Fiction Scribe

AS if! needs your help!

The Australian speculative fiction review site needs your help. AS if is a massive review site that relies on volunteer reviewers - of which Food Past’s Gillian is part of - to provide reviews on the site.

Why donate?

Donations to paypal will go towards covering postage for review copies to be sent out to reviewers. They would also like to recruit more overseas reviewers, who sit totally outside the community, to increase commentary. However, this would significantly increase the project costs.

Donations will also cover reviewers stalking second-hand bookshops and bookstalls and buying out of print Australian specfic for coverage on ASif! They could also look into buying copies of works of the bigger name writers whose publicists still don’t send review copies. Or, if you’re a big name writer and not currently reviewed on the site, perhaps you might consider sending them a copy of your work for review.

Also, another reason to donate is you can win some fabulous prizes! For every $5 donation to the drive, you will get your name into the ASif! Donation Drive Prize Raffle. So if you give $15, you have 3 chances to win.

Here’s a peek at the prize pool:

1 copy of In Bad Dreams
2 copies of C0ck
1 copy of Aggressive Retail Therapy by Grant Watson (out of print Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World trade paperback)
2 copies of the Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine by Grant Watson and Edward J. Grug III
2 copies of Polyphony 6
2 copies of Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth by Ben Peek
2 copies of Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre
6 copies of Fables and Reflections
1 copy of Daikaiju 3
2 copies of Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
5 copies of Shiny Issue 1
5 copies of New Ceres Issue 2
1 copy of Potato Monkey Issue 5 (the final issue!!)
1 signed copy of Seacastle by Tansy Rayner Roberts
1 copy of Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
1 copy of Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock
1 copy of The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock

If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

If you are a writer and interested/willing to participate in a short story writing stunt (you don’t have to write a whole short story) - soon to be announced - please also email girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

The December Donation Drive has kicked off and all donations received from now till Dec 24th will be eligible for the prize draw.

To make a donation, go here.

win, free, books, contest, australia, speculative fiction, fiction, In Bad Dreams, C0ck, Aggressive Retail Therapy, Grant Watson, Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World, Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine, Edward J. Grug III, Polyphony 6, Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth, Ben Peek, Swans Over the Moon, Forrest Aguirre, Fables and Reflections, Laney Cairo, Shiny Issue 1, New Ceres Issue 2, Potato Monkey Issue 5, Seacastle, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Winterbirth, Brian Ruckley, Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex, Robert Holdstock, The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex

Hello everyone! Today I have a bonus interview for you. Joy Collins, the author of the powerful novel Second Chance is my guest. Please join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Collins. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am a nurse “by day�. I trained at Bellevue Hospital in NYC back when they still did that [now nurses are trained in colleges]. I’ve worked in just about every aspect of nursing in and out of hospitals but now I run my own legal nurse consulting business at home. It’s a great life. I get to stay home with my fur-babies and I can set my own schedule so it I can write to my heart’s content. I’ve been married to the love of my life for twenty-six years and we live in AZ now. Both of us come from back east but we love living in the desert.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I think, like most writers, I started writing as a little kid. I remember writing stories and even making my own little books as far back as grade school. I worked on the school paper and yearbook in high school. While still in high school, I wrote an episode for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a television show popular at the time. Even though I was only seventeen, I managed to obtain an agent from Samuel French, Inc. and my script made it all the way to Hollywood. That rejection letter is still one of my most prized possessions. I had always planned on being a writer but then life got in the way. I put it aside for many years. When I reached mid-life, I think I realized that I really didn’t have all the time left I wanted and it was now or never. So, I started publishing articles and then got busy with my book.

You recently published your first novel Second Chance. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

(more…)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any publishing opportunities, so I’m going to put up a few of the guidelines for The Willows, “an atmospheric horror and dark fantasy magazine with an emphasis on the traditional weird tale, in the classic style of Blackwood, Dunsany, Hodgson, Machen, Lovecraft, etc.”

Good luck in your submissions.

Please study these guidelines in depth, or you risk eliminating your chances for acceptance!

We are currently looking for short stories which would be told in a gentlemen’s lounge in turn-of-the-century London, or Dublin, or New York City, or Prague.

