The World of Secramore | Blog

Mission Accomplished?

2011-10-05T18:26:00.001-04:00

About three months ago I made an executive decision, much to the dismay of my beautiful wife. You see, after many weeks of deliberation, I decided to try an experiment: split Raven’s Heart into a trilogy. The sole purpose of this tactic: to gain new readers. The original edition was just too darn long (about 1,000 Kindle pages), and it seemed to be scaring potential readers away. When we priced our first book as free on Amazon.com, we gathered over 15,000 new readers. Mission accomplished in a big way…or so I thought.

Our earliest fans know that we always intended Raven’s Heart to be a single novel. That massive “paperweight”—as we called it—never really garnered any attention. But that was okay, because making money was never part of our goal. We wanted to create an enjoyable fantasy.

But I grew tired of failing to draw attention.

Marketing is a bear. To survive in today’s world of publishing, one has to be savvy and learn the ropes. I pride myself in gaining a wealth of knowledge over the past couple years. I researched, made some amazing friends, and then I started pondering the possibility that splitting our behemoth of a novel into three parts might help us gain attention. Boy was I right! But with every big decision comes a cost.

The Forging, Syuna Blue, and Ravenstone. Those are the names of the three books in our newly conceived trilogy. In essence, the story had not changed one iota, which led me to believe that Raven’s Heart would succeed no matter what format it assumed. And it did succeed, in finding a home on thousands of people’s Kindles. It wasn’t long, however, until feedback started returning in the negative. The Forging was deemed, “Boring, with little or no character development, and an abrupt ending”. That’s not what we intended. Of course, they were only reading a part of a whole—not a complete tale. Their claims were not unfounded.

To read an epic fantasy novel is to realize that you’re in for the “long haul.” In the weight of the book, you can expect a slow progression as the story unfolds, complexity of plot(s), deep characters development. To publish an epic novel as three installations is almost false advertising. You may think you’re getting a quick-paced, action-packed, self-contained story. Instead, you find underdeveloped characters, misplaced climaxes, distorted pacing, and unlikely cliff-hangers. If it’s an epic novel, it should be marketed as such.

“I told you so.” I can still hear those unspoken words in my head. Stef never outright uttered them, but I know she wanted to. She was against the “butchering” of our book from the beginning, but she eventually relented in the hopes that my plan would work in our favor. Despite the results of sales and downloads, the more was less than satisfying. She was not surprised by the negative reviews. Overall, we achieved three out of five stars after ten reviews. That’s a “D” on the report card.

Monday, October 31st. Halloween. That is the official last day you can download the three segments of our “trilogy” before they disappear forever. Will this affect our sales? Absolutely. We don’t care. What matters to us is that we give our audience our very best and not an ill-conceived, misconstrued marketing maneuver. This has been a humbling experience to say the least, and I’ve learned a lot about myself during this time. Going with a trend solely for the purpose of attracting interest isn’t always the right path. We’re going to stay true to who we are, even if it means a more limited audience. If you’re an epic fantasy reader, and you still dislike our complete, monster of a novel, then all is fair in reviews and criticism.

Thanks to all who took a chance on us during this “trilogy” period. We thank you for your support and opinions, and we hope that you continue to follow us in the future. We promise that our next series will be a true trilogy, and we hope you’ll find it worth the read.

-Matt

Review Rejects

2011-09-19T19:55:00.002-04:00

Stef and I love reading a good review of our work. When I say “good,” I mean a thorough opinion, whether it be positive or negative. What we don’t like are reviews which ignore simple logic. I’ve already put together a series of five blogs which help people construct a proper review. This blog is a compilation of the seven “don’ts” in the world of reviewing.

One-liners – Some speakers are naturals at delivering a single sentence worthy of acknowledgment, but a book review consisting of ten words (or less) which either gush or slam the author’s work doesn’t deserve the same notoriety. Nothing is gained from these stunted recountings, and pretty much everyone ignores them. Note: Two-liners also fall into this category.

Grammar Gate – Badd spelinng, improper, punctuation!, and lack of CAPITALIZATION all contribute to a less than stellar looking review. The content may carry some merit, but if all of the above is ignored, people will not take your opinion seriously. Also, please separate ideas by starting a new paragraph. Block paragraphs are an eyesore.

Trolling – This is a category all unto itself, so we will focus on one particular guerrilla tactic: bashing. Don’t go out of your way to slander the author and/or their work. No one enjoys a hatefest except the haters. You aren’t necessarily a troll if you mercilessly slam books, but people may confuse you for one. Try to be more constructive.

Just the Facts – Oftentimes, reviewers mix up character names, misinterpret plot ideas, and can be as vague as a teenager telling their parents about his day at school. Keep your facts straight, and skim back through the book if you find yourself struggling to recall a particular detail you loved or despised. If you don’t, people might wonder if you actually read the book. And that leads us to…

Unfinished - Above all, make sure you READ THE ENTIRE BOOK before you review. You will not be taken seriously if you confess to the world that you couldn’t bear to read another letter past chapter two. Don’t be lazy.

Spoiled - Nobody wants to watch a movie trailer that gives away too much information about the plot, and the same goes for a book review. However, if you do wish to discuss all points of a novel, make sure to list SPOILERS just before you drop the bomb(s). Discovering how the book’s main antagonist is defeated in the review’s first line is jarring and might insight a mob. This is one of the worst kinds of offense one can commit.

TL;DR - Have you ever tried to read a review that was almost as long as the book you read? If so, then you probably thought “TL;DR”. Too Long; Didn’t Read. A review is a concise summary of your opinion. Potential readers don’t need to know every little detail of why you liked or disliked a book. If your review is more than a typed page on MS Word, then scale it back. Less is more. However, not all people agree with this sentiment. There are many professional reviewers who write gargantuan reviews which encompass vast amounts of information. They have their place, but the average Joe might just sigh and move onto the less wordy review. Notice how this point is the longest of the seven?

If you are a reader of reviews—as I am—then you’ve no doubt run across at least one of each of these examples. They can be frustrating to read, and sometimes down-right mean. What with the internet and digital anonymity, it’s easy to blast people behind a nameless, faceless avatar. Don’t be one of these cowards. Take the high road of constructive reviewing. We Indie authors are counting on you. :)

-Matt

SEXramore?

2011-04-11T19:45:00.002-04:00

No, our epic fantasy series is not headed in the direction of erotica. I just wanted to post a title that might catch a few eyeballs. I am, however, blogging about the risqué genre of romance and erotica. I recently had a conversation with some of my author cohorts—some of whom write in the above-mentioned genres—and I am astounded by how successful they are. They are all independent authors, struggling along with the rest of us, but they in particular seem to have at least one thing going for them: steamy sex as a lure. What is it about the physical side of relationships that makes readers scream for more? Is it the engaging story? Is it the writing style? Or is it strictly the sex?

I should mention that romance/erotica authors (there is a distinguishable difference between the two) also write in other genres, and they will probably tell you that they prefer to channel their creativity in a more thought-provoking manner. They will also tell you sales for their preferred novels pale in comparison to their “smut” titles. I learned that a short romance or erotica story ranging from 3,000-9,000 words (roughly 6-30 pages depending on the font and text size) can sell as an eBook for about 99 cents or more. One of my friends even said she takes a collection of her shorts and compiles them together and sells them for $5.99. That’s about $4.20 in profit at 70% royalty, and she’s selling many copies a day. Her colleagues told her to raise the price. They said it would still sell. It did.

Now take our book, Raven’s Heart; it’s a 716 page behemoth. We sell it for 99 cents as to attract reader attention. We have giveaways to build interest and hope that word-of-mouth carries our name. We enlist in countless review sites to strengthen our credibility. We plead to book promotion sites to post our novel on their page as a Book of the Day. All of these strategies have indeed gathered us some much needed readers, but not nearly enough to keep a steady flow of traffic. On the other hand, a $6.99 book one seventh the length and seven times the price is downloaded by the hundreds with little or no promotion required. It’s capitalism at its finest.

Am I jealous? YES! Do I think it’s unfair that romance and erotica titles garner a huge chunk of the market? No. Sex sells. It always has, and it always will. I am ecstatic for my friends’ success. They absolutely deserve every sale they get. Every independent author who makes a name for him/herself—whether through literary fiction or erotica—brings that much more credibility to the self-publishing world.

Now if only Stef and I could generate the same sort of interest in our family-friendly epic fantasy novel. Fantasy does sell, but an author has to prove himself in order to be recognized. My job as a writer and a marketer is to make the audience notice us. In the world of fantasy, readers of independent titles are averse to taking a chance on some “nobody” spousal authors with a doorstopper of a book. They want something smaller, and they want to know that said authors are writing more than a one-trick pony.

Who knows if we’ll give in and break apart our standalone book. Only time will tell. If we do go through with the split, maybe we can add a love scene between Jinx and Tyrianne to spice things up. It couldn’t hurt, could it? Who knows, we might even draw the attention of the romance audience. And we all know that’s where the money is. :)

-Matt

Omnibus

2011-03-23T20:07:00.001-04:00

This is a relatively new word in my vocabulary: Omnibus—a compilation of smaller books all rolled into one behemoth edition. Stef would say that I’m in love with the idea of an omnibus. She thinks I live to write beefy fantasy titles and gloat about page length. I do enjoy writing and reading a sprawling epic, but I fully understand 1,000 plus pages does not a masterpiece make. In truth, a good portion of the fantasy doorstoppers are loaded with fluff, and they can be grueling to read. An omnibus, however, is a different story altogether. Readers expect these titles to be huge.

For example, take my online buddy David Dalglish. He has a popular five-part series known as The Half Orcs. He decided to combine his first three titles into an omnibus and sell it alongside the single volumes. The result for him was an increase in sales. I can only surmise that some readers prefer having one large volume rather than buying all of the pieces-parts. I’ve no doubt that the appealing price had a lot to do with its popularity. Mr. Dalglish sold his omnibus for slightly less than what the three separate volumes would cost by themselves—a discount for those willing to take a risk.

I find the omnibus option quite intriguing but never really gave it much though until I fell in with a community of supportive self-published authors. They are well aware of the enormity Raven’s Heart, and they have suggested on more than one occasion that we consider breaking it into smaller pieces—say, a trilogy. They explained that there was nothing wrong with having a standalone first novel, but for complete unknown authors—yup, that’s us—716 pages might scare away potential readers. At first I fought the idea tooth-and-nail. I explained that we already had our book as “duology” and merged it so people wouldn’t have to shell out the extra bucks.

Over time I’ve learned that people love to read a series. There’s no denying the popularity of the vaunted trilogy, and I’ve also discovered that the more books an author has to offer, the more willing people are to take a peek. That was when the cogs in my brain really got cranking. Raven’s Heart is an omnibus waiting to become a trilogy…at least, that’s what I believe. Thus began the experiment: splitting a single idea into three parts. Easier said than done! It wasn’t easy, but I figured it out.

Now I should probably explain why I keep saying “I”. Truth is, Stef isn’t thrilled at the prospect of re-splitting our novel. I don’t blame her. Raven’s Heart at its heart (teehee!) is a standalone book. Why break it apart when it works so well as a whole? The answer: Raven’s Heart will become a “trilogy”, and the standalone will become an “omnibus.” Will it help to draw readers? I honestly don’t know the answer to that question. Enter the cliché: only time will tell. One thing is for certain: we need to broaden our library of available material. Perhaps this new marketing approach will finally coax prospective readers to give us a chance. We’ve sold about 300 e-books thus far, and next to none of our DTB (Dead Tree Books). Something needs to be done in order to gain us some attention.

So here we are at the present. The titles have been decided:
• Book I: The Forging
• Book II: Syuna Blue
• Book III: Ravenstone
Now all we need is some time to design three new covers, spines, and back covers. The work is never done. I truly hope this is our last foray into the book we’ve been tinkering around with since 1999. Twelve years is long enough!

-Matt

Fantasy T.V.

2011-02-13T17:26:00.001-05:00

This April, a new show will be coming to the small screen for our viewing pleasure. The fact that I am even writing about a television program is almost as amazing as the prospect of the show itself. HBO is about to release its highly anticipated new series: A Game of Thrones. I am freaking stoked about this! Anyone who has ventured into the realm of fantasy knows well the works of George R. R. Martin and his Song of Ice and Fire series. There’s no denying the appeal of watching a live-action version of this epic series. Fantasy has been sorely missing from the “boob tube”, and I am grateful for its long-awaited return. Here are three reasons why A Game of Thrones will be worth my attention.

HBO produced this series. This statement alone should draw viewers by the thousands. It’s well known that HBO produces quality—if not slightly jarring—television. What with award-winning shows like, The Sopranos, True Blood, Deadwood, OZ, and Boardwalk Empire under their belt, the future is bright for its first fantasy series. A stellar cast, excellent writers, and lots of money have been attached to this series. Most importantly, HBO is dedicating a full season to the first book. That tells me they will explore all facets of Westeros and its inhabitants. I would be shocked if the series fell flat on its face.

Finally, more fantasy! Television programs dedicated to fantasy are few and far between. No doubt because of the lack of public interest, but also because of funding. It takes a major sack of greenbacks to produce a quality fantasy show. There have been other shows in the past: Legend of the Seeker, and Xena: Warrior Princess, to name a couple, but most were not my mug of sarsaparilla. I can do without campiness in my fantasy. A Game of Thrones will be the first fantasy to delve into a dark, gritty realm. To say Martin’s series is graphic is an understatement. Rape, incest, murder, brutality, and gratuitous sex are just the tip of the broadsword. I’m not saying that I prefer this type of programming; I’m just glad it has finally reared its beautifully ugly and realistic head.

It starts on my birthday! That’s right, boys and girls. Mark your calendars. Sunday, April 17th, is the premier of A Game of Thrones. Don’t know the time yet, but I can almost guarantee it will be on at 10 p.m. EST. What better way for me to celebrate turning 33 than to watch the slow, painful destruction of the House of Stark? Grab a blanket, folks. As Martin writes, “Winter is coming….”

-Matt

The Value of a Snow Day

2011-02-02T17:48:00.001-05:00

Do you remember when you were an elementary school student the night before a big snowstorm was supposed to hit? There was the anticipation of the day to come—the early-morning knock on your bedroom door when your parents told you that school was cancelled for the day. You were either grateful to close your eyes again and drift back to dream-world, or you were excited enough that you got up anyway, thinking of all the possibilities of what you would do. A whole day without obligations, tests, homework, studying… Snow days were little gifts from Old Man Winter, and they were always appreciated.

As an adult, I’m thinking Old Man Winter deserves a kick in the shins. Snowstorms mean grocery stores and gas stations will be overcrowded with paranoid people who think the world will end. Snowstorms mean a very cold (my old car has no heat) and careful drive to work while the superior beings in their fancy four-wheel-drive vehicles zip past me to cause an accident further along the freeway. And should I fear enough for my life to stay home, snowstorms mean I must burn a precious vacation day (and hey, we part-timers don’t get a lot of those, you know?).

Today is a crappy winter day. My car is encased in ice, and the sleet slamming sideways into the house. I opted to stay home, and yes, I’m “sucking it up” and burning those vacation hours. I won’t be sour, though. I will think back to my childhood, when I appreciated an extra hour or two of sleep. I will think of the possibilities ahead of me, which include two of my favorite creative outlets: art and writing.

I’m a little more motivated to write. I finished my morning chores, finished giving the husband a dirty look when he asked me to make him breakfast. This is MY snow day. I’m going to do what I want. Scrambled eggs and toast can wait; I have a character to traumatize in a climactic scene that I have been anxiously waiting to write for months. Oh, it will be good. I will journey out of Cleveland winter to the early spring days in Secramore. Nothing like a mental vacation.

I’ve got my heating pad, my blanket, my cocoa, my lucky wombat figurines…I’m set (oh, and my husband. He wanted me to add him in there.). The laptop hasn’t crashed yet, so I’m going to end this blog to capitalize on my snow day. I know we appreciate different things as kids than as adults, but maybe it’s just a matter of finding the right perspective. Everyone earns their snow day now and then. Here’s to everyone else who has declared an all-day pajama party full of frivolity and self-indulgence! You can chisel your car out later.

-Stef

Bits and Pieces

2011-01-15T21:19:00.003-05:00

A short while back I wrote a blog entitled, “Kindle or Kindling”, and it discussed the pros and cons of owning an electronic book reader. I’ve decided to revisit this topic, though I want to look at it from a different light. No, I am not changing my mind on how I feel about digital books, but I am concerned for the future of books in general. It seems that while the Kindle, Nook, and other eReader devices have been flying off the shelves, bookstores have been experiencing different kind of empty shelf. Is it possible that our friendly digital bits will soon be shredding their paper counterpart to pieces?

I’ve recently traded my Kindle and iPod Touch for an iPad. The best of both worlds. Now I can not only surf the net and and play with Apps with the touch of a fingertip, but I can read books. Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc. are all available on iPad…and in color! Yes, my new gadget is wicked awesome and sometimes it makes me wonder why I should ever purchase another paperback book again. Despite having my all-powerful iPad, my heart is still deeply rooted in paper and ink. As I mentioned before, I love the smell, feel, and look of a real book. But paper books are in jeopardy.

The advent of eReaders has changed everything in the publishing world. Everything. Independent authors now have a way in which to promote their work without having to fight for a publisher’s attention. Some are selling better than well-known names. Publishers are struggling to competitively market their best-selling authors against newbies like us who sell our books for 99 cents. Bookstores are all but closing their doors. Barnes & Noble seems to be the exception—thanks to their Nook—but how long before they reach their final chapter?

This is both a fantastic and unsettling time for both authors and readers. Independent authors are singlehandedly competing with the Stephen Kings of the world; publishing houses—desperate for the next best thing—are plucking up the new talent on the web. It truly is a renaissance for “Indies”. Readers have more titles to choose from then they ever did, and they can sample the lesser know authors for free. Thousands upon thousands of eBooks are 99 cents or less. Classrooms are porting textbooks over to tiny files. No more heavy book bags. Win-win!

But what about our old friend, The Bookstore? Borders has recently gone bankrupt, and Barnes & Noble is hanging on by a thread. What about libraries where books and research go hand-in-hand? I have a friend who works at a library, and she wonders if she’ll have a job in the next ten years. It’s a sad state of affairs for the traditional reader. Paper books are outdated, like it or not, and it may be a matter of time before we’re all reading everything on a screen. Is it really so bad to think billions of books will soon be stored electronically?

Hm… Not sure how to answer that yet.

Stef likes to speculate what would happen if a catastrophic solar flare should release from the sun. Would we all learn a valuable lesson when that solar flare eradicates our electronic world? Could we function without the internet, computers, cell phones, mp3 players, tablets, GPS, video games, television, electricity…? I like to think that we’re not too dependent on our gadgets quite yet, but I’m an optimist. I’m nearly hooked on my iPad as it is, but I know I could detach myself if necessary. I’ve already done it with cable TV.

Before I wander too far off topic—too late, I know—I want to return to books. Yes, the paper ones. Outdated though they may be, I believe there is something special in carrying around a single book. If it falls on the ground, it won’t break. If I bring it to the park to read, I can’t get distracted by downloading 500 more titles while reading news, shopping, and listening to music. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel any emotional attachment to a device which needs batteries to live. A book, however, is like a good friend with whom I want to share my attention. A book is simple. A book is real.

-Matt

A New Year, A New Story

2011-01-01T17:13:00.001-05:00

A lot of people fear New Year’s resolutions—the thought of making a commitment, something to which they are bound. Goals, deadlines, and reformation—terrifying things. And underlying it all is the fear of failure.

But there is always the positive side to promises, vows, and self-improvement. You have, well, self-improvement, the satisfaction of accomplishing something you set out to do, the empowerment of success, and the wisdom of learning something about yourself as you strive to meet your own expectations.

The year 2010 sucked for writing. I can’t say it more frankly than that. We floundered with Black Earth and ended up tearing it down to rebuild it from scratch…twice. GenCon left us with mixed feelings about our status as authors, and I have fought hard to regain the interest of my writing partner. Matt has had his own battles with marketing and sales. He would slave for hours trying to get Raven’s Heart some positive attention, and oftentimes, the lack of response resulted in his frustration and downright misery.

So I say, “No more!” It’s time to get back to heart of what we do. It’s nice when people acknowledge our writing, read our book, leave a review or two…I won’t deny that. But we are only gifted with so much energy, and to waste it is a terrible crime. If the marketing aspect of our work is floundering, then it’s time for a break. No need to pulverize something that has already been smashed into the ground.

I’m taking my husband by the arm, and we are going to knead this dough that is our current trilogy. I hope to shape it with both sets of hands, because that is the real reason and passion behind our writing. Time to obsess over characters, time to have lengthy discussions over dinner, time to sit down and write the damn thing line by line together, if need be. If people want to read it once it’s done, great! But I intend to enjoy the ride along the way. The process, for me, is everything. The product is secondary. That may seem backwards, but the fantasy genre is about escaping reality, and my favorite pastime is taking that vacation with Matt. We’ll get to where we’re going and have an adventure doing so. If people want to look at our scrapbook afterward, we’ll gladly hand it over.

On that note, we intend to have a limited promotion in light of our resolution to move forward with new and changing ideas. For one week, we will post the entire short story, The Hawk’s Shadow, on our site. Yay! New material! This is the short story that premiered at GenCon this past summer in the compilation publication, Missing Pieces. The publication was a collection of works from all the authors attending the event, and our good friend Christopher Rocco was the mind behind it. We are now at liberty to share this story on our site, free for all to read…for one week, anyway. After that time, we will keep a sample of the tale posted, and the complete work will be available for purchase on Amazon.

The Hawk’s Shadow is the short story bridge between Raven’s Heart and the upcoming Black Earth trilogy. It is an introspective look at a couple of familiar characters in a rather desperate setting. The tale culminates in an event that initiates change—a new direction for a new character focus. For all those readers who have been waiting for something to tide you over while we work on our next big novel, this is it. And it is just the beginning of our new direction for 2011.

Hope you enjoy it! As always, we welcome your opinions.

-Stef

The Next Chapter

2010-12-24T11:24:00.001-05:00

I’ve come to a point in my life where I must finally take the “next step.” I’ve grown both as a person and a writer, and I’ve come a long way from the first short story I wrote at nine years old. I’ve co-written and self-published an epic fantasy novel with my wife, of which I am damn proud. I’ve tackled internet marketing and tapped into the complex world of eBooks and lived to tell the tale. But there is one thing which I have yet to attempt—one thing over which I have fretted for the better part of two years. Now the time has come for me to do what it is I have neglected for so long.

It’s time I started writing again….

Bet you didn’t see that coming. I’m sure you’re wondering why a writer wouldn’t be writing. Unfortunately there is no simple answer to that question. We writers are a screwy bunch. Me, especially. You can argue that I’ve written this blog. Doesn’t that count? Technically, yes, but I would say no. A blog is more or less a passing thought someone wishes to express through writing in a brief article. It’s light-years apart from world building and breathing life into fictional characters.

