Michael A. Ventrella

I’m thrilled to be included in this new anthology along with some of my favorite authors, including many NY Times Bestsellers and award-winners. Here’s the blurb:

AN ANTHOLOGY OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS!

We all know about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence riding on pale horses and all that Book-of-Revelation stuff. But why does it have to be four guys on horses? Why not the Four Cheerleaders of the Apocalypse? The Four Cats of the Apocalypse? The Four PTA Moms of the Apocalypse? The Four Lawyers, Librarians, or Lunch Ladies of the Apocalypse? The Four Drummers, Rock Stars, or Opera Singers of the Apocalypse? Or even the Four Squirrels of the Apocalypse or the Four Emojis of the Apocalypse?

My story is, of course, about the four lawyers of the Apocalypse: Horseman, Horseman, Horseman & Horseman, Attorneys at Law

Here’s the full table of contents:

• The Introduction of the Apocalypse by Keith R.A. DeCandido & Wrenn Simms
• The Apocalypse Will Be Televised by David Mack
• Well, That Escalated Quickly by Seanan McGuire
• The Four Opera Singers of the Apocalypse by Mary Fan
• Apocatlypse by Jody Lynn Nye
• The Four Stages of the Apocalypse by Derek Tyler Attico
• A Priest, a Rabbi, a Shinshoku, and an Imam Walk Into… by Peter David
• Blank Slates by Aaron Rosenberg
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Laura Anne Gilman
• The Four Swords of the Apocalypse: A Tale of Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry
• The Fifth Horseman by Randee Dawn
• To Brandish a White Ladle: A Chronicle of the Four Lunch Ladies of the Apocalypse by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
• Fate of the Final Four (A Fatalist Fable) by Gordon Linzner
• The Four Harschmans of the Apocalypse by Michael Jan Friedman
• Your Apocalypse Will Be Handled by the Next Available Representative by Wrenn Simms
• HHH 666 by Jenifer Purcell Rosenberg
• Horseman, Horseman, Horseman, & Horseman, Attorneys-at-Law by Michael A. Ventrella
• The Four Squirrels of the Apocalypse by Gerard Houarner
• The Four Angels of the Apocalypse by Megan Mackie
• The Arrival of Amber by Adam-Troy Castro
• Overdue by Gail Z. Martin
• The Four Bachelors of the Apocalypse by Hildy Silverman
• The Four Cheerleaders of the Apocalypse by Robert Greenberger
• What Do You Want from Me, I’m Old: A Tale of the Four Septuagenarians of the Apocalypse by Keith R.A. DeCandido
• Four Entrees by James D. Macdonald
• Prepocalypse Now by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
• Live, Laugh, Apocalypse by Patrick Thomas
• We Got the Beat by Russ Colchamiro
• The Four Course Men by David Gerrold
• Putting Doom on Paws by Aaron Rosenberg

You can order your copy now!

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I had a great time answering Amazing Stories’ crazy questions and I hope my answers made people laugh. Check it out!

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Capclave is a fun convention for literary science fiction and fantasy fans. (It’s where I met George R.R. Martin all those years ago and had my 15 minutes of fame for predicting the Hodor plot).

It’s held near Washington, DC and this year’s is the weekend of September 29th.

It’s a small convention, concentrating on literary achievement. I always enjoy attending and meeting fellow authors and readers. Plus we usually have fun with the Eye of Argon reading.

Here’s my schedule:

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Since the release of my nonfiction book THE BEATLES ON THE CHARTS, I’ve been thrilled to see it do well on Amazon’s top 100 “Beatles” chart. It has pretty much stayed there since its release!

I’ve been pleased to have been a guest on many blogs where we discuss the band and their chart performances. Have a look at some!

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Balticon is the annual literary science fiction convention that I always try to attend. It’s Memorial Day weekend, and this year, they’re keeping me real busy on panels! If not on a panel, you’ll probably find me at the Fantastic Books table in the dealer’s room.

I’m looking forward to finally meeting John Scalzi there — I have all his books!

Anyway, here’s my schedule:

So you Want to Be a Writer? (Friday 4 pm): Joshua Bilmes (moderator), Monica Louzon, Ian Randal Strock, Michael A. Ventrella. How does a would-be writer become a published author? What are the steps to improve your writing and produce publishable work? Should you start with short stories or a novel? Do you need an agent (and how can you get one). Published writers tell how they broke in and how you can learn from their example.

