Whimsical Friday: Those Crazy Authors

I’m doing something different today. I’m actually talking about writing. LOL
 I know, weird huh, considering I mostly post goofy stuff.  Well don’t fret my loyal readers. There is some whimsy in this post as well. J
What is it about writers and authors that is so intriguing?  We’re just normal average every day people who happen to tell tales. We get up every morning, dress (okay, not always), eat, work, and breathe. Yet people are always fascinated by us. I will admit it feels damn good. I always love when someone finds out I’m an author. They smile and get this awestruck look in their eyes.  Then the questions come out. What do you write? Where do you get your ideas from? You must have to have a vivid imagination.  And for that moment, while they stare at you as if you’re the biggest celebrity they’ve ever seen, you feel high. What a great feeling.

I’m always fascinated by the way authors are portrayed in movies. We’re portrayed as lazy, sloppy, and sometimes insane. Stephen King loves to write his authors as being weird, obsessive and crazy. Ever see The Shinning? Great movie. Loved Jack Nicholson. He plays crazy like no one else. Never read the book, but the movie scared the living poop out of me. 

1408 was another great by him. John Cusack was perfect in this role. He played an author who debunks paranormal occurrences. Love the movie, love how John portrays the reclusive author who lost his only child and is divorced. Before he starts working, he sets out one cigarette.

Another favourite of mine is the Secret Window with Johnny Depp. Normally Depp plays strong characters, handsome characters (okay not always. Edward Scissor hands) But in this movie, he is a down and out slob. He’s a writer with…shall we say, problems.  I love how he sleeps, eats, and writes in this old ratty robe, his hair an absolute mess.

But my all time favourite writer related story has to be the Simpson Tree House of Horror, The Shining. Shocked? Have you read my whimsical posts? I’m weird. LOL  I absolutely love this clip. It is my all time favourite Simpson Halloween episode ever.   Check it out.

Funny right?
But in reality, now all writers are stark raving mad. Okay, sure, we have our quirks, some stranger than others, but for the most part, we’re normal people.  Am I right? I need to have music playing. Dance or pop. That’s it. See, I’m not SO weird. LOL Okay, sure, when I was writing the Darkness series I wrote it in the dark. I had to get into the frame of mind to see what it was like to live in a world without sun. But still, not so weird.

Any authors who care to share their story are welcome.  Is there something you have to have, have to do in order to write that next great story?

Cover Art: Friend or Foe?

I love cover art day, don't you?

I mean, there it is! Your BABY, illustrated for the whole world to see! Those words you've slaved over for hours, days, weeks, months, finally "for real!"

I'll admit I thought I was on the picky side when it came to this stage of the process. I don't mean to be but when I go to the trouble to fill out "cover art sheets" I would hope that the artist on the other end actually sees it.  Sometimes I wonder. But no matter how, um, odd those first iterations might be I have been able so far to get all my covers just the way I want them.

But I've been thinking about what drives me to read more about a book from the zillions and zillions of covers we are bombarded with daily.

Is it Flesh?

Is it intrigue and mystery?

Is it a dog?

I know I like a cover to look uncluttered, with a simple message--not too much going on to hint at the story.

I like some flesh unless the story really doesn't need it.  And frankly, sometimes less, is definitely more.

What makes you choose a book from a bunch of covers?  There is a voting thing (yet another and no none of my covers are in it so you can rest assured this is not Liz, being egregiously self promotional so there) that got me thinking about it. You can vote NOT for your "favorite" but whether or not you'd even read more much less buy the book based on covers in certain categories.  Check it out!
https://jabbic.hbarwa.com/readers/


And forgive a girl a real giggle for These....

More from DragonCON - Writers WHERE should Submit

The question of e-books, publishers, traditional and self publishing are all out for writers of today. The options today's writer has can be overwhelming but we broke it down in a 5 PM panel at DragonCON that had little foul language so it's a little more PC....

Kiernan Kelly moderated. Stephanie Burke, Scott Sigler, Marianne Lacroix and I were the panelists. Again, a collective history of over 50+ years of writing experience in a field that's fairly new despite the rich history in publishing.

