Persist! Audio Encouragement for Writers from Mike Arnzen

As we're heading into NaNoWrimo, I thought I'd share a reading of one my articles in Many Genres, One Craft to help inspire people who are getting started or starting to falter...

If you can't see the embedded player below, you can listen to "Persist! Avoid These Five Defeatist Writing Myths" on Soundcloud.



Never say die! -- Mike Arnzen, http://gorelets.com

MGOC Contributor News: Albert Wendland is New Dog Star Books Author

Many Genres, One Craft contributor and Seton Hill Writing Popular Fiction MFA program director, Albert Wendland, just signed a deal with Dog Star Books for his debut Science Fiction novel The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes.

This space opera/mystery is scheduled for release in June 2014.

MGOC Contributor News: Teffanie White in West Texas Living

Many Genres One Craft contributor Teffanie White was featured in West Texas Living for becoming the only certified Hoopnotica instructor between Tucson, AZ and Austin, TX.

Teffanie is also co-founder of p i c t u r e l e s s books and a public school educator.

You can read about her hooping at mywesttexas.com and on the p i c t u r e l e s s books site.

MGOC Contributor News: Cover for Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller

To celebrate the cover reveal for Greenshift, the e-book will be temporarily 99 cents at Amazon!





A tale set within the world of Ambasadora.


Mari's rare eye color makes her a pariah within Upper Caste society, which is why she prefers plants to people...except David, the former Armadan captain who shuttles scientists around on a refurbished pleasure cruiser.


But someone else is interested in Mari and her distinctive look--an obsessed psychopath who tortures and murders women for pleasure.


When the killer chooses Mari as his next victim, the soldier inside David comes alive, but it is Mari who must fight for her own life and prove she isn't as fragile as the flowers she nurtures.


Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller


Cover Art by Bradley Sharp


Foreword by Dana Marton


Space Opera/Science Fiction Romance paperback coming from Dog Star Books in August 2013

MGOC Contributor News: Michael Bracken Wins Derringer Award

Many Genres, One Craft contributor Michael Bracken's short story "Getting Out of the Box," published in the crime fiction anthology Crime Square (Vantage Point, 2012) received a Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS). This is Bracken's second Derringer Award. He received a Derringer Award in 2004 for his story "All My Yesterdays," and his story "Cuts Like a Knife" was short-listed for the award in 2002.

The annual Derringer Awards were established by the SMFS in 1997 to honor excellence in short mystery fiction. The name ³Derringer,² after the palm-sized handgun, was chosen as a metaphor for a short mystery or crime story.

Bracken is the author of several books but is better known as a highly prolific short story writer. The author of almost 1,000 short stories in various genres, he has had one or more short stories published each month for almost 10 consecutive years.

Former president of the SMFS, former vice president of the Private Eye Writers of America, and former vice president of the Mystery Writers of America¹s Southwest Chapter, Bracken is also an active member of the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

He received a B.A. in Professional Writing from Baylor University.

For a complete list of winners and nominees in all categories, visit
http://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2013/03/2013-smfs-derringer-award-results.html

Crime Square can be ordered from Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Square-Robert-J-Randisi/dp/1936467305

MGOC Contributor News: Victoria Thompson's Murder in Chelsea

Many Genres One Craft contributor Victoria Thompson has a new book--Murder in Chelsea

DESCRIPTION:
Book 15 of the Gaslight Mystery series

Sarah Brandt is shattered when she learns that a woman has inquired at Hope’s Daughters Mission for Catherine, the abandoned child she has taken as her daughter. The woman claims she was Catherine’s nursemaid, now acting on behalf of the girl’s mother to reunite them.

Unwilling to simply hand Catherine over to a complete stranger, Sarah asks Malloy to investigate. But when he goes to interview the woman at her tenement in Chelsea, he finds she has been murdered.

Though her death leaves Sarah’s claim to Catherine unchallenged, her sense of justice compels her to work with Malloy to find the killer. Their search takes them from the marble mansions of the Upper West Side to the dilapidated dwellings of lower Manhattan and into the deepest and darkest secrets of Catherine’s past.

