Christopher Marshall

To cliché or not to cliché? That is just a stupid question.

2010-09-22T20:31:00.002-04:00

Cliché:

1. Overused expression: A phrase or word that has lost its original effectiveness or power from overuse.

2. Overused idea: An overused activity or notion.

Let me first say that anything that isn’t cliché today will be cliché tomorrow. Tomorrow’s cliché was today’s speech or actions. Today’s speech or action was yesterday’s primal grunts and hand signals…

We continue to evolve as a species and the biggest way to do that is by communication. Communication is simply a series of sounds, symbols, or sensations that spark a familiar form of reason or understanding in our brains ideally from overuse and repetition. So, in affect our very speech is cliché. Our lifestyle is cliché. What we eat is cliché. Our hobbies are cliché. Our clichés are clichés. Yes, I am attempting to create cliché as cliché.

It is best not to overuse anything because redundancy just becomes annoying much like the paragraph above. We cannot remove cliché from speech unless we remove speech from speech.I think that the cliché epidemic has caused too many people to become paranoid over the whole thing. That and the smarter some people get the dumber they behave.

What would happen if the writer was eventually weeded out of the writing and all stories were made to sound the same, like a cookie cutter voice? If that were ever to happen then the voice of a single writer would no longer exist and books would be produced like a factory: Stamped with a company name and not an author.

Writers would then all become employees under a company like a job and work 8-5. No royalties, no advances, but maybe a good dental plan. Consumers would no longer look for a favorite author they would just look for a favorite publishing company. The individual would now be obsolete and expendable. Older authors would probably be replaced by younger authors and quality replaced by quantity.

Eventually they would create an A.I. that could now replace the writers entirely and no one would notice because all writing would be the same anyway.

Some may welcome such a future but where would such an ideology bring us? Well, it would bring us wealthy publishing houses at the expense of poor writers. So, in this perspective, a little cliché or distinctive voice isn’t such a bad thing. A writer who uses repetition set apart from the format of other writers is using independent cliché to make his/her voice stand alone. Personally, I see nothing wrong with that. In that argument, however, if you are using cliché of other writers to stand out then you are stealing ideas to promote yourself and that is wrong. If you are using said clichés to honor a well known writer and it is done with that intent then it is acceptable.

So now we can agree that Clichés are not wrong if used correctly.

An example of a ludicrous cliché rule is, “You can’t use a mirror in a story to describe your character’s features.” What idiot created that rule? What else would you use a mirror for? I use a mirror everyday and I may not always love what I see but it is my features that I look at and not the wall behind me.

A gray area cliché is, “His nerves were tight like steel.” Good for Robert E. Howard but now considered cliché to us.

An appropriate cliché, “If it aint broke don’t fix it.”

And now for a prime example of cliché, “I saw that coming a mile away.” (Let me guess, you saw that cliché a mile away?)

Sometimes an apple really is just an apple. So, let’s not get carried away before we all get replaced by machines.

…Or perhaps we already are.

What makes a professional writer?

2010-08-13T11:25:00.000-04:00

Are you a professional writer?

Some newbies to the fiction world tremble in fear at the very thought of considering themselves professionals. They may voice it in hushed whispers, as if a circle of professional writers will leap out of the shadows and commence stoning them to death.

When can you say with a clear conscience and no ambiguity that you are in fact a professional writer? Should you say it at all? Should others praise (or not) your writing abilities and yourself refrain from the subject all together?

…Indeed, should you?

Are you a professional writer? Are you an imposter? Are you an amateur with a desire or perhaps a facade of grandeur?Do you have a degree in English Literature and believe that qualifies you as a professional writer? Does it? Should it?

Hit a nerve, did I?

I was encouraged by many English teachers to pursue a career as a writer. My Freshman English teacher, however, was not one of them. She happened to be a published writer and discouraged anyone from pursuing such a goal. In fact, she seemed to teach that writing was a nearly unobtainable rite of passage that very few could dream of accomplishing. If false writers were stoned to death, you better believe her stones would have caused the deathblows.

So then, the question remains, what is a professional writer and indeed, are you?

One proper explanation for a professional writer is one who makes a living writing. In this economy, that would narrow down the pros handsomely, wouldn’t it?

In that case, small press writers would never be considered pros unless they are selling thousands of novels and can sustain themselves financially. If you happen to be a fantasy or science fiction writer, does being a member of the SFWA declare your heir of professionalism? Couldn’t hurt, dare I say anyone who is a member of the SFWA is a professional writer but not all professional writers are members of the SFWA.

If you happen to be a self-sustaining writer then bravo for you and I tip my proverbial hat in your honor(Insert chorus here).

Seriously, does monetary gain alone promote you as a professional writer? Did Homer (if indeed Homer existed as a single entity) make money off of writing or was he a wandering vagabond poet at the mercy of others’ hospitality? Many of the great writers didn’t become popular until after death. So what, do you write on their tombstone, “In life he wrote but in death he became a professional writer?”

Well then we can surmise with this argument that monetary gain alone does not qualify one as a writer of proper professional status, right?

Let’s venture another possibility. Does the number of sales alone grant you the title of professional writer? Is it gauged by the number of books you sell? Hmm… but what if you don’t write novels? What if you spent your life just hacking out short stories? How many published short stories qualify you as a professional writer? Ten, fifty, a hundred or a thousand?

Is it the millionth published word count that lifts you to the heir of a pro? Is it the air itself? In that case we all need to move to La Rinoconada, Peru and perhaps we’ll strike gold.

...A million words published is like ten average sized novels (100k words) or about four hundred short stories or articles averaging 2500 words each.

...La Rinoconada is a gold mine located in the Peruvian Andes at an elevation of 5100 meters, that’s about 16,728 feet and over three times the elevation of Denver, Colorado.

Confused? Good that means you are thinking.

What is confusion but our inability to understand intelligent structure or fear of not being able to categorize that structure in an ordered fashion?

I had fear of going to the bathroom when I was a kid. Always thought the toilet was going to suck me in…Go ahead, laugh. I think it actually did once.

Anyways, fear and doubt does play a huge role in the ability to call yourself a professional writer. However, it does not mean you are one just because you have the guts to say so; and it doesn’t mean you aren’t one because you will not say so.

What is the point of all this?

Sometimes it is better to let others praise you and simply refer to yourself as a writer. As a writer you will always be loved and hated. This is the path of all who choose to entertain. You may be a great writer in the eyes of one reader and a slack hack in the eyes of another. Sometimes that opinion may be shared by the same reader.

You may even get people who say they wrote a story once, tried writing a novel or had a family member who could write. Perhaps they’ll mention that they wrote some in college and the teachers were impressed. In other words: “I have a vague recollection of what you do, but that is really as far as my interest goes.”

Perhaps you will get hit with, “Do you make any money?”

“No, not really,” you may reply.

“You must not be very good at it,” they may say with a flutter of eyes-so-innocent. Or they may simply reply, “Then why do you do it?”

You’ve heard about the starving artist? Well, writing is an art and many writers struggle to make income based on just writing. Very few can make a living as a writer. It isn’t easy to do and you have to be a really talented hack to do it.

I do mean hack as in articles, nonfiction pieces and the concept of selling numerous manuscripts. Yes, novelists and short story writers can make money and sometimes really good money. Most of the prominent writers are an environmental adaptable species: Ergo, they go where the money can be made and usually that money is made in freelance non-fiction articles.

So what is a professional writer?

A professional writer is someone who gets paid for his work or at least could get paid for his/her work. If you aspire to be a writer, I hope one day your dream will come true.

Just remember that dreams—all dreams—remain so until you as an individual decide to make it a reality. In writing, that means write, write some more, write often and don’t stop. Words on paper are never transformed into life until they are created with blood, sweat and many tears. In other words, love what you do and do it even when you don’t want to.

I will part with a quote from Richard Bach:

“A Professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

So don’t quit and remember you are the only one keeping you from your pen, quill, feather or key pad.

So, happy writing—professionally speaking, of course!

Eugie Foster

2010-05-17T05:38:00.001-04:00

Hello,

I have been gone for a while and my wife would never argue that point. I’ve had some health issues that have placed me a little under the weather. Not sure how much time I will be able to dedicate to this site but I will chuck something out here and there. I promised Eugie Foster a showcase and although I never forgot, I sure did procrastinate.

Eugie Foster is a name in itself that sounds poetic, majestic and perhaps a little blended into the fantastic. Indeed, with further research you would discover that all of the above is true and you can add sophisticated, intelligent and highly competent to the repertoire of talents that makes the sum of Eugie Foster.

Although I have had no contact with her in a very long time (like last year) I assume she is still fine with a little free publicity.I have had numerous complications in attempting to post this so it will be in crude form. Oh well, that is that.

Truth is her websites are so concise and detailed I could hardly do them any justice.

Who is Eugie Foster? This is straight from one of her sites:

Eugie Foster: http://www.eugiefoster.com

Summary

Award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer, freelance article writer and researcher, and Editor/Director of the Daily Dragon.
Publication credits number over 100, including stories in Realms of Fantasy, Interzone, Cricket, Cicada, Fantasy Magazine, Apex Magazine, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show, and Baen's Universe; podcasts Escape Pod, PodCastle, and Pseudopod; and anthologies Best New Fantasy (Prime), Heroes in Training (DAW), Magic in the Mirrorstone (Mirrorstone), and Best New Romantic Fantasy 2 (Juno Books).