Click here to listen to the audio

We covered a myriad of topics including briefly touching on contract issues, pen names, what to do if you do something stupid online, how to preserve your reputation, how to protect your identity the best you can and more. Ranging in background from authors at small to indie e-pubs to those published with some of the larger houses, we invite you to listen to the audio with the hope that we've helped you navigate the choices in publishing available to authors today.

I'd like to give a special thanks to Scott (not the panelist!) for recording the panels and posting the audio online. He did an excellent job.

Kiernan Kelly kept us on track and all the panelists did a fine job of speaking to yet again, a packed room.

The Playground - Out now from Decadent Publishing
What if YOUR lover made themselves available on the playground?

Book Feature and Give-A-Way: Dartboard, J.D. Gordon

1776: An English payroll ship loses sight of its convoy and wrecks on the shoals of a small, remote Caribbean island during a terrible storm, marooning its crew and a small group of soldiers. After rescuing the gold and burying it on the island, they are overrun by a tribe of cannibals, leaving the treasure hidden... Today: Jimmy Quigley, a small town cop, inherits a boat and a treasure map from his Uncle Jackson, a renowned world explorer. He hooks up with Evelyn Quinn, who also received a small inheritance from his uncle. He heads to the Caribbean with Evelyn and her friend, Kristin, and his friend, Rick, for some fun in the sun and a possible treasure hunt. When the boat is ransacked by thieves not once, but twice, Jimmy wonders if his uncle's warning to watch his back has more to it than he first thought. With his friends' safety and the fate of the Lorraine gold in mind, Jimmy heads off into the biggest adventure of his life...

 Buy From Amazon 

Bio: Firefighter and paramedic-turned-author Jimmy (J.D.) Gordon was born and raised in Chicago where he developed a taste for the finer things that the Windy City has to offer - pan pizza, live blues and the Cubs. 

Jimmy dropped into the world of literature, literally. After falling off a train and breaking his knee Jimmy had to spend quite a bit of time recuperating. While visiting the firehouse his peers asked what he planned to with all that time away. This when Jimmy said the words that he now claims to have changed his life. "I should write a book."
Despite some skepticism from his peers ("You don't even use punctuation on your run reports!"), he completed a novel, Island Bound, and made it a point to use punctuation throughout.

Another injury, sustained on the job, ended his career in the fire service. Aside from writing Gordon spends his Spring and Summer as an umpire for high school and youth baseball. He now lives with his wife and children in Glen Ellyn IL, a suburb of Chicago.

www.jimmygwrites.com

 Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Caribbean Calling
                                                  CONTEST OPEN UNTIL 5PM TUESDAY, JAN. 24TH 2012

                             Contest extended until SATURDAY JAN. 28TH, 3PMEST, 2012

Whimsical Friday: Oh that crazy tune

Earworms

ear·worm/ˈi(ə)rˌwərm/: A catchy song or tune that runs continually through a person's mind

If you’ve ever had one, you know how annoying they can be. That one song playing over and over in your head, driving you crazy. And how many times is that song one you can’t stand. That’s even worse.  “I’m too sexy for this body. Too sexy for this body…”  (Right Said Fred) And even worse, it keeps playing the same sentence over and over. Some say that if you sing the entire song it will stop the earworm. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t work. If anything it makes it worse. Grrr.

“Who let the dogs out? Who who who?” You know the song. Do you like it? I don’t. Yet I couldn’t stop myself from humming and singing the damn song when it came out. I would wake at night with the song stuck in my head. I’d find myself humming it during the day, even with other music going. I wanted to scream. 

My daughter listens to grunge style music. I’m not a fan, but there are some songs I don’t mind. I always tell her, “Why do you listen to that? Its so depressing and dark.” But she likes it. My parents said the same thing to me when I’d listen to my pop music, singing to  

Cindy Lauper, She Bop. If only they knew what that dong meant they probably would have banned me from ever listening to music again. LOL
One day, while cleaning the kitchen, my daughter walks in and smartly remarks, “I thought you didn’t like my music.” I was utter baffled by what she was talking about until she told me I was humming one of her songs. “Dammit,” I thought. She’s right.