Let’s get back to the original question. The best way to explain would be for me to return to the root of the problem: me. I’m a professional procrastinator with a grand fear of failing in the world of writing. I expect too much of myself and get easily distracted by finances and my day job. I spend WAY too much time promoting online, and not enough creating our world and its characters. I’m also a bit of a pessimist and am often overwhelmed by my wife’s uncanny ability to write. I could go on, but I don’t want to cry…just kidding.

Black Earth, the new trilogy we’ve been writing since 2006, is only thirty-four pages long to date. I’m not kidding. Thirty-four pages! Now it hasn’t taken us four years to write those few pages, but it sure feels that way. In all honesty, Black Earth was nearly completed about half a year ago. That was before we decided to start from scratch and rewrite the entire thing. That’s 1,000 pages down the drain in the blink of an eye. This is nothing new for anyone who writes, and most authors know that any book worth its weight in gold will go through many edits and rewrites. The problem is we didn’t think our first draft would end up in the trash bin. Editing is one thing, but wiped clean? It had to be done for the sake of quality.

Starting Black Earth from scratch was only one reason my writing hit a snag. I was already floundering for some time at that point. I’m a married co-author, and as much as I enjoy creating with Stef, I will admit that our different approaches to writing can cause problems, especially when one of us is more interested in the book than the other. Originally, Black Earth was never meant to be a book, let alone a trilogy. It was a short story idea Stef had years ago. She told it to me one day, and I saw the great its potential. We redirected our energy toward Black Earth. Little did I know how my life would change once we embarked upon this newest journey.

Almost from the outset I struggled with the characters and the plot. I loved the new direction we were taking, but I found myself somewhat disinterested in writing it. Most of the plot, subplots, and characters were Stef’s creations. It felt like her book, and the more I tried to fit my style and ideas into the story, the more uncomfortable I felt. Regardless, I’ll be the first to say that the first draft of the trilogy was some of the most provocative and intriguing writing we’ve ever done, but it wasn’t quite right. Even before we made the decision to rewrite, I had subconsciously limited my role to less than twenty percent. It was a dark time of endless self-doubt for me, and I’m still trapped in a bit of a fog.

But I’m a writer, dammit! A writer writes, and I am not about to give up. I love my wife, I love Secramore, and I love creating. So even with all of my pitfalls, I continue to climb out and force myself to be involved. It’s been hard, but I need to do this. Writing is very important to me, and I want our story to work.

So how will I do this? Things aren’t entirely fixed yet. My “recovery” is a work-in-progress. To return to form, I have to inspire my interest in Black Earth again. I have to make her story our story. I have to start this next chapter of my life. I have to write. In fact, I think that’s what I’m gonna do right now!

-Matt

Gray Thursday

2010-12-05T11:42:00.001-05:00

Ah, the day before Black Friday—that wonderful time of year where friends and families congregate and give thanks. There’s laughter, plenty of hugs (and kisses, blech!), friendly discussion (and the occasional argument), and a smorgasbord of food. It’s a day for people to put aside their daily lives and remember what is important: football… Just kidding. As we all know, this holiday is known as: ??? Um, I just forgot its name. Sorry, these store ads are distracting me.

Thanksgiving! That’s it!

All joking aside, I’m sure that no one has forgotten the holiday’s name…yet. It’s meaning, however, seems to be vanishing. Thanksgiving is defined as follows: A harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. While there was an underlying religious element in the original celebration, Thanksgiving today is primarily identified as a secular holiday. While earlier fests are known to have taken place "Thanksgiving" as it is known and celebrated today derives from a joint celebration between the Pilgrim settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts and members of the Patuxet tribe of the Wampanoag Native Americans in 1621. (Wikipedia)

Wait a minute! Where’s the part about camping outside a Best Buy for three days to buy a new 50 inch flatscreen LED television for $1,000 dollars off the original price? Why not splurge a little—after all we deserve it! I’m not talking about gifts—I’m talking about self-indulgence. Let’s have store employees cut short their holiday so shoppers can get the jump on the holiday sales. It’s all about the competition.

Before anyone decides to crucify me for speaking my opinion, know that I understand the need to pounce upon a great deal when one is presented. I, too, love to shower myself with gifts after a week of grueling work. I am also aware that there are those who have no families to visit and they would rather gather with people waiting in a line. I especially understand the need for some people to pick up the double-time hours their jobs dole out on the holidays. Times are tough, jobs are scarce, and money is the tightest it’s ever been.

That said, how far are we willing to go before we completely lose sight of what is important at the holidays? How long before the police, firemen, paramedics, and doctors (and movie theaters) aren’t the only one working twenty-four hour shifts on Thanksgiving? Already stores are opening on a day when no one EVER thought stores would be open. We’re losing everything that is sacred to us. When will the holiday be forgotten, and simply be known the day before the economy finds itself “In the Black”?

Think on this as you gather with loved ones to feast rather than plotting your next Black Friday dash. There’s a reason Thanksgiving is observed. As for me, I’m thankful everyday for my beloved wife Stefanie, my family and friends, my job, my home, the sixteen guinea pigs who share our home, and the opportunity to celebrate holidays. Without any of these, Thanksgiving would be just another Gray Thursday.

-Matt

Evolution or Extinction?

2010-11-28T10:30:00.001-05:00

Now that I’ve passed a major decade-mark in my life, I find myself using the expression, “back in the day…”. Those who are older than me laugh—sometimes scoff—but those who are my age share in a knowing smile just before we embark upon a rant about how things used to be. I imagine everyone goes through this at some point when they reflect upon the differences between “then” and “now.”

I consider my exposure to “then” and “now” moments a more frequent occurrence than many of my friends. I work with kids a lot. At the Metroparks, we face the growing problem of N.D.D. (Nature Deficit Disorder)—a different can of worms related to my topic. Kids who are not exposed to the outdoors suffer a range of “symptoms” from depression to obesity. At my community center, the appearance of portable video game systems literally sucked away the attention of the kids, and when game systems were taken away, the resulting fits were astounding, if not downright disturbing.

All right, now let me have my “then” moment. As a kid, I had the spectrum of indoor/outdoor activities. Outdoors, I played in the creek, caught butterflies, climbed trees, raced through fields, and made dandelion stew. Indoors, I drew pictures, listened to my radio, wrote stories (ha—you didn’t see that coming, did you?), and read books (another shocker). Yeah, there was some T.V. in there, and I do remember my very first Nintendo game system in the late 1980s. There was a balance, though, between active and sedentary, indoors and outdoors.

What has changed drastically between the “then” and the “now” is technology. No big secret there. In an effort to promote convenience and entertainment, we have developed a gambit of gadgets and diversions in the electronic fashion. You can do virtually anything with your phone, find anything on your computer, and spend hours on your better-than-life video game. You can even read a digital copy of your favorite novel on a portable reader device.

Now I don’t want to knock convenience. And any device that promotes literacy is great, but does anyone else think something is missing? I’ve tried to justify to my tech-savvy husband why I’m so bothered by portable readers. In the end, I think it’s because like everything else, they contribute to an absence of experience. (Just my opinion. Argue away, but at least hear me out).

We live in a virtual, digital world. Texting, Facebook, and other electronic means of communication seem to open doors to social avenues. I think they close just as many. When was the last time you had a REAL phone conversation—one where you talked for hours to an old friend? When was the last time you hand-wrote a letter that required a postage stamp? How about nestling down with your favorite paperback novel? Note, all these activities take time, and convenience doesn’t necessarily factor in here.

When you take the time to engage in an activity, you experience it in the fullest. When you write a letter, you need to practice good grammar. You pick your favorite pen, select some stationary. You scratch out your mistakes and try to make your cursive legible (they do still teach cursive in school, right?). All part of the experience.

Same idea with books. Pick up an old book, and you smell the yellowed paper, feel the texture between your fingers. You find the Kool-aid stains where you knocked over your glass. When your bookmark accidentally falls out, you utter some choice words before you hunt for the right page. And my favorite is flipping back to read an exciting scene at least three or four times just because it struck you in such a way.

Books are fading away. I like to think they will never be obsolete, but the truth is, we have sold more Kindle copies of Raven’s Heart by a hundred fold compared to the physical book. Publishing companies are in deep trouble. Book stores are vanishing. I used to have my choice of competing chains—at least three or four in a half-hour drive. Now I have to travel to find one. They have all closed down. Even libraries have had to adapt to become media centers (which isn’t necessarily bad, but it is a sign of change).

From an author’s vantage, I wonder how the art will survive. It was tough to be a novelist “back then”, but now when you sell a copy for $2.99 on Kindle, how do you make a living? Better keep that day job (or day jobs, as in my case). You can pay to publish your book, but again, the art form suffers from writers who do not bother to have their works edited, do not bother with grammar, and do not go the length to present a masterful creation. The bad books speak just as loudly as the good ones.

Before I digress too far in my rant, I will close with a rhetorical question. Leaving “then” behind, and looking at “now” or even “soon”, are books evolving to become a new experience in our lives, or is it an extinction of an experience and a pastime that will be remembered only by old-timers like me? I hope that like day-glo socks, G.I. Joe®, and Unchained Melody, books will return one day to be just as popular as back in the day.

-Stefanie

In The Beginning...

2010-11-14T10:15:00.001-05:00

I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a late bloomer. When it comes to reading and writing fantasy, I wasn’t doing either until after high school. Sure I wrote plenty of crappy short stories and played tons of fantasy video games, but as for actually creating an entire world and characters, the thought never crossed my mind. By the end of high school, I was certain that I would go into computer graphics, i.e. Disney. The mid nineties produced some of the finest animated films: Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, to name a few. I wanted to be a part of that. Then I got to college….

You might infer from the ellipses that college brought about a change in my life. I learned quickly that if you want to be an animator for Disney, you have to be a go-getter and something of a phenomenon. I forgot to mention that you need to go to an actual art school. I dabbled in computer graphics, but I didn’t have access to any cutting-edge animation tools/programs. I was passionate about art, but I never took it seriously enough to decide how I wanted to employ my skill. This all led to my departure from an art-related career.

As many of you might already know, I met Stef in college. No, she wasn’t the reason I became a fantasy author. We both enjoyed writing, but the thought of writing together never occurred to us. I have a T.V. salesman at the now-defunct Sun Television and Appliances to thank for my journey into the world of fantasy. Sadly I don’t remember his name, but I do remember what he was reading at the time: Stone of Tears, book 2 of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. It was in tatters, and was quite possibly the thickest book I had ever seen: 982 pages. Despite its condition, something about the summary on the back of the book caught my attention. I had always been fascinated by fantasy and the giant books within the genre, but I wasn’t fond of reading.

At this point in my life, I was elated to have made it through all six novelettes of Stephen King’s Green Mile. Those were the first books I ever bought, because they were each about one hundred pages in length. I knew I could stomach the length. The first eighteen years of my life were spent NOT reading books. Somewhere in my upbringing I had decided that words on paper were evil. Don’t know why that is, because I grew up watching my dad read countless science fiction novels. Despite my reservations about purchasing a novel that could easily double as a brick, I took a chance and picked up my first epic fantasy.

Wizard’s First Rule. Anyone who reads fantasy has heard of this book. Love it or hate it—and there are those who do—this book changed my life forever. It was better than any video game I’d conquered, more enjoyable than drawing fictional comic book characters, and most definitely better than reading Herman Melville’s Billy Budd. I was transported to Terry Goodkind’s fantasy world, and I LOVED it! I couldn’t read the subsequent titles fast enough—there were only four published at the time—and I couldn’t wait to write my first attempt in the genre.

Like most newbie fantasy authors, my first story, Rise of the Dragonknight, was complete and utter dreck. I didn’t know it at the time; I was too busy writing and planning the sequels. Eventually I gave up on my “masterpiece” and started another one. I can still hear Tolkien rolling over in his grave when I think about my untitled schlock-fest. It wasn’t until Stef wrote me an e-mail from college that I truly began to understand what was missing from my writing. HER!

Fast forward about ten years, and we come to the present. While “Verish” might not yet be the prominent name in fantasy I had hoped it to be, my wife and I continue to plug away at the laptop and build our own world for future readers. Many things have changed since those humble beginnings, but my dedication to the art has remained consistent. Writing is my passion, and I’m glad to be living in a fantasy world.

-Matt

The Season of the Witch

2010-11-06T09:02:00.001-04:00

Halloween. A liminal time where the boundaries between our reality and the world of the spirits dissolves into the unknown. A time when the dead walk amongst us, and darkness presides in the coming of winter. This is a dangerous time. A time for ghosts, demons, witches, and other maligned creatures.

We love to be scared, and we love mystery. It’s fun to believe in the darker side of our reality, because that sense of danger excites us. There was a time, however, when such frivolities were the foundation of religion. Remnants of old Pagan beliefs can still be weeded through trick-or-treating, horror films, and the donning of costumes to disguise ourselves.

Ever-popular is the witch. She has been acknowledged through every era of history, from the Ancient Greeks to the Middle Ages, from the colonization of America to present day. She has taken many forms: the frightful but knowledgeable old crone to the benevolent and beautiful, and even the sexy sadistic sort. In every instance, however, she is reputed to have powers beyond what mortal men and women can fathom. That makes her mysterious, maybe a little dangerous, and practically semi-divine. Certainly she is not like us, and that opens the possibility for an interesting character.

At this point in our latest novel, I am writing in the setting of Mystland, a territory where witches and wizards live in exclusivity. In a land where magic-users (we call them “medori”) are common folk, how does one distinguish a particular witch? Dark or “black” magic has been outlawed in Mystland, but those who practice it can be culled no more than the drug-dealers from our own society.

So here we have the beginnings of our character. She will be a foremost expert in dark magic, but because she is so knowledgeable, the Mystland government makes use of her—overlooks her illegal practice to remain “in the know” of other such activities. But she is like a venomous pet snake: a healthy and warranted fear exists between her and her correspondents. Keep your distance, and you won’t be bitten. Another key trait: she is enshrouded in mystery. No one knows of what she is capable, how powerful she truly is, the truth behind her seemingly ageless face. Anything or anyone old or ancient has secrets long forgotten.

I want to experiment with this witch and give her inhuman qualities. Her corporeal form is nothing impressive or unusual, but the little things hint that she is more than a woman. A deadness in the eyes, a smell of lifeless flesh that remains animated by its wearer only because she takes the pains to keep her worldly façade. She is a monster in disguise. Can the other characters sense it? And if they can, will they listen to the screaming of their instincts, or will they be tempted by the power and knowledge she offers to them? You know those gifts don’t come without a hefty price. What will she ask of them?

She has to be creepy, to be sure, but everything I’ve listed thus far is nothing new in the realm of witches. How will she be unique? First, I intend to make her two people, not one. A mother and a daughter. I envision them living in a labyrinth of an ancient temple in the midst of a desolate and rotting forest where even the shadows are threatening. I think of the temple of Medusa in the original Clash of the Titans. These witches won’t be ugly or beautiful, but their nondescript appearance will hint at the evil you do not see upon superficial inspection.

How will I do all this—make my witches and the setting eerie and frightening? I have no idea. I’m not a master of horror; I can’t even watch those movies or read those books. I will draw on the elements that frighten us all: the dark, the unknown, the unlikely. A little poetic description goes a long way. Most of all, I hope to use the main characters as an extension of the reader. Feel their tension, their unease; know their thoughts, and witness their reactions. Seems like a rather grand undertaking, but I’m ready for it. ‘Tis the season for supernatural mayhem, and just about every classic fantasy is graced with a memorable witch.

-Stefanie

Life... It Happens

2010-10-16T12:09:00.001-04:00

I marvel at those who can summon the energy to work a full-time job, promote their book nearly every weekend, participate in multiple online forums, read, write, and take care of everything else that life throws at them without dropping dead from a heart attack. They truly are special people—a rare breed. Together, Stef and I can barely manage all of the above mentioned without falling into deep despair. Sure, everyone is different and everything is relative, but we wish we could sip from the same fountain as those super authors.

Alas, there is no such fountain, and we are well aware that we will not be garnering any sympathies from anyone. We gave up long ago trying to get people to understand our lot in life. Truth is, we chose this lifestyle and people probably expect us to suck it up and just deal. For the most part, they are right. However, if you are one of those people telling us to cope, then don’t expect the next entry of our series to be published by next year. We’re busy!

When I say that we’re busy, I mean it. If we’re not working six days a week, we’re visiting our families, running errands, promoting Raven’s Heart, writing blogs, and lamenting a deficit in time to create. Writers are supposed to write every day. That’s EVERY DAY. With our schedules, we’re fortunate enough to write twice a week, two hours a sitting. That’s not very productive, and sadly, that’s why we’ve been depressed.

Our new series, Black Earth, has been idle for many, many months. People expect we will have the first book of the trilogy published by next year. They’re wrong. Dead wrong. In the event of republishing Raven’s Heart, we realized that our abilities as writers had grown since writing the first draft of the Black Earth. Truth-be-told, we were nearly finished with the new series. Having reviewed it, we decided that it had to be rewritten…from the ground up. That’s about 1,100 pages up in smoke. Four years gone in an instant. Were we depressed? YES! But we knew it had to be done for the betterment of the series. Accepting a satisfactory draft is not our style. We want our writing to be the best it can possibly be.

With that being said, we found ourselves faced with a gargantuan task in the midst of a very difficult time in our lives. Debt. Nuff said. How do we focus our creative energies on something so monumental when most of our efforts go toward paying the bills? I wish I had the answer, but we are coping. Slowly, but surely, we are learning to scrounge time, ignore the world, and write. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves during this trying time, that we can persevere no matter the trial. That’s reassuring. I learned that I need my wife now more than ever, and I’m awed that she’s willing to love and take care of me. Without her I’m nothing. I can’t say that about her. She’s always been strong.

I know, I know. Shut up, and get busy writing. We are, dammit! How about you so-called fans read our book and write us a review on amazon.com? You know that a little reciprocation can do wonders for an author’s fragile ego. Just kidding…kinda.

Sorry. That’s the stress talking.

-Matt

War: What is it Good For?

2010-09-22T20:59:00.001-04:00

I’ll tell you what it’s good for: boring your audience. I put down another book today, and it saddened me. I had started taking an interest in the plot because the approach was unique. Once I was intrigued by the initial main characters, the plot took another turn.

New characters were gathering in the face of war against a dark force. I shuddered in remembrance of Tolkien’s epic battle at Helm’s Deep. What he did was well done, to be certain, but it seems I relive that battle over and over again in so many fantasy books. Unless done right, engaging war in book is a bad idea. I’ll tell you why it disengaged me. This may sound something like a rant, so I apologize...but not really.

1. Cliches. My eyes bleed upon the description of bright armor, colorful surcoats, and unrestrained bravado from flat characters. I don’t need a paragraph-long description of what these people are wearing if they’ll be dead in a page or two. What’s more, if these characters are fodder, I will not come to care about them in the next few pages as they are slaughtered. Oh, and the typical war-lingo will cause me to roll my bleeding eyes. The same old lines, the same old tactics...why should I waste my time?

2. Too Many People. Again, I have no reason to care for the victims of war. Unless I’ve been following a few specific characters for a length of the book, I have no reason to care about reinforcements coming, the fall of the flag, or the bloody stains upon the weaponry. I have yet to find war engaging because it is on such a grand scale. I can read about the most horrific death to befall someone on the battlefield, and all I gain is another yawn. Solution: follow a few specific characters, and get into their heads. Be realistic with their emotions, if they’re scared, how they view the battlefield. Connect the reader by making it personal and taking a perspective.

3. No Purpose to the Action. People die in war, and unless there is a new and interesting way to portray this, I see no point in describing your typical battlefield. I swear, there must be some unwritten code writers feel they must follow: if you have war in your book, you must describe all action that takes place. Why? Because if you don’t, I won’t understand that there’s fighting going on? Again, keep me with those main characters and give me their struggles—even if they’re not in the heat of the battle. Every scene should have a purpose, and every scene should be significant. If I can’t tell you why the scene was important, it doesn’t need to be there.

I know I’m a picky reader, but there are elements in a book that really rub me the wrong way. (That was a clichéd expression, by the way). War is one of those elements. It’s right up there with book covers portraying the hero beefed up on steroids, half-naked, tangling with some fearsome beast of fantastical origin. But that’s another rant for another day.

-Stefanie

Selling Your Soul...Digitally

2010-09-14T17:00:00.001-04:00

Raven’s Heart: A Tale from the World of Secramore has finally become a reality. I’ll spare you all the grueling—horrific is a better word—details surrounding its inception. Stef already went down that path and saved me the trouble. Are we excited to have our republished work? You bet! This single volume novel is what we had originally intended—a true vision, if you will. Unfortunately, staring at boxes of our beloved book quickly loses its luster, and they do us little good sitting against a wall, unread. Time for phase two in the writing world: promotion.

Rather, I will discuss one portion of promotion since my wife has gone ahead and written a similar blog on that as well. (Narrows eyes in her direction.) Online promotion—love it or hate it—is the future for us independent authors. Sure we have to “get out there” and sell to the public in person, but there is a whole other world to explore, a vast, pixilated plane known as “cyberspace.” The internet is a fantastic tool, as we—mostly me—are learning, and it has great potential for those of us trying to break into the writing world. Here’s a list of some the ways we promote:

• Website: a fantastic way for potential readers to reach and learn about our world.
• eBooks: Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and Sony E-reader are the way of the future, like it or not.
• Online forums: KindleBoards is a great place to meet other indie authors and promote.
• Facebook/Twitter/Myspace: Social outlets, as well as other ways to promote.

There are other avenues, but they would fall under these four categories. I’ve listed the main ones we frequent. Every Day! Yes, the life of a struggling writer not only consists of working a day job or two or three, a social life—when we’re lucky enough to locate a couple free hours—writing, of course, but also spending countless hours promoting online. And that’s after we created the digital version of our book ourselves—again, mostly me. Notice I left out sleep, but who’s got time for that?

Most of this online promotion has progressed over time since all of it had to be discovered, learned, or suggested to us by people we’ve met in writing forums. All of these tools have come in handy, and we’ve learned a lot, but there is a dark side. When promoting—this includes online and offline—begins to cut into our lives and writing time, we begin to wonder if there is such a thing as too much advertising. We’re definitely committed to doing all that we can to bring our work into the world, but at what cost? We aren’t full-time authors, but we have to pretend that we are in order to be noticed. How do we juggle two lives?

The answer? Suck it up! We authors are so hard on ourselves.

Seriously, despite the fact that all of our days speed by, our energy wanes, we struggle to devote ourselves entirely to our writing, and deadlines are always looming, we must persevere. We must if we are to be taken seriously. Thank goodness I have a writing partner on which to lay my weary head. I don’t know how solo authors do it.

