Episode 036 - Writing Short Stories with Angela Slatter

Alan and David talk short stories and editing with award-winning author Angela Slatter.




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We talk about stupid author tricks – Dumb tagging on Amazon.

We talk about writing short stories, the value of short stories to enhance craft and publication credits and to raise an author’s profile.

Then we have a great chat with Angela Slatter.

http://www.angelaslatter.com/

Angela Slatter is a Brisbane-based writer of speculative fiction (that’s in Australia, by the way). In 2010, she had two short story collections published, Sourdough & Other Stories with Tartarus Press (UK) (which was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award) and The Girl with No Hands & Other Tales (Ticonderoga Publications) (which won an Aurealis Award). This makes her happy.

In 2012, she will have another collection of short stories, a collaboration with friend and writing-partner-in-crime, Lisa L Hannett. Midnight and Moonshine will be published by Ticonderoga Publications. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies such as Jack Dann’s Dreaming Again, Tartarus Press’ Strange Tales II, Twelfth Planet Press’ 2012, Dirk Flinthart’s Canterbury 2100, and in journals such as Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Shimmer, ONSPEC and Doorways Magazine. Her work has had several Honourable Mentions in the Datlow, Link, Grant Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies #20 and #21 and the Datlow Year’s Best Horror anthologies, and her stories have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards four years in a row.

She is working on various short stories and three novels at the moment.

Angela talks about her what she thinks makes for success in short fiction, and where the short story differs from the novella and the novel.

Angela goes on to suggest ways to trim your longer fiction down into a shorter story and how to get to the essence of what you’re trying to achieve.

We talk about the nature and benefits of the Clarion writers’ program.

Angela talks about her novel in progress.

We go on to talk about the process of collaborating with another writer on short fiction.

We talk briefly about Angela’s short-term stint as editor of the Weird Fiction Review.

http://weirdfictionreview.com/

We talk about how writers can benefit from editing.

Should we use smaller ideas for shorter stories?

We talk about the renaissance of short fiction and novellas and our hope that those things continue to see a rise in popularity. We also mention how mystifying it is to us that those things aren’t already more popular.

And here’s the list of "classics" everyone should read, that Angela has put together for us:

Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Shirley Jackson - The Haunting of Hill House
Clive Barker’s - Cabal (or Nightbreed)
Henry James - The Turn of the Screw
H P Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories
Bran Stoker’s - The Judge’s House
Marghanita Laski’s - The Tower
Edgar Allan Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher
Anything by M R James (*Stephen Jones is editing a HUGE collection of M R James’ work – out in 2012 via the lovely Jo Fletcher Books (there’s a series of readings of M R James stories on youtube by Robert Powell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaDIbsN1710 and a little teleplay with Christopher Lee (hallowed be his name!) here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvkgwGGLp0k , which are made of awesome).

Find Angela online:

Angela’s site: http://www.angelaslatter.com/

Ticonderoga Publications: http://ticonderogapublications.com/

Tartarus Press: http://tartaruspress.com/

http://weirdfictionreview.com/

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Episode 035 - Special Ops and Spirits - Myke Cole Interview

Click here to download this episode directly.

Dave and Alan talk about their Xmas break.

Here are the bookshelves Alan was talking about:

http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/2012/01/14/bit-bookshelf-porn.html

We discuss briefly the nature of hardcovers becoming the true artefact book that people want to collect, while the majority of reading is done on ereaders.

Then we talk a bit about our plans for the year.

We talk about the free books we still have to give away from the Xmas promotion. Get on it, folks!

Then we go on to talk about the KDP Select program through Amazon, and our concerns about it.

Then we have a great chat with Myke Cole about his Shadow Ops books – the first one, Control Point, is out any time now.

http://mykecole.com/

We talk about the inspiration for Myke’s books – military and magic, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons combined with Myke’s military and Pentagon experiences.

We go on to discuss Myke’s road to publication and gives his opinion about indie versus traditional publishing.

We talk about establishing a profile and using Kickstarter on the back of existing success.

Myke talks about his extensive planning method of writing a book.

http://mykecole.com/ 

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Episode 34- Holiday Extravaganza with Boyd Morrison

This week we talk with thriller author Boyd Morrison and give away tons of free books!


Click here for direct download.

Dave talks about his new novella, Icefall. http://www.amazon.com/Icefall-Dane-Maddock-Adventures-ebook/dp/B006LFJ4DM

The blog post David mentions - http://davidwoodonline.blogspot.com/2011/12/morning-wood-lessons-learned-from-my.html

We briefly discuss the beauty of the novella length work.

