Where's Siobhan? New Year, New Places

Good morning and Happy Monday...

Yeah, yeah, don't throw your empty coffee mugs at me. I can always hope.

Today I'm writing to let you all know that the rules for Facebook are changing and because of that, as an author, my posts are going to be scarce. Not because I want them to be, but because if the powers-that-be (PTBs for short) at Facebook decide I'm promoting my books by letting you know of a giveaway or blog hop happening, they will ghost my posts. Hehehe, that rhymes. :D Unless I pay big bucks in the hopes that you might see them in your feed.

The point is while I knew Facebook is all about the bottom line, money over people (ironic for a social network), I can't afford their brand of interaction and I'm disappointed with that choice. My opinion and I'm not looking for a discussion about "you shoulda known".

Here's my choice: I'm going dark on Facebook for a week from January 1, 2015 to January 7, 2015. It's more to find out if I can do it, and if I can still connect with my readers on other social sites. So for that week, I won't be posting on Facebook. But you can find me in a variety of places.

Google Plus has been a darn fine place to find me and find some of my more fun posts. You can talk to me and I'll talk back. Woot. I'm there most days and if you're part of the OpenSim community, that's a good place to find me.

Twitter is another good place to find me. I like to see what all you have going on, but also connect with you there. You'll find out about my books, where they are, and any new deals for them or giveaways or free reads.

Pinterest is a fun place and a great place to find my book covers, my Teddy Bear Thursday, Tattoo Tuesday, and Wicked Her Wednesday pictures (among others).

Tsu.co is a new social network that is a lot like Facebook was. The posts aren't filtered and they can reach all the friends and followers. I'll be there and can respond to you not only on the posts I share, but also in private messages. You can make money by sharing and connecting there, but it's not very much and it's not why I'm there. I'm there to connect with all of you and keep you appraised of what's going on with me.

You can also find me on my website and sign up for my newsletter that comes out once a month. Just add your name and email address to the sign up form and you're in like Flynn.

So there you have it. Those are the social places you'll find me. Again, I hope you all will come see me and will understand why I've chosen to stay away from Facebook. Thank you for being patient and for keeping up with me.

Happy Reading!

Siobhan

#FlashFiction Summary for the first week of December

Good morning. Before we get to this week's summary of the #flashfiction I wrote, I just wanted to stay that in the last few months I've met some incredible people in the writing world and they've made my journey in their circles fun, adventurous, and exciting. I've learned a lot and can't help but grin when I think of them.

There's the #CampDuctTape crew, and LasVegasRWA ladies - @CRMoss, @nae0309, @rmsotera, @KayPhoenix_, @TheLVWriter, and the #NaNoWriMo Breakfast Bunch - @caramichaels, @ShoshannaEvers, @nara_malone, @JenD_Author, @TamiCat76, and the FlashFiction Aficionados - @WakefieldMahon, @dryadsgarden, @AntonioAngelo21, @MAKozlowski, @redshirt6. These people are terrific writers and so fun to talk to. If you want to read some great writing (and tweeting) look them up on Twitter. :)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programing. :)

I've been editing like crazy so I haven't been writing much #flashfiction lately, but on Monday I managed to write two short stories. For #MenageMonday, we had the following photo, the phrase "thanks for sharing", and the judge's prompt of what's found in the toe of Christopher Walken's Christmas stocking to create a 200 word story. Mine is entitled, "Chinese Run."

The round man leaning against the counter grinned at Lisa as he waited for his order. It was late and no one else was in the Last Wok except her.

“You know, you have beautiful eyes,” he said, his own twinkling. “I’ve only seen that color of brown in hot cocoa.”

That was his best line? Lisa retreated to the back to scoop out some pork chow mein and two egg rolls into the to-go box.

“Did you know they found a mummified elf in the toe of Christopher Walken’s Christmas stocking?” He tsked. “Frightfully shocking.”

“Thanks for sharing.” She shuddered a little as she set the food in the white paper bag and carried it to the counter. “That’s creepy, even for Walken.”

