self-publishing | Michael A. Ventrella

Interview with Tony Ruggiero

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Michael A. Ventrella

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: Tony Ruggiero writes science fiction and fantasy with an edgy realism designed to make people wonder: could it actually be true and could it be happening right now? His eye opening approach within the genre has run the gauntlet of responses from laughter to having people look over their shoulder more often. Either way, Tony is a very happy man. His published novels include OPERATION IMMORTAL SERVITUDE, ALIEN DECEPTION, and SATANIC CREATURES WANTED: HUMANS NEED NOT APPLY. His books are published by Dragon Moon Press (who will also be publishing a short story of mine soon as well). His web page is www.tonyruggiero.com and his email is aruggs@aol.com

TONY RUGGIERO: Hi Michael — I would like to thank you for this opportunity to talk with you as well as your readers.

VENTRELLA: One of the more difficult tasks authors have is convincing potential readers to try someone new. Tony, what do you say to readers to get them to check out your books?

RUGGIERO: If discussing my vampire series, I suggest that if they want to read something different in a vampire novel then they will want to look at the “Team of Darkness Chronicle” Series which begins with OPERATION IMMORTAL SERVITUDE. In this day of vampire stories that show a more “friendlier” vampire, I believe that my series (which has been described as “What If Anne Rice and Tom Clancy had a baby?”) has maintained the traditional lore of vampirism, yet added an approach that not only includes a military aspect, but also a point of view where the vampires see themselves as a creature of God and have a purpose in life to fulfill.

For my science fiction work, if you are a fan of space opera type stories, you will like my ALIEN DECEPTION and ALIEN REVELATION books. These are written in the classic space opera tone that has always been a favorite of mine, but I have added a bit of a twist by setting it in a current and real life scenario that involves Earth politics but also reveals that it doesn’t matter if it is alien or human politics, the same problems exist. It also begins as a light hearted story, but becomes precarious for our two protagonists, Greg and Sarah.

VENTRELLA: Do you think that your web page helps or do people generally already know you by the time they visit it?

RUGGIERO: I think it is a combination of both. We live in an age where information on the internet is a main way of communication especially for writers, so I think this is a good way to have people see their work. But I think it is also important to meet as many people as possible in person and that is where the life blood of science fiction conventions comes into play.

VENTRELLA: You are currently posting a work in progress on your web page, chapter by chapter. Tell me a bit about that story.

RUGGIERO: I was posting some chapters for a new novel called COVEN, which is a thriller-type novel that deals with witches in a modern day setting.

VENTRELLA: Have you completed the entire book and are just serializing it, or are you posting the chapters as you write them?

RUGGIERO: I stopped posting chapters because the book went into editing and my editor and I thought it was best to stop until we are done and then relook at it at that point.

VENTRELLA: What are the copyright considerations? Won’t your publisher consider it an “already published” work?

RUGGIERO: I plan to hopefully publish COVEN soon. If I do it with Dragon Moon Press, I have a very good relationship with the publisher and this will be a non-issue. The publisher realizes that as a small press, you have to work harder than a traditional press and find innovative ways to garner reader’s interest and if this means posting a good part of it on the web for free — then that’s what we need to do.

VENTRELLA: Have you had any formal writing training? Do you think that is necessary?

RUGGIERO: No formal training. I do have a master’s in English, but I believe that most of the writing skills are developed through practice. Three words of encouragement — write — write — write! I am a firm believer in learning through practice. If you have the desire to get formal training, then I am sure that it can’t hurt, but is it a prerequisite? I don’t believe so.

VENTRELLA: How did you end up with your current publisher? Do you have other long term goals to grab a more “mainstream” publisher?

RUGGIERO: Sure, I am always looking for that mainstream publisher. In terms of small press publishers, I have been with several over the past 10-12 years. I remember selling my first story for $5.00. My current relationship with Dragon Moon Press has been by far the best and I look forward to continue working with them in the future.

VENTRELLA: What’s your opinion on self-publishing?

RUGGIERO: It’s another option. If it fits your needs then you should do it. My only thought is that it should not be your first choice. Self publishing involves a cost to you and I think you should avoid that if you can. The distribution issue can also be another reason why you should look elsewhere first.

VENTRELLA: What’s next? What are you working on now?

RUGGIERO: I have two novels in the editing process: COVEN and a new science fiction novel called LAST CHANCE, which includes vampires and werewolves. I have sporadically been working on the next and last vampire novel called OPERATION END GAME. I have been teaching a full load so I am a little behind on the vampire novel which I hope to catch up with for a 2010 release.

VENTRELLA: What is your writing style? Do you tend to rely on outlines first or do you just plow right in?

RUGGIERO: Both and neither. I really don’t have a set pattern. Sometimes I just start writing and then develop an outline later. I also have a large dry marker board where I cram all those ideas on and then try to sort them out.

VENTRELLA: People say authors should “write what they know”. How has your military background influenced your writing?

RUGGIERO: It has certainly helped especially in the way that the vampires interact with the military. But it also helps with writing about diverse cultures and developing relationships. The fact that in the military also helps me to develop a good approach to the writing process by scheduling and setting time aside to accomplish writing has also been a big help.

VENTRELLA: What was your biggest mistake so far in trying to make it as an author?

RUGGIERO: Thinking that the writing was the hard part. It’s really all about selling your work to publishers and readers. Unless you’re a “name,” you have to constantly sell yourself and try and not come off as being too pushy. I think a lot of writers fail at this and they come on too strong and they alienate the reader.

VENTRELLA: Do you have any specific advice you would give a writer trying to make it in the publishing business that they may not have heard before?

RUGGIERO: Have hope and use common sense. Sure, always set your sights on that big contract, but don’t let disappointment make you file it away forever where no one will ever see it. I think it’s better to please 100 readers then to please none. If you do not make that big New York contact, then spend time in the small press realm. Dragon Moon Press has seen its share of writers that have made the transition from small press to big press so it is possible.

Me and Tony

Filed under: writing | Tagged: outlines, publishing house, self-publishing, web page, writing advice | Leave a comment »

Interview with James Enge

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: I’m pleased to be interviewing fantasy author James Enge today. James, how did you get started in the business?

JAMES ENGE: I’ve been writing since forever, but I was first published when I saw a newish magazine called “Black Gate” had started up. They specialized (and still specialize) in adventure fantasy at shorter lengths (i.e. shorter than a novel) and that’s what I was most interested in writing, so I sent them something. When the editor, John O’Neill, finally wrote me back after many months I assumed it would be another in a long string of rejections … but, in fact, he bought the story (“Turn Up This Crooked Way”) and told me he was interested in more. So that’s when it really started for me. That was in 2005, if I’m remembering right.