Reading (Saturday 10 am): Michael A. Ventrella. I’ll probably read my short story from the “Eye of Argon” anthology

They Banned my Book (Saturday 11:30 am): AD Boorman (moderator), Shahid Mahmud, Elektra Hammond, Martin Berman-Gorvine, Michael A. Ventrella. Books are being banned in libraries and schools. Have you had to deal with an attempt to ban or censor a book? What did you do? Why are we seeing more attempts to ban/censor books? Is there ever a good reason to ban/censor?

As You Know, Bob (Saturday 1:00 pm): Michael A. Ventrella (moderator), Ann Chatham, Alan Smale, Aaron M. Roth, David Keener. Science Fiction and Fantasy frequently has an enormous amount of backstory that needs to be conveyed to the reader. How can writers share this backstory without having one character explain to another something they both should already know, with an “As you know, Bob”? How can the writer avoid long paragraphs of background? And how do readers learn to accept things that don’t make sense at first and trust the author to fill it in?

Limits on YA (Saturday 5:30 pm): Michael M. Jones, A. L. Kaplan, Dr. Jim Thorne, Michael A. Ventrella. There is often a problem with defining YA and it often boils down to whatever the publisher declares is YA. But are there limits to YA? Is there anything that cannot be included in YA or whose presence makes the book not YA?

A Little Laughter is a Serious Thing (Sunday 11:30 am): Randee Dawn (moderator), Alex Shvartsman, Michael M. Jones, Mary G. Thompson, Michael A. Ventrella. Many serious books/tv/movies still add some humor, especially in dialogue. How much humor can you include before it looks like you are trying for the next Hitchiker’s Guide? Can humor be distracting? What books/tv/films get it right and what ones don’t?

Do Alternate Histories Still Need Turning Points? (Sunday 5:30 pm): Walt Boyes (moderator), Martin Berman-Gorvine, Jim Beall, Roberta Rogow, Jack Campbell, Michael A. Ventrella. It used to be that authors of alternate history invented a turning point (point of divergence) and everything logically followed from that change. Is this still necessary? Can an author just say what if the Romans discovered America or what if the South won the civil war and just go on with the story? What is gained and lost in such an approach?

Here are some pictures from previous Balticons. Click to enlarge.

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I started the Pocono Writers Conference quite a few years ago, and though we shut down a few years for COVID, we’re back! There are still open slots as I write this!

We’re back! You can now sign up for the 2023 Conference at this link.

SCHEDULE

9:00: Check in

9:30: MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: Introductions

9:45: HILDY SILVERMAN: “What Editors Look For”: With so many submissions to sift through, what can a writer do to elevate their work above the rest? Surprisingly, including a few simple things can leapfrog your tale ahead of half your competition immediately. Hildy will share what these are, and provide additional tips to help improve the likelihood of your story making the cut.

11:00: MARIE LAMBA: “How to Revise Your Novel for Submission: Self-Editing Techniques that Work”: Finishing the first draft of a novel is a major accomplishment, but that’s just the beginning of a writer’s work. The next step is to do a thorough revision, shaping that novel into its very best form. Top-notch revision skills are an important part of a writer’s toolkit, especially now that agents and editors expect manuscripts to be well-polished. But revising a long work of fiction can be daunting. Where do you begin? How do you decide what’s working and what isn’t? And how, exactly, should you go about fixing things?

12:00: Lunch (not provided, but there are lots of places nearby or you can bring your own)

1:00: LAQUETTE: “GMC 360º”: Fiction writers are often trained to use goal, motivation, and conflict to build three-dimensional characters. While this is a great use of GMC that should be encouraged, it’s not the only way to use it. We’ll explore how understanding your characters’ GMC, and strategically using it at key points within the manuscript, can help you create profound emotional arcs full of compelling full-circle moments that heighten tension and increase chemistry between your characters.

2:15: TEEL JAMES GLENN: “Character and Conflict, or How to build a better beating”: Since the first storyteller sat around a campfire spinning tales of gods and heroes, it has been a given that a little action makes a mildly interesting story into a real grabber. Since the fight has to serve the purpose of the story you have to use the same criteria as any journalistic or dramatic story. Ask yourself, ‘is this fight necessary?’ Who, why, how and when to add action to your story. This session will offer insight into when it is the right choice to have a violent scene and what and how the participants would fight. And more importantly—how those choices reveal character to the reader.

