Ok, this particular characterization can add some much needed drama to a storyline, especially a thriller, but I can't stand it. And this is the characterzation:
A wife/girlfried who complains about her man going off to do a dangerous job and adding to his stress.
Now probably this man has been doing this job before he met his woman. It's probably how he supports his family. Suddenly, the wife decides he shouldn't do his job anymore, that's it's hurting their relationship, taking up too much of his time, could possibly get him killed and she doesn't want him to take his next bill-paying assignment.
Realistically, wouldn't she have thought about this before she got involved? Okay, I know such plotlines are meant to enhance the story, but shouldn't there be just a touch of realism in fiction?
Arrrgh!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
WARNING: There are SHARKS in these Book Publishing Waters!!!
I highly doubt if I will ever earning a living with my books. Luckily for me, I have no wild dreams of pushing JKR aside. That being said, I earn a living freelancing and providing services for others.
I have a new client who wants me to help her publish an ebook on Amazon.com. I told her that it was free to do and she could most likely do it herself with a little effort, but she'd rather pay me to do it. So, I was straight with her. I always try to come straight. Now, the reason for this post.
This client has a friend who she said excitedly: "He has a BOOK PUBLISHER!" Clearly, she's very envious about this.
I looked at her for a moment or two, then asked: "How much is he paying them?"
She replied, "Oh he's paying them a lot. He just found out he has to give them three thousand dollars more."
Do you hear that? It's the "Dum dum" theme music from the movie "Jaws."
I told her, "He doesn't have a book PUBLISHER, he has a book PRODUCER."
My "hopeful next Stephen King" friends with manuscripts, if you come across someone who says they want to publish your book and they ask you for ONE DIME, they are not book publishers. They are book producers. They make books for money. Lots of money. You are paying them to make a book for you. I don't care how persuasive they are, all the wonderful promises about what they'll do for you in promotions, etc., you are PAYING for everything that they do. The moment the money runs out, they do too.
Real publishers don't charge you anything. They believe your book will sell, will invest money to produce and promote it, then recoup their costs, a profit, and give you a portion, known as a royalty. In some cases, if you are very lucky, they will give you a cash advance. It isn't a gift, they intend to get that back too in sales. After they get it back, then you start receiving royalties.
My client's friend is being ripped off even as he believes he's being "published." The book producer has ties with someone famous "in the church circles" and of course the friend feels some prestige being associated with that name. More than likely that famous person is getting his cut of that money too. Religious affiliations have little to do with business, and just because someone is a famous televangelist, doesn't mean he won't pick your pockets. Actually, they're very good at it.
He would have been much better off independently producing his book himself. He could have started with free ebook distribution on Amazon.com, and if he wanted paperback books, he could have gone with Createspace, which is print on demand. If he was skilled enough, he could put the book together himself and have it published free, or he could pay about $400 to have it perfectly designed and ready for sale. If he wanted promotion, he could hire someone JUST for that.
What I'm saying here, is if you are looking for a publisher, make sure it is a REAL publisher. The moment a fee is mentioned, go to the shallow part of the pool. There are sharks in these book publishing waters, and they don't want blood, they want green.
I have a new client who wants me to help her publish an ebook on Amazon.com. I told her that it was free to do and she could most likely do it herself with a little effort, but she'd rather pay me to do it. So, I was straight with her. I always try to come straight. Now, the reason for this post.
This client has a friend who she said excitedly: "He has a BOOK PUBLISHER!" Clearly, she's very envious about this.
I looked at her for a moment or two, then asked: "How much is he paying them?"
She replied, "Oh he's paying them a lot. He just found out he has to give them three thousand dollars more."
Do you hear that? It's the "Dum dum" theme music from the movie "Jaws."
I told her, "He doesn't have a book PUBLISHER, he has a book PRODUCER."
My "hopeful next Stephen King" friends with manuscripts, if you come across someone who says they want to publish your book and they ask you for ONE DIME, they are not book publishers. They are book producers. They make books for money. Lots of money. You are paying them to make a book for you. I don't care how persuasive they are, all the wonderful promises about what they'll do for you in promotions, etc., you are PAYING for everything that they do. The moment the money runs out, they do too.
Real publishers don't charge you anything. They believe your book will sell, will invest money to produce and promote it, then recoup their costs, a profit, and give you a portion, known as a royalty. In some cases, if you are very lucky, they will give you a cash advance. It isn't a gift, they intend to get that back too in sales. After they get it back, then you start receiving royalties.
