Book Brouhaha

About Mike Dennis: After thirty years as a professional musician (piano), Mike Dennis left Key West and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player. In November 2010, his noir novel, The Take, was released by L&L Dreamspell. It's a story of human desperation, set in Houston and New Orleans.  In addition, Mike has had short stories published in A Twist Of Noir, Mysterical e, Slow Trains, and the 2009 Wizards Of Words Anthology.  A collection of three short stories from the dark side, Bloodstains On The Wall, is now available on Amazon Kindle. Mike's opinion of the short story genre: With the explosion of digital publishing, short stories now have a vast, new outlet. The rise of e-readers, especially among younger people, will provide the market for these stories, and as long as they are priced correctly and are well-written, new stories will be joined with new readers. Summary of this work: From the other side of...

I am offering my short story collection at half price on Smashwords.  This offer will end March 4th.  That means you could get THREE short stories for 99 cents!  In my humble option, this is great deal you should not pass up =)  Joking aside, I feel one of the best ways to become established as an author is to build a readership.  So if you like short stories with a Twilight Zone feel to them, I'd love to have you give them a shot!  I use feedback to help improve my writing so feel free to tell me what you think. Here's the link:    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41610 Here's the coupon code:  CM57T Titles include: The Sacrifice   - Set during the Spanish Civil War. The Captain of a naval vessel is sent away on a secret mission to destroy an enemy fort. Before he leaves, his fiancée begs him not to go. But he tells her he would give his life to protect Spain....   Celebrity Space (Part 1 of the Space Hotel Series) ...

Summary of "The Sagas of Surgard The Traveler": Foolish giants. Suspicious savages. Duplicitous wizards. Monsters with attorneys. It's all in a day's work for Surgard the Traveler!  The collection has 13 short stories, all fantasy and all humor. Why he feels anyone should read any of his short stories: We all need a good laugh from time to time.  There's lots to poke fun at in the genres of fantasy and myth.  An inspiration for one of the stories was a satirical RPG character Steve Jackson invented called "Conman the Barbarian."  Another was inspired by one of the "Hitch-Hiker's Guide" books.  In another I got to reference "What's Opera, Doc."  They were loads of fun to write; I hope readers enjoy them as much. Buy now: The Sagas of Surgard the Traveler on Amazon The Sagas of Surgard the Traveler on Smashwords

Writing a short story is a different experience from creating a longer one.  This seems like an obvious statement, but you don't realize how true it is until you've attempted both.  I feel that the biggest difference is in how you pull the reader into your world. In a longer story, the characters are introduced slower.  A reader will come to know your characters' personalities through dialog and bond with them  based on how they react to situations.  This type of relationship takes time to develop. In a short story, the reader is instantly drawn in to a world already in motion.  The bond a reader feels has less to do with the dialog and more to do with emotions.  The character is worried and therefore, you feel worried.  The trick when writing short stories is for the author to make the reader care about the characters in a very short amount of time. Just as a reader is pulled into a world already in motion, so too do they leave it that...

About James Everington and why he likes the short story genre: I'm a short story writer from Nottingham, England. I'm proud to write in the short story form - it is a separate form and not just a condensed and lazy novel as some people now seem to think. I love novels too, but short stories, when they hit home, are unique. And I refuse to call them 'shorts'. Ughhh. Summary of this work: Attempting to flee the capital on a day dominated by the threat of terrorism, one woman discovers that the real source of her fears might be closer to home. A story about the psychological effects of terrorism on our minds and relationships. Buy now: Feed The Enemy on Amzon Feed the Enemy in other formats

Fellow blogger  Helen Smith  brought to my attention the Penguin Mini Modern Classics now available on Amazon.  In the UK they are called  Modern Classics - a collection of short stories by famous writers. At $4.19 per Kindle edition, this could be a huge breakthrough for the short story writer.  Not only are these small collections receiving good reviews from readers but it's also a sign that major publishers are now acknowledging the importance of this form of fiction. With the ever rising number of ebook readers, the short story genre may once again be a viable source of income for writers rather than just something to do for fun. Check out these collections on Amazon

About Kathleen Valentine and why she likes the short story genre: To me a good short story is a microcosm of experiences both sensory and intellectually. As a writer of short stories I try to create a small world, much like one might find in a snow globe, that is precise, exquisite and satisfying. Whether it is a story about love or about a crime or just the story of one person's experience, I want to give my readers a rich experience, a glimpse into my character's world. Though I have published novels and non-fiction, I love the art of the short story for its ability to create a complete little world that can interest readers without a great investment of their time. People today lead busy lives and often do not have the time to commit to a novel. But a short story can be like a mini-vacation in which they can slip away and leave everything behind for just a little while. Summary of this work: My book love, murder, etc. contains 8 short stories, some about love, some about ...