And while Malloy helps Sarah determine the fate of the child she loves, he faces a challenge of his own—and his decision could change both their lives forever…

MGOC Contributor News: Nicole Peeler's Tempest Reborn

Many Genres One Craft contributor Nicole Peeler's last book in the Jane True series is Tempest Reborn.

DESCRIPTION:
Anyan may be trapped in an evil dragon and Blondie may be gone, but Jane knows one thing: she's not about to give up. She's ready to tear down heaven and earth to save her lover, despite those who believe he's lost.

Luckily for Jane, those who've given up on Anyan do not include those closest to her. Defying The Powers That Be, Jane and Company form their own crack squad of misfits, in whose hands the fate of the world may well rest.

With a little help from her friends, the Universe, and lots of snacks, Jane embarks on her greatest adventure yet, confident that with great sacrifice comes great reward. The question is, who will be that sacrifice?


The fantastic conclusion to Nicole Peeler's urban fantasy series featuring Jane True.

JANE TRUE SERIES:
Tempest Rising
Tracking the Tempest
Tempest's Legacy
Eye of the Tempest
Tempest's Fury
Tempest Reborn

MGOC Contributor News: Death Perception by Lee Allen Howard

Many Genres, One Craft contributor Lee Allen Howard has a new book--Death Perception.

"Lee Allen Howard's DEATH PERCEPTION is a red hot union of Gothic crime thriller and grim humor that burns with supernatural tension. Beneath the sickly sweet scent of caramelized sugar lies the wildly entertaining tale of a man who delivers justice to the dead while fanning the fires of the living. Ever hear the expression, 'laughing in a morgue'? DEATH PERCEPTION feels just like that. Howard has a gift for crafting eccentric characters and clever plots. This is dark fun at its best."
--Jason Jack Miller, author of The Devil and Preston Black and Hellbender

DEATH PERCEPTION by Lee Allen Howard

Release date: May 15, 2013

Available in Kindle, Nook, and in trade paperback

308 pages

ISBN: 0615800696

ISBN-13: 978-0615800691

Front cover art by Neil Jackson

DESCRIPTION:
Kennet Singleton cremates the dead... and then they speak: "Avenge us!"

Nineteen-year-old Kennet Singleton lives with his invalid mother in a personal care facility, but he wants out. He operates the crematory at the local funeral home, where he discovers he can discern the cause of death of those he cremates--by toasting marshmallows over their ashes.

He thinks his ability is no big deal since his customers are already dead. But when his perception differs from what's on the death certificate, he finds himself in the midst of murderers. To save the residents and avenge the dead, Kennet must bring the killers to justice.

"Dastardly devious, cleverly conceived, and just a whole lot of fun to read, DEATH PERCEPTION is Lee Allen Howard on fire and at his finest. Rife with winsome weirdness, it's like the mutant stepchild of Carl Hiaasen and Stephen King, mixing a truly unique paranormal coming-of-age story with a quirky cast of offbeat noir characters into a novel that's simply unforgettable... and hilariously original. A supernatural crime story, blazing with creative intrigue... don't miss it."
--Michael Arnzen, author of Play Dead

"DEATH PERCEPTION has officially made me envious of Lee Allen Howard. It sings like a choir of angels, yet weeps like a ghost in winter. Everyone should have this in their collection.”
--Trent Zelazny, author of To Sleep Gently and Butterfly Potion

Lee Allen Howard writes horror, dark fantasy, and supernatural crime. He’s been a professional writer and editor of both fiction and nonfiction since 1985. His publications include The Sixth Seed, Desperate Spirits, Night Monsters, “Mama Said,” “Stray,” and Death Perception, available in various formats at http://leeallenhoward.com.

You can keep in touch with Lee on his Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Allen-Howard-author/117844011639457. Follow him on Twitter @LeeAllenHoward.

MGOC Contributor News: Matt Duvall's Speculations: Short Stories

Many Genres, One Craft contributor Matt Duvall has a new book--Speculations: Short Stories.

