Check out JasonBougger.com for updates

My main author site has moved.  Give it a look at www.jasonbougger.com.

Site update and looking ahead

We're going to go through some big changes here in the coming months, so I thought I'd give a little update on where things stand and where I see them going.

Basically, I've been blogging here fairly regularly for over two years now. I've got a lot of ideas of where I'd like to take this blog, but I'm looking to do a little re-branding. Later this year, I'll be launching a new site. I know... anything to put off revising my novels, right?

I'm not going to go into too many specifics at this point, but I've already purchased the domain and have started the planning process. In some ways, the new site will be what I originally envisioned with this blog and a majority of the content and concepts here will me moving to the new site.

So what will become of this site? At the present, I'll be switching hosts and platforms and moving jasonbougger.com to more of a traditional author site.  A blog presence will remain, but the content will be a little more random. I'll continue to post Quickie Book/Movie reviews here, and will still write about my own writing goals and that sort of thing from time to time, as well more personal stuff. I love the Five Links Friday concept, and that will either stay here or move to the new site, pending on which direction I take things, I suppose.

Throughout everything, Theme of Absence will remain live and open to submissions. I'll be moving the author interviews there, probably beginning this week. I'm hoping to redesign the look of that site early next year after everything else is in place.

In the meantime, this site is not going away.  The tentative plan is to close out October with another Halloween Quickie Movie review series of posts beginning October 20.  I won't give it away :) but I think you might be able to find a couple of clues lying around to hint at which series I'll be reviewing.

Starting in November I'll get this site moved to the new platform and then start advertising the new site, which I'm hoping will be ready to go live before the first of the year.  Although, if I opt out of NaNoWriMo that might get moved up a month.

So there you have it.  Stick around, we've got some awesome big things on the way.

Author Interview: Jeff Suwak

10 Questions with Jeff Suwak

1. How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I've been writing down stories since I learned to put words on paper. It's just who I am. But it was only a few years ago that I decided to start taking publishing seriously. A person has many opportunities to look his mortality square in the eye when he's deployed overseas. My personal experiences inspired to give a real go at writing.

Five Links Friday 10/10/14

And with the blink of an eye, October is a third of the way through. Here are five links to check out over the weekend. I stuck with a solid writing theme this week, so here we go...

1. Here's an article by Mary McKay at The Write Life looking at clutter: Your Messy Desk is Hurting Your Writing Career. Here’s How to Declutter. I know exactly what she's saying. Whenever I sit down to write, I usually spend the first five minutes picking up the area around me.

Finished up a horror writing class

Tonight we finished up a five week class on horror writing at the local library. It was fun. I'm genuinely sad that it's over. I really looked forward to spending two hours every Thursday night talking about horror and writing.

The topic each week was a general writing topic, such as character building, plotting, or tropes, with a focus on how use these in horror. It's always a good refresher to attend courses like this.

Quickie Movie Review: Alien Abduction

Alien Abduction (2014)

I've been out with the plague since Saturday, but I'm finally getting back into the swing of regular life again. With death no doubt taking one step closer with each chill, ache, and stomach cramp, I decided to go down swinging. And for me, that means watching a found footage horror movie.

Author Interview: Nils Rasmussen

10 Questions with Nils Rasmussen

1.  How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I've only been writing for the past 3 or 4 months actually. I got started because I wanted to see more 1950's-style sci-fi in the public eye. I've been studying 1950's-style sci-fi and detective literature and radio for the past 13 years and it never has lost its charm.

Five Links Friday 10/3/14

Time again for Five Links Friday.  Enjoy!

1. Let's start the month off right, with 5 Must Read Horror Articles, care of This is Horror.

2. Here's an article by Jane Friedman giving us 5 Lessons in Publishing Success.

Quickie Book Review: Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green

This is the fourth book of John Green's that I listened to during the commute to work.  It's a pretty good book following the narrator, Quentin (Q) Jacobsen, a high school senior who seems randomly chosen to partake in a well-thought-out plan of vandalism, breaking and entering, and blackmail with his life-long crush, Margo Roth Spiegelman. The next day, Margo vanishes, leaving Q a string a clues as he and his friends go looking for her.

September / October

It's already October which means two things.

1) Yay!  It's my favorite month.

2) This year is going by entirely too fast and time needs to start slowing down again.

I wanted to take a quick look at any writing accomplishments from the last 30 days and set some goals for the next 31.

Author Interview: Russ Bickerstaff

10 Questions with Russ Bickerstaff

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I've been writing in one way or another since grade school in the '80s. I'd first been published in a small press 'zine called The Age of Super-Heroes in the early '90s. I was in high school at the time.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

5 Links Friday 9/26/14

Long week.  Not in a good way or bad way, just a long way.

1. Here's a simple answer to the complex question of "Why do I write?" by author Karen Akins.  Can't say I disagree: Why I Write

2. Bryan Hutchinson at The Positive Writer gives us 9 Ways to Promote Your Writing Without Being a Jerk

"A Numbers Game" published in Jitter (Issue #2)

The latest installment of Prolific Press's Jitter anthology series includes my short story, "A Numbers Game."

Check it out for some dystopian priest vs. vampire action.

Click here to order from Prolific Press

Quickie Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This is John Green's debut novel, published in 2005.  It follows the main character Miles Halter, a skinny kid with no social life who leaves Florida public school to attend a prep school in Alabama.  He quickly fits in with a group of friends who introduce him to the finer parts of the teenage experience, such as smoking, drinking, and pranking the popular kids.  He also finds himself stuck stuck in the friendzone with the wild, moody, and super attractive Alaska Young.

