Author Archives: Colette Black

Contest Time: Gini Koch!

What do we all need at the beginning of a New Year? What else, but a calendar! And what could be better than a calendar featuring the amazing artwork of Dan dos Santos as seen on Gini Koch’s sci-fi romance Alien Series covers.

Enter our latest drawing to win this 2012 calendar plus a copy of her latest book, released December 2011, Alien Proliferation.

Want more than one entry? Post a link to the Fictorians blog on your facebook page or your own blog, or tweet the details of our contest. If you do any of these things, leave the details (including your web address and twitter handle) with your comment. There’s a maximum of 4 entries per person (one for each method of entry). Leave a comment  telling us in 25 words or less who your favorite book character is and why. See our examples below.

If you’re not yet familiar with the series, but would like to be, then just say so or make something up. It’s all good. Just make sure you let us know, and let me know you’d rather have the first book in the series rather than the fourth.

Entries will be accepted until 9pm PST on Friday, 30 December.  We’ll announce the winner on January 6th, and send the prize the same day. Is the whole contest too spread out? A bit. But hey, it’s the holidays. Cut me some slack, here.

Oh, and those examples; here’s Gini’s comment on her favorite hunk in the series. “I go for Martini, of course, because he’s pretty much the perfect man — intelligent, handsome, caring, brave, understanding, sensitive, but willing and able to kick butt as needed. However, I also go for Chuckie. Because he’s the same, with extras on intelligent. Sure, he’s not A-C handsome, but he’s still hot for a human, and he has all the rest of Martini’s qualities, including being sensitive and caring, without being empathically talented. Chuckie is the epitome of every nerd guy who’s made good. I don’t know that Martini could exist in the real world, but I know Chuckie can and does.”

Of slightly less interest…okay, maybe of much less interest, here’s mine: I go for Chuckie, too, but Gini pretty much summed up the reasons why, so I’m going to take a slightly different direction. My second-favorite character was the poofs. Yeah, they’re cute, cuddly, etc….but they turn into vicious, uber-doberman-type, guard-bears. What could be cooler than that? I want a gray one with black spots and I’ll name her Frill.

It’s that easy. Let us know what you think; fb, blog and twitter the contest location to others; and win a calendar and a free book. You can buy Gini’s books at Barnes and Noble,  Amazon, Mysterious Galaxy or your local bookseller.

The Number One Rule of Cons

After attending World Fantasy Convention a couple of weeks ago, I thought it fitting to do a post about such a monumental annual convention. I could talk about the workshops I attended, the interviews with Neil Gaimon, the nearly hyperventilating fans coursing around him, or the amazing information and advice I received from well-published authors. I could talk about my first public reading of my own published work; it went well and I enjoyed doing it more than I ever thought possible. Instead, I’m going to rehash a subject that I’ve seen blogged multiple times, but I don’t think it can ever be said enough. The number one rule of cons, of being in the public eye, of our dealings in our private lives, of being a human being: be nice.

There were a few notable authors/agents/editors I met or became reacquainted with who, in my opinion, handled this side of public relations exceptionally well. I hope we can all learn from their examples. Number one on my how-could-you-be-so-nice list was author David Brin. I met him for a total of, maybe, ten seconds in a bar. He walked by, I said hello, his eyes lit up, he shook my hand effusively and with a genuine smile he asked my name and said it’s nice to meet you. Then I glanced at his name tag and realized who I was talking to. I didn’t have to recognize him, say anything great about his books, or be introduced by someone he knows in order for him to be cheerful, pleasant and friendly.

Julie Wright effused the same outgoing acceptance. I almost felt like I’d found a sister after talking with her for only a couple of minutes. Amazing people. I met David B. Coe who was extremely nice even after I ran into him repeatedly within a short amount of time and probably seemed like a stalker.

Am I name-dropping? Oh, yeah. To prove a point. Because they’re so nice and willing to hang around with the new, unproven writers, I’m going to be looking for more books by them. In fact, I bought some at the convention and I’ll be paying attention to these particular writers in the future. I’m throwing their names around on our blog and making positive comments because they were nice. It’s as good for business as it is for life in general. Since I’m on a role, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jessica Day George, and Patrick Rothfuss are some other authors who made themselves available and took time to meet and talk with other attendees.

Only matters with writers? I don’t think so. Cherry Weiner, one of the best agents in the field, whom I’ve met and talked with multiple times has given me advice and help despite the fact that I have nothing for her. She doesn’t represent my genre. Still, I would bend over backward for this woman and do anything I could to help her clients if it was within my capability.

An editor from Baen, Jim Menz, remembered me from a brief meeting two years before, excitedly told me about an upcoming line of books, and mentioned some authors with great projects coming out. I will be on the lookout for those authors and projects.

On the flip side, an agent whom I met for the second time at WFC wouldn’t look at me when he talked to me, talked in clipped, annoyed tones, and literally turned his back on me. I wasn’t pitching, I wasn’t asking for anything, and all I’d attempted was to ask about upcoming projects I might be interested to read. I already knew he wasn’t a fit for my work. This unfortunate incident has made me reticent to read the authors he represents and tainted my attitude toward the ones I already liked. Do I have it in for him or anything? Of course not, and I know he’s a great agent. I won’t be pointing him out so I can make derogatory comments. That wouldn’t be nice. There were a few other authors/agents/editors who seemed to avoid people and only pasted on a smile when introduced through someone they already knew.