Alan’s novella will be serialised at Red Penny Papers from February next year - http://redpennypapers.com/

We have a cool chat with Boyd Morrison - http://www.boydmorrison.com/books.php

Boyd talks about his books, about his growth from indie author to multi-language deals and more.

Boyd finishes with a quick explanation of what’s next in store for him.

And now, THE GIVEAWAY!

Tis the season for giving, so we at ThrillerCast, because we are awesome, bring you free books. Lots of them!

Free ebooks:
All of these books are being given away in multiple formats at smashwords.com. Enter the respective coupon codes at checkout for your free downloads. (Please note- each of these codes does have an expiration date and not all are the same. Don't miss out!)

The Adventures of Dodge Dalton in the Shadow of Falcon's Wings by Sean Ellis:
Coupon Code: JB35K
Expires: January 14, 2012

The Curse of One-Eyed Jack (A Dark Hollows Mystery) by Kent Holloway:
Coupon Code: YN82B
Expires: January 14, 2012

Double Heart (A Will Lansa Mystery) by Rob Macgregor:
Coupon Code: TL25Q
Expires: January 14, 2012

Survivor's Affair (A John Logan Thriller) by Rick Nichols :
Coupon Code: HA24L
Expires: January 14, 2012

The Arbiter Project by Marek Storm :
Coupon Code BK35B
Expires: January 2

Ion by Marek Storm:
Coupon Code ZA79E
Expires: January 2

RealmShift by Alan Baxter
Coupon Code MQ65Z
Expires: January 2

The Zombie-Driven Life by David Wood
Coupon Code BQ64G
Expires: January 2

New World Orders by Edward G. Talbot
Coupon Code NT92Z
Expires January 20

2012: The Fifth World by Edward G. Talbot
Coupon Code: RR22M
Expires January 20

Double Agent by Sean Sweeney
Coupon Code: FG76E
Expires January 5


Ebook Giveaway- Single Copies 
For this giveaway, email us at thrillerpodcast[at]gmail.com and put Ebook Giveaway in the header. In the body of your email, let us know what format you prefer (Kindle/Mobi, Nook/Epub, etc...)


The Sentinel by Jeremy Bishop
Callsign: Queen by Jeremy Robinson and David Wood
Magic Mirror by Sean Ellis


Print books-
In order to win one of these, please email us at thrillerpodcast[at]gmail.com. Put something profound in the header like "Giveaway," "Give Me Some Freakin' Books," or "Moo! I'm a goat."


If you are chosen as as winner, we'll e-mail you back to get your mailing address.

The Supernaturals by David Golemon
The Pharos Objective by David Sakmyster
The Game anthology (including stories by Alan and David)
Wired Kingdom by Rick Chesler
RealmShift by Alan Baxter
Quest by David Wood
Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies by Jim Bernheimer
The Devil Colony by James Rollins

Episode 33- Publishing Pitfalls

In this episode, we discuss the importance of making wise, informed decisions when submitting to markets, selling your rights, and deciding how and where to publish your work.




Click here for the direct download link!

Dave is reading and enjoying 11 22 63 by Stephen King.

Alan is reading Bluegrass Symphony by Lisa L. Hannett. He recently read and reviewed The Courier's New Bicycle by Kim Westwood.

Dave recently read The Mozart Conspiracy by Scott Mariani.

Promo: Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing

Concerns and considerations when considering markets for your work.

"For the love" markets.

What's the value of "exposure?"

It's important to value your work and you should always be compensated in some way, even if it's only a contributor copy of the publication.

Know what rights you are selling when you sign a contract.

Watch out for publishers who buy rights they cannot use.

Some publishers will purchase rights they don't intend to use because they consider other formats to be "competing versions."

The Passive Voice blog- a great resource for publishing industry information, including advice on how to read a book contract.

Book Country- not a scam but, in our opinion, not a wise path to publication.

A fine line between self/indie publishing and vanity publishing?

Putting together and publishing a book is not the hard part; getting the word out and bringing in readers is the hard part, and assisted self-publishing services aren't going to help you with that.

Know the value of what a publisher or service will do for you before you enter into an agreement.

Episode 32 – Sorting Out The Civil War in Publishing

Click here to directly download this episode.



Alan talks about his Movember fund-raising effort - http://mobro.co/AlanBaxter

Alan talks about the “sagging middle” and the always difficult midway point of writing a novel.

Dave talks about his new Dane Maddock “short” story.

Promo- Dead Robots' Society Podcast

We then go on to refer back to past week’s podcast about pissing people off and this week we talk about the subject itself that was raised – the evangelists for self-publishing versus the evangelists for the traditional route.

