In which my Mother of the Year award seems to have been lost in the mail
Posted on | March 14, 2013 | No Comments
2k12 giveaway!
Posted on | November 12, 2012 | 2 Comments
The Class of 2k12’s Huge End-of-the-Year Giveaway is here!
Twenty authors. Twenty-one books. All for one lucky winner.
The YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes is Back!
Posted on | October 22, 2012 | 50 Comments
Welcome to my stop of the YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes, a blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors where you can win prize packs including ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and more!
Update: The YAmazing Race is over! Winners of the Apocalypsies prize packs will be announced over there tomorrow. The winner of the pilgrim badge will follow shortly. Thanks to everyone who participated!
~*~
THE WICKED AND THE JUST by J. Anderson Coats
1293. North Wales. Ten years into English rule.
Cecily would give anything to leave Caernarvon and go home. Gwenhwyfar would give anything to see all the English leave.
Neither one is going to get her wish.
Behind the city walls, English burgesses govern with impunity. Outside the walls, the Welsh are confined by custom and bear the burden of taxation, and the burgesses plan to keep it that way.
Cecily can’t be bothered with boring things like the steep new tax or the military draft that requires Welshmen to serve in the king’s army overseas. She has her hands full trying to fit in with the town’s privileged elite, and they don’t want company.
Gwenhwyfar can’t avoid these things. She counts herself lucky to get through one more day, and service in Cecily’s house is just salt in the wound.
But the Welsh are not as conquered as they seem, and the suffering in the countryside is rapidly turning to discontent. The murmurs of revolt may be Gwenhwyfar’s only hope for survival – and the last thing Cecily ever hears.
~*~
Bonus Giveaway!
What person from history do you think would fit in best if s/he were transported to 2012? Comment on this post with your response for a chance to win a replica medieval pilgrim badge. Open internationally, but one entry per person, please. Winner will be drawn at random from among all unique comments by random.org.
The next milepost in the YAmazing Race is over at Kami Kinard’s blog – good luck!
MSFV Blog Hop Winner
Posted on | August 20, 2012 | No Comments
The MSFV Blog Hop wrapped up last week. It was a blast! I loved reading about my fellow Success Stories and getting more familiar with their work.
One last piece of blog hop business is to announce the winner of a copy of J.M. Frey’s The Dark Side of the Glass – which is E.M. Kokie! Thanks to everyone who entered!
MSFV Blog Hop – Meet J.M. Frey!
Posted on | August 3, 2012 | 6 Comments
Welcome to what will hopefully be the first of the Annual Authoress’ Success Story blog tours! Those of us who have owed our publishing successes, at least in part, to the Miss Snark’s First Victim contests and blog have decided to come together and help cross promote each other’s work. Every day in the first two weeks of August, a different author will be posting an interview of one of our fellow Success Stories, so make sure to tune in to everyone’s blogs!
Today I’d like to welcome J.M. Frey, author of a number of works including TRIPTYCH and THE DARK SIDE OF GLASS! Toronto-based J.M Frey (pronounced “fry”) is a science fiction and fantasy author, as well as a fanthropologist and pop culture scholar who appears in podcasts, documentaries, and on television to discuss all things geeky through the lens of academia.
You do a lot of other things besides writing – acting, modeling, singing. Tell us a little about how a life rich with creativity impacts your writing. Also, which of your many non-writing projects was the most fun to do?
Oh, I absolutely have the most fun doing the voice acting and singing. There’s nothing quite so wild and wonderful as standing in an itty bitty sound booth, surrounded by grey eggshell soundproofing with headphones bigger than your head clamped to your ears screaming, laughing, singing, and gasping for breath through a song or a character’s dialogue or a commercial jingle. I genuine do love voice acting so much. I think it’s because you only HAVE your voice to do all the work with. You have no facial expressions, no flicks of the eyes or fingers, no gestures, no costumes to help you convey character. You have your voice and only your voice, and you have to put everything into that.
I think it’s always important to have a way to engage with your story in ways that are different from putting the right words in the right order. I used to sketch my characters and draw scenes, but lately I’ve been creating costumes based on some of the character’s wardrobes, or building jewellery to tie in – it’s a way to be engaged with the world without the stress of having to get the writing right. It allows your fingers to be busy while your mind wanders the paths of the narrative.
As for how it’s helped me: even if I’m not working on my story in particular – if I’m acting in someone elses’ work – my assessing mind is always on. “How is this story, that I’m participating in telling, being told? Why did this person make that choice? Is the choice effective? Is it something I can learn from, or incorporate? Or is it a mistake I’ve just learned to avoid?” Of course, you also have to allow for the differences between mediums; there are things that you can do in novels and can’t do in a film script, or a comic, or while making creative choices in performances.
As an example: I’m writing a feature film with a friend who is more experienced in screenwriting than I right now, and I keep over-describing things. She has to remind me, constantly, not to tell the director, or actor, or designer how to do their jobs. Scripts are really cut and dry. For example, I wrote: “Martin hands his very worn passport to the teller, sheepish at how much use its seen.” When what it really should be is: “Martin hands his passport to the teller.”