Now I’m not saying we should hold grudges, make judgments, or plan business decisions based on these types of interactions. I didn’t even realize I had these feelings, ultra-positive or negative, until I was thinking about writing this post and the impact the con had on me as a writer.  But I know my experiences affect my perception of the books I read and people I want to work with or support.

So, it’s been said before and I’ll say it again: number one rule, no matter how important you become, is to be nice…to EVERYONE. Seems simple, but I’m sure I’ve had my moments, too. I don’t like crowds and socializing wears me out. I wrote this blog as much for myself as anyone else.

Oh, and I have to mention the amazing illustrator, Lee Moyer, who will not only be at the top of my list for cover art because of his amazing skill, but also because he’s just such a nice guy.

Balancing the Butt in Chair

No, it’s not a new Yoga position. I’m talking about how we balance our time when our butt is in the writing chair. Most writers have to manage their time to write between jobs, family, and friends. There are dozens of blog posts about finding the time to write. But I’m talking about how we spend our time when we have our butt in chair, fingers on keyboard.

I used to take care of my emails first. Even after I delete the advertisements, sappy forwards from well-meaning friends and family, and other unnecessary emails, by the time I read my Daily Kick, Magical Words, and Duotrope update then take care of necessary emails, I’ve usually eaten up nearly an hour. Then there are critiques I’ve promised for fellow writers, submission updates for short stories, agent research, books on writing to read, books by other authors in my field to read, and you know…the list goes on.

So, in all of this, how do we become the writers we want and hope to be? The obvious answer to this; we need to write. Though it may sound selfish, we have to put our own work first.

I once read a parenting book that said you can’t do anything for your children unless you take care of yourself. The idea was that you’ll be a better parent if you take the time to exercise regularly, read, and spend time on goals that are important to you. Take a little time for yourself so what you give your family is of higher quality.

I think the same holds true in writing. I’m a better reviewer if I take the time to write. It’s not going help my writing goals to read books, fiction or otherwise, if I don’t take the time to write. My editing isn’t going to be worth crap unless I take the time to write.  In short, no matter what else I have to do or get done, I make sure the majority of my time is spent actually writing. And I do my story writing during my optimum, creative thinking time. Sorry, everyone else gets the leftovers.

I write while my kids are at school in the morning and, depending on how tired I am, I use the evening. In the afternoon, when my brain wants to go to sleep, I answer e-mails, send submissions, critique colleagues’ work, do blog posts (yes, it’s the afternoon at this moment), handle agent research, compile my other research, etc. I use spare moments to read: as the computer boots up, during breakfast, in between matches at my daughter’s badminton game, and so on. I can do all of these things without full focus and do them well, but I want the best part of my day, the most creative part, devoted to the reason I’m doing all the other stuff…to make my writing the best it can be.

The important part is to use the time you have to your best advantage. Balance.

I know most people are dealing with work schedules, perhaps schooling, and/or they have small children at home. What works for you and why?

Conning the Budget

A good question raised about going to conventions, workshops, and seminars asked how in the world does someone budget for these things. They can get unbelievably expensive. And it’s not just the event itself; there’s transportation there and back, food while you’re gone, and lodging. I don’t have all the answers, but here are some ways that have helped me.

First off, no matter how well you budget, there’s going to be a price tag. I consider the cost of cons and workshops to be my tuition or continuing education so I fit it into the budget. Maybe I’m only justifying using up my family’s money, but really, if I went back to school to get a masters or Ph.D. I’d spend even more without a much better guarantee I’d garner a return. Still, there are a few things you can do to cut costs.

For transportation, sign up with a rewards program to eventually, I hope, help with the cost of airfare. I wish I’d given myself this advice two years ago. I just barely signed up and it’s going to take a while to earn any rewards. Or…carpool. You might be surprised at how many people are driving from or through your area to attend an interesting convention.

Share the room. By getting a roommate you’ve cut one of the major expenses in half. I’m sharing for FantasyCon with a fellow writer met at Superstars Seminar. We’re not coming and going at exactly the same time, but it’s still costing us less than it would otherwise.
Booking a room close to the event, but not as expensive as the sponsoring hotel can help with lodging costs as well. Two years ago I stayed with a sister-in-law who lived around the corner from where World FantasyCon was taking place. I also stayed with family in order to attend Conduit last year. Usually it’s more fun and a good idea to stay in the main hotel, but sometimes it’s just not worth the cost. I couldn’t have attended otherwise.

If you do stay in a different hotel, get one with a refrigerator and a microwave. I’ve been known to do what I call “camp con” where I eat the offered breakfast at the cheap hotel, nuke up lunch or dinner in the microwave, then go out with fellow attendees for the other meal. This worked great at one of Dave Farland’s workshops because he always has them in reasonably priced hotels which have refrigerators and microwaves.

Now you might say, but I don’t know people I can do this with. You have to make it happen. Usually, there’s a way to connect with other attendees before the event. Either the person or group hosting will have a list of attendees, you can contact people through facebook, or you can request something be set up so attendees can communicate with each other. By staying active in a local writing group you can often find others who want to attend the same event. As your networking grows, your own fb page may be enough to get the word out. Just post something like, “I’m going to WorldFantasy Con in October. Does anyone know someone who would be willing to carpool?”

Of course, make sure you get to know someone before you do something like this. And make sure you feel safe. There are crazies out there; different crazy than just sf/f nuts. You have to always be careful, but as you get out you’ll get to know people. Go to those writing groups in your area, go to smaller cons in your area, and find out who’s going where. The more we network, the more we can help each other. But that’s a whole other post, and I think I’ve said more than enough this week.
Anyone with other ideas or experiences? I’d love to hear more.