Watch Bugs beautify here Classic Bugs Bunny.  If you haven't seen that clip, I highly recommend watching it. It always reminds me of the real life scenario that I'm sure most of you other writers have been in.  You're getting your hair cut or just standing around at a party and a person asks you "So what do you do?"  Usually I just keep it simple and painless by saying, "Oh, I'm a violin instructor."  If they ask me to further extrapolate, I'll go into greater detail. As far as my writing goes, I think I'm going to have to find a healthy medium for being about to casually mention my writing vs. just not mentioning it at all.  I believe a good deal of my reluctance to bring up my fictional works in person comes from not being entirely confident yet as a writer.  It's easy to sell things online to faceless strangers.  But having to actually straighten your spine and say, "Yes, this is my work." It's not so much that I ...

About Adam Graham and why he enjoys his short stories: I'm an author and columnist living in Boise, Idaho with my wife and cat. My first novel,  Tales of the Dim Knight  was published in May 2010. People will enjoy my stories if they appreciate a quirky sense of humor, and fun stories that often have a serious point behind the humor. Summary of this work: Kirk Picard Skywalker is the world's biggest sci-fi fan. He's also unemployed and living off his girlfriend. When she leaves him, he faces the prospect of having to find gainful employment. However, before that happens, his dreams come true as he's abducted by aliens. But will alien abduction solve his problems or lead to disappointment? Buy now: Your Average Ordinary Alien on Amazon Your Average Ordinary Alien on Smashwords

Celebrity Space is one of my more recent short stories.  It is my fledgling attempt to experiment with sci-fi.  I've been a Star Wars/Star Trek fan since I was a wee thing.  So I've always thought it would be incredibly cool to author some epic intergalactic adventure.  But those are surprisingly difficult to write!   In my first attempt to write a sci-fi story, I went all out.  I tried to create lingo, terms, alien species names, planets... the works.  This quickly becomes an exhausting task.  After embracing the fact that Rome was not going to be built in a day, I backtracked a little.  I decided to start slow and create a story that was in the not too distant future.  So I could still have most of today's terms but futuristic concepts. I really liked the way Celebrity Space turned out.  It has a kind of fun Twilight Zone feel to it.  I'm working right now on turning it into a mini series.  I'm writing at least ...

About Mobashar Qureshi: MOBASHAR QURESHI was named one of the ten rising Canadian mystery writers to watch by   Quill & Quire Magazine in 2007. He was born in Benin City, Nigeria in 1978. When he was young he lived briefly in Karachi, Pakistan. He now lives in Toronto, Canada. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Economics.    Why he thinks the short story genre is interesting: After taking a university class on short stories I decided to write one and found I enjoyed it immensely. Sometimes an idea can only be stretched so far, so the short format allows you the freedom to just focus on that one idea.  Also, I can play with different genres without feeling any pressure to make it work in the long format. Summary of "Ten Typewriter Tales": A collection of ten short stories that vary from crime to drama to sci-fi to mystery. Buy now: Ten Typewriter Tales on Amazon Ten Typewriter Tales on Smashwords

Much like the animal kingdom, literature has been broken down into neat little categories so that way we may all rest easy at night knowing that the world is in order.  The five major categories for literature are: -Novel -Drama -Poem -Short Story -Novella An interesting thing to note is that "short story" is not only it's own category, but it's also one of the major  categories.  Contrary to current popular belief, a short story is not, in fact, a sub-genre of the novel.  Nor is it a novel cut short.  A short story is its own clearly defined approach to literature. So why then do we rate them by a novel's standards?  All too often the only criticism of a short story will be "it was too short, waste of money."  Of course it was short, hence the category.  A waste of money?  I suppose that is a matter of opinion.  If number of words is vitally important to you as a reader, then yes that would be a viable concern. ...

About Robyn Bradley: I ’m a Copy Bitch by day and Novelist Ninja by night. I've wanted to be a writer ever since I was nine years old and I wrote a short story for Mrs. Shea's fourth grade class, a short story that I loved writing and sharing with my classmates. Storytelling is as old as time, but that was my first experience -- that I can remember -- as a true storyteller. I was hooked after that. Why she thinks the short story form should - and will - make a comeback: I think e-readers will transform the Art of the American Short Story. Fewer and fewer print publications issue short fiction. When was the last time you could read one short story, without buying a whole anthology or a whole magazine? With e-readers, you  can  buy one and only one short story. And then there's the form itself. Short stories are immensely satisfying. You can read them in one sitting, which is perfect on so many different levels. You can experience so much in such compact space, and all the...