“Ah yes. Nothing but coal for him this year, I’m afraid.” The twinkle-eyed man shook his head sadly.

“Twelve seventy eight please, sir.” Did people still put coal in stockings?

“Here’s twenty. Keep the change.”

“Wow. Thank you, sir. Happy Holidays.”

“Thank you, my dear.” He winked and laid a finger aside of his nose, then disappeared in a puff of sparkles.

Lisa gaped, then heard hoofbeats on the roof and someone laughing, “HO HO HO!”

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! ;) Also on Monday, I participated in #MotivationMonday with the following photo, 500 words, and the beginning prompt, "I don't know how to tell you this," she said. My story is part of a larger story coming in 2012 and connects with this post and this post.

“I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she said.

Senator James William Stanton glared at his secretary as she hovered uncomfortably by his office door.

“What is it, Rosalie?” he snapped. “Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a debriefing?”

“Yes, sir, I’m sorry, sir,” she squeaked, but held up the creamy envelope with a red blob of wax sealing it. “But it’s from the President, sir. I thought you’d like it immediately.”

Stanton gestured for the envelope impatiently, but turned his attention back to Stephen. “Have you found my daughter yet, Captain?”

The secretary scurried out of the office before he answered. The Senator had dropped his eyes to the envelope, scanning its contents.

Damn, could this guy be any more of an asshole?

“No, sir. Preliminary search of the estate and the surrounding forest has turned up nothing.”

“What about her horse?” John Coolidge asked worriedly

“Horse, sir?”

“Yes, every time that damn girl gets in a snit she takes her horse and rides out to “find herself”, or some such nonsense.” The Senator waved a hand dismissively. “Find the horse and you’ll find her.”

Stephen gritted his teeth. “Her horse is missing as well, sir?”

“Yes. That’s when we realized Bethany was missing. She’s never without her mount,” John soothed, a theatrical expression of worry etched on his pinched features.

“I made it clear to the grooms and servants to cooperate with all the investigators. They didn’t tell you?” Stanton grumbled, releasing the letter. “Damn that girl! Why did she have to do this now?”

Stephen stood at parade rest, but he wanted to grab the Remington statue on the desk and throw it at the pompous bastard. “What breed of horse and what color is it, sir?”

“She has a champion bloodline Quarterhorse gelding, sorrel in color, and goes by the name of Killian Ford’s Tenpenny,” John replied as Stanton sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin.

“Can either of you recall any other details about Ms. Stanton’s behavior that might suggest where she could have gone, sir?”

“She seemed no more upset than usual,” Stanton mused, suddenly turning on the ‘doting father’ persona he’d first showed the Team.

“She sometimes gets her back up about things, but she always comes back after a ride.” John’s concern oozed through the room. “Please, Captain, find my fiancée and bring her home.”

“You should go with them, John.”

“Of course, sir! Anything for my dear Bethany," the younger man blurted.

“I must protest, sir.” Stephen felt his guts drop into his feet. “My team is highly trained in search and rescue and we work as a cohesive unit. While Mr. Coolidge is capable, you brought in the best for just that reason.”

“John knows this estate best, Captain. You’ll need his help.”

Stephen swore inwardly. “Yes, sir.”

As he left the office, Coolidge in tow, he caught the eyes of his SIC Staff Sergeant Circe Bryant and rolled his own. They were so screwed they’d need a DeWalt to get them out of this. 

Thank you for stopping by and happy reading!

Interview with Cara Michaels and a Giveaway!

Welcome to my humble corner of the weird, wild, and wicked world. Today I have the great good fortune to speak with my good friend Cara Michaels, author of the upcoming short story Gaea’s Chosen: The Mayday Directive. I met Cara on Facebook when another friend recommended her page to me. I checked out her website and her writing, and “liked” her page. This started a conversation between us that led us to the understanding that we’re actually twins separated at birth. And I came out three years earlier. From a different mother. And father. But we were born on the same coast! Close enough. :D

Welcome, Cara. I’m so glad to have you here today! 

