I've been writing crossovers between various fandoms and the main character of my new novel, "The Notorious Ian Grant", and I couldn’t leave out the Four Friends—characters from my earlier “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” fanfics who came together with no planning on my part for a series of stories.

The Four Friends are Tara, a witch/ghost who’s a bit more alive than most people realize; Buffybot, a robot copy of Buffy Summers; Dana, a psychologically scarred Slayer from an episode of “Angel”; and Kara, an original character from my first fanfic.


Title: A Wrong Turn At Albuquerque
Author: ozma914
Summary: Ian thinks he’s still headed toward Indiana, in a misguided--figuratively and in this case literally--attempt to get back in his family's good graces. Along the way he meets a very different, mystical sort of family.

Rating: PG
Length: 2,500 words

 

 

 

My review of Secondhand Shoes, (Lila’s Journey Series, Book 1), by Shelly Arkon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1W8J5O0S5OOQJ

 

“… And her husband-to-be doesn’t fit, either.”
ozma914: (Storm Chaser)
( Jul. 31st, 2014 09:23 pm)

 

SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK

 

 

            I’ve spent a lot of time looking into what the US government spends money on. In fact, you could say I’ve spent so much time on their spending that nothing surprises me.

 

            You could say that, but you’d be wrong.

 

            Now they’re getting into my territory, dropping a million dollars into a project studying romance novels. Your taxpayer dollars are also going into a documentary on superheroes, a zombie video game, and promoting a ninja who’s supposed to sneak in and educate children about climate change, among many other things.

 

            But it was the romance stuff that grabbed my attention. Some say a million bucks isn’t much, by Fed standards. My response is to suggest they’ve lost their grip on reality – and math – but never mind.

 

           

My wife’s Girl Scout camp, Missouri’s Camp Latonka, just finished another successful camping season. Help keep them in business by buying a copy of The No-Campfire Girls, a humorous adventure set in summer camp. As chapter two opens, the campers officially get the bad news from Captain Quinn of the local fire department, that all fires are banned because of a drought:

 

“Getting fire trucks here isn’t easy or fast. It would only take a spark to burn down this entire camp, which would end your fun summer real fast.”

            “This sucks,” said a purple haired girl at the next table, loudly enough for half the room to hear. “Fire is fun. Maybe we should set fire to the tents to protest.”

Leaning toward Beth, Cassidy whispered in her ear. “Who’s the girl with the attitude?”

“Ronnie. We call her Rotten Ronnie, but not to her face. Rumor has it her nose is bent that way because she street-fights for grocery money.”

“Maybe somebody needs to make friends with her, like you did with me.”

“I tried.” Beth looked over toward Ronnie, who stubbornly did her best not to have a good time. “She said if I ever came close to her again, she’d set my hair on fire. Is that irony, this year? I think it is.”

 

            Print or e-book copies of The No-Campfire Girls can be ordered through my website at www.markrhunter.com, with a portion of the proceeds going toward Camp Latonka operating costs. You can check out the first two chapters for free on my Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/Mark-R-Hunter/e/B0058CL6OO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Today I got to see the proposed cover for The Notorious Ian Grant, done by Gemini Judson. I’ll reveal it when it’s official, but she found a likeness for Ian that perfectly conveys how I imagine him at the opening of the book: A handsome but scruffy guy, full of mischief and reminiscent of Sawyer from the TV show “Lost”.

The stormy background (It’s the sequel to Storm Chaser) brought to mind a possible tagline for the book:

“There’s a new whirlwind in town.”

With it coming out in October, that makes two book releases in one year! It’s a pace I intend to keep … if I survive.

We received the first 25 print copies of The No-Campfire Girls today, and Emily spent some time polishing up the website to take orders. Of course, it’s still available on Amazon, but if you want one signed—by me or by both me and Emily, since she worked as hard at it as I did—you can order it here for $5.00 plus shipping and handling:

http://www.markrhunter.com/books.html#

Or, if you live nearby, just let us know and we’ll get it to you! We’re not against traveling, but I don’t think the expenses are tax deductible. As you can see on the website, there are links to buying all our books in print or e-book format. If, for some reason, you can’t use PayPal, we’ll come up with some kind of arrangement.
 I'm going to go live on internet radio tonight, at 6:30 EST! The link to HumorOutcasts Radio is here:

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dtcav/2014/05/14/humoroutcasts-radio

 

But don't worry if you can't catch it live: I'll post a link later to the HumorOutcasts website, when the recording goes up.

