Archive for October, 2012|Monthly archive page
Books by Friends — Amazon Recommends Tyrmia
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: digital publishing, Geekery, promo, publishing, writing
Comments (1) Look what I found in my inbox this morning:
Tyrmia is a stand-alone novel set in the Starstrikers universe created by Ken McConnell. I’ve known Ken for several years, and I’m delighted that the gigantic bookstore has taken notice of his independent efforts.
I’m not saying the book is perfect — no book is, and this one has its share of typos — but I think Ken is a gifted storyteller. Copy editors are easy to find; really good storytellers…not so much.
Go, Ken!
When Instalust Isn’t Really Instalust
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: plotting, promo, Valmont Contingency, writing
Leave a comment I have seen a review of The Valmont Contingency accusing me of Instalust and lazy writing.
This is hilarious, because I have difficulty getting my characters to get to the lust portion of the program in the compressed time schedule I’m allowed by The Main Story Question. They’re always, “Yeah, but the zombies…!”
As a result, I made danged sure both Hero and Heroine had plenty (and I mean PLENTY) of motivation before they ever did anything about it.
Please note that the reviewer is absolutely entitled to her opinion, because it’s her opinion (could have been his opinion, but this particular reviewer was female). The book, as an artifact, has to sink or swim on its own merits. Period.
But this is my website/blog, so I’m going to explain things because I can. So there.
Garrick, Our Hero, has been primed by two years of Kardashian-level tabloid coverage of Tasha with wardrobe and makeup worthy of a Playboy shoot.
Combine that with his engineer-personality compulsion to “fix this” and her damsel-in-distress circumstances when they first meet in person, followed soon after by the realization that she has saved his life. “The poor bastard never had a chance” was how Spooky Man (my spousal unit) described it.
Tasha, Our Heroine, is in an extremely vulnerable state of mind when confronted by the first adult male in her life — ever — who actually seems to 1. see her as a human being, 2. care about her well-being (as opposed to her utility to him), 3. give credence to her intelligence, and, for the win, 4. need her help to stay alive.
Oh, and did I mention he’s three generations from a complete designer makeover to the family’s genes, so he’s pretty much physically perfect?
Like the panty-and-tank-top clad heroine who goes after the spooky noise in the slasher movie, my heroines have to have a lot of motivation to do something really dangerous, like fall in love.
Read the book with my list and see if I haven’t included all the necessary and proper motivation for “instalust.” (See, this is a subtle advertisement, because you have to buy the book to read it.)
And that’s all I’m going to say about that, LOL.
If You Don’t Have Your Health
My friend Chris is getting his final leukemia diagnosis today. He ran a 10K October 6th, and went to the doctor a few days later for a possible infection. I have no idea what caused the lab to check his blood for leukemia cells, but thank god they did.
It’s been caught ridiculously early (before he had a single symptom), which means he might be able to get away with only one round of chemotherapy to get rid of it, putting it in the realm of pain-in-the-[bleep] cancer rather than just-might-kill-me cancer.
Having been through something a bit similar in 2009 (my debut novel was published in between pain-in-the-[bleep] cancer diagnoses that year), I’m sending all the good vibes to Chris that I can muster. He’s a lovely person, so I can muster quite a few good vibes for him.
And I’m impatiently waiting for the final diagnosis (the subtype determines the chemo cocktail to use), so he can get started on fighting it off, and I can get started on supporting him in his fight.
Go, Chris! [Bleep] cancer! (This is actually a John Scalzi, Wil Wheaton, and xkcd quote, so I’m sure you can figure out what the [Bleep] is replacing.)
Valmont Contingency Giveaway Results
All six commenters get a free copy of The Valmont Contingency. I’ll contact you (probably on Friday; the day job is being complicated this week) to work out the details.
Thanks, everyone!
The Valmont Contingency Released Today
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: novel, release, Valmont Contingency, writing
Comments (10) I’m so excited that I finished editing the API docs for the day job and posted them early so I could lurk on the Carina Press website. VC is the first book listed under New Releases:
I now, officially, have a backlist. In celebration, how about a contest of sorts? Leave a comment and I’ll pick someone randomly for a free copy of The Valmont Contingency.
I’m even taking a break from The Nobinata Gambit (the next book in the series) for the day.
— Val