Short story collection Returning My Sister's Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice debuted March, 2009, from Norilana Books.
Articles and interviews have appeared in Strange Horizons, Fantasy Magazine, the Internet Review of Science Fiction, Writing-World, and Absolute Write. Co-authored a textbook resource on child development, published by Allyn & Bacon.

Honestly I couldn’t do better than the information already available so check her sites:

Eugie Foster Web Site:http://www.eugiefoster.com

This is her official web site chucked full of all kinds of goodies from her bio, career, talents and lists of literary works and dedication to the literary world.

Her Blog:http://www.eugiefoster.com/journal

Seriously, where does she find the time to blog? If I could do a fourth of her active lifestyle I would be happy :)

Dragon*Con

*Attention all geeks and nerds*

Eugie Foster is the Director\Editor of the Daily Dragon the onsite newsletter of Dragon*Con and is a Director of the said Dragon*Con. If you are fortunate to set foot in the Dragon*Con—and I strongly encourage anyone who can possibly attend one to do so—you would see her there hard at work and putting others hard at work if she could :) Jason M. Waltz-CEO of Rogue Blades Entertainment would gladly attest to that.
I would give my right boot to attend a Dragon*Con once in my lifetime but opportunities for that are slim for a fellow Akronite such as myself.
Well, as promised here is a short and sweet showcase of Eugie Foster.

-From the editors, writers and producers of the Christopher Marshall Showcase.

Current staff: One (and sometimes that is debatable.)
Enjoy,

Christopher Marshall, Nerd at Large

Eugie Foster

2010-05-14T04:31:00.001-04:00

Hmmm

2010-05-14T04:12:00.001-04:00

For some reason I can’t post blogs anymore. So I am trying this as a test run.

RBE-Roundup

2009-12-24T08:20:00.004-05:00

Welcome as we round up the Showcase on RBE. All thanks to Jason M. Waltz CEO of Rogue Blades Entertainment and the writers, artists, affiliates and associates who have or are working with RBE and most--no doubt--will be working with him again in the future.

Now then, back to the matters at hand. RBE is best known for anthologies and at the RBE site both original works of RBE and affiliated works are available. Let’s start at the beginning…

Return of the Sword

“Return now to the days of true adventure! Join fierce warriors in savage battles of survival and supremacy as they face hordes of vile foes, vie against inner demons, or struggle before onslaughts of both. Enter the halls of heroic fantasy in awe and marvel at the deeds of the mighty. Close upon the heels of Howard’s Conan, Moorcock’s Elric, and Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser come Ehart’s Ninshi, Heath’s Brom, and Hawkes’ Kabar. Unsheathe your sword and follow in their steps if you dare!” –RBE

Return of the Sword is RBE’s first original work and sports twenty two talented authors.

Sages & Swords

Sages & Swords is an original Pitch Black Books Anthology (Pitch Black Books) and is available for purchase on the RBE website.

I would like to add that Lords of Swords is also available from Pitch Black books and includes thirteen stories with authors from Tanith Lee, Vera Nazarian, E.E. Knight, D.K. Latta, Nancy Virginia Varian and more.

Demons

Boasts of at least twenty-eight stories by many authors who have already graced the pages of RBE’s anthologies as well as a few new faces.

Roar of the Crowd

Scheduled to release sometime in mid 2010. Don’t worry, you have plenty to read until then.

Rage of the Behemoth

This RotB Anthology contains 21 stories about the biggest, baddest, boldest behemoths ever to roar across the pages of heroic adventure! Over 150,000 words of monstrous mayhem record the ferocious battles that rage between gargantuan creatures of myth and legend and the warriors and wizards who wage war against, beside, and astride them. Behemoths and battles will be presented in four-story sections of five different habitats introduced by the stunning illustrations of John Whitman and headlined by well-known authors Mary Rosenblum, C.L. Werner, Brian Ruckley, Lois Tilton, and – writing together for the final time - Andrew Offutt and Richard K. Lyon.

I may add that this anthology is a clever work of art. Here is a glimpse of the habitats and corresponding authors:

Frozen Wastes

Mary Rosenblum ~ Ice Dragon ~ “Blood Ice”
Carl Walmsley ~ Hydra ~ “Serpents Beneath the Ice”
Jeff Stewart ~ Giant Bear ~ “Nothing Left of the Man”
Bill Ward ~ Wolf-God ~ “The Wolf of Winter”

Scalding Sands

Lois Tilton ~ Giant Sand Cobra ~ “Black Diamond Sands”
Michael Ehart ~ The Behemoth ~ “As from His Lair, the Wild Beast”
Martin Turton ~ Sagarki ~ “The Hunter of Rhim”
A. Kiwi Courters ~ Manticore ~ “Stalker of the Blood-Red Sands”

Depthless Seas

Andrew Offutt & Richard K. Lyon ~ Chinese Turdragon ~ “Portrait of a Behemoth”
Sean T. M. Stiennon ~ Giant Crab-creature ~ “Black Water”
Robert Mancebo ~ Storm Djinn ~ “Passion of the Stormlord”
Kevin Lumley ~ Sea Monster ~ “The Beast”

Mysterious Jungles

Brian Ruckley ~ Giant Serpent ~ “Beyond the Reach of His Gods”
Bruce Durham ~ Yaggoth-Voor ~ “Yaggoth-Voor”
Jason Thummel ~ Elephantine-God ~ “Runner of the Hidden Ways”
Kate Martin ~ Cockatrice ~ “Poisonous Redemption”

Ageless Mountains

C.L. Werner ~ Gashadokuro ~ “The Rotten Bones Rattle”
TW Williams ~ Griffin ~ “Where the Shadow Falls”
Jeff Draper ~ Wen Quaar ~ “Thunder Canyon”
Daniel R. Robichaud ~ Bear-God ~ “Vasily and the Beast Gods”

The anthologies are not all the RBE site has to offer and don’t take my word for it go there and check it out yourself. Here, I’ll even make it easy on you just click: Rogue Blades Entertainment.

That wraps up the Showcase for Rogues Blades Entertainment. It has been a year of hardships, struggles and sore trials and Jason it seems has not been able to elude the grip of this year. Support him, help him, and lift small publishers upon your shoulders so that they may have a fighting chance against the giants of big house publishing. Jason, here are the comments from your friends, peers, and associates to help encourage you to trudge through the final days of this year and hope that the New Year brings greater victories.

…And now the praises for Jason:

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“Jason is a very good editor, striving for success and excellence in his writers, and has tons of potential. I really enjoyed working with him, he polished the story without trying to change it, and I'd work with him again any day.”

–Mary Rosenblum, author of Horizons, Water Rites, The Stone Garden, Chimera and The Drylands. Mary has over fifty published short stories and is an instructor at Long Ridge Writers Group.

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“I've worked with Jason off and on since his early days as an editor for Staffs and Starships, then on through his tenure at other publications and now in his leadership role at Rogue Blades. Though we've never met in person, I consider Jason more than just an editor, I consider him a friend. He has published a couple of my stories, one in "Return of the Sword" and another upcoming in the Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology. He's also read a good bit of my short fiction and at least one of my novels, and he always has solid advice and offers praise where warranted. My only regret is I often don't have enough time to send him more stories and to lend a hand with RBE.”

-Ty Johnson (Author of the epic fantasy, Kobalas trilogy: City of Rogues, Road to Wrath and Dark King of the North. He also has numerous published short stories).

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"Through Rogue Blades Entertainment, editor Jason M. Waltz strives to bring the audience the best in contemporary heroic fiction. He brings vision, resolve, and an incredible store of enthusiasm to the process from inception to completion. He knows what he wants, and is willing to patiently work with the author to get it. In my own experience, Jason was a real pleasure to work with as both editor and human being, and I certainly hope to be able to do so again in the future."

-Jason E. Thummel (has appeared in multiple venues such as Rogue Blades' own Rage of the Behemoth, Ricasso Press' Magic and Mechanica, Flashing Swords, The Lorelei Signal and is forthcoming in Black Gate Magazine).

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"In the resurging genre known as Sword and Sorcery, few editors have proven what it takes to grasp the intricacies and nuances that set this style of fantasy apart from all others. I’m pleased to say that Jason Waltz is such that editor. I have had the pleasure of working with Jason from his days at ‘Staffs and Starships’ through his tenure with ‘Flashing Swords’ to his own current brand, ‘Rogue Blades Entertainment’. During that time I have found Jason to exhibit an uncanny sense of what works and what doesn’t, being one of those rare people who know how to squeeze the best from an author. He displays an almost childlike enthusiasm and passion for his projects, as witnessed with the ideally themed anthologies ‘Return of the Sword’ and ‘Rage of the Behemoth’. To top it all off, he’s a NICE GUY, a real pleasure to work with. And at the end of the day, what more could one ask?"