            Here’s Emily’s cover for The No-Campfire Girls:

 

http://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2014/05/cover-reveal-no-campfire-girls.html

 

“I liked the idea of an earthy, summer camp type cover, with the little campfire logo that hints at the book’s main content, although I’m disturbed that Emily set my name on fire.”

 

            Still a few publishing glitches, but we found the alleged problem and should have it up for Kindle tomorrow, and hopefully the print version on Amazon, too. Anyone who’s interested in joining up on a blog tour, let me know.

I was invited along on a blog tour ride by my writer friend Mari Collier, who was raised in Iowa and yet isn’t dull at all. Thanks for the extra work, Mari – sheesh. But anyone who writes SF, historical fiction, and humor is worth the effort. She now lives in California, yet isn’t strange at all.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4618494.Mari_Collier/blog

 

Unfortunately, due to finalizing the details on The No-Campfire Girls and life in general, I haven’t had the time to get this out, and today I realized I hadn’t recruited anyone to follow it. Instead, I picked a few blogs from among writer friends and highlighted them at the end of this, but I didn’t find anyone to answer the questions themselves, and I hope some of you will take up the reins and continue this on.

 

 

1.       What Am I Working On?

 

A sandwich, at the moment. Oh, you mean writing? We’re finishing the setup for my second self-published effort, The No-Campfire Girls, a YA humor/adventure set in a girl’s summer camp. Why self-published? Because a portion of the proceeds from the book’s sale will go toward Camp Latonka, the Girl’s Scout camp my wife attended and then worked at.

            I’m waiting to see the cover art of The Notorious Ian Grant, which Whiskey Creek Press is publishing in October. Meanwhile, I’m plugging away at a book of my columns and Beowulf: In Harm’s Way, a SF story that pokes a little fun at the space opera genre. I have a million ideas in a dozen genres, all in varying degrees of development, and just need more time.

 

 

2.       How Does My Work Differ From Others of Its Genre?

 

Which genre? Well, I tend to inject more humor into my works—the world needs more humor—but not in a mocking or parody way. I take my situations lightly, and my characters seriously. It’s as if Isaac Asimov and Douglas Adams had a baby, and … who knows? I never pried into their personal lives.

 

 

3.       Why Do I Write What I Do?

 

Why not? But basically I write what I like to read, which is how it should be with all writers. I love science fiction, and I like a good romance that’s infused with humor, and I’m always up for some intelligent action, if you can picture that.

 

 

4.       How Does My Writing Process Work?

 

I start by thinking, which is far too lacking in today’s society. What if? What then? Routine chores are a perfect time for that: Mowing the lawn, showering, home maintenance, first aid after home maintenance … that’s where I work out the ideas in my head.

Then I do an outline; I have a whole box full of unfinished manuscripts to show I’ll never be a successful pantser. By the way, when I was a kid “pantser” meant a whole different thing. My outlines are devoid of Roman numerals, and full of side notes, parenthesis (I’m famous for my parenthesis), and the occasional exclamation point as an idea hits me. It’s just a scribbled narrative, really, and subject to change at any time—I just need a road map with a destination, and nothing keeps me from exploring a side road as long as the destination is in mind.

Beside that are detailed character outlines, and often other research material. I know what my characters want, need, what they’re afraid of, what they like for lunch, their hobbies, political outlooks or lack thereof—and although many of those details never make it to the story, they makes the characters real for me. Which is why they often go running off onto those side roads I mentioned, surprising me as much as the reader.

Then I write. That’s the fun part. Give me a place to sit and enough room to break out my laptop, and there’s my office. Except the bathtub—there are logistical problems to writing in the bathtub.

And, although I go back and read through the previous day’s work at every writing session, my stories are always in for five or six polishings before anyone else sees them, because that’s how I roll. And if you’ve ever tried to roll while revising, you know it’s a challenge.