VENTRELLA: Creating a fantasy world is never easy, because it must be rooted in believability. What have you done to make your world both fantastic and believable? Have you found it difficult?

ENGE: I try to maintain a certain tension between free invention and concrete realism. My favorite bits in my own writing are physical descriptions which are probably invisible to everyone else. In my first story, the hero has occasion to peer through “a dark shoe-shaped patch of nothingness”. It makes perfect sense in the world of the story, but it’s not something that you’re likely to see on the street on your way to work.

VENTRELLA: Along those same lines, what steps have you taken to plant your characters in this world? In other words, many fantasy novels tend to have characters that behave like modern-day people, only in a different setting. How do you avoid that while still making the characters likeable?

ENGE: Someone called this the phenomenon of the “vegetarian Viking” — anachronistic modern attitudes grafted onto people in non-modern societies. It is tricky, because whenever the characters may be living, the audience is a modern audience and they’re not likely to laugh off chattel slavery or infant exposure (to name only two unsavory customs of the past). But, in my fantasies, it’s much more difficult to say what’s anachronistic, since it’s a secondary world. Writers can get themselves some oxygen but writing a different kind of society than lords and ladies and dukes and peasants: not every imaginary world has to be the Middle Ages with real dragons. And the actual Middle Ages were more complicated than some people think: one can plunder history for interesting ideas. Your standard Viking, for instance, would not have been a vegetarian… but he may have lived (if he came from Iceland) in a republic strikingly free from all that kingy junk we associate with medieval states. Likewise a Florentine banker (and so on).

VENTRELLA: Is religion in fantasy novels something to embrace or avoid, given the controversy it may bring?

ENGE: I think you have to tell the story that you want to tell, and if religion comes up, it comes up. Religion is a normative part of human society, so a society without any religious expression would need some justification … but that in itself might make for an interesting story or world. The novel I’m working on now is starting to feature one set of deities (the Strange Gods) very strongly. I didn’t expect it, but it’s been kind of interesting to watch it develop.

VENTRELLA: What’s your biggest gripe about fantasy novels in general?

ENGE: I can’t claim to have read a representative sample — there’s just too much out there. But I think the tendency to view multivolume narratives as the norm is really not good. The longer the narrative, the more difficult it is to bring to a satisfying conclusion. I’m not knocking George R.R. Martin, by the way: I read A GAME OF THRONES years ago and loved it. But I have resisted reading the other volumes in “A Song of Ice and Fire” since then: I’ll wait till he’s done and read the whole thing, and I have every confidence the end will live up to the beginning. But not everybody is GRRM. Also, he’d been writing for a generation, producing work of classic stature long before he tackled this heroic project.

VENTRELLA: What are your favorite fantasy novels? Favorite authors? Why?

ENGE: Tolkien, Leiber, Zelazny, Le Guin, Brackett, Vance. Zelazny has a great line in THE HAND OF OBERON. He actually speaks to his main character, Corwin, and he says that he’s writing “a philosophical romance shot through with elements of horror and morbidity.” I think that’s what all these guys do, to some extent, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I coined the term philorohorrmorbmance for it once, but it didn’t catch on for some reason, so I usually say I write sword-and-sorcery.

VENTRELLA: How important is an agent for a starting writer?

ENGE: Key. I mean, if what you want to do is sell stories to zines, you don’t need an agent. And small presses don’t usually demand that the writer be represented by an agent. But if you want to sell novels to even medium-sized publishing houses, I think writers mostly need an agent nowadays. More and more work that used to be done by publishers is being offloaded to agents — essentially, they’ve become the first readers for the publishing houses. I’m not saying there are no exceptions, but I know that my novel-writing career went nowhere until I got an agent (the great Mike Kabongo who runs the OnyxHawke Agency).

VENTRELLA: What is your writing style?

ENGE: I have to know how a story ends or I can’t make much progress on it. So I begin with the end and a beginning, and the stuff between I usually negotiate as I go.

VENTRELLA: My second novel comes out in a few months, and, like your work, it is a stand-alone story but set in the same world with the same characters as the first novel. One of the difficulties I had is in giving enough background for a new reader while not boring someone who is already familiar with the world from the first novel. How do you handle that sort of thing?

ENGE: It is hard. Mostly I’ve solved that so far by sending my hero, Morlock Ambrosius, to new places. But, in general, I think that writers have to develop a sense for what exposition is genuinely necessary for the story and what isn’t. A writer should always know more about his or her world than will fit into a story, and because the world is our creation we’re often eager to fill the audience’s ear with excessive detail. On the other hand, new and different worlds are one of the reasons people read sf/f, so what’s excessive for one reader will be just an hors d’oeuvre for others.

VENTRELLA: How has your educational background influenced your writing?

ENGE: I steal stuff from it constantly. My degrees are in Classics, and I studied a few medieval Germanic languages in school, too — all because I was (and remain) nuts about language, mythology and history (three fields that overlap more than one might think). This stuff is a tremendous storehouse for story ideas. For instance, Morlock’s move to defeat the Big Bad in BLOOD OF AMBROSE will seem a little familiar to people who know the myth of Hercules and Antaeus, and when Morlock is confronted by a stone beast in THIS CROOKED WAY he again takes a leaf (or limb) from Hercules’ book to save himself. The trick, when you steal something as blatantly as I do, is to make the borrowed element native to your work. You don’t need to know the Herc myths to read the Morlock stories, but if you do you’ll get an extra smile of recognition sometimes.

VENTRELLA: All authors these days spend a large amount of time on self-promotion, from posting a regular blog to producing podcasts to appearing at conventions. What’s your opinion on the relative value of each?

ENGE: I have no idea. There are so many forms of online community these days, one could spend a working week every week just keeping up. One thing I do feel strongly: online and offline communities may be useful for self-promotion, but they shouldn’t be used solely for that. The communities are meant to be conversational exchanges among people with common interests, and that’s really their primary value.

VENTRELLA: Do you advise aspiring novelists to begin with short stories?