Anyway! Sorry about that metal detour. No one ever told us that being an indie author would be a breeze. Thankfully there is a world of people—most of whom we’ve never met—just like us who are only too willing to help our cause. We try to return the favor as often as we can. I’ll leave this on a positive note. I look at online promotion like this: if we hadn’t explored the digital universe, we never would have made so many friends, learned so many ways to promote our work, gone to GenCon, and created an ebook. Oh, and BTW: 31 copies sold so far!

-Matt

GenCon 2010: Matt's Story

2010-08-15T12:21:00.005-04:00

Round 2 of GenCon is over and done with, and the most interesting fact behind our visit back to Indianapolis was not that Margaret Weis took our business card, but that our experience was completely unique from our first trip. We pitched our hearts out and endured the emotional ups and downs of sitting eight long hours every day for four days. We nearly matched last year’s sales—which is either good or bad depending how one looks at it—and we ate Mile-High Pie at Champps. Twice! But there was a different air about this convention, and as a result, our view of the publishing world may be forever changed.

Stef and I aren’t salesmen. We hate selling ourselves no matter the reason. We’re writers, and we love to express ourselves creatively through the use of words and art. We understand that the marketing aspect of writing is a necessary evil, but we don’t have to like it. We’re getting better at promoting, but we’re still a ways from Billy Mays status. And in all honesty, we never want to get that good. As we approached the convention floor to perfect our pitch, it became clear to us that we were going to have some stiff competition. We were surrounded by authors who were seasoned pitchmen, the type who push their product upon any all and who come within ten feet of their selling space…even us! While they have every right to promote, we questioned their tactics…tactics that worked! When we hear things like: “I guarantee you will like my book,” or “Look at all the awards my book has won,” we raise our eyebrows. Since when could an author guarantee that a complete stranger will like his work?

Odd as it was to hear such phrases being spoken around us, we were further perplexed by those who flocked to their tables. The display of ego was amazing but entertaining all the same. Stef and I didn’t think people bought into such over-the-top hype. We were wrong. I hope to explore this area of marketing in a future blog. I could easily go on, but it might result in a rant.

As for us, I’ll be the first to admit that we had some deflating moments, especially when nearly everyone around us was selling five books to our one. We went to GenCon during a MAJOR financial crunch and an absurd lack of sleep. Not an excuse, we know, but it was a reason for our early lack of enthusiasm. Potential readers want a book that the unknown authors are excited about. Excitement sells books, but a carefully strategized pitch will do wonders. With masters like C.S. Marks nearby, we drew inspiration from watching her and were able to rise above our self doubt and create a brand new pitch we are proud of. (Don’t worry, Joe. We didn’t forget you. Without your friendship and technical expertise, we would not be where we are today.)

That leads me to my next topic: friends. Boy were we glad to have some people to lean on this year. With the lack of sales, the questionable guerilla pitch tactics flying like bullets, the air conditioning cranked a bit too high, and a the long days confined indoors (we’re outdoors people, folks), having other authors on our side really helped keep our spirits from plummeting into self-promotional despair. Last year we arranged to split a room with another author to cut costs. Stef and I are extremely private people, but saving money is much more important than staying in a separate room and collecting a $1,000 bill! It was probably the best decision we could have made. As a result, our friendships grew stronger, and we learned a heck of a lot about where we stand in the writing world.

Overall, GenCon 2010 was a moderate success. Will we go back next year? I ain’t answerin’! There are too many factors to be considered. Rest assured we will continue to write and promote whenever we have the opportunity to do so. It just might be less frequently and on a diminutive budget. Thank goodness there’s the internet and the infinite possibilities of eBooks.

-Matt

GenCon 2010: Stef's Story

2010-08-15T12:17:00.005-04:00

“I’m going out of town,” I said.

“You’re going on vacation?”

“No,” I stated flatly. “It’s NOT a vacation.” I knew what was ahead of me. My “vacation” would be nearly four, 8-hour days of sitting behind a table in an overly air-conditioned convention center beneath the unflattering glow of fluorescent lights. This was going to be work. Hard work.

A salesman is not who I am. Not remotely. I’m a hideaway kind of introvert who likes to blast rock & roll while I draw, paint, or write. I’m shy at heart, though I can force myself to push past this. But four days of being a pitch-hurling, charismatic, attention-grabber…am I insane?

I knew why I was going. I was going to GenCon because I love and support my partner—my husband—and because I believe in our book. What we wrote is worthy of sharing and selling, and sharing is the final step in the role of an author.

Now, I don’t mean to say we didn’t have fun. We had great friends (and peers) who looked out for us and made the whole experience worthwhile. And I don’t mean to say that we didn’t enjoy talking with the GenCon attendees who were interested in hearing our tale. And I don’t mean to say it isn’t cool to feel like and be acknowledged as a REAL author.

What’s hard is pushing yourself to do something that doesn’t come naturally: marketing. Marketing something that is truly a piece of your heart and soul. You’re literally handing someone a glimpse into your imagination and asking, “Well, what do you think? Is it worthy of your time and money?”

What if your audience says no? What if they rudely turn and walk away? Or what if they stay to listen to your pitch out of mere courtesy, but you detect their lack of interest? It’s hard to develop a thick skin, and it’s often hard to keep morale high when you’re feeling overlooked or rejected. You have to look for the good, and you have to keep faith. It’s not as bad as it seems. There are those who want to read your book, and there are those who will even enjoy it.

What’s more, GenCon is full of happy people doing exactly what Matt and I do in our writing: escape. Escaping real life for a few days to indulge in fantasies, games, and diversions…and why not? These are “our people,” people who share that common drive to “get away from it all” every now and then.

So, yes, I’m sad I didn’t get a REAL vacation. It’s back to work, to reality, and to daily routine. But I’m happy I was a part of GenCon 2010, because I grew from the experience. For all those who took a chance on a pair of co-authors and their epic fantasy novel, I give you a heartfelt thank you. I also hope you will enjoy your escape to the world of Secramore. A mental vacation can be just as good as a real one.

-Stefanie

Larger Than Life

2010-07-16T18:21:00.004-04:00

We now possess the updated, illustrated, way-it-was-always-meant-to-be copy of Raven’s Heart. Yes, just one book. Something we can fully stand behind and say with pride that we created. Let me sit back and give a blissful sigh.

(One moment later…) Another sigh—this one, not as blissful. I thought writing was tough, editing was hard work, and illustrating was massively time-consuming. Those were just the initial stages of the process. Once AuthorHouse took our manuscript into their hands, we had a small break. In preparation of GenCon in August, I know there are two steps yet to go.

The first step is always on my mind, as part of this task is standing in our living room. Ah, marketing. I revel in what we have already done in terms of promotional material. Matt has already packed the suitcase with our new bookmarks, signage, and business cards. Our good friend Joe and I have been on task creating such eye-dazzling trinkets for people to slip inside their books or bags while they shop at the convention—all in hope that someone might return to our table and buy a copy of Raven’s Heart. We even have white chocolate candy hearts, wrapped in purple foil. A promotional stretch? Maybe, but people like chocolate—especially free chocolate. Oh, and I can’t forget the temporary tattoos of our raven logo!

Hand-outs are one game piece. Visuals are another. This year, Matt declared that we will not have a table loaded with all manner of digital photo frames, luminaries, glowing salt crystals, etc. I agreed we needed to simplify, but then, how will we attract attention? Two shy authors who look like high school students, sitting behind a table loaded with books…well, who would give them the time of day? We refuse to stand on the table and shout at people (yes, one gentleman actually did this at the convention last year). We will not pull out a guitar and sing for you. Nor will we juggle, dance, light things on fire, or throw our candy hearts.

This year we will return with our giant map of Secramore and our poster of the book cover. Maps are amazingly charismatic, and they do attract a particular crowd. We think the book cover is striking enough to catch the eyes of roving gamers, and honestly, ravens are just freakin’ cool. But this year we needed something new and different.

So exactly what is standing in our living room? Arcturus. Or, the beginnings of him, anyway. A life-sized cut-out painted to detail to match our lead character. Tell me a red-skinned, white-haired guy with a staff won’t attract attention! He is destined to be our photo opportunity as well as our message board. Arcturus won’t let us down. After all, he’s a politician, and he knows how to grab an audience. He’s larger than life—or at least, life-sized.

Now if I can just get motivated to pick up the paintbrush….

(PS, I mentioned there are two steps to go. The other will be physically sitting at that convention table for four days, eight hours each day. Sigh.)

-Stefanie

Insane Elves are so Frustrating

2010-06-19T17:09:00.001-04:00

I’m hoping that the title of this blog caught your attention. If it did, then great! You’re in luck, for I am indeed going to be discussing insane elves…well, elf to be accurate. One lunatic immortal is bad enough. Just how does an elf lose his mind, you ask? Very carefully. Why is said insane elf so frustrating? Ah, now that’s an excellent question! Allow me to elaborate.

He’s too complicated.

All right, so I didn’t elaborate as much as you’d hoped. To be honest, his being too complicated truly does explain everything, but I will try my best to give an in-depth explanation anyway. Say you have an idea for a really interesting character; your characters’ name is Jack, and he’s immortal. Not just any immortal, but one of the fair race: an elf. Jack is also witty and super-brilliant,—the equivalent of Doctor Who’s “The Doctor”—and he is also a prince who is easily bored. Perhaps Jack is also a telepath able to read people’s minds. You decide that Jack gets abducted by some bad people and is taken to a place where they exploit and tortured him at the expense of the lives of innocents. One day—many years later—he is freed by a dark stranger and returned to the world he once knew.

My question is: How does Jack carry on from this point forward?

Stef and I have been pondering through this question for four years. FOUR YEARS! There are a million different answers to this question, and we’ve yet to feel comfortable with a single solution. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that our elf is insane, but not too insane, because he—like his people—has an uncanny ability to heal most every wound, whether it be mental or physical. Or perhaps it’s because our elf’s scarred mind is not immediately noticeable. And maybe it’s because he hears voices, but his ability helps to muffle them. What I’m trying to say is that we’ve made an immortal—with a serious lack of humanity and emotion—partially insane. How do you work with him?

What I’m not saying is that we are not up to the challenge. Quite the contrary, we embrace a challenge. Unfortunately we embraced the near-impossible. Does our elf go on with his life despite his slight mental handicap? Does he turn his back on his people because he believes he is reborn? Or does he continue to slip further into insanity and lean toward becoming a villain? These are all possibilities, but there remains one giant problem: how do you give personality to a disturbed person with a gross lack of emotion?

Sadly, Our first attempt at writing our immortal loon floundered. His character was uninteresting, a bit unbelievable, and altogether unfinished. He was funny and clever at times, but he ultimately seemed incomplete, and that led him down the dreaded path of boring.

In all fairness, Stef and I hope that our troubled elf doesn’t come across as dull. All of our scheming and discussions about how to make him interesting would have been for naught. Fortunately we are in the process of beginning the rewrite of our newest novel and are excited by the process of starting over and making it better than before. We just hope that we don’t end up losing our minds along the way, for then you may catch of real glimpse of what insanity is like.

-Matt

Self-Publishing Companies: Out of Service

2010-06-19T17:06:00.004-04:00

On April 27th, 2010 we officially embarked upon our publishing journey with AuthorHouse. Black and white, we electronically filled out our initial submission forms. You’d think we’d be excited. Instead, we’re starting to wonder if history repeats itself. I won’t deny that we still have a bad taste in our mouths after our experience publishing through iUniverse. It’s one of those stains you can’t purge from your favorite shirt. We were ready to start things fresh with AuthorHouse—to get the job done right.

Ideally, this should be possible, but you might imagine our disbelief when we begin to encounter many of the same issues we had with iUniverse. The heart of the problem: customer service. We begin to wonder if self-publishing companies know the meaning of the term.

Without the tedious details, here are the shortcomings we’ve encountered even before submitting our basic information. This is a “how to” list for aggravating your customers:

1. Don’t return our phone calls. We have important, pressing questions about our submission, but really, we like wasting our breath and our time leaving messages that won’t be returned. Be it elevator music or silence, neither calms us while we wait minutes for someone to pick up. Don’t you work the hours you say you work? Why does no one ever pick up during normal business hours? Are you hiding?

2. Don’t return our e-mails. The convenience of modern technology allows communication even when the person is hiding from the phone. So what’s the excuse when weeks go by without a response? Apparently, spelling out our questions is a complication for those who literally make books.

3. Make promises and assurances without deadlines or delivery. If you promise a refund, and we check our account to see that a month later we still have not been refunded, why did you say the issue was taken care of? Do you lie to us and hope we don’t notice? Maybe you feel the more time that elapses, the more we’ll ignore the deadlines.

4. Delegate tasks back to your customers. We need questions answered. Your job title happens to describe you as our liaison between us and the company. When we ask you a question, why do you tell US to e-mail so-and-so? Why do we shoulder the burden of chasing your co-workers down? Why don’t you do your job?

5. Show your lack of competency. Make excuses for why you didn’t get back to us. Sound confused when we ask you about the submission process and file types. Best of all, get snippy. We’re the paying customer, and we love it when we know more about the process than you do—especially when you know it too, and you pitch an attitude.

So far, that’s five frustrations. I hope there aren’t more to come. I really want to be optimistic, but AuthorHouse has yet to prove that it exceeds iUniverse in performance. We’re paying a good sum of money for a service; I feel as though I have a right to be irritated by disappointing customer service.

While, admittedly, much of this blog has been a rant to vent some anger and frustration over a rocky start, it does serve another purpose. For all those other authors out there who are considering the selection of a self-publishing company, let the buyer beware! We’re not saying it’s not worth it, but you might have to fight a little to get what you want. Apparently the only way to do this is through attitude and persistence that borders annoyance. You have to be a pest and a pain; being kindly and patient doesn’t cut it. Make sure you get the company to do its job, and never forget that YOU are paying THEM.

As for our journey with AuthorHouse...well, we’ll let you know. Stay tuned!

-Stefanie

Adult Fantasy Is Not A Myth

2010-04-22T17:07:00.000-04:00

When Stef and I tell family, friends, and other potential readers that we write fantasy, we usually receive one of two responses: “You mean like Harry Potter?” or we just get “the stare.” You know, the kind of condescending ogling that indicates that grown adults—married, no less—should not be wasting their time creating a silly children’s tale. We still don’t know why people think we’re writing and drawing a massive comic book. There’s also the response of polite interest which usually degrades into the infamous stare after we open our traps and explain the World of Secramore.

Now to be fair, most people don’t wish to be inundated with the difference between mages and wizards, and why it is we made Arcturus’s skin red. (Note: it’s red because Matt said so. Period.) We’ve learned when to divulge our passion to people, but how do we explain that not all fantasy is for children and AD&D (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons) players? How do we make the average adult understand that it’s all right to pick up J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and let it sweep you away?

The answer is not as simple as one might think, and it stretches far outside the reach of the literary world. The movie industry, for example, has made the leap into fantasy, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Most of the time Hollywood gets the genre wrong. Really wrong! Not all fantasy classics—old and new—translate well to screen, if at all. Peter Jackson’s rendition of the Lord of the Rings is one of the few films to get it right, and that’s because of the director’s passion for the books…and New Line Cinema’s loose purse strings. J But for every good fantasy movie, ten forgettable or downright awful duds find their way to the big screen.

On the flipside, Harry Potter books managed to rake in readers of all ages. Surely J.K. Rowling’s magnificent story of a boy wizard made people open their minds to the world of fantasy, right? Nope. Why? Timing? Could it have been a passing fad? Maybe it’s because her books didn’t take themselves too serious. Or perhaps they were just so well written that they transcended the genre.

But there’s more out there than Rowling and Tolkien. Why hasn’t Patrick Rothfuss’s name snared the attention of millions? How come Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman aren’t household names? Why isn’t Raven’s Heart the New York Times’ #1 bestseller? Well, for starters, our 2nd edition has yet to see the light of day, so there’s still a chance. But as for everything else, I believe the genre carries with it a deep and irreversible stigma. Fantasy seems to be considered second rate literature. Its name is synonymous with role playing, gaming conventions, video games, geeks, and the escape of reality. All of this is true, but consider this quote from fantasy author Terry Brooks before making and judgments.

“People who view fantasy as second rate or childish are usually people who don't read or understand it. I like to tell them that good fantasy is social commentary combined with good storytelling - Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, the Oz stories and so many others. Sure, the stories take place in an imaginary world. But those worlds mirror our own and tell us things about ourselves that need to be said and understood. I also like to tell them how often other forms of literature use fantasy as the bedrock of their own stories. Fantasy transcends its own form in wider scope than any other type of writing.”

Adult fantasy exists, and there are those who read and write it. The genre’s roots are ancient; the Odyssey and Beowulf come to mind. Fantasy has evolved since those early times, but it’s just as valid a genre. The world needs to take a break from reality and plunge headfirst into the world of dragons, magic, uncharted lands, and most important, fine literature. A little escapism never hurt anyone.

-Matt

Grown-Ups Have No Imagination

2010-04-22T17:06:00.000-04:00

Matt recently wrote a blog about adults and the fantasy genre. This is my take on that subject. He has already illuminated the obstacle we face as authors: most adults don’t recognize fantasy as an adult genre. While I agree with some of the reasons he touched upon, I’d like to take the blog a step further and dispel—perhaps purposelessly—the notion of grown-ups having no imagination.

The roots of fantasy are deeply imbedded in myth and folklore. At one time, what we call mythology was accepted as both truth and religion by ancient cultures. The Ancient Greeks, for instance, believed that Apollo rode his sun chariot across the sky, marking the duration of the day. Of course, now, as a society, we’ve “matured” in that science has led us down the path of logic. A man riding a chariot across the sky with the sun in tote is ridiculous and can only be given any credit in metaphorical poetry. You wonder how it was those ancient people ever concocted such a notion.

You can compare the maturation of a society to the individual. As kids, we use our imaginations, play games of make-believe. We put faith in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus because our parents (who would never lie to us) said they exist. One rite of passage to adulthood is learning The Truth about these holiday heroes. As we get older, we can handle The Truth, and thus we learn that such fictitious characters are just for little kids. We’re too mature for that.

Peter Pan is the ultimate character to illustrate this point. He lives in an imaginary world and never grows up. Tell me that’s not a lesson to our children about maturation. Now I understand that our perceptions of reality and the world we live in will change as we get older. You can’t live in a world of make-believe all your life, or others will seriously doubt your sanity and ability to cope with life and its hardships.

The Truth that we refuse to see as adults is that grown-ups need imagination/fantasy time too. We all need to escape the real world from time to time, and there are different ways of doing so. Video games, T.V., movies, books…all these are creations from someone else’s mind—fictitious works that provide entertainment. You can’t honestly tell me that you’ve never indulged in these venues of entertainment; I won’t believe you if you do.

I think of authors like Matt and me who try to write adult fantasy fiction. What we’re doing is not so different from any other general fiction author. We create a world, characters, a plot, etc. The difference is the fantastical ideas we weave into it. Maybe that’s too radical for some adults to handle, but certainly fantastical ideas don’t make it a kids’ book. It’s not a fairy tale; it’s a novel with adult concepts enhanced by our imaginations.

In the end, what I’m trying to say is that fantasy is not just for kids. Adults still have an imagination locked upstairs somewhere, and the only difference is that they (unlike kids) rely on someone else to prompt the fantasy. Give me any movie, any T.V. show, and I’ll pick out the fantasy elements for you. Don’t be ashamed. There’s nothing childish about daydreaming or listening to someone’s story. It says there’s still hope for the Human mind, that we’re not all destined for a boring life of reality and unimaginative pastimes…like work, for instance.

So before you go and dismiss the adult fantasy fiction genre by saying, “Oh, I don’t read that.” Or, “Would that be good for my kids to read?” Give yourself permission to explore a part of your imagination you may have shoved in the toy box of your mind. You’re never too old to dream, and you just may enjoy it.

-Stefanie

Two for the Price of One

2010-03-06T13:24:00.000-05:00

When it comes to being particular, no one holds a candle to an author. We are a special breed of nitpickers, especially when it comes to our work. No matter how many times we rewrite our material, we’re rarely satisfied with the end product. It can always be edited a little better, tweaked a bit here, polished some there. But it can never be perfect. Why, you ask? If our book was perfect, then why write another? Perfection is a myth, though it is all right to strive for the best. Hence, our fastidious nature has led Stef and me to our most recent decision.

The Raven’s Heart duology (note: duology is not a real word.) will soon be a standalone novel. Yes, we are republishing, and it was no easy decision. In fact, it was sort of a happy expensive accident. We decided to republish some time ago, but it wasn’t until one of my manic, hypercritical escapes that I realized our newly-edited books could join together…as we originally intended. The story is now simply Raven’s Heart.

The first question we receive from people when we tell them of our republishing endeavor is: why? Why republish when people have already bought both novels? Why spend money you don’t have? (Okay, so I asked that one.) Why not publish something new? These are all valid questions to which we have one answer: because it’s the right thing to do.

When we first starting writing the Raven’s Heart tale in 2004, we never had any intention of releasing a two-part epic. Our lack of professional editing, lack of outside input, and iUniverse’s page-count restriction were mostly to blame. Oh, and we were completely naïve. I almost forgot about that one. So, instead of producing one completed fantasy novel, we gave the world half in 2006, the other half a year later. This is not to say that our original editions are terrible books—far from it. They are merely lacking the necessary touches the story deserves.

Fast forward a couple years, and we now have what we hope—because we’re never going to republish them again!—is the final edition. As I said before, it’s one stream-lined volume, much better edited, easier to read, embellished with Stef’s amazing artwork, redesigned inside and out, and just plain better. The price will be a much gentler pill to swallow as well. We’re excited, can’t you tell?

Getting to this point—and we’re still getting there—was not easy. Countless hours of work, arguments, money crises, family, friends, jobs, and life in general constantly attempt to derail us from our dream. There are some days we can combat it, others—thanks to the winter blues—where we just want to give up. Thankfully we have each other, and we persevere. Without our strong bond, we would…well, I don’t want to think about where we’d be.

In closing, let me just say that Stef and I can’t wait to unveil our new edition of Raven’s Heart to the world this Spring. When it comes out, we’ll finally be able to do what we love doing most: writing. We understand that some people might be turned off to purchasing another edition of a story they already have, and that’s fine. However, if you don’t buy it—here comes the guilt trip—you’ll be missing out on something special.

-Matt

Writer's Gray

2010-03-06T13:22:00.004-05:00

Winter in Cleveland is as much a state of mind as it is a physical season. I once thought it would be great to have an excuse to stay inside and write: cup of cocoa on the end table, heating pad behind your back, nothing but time to play with words and let your mind fill the page with the workings of your imagination. That’s how it should work.

In reality, the snow piles up outside, and if you don’t get your butt out there to shovel, you won’t be leaving the driveway to get to work. Yes, work. How else do you pay the bills? I’m lucky enough to have an occupation that challenges my mind daily. Otherwise, I’d go insane. But no matter if your job stimulates your mind or not, the component of your brain that composes your fantasy story is quite different. Mine is currently starving. After a full day of activity, it’s hard to sit down and devote time to your imagination. Most writers can relate; the situation is not uncommon.