Two points are essential for any submitting author to understand:

1) Weird Fiction does not merely mean “stories that are weird.”
Weird Fiction refers to a specific genre, and if this genre is one with which you are unfamiliar, we ask that you not submit here until you have become sufficiently familiar. For an overview of the Weird Fiction genre of literature, we highly recommend the book Supernatural Horror In Literature by H. P. Lovecraft.

We offer the following letter from a corresponding author:

“The Willows” is one of my favorite tales, bar none, from, of course, my favorite author Algernon Blackwood. I’m a major fan of the classic greats in the horror and supernatural genres, and I’ve worked on my own writing in such a style. I consider myself a true “modern traditionalist.”

If the above sentiment does not, to a large degree, describe you and your work, please submit elsewhere. Contrariwise, if you find yourself in agreement with the sentiment of your literary colleague quoted above, you have an excellent chance of being published in The Willows.

2) Please! We do not accept stories set in postmodern times!
We understand that Postmodernity began with Virginia Wolfe et al, but the postmodern times we are referring to are the ones beginning post WWII (a sad demarcation, we know, but a well-known one notwithstanding). We pass over all such tales on general principle.

Find out more here.

Alas, I am guilty of one of the high crimes of writing – not adequately researching something before writing about it.

We all make mistakes, yes, but I hate ranting about something that’s untrue.

Pet Peeve #41 wasn’t all wrong, mind you, but I stated something that’s wrong. In some circles. That’s the annoying thing about writing: in a lot of the ‘rules’ of writing, you’ll find two sides to it.

I’m talking about the ’s vs s’s issue.

Since I first started writing, I have always hated the look of s’s so I started using s’ instead. A lot of people do it, but does that mean it’s right? Apparently not, according to one of the higher authorities: Strunk and White

According to Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, “Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ’s. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.”

Lovely.

So what was James’ paint is supposed to be James’s paint. Undoubtedly there will be more wisdom from the book of Strunk and White in the future.

Ah, it’s that wonderful time again. Little reminders, the week before Christmas edition.

When it comes to such busy times of year, I always like lists (heck, I like lists anytime) to remind me of things, so I don’t think you’ll mind this list.

Win Books
You can win books and, in the process, help keep an awesome book review site going. What more could you ask for?

Project Blog
Allison from Reality on Bravo has worked so hard to bring you the coolest contest ever. I couldn’t do what she’s done. That’s why I’m entering the contest(s) and not hosting it. Get in there for your chance to win some fabulous prizes.

200 Words, Weekly Writing Challenge, and Other Fun Stuff
Christmas is crazy and I’m not going to pretend to do anything but get work done. Work, work, work my arse off to cover for the holidays so I can give my arse and my computer chair some separation time and my husband and I some cuddle time.

Things like 200 Words and Weekly Writing Challenge might be taken off the list. Or maybe they’ll continue.

Honestly, I have plans for 2008, but they’re not, at this point, well planned out. If there’s something you like – and yes, I know most of you like unconscious mutterings – let me know. I like mail.

Fiction Scribe Authors of 2007
Remember that ebook I’ve been talking about? Well, I haven’t forgotten, and it just might go out in a rewards program for buying books on another site. I won’t mention more than that because it’s all in the works, but don’t worry – FS readers will still get a free copy from yours truly.

That’s it! Easy. Now back to work.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Interview::
2. Army ::
3. Unwrap ::
4. Evolve ::
5. Bus ::
6. The real thing ::
7. Streak ::
8. Gorge ::
9. Spicy ::
10. Course ::

Idea courtesy of Luna Nina

AS if! needs your help!

The Australian speculative fiction review site needs your help. AS if is a massive review site that relies on volunteer reviewers - of which Food Past’s Gillian is part - to provide reviews on the site.

Why donate?

Donations to paypal will go towards covering postage for review copies to be sent out to reviewers. They would also like to recruit more overseas reviewers, who sit totally outside the community, to increase commentary. However, this would significantly increase the project costs.

Donations will also cover reviewers stalking second-hand bookshops and bookstalls and buying out of print Australian specfic for coverage on ASif! They could also look into buying copies of works of the bigger name writers whose publicists still don’t send review copies. Or, if you’re a big name writer and not currently reviewed on the site, perhaps you might consider sending them a copy of your work for review.

Also, another reason to donate is you can win some fabulous prizes! For every $5 donation to the drive, you will get your name into the ASif! Donation Drive Prize Raffle. So if you give $15, you have 3 chances to win.

