third novels, a werewolf western called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Guns Of Santa Sangre</i> and a science fiction monster novel called
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It Waits Below</i>, are available from
Samhain Publishing. His fourth novel, a serial killer thriller called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">White Knuckle</i>, will be published by
Samhain in 2015. A collection of eighteen of his horror short stories titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toll Road</i> will be published by SST
Publications in 2015.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">His recent published horror
and suspense short stories include “Colorblind” in <i>Cemetery Dance</i>
magazine, the western horror tale “The Buzzard” in <i>Weird Tales</i> magazine,
“Pack Rat”<i> </i>in <i>Beware the Dark</i> magazine,<i> </i>“Little Nasties”
in <i>Shroud</i> magazine, “In the Mix”<i> </i>in <i>Dark Delicacies III:
Haunted</i> anthology, “Past Due” in Mulholland Books’ Popcorn Fiction, and “Do
Not Disturb”<i> </i>in <i>Dark Discoveries</i> magazine. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He created and wrote the
sci-fi/horror comic series and graphic novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Containment</i> for IDW Publishing and the horror western comic series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wild Work</i> published by Antarctic Press.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Mr. Red’s website is: <a href="http://www.ericred.com/"><span style="color: red;">www.ericred.com</span></a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">His IMDB page is: <a href="http://imdb.to/LyPooe"><span style="color: red;">http://imdb.to/LyPooe</span></a>.</span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-37905770271759184332014-06-24T09:27:00.002-07:002014-06-24T09:27:52.194-07:00Guest Post from Hunter Shea<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Today’s
guest post is by Hunter Shea, one of the rising stars in the field of horror
fiction. He’s written several great novels and novellas that every horror fan
must read. If you like fun stories with scary monsters and creepy ghosts, I
highly recommend you check out the books of Hunter Shea. Here, he’s talking
about his latest thriller,</span> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Montauk-Monster-Hunter-Shea/dp/0786034750/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_mas?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402421384&sr=1-1&keywords=the+montauk+monster" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Montauk Monster</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span></i> <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">which just released in time for the summer.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3CkQTgBBQ8nbDmWk4yNew3RGwIdB1DJB-h1j3KJuTyXEPlIjYlfvB_2IkJrnpjKUpHQS5Qq34CCErg3HOWKbRkN-FWsz0swokEpQE1k2yb0OwvLRmG0XkLc1vYPHRNZo8diS89E9Bm2P/s1600/montauk+monster+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3CkQTgBBQ8nbDmWk4yNew3RGwIdB1DJB-h1j3KJuTyXEPlIjYlfvB_2IkJrnpjKUpHQS5Qq34CCErg3HOWKbRkN-FWsz0swokEpQE1k2yb0OwvLRmG0XkLc1vYPHRNZo8diS89E9Bm2P/s1600/montauk+monster+cover.jpg" height="400" width="243" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Have
you heard the one about the Everglades skunk apes who got a writer a two-book
thriller deal? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sounds
insane, right? Even more so because it’s true. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My
debut thriller, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Montauk Monster</i>,
came about as strangely as the cryptids that descend on a Long Island town in
the book. It’s funny how one set of creatures led to a breakneck tale of
another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Here’s
how it went down and how you just never know where life will take you. A couple
of years ago, I was watching a marathon of the show <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bar Rescue</i>. My editor at Samhain, the legendary Don D’Auria,
emailed me around midnight to ask if I had any novellas I’d like to publish. Of
course, I didn’t, but in a flash I had this idea about a Bigfoot novel set in
the Everglades. Yeah, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bar Rescue</i>
marathons and lack of sleep make for great creative inspiration. Don said to go
for it, and I set to writing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A
month later, I turned in my manuscript, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Swamp
Monster Massacre</i>, a love note to the B monster movies I loved and still
adore. SMM is filled with a family of angry skunk apes intent on murdering a
band of hapless humans who crashed their airboat in the deep of the Everglades.
The book is a hell of a lot of twisted fun and has been my most popular to
date. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Flash
forward to the following year. I get an email from a guy who says he’s an
editor. Apparently, he was trolling for ‘new talent’ and had loaded up his
kindle with hundreds of ebooks. When all was said and done, he said SMM was the
one that stood out and he wanted to know if I’d be interested in working with
him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Now,
at first, I thought this was some kind of scam. So, I checked him and his
company out. Oh, he was legit all right. I replied that I was interested, and
we got to talking. The man made me laugh and we found out we shared the same
love for Roger Corman, Irwin Allen and loads of other stuff. Again, I was asked
if I had any ideas for a thriller. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
had recently been looking at pictures of supposed Montauk Monsters, strange
animal carcasses that have been washing up on the shores of Long Island, NY. I
quickly hashed a story concept together. To my amazement, he loved it and we
were off to the races. To convince the senior editors in the project, he even
printed pictures of the corpses and articles! And sure enough, I not only got the
deal, but a two-book deal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Right
away, I started working on the book, powering through it, creating non-stop
action with plausible backstories. It was a challenge and a thrill. Best of
all, the whole thing was an unexpected gift from above. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Now
here it is, already listed as <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Publisher Weekly’s</i> </a>top reads for summer and in a second
printing before the first copy hit the shelves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
it’s all because of those lovable, murderous skunk apes. Who knew? As R.L.
Stine told me (along with the crowd of other writers who paid to hear him),
never say no. That proposal you take on could be the one that changes your
life. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-oRKnpNOAfWyiYLZI6eiJCfTNEtjh0oeEP_LMebhHit7_P_OX4mZ77vxpyqTUHZ1LIzfl-JW1YzbEwEnV6d4vLMXZb2GmNNs3x8uiBz10WR9l_YfCvt_ELnrVygb0gLHvFUDmHMNThSP/s1600/montauk+monster+headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-oRKnpNOAfWyiYLZI6eiJCfTNEtjh0oeEP_LMebhHit7_P_OX4mZ77vxpyqTUHZ1LIzfl-JW1YzbEwEnV6d4vLMXZb2GmNNs3x8uiBz10WR9l_YfCvt_ELnrVygb0gLHvFUDmHMNThSP/s1600/montauk+monster+headshot.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hunter
Shea is the author of the pulse-pounding new thriller, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Montauk-Monster-Hunter-Shea/dp/0786034750/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_mas?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402421384&sr=1-1&keywords=the+montauk+monster" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Montauk</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Monster</span></i></a>, named as one of the Best Reads of Summer by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Publishers Weekly</i>. </span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLLZaxcNznyZ0FTv8zjcTzT3QFpoMLkaTfkxczCVNHaU_PVWb1999f_PWdKeIYAmQl3K0vwdF5fxlpm1pLfUz7WVnXtXuy3NIvOno4LNLNZyIE7lKA4kXJMECYUuM93-53ANCLLo4NMI0/s1600/All+Hunter+Shea+Covers+-+2+rows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLLZaxcNznyZ0FTv8zjcTzT3QFpoMLkaTfkxczCVNHaU_PVWb1999f_PWdKeIYAmQl3K0vwdF5fxlpm1pLfUz7WVnXtXuy3NIvOno4LNLNZyIE7lKA4kXJMECYUuM93-53ANCLLo4NMI0/s1600/All+Hunter+Shea+Covers+-+2+rows.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">His
horror novels to date are: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Hunter-Shea-ebook/dp/B00I41ZACK/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402421694&sr=1-4" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Waiting</span></a>,
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Entity-Hunter-Shea/dp/1619212331/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402421694&sr=1-9" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sinister Entity</span></a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swamp-Monster-Massacre-Hunter-Shea-ebook/dp/B009AZ818O/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402421694&sr=1-6" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Swamp Monster</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Massacre</span></a>, <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evil-Eternal-Hunter-Shea-ebook/dp/B007S0CWGK/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402421694&sr=1-10" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Evil Eternal</span></a></span></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forest-Shadows-Hunter-Shea/dp/1609286642/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402421694&sr=1-8" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Forest of Shadows</span></a>. </i>His obsession with
all things horrific has led him to real life exploration of the paranormal,
interviews with exorcists and other things that would keep most people awake
with the lights on. Hunter is also the proud and slightly demented co-host of
the Monster Men video podcast. A native New Yorker all his life, he waits with
Biblical patience for the Mets to win a World Series. You can read about his
latest travails, preview and purchase his books, watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=monster+men+hunter+shea" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Monster Men</span></a> episodes and
communicate with him without the need for a Ouija board at <a href="http://www.huntershea.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">www.huntershea.com</span></a>.</span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-71845349617760414592014-03-27T09:09:00.000-07:002014-03-27T09:09:00.008-07:00Interview with Author Anthony Hains<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">My guest author today
is Anthony Hains, who wrote a great horror novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Offering-Anthony-Hains/dp/162929036X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1395871951&sr=1-1"><span style="color: #351c75;">Birth</span>
<span style="color: #351c75;">Offering</span></a>.</i></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Hi Anthony, welcome to my blog. Tell us about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Offering-Anthony-Hains/dp/162929036X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1395871951&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75;">Birth Offering</span></a></span>.</i> What’s the basic
premise? And what compelled you to write this story?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth
Offering</i> is about a fourteen year old boy named Ryan Perry who has just
recently lost his father. He and his mom move to his grandmother’s coastal home
in South Carolina for a change of pace. Ryan isn’t thrilled with the idea, but
what can he do? Not long after the Perry’s arrival, Ryan is haunted by a
malevolent entity masquerading as his double. The hauntings become increasingly
dangerous with Ryan suffering injuries. It becomes clear that this specter of
ancient evil is intent on destroying Ryan. As if this wasn’t enough, Ryan
encounters an additional threat: two menacing boys and their caretaker somehow
connected to this other twin. Ryan soon realizes that in order to save himself
and his family, he must confront this unimaginable evil head on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My inspiration for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth
Offering</i> came when we were vacationing on Edisto Island, South Carolina. We
(my wife, daughter, and I) spent a week there in August of 1995. At the time,
Edisto was not a crowd favorite like Kiawah Island, Hilton Head, and Isle of
Palms. Whole sections were undeveloped with beach houses and one relatively
small resort area. For all that I know, it may still be that way, which makes
it the best kept secret of the South Carolina coast. I hope so. One day we came
across the most beautiful road… unpaved and densely lined with live oak trees
that were shrouded with Spanish moss. Beyond the live oaks, there were
palmettos and other tropical kinds of bushes and trees. The impact of the
vegetation was practically cathedral-like. The oak branches met across the
road, and the sunlight barely peeked through the hanging moss. It was
breathtaking. My wife proclaimed it beautiful, and the only thing I could think
about was, “wouldn’t this be a cool setting for a passage in a horror novel?” I
visualized someone on the road being stalked, and then chased by something in
the vegetation which was gradually working its way towards the road. That
imagery stuck with me for years, and ended up in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth Offering</i> – almost exactly like I had remembered it years
earlier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: The islands off the coast of South Carolina sound
intriguing. I’ll have to travel there and explore them. Is anything in your novel
based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: Fortunately, the work is entirely based on
imagination. Of course, there are minor personal experiences that make it into
the book – like seeing the road in South Carolina which gave me the initial
idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: I’m always amazed what you can come up with when you
tap into your imagination. What kind of research did you do?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: I tried to draw on my knowledge as a psychologist
to inform the emotions and behavior of my characters. So, I didn’t have to
research that aspect. For instance, my main character is a 14-year-old boy. I
am a pediatric psychologist, and have spent my career researching various
issues related to adolescence. However, when I came to sections of the novel
that involved some aspect of the plot that couldn’t be addressed by psychology
(and there were many), I was constantly searching the internet and trying some
personal mini-experiments to see if a certain sequence of events was possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Do you have a specific writing style?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: Since I am a psychologist and a university
professor, this means my writing style is that of an academic researcher.
Specifically, for the past thirty plus years, I have been writing empirical
research articles in APA format (American Psychological Association). In order
to write fiction, I had to be on my guard not to slip into scholarly manuscript
writing and instead wear my fiction writing hat. I am not sure what I would
call that style – since I am still trying to master it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: What books have influenced your life most?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: The most significant influences in the realm of
horror are probably the earliest ones. In my senior year of high school, two
novels came out nearly simultaneously: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Other</i> by Thomas Tryon and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Exorcist</i> by William Peter Blatty. While I had always been a horror movie
and monster movie fanatic as a kid, these two books more than any others
initiated me into the joys of reading horror. I still regard them as classics.
Since then I’ve enjoyed Stephen King for the most part, especially his earlier
works and, strangely enough, his very recent works.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In terms of non-horror, I can rattle off a number of titles
that moved me at the time I read them and still do today: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Kill a Mockingbird</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Great Gatsby</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Cold Blood</i>.
Interestingly enough, I read these in high school as well. More recently, I
have enjoyed the three ‘Colorado’ novels written by Kent Haruf. His latest, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Benediction</i>, is an emotionally powerful
novel. Finally, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Skippy Dies </i>by Paul
Murray is probably one of the best books about adolescents. It is
simultaneously hilarious and troubling – and informed my fictional writings of
teenage characters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Describe your path to becoming a published author.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like many others, this was something I always wanted to do,
but I never saw it as a career. However, the initial “nudge” occurred way back
in my senior year in college when I took a short fiction writing course. For
decades after that class, I always tossed around plots in my head, and even
attempted to write once or twice. But, I could never sit still long enough.
Finally, about five years ago, I took the plunge and began writing fiction for
real.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Things really took off when we became empty nesters. I was
able to schedule regular times for writing and always had a plan to write a
certain number of words a day. I wasn’t focused on publishing the book, believe
it or not. I wanted to see if I could actually complete the task. Once I finished
a first draft of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth Offering</i>, I
thought “why not?” So I started investigating the idea of trying to publish the
book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Needless to say, I was naive. The process was long and time
consuming – with tons of rejections for agents and publishers. Finally,
Damnation Books said ‘yes’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Is writing your career or a hobby?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I have a career as a
psychologist and professor. So, I cannot say I have a career as a writer too.
When I think of the word ‘hobby’, though, I think pastime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wouldn’t say that either. I take it
seriously, and plan to continue.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: How do you market your work? What avenues have you
found to work best for your genre?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: Like millions of others trying to promote their
work, I have turned to social media. I’ve created a web page where I attempt to
blog fairly regularly. I review other horror novels and novellas in <span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="http://www.anthonyhains.com/blog.html"><span style="color: #351c75;">my blog</span></a></span>, in an effort to “give
back to the field”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve joined <span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7275928.Anthony_Hains"><span style="color: #351c75;">GoodReads</span></a></span>
and try to take part in some horror-themed discussion groups. My only problem
is that I do not have enough time to regularly contribute to those discussions.