What is unique (and I can say this, seeing as Cleveland was labeled one of the worst winter cities AND one of the most miserable cities) is the stale atmosphere of the world gone blue. No, not even blue. That shade of gray that stagnates there on the bottom of the stratus clouds—you know, the clouds that blanket the entire sky so that you can’t tell morning from afternoon. It’s a color that appears when you’ve hit too many potholes, suffered too many insurmountable bills, bickered too often with your best friend and partner. It’s the color of winter: a cold and lackluster season where life is absent or hidden.

Winter in the mind is parallel to the season. Your creativity is buried beneath a heavy, wet layer of “snow” (distractions). How to muster the effort to shovel it away? Easier to let it sit there until it hardens into ice (but then when it melts, it drips down into your basement and breeds black mold…oops…). Where did all the color go that stimulates your ideas? It seems just when you start to see the grass emerge, you’re hit with another storm.

There are many personal issues provoking the problem of mental winter and writer’s gray. I refuse to complain about them now, as that’s hardly a constructive pastime. (And who wants to read about all that anyway?) I do, however, want to share a challenge that I’ve never faced before: endless editing.

We have deadlines to meet, and the pressure is building. When each chapter is re-read for the tenth time, and each chapter takes at least an hour to refine, where is that promise of spring? There must be an end to mental winter. I thirst for new ideas, new discussions, and the long walks on a summer afternoon that spark fresh questions. I want to play with words again and trod upon paths not yet taken, but spring seems so far away.

In a city where it seems few people read books (all the bookstores around us have closed), and even fewer people read fantasy (NOT kids—they don’t count! I mean adult fantasy), who cares about our novel? The answer isn’t pleasant to look upon, but you have to be honest with yourself. Winter is winter, and no matter how warm you wish it was, you’ll still get hypothermia if you linger outside without a jacket (or several).

You have to create your own spring, or at least give yourself something to look forward to. The best answer I’ve found is to simply write for yourself. Do it because you love it, and if someone should discover you, then what a joy that will be! But until then, you have to keep that shovel handy. I’m trying not to let that snow pile too thickly, because I want to see those first flowers when they emerge. I don’t set high expectations that will leave me disappointed. All I ask is just a little sunshine, and it will do me wonders.

Anyway, I should be editing, not blogging. Come on, I had to create something new! It’s all in the mind….

-Stefanie

Speak for Yourself

2010-02-20T14:30:00.002-05:00

Speaking in front of a group doesn’t come easy for many of us. I was painfully shy for a long time, and though my career as a naturalist has helped me surmount some of my fears about public speaking, there will always be a part of me that wants to hide away. In the end, we are who we are.

Matt and I have spoken to small audiences about our books. We’ve found we enjoy sharing our passion with others. Do we get nervous? Certainly! Be it one person or thirty, the concept is the same: you’re putting a personal part of yourself before the public eye. We’ll be the first to admit that we’re not professional speakers or accomplished authors. We do our best to be presentable and friendly, because we believe in our mission. Our mission isn’t as much about self-promotion (heck, we do it for free!) as it is about encouragement. We dreamed of turning our story into a book, and through self-publishing, we did just that. You can check it out of the library or buy it on-line. It’s a real gosh-darn book! And you, yes you, can also turn your manuscript into a tangible novel. That’s our message. Persevere, and achieve your dreams!

Now, Matt and I are also on a mission of self-improvement. It’s an on-going mission that requires patience, an open-mind, and experience. We try to go and hear other authors speak, whether at conferences, at a bookstore, or in our library writers’ group. It’s a great opportunity to see how others represent themselves. Some are inspiring, and we fill our tablets with notes. Others are a marvel—in the opposite sense—and we fill our tablets with doodles, jokes, and commentary which we pass back and forth to one another.

We all recognize good speakers when we hear them. They engage us, keep our interest from beginning to end. They have a theme or a point they’re making, and they’re receptive to their audience. Their talk has a logical progression—whether formal or casual—and you can understand what they’re trying to relate. You walk away knowing your time was well-spent, and you may even feel inspired. That’s a good speaker!

Conversely and unfortunately, we’ve recently endured a not-so-good speaker. His ego was a direct road block in front of his audience. He could not see around it to realize that his listeners had stopped listening. What was his topic? I think it was self-promotion for his book. There’s nothing wrong with that if it’s done tactfully and in moderation. But when your introduction consists of listing the price of your novel—not once, but several times—you’ve immediately turned people off. Tell us why we should care before you decide to sell yourself.

The talk then droned to a near two-hour experience of torture. To leave—especially while on camera—would have been rude of us. I guess we’re just too polite. We were lost in muddle of abstract, psychological theory—coupled with painful blows by his ego. We had no idea what he was talking about or why, for there was no strand of coherency to be had. The conclusion we did reach was that he enjoyed hearing himself talk. When we finally had the chance to escape, we could not leave quickly enough. The car ride home was an explosion of emotion—mostly how insulted we felt by the author’s wasting of our time. We gained nothing new from the experience save a painful lesson of how NOT to present yourself.

That being said, we swear on the original copy of our novel that we are not purposely and malevolently trying to tear this author down. We do, however, strive to make a point. A first impression may be your only impression. What do you want your audience to walk away with? A copy of your novel and contented smile or a negative experience not soon to be forgotten? The decision is yours: you reflect your purpose.

-Stefanie

2010: An Indie Odyssey?

2010-01-24T14:18:00.001-05:00

Another decade has come and gone, and Y2K has yet to strike. That’s all right, because the Mayan calendar says we have Dec. 21st, 2012 to look forward to. And since we have a little over two years until the earth’s demise, Stef and I would like to make the most of our time. What better way to do that than spend more of our hard-earned money and republish our books?

2010 is upon us. A fresh decade. A new beginning…for us Indie authors. Independent publishing, self-publishing, or P.O.D.—whatever you want to call it—has been around for some time. Ever since its inception a stigma has been attached to self-publishing. The main problems are a lack of quality in the books, the inability for brick and mortar stores to return said “amateur” books, and the absence of a marketing team. These are valid reasons to judge books not published the traditional way. But that is the past, and things are changing for the better.

Traditional publishing is in the toilet, so to speak. Fewer and fewer new authors are being introduced into the mainstream these days, and the quality of books—that includes both story and grammar—is plummeting. Publishing houses are dwindling, meaning less of a chance for those already struggling to make it big. The Stephen Kings and Stephenie Meyers of the world have little to fear. Or do they?

Some of the reasons for the publishing world’s turmoil can be traced directly back to its competitor: self-publishing. Though if you want to get technical, it would only be fair to say that the Internet is the real reason for self-publishing’s recent climb toward respectability. Sure countless unedited, poorly-written “garbage” books still clog cyber space. Many self-publishing companies don’t know what the heck they’re doing. Still Indie authors are finding new avenues to reach prospective readers.

Anyone who is anyone knows what a Kindle, Nook, or Sony E-Reader is. Like it or not digital books, or E-readers, are the way of the future. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Sony are all seeing to it that paper becomes pixels, and most importantly, dollar signs. In this technologically-advanced “green age”, who can blame them? E-Readers can hold upwards of fifteen hundred books in a device no larger than a paperback. Struggling authors can tap into this resource as easily as self-publishing, and in most cases, converting books digitally is free!

But what about marketing? To be honest, it’s still up to the authors to pitch themselves. Stef and I know this first-hand. However, being chosen by a respectable publishing house does not equate to winning the lottery. Authors going the traditional route still have to promote themselves, and that’s after they acquire a surefire agent. Good luck finding one of those. Marketing is an uphill battle all authors must face.

Returnability. All Indie authors know this dreaded word. For the longest time the returnability of our books has been impossible, keeping us from promoting in most brick and mortar stores. That no longer is an obstacle for us…as long as we’re willing to open our wallets. Yes, it is expensive, and it’s also the reason why most people still continue to vie for traditional publication. But the option is there, and those of us who take self-publishing seriously and wish to make a career out of being an “Indie”—that’s us—and present our novel the way we truly intend it, then we will opt to take the financial loss and hope to turn a profit down the line.

Being an author is not about making money. It never has been—despite what some believe—and never will. We write because it’s our passion, and we want others to experience what we’ve created. With the advent of self-publishing, this is now possible. The number of authors—whether legitimate or not—has increased over the past ten years. Nearly every one of them has yet to make a profit. Has that stopped some of them? Sure, Stef and I have yet to break even, yet we press onward and will continue to do so until we are financial incapable or illness takes us. Let’s hope neither comes to pass, because we have many stories left to tell.

-Matt

Climbing to the Nirvana of Republishing

2010-01-24T14:11:00.002-05:00

An Unlikely Journey? Maybe it was…the first time ’round. Matt and I took an adventurous leap the first time we self-published the Raven’s Heart duology. Many lessons were learned, and one of the most important of these: It’s not worth doing if it’s not done right. We never really did anything wrong, but our virgin voyage into self-publishing was not a flawless one. This time, we jumped aboard AuthorHouse, and we hope this ship is smooth-sailing. Through friendships gained and through personal experiences, we embark with confidence!

Ok, maybe it’s not that simple. It’s difficult to explain to anyone why we feel the need to republish our first novels. Sometimes it’s difficult for us to understand why it must be done, but passion and instinct tell us this is the right direction. In some inexplicable desire to articulate this decision, we have compared the republishing process to seeking Nirvana—paradise.

Step 1: Humility
When we re-read our published books and realized how many errors there were (not entirely our fault!), our pride ended up beneath the squished piece of chewing gum on someone’s shoe. We were ashamed that we could let this substandard status happen to our novels AND that our readers should have to suffer it. It took some time for us to recover our confidence, but once we had….

Step 2: Faith
…We allowed the faith in our story to carry us forward. We wrote good books! We’re not being vain in saying our novels are good enough to be on the store shelf. You have to have faith in what you’ve written, or it’s not worth sharing. Heck, it’s not worth writing in the first place, let alone having it published or republished! Matt and I had to reach a mutual affirmation that our story was worthy of being told…a second time.

Step 3: Funding
This is not a state of mind but a physical state of financial feasibility. We are not rich. We scrape together what we can through our multiple jobs. To sink $2,000 into republishing our books is a huge expense. We prefer to think of it as an investment. Still, we may not have given ourselves the green flag to republish had AuthorHouse not offered an end-of-the-year 50% off publishing deal. If it means eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner the rest of the year, we’ll just have to make that sacrifice.

Step 4: Motivation
When you’ve read your manuscript at least a dozen times, edited it until you’ve nearly had it memorized, and then realized after it was in print that you had to fix it again…well, motivation can be hard to muster. We try to look at the novels with fresh eyes. What can we change for the better? How will our improvements affect the rest of the series in the long-term? You can still rework a manuscript with a creative eye. It’s just a bit more challenging than the first time ‘round.

Step 5: Diligence
You go a little crazy when sitting in front of the computer for hours on end, clicking the “accept” or “reject” button to the changes suggested. Our “delete” key is nearly illegible. But you have to keep at it, or it will never be done. And, oh, do you want it to be done! You tell yourself it will be worth the effort in the end, and it will…you just have to get there: to the finish line. We set reasonable goals for our editing—reasonable meaning we allow time to enjoy ourselves. Who says you can’t reward yourself for meeting your goals? And that makes being diligent a bit more fun.

Step 6: Acceptance
We know now that our novels will never be perfect. That’s because we like to believe we improve our writing the more we do it. We’d have it no other way. So though our own standards will continue to rise to new levels, we have to reach a sane level of consensus. At some point you have to say that your book is acceptable to you and to your readers. No one will care if there’s a typo on page 5, and if they do, too bad. (And you really have to believe it, too!)

Step 7: Bliss
This is it! The Nirvana of republishing! Authors’ paradise! You are enjoying the benefits of novels successfully republished. Readers appreciate and enjoy them. People visit your website and comment on their favorite characters. Someone buys a t-shirt from the Secramore gift shop. What more can you ask for? This is the beauty of self-realization. You have a published (hehe—Republished) book, and that’s the goal of any aspiring novelist. We are going to reach this stage for real this time, and it will be bliss!

-Stefanie

A Mini Epic

2009-12-05T13:44:00.000-05:00

We’re epic fantasy writers. We can describe the hilt of a sword in three paragraphs or more. We boast about our word count and the ability to use our novel (secondarily, of course) as a paperweight. We’ve been asked to write a short story. Short story? What—? How? It’s not that we don’t want to write it—we very much do—it’s just that we’re not entirely sure how. Is a fantasy short story merely a condensed version of a full novel, or are we to take a completely different approach?

At this time, we didn’t care. We were going to write what we were going to write rules or no rules. So, nyeah! Unfortunately, that sort of thinking is what got us into this mess. What mess, you ask? Our inability to create a short story we like. We know now that writing a short story is a craft unto itself. It’s a completely different animal from an epic tale—a whole new set of genes compose it. And so we’re struggling…rather, were struggling. We think we’ve found our way, but time will tell.

On our adventure at GenCon, we were approached by an Editor-in-Chief of a gamers’ magazine. Would we be interested in writing a short story for him that would appear in his periodical? Hm…ask a writer to write? For a legitimate magazine? And he has since become a friend, so we had no reason to refuse. In fact, we jumped at the opportunity to revisit our characters.

The story—which is to be between 4,000 and 10,000 words—is to be “relevant”. In our friend’s words; “something that deals with your current works and will be of interest to your existing readers. Ideally it is an element that has touched readers, based on your fan feedback. He went on to give us potential ideas, and we chose a story which bridges Raven’s Heart and our pending Black Earth trilogy. Even before GenCon concluded we decided upon a sound idea that we intended to have written well before November 10th—our personal deadline.

We hate to say it, but look at the date of this blog. No, we did not finish our short story in time. Thankfully our friend’s deadline is January 1st. We’ll need every day we can get. Not only is the short story a new experience for us, but, we are also extremely critical of our own writing. This simple venture has turned into a definite learning experience. We’ve since gone through two story ideas.

The third time is the charm…but it hasn’t been easy. Creating the basic plotline was simple enough, but fitting it into the grand scheme of our novels was the true challenge. We had to be careful with consistency in details, make sure the pacing flowed smoothly. Stef is writing the final pages as I type this blog, and we are pretty confident that we will succeed.

So while our short story venture has been a good lesson in a different writing sense, we understand that we are indeed epic fantasy novelists at heart. We love delving into detail and character development. We love world-building and intricate plots. We tried to condense an epic story into thirty pages. Did it work? You’ll just have to watch our site and find out.

-Matt

Clichés and Stereotypes

2009-10-27T15:50:00.000-04:00

There’s this story about this wizard. He’s very old, but not nearly as old as he looks. He’s got long, white hair and a long, white beard. He wears these robes and a pointy hat… How did you guess? Well, yes, he is very mysterious and knowledgeable! Wise, too! A wise old wizard!

Now isn’t that an original picture?

I won’t quote the dictionary, but just so we’re “on the same page” (haha), a cliché is an overused expression, plot, character type, etc. A common stereotype. How many fantasy novels do you know with a “wise old wizard” who helps the hero? A beautiful “damsel in distress”? I’ll bet you can think of at least a dozen clichéd ideas.

In a day and age where and remakes dominate our movie screens, books, music, and video games, you begin to wonder if there are any original ideas left. Does anyone try to be unique? Is anyone else tired of the same quoted lines, the same plot devices, the “same ol’ story”?

To break the mold can be scary. Trying something different—that’s risky. Someone might resist the change. Someone might not like what you’ve done. Someone just may not “get it.”

Personally, clichés insult me. Those trite lines that are cast in the water with dangling worms… I scoff at them. This fish refuses to be caught. If I’m expected to laugh at something so predictable and overused, I downright refuse to submit to the ploy. You have to be clever to gain my response…that is, if you want my response to be something other than rolling my eyes.

Matt and I tried to avoid clichés in our novels. Variations on the old and familiar can be refreshing but not overwhelmingly so. A little predictability isn’t so bad, so long as the whole novel isn’t a “dead giveaway.” So just what is it I’m trying to say?
Clichés. Bad. Insulting. To be avoided! At all costs? Are they completely evil? Is there no redemption for the stereotypical?

In very modest instances, clichés can be…(hear me struggle here) acceptable. Flat characters, for instance, do not need to be developed to be different. Sometimes you need to toss a personality in a novel here and there—just to add a random, unimportant character. Who cares if Mr. Boring is your clichéd fool? He’s going to be devoured by the dragon anyway. We’ll never see him again. Good riddance!

The only other instance where I can attempt to justify a cliché is if you’re in the midst of a parody or comical work. That’s right. You’re making fun. You accentuate the cliché because it is so obviously ridiculous.

In the end, this was, in truth, just a rant. You can forgive me or not, but there must be someone else in this whole wide world that feels as I do. Be original. Find a new path. Take that chance. Someone will appreciate it. Just not that pointy-hatted, white-bearded guy with a wand in his hand.

-Stef

A Filking Good Time

2009-09-29T07:53:00.001-04:00

Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term dates back to 1955.

I told you I would discuss filking later; I just didn’t say when. Now that we’re on the subject, I suppose I should answer the proverbial question of why? As Bluto from Animal House would say: Burp! “Why not?” A reason is not needed in order to filk. One filks because one feels the need to express his inner Weird Al Yankovic from time to time.

I, myself, am a filker, but I do not participate verbally in song. That would be a tragedy. I’m a filking writer…er, I mean, I’m a filker who expresses himself through writing. And just what exactly is filking? Well if you didn’t already click the link, I will give you the “short, short version.” To put it simply, filking is when a person takes a particular song and exchanges the lyrics for a Fantasy/Sci-Fi story. Even simpler: Star Wars: Episode IV to the tune of Don Mcleans’ “American Pie.” That would be interesting! It would probably go something like this:

Long, long, time ago
In a galaxy far, far away…
I met a young man who lived on Tatooine.
His uncle kept him farming water,
But his aunt knew he was like his father,
And she knew one day he would be a Jedi.

If you’re still reading this blog, and you don’t think I’ve completely lost my marbles, then you may be a little crazy as well. Filking is not a new concept, nor is it completely unknown. Since entering the Amazon.com forums I’ve met multiple people who not only partake in the art of filking, but they are pretty damn good at it too! There are even those who can perform. C.S. Marks comes to mind. (Thanks for the mini concert you gave Stef and me.) More amazing is the fact that there are conventions held just so people can filk each other…er, I mean, to each other. OVFF: The Ohio Valley Filk Festival is one such gathering.

So maybe this blog enlightened you to your life’s new calling, or perhaps you’ve decided to ignore the rest of my posts from this point forward. Either way my work is done, and you can now spread the word and teach people how to filk. You just never filking know when you will have to express your inner musical geek.

-Matt

Afraid of the Elevator

2009-09-26T09:45:00.000-04:00

I’m trying to overcome a fear: fear of the elevator. Not the metal box that moves you from one level to the next. I’m talking about the “elevator pitch.” It is a necessary element for any author who is trying to sell a book.

What is an elevator pitch? It is an enticing summary of what your novel is about. Theme, plot, characters—all elements wrapped up in a neat little package that you must deliver in the time it takes to ride an elevator to your destination. A trip on the elevator is not very long.

But our book is. How do you condense a 500 page book into a minute’s tagline? And how do you do it with finesse? Not only is it difficult to summarize a lengthy novel (believe me, all the twists in the plot seem important when it’s your book), but you’re selling your heart and soul.

Whether an agent, a publisher, or a potential reader, they want to know: What is this book about, and why should I buy it? It’s exactly how we think when we’re looking to make a purchase. What makes this book so special? Is the cover appealing? Does the back cover summary entice you? Can you open it to any page and become hooked? A book is an investment of time and money, and if the reading experience is not satisfactory, it could mean your reputation.

There are no visuals with an elevator pitch. It’s a carefully constructed piece of marketing. You want to avoid tired clichés, and you want to deliver your summary smoothly and with inflection. You want to have the voice of Garrison Keillor of James Earl Jones so that you can instantly command your audience’s attention.

If your audience breaks eyes contact, yawns, or walks away, you’re finished. You’ve failed. There won’t be another chance with that one. Try not to take it personally, but then again, how else can you take it? It’s your book—your pride and joy, for crying out loud. And it has just been rejected before it was even picked up!
I’m an author, not an actor. Nor am I an expert salesperson. It doesn’t matter. Unless you can pay a professional to market your book, your readers expect YOU to sell it to them. And you should be able to do that with your pitch.

I’m intimidated by the elevator pitch. It’s a scary thing, looking into the eyes of a stranger and trying to convince him that your story is something he will want to read. I struggle with this now, and I always will struggle with it. I am grateful for my writing partner, that we can collaborate a pitch that will be clever and enticing.

Our latest assignment with our writers’ group is to do just that: create a pitch and present it to the group. We will present it to our peers on October 6th, and they will critique it. I shouldn’t be afraid, and yet… Well, let’s just say you have to face your fears. One day our delivery will come easily, and we will be the professional marketers we long to be. Or maybe it’ll just be enough to win the attention of someone to share in our written adventure.

-Stef

Hero of the Heart

2009-08-29T08:35:00.005-04:00

Matt and I have had a disheartening experience learning that our first novel published through iUniverse was printed with the incorrect file. Incorrect meaning mostly unedited. The company used the wrong file, and we had not caught the error—hence An Unlikely Journey is full of embarrassing flaws. Right now we are in the process of reediting the work and switching our publisher. For as discouraged as we feel, we are inspired to have our work republished in the best fashion possible—complete with illustrations and corrected text. Reviewing An Unlikely Journey with fresh eyes, we have also ignited new conversation in a retrospect sort of viewpoint. One question Matt and I posed to each other was: Who is the true hero of Raven’s Heart?

There are two “givens” with this topic. One: this is arguably a matter of opinion; two: all of the main characters are heroic in some sense of the term. Where the question becomes interesting is how one defines the word “hero.” Now you can admire a hero, but not everyone who is admirable is a hero. People can have traits or deeds that you admire, but to truly be called a hero, they must live the role through and through, in all aspects of their life. I’m talking about morals, virtues, and just all around good character.

Here is my personal opinion about heroic qualities. I am not going to disclose who it is I chose as the true hero of Raven’s Heart. You’ll have to use your intuition there. And I’m not speaking for Matt, either, though I did sway his opinion. So here we go…

A hero has a sense of the greater good. A hero does what is right and necessary for the greater good, regardless of any sense of self he/she may have. In fact, the greatest heroes will sacrifice for the cause. The more personal the sacrifice, the more meaningful it is when it is made. Sacrifice implies that the hero has a choice. He/she can choose an “easier” solution with less detriment to him/herself, but this will be less affective in terms of salvaging the greater good. OR he/she can make a very difficult decision that ultimately leaves him/her wounded (be it mentally, physically, spiritually…) or dead. There is a trade-off; there is loss involved. If there wasn’t, there would be no real meaning behind the heroic deed, no weight or value behind the sacrifice and the choice made.

