72- Separating the Author from the Work

This week, Al and Dave discuss the problem authors and other creative professionals face when their politics, personality, or public persona impacts their career. Can and should we separate an artist from her or his work?

Promo: The Last Hunter-Descent by Jeremy Robinson


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*In order to get new episodes out while they're fresh, we will no longer do extensive show notes. We hope this will help us get new content to you on a more regular schedule and before the discussions are yesterday's news.

71 – Temptation, Violence and Treachery with J F Penn

A three continents podcast!

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Alan talks about his realisation that he’s been working on the wrong book.

Dave talks about the need to wrap up certain projects in order to focus.

Dave talks about some new releases.

Break: Wired Kingdom by Rick Chesler.

We talk to J F Penn.

The first thing we discuss is female leads having casual sex, following up from our episode 69.

This leads us to talk about strong female leads in books.

We go on to talk about writing from the perspectives of various genders, sexualities, even species.

Jo goes on to talk about her new short story ARG project in conjunction with the release of the new Dan Brown thriller, Inferno.

Here’s the page Jo mentions: http://www.kobo.com/thedescent

Jo explains how the power of the podcast led her to this sweet gig with Kobo.

We go on to talk about the benefits of writing short fiction, and the possibilities of making further income from short fiction as a writer.

Jo talks about the power of the internet and how it can make a person look more important than they are. Alan takes a small amount of issue with the sentiment!

Jo recorded the first of her stories as a podcast and plans to do the others. Find that here:

http://www.Jfpenn.com/sins

We chat about the beauty of short fiction podcasts.

This leads us to talk about the new audiobook of Jo’s first thriller, Pentecost, released soon through Gryphonwood Press.

We talk about the choice of voices when it comes to reading stories for podcasts.

Jo talks about Exodus, the third thriller in her ARKANE series of novels.

This leads us to talk about how the third book in a writer’s series can exponentially boost book sales.

Jo explains the new direction she’s going with her next book, the crime thriller, Desecration. It’s a much darker direction than the ARKANE series, exploring body mod and death.

We chat about the potential of getting caught in a particular genre niche as a writer.

Jo talks about missing ThrillerFest in New York this year, but going to Harrogate CrimeFest instead.

Find J F Penn online at:

http://www.jfpenn.com

or

http://www.thecreativepenn.com

Or on Twitter: @thecreativepenn

70- Jack Reacher vs Indiana Jones

Today, we compare and contrast two thriller icons.


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We talk about the release of Dark Rite that happened the week we recorded.

Get Dark Rite from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rite-ebook/dp/B00CDVZWWA/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366248148&sr=1-6

Or Smashwords here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/307136

Print and ebook available everywhere books are sold.

We talk briefly about how short novels like Dark Rite used to be a lot more common.

We talk about our current projects. The short fiction sales Alan talks about are out of embargo now, so look out for his stories Not The Worst of Sins in Beneath Ceaseless Skies later in the year (that’s the horror western ghost story) and Roll The Bones in Crowded Magazine around the middle of the year.

We’ll remind listeners again when they’re out.

Alan is briefly stunned to learn about the new Lone Ranger movie with Jonny Depp as Tonto.

Dave talks about the terrible situation with author David Wolverton’s son, who had a bad accident recently. They don’t have health coverage due to unfortunate circumstances, so any help would be gratefully received – here’s the link David talks about with the details: http://thrillercentral.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/author-david-farland-needs-your-help.html

Then we talk about Jack Reacher vs Indiana Jones.

Firstly, EVERYONE hates that Tom Cruise played Reacher in a movie, so we brush over that.

Alan talks about what makes Reacher a hero. We discuss the nature of the anti-hero and natural justice.

Dave talks about Indy. We discuss the scholar/adventurer archetype he embodies.

We talk about the differences in the smarts and physicality of the two characters.

We talk about the casting of the characters and how that affects the legend. Would it be different if Indy had been someone other than Harrison Ford.

We have a brief aside talking about Ender’s Game.

We finish with a side by side comparison between Reacher and Indy.

Lastly, a reminder about our Facebook page, which we never really promote enough. Here it is: http://www.facebook.com/thrillercast?ref=ts&fref=ts

When we reach 100 likes we’ll give away a copy or two of Dark Rite.

.

69 – Sex in Thrillers

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We start as we mean to go on, confirming that episode 69 is going to be very juvenile.

We update things on the writing front.

Dark Rite is actually out now, so this episode is a bit behind on that front. You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rite-ebook/dp/B00CDVZWWA/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_t_1_C5HQ

Alan talks bout how he’s just finished his latest novel in progress. The short fiction Alan talks about in the podcast has been signed off on now – he’s sold a story to Crowded and another story to Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Dave talks about Dark Rite too. Then he goes on to talk about his new collaboration with Sean Sweeney. He’s also working on Atlantis, and his collaboration with Ryan Span under his David Debord pen name. Busy!

We talk about the nature of writing and publication and how things can be long delayed or several things land at once.

We go to talk about the nature writing in several different genres and the benefits of standalones over series.

This leads us to talk about the benefit of having several books out there if you want to succeed.

 Here’s the link to the series of guest posts Alan talks about with writers talking about what they still strive for or what they still worry about, especially about new books coming out - http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/ongoing-angst-successful-writers-conclusions/

Promo: You Suck by David Wood

We then go on talk about sex in thrillers.

