All hail the mighty mailing list!

One of the things I hear over and over from book marketing gurus is: "Set up a damn mailing list!" Fellow Red Adept author Stephen Kozeniewski lays out the reasons pretty articulately over on his blog. The gist of it (or, at least, my interpretation), is that social media comes and goes, but email is pretty much forever (hence why my personal email is stuck on the silly handle I chose for myself as a cat-loving 12-year-old). So a mailing list is the best way to guarantee that you'll keep in touch with your followers, even if next year everyone abandons Twitter for, oh, I don't know, some new image-swapping site called Pictamazing or something.

I've always known it was a good idea, but, for whatever reason, had trouble making myself set one up. Probably because I was already feeling overwhelmed from trying to spread myself over so many social media sites (Facebook! Twitter! Tumblr! This blog! Google Plus... wait, what's that again?). I've always had the "sign up for new releases" option on my website (and email people when things get released), but doing it manually can be a real bother.

So I've finally done it - and fulfilled my new year's resolution in record time (yes, my new year's resolution was to set up a mailing list). Click here to sign up! The form is also over on the right hand side of this blog.

I promise, I'll only email actual announcements (like new releases) and maybe a few entertaining book-related things (like the stuff I post on this blog). And I won't email you more than once a month. There, it has been written on the Internet, and the Internet is forever, so it shall hold me to my word!

I spent way too much time picking out this font.

BNG FRIDAY: Exploring a Character's Past

Every Friday until its publication, I'm going to blog something about Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets, a YA sci-fi anthology featuring tech-savvy heroines. The goal is to encourage more girls to enter Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math professions. All revenues from sales of the anthology will be donated to a scholarship fund through the Society of Women Engineers.

For my own contribution to the Brave New Girls anthology, I wrote a little one-off short featuring the titular protagonist from the Jane Colt novels as a teenager. By the time she shows up in Book 1, Artificial Absolutes, Jane is a somewhat jaded recent university grad who dislikes the idea of virtual reality (which is commonplace in the futuristic space opera society she lives in) and dating a young man whose nice-guy ways she finds a bit boring on the surface, but comes to appreciate.

Since my short for BNG would serve as a prequel of sorts, I wanted to shed a little more light on parts of Jane's back story that didn't make it into the novels. In Takes a Hacker, 16-year-old Jane is competing in an interstellar competition for young programmers. When a fellow contestant is falsely accused of breaking tech regulations with her project, Jane's efforts to expose the real culprit leads her into the depths of cyberspace. It's there that Jane's dislike for virtual reality begins.

Takes a Hacker also depicts the kind of guy Jane was accustomed to dating before she met Adam in Artificial Absolutes. Being a pretty girl running around in elite circles, Jane had no shortage of suitors. She just had the terrible habit of picking the ones that checked off certain status symbol criteria – rich, handsome, smooth talkers, etc. – no matter how unappealing she found their actual personalities. The boyfriend depicted inTakes a Hacker is representative of her youthful romantic entanglements. Being a sucker for happy romantic pairings, writing a not-so-happy one was a bit of a departure, but a lot of fun.

While there are a few references that readers of the novels may appreciate, Takes a Hacker is a standalone story. The challenge with writing a standalone short set in a pre-existing world is that I had to resist the temptation to jam all the details. It was a lesson in trimming to include only the immediately relevant information and leave out the rest.

Of course, BNG being an anthology about tech-savvy girls, I also took advantage of the opportunity to let Jane show off her programming skills (which aren't mentioned in the main novels since, by the time they start, she's focused on other things). And to demonstrate how such abilities can come in handy.

The nice thing about writing "bonus" types of stories (like prequel shorts) is that you get to explore elements you had to leave out of the main novels. To finally nurture a few of those darlings you killed in edits. I hope readers will have as much fun reading Takes a Hacker as I did writing it!

BRAVE NEW GIRLS will be released in Summer 2015! Sign up here to receive a notification when it's available to order.

REVIEW: Kira Part 2: Horizon / Ross Harrison

TITLE: Kira Part 2: Horizon
AUTHOR: Ross Harrison
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
AVAILABILITY: Amazon and other e-book platforms

GENRE
Science Fiction - Steampunk

REVIEW
Ross Harrison's steampunk short story, Kira Part 2: Horizon, picks up where the first Kira tale left off. Let me start by saying that I LOVED the first Kira story, and if you read my review of it, you'll see that it ended with a plaintive plea for a sequel. Well, two years later, my wish was finally fulfilled!