A good heroic character changes throughout the course of the novel. Just because he/she begins the tale as a reluctant participant doesn’t take away from his/her hero potential. In fact, I believe it strengthens a heroic character if that character has to grow into the role. We’re talking about a round character, a dynamic and deep character. This individual begins the novel with a certain mindset, and circumstance and interaction changes his/her point of view. He/she is influenced by what is transpiring around him/her, and thus the need to respond accordingly arises. Will this person rise to meet the challenge? How? At what cost? You know you have a good hero when you ask yourself: Would he/she have made that sacrifice at the onset of the journey? If the answer is “no,” but the answer changes by the end of the book, then you have someone who deserves a medal.

Finally, a hero is a hero no matter the scope of the heroics. For example, a hero can be unsung, or a hero can be venerated by the masses. Whether you save one person or a thousand, you have done something selfless. And what about selflessness? I think that so much of a heroic deed is deeply rooted in the weight of your sacrifice. The greater the courage it takes, the greater your personal loss, that is what makes the deed truly heroic. There is risk involved when stepping beyond the safety of your comfort zone to do what you knows must be done.

We learn lessons through the characters: by what they do, how they feel, the choices they make, the consequences they suffer. When we question a character’s motives, we can’t help but look introspectively at ourselves. Would we have made the same sacrifice? Is there something we would have done differently, given the circumstances? Do we truly feel sorry for the character, do we truly admire him/her? Can we say that he/she is a hero? Real heroes do get scared, they can despair, and they can be reluctant. It is the end result—the final choice they make that truly counts.

…So have you guessed who I chose as Raven’s Heart’s greatest hero?

-Stefanie

Looking Ahead

2009-08-16T01:41:00.001-04:00

After three full days—eight hours each—of solid marketing, Sunday’s shortened hours were a blessing. Not that we were not enjoying ourselves, but we had reached the limit of our endurance, and we were looking forward to seeing the light of day. We packed up what we could, checked out of the hotel, and ate a light, hasty breakfast—ok, morning snack—before heading to our table.

As usual, we arrived early so we could tote back to the car the boxes of books we hadn’t touched (yeah, we figured we weren’t going to sell out). The plan was to make a quick getaway once GenCon officially closed at 4 p.m. The time went by fast, and in a blink we were saying our goodbyes, paying our outrageous parking fee, and driving to the gas station. The long drive home was an assessment—how we fared, were we successful, what could we improve… Brainstorming while our thoughts were fresh. All in all, we felt GenCon was a good first-time experience. We were told to expect better things next year, and there will be a return for us in 2010. We already reserved our table.

Thanks to everyone who helped make our first convention experience a good one. We hope we’ll be crossing paths again! And to all those who now own Raven’s Heart, we hope you enjoy the book and will tell us about your reading experience.

On that note, I part with the words of the Ilangiel: “Let the Light linger wherever thou mayest be.”

-Stefanie

Another Day, Another Dollar…Less

2009-08-15T01:44:00.001-04:00

Everything in Indianapolis is expensive. Everything! Except for Steak N’ Shake. Perhaps that’s why we ate just about all our meals there. Certainly Stef and I expected to pay out the patootie the four days we lived in the heart of the city, but $2.88 for one twelve ounce bottle of Coke? And that wasn’t even inside the convention center! Hey, we’re poor; we can complain about price gouging whenever we want…especially when we’re being ripped off. I’ll get to that later.

Day three began much the same way the first two did. This day we gave ourselves some time to practice our new and improved sales pitch. We had rehearsed it between each other, but now we would be able to test our pitch on potential readers. We were a little shaky, but once our confidence was more solid (and still we’re working on it!). Eat your heart out, door-to-door vacuum salesmen!

Crowd traffic was the heaviest it had been, as it was Saturday. Unfortunately, sales were not much different than the previous days. We had to hope that Sunday would truly be the day people spent their hard-earned cash.

And speaking of money, we got ripped off. One whole dollar! Quit snickering, this was a big deal to us, and as we soon found out, an even bigger deal to upper management monitoring the behind-the-scenes at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The indoor food court just outside the exhibitors’ hall was manned by a group of people who could not care less about what was transpiring around them. What they did care about was taking your order, slapping a pile of costly gruel on your plate, and shoving you off. That’s fine by me, but I didn’t expect to be hit by a hidden fee (you know, the kind you’re slipped when you purchase a concert ticket).

Soft pretzels cost $3.50 at the concession stand—fairly expensive but not altogether unreasonable…I guess. Mine cost me $4.50. Allow me to explain before you curse me out for being a dupe. Lines for food stretch forever at all times inside the convention center, and my partner was left alone, fending for herself against the savvy gamers. I’m in a hurry. There are four food stands, each with their own separate lines. The line I’m in has soft pretzels on the menu, but I’m told by the attendant that there are none. I want my pretzel, so I slide down to the lady at the register and ask her to check and see if there is any salty, doughy goodness left. Glancing to her right she confirms that the adjacent stand does indeed have pretzels. Happy as a clam, I ask her to hook me up. She tells me that it’ll be $3.50 plus a dollar. Ignoring her, I hand her the correct amount. She repeats, “$3.50 plus a dollar.” I ask why that should be, and she tells me her register can’t tender out pretzels; she would have to ring it out on the adjacent one. That’s where George Washington fits. Are we lost yet?

In a hurry and not thinking clearly, I pass her the extra single and turn away feeling a tad angry. OK, I was furious, but I didn’t realize what had happened until I explained my situation to Stef. We talked it over and realized that not only had I just been scammed, but the lady had pocketed the rest of my cash as well. Matt and the convention center had just been robbed of $4.50! Seeing that I was considering waiting to take any action, Stef excuses herself to use the bathroom and vanishes for an hour. Gee, I wonder where she went?

To make a long story short (too late), Stef contacted the proper authorities—who, by the way, were glad she came forward. Seems our petty thief had been under suspicion for some time. Unfortunately no one had come forward and pointed their finger…until now! We got our dollar back, though we never did learn the outcome of member number fourteen of Ocean’s elite group of thieves. The matter was “taken care of”, and later that evening we were treated our very own filk concert courtesy of C.S. Marks. But that’s a story for another time.

-Matt

The Undead Authors Society

2009-08-14T01:46:00.002-04:00

I must be missing out on something, to believe that bagels are nothing to be excited about. Cream cheese, jam, 1001 different flavors and toppings…they have just never appealed to me. They did, however, appeal to the gamers, as the line to the bagel shop was out the door. Or maybe there was nowhere else to eat breakfast. Anyway, Matt had his bagel breakfast, and we arrived early at our table at the convention hall with the intention of doing some pre-show browsing.

Some of the tables were still covered from the night before, but we had a pretty good feel for what was transpiring while we were stuck behind our table. GenCon attendees had a series of choices: gaming, eating, or buying (note that sleeping is not an option). The games were everything from electronic with fancy screens to miniatures or live action role-playing (LARP). Some displays were quite elaborate—from castle-esque to battlefield. And the merchandise! There were card games, t-shirts, fake Medieval weaponry, fantastical costumes, books (of course), artwork, stuffed animals, jewelry, and the list goes on.

There were but three things that enticed me. A life-size construction of Dr. Who’s tardis was there as a display (check out my souvenir photo), and I am a long-time fan of the Doctor (thanks to my dad). Item number two was a t-shirt with the constellation of Pegasus (because I’m a sucker for winged horses—even more so than your typical fantasy unicorns). And finally, a small print of a black winged horse done by one of the artists. Given the choice (and I was forced to choose), I walked away with my t-shirt, but that wasn’t ‘til day four. We tried to keep our money in our pockets at all costs.

Now that I’ve said that, Matt and I did decide to make a significant purchase. We found an artist willing to do reasonably-priced freelance work. So we commissioned him to do a small drawing of each of our favorite characters in watercolor pencil. Now I know and you know that I’ve done many drawings of our characters, but there is something thrilling about seeing someone else’s interpretation of a character we created (so enter our Raven’s Art Contest—please!). We were tickled at the results, and Arcturus and the White Demon are amongst our GenCon images.

Day two went better than day one, and we could justify our purchases with the seven books we sold (almost a book an hour isn’t bad at all, really). We met up with our author friends for dinner at the Noodle Company. The restaurant doesn’t require any description, but the interaction amongst us was memorable for what was discussed. Matt and I, being “newbies”, were grilled—hard—concerning our sales pitch. “What is your book about?” they asked us, and we stuttered and stumbled our way into a lame explanation. Being the kind and helpful people they were, they gave us some advice and told us to practice the art of being enticing and intriguing.

We went back to the hotel and did just that. Forget intriguing, we just want to be interesting to people. We believe in what we’ve written, and we don’t want people walking away because we can’t communicate verbally. Our strategy involved Matt’s exposition about the magic stone, Raven’s Heart, and my elaboration upon the characters’ mission. All in all, we felt better that we had rhyme and reason to our sales pitch, and we could rest that night knowing tomorrow would be different—better, we hoped.

But wait—we didn’t sleep yet. We may have been dead tired, but we ignored the tired and decided to be plain old dead. I’m speaking of the Zombie Walk. Many a GenCon attendee donned makeup and wardrobe for a gruesome parade of undead enthusiasts. We walked—stumbled, rather—from the hotel to the street, then to the convention hall. Matt wouldn’t give up his character and was insensible most of the way. Was it a sight to see! And we belonged to the Undead Authors’ Society, a group forged by C.S. Marks and her glow-in-the-dark t-shirts. She and the other authors we had befriended had seen to it that we looked like proper zombies. (And if you want to know just what that looks like, you will, once again, check out our pictures.)

You can’t close an evening any better than that, and who hasn’t lost his mind and wandered aimlessly at times?

-Stefanie

Rude Awakening

2009-08-13T01:49:00.000-04:00

There’s nothing like waking up on one of the most important days of our writing careers and having to unclog the hotel sink. So much for staying in the lap of luxury. And why is it so dim in the bathroom? Not to be deterred, we dressed in our “author” attire and did our best to ignore our tiredness from the previous day. We’re at GenCon! Time to put on a smile and sell those books…after we eat.

Ah, Steak N’ Shake (again), the cornerstone of every poor author’s nutritious breakfast. Jam-packed at 8 a.m., the inexpensive diner greeted us weary exhibitors with a less than cleanly booth and a glass of warm, iceless water. We wouldn’t have it any other way. After our food-fix and a final self-induced pep talk, we strolled back to the convention center, past the endless lines of potential readers, and set up shop. But before we could prepare ourselves for the inevitable onslaught, we had some unfinished business to which we had to attend.

C.S. Marks, author of the Tales of Alterra books: Elfhunter, Fire-Heart, Ravenshade, and the soon-to-be-released Outcaste, is an amazing woman. Also an independent author like us, she is professional in every sense of the word. Her work rivals any mainstream book on the shelf today, and her fans—which are many (including us)—know this to be true. She is a proud, eloquently spoken woman, with a sharp wit, and an uncanny talent for filking and making people smile. (We’ll explain the filking later.) Did we mention that she is also one of the nicest and most down to earth people one could ever meet? We already knew this about her, and we had yet to meet in-person! We found her on the internet in one of the amazon.com fantasy discussion forums, and we have been friends ever since. Had it not been for her sharing information regarding a little event known as GenCon, we would not be writing this series of blogs. Thank you, Archer.

After meeting our friend, we sat at our 72” x 24” table and awaited the inevitable. But being that we were rather early, we took the time to meet our neighboring authors. To our right was friendly cast of people representing a small publishing company for a collection of fantasy short stories. To our left was Star Wars Jesus… Actually his name was Caleb Grimes, and he was accompanied by his wife Leslie. They were two of the most amiable people we’ve met in some time, and we recommend their book if you are an avid Star Wars fan searching for something a bit deeper than the action figures and video games. There was a total of twenty authors—among the, V.J. Waks, a passionate sci-fi writer who we also befriended. Most authors were self-published like us, though we did not have the chance to hear everyone’s story. Maybe next year.

At 9 a.m. the doors opened, and in poured the V.I.G.s: Very Important Gamers. They were allowed access to the stands first, though they steered clear of Authors’ Avenue. At 10 a.m. a force unlike any we’ve seen before was released: a veritable tidal wave of rabid gamers. They filled the aisles in seconds, and the din of the crowd was astounding. Authors’ Avenue remained largely quiet as games were the gold the crowd was seeking. Eventually people did shuffle their way over to us, and we pitched our hearts out…for eight straight hours! There were lulls when we watched the clock and flurries of attention where the minutes whittled away. Nothing was more exciting than when we were awarded the chance to explain our books to an interested browser.

At the end of the day, 6 p.m., we sold three books. It didn’t seem like a lot—not compared to the ambitions we hid in the back of our minds—but the seasoned GenCon authors told us most buyers saved their pennies for the last day. Shrugging off our uncertainties, we left the convention center and plotted the next days’ strategy at the nearby mall. The long day closed with a quick workout, a dip in the hot tub, and a stroll around the center of Indianapolis (a late caffeine run). One day down, three days to go. We’ll outsell three books…right?

-Matt

Destination GenCon

2009-08-12T01:51:00.000-04:00

The morning air was like a wet blanket as we saw to it Matt’s little “Cwobalt” (our nickname for his car) was fully jammed with all manner of luggage, navigation material, and boxes of books to be sold. We even had bags wedged next to my feet on the floor of the front seat. We fired up the Magellan navigator and its sing-song voice and pulled out of our drive.

Indianapolis was our destination, and we did not know what awaited us there. For weeks we had been building in anticipation of the “un-vacation” getaway to the convention known as GenCon. The flocking ground of gamers of all sorts, the 4-day dream of Sci-fi and Fantasy fans alike, GenCon was to be our moment of stepping out into the sunshine. Matt and I have not “escaped” on such an adventure since our honeymoon. All we knew was that this was to be our crowd—people who enjoyed a retreat from reality and into another world.

Would they look our way? Would our book draw attention? Would someone be willing to buy it and share in our creation? Success, for us, has many meanings. Business cards disappearing, conversations held with fellow writers, and of course, a novel walking away in the hands of an enthusiastic customer. It’s not really about sales. We discounted the books enough to show that. It’s about that step into the sunshine. Entering the convention as faceless vendors behind a table; ultimately leaving as acknowledged authors.

We rocked it out on the 5-hour drive there, chitchatting and daydreaming about our destination. At 2:30 we pulled up to the hotel and unloaded some of the car for what we would stash in the hotel. An overeager but helpful attendant carted our belongings away, and Matt’s wallet got a little lighter. The Westin was a modest hotel, but not nearly the palace it wanted itself to be. Certainly not worth the extra charges built into our bill. No thanks, but we won’t be needing valet parking. Direct us to the self-park garage so we can walk the town, as we love our exercise. But what—? It costs $25 a day to leave our car in an unattended garage? Maybe we should have ridden our bicycles. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Once the hotel room was secured, we headed for the convention center across the street. I’d say we were poorly directed as to which line to stand in to receive our pre-paid badges for the event, but the truth is that we weren’t directed at all. Four lines and two hours later, we figured out what we needed to do and where we needed to go. You would think that was the hard part except that we had yet to transport our books and display items from Matt’s car to the center and our table. Thank goodness the weather was nice! Seven boxes of books, a couple posters, an electric glowing rock, a plastic raven, handouts…plenty of décor to assure the crowd that we were authentic in every way.

We were bordering exhaustion, but there was a surprise waiting for us to carry us through. Upon our table had been left a mysterious and large cardboard box. Our friend C.S. Marks had arrived before us and left us a gift. Inside the box was a raven. The 3-D replica of a black bird with welcoming wings spread wide was the perfect touch to our backdrop. And best of all, we had a friend in Indiana.

The evening unraveled in a slow, chaotic way that was familiar to our lifestyle. We found a beacon of golden light shining down upon a Wetzel’s Pretzels stand inside the nearby mall, and my dinner was complete. For Matt we located the city Steak N’ Shake to conclude our elaborate dining experience. Good ol’ reliable restaurant, that Steak N’ Shake. With a welcomed lack of excitement, we headed back for our hotel room and some much-needed rest. Tomorrow would undoubtedly have its share of surprises….

-Stefanie

It Takes Two...

2009-08-10T01:55:00.000-04:00

Is it possible for a married couple to co-write a book? For us the answer is a resounding YES! None of our books would have ever seen the light of day had we not attempted a tag-team effort. It only makes sense that we approach writing this way; magic is born when we put our heads together. It’s funny for us to see people’s reactions when they learn that we write one idea together: 50/50…most of the time.

“It takes two to tango.” So goes the saying, though we don’t tango or dance very well. Our specialty lies in two minds writing as one. Co-authors do exist, and married authors do write singly. But married co-authors? Are we weird? Is our combined passion considered an anomaly? With the divorce rate in the US well over fifty percent, I’d venture that we may be somewhat unique to the writing world. Does that make us marketable? Perhaps. Has anyone seen us on the New York Times Bestsellers’ list yet? I know I haven’t.

No matter how strange or special our writing approach is, it means nothing if we fail to produce a satisfactory product. So we’re married and write together. Big deal! Are we any good? Is there one solid writer’s voice throughout? Or does it read as though I wrote X number of pages before handing it to Stef? It is a difficult art to perfect, joining two voices into one—especially when we write so differently. Our approach is to take turns. We average five pages each, though sometimes one of us will conquer a full chapter. Who writes which scene is determined by our own respective strengths and weaknesses. I excel at action and dialogue, while Stef does well with description and introspective character scene. Together we are balanced.

But what about voice? Sure we can divvy out scenes accordingly, but whose voice stands out the strongest? The truth is that we hope you can’t tell. After we’re done writing our scenes, we discuss them at great length. By the time said scene is edited and added to the rest of the novel, we like to believe that our styles have merged. Does that constitute as one? Read our book and tell us!

When we’re not harmonizing in our writing, we are voicing our thoughts for upcoming scenes. This is an everyday process. We walk and talk a lot. While driving in the car, we discuss the story. While folding clothes—yup, talking about the story. When we hit the orange barrel of writers’ block we’ve discovered (thanks Casey Daniels, friend and author) tarot cards help answer our questions. When nothing seems to be working, we write the same scene together. If that method doesn’t work, we scrap the scene altogether.

That brings us to the “what ifs” category. We like to question certain plot elements and see if an alternative path can be taken. We NEVER set anything in stone until we go to the publisher. Last but not least: constructive arguing. What better way to bicker than to do it through fictional characters? It’s reminiscent of role playing, but our arguments are real.

At the end of the day, I’m thankful to have a partner-in-crime when it comes to writing. Both our characters and plots have both gone far and beyond anything we would have ever considered had we not bumped heads. Our marriage is all the better for having teamed up. Perhaps the world of struggling marriages can learn from a couple of weirdos like us.

-Matt

The Holy Trilogy

2009-07-26T01:57:00.000-04:00

When J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, he never intended for it to become a trilogy. His masterpiece was meant to be one epic idea, bound into one volume. As we all know, this did not happen, thanks mainly to his publishers. It was decided that The Lord of the Rings was too long as one book, and it should be split into three parts for “economical” reasons. (Being forced to split a novel may very well an author’s worst nightmare.) Fortunately for Tolkien, his book broke seamlessly into three well-known volumes. Those sneaky, intervening publishers unknowingly paved the way for what would become the modern day fantasy trilogy. The Lord of the Rings has since become one of the most influential works in 20th-century literature.

But what about writing with the intention of creating a trilogy? Before I answer that question, perhaps I should take a step back and try to explain why the trilogy format is so commonly used.

It all begins with the number three. What is it about this digit that so fascinates us? Why is it so widely used in all walks of life? And why does it work so well in the world of books, movies, plays, etc.? (Three questions!) Numbers have always been significant (no pun intended), but that little backwards “E” seems to have made a big impact on us throughout history. There are countless examples of its influence. It’s everywhere: Morning, noon, night. Beginning, middle, end. Three acts to a play. “On the count of three!” The Third Reich. (Not all threes are good.) The Triforce of Power in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda. Aeschylus’s The Oresteia. And one of the most significant uses of the number three is the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. These examples no doubt lend to our interest in trilogies, but there is something about the three-book set which is appealing to so many readers.

In essence, a trilogy is little more than one idea stretched into three books. However trilogies have evolved since The Lord of the Rings. Most authors who pen a three-part novel aim to do so. These same authors, Stef and myself included, are careful to write a trilogy which is not only one idea over the course of three novels, but also three separate ideas which fit into the whole.

There are three (seriously) pitfalls to avoid in writing a trilogy. One is when the first book ends on a cliffhanger. Two is when the second book has no beginning or end, and it serves as a dull “interlude” between the 1st and 3rd books. Three is when the third book is nothing more than rising and falling action. This scheme might appeal to some readers, but for those who prefer closure between books, it can be frustrating and disappointing. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings suffered from these pitfalls, but his ideas and characters were able to carry the books to success. And like I stated, he never intended his books to be split.

So Stef and I have nearly completed our Black Earth trilogy, and what we discovered is that writing a trilogy is pretty damn difficult! After writing the Raven’s Heart duology, conveying one thought over three novels while trying to make them stand apart has been a real challenge. But, it is a challenge we welcome. We have both struggled and enjoyed the development of our characters and ideas from book to book. And if nothing else, writing a trilogy has helped us to appreciate the craft even more. It has forced us to focus on what is truly important to the novel and the overall theme. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about that.

-Matt

The Bitter-Sweet Relationship with a Red Pen

2009-07-24T01:58:00.000-04:00

There are those who enjoy it and those who detest it, but it is a must for every writer. Friend or foe, we all must wield the red pen sooner or later. We hope editing improves the manuscript, and we would like to think that eventually it makes us better writers.

By no means am I a professional editor. I remember a few things from high school English, but admittedly my major in college was studio art---as right-brained as you can get in terms of occupational fields. Between Matt and me, I have been delegated the responsibility of editing the technical side of our writing. “Daunting” is a word I know well.

Why is it such a great undertaking? The process itself is, theoretically, endless. You can continue to edit your work even after it is bound and on the bookstore shelves. Oh yes, you can have versions! Drive readers mad by updating and improving your novel every so many years. But really, I think that is self-induced torture. I’m all about walking away from a quality piece of work---never mind that you want to rename chapter two and tweak the spelling of a minor character’s name. Just walk away!

I say this now, knowing that when the Black Earth trilogy is finished, we are heading back to the pages of Raven’s Heart for another revision. This is it, folks! The REAL novels. I’m very much NOT looking forward to reading near a thousand pages that I have edited at least ten times before. And they’re OUR novels! Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy reading what we’ve written, but this is not pleasure reading that I’ll be undertaking. It’s grueling, it’s tedious: it’s editing. Again.

So why, you ask, are we insane enough to edit what has been bound and published? Reason #1: Money. We will pursue a publisher who will allow us to set a cheaper cover price. Reason #2: Quality. We want the books to be the best they can; we’re expecting total satisfaction this time. Reason #3: There isn’t another reason, aside from insanity.