ENGE: I would have said “yes” a few years ago. Now I’m not so sure: the markets are very different in what they want to see, and the forms themselves are diverging radically. When the standard novel was sixty or seventy thousand words and magazines regularly published novelettes and novellas of tens of thousands words, writers with the same skill-set could comfortably operate on book length and short-story length. Now stories seem to be getting shorter and novels are certainly getting longer (at least in sf/f). No doubt a credits-list of stories in reputable publications increases the likelihood that an agent or an editor will take a chance on a new writer. But if novels are what people want to write, maybe they should head straight for that — likewise with stories.

VENTRELLA: Of what work are you most proud?

ENGE: You force me to tell you! Okay, since I have no choice in the matter (not that I want one), I really like my second book, THIS CROOKED WAY. The story begins with Morlock’s horse, Velox, being stolen by an unknown enemy. In tracking down the horse, he has a number of adventures that turn out to be clashes with his veiled enemy. When unmasks his enemy, he finds that he’s already involved in a struggle that hinges on someone else’s life-or-death. The book is an homage to the episodic novels of sword-and-sorcery past (like Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar books, or Vance’s Cugel books, or Moorcock’s Elric books). I got to sneak in some elements that one doesn’t usually see in a heroic fantasy, like robots (i.e. golems), the internet (a.k.a. Whisper Street) or alien species (e.g. the buglike Khroi or the wormlike dark gnomes). There’s an antiheroic dragon-fight that I’m particularly fond of. And there’s some emotional resonance for me in the over-arching plot, which deals with the death or non-death of Morlock’s mother. THIS CROOKED WAY has not, in fact, made a big splash, but even if it never sells another copy it’s the book I’m likeliest to point to and say, “That’s what I do; that stuff.”

VENTRELLA: What’s your opinion on self-publishing? Do you advise new authors to go this route, or is it better to not publish at all than to be self-published?

ENGE: Self-publishing is risky because there are so many people involved who really don’t have a realistic sense of their work’s merit. Everyone, but everyone, can afford to take a hint every now and then, and the self-publishing route usually involves trimming out all the gatekeepers who might say, “This bit doesn’t work” or “Your hero looks like a jerk here. Is that what you want?” The process of traditional publishing may keep some work from being published, but it unquestionably improves the stuff it does let into the light of day. I’m not saying that everyone involved in self-publishing is engaged in self-deception: it provides an outlet for lots of stuff, like local history, textbooks — niche work that would always have trouble with a commercial publisher but may still find an audience. But so much self-published fiction is so problematic that I think it’s a hard sell for most readers.

VENTRELLA: Any last minute words of wisdom for those wanting to break into the publishing business?

ENGE: Write the kind of stuff you’re interested in reading. This seems like obvious advice, but lots of people get involved in writing work they would never look at twice if it were written by someone else.

I’m not sure if those were words of wisdom, but at least they were words. Thanks for the chance to bend your and your audience’s collective ear!

Filed under: writing | Tagged: agents, fantasy world creation, James Enge, new writers, self-publishing, short stories, writing advice | Leave a comment »

Interview with Keith DeCandido

Posted on December 12, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: I’m pleased to be interviewing the very prolific Keith DeCandido, author of numerous novels, short stories, essays, e-books, and probably Bazooka Joe comics too for all I know. He’s best known for his Star Trek fiction, but has written tie-ins for other popular sci-fi and fantasy series as well, such as Doctor Who, Supernatural, Andromeda and Farscape, as well as comic books (Spider-Man) and videogames (World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Command & Conquer). He has also edited various anthologies, including OtherWere, Urban Nightmares, Imaginings, the Doctor Who collection Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, and the Star Trek anthologies New Frontier: No Limits, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain’s Table.

Keith, you have made quite a name for yourself writing movie adaptations, novel tie-ins, and so on, from Star Trek to Resident Evil to Buffy to CSI. This seems extremely cool and fun. How did this all begin? You weren’t one of those slash writers, were you?

KEITH DeCANDIDO: No, I wasn’t a slash writer—nor, for that matter, have I written any Bazooka Joe comics. I actually got my start on the editorial side of the desk, as I was the genre editor for the late Byron Preiss from 1993-2000, where I edited a large number of tie-ins, most notably the Marvel novels that Byron co-published with Berkley Books in the mid-to-late 1990s. Through that job, I was able to get the opportunity to pitch, both for the Marvel line I worked on (someone else in the office edited me for that work) and for things like Doctor Who and Magic: The Gathering anthologies, which is where I made my first fiction sales. Eventually it snowballed into novel contracts, and now this.

VENTRELLA: Do you primarily write first and then try to sell your work or do you at this stage in your career get assignments for specific books?

DeCANDIDO: There’s never been any consistency to it. Some projects are generated in-house, some are suggested by the editor, some are wholly from the writer. Much of my Star Trek work was developed with the editor—either John Ordover or Marco Palmieri—though not all of it, but that’s always been a collaborative thing. On the extremes, my three Supernatural novels were all my own concepts, but all my work with Blizzard was very much directed by the licensor. It all varies. Sometimes people will come to me—that was what happened with Blizzard and Supernatural both—sometimes I’ll go to them—which is what happened with the new Farscape comics.

VENTRELLA: Do you find it easier to write with pre-established characters, and is that one of the reasons you can be so prolific? Or instead, do you find it somewhat constraining, in that you may anger fans who gripe and exclaim that their favorite character wouldn’t act like that?

DeCANDIDO: : I think it’s a false dichotomy. There are ways that writing your own characters is easier; there are ways that writing in another setting is easier. It depends in part on the type of story you’re trying to tell. I don’t find it constraining at all, though—it’s more of a challenge than a constraint.

VENTRELLA: Does your work get subjected to more editing and control since you do not “own the characters”?

DeCANDIDO: Again, that varies from license to license. Blizzard keeps a very tight hold on their universes—which is the source of their popularity, honestly, so that isn’t a complaint—but it also means that they do more hands-on work. On the other end of it, Tribune Entertainment was very hands-off with my Andromeda novel. With Star Trek, they tend to keep a firmer hand on whatever’s current onscreen—which currently is the JJ Abrams stuff—while letting the writers and editors be more creative with the ends of the franchise that are not being developed onscreen any longer.

VENTRELLA: Do you feel that there is any sort of bias against tie-ins in the book world? I am no expert, so correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that they often sell much better than traditional fiction, yet can be ignored by reviewers and awards.

