Our guests:

Avily Jerome is a married, stay-at-home mom of four living in Phoenix, AZ.  She is active in her church on the worship team.  She writes speculative fiction, her ideas ranging from almost-real-world action/adventures to supernatural thrillers. When she’s not writing or parenting, she loves to read, go hiking with friends, and crochet baby blankets.

Avily is seeking representation and publication for her debut novel Dying for Dragons, and has been busy putting together Splickety Magazine, which is accepting submissions for flash fiction.

Kristen Stieffel is a freelance editor and writing coach. She belongs to the Editorial Freelancers Association and The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network. Her editing credits include Winter by Keven Newsome, Beyond the Threshing Floor by Randye Kimmel-McLemore, and The Education of Amal by Shirin Humzani.

Kristen recently signed a four book contract with Oak Tara for her novel The Prophet’s Chronicle: Alara’s Call, and The Prophet’s Chronicle series. She blogged about this monumental experience: “Alara finds a home.”

Ren Black: Part-time novelist. Weekend artist. Full-time Mother. Ex-poet. Perfectionist by training. Compulsive researcher sporadically. Prone to fits of linguistic commentary Unorthodox Renegade occasionally. Sarcastic by habit… Dreamer Always… Consider Yourself Warned.

Her latest blog post was, “Homeschooling Twist on Fantasy Gaming.”

Will Ramirez grew up with a love for God’s Word and fantastical worlds. The first passion led him to pastor Calvary Chapel Lighthouse for the last 16 years. The second led him to create the world of Adme, the setting for his current work, an epic fantasy titled Soul Yearning. He lives in Central Florida with his bride of sixteen years and their four children. Since 2010, he’s been a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and serves on the leadership team of Word Weavers of Orlando.

He recently sold a book contract with OakTara for Soul Yearning, which won Novel of the Year at the 2012 FCWC. He wrote about his story of how this book found a home: “Try the Impossible.” In the land of Adme, powerful beings rule as deities and compete with one another for followers. But when a young priest is revealed as the prophesied godslayer, the pantheon unites to destroy him.

And me, Timothy C. Ward. You know me, I live here. I’m hoping this is the month I get Kaimerus ready for beta readers.

Subscribe to iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from freemusicarchive.org

AudioTim by Timothy C. Ward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

My book review of HOT SINATRA
From the podcast archives:

Episode 14: Axel Howerton and Julie Jansen, Master Minds of the Coffin Hop Horror Web Tour
Episode 26 (oops, should have been 25): Lane Diamond, author of psychological thriller, Forgive Me, Alex
Episode 24: Lane Diamond and D.T. Conklin of Evolved Publishing

Subscribe to AudioTim on iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher (for Androids), and SoundCloud.

Topics discussed:

Axel wrote his main character, Moss, more to fail than to be like Sherlock Holmes and come up with clever solutions to everything. An interesting take, and surprisingly attractive.

Around the 21 minute mark, we discussed the growth process of HOT SINATRA, and after that, why Axel decided to publish with Evolved Publishing. If you haven’t been acquainted with this revolutionary publisher, (evolutionary, rather), have a listen to AudioTim

Info on the new Evolved Publishing Street Team on Facebook.

Evolved Publishing is still open to submissions.

Empiresofsteamandrust.wordpress.com is Axel’s next project to look out for. His story should be out in the Spring.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where to find Axel: Homepage www.axelhowerton.com; Facebook facebook.com/thee.axel.howerton; and Twitter @AxelHow

Where to find Lane: Homepage www.lanediamond.com; Facebook
facebook.com/lanediamond; Twitter @Lane_Diamond

*Note: Like Tim’s Facebook Page for first notice of future episodes and other giveaways.

Links, Books and Authors mentioned:
Elmore Leanord (quirky weirdo characters who come out of nowhere) – This is the guy responsible for Justified? (Raylan: A Novel). I love that show!
Robert B. Packer (Lane says Hot Sinatra has similar qualities)
Raymond Chandler’s character, Phillip Marlowe.
Dashiel Hammett and Black Mask magazine were mentioned quite a bit. Also maybe the Coen brothers. (makers of The Big Lebowski, Fargo, etc.)

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from freemusicarchive.org

AudioTim by Timothy C. Ward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Next episode in two weeks. Giveaway ends 12:00AM 3/19/13.

Welcome to a recording of the World Science Fiction Convention, Chicon 7, panel, “Quantum Physics Meets Magical Realism:

Previous Episodes:

AudioTim 45: Mark Tufo, Supernatural Horror Author of Zombie Fallout

AudioTim 44: Chicon 7 Panel “Conquering Writer’s Block”

More info on panel members and links mentioned in this panel:

Subscribe to AudioTim on iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher (for Androids), and SoundCloud.

Panelists:

Catherynne M. Valente is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen works of fiction and poetry, including Palimpsest, the Orphan’s Tales series (Book One: The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden), Deathless, and the crowdfunded phenomenon The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. She is the winner of the Andre Norton, Tiptree, Mythopoeic, Rhysling, Lambda, Locus and Hugo awards. She has been a finalist for the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with her partner, two dogs, and enormous cat.

Bruce Taylor, also know as “Mr. Magic Realism,” was a student at the Clarion West Science Fiction/Fantasy, and has been actively  promoting and advancing  the form of writing known as Magical Realism, founding the Magic Realist Writers International Network in 2001. He has currently co-edited, along with Elton Elliott (former editor of the Science Fiction Review), the anthology Like Water for Quarks: The Intersection of Magic Realism and Science Fiction.

Tim Stoffel: ‘I have been a science and science fiction enthusiast since I was a child. I took on a career in electronics at an early age, and that resulted in my becoming a broadcast engineer in the PBS system. Besides electronics, I have a wide-ranging science background in physics, biology, and astronomy. I closely follow major science projects like the Large Hadron Collider, various fusion projects, and manned and unmanned space exploration. I also am an active astronomer, and am president of our local astronomy club. I study African lions and other big cats, and currently help care for six of them at our zoo. I enjoy both reading and writing, and write both fiction and nonfiction. Although I am not published, it my long-term hope to become a writer. As of late, I have taken up a serious interest in linguistics and constructed languages. I am currently learning Na’vi and Dothraki, with the goal of fully mastering both languages. I actively promote the use of these languages every chance I get!’

Highlights and Links:

[11:00] Cat recommends The City & The City (Random House Reader’s Circle), by China Mieville, as one of the best examples of Magical Realism.

[16:45] Cat recommends Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn.

[17:50] Discussion about need for “magic” in Magical Realism, or if reality is magical, and that being enough.

[26:15] Cat recommends Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie.

[38:45] Cat recommends How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu.

[47:45] Cat warns against defining anything w/fantastic elements but isn’t sold in Science Fiction section as Magical Realism. Advises to look up Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia Marquez for authoritative definitions of Magical Realism.

• This article on The Modern World discusses Marquez’s interpretation of Magical Realism: http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/gabo_mr.html

If pressed, Cat would define Magical Realism as, “Using a journalistic style in order to tell a story that exists on the fringes of what is possible and intersects sharply with the political realities that the author is confronted with.”

[49:30] Bruce says “Form of writing… at its core, cares an awful lot toward a mindset toward lucid dreaming, in that it is oriented into a consensual reality with takeoffs of fantasy that are not seen as unusual…character is not perceiving what is going on as unusual.” Uses One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez as an example, and character not surprised by hundreds of butterflies surrounding him.