3:30: MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: Panel Discussion and Question and Answer session with all panelists

Admission is free but seating is limited. Please only sign up if you are sure you will be attending. If you later discover you cannot attend, please delete your reservation so there will be enough room for everyone. Do not reserve space for anyone other than yourself — if there is more than one reservation under your name, the extra ones will be deleted.

….

WORKSHOPS

Each of the participants are holding smaller sessions during the presentations where you can get individual critiques and comments.

These sessions are $20 each. You can sign up for as many as you want but you must pre-register because space is limited. Please note that by signing up for these personal sessions, you will miss some of the other presentations.

The panelists will contact you by email prior to the session to discuss writing samples and other requirements.

9:45: Laquette

11:00: Teel James Glenn

1:00: Hildy Silverman

2:15: Marie Lamba

….

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Teel James Glenn has traveled the world as a stuntman, fight choreographer, swordmaster, illustrator, storyteller, bodyguard, and actor and puts all of that life experience in his fiction writing. He’s taught writing, acting, art and stage combat for several decades in the states and abroad in Canada and Germany. He has also presented seminars on writing action, weapons and historical combat at Deadly Ink, C3 Conference, Liberty State Fiction Writers, Stoker Con, and dozens of writer and media conventions. His writing has been in over two hundred magazines including Weird Tales, Mad, Space & Time, Black Belt, Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Silver Blade Quarterly, Mystery Weekly and Cirsova. His novel “Cowboy in Carapathia: a Bob Howard Adventure was the winner of the 2021 Pulp Ark Award for Best Novel, and its sequel “The Cowboy and the Conqueror,” is a finalist for the 2023 award. He is also the recipient of the 2013 Pulp Ark Award for Best Author and a Derringer mystery finalist. Website: TheUrbanSwashbuckler.com

Marie Lamba is author of the young adult novels What I Meant… (Random House), Over My Head and Drawn, and of the picture books Green, Green (Farrar Straus Giroux) and A Day So Gray (Clarion). Her articles appear in more than 100 publications and is a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. She has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer, and a book publicist, and has taught classes on novel writing and on author promotion. As an agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in New York, Marie is currently looking for young adult and middle grade fiction, along with general and women’s fiction and some memoir. She is also open to submissions from picture book authors or illustrators who are already established, or whose work she has requested through conferences. Marie is also open to non-fiction submissions for all age categories. For more details and her submission guidelines, please visit: https://www.jdlit.com/marie-lamba

LaQuette writes sexy, stylish, and sensational romance. That means she writes sentimental and steamy stories (like Hallmark movies, but with lots of sex) featuring at least one main character who always keeps it cute. This Brooklyn native writes unapologetically bold, character-driven stories. Her novels feature diverse ensemble casts who are confident in their right to appear on the page. If she’s not writing, she’s probably trying on or looking for her next great makeup find. Contact her at https://dot.cards/laquette.

Hildy Silverman  writes in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror and blends thereof. In 2020, she joined the Crazy 8 Press authors collective (https://www.crazy8press.com/), which publishes novels and anthologies by its membership. In 2013, her short story, The Six Million Dollar Mermaid, which appeared in the anthology “Mermaids 13: Tales from the Sea” (French, ed.), was a finalist for the WSFA Small Press Award. In 2005, she became the publisher and editor-in-chief of Space and Time Magazine (www.spaceandtimemagazine.com), one of the oldest small press genre magazines still in production, and ran it until 2018. She is a past president of the Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers and a frequent panelist on the science fiction convention circuit. For more information about Hildy, including a complete list of her published work, please visit www.hildysilverman.com. 

Michael A. Ventrella is a Stroudsburg writer with five novels so far, including Big Stick and Bloodsuckers: A Vampire Runs for President. He’s edited a dozen anthologies, including the Baker Street Irregulars anthologies (co-edited with New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Maberry); Three Time Travelers Walk Into…, and Release the Virgins. His short stories have appeared in other anthologies and magazines. He’s also written nonfiction books about the US Constitution, The Beatles, and the Monkees. At his web page (MichaelAVentrella.com), he interviews authors and editors and gives advice for the starting writer. In his spare time, he is a lawyer.