Kira 2 picks up where the first story left off. After Kira's town, which resides in the desert outside a totalitarian nation run by the powerful Government, is destroyed by airship bombardment, Kira is left alone, having lost everyone she knows. Except for one person: Flip, a somewhat awkward but totally adorable teenage boy who seems to hero-worship her. With nothing but desert around them, their only option is to head toward the ruined city they spot on the horizon. But it turns out, there are residents of the city, and they're not very friendly. Between cruel thugs and wild beasts, Kira has more than her fair share of danger to deal with.

Kira 2 brings back much of the awesome from the first book - steampunk setting, action-packed plot, and, of course, two fantastic characters. Kira is an irreverent, Cockney-accented spitfire in a corset and half-top, and she's an absolute delight to watch. Having lost so much and faced with tough moral decisions, she wrestles with darker demons than in the first part, which Harrison successfully brings to life. I feel like he added a lot more depth to the character in just a few short paragraph by depicting her inner turmoil. And the adorkable Flip has a much bigger role this time around, though it's still Kira's show. 

Sadly, Kira 2 ended on another cliffhanger. The mysteries of the first tale are alluded to a few times, but this story is more about the journey and survival. I just hope I don't have to wait another two years to find out more...

All in all, the Kira series is action-packed, entertaining, and unafraid to expand upon the exciting steampunk world it's set in.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ross Harrison is the author of three novels and two short stories. Although he doesn't stray from science fiction, he has ventured into multiple sub-genres, including space opera, thriller, noir, and steampunk. He has been writing since childhood, and occasionally likes to revisit those old stories for a good cringe and nervous laugh.

Ross lives on the UK/Eire border in Ireland, where he moved from England in 2001, hoping the rain will help his hair grow back.

BNG FRIDAY: Story Line-Up

Every Friday until its publication, I'm going to blog something about Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets, a YA sci-fi anthology featuring tech-savvy heroines. The goal is to encourage more girls to enter Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math professions. All revenues from sales of the anthology will be donated to a scholarship fund through the Society of Women Engineers.

Here comes 2015, and with it, Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets, a YA sci-fi anthology I'm co-publishing with fellow sci-fi author, Paige Daniels. For those of you just tuning in, Paige and I both believe fiercely in increasing the number of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) professions. At the moment, only 26% of STEM professionals in the U.S.A. are women (even though women make up half the workforce), and if you break down the numbers into individual professions, the numbers get even more dire.

Though many young girls express interest in math and science as children, the number of them who intend to make a career out of STEM tends to drop off around their early teens. Paige and I believe that this is because of cultural prejudices, which says that girls should be pretty and nothing more. Or, if you want to be smart, you have to give up the things you love about being a girl. We intend to change that. 

Brave New Girls depicts strong, intelligent young heroines who aren't afraid to unleash their nerdier sides and use their technical prowess to save the day. Paige and I raised the money for the publishing costs through a crowdfunding campaign last summer, and we've recently contracted a talented group of authors to bring you these stories. Here's the story line-up:

BLINK by Kate Moretti, New York Times bestselling author of Thought I Knew You
COURAGE IS by Evangeline Jennings, author of No Christmas, Niagara, andValentina
THE DATA TOURIST by Davien Thomas
FLEDGLING by Jason Kucharik
FLIGHT OF THE ZEPHYR by Aimie Runyan, author of the forthcoming novel Ice Flowers
GRAVEYARD SHIFT by Kimberly G. Giarratano, author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards
HELEN OF MARS by George Ebey, author of the forthcoming Phoenix Saga
THE HIVE by Kate Lansing, award-winning short story author
THE KEYS TO THE STARS by Stephen Kozeniewski, author of the bestselling novel Braineater Jones
A LITTLE BIT TRUER by Valerie Hunter
LYRA by Lisa Toohey, author of Escaping Ivernee
THE MAD SCIENTIST'S DAUGHTER by Leandra Wallace
OF CAT'S WHISKERS AND KLUTZES by Martin Berman-Gorvine, award-winning author of The Severed Wing and Seven Against Mars
THE OUTPOST by Paige Daniels, author of the bestselling Non-Compliance trilogy
PANIC by Tash McAdam, author of the international bestseller Slam
ROBIN HACKER by Ursula Osborne
ROBOT REPAIR GIRL by Josh Pritchett
TAKES A HACKER by Mary Fan, author of the Jane Colt, Flynn Nightsider, andFated Stars series

Plus a foreword by Lara Hogan, Senior Engineering Manager at Etsy and author of Designing for Performance.

I love each and every one of these stories, and I can't wait to share them with the world!

BRAVE NEW GIRLS will be released in Summer 2015! Sign up here to receive a notification when it's available to order.