Here’s a peek at the prize pool:

1 copy of In Bad Dreams
2 copies of C0ck
1 copy of Aggressive Retail Therapy by Grant Watson (out of print Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World trade paperback)
2 copies of the Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine by Grant Watson and Edward J. Grug III
2 copies of Polyphony 6
2 copies of Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth by Ben Peek
2 copies of Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre
6 copies of Fables and Reflections
1 copy of Daikaiju 3
2 copies of Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
5 copies of Shiny Issue 1
5 copies of New Ceres Issue 2
1 copy of Potato Monkey Issue 5 (the final issue!!)
1 signed copy of Seacastle by Tansy Rayner Roberts
1 copy of Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
1 copy of Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock
1 copy of The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock

If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

If you are a writer and interested/willing to participate in a short story writing stunt (you don’t have to write a whole short story) - soon to be announced - please also email girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

The December Donation Drive has kicked off and all donations received from now till Dec 24th will be eligible for the prize draw.

To make a donation, go here.

win, free, books, contest, australia, speculative fiction, fiction, In Bad Dreams, C0ck, Aggressive Retail Therapy, Grant Watson, Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World, Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine, Edward J. Grug III, Polyphony 6, Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth, Ben Peek, Swans Over the Moon, Forrest Aguirre, Fables and Reflections, Laney Cairo, Shiny Issue 1, New Ceres Issue 2, Potato Monkey Issue 5, Seacastle, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Winterbirth, Brian Ruckley, Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex, Robert Holdstock, The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex

Hello and welcome, everyone, to this week’s author interview. Today I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing the very interesting Jean Hackensmith. Jean is one half of the duo who created the book The Ultimate Passage. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Hackensmith. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I’ve been writing since I was about twenty years old—thirty-one years, to be exact, and yes, I’m disclosing my age! I have been married to my second husband, Ron, for 14 years—he’s my biggest fan and my biggest supporter. I am the proud mother of three, the stepmother of two and the grandmother of ten. My children and grandchildren alike are the highlight of my life. Next to writing, my passion is live theatre. I founded our local community theatre back in 1992 and still direct 2-3 shows a year. In fact, I wrote a play called “Blue Moon,� which will be going up in February.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I was sitting at the counter in my kitchen at 20 years old talking to my mother on the phone. I was an avid reader, and I was also a doodler. The next thing I knew, this…line came out on the page. Yes, I still remember that line: “Jenny McCall awoke with a scream on her lips.� I thought to myself, Hey, that would be a great first line for a book! Well, it kind of went from there. I, of course, had to decide why Jenny McCall had a scream on her lips, but after that, the story just kind of flowed. It also sucked. Those first few stories were never published, and they didn’t deserve to be. They were a learning experience, though, I’ll tell you that!

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel The Ultimate Passage. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Obviously, it’s a time travel romance. Well, maybe not so obviously, but it is. The main plot idea behind “The Ultimate Passage� is one I’ve had been playing with for years. In a nutshell, take a futuristic man—one from way into the future—who lives in a time period where citizens live in domed cities, war and disease are no more, and sex has been outlawed. Sex is messy and unsanitary, after all, and it can also lead to sexually transmitted disease. Now, put this guy back in 14th century Scotland, where they do still have sex, and make him fall in love with a very beautiful woman. Oh, and I forgot to mention, this guy is also President of the United States. Yes, you get the idea…

What inspired you to write The Ultimate Passage? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Thirteen Ways to Kill Your Characters

1. Ritual sacrifice.
2. Smiting by deity.
3. Blown apart.
4. Shot.
5. Poisoned.
6. Assassinated.
7. Thrown off a cliff.
8. Murdered for political reasons.
9. Murdered for revengeful reasons.
10. Killed by a wild animal.
11. Drowning.
12. Suffocation.
13. Broken neck due to stairs, being thrown by a horse, etc.

(Taken from the earlier post - Eight Ways to Kill Your Characters)

AS if! needs your help!

The Australian speculative fiction review site needs your help. AS if is a massive review site that relies on volunteer reviewers - of which Food Past’s Gillian is part of - to provide reviews on the site.

Why donate?

Donations to paypal will go towards covering postage for review copies to be sent out to reviewers. They would also like to recruit more overseas reviewers, who sit totally outside the community, to increase commentary. However, this would significantly increase the project costs.