Lately, Selena Gomez song, “Love Song” has been running through my head. I love the song so it’s not so bad, for the most part.  Waking in the middle of the night to pee and the song plays over and over in my head is annoying. Having trouble falling asleep after is down right painful.  And its only the chorus that repeats in my mind. It’s catchy.

[Chorus]
I, I love you like a love song, baby
I, I love you like a love song, baby
I, I love you like a love song, baby

And I keep hitting re-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat

I, I love you like a love song, baby
I, I love you like a love song, baby
I, I love you like a love song, baby

And I keep hitting re-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat

I have her album and play it when the song stick in my mind, yet the damn earworm won’t leave me alone. Sigh…what’s a gal to do.
Anyone else have this infliction? What song do you hear over and over again? What do you do to stop it?
Leave a comment and one lucky person will win a copy of my novel, Awaken the Demon.
Now, here’s Selena:

The Blog Tour From Hades

Ah the book tour.

Travel, hotels, lights, camera, action, readings, signings, interview for hokey local morning shows, such glamour.

Oh, yeah.

It's a VIRTUAL book tour...so....
Posts about anything and everything you can come up with somehow related back to the book you're trying to hock, "character interviews" (oy), all about me posts including the requisite "why I write" and "How long I've been keeping notebooks" plus the ever thrilling "who inspires me" paragraphs, contests/giveaways/begging for comments, and of course, the blurbs/excerpts and finally, the reviews.

It is in many ways more exhausting as it requires you to continue to write, be creative on (virtual) paper, come up with scintillating answers that will live forever in potential internet ignominy. And no room service?

I bring this up today as fair warning and to open a discussion about blogs in general. There was a day when a blogger was a glamorous pseudo-journalist, pontificating and editorializing all over the screen in a way frowned upon by traditional newspapers and magazines.  Now, we (and I do use the Royal We, thanks) are a penny a baker's dozen, running our collective mouths on everything from "craft" to "inspiration" to "cute kittens" and "dancing robots" and (God help us) "Star Wars."  I know I can roll my eyes, because I've done it ALL. Anything to prove I'm alive, busy, and really flipping talented.

Sigh.

oooooo-lookit how I snuck in my cover art for the final book!

And in order to promote my upcoming series (see: Vacation blogpost last week) I will be embarking on a series of tours, simultaneously designed to get you ready to read my Hot Realtors Series or at the very least whap you upside your head with my fabulousness.

Or not.

Tell me, IS it the blog tour, the incessant blog posting that sell YOUR books? Or is it the act of writing, getting published and writing and getting published some more that does it?

The podium is yours. I've got about twenty different interviews and posts to write....

oh SNAP another one!  this is the middle book....*slinks away...*

Conversation With A Book: Beneath the Surface, Joya Fields

Learn More About Joya: 
Blog  Website

She’s fighting to stay independent—he’s determined to protect her no matter what…

Brooke Richards survived the earthquake that took her parents and most of her leg, but she needs time to regroup. A trip to Florida for a state-of-the art prosthesis and to visit her best friend Linda seems ideal. But the trip turns traumatic when Brooke witnesses Linda’s boat disintegrating in a fiery explosion.

Police Officer Garrett Ciavello believes the blast was intentionally set to hide something Linda found on a dive. When Brooke offers her expertise in underwater archaeology, Garrett accepts her help with the investigation. But since his fiancée’s death years ago, Garrett has become overprotective, and as they are drawn to each other, Garrett realizes he will risk anything to keep Brooke safe.

Brooke is fiercely independent. Garrett is fiercely protective. Will they heal each other’s wounds and find a killer…before it’s too late?

Questions for the Readers: 

1. Brooke and Garrett both experience major losses in their lives before finding each other. Have you ever had anything bad happen in your life, and when you looked back on it later, you realized something good came from it?

2. New relationships can be sometimes be awkward. Brooke and Garrett spend time alone, but they also spend time with friends. How often do you think couples should get together with other couples and friends? Do you think it helps keep relationships strong?

3. Brooke is a  below-the-knee amputee, but her disability is not a major storyline. What types of characters with disabilities would you like to see more of in books and movies?