The Best of Times

Hey, y'all! 'Tis the season for obligatory year-end blog post of some kind. I considered doing some kind of "Favorite Books of 2014" post, then quickly decided it wasn't worth the agony of choosing (too many awesome stories out there!). Then I considered just keeping to my regularly scheduled blog posts - reviews and ramblings and whatnot - but it kept bothering me that I was about to let 2014 slip by without some kind of comment.

So here we go. 2014... 2014... How to describe 2014? It was a year that flew by, and yet, looking back, things that happened toward the beginning feel like an eternity ago now that I've reached the end. Like 2013, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the year I became depressingly disillusioned about certain things (though I've done my best to spare y'all the drama there), but feeding such demons with attention only helps them grow, and I'm having enough problems staying motivated these days as it is. So I'm going to focus on how it was the best of times and leave the demons to starve.

This was the year I did a number of things I never thought I'd find myself doing. Such as co-running a crowdfunding campaign and playing publisher (shameless plug: The project is Brave New Girls, a sci-fi anthology starring tech-savvy teen girls with the goal of encouraging more young ladies to enter STEM professions). And speaking on panels at sci-fi/fantasy conventions (I survived!). And overseeing a photo shoot (keep your eyes open for the Flynn Nightsider and the Edge of Evil cover reveal next year!). And signing with a literary agent (wait - that really happened, right? I didn't just dream it?).

Breaking new ground is scary, scary business, but it must be done, or you're just stuck. Everyone knows that, of course, but that doesn't make it any easier to take the leap into the Great Unknown. Especially when no one give you a map.

At the same time, while you're charging forward, you can't just forget the things you were in the middle of. Which is easy to forget when you're enticed by all the new and shiny things. I learned a thing or two this year about what happens when you start too new many things without finishing the old ones first. Not only do projects get delayed because you have so many other tasks to handle (to the one person waiting for Jane Colt #3 - a.k.a. Mom - I'm sorry!), but you wind up draining yourself, which ultimately slows you down. I used to be able to bang out the first draft of a book in a matter of weeks because it was the only thing I was working on - the only thing occupying my time, energy, and focus. The last manuscript I completed took twice as long as the first.

Perhaps the term I loathe most in the Corporate World (or, as I so fondly call it on Twitter, Cubicle Swamp) is "managing expectations." Yet I think I finally know what it means. And I think, for me, it mostly applies to me managing my own expectations for myself (man, could I sound any more solipsistic?). I want to do a lot of things, and it's not until I step back and take a look at the full scope of everything (like I'm doing now) that I realize just how much it is. Being extremely impatient and usually pretty fast about completing projects, the lag that occurs when you're juggling six distinct projects feels like failure.

But hey, as long as you keep chugging along, things get done eventually. And it's hard to see progress while it's being made. Before I started writing this post, all I could think was "ugh, how is it almost 2015, and I still haven't finished Jane Colt #3? I haven't done anything this whole year!" Looking back though, I think I've done quite a bit. I won't list it all here (though I was sorely tempted to - I'll spare y'all the "Look at everything I did!" boasting), but I think I'm doing just fine.

So there you have it - my obligatory year end post. It was the best of times. And may 2015 be even better.

REVIEW: Chasing Azrael (Deathly Insanity, #1) / Hazel Butler

TITLE: Chasing Azrael (Deathly Insanity, #1)

AUTHOR: Hazel Butler
PUBLISHER: Aädenian Ink
AVAILABILITY: Amazon (e-book), Amazon (paperback)

GENRE
Fantasy - Urban Fantasy / Paranormal

REVIEW
Chasing Azrael tells the story of Andee, a young archaeologist who sees ghosts – including that of her husband, who killed himself two years before the start of the story. Haunted by his spirit and unable to move on, Andee becomes obsessed with death and barely able to cope with the real world. She turns to her two best friends for support, but when one of them, Josh, becomes the target of a strange and dangerous woman wanted for several murders, Andee is dragged into the investigation.

Part ghost story and post mystery-thriller, Chasing Azrael is an intriguing and atmospheric read that evokes a distinctly gothic feel. The word that kept coming to mind when I was reading it was creeptastic. Creeptastic descriptions, creeptastic paranormal elements, creeptastic plot. Butler draws you into this dark yet strangely enchanting story that, while set in contemporary times, feels otherworldly. The references to angels of Death and other dark legends, the shadowy tone that envelopes the whole book, the twisted plot – it all comes together to form a sometimes disturbing yet overall entertaining read.

As a protagonist, Andee is relatable yet far from perfect. She's a brilliant university lecturer yet rather awkward and something of a loner. Her personality comes off as prickly and detached at times, yet it's understandable. After all, it can't be easy being haunted by the spirit of someone you love. All kinds of thoughts and emotions swirl beneath the surface, and yet it seems she reveals little of the real Andee to those around her.

