The Lost Genre Guild: for writers

Showing posts with label for writers. Show all posts

1/02/2011

News Post 574

Yellow30 Sci-Fi has posted its list of the decade's best 25 small-press titles:
http://yellow30scifi.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/the-top-25-books/

James L. Rubart is the guest of honour at this month's Where The Map Ends interview:
http://www.wherethemapends.com/Interviews/current_interview.htm

Residential Aliens ezine, edited by LGG member Lyn Perry, is nominated in the Preditors & Editors poll - go vote here:
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/fictionzine.shtml

Kat Heckenbach has posted the latest in her series on fantasy art:
http://kat-findingangel.blogspot.com/2011/01/inordinate-fondness-for-beetles.html

Janalyn Voigt talks about appearing on Clash of the Titles:
http://kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com/2010/12/clash-of-titles-janalyn-voigt-giveaway.html

And for writers: an exhaustive list of questions to ask yourself about your story - great for getting it unstuck:
http://thescriptlab.com/the-formula/story/development/26-story-questionnaire

12/02/2010

News Post 563

This week's serials from Laser & Sword:

With Captain Justice in the hospital, Commander Justice, Jr. investigates alone

(http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-great-search-part-twelve/) (The Great Search, part Twelve)

The Emerald Avenger starts a fire with the goal of burning out two corrupt police officers

(http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-emerald-avenger-vs-the-corruptibles-part-eleven/) (The Emerald Avenger v. the Corruptibles, Part Eleven.)

Snyder meets a racketeer who has an offer for him. (http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/day-of-dread-part-four/) (Day of Dread, Part Four.)

Don't miss the new edition of Residential Aliens, with stories from L. S. King, Gary Raven, Lachlan David, Kurt Hyatt and Walt Staples. Go here: http://www.resaliens.com/

There's a short-form writing contest in several categories going on over at Holy Worlds, and the prizes are five copies of The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead.

http://www.holyworlds.org/blog/?p=377

Walt Staples has a new story up at the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. He claims it's not speculative, but I'm not convinced...

http://www.deadmule.com/fiction/2010/11/walter-staples-sammys-christmas/

A new review of The Word Reclaimed by Steve Rzasa, from Krysti Kercher:

http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/2010/11/word-reclaimed.html

10/04/2010

News for October 4, 2010

For writers: The Afictionado ezine has posted summaries of workshops from the ACFW conference, among them these two from friends of speculative fiction:

Creating a Believable Science Fiction or Fantasy Storyworld - Jill Williamson

The Last Show vs. Tell Class You’ll Ever Need - Jeff Gerke

Interview with Matt Koceich, author of The Sending, at Where The Map Ends:

http://www.wherethemapends.com/Interviews/current_interview.htm

EARTHBOW by Sherry Thompson - Part 2 out now:

Earthbow vol.1 (Narentan Tumults#2) (paperback)   http://tinyurl.com/y49h82m

Earthbow vol.2 (Narentan Tumults#2) (paperback)   http://amzn.to/8XXrVo

Earthbow (v.1&2) for Kindle                                   http://amzn.to/aimTRk

Earthbow (v.1&2) for other electronic devices)         http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12032

Product Descriptions (vols. 1 & 2)
And so begins the warleader's descent into darkness... Cenoc, the self-styled Lord of Latimus, learns of hidden treasures that can make him even more powerful. Few dare oppose his will, even as they witness his growing madness. However, a remnant stand in his way: a newly knighted young man who is torn between his mission and an overwhelming desire for revenge; an enchanter-initiate who finds himself facing terrors even greater than the danger of opposing Cenoc; a teen Outworlder from Earth who has been gifted with the Earthbow and told he will learn its purpose- just before his mentor abandons him. Return to the world of Narenta in the first installment of Sherry Thompson's Earthbow.