[54:15] Recommends The Road to Reality : A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe by Sir Roger Penrose in order to understand a better connection between Quantum Physics and Magical Realism.

[58:45] Cat uses Brandon Sanderson’s essay “Postmodernism in Fantasy” and why he felt he was a post modern fantasy author as an example of how hard it is to pin a definition on phrases like “postmodernism” and “magical realism,” and that they shouldn’t be defined as “good” even if they’re internalized that way.

[67:40] Cat calls out audience for not reading 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson, which is SF, but includes lots of tools used in Magical Realism.

[75:40] Cat says children’s books don’t have to explain anything at all (in reference to quantum physics being a hand wave in fiction), and says her popular title The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is not Magical Realism, but purely Fantasy.

[80] Can Americans write Magical Realism? Cat says Little, Big is a Magical Realist American novel.

[82] Bruce advises anyone interested in more info on magical realism to checkout the online magazine,  Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism.

Upcoming Guests:

Monday, March 11: Axel Howerton, Author of Crime Novel, Hot Sinatra, and the Chief Editor of the project, Lane Diamond of Evolved Publishing.

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from freemusicarchive.org

AudioTim by Timothy C. Ward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

eBook Giveaway!

Welcome to the latest edition of AudioTim, where I get to ask self-published success story, Mark Tufo about his stories and writing career. I will be giving away his latest novel, Callis Rose. All you have to do to enter is share some love on Twitter or Facebook, including my handle @timothycward, or tagging me Tim Ward, on Facebook, with a link to this post. Deadline to enter is one week from Monday, so before February 18.

Highlights of our discussion:

Intro – I ask Mark to tell us about some of his stories, Callis Rose, The Spirit Clearing, and Zombie Fallout. Check out Mark Tufo’s entire list of books at http://marktufo.com/books.html

15 – Have you gotten sick of zombies yet?

17 – Discussing Brian Ruckley’s blog post, “Why I Stopped Reading The Walking Dead.”

18:30 – Whereas The Walking Dead seems to focus on upping the stakes of its theme of hopelessness, what is your focus in writing horror?

24:20 – How Mark started taking writing seriously.

28 – How does Mark balance writing with the mental exhaustion involved?

29:10 – Daily wordcount goal?

31:30 – What drives you to write? What’s your goal?

33 – How did Zombie Fallout takeoff? (My review of ZF Audiobook)

>> Mentions faster successes like James N. Cook and John O’Brien.

34 – Marketing strategy? Why do you think so many people like your stories?

40 – Beta readers or professional editor first?

41 – How has Mark improved through his drafts?

49 – What’s going on at Mark’s blog:

>> Interviews with zombies from The Walking Dead television show

>> Mark interviews Horror authors: Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney, Scott Nicholson, TW Brown, James Cook, and Armand Rosamilia; and Gary from Severed Press.

>> Dec. 21, Mayan Prophecy reaches Mark’s backyard.

>> Ghost story with Mike Talbot on his blog last Halloween.

51:30 – Is there a crossover in Mark’s series since he uses Mike Talbot in many of them? Is there a reading order?

Besides my giveaway for Callis Rose, Mark has his own giveaway for The Spirit Clearing  at Goodreads.

Callis Rose Giveaway Details

* Tweet or Mention on Facebook: my handle and the link to this post (@timothycward on Twitter; Tim Ward on Facebook). Follow and friend me if you like, I only reject spammers, and I keep politics and religion off my social media.

* Deadline is Feb. 18

* Giveaway is for US Kindle version of Callis Rose. I’ll give the winner 48 hours to respond before choosing another. I reserve the right to void an entry if I believe that person is a spammer.

* After a lot of love from new likers on my Facebook page, all new likers earn an entry. Old likers (those who liked before this giveaway) need only comment on my page to be entered. I’ll count comments here as well. I just love meeting my audience.

Subscribe to AudioTim on iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.

Upcoming AudioTim Schedule:

I could give you another Worldcon/Chicon panel in two weeks, but I’d like to do a panel with some Horror authors. Bonus entry: comment below a topic suggestion you’d like to hear horror authors talking about, and feel free to mention an author you’d like included. If they’re half as cool as Mark Tufo, they’ll accept my invitation.

AudioTim by Timothy C. Ward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from freemusicarchive.org

Previous Episodes:

AudioTim 43: Tom King, Author of Superhero Novel, A ONCE CROWDED SKY

AudioTim 42: Chicon 7 Panel, “Write What You Don’t Know”

Panel Moderator:

Eldon Thompson: After surrendering his goal of playing pro football, Eldon set out to publish a fantasy adventure novel. In 2003, he sold his Legend of Asahiel trilogy to HarperCollins. Individual titles include The Crimson Sword (2005), The Obsidian Key (2006), and The Divine Talisman (2008). His short story “Unbowed,” featuring fan-favorite character Kylac Kronus, can be found exclusively in the Grim Oak Press fantasy anthology, Unfettered. Eldon is also a graduate of the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting and a member of the WGA, whose screenplay adaptation of Terry Brooks’s The Elfstones of Shannara was optioned by Warner Bros in 2007.

Panel Members:

Monica Valentinelli: ‘Monica is an author and game designer who lurks in the dark who has written both tie-in and original works. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies like Apexology: Science Fiction & Fantasy from Apex Publications and the New Hero anthology from Stone Skin Press. A freelancer for the hobby games industry, Monica has worked with Eden Studios, White Wolf Publishing, Galileo Games, and others. Her most recent publication is Redwing’s Gambit, a science-fiction novella for the Bulldogs! RPG. By day, Monica is John Kovalic’s business manager and the Marketing Director for Steve Jackson Games (Illuminati, Munchkin, Zombie Dice). By night, she wades through the wilds of her computer to craft new tales and devote time to her many projects. For more information about Monica, visit http://www.mlvwrites.com.’

Russell Davis: Mercenary writer… novel and anthology editor… publishing industry jack of all trades, master of some… husband, father, and occasional player of poker. Best-selling author and editor Russell Davis has written and sold numerous novels and short stories in virtually every genre of fiction, under at least a half-dozen pseudonyms. His writing has encompassed media tie-in work in the Transformers universe to action adventure in The Executioner series to original novels and short fiction in anthology titles like Under Cover of Darkness, Law of the Gun, and In the Shadow of Evil. In addition to his work as a writer, he has worked as an editor and book packager, and created original anthology titles ranging from westerns like Lost Trails to fantasy like Courts of the Fey. Russell teaches popular genre fiction for the MFA program at Western Colorado State University. He was the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) from 2008–2010, and a member of the Western Writers of America (WWA). He’s presently working on a new novel, and his next short fiction collection, The End of All Seasons, is due out soon.

Tom King is a former CIA operations officer in the Counterterrorism Center. Prior to serving in the CIA, he interned at Marvel and DC Comics. Tom’s debut novel, A Once Crowded Sky, is published by Simon and Schuster. He was a guest on AudioTim 43, discussing the transition from fighting on the front lines post 9/11 and his life now as a husband, father, and full-time author, and how that is shown through superheroes in his novel. Be sure to check out Crowded Sketch Thursday on his Facebook Page, where he shows fan art inspired by the characters in A Once Crowded Sky.

and, starring…

Grand Master Gene Wolfe: ‘I have about thirty novels (the exact number depends on how you count) and half a dozen story collections. Home Fires is SF; The Sorcerer’s House is fantasy. The Land Across should appear in a year or two. My best-known book is The Shadow of the Torturer (Shadow & Claw: The First Half of ‘The Book of the New Sun’; Sword & Citadel: The Second Half of ‘The Book of the New Sun’). I fought in Korea and got the Combat Infantry Badge. My wife and I have five children and three grandchildren. Some of you will have met my daughter, Teri Goulding, on the net or at some con. I was born in New York and raised in Texas. I have a BSME from the University of Houston. I have won two Nebulas and the Fuller Award, with various other awards for SF, fantasy, horror, and SF poetry. I’m represented by the Virginia Kidd Agency.’