Your newest work, THE DARK SIDE OF GLASS, is hilarious. Tell us about some of the challenges of writing humor, especially when it comes to speculative fiction and secondary worlds.
I am positively convinced I cannot write humour. I am, therefore, understandably surprised when people call my work funny. I cry when I write tragic scenes (oh, the weeping over my keyboard in THAT SCENE in Triptych), but I don’t laugh when I write my scenes. Do comedic writers laugh when they write funny stuff? Perhaps I have a gene out of alignment.
At any rate, people have found DSOTG funny, and I did obviously mean for it to be a lighthearted poke at fans, a little “nudge-nudge-wink-wink, we know what we’re like and we revel in it” sort of story like the films Fanboys or Paul. I’m pleased to hear that I seem to have achieved that! Thank you.
One never knows if they’re getting the tone right. It’s far too easy to make a mistake with how far to go, or not go, and then it turns into this debacle of ignorance or picking-on, when all you wanted to do was share a laugh. And as my beta reader Steph is fond of saying, it’s not a J.M. Frey book unless I rip out your heart and beat it against the wall (She’s read every single book I’ve done, even the unpublished and unpublishable ones, bless), so it’s always far more work for me to try to be funny – I fret over whether I’m hitting the right pitch much, much more.
A friend of a friend asks for a good sci-fi book recommendation and I think, “That person needs to read TRIPTYCH.” Who is this reader?
Probably someone who likes classic sci-fi but wants to see it updated for the 21st century. I’m always flabbergasted when I’m compared to Heinlien or Spider Robinson. The thing with TRIPTYCH is that it’s a bit of a romance, a bit of a close domestic tragedy, a bit of an action adventure novel, a bit of a mystery… and there are gender-fluid threesomes with aliens to boot. So, there really is something for almost anyone. I suppose the reader would have to be open minded about gender performance and relationship roles, though.
Generally I think that what I write is literary fiction sprinkled with the tropes, stereotypes, and narratives of classic sci-fi. I want to tell stories that not only hardcore scifi/fantasy fans will enjoy, but stories that also speak to fans of other genres as well.
Tell us one book you wish you would have written.
“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” by Micheal Chabon. It is such a powerful book on so many levels, and so fascinating. I love books like that, that take me through a character’s who line, and especially ones that wear actual historical events and personalities into the narrative. I’ve heard it described as the perfect Pulizer Bait, meant for old Jewish guys and no other target demographic, but the first person to press it into my hands and tell me to read it was the owner of a comic book store. It speaks to so many people – those affected by WW2, surely, but also those who are passionate artists, those who have been closeted their whole lives or who have suffered for coming out, those who have been bullied or picked on, those who have a deep interest in the early days and current stars of comic books… it speaks to so many people on so many levels from so many demographics. I cried when I finished the book, because it was so good and there was no more.
I want to write a book that makes people cry for the same reason.
The other thing I love about the book is the depth of the world that Chabon created for the tale. It’s so rich. I’m not surprised in the least that there’s such a beautiful abundance of spin off properties. I love novels like that too – where there’s so much room to play and explore within the world. The perfect fanfiction fodder.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received from another author?
“Stop trying to impress people and just be yourself. That’s impressive enough.” I didn’t get that advice from another author, actually, but a film producer friend. She told me to stop trying so hard at networking events and just be myself, that being honest and genuine, that listening to other people and being interested in their passions, is what makes you the kind of person that people want to spend time with – and therefore hire.
The best advice I got from an actual author came from Gabrielle Harbowy. She told me to stop trying to be so damn clever with the way I construct sentences! I do spend less time picking words and more time telling a story, now. It was good advice.
~*~
To thank you guys for joining us on the blog hop, J.M. is giving away a copy of THE DARK SIDE OF GLASS! To enter, comment on this post with your favorite sci-fi, fantasy, or other secondary world from a book, movie, or TV show. One comment per person please, but the giveaway is open internationally. The winner will be chosen by random.org one week from today, on 10 August 2012. Good luck, everyone!
Tomorrow’s stop on the blog hop will be J.M. Frey’s interview of Elissa Cruz. We hope you’ll follow along on the tour! Twitter hashtag #MSFV and #MSFVSuccessStory
| Posting Date | ||
| David Kazzie | @davidkazzie | 1-Aug |
| Leigh Talbert Moore | @leightmoore | 2-Aug |
| J.Anderson Coats | @jandersoncoats | 3-Aug |
| J.M. Frey | @scifrey | 4-Aug |
| Elissa Cruz | @elissacruz | 5-Aug |
| Amanda Sun | @Amanda_Sun | 6-Aug |
| Kristi Helvig | @KristiHelvig | 7-Aug |
| Leah Petersen | @Leahpetersen | 8-Aug |
| Monica Bustamante Wagner | @Monica_BW | 9-Aug |
| Emily Kokie | @emkokie | 10-Aug |
| Monica Goulet | @MonicaGoulet | 11-Aug |
| Peter Salomon | @petersalomon | 12-Aug |
| Sarah Brand | @sarahbbrand | 13-Aug |
| Angela Ackerman | @angelaackerman & @writerthesaurus | 14-Aug |
| Tara Dairman | @TaraDairman | 15-Aug |
My Friends at MSFV
Posted on | July 22, 2012 | No Comments
Guess what? We’re just about to begin what will hopefully be the first of the Annual Authoress’ Success Story blog tours!