"This book is even better than Thompson's first book, which I really enjoyed." - Grant Lyle (refers to vol.1)

"In the thrilling conclusion to the second Narentan Tumult, can teen Outworlder Xander and his allies overcome the evil unleashed by the evil Cenoc?" (refers to vol.2)

9/24/2010

News for September 24th 2010

This week's updates from Laser & Sword ezine:

http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-great-searchpart-three/ Jesse asks Revelator for advice, Revelator responds with reverse psychology. (The Great Search, Part Three)

http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-emerald-avenger-v-the-corruptibles-part-two/ The trap is bated (The Emerald Avenger v. The Corruptibles, Part Two)

http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/countdown-part-twelve/ Snyder and Dread have to work together to escape...but they don't have to like it. (Countdown, Part Twelve)

Steve Rzasa has posted a new short story based in the world of his novels. You can get it here:
http://steverzasa.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/check-out-hunting-souls/

Janalyn Voigt talks about creating fantasy worlds, and the tools of fantasy writers:
http://faithwriters.com/blog/2010/09/21/tuesday-tips-and-teaching-the-fantasy-genre-by-author-janalyn-voigt/

Here's an introduction to Bill Myers' upcoming release, The God Hater:
http://www.billmyers.com/TheGodHater.html
And a sample preview:
http://www.billmyers.com/TheGodHaterSample.html

9/20/2010

News for September 20th 2010

Checked out Tosca Lee's guest blog at The New Authors' Fellowship? No? She shared the story of her journey to publication:
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/

This from Mike Lynch:Taylor Kent at Snark Infested Waters was kind enough to interview Brandon and I about the release of our latest novel, American Midnight:

http://thesnarkyavenger.com/2010/09/15/snark-infested-waters-for-9152009-michael-lynch-and-brandon-barr-authors-of-american-midnight/

Encounter 10: Jeffrey Overstreet on the how of storytelling from International Arts Movement on Vimeo.

A new review of The Word Unleashed by Steve Rzasa, reviewed by Bill Hayes:
http://holyspeculation.blogspot.com/2010/09/book-review-word-unleashed.html

Marc Schooley reviews Alpha Redemption by P.A. Baines: "Move over, Hal...meet Jay."
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/alpha-redemption-winner-review-and-interview/2/

Keven Newsome interviews Jay, the computer from Alpha Redemption:
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/alpha-redemption-winner-review-and-interview/3/

9/17/2010

News for September 17th 2010

Tosca Lee guest blogs at The New Authors' Fellowship, sharing the story of her journey to publication! This Saturday, the 18th.Watch out for that at:
http://newauthors.wordpress.com/

Be sure and check out the new site and very cool book trailer for Stephen Lawhead's new project, Bright Empires - Book 1, The Skin Map.
http://www.thebrightempires.com/

Terri Main describes how she goes about writing a mystery:
http://mizging.blogspot.com/2010/09/welcome-terri-main.html

Ray Gun Revival ezine is on the move, and just in case their main site at http://raygunrevival.com goes dark, here is where to find them in the meantime - this from Johne Cook:

Where will we find the issues? For now, all issues are up at Scribd, and that will be the default location. I'd also like to host all the issues elsewhere, and I may put them up on my own server.
Where will we find RGR? We're going to be all over the place. While our permanent home in exile is still be wrangled, you can find us in these other places:
SFReader forums: http://forums.sfreader.com/forumdisplay.php/69-Ray-Gun-Revival
RGR In Exile forums: http://loriendil.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=19&start=0
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rgrzine
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ray-Gun-Revival-magazine/125245128369
E-mail: rgrzine@gmail.com
Remember, if you have submissions for RGR 2.0 (wherever we end up) you can start to send in your Subs now to rgrzine@gmail.com with '[sub]' somewhere in the Subject line.

This week's updates from Laser & Sword Ezine:

http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-great-search-part-two/ Small Packages observes heroes falling in crazy in love while others just go plain crazy. (The Great Search, Part Two)

http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-emerald-avenger-v-the-corruptibles-part-one/ Marco tries to solve the problem of the Emerald Avenger with his usual method. (The Emerald Avenger v. the Corruptibles, Part One)

http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/countdown-part-eleven/ Snyder and Dread meet the woman who plans to depopulate Earth. (Countdown, Part Eleven.)