 

            Here are a few other blogs from friends of mine, more or less at random but chosen from Blogspot because I’m lazy:

 

http://williamkendallbooks.blogspot.com/

            William Kendall has that rare ability to make you laugh even if you’re a fan of what he’s making fun of. He likes winter and hates musicals, but nobody’s perfect.

 

http://kellyhashway.blogspot.com/

            Kelly Hashway writes speculative fiction, or so I speculate, and has already done the tour—no guilt trip here for her.

 

http://rosannedingli.blogspot.com/

            Rosanne Dingli is a writer of rich writing who also writes about writing, right?

Say it three times fast … take a chance.

 

            Yes, I cheated on this assignment to a degree, but I just finished proofreading my new book proof and now I’m sending off for another proof to prove I’m ready to publish. As you can probably tell by the last couple of paragraphs, I’m also very tired.
I spent a few hours yesterday trying to whittle out the fat in a 3,635 word SF short story.

It's now 3,703 words.

*sigh*

I foolishly asked everyone to vote on a title for my “Girl Scout” novella without actually telling anyone what it was about! So here’s a quick blurb, which might very well find its way to the back cover:

 

            Fifteen year old Beth Hamlin is horrified to discover her beloved summer camp must go without campfires this year, thanks to the fire hazard from a drought. At first she and her friends try to perk up the other campers, but Beth isn't one to just sit (or swim, or boat, or horseback) around, when there's a challenge to be met.

            Beth discovers her new cabinmate, Cassidy, knows a local Cherokee who claims the ability to do a rain dance. Now all they have to do is trick the Camp Director into letting Running Creek do the dance there, avoid the local bully and a flying arrow or two … and keep from getting caught plotting with the local fire captain on a forbidden cell phone. With luck southern Indiana will get a nice, soaking rain, and when it's over Camp Inipi can have proper campfires again.

            But when things go horribly wrong, the whole area is endangered by a double disaster. Now Beth, Cassidy, and the rest of their unit may be the only people who can save not only their camp, but everyone in it.

            When Beth's big brother told her being a teenager could be rough, he probably didn't have this in mind.

 

            And here’s the Facebook poll on the title, if anyone’s interested:

 

https://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/ucyle?from=admin_wall

            Okay, so this YA “Girl Scout” novella I’ve been working on is almost ready to go, and it has no Girl Scouts in it.

            (That’s for legal purposes. This organization is my own invention, and the fact that some of the proceeds are going toward the Girl Scout camp my wife worked at is completely coincidental.)

            So, since the Girl Scout story has no Girl Scouts, I should probably give it a title. I brainstormed, writing down a list of a couple of dozen potential titles, which is what I sometimes do when I’m stuck for one (which is all the time).

            The story revolves around 15 year old Beth Hamlin’s misadventures when she gets to camp and discovers they can’t have any campfires that year, due to a drought. She and her friends work to keep everyone’s spirits up while also taking steps to make it rain—steps that lead to disastrous consequences.

            Some of the titles I came up with were discarded because they gave clues about things that happened late in the book, so those were the easy ones. For obvious reasons, I’m not going to tell you what they were.

            Others were a bit too bland: “The Year Without a Fire”, “Rain Dancing”; or dependent on wordplay: “Weather … Or Not”, “Where There’s Smoke, It’s Dire”.

            Some titles the reader wouldn’t figure out until they’re well into the story:

 

            “If You Don’t Like The Weather …”

            “Dance, Wind, And Fire”

            “Don’t Kill The Messenger”

            “They Don’t Listen To Teenagers”

            “Totally Not An Emergency”

            “Four Friends and a Drought” (A little shout-out to a fanfiction series of mine.)

            “Riot Prevention Badge”

 

            For you “Walking Dead” fans (and only you will get it) I found a title that fit the story and was also a shout-out:  “Heroic Stuff, Dangerous Things”.

 

            Two titles I discarded because they referred to a supporting character, and would be considered un-PC to our more delicate readers. I just didn’t feel like arguing. But the character, a half-Cherokee owner of an Indian-themed souvenir shop, also appears in a YA mystery I’m trying to sell—and will refuse to be silenced.