There are some very knowledgeable readers in those groups, and I have learned a
lot from them. In addition, you will find me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyHainsAuthor"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Facebook</span></span></a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AnthonyHains109/posts"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Google Plus</span></span></a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyHains"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Twitter</span></span></a>, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Can you tell us something you enjoy doing when not
writing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When I’m not writing, I enjoy
relaxing with my family and reading (often horror stories, but not always).</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Do you have any advice for other writers?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I wish I had some profound
advice for other writers, but I really don’t. The cliché responses are the best
I can come up with. Stick to it, don’t give up, carve out time for you to write
on a regular basis – every day if possible, set a goal… Those are the things
that have kept me on task.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: Is there anything that you would like to say to your
readers and fans?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: Thank you for taking the chance to read an unknown
writer’s work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brian: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth Offering</i>
was a great debut novel. Do you have a new book coming out soon? Tell us about
it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anthony: I just completed the editing process of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead Works</i> with my editor at Damnation
Books. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead Works</i> tells the tale of a
teenager in therapy because he is seeing ghosts. I realize this sounds like the
movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sixth Sense</i>, but the plot
is considerably different. My professional life contributed a chunk of the
source material. The psychologist character is a graduate student in counseling
psychology who was working on his PhD. The young therapist is doing his
practicum placement at the university counseling center and he is assigned a
teenage client who is seeing ‘things’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
regularly teach a Practicum course where the students are being supervised
while they provide therapy. Much of the context for the novel takes place
within the counseling relationship between the teen and the student therapist;
the story is told from the graduate student’s point of view. The book was a lot
of fun to write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Brian: Sounds like a
great story. I’m looking forward to when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead
Works</i> releases. Anthony, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing about
your books. For readers who have yet to discover Anthony Hains’ horror fiction,
check out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth Offering </i>which is now
available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Offering-Anthony-Hains/dp/162929036X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1395871951&sr=1-1"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Amazon</span></span></a>,
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/birth-offering-anthony-hains/1116964141?ean=9781629290362"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #351c75;">BarnesandNoble.com</span></span></a>
and wherever books are sold. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Anthony Hains is a
university professor in counseling psychology, with a specialization in
pediatric psychology – his research involves working with youth who have a
chronic illness. He is married with a daughter in college. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth Offering</i> his is first novel.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Website:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><a href="http://www.anthonyhains.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://www.anthonyhains.com/</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">Blog</span>:</span></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><a href="http://www.anthonyhains.com/blog.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://www.anthonyhains.com/blog.html</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">e-mail:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="mailto:hainsanthony@gmail.com"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">hainsanthony@gmail.com</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br />
Facebook:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyHainsAuthor"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyHainsAuthor</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br />
<span style="color: black;">Twitter:</span></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">@AnthonyHains</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br />
<span style="color: black;">Amazon Author Page: </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anthony-Hains/e/B00F5FYX0I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://www.amazon.com/Anthony-Hains/e/B00F5FYX0I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br />
<span style="color: black;">Goodreads:</span> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7275928.Anthony_Hains"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7275928.Anthony_Hains</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Today, guest writer Claire Fryer shares some tips on how writers
can avoid or get out of depression:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most professions come with at least some health and safety risks.
Although many people wouldn’t immediately associate writing with danger,
evidence suggests that it can be a risky business in terms of mental health
with rates of depression and anxiety being particularly
high among those of us in the writing community. There are many
factors thought to contribute to this, including an isolated working
environment, irregular pay and consequent financial worries. Not to mention the
intense internal pressure that comes with a career in writing, such as self
doubt, fear of rejection and the dreaded writer’s block that sometimes engulfs
us all.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Depression can be a shattering condition for anyone, but for a
writer it can seriously impair their creativity, motivation and sheer ability
to write, which will affect their confidence and their career in a vicious
cycle. For this reason it is important to stay positive and take action against
things that may cause or worsen depression if you want to <a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/should-you-continue-writing.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">keep writing</span></a>. Here are some
tips on how to do just that.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Create a healthy work space</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writers spend the majority of their time in their workspace – whether
that be an office, a spare room or simply a desk. Because it is generally a
sedentary job it is important to make sure that the environment, tools and
equipment that you are working with are fit for purpose. Not only will this
keep you physically healthy but it can help improve your mood too. Ensure that
the area in which you write is well lit – ideally with natural light but if
this is not possible opt for full spectrum lighting as this is more like
natural sunlight than florescent lighting.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keep the font size and resolution on your PC (if you use one) as
large and clear as possible to avoid eye strain and maintain a good posture by
investing in a good quality, adjustable chair to support the back and arms.
Many commercial office blocks now also include green plants in their offices
where possible, as not only do they improve the aesthetic appearance of the
office but they detoxify the air and increase oxygen too. This makes the air
cleaner which will help fend off bugs and germs, as well as keeping you alert
and motivated.</span>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Take on extra work</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When a writer is caught up in a novel it can be all
consuming and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/dec/13/writers-depression-top-10-risk" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">highly stressful</span></a>. Taking on
more work and responsibility may not sound like an appealing thought but it can
help you gain perspective by taking breaks from your novel whilst still
‘working’ and being productive. This will allow you to have a little distance
from such a mammoth task while still honing your craft and building your
portfolio. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Take on extra freelance writing work if possible. <a href="http://www.wait.co.uk/writing-and-editing-jobs.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Writing for wait.co.uk</span></a> and other content
providers often enables you to take on as much or as little work as you can
manage, and this ‘no pressure’ approach can be ideal for working around your
other commitments at your own pace and earning a little extra income, which
will also alleviate any financial concerns. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remember that writing often begins
as a hobby, so do not lose your love for it. Make time for the areas that
excite or interest you even if they aren’t completely relevant to your
workload. If you enjoy writing poetry for example then make sure you continue
with it even if you are busy.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Take regular breaks</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lack of sunlight, little exercise and bad diet are all factors
that can exacerbate low mood, so drag yourself away from your work at regular
intervals and go outside! A brisk lunchtime stroll will increase the production
of serotonin in the brain, and so your feel-good endorphins will start flowing
and leave you pumped up and motivated for an afternoon’s work. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The beauty of
being a writer is that you can pick your own hours. But do try to work to some
sort of a schedule that allows you to take time out for breaks and meals. It
can be easy to snack at your desk, but maintaining a well balanced diet full of
whole grains, fruits, vegetables and protein-rich meat will not only benefit
your physical health but your mental health too.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seek medical help</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lifestyle tips can go some way to relieving the symptoms of
depression, but in all cases it is beneficial to seek professional advice from
a counselor or doctor. Cognitive therapy and medication can often be
necessary to help fight and manage depression in order to allow to you
live a normal life and continue with your career. Be wary of taking any
tranquilizers or mood suppressing drugs though as these may harness your
creativity without effectively treating your depression.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Utilize support</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For anyone suffering from depression, social support from family,
friends or support groups can often help alleviate symptoms. Writing can be a
very isolating career, and so once again it is important that you remember to
take breaks and make the effort to interact with people. Conversation and
interaction are proven to boost self esteem, reduce anxiety and consequently
leave the sufferer feeling less stigmatized by their condition.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Special thanks to
Claire Fryer for sharing this article with Coaching for Writers. I welcome
guest writers. If you are a writer and would like to contribute an article
offering tips about writing, publishing or marketing books to this blog,
contact Brian(at)BrianMoreland(dot)com. Have a great day!</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-27705872547277682562014-01-15T11:31:00.001-08:002014-01-26T08:07:34.715-08:00The Genre Debate<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today, guest writer, Claire
Fryer, shares some interesting insights about genre writing:</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Genre Debate</span></b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A
few years ago, that great juggernaut of Canadian literary fiction, Margaret
Atwood, re-opened the can of worms regarding what makes “science fiction”…well,
science fiction. Atwood’s discussion of the term “speculative fiction”,
emphasized in its application to her best-selling <a href="http://margaretatwood.ca/maddaddam-trilogy/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Maddaddam</span>
<span style="color: #674ea7;">Trilogy</span></a>, fell under the category of what several writers and critics already
believed science fiction covered – that is, challenging the social, political,
historical, etc. modes which are presented in variations of their current modern
context; literally to speculate. Utopian and dystopian alternate universes are
one great example. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Atwood possibly wished to disassociate herself from the
mainstream understanding of science fiction as the spaceship-ridden galactic
whimsy which has bridged the outskirts of pop culture with shows like <i>Star
Trek </i>and <i>The Twilight Zone</i>, rather than explore a more open-minded
view of the genre. But the debate – regardless of how old – does raise a very
important question about the concept of genre itself. Writers don’t just need
to <a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/qualities-for-successful-writers.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #674ea7;">focus on being good writers</span></a> – they need to have a fairly good
understanding of the arena they are playing in too.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Audience Is Everything</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Writers
often say they write for themselves, and many can get by with this – by nature
writers are curious, intuitive, and introspective, searching for answers and
exploring for possibilities – and chances are, if a writer can portray this in
an engaging way, they will share common interests with an audience. So where
does genre come into this? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The less sexy side of writing, a.k.a. the publishing
industry, will say that it’s about <i>marketability</i>. Readers will flock to
a certain section in the bookstore for a reason; choosy readers will immediately
search for their author of choice. Some will even search for specific plot
lines, archetypes, a stereotypical hero or one who breaks the mold – strong
female empowerment, for instance.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Where
publication is concerned a writer must be prepared to put a label on their work,
and be familiar with the audience they are writing for – or perhaps more
importantly, hope to write for. This shouldn’t dictate the overall narrative or
style of the text on a huge scale, but can work as a source of inspiration
rather than another commercial confinement. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">For instance, a writer might decide
to take some of the norms of the genre and work freely within them and subvert
them – take the work of Neil Gaiman, for instance – who blends science fiction,
fantasy, and hysterical fiction to create highly entertaining novels and short
stories which are adapted for the screen. This kind of creativity can enhance
the genre and expand its horizons (think of the innovative work of Frank
Herbert, especially <i>Dune</i>) or even give birth to an entirely new genre
on its own, but one which will still appeal to a target audience.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Getting
It Right</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So
how does a writer distinguish between a fine line of diversifying a genre or
defying it completely? Well, these are things that an intuitive editor should be
able to help out with, but as always, a writer’s gut feeling is the most
important. There are different ways to approach a genre, just as there are
topics. Approaching a genre can be the same as finding different ways to explore
a study – <a href="http://www.valorebooks.com/new-used-textbooks/education" target="_blank"><span style="color: #674ea7;">take education for</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">instance</span></a>. It can be examined on a technical
point of view, as well as a social and cultural one, even political. But there
are several aspects in which a perception of education as an issue can be
viewed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">A genre, just like a story, can be approached in much the same way – if
genre is going to play an influential role in the story, then it’s important to
consider what and how you want to treat it, and to <a href="http://arts.umich.edu/ink/2010/02/28/the-various-types-of-science-fiction/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #674ea7;">explore its subgenres</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">as well</span></a>. Will you introduce a new kind
of character type? Will you change the dynamics of traditional story layouts?
Are you going to critique or parody the genre, celebrate it, make it accessible
to more readers or narrow it down to a few niche connoisseurs?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">However
you decide to treat genre, just make sure it is purposeful. Although some of the
greatest literary ideas have occurred by accident, avid readers tend to be very
critical about how a book adheres to or usurps different themes – so whether you
choose to untangle a genre or follow it closely, just be sure that it’s
intentional – even if you leave a little questioning to the audience. And of
course, it’s also okay to cross into more than one genre at a time as well. As
with everything, remember that while <i>focus</i> is the key to a great work, you have
the freedom to explore endless possibilities until you get there.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;">Special thanks to Claire Fryer for sharing this article with Coaching for Writers. I welcome guest writers. If you are a writer and would like to contribute an article offering tips about writing, publishing or marketing books to this blog, contact Brian(at)BrianMoreland(dot)com. Have a great day!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-89351942142140871842013-12-03T10:30:00.000-08:002014-01-15T13:08:15.263-08:00Terror in the Canadian Wilderness<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9F8kcA2UwWWdo2WVm-8SUgMRP2t2t1R8OUmmrEuZ7FE5WCYcvuP8qX-Xfr5S3y_Wni3GffEeAEDV4k67M8uHsdMxzeNw8CoElcaUy1j9UzwfvjDoUZX57JW1lSxAiOPgA2BzTjVBm1bjv/s1600/DOW+-+DW+covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9F8kcA2UwWWdo2WVm-8SUgMRP2t2t1R8OUmmrEuZ7FE5WCYcvuP8qX-Xfr5S3y_Wni3GffEeAEDV4k67M8uHsdMxzeNw8CoElcaUy1j9UzwfvjDoUZX57JW1lSxAiOPgA2BzTjVBm1bjv/s320/DOW+-+DW+covers.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">People often ask me why I’ve set two of my novels in Canada
while I live in down south in Texas. I guess the simple answer is I love the
remote wilderness and Canada has plenty of it. It is also rich with Native
American legends about mysterious creatures that inhabit those woods. My novel <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html"><span style="color: red;">Dead of
Winter</span></a></i></b> is set in Ontario and builds an epic mystery around the Wendigo
legend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My new novel <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html"><span style="color: red;">The Devil’s
</span></a></i><span style="color: red;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html"><span style="color: red;">Woods</span></a></i></span></b> is set in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. In the novel,
there’s an ancient forest that exists at the back of a Cree Indian reservation
that is completely unknown to most of the world. But the Cree people have
feared it for centuries. They call it Macâya Forest. Animals stay clear of it
too. The townspeople of a nearby logging town called Hagen’s Cove know that
those woods are responsible for the countless people who have been disappearing
around those parts since the 1800s.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My story’s main character is Kyle Elkheart. He’s half Cree
and was born on the reservation. When he was a child, his parents got divorced
and his white mother moved Kyle and his brother, Eric, and sister, Shawna, to
Seattle to live with an abusive stepfather. Now, all three of the Elkheart kids
are adults trying to make it in the world. When they learn that their Cree
father has disappeared, Kyle and his brother and sister fly a seaplane to the
Canadian wilderness. Traveling with them are Eric’s girlfriend, Jessica, and
Shawna’s boyfriend, Zack. When the five arrive at the Cree village set deep in
the wilderness, Kyle begins to see clues to an unsolved mystery that spans
decades and he learns the real reason why his tribe fears Macâya Forest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As for why I write about Canada ... well, while living in
Texas is nice, we don’t have mountains here and there are no ancient forests
where man has not tread. I once traveled to British Columbia, visiting
Vancouver and Whistler and I’ve hiked around the Rocky Mountains. The mountain country
north of the U.S. border is breathtaking and a beautiful place to visit in my
mind as type at my keyboard in Dallas. The Canadian wilderness is also so vast
and remote that it’s ominous when you find yourself far away from civilization.
The native tribes feared the legendary creatures of the forest. And if you
enter the Devil’s Woods, you will discover there are some places in the world
where man is considered prey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">The Devil's Woods</span></i></b> is now available at <b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Devils-Woods-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619215659/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1386003390&sr=8-1&keywords=the+devil%27s+woods" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Amazon</span></span></span></a></span></b> and everywhere books are sold. </span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-30176353130100021012013-12-01T12:09:00.001-08:002014-01-15T13:11:24.491-08:00Interview with Author Jeff Dawson<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A few weeks back, I had the great opportunity to
meet up with author Jeff Dawson for lunch and talk about books, publishing, and
a whole lot more. Over cheeseburgers, fries and giant onion rings, Jeff
enthralled me with story after story about his life and his incredible
knowledge of WWII. He was also gracious enough to give me a copy of his WWII
vampire novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Occupation-Jeff-Dawson/dp/0983974020/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-4"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Occupation</span></span></a>.</i>
That’s right; the book combines sinister Nazis against vampires you can root
for in one hell of a great story. Today, I’m interviewing Jeff so you can get
to know him, as well.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
Jeff, welcome to my blog. It’s a real treat to interview a fellow author who
has combined two of my favorite subjects: horror and WWII history. Tell us
about your vampire vs. Nazis thriller, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Occupation.</i>
What’s the story about?</span> </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
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Jeff: Plain
and simple; evil versus evil. The story follows the historical events of
Germany invading Poland September 1<sup>st</sup>, 1939. When the Nazis start
implementing their plan of shipping off the undesirables, they have no idea
they are stealing the food supply of two warring vampire clans: The Romanovs
and Boirarskys. Will the clans continue to fight amongst themselves, or combine
and take on a force more evil than themselves: the Third Reich? Caution, if you’re
a fan of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight,</i> the only thing
sparkling in this work is the moonlight reflecting off the mutilated bodies of
the SS. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
The vampires are obviously fictional, but does where the story takes place
relate to any true events in WWII Poland? </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: Yes.
The Nazis set-up Krakow as the capitol of the General Government in Occupied
Poland. Many of the Jewish residents were shipped to nearby Auschwitz and other
camps.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
I know you’re a huge war buff and that your shelves are filled with nonfiction
history books. So what inspired you to come up with a horror story that mixes
real WWII history with vampires? </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: An
interesting question. I didn’t come up with the idea, rather two women did. The
lady taking care of my mom suggested I write a love story about WWII. Nope, not
happening. Saw <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Enemy at the Gates</i> and
was very disappointed. Seriously? A love story in Stalingrad. No! I called my
deceased’s fiancé’s daughter Jessica and asked her if vampires were still big.