DeCANDIDO: That bias has lessened in the years I’ve been working, which is good to see, though it still does exist. The lack of reviews is frustrating, but a bunch of us have gotten together to redress the award issue by creating our own. In 2006, Lee Goldberg and Max Allan Collins formed the first professional association specifically for us licensed folk, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. We also created our own award, the Scribes, which is awarded at Comic-Con International in San Diego every year. I’ve had three of my novels nominated for a Scribe so far, though with no winners, and I also was blessed with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the organization, along with Donald Bain and Alan Dean Foster.

VENTRELLA: Who is your favorite character to write for and why?

DeCANDIDO: Probably Worf from Star Trek. He’s always been one of my favorite characters, and I got to do a great deal of work with the character in his post-DS9 phase, as well.

VENTRELLA: And in a similar note, what’s your favorite Star Trek series and why? And how about that new film, huh?

DeCANDIDO: Deep Space Nine. It had the best writing, the best cast, the best characters, the most complex storytelling, and it really just did almost everything right. I enjoyed the new film for what it was, and I’m glad it’s revived interest in Trek, but it didn’t do much for me—but neither did any of the others. Star Trek has always, in my opinion, been far better suited to television than movies.

VENTRELLA: Have you ever been asked to write a novel based on a movie or TV show you didn’t like?

DeCANDIDO: When that has happened, I’ve found myself able to seek out and focus on the elements of the original that I do like. It’s worked wonders.

VENTRELLA: What’s your opinion on e-books and self publishing? Do you think aspiring authors should work with an e-book or POD publisher, or even self-publish?

DeCANDIDO: Well, eBooks and POD publishers and self-publishers are three entirely different things, and they only overlap in spots. I used to edit the monthly Star Trek eBook line, which were original eBooks published every month focusing on the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. I do not think that aspiring authors should work with such publishers until they’re at the point of last resort. It should be the final option, not the first one. Self-publishing is particular is fraught with difficulties because the need to print, publish, publicize, and distribute takes time away from doing more writing, which is what the writer should focus on. Finally, no author should ever under any circumstances work with a publisher who charges a fee to publish. Money flows to the writer, and any publisher that does so is a scam artist who is cheating you.

VENTRELLA: What’s the worst mistake you have made in your publishing career?

DeCANDIDO: Getting into it in the first place. This business is nuts…

VENTRELLA: And what’s the worst and best piece of advice you have received?

DeCANDIDO: PLASTICS!

Filed under: writing | Tagged: comic books, Keith DeCandido, self-publishing, Star Trek, tie-ins, writing advice | Leave a comment »

Interview with Kelly Jameson

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: After last week’s blog about self-publishing, this week we have Kelly Jameson, a self-published author, to discuss her experiences. Kelly has two thrillers published, SHARDS OF SUMMER and DEAD ON.

Kelly, tell me about your books!

KELLY JAMESON: DEAD ON is the story of a medical examiner being stalked through different lifetimes by the same killer. History seems to be repeating itself. I set the story in Doylestown, PA because I grew up in the area. While the story is fictional, there are a lot of real-life places used in the book. I even put a body in the CB West football stadium. DEAD ON was film-optioned for two years by Gold Circle Films (they produced “White Noise” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”). It was also named Runner-Up in the 2006 DIY Los Angeles Book Festival. So I feel very fortunate and I think it shows that good things can happen with independently published books that you write and edit yourself. It is possible. In fact, when I was contacted by Gold Circle about movie rights via email, I almost fell out of my chair. The rights are back with me now and I’m working on a screenplay with another screenwriter on the script. We hope to have it completed by end of December and ready to pitch.

VENTRELLA: What’s your writing background?

JAMESON: I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was five years old. I used to write poetry all the time. Some of it was really bad. But that’s how you learn to be a writer—by writing. And reading.

I have a Journalism background. Got a degree from Bloomsburg University. I wanted to be a local sports reporter. Somehow I ended up a medical editor by day. Being an editor, editing my own books, has helped me to polish my indie novels and make them stand out.

VENTRELLA: How did you decide to write these books?

JAMESON: One of the characters in DEAD ON seemed to be tapping me on the shoulder and wanted to have her story told. That’s how it began. With a character and a “what if” situation. SHARDS OF SUMMER was really fun to write. I love the beach and Ocean City and wanted to write a story about lust, love, and obsession, about the wars going on inside each and every one of us every day. I like to write about flawed characters. The story starts with an elderly woman being arrested for the murder of a decorated WWII soldier on the beach 60 years ago. But of course, things aren’t as they seem … As a young woman, the main character was a dancer in a girlie show who got tangled up in an affair with a married homicide detective investigating murders in Ocean City.

VENTRELLA: How did you decide to self-publish?

JAMESON: I’m not very patient. The industry is a tough nut to crack and it seems to be changing on a daily basis. After a few positive rejections for DEAD ON, I followed my intuition and published it myself. I think that’s important in this biz—there’s more than one way to get your work out there and sometimes you just gotta take chances and do something.

VENTRELLA: Had you previously submitted your books to editors and publishers?

JAMESON: Yes. I even had an agent for eight months. However, when the recession hit, he pared his client list down and as a new writer, I was on my own again even though he thought my writing was excellent. I quickly became frustrated with the process. For my second novel, same thing. Got some positive rejections and some incoherent, nonsensical dismissals. It’s a very subjective biz. I decided to see if I could get it cookin’ myself … and fortunately I’ve had the support of established authors such as Ken Bruen (ONCE WERE COPS and GUARDS) who not only read SHARDS OF SUMMER but called it “THE GREAT GATSBY for the beach generation.” It’s so encouraging when a ‘new’ writer finds an established, best-selling author who is willing to read your material and blurb it. Jonathan Maberry says, “DEAD ON by Ann Kelly is a stunning first novel that blends ghostly happenings, romance, eroticism, time travel and intrigue into a genuine page-turner. The Ann Yang character (Bucks County, PA medical examiner) is particularly well-drawn, and the story builds nicely to a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it.” Kat Martin, NYT best-selling author says, “She’s a brilliant writer. No questions asked. She has a gift for the eerie. The words she chooses are absolutely brilliant. She has an incredible talent for stringing words together.”

If you like CSI meets the X-Files, you’ll probably like DEAD ON.

VENTRELLA: What do you see as the advantages of self-publishing?

JAMESON: You get to put the book out there pretty quickly and the way you want to. It’s fun to market it yourself, even on a limited budget. There are many local independent stores willing to help out. The Doylestown Bookshop sold 600 copies of DEAD ON so far! They’ve been really great. I think I’ve managed to sell about 2,000 copies of DEAD ON. I’ve read that a traditionally published first book has typical sales of 1,000. So I feel pretty good about my sales and I’d like to thank all my readers.