That's good. I'd hate to get served with a blog-stalking restraining order. *Grins*

Or maybe a blog-loitering cease & desist.

Seriously though... I'm both nervous and totally geeked out to be here.

      Squeee! Okay, fangirl moment over. :D We should probably start with the questions (mostly so I can make you more nervous and geeked out). What got you started in writing?

      Not entirely sure, but I've made stories as long as I can remember. When I outgrew the bedtime story, I started making my own tales in my mind. That still helps me relax and fall asleep now.

      Playtime with friends was very imaginative, too. We were always on adventures. I think my writing just evolved as the next, slightly more grown up form of imaginary friends and backyard castles and invasions.

      I'm the same way. I had more fun telling myself my own stories. What kinds of stories would you tell yourself? Which genre?

Big adventure stuff. I have a hero complex or something. I wanted to save the day, a trait my MCs tend to share. I think Fantasy was my first love. I had some casual entanglements with Sci-Fi, Horror, Paranormal, Superheroes, but Fantasy. While my peer group was digging Sweet Valley High, I was curling up with Dragonlance, Valdemar - epic high fantasy stuff. As I got older, I discovered Romance. I’m a closet softie for boy-meets-girl and happy endings.

      Woo-hoo! Valdemar! Love the Heralds and their Companions. How old were you when you wrote your first story down and what was it about?

Again, no clue. Is that a bad thing? I remember a story for English vocabulary. You know how we made sentences using our vocab words? Well, mine involved action, adventure, and dwarves. There may have been an axe, too.

Yeah, I spent a lot of time in the guidance counselor’s office.

      *Chuckling* Worried you were a serial killer in the making, no doubt. What did your family think of you writing back then? Or now?

From most of my family, I get the vacant “oh that’s nice dear” sort of response. The nod and smile. Then the flash of “please, please, PLEASE don’t let her ask me to read because what if she SUCKS?” that hits the eyes.

These days, my mom digs what I do. She’s one of my biggest fans now that I give her the occasional finished piece to read instead of just taunting her with partial manuscripts.

It's good you have your mom behind you. Mine was always urging me to publish even when I knew it was juvenile drivel. Thank God I kept editing!
Was writing what you studied after high school?

Not even close.

I started college because everyone said I should, and I got tired of saying, “No, really. I’m not ready.” I had visions of acting and directing theater productions and film, but quickly realized I had way too many control issues to put my creative expression in someone else’s hands. I was starting to think about writing the plays and movies.

And yet… that first semester nearly ruined writing for me. I had grad adjunct professor for Comp I, and if you didn’t write like you were trying for a spot in the SAT reading section, she panned you. She was the first academic I’d encountered who didn’t think I could write, and that was oddly crushing. I didn’t write anything for a long while after that.

Bad teacher! No apple! :(
How did you regroup after that and start writing again?

Well aside from a teacher who wasn't a university tool, I toyed with it here and there. Really started to write again when I got some wildly positive response to some fetish erotica I wrote.

Fetish erotica? *winks* I'd like to read that! *grins, then clears throat* Okay, focus! What kinds of things inspire you to write? Foods or music, photos or movies?

*Laughs out loud* MUSIC. Music is my number one inspiration. I grew up constantly exposed to music. I sang in the choir and madrigals, played trombone in the band. I even flirted with the cymbals for marching band one year. Nothing says musical talent like crashing brass plates together at just the right moment. *Grins*

Anyway, nowadays I have entire Pandora channels geared toward prodding my creativity.  I tend toward loud, crunchy, dark music, a lot of mainstream alt-rock.  It really gets my blood pumping and slaps my muse awake.

Movies & books can be good, but they can be dangerous for me. It’s hard to be inspired by someone else’s story, walk away, and write something relatively free of influence.

Given the fetish erotica, clashing cymbals doesn't even surprise me. *Wide grin* Since you have to be careful of movies influencing your stories, do you watch any TV shows, and if so, what are your favorites?