DESCRIPTION:
All proceeds from the sales of this book will go to my brother, Steve, who is battling lymphoma. He (and I) thank you.

This book collects eight stories and one novelette of speculative fiction, originally published in magazines such as Chizine, Horror Garage, The Ultimate Unknown, Eye Contact and more. What would happen if your shorts grew eyes? What could be creepy about Christmas? And why shouldn't you rent your spare room to a stranger? These questions, and more, are answered inside.

Event: Coffee With An Author: Heidi Ruby Miller

EVENTS

Have coffee, tea, and pastries with Many Genres, One Craft editor and contributor Heidi Ruby Miller at Frostburg State University's Creative Writing Center!

MGOC Contributor News: Kaye Dacus's Follow the Heart

Many Genres, One Craft contributor Kaye Dacus has a new novel out--Follow the Heart is the first book of A Great Exhibition series.

DESCRIPTION:
Set during the Industrial Revolution and the Great Exhibition of 1851, Follow the Heart is a “sitting-room romance” with the feel of a Regency-era novel but the fashions and technological advances of the mid-Victorian age.

Kate and Christopher Dearing’s lives turn upside down when their father loses everything in a railroad land speculation. The siblings are shipped off to their mother’s brother in England with one edict: marry money.

At twenty-seven years old, Kate has the stigma of being passed over by eligible men many times—and that was before she had no dowry. Christopher would like nothing better than to make his own way in the world; and with a law degree and expertise in the burgeoning railroad industry, he was primed to do just that—in America.

Though their uncle tries to ensure Kate and Christopher find matrimonial prospects only among the highest echelon of British society, their attentions stray to a gardener and a governess.

While Christopher has options that would enable him to lay his affections where he chooses, he cannot let the burden of their family’s finances crush his sister. Trying to push her feelings for the handsome—but not wealthy— gardener aside, Kate’s prospects brighten when a wealthy viscount shows interest in her. But is marrying for the financial security of her family the right thing to do, when her heart is telling her she’s making a mistake?

Mandates . . . money . . . matrimony. Who will follow the heart?

MGOC Contributor: Lucy A. Snyder

LUCY A. SNYDER
Read an excerpt from "Networking at Conventions" by Lucy A. Snyder in Many Genres, One Craft.

The most important part of making a career as a fiction author should be obvious: you have to write well and tell an engaging story. But if you've been writing and submitting for a while, you've no doubt realized that simply being a good writer isn't all there is to it. Luck seems to play a distressingly large role in the publishing process. But the funny thing is that writers who actively seek out writing opportunities generally seem to be "luckier" than those who don't.

--

Lucy A. Snyder is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of the novels Spellbent and Shotgun Sorceress and the collections Sparks and Shadows, Chimeric Machines, and Installing Linux on a Dead Badger. Her writing has also appeared in several magazines. She has a B.S. in biology, an M.A. in journalism and graduated from the 1995 Clarion Writers' Workshop. Since 2005, she's directed the Context Writing Workshops. She currently is a Seton Hill MFA mentor. Lucy was born in South Carolina, grew up in Texas, and now lives in Ohio, with her husband and occasional co-author Gary A. Braunbeck. For more information, please visit www.lucysnyder.com.

MGOC Contributor Event: Lawrence C. Connolly at Morgantown Poets

EVENTS

Many Genres One Craft contributor Lawrence C. Connolly was the author guest at Morgantown Poets in April at Monongalia Arts Center (MAC). He read from his Bram Stoker-nominated collection Voices, published by Fantasist Enterprises.


Lawrence C. Connolly signing a book for Stephanie Wytovich
Also attending were MGOC editor and contributor Heidi Ruby Miller and contributor Jason Jack Miller.


Lawrence C. Connolly, Heidi Ruby Miller, Stephanie Wytovich, Jason Jack Miller

MGOC Contributor: Patrick J. Picciarelli

PATRICK J. PICCIARELLI
Read an excerpt from "Guerilla Marketing: The Reality of Selling Your Book" by Patrick J. Picciarelli in Many Genres, One Craft.