-Bruce Durham has appeared in both ‘Return of the Sword’ and ‘Rage of the Behemoth’, in addition to several anthologies as well as publications such as ‘Flashing Swords’, ‘Paradox’ and ‘Abandoned Towers’. He has authored over 20 stories and will see the release of the graphic novel based on his award winning story ‘The Marsh God’ in November.

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"There is a natural order in the publishing world, the same as in the bloodiest jungle. Writers write and Editors then rip the pound of flesh nearest the writer’s heart from their still palpitating chest and hold its dripping mass over their heads for all to see, all the while cackling maniacally the unholy editor’s chants of “doesn’t meet our current needs” and “restraining order”. I have worked with Jason Waltz since he was with Flashing Swords, and I can say without equivocation that I have never seen him kick a dog, steal candy from a small child, or cross a picket line unless he really needed to, or at least felt like it. In truth, Jason has purchased perhaps a half-dozen stories from me, and each time has shown professionalism, courtesy and a passion for the genre that make him stand out amongst his peers. Most importantly, his checks have all cleared, which fact alone makes him a prince among editors."

–Michael Ehart’s stories appear in Return of the Sword and Rage of the Behemoth, both available from RBE. He is the author of over 30 short stories and his second book, The Tears of Ishtar will release Feb. 14.

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"I think Jason Waltz is a positive force in keeping the torches burning for traditional sword-and-sorcery stories. It's not just that Jason comes up with interesting themes for his Rogue Blades Entertainment anthologies, it's that he buys my st... no, wait ... it's because he's a genuinely nice guy who cares about the writers he hires in the right way -- meaning he challenges them to polish and trim and pushes them to produce the most coherent, entertaining copy available."

-TW Williams wrote a John Humble tale "Where the Shadow Falls" for RBE's Rage of the Behemoth. "Born Warriors" is scheduled to be part of RBE's Demons: A Clash of Steel anthology. His works of speculative fiction have appeared in two Ricasso Press anthologies, "Black Dragon, White Dragon" and "Magic and Mechanica", as well as in other anthologies and magazines and e-publications, including Everday Fiction, Electric Spec, Flashing Swords, Abandoned Towers and Mindflights.

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"It has been a privilege and an honor to know and work with Jason Waltz. Not only is he a talented editor and dedicated publisher, he is also one of the most worth while human beings its been my good fortune to encounter anywhere. If he never edited a word of fiction again or published another book (and I hope he does much of both) he would still be one of the most important people I talk to every day."

-Michael D. Turner worked with Jason on the staff of Flashing Swords.

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-RBE-

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Merry Christmas and have a great New Year!

-Christopher & Melissa Marshall

-RBE- Part Two

2009-11-18T13:11:00.001-05:00

Welcome aboard as I continue the showcase with Rogue Blades Entertainment. First off, my apologies for the tardy second entry. Things got off to a slow start on the circulation to the showcase and I wanted it to have a little more ‘face’ time before I went on.

Thanks to Jeff Draper for kicking off the comments and to Jason for his replies. Jason wants the comments so feel free to speak your mind and always be civil.

I would like to explain once again that The Author Praises for Jason will appear here in the next part of this article. Currently, they are on another site. I have five sites so I keep things spread out for different hits. However, I simply repeat the same material on all sites so you aren’t missing anything. It’s just a matter of when you will be seeing it.

Before I start…

The old pun, “Editors wear many hats,” is well known. Jason it seems has taken this concept a little farther to include hat and beard. Or perhaps this is his version of good editor/bad editor?They say pictures are worth a thousand words so…

…Need I say more?

Sorry Jason I just had to do it. You can enjoy Jason’s alter ego on von Darkmoor's thoughts. He has well written and concise articles so enjoy them.

Enough of that… The next question I asked Jason was,

What do you feel it [heroic fantasy] brings to both old and new generations?

Jason replied,

“I think Heroic Fantasy brings the same thing to both generations: Hopes and thrills. For the older readers, it is the thrill of familiarity, of a return to what once was…and the hope that it is so. For the newer, it’s the thrill of freshness, of novelty…and the hope that such is truth. For both, for all readers, it is the hope that there is someone out there worthy of being named ‘hero’ – and the thrill of finding it to be true.

The more exciting authors can make it, the more believable they can make the unbelievable, the more addictive it is. Give the reader somebody he/she can be or at least believe in – no matter how remote a possibility it is, convince the reader that the possibility ‘to be’ exists – who, reluctantly or not, does what Spectra Editor David Pomerico said in his Pulse of Spectra newsletter (“Heroic Measures,” 7-2-09) – saves the “regular people.”

‘Good’ still matters. Down deep inside each of us is the recognition of what ‘good’ is, and we want someone to do good by all of us. Saving us regular people is good.

Here’s an interesting yet not new thought: Batman is actually much more of a heroic figure than Superman. Superman is the epitome of a hero. Superman possesses most every quality man deems heroic. He naturally possesses them. There is no struggle to attain or maintain them. There is no choice for him but to save the regular people. On the other hand, Batman must regularly struggle to even be considered heroic. He must overcome personal fears and biases, and thwart personal desires. It is a choice for him, and each time he must question saving the regular people. He must choose to stand for something he is not…and in that standing become it for the rest of us. Both are expected to be heroic. But every time Batman is, we’re still a little bit surprised. That’s Heroic Fantasy.” -Jason M. Waltz

Again, I think Jason made valid points. One such struggling character turned heroic is R.A. Salvatore’s Artemis Entreri, each time he chose not to do what came naturally, you were surprised. Yet, if felt good to see the change in a man who once spent his life killing without thought or condemnation. Somewhere deep in the darkness of his cold heart a hero began to form… a batman if you will. Conan a hero? I think he grew as a hero as he grew in age. For all of his savagery he had a rough code of honor and in some ways kinder than the civilized world of his time.

Frodo a hero? In the most unlikely way he was far more than a hero. Why? Because he exceeded over what was ever expected or believed he could have and all of that was by choice. A choice not to be fettered by what should have been his limitations, but to exceed those limitations for others. A a selfless sacrifice gains the status of hero.

Look at Robert E. Howard’s Kull. I think the turning point of his heroism was made in one simple decision in the short story, “Exile of Atlantis”.

*SPOILER*

Kull chose to defy the people that raised him as there own to spare a girl he did not even know. He killed her quick to save her from being burned, but his first thoughts were to free her even at the risk of killing the entire tribe. He couldn’t do that due to the thickness of her chains, but he spared her a horrible death. In my mind, that moment marked his future as true hero. He did what he thought was right despite the popular beliefs that opposed him—and nearly killed him.

In my early twenties (many moons ago) I was at a restaurant eating with some family and friends. A lady there had just changed her mind about something. I commented, “Women always change their minds.”

“We do not,” She looked at me indignantly.

“Yes you do.” I foolishly retorted. (Since then I have discovered the futileness of arguing with a woman.)

“I do not.” She smiled, “I simply reevaluate my decisions based upon newer information.”

I laughed until I cried. That statement has stuck with me for about twenty years.

I think the mark of a heroic protagonist is freedom, not freedom to do—sometimes they have little choice in that—but freedom to choose to do something heroic. To reevaluate their decisions as it were, based upon new information to do the right thing.

The final question I asked Jason was,

What direction would you like to see Heroic Fantasy take in the future?

He replied,

“I would like to see a future wherein ‘Heroic’ in fiction is recognized, is not frowned upon nor ignored. A future wherein ‘doing the right thing’ is not dictated by anything other than simply being the right thing.

Won’t happen for two reasons.

We’re flawed. Rather, the creation known as ‘mankind’ was allowed to become flawed, misaligned. Aggressive, profit- and domination-oriented decision making is our norm. Only total reprogramming of the human psyche will ever replace that. And if that were ever to occur, we wouldn’t be we any longer.

The other reason this won’t happen is that we do not want it to. If mankind were ever to attain the peace of equality and unity, the perfection, as it were, of Superman, there’d be no need of heroes. There’d certainly be no villains to thwart, no anti-establishment figures, no dissension or crime or wars requiring salvation from. By attaining our ideal, we rid ourselves of our need for heroes.

For that is part of the heroic appeal: its unattainability by all. The Few. The Proud. The Heroes. A community of superfolk – men and women composed of Kal-El’s personal fortitude – is alien to the mind of man. The best we have ever imagined was the multitude of religious pantheons nations crafted. The original ‘superior’ folk, the gods were built upon lies – for they but mimicked us on a grander scale. With infinite power came itty-bitty living space – the confines of the human mind.

We need our heroes to be more than we can be. En masse and individually. So where would I like to see Heroic Fantasy take us? To acknowledgment of our plight, our need and our chance for redemption. We need our heroes – for we’re only as good as they are.” - Jason M. Waltz

Not a whole lot I can add to those comments. That is the responsibility of the writer. More so for Hollywood has failed us and television has failed us more often than not.

The depth of the true hero is flawed. Flawed not just because the hero has faults, but flawed because the hero is believable. A flawed character is a realistic character, a character who learns from mistakes and makes those mistakes because the human persona in itself is flawed. Why is that so important? In a nutshell, because the reader can relate and with that relation they continue to move on and read.