But back to the red pen. It will journey with me through the pages again, and I have no doubt it will look like murder. Blobs of red ink as horrific as spilt blood, marring every page I touch. I’m determined that it should not be so. There’s no need for a massacre. Not when we’ve hacked and slashed lines and paragraphs to trim it down to a 500-page first book.

If you’re getting the idea that I’m unleashing my anxiety over my red pen relationship, you have earned the right to console me. I will walk the hall of grammatical correctness with all the writers who have gone before me, and I will be silent and obedient to all rules of punctuation and spelling. In the end, it will be worth it, and that’s not just a case of self-convincing. There’s no lesson to learn here for any aspiring writers. Just know that you’re not alone when you wrestle with that scarlet-blooded stick of discretion wedged between your fingers. Good luck!

-Stefanie

The Power in a Name

2009-07-02T02:00:00.000-04:00

I know I’ve touched briefly on the subject of names before, but there is an opportunity with this topic to delve into a deeper significance. I’m talking specifically about character names here, as with Matt’s and my protagonists, we ponder long and hard about the names we choose or create.

The significance of a name is nothing new. Look back to your favorite fairy tales, and you’ll find it’s a recurring theme that a being’s name invokes power. Rumplestiltskin is a great example, where the queen must guess his name in order to keep her child. Roughly translated, “Rumplestiltskin” is a German goblin that rattles the posts (stilts) in a house’s foundation. In other tales of folklore and myth, to know the name of a demon, spirit, or creature is to have the power to banish it or command it.

Modern authors have also employed the value in a name. In The Neverending Story, Bastion must name the Childlike Empress in order to save the world of Fantastica. Josepha Sherman’s The Horse of Flame has a wind-spirit that is imprisoned by the name given it: Sv’istat. The spirit is only freed when the letters of its name are erased one by one in a spell. The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle’s classic, the unicorn is given a name when she becomes human. This is significant because she is the only unicorn to ever taste mortality, to ever have a name.

Names define us, and we use them to define everything around us. The scientific names of plants and animals are descriptive of a particular species. Our first, middle, and last names speak to our heritage, our culture. Look in any baby name book, and you’ll see that the origin of every name has a special meaning. “Stephanie” is Greek for “crown.”

Matt and I have pored over baby name books to find just the right name for our characters. The meaning of the name must be significant, and the overall feeling of the word must match the character’s personality. We try to match names and their origins to particular cultures in our books. For instance, we try to name all our Markanturians from Old English. (Ok, Arcturus is an exception, but he is exceptional among his own kind).

Our latest struggle has been dealing with a nameless character. He is a struggle to work with because he is known by so many names, yet none are his own. He never chooses a name to define himself, and that is an important detail we maintain. He is a wanderer, and he does not seem to belong anywhere. His identity is a mystery, because it changes from book to book, from place to place he visits. He is different in the eyes of every character who interacts with him, and his assortment of names reflects this.

We have yet another character, who among his people—the Ilangiel—was born Eraekryst. As he integrates himself amongst Humans, he is given the name Erik. But the name he chooses for himself is Sparrow of the Weeping Mountain (you’d have to know his past to understand that one!). For as confusing as it is to have characters with multiple appellations, it’s also a symbolic necessity. Some of our characters choose their names as a rite of passage in reaching adulthood. Others must earn their name, and still others are born with one.

For me, assigning a name to a character is one of the most difficult tasks I encounter. I think I’ve come up with the perfect one…until Matt says it aloud and falls off the couch laughing. I swallow my pride and try again. It’s not a gift of mine, finding that perfect name, but I will always see it as the most important point in character creation.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #10: Enrichment

2009-06-12T02:01:00.000-04:00

Enrichment is the grand, all-inclusive term for education, the arts, and entertainment. This can be a subjective topic, and it most certainly relates to culture when you consider the fantastical world you’ve created. Where to begin?

Education
In Medieval times, education was not for everyone. You had to be wealthy if you were to be trained in the way of nobility. Boys would begin as pages, then squires, and the end result would be to become a knight (which was rather expensive!). Wealthy girls shadowed noblewomen. Often you were born into your line of work, and your education was delivered through an apprenticeship (also expensive!) where you served a master craftsman to learn his trade. And even when you had a proper education, you must remember that people then had simpler concepts of medicine, astronomy, and other sciences than they do today. Religion and superstition were the foundation of many educational principles. What lengths of schooling, if any, did your character endure? At what age did he/she begin this venture? What is this education for? Just some questions to consider.

The Arts
Now we’re talking music, painting, poetry, dancing, and literature. Are all of these present in the culture you have created? Are these concepts valued, or are they considered frivolous---even dangerous? Research some archaic instruments, and you’ll be surprised at the differences and similarities to what we have now. Painting was not as simple as going to the store, buying paint and canvas, and slapping color down in any fashion. There were schools of art based upon different techniques and beliefs. Brushes and paint were expensive (there’s that word again). Dancing in the Middle Ages was precise, with specific movements. Literature was for those who could read (a minority of people), and books were (guess!): Expensive! Mostly because they were copied by hand.

Entertainment
Closely related to art, entertainment can include dance, theatre, music, and the like. But entertainment can also be the court jester, children’s games, activities at a fair (knife-throwing contests, for example), jousting, and gladiatorial-style combat. The element of danger and violence was certainly considered entertainment value by many. Public executions drew crowds! The Middle Ages were a brutal time, they were also burgeoning in the arts. Does your world harbor these contradictions? What new games or spectacles of entertainment can you design?

Enrichment is hardly a necessity for survival, but it is a greater appreciation of what the mind can create and find intriguing. Is your character talented in the arts or well-educated? Or does he/she simply appreciate these concepts? Details like this can enhance your characters and the world in which they live. It’s fun to read about characters in a moment of “down time,” when you can see where personalities gravitate. Competition, sentimentality, aggression, excitement---what better way to spice up a good fantasy tale?

This concludes (finally, right?) the 10 points to a believable fantasy. Hopefully there have been some ideas of value you can expand upon in your writing/reading adventure. Writing a believable fantasy is a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge that for me, has helped me grow to be a better writer. Cheers!

-Stefanie

Kindle or Kindling?

2009-06-11T02:02:00.000-04:00

Yes, we own a Kindle. (Rather, I own a Kindle. Stef refuses to look at it.) No doubt almost everyone has heard about this amazing device by now. In this technologically infused age it only makes sense that Amazon’s Kindle is paving the way for the future of reading. Electronic book readers, or “e-book” for short, are not a new concept, though they have only recently begun to catch on in popularity. However, as it is with anything new and trendy that attempts to build upon the seemingly perfect, e-books are bound to meet with resistance. Is this resistance necessary, or can both paper and plastic coexist?

Our bookshelves are lined with hundreds of books, covering everything from Fantasy/Sci-fi, to butterfly field guides. We love our books, though we have far too many to display and keep at our fingertips. The more books we accumulate, the more we have to reorganize. Reference books must always stay out, so there goes fifty percent of our space. But what about those fiction titles? Classics books are right up there with reference guides, but those impulse buys have to go into storage…or to Half Price Books. But what happens when there’s still no space and new titles are squeezed into ever-tightening slots?

Abracadabra! Amazon’s Kindle!

(Insert infomercial here.) Seriously, Kindle to the rescue…for me, at least. What’s not to love? The device—which is in its 2nd incarnation—can hold 1,500 e-books, downloads e-books wirelessly anywhere, and weighs as much as a paperback. The screen looks just like paper and won’t irritate your eyes, and the device just looks cool. And if that isn’t enough to persuade people, then it should be known that over a quarter million titles are already available for $10 or less. That includes #1 best-sellers as well as titles only available on Kindle. There are also plenty of FREE, yes free, e-books there for the taking. And last, but certainly not least, self-published authors—like ourselves—can sell their expensive novels for as low as 99 cents. Kindle is becoming so popular that there is talk of it replacing traditional books.

But that won’t ever happen.

There is still something to be said for holding and physically turning the pages of a hardback/paperback book. The feel of the paper’s grain and the telltale scent of vintage paper lend to the experience of reading. Books are definitely more durable and assume a certain characteristic quality as they age. That spaghetti sauce stain might be a reminder of when your father picked up your novel to admire it. Sauce stains on Kindle will probably short circuit it. Also, Kindle e-books feel cold and aren’t always inviting to the old fashioned, avid reader.

Paper vs. plastic will always be a topic of discussion, though one thing is clear: e-books aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Does that mean it’s time for a bonfire? Absolutely not! Do what feels right. I still prefer the feel of a real book compared to a hunk of plastic, but my eyes have been opened to the future. And if there is one thing that is certain, it is that the future of books is bright.

-Matt

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #9: From Rags to Rapiers

2009-05-31T02:04:00.001-04:00

What you wear or what you bear. It’s awfully hard to imagine the weight of a sword sheathed at your side or just how a leather tunic would feel when you’re a blacksmith pounding away at an anvil. Clothing style certainly has changed over the years, and unless you regularly attend authentic Medieval Faires, it can be hard to visualize what everyone looked like in a “simpler” time.

When trying to draw the characters in our novel, I had to pay attention to details about clothing and weaponry. Granted that fantasy is fantasy, and you can create your own variations of the real deal, but authentic style and weaponry can enhance the feeling of “period” or “time” in your novel. Fashion for poorer folk was dictated by practicality and available materials. Clothing was simple, drab-colored, and dirty. The rich, however, wanted to distinguish themselves by bright colors, frills, and imported materials like silk. Believe it or not, buttons were not around in the early Middle Ages. People used thorns to hold their clothing fast.

Weapons also changed with time, and not everyone carried a sword at his side. You might have to do research about when steel replaced iron, how swords were sharpened (and REAL swords were permanently nicked and dinged—not like the shiny blades we see in the movies), etc. If you have the opportunity to hold a Medieval weapon, get a feel for its weight. Or if you can’t hold one, look up how much one of those tools of destruction weighed, and find an equivalent. You had to be pretty buff to wield a good sword and bear your armor at the same time. And if you should be writing a sword-slinging scene, you may want to consider the feasibility of spearing, thrusting, slicing, or throwing your weapon of choice. For example, not every sword was made to cleave; some were made strictly for thrusting and jabbing.

In terms of researching clothing and weapons, the internet is a great resource, as there are many enthusiasts who truly know their stuff. Be selective about the sites you use. Take a trip to a museum, such as an art museum, to see the armor, clothing, and weapons on display. Nothing is better than seeing the real deal. Do some sketches or take notes while you’re there; use a camera, if photography is permitted. Another great source of information is books on costume. Good costume books illustrate and label attire for the rich, the common, and the all-around fashionable for any particular day and age.

Even if you don’t end up describing every sleeve and collar upon your characters, you’ll be able to better visualize their appearance, and you’ll add that authenticity that makes your story so much more believable.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #8: Religion in Fantasy

2009-05-12T02:07:00.000-04:00

I was once told that there are two topics to avoid in conversation no matter what the cost: religion and politics. Strong opinions are wielded in these categories, and many are quick to offend as well as quick to take offense. But seeing as religion and politics play such a integral an powerful role in our society, all the more the reason why to include them in your fantasy novel.

Now speaking in terms of religion, fantasy fiction has received much criticism over topics like witchcraft and wizardry. This writer is going to follow what she mentioned in the first paragraph and avoid delving into that controversy. What I would like to point out is that including religion in a fantasy novel can serve as different vehicles to support the story.

Religion in characters
A tragic loss of faith. An atheist who wants to believe. A devout follower whose quest is driven by his/her convictions. Religion adds depth to a character. It can motivate, inspire, anger, and incite all kinds of emotion. It can also be the guide by which a character lives his life, influencing choices based on past, present, and future. Do your characters differ in religious beliefs? Does this cause conflict? How does a character’s religion influence customs and culture? In who or what does he believe? Does he acknowledge an afterlife (because that would certainly influence how he lives his life!)?

Religion in plot
Persecution. War. Sacrifice. We take a step back from our individual characters and ask how religion affects your fantasy world. As mentioned before, conflict amongst various cultures over religion is almost a given. Is there a sacred item coveted by both believers and non-believers? Is there divine intervention (Ancient Greek deities often played roles in the lives of mortal men)? Do a little research, and you’ll see that stories in myth, legend, and modern religion can be quite complex but also quite fascinating.

Religion in theme
The biggest picture of all is theme. What are you trying to convey? What is your message? Whether religion in your world is minor and independent of the novel’s theme or whether the novel is centered around a religious theme, you can’t deny the power of morality. In the end, the morality behind religion presents some of the most powerful themes. For example, is it ever right to take someone’s life? Many fantasy heroes are wrought from sword-slinging and bloodshed. Does this present a moral problem in correspondence with what the hero believes? As a writer, you can choose to imbed your own beliefs and morals within the theme, or you can simply strive to get a reader to consider a different point of view. Ultimately any reader will walk away with his/her own interpretation of your theme, but the challenge for you is to make sure your theme is identifiable to your audience; otherwise, your message has been lost.

Other aspects to consider with religion… Monotheistic or polytheistic? Myth vs. folklore vs. legend. Are there traditions, festivals, and special customs associated with religion? What about an afterlife? Are there stories/beliefs about your world’s creation? How is religion viewed in light of medicine and health? Does religion mesh or clash with politics in your world? Are there rites of passage for believers? What restrictions might religion place upon a believer? Is there a religious hierarchy? The list goes on and on, but the more thought you place into religion, the more you can harness a powerful tool to make your fantasy believable.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #7: What’s to Eat?

2009-04-23T02:09:00.000-04:00

I think a topic often overlooked in fantasy is food and drink. I say this in respect to a more Medieval-type fantasy setting, and I say it because meals back then were very different from meals we have today. So in regard to this topic, I’ll be writing about a more archaic time.

Food was an integral part of society. Not only was it a basic need for survival, but it reflected social status and culture. Meals were a time for gathering and communing with friends, family, and other people of significance—just as our holidays are often focused around a meal. Meals brought people together.

Where you lived dictated what you would eat. Without extensive transportation or frozen foods, you ate what was around you. Plants and animals (game or domestic) indigenous to your region would be the basis of your diet. If you live by the sea, you’re eating fish, crabs, etc. If you cannot farm your land, then you rely upon hunting and gathering to obtain your food.

Your social status also dictated your diet. Spices were hard to come by and were often expensive imports. Only the rich could afford honey, sugar, cinnamon, and the like, and they were saved for special occasions. Meat was also expensive, and so the poorer folk survived on vegetables and fruit---often mixed in a sort of brothy composition so that it would last for days. Food was also difficult to preserve, as meat needed salting and was often rotten (hence spices to cover the flavor). No refrigerators back then! Think of what you would pack if you planned a lengthy journey and would not have access to a refrigerator. That rather limits your options, doesn’t it?

Meal preparation was an all-day affair. If you stayed at home (that’s right, ladies), you would be in charge of the meals. Without microwaves or stoves, you had use of a fireplace or a stone oven. In our culture today, meals are almost instant. Because of this, we neglect to think about where our food came from. What are the ingredients in jellybeans? How are they made? Can we honestly say we know the origin and the process through which our edibles come? In Medieval times they did, as they slaughtered the animals themselves, harvested the wheat, gathered the eggs, etc.

Because of the time involved in preparing meals, the necessity and fortune of being able to eat for a day, and the social importance of the gathering, rituals, customs, and etiquette evolved as well. Pre-meal prayers are offered in thanks to a higher power, elbows are kept off the table, and you don’t salt your vegetables until you taste them first (lest you offend the chef). We can all think of personal customs that couple our meals.

All this taken into consideration, you may be wondering just what these meals were. There are many great resources to find out about Medieval cooking, beverages, and meal customs. That takes a bit of research, but the time is well spent when you think of believability. Lord Binterman cannot sit down to a dinner of chicken nuggets and a cheeseburger on his trencher, and nor can you ignore that yonder peasant won’t be entreating himself to snowcones and elephant ears. You may find that in your studies, you will come to appreciate a little more the meal you set in front of you (unless those peppers really did come from your garden).

-Stefanie

The Good, the Bad, and the B.E.S.T.

2009-04-22T02:11:00.000-04:00

So Stef and I are waist-deep into writing our new trilogy, and we have it centered on a single character and his life over the course of about ten years. This is a major departure from our Raven’s Heart series in that those books followed a diverse cast of characters and their quest which took place during a relatively short span of time. Our main character in Black Earth—we’ll call him “Jack”—is not your typical hero. In fact, he is what might be referred to as the antihero. (Anti-hero: A protagonist whose character or goals are antithetical to traditional heroism.—Wikipedia) We might even go so far as to call him the villain. Now that I think of it…he’s all three! Allow me to explain.

Hero, anti-hero, and villain. How does Jack acquire all three titles? Simple. Define him as a half-blood demon born into a cold and abusive life. Have him run away, get captured, and thrown into slavery. Free him from slavery by a group of infamous thieves. Have him become the most infamous of the infamous thieves. Allow him to be captured again and be tortured by a lunatic. Keep a BIG secret from him. Make him destitute. Push him to the brink of suicide. Show him a light at the end of his miserable tunnel and smite it. Destroy his professional and love life. And let’s not forget to lock him in a dark dungeon while under the influence of an experimental drug for about a year.

That ought to do it!

Then again, that doesn’t quite explain everything. I only gave you all the reasons why Jack slips into his dark persona. What was he like before all of the above experiences changed him? He was a volatile youth with a lack of direction and no mentorship. Aside from his loving mother—who was of a different race and a slave—Jack had very little guidance. However, his mother’s compassion left a big impression on Jack, and it stayed with him through his many tribulations. Unfortunately, a mother’s love can only go so far, especially when she dies. Most of Jack’s teenage years are spent running from his past; he comes to believe a misconstrued idea of reality.

But what about choice? Choice is what separates us “normal,” everyday people from the “villains”. Most people choose not to lead a life of crime because they know it’s immoral, while a small percentage seem to have no choice but to be criminals because life is a matter of survival. Poverty, lack of education, poor parentage, and the ever-present draw of gangs all contribute to what the majority of society considers a form of villainy. But is it truly villainy? That’s the million dollar question we pose in the Black Earth trilogy.

When Jack’s path leads him down a dark and shady road, he must choose between a life of destitution and the promise of a reputable future amongst royalty. Easy choice, right? Perhaps, but what if this “reputable future” is not as golden as it seems? What if Jack’s true position is a member of the B.E.S.T. (you’ll have to wait to learn what that stands for), a group of thugs trapped beneath the thumb of a corrupt king? What if Jack discovers the cons of his life-altering decision long after all the warning signs present themselves? What if Jack becomes that which he fears most: a killer?

Interested yet? We hope so, but you’ll have to wait until we publish the trilogy. Sincerest apologies!

-Matt

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #6: Back to Nature

2009-04-15T02:12:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make. I’m a naturalist (not to be confused with a naturist). By day I rove the trails at the park in which I work, and by night I try to be a writer. So when I have the chance to combine the two “jobs,” I get rather excited. Consider three topics when creating your own wilderness: terrain, flora, and fauna. All are interrelated, whether you think about the food chain, habitat, etc.

In a mountain range, one side of the mountains is typically lush from an abundance of rainfall. The other side is as dry as a desert, as the clouds have already unleashed all their moisture. I know we’re creating a fantasy world, but it helps to know what the real world is like before you distort it to your mind’s content. When you design your world, you may want to consider where to place your deserts, your mountains, and your forests. What feeds the magical pool of youth in yonder garden? Why are giant mosquitoes drifting about a frozen wasteland? The meaning of “logical” is not synonymous with “reality.” Believable fantasy has its share of logic.

Dare to ask the question “why”. The sands of the Syuna Desert in Southern Secramore are blue. Why? Because the desert consists of the crushed fossils of sea creatures which contained a blue pigment in their bones. Does the reader have to know this? Of course not, but you better have your explanation ready anyway. It helps guide you in consistency when creating your world. One thing leads to another. If fossil sea creatures are found in the desert, then the desert was once a shallow sea. What else might be buried in those sands? Could you find the remains of an ancient civilization?

As for the mystique of the fantastical, you’re the writer. You decide just how much explanation to give the reader. Will you explain the bizarre landforms in your forest, or will they remain a mystery? If someone inhabits that forest, do they know why it is the way it is? Or is there folklore surrounding the land?

With so much to consider, you should start from the bottom. Literally. What does this land look like? Is it mountainous? Swampy? Does the setting of the story take place on the coast? Look into these habitats and see what sort of weather is typical for them. Mountains are cold and often snowy. Coastal regions get weather based on ocean currents and wind. Your landforms and climates will determine what can live there.
Next think about plants. We often take them for granted, but plants are food. Plants are medicine. Plants are clothing. Plants are shelter. Can crops grow in the mountains? You won’t be drinking cactus juice from a lofty and snowy peak! Plants that grow in the swamp must be able to handle lots of water. Do they have roots like buttresses (check out mangroves in your search)?

Now think about the animals that feed on these plants. What insects pollinate the vegetation? What eats those insects? Who is top on the food chain? Maybe you have created a super-predator that munches on people. It’s all about who eats who.

Finally, you bring all this research together when you consider the people. (Yes, it always comes back to us, doesn’t it?) Pretend you are stranded somewhere in the world you created. Ask yourself how you would address your basic needs: food, shelter, water, space. What would you eat? Would you farm or would you be a hunter/gatherer? What would your house be made of? If it’s stone, then you better have some rock under your feet! If it’s wood, then you better have a forest nearby. Once you establish how a person would survive, then you can expand your ideas into folklore, clothing style, religion, economics, etc. See how quickly world-building can expand into a wonderfully complex creation?
Once you start, all the pieces fall into place logically. Then you can add your twist of magic, the fantastical. But the best place to start is at the roots! Go back to nature and see just how amazing it is. You may find you will marvel at the real world just as much as the fantastical one you’ve created.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #5: Name-Calling

2009-04-05T02:13:00.001-04:00

No, I’m not talking about insults. Consider with me two ideas: names and languages. In believable fantasy, they should be related. I’m shooting with bullets today:

•Cool landforms on your map
Starting with the “big picture,” you have a map with mountains, forests, rivers, and all sorts of topographical features. Naming regions on a map can be fun. There’s always the telltale something “of Doom.” Swamp of Doom, Forest of Darkness, Shadow Mountains, etc. If you’re going to apply such colorful names, you better create some folklore behind those names. Think of the people in your world who named these places. What in their culture would supply them with descriptive nomenclature? If the forest supplies them with wood for furniture, then the forest could be named after an important species of tree (Silver Maple Woods, for example, but you can be much more creative than that).

•Place to place
How do you name places on your map? Cities, kingdoms, territories—all must be marked by names and boundaries in the civilized world, because land is power, and you can’t have mine! Seriously, history works this way. So you will name your land after the ruler…or after its discoverer…or after some prominent feature around which the culture is centered. Those are some ideas, but don’t forget about language. People who speak a harsh, guttural language will not have flowery names for their villages.