9/10/2010

News for September 10th, 2010

A new review for Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider, by Ellen C. Maze
http://ravencorinncarluk.blogspot.com/

Sarah Sawyer continues her analysis of themes within Beauty and the Beast:
http://www.sarahsawyer.com/2010/09/beauty-and-the-beast-themes-part-two-of-four/

Writers: Don't forget the free edit contest running at C.A. Marshall's site until September 20th:
http://www.camarshall.com/2010/09/freelance-editor-ca-marshalls-free-edit.html

Greg Mitchell has been interviewed about his upcoming book The Strange Man, and the writing life:
http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/2010/09/greg-mitchell-interview.html

This week's updates for the Laser & Sword ezine:

Captain Justice is determined to find out what happened to Commander Justice, but he's going to need the help of an old hacker friend, but is the old hacker up to the challenge?(http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-great-search-part-one/ The Great Search, Part One.)

Marco gets a rude aweakening (http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/origin-of-the-emerald-avenger-part-twenty-one/ The Origin of the Emerald Avenger, Part Twenty-One)

While hunting ecoterrorists, Colonels Morgan and Dread have a heart to heart talk. (http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/countdown-part-ten/ Countdown, Part Ten)

8/20/2010

News for August 20th 2010

Updates from Laser & Sword magazine:

The Sword Comics acquires a new title and makes someone very, very unhappy. (http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-double-cross-part-twenty/) The Double Cross, Part Twenty

Night Lord is interrogated by the Emerald Avenger and gets the shock of his life. (http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/the-origin-of-the-emerald-avenger-part-eighteen/) The Origin of the Emerald Avenger, Part Eighteen

Colonel Dread meets Colonel Morgan, fireworks ensue. (http://lasersword.adamsweb.us/countdown-part-seven/) Countdown, Part Seven

Greg Mitchell announces the final cover for his upcoming release, The Strange Man. See it here:
http://thecomingevil.blogspot.com/2010/08/final-cover-for-strange-man.html

John Otte revisits the Birthright Project by Kathryn Mackel and speculates on its future:
http://leastread.blogspot.com/2010/08/birthright-project-revisited.html

Sherry Thompson joins the Blogging Team at Young Adult Authors You've Never Heard Of
http://obscurekidlitauthors.blogspot.com/2010/08/hi-from-sherryt.html
http://writtenremains.blogspot.com/2010/08/member-news-sherry-thompson-joins.html

Writers! Want to get your synopsis read by someone at Penguin? Now's your chance. Penguin UK is taking unsolicited submissions until October! More info and guidelines here:
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/aboutus/#question11

8/18/2010

News for August 18th 2010

A.P. Fuchs says: "Zomtropolis," the free zombie love story that's serializing on my blog every Friday is now up to Chapter Nineteen. All the backstory's been laid plus some surprise twists and turns have already occurred. Be sure to tune in for a new installment each Friday if you haven't already.
Need to catch up? The entire Table of Contents for "Zomtropolis" is available here in "clickable" format: http://canisterx.com/?page_id=1275

Mike Duran has released the book trailer for his upcoming novel The Resurrection:
http://mikeduran.com/?p=9043

James Rubart, author of "Rooms," is a guest on the Author Haven blog. His topic: overcoming fear as a writer.
http://authorhaven.blogspot.com/2010/08/special-guest-post-james-rubart-on.html

And now for something completely different: Christian sci-fi and fantasy MUSIC? Prolific composer Michael L. Rogers presents an all-new online home for his worshipful ambient electronica, which incidentally makes great writing music. Keep coming back to see new material:
http://michaellrogers.virb.com

8/11/2010

News for August 11th 2010

Kristina Schram says: I am starting a viral video campaign for the release of my book, The Chronicles of Anaedor: The Prophecies, coming to bookstores everywhere and available on-line, August 10, 2010!
Here's the video - YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hKMYB_RSOw
or... My website: http://www.kristinaschram.com/

New at Mindflights: "The Captain and His Squire" by Matthew Wuertz - Cole of Arkessler enters Kartev to study the life of Captain Borodin. Unfortunately for the scholar, he arrives just before the town comes under attack.

Jeremy Robinson unveils a plan to release his novel Beneath in hardcover: http://bit.ly/9vUqmV

Check out the latest articles by Janalyn Voigt at http://janalynvoigt.com/ - Don't let your blog, or the Internet, or your career eat you alive!