Actually, my TV exposure is pretty limited. I gave up cable years ago, so most of what I watch I pick up on great DVD sales or online. 

·       Supernatural – Sometimes I have to hide my eyes, but I love this show. My favorite aspect is actually the smartass, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, especially the interplay between the brothers. 

·        The Vampire Diaries – Picked season one up on a super sale, figuring why not? What a guilty pleasure that show turned out to be. 

·        Firefly, Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Have Joss Whedon, Will Watch. The man just does not make bad shows. 

·        Castle – A mystery writer (Bonus! He’s from Firefly!!) who shadows an NYPD detective for inspiration and actually winds up being helpful? This show is so much fun. 

·        Farscape – One of the best science fiction epics ever. I still crush on John Crichton.

Looking at my list, I see a decided penchant for snappy, witty dialogue mixed with supernatural, fantasy, and sci-fi elements. That’s so oddly familiar somehow. *Laughs wryly*

Yeah, I noticed that too. Do you tend to write science fiction or are there other genres that come out in your stories?

I write mainly contemporary paranormal fantasy. My writing tends to always have some fantastic element to it, whether that’s magic, psychic abilities, mythic creatures. Space and aliens are a nice complement to that.

I’m so excited about your new release coming out on October 4^th called Gaea’s Chosen: The Mayday Directive. Tell us the story . . . oh, yes, tell us! :D

Gaea’s Chosen is a group of ten men and ten women who signed on for the craziest of space missions. They agreed to be human popsicles for tens of thousands of years and slowly make their way to a potentially habitable planet about 20 light years from Earth. As with all good adventures though, things don’t go quite as planned. This story covers the events as the crew wakes up and finds out what’s happened to them, primarily focusing on the mission’s commander, Gemma Bryant.You can read the first chapter on my site to tempt you. *winks*

Eep! That gives a whole new meaning to the word "retired"! What inspired you to write this story?

I was bored at work (don’t tell my boss). GC started as a daydream. I’d originally imagined far more of a horror angle to the story, but it morphed once I started writing.

Stories and characters do tend to take on a life of their own. I know this is the beginning of a series, because like potato chips, you can't have just one! How many more stories will there be?

Weeeellll… I have titles for three more. I’m willing to commit to that much.

Yes! *Fist pump* What other projects are you working on? *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

I've recently discovered an addiction to flash fiction. I run one weekly challenge, called #MenageMonday, and play in two others.
Then there's a prompted short story for Tracey Hansen’s “We Are God” project.
After that, I’ve outlined the 2^nd GC story that will pick up shortly after this one ends, and I have some ideas stewing for two more stories with that cast.
And just to prove that evenings of brainstorming via the interwebs can turn into something kickass—I’m working with Siobhan on a duo of contemporary alternate Earth adventures. Mine will feature Gemma’s great aunt (many, MANY generations removed), Circe Bryant.

The ongoing background to all of this is my novel series, The Divine Damned. The first book, My Soul to Break, is in the second draft stage.

*Rubs hands together and cackles* Yes, we’re going to put together an amazing set of stories. I love the connection point of Gaea’s Chosen to the upcoming project! Anything else you'd like to add, Cara?

Drop me a line on Twitter and let me know what you think of the first chapter.

Thanks for having me over today, Siobhan.

My pleasure. Thanks for being here!

So, if you're interested in reading more than just the first chapter of Gaea's Chosen: The Mayday Directive, you have the opportunity to win the whole thing. All you have to do is comment on this interview, leave a valid email address or Twitter handle in your comment, and become a follower of The Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. That's it.

Thanks again to Cara Michaels for dropping by and be sure to join both of us for Six Sentence Sunday when we post six sentences of our latest Works in Progress. You won't want to miss that! Good luck in the giveaway and happy reading!

Adaptability

I had a really interesting experience this weekend. I got together with a group of writers and discussed adaptability and change, particularly in regards to the world of publishing and writing.