They share the struggle with the character and if the writer can pull it off with craft and skill, the writer becomes invisible. A seamless weaver joining the hands of the hero with the reader and leaving all else behind. Simply put, a page turner. The best writers do it, and the rest [of us] struggle because they can’t.

Often I hear writers comment, “I am in control of my character, they do what I tell them to do.”

That is a mistake and unfortunately not just a mistake that only some novice writers commit. Characters do what they should do according to who and what they are. If they are real and if you expect the reader to believe they are real, you have to let them decide their own actions. Once you create a three-dimensional character they should “come to life” in your mind. If that is true, they make the decisions and you write them accordingly. If not, your character becomes just an extension of the writer and not a complete persona.

I have found myself in a pickle many times by placing my main character in a situation that I have no way of knowing how they are going to get out of it. So, I ask them, “Okay, what are you going to to do now?” Sometimes it takes a while before I get an answer. It can’t be the great omnipotent writer who gets them out, it has to be them according to there wits and perceptions or it just isn’t believable.

For instance, how believable would Frodo had been if Tolkien had him pick up a sword and slay a thousand orcs? Or Aragorn beaten by an unarmed goblin? Characters have to stay in character. That is something I learned in Drama and Theater Arts. Characters need to stay in their character not in your interpolation\interpretation of that character. That makes them believable. That is hard for a writer to do, almost like having a child and then letting that child go to make there own decisions and sometimes their own mistakes.

That is the difference between a Superman and a Batman. Superman is perfect, unflawed, everything the writer makes him per se, and Batman is what the hero truly is unbiased by what the author thinks he should be.

Agree or disagree with Jason? Put your comments below. He is not out on a witch-hunt so don’t feel bad. Jason is kind and answers questions in an established and professional manner. You have the right to agree or disagree but you do not have the right to not be civil about it… Well, at least here you don’t.

I’ll will wrap the third part up with the Author’s Praises and a little about the authors themselves and what RBE offers in terms of anthologies and novels.

I hope you enjoyed yourself and gained something from it. Until next time… well, bye.

Rogue Blades Entertainment P1

2009-11-02T14:18:00.001-05:00

(RBE) CEO- Jason M. Waltz

Part One: What is Heroic Fantasy?

To look upon the home page of Rogue Blades Entertainment is to take a nostalgic glimpse of what is Sword & Sorcery, or at least what has become of it. Perhaps not just what has become of Sword & Sorcery, but a more personal view into the true heroes of Sword & Sorcery.

The fantasy genres have blended so much over the years (and sadly diluted through innumerable RPG games and misplaced Hollywood films) that the heart of this iconic genre has been nigh but lost—or at least incredibly misinterpreted to the common population.

Say the word “Sword & Sorcery”, and most people give you an, “Oh you mean like that old stuff that use to be in Weird Tales? Authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard? Yeah and those old characters like Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Elric of Melnibone.. . Aren’t all those authors dead?”

And no, they are not all dead and no, they all did not write S&S. The actual terminology of Sword and Sorcery was originally given to Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories by a correspondence between Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber (Mr. Leiber being the one to actually coin the term)…If the account in Wikipedia is accurate and that is never an assured thing.

The sad truth is that video games and Hollywood have miscued fantasy characters and creatures to the point they all run together. I have read forums where youths think elves are, “Just humans with pointed ears.” Dwarves are “Short people” and Ogres…well, who else but Shrek? Dare you ask them about a goblin they will brighten immediately and say, “Oh you mean the Green Goblin from Spiderman?”

Go to the Middle School and older and all your replies will usually involve Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore (Drizzt may have played a huge part in the revolution of RPGs), MORPG’s or novels constituted by Wizards of the West Coast. I happen to enjoy a good RPG game and have played many. I loved R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt novels and Mr.Salvatore himself is an alright guy. I tip my hat to any man who can sell over ten million novels. Plus he gave me very good advice on my first novel by saying (paraphrasing) enjoy it while you can because after the first novel you have deadlines to meet forever thereafter.

Still, the pulverization of vanilla fantasy characters into the younger culture does create a stereotype of said fiction characters. Other than a few different abilities and physical appearances, most interpretations of fantasy characters are just extensions of humans.

Yes, a small part of the media’s archetypical understanding is based on poor literature. Some stories have portrayed elves as nothing more than pointed eared humans, dwarves as short people (or in one Hollywood film that I recall, they didn’t even bother to make the dwarves short) fan fiction may play a huge role in diluting what was once a highly revered genre of fast action, brawny sword wielding men and voluptuous heroines. A time when a man was a man and a woman a woman…By Crom!

Could you imagine our politicians and liberalists in the Age of Conan?

“Oh Conan, you shouldn’t steal that man’s horse.”

“Conan, if they don’t want you to be king…you should just resign.”

“Conan, put that sword down. We need to communicate with our enemies.”

“Conan if they want to slaughter the entire village, you should let them. If you raise your sword against them you are just proving you are no better.”

…I could see the walls of Conan’s Aquilonian palace lined with the sun-bleached skulls of many a politician.

For that reason, I cringe to use the term Sword & Sorcery. Plus, most of the works today have blended the genres so much you can’t really place them in one category. Sword & Sorcery needed a face-lift, an upgrade for a newer generation and at Rogue Blades Entertainment, I assure you it has. Heroic fantasy is a new skin for a newer generation, an upgrade from Sword & Sorcery.

RBE describes heroic fantasy as, “This is the fantastical root of and father to all that RBE is interested in. Heroic fantasy incorporates the epic/high fantasy tale on one hand and the sword & sorcery/low fantasy tale on the other. It is a strictly heroic tale written in favor of neither one side nor the other. Its story often appears to be of a lesser magnitude than that of the epic tale, while its protagonist sometimes appears to have a higher purpose than that of the usual sword & sorcery character. David Gemmell’s novels are good examples of heroic fantasy.”

David Gemmell—(1948-2006) Bestselling British novelist best known for Heroic Fantasy and with over thirty novels to his credit.

The true heroes of this iconic genre are the writers themselves: Not just the pioneers like Howard, Leiber and Moorcock but all of those who sought to follow in the footsteps of heroic fantasy. Wielding pens like swords, weaving words like intricate spells, and pages the land both beautiful and deadly that their heroes embarked on with fearless passion. For without the writers, the legend of heroes fades…

Just as important are people like Jason M. Waltz and Rogue Blades Entertainment to keep the legacy of the writers alive or they too, would fade into dismal history. Small press publishers like Jason are devoted to the art of the literature not just the monetary value of it. Perhaps someday that will change and small press will grow as people’s interest in better quality literature increases. Perhaps one day big publishers will fail to reinvent themselves and inadvertently collapse into the ashes of a far less viable regime. Until then, we must rely on small press to read good heroic fantasy.

Does that mean that the heroic fantasy genre is dying out? As I mentioned earlier, it is commercialized into perpetual oversaturated boredom via Hollywood and video games (much like this sentence).

Do not be sad die-hard heroic fantasy fans, for the genre is far from dead. Don’t believe me you naysayers and skeptics? Well, of course you don’t.

Read the introduction under, “Welcome To Rogue Blades Entertainment” and all of your doubts of a dying heroic fantasy genre will begin to fade. How can you doubt a man who introduces his web site with:

“…We are invigorating a NEW Age of Heroes with hard-hitting, fast-paced tales reminiscent of mythic battles and warriors from pulp and lore. With a clash of swords and ringing steel, RBE delivers the ultimate in motivational entertainment…” --RBE

Jason M. Waltz has strived with fierce enthusiasm to wield a notch with sword, axe, fire and blood. A banner to the legend that is heroic fantasy fused with a younger generation. A hope that heroes and heroines, whether by wit or forged steel, will carve the immortal legacy of heroic fantasy into the hearts of readers both young and old. Heroic fantasy is not just about charismatic sword wielding heroes of another age, it is about hope, stamina to persevere despite the odds and bring forth victory even in the face of defeat.

It is about following a warrior as he fights through a throng of blood crazed savages only to be outmatched in brawn and forced to use his or her wits to win the day. After you close the pages you can reflect on life and say, “losing my job isn’t so bad, or even my home,” or any kind of hardships or tragedies that may come your way. You could say, “at least I didn’t have to fight through a thousand savages. I can get through this; I will get through this and become stronger for my troubles.”

In other words,

HEROIC FANTASY IS NOT A MEANS TO ESCAPE YOUR PROBLEMS; IT IS A WAY TO COPE WITH THEM. You can consider it a stress relief, perhaps just a momentary escape—or a literary aspirin, if you will. If you have no stress then consider it Nirvana for the brain.

I asked Jason M. Waltz a simple question and like everything that Jason does, he answered with a cogent tenacity that reflects his heroic personality.

I ask you—the reader—to take a moment and step into your mind’s parlor. That’s it, sit back in a carved walnut high-back chair. Tap the proverbial ashes from an A. Peyrau terracotta pipe (caricatured in the likeness of Joseph Pulitzer’s head) and pat the old English bloodhound one last time as we cogitate with Jason as he answers my question:

What in your words is Heroic Fantasy?