5:30 – Writer’s Avoidance Behavior – Monica

11:52 – If you’re stuck, work on another project – Russell

12:34 – Gene Wolfe’s cure to writer’s block

54:21 – Gene’s story about the bathtub.

56 – Russell never writes a book without a meal scene.

58 – Tom on cutting and combining characters, using George R.R. Martin as an example.

Q&A

61 – What do I do if after finishing a story, I can’t start another for a long time?

64:45 – What do you do if your life is so messed up you can’t write?

69 – What do you do when you have a scene you’re afraid to write?

71 – What do you do when you’ve written yourself into a corner?

73:34 – What should discovery writers do after finishing a novel’s first draft?

Subscribe to AudioTim on iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.

Upcoming Schedule:

Monday, February 11, AudioTim will introduce Mark Tufo of the Zombie Fallout series, and giveaway his latest release, Callis Rose.

Any helpful lessons from this show? Have you read anything from our panelists?

AudioTim by Timothy C. Ward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from freemusicarchive.org

My review of A ONCE CROWDED SKY.

We also discuss, starting around the 28 minute mark, the writing growth that Tom went through from his “practice novel,” to A ONCE CROWDED SKY and the novel that is in the editing process with his publisher, Simon and Schuster. He also shares how writing comics is helping him improve his craft.

Mentioned in this podcast:

SFFWRTCHT interview with Tom King, hosted by Bryan Thomas Schmidt.

Tom’s artist, Tom Fowler, who drew the cover and all the art inside A ONCE CROWDED SKY.

Tom’s Facebook Page, and Twitter (@TomKingTK).

A ONCE CROWDED SKY is now available as Hardcover and Ebook, with the Paperback set to release in July. Click (here) to find this book at your favorite dealer.

Subscribe to iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.

Upcoming schedule:

Monday, January 28th: Chicon 7 Panel, “Conquering Writer’s Block.”

Conquering Writer’s Block
Has your story fizzled out or hit a wall before completion? There are common reasons for this, and common solutions which work for most writers. Pros discuss their tips and tricks for getting a story back on track.
Russell Davis, Tom King, Eldon Thompson, Monica Valentinelli, Gene Wolfe

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from freemusicarchive.org

Previous episodes:

AudioTim 42: Chicon 7 Panel “Write What You Don’t Know”

AudioTim 41: Ramez Naam, Author of SF Thriller, NEXUS

AudioTim by Timothy C. Ward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at timothycward.com.

We remember English teachers lecturing: “Write what you know.” Well, we think you ought to write what you don’t know. How else can you write about space travel and alternate history and fire-breathing dragons and vampire detectives? We’ll discuss how a little research and common sense can give you just enough background to really write what you don’t know.
Howard Andrew Jones, Louise Marley, Rachel Neumeier, Jack Skillingstead, Lynda Williams ORU

Panel Members

Howard Andrew Jones: ‘Howard is the author The Desert of Souls, The Waters of Eternity, and The Bones of the Old Ones from St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne Books and Plague of Shadows from Paizo Publishing. He edited eight collections of historical writer Harold Lamb’s fiction for the University of Nebraska Press, and served as Managing Editor of Black Gate magazine. When not spending time with his wife and children he can be found hunched over his laptop mumbling of mist-shrouded towers, flashing swords, and ancient Baghdad.’

Louise Marley, a former concert and opera singer, writes stories of the fantastic. Sometimes set in the past, sometimes in the future, often in a curious present, her novels tend to be feminist, often musical, occasionally dark, but always with compelling, colorful, and complex characters. Louise is in demand as a teacher of writing workshops for adults and young adults.

‘Rachel Neumeier started writing fiction to relax when she was a graduate student and needed a hobby unrelated to her research. Prior to selling her first fantasy novel, she had published only a few articles in venues such as The American Journal of Botany. However, finding that her interests did not lie in research, Rachel left academia and let her hobbies take over her life. She now raises and shows Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, gardens, cooks, writes, and occasionally finds time to read.’

Jack Skillingstead: Since 2003 I’ve sold thirty short stories to markets including Asimov’s Science Fiction, F&SF, Realms of Fantasy, Fast Forward 2, The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Solaris Rising, and assorted Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy anthologies. In September 2009 my novel Harbinger was published by Fairwood Press, and in October my short story collection, Are You There and Other Stories came out from Golden Gryphon Press. Both were well reviewed and made Locus Magazine’s recommended reading list. I live in Seattle, Washington, with my wife, writer Nancy Kress. Preorder his upcoming release, LIFE ON THE PRESERVATION.

Lynda Williams is the author of the Okal Rel Saga, published by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. Part 7: Healer’s Sword arrives in 2012. Lynda’s work features moral dilemmas in a character-driven, multi-cultural setting with radically different attitudes to sex and social control surrounding space warfare and bio-science. Lynda is also integrity editor of works by herself and others in the Okal Rel Legacies series from Absolute XPress.

• The name of the show doesn’t reflect it’s genre fiction content
• The lack of growth in download numbers meant I had done something wrong.
• Podcasting solo may not have been the best way to market. A fresh start using a team of podcasters on a genre titled show and website could produce a wider audience.

I’ll admit, I’m not the most charismatic guy, but that I host a show anyway should illustrate how much I love talking with authors and publishers. I think I do well enough to think you’ll enjoy having a listen, so I record it and put it out. All I can do is hope I get better as a host over time. As for the name, my answer is pretty much a summary of the rest of this post: AudioTim is my brand; I do it because I love it; and if I do my job well enough, it won’t matter what the name is.

One of my goals of improving the show, as I mentioned in the first episode of Season Two (AudioTim 41: Ramez Naam), is that I won’t do an interview I’m not excited about. I also said I need to have read the book beforehand, and liked it. I’m already a mellow guy, so hosting an episode about a book I didn’t enjoy or don’t care about isn’t going to help me amping up my excitement.

I’m really excited about these two books, so it’s an honor to present my recommendation, and review of Nexus.

I tried to set up a podcast team, but, it just plain didn’t work. So, I was left either reaching out to other people, or just doing my own thing. I kind of like doing my own thing. I love podcasting, but I could dread it if put into a compromising situation. Download numbers don’t mean enough for me to accept a role I don’t enjoy. So, if AudioTim doesn’t take off in Season Two, I don’t care. I do this because I enjoy it.

This means, I’ll choose the books I want to read instead of reading just because someone has an upcoming release. My end goal is to be a full time novelist, so I need to make my precious reading time count toward helping my novels evolve. If your story helps me improve my craft, and I like it enough to finish, then I’ll invite you on the show.

I have a half dozen panels recorded from ChiCon 7 (World Science Fiction Convention’s location in 2012). I’ll post one every month in between my new interviews, so you’ll get two podcasts a month, posted on Monday (or Saturday evening if I finish early). My first notification goes on my Facebook Author Page, if you want to go like it.

I can use your help spreading the word on episodes you enjoy, and should have some giveaways on occasion. (Giveaway now until 12/24 for a paperback of Ramez Naam’s NEXUS – enter here). I would love your subscription on iTunes, and reviews (or just star ratings), because of how that helps my placement there.