Dave and Alan agree that we’ve got sick and tired of hearing from all the evangelists who try to convince everyone that there’s only one way to succeed.

We discuss the differences in traditional contracts and what to look out for. “Gotcha clauses”.

We discuss the pros and cons of agents and agent motivation.

We cover the question of whether publishers and bookstores are dying out.

Thrillercast Episode 31 – Ticking People Off

Direct Download Link.

We talk about our current writing projects.

Dave talks about all the Gryphonwood books that have had audio rights sold. Dave’s latest one, Quest, is available as an audiobook here: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_2?asin=B0062CWYJU&qid=1320766920&sr=1-2

Dave then talks about stupid author tricks, such as joining an online forum and pretending to be a member purely to promote the author’s own books.

We talk about manners and politeness when it comes to being an author. Alan compares newbie authors to newbie martial artists.

We then talk about the recent controversy surrounding Michael Stackpole and his articles comparing in-house authors to slaves:

Stackpole's articles:

http://www.michaelastackpole.com/?p=2510
http://www.michaelastackpole.com/?p=2887

We discuss what Stackpole was trying to say with regards to paying attention to publishing contracts, and the danger of using such emotional language when it can obscure your point.

However, in talking about one part of the language, we don’t really address in great detail what Stackpole was saying. Dave and Alan don't necessarily agree with everything Mr. Stackpole says. The topic continues to garner attention, including this recent rebuttal by Tobias Buckell:

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2011/11/08/self-publishing-doesnt-mean-you-have-to-be-a-raging-fuck-wad/

We then go on to talk about the furore Alan generated with his post denigrating NaNoWriMo.

Alan’s post is here: http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/2011/11/01/nanowrimo.html

Dave’s less controversial blog post on NaNoWriMo is here: http://davidwoodonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/morning-wood-nanowrimo-whats-use.html

We chat about all the pros and cons of NaNo, as we see them.

What to do when you find yourself in the midst of a controversy.

Thrillercast Episode 30 – Writing and Rewriting History

Direct Download Link

Alan talks about the new multi-media webinar of his How To Write Realistic Fight Scenes Masterclass. All the details here: http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/write-fight-scenes-masterclass

Alan talks about his current job of writing a video game narrative.

Alan talks about the new anthology, Hope, featuring his fantasy short story, Duty & Sacrifice. All profits from Hope will go to charities which help to raise suicide awareness. Get it here: http://www.kayellepress.com/books/anthologies/hope-speculative-fiction-to-help-raise-suicide-awareness/purchase-options-for-hope-anthology/

We talk about the new methods publishers are trying to avoid complaints about poorly reported sales figures for their creators.

Dave talks about the audiobook version Quest – it’s recorded and ready for a pre-Christmas release.

Promo- Mail Order Zombie podcast

We go on to talk about the nature of using history in our novels and how we approach cultural and historical events and use them.

We discuss the challenge of internal consistency in our novels and the amount of research involved, to ensure we approach our rewritten histories and mythologies from an informed point of view.

We touch briefly on cultural appropriation – is everything fair game?

We discuss the human psychology of religion and mythology, and culture, and how that needs to apply even in a completely fantasy world.

David discusses the cultural failings of some fantasy epics where history/culture is over-simplified.

Alan takes the same point to the failings of many sci-fi stories to correctly address cultural variation.

There are several versions of the US map David mentions. Here are just a few:

This is the one Dave mentioned: http://dalewrites.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/how-america-sees-the-world.jpg

Here are a few others:

http://cdn-www.i-am-bored.com/media/80033_americasview.jpg

http://www.viceland.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/1.jpg

And Alan's favourite: http://www.irintech.com/x1/images/jean/US_World.jpg

We go on to discuss the importance of taking time out from writing to have a think. Thinking is an integral part of writing and we discuss the various methods we use to step away from the writing and let our brains chew on the details.

We talk about how we organise our research in order to draw from it for the novel in progress.

The importance of doing lots of research even if you don’t actually use it all in the finished story, as it will inform what you do include.

We talk about how the research for one project can be an investment in your writing career, as it can only help broaden the writer’s knowledge in general.

We then discuss the nature of readers recognising lazy research in our work. The more successful we get, the more we’re likely to sell from our backlist and the more critically we’ll be reviewed. Our early work may not be as good as later work from a craft point of view, but our research and integrity needs to be clear from the beginning.

Here’s Sean Ellis’s new book, Magic Mirror, out now from Gryphonwood Press - http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Mirror-ebook/dp/B005UHIIH0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A24IB90LPZJ0BS

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