 [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy] |
Normally, I’d run a First Book Friday post here. Alas, I didn’t have one ready. I’ve got several invitations out, but since I’m not paying for these posts, I don’t feel right setting deadlines or pressuring people who are already taking the time to write something for us. So then I was going to do a First Book Friday roundup with links back to all the posts. (The clip show of blogging.) But then I had another idea. Since the Writing Reality Check comic was the most popular post I’ve done in months, why not do another comic? And I knew just the message I wanted to get across.
(Yeah, I don’t think Randall Munroe has anything to fear from me.) Welcome to First Book Friday, with today’s special guest star, Erik Scott de Bie. Normally I write the introductions here, but I loved what Erik had on his site, so I’m stealing it! (Either that or I’m too busy prepping for Confusion to come up with something. You be the judge…) “In his free time, Erik stalks the streets of London clad in black, storms the ancient castles of Scotland, and faces French fire-dancers on warm midnights along the Seine. He has stared Death in her pretty face, vanquished his greatest nemesis in the name of true love, and earned some rather spectacular saber scars. (You should’ve seen the other guy.)” Also, he writes books. # My first novel, Ghostwalker [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy], is a product of several fortunate coincidences and a lot of hard work, but it stands on a foundation of one simple character flaw: I am a geek.
This led into my favorite pastime, which was writing. When lots of kids my age were trying anything to avoid writing, I was shut up in my room typing away on my computer. I took inspiration from all sorts of novels, TV, and films — I would always ask myself how I would have done that ending differently. My work was awful, of course (my wife managed to get a hold of a disk of some of it, which she keeps as blackmail), but I kept at it, building and practicing and honing. I wrote about one novel a year between the time I was 14 and, well, now. I never even thought about submitting any of it for publication, though–for me, this was just a fun pastime, which I would occasionally share with my friends and family. Then in college, I went through a serious health crisis, and it gave me the little kick-in-the-butt of urgency I needed to give it a shot. I sent a 10-page sample to Wizards of the Coast, and got a very nice rejection letter from Phil Athans and Peter Archer (with handwritten notes), who encouraged me to submit more in the future. This was big for me. Less than a year later came the Maiden of Pain open-call, for a novel in a Forgotten Realms series about priests of various deities. My submission was not really a “priestly” novel, but more of a “fighter-y” tale. They didn’t buy that one, but they kept me in mind for another limited call that they were going to do later, for one novel in the Fighters series, and one in the Wizards series. I remember they mailed it to my parents, rather than to me (as I was in college, I listed my permanent address as theirs), and my dad immediately called me to read me the entirety of the letter: I could submit for one book or the other, and it would be a story based on either a Fighters prestige class or a Wizards signature spell. I listened to the story options, and I couldn’t get past the third entry on the Fighters list: Ghostwalker. Everything clicked for me, and I knew that was the one I had to do. I think writers don’t write for the money, or the fame, or the glory, or anything like that. I think when it comes down to it, writers write because they need to write. There’s something in them that begs, wheedles, and demands to get out, and woe to the writer who doesn’t listen. I had the entire story formed in the next two days, the proposal sent off within the week or so, and I just started writing the novel. In a sense, I knew that I would get the contract, but to an extent, I didn’t care if I didn’t. Which is not to say it wouldn’t have sucked if I didn’t get it (because it would have), but it was just the story I needed to tell, and so I did. Writing that novel took into account so many things that I’d gone through in my life and was going through at the time: movies, books, philosophy, music, my health, romance, and just . . . life. How could I not write it? I was overjoyed to get the contract officially signed (and I was very angsty about getting it signed and executed and all the paperwork taken care of), which I expressed for all of an hour, before I got back to writing chapter nine. I’m very happy with how the novel turned out, and I stand by it today as one of the best things I’ve written. There are some things I could do better, of course, and my style has evolved a great deal over the many books (some of them published!) that I’ve written since then, but I think it stands as a great introduction to my style. If you like this one, there’s a good chance you’ll like what I’ve come out with since. P.S. For Ghostwalker’s five-year anniversary of being in print (which is pretty cool!), I actually did a retrospective on the novel over at my website. Readers can get in touch with me there, at my blog, find me on Facebook or Twitter, or drop me an email at erikscottdebie AT yahoo DOT com. —-
I’m very fortunate. I’ve got a lot of very nifty friends and acquaintances, both the real-world and the online variety, and sometimes I’ve just got to show them off. To that end, I’m declaring this an open “Promote Your Friends” thread. Please feel free to post whatever cool projects or accomplishments your own friends have been up to lately. (If you’re on my jimchines.com blog and your comment doesn’t show up, let me know and I’ll rescue it from moderation.) Let the promo begin!