She convinced me they were. So, for two or three months I thought about
combining the two in a believable historical scenario. The result: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Occupation.</i></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
As someone who has done countless research for a historical novel, I’m curious
how much research you had to do for this book? Did you go over to Poland? Did
you study vampire lore? Or did you just tap into that encyclopedia mind of
yours and let your imagination run wild? </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: The
later would be true. I haven’t traveled to Poland until recently; never read a
vampire novel in my life. I tapped into the memory banks and let the story
flow.<span style="color: #0070c0;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;"></span><span style="color: #0070c0;"></span><span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
I read somewhere that when you were in school you used to shoot war films. Tell
us a bit about that. Did it pave the way for you to become a storyteller? </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: Yeah, a
couple of my buddies, back in junior high, shot a few short 8mm films. To say
the least, they were really bad. Yes, I still have them. I wouldn’t say they
launched me into storytelling, just the opposite. We took our stories and
valiantly attempted to put them on film. Steven Spielberg has nothing to fear. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
Before being an author, you worked for years in road construction. Tell us a
bit about what that job was like. What made you switch careers to writing
books? </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: I’ll
keep it toned down, since this is the family hour. If you like working outside
in 110+ temps or even the bone-chilling 20 degree delight, sign on and be
prepared to be called every wonderful accolade <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Webster’s Dictionary</i> can’t print. At times it was a thankless
profession because the average driver looked at us with disdain and contempt.
“Hey, we’re only trying to help the flow of traffic. Take a pill.” Those
comments were usually greeted with the one finger salute. “Back atcha, buddy.” </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Back surgery
in 2010 derailed the construction career, so I took up writing. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
You’ve written a number of others books for different genres? Give us a brief
synopsis of each of those books. Which book is your favorite?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZBvZmSYaKH-Lqw0RVeqAUQLQUl3F1bOCM3zAAvz2wRXhmBnIifLk_uYi6CYH1W4G_t3AJtZZ7gvWybCXRH7u8cs5JwooE6KrdEbrfnvu9mT5RUCTf5nzSiJBpXd_xRVqMCP6O02HBqp1/s1600/bookcover-loves-true-second-chanceii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZBvZmSYaKH-Lqw0RVeqAUQLQUl3F1bOCM3zAAvz2wRXhmBnIifLk_uYi6CYH1W4G_t3AJtZZ7gvWybCXRH7u8cs5JwooE6KrdEbrfnvu9mT5RUCTf5nzSiJBpXd_xRVqMCP6O02HBqp1/s320/bookcover-loves-true-second-chanceii.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: My
favorite is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Loves-True-Second-Chance-Dawson/dp/0983974004/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-3" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Love’s True Second</span> <span style="color: #351c75;">Chance</span>,</span></i></a>
a memoir about my high school sweetheart. We reunited in Jan of 2009. Seven
months later her breast cancer returned with a vengeance. The story chronicles
the love we shared. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Happen-Death-Cancer-Recovery-ebook/dp/B004EPYUSA/ref=la_B0054DRYIO_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Why Did Everything</span> <span style="color: #351c75;">Happen?</span></span></i></a> </span>This is
another memoir/autobiography. How many times have we found ourselves wondering
why our lives didn’t follow the path we laid out. That question was answered
August 29, 2009 at a small cemetery in Seagoville, TX.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kd-kLhne-KjMC_Ji68l0CDaEjUCwAqemyBBHVibDD6cxpnlIUDM_7Zi1FSFBbhuBxnQ7gsPuqjO4gUT57O2bVXu6JwjuF18iuvY2r15bJA3UMPHk7wO6QdTk4gekaZuHZ1Mx5aIJ1qdb/s1600/919ca1OD7TL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kd-kLhne-KjMC_Ji68l0CDaEjUCwAqemyBBHVibDD6cxpnlIUDM_7Zi1FSFBbhuBxnQ7gsPuqjO4gUT57O2bVXu6JwjuF18iuvY2r15bJA3UMPHk7wO6QdTk4gekaZuHZ1Mx5aIJ1qdb/s320/919ca1OD7TL._SL1500_.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Terror-at-Sterling-Jeff-Dawson-ebook/dp/B00D4KSZ1O/ref=la_B0054DRYIO_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-6" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Terror at the</span> <span style="color: #351c75;">Sterling.</span></span></i> </a>The story is
loosely based on actual events. Mel Thornton is given orders from the new GM,
Cheryl, to evict two hookers. The eviction plunges him back into the ’70s and
an unsolved murder. Think vampire/zombies. Will Mel live to tell the secrets of
the past?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DCEP69TybilupKuXxrmH0DrxklHmyuRued-SPxdGrsN-Sw8APXnaFyWzuQX96NWvubRo2mkToyi6DDQtrI-NgOGPuiSehmIQhZK07avyamGb2N86fzHfnz0PQoodD75dmrNh48-5CzWe/s1600/51XqwVTm0NL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DCEP69TybilupKuXxrmH0DrxklHmyuRued-SPxdGrsN-Sw8APXnaFyWzuQX96NWvubRo2mkToyi6DDQtrI-NgOGPuiSehmIQhZK07avyamGb2N86fzHfnz0PQoodD75dmrNh48-5CzWe/s320/51XqwVTm0NL.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-Pioche-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00B6GAS4A/ref=la_B0054DRYIO_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-2" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Gateway: Pioche:</span></span></i></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about an unconventional time travel/sci
fi/political thriller with a touch of the Vegas mob thrown in? The co-author
Larry Welch pitched the idea to me in March of 2012. The story revolves around
four Stanford grads, Muki, Larry, Judith and Abdul. After six years of studying
and obtaining two Masters Degrees, the kids decide to take a vacation across
the United States before joining the work force. First stop, Vegas with the
hopes of earning extra cash for the trip. Their winnings don’t go unnoticed by
local mob boss Nathan Francisco. The kids find themselves in deadly pursuit,
leading them to a military complex NE of Pioche, NV. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Book trailer:<span style="color: #0070c0;"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1QzqlXv9Pg</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw0ncc3NwFMP5gspNQX7Xs6LD9NmQwAQz7794RLNBuLIVvvXMP9v-XV2cvAOz4snvDyNUFVcDbMSp1o6WBvxGKkio1_ZFYlf-YAKap7lzr32jn8ffcjUCTSP4IJv81WDmVOL0jteWLxIj/s1600/Book+Cover+Destination+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw0ncc3NwFMP5gspNQX7Xs6LD9NmQwAQz7794RLNBuLIVvvXMP9v-XV2cvAOz4snvDyNUFVcDbMSp1o6WBvxGKkio1_ZFYlf-YAKap7lzr32jn8ffcjUCTSP4IJv81WDmVOL0jteWLxIj/s320/Book+Cover+Destination+3.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Destination-DC-Book-2-Gateway-ebook/dp/B00F6B6FG6/ref=la_B0054DRYIO_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Destination D.C.</span></span></i></a> is the 2<sup>nd</sup>
in the series. In hopes of getting the vacation back on track, our intrepid
travelers find themselves enmeshed in a plot by the Fourth Reich to overthrow
the U.S. Government. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Coaching-Manual-Little-League-ebook/dp/B004EYUHYW/ref=la_B0054DRYIO_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-5" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #351c75;">The Baseball Coaching Manual: Little League to High</span></span><span style="color: #351c75;"> School Volumes I and II.</span></i></a> I spent twenty plus years coaching and
umpiring baseball. The books contain the overlooked fundamentals of baseball.
Firstly, the first three letters: f,u,n. Sadly, fun has been taken out of the
game. I give a no nonsense look into coaching kids. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian:
Sounds like you’ve written a wide variety of books for all sorts of readers. There
are many aspiring writers out there looking for ways to be more successful at
completing books. Can you share your writing schedule and offer some success
secrets to create time to write?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: Like
any job, you’ve got to work at it and keep pushing yourself, because no one
else will. If you don’t work well on your own or are undisciplined, this might
not be a career you want to enter. I try and write each day, but that doesn’t
always happen. Many say you need to write even if it’s bad. If it’s bad, why
write? I wait for the characters to let me know they are ready for the story to
continue. When this happens, I can crank out between 2,000 to 5,000 words in a
day. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian: I share your same theory. When I’m writing bad
stuff because the words aren’t flowing right, it feels like a waste of time. I
may write a sentence or paragraph to keep me connected to what I’m writing, but
mostly the books I’ve accomplished have come on days when my characters are
letting me know it’s time to write and then I can write 2500+ words a day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
Jeff: Discipline
is the key here. It’s so easy to walk around aimlessly, turn on the TV, or
fiddle in the garage. None of those will get word one on paper. SIT down and do
it. Stop procrastinating or worrying if it’s going to be any good. DO IT! Will
you make mistakes? Of course. It’s the mistakes which make us better. One other
thing, do not give up and if you’re serious. Patience and perseverance will pay
off. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian: Good advice. Any new books on the forefront, like
a sequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Occupation</i> or something
in the same WWII horror genre?</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
I’m working
on sequels to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Occupation</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Target Berlin:</i> the third in the Gateway
series. With luck, I’ll release a poetry book in time for Christmas</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">Brian: Jeff, it’s been an honor having you as a guest
author. I look forward to talking with you again soon. For anyone looking for a
fascinating read, get yourself a copy of <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Occupation-Jeff-Dawson/dp/0983974020/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1385921560&sr=1-4"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Occupation</span></a></i></b>
today. In this supernatural thriller, the evil Nazis have finally met their
match. Find out what happens when they start taking away the vampires’ food
supply.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; tab-stops: 70.7pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Occupation</i> Book trailer: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzQKaezOTrg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzQKaezOTrg</a><span style="color: #0070c0;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt8-PxsippEGxo4S8RRpFOL-f3NfIfeS6_OKKbpACVngOrB-1Tq8N4UB26eJsVH-hr8pqrg48Q5sFoVGvrCY1KcUlK_r2LXgG0WhG_aMuYKSuSdBbBDldHjEg_BqDeUJSlV9OGyhf3oew/s1600/Jeff+Dawson+x+250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt8-PxsippEGxo4S8RRpFOL-f3NfIfeS6_OKKbpACVngOrB-1Tq8N4UB26eJsVH-hr8pqrg48Q5sFoVGvrCY1KcUlK_r2LXgG0WhG_aMuYKSuSdBbBDldHjEg_BqDeUJSlV9OGyhf3oew/s1600/Jeff+Dawson+x+250.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0070c0;">About
Jeff Dawson</span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<span style="color: black;">I
spent twenty-five years in the wonderful world of road construction. Back
surgery in 2010 put the skids on that career. My body couldn't handle the
rigors of twelve to sixteen hour days, six to seven days a week anymore. As I
convalesced, licking my wounds, I wondered what to do next. Not being out in
the sun getting baked, or dodging traffic, was going to be a hard act to
follow. Seriously, what else did I know? An article in the Dallas Morning News
caught my eye. It was about being a professional speaker. Hmm. That sounds
interesting. Becoming mobile again, I took a seat in front of the blank
monitor, pondering what to write.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<span style="color: black;">Let's
start with something we know: my life. The first work was titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God's Plan: A Glimpse Into One's Life.</i> I
re-titled it six months later to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why Did
Everything Happen? </i>This is a look back at the last twenty-five years and
how the death of my partner, father and true love affected my life. I was
amazed at the revelations. Since then, I've moved on to write in several
different genres. Some say I should change my name when diverting from the
path. Well, right or wrong, I'm sticking with my name. The current works range
from the love story of my one true love: Debbie Beck--RIP 7-20-2009, an
alternate historical perspective of Vampires and WWII, a newly released Sci-Fi
time travel adventure to Baseball Coaching Manuals. Granted, not every book I
write is for everyone. I understand that, but I hope I'm showing readers diversity
can be a good avenue.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<span style="color: black;">I
currently live in the DFW area (Dallas-Ft. Worth), spending a lot of time with
my daughter, her girls and my oldest son. When I was in construction, I never
had or took the time to enjoy what surrounded me: love, family and friends. My
true love, Debbie, and her girls reminded me what was important in life;
"we work to live, not live to work."</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.3pt;">
<span style="color: black;">I
hope you take a chance on a book or two.</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Jeff’s
blog: </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://jeff-dawson.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://jeff-dawson.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="color: #0070c0;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="color: black;">Twitter:</span>
<span style="color: blue;">@JeffDawson59</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="color: black;">Email:</span>
<span style="color: blue;"><a href="mailto:Jdawson41@netzero.net"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;">Jdawson41@netzero.net</span></span></a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="color: black;">Facebook:</span>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupation/231877123504847"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupation/231877123504847</span></a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="color: black;">Amazon:</span>
<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Dawson/e/B0054DRYIO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Dawson/e/B0054DRYIO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1</span></a></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-26468008859737792612013-11-23T11:09:00.001-08:002013-11-23T11:12:21.685-08:00What Every Aspiring Writer Needs to Know by Hunter Shea<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Today, guest author Hunter Shea shares some great tips that every aspiring writer needs to know about what it takes to be a professional writer.</span><br />
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“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You know, I should
write a book about this</i>.” --- phrase said every minute of every day. </div>
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There are a few things that separate the person who says
they want to write a book from those who actually publish a book. They may
sound simple but each actually requires passion, dedication and discipline –
and maybe a little dash of insanity. How many other endeavors require you to
lock yourself away for hundreds, maybe thousands of hours, with no guarantee of
success after all that time missed with friends and family? </div>
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A friend of mine, who is also a writer, wrapped the mind of
the writer up in one word : <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">compulsion</i>.
Writers are compelled to tell stories. That compulsion is the driving force
that keeps our butts in the chair, tapping away at our keyboard or scratching
on legal pads. </div>
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So, what do you have to do to channel that compulsion and
push through to publication? Be warned, this isn’t as easy as it sounds.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Read.</b> If you
don’t read, you can’t write. Do not pass Go. I don’t know a single successful
writer that isn’t a voracious reader. Saying you want to be a writer without
reading is like saying you want to be a mechanic but you never drive or tinker
around with cars. If you’re a genre reader, gather up everything you can in
your genre, but don’t forget to read other genres as well. You’ll pick up
something from every book you read. Reading teaches you the craft, the cadence
of writing. I’ve been reading 50-100 books a year since I was a teen. Reading
is where it all starts. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Write. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>This one seems self-explanatory, but it’s
not always easy to do. Life is crazy and busy and demanding. It’s hard to establish
a writing routine. (quick tip – turn off the TV. You’ll be amazed by how much
time you have to write if you steer clear of the boob tube) You have to make a
conscious effort to follow the AIS rule. That means Ass In Seat. While you’re
there, get to writing. Fill those blank pages. Keep going until you type The
End. Start something new. Then go back and revise. Odds are, your early efforts
will be clunky, but don’t despair. When it comes to writing, practice does make
perfect. When I look at the stories and books I wrote at the start of this
18-year journey, I cringe so hard, I’m afraid my face will freeze. You will get
better if you stick to it and always, always <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">finish what you start</i>. When you finish, polish it like a diamond. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Study.</b> Writing is
more than an art. Writing to be published is a business. You have to learn the
publishing business. What are the acceptable formats? What companies publish
the kind of books you want to write? Who are the editors? The agents? What are
the submission rules? How do you build a brand? Market your work? There are
more books and websites and blogs out there to help the beginner writer than I
can name. You can start with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Writer’s
Marketplace – </i>an invaluable tool for every writer. Subscribe to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writer’s Digest</i>. Look at the
dedications in books, see which agents are representing the authors you hope to
one day stand beside. Writing your book is just half the battle. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Submit</b>. No one
will know about the new light under the bushel if you don’t send your work out.