My client's friend is being ripped off even as he believes he's being "published." The book producer has ties with someone famous "in the church circles" and of course the friend feels some prestige being associated with that name. More than likely that famous person is getting his cut of that money too. Religious affiliations have little to do with business, and just because someone is a famous televangelist, doesn't mean he won't pick your pockets. Actually, they're very good at it.
He would have been much better off independently producing his book himself. He could have started with free ebook distribution on Amazon.com, and if he wanted paperback books, he could have gone with Createspace, which is print on demand. If he was skilled enough, he could put the book together himself and have it published free, or he could pay about $400 to have it perfectly designed and ready for sale. If he wanted promotion, he could hire someone JUST for that.
What I'm saying here, is if you are looking for a publisher, make sure it is a REAL publisher. The moment a fee is mentioned, go to the shallow part of the pool. There are sharks in these book publishing waters, and they don't want blood, they want green.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Words of Wisdom: 101 Tips from the World’s Most Famous Authors | Online College Tips – Online Colleges
These are FANTASTIC writing tips! I particularly like the one from Mark Twain that advises using the word "damn" every time you want to write "very." That way the editor will edit it out and the sentence will be as it should be. XD It's true. Most sentences will work just as well without the word "very" in them. :)
Words of Wisdom: 101 Tips from the World’s Most Famous Authors | Online College Tips – Online Colleges
Words of Wisdom: 101 Tips from the World’s Most Famous Authors | Online College Tips – Online Colleges
Monday, April 9, 2012
At Shimmer's End: Volume 5: Nothing Like a Cave and a Neanderthal (Protectors of the Realm): Ruth Solomon: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
New Kindle (convertible) novella in the "Protectors" of the Realm Series was published today :) Artimus is in some HOT water! XD
Having confessed to replacing the sex golem Dahlia had created with himself, Artimus finds himself in quite a situation. Will the sorceress cut him to pieces? Or does she haves something even worse in mind? Find out in this next installment of "At Shimmer's End." Mature content/Graphic sexual descriptions.
At Shimmer's End: Volume 5: Nothing Like a Cave and a Neanderthal (Protectors of the Realm): Ruth Solomon: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
Having confessed to replacing the sex golem Dahlia had created with himself, Artimus finds himself in quite a situation. Will the sorceress cut him to pieces? Or does she haves something even worse in mind? Find out in this next installment of "At Shimmer's End." Mature content/Graphic sexual descriptions.
At Shimmer's End: Volume 5: Nothing Like a Cave and a Neanderthal (Protectors of the Realm): Ruth Solomon: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
Friday, April 6, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Morning Writing Weirdness after a Night of B Movies: Untitled
It was after 11 at night, and his wife and children were in bed by now. He picked up a bound group of papers from the stack on his desk, leafed through and scowled.
”They have to be kidding me with this crap,” he hissed. “Just when I think they’ve outdone themselves in stupid legislation, they raise the bar.”
“Humans continually amaze me with the heights of their stupidity,” a soft voice with a slightly Slavic accent commented.
The President jumped, startled as he looked at a man dressed in a black trench coat standing in front of him. He was pale, with neatly cut black hair and black eyes. There was a slight smirk on his face.
He looked like an escapee from the Matrix.
“How did you get in here?” the President demanded, his hand moving to the button that summoned his Secret Service agents. It didn’t matter how this turned out. Someone’s ass was getting fired.
“I wouldn’t press that button, Mr. President,” the man said.
Suddenly the President found his wrist clasped and yanked away from the button as the man leaned over his desk, his brow furled. How had he moved so quickly?
”This doesn’t have to be a messy visit,” the man added. “I’m only here to offer you my services.”
The President yanked his hand away from the iron grip.
”There are channels to go through, protocols to follow, conditions to meet. You can’t come directly to me. There are other methods. How’d you get in here?” the President demanded.
”I have my ways. I’m very good at getting into places I don’t belong,” the man replied, straightening. “My name is Victor Carrabas.”
Here Victor gave the President a stiff, formal bow.
”Well, Mr. Carrabas, you’ve violated several laws entering White House grounds uninvited,” the President said, trying to keep in charge of the situation. Hell, this Victor might have a shotgun under that coat, or worse, be strapped with bombs. He was so going to fire every fucking Secret Service person on the payroll if he survived this.
“I’ve violated more than that in my time, Mr. President. And I was invited here, a century or so ago. You see, once a vampire gets invited someplace, it is, shall we say, a standing invitation,” Victor said.
”Vampire,” the President spluttered. He then started to laugh and dropped back into his seat. After about 30 seconds of laughter he looked at Victor from between his fingers.