Finally, my author friends have some new books out.
Your turn. What nifty things have your friends been doing? —
Jim is on vacation this week, and is blogging from the past! He has very little Internet access, but will read and catch up on comments eventually. Fun fact: Monday’s blog post was written three days in the past. But this one was written seven days in the past! That’s right, Jim is moving backward in time!!! He promises to bring you back a dinosaur. #
Then here we are, half a decade later. The third book is out, and readers everywhere are rushing to read it. (At least, that’s the vision I’m choosing to hold on to!) So today’s blog question is: Hey Jim, why should I join the dozens millions billions of people reading Red Hood’s Revenge? Good question, made-up reader! Here are my completely objective and unbiased answers, many of which are actually true. 1. Talia’s fairy curse. I’m not going to spoil this, but the writers out there know the feeling you get when you come up with a twist that just feels right, something that blows you away. The “truth” behind Sleeping Beauty’s curse did that for me, and I’m hopeful readers will feel the same way. 2. There will be smooching! (No, it’s not a kissing book. It has plenty of fencing and fighting, too.) 3. Hey, what ever happened to _______? I answer this question, for a certain value of ______. 4. All of the cool kids are reading it. 5. If you rearrange the words in the right order, you get a secret message from the president of Zenbox VII. 6. Two words: sewer goblins. 7. Certain elements in this book are guaranteed to offend twice as many people as previous books. 8. The pages are pine scented, so you can use the book as an air freshener for your car after you finish reading. 9. Gazebo. 10. Because kick-ass princesses are awesome, that’s why! Jim is on vacation this week, and is blogging from the past! He has very little Internet access, but will read and catch up on comments eventually. Please feel free to comment and let him know whether you people of the future are zipping around in flying cars and personal jet packs yet! Red Hood’s Revenge [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] came out yesterday. One question that comes up a lot with book releases is how readers can help to promote the writer. Either the writer wants to get the readers to help spread the word, or else the readers actively ask what they can do to support the writer’s new book. So here are Jim’s thoughts on: What readers can do to support their favorite books! It’s simple enough, really. Step 1: Get yourself hired as the head buyer for a major bookstore chain. For those of us not in a position to take over as a buyer, I refer you to the blog post I did asking where you learn about new books. (On LJ here.) Reading through the answers confirmed a lot of what I already suspected: word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful factors in getting people to pick up a book. I’ve seen and tried a lot of different things to publicize books. I’ve done author interviews. I’ve provided HTML code people could copy and repaste with the book’s cover and info. But … and perhaps this is a “Duh!” moment … what seems to work best is simply people talking about the books they love, and why. So if you want to help support the princess books, or any books for that matter, just talk about them. Write a blog post describing what you love about the stories or the characters or the world. It doesn’t have to be a formal review or anything like that (though reviews are always appreciated). Your excitement about a book you loved will sell that book far more effectively than the author ever could. And if you’re really not comfortable with that, there’s always cosplaying your favorite character Other suggestions and ideas on what to do (and also what not to do) are more than welcome! Jim is on vacation this week, and is blogging from the past! He has very little Internet access, but will read and catch up on comments eventually. Please feel free to comment and tell him what the future looks like. #
Preview the first two chapters Normally I try not to go overboard with my own book promotion here. From reading other people’s blogs, I know a little goes a long way, and it’s easy to get carried away. But when a new book comes out, I give myself permission to celebrate and promote for a few days. This week, I’m going to try to answer a few questions that come up with each new book release, starting with this one: Where and when should people buy my books? Different authors will give you different answers to this question. Mine is pretty straightforward: if you want to buy my books, do so wherever it’s convenient for you. I get the same royalty whether you buy from Amazon, B&N, or your local independent bookstore. Technically speaking, for things like making the Locus Bestseller list, there are certain stores where sales are weighted more heavily than others … but you know what? That’s not your problem. I’d love to make the list again, but I’m not going to try to force it by sending everyone out to a specific list of stores. I do have a soft spot for independent bookstores, since many of them have been very supportive of my career from day one. But if you don’t have a good independent store, or you’re just not up for one more errand, I have no problem at all with people hopping onto Amazon to order there. (Plus then I get to watch my Amazon rank drop!) As to when people should buy? Again, I’m going to say you should buy it whenever you like. Early sales are important, don’t get me wrong. The more the books sell in these first weeks, the more likely the stores are to restock. Not to mention it makes my publisher, my agent, and me happy to see those big early sales numbers. But it’s up to you. I know not everyone who reads my blog buys my books, and that’s fine. And I’m not going to insist you all run out today to pick up your copy. On the other hand, I’m planning to do a discussion post for Red Hood’s Revenge next week. So if you do buy and read the book this week, you’ll be able to get in on all of the spoilery conversation and speculation