We start with the historically inherent sexism in thrillers.

We should expect more from secondary characters who are only really there for sexual tension.

How much sex do we need spelled out on the page in thrillers and genre fiction?

Do you need sex in thrillers?

Do you lose something if you have a long standing character get together with their longstanding love interest?

Dave’s advice is that it’s better to anger people than bore them, so risks are worth taking.

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68- Thrillers with a Twist with Rebecca Cantrell

Today, we chat with Rebecca Cantrell, co-author of The Blood Gospel.



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David and Alan catch up on our work and discuss self-doubt.

For some reason, we talk about tattoos.

Dark Rite will be released April 16 or 23?

We discuss Amazon's purchase of Goodreads

Are sites becoming "homogenized" as Amazon expands its control and influence?

Update on Thriller Central.

A new invention in news services and how might it relate to the publishing industry?

Dave comes up with a bizarre idea for self-plagiarism.

Alan announces his erotica pen name.

Promo: Scrolls by Paul Elard Cooley

Interview with Rebecca Cantrell

The Blood Gospel (co-authored with James Rollins)

Inspiration behind the story.

Using actual historical figures and the research involved.

What's next in the Blood Gospel series?

How the collaboration came about. What was the writing process like?

Rebecca's solo work.

New series in the works.

The Hannah Vogel mysteries.

The iMonster series.

Handling controversial content.

Rebecca's advice to writers.

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Visit Rebecca online at www.rebeccacantrell.com

Episode 67 – Catching up with Jeremy Robinson

Episode 67 – Catching up with Jeremy Robinson



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We talk about our current writing projects, including the imminent wrapping up of Dark Rite and Dave’s new Dane Maddock origins novel, which he co-authored with Sean Sweeney.

We go on to talk a little bit about crowd-funding, starting off with the great Fuck You Indie-Go-Go debacle. Remember folks – the Internet never forgets!

This leads us to talk briefly about the old-fashioned patronage model, which is still around in places.

We briefly chat about Myke Cole’s US Whitehouse petition: “Have the USDA set a Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for bacon.” - https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/have-usda-set-recommended-daily-intake-rdi-bacon/bcrhTFhX

Then we have a chat with bestselling author, Jeremy Robinson.

Jeremy talks about what he’s done and where he’s come from.

He talks about Island 731, his latest book - http://www.amazon.com/Island-731-Jeremy-Robinson/dp/0312617879/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364870382&sr=1-1&keywords=island+731

We ask Jeremy where he’s going next with his novels.

 Alan asks Jeremy about Project Nemesis, his kaiju novel.

We chat about Jeremy’s bizarre run-ins with strange fans and accusations of plagiarism.

We talk about the strange perception that sometimes occurs when a person thinks the author and the character are the same thing.

We ask Jeremy about where things are at with his Chess Team books.

Jeremy talks about the difference between series and standalone works and where he’s going with those ideas.

How does Jeremy Robinson continue to be so productive?

We ask Jeremy about his collaborative process, as he has co-authored several books with a variety of other writers.

What’s new on the horizon for Jeremy?

Jeremy talks a bit about the differences with traditional and self-publishing, as he has worked a lot in both.

Lastly we ask Jeremy for his essential advice for authors.

Here’s a piece about the Obama/devil thing Jeremy mentions at the end: http://www.stableytimes.com/news/obama-devil-talk-mars-the-bible-easter-episode-on-history-channel/4044/

Find Jeremy online at http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/

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Episode 66- New Pulp with Bobby Nash

In this episode, David and Alan discuss "New Pulp" with Bobby Nash. We also take Random House to the woodshed for their new digital-first publishing contracts. More important, however, is the fact that Al finally bought a decent microphone. Woo hoo!


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We begin by contemplating the afterlife and the torment that awaits us.

Updates on our writing. Alan is writing "long short stories" and getting ready to do a new draft of a novel. Our collaborative novel is out to beta readers. David is still working on Atlantis, a fantasy novel collaboration with Ryan Span, and plotting a super secret project.

Obligatory Russell Crowe insult.

In publishing news: Random House has started some digital-first imprints and the contracts are bad. We kick them around for a while. For more information, check out John Scalzi's post.

Random House defend their crappy contract.

*Note- after the recording of this episode, Random House made some changes to their contract. Feel free to read them over and make up your own mind.

Promo- RealmShift by Alan Baxter

Our guest is author Bobby Nash.

What is the current state of "New Pulp?" Is it still alive and well, or is it on the decline?

What is New Pulp? Can it be defined? What are the common characteristics?

Newpulpfiction.com

How has e-publishing driven New Pulp?

Story length and pacing.

Who is writing or publishing New Pulp right now?

Who are some of the "classic" pulp writers?

What's happening with Bobby's work?

Nominated for Pulp Ark and Pulp Factory awards. Other writing projects. Comics and screenplays.

Writing for comics vs writing prose.

Advice for writers- if you want it to be your job, treat it like a job!

Find Bobby online at www.bobbynash.com and look for him at Con Nooga, Tennessee Mountain Writers' Conference, and Pulp Ark.

Recommended Pulp Sites:
Newpulpfiction.com
Allpulp.blogspot.com
Coming Attractions Pulp Site