Authoress Anonymous has built a strong and supportive community on her blog Miss Snark’s First Victim: a community of writers, critiques, hopefuls, agents, editors, and readers. There, writers can participate in contests designed to help them practice giving and receiving critiques, polish their hooks, spiffy up query letters, and gain exposure to literary agents… and, in the case of some writers, get offered representation or publishing deals!
Over twenty professional authors now owe some part of their successes to Authoress, the incredibly generous people who participate in her contests, and her blog. Those of us who have owed our publishing successes to MSFV have decided to come together to celebrate both MSFV, Authoress, and to help cross promote each other’s work.
Every day in the first two weeks of August, a different author will be posting an interview of one of our fellow Success Stories. There might even be some giveaways, so don’t miss a single blog post! Make sure to tune in to everyone’s blogs from August 1st to the 15th, and to follow the hash tag #MSFVSuccessStory this month for more details, tidbits, and info. See you there!
Seattle Area Tour Dates
Posted on | June 21, 2012 | No Comments
The Words of Wonder Tour’s June leg is kicking off this Saturday! If you’re in the Seattle area, we’d love it if you’d stop by and say hello.
June 23
2:00 pm – Seattle Public Library – Northeast Branch (6801 35th Ave. N.E., Seattle)
6:30 pm – Third Place Books – Lake Forest Park (17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park)
It’s also my birthday. I’m hoping for cupcakes!
June 24
3:00 pm – Elliott Bay Books (1521 Tenth Avenue, Seattle)
The other Words of Wonder authors are:
* Anne Nesbet, THE CABINET OF EARTHS
* Marissa Burt, STORYBOUND
* Jenny Lundquist, SEEING CINDERELLA
There will be swag! And maybe cookies. Hope to see you there!
Tags: author event > kidlit author event > seattle author event
Some of you playing along at home…
Posted on | May 25, 2012 | No Comments
…might know I tend to kill anything green that grows. But I’m trying to get better. Allow me to introduce Glenbucket Gourd-on and Michael Gourd-on, two little pumpkin sprouts that the Boy and I are growing from seeds harvested from last year’s Halloween pumpkin. Let’s see if I can keep them alive long enough to turn their offspring into lobotomy patients come October.
YAmazing Race Results
Posted on | May 9, 2012 | No Comments
A big huge thank-you to everyone who participated in the YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes! If you’re curious about the winners of the prize packs, you can find out here.
And thanks so much for all your historical tweets! Several of you wanted to tweet Abraham Lincoln, Henry VIII and Shakespeare, but I never would have thought to tweet Cleopatra.
The winner of the magnet is Kimberly B, who would tweet Oscar Wilde.
Thanks again, you guys, for making the YAmazing Race a big success!
Tags: apocalypsies > yamazing race
YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes – May Edition
Posted on | May 1, 2012 | 33 Comments
Welcome to my stop of the YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes, a blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors where you can win prize packs including ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and more!
If you haven’t yet been to the Apocalypsies website, please click here to start from the beginning and read the complete rules. UPDATE: The race is now over. The giveaway winner will be announced tomorrow. Thanks for playing!
~*~
THE WICKED AND THE JUST by J. Anderson Coats
1293. North Wales. Ten years into English rule.
Cecily would give anything to leave Caernarvon and go home. Gwenhwyfar would give anything to see all the English leave.
Neither one is going to get her wish.
Behind the city walls, English burgesses govern with impunity. Outside the walls, the Welsh are confined by custom and bear the burden of taxation, and the burgesses plan to keep it that way.
Cecily can’t be bothered with boring things like the steep new tax or the military draft that requires Welshmen to serve in the king’s army overseas. She has her hands full trying to fit in with the town’s privileged elite, and they don’t want company.
Gwenhwyfar can’t avoid these things. She counts herself lucky to get through one more day, and service in Cecily’s house is just salt in the wound.
But the Welsh are not as conquered as they seem, and the suffering in the countryside is rapidly turning to discontent. The murmurs of revolt may be Gwenhwyfar’s only hope for survival – and the last thing Cecily ever hears.
~*~
Monkeys know how to party!
Bonus giveaway! If you could send one tweet to any person from history, what would you tweet and to whom would you tweet it? Comment on this post with your response for a chance to win a medieval monkey keg party magnet. Open internationally, but one entry per person, please. Winner will be drawn at random from among all unique comments by random.org.
The next milepost in the YAmazing Race is over at Kat Zhang’s blog – good luck!
Tags: apocalypsies > blog hop > ya fiction > yamazing race