“Heroic fantasy is the conceptualized desire of mankind to save itself…or at least others more vulnerable than we. It is our hopes embodied within an iconic figure all and more than we could ever be that foremost faces the worst that can be done to us – and somehow survives. That’s the key: Success measured in survival. Surviving – hopefully but usually not unscathed – to renew assumption of those hopes and dreams, to shoulder anew a duty to persist in the face of any and all odds.

So what makes a hero? All that is done in spite of one’s personal desires or despite one’s inclinations. Aragorn succeeded as a hero not because he wanted to – but in direct opposition to his own hopes and desires…and fears. Conan succeeds as a hero not because he wishes to – but directly as a result of his normally-considered less than savory desires…the pursuit of wealth, women, and wine.

Heroes – as I stated in the Foreword to Return of the Sword – are ordinary people performing extraordinary actions. They are the ones who do what no one else does or will. They face down the ugly foes not because they dream of their body broken and the loss of their personal pleasure but because they cannot allow such things to happen to those around them. Inadvertent heroism is normal. Recurring heroics is abnormal. It bears repeating: Heroic individuals are those who do the extraordinary in ordinary times – and also those who continue to do the ordinary in extraordinary times.

Heroes have larger stories than you or I do. There is no tale that does not have a hero, though not all are bigger than life or face gigantic, global, or galactic foes – but the best ones do! The best tales of heroes are the ones most memorable, those most attractive, and most controversial. Mack Bolan. Jason Bourne. Odysseus. Drizzt Do’Urden. Hondo. Shane. Edmund Dantes. Tom Swift. Doc Savage. Tarzan. Jack Bauer. The list is endless.

What is ‘Heroic Fantasy’? Heroic Fantasy is man’s ideal experienced individually: It is the triumph of the one on behalf of the many through survival with a dash of élan.” -Jason M. Waltz

A huge thanks for all the writers who participated in this and yes, all of your golden comments will be posted here in the body of one of these parts as well as on the other site. Until then, if anyone wants to check them out here is the link: RBE Authors’ Praises

Most importantly I want to thank Jason for his kindness, patience, and his comments. Not to mention the time he took to write them and think them through…And for actually trusting me to do this!

Jason commented on “Return of the Sword” which is one of his anthologies chock full of stories by talented authors. If you haven’t picked up a copy you should. That way you can see what heroic fantasy is first hand. I have given you a link below. You can own a copy for under twenty dollars or have an electronic version for under ten!

Return of the Sword

…and that my friends [or enemies] is it for now. Join me next week as I bite my nails, rip my hair out and continue our journey with RBE. You want to know what I asked Jason next? Well, join me next week and find out.

Until then, why don’t you visit RBE and if you have already—do it again!

Rogue Blades Entertainment

-RBE-

If you are not happy with this article, or if I have offended you in anyway, please send any and all complaints here: Forward

ROGUE BLADES ENTERTAINMENT

2009-10-27T14:47:00.003-04:00

Rogue Blades ENTERTAINEMNT

Introduction

Where can you find the legacy of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Michael Moorcock and many other heroic authors coupled with a new generation of authors who have not only taken the torch, but also kept the flames of Heroic Adventure alive?

Where can you find forty plus authors with writing credentials from published novels, awards, to appearances in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Black Gate, Flashing Swords, Abandoned Towers, Everyday Fiction, All Possible Worlds, Ricasso Press and many more?

Authors like Mary Rosenblum, Michael Ehart, Bill Ward, Steve Goble, S.C. Bryce, Bruce Durham, Angeline Hawkes, Christopher Heath, Kate Martin, Andrew Offutt, E.E. Knight,TY Johnson, Jason Thummel, T.W. Williams and far too many to list here. Not to mention stunning artwork by Mike Johnson, Didier Normand, Johnney Perkins and John Whitman.

If you need a swashbuckling fix, dashing adventure, or a well-written, enthusiastically entertaining yarn of fantasy, where do you go?

Have you ever wished the pulp era never died? Do you wish you could still read stories where action is fast paced and the story never blogged by chunks of meaningless back-story?

Have you ever cried out, “Get to the point!” after reading innumerable pages of tiresome description? Have you ever felt let down—even betrayed—after the hook at the beginning of the story?

Did you ever feel the main character was a puppet, controlled by the author, and not a three dimensional, living, breathing personality?

Have you felt that the neat little cookie cutter stories would better suit a bakery than a work of fiction? Or perhaps most of the words were to fill out a blatantly long word count and have no point to the story?

Well, you need Rogue Blades Entertainment.

“I need who?”

You need Rogue Blades Entertainment!

RBE is ran by a man who is radical, a rebel in his time. Why? Because he actually still feels that a story should be entertainment, a work of fiction shifted from the real world into a world of imagination. That a story of fiction can give hope to the reader.

Heroic Fiction should not just be used for an analytical amputation from dry, supercilious farts who feel their intelligence is the brightest jewel of a darkening, ignorant dominated universe. (Sometimes an apple really is just an apple.)

I have nothing against education as long as it used in the proper way, not to lift the individual up but to help others to be at the same level.

Not only Does the CEO—Jason M. Waltz—encourage the great heroic literature that founded the genre, he also strives to keep the legacy alive. His anthologies host a slew of talented writers and artists.

Come visit me on November 1^st when I begin a month long journey of showcasing Jason M. Waltz and Rogue Blades Entertainment.

You will not be disappointed!

CEO-Jason M. Waltz

--C.D. Marshall

Hello all!

2009-10-16T22:23:00.002-04:00

I know I haven’t put anything down on this site for a while. I have been working on a pretty big showcase that will probably be in three parts. I hope to launch it on my birthday,Monday October 26th… yeah, like over a week from now.

Then, I am going to NaNo myself to death and turn out a project I should have done well over a year ago. Sadly, the 50,000 words covered in NaNo will only be half the finished project and I want the novel done by the end of this year. Someone has been waiting for this book a Long time and I guess I should not disappoint her any longer. (She may be one of two fans I have…and I am married to the other.)
So, until my birthday I doubt I will run anything else. perhaps a prelude to the bigger showcase, a perquisite if you will. Until then, have a hot cup of Java and a glazed donut and think of me.

--C.D. Marshall

Insatiable Insanity!

2009-10-04T18:26:00.001-04:00

Insane: 1.not of sound mind;mad. 2.extremely foolish; irrational.

Insatiable: 1.unable to be satisfied. 2.extremely greedy.

Insatiable is under insanity in my dictionary and I found the combination of the words to be quite fitting. Next month—November—I have decided to go into insatiable insanity.

What am I talking about? NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, where writers of all ages, locations, and genres come together to meet the challenge: To write 50,000 words in the month of November. Yes, I have joined and decided to compete for the first time. Yes, I am insane and no, I am not alone!

Akron has 121 participants so far and world wide, NaNo has thousands of writers from every corner, crook, and cranny. The Rubber City may not be big on writers but we are flexible (sad rubber joke).

Do you have what it takes? Want to try it? You have nothing to lose and so much insatiable insanity to gain!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

How To Write Books

2009-09-28T11:28:00.002-04:00

I mentioned in previous blogs that How To Write Books have become a market within themselves.

I did promise to post a few books that I can vouch for. So, here they are. Now, I just want to warn you that book sites are full of bells and whistles to get your attention and your money. You can’t be a kid in a candy store and if you do, don’t complain to me!

As always, just keep in mind that How To Write Books are guidelines to be interpreted, defined, and accentuated by your personal craft. Not all views in the books are absolutes, they must be filtered through your perceptions and personal beliefs.

Then again, there is the conundrum of publishing. To write everything through your personal craft and beliefs may very well keep you sane, but you will probably have a new mailing address just to hold your rejections.
To write to sell you have to target what publishers want. That means you change the focal point of your craft to please them. Sure you don’t have to, you can keep your astute beliefs that the way you write is fine…Just enjoy being poor and keep your day job:)

These are my top three picks:

#1 “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser, a writer and teacher. This book is a must have to the writer’s library.

#2 “The 10% Solution” by Ken Rand. This is also on my “must have” list. At first glance it may seem short but the more you delve into its pages the more deeper your thoughts are provoked. The 10% solution is a viable help to the writer on all levels.

#3a (for fiction writers) “Self-Editing For Fiction Writers” is on my top three for fiction writers and an invaluable source to commonsense writing.

#3b (for nonfiction) “Writing For Story" by Jon Franklin. Even if nonfiction is not your thing I would read this book. IF you are a writer of nonfiction, he is an absolute must read and perhaps belongs on the #1 nonfiction list.
These are the top three suggestions from me. Not much, but if you are seeking a clarity to writing, these pages will help you on your way.

#4 “The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing” by the Editors of Writers Digest Books. It covers chapters from Craft, Art, The Process (of writing), Genres, Marketplace, and interviews.
The book covers many subjects but not in deep, exhaustive detail. It is a primer to get you kick started in a certain genre and as such, covers many subjects. I found it to be a good read and help but not a must read beginner book.

