IWSG...

I'm back to the IWSG post! Woohoo! If you want to know more about this or want to find the list of other participants, please visit Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog here.

This month, the optional question is:

How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

I am choosing to do my own insecure thing this month.

Over the last few years, I have quietly been working with Midian Entertainment on a massive project. It hasn't been until recently that we've been allowed to share, do book cover reveals, etc.

My role in all of this is basically a writer, an editor, a publisher, and an adviser. I'm also currently acting as a marketing manager, trying to build a following on Twitter without really having given the public much to look at and go all on faith.

I wear a lot of hats. My writing has sort of come to a standstill due to multiple reasons. I'm not complaining, I'm just wanting to get back to it.

My constant fear is, will everything I've done be good enough? Will this just bomb entirely and if it does, how will it affect me? I'm pretty sure I know how it will affect me...  and it won't be good.

I have grown as a writer over the last several years. I've worked to hone my craft. I just haven't been able to put anything out into the world until now to prove that. So will I still be viewed as a hack fantasy writer who couldn't cut it so she self published? I still don't have the third book finished! Which... is in the works.

See? Lots of insecurities as I step into these new roles in my writing career.

How about you? Comment down below. And don't forget to visit the other participants!

Have a great day!

What I'm Working On: The BREED

Hey everyone!

So I finally get to tell you a little more about that project I've been working on. It's called The BREED. About two years ago, I was approached by a couple of people to help get a project off the ground. One of these people I have known for some time as we used to game together in that text based RPG I've mentioned way back in the day called Legends of Cosrin. The other person was a complete stranger.

That complete stranger had this idea for a multiverse world full of your usual horror creatures; vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc. He wasn't a writer, but still had this idea that he worked on with my gaming friend. His names is Charles and my gaming friend is Ray. Ray knew my writing skills due to lots of posts I had made and role plays I had designed in game. For whatever reason, he felt I was the one who would be able to help get this project off the ground. I'm not only an author on this project now, but I'm the Creative Director as well.

So I was allowed to recruit authors as long as they signed a non disclosure agreement. Let me tell you, that was more difficult than you realize because I couldn't give these authors much information until they signed that NDA. I posted on here looking for people, I scoured my author friends list and I only got a few bites. But let me tell you, those few bites have panned out and we are so close to being able to tell everyone so much more!

In the meantime, all I can say is we have a few stories ready for editing and publication, plus a couple of screenplays. There are about half a dozen more stories in the works. When all is said and done, we're looking at having books, movies, video games, brand merchandise, graphic novels and so much more. It's been a very interesting past couple years!

If you'd like to learn a little more, there is an old article on the Horror Society site here.

You can also check out one of our many pages on Facebook here.

If you think you'd like to be a beta reader, here is the Facebook page for that here.

If you think you'd like to be an author and want more information, contact me here.

More links:

Facebook page for the movie, "Feeding on Fear".

Facebook page for "The Midnight Carnival".

So there it is. That's just the tip of the iceberg of what I can reveal at the moment. I hope it piques your interest enough! Have a good Monday!

I'm Sorry?...

I'm a little stunned.

You guys know me, I don't always comment on your blogs, but when I see something you've posted and it hits me like a ton of bricks, I have to add my two cents.

So here it is.

First of all, let me just link you to this post here about an indie author who went on a review rant. This post will link to another where you can see the details of it all.

Second, let me state right here and now that if I offered up to review your book and haven't AND you have not heard from me about it. I'm sorry.

Last thing I need is someone listing me as their source of angst. I mean... I can be, but not in this instance!

Now for the rest of my two cents. It doesn't matter if you are an indie author or traditionally published author. If you ask me to review your book (because hey, I've reviewed books here) please keep in mind that I have stuff to do with my own book, my work, my family. Even with *gasp!* other books. If I can't finish your book, for whatever reason, I will try again. If I still can't, I will email you. Personally, I don't like to give a bad review. I'll give you my review in private if it comes to that point, not for all the world to see simply because I know how hard it is to shake off negativity.