7/28/2010

News for July 28th 2010

Kat Heckenbach's story "Fire Wall" is up now at The Absent Willow Review.

http://absentwillowreview.com/archives/fire-wall

A list of links especially for fantasy writers, compiled by Lynnette Bonner: http://authorculture.blogspot.com/2010/07/resource-round-up-for-fantasy-writers.html

Phillip Campbell says: Today I put the final touches on the rough text of my collection of short stories, Paladologies. Paladologies is the sequel to Tale of Manaeth and tells of the deeds of Manissa's ancestors throughout the centuries. The book contains 24 short stories; one of which is available online at this link.

New release: The Last Heir, by Shannon McDermott
When loyalty meets ambition and power meets passion, and the prize is an empire …
The emperor is dead and the last heir is a child, unable to exercise the power of his throne. Left without a ruler, the Empire's most powerful men struggle for control. Their long fight will spread from the halls of government to all the Empire, and its arena will be their own hearts and families. As the Empire divides against itself, everyone must choose who and what to be loyal to. Lines will grow hard and choices become clear, and the truth of who they are and what they fight for will be revealed.
The Last Heir is a story of intrigue, of politics and war, with moving scenes and vivid characters.
To learn more about the book, to read excerpts, and to purchase, go to http://www.shannonmcdermott.com/?page_id=140.

7/26/2010

News for July 26th 2010

A reminder from the New Authors Fellowship:
As of Thursday, July 29, we will move into the 2nd phase of selection for our New Featured Author! If you want to be considered or know someone that does, send an email to nafblog.info@gmail.com before next Thursday! And please, help us spread the word! (more info in this post)

Janalyn Voigt has posted a blog article - Medieval Fantasy: In the Shadow of Tolkien and Lewis - "In a sense, they scrawled their signatures across an entire genre."

Your friendly neighbourhood LGG blogger Grace Bridges (yeah that's me!) is featured this week at Operation Encourage an Author, with a chance to win a copy of the new novel Legendary Space Pilgrims! Go on, get over there! http://encourageanauthor.blogspot.com/2010/07/author-spotlight-grace-bridges.html

For writers: Some valuable insights on working with editors from LGG members in the editing/publishing scene:
What not to be famous for - C.L. Dyck
The Malleable Author - C. Maggie Woychik

6/21/2010

News for June 21st, 2010

Sherry Thompson says: I'm a member of Delaware's Written Remains Writers Guild. During the week of June 21st, the WRWG Spotlight will be turned on me. I'll be interviewed, people can ask questions via comments, I'll be giving away at least one copy of my latest book "Earthbow", and I may let slip interesting bits and pieces about my present and future work.
The link to the WRWG blog is: http://tinyurl.com/24bs4or OR http://writtenremains.blogspot.com/2010/06/member-news-sherry-thompsons-earthbow.html
Plus: If you go there now, you can already see some "pre-Spotlight" activity.

Writers: Port Yonder Press is looking for fantasy. The submissions window is October only, so now's the time to be getting those proposals and first three chapters ready. More details at the PYP site: http://portyonderpress.com

The trailer for the next Narnia movie has appeared: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. So far it's just at Facebook: http://bit.ly/9IHJEG and gives Lewis fans plenty to ponder. How come we see Susan and Peter in there? And Jadis the White Witch, for that matter, she's supposed to have died! And where's the dragon? But it looks like the effects are even better than the previous ones.

6/04/2010

News for June 4th, 2010

A Flame in the Dark, a web zine "dedicated to publishing and promoting good Christian horror, thriller and suspense fiction," launched June 2. Kat Heckenbach's poem, Serpent Uncoiled, is the first featured piece.

An article by Robert Liparulo is on Novel Journey called 5 Elements that Make Fantasy Fiction Feel Real http://bit.ly/11sMqe

The final list of nominees for the Clive Staples award has been posted. This year, to vote you have to have read at least two of the titles. So check it out and make sure you qualify when the time comes. http://bit.ly/cZ97Ib

5/28/2010

News for May 28th, 2010

Rick Copple says: I'm a guest blogger for a second time, within a month of the last one I think. This time I'm on Gareth L. Powell's blog. He is a science fiction writer. I wrote an article I titled: "Words Gone Wild." You can go there and tell me how off the mark I am. Or not, your call. :D
http://www.garethlpowell.com/words_gone_wild/

Taylor Kent says: the brand new Adventures of The Snarky Avenger web comic has launched. You can find it in all its glory at http://snarkyavengercomic.com. Check it out, subscribe, leave a comment!