I know, it’s scary. It’s kind of like walking naked down a busy street. Here
you are, offering up your soul’s hard work to be evaluated by perfect
strangers. Grit your teeth and send your work out. You studied your market, so
you know exactly who to send it to in a professional manner. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Patience</b>. The
pace of publishing can be, well, glacial at best. Editors and agents aren’t
always quick to get back to you. My first horror novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forest of Shadows</i>, spent almost 4 years with an editor before it
was accepted. Now, that’s an extreme example, but not unheard of. Patience pays
off in the end. At least that’s what I tell my kids. I’ve published half a
dozen books with that many more to come and this is still the most difficult
part of the entire process for me. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Grow a thick skin</b>.
Rejection will be your constant companion. All published writers have drawers
full of rejection letters. Most of them are form letters, some encouraging and
helpful, and others downright mean. You can’t let it get you down. In fact,
those rejection letters can be helpful. They may be telling you what you need
to work on to improve. I once had a story that was soundly rejected by everyone
because of the precarious situation I put a character in. They were very
explicit about why it would never sell. What did I do? I changed the character,
kept the situation, and sold that story half a dozen times over ten years. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Keep on truckin’. </b>If
you truly have the writer’s compulsion, keep working, keep learning, keep
growing. It took me almost 15 years to get to where I wanted to be as a writer.
Now that I’m here, I’m working even harder to improve and most of all, get the
voices in my head onto the page. See, I told you there was some insanity in
here.</div>
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<br />
Hunter Shea is the author of the novels <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sinister Entity, Swamp Monster Massacre, Evil Eternal</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forest of Shadows</i>. His first short story
collection, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Asylum Scrawls</i>, recently
terrorized the locals during its Halloween season release. He has three novels
scheduled for publication in 2014.
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When he’s not lamenting the state of the Mets, he’s working
on his all horror podcast, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monster Men</b>,
a light hearted take on dark topics. He lives in New York with his family and
rescue cat that won’t stop peeing in his tub.</div>
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You can follow Hunter's latest travails at <a href="http://www.huntershea.com/">www.huntershea.com</a>.
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You can find the Monster M<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>en
at <a href="http://www.themonstermen.net/">www.themonstermen.net</a></span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-62614783200696485892013-11-22T14:52:00.000-08:002013-11-22T14:52:35.583-08:00First review for THE DEVIL'S WOODS<br />
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In 2 weeks my latest novel <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">THE DEVIL'S WOODS</span></a> releases (Tues, Dec 3rd), and the reviews are starting to come in.<br />
<br />
Here's a glowing book review from <a href="http://matthewscottbaker.com/blog/2013/11/book-review-the-devils-woods-by-brian-moreland/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: white;">Shattered</span><span style="color: white;"> Ravings</span></b></a>.<br />
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<i>The Devil's Woods</i> is currently on sale for a limited time through my publisher <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: white;">Samhain </span><span style="color: white;">Horror</span></b></a>. </div>
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Here's what others are saying:</div>
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“<i>The Devil's Woods</i> is an
awesome horror novel, filled with nerve-wracking suspense and thrilling
action!”</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span>Jeff
Strand,</b> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wolf Hunt</i><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Brian Moreland’s fiction is taut
and spellbinding, often blending varied themes to form a dark genre very much
his own. From his WWII occult thriller <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadows in the Mist</i>, to the haunting chiller <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil’s Woods</i>, Brian’s work is at once versatile, original, and
deeply engaging.”</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—Greg
F. Gifune,</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Bleeding Season</i></span>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil's Woods</i> is a force of nature.
A complex, chilling foray into the darkness of a forbidden land, and man's
tortured soul."</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—Hunter
Shea,</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Swamp
Monster Massacre</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sinister Entity</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">"In <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Dead of Winter</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i>
Brian Moreland showed why he's one of the strongest new forces in horror
fiction. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Devil's Woods</span></i>, he proves he's as versatile as he is
talented. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Devil's Woods</span></i> is fantastic--a terrifying and
emotionally-involving read from cover to cover." </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—Jonathan
Janz,</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sorrows</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">House of Skin</i></span></div>
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"Brian Moreland has created a
new horror classic bursting with bloodshed, chaos, and truly disturbing
creatures. Prepare to travel down a dark, terrifying, and twisted path that is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil's Woods.</i> Backwoods horror at
its finest!"</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">—David
Bernstein,</b> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Damaged Souls</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amongst the Dead</i>
</div>
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"Reading anything by Brian
Moreland makes me understand how much harder I have to work as a writer to
generate the level of chills he can deliver."</div>
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—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Kristopher Rufty,</b> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Lurkers</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Dark Autumn</i> </div>
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<br />Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-6688262803922677402013-11-03T10:10:00.001-08:002013-11-11T11:48:16.313-08:00News for Upcoming BooksThere's been a lot of activity going on lately with my publishing career this fall. I'm happy to announce on Halloween day I signed a contract with Samhain Publishing to publish my 5th book THE VAGRANTS (scheduled to release June 2014).<br />
<br />
This morning I finished polishing the last couple chapters of THE VAGRANTS and emailed the final manuscript off to my editor. What a great feeling it is to have another book completed and out the door. I've been working on some cover designs, so I should have a cover to post here soon.<br />
<br />
The premise for THE VAGRANTS is about a journalist in Boston, Daniel Finley, who has spent 6 months living under a bridge among the homeless people to study their way of life. While there, he witnesses some eerie phenomena: something strange is happening with the vagrants. I don't want to give too much away at this point, but Daniel gets caught up in a terrifying battle between the Irish Mafia and an evil that is gathering beneath the streets of Boston.<br />
<br />
I also recently signed deals with <a href="http://www.audiorealms.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?keywords=horror&search=action" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Audio Realms</span></a>, who will record all my books as audio books. If you prefer to listen to books, then be on the look out for these titles in 2014:<br />
<br />
<b>Dead of Winter</b><br />
<b>Shadows in the Mist</b><br />
<b>The Witching House</b><br />
<b>The Devil's Woods</b><br />
<b>The Vagrants</b><br />
<br />
One month from today, December 3rd, my next novel <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">THE DEVIL'S</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">WOODS</span></a> releases on eBook and paperback. You can order now at <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Samhain Horror</span></a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Woods-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619215659/ref=la_B002BM3020_1_3_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383501758&sr=1-3" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Amazon</span></a> and all major book stores. The audio book will release in January 2014.<br />
<br />
Now, I can start working on my next novel. <br />
<br />
I also coach writers to be successful. So if you are an aspiring writer or know one who could use a boost, feel free to email me about one-on-one coaching at Brian (at) BrianMoreland (dot) com.<br />
<br />
I appreciate your support and have a great day.<br />
<br />
Brian <br />
<br />
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-67315807776325092372013-10-30T10:00:00.000-07:002013-10-30T10:00:01.251-07:00Halloween Interview with Horror Author Kristopher Rufty<!--[if !mso]>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As my special guest for Halloween week, I have interviewed horror
author Kristopher Rufty. He’s one of the busiest writers I know. He churns out
new fiction daily, writes, directs and produces movies, and on top of all that he’s
a heck of nice guy. If you like your horror extremely scary and dark, I highly
recommend you check out the <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/kristopher-rufty-pa-1661.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">books by Kristopher Rufty</span></a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLIiepUEKJIgKDiQy6kJW9yVIkL4Cn07YKd4zELITMLapUeJLBR9H8SUodoLhez3jQMdSB9CQJn7zl6Bm_LJZKHk9iWB_WAwLKJ9d16QvJmaFV_mWgjGU7VeNPJm7k4KcZJjoVrufKHS2/s1600/HorrorHound2013+mycam+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLIiepUEKJIgKDiQy6kJW9yVIkL4Cn07YKd4zELITMLapUeJLBR9H8SUodoLhez3jQMdSB9CQJn7zl6Bm_LJZKHk9iWB_WAwLKJ9d16QvJmaFV_mWgjGU7VeNPJm7k4KcZJjoVrufKHS2/s400/HorrorHound2013+mycam+026.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kristopher Rufty and myself at HorrorHound Cincinnati, March 2013</div>
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BM: Kristopher, thanks for joining me on my blog. You and I
had the pleasure of signing books together this year at HorrorHound in Cincinnati
and Indianapolis. I also got a chance to read a pre-released version of your
latest novel <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Prank-Night-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/1492938580/ref=tmm_pap_title_0" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">PRANK</span> <span style="color: orange;">NIGHT</span></a></span>, which I absolutely loved. Tell us about PRANK NIGHT.
What’s it about and how did you come up with the idea to write it?</div>
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KR: Thanks, Brian! It was such a great time at Horrorhound,
wasn’t it? I can’t wait until we can do that again. I’m very happy you enjoyed
the book as much as you did. Your words of encouragement helped usher PRANK
NIGHT’s progress along.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvYoHkBwMpFSbgiVaJAOMD3XsD842OHTOxNGWuZ6A4I7rDoM5o5WjB3yeDn0cxd0yhp6_-8WPdFF_kMwUdwb0v5ZprtASFRkvfUgxOioD1Vb3eshvVb4xMWNg_J7yH1OSKMek-7FdGVhL/s1600/Prank+Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvYoHkBwMpFSbgiVaJAOMD3XsD842OHTOxNGWuZ6A4I7rDoM5o5WjB3yeDn0cxd0yhp6_-8WPdFF_kMwUdwb0v5ZprtASFRkvfUgxOioD1Vb3eshvVb4xMWNg_J7yH1OSKMek-7FdGVhL/s1600/Prank+Night.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
PRANK NIGHT is about a small North Carolina town
predominantly known for their annual Halloween carnival being attacked from
within by an enigmatic force of evil. It starts off small but quickly escalates
to a full-blown siege when a holiday that has kept the town alive suddenly
turns on them. I based the town of Autumn Creek off of two cities: where I was
raised in NC and a small town that I’ve visited in Wisconsin. The residents in
the book are simple people. Not much happens in the way of crime, so when
something so big hits all at once, they are not prepared. Even the local police
don’t know how to stop it. The original idea came to me on a plane ride back
from Wisconsin a couple years ago. I sat in my seat, head leaned back and eyes
closed, as I let the idea percolate. By the time the plane landed, I had a
decent chunk of the story mapped out. The first version was much more isolated but
with time, the impact grew, as did the story.</div>
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When I first sat down to write the original version, it was
intended to be a low-budget horror movie. But, it never quite worked for me. I
believe it was because I had to leave out so much of the backstory to keep the
shooting budget low. When I decided to write it as a novel, I included all
those elements—plus tons more—from that plane ride. What’s in the book now is
pretty much what’s been in my head for three or more years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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BM: You have already written several great books <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/PillowFace-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/1475020058/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1382838573&sr=1-3" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Pillowface,</span></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Board-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/1609286618/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Angel</span> <span style="color: orange;">Board,</span></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Lurkers-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/1609289269/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">The Lurkers</span></a><span style="color: orange;">,</span> <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/dark-autumn-p-7113.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">A Dark</span> <span style="color: orange;">Autumn,</span></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-One-Alive-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/148404729X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1382838900&sr=1-5" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Last One</span> <span style="color: orange;">Alive,</span></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1308565370"><span style="color: orange;">Oak Hollow</span></a></i><span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Oak-Hollow-ebook/dp/B00B4QJK82/ref=la_B007IYD1FC_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382838900&sr=1-2">.</a></span> Who are three authors who impacted you as a horror
writer?</div>
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KR: There are many authors who have impacted me and still
do. Plus, there are a slew of newer authors that I really enjoy reading, who I
learn so much from. But my three most impacting authors would have to be:<br />
<br />
Richard Laymon: His books are fast-paced and incredibly
intense. The suspense he manages to evoke in so few words is magical. I’m
rereading his book ENDLESS NIGHT and the first few chapters are nonstop action
and four people have been brutally slayed so early on. I already care about the
lead characters and, though I know how it ends, I’m pulling for them to
survive. Reading Laymon early on influenced me greatly in my own writing. He
made me understand you don’t have to spend two paragraphs describing every bit
of scenery, or to drag out the prose. Tell it how the character sees it and let
the reader experience the ride with him/her. He was such a fiction-writing
genius. He also used words that I had only ever heard my dad say, such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rump, </i>when referring to someone’s
behind. </div>
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Jack Ketchum: When I read OFF SEASON for the first time
while recovering from surgery, I knew I had discovered something special. I
read the book in a day. The impact it had on me was severe, and inspired me in
so many ways to write. I’ve read it two more times since then and usually
gobble up anything he writes.<br />
<br />
And since I can only choose three, I’ll go with the recently
passed Gary Brandner. The first book of his I read was THE HOWLING and immediately
began tracking everything else of his I could get my hands. I only have two of
his books left to read and they are sitting on my shelf, waiting patiently. I
see a lot of Brandner’s influence in Laymon’s writing, plus the unique amount
of love they both have for their characters. They put their leads through hell
and I can tell in the writing that Brandner and Laymon are rooting for them to
make it through the bloodshed okay.<br />
<br />
I also collect old 70s/80s/90s paperbacks. There are many
great authors I’ve discovered this way. Too many to name here. One day I’m
going to construct a list of all these great authors. And to choose some other
authors who have influenced me along the way, I’ll select these:</div>
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Stephen King</div>
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Bentley Little</div>
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Clive Barker (I also adore his movies)</div>
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Dean Koontz</div>
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John Saul</div>
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So many great authors to choose from.</div>
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BM: All of those authors have influenced my writing, as
well, especially Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon and Clive Barker. You also write
and direct movies. Your gruesome movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psycho
Holocaust</i> has one of your most ominous and iconic book characters
Pillowface in it. Which do you love more, writing novels or screenplays? </div>
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KR: Thanks, Brian. Pillowface is one of my favorite
characters, ever. Writing him is always an adventure. I’ve written him a couple
times now and his mind is so expanded and filled with much contaminated logic
that I sometimes get lost in there trying to decipher it all. Hopefully I get
to return to him sometime soon.</div>
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I equally love writing novels and screenplays, but for
different reasons. I write both very similar, although I’m using different
formulas. I even include the character’s inner thoughts in certain aspects of
the screenplay so the actor can get an idea what their character is thinking in
those particular moments. I’ve been told some actors prefer this, so they can
relate their own personal experiences to who the character is. But with
screenplays you have to keep it short and sweet. You can’t linger because you
have to try and pack it all in without going over 120 pages, especially in the
low-budget realm. Keeping that in mind can make writing screenplays very
exciting, yet also frustrating. </div>
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Some of my favorite characters have come from screenplays
that have yet to be filmed. Recently a novella of mine, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-One-Alive-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/148404729X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1382838900&sr=1-5" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">LAST ONE ALIVE</span></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-One-Alive-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/148404729X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1382838900&sr=1-5" target="_blank">,</a> </i>featured one of my favorites, Amanda
Carpenter, who I rescued from a trunked screenplay. I’m sure I’ll take my
character helicopter out again and drop down the ladder to save another one
before too long. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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BM: What are five of your favorite horror movies?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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KR: There are so many horror movies that I admire and adore.