•Speak to me
And speaking of language… I’m not saying you have to be like some over-the-top fantasy authors and create your own language. In fact, unless you have a degree in linguistics, you really shouldn’t. Why? Because what seems vitally important to you will not be for the reader. Most readers are there for your story and not the fine details of how various characters pronounce the word “apple.” Your story comes first, and if the reader can’t understand what you’re relating, everything else becomes irrelevant. Some ways to deal with language and dialects:

	1. Buy a foreign dictionary. Assign different cultures in your world a different language. Look up words and rearrange the letters for an occasional foreign expression to be uttered by the character. But use these expressions sparingly and only for emphasis.
	2. Italics. Rather than adding footnotes or spelling out long sentences of jumbled foreign words, use the power of reader intuition. If a character is speaking in a foreign language, and it’s important to know this, write the character’s lines in italics. Otherwise, you’ll have to blatantly tell the reader the character is speaking in another tongue.

•People have names too
Baby name books are great places to find meaningful names for characters. Why not be symbolic? Or be consistent and choose names from the same culture? You don’t have to pull the name straight from the book, either. Mix up the letters and add or subtract a few to give it that foreign twist.

•All in all…
With any name in any case, the best possible advice is to make sure it’s readable. Say names aloud, and if you stumble over them, then so will your reader (of course, there is purposeful use of tongue-twisters, but only if you really, really mean it). Don’t add accent marks and hyphens unless it’s absolutely necessary. Names can be foreign-looking without-the-hyphens-and-áçents! In their heads, readers will pronounce a word they way they want, but there are those who appreciate a pronunciation guide in the back of your book. If you have a lot of unique names, you might want to consider this. It also gives you the opportunity to add a glossary if you have a multitude of places, faces, and objects.

So have fun with name-calling. Just make sure you’re not speaking a foreign language, lest your fantasy tale get lost in translation.

-Stefanie

Sauron or Darth Vader?

2009-04-04T02:14:00.000-04:00

I’ll wager a wooden nickel that the title of this blog caught your attention. However, despite what you might be thinking, this post is not a fanboy argument forum to decide who the more memorable villain is. This is a legitimate topic about two infamous villains—Sauron and Darth Vader—and the notable differences between these unique individuals. One is the embodiment of incorruptible evil, while the other is a tortured soul who lost his way. Both wreaked unspeakable devastation, though only one was capable of redemption. Sauron is obviously the soulless evil, and Darth Vader—a.k.a. Anakin Skywalker—is the tragic evil soul. Which one is more terrifying? Well, that’s a matter of opinion, but perhaps I can help explain why my I prefer a face over the faceless.

Now let’s not get into semantics over the above comment. I am fully aware that Sauron’s humanoid from can be seen at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring, and that Emperor Palpatine is the true force behind the Empire, but none of that matters. Ask anyone about Sauron’s appearance, and they’ll probably tell you about “A great eye. Lidless. Wreathed in flame.” Ask any casual Star Wars fan who the main antagonist is, and the majority will describe our favorite Sith Lord: Darth Vader. The Eye of Sauron and Darth Vader stand out because they are both striking and haunting images. How can one forget an image like a ten-story reptilian eye immersed in an unquenchable conflagration? How many people have had nightmares about the dark-helmed murderer of Jedi? Armor-plated Sauron and cranky old Palpatine just don’t give us the heebee jeebies.

So we know what makes our villains scary, but which one is more effective when it comes to employing their sinister beliefs? Let’s take a closer look at what makes our baddies tick. Anakin Skywalker, born into a life of slavery and bereft of a father, is taken away at the age of ten to train in the Jedi arts. He harbors great anger because of his difficult childhood and does not undergo the proper tutelage which a Padawan (Jedi-in-training) requires to combat the devious lure of the “Dark Side”. Eventually he becomes recognized as the one to bring balance to the force, though as we all know, prophecy is stupid, and no one can ever seem to understand it properly. After a string of painful episodes in his pursuit to Jedi mastery, Anakin eventually falls prey the nonsensical ramblings of one Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) and dives head-first into his new lucrative career as a genocidal maniac. Of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Anakin’s friend and teacher)—being the peaceful, gentle Jedi that he is—decimates Anakin in a duel by cutting off his arm and both his legs, leaving him for dead. Needless to say, Anakin isn’t happy, and he vows revenge as he is fitted for his new mechanical tuxedo. I’d go into detail with the rest, but everyone knows episodes IV-VI much better than the first three. In a nutshell, Anakin—now Darth Vader—spends about twenty years or so killing people and blowing stuff up until his son—Luke Skywalker—becomes a Jedi Knight in about seven days and strikes him down. Vader loses his hand (again) and finally sees the error of his ways. Vader defeats wrinkly Palpatine, dies, and is cremated.

Sauron is evil objectified.

That’s it.

I’m serious.

He’s evil just because.

Look, Mr. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien wanted Sauron to be that way. Deal with it. Besides, I didn’t read the Silmarillion, so quit bothering me with your nitpicking.

Anyway!

Anakin Skywalker’s susceptibility to evil clearly—in my opinion—makes him the more terrifying antagonist. He’s human, and people can easily relate to his plight. Sauron is definitely scary, but he/it is just evil. There’s no redeeming quality about him/it whatsoever. He/it has no substance. However, Sauron is perfect for his role in the Lord of the Rings since it is a classic tale of Good versus Evil. I believe Tolkien meant for Sauron to be a one-dimensional villain. And as we all know, Tolkien’s decision worked!

But when it comes to infamous scoundrels, no one can compete with a master Jedi who has fallen from grace. Look at it this way: what would bother you less? Learning that your father is a sinister murderer of people like yourself, or throwing an evil ring into lava?

Hmm… I’ll be getting emails regarding this post for sure.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with me, both villains succeed as images of evil. It might seem unfair to compare the seemingly incomparable, but I hope that this rant gave you a little insight into the kinds of characters Stef and I like to create. We believe that people like to read about—or watch—other people. It’s easier to understand human beings better than a faceless darkness bent on destroying all that is good for the sole purpose of making everybody miserable. With a few exceptions, the “Saruon” approach is boring and overdone. Anybody can create a “Dark Lord” and set them loose on the good people of said fantasy world. Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to uncover said villain’s imperfections? You may find that you have a little more in common with him than you think.

That would be truly terrifying.

-Matt

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider: Point #4: Magic

2009-04-03T02:15:00.001-04:00

Ah, yes, that wonderful, unexplainable phenomenon we call magic. It’s the impossible made possible by some unseen and mysterious force. It’s what makes a wizard a wizard, a witch a witch. It’s what makes unicorns real, what makes dragons breathe fire. Princes turn into frogs and back again with spells, and magic talismans are sought for their inherent power. What would a fantasy tale be without magic?

Often, magic replaces technology in a fantasy world. It is the distinction between the fantasy genre and the sci-fi genre. “Magic lives through the imagination,” and vice versa. But there’s just one thing….

Magic needs to be believable.

“What?” you say. “It’s magic! It can be whatever you want it to be!”

Yes and no. True, you are the creator, the “imaginator”, the writer. But there are boundaries—unspoken rules that allow the reader to place credence in the impossible. You must define your magic.

If your magic-user had no rules, no limitations, then what would stop him from ruling the world? From snapping his fingers and destroying all his enemies? From making a wish and achieving that impossible goal? No, no—it would all be too easy, and it would be BORING! Conflict, struggles, effort, consequence, the journey—these generate interest in any novel.

In our world of Secramore, Matt and I have drawn a distinction with our magic-users (or medori, as we dubbed them). Wizards need items and spells of power to conduct their magic. Mages do it naturally through their own will, and they are limited to manipulating the natural elements. It is also hard work to call upon magic—that nameless energy—to do their bidding. Some tasks are more trying than others, and the magic-user will certainly feel that exhaustion when he is through. In fact, calling upon more power than you can physically handle just might kill you!

Other fantasy writers have utilized the idea of negative consequence. For example should a wizard tap into some great magical power, he may lose part of himself (mentally or physically). Maybe the spell causes you to relinquish part of your memory.

Don’t forget the non-magical consequences of magic. Are wizards and sorcerers revered, feared, or both? Do non-magic people persecute magic-users or the other way around? Do you not allow people to have magic at all (is it something that resides in creatures or the environment)?

Will you create different kinds of magic? Healing powers, pestilence, spells of transformation, etc. Be inventive and attempt something you’ve never heard of before.

There is plenty of room for creativity within a set of given boundaries. And best of all, you design the boundaries. You just have to be careful you don’t overstep the boundaries into the ridiculous or the ludicrous. Everyone—readers and writers included—want to believe in magic. It’s up to you to make it real.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider: Point #3: Characters

2009-03-13T02:15:00.000-04:00

Whether writing or reading a fantasy story, the characters are everything. They can move the plot, or the plot can move them. They are the link between the reader and the fantasy world you have created. Good characters (and I’m not speaking about their morality here) will keep the reader interested and make him care about the story.

My personal opinion is that the characters are the most important element in a story. All main characters should be round and dynamic (terms I will explain in a moment). You need to care about them, and one way is by portraying them realistically. Regardless of how fantastical the world is, the characters will have emotions and reactions that are like our own. They must be believable for the reader to have a relationship with them.

I’m speaking of the main characters, of course. You will want to identify if a character is a major character or a minor character. One to distinguish this is if plot influences the character or if the character influences the plot. Often (but not always) main characters have the power to make important decisions. What they do will influence the world and those around them. Minor characters tend to serve a rather limited purpose, and their sphere of influence is limited.

Often (but not always) you might glimpse the thoughts of a main character. If this major character is important enough that you can see inside his/her mind, then this character is a major character.

The main/major characters are usually active take up substantial page space throughout the story. Minor characters will come and go, often with little or no consequence.

Lastly, consider stereotypes and clichés. A good major character will not fall into any “category” perfectly. An example: a wise, old wizard who has special knowledge and great power that assists the main character in his/her quest. Another example: the wicked villain whose lust for power propels him through grandiose lengths to rule the world. We’ve all seen these stereotypes. Often they’re annoying; occasionally they can be useful for flat characters.

Aside from major and minor characters, you can classify a character as flat or round. A round character is dimensional. He has a range of emotions, a history, and relationships with other characters. A flat character is often a stereotype; we see this character from one perspective because he has no depth.

Characters can also be dynamic or static. Dynamic characters will respond to their environment; they will change significantly between the beginning of the story and the conclusion. Static characters will not change at all.

Character creation is like applying crayons to a coloring book. The colors you use and the way you apply them generates a unique picture: your character. Character creation stretches the limits of your imagination, and it can be as fun as it can be challenging. The process can also be quite involved, so here are a few things to consider when pulling out those crayons.

The tangible. By this, I’m referring to physical traits. Whether you are an artist who can draw your character, or you search for the perfect face in a magazine, it helps to be able to physically visualize your character. Hair color, eye color, complexion, height, weight—even the shape of the face or the way the character walks—these can have significance to the story. Make sure you’re consistent with your descriptions, but don’t feel you need to describe every detail about the character in a long-winded paragraph. Reveal a little at a time so you don’t take the reader out of the story by unnecessary distractions. Also, you may want to forgo a physical description if the reader is to completely identify with the character; a faceless character can be anybody—reader included.

A prominent fantasy novel trait is to have different “races.” Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and other mythical humanlike creatures are popular variations aside from your typical human. What makes an Elf an Elf? Is it a physical distinction, or is there more? Be brave and create your own race. Just make sure you’re consistent. Matt created the Markanturians—a blood-hued, humanlike race with dark eyes and the ability to heal others through tendril-like projections from their bodies. His inspiration? A character named Frank from the movie Hellraiser. Ideas can come from anywhere.

The intangible. Now we list the traits you can’t describe with your senses. This includes personality, flaws, religious beliefs, talents and special abilities… You get the idea.

When Matt and I first started writing together, we created character sheets to help us keep track of the tangible and intangible qualities of our characters. The sheet included a physical description but also the character’s origin, likes and dislikes, nicknames, history, occupation, etc. This will keep your character consistent through the novel and add to his/her believability.

Most importantly, what is the purpose of your character? Is this the main protagonist who will save the world? Or is this a supporting character who will influence the hero? Once you know the function your character will serve, you can determine just how detailed you would like to get in his/her creation. The easiest trap to fall into is to create an awesome character who has no purpose. Likewise, you will not want to create characters who are too similar lest your reader be unable to distinguish (or care about) who they are and what their struggle is.

Never underestimate the power of a good character. Your novel will ride upon his/her believability, and that will make all the difference between a book that can’t be put down vs. a coffee table ornament.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider: Point #2: Plot

2009-02-19T02:20:00.000-05:00

Plot—it’s what’s happenin’—literally. But plot is more than a string of actions or events that take you from the beginning of the story to the end. Plot is all the components of a novel fit together to create a working machine. It can only run smoothly when thought through to entirety, and it needs all its parts to do so.

If we take it from the beginning, we find a semblance of an opening—a hook that lures you into the story. This might take the form of a narrative introduction, or it might be a burst of unexpected action. Whatever the opening is, it must draw the reader’s attention as quickly as possible, or the fate of the book belongs to the dusty coffee table. You should meet your main character, establish your point of view, determine where and when this story is taking place. Somewhere in this exposition, you need to identify what it is that vexes your protagonist so. Without a conflict, you have no story.

Smoothly (or so we hope), we transition into the meat of the novel. It may seem pretty basic—perhaps a little static even—but you need some filler material. Relationships with the main character are established and explored. The conflict is further defined and becomes increasingly more prominent. This is where you pick up momentum to reach the rising action: the most important event that precedes the climax!

Believe it or not, the climax is not the exact middle of the book. It actually signifies the beginning of the end. It’s the point of no return, the peak of excitement. The conflict reaches a crisis point, and after this, we descend into the falling action. In the falling action, the pieces that had been shattered in the climax are slowly fitted back together. The conflict is heading toward a resolution, and while it does not have to be a happy ending, it is an ending to the cohesive idea that was the novel. It helps for a reader to feel that the book has ended, to feel some sense of a satisfying conclusion as opposed to a, “That’s how I’m left?!” Because the ending, after all, is the last thing a reader will remember, and it is most likely how he will judge the book when all is said and done.

Beginning, middle, end. Those are the parts, but machine needs a little grease. Let’s call it “pacing.” Pacing can be incredibly difficult to judge when you’re the writer. Are the scenes too drawn out? Do they lack action, droning on with unnecessary dialog? Or do they rush through important moments so as to leave you scratching your head, wondering what just happened? You want to build tension in just the right places and bring the reader to ease without boring him. It’s easy to get lost in a scene that seems necessary, but you should always be able to ask yourself, “What was the point of that?” If you can answer the question confidently, then integral pieces of the story can be maintained while the fat is cut away.

From personal experience, Matt and I use a calendar to plot important events and keep track of multiple storylines that progress simultaneously. Plotting key events on paper can visually show you how much material you have in the beginning, middle, and conclusion of the novel. All three parts should be balanced, lest your oiled machine get thrown out of whack. It’s nice to know, though, that you’re the mechanic, and you can fix anything once you identify the problem. After all, you built the machine, and building a plot can be just as fun as it is challenging.

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider: Point #1: Milieu

2009-02-15T02:21:00.000-05:00

A story without milieu—or setting—is like a picture without a background. You have a detailed and well-rendered subject floating in empty space, the blank white of the paper. Was the artist too lazy to create a background for the subject? Did it seem unimportant or too boring a task? No matter how amazing the drawing is, it remains unfinished, empty. So, too, is a story without context.

The setting of a fantasy novel may be a strong focal point, accentuating phenomena that cannot exist in our world. Purple snow, mountains of crystal, trees that grow upside down. This can be wonderfully fantastical and alluring or downright distracting and annoying if your fantasy setting is not your story’s focus. Even if your unusual phenomena do not warrant an explanation, they do need a point or purpose. Will this fantastical setting play an important role in the plot, or is it merely there to convince the reader he’s reading a fantasy novel?

Creating a world does not have to be boring and tedious. It can be addictive and fun, like fitting together pieces of a puzzle. The landscape will dictate climate, the plants that grow there, the animals who eat the plants, and ultimately the people who will settle in that environment. If you’re the writer, you get to paint this picture.

It seems like every good fantasy novel has a map, and often the hero’s journey will traverse this variable landscape and showcase just how unique and diverse the world is. Draw or examine a map. Will mountains divide kingdoms, or is there a great and mystical forest that people dare not enter? Who or what will dwell there, and when you give the location a name, does it hint at its inhabitants? The Dragontooth Mountains, for instance, sound like impassible, jagged peaks. Do dragons kite along the summits? What does this mean for nearby villages?

How big is this world? Can you judge its scale? When Matt and I created our map, we included a scale to determine just how far one could travel in a day by horse, by foot, or even by boat. Realistically, you can chart those incredible journeys the characters will be taking. It may take a couple days to travel from one town to another or weeks from one kingdom to the next.

Topography aside, time is also an important indicator of setting. Yes, it’s fantasy, but you don’t want people driving cars while they live in primitive Medieval-type homes. You may need to do a little research to be consistent. Personally, I prefer novels that are set in a more archaic time—without modern conveniences. Many classic fantasy tales are set in a Medieval-type world with castles and peasants. Is there a hint of the Renaissance in there? Whether the time period is reminiscent of an older culture or modern times, it should be consistent.

Consistency does not come at the price of creativity. Remember, in a world where magic exists, anything is possible! Creating a rich history—both culturally and geographically can only improve the believability of your novel. Your character lives somewhere, came from somewhere, was born at some point. All of this will influence the tale, and it’s worth the time to build a whole new world!

-Stefanie

A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider

2009-02-11T02:23:00.000-05:00

“Fantasy.” In terms of a novel, this genre usually provokes one of two responses: a roll of the eyes or a snap to attention (as in excitement). The “eye-rollers” may be all too aware of fantasy novel clichés (namely the typical plotline of the “chosen” hero who stands against insurmountable odds to save a world from domination by an evil foe). Meanwhile, the excitable readers devour every sword-slinging battle and magic-wielding wizard that appears on the page. Not everyone loves a tale of high-fantasy, but to misjudge the genre is a mistake.

Just what is “fantasy”? It’s fiction—the workings of the imagination to create an alternative world that is fantastically different from the one in which we live. There is mystery in this vague power known as “magic,” and magic is the glue that holds this world together. Unlike science-fiction, magic is the basis of creation—not technology or applied science. You can call it escapism if you want, for certainly that is much of the appeal of fantasy, but a good fantasy is also believable. Believable fantasy. Not an oxymoron of a term, but a phrase that connotes quality fantasy-fiction.

The point of any novel is to reach the reader, to somehow allow the reader and the literature to develop a relationship. If the reader doesn’t care, the book is irrelevant. Believability crosses the boundaries of reality and the fantasy world, bridging the gap that brings the reader closer to the fictional characters. The more believable the story, the more the reader becomes a part of the tale (not apart from the tale).

All fiction has some basis in reality. An author can only write what he/she knows, after all. The key to good fantasy-fiction is to merge reality with the fantastical. Do you write your own fantasy tales, or do you simply enjoy reading them? Or are you a skeptic who is willing to be convinced by a good argument that the fantasy genre is worth a time investment?

Good, believable fantasy is not a concoction scrawled on paper directly from one’s imagination. There’s actually a bit of planning involved—more than you might first consider. If you’re willing to indulge in one fantasy author’s opinion, you might find the “Ten Points of a Believable Fantasy Novel” to be insightful—whether you’re a writer, a reader, or a skeptic. Stay tuned for Point #1…

-Stefanie

Reviewing Your Review: Heading Home

2009-01-29T02:24:00.001-05:00

He crosses the plate! Game over. The home team wins…

Well, not quite yet.

Home Plate: The Completed Review

After closer inspection, Fantasy Book 101 was not so bad after all. Sure, you still might like the presence of a solid plot, but you have a new understanding of the author’s intentions. You no longer hate Fantasy Book 101, and you now know why. It’s almost time to post your review.

You’ve asked all the appropriate questions and have come to a definitive conclusion. “Three out of five stars: Dark, war-set fantasy wields strong characters, but story lacks firm footing.” Potential readers glance over your review and decide that despite its mediocre rating, they are intrigued. On the flip side, cautious readers who are not fans of dark, war-set fantasies know to avoid this book, but are still interested because of the characters’ depth. That’s the basis of a Constructively Critical Review.

In the end, everyone wins. You—the reviewer—are proud to have composed a competent review, the author is grateful to receive the competent review, and potential readers have a reason to consider Fantasy Book 101. No bashing or H.O.A.s necessary.

Now before I go into my conclusion and you post your review, there is one last bit of information I would like to share. Spoilers. This is an evil word for potential readers who are curious to learn about a book. It is paramount to understand that when reviewing a work of fiction—or any type of work, for that matter—that you not, I repeat NOT, give away the entire story. Why, you ask? It really steams people, that’s why! How would you like to learn that the main character is killed by his lover on the last page? I wouldn’t, and the author doesn’t want you to know either. At least, not until you have actually read his or her book. Books are an author’s most prized accomplishment. Years of blood, sweat, and tears have been poured into those pages. Don’t spoil the experience for someone else in one destructive sentence.

And now we head safely into the dugout and receive high fives from our teammates. Right? Yes, and unfortunately, no. Not everyone will be satisfied with a well-thought out review. It’s just human nature to want to disagree even when there seems to be no justifiable cause for it. I can guarantee, however, that most people will respect your views whether you liked Fantasy Book 101 or not. You’ve explained yourself, and that’s a game well-played!

-Matt

Reviewing Your Review: Third Base

2009-01-28T02:25:00.001-05:00

There’s a batter on the corner looking to come home…

Third Base: Character Development: Character development is the growth of a character from the beginning to the conclusion of a novel. As we continue to outline Fantasy Book 101, we see that the plot is incoherent, but the setting is believable. What about its characters?

Was Captain Josef Shmoe, the main character, a well-rounded person, or was he as flat as the paper he was printed on? Did he help progress the story, or did the story change him? Perhaps he happened to play second fiddle to one of the more interesting minor characters. Did his character grow and learn anything? Was he dynamic? Was he believable, and did you empathize with him? Did he have to make any sort of personal sacrifice for the “greater good”?

Characters are everything in a work of fiction! Yes that’s an exclamation point at the end of the sentence. It’s there because characters are the most important part of a story. Sure, we as readers love to be whisked into an imaginative, fantasy world filled with dragons and magical creatures, but what we love most is relating to the people in that story. A book can fulfill every fantastical desire we have, but if the characters in it have as much depth as a rain puddle, then we will struggle to relate to them, to care about them.
Captain Josef Shmoe is a war-torn man, tortured by his past. He was a child who had been abused by his crone mother, and he grows to be a hardened warmonger with a definite lack of compassion for the magical community. He has devoted his life to smiting any and all creatures of magic. However, he carries a dark secret. Deep down, he knows that he, too, is a being of magic like his crone mother, and he despises himself because of it. For every witch and wizard he slays, he feels he is suppressing his dark secret. Or is he?