Mike Duran has posted an article entitled Why “Supernatural Fiction” is Under-Represented in Christian Bookstores. It makes great reading and points out an important for those of us who are advocates of speculative fiction. http://mikeduran.com/?p=7344

Here's a round-up of what's current at Variance Publishing: lots of near-future technothrillers and even a fantasy, by the looks of it... http://variancepublishing.blogspot.com/2010/05/promo-me-baby.html

5/26/2010

News for May 26th, 2010

Randy Ingermanson, the mad professor of fiction writing and author of several Christian science fiction novels, has made an unbeatable offer on his website. Anyone can post a question on fiction writing at http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/home/ask.php and Randy will schedule it to be answered on his blog.

Terri Main says: The main character in Dark Side of the Moon has a problem. Her household computer system which handles everything from cleaning robots to managing Carolyn's Calendar needs a name. It is actually starting to get testy that it does not have one yet. So, on my Facebook page for the last month we have been gathering names. Finalists are now posted for voting at
http://tinyurl.com/namethehouse
If you posted a name feel free to vote for it. If not, help Carolyn pick the name for her house.

Ellen Maze is looking for vampire victims - no kidding! If you want to nominate yourself to be killed off in her next novel Rabbit Legacy, head on over to her blog and have your say.
http://thejudging-ellenmaze.blogspot.com/2010/05/need-victimhow-would-you-like-to-die-in.html

5/24/2010

News for May 24th, 2010

Rick Copple has published an extensive article on description for writers. Check out "Describing Description Detail" at http://blog.rlcopple.com/?p=230.

New at TitleTrakk: Katie Hart gives us a look at "The Characters of Narnia":
http://titletrakk.com/articles/books/characters-of-narnia.htm

FRENZY, the final episode in the Dreamhouse Kings series by Robert Liparulo, is out now. For more information, reviews and more, go here: http://bit.ly/dj8dfA

Marcher Lord Press has published free samples on Scribd of each of the latest releases:
To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson http://scr.bi/aa6zqs
The Word Unleashed by Steve Rzasa http://scr.bi/99ZEdY
The Superlative Stream by Kerry Nietz http://scr.bi/d0mIN1

5/19/2010

News for May 19th, 2010

Terri Main says: You can check out the cover for Dark Side of the Moon at
http://www.facebook.com/darksidenovel . It looks great and is pretty close to my vision of the main characters.
Also from Terri: I just posted a new Carolyn Masters flash fiction story on Scribd at
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31426203/Fireworks
Hope you enjoy it. BTW, my scribd profile is at http://www.scribd.com/terrimain if you would like to subscribe. I will be posting various bits of flash fiction from time to time. They are free to download and distribute with attribution non commercially.

This week sees the CSFF blog tour for Jill Williamson's By Darkness Hid. Be sure and check out all the links from http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/

Jeremy Robinson is going to be blogging regularly at Think Hero. His first post on breaking into Hollywood via novel writing is here:
http://www.thinkhero.com/2010/05/14/how-to-break-in-to-hollywood

4/26/2010

News for April 26th, 2010

Here's another great interview with James Rubart, author of ROOMS - including his own secret writing room: http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/2010/04/author-interview-jim-rubart.html

Podcast with Marcher Lord Press authors Stuart Stockton and Kerry Nietz, and others: "All about sci-fi" at http://fictionaddict.com/2010/04/19/all-about-sci-fi/

The last three episodes of Jeremy Robinson's BENEATH in audio have been released! Now you can listen to the whole book. Get all the episodes here: http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/books/beneath-by-jeremy-robinson.html

Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee have announced their collaboration on a new trilogy called Forbidden, bigger even than the Circle Trilogy. Check out the details here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=386805549854.

For writers: Max Lucado's thoughts on writing - http://www.maxlucado.com/articles/topical/the_write_stuff.

4/02/2010