Times were when a writer sold his first book to a publisher he stayed with that same publisher for the rest of his writing career.

The publisher expected to lose money on the first book, but assumed because they had faith in the writer’s talent and his ability to acquire a readership, that the writer’s second book would break even, the third make some money, the fourth make a little more and so on. This was called “bringing up a writer.”

Of course those were the Good Old Days. In the publishing world, we’re talking about the late twentieth century.

--

Patrick J. Picciarelli is the author of Jimmy the Wags: Street Stories of a Private Eye, My Life in the NYPD: Jimmy the Wags, Mala Femina: A Woman’s Life as the Daughter of a Don, and Blood Shot Eyes. “The Prince of Arthur Avenue” from the Bronx Noir anthology was made into a movie in 2010. Picciarelli, a former U.S. Army machine gunner in Vietnam, spent 20 years in the NYPD, retiring as a lieutenant. He is currently a licensed private investigator. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, where he is now adjunct faculty.

MGOC Contributor: David J. Corwell

DAVID J. CORWELL
Read an excerpt from "Successful Book Signings: The Personal Touch" by David J. Corwell in Many Genres, One Craft

Congratulations!

After months, perhaps years, of diligently working on your manuscript, you’ve finally found a publisher who believes in your work – or you’ve decided to publish it yourself. Your article/book/story has arrived, you’ve set up your first signing event (bookstore managers always welcome calls or visits to discuss such an opportunity), and you’ve even sent out announcements to family and friends, as well as press releases to the local media. Now, you’re sitting (hopefully) near the entrance of the bookstore, your work nicely displayed. But as the first potential reader walks through the door, your initial enthusiasm evaporates, replaced by an internal trembling and dry mouth. You suddenly ask yourself: What do I do next?

--

Read an excerpt from "The Top Ten Excuses People Give…" by David J. Corwell in Many Genres, One Craft

While book signings are one of the best ways to promote your work, not everyone you talk to will buy a book. Knowing what to expect ahead of time will not only help you develop a thicker skin when it comes to selling, but it may also give you a jump on how to turn a rejection into a sale. Here are the top ten “excuses” I’ve heard from potential readers when they’re clearly not interested in buying my book(s):

1. “I’ll be back/come back later.” As you casually observe, these people will go out of their way to “miss” your table as they leave the event.

--

David J. Corwell’s stories appear in Cloaked in Shadow: Dark Tales of Elves (Fantasist Enterprises), Daily Flash: 365 Days of Flash Fiction (Pill Hill Press), Día de los Muertos (Elektrik Milk Bath Press), Voices of New Mexico (LPD Press/Rio Grande Books), and Tales of the Talisman (Hadrosaur Productions). He is an indefatigable promoter of his work, and his latest lineup of book signings can be found at http://booktour.com/author/david_j_corwell. David is also a 2006 graduate of the Seton Hill WPF program and the New Mexico sales rep for Fantasist Enterprises. He lives in Albuquerque with his beautiful wife and three daughters.

MGOC Contributor: Lynn Salsi

LYNN SALSI
EXCERPT from "To Be Reviewed or Not to Be Reviewed" by Lynn Salsi in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

Once upon a time book reviews gave readers, writers, and publishers an overview of the industry. A positive review in a major magazine or newspaper promised a book a long shelf-life in stores, giving the writer an opportunity to produce a second book before the first title went out-of-print. A review in a major newspaper like the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, or the Miami Herald put books and authors on an elite list.

Professional book reviewers delivered objective comments about content and interpreted the book’s importance as an addition to the canon of its genre. Newspapers—large and small—published weekly book pages which occupied space from a few columns to a complete section.Large dailies employed fulltime book page editors. Since writing defines civilization, print media considered the creation of a best-seller list a contribution to society. And, such lists defined the best writing available on a weekly basis.

--

Lynn Salsi has a BA in Journalism and an MA and MFA in creative writing from Seton Hill University. She is the author of 18 books. She has received many awards, including Jacqueline Lougheed World Understanding Lecturer (International Alpha Delta Kappa), an American Library Association Notable Book Award, eight Willie Parker Peace History Book Awards, a Stars and Flags gold medal, and a silver medal from the Military Writers Society of America. In 2008 she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for The Life and Times of Ray Hicks, Keeper of the Jack Tales. She writes popular fiction and
Literary non-fiction.