Dictionaries: Yes, I have a few. Yes, I need to use them more. As a writer you need several. Even with a trusty dictionary on your word processor, you still need another source. I have an Oxford pocket version of a dictionary and thesaurus. In addition, I also have an old Thorndike Barnhart Dictionary to research some of my older words.My most valued tool is a Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary, it is mammoth but a true gem.

I also have three Grammar books that contradict each other most of the time, but also a must have. Naturally, the editor’s preference is the final say of how to and what not on writing. Proper format is essential.

Are these all the How To Write Books I have? Nope. For the basics of writing I think these are good starter books. You will probably end up with a shelf full of books. However, there will always be just a few that stick with you.
Most of these can be found at Amazon or your local bookstore. Writer’s Digest has a bookstore as well (with many bells and whistles).
Happy reading!

-C.D.Marshall

PublishAmerica

2009-09-14T18:11:00.001-04:00

DUE TO LEGAL CONSTRAINTS I WAS FORCED TO EDIT THIS ARTICLE.

Welcome to my Monday Showcase. Today’s topic is PublishAmerica. Some love them, some don’t. Who is right and who is wrong?

If you are affiliated with the literary world you may have heard of PublishAmerica. If you blog, follow blogs, Twitter or a number of other resources you may have heard a great deal—both good and bad about PublishAmerica in the past few weeks.

This MONDAY SHOWCASE is first to present the news that has been spread, to provide links for you to read yourself, and an attempt to bring some of the facts and let you make a judgment call on what you believe. Are they a vanity press or are they not? Are they a scam or are they not?

First off, I would like to bring you back to a previous blog that I wrote, “Writer’s Be Aware!” The full story can be read here:

http://sites.google.com/site/cdmarshall101/free-story/writers-be-aware- A perquisite to clearly ascertain the information presented to you today. It will also help you to come up with a judgment based upon your own understanding and intellect. In the words of Lao Tzu, "Give a Man a Fish, Feed Him For a Day. Teach a Man to Fish, Feed Him For a Lifetime."

Vanity Press: This is the definition of Vanity Press according to the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts).

http://www.nea.gov/index.html

“For the purposes of this category, a vanity press is defined as one that does any of the following: requires individual writers to pay for part or all of the publication costs; asks writers to buy or sell copies of the publication; publishes the work of anyone who subscribes to the publication or joins the organization through membership fees; publishes the work of anyone who buys an advertisement in the publication; publishes work without competitive selection; or publishes work without professional editing."

If you would like to research this more, here is the link:

http://www.nea.gov/grants/APPLY/Lit/eligibility.html

DOG EAR PUBLISHING has a cut and dry, concise pros and cons of Vanity Press spelled out on their website:

http://www.dogearpublishing.net/insiders_vanity_press.aspx?gclid=CM-V3rTU8ZwCFQ7xDAod3Tqljw

I found the article informative and very well done and you may as well.

What is PublishAmerica? They claim that they are the Nation’s #1 publisher. If you want to read all about their claims you can find them here:

http://www.publishamerica.com/

Honestly, their website sounds pretty impressive. They make bold, dominant claims of publishing prowess. They DO NOT STATE THAT THEY ARE A VANITY PRESS. They claim that they earn income by selling books and not by charging fees. They claim that they pay their authors and give royalties on every book that they sell.

They boldly and blatantly claim that they DO NOT CHARGE FEES. So, in light of this it does seem they are not a vanity press…right?

So, what is the big deal that has been the buzz of the net? Well, for that we need to go to SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) just scroll down the page until you reach The Great PublishAmerica Hoax. They explain that 30 professional writers and editors created a deliberate non-publishable book and sent it in to Publish America…and they accepted it!

The entire article can be found here http://critters.critique.org/sting/

Now if you go back to the PublishAmerica site they have a statement towards editing. Now,I can’t say how long this has been on their web but it says something to the affect that they do not edit for content and other things and that is the responsibility of the author.

http://www.publishamerica.com/authorinfo.asp#editandcover

That statement can be found in the Author Information section. So let’s go back to the definition from NEA: “…or publishes work without professional editing."

How can you have professional editors who do not edit content? What exactly do they edit? That statement is not very clear.

They also have over 3,000 praises from authors on their site. As a matter of a fact the entire site looks like a giant poster board for promotions.

Since PublishAmerica lists all the reasons why you should go PublishAmerica (and they give many)I think it is only fair to list the ones who believe you should not. (They are many as well.)

The Reasons We Don't Recommend PublishAmerica
PublishAmerica on Wikipedia
Writer Beware
Preditors and Editors
Washington Post - Making Books
PublishAmerica is an Oyster
The Only Thing You Need To Know About PublishAmerica
The New Never-Ending PublishAmerica Thread (NEPAT)
PublishAmerica Is Really PrintAmerica
On PublishAmerica
Kevin Ahearn writes about Publish America
PublishAmerica Sting - Atlanta Nights
Aspiring Writers Trash PublishAmerica
Do your Homework on Publish America
The Rip-Off Report
Beware Publish Britannica

This is the link to the list: (each link goes directly to the site)

http://www.wizardessbooks.com/html/PA_stories.htm

So, is PublishAmerica a vanity press? Are the facts cut and dry? I’ll let you decide.

by Christopher Marshall

Publish America

2009-09-13T16:32:00.002-04:00

On the Monday Showcase this week I will present Publish America. Perhaps you have heard all the buzz or perhaps not. Should authors be aware of this organization? Can they be trusted? Are they a vanity press and exactly what is a vanity press? You want to know?
Join me this Monday as I present the facts, links, and comments. I just offer the information presented to me and you decide if they are for real or not.

Flash Fiction Online

2009-09-07T18:20:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my official Monday Showcase…or unofficial, above and underground, Monday Showcase. Every Monday I showcase a subject of interest in writing.

You may ask whose interest? Well, should be yours if you are into fiction. Hopefully by the time I am done dragging you around in my sea of words you will have some interest.

If you haven’t heard of FLASH FICTION ONLINE and you are a writer of fiction, you must be living in a cave. Pardon the pun, but hey, when it works, it works. Check out the site below:

http://www.flashfictiononline.com/

What is Flash Fiction Online? (As if the name isn’t self-implied). First of all, what is Flash Fiction? What is ankh? (Sorry old science fiction flick nostalgia.) Basically a full story in less than a thousand words. Full, as in beginning, middle, and an ending. “Impossible!” you may say? Hardly. One simple rule to flash fiction is, “Cut out the fluff and leave the good stuff!”

Please don’t fluff on my site either, (NO FLUFFING RULE IN AFFECT AS OF MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th, 2009). Now, back to the basics.

For those of you who really care to know, Ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol used to represent life. It was also used in the science fiction classic, LOGAN’S RUN, which was first a novel …and has nothing of value to this article but further interest can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan's_Run

FLASH FICTION ONLINE explains flash fiction as, “a complete story in one thousand or fewer words.”

Wikipedia says, “Flash fiction is fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as 300, while others consider stories as long as 1000 words to be flash fiction.”

You can read the full definition for yourself at Wikipedia below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_fiction

For an example of flash fiction (insert self promotion here) you can check out DRYAD and VICTIM OF THE MEDIA:

http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/2007/10/short-story-dryad.html

http://www.alongstoryshort.net/victimofthemedia.html

Now back to FLASH FICTION ONLINE (also known as FFO on many forums.) Why is it so popular? Well, for one thing the site is very well done and maintained. The content is of high quality and people have shorter attention spans or time, and a full story shrunk to a nugget is convenient and practical. You sip coffee and read a complete story. The concept is ideal for most people around the world always on the go. Or New York city, also always on the go. :)

It is also listed on the “Qualifying Short Fiction Venues” of SFWA and as such is sought after by writers who are seeking both a good paying market and recognition in the SFWA.

http://www.sfwa.org/join-us/sfwa-membership-requirements/#pro (just scroll down on the page to find the short fiction listings.)

Jake Freivald is founder and Editor and so far he and his team have done a remarkable job. So, stop reading this and get over there and read some flash fiction!

http://www.flashfictiononline.com/

by C.D.Marshall

FREE STORY: Help support Ralan.com!

2009-09-01T22:51:00.001-04:00

This is a free story to help promote Ralan.com. September is Ralan’s fundraising month and anyone who has ever used his services should consider a donation.

http://www.ralan.com/index-i.htm

TICK TOCK

By C.D. Marshall

A cold chill ran down his spine…

Jon Cross pressed his body hard against the cracked drywall. Sweat covered the handle of his Glock, shakily held near his hip. He squeezed his eyes shut and snuck one deep breath.

This seemed so much easier at the academy. He rebuked his own adolescence. The manual stated in intense situations think of something that calmed you: California Twins, Jon felt lighter with just the thought, California Twins with those crystal blue eyes. Now that is a happy thought. Ever since they began announcing sports football has never been so popular.

Nerves calmed. He lifted up his Glock and flipped around the corner. The first thing he saw was the corpse of an elderly woman in a rocking chair. She sat in the middle of an old Victorian style living room. Puffs of luminescent green vapors rolled out of her parched mouth. The vapors whirled up into the ceiling fan to cluster like tiny green storm clouds: Ethereal Dust, the binary leftovers as two worlds became one. Something supernatural had a late night snack.