VENTRELLA: In my last blog, I made some comments about how there is a stigma against self-published books, even if they may be excellent. Do you agree?

JAMESON: I agree that a bias still exists against independently published novels but I think we are seeing some definite, and positive changes, in the publishing arena. I’ve had many positive experiences with my books. I don’t agree with the statement on your blog that “if you really want anyone else to consider you a real writer, avoid these things [self publishing companies] completely.” Of course most of us want to crack the traditional publishing nut and see our books at the front of bookstores everywhere.

Getting published traditionally is becoming more and more like winning the lottery. American publishing is basically averse to taking risks with new writers and tends to want to put everything in a box or a category. The ones who take a chance on multi-genre or slightly literary works still put out literary best sellers. It can happen. And I’m going to keep trying to crack the nut. I believe in my work 200% and I’m following my intuition in putting my books out there and marketing them. In fact, because of my first two novels, a small publisher who likes my style and storytelling approached me about writing a zombie novel and I just got the green light to write it based on my pitch! I’m also working on a new werewolf novel.

If you do publish yourself, investigate the companies. Some are vastly better than others and more fair. Ask other authors about their experiences. Look into the backgrounds of the companies…are there any complaints on the Internet about them? Are there glowing praises?

VENTRELLA:Did you hire an editor?

JAMESON: No … I’m an editor so I did it myself. But sometimes you don’t see things in your own work, so I also have fellow writers and family members who graciously read my work and comment.

VENTRELLA: Did your publisher provide the cover or was that your responsibility as well? Did you have any say in the decision?

JAMESON: For DEAD ON, I gave iUniverse my idea and loved what they came back with. The front looks like sort of an old photograph that’s fading. The book goes back and forth in time between the present and the early 1900s and Ann Yang, the medical examiner, uses all her forensic skills as well as past life regression to solve the present-day crimes. I interviewed a past life regression specialist in Doylestown while writing the book and it was fascinating.

For SHARDS OF SUMMER, I did not go with the cover BookSurge provided because I felt it was too colorful and not right for the tone of the book. A designer from a small publisher helped me out and gave me a great cover, a dark mysterious cover that’s perfect for the book. I’m really pleased with it because I think it’s stunning. And covers are critical if you want readers to check out your book.

VENTRELLA: For those readers who would like to self-publish, what do you advise? How do you decide which company to go with and so on?

JAMESON: Do an Internet search. Keeping in mind your goals for the book, compare prices and services, percentage royalties paid, additional free services and distribution channels, and make a decision. Then go for it…and have fun with it. Don’t plan on making a whole lot of money. Plan on meeting lots of great people who are truly supportive of your work. Plan on making community connections. Plan on doing something that feeds your soul. Plan on your material maybe leading to other unexpected experiences, like trying your hand at screenwriting. Plan on meeting other authors and supporting each other. Set up your own local signings and write press releases and send to the local media.

I’ve also started writing short stories to practice things like dialogue and so far I’ve been published in The Summerset Review, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 8 and 9, Dispatch Litareview, Amazon Shorts, Withersin Magazine, Barfing Frog Press, The Twisted Tongue, The Big Stupid Review, Ruthie’s Club, The American Drivel Review, sliptongue, ThugWorks and Ramble Underground. I have three shorts slated for publication in 2010 in Revenant magazine, TangledBank Press (Australian anthology) and Sex in the City (Paris edition).

VENTRELLA: What have you done to publicize the book?

JAMESON: For my first book, I did a lot of local signings, was interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local newspapers, did some advertising myself (on a limited budget) and I’ve kept in touch with several hundred readers who ask for updates on my books and short stories, etc. I did co-op advertising with iUniverse and twelve authors were featured on a one page ad in the NY Times Book Review. That’s where Gold Circle saw my book and contacted iUniverse about the movie rights.

SHARDS OF SUMMER just went live on Amazon.com and so I will be setting up signings very soon. I hope to do some fun things and contests with beach glass because that’s a theme throughout the novel. I have a very limited budget so I’ll be peppering the media with news releases and hoping to do a few signings where the book is set, in Ocean City, New Jersey, too. I just set up a blog at http://kellyjameson.blogspot.com/. Hope you’ll keep in touch!

Filed under: writing | Tagged: agents, Jonathan Maberry, promoting yourself, publishing house, self-publishing | Leave a comment »

The Curse of Self-Publishing

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

These days many authors see an easy way to get published. Hook up with Lulu or Publish America and you too can have your own book! And look, it even gets listed on Amazon.com! It must be legit!

Well, if all you care about is having your novel available for your friends and family to buy, that’s a fine way to go. But if you really want anyone else to consider you a real writer, avoid these things completely.

Here’s a true example: Last year I went to a writer’s conference. It was the first I had ever attended and was not sure what to expect, but knew I could learn something. The conference had a number of guests who had published novels and more than a hundred participants who were, like me, there to learn and receive critiques. Quite a few of these people, I discovered, had already published their own books. One fellow was very proud of his Publish America novel.

On Sunday, they set up a question and answer period where the published authors would sit in front and discuss whatever the participants wished. I was honored when the organizers came to me and asked me to join in. The people with the Lulu books and the Publish America books were ignored completely. Even though my novel is with a relatively minor publishing house, the editors and writers who organized the conference considered it worthy.

After all, unlike these self-published books, mine had gone through the process and had been accepted. It had then been edited by a professional editor and I had worked with them to make changes. It showed a level of professionalism that the others did not.

And that’s the image you want, after all. Your work could be great, but if you publish it yourself, the message professionals get is that it was so bad that no one would publish it and that you were forced to put it out yourself.

Of course there are exceptions, which the self-publishing industry will point out as they try to get your business. There’s always that one-in-a-million time when a self-published book grabs the attention of the public and does well. Then there are the other 999,999 books that didn’t. You want to play the odds?

There are times when self-publishing works just fine. The books I edit for my live action role-playing game, for instance, are all self-published. However, I didn’t use a vanity press, because I wanted it to look more professional than that. I set up my own publishing company, paid for a bunch of ISBN numbers I could assign my books, and had them listed in Books in Print. Amazon sends me orders every now and then and Double Dragon (my publisher for the novels) has been distributing the e-book versions of them. But those are non-fiction rule books geared to a small but significant audience. They’re not the kind of thing you’d necessarily find in your local book store. If you’re pushing a novel, that’s not the way to go.

