Imagine this. In a tireless effort to promote your latest novel, you’ve carpet-bombed the local media with press releases — as yet to no avail. Now you’re at your day job, inserting tab A into slot B or herding Nerfs or whatever you do to make the mortgage payments. Hey, no judgments here. Your cell phone chirps. Sweet merciful Oprah, it’s the book editor of the biggest newspaper in your area…well, her assistant, anyway. The Big Name Author she’d planned to feature was just tagged for plagiarism and other unspeakable affronts to literary sensibilities. You’re the next name on her list, but if you want those precious column inches, she needs your full media kit immediately. What? All you have is a cell phone with one bar and a dying battery, and a whole bunch of random stuff scattered all over your hard drive at home. Continue reading “How to Build a Press Room on Your Website”
Month: August 2012
Video Trailer: SwanSong
SwanSong, the young adult fantasy novel by Lynne Cantwell, is available from Amazon.com, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and most online retailers.
Chris James Interviewed by The Author Show
In case you missed it, last Wednesday the 22nd of August, Author Chris James was interviewed on The Author Show.
It was a riveting fourteen minute interview in which Chris spills all sorts of secrets about being a science fiction writer, and how that relates to cute puppies. There is a distinct possibility he said something about you. Or maybe not. I recommend you find out though.
Congrats to Chris on a great interview!
Here is the audio of the interview:
The Prestige
If you haven’t seen the film, it’s worth looking up “The Prestige” with Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Scarlett Johansson. But this isn’t a film review: I mention it because the title comes from a “three part structure” of magic tricks that I think is worth serious attention from writers, one of those rare, simple skeleton keys that can actually help you conceive your stories better. And like the other tips I’ve offered here, it’s a bit global and “Zen”. Please bear with me.
Here’s the breakdown of every great magic trick, according to top pro magicians as well as ancient tradition: three discrete and vital “acts”. The first part is called “The Pledge”. This might be seen as analogous to the “normal world” of fantasy story structure: you are shown a deck of cards, a canary, a woman lying on a table. Then comes “The Turn”. Now things become less normal, which is what magic is all about: the card is mysteriously known to the magician, the canary disappears, the woman levitates. Then comes “The Prestige”, in which abnormal reality steps out and kicks your butt: the card appears in your wallet, the canary flies in the window, the woman dissolves into a flock of doves. Continue reading “The Prestige”