Donations will also cover reviewers stalking second-hand bookshops and bookstalls and buying out of print Australian specfic for coverage on ASif! They could also look into buying copies of works of the bigger name writers whose publicists still don’t send review copies. Or, if you’re a big name writer and not currently reviewed on the site, perhaps you might consider sending them a copy of your work for review.

Also, another reason to donate is you can win some fabulous prizes! For every $5 donation to the drive, you will get your name into the ASif! Donation Drive Prize Raffle. So if you give $15, you have 3 chances to win.

Here’s a peek at just some of the things you can win:

1 copy of In Bad Dreams
2 copies of C0ck
1 copy of Aggressive Retail Therapy by Grant Watson (out of print Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World trade paperback)
2 copies of the Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine by Grant Watson and Edward J. Grug III
2 copies of Polyphony 6
2 copies of Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth by Ben Peek
2 copies of Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre
6 copies of Fables and Reflections
1 copy of Daikaiju 3
2 copies of Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
5 copies of Shiny Issue 1
5 copies of New Ceres Issue 2
1 copy of Potato Monkey Issue 5 (the final issue!!)
1 signed copy of Seacastle by Tansy Rayner Roberts
1 copy of Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
1 copy of Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock
1 copy of The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock

If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

If you are a writer and interested/willing to participate in a short story writing stunt (you don’t have to write a whole short story) - soon to be announced - please also email girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

The December Donation Drive has kicked off and all donations received from now till Dec 24th will be eligible for the prize draw.

To make a donation, go here.

Ah, pet peeve #48. This is probably one of the most prominent things that are drilled into writer’s minds the most.

Don’t write in the passive voice!

This is also the pet peeve I am most guilty of indulging in myself. I think it’s my writing brain’s default button. Anyway, that’s not any excuse for me or for you as a writer.

While passive voice isn’t always the ultimate evil it is often made out to be, it’s a good idea to get yourself out of the habit. It doesn’t have anything to do with grammar; it has to do with style.

What is the passive voice?

The passive voice is when you use the object of an action as the subject of the sentence.

Passive: Why was the fire hydrant peed on by the dog?

Active: Why did the dog pee on the fire hydrant?

It’s not always that easy (or funny) to fix up your passive sentences (and remember – sometimes the passive is better). One thing you can do, though, is to run a find all and replace all the instances of ‘was’ with ‘X’. (Pressing Ctrl and ‘f’ will open the find window.) It will not only find and replace them all, but it will tell you how many replacements it made.

Go through and see how many easy switches you can make first off. Things like “the baby was carried up the stairs” turning into “Jenny carried the baby up the stairs”.

Taking the active voice gives you more authority in your writing. The active voice versus the passive voice is akin to letting your story be told versus telling your story. Stand up and take control of your story. You are the author, right?

Today, before I get into anything, I’d like to send out some love to my dieting buddy Jenera. She stepped away from the weight loss a while ago due to finding out she was pregnant. Unfortunately, she lost the baby. She is being braver than I could ever be after such an event. Please stop by and give her your love and support. (She knows me as Spunk, not JM, in case you drop my name in.)

I am still planning on having a 2007 author interview PDF available in January for everyone. Leave a comment and let me know if everyone is still interested.

I have yet to get to reorganizing the categories like I want to, but I haven’t forgotten.

If you haven’t checked it out already, you need to check out Project Blog on Reality on Bravo. Allison has worked so hard on the massive contest, and it’s your chance to very easily win some fabulous prizes while voting for your favourite blogtestants.

Are you a writer who has something to say about knitting? Then head over to Knitting Passion because Barbara needs your help! (And guest posts.)

Finally, I have recently been awarded a spreader of love award (go here for details). “This blog has been awarded The Spreader of Love Award created by The Love Blog, for an outstanding demonstration of blogging love.” To pass on the award, I am nominating:

Elisa of Watching Dr. Who
Dorothy and Cheryl of Virtual Book Tours
Randi of Brad Pitt Watch
Zoot of Miss Zoot
Catherine of About San Jose, CA

Thank you to Auria, who nominated me. Now go spread the love!

I say … and you think … ?

