Dead... or not

Dead.
To be dead, or not to be dead, that is the question. If you happen to be a vampire.
I love vampires.
Always have, likely always will. Many authors have dedicated blog articles to traits of a vampire. What’s necessary? What’s not? I’ve read them in every incarnation possible:
One extreme: Dead, no heartbeat, no breathing, can’t die (in some cases, except for______), no food except blood. Immortal.
The other extreme: Alive, heartbeat, breathing, Can die (by many means), eat human food and need blood. Mortal.
Books and movies get into the act with further variations on the traits. It’s a wonder we can still identify these creatures as vampires. But one characteristic weaves through all of these permutations.
The overriding theme of the need for blood. Never seen a vampire that didn’t require it in some way.
Personally, I like my vampires alive-with-heartbeat-breathing-food-eating-mortal beings. And yes, they need blood. Still, I have no trouble bonding with other authors’ vampire characters.
What do you like in a vampire?

Ode to Pricing

Ode to Pricing
99-cent books, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
A hundred books for a hundred bucks. What a bargain.
Or is it?
These buck books are everywhere. I’ve gotten a few excellent reads this way, discovered new authors whom I’ve followed on to their more expensive works. I’ve also purchased my share of not-so-good books for 99 cents.
Recently, I analyzed my eBook buying habits on Amazon since December.
--I don’t like to go over five bucks unless it’s an author I know and love. If I get a free sample of an unknown and love it, I might buy it.
--Rarely do I go over seven dollars. Only for my tried and true authors.
--My average per book is $3.67.
With all the e-publishing going on and the many e-readers out there, what are you willing to pay? What do you average?
AND—
If you set the price of your book, where do you set it? Do you raise/lower the price depending on sales?
Now I’m off to investigate some new reads…

In Celebration of a Critique Partner

Today, I’d like to welcome Danielle Monsch to Kelly Whitley Books. She’s got some great thoughts on the importance of a good crit partner. Don’t forget to comment for a chance at winning a copy of her debut book, “Loving a Fairy Godmother” from Liquid Silver books.
In Celebration of a Critique Partner
If there is one thing – one thing – that I consider absolutely essential to a writer, it would be a critique partner.
A GOOD critique partner. One that fits you, who gets what you are doing and likes your work enough that they enjoy reading it, but who is not so enamored that they won’t tell you where you are lacking.
Finding a critique partner is tough. I would equate it to finding a marriage partner. Before you say I’m being a little dramatic, I ask you to consider the following: As a writer, there is probably no more emotionally intimate act then for you to take this work that you’ve poured time and attention and feelings and hopes and dreams into, giving it to another person, and essentially telling them, “Rip it apart and shred it to pieces.”
Let me back up a second. First, if you are a writer, you need a critique partner. This is not a negotiable, not if you are serious about being published. You will be shocked about what you miss in your own work.
But getting critiqued sucks. It really does, and I’m not sure it ever gets easier. It’s a necessary evil, but it doesn’t feel good when you are going through it.
So we come full circle to a good partner. It may take some trial and error. You might work with some people where it just doesn’t work, and in those circumstances, it’s OK to say, “I like you, but we don’t mesh when it comes to critiquing, so I’m going to keep looking.” That’s all OK, you won’t necessarily marry the first guy you date, either.
My critique partner, Anna Alexander, went above and beyond in her duties for Loving a Fairy Godmother. I wrote the story under a deadline, and so I was emailing her daily with both new and revised work. It was a very pressure filled situation, one that was very instructive for me, and while I never would necessarily want to do it again, it was great knowing what I could do if I was pushed into it.
If I didn’t have a great partnership with Anna, it could never have happened. First it took a ton of her time, which is not to be underestimated. Beyond that, if we didn’t have a good crit partnership, beyond catching me using the same word verb five times on one page or noting where I head hopped or my POV was too shallow, she couldn’t have told me flat out, “I’m not liking the direction you are taking X. Are you sure this is how you want to do it?”
Because of the respect I have for her as both a friend and a fellow writer, I took her views seriously. Whether I changed things or not, the fact that she made me take a hard look at my story guaranteed the story would be better in the end.
Loving a Fairy Godmother is dedicated to Anna, with good reason. Treasure your Crit partners, my fellow writers. They are Golden.

Danielle Monsch is a Romantic Geek Girl Writing in a Fantasy World. Her debut book, Loving a Fairy Godmother, is available now at Liquid Silver Books at http://bit.ly/Dani_LFG
You can find Danielle on the web at her webpage www.DanielleMonsch.com, Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DanielleMonsch and twitter at www.twitter.com/DaniMonsch. You can find Anna Alexander at www.AnnaAlexander.net
One commenter will receive a copy of Loving a Fairy Godmother. Good Luck!

Short & Sweet, or How to Become a Published Author in a Flash.

Short & Sweet, or How to Become a Published Author in a Flash.
Ever have one of those days where your 100,000 word brontosaurus looks overwhelming, and it’d take a journalistic paleontologist to wrestle it into shape?
Some days, a tiny story has great appeal. A beginning, a middle, and an end.
Flash fiction. Stories of 1500 words or less, a quick and satisfying read. The definition of maximum length varies, but it boils down to this: say more with less.
“How can this help me deal with my prehistoric-size novel?” you ask?
It’ll make you think. It’s not nearly as easy as it seems. Prepare to stretch literary muscles you didn’t know you had. Prepare to agonize over the best verb, the bulky adjective, and the perfect characters. The word count. No 70,000 to 100,000 word novel with acres of fudge space here.
Nope. It sometimes comes down to one word.
Maybe a perfect fifty-word story, but you’ve got fifty one words. Which one goes? Do you rewrite? Do you put it in a drawer for a week and let it ferment?
Distilling a vignette into a story takes a deft touch. And rewrites. More rewrites. Okay, sometimes double-digit rewrites. But we are master of all we see. A beginning. A middle. An end.
On a bet, Hemingway wrote a six-word story:
For sale, baby shoes, never worn.
As little as three words. Veni, vidi, vici.
I challenge you. Send me your best six word stories, and I’ll post them on Facebook. I’ll give you a couple of links for sites that publish Flash fiction, and you can try your luck at becoming a published author.
Remember, a beginning, middle, and end. It’s not easy.
GO!

Who needs sleep, anyway?

Who needs sleep, anyway?
Once again, I’m at my computer in the single digit morning hours, carving out a little “me” time. Actually, it’s time I give to the characters populating my head. The ones who insist on getting out to stretch their legs when I should be sleeping. The ones who have chosen me to put their story to paper after some fashion. The ones I hope I can do justice with my words.
In the normal working hours of the day, I’m at my “real” job, taking care of family and the mundane details of living: laundry, dinner, taking the dog to the vet.
In the evening, sports practice and homework. Baths and bedtime.
Night?
Me time.
When do you write? Early morning? Late at night? Lunch hour?

Hello!

Hello, writers and readers.
Look for my new blog here later this week, and join me for free short stories weekly.