So don’t give up. There are publishers out there who might just love your book, but you may have to take a very long time to find them. And if you get absolutely nothing but rejection letters, maybe your book needs some more work. Maybe it shouldn’t be published yet.

Even by you.

Filed under: writing | Tagged: Double Dragon, publishing house, rejection letters, self-publishing, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators | 4 Comments »

Interview with Chris Redding

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: Chris Redding primarily writes romance fiction. In 2004, Wings Press published her first romantic suspense book titled THE DRINKING GAME. In 2007, Enspiren Press published her next book CORPSE WHISPERER, a paranormal romantic suspense book. Her third is soon to be published. She also teaches courses in writing and is active in the writers’ group “Liberty States Fiction Writers.” Her web page is here.

Chris, When writing romance, what are the key elements that you believe need to be present?

CHRIS REDDING: You must have a hero, a heroine and a happy ending. There must be some reason in the beginning that they cannot be together and both of them must overcome the obstacles by the end of the book for that happily ever after. Both can be flawed, but they can’t be unlikable. They can’t be mean or cruel. Lastly, the motivation for their actions must be clear.

VENTRELLA: Have you had any formal writing training? Do you think that is necessary?

REDDING: I have a BA in Journalism from Penn State though that should not have prepared me for writing fiction! And if it did my professors would be mortified. Other than that I’ve been to conferences and participated in workshops for ten years. Not sure if you’d consider that formal or not. I don’t think you need a degree in writing to write. You do need to be educated about the business of writing. You also need to know about the genre you write in. There are guidelines you must adhere to for each.

VENTRELLA: You have two books published so far, with two different publishers. How did that come about?

REDDING: With smaller publishers coming and going, I did not want to put all my books in the same place. One of my fellow writers in a group I was in at the time raved about Wings. She was so happy there that it was infectious. And they accepted my first book THE DRINKING GAME which came out in 2004. Then a few years later I heard a small Canadian publisher, Enspiren, was looking for submissions. They accepted my second book, CORPSE WHISPERER, which was released in 2007. corpse

VENTRELLA: How did you end up with your current publisher?

REDDING: My next book will be out with LBF books in the Spring of 2010. I pitched INCENDIARY to them in 2008 at a conference I attended. I feel each step has been a step up in terms of my career. That’s why I’ve chosen each publisher.

VENTRELLA: Would you advise beginning writers to contact them, or are they fairly specialized?

REDDING: Enspiren is more a boutique publisher. Wings and LBF Books accept more genres and publish more books each year. They would be more what a new author is looking for.

VENTRELLA: What’s your opinion on self-publishing?

REDDING: I think it has its place. I haven’t read many self-published books so I really can’t speak to their quality or lack of. It just never seemed the way to go for me. I think you must have already established outlets I which to sell your books. I don’t so I never saw it as a good fit.

VENTRELLA: What’s next? What are you working on now?

REDDING: I’m working on a novella about an angel who investigates crimes. It’s for a call for submission by a specific publisher. With my critique group I am working on a romantic comedy I hope to pitch at a conference in March. My edits for Incendiary will arrive at the end of November so all that will be on hold until they get done.

VENTRELLA: Have you ever considered writing in any other genre?

REDDING: I have been approached by a former co-worker to co-write a children’s picture book with her. I’ve also written a book geared towards the early elementary grades. It’s a chapter book about a pencil monster. I haven’t really done anything with it. If you want a short answer, yes, but I read mostly thrillers, mysteries and suspense so I’m most comfortable with those genres.

VENTRELLA: What is your writing style? Do you tend to rely on outlines first or do you just plow right in?

REDDING: I plow right in. A true pantser. The only things I need to start are the names of the characters, the title of the book, and maybe the conflict they have. I trust that the words will be there when I sit down. And they always are. drinking They aren’t always the best words, but that’s what revising is for.

VENTRELLA: What was your biggest mistake so far in trying to make it as an author?

REDDING: I listened to two people at the very beginning and they led me astray. Not on purpose. I think they had the best of intentions, but they didn’t know as much as I thought they did. Neither is published at this point so I was lucky to find some more knowledgeable writers to take advice from.

VENTRELLA: Do you have any specific advice you would give a writer trying to make it in the publishing business that they may not have heard before?

REDDING: Besides being wealthy so you can buy a publisher? Uh, no that won’t work. You need to have a realistic belief in yourself. What do I mean by realistic? I’m 5’ 2” tall. I’d never make it as a professional basketball player. That’s realistic. What I do know, is that any time I needed to write something to test out of a class in school, I succeeded, including freshman English in college. Does that mean I know everything? No, It means I have a good base to build on.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Michael!

Filed under: writing | Tagged: promoting yourself, romance novel, self-publishing | 6 Comments »

Interview with Gail Z. Martin

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: I’m pleased to be interviewing Gail Z. Martin today. Gail is the author of The Chronicles of The Necromancer series. The books are available in your favorite bookstore, as ebooks from my publisher Double Dragon, and will be released as audiobooks by Audible.com soon. She is also host of the Ghost in the Machine Fantasy Podcast, and you can find her on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. She enjoys attending science fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history sites. Her web page is here.

Gail, tell me about your fantasy series The Chronicles of the Necromancer.

GAIL MARTIN: The Chronicles of the Necromancer series includes four books so far: THE SUMMONER, THE BLOOD KING, DARK HAVEN and DARK LADY’S CHOSEN. The story begins when a young man’s family is murdered, and he discovers that he is heir to a very rare type of magic, the ability to intercede between the living and the dead. He needs to learn to control that magic before it destroys him in order to avenge his family. I’ve really written two two-book sets. The Summoner and The Blood King are one story arc, and then a new story arc with the characters picks up in Dark Haven and Dark Lady’s Chosen.

VENTRELLA: Do you have a set number of books planned for this series?

MARTIN: Well, I’ve given my publisher abstracts for about 20 books I’d like to write, so we’ll see! There are two exciting pieces of news about the series. First, DARK LADY’S CHOSEN comes out December 29, and it will launch as a paperback, an ebook and an audiobook. And second, Orbit Books has picked up the next four books. The Fallen Kings Cycle is the name of the new series, and it will pick up after DARK LADY’S CHOSEN. I’m already working on Book One: THE SWORN.

VENTRELLA: Do you plan the entire series in detail or do you do one book at a time?