“Great joke! Who put you up to this? Secret Service? Jay?” he asked.
”I assure you it is no joke, Mr. President,” Victor replied as he slowly drifted upward toward the ceiling, inverted, and stood on it. Neither his trench coat nor hair dangled. Gravity didn’t seem to affect him at all.
The President stopped laughing. His eyes shifted too the button again.
“Don’t do it. All I ask is that you hear me out, Mr. President,” Victor said warningly, drifting back downward headfirst, then stopping and inverting before standing on the floor again.
The President swallowed and composed himself, sitting back and folding his arms across his chest.
“All right, Mr. Carrabas. You have my full attention.”
”Very good. Now as I said, I wish to offer you my ‘special services.’ You’ve been having a bit of a hard time in the Middle East, haven’t you?”
”Understatement. Not to mention North Korea, China and a few other nations,” the President agreed.
“I would like to help you find ‘troublesome elements.’ The people who are difficult to capture,” the vampire said.
“You should approach the military,” the President responded.
”No. I want to deal with you,” Victor stated flatly.
”All right. Say I was interested, Mr. Carrabas. Why would you want to help the United States of America? What’s in it for you?” the President asked him.
“Besides a varied cuisine? Satisfaction at doing something for a nation that has been so good to me,” Victor purred.
The President shuddered a little. He could only imagine what “good to me” meant to a vampire. It involved a lot of dead people.
“Besides, I am a citizen. I was naturalized in the early 1800’s, when I left the occupied Russian lands to come to this great land. I was quite successful during the Gold Rush.”
“Okay, you’re patriotic. Why now? The United States has been in difficult straits before this. Why didn’t you offer your services then?”
“I fought in the civil war, on the side of the Confederation. I was a plantation owner you see, and the economics of hiring paid help would have decreased my profits. It wasn’t anything personal against the slaves. Just business. But then again, you don’t have an African-American slave lineage, do you, Mr. President?”
The President didn’t say anything. He didn’t.
“As to why now, well, with your election, I thought this nation would be ready to accept the abilities one of my kind, after accepting the abilities one of your kind,” Victor said.
”One of my kind?”
”Yes. The skin thing you humans go on and on about. Take it from me, you all basically taste the same,” Victor replied. “I might catch a subtle touch of hot sauce here, a hint of cheese sandwich there, some barbecue, or a soy burger, but basically, you are all the same under the skin. Delicious.”
The President blinked at Victor, not quite knowing how to respond to being called “delicious.” He hoped the vampire didn’t like the taste of ham, which he had for dinner with some greens and cornbread this evening.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
”Are you coming to bed? It’s getting late!” a female voice called from the other side of the door.
”My wife,” he mouthed at the vampire, who looked toward the door with an arched eyebrow.
“Yes! I’ll be up in a couple of minutes,” the President called back.
”All right. Don’t make me come back down here again,” the voice snapped, then went silent.
“Your wife is quite, luscious, Mr. President. I’ve always admired women with strong female attributes,” Victor said with a smile. For the first time, the President saw his fangs. “Her arms are my favorite aspect, followed by her hips. Simply bitable.”
“Don’t worry about how ‘luscious’ my wife is,” the President snarled, bristling. “Or her arms or hips. I’m sure you can be staked . . .”
”Calm down, sir. It was meant as a complement to your taste in female flesh.
”Let’s keep it business,” the President fumed. He’d break off a chair leg to plunge in this bastard’s heart if he had to do so. His family was off limits and he’d do his best to kick some vampire ass before he’d let Victor get within a thousand feet of them. He might be wearing a suit and in the Oval Office, but he was no slouch when it came to moving furniture around.
“Of course,” Victor said, shaking back the sleeve of his coat and looking at his Rolex watch. “But I am afraid I have to go now. I have a ‘meeting’ to attend. I will visit you again, Mr. President. Think about my offer.”
The room seemed to bend around the vampire, and then he was gone. No doors or windows opened, but the President sensed he was alone. His hand immediately went for the button to summon the Secret Service, but he hesitated before pushing it.
What the hell would he say? That a vampire broke into his office, walked on the ceiling and offered to kill terrorists for him? Yeah, that would look great in the papers, just before his Impeachment trial for insanity.
The President blinked and moved his hand away from the button. He knew it would be a trying job being the first President of color of a nation in turmoil, but he never dreamed it would get this weird.
***************************************
A/N: This little one shot came to me early this morning after watching a number of bad vampire fics. What if we had a patriotic vampire in our military ranks? Lol. I know. Another B movie in the making. Still, I had to write it. Thanks for reading it.
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