 

            Toward the end I got a little silly:

 

            “If You Like Your Weather, You Can Keep Your Weather.”

            “Mary Potter and The Rain Dance Of Doom.”

 

            Sadly, the story doesn’t have a character named Mary Potter.

            When I was done winnowing the list, which I believe is also a dance move in Philadelphia … there wasn’t much list left. This is what I ended up with:

 

            “Have a Safe Summer”

            “Who Keeps Singing?”

            “Best Session Ever”

            “No Campfire, Girls”

 

            They speak to the story and Beth’s character. Emily was leaning toward “No Campfire Girls”, which left me wondering exactly how that title would go on the cover. We don’t want people to think we’re banning Campfire Girls, for instance. It could be:

            “No Campfire, Girls”

            Or, “No-Campfire Girls”

            Or maybe an emphasis with bigger letters or italics: “No Campfire, Girls”.

 

            So, what do you think, Title-wise? The Girl Scouts are counting on this … even though the story’s not about Girl Scouts. Honest.
That's right:

  I'm going to be a published novelist!!!!

My novel, Storm Chaser, has been accepted by Whiskey Creek Press; I signed the contract and sent it in just yesterday. It'll be available later in e-book form, and also as hard copy.  Their website is here:
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/

The submission editor sent me an e-mail right in the middle of that craptastic weekend that I described earlier, which helps explain why I had trouble wrapping my head around it.  Well, that and the fact that I've been writing fiction for well over three decades, so maybe I'm still in denial about finally selling it.  I'll detail the circumstances later, maybe in another column because, after all, I still have to pay bills with my non-fiction.

How long before you get a chance to see the finished product? Well, the publisher will be contacting me back in about 60-90 days after getting the signed contract, to begin the publishing process. I know enough about the industry to know there'll be requests for edits, final galleys to go through, cover artwork to choose (I don't get a choice in that kind of stuff), and then the real work begins.  I'd guestimate that the grunt work of publicizing and selling will start in the fall, and that's when I'll be asking everyone for their support to jump start my fiction writing career.

Storm Chaser is the story of a disaster photographer from California who comes to northern Indiana, convinced that the local drought will soon be broken by a severe storm. She encounters a police officer who hates photographers, and isn't very fond of Californians, either -- especially this one, who seems to be followed by disasters. Or is she causing them?

Okay, I'm still working on the blurb. I can't begin to thank everyone who's been so supportive of my writing efforts. Now, I'm off to Snoopy Dance ... then back to work selling the next novel.
I sent Storm Chaser off to Whiskey Creek Press last night. If I can get published there it might be a good fit, because they deal in all the genres I'm interested in writing fiction for: humor, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, adventure, and romance. Yes, I'm a split personality writer!

Whiskey Creek Press requires three submission elements: a cover letter, business plan, and the complete manuscript. Most publishers prefer sample chapters and an outline first, or just a query letter and synopsis. I think I like this way better -- I hate writing outlines. WCP requires a synopsis as part of the cover letter, but luckily, I already had one of those.

There were two challenging parts to this submission: First, my manuscript was formatted for printing, but they wanted it sent electronically. That meant changing spacing, inserting italics instead of underlining, removing headers, and taking the white space from each opening chapter page, among other things. I think it was something that needed to be done anyway -- more and more publishers are going to be looking for e-mailed submissions.

More challenging was the business plan, something I've never done before. That's the way it is, now: A writer can't just sit back and wait for the cash to come in, they have to help sell their work. Luckily, I had help from one of Whiskey Creek's own writers, Star Ferris, who writes non-fiction as Bev Walton-Porter but is now Bev Sninchak by marriage. She's done the business plan thing before, and helped me immensely. Nobody helps each other out like writers do.

So that's it; time to settle in and wait (and work on other writing). Wait how long? Well, I submitted Coming Attractions to Avalon on June 6, and have yet to hear from them, so ... awhile. But this submission was sent out on 09/09/09, which I'm told is a lucky date, so I've got my fingers crossed -- even though that makes it very difficult to type.
.

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