I hope my love for genre fiction comes through in each show. I do this because podcasts like Adventures in SciFi Publishing and I Should Be Writing helped me go from a wannabe writer to one who has dedicated himself to realizing his dream. Listening to writing podcasts on my commute and while working out is  an indescribable inspiration, and it’s my desire to do the same for you.

Your feedback on how to improve the show is welcome. I’ve thought about inviting friends and other reviewers on to discuss books that I’ve read, so if you’d be interested in coming on, let me know. Friend me over at Goodreads and we can compare books. Maybe I should start a group to line up book discussions on the show… as if people didn’t already have enough of those emails. We’ll see.

I’m also a reviewer over at SF Signal now, and already have my first written interview to prepare for them. Not only am I excited to team up with the great people over there, but the opportunity to show people who I am will help bring people here. I’m in this to make friends, too, so it’s all good.

Now let’s go have some fun. Until next time, God bless.

Upcoming schedule:

Monday, December 31, “Write What You Don’t Know” Panel from Chicon 7, with Howard Andrew Jones, Louise Marley, Rachel Neumeier, Jack Skillingstead, Lynda Williams ORU

Read my review of Nexus.

I used the following blurb from a Nexus bookmark as an outline for our discussion:

NEXUS by Ramez Naam

Mankind gets an upgrade.

In the near future, the nano-drug Nexus can link mind to mind.

There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it.

When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage, with far more at stake than anyone realizes.

In between I got to ask him about the various technologies that he uses in his book, their source in real life, and how their use in his book affects the world within the story. We also discussed his guest post at SF Signal, “The Science of Nexus,” in which he points out some technological inspirations for his book.

GIVEAWAYS:

Angry Robot Books has offered to provide a paperback copy of Nexus as a giveaway for this interview. Check out the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Ramez is doing his own giveaway, of sorts, where he’ll send you an ebook copy of his non-fiction book, More Than Human, to anyone who buys Nexus by December 31. Click here for details on that.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Note, Ramez is running a paperback giveaway of NEXUS on Goodreads until Dec. 17th.

Related Post: “Father-daughter duo have the world’s first brain-to-brain ‘telepathic’ conversation.”

Cesar Torres’s The Labryinth Podcast interviews Ramez Naam, and does a fantastic job. He asked the kind of scientific questions I couldn’t. A must listen.

Subscribe to iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS and Stitcher.

Upcoming schedule:

Monday, December 31, “Write What You Don’t Know” Panel from Chicon 7, with Howard Andrew Jones, Louise Marley, Rachel Neumeier, Jack Skillingstead, Lynda Williams ORU

Music provided by Big Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy”

Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway, but it is now over. Author Kim Koning won a paperback of the soon to be released Monsters! anthology, and Jason Darrick won an ebook of the Feckless anthology.

The last two interviews were:

Greg Mitchell, author of The Coming Evil Trilogy, has a written interview in my Tuesday slot over at the New Authors Fellowship. He discusses how he weaves his faith into his Horror and how he keeps the suspense despite criticism of Christian Horror being predictable.

Jeremy K. Tyler and JR Roper join the Holy Worlds Podcast to discuss their stories in  Monsters!, Jeremy’s two books (The Rivers Webb and Orlin Wood), and their thoughts on Christians writing Horror.

The latest news on the Monsters! anthology is that it has been delayed by a week or two in order to make sure everything is in tip-top shape. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.

Here’s the schedule and links to this tour’s interviews:

Teric Darken – podcast

Kat Heckenbach – written

Ellen C. Maze – podcast

Dana Bell – written

Pauline Creeden – written

Thomas Smith – podcast

Greg Mitchell – written

Jeremy K. Tyler and JR Roper – podcast

Who wouldn’t want to talk to this guy? I’ll play a sample of our half-hour interview, where he discusses his take on Christians writing Horror and how it can be done well. If you’d like to listen to the whole interview, head over to the Holy Worlds Podcast.

Did you know there’s a giveaway? The first book I will be published in, Monsters!, is packed with talented authors, of which I’m interviewing eight as part of this tour.

The Prizes: 1st Place: A copy of the Monsters! Anthology (paperback or ebook). 2nd Place: Feckless Anthology (Kindle)

How to Win: Comment or Share on this post or in the post I link to. One comment per post, but each share counts as an entry. Facebook, Twitter, and Google + will work. Please tag me in FB and G+ or use #CoffinHop on Twitter.

Now, let me tell you a little about Thomas’s novel, Something Stirs, starting with oneheckuva book trailer.

Read the Christian Fiction Book Reviews review

Ben Chalmers is a successful novelist. His wife, Rachel, is a fledgling artist with a promising career, and their daughter Stacy is the joy of their life. His novels have made enough money for him to provide a dream home for his family.  But there is a force at work in their lives. A dark, chilling, ruthless force that has become part of the very fabric of their new home.

A malevolent entity becomes trapped in the wood and stone of the house and it will do whatever it takes, to find a way to complete its bloody transference to our world.

Local Sheriff, Elizabeth Cantrell, and former pastor-turned-cabinetmaker, Jim Perry are drawn into the family’s life as the entity manipulates the house with devastating results.  And it won’t stop until it gets what it wants. Even if it costs them their faith, their sanity, and their lives.

“Simply put, Something Stirs is scary. And good. And scary good. I made the mistake of picking this one up at about 2am to just thumb through a few chapters. Four hours later, the sun was rising and my heart rate was slowly returning to normal. Smith’s writing drew me in, held me there, and left me unable to do anything but finish the book…If you’ve read and enjoyed authors such as Frank Peretti, Travis Thrasher, or Mike Dellosso you’ll definitely enjoy Something Stirs.”
– Josh Olds, Fiction Addict managing editor

Also available for Nook and Kindle.

“Something Stirs is the most riveting page-turner I’ve read in a long time. A thriller that is hard to put down yet with plenty of action and believably realistic…just the way I like it. A must-read for those who like something thought-provoking along with great entertainment.”
-Reg A. Forder, Founder of American Christian Writers Association

“Christian Fiction at its finest! I didn’t want to stop reading it, yet was scared to turn the page! Exactly the book I was looking for and probably one of my all-time favorites…Something Stirs truly deserves to be on the big screen!“
- Acclaimed director Matt Mitchell, Cross Shadow Productions

Coffin Hop Schedule:

I will have 4 podcast interviews at the Holy Worlds Podcast, a couple written ones (Kat Heckenbach, Pauline Creeden, and Dana Bell) here on my website (timothycward.com), and another written one with Greg Mitchell in my Tuesday slot at the New Authors Fellowship.

Here’s the podcast schedule:

Wed. 24th: Teric Darken

Fri. 26: Ellen C. Maze

Mon. 29th: Thomas Smith

Wed. 31st: JR Roper and Jeremy K. Tyler

Don’t miss my early morning interview with The Coming Evil Trilogy author Greg Mitchell, Tuesday at the New Authors Fellowship.

The Prize: 1st Place: A copy of the Monsters! Anthology (paperback or ebook). 2nd Place: Feckless Anthology (Kindle)

How to Win: Comment or Share on this post or in the post I link to. One comment per post, but each share counts as an entry. Facebook, Twitter, and Google + will work. Please tag me in FB and G+ or use #CoffinHop on Twitter.

Coffin Hop Stop #1: Teric Darken at HWP: Coffin Hop Interview with Teric Darken

Listen to radio promo for his novel Kill FM 100.

