Category: Authoring

Great Unsung Science Fiction Authors That Everybody Should Read

http://io9.com/great-unsung-science-fiction-authors-that-everybody-sho-1552276689?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

More books to be added to my TBR stack.  I will be scrutinizing the female authors closely.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

“The Unrecognized Trajectory of Slow Burn Success” by Janny Wurts — A Dribble of Ink

Browsing an unknown book on the internet requires the foresight that it is there! More, public opinion shoves the book’s data right into your face: ratings, reviews, numbers – crowd opinion leads the barrage.

— Janny Wurts, “The Unrecognized Trajectory of Slow Burn Success”
via A Dribble of Ink blog

I loved learning something new about how Tolkien was ‘discovered.’  It’s always great to read anything written by Janny.

PW Select February 2014: What Every Indie Author Needs to Know About E-Books

http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/61058-pw-select-february-2014-what-every-indie-author-needs-to-know-about-e-books.html#path/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/61058-pw-select-february-2014-what-every-indie-author-needs-to-know-about-e-books.html

In all of this, remember these efforts are investments in a long-term career. Social media and marketing work are as much about selling your new book as boosting sales for your back catalog—and building connections to help your next book succeed.

A bit lengthy, but this article has some good information and links buried in it.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Answering the Question: What’s Wrong with Epic Fantasy?

That is tricky question to answer, because the very nature of the work is what makes epic fantasy…well, epic. Maybe there really isn’t anything broken or wrong with epic fantasy as a subgenre, maybe the thing that gets broken, or perhaps a better word might be “tired,” of epic fantasy is the reader.

— Teresa Frohock, author of  Miserere: an Autumn Tale

One of many ‘epic’ answers to the question ‘What’s Wrong with Epic Fantasy?’ found at the recent MIND MELD: What’s “Wrong” with Epic Fantasy? – SF Signal post.

Surprise! I Have No Idea Your Book is Coming Out | Kameron Hurley

http://www.kameronhurley.com/surprise-i-have-no-idea-your-book-is-coming-out/

Remember that ground breaking shocking documentary from the 70s (or was it the 80s) where they took teenagers to prison and introduced them to the convicts? This blog post reminds me of that film. If you can ignore the language, the message is worth hearing.

I might be stretching the comparison a bit but just wanted you to know I don’t normally condone that much profanity by reblogging it.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Tolkien’s 122nd Birthday

TheOneRinginscriptionwithTolkienssymbol_zpse18b2086J.R.R. Tolkien would have been 122 today.

His writings enriched and continue to enrich my life (see my Best Reads of 2013 wherein The Silmarillion received a rare five star rating from me).

While I haven’t re-read The Hobbit for the umpteenth time, I did venture out last week to see The Desolation of Smaug at my local favorite movie theatre (I gave that movie 3.5 stars via Flixster, and don’t think it’s as well done as the first one, An Unexpected Journey).

If you haven’t read any of Tolkien’s writings, I highly recommend all of them.  I rarely re-read books, but I will always return, again and again, to the master of epic fantasy storytelling.

Some previous posts I’ve shared at this blog that reference Tolkien’s legacy:

Continue reading “Tolkien’s 122nd Birthday”