The elderly woman held a partially crocheted sweater still in her lap, needles clutched tight in fingers stiff with rigor mortis. He walked cautiously over to the corpse. The only light in the house compliments of Bob’s Bar & Grill across the street. The giant neon sign flickered through the curtain-less picture window.

To die like this.

The front door flew open. Jon fell to one knee, both hands on his pistol.

“What’s wrong with you, kid?” Holmes spluttered. Holmes was senior officer, a big guy in a big suit. His thick hands held a Smith & Wesson revolver that he waved at Jon, impersonal. “I hate rookies, look at the time.” He pounded over to a light switch and flipped it on.

Jon looked at the surroundings in full view of the light: A cherry wood grandfather clock stood in a corner. The second hand on the clock moved forward in normal sequence. Holmes is right, the killer is long gone.

Jon placed a hand on the mantle of an old cast iron fireplace that smelled of wet ash. He looked around. The room had worn floral cream carpet and a torn Victorian couch that revealed yellowed padding. “What did this?”

Holmes blew air out of lips, “How should I know? Best guess, a Deader.”

“I figured that, you know, with the dust and all.” Jon lowered his Glock. “The binary residue denotes ethereal, not corporeal.”

“No duh, wow we are training Einsteins at the academy these days, aren’t we?” Holmes bellowed as spittle shot over his chin. He wheezed. A diet of cupcakes and doughnuts would kill him long before a Deader ever could.

Jon looked at the corpse again. A quilt with a swirl design sat over her lap. The crocheted fabric in her hands showed the same odd pattern as the quilt. The Victorian chair she sat in matched the couch.

“Keep your distance, kid. Don’t get too near that cloud until we know exactly what it is. You don’t got a thing for old ladies, do you?” He rumbled with laughter.

“Whatever, I’m calling it in.” Jon rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen, the door still open where he had broken into the house. He flipped out his phone and hit speed dial.

“HQ cause or affect?” A bored female voice yawned through pops of gum chewing.

“Affect.” Jon stammered. “We have a stiff.”

“As long as things go bump in the night we always will, dear.” Jon’s ear filled with the sound of a loud pop. “Who is the cause?”

“Ethereal.”

“I have your location. Snoops will be there in about forty-five.”

“Forty-five?” Jon looked at his watch: A quarter ‘till midnight. “What am I supposed to do for that long?”

“Make yourself comfortable. Relax. You’ll get use to it.” Another loud pop filled his ear. “You got to be the new kid.”

Jon clenched his jaw. The constant rookie bantering got old. “Yeah, I am the new kid.”

“Welcome aboard. Your lucky day, it’s a busy night.” Bleep. He looked down at his phone: Transmission ended.

Jon shook his head and stepped back into the other room.

Holmes put a finger to his lips and tapped his wrist. He eased towards the rocking chair, his revolver leveled towards the stairs.

Jon swallowed a lump in his throat and followed suit. He glanced at his watch: The second hand moved backwards. He felt his heart skip a beat. A Deader had arrived. Slowly he pulled out his other Glock. Standard protocol to use ethereal and corporeal shot when in direct contact with an unidentified Deader.

A wind blew from somewhere. In a dark corner near the stairs, a figure popped up, shrouded in shadow. He heard a sound like a rocking chair and then the apparition disappeared.

Jon spun around slowly, his Glock leveled at every shadow in every corner.

“Easy, Deader play’n tricks.” Holmes flipped out his second gun.

“Tick tock, tick tock.” The voice sounded like a raspy old woman.

Jon could not figure out where the sound came from. It felt as if she spoke inside his head.

“What’s wrong with the clock?” Cackling laughter followed.

“Easy kid,” Holmes whispered.

Jon squeezed his guns.

“Follow my lead.” Holmes pressed his back to Jon, standard procedure.

A puff of green vapor formed into the silhouette of a person. Jon fired. The shot went through the form and took out a mirror with a loud crash.

“What are doing idiot, not yet.” Holmes spat. “You want to wake up the whole neighborhood?”

“Sorry.” Jon’s heart thumped. The academy didn’t prepare him for this.

“I want you to go into the kitchen.” Holmes motioned with his big head.

“What?” Jon dared a glance at the big man.

“You have to leave the way you came in. I’ll go through the front door.”

“Wake up, wake up, if you can. For death will grab you by the hand.” The apparition appeared again.

Jon fired both shots at it. The thing disappeared.

Jon breathed hard. Silence enveloped the old house.

“Are you going to go into the kitchen or not?” Holmes growled.

“No, I am staying right here.”

“The only way out is the way you came in. Get out while you still can.” Holmes walked to the front door and opened it. “She will feed soon.”

“Who will feed? What are you talking about? Holmes, you can’t leave.”

“Her, you idiot, the old crone, she isn’t the victim, she’s the cause. I never lost a rookie yet. I don’t want you to be the first.” He walked out the door.

“Holmes!” Jon ran towards the door. He tried the knob--wouldn’t budge. He spun on his heels and rushed for the kitchen when he heard a loud creak from the floor upstairs. He stopped, the lump returned in his throat. He fired a shot from each gun.

A clock struck with a loud ding-dong.

His heart felt like it would burst. Silence filled the old house once again.

He heard a creak like a rocking chair. He spun both guns on the corpse of the elderly woman. The rocking chair was empty, swinging back and forth.

He turned. Something struck him hard in the face.

*****

Jon woke up in the rocking chair bound by tendrils of green vapors. He struggled but could not break free.

“The only way out is the way you came in. You should have left when you had the chance.” Before him stood the old crone, hunched, eyes bulging and blood red, a cloud of green swarmed around her. It billowed from out her nose and she inhaled it into her mouth. “Now stay still while I feed.” The old crone clutched him, her hands cold as death.

Jon looked around in terror. He could not feel his body. The green flowed from her fingers and clung to his face, seeped into his nose, mouth, and ears. The cloud felt cold, his body began to numb.

He fell into a swirl of dark gray. “Holmes!”
“Tick tock, tick tock; time is up on the clock. Wake up; wake up, if you can, for death has grabbed you by the hand.” She whispered in his head.

*****

Jon opened his eyes. A low, steady beep greeted his ears. He sat in a hospital bed, an IV in his arm. The place smelled of rubbing alcohol and potato chips.

The door burst open. A nurse rushed over to him. “Mister Cross you are awake, oh thank goodness. We need to get you out of bed immediately.” The nurse lowered the sidebars of his bed and helped him up.

Holmes came in the door, a bag of chips in his thick hand. “You’re awake, kid.” He crunched down on a few chips.

“What happened?” Jon asked.

“You don’t remember anything? You’ve been out for a week.”

The nurse got him on his feet. He wobbled. Certainly feels like I haven’t walked in a week.

“A week, but how?” Jon’s head swam.

“Rule nineteen.” Holmes tossed the empty chip bag into the trash. It hit the rim and fell to the floor. He grunted and pulled out a candy bar.

“Rule nineteen.” Jon said. “Never touch a Deader before the Snoops declare the area secure.”

Holmes tossed him a candy bar. He opened it and took a sniff: Pretzels, peanuts, caramel and peanut butter. His stomach growled. He felt as if he had not eaten in a week.

“Eat kid, you need to stay awake.” Holmes gestured to the nurse who steadied him. Jon took a bite. He did not stop until he finished.

“That a boy, you’ll be eating like me soon enough. Do you remember anything?”

The nurse let go and Jon waited for his head to stop spinning and took a step. He felt the blood flow back into his legs. “I remember an old lady, a Deader of some kind. “ He looked at Holmes for a second. “And really bad nursery rhymes.”

Holmes whistled through his teeth. “She really did a number on you, kid. Well you touched the corpse… that is when it all hit the fan like a bad bologna sandwich.” He winked. “Now about that old crone.”

“In the rocking chair?” Jon remembered her and the green binary cloud. The rest of his memories seemed weird after that.

“Yep, the old crone is a Voro Somnium.” Holmes grinned. “Come’n let’s go to the cafeteria, you are going to need coffee and lots of it.”

“Voro Somnium?” Jon searched his memories. He never did well on the creature definitions.

“Eater of Dreams, they lure their victims by appearing dead, as soon as you get near her toxins—Bam!” He slammed his fist into palm. “It’s all over from there. I walked in and found you on the floor.”

They walked through the dimly lit halls of the hospital. Jon nodded to several passer-byes, mostly nurses with huge over-friendly smiles on their faces. They even looked similar. The windows to the outside showed dark gray clouds that swirled into deeper shades of darker grayer clouds.

“What time is it?” Jon asked.

“A quarter ‘till Midnight.”

“Why did the nurse get me up so fast?” He felt as if reality had not fully sunk in.

“You have to stay up for twenty-four hours to get the Voro Somnium’s toxin out of your system.” He patted him on the back. “Don’t worry with coffee and my social diet we’ll keep you up.”

“The only way out is the way you came in,” Jon whispered.

“What was that?” Holmes looked over at him.

“That’s what you said to me in my dream or nightmare or whatever it was.”

Holmes nodded. “Must have been your subconscious reminding you of your academy lessons.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The only way to escape once a Voro Somnium has you is to leave the way you entered her dream world.”