But five that come to mind right away are:<br />
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Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> (original)</div>
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)</div>
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Anything early on by John Carpenter. His movies are huge
influences on my own writing because I also don’t always wrap up the stories with
happy endings. </div>
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Redneck Zombies—a low budget movie I absolutely love. I
watch it two times a year, sometimes more.</div>
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Night of the Living Dead (original) ties with Evil Dead (original)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUZTHVnQGqouL43yUHgpOxWmQOuYNDtjkA1PoZ267oTZmc0PP-duU1FUyiHZdv-muIpUqhQ-4tui1sYxXoKtuWpoHQP5nH1VB4VXnf8ejTzMchLVSgqaLFuXiVvk4wi8U8qySh9dz515h/s1600/The+Lurkers+-+Black+Voltage+Dust+Jacket+(25Mar2013)+-+cover+text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUZTHVnQGqouL43yUHgpOxWmQOuYNDtjkA1PoZ267oTZmc0PP-duU1FUyiHZdv-muIpUqhQ-4tui1sYxXoKtuWpoHQP5nH1VB4VXnf8ejTzMchLVSgqaLFuXiVvk4wi8U8qySh9dz515h/s400/The+Lurkers+-+Black+Voltage+Dust+Jacket+(25Mar2013)+-+cover+text.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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BM: I love all those movies, especially John Carpenter’s
early stuff. I haven’t seen Redneck Zombies yet. I’ll have to check it out. I
heard you’re writing a sequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Lurkers</i>. Tell about that book and any future books coming soon.</div>
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KR: Yes, I’m currently writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lurkers II</i>. I’m not sure if the title will change, or stick to
the Roman numeral. I can’t say a whole lot because the story hasn’t taken me to
the end yet. I have my notes, but usually stray so far from them that by the
end of the book I don’t even refer to them anymore. But what I can tell about
now is the story picks up a year after the massacre in Doverton, Wisconsin. The
Haunchies are even more crazed after losing so many of their own in the first
book. They’re looking to repopulate their colony by any means necessary. </div>
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Also,
giving how the original book ended, we will find out what happened to the two
remaining characters on the last page. It will be a book that can be read on
its own, if you haven’t read the first, but it faithfully follows the events in
the first one.</div>
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Next year will also see the release of THE SKIN SHOW, PROUD
PARENTS, and PLAINFIELD GOTHIC—which features Ed Gein accidentally unleashing a
vampire while robbing graves in Wisconsin. There might also be a novella in
there somewhere as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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BM: I’m looking forward to adding those titles to my
collection. Got any fun plans for this Halloween? Are you going to dress up as
anything?</div>
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Halloween began for my family shortly after Labor Day. It’s
been a nonstop event for weeks. So far, we’ve carved four Jack-o’-lanterns, our
kids carved a fifth one, and we’ll probably do two more before Halloween. The
yard has been invaded by spooky decorations. We’ve baked cutout cookies of
ghosts, pumpkins, and gingerdead men. </div>
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Every weekend we’ve watched
Halloween-themed movies the kids can enjoy (I’ve watched many on DVD they’re
not old enough to see after they’ve gone to bed), and even a few we’ve let them
sample on AMC during the Monsterfest. Just particular scenes. Our son got his
first taste of Cujo last weekend and is begging me to let him watch the whole thing.
Maybe next year. We’ll do tons more before Halloween, and then go
trick-or-treating, hopefully avoiding the pranks. </div>
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BM: Sounds like a fun Halloween for the Rufty family. Well,
thanks for stopping by my lair and best of success with all your books.
Everyone should get themselves a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Prank-Night-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/1492938580/ref=tmm_pap_title_0" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">PRANK NIGHT</span></a>. It’s the perfect read for
Halloween or any night you feel like reading something that’s wicked fun.</div>
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KR: Thank you for letting me stop by, Brian. It’s always a
great time hanging out with you.</div>
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BM: Kristopher Rufty’s books are available through <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/kristopher-rufty-pa-1661.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">SamhainPublishing</span>,</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kristopher-Rufty/e/B007IYD1FC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1382838894&sr=1-2-ent" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Amazon</span>,</a> Barnesandnoble.com and all major booksellers.</div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-1835066610423635322013-10-24T10:00:00.000-07:002013-10-24T15:43:16.689-07:00How to Write a Novel in 12 Easy Steps<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today, I'm sharing how I develop and write my novels. I have a unique process that's helped me write the first draft of novels in less than 9 months and complete novellas as fast as two weeks. This article covers the steps I take in writing a novel from start to finish. In my next post, I will post the Cover 2 Cover radio show interview where I talk in greater depth about my techniques for writing a novel. So be sure to <a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-how-i-write-novel.html" target="_blank">listen to the radio show.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Now, here's how I begin writing a novel:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 1: Come up with an Idea</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, I'll come up with an idea that fascinates me enough that I want to write about it. Often, I get my ideas from reading articles or non-fiction books. Inspiration can also happen while watching something strange that's reported on the news or hearing someone tell an old family story. For you, maybe it's about an experience that you had or your grandmother or grandfather's incredible life. Whatever the inspiration, before you take on the long journey of writing a novel (9 months to 2 years), you must first have an idea that your passionate about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Example: for my novel <i>Dead of Winter,</i> I had read a history book about monsters in ancient tribal cultures and discovered that the Algonquin Indians up in the Great Lakes region of Canada all feared a legendary winter creature and believed that it existed, so much so that the tribes migrated south every winter. This fear spread to the British and French Canadian fur traders who lived in the isolated forts set deep in the wilderness. Even the Jesuit priests who lived among the tribes wrote journal entries about the evils that lived in the woods and scared the natives. Did the evil spirit really exist or was it mass hysteria? I found the legend and true historical events so compelling that I decided to research it more and write a novel about it set in 1870. That's just an example of how I can come up with an idea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 2: Brainstorm Session</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After I have a general idea of what I'd like to write about, I next do a creative brainstorm session. I usually do this with a blank page on my computer or a notepad, or just sit and daydream. I'll write my rough ideas on a page I call "Brainstorming Notes." I'll play around with titles until I come up with one that lights my fire. A powerful title can make you curious and fuel your passion about an idea at the same time. I'll also sketch out my characters--my hero or heroine (the protagonist) and my villain (antagonist). Since I write horror thrillers, I'll often come up with a monster or supernatural element, like an evil spirit or a curse that my hero or heroine must face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I brainstorm, I play around with a plot idea that can go with the title. I also think of my characters and the main conflict and setting. Is it a thriller set during WWII? A Gothic love story set during the 19th Century or a modern day novel? What does my hero most want to achieve? And why does the villain want to stop my hero from reaching his or her goal? Is there a love story between a hero and heroine? What are the conflicts that keep them from being happy together? What's the mystery that needs to be solved? It’s all daydreaming at first. During the brainstorming process, I have fun playing with different scenarios and characters until an idea for a plot forms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 3: Write a Logline (Premise)</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next, I'll write what Hollywood screenwriters calls a "logline." Another word for this is the story's premise. This is a short 1-3 sentence summary of what the story is about. It's similar to a brief description you would read about a movie in a magazine or TV guide. This short summary helps me form the core idea of the story before I tackle writing the full-length novel. It's the backbone of your story. Loglines and premises are always written in present tense. They usually include the main character + main conflict + hints at the protagonist's goal or resolution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Examples of some loglines/premises for my books:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead of Winter </i>– Canadian frontier, 1870: After locking away Montreal’s most notorious serial killer—the Cannery Cannibal—a British detective hunts for another killer at a remote wilderness fort. The Ojibwa Indians believe the killer is not a man, but an ancient winter beast from native lore. A French priest—an exorcist with a holy vendetta—holds the key to a two-hundred-year-old Jesuit conspiracy. Together the detective and priest must face their tragic pasts as they battle an unholy plague that is turning the fort colonists into demon-possessed cannibals.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadows in the Mist</i> – World War II, the German border, 1944. A disillusioned platoon leader, determined to get his last six men out of combat, volunteers them for a top-secret mission behind enemy lines. But lurking in the foggy woods is an unspeakable horror unleashed by Occult-obsessed Nazis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil’s Woods </i>– At a haunted Cree Indian reservation in British Columbia, Canada, an archaeologist and his film crew disappear while on a top-secret expedition. Weeks later, three siblings go to the reservation in search of their missing father, only to discover something evil in the woods has been abducting people for over a century.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Girl from the Blood Coven</i> – In this short prequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching House</i>, Sheriff Travis Keagan is enjoying a beer at the local roadhouse, when a naked, blood-soaked girl enters the bar. Terrified and trembling, Abigail Blackwood claims all her friends were massacred at the Old Blevins House: an abandoned house in the woods that has a long history of bloodshed. When Sheriff Keagan and his deputies investigate, they discover Abigail may not be telling the full story.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching House</i> – Two young couples go urban exploring in a mysterious abandoned house set deep in the East Texas woods. Forty years ago a coven of witches had been massacred inside the house and it's rumored to be haunted. The adventurous double-date turns to terror, when the exploring couples discover something is living down in the cellar. And it hungers for human flesh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing the logline gives me a starting point and a sense of who the characters are and what their motivations are. I can develop an idea, write my brainstorm session notes, sketch out the main characters, and then write my logline in about 3-4 hours and have a solid story idea by lunchtime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 4: Write a Treatment (Short Outline)</u></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next, I write a 1-3 page "Treatment" -- another Hollywood term -- which is basically a short outline of what I think will happen in the story. This is where I begin to build my fictional world with events and supporting characters. I play with character names, settings, and imagine scenes of events that could happen. I decide my beginning (prologue), middle, key plot turning points, and the ending (grand finale/climax and resolution). Much of what I write in the initial treatment will change (including the title and character names) once I write the book, but this process gives me a starting point. Treatments are always written in present tense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My treatment acts as my road map that guides me along the timeline of the story from beginning to middle to end. It's important to know where you're headed with your story or the plot will branch off all over the place. The treatment keeps me focused on my main plot. My characters usually have a few subplots--like a love story between my hero and heroine, or a troubled relationship between a parent and child--but those are secondary to the main plot (the mystery my hero is trying to solve, or the creature they are trying to defeat) and I make sure all subplots get tied up prior to or at the conclusion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will spend anywhere from a few hours to a full day writing a treatment, depending on how detailed I want to get with it. It's just a loose outline, but by the end of the process I have my entire novel concept summarized into 1-3 pages. And I have a much clearer idea of what will happen in the story before I've sat down to write it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 5: Research (Optional)</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Much of what I write is either historical--based on true events--or about places I've never been to or subject matter I know very little about. I'll read non-fiction books on the subjects, Google for articles, rent documentaries and movies, or watch YouTube videos. I'll research settings, time periods, occupations (if my main character is a detective, I'll research police procedures), types of weapons used, etc. If my character shoots a certain gun, I'll research about that specific gun. If I read something off a website like Wikipedia, I always cross-check other sources to make sure the info I'm getting is accurate. I learn just enough to have a general understanding of what I'm writing about and then dive into writing. Sometimes I'll write a scene first and then do research to insert some details to make the scene more accurate. I typically do research through every stage of writing a novel as I need to gather information or add details to my story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Examples of doing research: For my thriller <i>Shadows in the Mist,</i> I had to learn more about World War II. I had set my story in Germany's <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Hürtgen</span> Forest, so I read every history book I could find on the battles that took place in the <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Hürtgen</span>. I even traveled to Germany and walked those battlefields and interviewed veteran soldiers and historians. I also studied the Occult divisions of the Nazis and read about their expeditions and their philosophies. I did over 2 years of research so that when I built my fictional world in 1944 Germany, everything in it would be historically accurate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For <i>Dead of Winter,</i> I studied the Canadian fur trade of the late 1800s. I read numerous history books about the French Canadian and British fur traders, the Ojibway tribes, and the Jesuits. Since one of my main characters, Father Xavier, is an exorcist, I had to learn about the ritual of performing exorcisms. When doing research I'll read several books and watch any documentaries I can find on the subject. I believe the more truth and accuracy you can put into a story, the more valid and real it will seem for readers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 6: Write the First 100 Pages</u></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now it's time to have fun and start writing the story. Some writers start with a full, detailed 20-50 page outline before they start writing. For me, the 3-page treatment is enough to get started. I definitely do my best writing through organic, stream-of-consciousness writing. This is where I connect emotionally with the characters and theme and add details that I didn't think of while writing the treatment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I start my story writing the prologue and first few chapters in order. My chapters are scene-driven, much like scenes in a movie. I'll write a brief description establishing the setting and mood and then get right into characters having dialogues with one another and taking actions. My brainstorming session, 3-page outline, and research have given me a strong feeling about my characters' personality, motivations, and what's at stake for them. It's only through throwing them into situations of conflict with other characters that I really learn who they are and what they are made of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When writing organically I "see" everything happening in my mind's eye. Since I'm visual, I tend to picture movie scenes in my head. I also hear their voices as they talk and hear the sounds of the environment that they are in. When I'm actually writing the scene, I imagine I've teleported into my main character's body and I'm actually in their world seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting everything that they are. That's also my goal for readers, to feel like they are completely in the experience of what's happening to my characters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While the treatment gives my story some structure and a sense of where the story is headed, it is through organic writing where I come up with my most creative ideas. I’m always discovering new details about the characters as I journey along with them from scene to scene. Sometimes I steer the story, but mostly I allow my characters to take over and see where they take the story. If you have written strong, complex characters with emotionally driven motivations, they <i>will</i> take over the story. There are often plot twists that completely surprise me. I'll write about 100 pages of the story (about 30K words) and then stop to take a broader look at what I've written. Depending on your schedule and writing skill level, this stage can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 7: Write a Synopsis (Long Outline)</u></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I used to write my entire first drafts organically, but I'd always get stuck about three quarters into the book and find that my plot got so off course that I had a confusing mess to sort out. I would generally find that about 100 pages into the story I veered off on some tangent that threw my story out of whack or I had written way too many subplots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To prevent getting stuck late in the story, I've begun a process where I only write the first 100 pages organically and then switch to outlining the rest of my story in a 40-50 page synopsis. The structure is quite simple: <b>every chapter is summarized down to a single paragraph. </b>If my book is 30 chapters, my synopsis will be 30 paragraphs and will read just like a novel.<b> </b>It's written in present tense and there's no dialogue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Example of a few pages from the synopsis from <i>Shadows in the Mist</i>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Shadows in the Mist</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> is a World War II supernatural thriller infused with the Nazi proclivity for the occult. The story begins with a circle of Nazi officers gathered inside their legendary Wewelsburg Castle lair. The historically renowned SS leader Heinrich Himmler discusses a top-secret project to crush the allies. Codename: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Operation Eisen Sarg</i>. The targeted area to implement their new secret weapon: Germany’s H</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ü</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">rtgen Forest. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Two months later the Allied troops breach the German borders inside the H</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ü</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">rtgen Forest. Lt. Jack Chambers leads his platoon through a war-battered town. An unstoppable German army annihilates the platoon, leaving Jack Chambers as the sole survivor. Or so he believes. Shadow soldiers chase him through the forest to a mist-enshrouded church graveyard. Lt. Chambers can hear the cries of his men, but can’t see them. Suddenly rotting corpses of GI soldiers rise from the graves. The horde attacks Chambers, dragging him down into the mud. He nearly escapes, when German shadows surround him. One massive Nazi with a shadowy face draws a saber and drives it through Lieutenant Jack Chambers’ heart.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Awakening from this nightmare is Colonel Jack Chambers, an elderly man years after the war. He suffers a heart attack. The near-death experience propels Colonel Chambers to fix and close a dark chapter in his life. A very secret one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Colonel Chambers calls for his grandson, Sean, a young hotshot Air Force captain. When Sean arrives, he reconnects with his grandfather before being charged with a mission of military importance—deliver a diary and map to General Briggs at a U.S. base in Germany. The map points to the graves of Jack’s platoon that vanished in WWII.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">You can <a href="http://brianmoreland.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/three-chapters-from-shadows-in-the-mist/" target="_blank">read the first 3 chapters of <i>Shadows in the Mist</i> here. </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The above synopsis goes on for 10 pages until the final paragraph represents the ending of the book. The synopsis of some of my other books have been as many as 50 pages. With the synopsis I can have a bird’s-eye view of the story and keep track of where it’s going. This is especially important if you are writing a book with lots of characters, subplots, or twists. The second act of a novel can go way off course if a writer doesn’t widen the lens every now and then and look at the big picture. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Seeing my whole book in 1-paragraph summaries allows me to observe the flow of the scenes and adjust them for pace and emotional impact. In the synopsis, it's quite simple to change the order of the story by moving paragraphs around. This is especially helpful if you are jumping back and forth between multiple character points-of-view and subplots.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">With multiple character subplots happening at the same time, like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-Brian-Moreland/dp/1609286634/ref=pd_sim_b_1" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Deadof Winter</span></i></a> for instance, I’m constantly changing the sequence of the scenes so that they build to a climax. I think of my subplots as if they are trains moving down a track toward a catastrophic collision. Outlining helps me get the pace and timing down just right. The synopsis also helps me work out issues in the storyline and smooth out my twists and turns. This method has saved me months of writing and lots of headaches trying to unravel tangled plots. I will spend anywhere from 2-3 days writing the synopsis.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">At this point, between 1 month to 3 months have passed since I started coming up with the idea for my novel. Now that I've written my logline, 3-page treatment, first 100 manuscript pages, and a detailed synopsis (10-40 pages), I know my characters well, have mapped out all the key plot points, and have a solid beginning, middle, and end. My synopsis helped me work out the plot issues, the tempo and pacing, and keep track of the subplots and tie up all the loose ends by the story's conclusion.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 8: Finish Writing the First Draft</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, it's time to get back to writing the rest of the manuscript. Again, I return to organic, stream-of-consciousness writing, getting inside my character's point of view and allowing my imagination to guide my prose and dialogue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here's trick I learned to write my novel faster:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the remaining chapters of the book, I place the paragraphs I had written in the synopsis at the top of the first page of every chapter. As I get to each chapter, I'll read the paragraph that summarizes what happens in this particular scene and then I'll flesh it out, adding dialogue and more detailed descriptions. I've written chapters within an hour or two using this method.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here's another trick to writing faster:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If I'm racing a deadline or just want to complete my first draft faster, for one day I'll play a game I call "speed writing." I'll set a timer for 20 minutes. Then I'll start writing a chapter as fast as I can type. When the timer bell rings, I'll jump to the next chapter (even though the previous one is unfinished) and I'll write for another 20 minutes. Every hour I write 3 partial chapters. By the end of the day, I have partially written 10-15 chapters. Then I go back to the first half-written chapter where I had started and finish it. Then I will finish each chapter that follows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This exercise allows to write much faster. Now, instead of starting with a blank page for every new chapter, I already have something written, an emotional connection of what's happening in this scene. Also, when I write these chapters a second time, it happens much faster, because I know where the story is going.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have you ever had a section of the book you really wanted to write, but you were weeks away from reaching it? Speed writing helps you to get to the chapters you really want to write sooner. The cool thing is you can always go back and finish the partially-written chapters later, and when you do you'll be surprised how quickly you write them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I write the remainder of the manuscript, I continually go back and forth between organically writing a scene and then reviewing my synopsis for tempo and pacing. I'm constantly tweaking the synopsis, rearranging the order. Sometimes I'll add more scenes or cut scenes. Nothing is set in stone. I will work this way until I reach the ending of a complete first draft. Depending on my schedule, I can write a "rough first draft" in 6-9 months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then I stop working on this project. I'll put the novel in a drawer for 4-6 weeks and work on something else. I'll map out my next novel or write some short stories or a novella. I think it's important to step away from your novel for a few weeks so you can come back to it with fresh eyes. If you are a professional novelist, this also good way to always have the next book ready in the production line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 9: Revisions</u></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After 6 weeks, it's time to get back to writing on my novel. Now the truly fun part begins, because I know my characters and what happens in the story from start to finish. But the first draft of the manuscript is still rough. There are spots where the prose and dialogue could be tighter, more polished. Some plot issues need to be worked out. Some subplots need to be resolved. And frankly, I just come up with better ideas for every scene when I read through the book several more times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’ll revise the book for months, adding more details to scenes, fleshing out my characters, punching up the dialogue, and tightening the action so that the scenes are taut. I also get a lot of new ideas on how to best unfold the mystery. Then I go back to scenes and add in details that set up a revelation or plot twist that happens later on. I’m also a perfectionist when I write. When a character says something or does something, I constantly ask myself, does this ring true? Would my character really go into that dark house where the killer is hiding? Would she run from the beast or would she hunker down and fight it? If she walks into the killer’s lair because she hears a noise and is curious, it won’t ring true for me. If the heroine’s a cop and the killer has her child captive in the house, the scene is more believable to me if she enters the house to save her child. The reason any character does something that will put their life in jeopardy must make sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm always challenging myself to improve the story, the characters, my writing. During the revision stage, I easily go through 25 or more drafts before I feel like the novel is ready for an audience. I'll also continue to do research along the way. Each time I decide to add something to the story I don't know much about, I take a writing break for a few hours and surf the Internet for information on the subject I'd like to learn more about. Often, through research I'll come upon something that is so fascinating that I have to include it in my story. Depending on my schedule (I still work a day job), the revision stage can take me anywhere from 3 to 6 months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 10: Edit and Polish</u></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So anywhere between 9 months to year from when I started, I now have a full-length novel that's gone through many drafts and is pretty well-formed. There's a solid story here with three-dimensional characters who go on some kind of journey or face some kind of evil that's arrived at their hometown. I've put my hero and supporting characters through the ringer, taken them to hell and back, maybe even killed off a few, and by the story's end my hero has grown, faced and conquered his demons, and resolved some personal issues he was experiencing at the beginning of the story. Is the book ready to be published? Not yet. Now it needs to be edited and polished.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next, I'll convert the Word doc of my manuscript into a PDF or print it out. Then I'll read the whole book, start to finish. Now, I'm reading the book with the eyes of an editor. I'm correcting grammar, catching typos and misspellings. I see places I can tighten my writing even more. I also catch story details that are inconsistent, like I described a character with blue eyes in Chapter 1 and then in Chapter 10 I mistakenly described her with green eyes. Or maybe I raised a question in Chapter 5 that I never answered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reading the book from start to finish in one sitting also allows me to get a sense of the overall flow of the story and feel how the emotionally-driven scenes build to the climax. If my heart's not racing by the climax, then I go back and search for the place where the story lost momentum. Sometimes it's just a matter of cutting a scene or pulling out a couple paragraphs where I had spent too long on the description which caused the pace to drag. I'll also tweak the ending until the story leaves me with the satisfied feeling I want the reader to have.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 11: Get Feedback</u></span><u> </u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a point when the manuscript is as polished and tight as I can get it. I've put my heart and soul into the story and it feels complete. Now, it's time to find out how the story impacts readers. Did I write what I saw in my head in a way that readers will get it? Are my characters' actions believable? How does the story make readers feel by the end? The only way to find out is to have people read your manuscript and give you feedback.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I send the manuscript to a couple of friends and family members whose opinions I trust. These are people who read and understand my genre, and they'll give me honest feedback. I'm also part of a writer's group. We meet twice a month and read a chapter or two out loud and give each other feedback. Some of my readers are skilled editors and will point out grammar mistakes or suggest I cut some sentences. Others are better at looking at the big picture and point out where the story's pace lagged or where a character's behavior wasn't believable enough. Mostly I get a strong idea how the story lands emotionally for people. If five people don't identify with my main character or they don't like the ending, I'll go back to the revision stage and do some rewriting based on these insights. Sometimes we writers have blind spots and it takes readers to point them out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Getting proper feedback can take a few months before I hear back from all my readers. Once I start receiving feedback, then I go through the manuscript and make changes. This can be as minor as cutting a sentence here and there to rewriting an entire chapter or inserting a new scene somewhere in the story where the reader felt like there was a hole. I can typically make these minor revisions in a couple hours or a couple days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Getting feedback from others can be very insightful. To me, it is a crucial stage of the writing process, and it's the difference between writing an OK book and writing one that a large audience of readers will enjoy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><u>Step 12: Final Polish</u></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The novel is written. It's been edited and revisions have been made based on feedback. I've worked out all the kinks, solved all the plot issues, and made my characters as believable and lifelike as I can. Next, I'll print out the manuscript again or convert my Word doc to a PDF. Then I will read it all the way through as if I'm a reader enjoying a book. I usually catch a typo or two or trim a sentence, but for the most part the story zips along. By the end I get the sense that it is the best I can make it on my own. Now the polished manuscript is ready to submit to a literary agent or editor. It doesn't have to be 100% perfect. But it needs to be a solid, good read that hooks a reader from the beginning and holds their interest all the way to a satisfying ending.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The agent and editor will still suggest ways to improve the novel. If this is your first novel, they may suggest some major rewrites. If you're a seasoned novelist, the changes will most likely be minor. Even after I've sold my book to a publisher, and the book enters the editing stage with my editors, I've still made changes all the way up until months before the book's release.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That, my friends, is the journey of writing a novel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here's a recap:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 1: Come up with an Idea</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 2: Brainstorm Session</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 3: Write a Logline</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 4: Write a Treament (1-3 Page Outline)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 5: Research (Optional)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 6: Write the First 100 Pages</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 7: Write a Synopsis (Long Outline)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 8: Finish Writing the First Draft</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 9: Revisions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 10: Edit and Polish</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 11: Get Feedback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step 12: Final Polish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland writes novels and short stories of horror and supernatural suspense. His first two novels, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-Brian-Moreland/dp/1609286634/ref=pd_sim_b_1">Dead of Winter</a></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Mist-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619210665/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1347721024&sr=8-2">Shadows in the Mist</a>,</i> are now available. He has recently published a free short story eBook <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/girl-from-blood-coven-p-72931.html" target="_blank"><i>The Girl from the Blood Coven</i></a> and a novella that goes with it, <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/witching-house-p-72865.html" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching House</i></a>. Brian's latest novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Devils-Woods-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619215659/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1378222278&sr=8-6&keywords=brian+moreland" target="_blank">The Devil’s Woods</a> </i>will release December 2013. He loves hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, watching sports, and traveling the world. Brian lives in Dallas, Texas where he is joyfully writing his next horror novel. You can communicate with him online at <a href="http://brianmoreland.com/">http://www.brianmoreland.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HorrorAuthorBrianMoreland">http://www.facebook.com/HorrorAuthorBrianMoreland</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Twitter: @BrianMoreland <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianMoreland">https://twitter.com/BrianMoreland</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1150022.Brian_Moreland">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1150022.Brian_Moreland</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Horror Blog: <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.blogspot.com/">http://www.BrianMoreland.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
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Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-88283922146703983712013-10-09T10:00:00.000-07:002014-02-10T15:09:22.399-08:00Radio Interview: Turning Your Book into Multiple Products<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s320/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq26RFMv0x7vVosnktZuNKgkKz9j1MvkEc9RHgm-VJJpG6yj3sZi3smApfkBMLkhs_2xsSoAS32Tjw0dVZ1ErcQZpBMggF9xTzyp-AhqpsMovXiP0JcWiwlDKXpROAjS1bvM0yLHTVjLLJ/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss many different ways you can turn that book that you've written into multiple products. Think beyond publishing your manuscript as just a book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can listen to the radio show here:</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F108568381" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing in other shows:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-how-i-write-novel.html" target="_blank">How I Write a Novel</a></span><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-writing-fiction.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Fiction: Character Development </span></a><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-writing-fiction-plot.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Fiction: Plot</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">------------------------------------------------------- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland's website: <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.com/">www.BrianMoreland.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael Gray's website: <a href="http://www.texasghostwriter.com/" target="_blank">www.TexasGhostWriter.com </a></span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-80744104334891242752013-09-27T08:01:00.000-07:002013-09-27T09:50:03.675-07:00Qualities of Successful Writers: Persistence and Tenacity<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What does it take to go from being an aspiring writer to an accomplished writer?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are two traits every serious writer must cultivate within themselves: persistence and tenacity. It's easy to daydream about being a writer. It's easy to tell people you're thinking about writing a book someday. If someday is not <i>today</i>, then that book may never get written. Being a writer takes sitting down and actually writing. First you must make time to write an important part of your weekly schedule. For instance, I write in the mornings, often before dawn, so that I can start my day with at least a couple of hours writing before I can be pulled away by distractions. Some people I know write well into the night, after the kids are asleep. Whatever works for you, just carve out some time to write.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It may take several drafts to get it right. I probably write and revise each of my chapters at least 30 times (even 50 times). I read the chapters to a critique group and get feedback, then I revise my chapters a little more until they are good enough to submit to a literary agent or editor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Selling your manuscript to a publisher takes even more persistence and tenacity. You have to have a tenacious spirit and a voice inside your head that says, "Never give up. Keep believing you'll get published." If you receive any rejections, just say "Next!" and move on to the next agent or publisher. Keep searching for ways to publish your book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The reality is the process to selling your book to a publisher can take months to years. Self-publishing is faster, but still requires a lot of work, and a financial investment up front. After I completed writing my manuscript for <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.com/">SHADOWS IN THE MIST</a>, within nine months of self-publishing, I was holding the published book in my hands. Once the book enters the publishing process, you work with an editor and proofreaders to make sure it's polished.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the is book finally selling in bookstores or on Amazon, the author is required to promote the book so people will know it exists, and hopefully, buy a copy. Authors typically do book signings, radio interviews, blog interviews, sit on panels at conventions, speak to groups, and teach workshops, all while writing their next book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So if you are an aspiring writer, and desire to be a published author promoting your very own books, instill in yourself a tenacious attitude that you will never give up. You will do whatever it takes to get your books written, published, and in the hands of readers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The most successful authors who have become bestsellers all have these two traits: persistence and tenacity.</span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-60737141954441950082013-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:002014-02-10T15:09:36.447-08:00Radio Interview: Writing Fiction - Plot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s320/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq26RFMv0x7vVosnktZuNKgkKz9j1MvkEc9RHgm-VJJpG6yj3sZi3smApfkBMLkhs_2xsSoAS32Tjw0dVZ1ErcQZpBMggF9xTzyp-AhqpsMovXiP0JcWiwlDKXpROAjS1bvM0yLHTVjLLJ/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss developing fictional characters for stories.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can listen to the radio show here:</span><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F108555813" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing in other shows:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-how-i-write-novel.html" target="_blank">How I Write a Novel</a></span><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-writing-fiction.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Fiction: Character Development </span></a><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/10/turning-your-book-into-multiple-products.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Turning Your Book into Multiple Products</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">------------------------------------------------------- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland's website: <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.com/">www.BrianMoreland.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael Gray's website: <a href="http://www.texasghostwriter.com/" target="_blank">www.TexasGhostWriter.com </a></span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-33598285507824251632013-09-19T11:18:00.000-07:002014-02-10T15:15:31.774-08:00Radio Interview: Writing Fiction - Character Development<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s320/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq26RFMv0x7vVosnktZuNKgkKz9j1MvkEc9RHgm-VJJpG6yj3sZi3smApfkBMLkhs_2xsSoAS32Tjw0dVZ1ErcQZpBMggF9xTzyp-AhqpsMovXiP0JcWiwlDKXpROAjS1bvM0yLHTVjLLJ/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss developing fictional characters for stories.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can listen to the radio show here:</span><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F108562750" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing in other shows:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-how-i-write-novel.html" target="_blank">How I Write a Novel</a></span><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-writing-fiction-plot.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Fiction: Plot</span></a><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/10/turning-your-book-into-multiple-products.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Turning Your Book into Multiple Products</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">------------------------------------------------------- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland's website: <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.com/">www.BrianMoreland.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael Gray's website: <a href="http://www.texasghostwriter.com/" target="_blank">www.TexasGhostWriter.com </a></span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-77719616236787373552013-09-10T19:39:00.001-07:002014-02-10T15:15:18.509-08:00Radio Interview: How I Write a Novel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dejGUQ7pa0lb2T5tOkZJO4flEqDgZcs98omUwcLpuHBELeik5bhD0H3rzIuHvh1w3f3lOE2K23OT1deTAxrkBzfEEiXOCOrhEAbW5MAyXqNPYZkHOY21jU_F7BaG2hjEkGHVccWMD5-h/s320/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+cropped.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq26RFMv0x7vVosnktZuNKgkKz9j1MvkEc9RHgm-VJJpG6yj3sZi3smApfkBMLkhs_2xsSoAS32Tjw0dVZ1ErcQZpBMggF9xTzyp-AhqpsMovXiP0JcWiwlDKXpROAjS1bvM0yLHTVjLLJ/s1600/Michael+and+Brian+C2C+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss the steps I take to write a novel. I also published an article that goes with the radio interview called <a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-write-novel-in-12-easy-steps.html" target="_blank">"How to Write a Novel in 12 Easy Steps." </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can listen to the radio show here:</span><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F108568387" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over the next several weeks I will be posting more radio shows talking about writing, publishing and marketing books. Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-writing-fiction.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Fiction: Character Development</span></a><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/radio-interview-writing-fiction-plot.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Fiction: Plot</span></a><br />
