Tip O'Day #411 - Where's the NF Horror?

Guest blogger Anthony Servante visits from the Servante of Darkness blog to discuss “The Flowering Roots of Horror: Criticism and Creativity."

Ann Radcliffe was the first to argue that horror was not the object of the gothic novel (she wrote six of them and is considered the Mother of the Gothic form), that terror was the dutiful aim of such literature. When the gothic stories became gruesome and sensational (circa early 1800s), Radcliffe dropped out of the writing scene and her work “On the Supernatural in Poetry” was her last published critique of the romanticization of her beloved story form. To find any other literary criticism of horror, we’d have to look back as far as the Ancient Greeks, who argued that “horror vacui” was “a fear of empty spaces.” Thus artwork of the grotesque crowds every single space of the canvas with images, from the works of Dadd to Bosch to Crumb (and even Mad Magazine movie parodies where each caption is filled to capacity with absurd and sometimes horrific pictures and characters that backdrop the main characters of the movie being ridiculed).

Today, however, there is no longer any criticism of horror as art or literature. What I have been trying to do for the past few years under the pseudonym Anthony Servante (especially under the Servante of Darkness moniker) is to revive this critical spotlight on works of horror that meet the criterion established by critics of old and guide readers to new critiques of art, whether in horror, science fiction, fantasy, noir, or gothic forms.

While most writers veer toward fiction and fame, very few choose nonfiction in a field rich such genres as the supernatural, mystery, suspense, thrillers and, of course, gothics. As an academician, I specialize in works of the grotesque in art and literature, concentrating on German and English Romanticism. My interest extends to the Victorian Age because it spawned many a great monster (Dracula, Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Dorian Gray). As a reader, I peruse the monsters of today from new and old talents in film, art, and books. One day I decided to bring my academic writing to bear on my current readings. I decided to review today’s books the same way I critique the old literature. The only difference is that I don the Servante of Darkness garb for my reviews, but the result is still the same. I’ve had a hoot since I’ve been writing about the new wave in the grotesque.

I have followed the current trend in the Zombie Apocalypse and have interviewed authors on their views on the longevity of the genre. I have followed “cybernocturalism,” the self-publishing avalanche of horror eBooks. Some books are instant classics, while others are just plain bad, and the chasm between the two grows with no end in sight. The literature of Noir is being kept alive in the creative mind of Trent Zelazny. The Southern Gothic is alive and well with Ray Garton. Historic horror maestro Mark Rainey adds a dash of education to his works. Literature of the Absurd is modernized in the works of Gina Ranalli. The Weird Western, a new but important form of horror, has sustained new life with authors such as Ed Erdelac and Ian Rogers.

G.N. Braun has taken horror in a new direction with his work “Hammered” and my review of his book remains one of the top five read articles on my blog. The top three pieces in the Servante of Darkness are interviews with three rock legends: Roger Hodgson, the voice of Supertramp; Dave Lambert, guitarist and vocalist of Strawbs; and Tom Toomey, guitarist for The Zombies. That’s saying a lot about the staying power of Braun’s nonfictional biographic work.

Which brings us back to the lack of nonfiction writers in the field of horror and its neighboring genres. You don’t need to be a professor of literature to write a review or to point out a new trend. You simply need an opinion and a voice. There are plenty of avenues to get your opinion read: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and so on.

Radcliffe would be proud that her view of terror is still being written about and critiqued, and that the gothic form lives on today in literature and even music and cinema. Even the horror vacui continues in the work of Park Cooper and Barbara-Lien Cooper. It’s a brave new world for horror. And it’s a braver new world for those who write about its branches and growth. I am proud to be amongst them.

Check out this writer at Servante of Darkness blog found at http://servanteofdarkness.blogspot.com/

Tip O'Day #369 - Seek Help & Return the Favor

Guest blogger Ashley Robertson has some writing advice.

The biggest thing writers should know is that you’d better be extremely passionate about writing or you might as well go ahead and hang up your hat right now. This business is extremely competitive; it’s similar to trying to be an actor. Yes, it’s that competitive.