MARTIN: A little of both. I have a pretty clear idea of the full story arc and the arc for each major character. And I’ve given my publisher abstracts for quite a few other books set in the world of the Winter Kingdoms. And my publisher asks me to turn in a chapter-by-chapter outline before each book. That said, things do arise as I’m writing that often changes the way I saw things unfolding. Usually not a change to the ultimate outcome, but changes in how things go along the way. So the overview and outlines help, but the story develops on its own as we go along.

VENTRELLA: How did you become published? Did you obtain an agent first?

MARTIN: Yes, I did get an agent first. I really didn’t have time to work, write and shop my manuscript, and I knew that fewer and fewer large publishing houses accept unagented submissions. Having an agent has been very important, especially when it comes to negotiating contracts and understanding what options exist. A good agent is also valuable for negotiating translation sales and other contracts, such as ebooks and audiobooks.

VENTRELLA: Do you think you will ever write in another genre?

MARTIN: Well, I have the first book in a new nonfiction series for writers coming out in January, THE THRIFTY AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO LAUNCHING YOUR BOOK WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND. Dark Haven It’s a book on book marketing for authors who want to make sure readers find out about their books! And as far as fiction goes, I do have some ideas I’m developing, but they’re not ready for prime time yet!

VENTRELLA: I keep hearing that publishers are not that interested any more in traditional high fantasy. As a writer in that genre myself, I am worried. Do you find this to be the case?

MARTIN: I think the more important question to ask is, “Are readers interested in traditional high fantasy?” From my experience, I would say yes. So long as there are readers who want a certain genre, there will either be publishers who will supply it or authors will meet the demand directly by self-publishing. My bet is that so long as publishers sense there is money to be made in a genre, they will keep publishing it.

VENTRELLA: What’s your opinion on self-publishing? Do you advise new authors to go this route, or is it better to not publish at all than to be self-published?

MARTIN: I think it’s easier to succeed with nonfiction in self-publishing than fiction because most nonfiction authors have the opportunity to sell from the “back of the room” at workshops, speaking engagements, etc. Also, if nonfiction meets a need and creates a benefit, people buy it, regardless of who publishes it. Fiction is a little harder, because it doesn’t have that clear need/benefit link. With fiction, distribution through bookstores and online booksellers is still crucial, and that can be more difficult if you’re self-published.

On the other hand, a good book will find a market. THE SHACK was a self-published book that couldn’t get a publisher until it sold a gazillion copies and then was picked up by a big publishing house. If you decide to self-publish, you’ll have to work twice as hard on distribution, personal appearances, being a vendor at conventions and basic selling. But if you believe in your book, then you do what you have to do to bring it to life. I would probably advise authors to exhaust their options for traditional publishing with large and small publishers before self-publishing fiction, but I’m sure there are other authors who feel differently and that’s OK. Even when you’re traditionally published, there is a lot of work that goes into promoting the book.

VENTRELLA: Gail, you are one of the most active authors when it comes to publicity and promotion, because of your background. While it is clear that published authors must promote themselves, do you think it is appropriate for unpublished authors to maintain a web presence and otherwise promote themselves, and if so, how can that be done tastefully and effectively?

MARTIN: I think part of that depends on your definition of “unpublished.” If you post your short stories on your web site, that is a form of publishing. If you release your book as a podiobook, that’s a form of publishing.

I think you always have to be clear about what it is you’re promoting. thesummoner Some authors, like J.C. Hutchins, started out by releasing free podiobook versions of their stories and gathered so many readers/listeners that they ended up getting a book contract with a traditional publisher. So think first about what your goal is in promotion yourself and what you have to promote. If you write an entertaining blog, host a good podcast or even create an online serial that gets good buzz, you may attract a publisher.

VENTRELLA: You and I run across each other at conventions often and you attend many more than I do. Please tell us why you think attending these is important, and whether you think they are important even for unpublished authors.

MARTIN: Cons are important because they’re a great way for authors to meet other authors and of course, to meet readers. Today’s readers like to meet the authors of the books they read, just like they enjoy connecting online and on social media. It’s also a great way to attract new readers who may decide to try your books because they liked what you said on a panel, had a good chat with you in the lounge or came to a reading and liked what they heard.

For unpublished authors, cons can be great places to meet published authors and get advice. Lots of cons have writing and publishing tracks where there are panels with editors, agents and publishers, or with authors talking about the business and mechanics of writing. It’s a great free education. I definitely think it’s worth it.

VENTRELLA: What advice do you wish someone had given you when you first began trying to break into the business?

MARTIN: Expect to spend twice as much effort promoting the book as it took to write it. blood_king_med_cover Realize that if you don’t promote the book and you don’t sell well, you don’t get invited to write a second book.

VENTRELLA: Can you think of a personal anecdote about the writing life you’d like to share?

MARTIN: Going on book tour really does require you to check your ego at the door. You spend a lot of time driving around, setting up table displays and schlepping your stuff from store to store. No matter how many big signs in the store have your photo on them, inevitably more than one person will ask you where the bathroom is or where somebody else’s book is shelved because they just assume you work there. Smile. It’s all part of being an author, and it’s worth every moment. But just to be safe, make sure you really can direct people to the bathrooms!

VENTRELLA: You’ve got audio and excerpts from DARK LADY’S CHOSEN online, plus there are other sites participating in your Days of the Dead blog tour. Where can we find all the goodies?

MARTIN: Check out my site at www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com, for all the downloads and more Days of the Dead stuff. Also, please find me on Twitter.com as GailZMartin and on Facebook and MySpace as well.

Me and Gail Z. Martin on a convention panel

Filed under: writing | Tagged: agents, convention, Double Dragon, fantasy world creation, Gail Z. Martin, promoting yourself, self-publishing | Leave a comment »

Interview with Hugo and Nebula Award Winning Author Mike Resnick

Posted on July 5, 2009 by Michael A. Ventrella

Mike Resnick has 5 Hugo Awards to his name (having been nominated 33 times — so far!) and has won numerous other awards for his fiction. As of 2009, he is first on the Locus list of all-time award winners, living or dead, for short fiction, and 4th on the Locus list of science fiction’s all-time top award winners in all fiction categories. He’ll be attending the World Science Fiction convention in Montreal in a few weeks, as will I, except he, of course, is once more nominated for a Hugo award.

His web page is here.

MICHAEL A. VENTRELLA: I am thrilled to be interviewing one of my favorite writers, Hugo and Nebula award-winning Mike Resnick.