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Heliosphere is a nice little convention held in New Jersey every year. I always enjoy attending. This year it is on the weekend of April 28th.

I was originally going to be at Ravencon in Richmond this upcoming weekend (April 21) but my wife’s health is preventing that, sadly. (In case you’re not aware of my award-winning artist wife Heidi Hooper, who makes art out of dryer lint and is nationally famous for it, check out her web page). Heidi was the Artist Guest of Honor at a previous Heliosphere, but I will be attending this one on my own, since it’s not far from home and I can rush home if need be.

The guests of honor this year are all friends of mine! There’s husband-and-wife writing team Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (both of whom I have edited in the anthology RELEASE THE VIRGINS). Then there’s Charles Gannon and David Mattingly!

Anyway, here’s my schedule:

The Biggest Mistakes Made by New Authors (Friday 3:30). With Ef Deal (Moderator), Keith DeCandido, Mike McPhail, Lori Perkins, Ian Strock, and Michael Ventrella.

So You Want to be in an Anthology (Friday 5:00). With Michael Ventrella (Moderator), Keith R.A. DeCandido, Mike McPhail, Darrell Schweitzer, and Ann Stolinsky.

In Conversation with David Mattingly (Saturday 2:30). With Michael Ventrella (Moderator), David Mattingly, Sharon Lee, and Steve Miller.

What are Editors Looking For? (Saturday 4:00) With Ef Deal (Moderator), Neil Clarke, Ian Strock, Ann Stolinsky, and Michael Ventrella.

The Eye of Argon (Saturday 11:00) With Michael Ventrella (Moderator), Keith DeCandido, and Ian Strock.

Through the Door (Sunday 10:00) With Kathryn Sullivan (Moderator), Chuck Gannon, Michael Ventrella, Elektra Hammond, Bjorn Hasseler, and Michael Ventrella.

Cut the Boring Parts (Sunday 2:30) With Elektra Hammond (Moderator), Keith DeCandido, Sharon Lee, Aaron Rosenberg, Ann Stolinsky, and Michael Ventrella.

Here’s a few pictures from previous Heliospheres! (Click on a picture to enlarge it.)

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My book about The Beatles has been published by McFarland and you can order your copy now!

For this nonfiction book, I went through every Billboard magazine album and single chart since 1964 and kept track of which albums and songs appeared where on the charts for The Beatles as well as in their solo careers. I then assigned points: 100 for a song at #1 down to 1 point for a song at #100. The higher a song or album got on the chart and the longer it stayed on the chart, the more points.

I then count them down! Each entry has a picture of the album or single sleeve, details about its release date and highest position, and a short essay on each examining why it was or was not successful (as well as giving some interesting trivia info). There were 162 singles and 164 albums that made the charts, and you may be surprised at where some of your favorites have ended up.

Then there is an introductory chapter, a chapter explaining how the charts work and have changed over the years, a complete discography, and much more that every Beatles fan will want.

Below are some blurbs from prominent Beatles authors (There are more at this link.)

“For the U.S. Beatles narrative since 1964 the group’s Billboard chart performance has served as an instant thumbnail guide to their powerful popular culture presence….Michael A. Ventrella deftly takes the story through multiple iterations of chart rules and statistics to reveal successes deep into the solo years. This is an impressive guidebook to nearly six decades of Beatles music.” ― Walter J. Podrazik, co-author All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography

…

“The Beatles on the Charts is a different and entertaining way of looking at the chart success that the Beatles had and continue to have.” ― Bruce Spizer, Beatles author/historian

…

“Ventrella’s insights, plus his ranking system give the familiar singles and albums a decidedly unique twist and is a fun read for both novice and expert Beatles fans alike.” ― Mark Arnold, author of Mark Arnold Picks on the Beatles

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“The Beatles on the Charts checks all the boxes. It’s a fun read, ridiculously well-researched, and presents information―specifically how and why they charted―in a completely new way…this book will rank high on your charts.” ― Charles Rosenay, author of The Book of Beatles Top Ten Lists; Beatles festival producer

…

“The Beatles on the Charts not only provides invaluable information, but is written in an engaging, often humorous tone. Fans and scholars will find this book a vital addition to the growing body of Beatles research.” ― Kit O’Toole, Songs We Were Singing: Guided Tours through The Beatles’ Lesser-Known Tracks

…
Here are some sample pages!

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