One of my favorite quotes is: "There's nothing so constant as change." With my background in science, Charles Darwin featured heavily in my education with his book On the Origin of Species. Natural Selection was his main point, but what it really meant was only species that could adapt to changes in environment, whether climate, habitat availability, or food sources, were the ones whose genetic traits would be passed on to the future generations.

What does this have to do with writing and publishing?

In the past, every writer who wanted to become a successful, published author, needed an agent to sell to the big New York publishers and a working phone number.

With the prevalence of computers, the writer had to have a valid email address as well as the phone number. The next change was the importance of a website, showcasing the writer's ability to write and all the contact information: address, phone, email address. Business cards now had weird characters printed on them: @, www, http://, along with the dashes and parentheses for the phone numbers.

Add to that the World Wide Web, and now the writers needed a "blog" - shortened from WebLog, a way to get their voices out to the masses and to publishers/agents (if they didn't have one already). Through all this, though, the writer needed an agent and a publisher, and still had to print out a paper hard copy of her/his manuscript to send to NY.

Then in 2007, things shifted again. Ereaders, specifically the Kindle by Amazon and the Nook by Barnes&Noble, became available to the public and a new form of publishing was born. Epublishing, with epublishers pushing out ebooks cheaply, without the expenses of paper, print runs, and film developing. The traditional publishers said it was a fad; it would never last.

Uh-huh.

In this modern world (well, as modern as we can be - did I sound like George Orwell in 1984?), writers now have more avenues to try when publishing. You can still go the traditional route: agent, publisher, paper print runs, etc. Nothing wrong with that and still lucrative if you can hit them right. But there is also the epublishing way to go, and it can be very lucrative if you get your "brand" going. Several epublishers are out there in all genres:
Cobblestone Press
Ellora's Cave
Evernight Publishing
Carina Press
Avon's Impulse
Sapphire Blue Publishing

These are just a few of them and I've chosen epublishers who often cater to romance writers, but Cobblestone Press, Carina Press, and Sapphire Blue Publishing take all genres. You don't need an agent and a few of these publishers produce POD (Print on Demand) books; hard copies, not just electronic books.

What does this have to do with adaptability? To become a successful author in this ebook age, don't shut yourself off from the possibility of epublishing, whether you get a publisher to take your novel or do it yourself. Ebooks are here to stay and so are epublishers. Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony Ereader; these aren't going anywhere and people can carry thousands of books around with them without paying fees to the airlines for extra bags!

As a writer, you need to adapt to the new times. You need a viable email address, a dynamic website showcasing your "brand" and what you want the public to remember about you (even if it's just a blog), Facebook and Twitter accounts to connect with as many fans as possible, and you're on your way. You don't necessarily need an agent, although they are very skilled at seeing pitfalls in publishing contracts, but you do need a "platform" (brand, website, blog, Facebook, Twitter). Find the balance for you between epublishing and traditional publishing. Neither are wrong, but ereaders aren't going away. Even Avon and Harlequin, two big New York publishers, created their epublishing sites (Avon Impulse and Carina Press, respectively) to take advantage of the shift in the publishing industry.

One thing to be aware of: Whether you publish with an epublisher or self-publish, be sure TO HAVE AN EDITOR EDIT YOUR WORK before you throw it out there. You might think your work is awesome; and it is awesome, but only after an editor has gone through it. You want your offering to be the best it can be and no one can edit their own stuff.
 
You also are in charge of promotion of your work and your brand, whether you have a traditional publisher or you're epublishing. But that's another blog post. :) Good luck and happy reading!

Quiet Sunday Reflections

Normally I write on Mondays, but tomorrow, workers will be invading my house to mount a new ceiling fan from our 20 ft living room ceiling and that will distract me beyond measure. Not so good for reflecting or writing.

I've been thinking about technology and the modern author. Okay, not really, but I have recently joined Twitter and it made me think of the first time I started moving into the modern world of communication. It all started with a cell phone from Sprint. I resisted for as long as possible, but capitulated when I started applying for jobs where I might not be home much and I needed to stay in contact with interviewers. It was a good choice for me at the time. Now I wouldn't be caught ANYWHERE without my cell phone (although I'm no longer with Sprint).