Amazon has released a new section of entertainment called "Kindle Singles" where short stories by famous authors are being offered for sale on the Kindle device. A great deal of controversy has arisen with this new offered feature, mainly with regard to the cost. The average price for one of these Kindle Singles is about $2.99.   Too expensive for a mere short story?   Keep in mind that I live in San Diego, so prices may vary. But let's consider how much you pay per minute of entertainment:   -It costs an average of $3.00 to buy a coffee at Starbucks. Consumed in 20 minutes, that's $0.15 a minute.   -A 3d movie costs $15 to go see. With a running time of 3 hours, that's $0.08 a minute.   -Bowling costs about $10 (including shoe rental) a person. Bowl for two hours, $0.08 a minute   -Your average person reads about 200 words a minute. Which means an 80,000 word average novel takes about 6.5 hours to read. Bought as a $25 hardcover, comes to $0.06...

What Helen has to say about her short stories: " I'm a novelist and playwright. I recently had a couple of short plays produced in London, where I live, and this - together with a life-long love of reading short stories - made me decide to experiment with writing short fiction. I came up with a new mystery series for the kindle with 'episodes' that would be long enough to allow the characters to develop, and short enough to allow readers to sit down and enjoy them in one go." Summary of this work: Three Sisters is the first story in a cozy mystery set in London, featuring amateur sleuth Emily Castles. It's a fun, fast read. Buy Now: Three Sisters on Amazon.com Three Sisters on Amazon.co.uk

I was introduced to the short story genre in high school and simply fell in love.  It's completely different from reading a novel.  A novel is a lengthy involvement.  Character development and plot must transport you into the author's world as the story gradually unfolds. Short stories are distinct experience.  A good short story writer will make you care about the outcome of the characters even though you may not necessarily know anything about them.  It is a complete experience in one sitting; not too unlike reading a poem.  You read the short story/poem for itself and not for the hope that it will drag out for 800 pages and then maybe have a sequel. The short story genre has become a lost art.  When newspapers were at their height, a writer could make a name for himself by publishing a short piece of fiction every week.  Charles Dickens is a perfect example of this.  Since then, the literary world changed.  You have to have an age...

One of the hardest thing about trying to sell stories on my own is suppressing my bouts of impatience. Normally, I am a very patient person. I teach four year olds how to play the violin so having a calm approach to life is essential.   In general, I have the mindset: "Hey, I'm selling over twenty copies a month. That's great! Twenty random strangers every month are reading my work." But this seems to go completely out the window at times. I've always been a night owl. It's not at all unusual for me to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning. This is usually my optimum writing time. But I've noticed this is also when I am most vulnerable.   I'll hit a dry spell in whatever story I'm working on. The scene is just not playing out on paper the way it is in my head. Needing a distraction, out of habit more than anything else, I will check my sales. The days where it says "no sales for today" are the worst. I clutch my computer screen and grow...

Payroll is my first story.  I started writing it when I was sixteen and it was an on and off project all the way through college.  I'm really proud of this work because it's the first long(ish) story I've ever started and  finished.  So it's a sort of psychological milestone. Here's the summary: " Jimmy Cochran thought that he had left his rough past behind him. But Ralph McCormick, the brother of the man he killed, didn't forget... or forgive... so easily. Jimmy knows he should just hightail it out of town to avoid getting into trouble. That is until Ralph puts the woman he loves into danger...." Payroll on Amazon Payroll on B&N

I became an "independent author" last October (so this would be Oct, 2010). It all started with an email advertisement sent to me from Barnes and Noble advertising their self-publishing feature, "PubIt." I now know that digital self-publishing has been around for some time but at that point that was the first I had ever heard of it.   Excited, I immediately went to work preparing a story I had written a long time ago for upload. Upload complete, I eagerly waited for it to become "live" on the site and.... I had a sales rank of 300,000 something.   The cold dose of reality hit. Barnes and Noble's tag line of "just upload it and let us do the work" was totally misleading. I realized I would need to push this story on my own if I ever wanted to crawl out of the hundreds of thousands.   So I gave Facebook ads a shot. I actually have had some experience with Facebook and Google ads in the past to promote my string quartet. With the string qu...

My name is Alain Gomez. I'm self-employed and primarily work in the field of music. Writing has been a hobby of mine since I was sixteen and decided that I wanted to write what was (in my mind) the perfect romance. I've always hated it when characters in movies or books ended up with the wrong person or have needless drama as to why they can't be together. So I started writing that way I could control everything in my own perfect little world. This aspect of my personality may also explain my past addiction to The Sims.   Blogs are always difficult for me to get into because I can only aimlessly ramble for so long. I need structure! So I decided to devote this blog to my learning process in the self-publishing industry. So take what you can from my trials and errors.