All in all, Chasing Azrael is a creeptastic (that word! again!) paranormal mystery and contemporary gothic tale. There are romantic elements, and yet the story isn't an outright romance. I think this book will appeal to anyone who likes their books veiled in shadow and tinted black.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hazel is a twenty eight year old author, artist and archaeologist from Cheshire, England. She is currently in the final year of her PhD, which focuses on Gender Dynamics in Late Iron Age and Early Medieval Britain. She has been studying archaeology since she was sixteen, attending The University of Manchester for her Undergraduate course in Ancient History and Archaeology, then Bangor University for an MA in Celtic Archaeology and on to her PhD. She spent two years between her MA and PhD doing Corporate archaeology and research excavations, both in Britain and in Austria, and has two papers published in international journals.

Since 2010 she has been working on a series of Gothic Literary novels, the first of which, Chasing Azrael, was released in April 2014. While her primary interests are in Gothic and Fantasy art and fiction, she reads a wide range of subjects and enjoys most forms of art. She also has a great love of dogs, and her King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Dexter (yes, after the serial killer), is her near-constant companion.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: R. Anne Polcastro

An interview with R. Anne Polcastro, author of Left Behind (Book One: The Forbidden Voyage)

 

Hi! Welcome to Zigzag Timeline. Can you tell us about your background as an author?

Since I write both dark literary fiction and middle grade/YA I actually write under two different pen names. R. Anne Polcastro is the name I use for family friendly titles such as my Left Behind Trilogy. For my adult titles, such as Suicide in Tiny Increments and soon to come Jane, I write under the name Riya Anne Polcastro.

What got you into writing?

I started writing before I even knew my alphabet. I started out dictating stories to my great grandmother. They were usually about ponies and I would draw pictures to go along with the story. When I got to kindergarten there was an amazing teacher who would have us tell her stories that she would type up and then we would bind them with construction paper and yarn. And that was it, I fell in love with books and got the writing bug.

What was the first idea you had for your book, and how did the story grow from there?

Left Behind Book One: The Forbidden Voyage began with a random thought: what if Earth isn’t the first place we humans have called home? What if aliens are people who turned green from some sort of environmental disaster?

Among your characters, who's your favorite? Could you please describe him/her?

Harlo is my favorite character. I can’t really say why without giving away spoilers but let’s just say that there’s a lot more to him than first appears.

What's your favorite scene from your novel? Could you please describe it?

My favorite part is when the boys are swallowed up by the Monstruwhale on the Lake of Fire. They learn a lot from the Monstruwhale, who turns out not to be such a monster after all.

What's your favorite part of writing? Plotting? Describing scenes? Dialogue?

It’s just telling the story; the act of letting out. Most of my stories are like something trapped inside of me that is trying to claw its way out. So it’s kind of cathartic when it all flows into my laptop.

How long does it take you to write a book? Do you have a writing process, or do you wing it?

That really depends on the book. The Forbidden Voyage took a few months while Jane. took over a year. My writing process usually starts with a fresh composition book wher I usually just free write and try out a few characters. I also brainstorm settings and events and try to get a vague idea of where the story might go but it’s all very fluid, nothing set in stone. Then I turn on my laptop and give the characters the reigns. That probably sounds weird but most of the time I don’t really feel like I’m in control. I can’t force a character to do something that they don’t want to do. They are the story and they run it.

What is it about the genre you chose that appeals to you?

I love speculative fiction because anything can happen. Any world can exist. Any good, any bad you can imagine, you can build a realm around it. I love dark literary fiction because it lets me purge the creepy shit, the rage, the ghosts, everything. It also lets me explore perspective and satiates my fascination with mental illness.

Are there any books or writers that have had particular influence on you?

Until recently I thought my biggest influences were Chuch Palahniuk and Leo Tolstoy (what a combo right?!), and they are, but I had no idea that Frances Hodgson Burnett was actually the single biggest influence when it comes to character development. After reading The Secret Garden to my daughter, however, I saw the striking similarity; our characters are jerks.

Did you ever surprise yourself when you were writing your book? Characters who took on lives of their own? Plot elements that took unexpected turns?

Characters always have a life of their own. I’ve never found it very effective to sit down and create a character with certain attributes. For me, that’s a great way to get a useless, flat character. My characters just show up with their own personalities, styles, agendas, etc. But sometimes I am surprised by the choices they make, by how they steer the story.

Thanks for stopping by!

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P8ISXSA

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23509829-left-behind-book-one

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/490506

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/left-behind-book-one-r-anne-polcastro/1120690719?ean=2940046389975

www.rannepolcastro.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/rpolcastro