<a href="http://coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/2013/10/turning-your-book-into-multiple-products.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Turning Your Book into Multiple Products</span></a><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">------------------------------------------------------- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland's website: <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.com/">www.BrianMoreland.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael Gray's website: <a href="http://www.texasghostwriter.com/" target="_blank">www.TexasGhostWriter.com </a></span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-45034265404763944042013-09-01T07:34:00.000-07:002013-09-18T17:43:28.594-07:00What's on My Bookshelves<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was asked by a magazine to write an article about the books on my bookshelves and to provide some photos. Throughout my life, since I first discovered reading as a young boy, I've been a voracious reader. I'm sure you've seen the image of a boy under the covers reading by a flashlight; that was me. I remember feeling both fear and exhilaration at the same time--too enthralled to close the book, yet too terrified to pull the covers off to see what might be lurking in the dark with me. Reading activated my vivid and wild imagination and made monsters and killers and imaginary worlds feel so real, I felt like they were happening to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I started out with comic books, but it wasn't long before I discovered the secret joys of reading novels--especially scary ones. I read lots of fantasy, horror, mysteries, and adventure novels. Today I still read a lot of those genres, although my reading has expanded into literary fiction, historical fiction, and lots of non-fiction that inspire me to improve myself or my life in some way. For the sake of this article, I'll share what's on my horror shelves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In my home office, I have a tall bookshelf that's stuffed with books. My top shelf is comprised of many well-worn paperbacks by some of my favorite authors--Brian Keene, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, James Rollins, Jonathan Maberry, and Richard Laymon. As a writer always seeking to improve my craft, I like to pick an author and read several of his or her books at once. In college I studied Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, John Saul, and Stephen King. A couple years ago, I was reading every Richard Laymon novel I could find. Right now I've been reading lots of Clive Barker. I had discovered his <i>Books of Blood</i> series as a teen and they are still some of my favorite stories. I'm also currently reading <i>Clive Barker: The Dark Fantastique,</i> his compelling biography written by Douglas E. Winter. I recommend this book to any horror fan, because Clive Barker not only writes some of the best-written horror fiction I've ever read, his prolific career of writing, painting, performing in plays, and making movies (like <i>Hellraiser</i>) is a true inspiration to any artist or writer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My middle shelf is a collection of random paperbacks that I've enjoyed. A few books worth reading: Ronald Malfi's <i>Snow,</i> Adam Nevill's <i>The Ritual,</i> David Wellington's <i>Monster Island,</i> Charlee Jacobs' <i>Haunter</i> and <i>The Descent</i> and it's sequel <i>Deeper</i> by Jeff Long. Also on display is my first mass paperback copy of my WII thriller <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Mist-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619210665/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378044996&sr=8-1&keywords=shadows+in+the+mist" target="_blank"><i>Shadows in the Mist</i></a>. Next to it is a sculpture of the monster in the book. An artist friend of mine who had access to a 3D printer made the sculpture of the Nazi with the mask and glowing red eyes. He first designed a 3D model on a computer, then this machine that usually was used for making sculptures of skulls made the Nazi. It started out solid white and then my friend painted it for me. There's only one of it in existence and it's very special to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My third shelf is where I keep reference books and non-fiction books on the craft of writing. Three books I've referred to for years are my dictionary, thesaurus, and my <i>Chicago Manual of Style</i> for the rules of editing (the big orange one far right). I believe that even when you've established yourself as an author, it's always important to keep improving your writing. In addition to studying the styles of other authors, I read lots of non-fiction books on the craft of writing. When I first started out, I read books that focused an entire book on one technique: plot, dialogue, creating characters, theme, and the art of storytelling. The first book that I read that showed me how to structure a novel was <i>How to Write a Damn Good Novel</i> by James N. Frey. Also, Stephen King's <i>On Writing</i> is an inspirational gem. For any fiction writer I highly recommend three books by Donald Maas: <i>Fire in Fiction, Writing the Breakout Novel,</i> and <i>Writing 21st Century Fiction</i>. For horror writers, I recommend: <i>On Writing Horror, The Writer's Workshop of Horror, </i>and especially <i>How to Write Horror Fiction</i> by William Nolan. The bobble-head of Dexter was a Christmas gift. I love me some <i>Dexter.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On another shelf, I have a copy of Stephen King's <i>Under the Dome</i> and <i>Nightmares & Dreamscapes</i> (his photo facing me is a constant reminder that being a prolific writer and putting all your hours in typing up stories eventually pays off).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also have a collection of signed copies of books by fellow Samhain Horror authors I've had the privilege of sitting next to at book signings. Some established and upcoming authors include: John Everson, Hunter Shea, Jonathan Janz, Kristopher Rufty, Ronald Malfi, Adam Cesare, Frazer Lee, Damien Walters Grintales, Russell James, David Bernstein, Mick Ridgewell, and W.D. Gagliani.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These are just a few of my books that have highly impacted my career as a horror fiction writer.</span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland writes novels and short stories
of horror and supernatural suspense. His books include <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-Brian-Moreland/dp/1609286634/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350873376&sr=8-3&keywords=dead+of+winter"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead of Winter</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Mist-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619210665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350873468&sr=1-1&keywords=shadows+in+the+mist"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadows in the Mist</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Blood-Coven-ebook/dp/B00CI3WCEO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1368109879&sr=8-4&keywords=brian+moreland"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Girl from the Blood Coven,</i></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Witching-House-ebook/dp/B00CJ96E78/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1368109921&sr=8-3&keywords=brian+moreland"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching House</i>,</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Devils-Woods-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619215659/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1368109597&sr=8-5&keywords=brian+moreland"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil’s Woods</i>.</a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Vagrants</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
comes out May 2014. Brian lives in Dallas, Texas where he is joyfully writing
his next horror novel. </span>You can join his mailing list at <a href="http://brianmoreland.com/">http://www.brianmoreland.com/</a></span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-35600170587966151712013-08-31T15:10:00.001-07:002013-09-18T17:44:26.168-07:00Dream Big and Make It Happen<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;">Here is an article I published back in 2008 that I thought was worth reposting. For anyone aspiring to become a published author or taking your writing career to the next level, my wish is that you know that anything can happen when you dream big and dedicate yourself to achieving that dream. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Working your dream job takes courage, commitment, and tenacity. When that dream doesn't earn you money right away, it’s easy to get discouraged. You might question whether following this career is worth the effort. It seems like a huge mountain to climb. And there are no immediate rewards in sight. I say start climbing anyway. Just go for it. There are rewards at every level. Start doing what you love now and the money will one day follow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since beginning my path as a novelist, I faced a lot of hurdles. It took eighteen years before I began earning money as a fiction author. I could have been successful much earlier, but several times I gave up on myself. I took advice from people who only looked at the practical side of life. They didn’t strive beyond their comfort zones. They didn't see the point of me writing manuscript after manuscript and not getting paid for all the hours I spent typing at a computer, alone by myself. So those people became voices in my head that slowly, over time sapped my passion to continue. I quit climbing the mountain to my dream. I focused on working other jobs that actually paid a salary. I was making money, but inside a part of me felt empty, and it was only when I got back into writing in my mid thirties and pursuing my real dream--being a published author--that I was happy again. My dream stood before me like a giant mountain, so daunting I feared I could never reach the summit, but I started climbing anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had the fortune of meeting bestselling author Robert Crais at a book signing. He had just landed a huge Hollywood movie deal for his novel <i>Hostage</i> which stars Bruce Willis. I told Robert Crais that I was writing a novel and I wanted to be sitting where he was one day. He looked up from autographing a book and told me, “Then I’ll give you some advice. Never give up.” Those words stuck with me. I have since rephrased the motto to: “Never give up. Keep taking steps until you reach your goal. No matter what, stay persistent.” We can spend our whole lives making excuses, or we can start taking action now and just make it happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So I had a dream fueled by plenty of desire, but I still needed direction. I first listed my values. I asked myself, “What do I want most? What’s most important to me about my dream career?” I listed my values in simple words like: achievement, fun, seeing my books on bookstore shelves, sharing my writing with readers, receiving advances and royalty checks, hanging out with other writers, writing a bestselling novel, etc. And then I listed those values in order of importance. Prioritizing your values is key, because it causes your mind to focus on what’s most important to you. You feel an emotional boost. It empowers you and stokes your inner fire. Then as you begin taking steps toward doing what you love, you take the most important steps first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once I had my values listed, I had a new sense of purpose. A vision I could work toward. It was like filling my engine with rocket fuel. I was ready to blast off to a career that was more aligned with my truth. I posted my values on a wall so I’d see them every day. Then I wrote out specific goals, and chunked them down into small daily “action steps” I could accomplish easily. I continued writing, pushing myself daily, weekly, monthly to complete my manuscript. I read books on my craft and took classes so I could get better at it. I read books about other people’s success stories so I could <i>believe</i> that I could accomplish my goals, too. And I read about the publishing business. As a writer seeking to publish my novel with a major NY publisher, I needed a literary agent. I submitted query letters to countless agents over the span of ten years and received only rejection letters. At the time I felt like a failure, but I wasn’t. “Rejection,” as I later learned, is just a guiding post. Rejection guided me away from the wrong paths—the wrong people to do business with. In my vision, my literary agent was passionate about representing me and my books. Rejection is where a lot of people give up. I say, “Never give up. Keep taking steps until you reach your goal. No matter what, stay persistent.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I eventually self-published my first novel, just to get it out there on the market. More important, to make being an author more real for me. Being your own publisher can be a very time-consuming venture. It was also a huge financial investment. It’s not necessarily the path for all writers, because it requires a business sense and entrepreneurial spirit. It’s also a very high risk of ever seeing a profit. If you don’t mind taking risks and hard work, then I recommend self-publishing as an alternative to getting a book to the market. For me, self-publishing is how I jump-started my career.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Within nine months my novel went from polished manuscript to a soft-cover book I could hold in my hands. Through great marketing efforts in tandem with a publicist I hired, the book sold relatively well. I began to do book signings and realized I had achieved one of my goals: to be like Robert Crais, the author autographing books. It was an awesome feeling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you pursue your dream 100%, there can be wonderful surprises that happen along the way. My WWII novel <i>Shadows in the Mist</i> hit number one on Amazon.com’s Bestselling Mystery and Thrillers list, stayed there a couple hours, beating out Dan Brown’s <i>DaVinci Code</i>. That was very surreal, let me tell you, and a victory I would have never experienced had I given up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Self-publishing turned out to be a great way to launch my career, but it was always just a path toward my bigger dream of landing a book deal with a major NY publisher. I continued to pursue literary agents and eventually found an agent who catapulted my career to the next level. She sold <i>Shadows in the Mist</i> to Berkley/Penguin in New York for a mass paperback deal, as well as to a publisher in Germany. In 2010, a German version of my novel (titled <a href="http://www.otherworld-verlag.com/index.php?set_language=de&cccpage=buecher_details&set_z_buecher=14" target="_blank"><i>SCHATTENKRIEGER</i></a>) released in Austria and Germany. Within two years of self-publishing I became an international author. What was once a passionate hobby has finally become a career I take seriously. I have since published <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html" target="_blank">five other books through Samhain Horror</a>. When you focus on your dream daily, you get there little by little. In fact, that has become a mantra in my head: “Little by little, little by little, little by little …”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We all have a calling. A life purpose. A reason we came onto this planet. What brings you joy? What do you dream of doing as your career? We can spend our days living mundane lives or we can do what gives us joy. My calling is novel writing and inspiring others to pursue their dreams. Life can be so joyful when you are doing what you love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So if you're pursuing a dream that isn't paying you the big bucks just yet, keep going for it. Even if it’s just a hobby on the side. You may not see the top of the mountain right now, but keep climbing, one step at a time. Little by little. Focus a few hours each week on your dream career. Commit your weekends to it. You can accomplish anything with time and persistence. And when you reach the summit you can just smile to yourself and say, "I went for it, and I made it happen, and now I can do anything." Whatever your dream is, start taking steps toward it now and make it happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To receive current news from Brian Moreland about his upcoming books and signings, sign up for his newsletter at <a href="http://www.brianmoreland.com/">http://www.BrianMoreland.com</a> (scroll to the bottom of the homepage).</span></div>
Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-6397566781165380382013-08-04T17:39:00.002-07:002013-09-18T17:44:59.080-07:00Book Release Party for THE WITCHING HOUSE and OAK HOLLOW on Facebook<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tuesday, August 6th, my novella <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Brian-Moreland-pa-1662.html" target="_blank"><i>The Witching House</i></a> releases as an e-book for all e-readers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Join Sarah Donovan and her friends as they explore a boarded-up house hidden deep in the East Texas woods that had once belonged to a coven of witches.<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Witchcraft,
sacrifices, an abandoned house and a thing that has hungered for decades set
the stage for this must-read expedition to <i>The Witching House</i>. The best
advice anyone could offer a visitor is: Don’t go in the attic, don’t go in the
bedrooms, but don’t, under any circumstances, go in the basement. You won’t
come out the same...if you come out at all."</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">—</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John
Everson,</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> author of <i>NightWhere</i> and <i>Violet Eyes</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Witching House</i> represents Brian Moreland at his frantic, bloody best. He
takes a clutch of highly-sexed characters and their dark secrets, plunges them
into a historical house of horrors, and gleefully throws away the key as all
hell breaks loose!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">—Frazer
Lee,</b> author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lamplighters</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lucifer Glass</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Moreland’s prose is as strong it’s
ever been here, breathing life into memorable characters and assembling a
disastrous wall that’s sure to come crumbling down in the pages of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching House.</i>”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">—Matt