1. Master::
2. Tour ::
3. Input ::
4. Downtown ::
5. Pricey ::
6. Acceptable ::
7. Terrace ::
8. Sunday ::
9. Payoff ::
10. Jack and Jill ::

Idea courtesy of Luna Nina

Hello everyone. Today I am welcoming Professor Holly Fretwell to the site to talk about her controversial book The Sky’s Not Falling! Why It’s OK to Chill about Global Warming. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her and enjoy the interview as much as I have.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Fretwell. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am an adjunct professor at Montana State University where I teach The Economic Way of Thinking, Microeconomics, Natural Resource Economics and Environmental Economics. I also attended Montana State University as a student where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and master’s degree in resource economics. I am a research fellow at PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center. My research focus of the last decade has been on forests, parks, and public lands policy. I have examined the state of our national forests and parks on which I have spoken as an expert witness for Congress. Only in recent years have I taken on the study of climate change and its policy implications.

My interest in global warming came from an economic policy investigation that was scaring me as I realized the implications and huge costs that would arise if we were to attempt to prevent global warming through government intervention and regulation on CO2 emissions. My expertise is not in climate science, rather in the economic and policy implications of a warmer earth.

Think about it, if we assume that the earth is warming, it is human caused, and we can do something about it, the potential actions, as we’ve seen in many proposals, are extremely costly. The real catch, however, is that the benefits from those costly actions are tiny. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the many ideas I address in The Sky’s NOT Falling.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I have been writing journal articles, Policy Series, and Public Lands Reports for PERC for over a decade. I have been published in professional journals and the popular press including the Wall Street Journal, Journal for Environmental Economics and Management, Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum, Journal of Forestry, and Consumer’s Research. I have published a number of book chapters as well, including The Untouchables: America’s National Forests, in Government vs. Environment. Eds Donal R. Leal and Roger E. Meiners. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, MD in 2002 and a forthcoming chapter in the Fraser Institute book, A Breath of Fresh Air.

I enjoyed writing as a student. I had a lot of opportunities to write in undergrad as a political science major and, of course, wrote a thesis to obtain my master’s. It was not, however, an area I thought I would pursue. Rather, it is the value of the communication through writing that has motivated me as an author. I research and I teach. In order to better help people understand the big picture of the world we live in I also began to write.

You are currently on virtual tour for your book The Sky’s Not Falling: Why it’s OK to Chill About Global Warming. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Have you ever thought ‘I have heard so much about global warming I am not sure what is right?’ This is exactly what I thought when I started to study the issue. I was teaching a natural resources economics course and looking at the policy implications of global warming; they were scary.

(more…)

I thought it was well past time I put up another easy link list to all the author interviews I have done over the year just in case you have missed any or just started reading here. I plan to have a 2007 author interview PDF for readers who are interested ready to send out sometime in January.

I didn’t quite realize how many authors I had interviewed over the months, but here they are…

*Celia Hayes’ To Truckee’s Trail
*Dennis Griffin’s Cullotta
*Sheila Roberts’ On Strike for Christmas
*Maureen Fisher’s Jaguar Legacy
*Darrell Bain’s Savage Survival
*Shobahn Bantwal’s Dowry Bride
*L. Diane Wolfe’s Mike: Circle of Friends Book IV
*Mayra Calvani’s Dark Lullaby
*GA Whitting’s Pickle to Pie and her book launch interview
*Nick Oliva’s Only Moments
*Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein’s The Truth
*Hazel Statham’s Dominic
*Caridad Pineiro’s South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man
*Dwayne Anderson’s Partially Human
*Judi Moreo’s You are More than Enough
*Kim Baccellia’s Earrings of Ixtumea
*PG Forte’s Waiting for the Big One
*Australian historical fiction writer Wendy J. Dunn
*My mini-interview
*Sandi Kahn Shelton’s A Piece of Normal
*Literary fiction and fantasy author Gillian Polack
*Historical fiction author Brian Wainwright
*Medieval mystery author Felicity Pullman
*Children’s fantasy author Tansy Rayner Roberts - part one and part two
*Freelance Writing and Journalism with Elske
*Historical Mystery Maven Bobbie Chukran
*Crime thriller author Elsa Neal
*Historical fiction author T.D. Hawke
*Mr. Scribe on short stories
*Science fiction author Chris Miller
*Mistress of Poetry Jen Wills

If you are an author and would like to be interviewed (and/or have your book reviewed on The Book Stacks) contact me using the contact me button on the right.