For twenty-five years, Teric Darken has been bleeding the ink from his heart onto paper.  His cutting-edge thrillers have become known for their innovative nature:  filled with darkness, despair, light and redemption.

2012 ushered in the re-release of KILL FM 100 (Night Shift Edition) with ten additional chapters of thrills and chills – the original version earning a top-three-finalist position in the 2010 Grace Awards thriller genre.  His supernatural thriller, Wickflicker, created a stir with its unflinching storyline, also meriting a top-three-finalist position in the 2011 Grace Awards thriller genre.  Darken’s latest thrill-ride, U-TURN KiLLuR (Death Row Edition), has been reissued with an extra chapter and revamped storyline.

Teric Darken holds a Bachelor of Science degree in religious education. The author resides with his family in the United States and serves his city as a lieutenant on the fire department. More about the author may be found on Facebook or at tericdarken.blogspot.com.

Upcoming Coffin Hop Schedule:

This is the first of many interviews for my portion of the Coffin Hop Horror Web Tour. I will have 4 podcast interviews at the Holy Worlds Podcast, a couple written ones (Kat Heckenbach, Pauline Creeden, and Dana Bell) here on my website (timothycward.com), and another written one with Greg Mitchell in my Tuesday slot at the New Authors Fellowship.

Here’s the podcast schedule:

Wed. 24th: Teric Darken

Fri. 26: Ellen C. Maze

Mon. 29th: Thomas Smith

Wed. 31st: JR Roper

I cut out the sample reading into its own post, so you can download, listen and share as you like to help spread the word.

At the 54 minute mark, I ask her my Bookmarks to Publishing question of the day, “What do you do about the fear of the blank page?”
*Her special fight song “Just write the sh*** first draft”
*Mindmaps/brainstorm ideas
*Finds source of inspiration elsewhere (movies)

Links:
FabianSpace (Karina’s Homepage)
Karina’s Colorado Fires Donation Page (including how you can earn a signed copy of her first Dragoneye P.I. book Magic, Mensa, and Mayhem and read her short story “Coyote Fires”)
Dragoneye P.I. blog where you can find all the stories in her Dragoneye P.I. universe, along with some fun character interviews and other blogs.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and Stitcher, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

You can read “Coyote Fires” and learn all about Karina’s American Red Cross fundraiser at http://coyotefires.karinafabian.com/index

Stopping, or at least taking a break still may happen, but I have to make sure my motivation is based on love and not fear.

When I was talking with my friend Dave about my podcasting fears–that my audience wasn’t growing, that it wasn’t even close to other podcasts, that I was spinning my wheels… All of these fears seemed to imply that I had to scrap what I was doing and either start over with a new name, a new team, and a new design, or just not podcast any more.

I may write a blog post about my thoughts comparing team podcasting to solo podcasting, but for the focus of this post, I’ll stay on topic with what I love about podcasting, and projecting that into my decision. I could love the same with or without a team, as long as it is the right team and not just a team because I’m afraid doing it solo wouldn’t produce high enough numbers.

First off, I love hearing from authors about their writing process. The idea behind a new promo I’m working on for the podcast is me saying how powerful author’s stories from the ground up were to motivating me to start writing again. Chatting with them, and building relationships via podcast interviews is a continual source of inspiration. Not every interview feels like a budding new friendship, but when they do, it creates a long lasting support system–either via future correspondence or just the memory of them caring to meet me and teach me. Michael Sullivan and Robin Sullivan come to mind, taking about 40 minutes after our 70 minute interview discussing Theft of Swords was over to ask me about my writing and chat about shared experiences story wrangling.

Not only did I love chatting with Jeff, but his book, The Chessman, is awesome!

As a writer, I have questions for writers I admire about how they accomplish what they have. While I’m experimenting with written interviews, I feel like writers are more apt to open up in a verbal conversation than they would an email lingering a page or two back in their inbox, which requires more time than they’d like to spend typing non-fiction.

I also love to share. As I said, podcasts were a main source of inspiration five years ago when I started writing again. I want to contribute to the podcastosphere, so that writers or aspiring writers can day dream about their stories and future success listening to podcasts while they drive to work or when they exercise.

So, I’m going to keep doing this. I may take a break after episode 40 so that I can read, research and plan (not to mention my family visit early August). I have lots of ideas on how to improve the show, and need a little time to build those ideas so that I can share them regularly without having dud episodes where I didn’t have time to prepare. What won’t matter to me is if my wife and the handful of loyal followers are the only ones who listen. I’m doing this because it’s fun. I’m sorry that I thought about pulling the plug because the listener number wasn’t high enough. That’s the wrong kind of focus, and it prevented me from enjoying this great hobby.

Book Description from Amazon.com
Publication Date: May 25, 2012 (Now on Kindle)

Hidden forces are willing to kill any and all who stand in the way of untold billions of dollars. To toss the authorities off track, they borrow the modus operandi of a brutal serial killer – The Chessman – who stalked the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. some years earlier. The ruse is working brilliantly except for one minor detail. The real Chessman is not pleased – not pleased one iota – that someone has stolen his M.O. Enter Drew Cady, ex-FBI agent, who finds himself being sucked back into the very case that almost took his life, a case that crippled him both physically and emotionally. By capturing The Chessman and his blood-spattered copycat, Cady has a last shot at redemption. If he can find a way to survive, that is.

Thanks for coming on the show, Jeffrey, and to our audience, enjoy!

Folks added The Chessman to their “to read” list on Goodreads and follow me and my progress (here).

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and Stitcher, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

Ginnie Dare is the communications officer for her family’s space faring shipping company. They arrive at Eshu for a routine supply drop and discover that the entire settlement’s population has vanished. Their search of the site reveals nothing out of place, except the people, but ends in a tense confrontation with the natives. During the conflict, Ginnie discovers an alien artifact that may be the key to diffusing the conflict. Can she decode the artifact before it’s taken by the Sector Defense Force? Will it help them to discover the missing colony’s fate? Or, will the whole thing spark an interstellar war?

The second hat Scott wears is as the Marketing Manager of Flying Island Press’s Flagship ezine. We talked about the kinds of stories they publish among other things. For his third hat, we discussed Scott’s serial fiction in the Action Pack Podcast, a cool podcast that publishes an hour of fiction a month between three stories: Scott’s is a Sci-Fi story, The Invasion of the Hidden Planet; J.R. Murdoch has a Steampunk Western story, Golden West; and Michell Plested has a Zombie Apocalypse story, Boy scouts of the Apocalypse.

Finally, we chat about writing, outlining for book two of Ginnie Dare, and how Scott is learning how to be organized so that his desire to write a million stories a month doesn’t prevent the ones he does from failing.

Links (i.e. where I display all of Scott’s hats):

Scott’s Homepage
Buy Ginnie Dare
Flagship ezine
Abattoir Magazine (Flying Island Press’s Psychological Horror imprint)
Action Pack Podcast (Homepage for: J.R. Murdoch and Michell Plested)
52 Weeks of Indie (Scott gives one or more indie ebooks away each week, and a grand prize of 52 at end of year)
Omniverse podcast
Galley Table podcast
The Seekrit Projekt podcast
Snowflake Method

Question for discussions for discussion: Have you read or heard any of the above mentioned fiction? What did you think?

Do you use or have you used the Snowflake Method?