(Tense and ominous music playing in the background)

To be continued...

-Matt

Reviewing Your Review: Second Base

2009-01-27T02:26:00.001-05:00

He slides! He’s safe!!!

Second base: Setting: Setting is the location (place) or period (time) in which the action of the novel takes place. When dealing with setting in epic fantasy, I believe that it’s imperative the author create a world which is believable. Let’s revisit Fantasy Book 101. The story, as we know, is heavily battle oriented and lacking a detailed plot. However, the world in which it takes place adheres to basic laws of physics while carefully incorporating magic. There is a definite Medieval/Arthurian feel to it which can be traced back to history books for authenticity. You still don’t like the book for its lack of plot, but you are impressed with its realism in terms of Medieval war tactics. Address this in your review.

But what about Fantasy Explorers: Book XXVII? Say this is your favorite ongoing series for the past three decades, and it suddenly falls into the trap of creating a world which is lush with mystical creatures that seem to just live wherever and randomly appear for no reason. Fantasy Explorers: Book XXVII takes place in a world which has fourteen moons. Are these moons more of a distraction than an enhancement to the world? Throwing random oddities in a fantasy novel to make it fantasy is insulting and annoying. Even if mystical phenomena are not explained, they should somehow contribute to the plot. And don’t neglect to question the relevance of the fourteen moons just because Fantasy Explorers: Book XXVII is written by your favorite author. Obviously twenty seven books is too many for this long-lived series.

To be continued...

-Matt

Reviewing Your Review: First Base

2009-01-26T02:27:00.001-05:00

It’s a line-drive up the middle! Base hit!

First base: Plot: The plot is the plan, scheme, or main sequence of events in a literary work. So you’ve finished reading Fantasy Book 101, and you feel the need to express your opinions about it. What better place to begin than with the plot? Let’s start with the book’s pacing. Did it seem rushed? Was the core of the story neglected in order to reach an action-packed climax? Perhaps it was the opposite. Did the story seem to crawl through endless exposition and find itself lost amongst unnecessarily flowery description and put you to sleep?

Let’s say that Fantasy Book 101 skimped heavily on plot so as to bombard readers with numerous bloody action sequences. Maybe the plot seemed to make absolutely no sense. Is this considered poor writing? That depends. Can you explain why the plot made no sense? Maybe you like an Epic Fantasy which consists of pages dense with descriptions of clothing and Medieval fashion. If this is the case, then Fantasy Book 101 might seem like garbage to you. Should you translate your distaste into your review? Yes and no.

Use the second ‘C’ in the C.C.R. method. Be critical, but explain yourself. Don’t just bash a piece of literature. Address the lack of plot by giving examples of what you felt Fantasy Book 101’s plot was lacking. “Fantasy Book 101, while full of gripping action, ultimately suffered due a lack of a coherent story.”

To be continued...

-Matt

Reviewing Your Review

2009-01-25T02:27:00.001-05:00

Have you ever reviewed a book? I mean really reviewed a book? None of this, “Yeah, I liked it. It was good, and you should read it too!” That’s not a review. That’s what’s referred to as a “High-Octane Accolade.” This is supportive fuel from those who neglect to realize that their “frosting” niceties are just that: fluffy, sugary topping without the substance of the cake underneath. Why read this book? What was so good about it? Did the plot’s pacing move at a good clip? Were the characters memorable? Were there action scenes that left you breathless? Did the imagery haunt you? Was there believable dialogue? H.O.A.s answer none of these questions. Would you buy a book if you learned nothing from the review? There are a lot of “good books” out there, and what’s to distinguish one from another to a potential reader?

The answer is C.C.R.. No, not Creedence Clearwater Revival, (great music) but a “Constructively Critical Review.” Any good review—whether it be negative or positive—explains why a reviewer liked or disliked the book. Just what was it you liked or—heaven forbid—disliked about Raven’s Heart: An Unlikely Journey by Matthew and Stefanie Verish? (Hey, we can promote here whenever we feel like it!) You can use this basic example to structure your review: Baseball. Baseball is played on a diamond. The diamond consists of four bases, and I just happen to have four points to help in composing a useful review.

So grab a pencil and notepad, and step up to the plate! It’s time to play ball.

To be continued...

-Matt

See it to Believe it?

2009-01-21T02:29:00.000-05:00

We live in such a visual world—much of which is created for us. In less than a heartbeat we call up images on-line, television has a show for just about every topic out there, magazines play up to pop culture with alluring ads, and movies are visual stories that appeal to all ages. Books—especially novels—have a lot of competition. What would, after all, possess someone to pick up a thick block of processed tree pulp to stare at page after page of black-and-white text? Let’s face it, that’s a heavy time investment not to be rewarded with a picture (other than the one on the book cover).

I’ve often been asked why I haven’t illustrated Raven’s Heart. First, I didn’t have the time or energy (yeah, that’s my lazy answer). I’m rather picky about my drawings, and it would take me a lifetime to be satisfied with what I concoct. Second, I hope that my (and I include Matt in “my”) words are art enough. I try to include some imagery, some decent descriptions to paint an image in your mind. Last but most important, I wouldn’t want to shortchange the function of the imagination. (That’s what fantasy is about, isn’t it?)

I say all this knowing that a 500 page book is a lot to swallow in a world where novel-readers become harder to find. If our book ever is made into a movie, we’ll have the actors on the cover, right? Or a special edition collector’s book of post-novel illustrations—a picture book as a supplementary money-maker. I have nothing against this (ok, maybe just the actors on the cover); Tolkien’s novels have spectacular supplementary artwork that do justice to his books. As an artist, I can understand the need for “visual aids.”

I need to visualize what I write. I can daydream and try to transmit images onto paper. I have done oodles (yes, “oodles”) of character drawings, and every time I depict a fictional figure, I feel I know him/her a little better. (Arcturus has a big nose, by the way). I have a collection of photographs of landscapes, gardens, animals, etc. to help me better envision a setting. I even created a scrapbook of photocopied clippings of castles, Medieval costumes, ancient weaponry. All this to create a more believable image through those monochromatic characters we call letters.

My point, I suppose, is more or less to defend the nature of a novel—our novel, any novel. I love art—both literary and visual. What I’d love even more is to see inside the imaginations of anyone who has read our books. What does the blue desert of Lornabaez look like to you? A certain sibling of mine confessed that despite our description of Hawkwing, he sees him with the girth of a linebacker. I would give anything in the world to have fans submit their artistic character depictions to our website! (That, for me, would be sweeter than a vanilla-flavored rootbeer!)

It’s in the mind’s eye, believe it or not. You really don’t need to see it from me—not when you can make it your own. Who am I to show you my characters when you recreate them for yourself? That said, I will just negate all I have written in this blog by admitting I did include a character drawing at the very end of the second novel. Only peek at it if you want to see my vision of the protagonists, but don’t you dare believe for a second you should alter your mental pictures! …By the way, all fan art can be sent to: webmaster@secramore.com. No nudity, please, as I know we didn’t include any in the books. : )

-Stefanie

“It’s my turn already?” Part 5

2009-01-16T02:30:00.000-05:00

Until you’ve pushed yourself to be the best that you can, you may not understand my writing issues. Aside from everyday life—to which I attribute most of my woes—I came to realize that I am my own worst enemy. Until I met my wife, I never had much drive to do anything with my life. Creativity flowed freely, but I had no way of harnessing it. My better half spends almost as much time—and still does—working to cure me of my dilemma.

You see, I don’t believe that I’m as good a writer as Stef. Everything seems to come so easily to her. (She was valedictorian of her school, and she graduated college one full year early). I, on the other hand, have to work hard to keep up with her. Stef’s infinite drive and sheer will to complete something is remarkable. She’s an inspiration to me on so many levels. I would not be the person I am today without her.

However, despite all that I’ve written above, I still consistently find myself at a cross. “It’s my turn already?” I don’t actually say this aloud, but I think it every time the laptop is passed in my direction. I’m a professional writer (I actually believe that despite all I’ve written), and I shouldn’t be shying away from an opportunity to shine.

But I do.

There are so many reasons why I struggle, but my partner—my loving wife—constantly reminds me—whether she’s aware or not—why I should persevere. Life, family, work, depression, illness, money, lack of time, the latest video game (heh, heh) are ALL excuses as to why I should not be producing wonderful works of literature with my beautiful co-writer. I love my wife, which in-turn means I love writing, and I will do anything to make sure that that love never dies.

Even if I am lazy.

-Matt

“It’s my turn already?” Part 4

2009-01-15T02:31:00.000-05:00

So we were writing. And writing, and writing, and writing… It wasn’t long before we wondered how we were writing without each other. To this day—outside of an occasional short story or poem—I refuse to write a novel by myself. Writing as a couple was also one of the main reasons we got married. A word of advice: If you can write works of fiction with the person you love and not want to kill them, marry them.

After many drafts of books that will NEVER be read by human eyes, we hunkered down and got serious. That was when my true struggles began. Up until this point we weren’t pushing ourselves to the limit of which we knew we were capable. We had—and still have—an endless trove of ideas, but we had yet to focus these ideas into a cohesive thought.

We had flirted with the idea of re-writing Raven’s Heart, but in all honesty, who wants to re-write an entire book when it’s been corrected ten times? We did! It was the best decision we ever made. We took our writing to a new level—far above what I thought we were capable of. To this day I’m still amazed what we can do as a team.

But I digress, I’ve no doubt you’ve all been wondering when I’m actually going to discuss my writing woes. Right now! Remember when I called myself a lazy daydreamer? There was a reason I wrote that, but you’ll have to wait and find out why in the exciting conclusion of this blog entry!

-Matt

“It’s my turn already?” Part 3

2009-01-14T02:32:00.000-05:00

Somewhere around the third year of our blossoming relationship, (I’m not sure who suggested it the second time) we tried the Round-Robin story again. We wiped the slate clean and journeyed back to the world of Fantasy. This time we were ready. I promised not to unknowingly incorporate any of my ideas from my failed novel, and she—well, Stef never did anything wrong.

Thus Raven’s Heart was born.

However, we didn’t know that we were writing our future first novel together. Stef was still chin-deep in egotistical college professors, and I was still under the impression that I was a solo author. The Round-Robin was just for fun.

Every so often, I would receive an email from my future wife, and I would have to add to a scene. It was my turn to write! I remember being so excited because I could do whatever my chaotic little heart wished. I let my imagination run wild. These were the stress-free days of writing.

One day—and neither of us is quite sure when it was—we became authors. We didn’t know what we’d gotten ourselves into. Silly us. About two chapters had already been written before we decided to actually give our story a story. So began the story discussions. We’ve been having them every single day for the past nine years.

-Matt

“It’s my turn already?” Part 2

2009-01-13T02:33:00.000-05:00

There was a time when the both of us wrote separately. True story. To this day we still have no idea what we were thinking. Neither of us was able to write more than a hundred pages into any one of our ideas. (We write epic Fantasy, and ninety-four pages just ain’t gonna cut it.) It wasn’t until the second year of our relationship that we decided to combine our efforts. Best decision ever.

Stef was away at college, and we constantly emailed each other. One day my beautiful wife came up with the idea of writing a Round-Robin story for fun. She wrote a single page of Fantasy Fiction off the top of her head and emailed it back to me to continue as I deemed necessary. There were no rules, no direction, just plain old creativity bursting at the seams. Sounds like a writer’s dream. Actually it was complete chaos. I know this because I tend to cause havoc whenever I can. I suppose I’ve watched too many horror films growing up.

As I said, there were no rules for this little game we were playing, but somewhere between me inexplicably changing the main character’s name and the absolute lack of direction, we knew deep down that we had something. So what did we do? We stopped the Round-Robin writing session for a year and returned to our struggling ways.

Bet you didn’t see that coming!

-Matt

“It’s my turn already?”

2009-01-12T02:34:00.000-05:00

Writing is the love of my life. Being married to my co-writer, I can safely say this without the fear of being hit over my head with our laptop. Loving writing is no different than loving my wife. They are one in the same; I can’t function without either. (Stef might sometimes disagree with that last statement, but that’s her opinion). And that brings me to my next point: like marriage, writing can be difficult.

I’ve always been more laid back than my wife. She, on the other hand, is the definition of driven. She’s more of a romantic when it comes to writing, and I am very much a realist. We balance each other out. While our goals for writing are exactly the same, we are two completely different beings. My wife can balance three jobs—as well as an art career on the side—and still find time to create beautiful prose. I work just one—mind you, it’s more than enough—and I have a tendency to be quite the lazy daydreamer. Writing isn’t always on my mind. As you might have guessed, this makes for an interesting writing relationship.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a writer. My wife and I have already self-published two novels with a trilogy on the way. I’m serious! Those are my words on those pages too! I love writing…unfortunately I’m easily distracted. And it is my occasional lack of self-confidence which leads to my frequent sessions of sitting and staring at the monitor. Did I mention this makes for an interesting writing relationship?

-Matt

My Main Character is a Jerk, and That’s OK: Part 5

2009-01-09T02:53:00.000-05:00

The problem with this little formula of change is that Erik’s character has learned nothing. He has made no decisions for himself that prompt him to become a non-jerk personality. We need to give Erik a second change for growth.

Let’s give him back his memory at a time when the love of his life is threatened. He must see beyond the wrongs of his past to save what he truly cares about. The result could and probably will be tragic, but Erik learns a lesson from it. Erik goes through change to become a deeper character.

I didn’t say that he has stopped being a jerk. He may still have those elements to him, but it’s what he has gained as a character that makes him harder to label and dismiss as unlikable. You understand him now. You suffered through a difficult point of change with him, and now you see. He’s a jerk, but he’s a good jerk. And that’s OK.

*For another great example of a not-so-nice character going through reform, check out The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Read up on Haplo and his adventures.

-Stefanie

My Main Character is a Jerk, and That’s OK: Part 4

2009-01-08T02:52:00.001-05:00

Until this point, Erik has not been likable. Now is the time for him to change. He must change if the reader is to relate to him. This is a multi-step process.

First, I will need to give insight to Erik's past (the one I have described) so that the reader can begin to understand his character. Next, Erik must reach a critical point, whether an active or a passive one, where the change will be enacted. By active or passive I mean a change that involves a decision on his part (that's active) or a change that is forced upon him by some other person/factor (that's passive).

In Erik's case, he reaches a point of mental breakdown, where he threatens to destroy everything around him—including himself. This breakdown is induced by the sudden confrontation of his past: his imprisonment and those who had abducted him. He needs to be saved from himself.

The moment of change is passive, as someone intervenes (the romantic interest), and Erik's memory is forcibly stolen from him. He now knows nothing of his past, nothing about Collin's destructive path…he is free to begin a new life with the woman who loves him. This is a period of time when the reader can watch Erik in a stress-free environment. He is completely unhindered by all that has thus far shaped him, and as a result, he's not a jerk. All his redeeming qualities are now what define him—even though this is an induced state.

You can argue until the end of time that part of his personality was being the jerk, but you can also argue that his redeeming qualities were the core of his person, underlying that unlikable exterior. Either way, you see a new side of his character.

-Stefanie

My Main Character is a Jerk, and That’s OK: Part 3

2009-01-07T02:51:00.001-05:00

Our experiences and our environment shape us too. You can't have a character grow up in an abusive family and expect him to turn out being the kindest individual you've ever known. That's not very realistic, and even for a fantasy novel, you want it to be believable. Conflict equates to interest. A boring novel or character is one without flaws—a static line of contented emotion. You may think you can't care about a character who is a jerk, but you'll care even less about a character who is boring.

So Erik…he was abducted when he was young. He was taken away from his contented and static lifestyle and thrown inside a dark prison where he was mentally abused and tortured for close to a hundred years (he's immortal, remember?). He reached a point of breaking, and since that point, he had given up hope of escape. He is, however, rescued, and once he overcomes the initial shock of reentering society, his personality reemerges. Only now, he is very guarded and a bit distrusting of others.

You see how this is building? Erik has one friend—"Collin." Collin is his rescuer, and Collin's life isn't so great either. Collin is heading in a dangerous direction with his life, but he's a stubborn bloke who insists upon making his own decisions. Erik is frustrated by this. Erik can't sway his friend to change his path. Eventually, Erik leaves and has his own adventure.

And here is the crucial point of change.

-Stefanie

My Main Character is a Jerk, and That’s OK: Part 2

2009-01-06T02:47:00.001-05:00

All right. It's true. I've created an arrogant genius who has difficulty expressing emotion. Without delving too much into the context of Erik's background, I can list good reasons (not excuses) for his unlikable qualities.

First, he comes from a peaceable culture where emotions are not so dynamic. You might even say they're a boring crowd. It's only because their immortal. In my mind, when you live forever, there will be little to surprise or excite you. Sure, you feel emotions, but you don't exactly get sentimental at the drop of a dime. Nor do you whip out your rapier and challenge your offender to a heated duel. Time and patience has smoothed over your emotional dynamics like a pebble on the beach.

Second, he's a genius. He's a genius who is easily bored by his culture's monotonous immortality, their lifestyle. He needs to be challenged, mentally stimulated. Who is smarter than him who can feed his intellectual hunger? There is no one. So he has resorted to what children do when they're bored: he experiments. He psychologically tests people and plays pranks on them—all for his amusement. Is this appreciated by his friends and family? Poor Erik is so misunderstood…

…And misguided. No one will discipline him, because he is, after all, a genius, and what can you say to someone who refutes your every argument? If he wants to, he'll ignore you. He doesn't need to waste his time heeding authority. Erik will, one day, become the leader of his people. He will be their authority. A scary thought for a reckless immortal.

Erik does have some redeeming qualities. He's bright, he's clever, he's poetic, and truly, he does care about his friends and family. I've only told you about Erik's personality. Can someone be born a jerk? Or do they grow into that nasty label?

-Stefanie

My Main Character is a Jerk, and That’s OK

2009-01-05T02:46:00.003-05:00

We all want to be liked and accepted. There's nothing wrong with that. Admittedly, we create our main characters with a flavor of our own personality. They can be reflections of your dreams, your quirks, your most notable traits, and of course, your attitude. And you want your character to be likable. How else is the reader supposed to care about him, right?

My husband approached me the other day in regard to a character we have affectionately dubbed "Erik." (Matt had been re-reading our latest work for content and continuity). "I don't like him," Matt said. "He is condescending and arrogant, and I don't care about him."

I was bothered by this—especially since Erik was my creation. "What do you mean?" I responded defensively. "Give me some examples."

Matt flips through the manuscript. "I can think of at least two. He's just not very nice, and I don't see how he is friends with the other characters." He finds his page and reads the selection.

"Well, I didn't intend for it to be read that way. He's really not so bad," I tell him.

Matt reads another example.

"You have to understand that he's stressed. There's a lot he's upset about, and that will certainly influence his attitude." What more can I say? I want to support my character, but my little stab of conscience tells me what I don't want to admit: Matt is right. Erik is a jerk.

-Stefanie

Writing in Circles

2009-01-02T02:45:00.001-05:00

Writers' circles and internet forums, the undiscovered goldmine! As self-published authors, we must be on the up and up when it comes to connecting with the intended target audience. Your peers—your fellow writers—can be your best supporters. You share the same passion, swap similar experiences, brainstorm ideas, and constructively offer opinions which will hopefully make you a better writer. Networking is not just for business and self-promotion. Writers' circles and internet forums are a great to meet new friends.

The local library is an amazing place. Sure, you can find the most recent best-seller, conduct a little research, or surf the web, but libraries have become a haven for social events as well. In our case we discovered—quite by accident, mind you—a writers' group known as the Twinsburg Public Library Writers' Circle. We call it 'T.P.L. Night' for short. Once a month we gather our scattered notes and thoughts, and we drive out to the library to converse with other striving authors. The meeting room may be small, but your mind expands to new levels of creativity as you discuss everything from plotting to character development, style and voice, editing, and the like. Writers' retreats and attending talks given by professional authors are an added bonus.

If physically meeting others in a public setting is daunting for you (and it certainly can be for us as well), try connecting online with people who seek to achieve the same goal as you. We did, and we are ever grateful. The internet—as everyone knows or should know by now—is a vast world of information just waiting to be your resource. It is in this seemingly infinite cyberspace that we stumbled, yet again, across a little place on Amazon.com where people can voice their opinions on anything and everything—specifically in our case, a Fantasy Forum.

The Fantasy Forum is a little slice of heaven for those of us who eat, sleep, and breathe everything Fantasy. We were stunned to learn how many self-published authors haunt these forums. Like the writers' circle, we express our literary thoughts, and sometimes we get a little silly…ok a lot silly. But no matter where the topics in the forum stray, you will find something valuable to take with you in your writing venture.

In the end, you're never alone. There are others out there who share in your same struggles and celebrate similar victories. Don't be afraid to reach out: click that mouse or take a drive, and you'll find the support of your fellow writers waiting there for you.

-Matt

Thoughts of a Writer

2008-12-10T02:44:00.002-05:00

Writing the novel is the fun part. Playing ideas off each other, brainstorming, researching, and ultimately painting pictures and concepts with words is like an amusing and ever-challenging game. You create your world, and your characters become something more than a name on paper. The workings of the imagination are amazing, and even more gratifying is when you can solidify all of this in the form of a novel. You can revel in this forever, but there is just one more thing…

Ah, yes, the purpose! Why you wrote what you wrote. You have to share it. Your beautiful work of fiction sits there, its potential locked between the front and back covers as it sits upon your coffee table. Who will read it? How do you find an audience? Will friends and family be willing and honest, or will they tell you what they think you want to hear? What about the rest of the world? Surely there are others who will devour every word you've printed and then demand more. They must be out there somewhere!

And so you embark upon the grueling task of self-promotion and marketing. As a writer, did you ever think you would have to come out from behind your computer and shamelessly exploit your efforts? Will the world laugh at you? Ignore you? Even worse, will they berate you and trod upon your masterpiece like a discarded cigarette? It's brutal. It's terrifying. But you have to do it, or all you have worked for is for naught. And you just might reach that one person who really, truly, loves what you have done.

So you take a chance. Print your own business cards, bookmarks, posters, and array of promotional material. You stand with a seemingly cool exterior before your audience as you try to market your true love and passion. You lay everything bare, and then you hope for a miracle: to be favorably acknowledged.

That's right: it's not about the money. A self-published novel can be awfully over-priced, and so you take a hit, offer a discount, and ignore your lack of profit. In all fairness, you do what you must to make a sale, but it's for survival's sake and not for buying an Olympic-sized pool for your backyard.

This story does have a happy ending. Persistence will gain you something, for if nothing else, you have written that novel that people dream of writing. Some talk about it with half-serious intentions, but you—you have done it. And you can do it again, because you're a writer, and that's what you do. That's the fun part.

-Stefanie