Mr. Resnick, you seem to embody what many people advise all new writers: write a lot and write about everything. You’ve done fiction, non fiction, articles, editing, and so on. Do you agree that this is important and how do see a varied background as helping your writing?
Mike Resnick photo

MIKE RESNICK: Anything a writer can learn will eventually prove useful. Editing shows you how other people attack their stories, lets you see the strengths and weaknesses of certain approaches. Writing non-fiction teaches you to be careful of your facts, and that’s almost equally important in science fiction, where you strive for verisimilitude. Short stories and novels have different approaches, and the more you can learn about both, the less likely you are to put yourself at a competitive disadvantage against writers who do learn all that they can about their craft.

VENTRELLA: How has the publishing industry changed since you began?

RESNICK: The main change is that while they are printing more books, less houses are printing them. When I started selling in the early 1980s (I won ‘t count the three science fiction books I did in the late 1960s; my post-1980 career is a public penance for them), 18 New York publishers had science fiction lines. Today there are maybe half a dozen mass market houses with science fiction lines. Signet, Fawcett, Gold Medal, Pyramid, Lancer, Paperback Library, Playboy Press, Doubleday, and half a dozen others have gone – or seen their lines go – the way of the dodo.

VENTRELLA: Did you have an agent and do you think agents are necessary these days?

RESNICK: I had an agent after my first couple of sales; a lousy one. I got a top one in 1983, and I still have her, and she is absolutely not allowed to die or retire before I do. Yes, they’re necessary, for any number of reasons:

1. A lot of houses – most, in fact – won’t read unagented manuscripts.

2. Your agent, because of all the contracts that pass through her office and all the deals she’s negotiated, has a far better idea of what will be a contract-killer that you do, and will know what Publisher A will accept that Publisher B won’t.

3. A good agent will have a top foreign desk, will make you more money overseas than you’ll make in the US, and will have working relationships with top foreign agents in each country.

VENTRELLA: Self-publishing seems to be the trend; do you believe that if a starting writer self-publishes it destroys their chance of being taken seriously by “real” publishers and editors?

RESNICK: John Scalzi to the contrary – and he had a unique situation, with 25,000 daily hits on his blog – I believe, and have always believed, that a self-published book practically screams out that it was not good enough to compete in the economic market place. resnickflagship

VENTRELLA: What process do you use in writing? How important are outlines, for instance?

RESNICK: I have a very brief outline I use to sell the book to a publisher, and a slightly more detailed but far less formal outline – a set of notes,
actually – that I use when I sit down to write the book.

VENTRELLA: Do you plan an entire series at once or concentrate on each book separately?

RESNICK: If you’re writing a series, you have to know a little about where each book starts and finishes, but you concentrate on the book you’re writing, because if you do a lousy job there won’t be any more in the series.

VENTRELLA: Do you usually have more than one project at a time, or do you tend to get one finished and then move on? Do you think it is better to concentrate on one?

RESNICK: I only write on one novel at a time, but while I’m writing it I often take a couple of days off to write a story or an article, and then come back refreshed. For example, I just handed in STARSHIP: FLAGSHIP, the 5th and final book in that series…but while I was writing it, I wrote and sold a story to Asimov’s, 2 to Subterranean, 1 to Analog and 1 to GATEWAYS, plus an article for Challenger and one for the SFWA Bulletin. That’s probably why it took me 9 weeks to write the novel instead of 6 weeks.

VENTRELLA: What’s the biggest mistake you have made professionally? What is the biggest mistake you see new authors making?

RESNICK: I sold 3 very derivative, not-very-good science fiction books in the late 1960s. I was busy learning my trade as an anonymous hack in the “adult” field, and I made the mistake of doing hackwork in a field I cared for. I realized it very quickly, and stayed away from science fiction – as a writer, not a con-attending fan – for 11 years to give readers a chance t forget. They forgave, but those damned books still turn up at every autographing session to humiliate me.

The biggest mistake new authors make? Either sending a manuscript out when they could make it better (this is a murderously competitive field), or signing a lousy contract with a second-rate publisher just to get their book into print.

VENTRELLA: I understand that Hollywood has just taken an interest in your “Galactic Midway” series, which I recall discovering and loving back when they were published 27 years ago. How did that come about, and why that series among all of yours? Can you give any details about this deal yet? resnickoutpost

RESNICK: There aren’t any details to give. I met with Jupiter 9 Productions when I was in Los Angeles for the Nebulas this spring. They have options on a couple of my properties, and asked what else I had. I mentioned that I had a 27-year-old novel called SIDESHOW that I have thought, from the day I wrote it, was very filmable: good story, almost no special effects, emotional rather than cerebral, all you really need is a good make-up artist and good actors. They asked to see it, I send them a copy, and they optioned it.

That doesn’t mean it’ll be a film. SANTIAGO has been under continuous option since 1990. I’ve been paid 4 times for the screenplay that Carol and I wrote. You haven’t seen it at your local theatres, have you? Another one was THE WIDOWMAKER. Sold it to Miramax; they paid Carol and me to write the screenplay, hired Peter Hyams to direct – and then lost interest. It’s currently under option with Jupiter 9. The Penelope Bailey trilogy – SOOTHSAYER, ORACLE and PROPHET – has been under option to Intrinsic Value Films for about 5 years now; they’ve had a screenplay for 4 ½ years, they hired a director 2 years ago – and you haven’t seen that one in theatres either, have you? Other projects under option include “Hunting the Snark” and KIRINYAGA. (On Hollywood’s behalf, the economics are different. If a publisher had to raise $75 million every time he wanted to publish a book, you wouldn’t see a lot of them, either.)

VENTRELLA: What is your favorite of your own work and why? Of what are you most proud?

RESNICK: My favorite novel is THE OUTPOST, because it was the most fun to write. Far and away my favorite character is Lucifer Jones, who over 20 years has starred in ADVENTURES, EXPLOITS, ENCOUNTERS, and (this summer) HAZARDS, and will be in VOYAGES and INTRIGUES before he’s barred from every land mass on Earth. If I could write only one thing the rest of my life, it’d be Lucifer Jones stories; I love them.

I’m most proud of PARADISE, because no one had ever used that approach in that way, and I thought I did it about as well as it could be done. And I’m pretty proud of KIRINYAGA, which is up to 67 awards and nominations and still chugging along.

VENTRELLA: And finally, what is the best piece of advice you would give an aspiring writer?

RESNICK: Books don’t write themselves. Writers write; dilettantes who will never amount to much talk about writing.