An elevator ride and four floors later they hit the cafeteria. The smell of salted pretzels, butter, popcorn, and the aroma of vinegar lingered in the place. Holmes went over to the instant coffee machine and soon Jon had a steaming cup of black coffee. It smelled foul.

“Not drinking it for your health, kid.” Holmes grinned. “Stand here, I am going to get a few snacks.” Holmes went over to a line of vending machines. In moments coins rattled and buttons clicked.

Jon sipped the coffee. It tasted bitter, very bitter. A little cream and sugar could have gone a long way. Hard to believe he had been out for a week. So what had been real and what had been just part of this Voro Somnium’s digestion period? Holmes walking out, obviously never happened. The old crone looked real enough—real scary! Hard to believe she was the Voro Somnium. Those stupid rhymes, what was that about?

He looked at Holmes. The plump teddy bear had saved his life. He smiled. I’ll never make fun of his diet again. Two nurses walked by, blondes with long legs. They turned and gave him a huge smile with pristine white teeth and large, crystal blue eyes. “Hi Jon,” they spoke in unison and walked down the hall with a steady click of their shoes. They whispered to each other and glanced back at him. The flow of their giggles faded down the hallway.

California Twins. He grinned. He took a swig of the coffee. He thought about what Holmes had said. The only way out is the way you came in. What had been his way in? The back door of the kitchen…If he hadn’t made it to that door he would still be inside that old crone’s nightmare. Holmes had entered by the front door. That must have been why he had seen him leave that way. The kitchen door…

Holmes swaggered back with his hands full.

“Got enough here to keep you stoked for a week.” Holmes rumbled and dumped his contents on the nearest table. Jon sat down and fumbled through snack cakes, mini-doughnuts, cream-filled cookies, candy bars, chips, pretzels, and even a bag of dry roasted peanuts.

“Dig in kid, caffeine, salt, and sugar ‘till tomorrow.” He looked over at the hallway. “What did you think?”

“Of what?” Jon yanked open a bag of Mesquite Grill Barbecue potato chips. He kept thinking about that kitchen door.

“Those nurses man, they like you.” Holmes grinned. “Rebecca and Bridget.”

“I don’t know, not like I know anything about them. Which one likes me?” Jon sighed.

“Both.” Holmes grinned. “You love the California Twins.”

Jon looked at Holmes.

“What’s wrong now?” Holmes asked as he stuffed a raspberry snack cake in his mouth.

“How did those nurses know my name? How do you know them?” Jon felt like he had just hit quicksand. “How do you know I like the California Twins?”

“You have been here for week.” He sat back. “I put in a good word for you. Women love what we do. Yeah, a Paranormal Police Officer has its perks.” He patted the huge girth of his belly and belched. “You always talk about the California Twins. I am your partner, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Jon crunched another chip. They were spicy and sweet at the same time.

“One thing is bothering me though,” Jon said at last.

“What’s that?”

“The house of the old crone, I distinctly remember the door to the kitchen. That is how I got in the house. I broke in through the kitchen door.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I never left the way I came in.” Jon’s tongue went numb.

A clock struck with a loud ding-dong.

The voice of the old crone filled Jon’s head: “Tick tock, tick tock; time is up on the clock. Wake up, wake up, if you can; for death has grabbed you by the hand.”

…A cold chill ran down his spine.

____

Writers Be Aware!

2009-08-31T22:40:00.001-04:00

The art of “How to Write”, has become more profitable than the actual writing itself. Don’t believe me? Just Google, “How to write books”, oh yeah, I just got 131,000,000 hits off of that one line.

No doubt about, the art of selling, “How to Write” has become a lucrative market. Where money is, like fresh blood, sharks are sure to follow. In the writing business both as an author, writer, publisher, editor, agent, or agency, sharks prowl mercilessly over naive, and sometimes even foolish writers.

You want to make it “Big” as writer? Get a lottery ticket. Truth is, you have the same odds as winning the lottery as you do getting a million dollar publishing contract. Over a million manuscripts are sent out to publishing houses each year and less than 10% of those ever find there way inside. Of those 10%, about 1% makes the money you hear about. Problem is the Sharks know that the general writing community will not hit it big or may never hit it big.

The sharks know, however, that you—as a writer—want that dream and the sharks pitch themselves in a way that sounds very salable. Like a reading fee, finders fee, any kind of fee paid by the author for services rendered is ludicrous. A publishing company pays YOU as the author for your work NOT the other way around. An agent gets paid by the publishing company via a contract not by YOU ever! If they say otherwise, in short, they are taking advantage of you. Used to be called snake oil in the day, same concept, just different administration of the poison. Yes, that is what it is, poison to the naive writer.

Now, if you are paying for someone to edit your book, well, that is different all together. Some establishments do offer such services and although I have never partaken in them myself, it is available. Some publishing houses allot no error in grammar, punctuation, and even in continuity and in that case you have to get your work proofed thoroughly before they will ever consider your work.

The best idea is to go to a smaller publishing house, build your skills, and then upgrade as you improve. Never get impatient as a writer or you will make calculated errors in judgment that will propagate inevitable regrets.

Many very good writing schools (such as the one I attended) teach you how to weed out the poisonous vipers from the legitimate organizations. Most importantly, there are numerous websites out there that help the writer journeyman on his new born quest for star-eyed (and hopefully lucrative) fame.

What organizations am I talking about? Glad you asked:

Preditors & Editors

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubwarn.htm

Hated by the crook and coveted by the honest. It is A guide to publishers and publishing services to help the wayward writer find their way back to a safer haven with those they can actually trust.

A.A.R. Agents http://www.publication.com/aylad/aaragent4.htm

Think you can trust all agents? Think again! Scrupulous agents will send you to scrupulous publishers. Find out if they are part of the AAR (Association of Author's Representative) and if they are not, believe me, they will give you all the reasons why they aren’t. Truth is, legitimate in there reasons or not, can you trust your future to one who isn’t a member of the AAR? Would you send your money to a bank that could close down on you in a week or a month? Or loan your money out to others without your permission? A writer’s work is precious as gold to the writer and should not be trusted with just anybody. If you take on an agent who puts you and your work at risk, you are gambling with your career…That is a risk I would not be willing to make.

Ralan.com http://www.ralan.com/

Ralan.com is an excellent guide to ezines, publishers, pro and semi-pro and gives you a concise listing to follow. Invaluable to the new writer who struggles trying to find sources to send submissions to.

SFWA http://www.sfwa.org/

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, gives a huge resource to the writer. Most importantly for this particular article is Writer Beware a sub-link under “For Authors”

http://www.sfwa.org/ Writer Beware, “Warnings About Literary Fraud and the Schemes, Scams, and Pitfalls That Target Writers” It is an invaluable source.

With all the sharks out there it is nice we have safety nets and cages. No matter how much you want to get published, stay behind the nets and be patient. Nothing is worth becoming shark bait!

ABANDONED TOWERS MAGAZINE

2009-08-26T20:54:00.001-04:00

My first Showcase is to ABANDONED TOWERS MAGAZINE, hosted by Cyberwizard Productions. Not only does the magazine have free, high quality online stories from an expansive range of genres, it also has a printed version.

http://www.cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers/

Yes, that’s right, the online version is FREE to read so hop on over there and check some of it out.

The printed version of the magazine is quarterly and features content that is not available on the online site. Don’t really like magazines but you love books? Well, not to fear, Cyberwizard Productions http://cyberwizardproductions.com also publishes a wide range of novels from fiction [such as my upcoming fantasy novel ] to non-fiction. Here are a few flavors you may find:

Ancient Tomes Press is a small press imprint of Cyberwizard Productions that publishes fantasy books.

Altered Dimensions Press, another imprint of Cyberwizard Productions, publishes all types of speculative fiction other than Fantasy.

Fireside Mysteries: Specializes in mysteries, thrillers and detective stories of all sorts.

Chaco Canyon Books publishes various types of Westerns, both public domain classic westerns to brand new, just written westerns.

That completes today's SHOWCASE and I hope you find something of interest over there to e-muse you.

Formal Introduction

2009-08-24T16:49:00.003-04:00

Hello all,

This is a formal introduction of me. A little about myself? Well, for starters, I will be coming out with my first novel, hopefully by next year...if all goes well.

I have several published stories on the web. You can feel free to check them out if you wish:

DRYAD: http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/2007/10/short-story-dryad.html It is a semi-pro flash fiction. A romance about one of my loves, nature.

VICTIM OF THE MEDIA: http://www.alongstoryshort.net/victimofthemedia.html
Is an exaggerated portrayal of how the media can affect you. Exaggerated to get my point across.

Sorcerous Signals will publish another flash fiction piece of mine, RIME & FROST, in the upcoming Nov-Jan issue http://www.sorceroussignals.com/SorcerousSignals.html

I will cover many subjects on the realms of writing and as long as you behave yourselves, you can offer feedback. This site is not just to promote myself but to promote the idea of writng as a whole. I have some wonderful friends and I will showcase them as time permits.

I am just starting out on this Blog so please be patient and mindful of others who comment on this site.

Yours in prose,
Christopher Marshall