This post is part 5 in the series The 5 ‘ Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel. If you haven’t read the other 4, they can be found HERE (Part 1), HERE (Part 2), HERE (Part 3), and HERE (Part 4). Since we are talking about fiction, no story is a story without a hero. And since a dystopian society is inherently … Continue reading Top 5 ‘Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel V: Hero is a Victim of the System
This post is part 2 in the series The 5 ‘ Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel. If you haven’t read the other one, it can be found HERE (Part 1). Next week I’ll tackle the third ‘Must Have’ in Dystopian fiction, so stick around! Every dystopian novel is called dystopian as a juxtaposition to its opposite, a utopia. … Continue reading Top 5 ‘Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel II: Realization of Idealization
For lovers of clean historical vampire fiction! Reviewers say: "The writing is excellent, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Grissom." "The Egyptian Elixir is a rollicking good time, filled with snappy dialog, bone-crunching action, and a swift moving plot." " I was unable to put it down." Find it on Amazon.com.
So I've been busy for the past two weeks working on preparing for my next book launch. You night time writing warriors know how that goes right? You have these couple of hours available in the evening - hours sometimes taken up by doing other stuff that can make you money, children that refuse to … Continue reading Prep yo’ self: the book launch
Dear unknown reader, On occasion, Ms. Zaplendam will allow me to use her equipment to address all of you. With such a vast forum before, I can barely contain my machiavellian glee at the prospect of all these pliant minds available for my cunning manipulations. (Hear my maniacal laugh?) I jest, of course. If … Continue reading Dear —, It’s me, a vampire.
So in all the craziness (and oh yeah, it's crazy) of preparing for my new cover reveal, kindle free period, and subsequent bookblast, I completely forgot to post about it on my site! (John Grissom is shaking his head at me.) I decided to do a new cover for the sake of readability. It turned … Continue reading New Cover Reveal and Kindle Free Period
Once upon a time, a twitter user (twitterer? twit? tweeter? Obviously I am not twitter conversant) lamented about not having the means to be able to create a book trailer. Here's my response: as long as you have access to a movie making program (like Windows movie maker which came standard with my Windows 8.1 … Continue reading How To: Create a Free Book Trailer
I had the pleasure of receiving a glowing review from a winner of the Goodreads giveaway I did not so long ago. Thank you, Goodreads. Once again, you've proven yourself an underutilized and underappreciated tool for authors. I stand corrected. It's doesn't get any better for an author than to know that some person, entirely unknown … Continue reading Goodreads for the win!
I should preface this by saying that it's my problem with vampires. The vampire narrative is well-known to most of Western society. An evil vampire, born of (narrative of choice), goes around killing or turning other men into vampires. These other vampires must kill other people in order to survive themselves. They burn in the … Continue reading The Problem with Vampires
Among other things, today I am grateful I am not a vampire. In other news, my book launch will be coming up soon, just in time for lovers of Regency fiction, vampire fiction, and adventures to get a copy or share a copy for Christmas. So if you are looking for a free copy, join … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving
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