Being an author is a part of who I am, imbedded deep down inside my heart and rooted within the marrow of my bones. That’s what drove me when the rejection letters rolled in or my books didn’t get the ratings I felt they deserved. Instead of taking it personally—sometimes it’s impossible not to when you invest so much of your time and energy into something—you’ve got to develop a thicker skin and use it to your advantage. Realize that you can’t please everyone, but a lot of the reviewers offer healthy constructive criticism too. That’s what you need to focus on to improve your writing skills and storytelling ability.

When I set out to publish my debut YA urban fantasy novel, Crimson Groves, I thought that I’d get accepted by one of the many literary agencies I reached out to and that they would take care of everything for me. That couldn’t have been further from how everything actually happened. Though I must thank a few of those agencies, because their personal rejections saying, in essence, “I like your writing style, but we’re not taking anything vampire related. Do you have something else you can submit?” were actually what motivated me to self-publish in the first place. You see, I’m obsessed with vampires and just about everything paranormal, and based on my own extensive research, I believe that genre isn’t going anywhere. Check out Crimson Groves here.

Now that I was doing this on my own, it was time to figure out my budget. When you go the indie author route, you have to pay all the upfront expenses (editor, cover designer, publishing company, etc.). My best advice about this is to only spend what you’re able to lose should your book not sell right away (or not at all). If you’re willing to teach yourself how to e-publish, Amazon and Smashwords offer free training manuals which can save you money on the publishing side; however, if you want to offer your book in paperback or hardcover, you must work with one of many publishing companies. I’ve found that CreateSpace is one of the less expensive ones, and they offer packages that include cover design and editing services. Since I prefer more control and a more personal relationship with a writing team, I outsourced my own editor—Stephen Delaney with Close Reader Editing Services—and book-cover designer—Claudia McKinney with PhatpuppyArt—and I couldn’t be happier with the business relationships I have with them.

That’s actually why I like CreateSpace. They allowed me to bring my already edited manuscript and fully designed cover to them and charged me a simple flat fee for formatting a printed version of my book. So when I was ready to publish my second mature YA/paranormal romance thriller, UnGuarded, it was much easier than before because I had a system in place. Check out free sample chapters of UnGuarded.

Now for another very important tip: networking. You must build “blogationships” with as many book reviewers and bloggers as you can. These amazing people are the backbone of your business. In exchange for a free copy of your book, they’ll give you an honest review and post it on Good Reads, Amazon, and so on. But don’t just be a “taker” when making these connections; be a “giver” too! Spend time reviewing their submission guidelines (and pay attention to what they’re asking for!), learn more about them by reading their bios and then perhaps include that in your review letter so they’ll know you cared enough to learn about them, subscribe to their blogs and follow them on Facebook or Twitter (or wherever they like to be “stalked”). Yes, these things take time and may distract you somewhat from writing, but they are essential. Eventually everything will balance out.

Remember, as indie authors, we are our own literary agent, our own publicist, and it’s up to us to market our books and ourselves. This is why we NEED those amazing book bloggers to help us. If they like you and your work, they’ll share it all over their social media sphere of influence, including in their blogs. Then you should return the favor by sharing the blogs you love, and also help other authors by reading their books and taking five minutes of your time to review them. That is why I recently added a review section to my website.

Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando, Florida and loves reading and writing urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When she isn't writing you'll find her spending time with family and friends, training in her home gym, traveling, drinking fine red wines, and making gourmet coffees with her Nespresso machine. Besides Goodreads and her website, you can find her on Twitter as #!/AshleyR0bertson.

Tip O'Day #367 - Where Ideas Come From

Here is guest blogger Tim Reynolds, with an excerpt from an opinion piece taken from his blog “My Opinion, Love It or Leave It – The Tao of Tim” (originally posted on Jan 14, 2012 - used with permission).

Cross-Pollination in Writing…

I spent six years playing in the open mic night amateur scene in Calgary. As a comic I would watch the entire world just beyond my finger tips, looking for weird shit and finding a way to comment on it and make people laugh. I’d hear a conversation between two teens that his mother is spreading rumors that her father got the mother pregnant. The boy said “I know, sorry about that.” It would have been simply interesting eavesdropping except that the two teens were boyfriend and girlfriend. The kids were dating and their parents were screwing!