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

Matt writes Fantasy, Science Fiction, Alternate History, Crime, Thrillers, Tie-ins and most geeky places in between (ehmm, Magic: The Gathering #4). We talk about his Alternate History, B Horror book, Carpathia about vampires aboard the Carpathia (the ship that rescued Titanic survivors). We also talk about his SF Thriller, Amortals, and his current kickstarter book, Dangerous Games. It was a lot of fun chatting about the creation of these stories and what kind of adventures readers should expect from them.

Carpathia: It’s Titanic meets 30 Days of Night.

When the desperate survivors of the Titanic were rescued from the icy waters of the North Atlantic by the passenger steamship Carpathia, they thought their problems were over.

But something was sleeping in the darkest recesses of the rescue ship. Something old. Something hungry.

The lucky ones wished they’d gone down with the ship.

File Under: Fantasy  Bump In The Night | Unthinkable | Rescue Remedy | 1912 Overture

Amortals: Today you die. Today you are reborn. Today you hunt the man who killed you.

It’s Lee Child vs. Altered Carbon in a high-tech blast of tough-as-nails future thrills. Matt Forbeck arrives as the new king of high-concept – with a blockbuster action movie in a book. In the near future, scientists solve the problem of mortality by learning how to backup and restore a persons memories into a vat-bred clone. When Secret Service agent Ronan “Methusaleh” Dooley is brutally murdered, he’s brought back from the dead yet again to hunt his killer, and in doing so uncover a terrible conspiracy.

FILE UNDER:
Science Fiction [Future Thriller / Cheat Death / Rogue Agents / Who Killed Whom?]

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

My aim for this show was to discuss elements of this series and Urban Fantasy from Mike’s British perspective that would give readers a good taste without ruining the experience. I think we accomplished that. Mike has some good writing advice and was a blast to chat with. On top of all that, Mike is offering a book giveaway: a signed ARC of Strangeness and Charm will be given away as part of the show.

Book Giveaway Details

I like to give multiple ways for people to enter:
*Share this post on Google +, Facebook, or Twitter
*Subscribe to my blog or follow me on any of the above websites.
*Email me at tim[at]timothycward[dot]com with Strangeness and Charm as subject.
*Comment below with what you have done.
*I’ll give you a double entry if you share the post I make on my Facebook Author Page.

I will announce the winner on the release date of Strangeness and Charm, May 29th, so you have until the end of the 28th to enter.

You can also enter another giveaway going on at The Qwillery for a signed ARC of Strangeness and Charm.

Links

Sixty-One Nails and The Road to Bedlam are the first two books in Mike’s Courts of the Feyre series. You can get them as ebooks now, or pre-order the newly designed print editions, to be released the same day as Strangeness and Charm, May 29th.

In a recent Angry Robots Press Release, they’ve offered this issuu widgetthat lets you read a good chunk from Strangeness and Charm

Mike mentioned some UK Urban Fantasy Authors you should check out:
Kate Griffin‘s A Madness of Angels
Mike Carey‘s Felix Castor series
Suzanne McLeod Spellcrackers series
Ben Aaronovitch Rivers of London
Lou Morgan Blood and Feathers (free short story)
Tanya Huff is someone else Mike mentions as having a closed world in her Fantasy series, and uses Canada as the setting. This book is a collection of short stories that includes “an Imperial Dragon in Toronto’s Chinatown.” Cool!

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

Mike's main character, Niall, had a similar view before his world flipped upside down.

While editing my podcast interview with Mike Shevdon (to be released this Wednesday, 5/23), I came across this three minute gem that really encapsulates my recent fascination with not just Urban Fantasy, but Mike’s Courts of the Feyre series. The next week is going to focus on his upcoming release of Strangeness and Charm: The Courts of the Feyre, Book 3. What fascinates me about this genre, and his series in particular is how it makes us observe our world in a new light. I suppose a lot of entertainment mediums do that, but I like how Mike uses British folklore and tradition and adds a fantastical spin on what could be.

Sometimes I like to read about this in a past or future that is much different than the world around me. Mike’s books are similar to the Horror that I like to read in that they keep me in the present, and then blow my mind with what could be lurking behind my day to day tasks. I wrote a few zombie stories that play on what would happen if I opened my side door in the still dark hours of the morning, and a zombie was outside in my driveway.

Doesn't this cover make you want to read Mike's blend of Urban Fantasy? I love it!

Sometimes I take my time observing my yard and tempt that fear to become real. Of course I know it’s not real, but the fact that I set that scene in a real place makes it that much more scary.

Mike’s story takes place around London. Even though I’ve never been, I have been to places like where he tells his story: subways, open markets, pastures, woods, heck, even just any old neighborhood. While he uses specific history and places in London to make his story feel genuine, he also sets some of the events in general places that I can imagine myself in. The next time I’m in a subway I’m going to wonder about that doorway no one uses. Next time I’m in a coffee shop I might imagine the person sitting nearby as a fey shape-shifter hiding their sword and identity through a glamour Mike describes in his books that makes them appear uninteresting and normal.

Mike has some cool blog posts in his History Category that have pictures and give a little backstory to the British folklore that inspired his awesome series. Hope to see you back on Wednesday when I release this episode, and the book giveaway to come.

Links:

Since this episode was recorded, Double Share by Nathan Lowell has been published by Ridan Publishing.

Michael Sullivan’s Rise of Empire is now on Audible.

Robin mentioned Jim C. Hines. Thought you might want to check his site out. His latest book is THE SNOW QUEEN’S SHADOW, the fourth of his fantasy adventures that retell the old fairy tales with a Charlie’s Angels twist.

Oh yeah, and there’s that Hugh Howey guy everyone is comparing to 50 Shades of Grey for turning self-publishing into movie deals. Well, he now has a movie option deal with 20th Century Fox for his Wool Omnibus, which is going to be published by Random House UK.

Next week’s podcast is with UK Fantasy author, Mike Shevdon, in time for his May 29th release of Strangeness and Charm: Courts of the Feyre #3.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org. You are also free to share this promo taken from a two minute quote from Michael’s interview on AudioTim 16.

I’m sorry we weren’t able to have Scott Roche on for this slot, but we hope to sometime soon. In the meantime, check out his podcast Action Pack Podcast, a three stories in one hour show that has zombies, steampunk-western action and alien adventures, from authors Michell Plested, J.R. Murdock and Scott Roche respectively.

Links:

Adventures in SciFi Publishing website (iTunes page)
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences website (where Shaun’s story will be published)
Moses Siregar III’s website (buy his book The Black God’s War for $.99)
Brent Bowen’s website (tease him about his 2 days in March to get him back in the saddle)

AISFP podcast interview with D.T. Conklin and Lane Diamond

Promo: D.T. Conklin’s Fantasy Epic, Eulogy

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

About our guests:

Robin Sullivan is the President of Ridan Publishing. As you’ll hear in this episode, she has created a top-notch, author-friendly publishing model at Ridan, and is one of my favorite people to talk publishing with. This is her fourth interview on my show, and I’m amazed at how each one keeps getting better. Her husband, Michael J. Sullivan, is the author of the best-selling Fantasy series Riyria Revelations. The first book, Theft of Swords is one of my favorite books.

Hugh… well, having him on the show with Robin combines two of my favorite people I’ve met podcasting. He is a terrific writer, and one of the few that I’ll read everything they write. He has a fascinating life experience sailing in two hurricanes, which played a part in the next book of his I plan to read, The Hurricane. Hugh is a tremendous, humble guy, who has generously offered two giveaways for my show. AudioTim 32 was a t-shirt giveaway (deadline May 21st to enter), and for this episode, he is giving away a signed copy of Wool Omnibus.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

How to Enter Signed Wool Omnibus Giveaway

* Stephanie H. from the UK won the Omnibus. Congrats, Stephanie, and thanks to all who participated! Thanks as well to Hugh for his generosity in offering a signed version! Way cool!