My next big jump in technological communication (and communication is the key to every relationship) was Facebook. I was resistant because when did I have time to constantly update my status? I was busy doing stuff that I would write about as my status! But I capitulated because it was a great way to keep in contact with folks in my profession who didn't live in the same city as I did or had moved on to other places and jobs. I could stay up-to-date with what they were doing without having to be in the same university, city, or company as them. It's particularly useful for finding out their upcoming projects. :)

Then I started this blog. For a long time I looked at blogging as a way for people to fan their egos. It seemed self-indulgent to me. But after thinking about it a long time and reading a few blogs, I realized it was a viable way to get your voice out there, good, bad, or mediocre, to be noticed. I'm a writer, so getting my voice out where publishers, agents, and editors could "hear" it seemed like a really good idea; especially if I wanted said folks to become interested in my writing ability. Now I see it as yet another form of interaction and communication; a place where I can offer snippets of my writing where a lot of people can see it.

Now I've joined Twitter. I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination and I was resistant to it because I wasn't so certain you could really put anything meaningful in 140 characters or less (that's pretty hard, actually). However, I joined Twitter for two reasons. One, many authors communicate as much as possible to as many people as possible, and Twitter is a good place to connect, at least briefly, with a lot of people (readers, reviewers, publishers, etc.). Two, with Facebook cracking down on contests and giveaways, people turned to Twitter for that information and when I start my giveaways (and there will be some, believe me), I'll be able to post it here and tweet it on Twitter.

I'm still resistant to a "Smartphone" because if I want to do computer things, I'll use my computer! I'll use my phone to make phone calls and text! *eye roll* Well, I sometimes use it to listen to music and snap photos, but that's it! Yeah, I know, not much of an excuse. I might succumb eventually. :S

The point of my reflections is any form of communication can be good or bad, but it is what you make of it. I'm trying to make my communications useful, meaningful, and well written (or at least thought-out). So I'm getting my voice out there. Come "like" me on Facebook to read my posts; follow me on Twitter to enjoy my pithy tweets; or follow me on this blog for more involved writing. And feel free to share with other folks! Happy reading, writing and communicating! :)

And We're Back!

Testing, testing, one, two, three! Is this on?

I was all hot to trot to write a new blog entry and what happened? No way to post. What? How can that be?

So now I can post, I can write, I can tell the world everything! But can I remember what I wanted to write about?

Uh, no. Hmm. What was I thinking about?

Crap. Focus, focus, focus!

Okay, the biggest news? I'm now on Twitter, though I admit to being a newbie at it. How often are you supposed to tweet? In 140 characters, what really can you tweet about? Sigh. If you want to "follow" me (sounds like an invitation to a stalker, doesn't it?) I'm @SiobhanMuir. I'll try to tweet something pithy.

Facebook is cracking down on giveaways and contests, saying authors (and anyone really) who puts a contest or giveaway up on their page, can have their page deleted without warning, banishing those folks into internet obscurity. It seems like they've shot themselves in the foot. As I understood it, Facebook was a FREE social media site, meant for communication and interaction, including self-promotion. It garnered good press for Facebook (and probably many more members) from all the readers who wanted to get their hands on books from the various authors who post there.

But Facebook made new guidelines disallowing all sorts of giveaway interactions. Just my opinion, of course, but I think it may hurt them more than help them.

As for writing news, I'm working on Jeff Lightfoot's manuscript and editing like a crazy person. I'll be going to Arizona Dreamin' in Tempe at the beginning of June to interact with other romance authors, learn new tricks to this trade (which I'll blog about when I get back) and maybe even, pitch the story to the publisher who's supposed to be there, too! :D Wish me luck!

I hope your week has been great and I hope to have a more informative blog entry on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Do you have an opinion about Facebook or Twitter or both? Which do you like better and why? Just curious.