I also am seeing a trend in some of the indie authors out there (not that any of them have contacted me personally) that have the frame of mind that they're somehow better than traditionally published authors. Writers as a whole are pretty humble creatures. We don't expect anything or think we're entitled to special treatment because we write. So why have that attitude? Are you so jaded by the publishing industry that you would turn on your readers and fellow authors? If that's the case, stop writing and find something else to do. Otherwise, stop whining and work on your book. Hire an editor, join a critique group, make your self published book the best it can be to avoid getting bad reviews.

I try to review books I read, whether asked to do the review or not. If I like the book, I am going to review it. There were a couple of reviews I did that were not glowing, rave reviews when I was helping another reviewer on their blog, but I didn't enjoy posting them. I did contact the person I was helping and said, "I can't do this anymore, some of these books are soooo bad!"

If indie authors want to maintain respect, let me suggest that you act in a professional manner. Act like a published author! Don't call people thieves or liars if they did not review your book. Not everyone will contact you if they don't like your work, they'll just drop it, ignore you and hope you'll go away. If you really want that bad review, it can be done. But why would you?

Tips on professionalism:

* Politely email the people and ask if they've had a chance to read your work, if not, when can they do so? If they have, but didn't like your material, either thank them for their time or ask for constructive criticism.

* Don't bad mouth people, their blogs, their books, etc. Karma will come back to you. People will see you acting petty and think, "Wow, I am NOT going to read their book if they're going to be like this..."

* What you post on the internet will find a way to remain on here FOREVER. So, with that in mind... THINK about what you post before you post it. I'm sure I have stuff out there I would LOVE to take down...

* Treat people how you want to be treated. The Golden Rule. If someone offers up a review of your book, offer one in return if they are a writer. If they're not a writer, link to their blog or website. Support the people that support YOU. However, if they don't follow through on their review promise, don't get pissy. Again, politely email them and say, "Hey, you promised a review for a review. If you are unable to review my book, I will not be able to uphold the deal we had." Of course... maybe try not to sound so rude... But people will read things online in their own voice and you may end up coming across snarky anyway. So begin with "I'm not trying to be rude."

Overall, no one is entitled to anything more than anyone else in this business. Yes, indie authors seem to have a harder time of it because of the route they choose. But I know several indie authors and respect the hell out of them because of taking this route. I also respect them because they ACT PROFESSIONALLY. No matter what route you take, this is a difficult enough of an industry as it is, why add to it? Writers have been pretty good about supporting their fellow writers. I really don't see a need for such competitiveness in this field because readers will choose what they like, no matter what. Not everyone is going to like your book to begin with and it isn't your job to force them to like it. Take it in stride.

And I hope everyone reminds me of this when I get my bad reviews. Hehe!

Do you have anything to add to this? Did I not review a book for you and contact you? By all means, leave comments. Not the best way to start off the week, but hope you all have a good week regardless.

Marketing Medias...

So I've been on Twitter a lot more lately. I have to admit, while I was a little skeptical about it, it's become pretty fun.

I've actually been "re-tweeted" twice now. Just silly random things. But it was an odd feeling. You mean to tell me that something I said was funny enough or "cool" enough to be re-tweeted.

Nice.

I've been utilizing it much more, following more people and more are now following me. I even have a few new blog followers. Welcome! Especially if you came over from Twitter.

Facebook is another cool social media to use, but like everything else it takes a lot of work. I find I spend quite a bit of time tweeting and updating my status to keep things going on the web.

My blog gets lots of traffic, so does my FaceBook and now my twitter as well. What's next? My website. Hehe! It might be a free site at the moment, but someday I will be a Dot Com. Woot!

Okay so I extended the Giveaway for Elf Killers to Monday August 29, 2011. Details are simple. Leave a comment on the review if you want to be entered into the drawing for a copy of the eBook. I'll post the winners like that following Tuesday. Spread the word!