MGOC Contributor Event: Heidi Ruby Miller and Jason Jack Miller Speak at Citizens Library

EVENTS

Many Genres, One Craft contributors Heidi Ruby Miller and Jason Jack Miller discussed the changing climate in publishing as part of the Evening with Friends series at Citizens Library in Washington, PA.

MGOC Contributor: Rebecca Baker

REBECCA BAKER
EXCERPT from "Getting Your Words Out: The Basics of Promoting Your Fiction" by Rebecca Baker in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

While I have met writers who are perfectly comfortable with the business of promoting their work — and to them I say good luck and Godspeed — the greater majority of us would prefer to believe that someone will show up, someone who knows and loves our work as much as we do, to take care of all the commercial unpleasantness that happens after we get the blasted book finished.

That person does not exist.

Actually, that person does exist. It’s you.

--

Rebecca Baker currently serves as the manager of communications and web content for Seton Hill University. Previous positions include associate director of media relations and staff writer, both at Seton Hill, and community affairs coordinator for Mellon Bank (now BNY Mellon). Becca is also a freelance writer. She lives in Greensburg, Pa. with her husband, Bruce Siskawicz, a photographer and graphic designer. They have two cats, Max and Sam.

MGOC Contributor Event: Michael A. Arnzen and Jason Jack Miller to Teach Writing Workshop at Confluence 2013

EVENTS


FREE RDSP WORKSHOP AT CONFLUENCE 2013
As part of Raw Dog Screaming Press's DogCon2 celebration at Confluence 2013, award-winning authors and Many Genres One Craft contributors Michael A. Arnzen and Jason Jack Miller are on the faculty to teach a free 3-hour writing basics workshop on Saturday, July 20. The event is open to all registered convention participants. Pick and choose from 6 different 1/2 hr. sessions or attend them all.

The workshop will run from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM

CRAFT
10:00-10:30 AM - CHARACTER with Matt Betts
10:30-11:00 AM - DIALOG with John Edward Lawson
11:00-11:30 AM - PLOT with Michael A. Arnzen
11:30–NOON - SETTING with D. Harlan Wilson

BUSINESS
NOON–12:30 PM - PUBLICATION OPTIONS with Deanna Lepsch
12:30-1:00 PM - BRANDING AND PROMOTION with Jason Jack Miller

To register for CONFLUENCE 2013, click the link below:

MGOC Contributor: Leslie Davis Guccione

LESLIE DAVIS GUCCIONE

EXCERPT from "Where Do I Go from Here? Being Orphaned" by Leslie Davis Guccione in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

Most writers will tell you their top professional priority is developing rapport with that all-important editor. She’s bought your manuscript; his revision suggestions are clear; you’ve signed your first multiple book contract.

Nearly twenty years have sailed by since my agent’s words, “Leslie, I’ve sold your manuscript,” danced through the phone lines. Armed with my IBM Selectric typewriter and a lifetime supply of Wite Out, I set sail. Not to belabor the metaphor, but with calm seas and a steady breeze I left port heading toward long term relationships with supportive, enthusiastic editors, increasingly lucrative multiple book contracts, and sterling reviews. Fan mail! Classroom visits! Book signings! Royalty checks!
--

With the simultaneous sales of a YA and adult romantic suspense novel, Leslie Davis Guccione left public relations and fundraising copywriting to concentrate on fiction.  Over 25 years she’s published 28 novels for adult, middle grade and teen readers, garnering awards, starred reviews and genre fiction best seller status.  Her work has been translated into eight languages. As Kate Chester she created and wrote the six book Hear No Evil series, featuring deaf protagonists, for Scholastic, including Tell Me How the Wind Sounds, which was optioned for television. Leslie is adjunct faculty for Seton Hill University’s MFA program. Professional memberships have included The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America and The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.