You can tweet a link to this podcast along with my twitter handle @timothycward (for tracking purposes)

You can go to my Facebook Author Page and share the post I made (as opposed to making your own post because I can’t track those easily)

Or, if you don’t use Facebook or Twitter, you can email me at tim [at] timothycward [dot] com, use Signed Wool as subject line. You’ll receive one entry (please don’t email me a hundred times ), whereas the Twitter and Facebook options can be done more often and earns an entry each time you do.

Normally, I use Rafflecopter, but they’re having problems right now, so we’re going manual-style.

Deadline: All entries before 00:00 PST on 5/9. I will choose the winner at random, and announce it in this post on 5/9 as well as via the way they entered (facebook, twitter, email). If I don’t hear back within 48 hours, though, I’ll move on to another entrant.

Worldwide option (Hugh has graciously offered to mail this book outside the US and Canada.)

The second podcast has aired, (AudioTim 33), and is an Indie Publishing panel discussion with Hugh and Robin Sullivan, Publisher at Ridan Publishing who helped manage Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series. Their unique experiences going from self-published to literary stardom makes this upcoming podcast one you shouldn’t miss. I like this episode too, because Hugh has some great insight into the story of Wool, the characters behind the story (without spoilers) and why so many people loved reading it. I elaborate more on why I loved Hugh’s book on my book review.

T-Shirt Giveaway

Unfortunately, the giveaway is now over. The good news is we have an awesome new shirt to choose from among the Cafe Press Wool Catalog. Thanks to Jason for his winning entry, and everyone else. That was a tough competition. As you can see, Hugh has some Wool t-shirts up at his CafePress store. There are some great options, and as Hugh said, he’s priced them as low as he can.

Thanks to those who sent in questions on Twitter, you did a great job adding to the show!

Jack Danger Canty ‏ @jackdanger: @timothycward Also: I want to hear about Hugh’s take on grief, grieving and what it takes to kill a beloved character. /cc @hughhowey

Andy Sherwood ‏ @xinmyname: @timothycward For Hugh: Have you optioned WOOL as a movie yet? Will Joss Whedon direct?
– Sorry Andy, I forgot about this one. We talk about his movie option a little in the next podcast (next Wednesday)

Scott Roche ‏ @spiritualtramp: @timothycward @hughhowey Is each one of “Wool”s episodes a complete story arc on its own?

Roundtable Podcast ‏ @WritersPodcast: @timothycward @hughhowey Was Wool ALWAYS going to be a series? If not, when did you realize it would be?

If anyone is skilled at building a wiki page, Hugh has a Wikipedia site that could use some help.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

Michael is also one of the nominees for the Independent Book Bloggers Award, which you can vote on (HERE). In my research for my interview with Michael, I read through a handful of posts on his blog, and must say that he has some excellent writing advice on there. Michael is also a very humble guy, and when you combine that humility with the quality of his stories, you can’t help but root for the guy’s success. If he wins this award, the IBBA will send him to New York for the ceremony, something he sounds pretty excited for. I’d rather his wife, Robin, lock him in his room to write more books, but I suppose he needs to get out sometimes .

In the interview, Michael summarizes some of these blog posts, and elaborates on them per my questions:
Applied Description
Dealing with Failure
Sculpting Language
Combining the Real and the Unreal
Voice
and finally, A Reason to Read

My last reason for thinking of posting this interview is because in my switch from hosting my podcasts on Posterous to this website, the itunes store doesn’t have episodes 23 and earlier. I don’t mind if you don’t listen to the earliest ones, but this one is a definite keeper. You can read more about my discovery of Theft of Swords on my Saturday Spotlight post, including a link to the free, short story prequel, The Viscount and the Witch, which I guess I just gave you.

You can subscribe to my podcast on iTunes (HERE). You are also free to share this promo taken from a two minute quote from Michael’s interview. Music is brought to you by Nalle, “New Roots” from freemusicarchive.org

A little context from the interview: Mercedes wrote a story about a woman bashing a boy over the head with a shovel, and it became an inside joke between her and Ken because that was the story that got her started in Shock Totem. She wrote a blog post about it: http://abrokenlaptop.com/2008/10/24/rock-on-i-say/

In this corner, wielding a pick axe, K. Allen Wood

Vs.

Mercedes Yardley and her bloody shovel

Links
From Ken’s Conversation:
Kevin J. Anderson’s website
The Zombie Feed Vol. 1
The Wicked – James Newman’s website
Ken’s first Horror read – Dean Koontz’s Lightning
Ken’s recommendation for “new” Horror authors to check out:
Ronald Malfi: Skullbelly
Lee Thompson – Division Mythos ; Shock Totem Issue 4 (print and digital)
The Bram Stoker Award nominated anthology, Epitaphs, that Ken has a story in.

From Mercedes’ Conversation:
Dark Things in Love was original title of Beautiful Sorrows, which is to be released in September, no links yet, but you can find out about it at Mercedes’ website www.abrokenlaptop.com
The Stoker Award winning anthology Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed
The Gate 2
Her agent, Jason Yarn at Paradigm

#quotingmercedes
31:30-50 I like that story. I thought it was sweet. I thought it was amazingly sweet. And kind of sick…a little bit twisted

32:30 Horror has to do with dread and emotion, and making someone feel something

45:15 On why she rolls her eyes at zombie stories “Guy shambles in. There’s biting. Guy shambles away, and there’s no connection to the characters.”

48:00-30 “Horror is more than feeling disgust… about feeling depths of emotion”

49:00-20 On the cheap trick of stories involving rape: “I just read twenty other stories like that. Wow, none of them moved me, except that I never want to go outside again.”

65:20 I don’t want people to read my work then go walk away and be like I’m just going to go jump off something

66′ has a great quote on finding strength in suffering as a reason why horror shouldn’t just harp on the suffering.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page. I have a nice audio clip from this interview here, soon to be made into a promo for the podcast. My soundbite from Ken… that one stays with me, until he misbehaves, mwahahahaha

Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

This little piece of audio is just a taste of the inspiration that Mercedes will give in her interview. You can get a few more quotes from the hashtag I created #quotingmercedes, some of which are deadpan funny. There were a lot more, but they didn’t fit into Twitter’s restrictions. I started the hashtag on the hunch that anyone who talks to Mercedes on a regular basis, and appreciates her humor, will undoubtedly come up with many more entertaining quotes.

I didn’t do a Saturday Spotlight this weekend, partly because I wanted to “take the day off” by editing her podcast. I was so inspired after listening to her interview, that I went up to my room around 9pm, turned off the lights, turned on Shock Totem radio, and pulled out a story I hadn’t worked on in two months. It was a fantastic writing session, not really because the words I put on the page were divinely inspired, but because I put words on the page for that particular story after not doing so in two months.

Last week, I finished the first draft of my story for The Lost: A Kingdom of Nothing Anthology, and maybe for the first time, had tears forming as I wrote the ending. I might have done that finishing my novel’s third draft, but it wasn’t as memorable as this one. The story I sent in to Writers of the Future was close as well, but my point is that this latest story was a definite step in the right direction. I tweeted about my experience finishing this story, and Mercedes commented “Some of the best advice I ever received, and it was from K Allen Wood at Shock Totem, was to cry when I rewrote a certain story. That’s how you know it’s real. Sounds like a story with shine, Tim! Congrats!”

