Pippa's Journal - 5/21/2014

Action!

Last week I blogged about the Women in Scifi panel, and how visibility seems to be the big issue. So I am definitely doing BristolCon in October this year. I can't sit back and hope the internet is enough. It isn't. It's time to go out into the big scary world and show my face. :P This means I really need to get myself in gear and get Keir back out, since that's currently my only print option. As yet, Gethyon hasn't qualified for print, all my upcoming releases are digital first, and I've yet to put together enough short stories to justify a print collection of my own. Sigh. I will, however, be taking along a print edition of Tales from the SFR Brigade as a display copy, and possibly do one as a giveaway. I'm thinking maybe a bundle of goodies that I can raffle, but I'll have to see how it goes. Since my post went live, Jo Fletcher Books who organised the event have now posted part one of a video of the panel, and I recommend you watch it.

However, I said earlier on this year that 2014 would be the year of the edits. Both my scifi romance Tethered and YA paranormal romance Restless In Peaceville have all completed their editing cycles, and been sent back with all the associated paperwork. Restless is up on Goodreads now (go HERE to check out the blurb (which I've been told is hilarious), and Tethered is up HERE, so add them to your to-be-read shelf, pretty please?). My paranormal romance short is still with my editor. All three are awaiting cover art, and if you'd like to sign up for the cover reveals and/or blog tours please go HERE. As yet I don't have dates for the cover reveals, but if you sign up I'll let you know asap, and no hard feelings if you then have to drop out due to commitments.

This means I have three definite releases - Tethered on the 25th July, Restless on the 20th August, and the PNR short on the 1st October. On top of these, I need to re-release Keir. I also still have my decopunk superhero romance on submission after being asked to revise and resubmit. That could potentially release October/November if contracted. So it looks like I'll have releases every month for the rest of this year from July. Er, help?!

As for 2015... Well, if I thought I'd get a breather, I'd be wrong. I have five short stories and two novellas that still need polishing off for release. Plus a novel-length sequel to Imprint. Add to that at least book two and maybe three of the Keir series, and I think I'm fully booked until 2016. That's with not even thinking about the last two books for Keir, and the dozen other incomplete WIPs in my Plot Bunny Storage Facility, which would probably take me into 2017/18. And I worried when I first finished Keir that I would run out of ideas for more books. <insert manic laughter here>

However, I *am* away on holiday next week, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. I'm going to need it!

Want to hear what I sound like? Last week I did my first audio interview with the charming Ryan Attard. I giggle. A lot. Check it out here.

Discoveries

On the subject of visibility, here are 317 power words that are supposed to make you a better writer. The site also boasts a free download of tips that'll help your blog posts go viral if you sign up to their weekly newsletter. If anyone tries that out, let me know how it goes?

The Squeeze

The SFR Brigade blog has some excellent blog posts for writers this month, with JA Kenney talking about writing aliens, Patricia Green discussing her writing influences, and Evelyn Berry covering deep POV. Check them out here.
Following on from CE Kilgore's excellent post on Dubious Consent, io9 actually picked up on the article and ran one of their own. Check it out HERE. It also has the link to CE Kilgore's original post.
And after I borrowed a link to a discussion about what turns readers off and posted it to the Brigade group, Ed Hoornaert summarized the comments into the Top Ten Things Readers hate about books HERE.

Pssst!

Both Breathless Press (romance) and Lycaon Press (YA) are actively looking for submissions, and they take SFR. Right now Breathless Press has an anthology call open. Not much time left, but if you already have something sitting on your hard drive... Check it out!

Bookshelf

I had a bit of a book binge a couple of weeks ago, but the highlights were by two authors I've waited far too long to read. JC Cassels Sovran's Pawn is an excellent piece of space opera in the lines of Firefly and Farscape, and a brilliant example of how a self published work can easily rival and surpass a big five book production. I can't wait to read the next! Also Caught in Amber by Cathy Pegau - it reminded me of those great Humphrey Bogart detective films mixed with a bit of Blade Runner. Loved it (although I would have given the hero such a slap). Lol.

Happenings

The Brenda Novak Online auction for diabetes is still running! Have you put your bid in yet? Don't forget to check out the space-themed SFR Brigade sponsored category right here.

The SFR Brigade's 3rd Annual Midsummer blog hop is coming! If you're a Brigade member, have you signed up yet? Go here. This is one of our biggest events of the year, and really draws attention. Would you like to help us spread the word? Here's our event button for you to share on your social media platform of preference! Just right click and Save As. Please link to the Brigade website at http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com. Mark your calendars for the 21st June!

Ping Pong

*humbly begs forgiveness for her absence*

Laurie, blown away by the post on the Amazonian mother. I think as a society we're all too quick to make judgements on things that sometimes we really have no idea about. That poor woman must have felt she'd been transported to an alien planet experiencing Western civilisation for the first time. Also, bumping parents off. I've done a mixture in mine, and the results are also mixed. In my YA scifi, Gethyon's father is dead but his mother abandoned him, which leaves him pretty angry with the universe but actually leaves him perilously close to choosing the Dark Side, so to speak. In fact it's the reconciliation with his mother that turns him around, so I think it's possible to have a huge character development even with parents still in the scene. Again, we need to decide whether it has significance to the story. I don't feel that killing the parents off could potentially be lazy writing, but I do like some variety.

Sharon, congrats on the release of your CYOP story! May you have many downloads and five star reviews.

Donna, I guess I always thought of Firefly as SFR so I was kind of bewildered. But again, I think his not being able to find a big budget company to produce this all ties into issues with getting SFR noticed, and that Hollywood is just refusing to take ANY risks. When someone with his standing has to do it himself... >.<