Congratulations to last week’s winner, Katherine O’Kelly. I’ve seen a few reports pop up from readers who have picked up a copy of Red Hood. Early reactions seem to be pretty positive, and so far I haven’t had the anxiety dream where Darth Vader shows up, waving a copy of the book at me and saying in that raspy voice, “I find your lack of plot disturbing.” Anyway, for the eighth and final book giveaway– No, wait. I just had a better idea. I’m far too amused by the idea of Darth Vader as a reviewer or critiquer. So for this giveaway, leave a comment with another Vader-style critique of my book. (You may also use other Star Wars characters if you like … except for Jar-Jar!) Post your answer, and I’ll pick one winner at random next week. (Please note that I’ll be up north next week, and Internet access will be spotty, so I don’t know exactly when I’ll be able to choose and announce the winner.) The winner receives her/his choice of one of the following:
Have fun! ETA: Heh … everyone’s being so nice! My ego appreciates this, but it’s certainly not required. “What a piece of junk!” is an equally acceptable critique Looking back, it was exactly two weeks before the official release of The Mermaid’s Madness that I started to see copies trickling into the bookstores.
(If you do decide to rush out and search for the book, I strongly suggest calling the bookstore beforehand. The official release date isn’t until July 6, so most stores probably won’t have it in stock yet.) Anyway, I’m counting down to July 6 by giving away another book every week. Congratulations to Marla Rudas, who won last week’s giveaway with her entry, “The Stepsister Scheme: Kills bugs dead!” For this week’s giveaway, I want to know where you learn about new books. Friends and family? The library? Online reviews? Little book gnomes? Conventions? If there’s a specific resource you’d like to share, please do! (If it’s one I’m unfamiliar with, maybe I’ll try to send a review copy.) I’ll pick one commenter at random to win their choice of the following:
14 days and counting… My next book, Red Hood’s Revenge [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] comes out on July 6. Only three weeks until we get to meet Little Red Riding Hood, deadly assassin, and learn some of the secrets of Sleeping Beauty’s fairy curse. I’m counting down the days by giving away a book each week. This morning I was told that Red Hood would be included in a DAW/Penguin dark fantasy floor display at Barnes & Noble. Sweet! Also, Sci-fi Fan Letter called it the strongest princess book to date. Insert contented smile here. Anyway, time to give away another book! This week, let’s forget that whole truth in advertising thing. What are the lesser-known benefits of reading the princess series? Be as creative or ridiculous as you’d like. For example… The Mermaid’s Madness increases your pets’ IQ scores by 20 points or more! The Stepsister Scheme: Gets out even the toughest stains! Leave your suggestion in the comments, and I’ll pick a winner at random to receive an autographed copy of one of the following books (your choice):
Please keep it PG-13 or better, and have fun! (And please feel free to spread the word, if you’d like.) Hm … I think I have ginmar to thank for the influx of new LJ friends. Welcome all, and please feel free to say hello! Or not, if you prefer. It’s all good. #
My next book, Red Hood’s Revenge [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] comes out on July 6, and I’m counting down the days by giving away a book each week. Congratulations to @bkwrrm_tx who won the Twitter giveaway. Today’s contest is a little different. My friend Lisa Shearin (author of the Raine Benares series) has an excerpt and giveaway for The Stepsister Scheme over on her blog. To be entered to win an autographed copy of Stepsister, just head over and comment on the blog post. Lisa will be drawing a winner tonight, so if you want to enter this one, you’ll have to be quick. And tune in tomorrow for … actually, I haven’t decided yet. Maybe another diabetes post. Maybe a follow-up to the whole “friending/defriending” phenomenon on social networks. Or maybe I’ll just talk about the crazy involved in trying to wrap up the second draft of this book… |
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Copyright © 2012 Jim C. Hines - All Rights Reserved |
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I got into D&D around age 10, and I almost immediately started writing all sorts of adventures, character backgrounds, and even stories. My first long fiction — the background of my character Whisper, an elf rogue in the Forgotten Realms setting (coincidentally) — I wrote at 13. It was supposed to be 10 pages and ended up being 45. I knew at that point that writing was what I wanted to do.
So Red Hood’s Revenge 
It is now exactly two weeks until the release of Red Hood’s Revenge 