As I commented on in my recent post “Perseverance, Confidence, and Dreams,” I’m learning varying levels of confidence, and a week after I wrote that post, I learned another: I can write a story emotionally powerful enough to make me cry. I’ll admit, I have been known to cry at movies, but only a few times have I ever cried reading a book. As Tosca Lee said at the Ragged Edge conference, however, we have to scream at the page in order for our readers to hear a whisper. I’m not there yet, because tears forming for me, probably won’t translate yet to the reader. It’s still a rough story, but it shows potential and that I’ve taken another step towards achieving my dream–strike that, I am one step further in achieving my dream. The difference there is that I don’t need some publishing contract to enjoy this step as part of the dream. I loved the experience, and will work hard to replicate and enhance it in further drafts and stories.

The story that I worked on Saturday night is my Campus Zombie WIP, which is currently around 14k and has no close end in sight. I’ve got an idea of structure, so I believe it will finish under 26k. I stopped because I didn’t know what the clue was in the lockbox he just found, nor did I know how he was going to escape the situation he was in. I was fortunate enough to have other stories more pressing, but surprisingly, during the two months I didn’t work on it, nothing came to mind towards a solution. With Mercedes’ advice in mind, and a recent jolt of confidence, I sat down and started typing. I accomplished moving the character from one conflict to the next, inserted necessary character arc growth, and am pleased with the progress.

I was encouraged to hear from a friend that my blogging is inspirational to other writers, and I guess, sets the bar pretty high. Hopefully this has encouraged you, but don’t consider yourself unable to achieve what I have. It’s really just about making my dream a priority over laziness. In time, you’ll see success too, if you do the same.

And, now that most people are situated here at work, it’s time to dive in to my editor’s notes on my novel. They weren’t too shocking, and I was sufficiently flattered, but there is definite work to do.

Amazon’s decision to yank almost 5,000 Kindle titles from distributor Independent Publishing Group after IPG refused to give the retailer better terms may be a harbinger of things to come.

The first twenty five minutes talks about the current lawsuit against the agency model, how Amazon has made it big through making their site the most attractive to authors, and why even if they did revert back to a 65/35 royalty sharing model, it would still be better than nothing.

Around the twenty five minute mark, Robin talks about how Pottermore is a real game changer, and that publishers should sell direct, and show how they don’t need Amazon.

Around the 37 minute mark, I ask if Amazon isn’t powerful enough right now to switch the royalty over to 70/30. She tells us what she thinks if they did, and how publishers would respond. In fact, at the 44 minute mark, Robin says that royalty rate percentages isn’t even the scariest leverage Amazon holds. Around the 41 minute mark, Robin discusses the pros and cons of using KDP Select for her Ridan titles.

All in all, another great interview with Robin. I feel like I just sat down at a convention workshop. I feel very privileged for her audience, and to share this with mine.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page, along with a promo from my interview with her and her husband, Michael Sullivan, on Episode 16.

Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

For other podcasts on this subject:
Adventures in SciFi Publishing: Episode 163 Zack Ricks and Scott Roche; Episode 166 Is Amazon Your Daddy
The Shared Desk: Episode 13 Amazon, Authors, and Armageddon…at a Discount!

I will release the second episode of this interview tomorrow, (AudioTim 30b:…on Amazon and future of ebooks), where we discuss more on the future of publishing in relation to the anti-trust lawsuit against the ibook store, which may get rid of the agency model of pricing ebooks. While some have feared that the IPG issue is what my flip the profit margins in Amazon’s favor, Robin thinks this lawsuit and the potential loss of the agency model may really be the harbinger of that change.

Subscribe to iTunes (here). I would love an honest review if you’ve listened to the past few episodes. You can also catch the podcast on RSS, Stitcher, and SoundCloud. You can easily check out the complete list of back episodes on my Podcast Page, along with a promo from my interview with her and her husband, Michael Sullivan, on Episode 16.

Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

For other podcasts on this subject:
Adventures in SciFi Publishing: Episode 163 Zack Ricks and Scott Roche; Episode 166 Is Amazon Your Daddy
The Shared Desk: Episode 13 Amazon, Authors, and Armageddon…at a Discount!

Conversation Timeline:

1:00 What is IPG?
2:00 Why small presses use IPG
5:00 Why Robin is considering moving from Print on Demand to print runs and bookstore presence using a distributor like IPG (though not if it means giving up ebook rights)
6:30 Why IPG does ebooks and why publishing houses use that service.
7:50 Is there a separate contract between ebooks and print w/ distributors (turns into convo on exclusivity)
10:00 Why this issue with IPG concerns her: never good when a stream of distribution is cut off, especially when their Select program is showing cost of business with Amazon is exclusivity.
15:40 In what ways (contract or KDP) can Amazon exercise exclusivity?
17:00 Two advantages of KDP: 1) Lending library; 2) 5 days out of 90 to make your book free –includes how these are not really that great as far as advantages
27:00 Advantages of not publishing with big 6 as it pertains to distributing ebooks worldwide
28:00 As Amazon tightens grip on IPG, they could with others
30:15 Why you still want to sell directly, instead of giving up exclusivity to Amazon
Compares Walmart to Amazon in re: low price margins, and how Amazon will demand higher cuts
32:00 Gives history on Amazon using Create Space versus Lightning Source to make books out of stock (ex. Nathan Lowell) and therefore manipulated people into using Create Space and the more advantageous margins for Amazon
35:00 Big question: Do you see Amazon taking 70%?

You can listen or download from the player above, or head over to my iTunes page. I don’t think I have any reviews yet, so if you’d be so kind, an honest review would be most appreciated. If you like the show and would like a promo to play in your show, or just for great advice, this promo has one minute of writing advice from my interview with Michael J. Sullivan, episode 16.

Stay tuned for upcoming shows: Robin Sullivan discussing the dispute between IPG and Amazon (coming soon); Mercedes Yardley from Shock Totem magazine (4/11); and Hugh Howey of the infamous SF series, Wool (4/25).

Music is provided by Daddy Scrabble’s song “Lorda Mercy” found on http://freemusicarchive.org

Editorial Reviews for HAYWIRE
Review
“A riproaring adventure through the galaxy, full of sound and fury, yet at its center it is a surprisingly touching commentary on what it is to be human.”
– Philippa Ballantine, author of “Geist” and co-author of “Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)”

“Justin Macumber’s HAYWIRE is a thrill ride from first blood to closing sigh. I found it difficult to put down.”
– Nathan Lowell, creator of the “Golden Age of the Solar Clipper” and the “Tanyth Fairport Adventures”

“HAYWIRE is sure to satisfy cravings for Saturday matinee high adventure space fantasy.”
– Matthew Wayne Selznick, author of the “Sovereign Era” storyworld

“A thrilling chase through a superbly realized solar system. Enhanced warriors, space pirates, galactic threats and more make this a powerful debut from a strong new voice in speculative fiction.”
– Alan Baxter, author of “RealmShift” and “MageSign”

“An action-packed sci-fi thriller that will keep you up late into the night!”
– David Wood, author of “The Zombie-Driven Life” and the “Dane Maddock Adventures”

Product Description
A century ago, super-soldiers known as Titans drove alien invaders from the solar system and back to their home world. Now the Titans have returned, infected by a virus and compelled to destroy humanity. Will a scholar, her son, and the only Titan able to resist the infection find a way to stop them and save humanity from its own greatest weapon?