Molgaard,</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Horror Novel Reviews</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, that Tuesday night, at 9 PM Eastern Time, I'll be celebrating at a joint book release party on Facebook with author <a href="http://lastkristontheleft.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kristopher Rufty</a>. His horror novel <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/kristopher-rufty-pa-1661.html" target="_blank">OAK HOLLOW</a> releases the same day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Come join us Tuesday night, Aug. 6th at this Facebook link:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/211105749048244/">https://www.facebook.com/events/211105749048244/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ask us questions, share your thoughts or just hang out with us. I appreciate your support,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian</span>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-79349241614490505552013-07-28T11:39:00.000-07:002013-09-18T17:46:44.406-07:00Guest Post: Art of The Vampire Noctuaries<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;">Today, my guest author is Eric Muss-Barnes. You may know him from his vampire novels <i>The Vampire Noctuaries</i>. If you haven't discovered Eric's Gothic fiction yet, here's your chance as he talks about the artwork that helped him promote his books. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/grandmothermorgana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/grandmothermorgana.jpg" width="188" /></a> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the aspects of my duology <a href="http://www.thevampirenoctuaries.com/"><i>The Vampire Noctuaries</i></a> I have always been most proud of is the artwork. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back when I wrote the first book in the series, <a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/"><i>The Gothic Rainbow</i></a>, I knew I wanted to create some cool fliers and images to go along with it. Although the sequel, <a href="http://www.annwnsmaelstromfestival.com/"><i>Annwn's Maelstrom Festival: Concluding Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries</i></a> was published in 2013, keep in mind, <a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/"><i>The Gothic Rainbow</i></a> came out in 1997 and the Internet was just getting started. There was no such thing as social media yet. No job boards. No dating sites. Certainly no video streaming when everyone still had 56K modems. There was nothing. Therefore, if you wanted to market and promote something creative, you were still just going to coffeeshops on college campuses and posting fliers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My three main resources for promoting my novel would be goth clubs, independent record stores, and punkrock clothing boutiques. Since my book was a dark and eerie vampire novel, set in the counterculture of the gothic/industrial nightclub scene, those locations contained my audience. Even in terms of printed promotions and reviews, I focused on things like underground and alternative music magazines, not literary ones. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All along, I knew this would mean I'd need really cool fliers.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/lovelettersfromhel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/lovelettersfromhel.jpg" width="320" /></a> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The purpose behind the imagery wouldn't be to depict actual scenes in my novel, rather they would be created to elicit an emotional response - to give the same <i>feel</i> as the book; To put people in the correct mindset of the dreamy and surreal nightmare which are <a href="http://www.thevampirenoctuaries.com/"><i>The Vampire Noctuaries</i></a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Months before my novel was released, I started calling all my gorgeous punkrock and gothic friends from our club scene and began asking them to model for my Gothic Rainbow fliers. We were all just a bunch of kids, ranging from about 18 years old to 22 years old. We shot pictures in spooky cemeteries, and in makeshift livingrooms, and basements, and wherever else we could. All captured on film, of course. No digital cameras yet either. Then, I'd scan the 4x6 prints with a flatbed scanner and start playing around with them in Photoshop. All the digital manipulation was painstaking work, as computers were so wimpy back then, and a 20MB file could bring a system to its knees. Sadly, as a result, I don't have layered versions of any original fliers because I simply didn't have enough memory or storage space to save them. I'd have to work on an image in a few layers, flatten it, work on it more, flatten it again. That was the only way I could get anything done without the whole system crashing on me.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/palethewildhunt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/palethewildhunt.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/gothicpunkvampires.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; height: 319px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 198px;"><img align="right" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/gothicpunkvampires.gif" width="188" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not only did I composite these cool gothic images to use on fliers and postcards, but I also made some fliers that were pure text. White fonts on a black background. They were all written in second-person and had very poetic and dismal descriptions of why you need to read <i><a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/">The Gothic Rainbow: Beginning Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries</a></i> and why it appeals directly to the kind of person you are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All of this worked better than I could have imagined. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Word got around town about these fliers and this book. When I started doing my initial promotions, before the book was released, I had a booth set up at a goth music festival and kids were coming up to me, asking me for extra copies of the fliers to autograph them. Several teenagers told me they had them hung up in their bedrooms as posters. I was stunned. At first, I figured they were pulling my chain. I thought they were ridiculing me. Slowly, I began to realize, they were completely serious. You want my autograph, on a flier, for a book that hasn't even been released yet? Really?</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/eldercourts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img align="right" border="0" height="235" src="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/eldercourts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One kid even said he wanted to get a tattoo of the logo from the front cover of <i><a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/">The Gothic Rainbow</a></i>. Don't know if he ever did that, but the fact he even thought about it was mindblowing to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A local fantasy artist whom I really respect, Joe Vargo, complimented me on my "artwork", telling me how talented I was. In fact, when Joe first met me, he didn't even know I was a novelist. He assumed the fliers and the images <i>were</i> the art I was promoting! He didn't realize they were nothing but advertisements for a book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To everyone else, these weren't just ads.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This was art. What? Artwork? These are nothing but fliers! That's how I saw them. This wasn't "art"... was it? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That was the first time I began to take the artwork a lot more seriously. Maybe I had something here. Maybe the creation of these images was more than just promotions for my book. The fliers-deemed-artwork had taken on a life of their own and were resonating with people in a way I never expected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Therefore, I made a last-minute decision, before <i><a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/">The Gothic Rainbow: Beginning Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries</a></i> went to press, I'd put copies of all the images in the back of the book and allow people to buy them as posters, if they were so inclined. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As it turned out, some of that artwork resulted in a bigger financial success than the book itself. Back in 2002, a very large national company stole some of my Gothic Rainbow artwork and started printing it in a "vampire journal" and were selling it in retail stores all across the county. We settled out of court and the funds from their copyright infringement allowed me the financial freedom to pick up and move to California in 2003. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/museofagod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/images/posters/museofagod.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the time came to release the sequel, <a href="http://www.annwnsmaelstromfestival.com/"><i>Annwn's Maelstrom Festival: Concluding Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries</i></a>, obviously, I needed to create a new set of images, to match the flavor of the first book. Although I shot a large amount of new portraits, I also went back and occasionally picked up a number of old photographs which had remained unused from <i><a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/">The Gothic Rainbow: Beginning Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries</a></i> publication. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today, you can still <a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/the-vampire-noctuaries-fliers.pdf">download copies of the original text fliers for free</a> or <a href="http://thegothicrainbow.com/posters.php">purchase copies of all the posters and fliers in full-color</a> in almost any size you can imagine, from little postcards up to giant movie posters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not only did the images gain a great acceptance and a fanbase independent of the novel, but when artist Joe Vargo opened his own art gallery, he requested my images from <a href="http://www.thegothicrainbow.com/"><i>The Gothic Rainbow</i></a> be part of the grand opening show. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The artwork of <a href="http://www.thevampirenoctuaries.com/"><i>The Vampire Noctuaries</i></a> changed my life and raised the bar of everything I thought my novels could become. Being featured in art galleries wasn't a thought that ever crossed my mind when I began shooting those images. Just goes to show, when you put in the work and effort to make your dreams a reality, you never know what other unexpected and fun opportunities will end up coming your way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;">To find Eric Muss-Barnes's unique vampire novels, you can buy them on Amazon. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><i>The Gothic Rainbow</i> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Gothic-Rainbow-Beginning-Noctuaries/dp/1482082160/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1375036134&sr=8-3&keywords=Eric+Muss-Barnes">http://www.amazon.com/The-Gothic-Rainbow-Beginning-Noctuaries/dp/1482082160/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1375036134&sr=8-3&keywords=Eric+Muss-Barnes</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><i>Annwn's Maelstrom Festival</i> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annwns-Maelstrom-Festival-Concluding-Noctuaries/dp/1300657774/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1">http://www.amazon.com/Annwns-Maelstrom-Festival-Concluding-Noctuaries/dp/1300657774/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: lime;">Also, check out Eric's website - </span><a href="http://www.ericmuss-barnes.com/">http://www.ericmuss-barnes.com/</a>Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3460782257544918430.post-88089384248387010672013-07-02T11:00:00.000-07:002013-10-01T21:33:48.731-07:00Season of the Witch<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They come from mythology, folklore and fairytales and go by
names such as crone, conjurer, necromancer and witch. Male witches are called
warlocks and wizards, although the archetypal figure is predominately depicted
as an ugly old woman--the hag. Some live as hermits in hovels in dark forests.
Others gather in secret places and form covens. They operate in the realms of
magic and have the power to cast spells and charm us. They can tell our
fortunes or curse us with the evil eye. Old, wicked, beautiful,
seductive--witches of all forms have enchanted our stories since the dawn of
storytelling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Norse mythology there were the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Norns</i>, three immortal women who controlled the fates of gods and
men. In Greek mythology, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Graeae</i> were
three old crones who shared a single eye. The hero Perseus met these witches on
his way to fight the snake-headed gorgon, Medusa. These ancient myths most
likely inspired Shakespeare to include three “weird sisters” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macbeth</i>. Even King Arthur of Camelot had
his dealing with witches. One of his greatest enemies was an evil and powerful
sorceress, Morgan Le Fay. King Arthur also took counsel from a wizard named
Merlin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a child I remember witches from bedtime stories and
movies like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow White</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sleeping Beauty </i>and my
all-time-favorite: the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wizard of Oz</i>. In stories, there are
good witches who operate in the light--like Oz’s Good Witch of the North--and
evil ones who practice black magic, such as the Old Witch in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow White. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I got older and started writing historical horror novels,
I discovered that history is rich with stories about real witches. In Pagan
times, witches honored the sun and moon, the winter solstice and the coming of
spring. We owe our holiday of Halloween to the Celtic pagans who celebrated the
festival of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Samhain</i> on October 31st
at the end of the harvest season. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Witches are even warned about in the Bible in Deuteronomy<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> 18:10-12 and Exodus
22:18. Scriptures like "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" gave
religious people a reason to believe that all practitioners of magick were
evil. </span>In Europe and America from the 1400s through the 1700s, righteous
men went on witch hunts and burned men and women at the stake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These fears of the terrifying witch inspired several horror
movies in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties. Films like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Season of the Witch</i> (1972), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Wicker Man</i> (1975), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eyes of Fire</i>
(1983), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Warlock</i> (1991), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Blair Witch Project</i> (1999) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lords of Salem</i> (2012) are just a few
that come to mind. For the past decade or so, vampires and zombies have
dominated books, movies, and TV, but there are signs witches are coming back
into the spotlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Already in the first half of 2013, there have been a number
of witch movies to hit the theaters. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beautiful
Creatures,</i> based on the YA novel by <span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, is about a family of
witches living in a small town in South Carolina and the secrets they keep. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,</i> the
brother and sister from the famous Brothers Grimm fairytale are all grown up
and now hunt evil witches, which are depicted as monstrous hags.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This is also the year that Hollywood did a remake of one of my favorite
horror movies of all time, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Evil Dead</i>.
It opens with a witch performing a ceremony and involves five friends finding a
demon book that’s filled with witchcraft and evil spirits.</span><b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></b>I
counted 13 new witch movies that will release later this year and next,
including two that I find intriguing: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Last Witch Hunter</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lords of Magic</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now this fall (2013) two new TV shows about witches will be starting in October. The first is <i>The Witches of East End</i> on Lifetime Channel, which has some sexy witches in it. And I'm really looking forward to the second show, <i>American Horror Story: Coven</i>, which airs on FX. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don’t know if it’s happenstance or if something mystical
is at play with all these witches making their way into current books and
movies, but last year I wrote my own witch stories: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Blood-Coven-ebook/dp/B00CI3WCEO/ref=zg_bs_157060011_f_97" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Girl from the Blood Coven</i></a> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Witching-House-ebook/dp/B00CJ96E78/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1" target="_blank">The Witching House</a>.</i> Both will release as ebooks this summer through Samhain Publishing. As a
horror fiction writer, I like to combine history and legends with scary
supernatural stories, as I did in my first two books, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-Brian-Moreland/dp/1609286634/ref=tmm_pap_title_0" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead of Winter</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Mist-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619210665/ref=pd_sim_b_20" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadows in the Mist</i></a>. While both of those stories deal with mysticism and evil forces, it
is my next two stories that allowed me to have fun creating my own legend about
a coven witches living in the backwoods of East Texas. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILrq3SvGjYS732UvDN_TvOAfBCiy-SgyQDUIr6alwBIf8MywTAUlIcoSOY6V2HBf0TkHgAcVEQH54q53OPN1mAo2cvFFX685KbxeN2o-gmEbjKpySTT0VJ6huu9t36Dc_RoigvkM-gjlf/s1600/Girl+from+the+Blood+Coven+-+Scott%2527s+version.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILrq3SvGjYS732UvDN_TvOAfBCiy-SgyQDUIr6alwBIf8MywTAUlIcoSOY6V2HBf0TkHgAcVEQH54q53OPN1mAo2cvFFX685KbxeN2o-gmEbjKpySTT0VJ6huu9t36Dc_RoigvkM-gjlf/s320/Girl+from+the+Blood+Coven+-+Scott%2527s+version.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My first story, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Girl from the Blood Coven,</i> is a short story prelude to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching House</i>. It’s the year 1972. Sheriff Travis Keagan is
enjoying a beer at the local roadhouse, when a blood-soaked girl enters the
bar. Terrified and trembling, Abigail Blackwood claims her entire family was
massacred at the hippy commune in the woods. Sheriff Keagan knows that Abigail’s
“family” is a coven of witches that inhabit the Blevins house. They’ve been
rumored to be practicing blood sacrifices and black magic. When the sheriff and
his deputies investigate the alleged murders, they discover what happened at
the Blevins house is more horrific than they ever imagined. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZphc-MTQbEVeMHIPOBLh5zJS2O9vTadn1NwWDQrpZ7Yq051ViEepMIHP0nLPPUEpLckSX5moHisSvEiZB2NxZKrhB3y5PbqCjAamJHCsLVSAU2IUyKqJMtSAl_Q44xGeldchL3gSGl3B0/s1600/Witching+House+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZphc-MTQbEVeMHIPOBLh5zJS2O9vTadn1NwWDQrpZ7Yq051ViEepMIHP0nLPPUEpLckSX5moHisSvEiZB2NxZKrhB3y5PbqCjAamJHCsLVSAU2IUyKqJMtSAl_Q44xGeldchL3gSGl3B0/s320/Witching+House+small.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My second story, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Witching House,</i> is a novella that unravels the mystery of what happened to
the Blevins Coven. It’s forty years after the massacre at the hippy commune. My
main character is Sarah Donovan, a young woman recovering from a bad divorce
and boring life. She recently started dating an exciting, adventurous man named
Dean Stratton. Dean and his friends, Meg and Casey, are fearless thrill-seekers.
They like to jump out of airplanes, go rock-climbing, white-water rafting, caving
and do anything that offers an adrenaline rush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sarah, on the other hand, is scared of just about
everything--heights, tight places, the dark--but today she must confront all
her fears, as she joins Dean, Meg and Casey on an urban exploring adventure.
There’s an abandoned house set far back in the woods, they say. The Old Blevins
House has been boarded-up for forty years. And it’s rumored to be haunted. The
two couples are going to break in and explore the mysterious house. Little do
they know the Old Blevins House is cursed from black magic, and something in
the cellar has been craving fresh prey to cross the house’s threshold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing these two stories allowed me to research the long
history of witches, from Biblical times, to Norse and Greek mythology, Celtic
Paganism, the Christian witch hunts, as well as the modern-day practice of
Wicca. In fact, Sarah Donovan’s grandmother is a Wiccan who practices light magic
and becomes Sarah’s voice of reason as she is confronted by dark forces. I also
studied the differences between White Magic and Black Magic, even combed
through a 17th Century spell book for conjuring evil spirits. As with my other
books, I have interwoven much of the historical facts that I learned into my
stories to offer readers a richer reading experience. My short story, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Girl from the Blood Coven,</i> releases
in July as a free ebook, and my novella, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Witching House,</i> releases August 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Witches and witchcraft have been a part of storytelling for
centuries. At times they sink below the surface of human consciousness, as
other monsters take the stage in books and movies. Some years it’s werewolves,
mummies or Frankenstein. For the past several years, we’ve seen a countless
number of vampires and zombies. While these monsters are still popular, you can
rest assure that witches are back for another season of witchery.</span><br />
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </span></i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Download <i>The Girl from the Blood Coven</i> at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Blood-Coven-ebook/dp/B00CI3WCEO/ref=zg_bs_157060011_f_97" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girl-from-the-blood-coven-brian-moreland/1115213416?ean=9781619218666" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, or <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/girl-from-blood-coven-p-72931.html" target="_blank">Samhain Horror</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pre-order <i>The Witching House</i> at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Witching-House-ebook/dp/B00CJ96E78/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-witching-house-brian-moreland/1115213420?ean=9781619216198" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, and <a href="http://store.samhainpublishing.com/witching-house-p-72865.html" target="_blank">Samhain Horror</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian Moreland writes novels and short stories of horror and supernatural
suspense. His first two novels, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-Brian-Moreland/dp/1609286634/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350873376&sr=8-3&keywords=dead+of+winter"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead of Winter</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> and </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Mist-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619210665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350873468&sr=1-1&keywords=shadows+in+the+mist"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadows in the Mist</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i> are now available. His third novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Woods-Brian-Moreland/dp/1619215659/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363551985&sr=1-6&keywords=the+devil%27s+woods">The
Devil’s Woods<span style="font-style: normal;">,</span></a></i> will release in December
2013. Brian lives in Dallas, Texas where he is joyfully writing his next horror
novel. Follow Brian on Twitter: @BrianMoreland. Visit: <a href="http://brianmoreland.com/">http://www.brianmoreland.com/</a></span></div>
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Brian Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07673509720082158754noreply@blogger.com0