I saw a sign on a subway car advertising the benefits of seeing the local philharmonic live. The poster was a bunch of middle-aged philharmonic fans posing like rock concert fans with ‘Rock-on’ hand signs (looks like the sign for ‘bullshit’ with the thumb sticking out) and screaming faces. The word on the top was “LIVE.” It was a cool ad until I shifted my position and saw it reflected behind a woman sitting on the train. Because it was backward in the reflection, the word “LIVE” became the word “EVIL” and the rock-on hand sign became finger-shaped horns behind this woman’s head. Was the universe telling me she was evil? Maybe. Will I use it in a story? Read on.

My point is, the joke that came out of it didn’t get a lot of laughs but the incident became integral to the concept behind my short story “Shut Up and Drive,“ about a man driving a bus full of relief aid workers who turn out to be demons when he sees them in the rear-view mirror.

My novel, The Broken Shield, came in part from a moment I shared with a complete stranger while I was driving a bus (the day job). She was waiting to cross the street and she looked up at me the moment I looked down at her. Then we both smiled, not because we were flirting, but because we somehow knew each other and had known each other for centuries. It was a “Oh hi - There you are” moment. And then she was gone, never to be seen by me again. I can’t explain the reality behind it, but because I was so used to grabbing at moments for my comedy, I remembered the feeling and the moment and gave it to my characters to play with. I asked “What if?”

I was at a meeting of the Imaginative Fiction Writers’ Association (IFWA) last week and the guest speaker for the first hour was poet Bob Stallworthy. He was fun and entertaining and talented and then my epiphany moment occurred. Even though my book of poetry, The Cynglish Beat sold only two copies, the work that went into the writing of an entire tome of cynical, beat poetry has coloured my fiction writing as I break the prose rules and write for the emotions and not for the brain.

I have writing friends who have been working on the same short story for two years or more. Yes, I have stories that sit unfinished or unpolished, including a fantasy novel I started in 1981, but I have written novels and screenplays and short stories and self-help guides and poems by the pound since that first novel. At any given time I can find three things in the world around me and at least find a premise for a short story in there. Sometimes an entire novel springs forth, or a twist to a project already under way. I can’t wrap myself up in my own little world and expect to produce anything without lifting my head up from the keyboard and actually seeing what’s out there and then thinking about it like a comic, a poet or even as a photographer, which I am.

Great writing does not happen in isolation. Writers of every ilk must be sponges, absorbing whatever the universe throws in our path at that moment. Like all writers, I get asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” The simple answer? They find me. And I’m waiting with open arms.

Tip O'Day #298 - Look for Your Fairy Godmother

Guest blogger Holly Robinson finishes her three-part series on publicity for both traditionally published authors and Indies.

Befriend Book Bloggers. Book bloggers are our “fairy godmothers,” as my friend Terri Giuliano Long, a best-selling indie author, pointed out in one of her blogs recently. Without their support and generosity, many of our books would never be read. Check out as many book blogs as you can find. When you discover a book blogger who reviews books like yours, write a personal note and ask if you can send a review copy. You might want to send her an e-book because it's cheaper than mailing a paperback, but if she says she'd rather have a paperback, send it! Media mail is cheap postage and print-on-demand paperbacks are inexpensive, too. Remember: she is the one doing you a favor, and it's a good investment. Most book bloggers post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads; once they're up, be sure to tweet and post those links on your own pages. Add them to your Amazon Author Central page as well.

Look for Out-of-the-Box Marketing Opportunities. Just like parents know their own children better than anyone else can, you know your book: its content, style, and target audience. Use that expertise in thinking about out-of-the-box marketing opportunities. I contacted pet groups when I published The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter, for instance, and found a loyal following. For Sleeping Tigers, I'm contacting breast cancer groups, because my main character is a breast cancer survivor, and I know other cancer survivors will connect with this story about hope and starting over.

Lasting Impressions. All of your marketing efforts will eventually come together. If you're a parent, think about how many times you had to show your toddler peas or carrots before that child stopped thinking of veggies as too weird to eat. The same is true of your book: keep putting it out there, and pretty soon people will start saying, “Hey, I remember that title. I meant to read that book!”

Learn more about Holly at her website.