Author Interview: Brenda Anderson

10 Questions with Brenda Anderson

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

Writing fiction since 1980 or so, when I switched from writing to friends (no-one writes letters J).

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

Five Links Friday 9/19/14

It's Friday again.  The week went by way too quickly.  Here is some reading for the weekend :)

1. From Writer Unboxed, Katrina Kittle takes a look at finding your character's voice in her post: I’d Know That Voice Anywhere.

2. Dereck Haines has a post on his blog looking at some of the errors that get through editors in both traditional and self-published book: Errors and Omissions Excepted – Or Accepted?

Taking a class on horror writing

One of the local libraries is hosting a five-week class on writing horror.  After thinking about it for about one second, I decided it would be wrong to not go.  It's close, free, and an opportunity of meet people and learn more about writing.

And it's cool.  It's a really small group of people with varying degrees of writing experience, but a common love and respect for the horror genre.

Author Interview: Lawrence Buentello

10 Questions with Lawrence Buentello

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I've been writing since I was 12, which was a long, long time ago. By that age I was an avid reader, delighting in whatever I could get my hands on. I don't remember the exact moment of inspiration, but at some point I believe I put down the magazine or book I was reading and thought: why don't I write a story of my own? I found some loose leaf paper and a pencil and wrote a science fiction story about a space faring superhero who battled an alien creature capable of throwing electric bolts from -- well, I'm not exactly sure where the bolts originated, so there was less science and more fiction, but by the time I finished the story I knew I'd come home.

Five Links Friday 9/12/14

Hey, we're back for Five Links Friday!

1. I'll open with a post from Orly Konig-Lopez at Writers in the Storm, looking at Six Steps to Writing Success.

2. Bruce Van Horn always has great, uplifting articles on his site.  Here is another one: LifeThought: Every day is a day you can be a better person than you were yesterday.

'An Open Door' online at Theme of Absence

The latest story at Theme of Absence is online.

Check out An Open Door by Lawrence Buentello.

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

So I'm still feeling pretty high after leaving Colorado...

Wow, I could have found a better way to phrase that, huh?

Anyhow, after spending three days at the greatest writing convention ever in this history of mankind, it was time to accept the fact that it's over and go back to the real world again.

Blog Update: Writer Resources

One of my initial goals when I began blogging here was to help new writers find advice and helpful resources, as well as answers to some of the common questions new writers have about writing and publishing.

The only thing I knew when I first started out writing a few years ago, was that I didn't really know anything.  Sure, I read a lot, and I dabbled in fiction in the past, but even in college creative writing classes, we weren't taught anything concrete.  It was mostly a free-for-all with no foundation filled with cliches such as "show don't tell" and "write what you know."

Back from the RMFW Conference

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this in the coming weeks, but I just wanted to chime in with some quick notes from the 2014 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference.

The first thing that immediately stuck out to me was just how friendly everyone was.  I've never met a more inviting, encouraging group of writers in one place like that before.

It was so refreshing to be around so many people that produced nothing but positive vibes all weekend.

Author Interview: Michael Colangelo

10 Questions with Michael Colangelo

How long have you been writing and what got you started? 

I've been a tech writer for about fifteen years, and I've been writing fiction for about ten. Before that it was journalism in college, and before that I read a lot because I was an unfriendly kid. I started actually writing fiction because I needed a creative outlet, and I kept with it because I made a sale about a month in, but I suppose I've always been drawn to writing in some form. The lines just get clearer as you get older.

Five Links Friday 9/5/14

It's Friday again. Here we go...

1. From Eri Nelson's blog, here are 15 Personal Growth Quotes To Unleash The Best You.

2. Dayna Leigh Cheser's blog has a guest post from editor Marvin D. Wilson giving us a quick Point of View Tutorial.

3. Let's Talk About "Clean YA" at YA author Leigh Ann Kopans's blog.

August Project Report / September Goals

And August 2014 is in the books.

I started out the month by attending some writing sessions at OSFest 7.  Regardless of your writing level, there is always something to learn by attending writers' discussion panels.  During one of the panels, the 2014 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference was brought up.

I mentioned it to my wife and she thought it looked like something I should attend.  So I was like, whoa, that's why I married you.  I signed up for the conference right away and then redirected my focus to prepare for the conference.

Author Interview: Isaac Birchmier

10 Questions with Isaac Birchmier

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I have been writing now seriously for two years. Sure, I wrote little fun stories about superheroes when I was a kid, but it wasn’t really until my junior year of high school that I actually buckled down and started developing myself a routine. I have had the dream of being a writer in the back of my mind ever since I learned how to read at age three. But it wasn’t until around thirteen years later when I felt the urge to go to my public library and the first book I grabbed ended up being Finnegans Wake that I decided I needed to make my dream a reality.

Five Links Friday 8/29/14

Hey, it's Friday.  Almost didn't make it, but here are your five links to read over the weekend.

1. Literary agent Carly Watters gives takes an interesting look at something we don't usually ask ourselves when we look for agents: How Writers Can Show Agents They’re Career Authors.

'The Creatures Who Could Smell Sadness' online at Theme of Absence

The latest story has been posted at Theme of Absence.

Click to read 'The Creatures Who Could Smell Sadness' by Isaac Birchmier.

Quick update on novel stuff

I wanted to check in real quick and talk a little about how the current revision of the novel is going.

And you know what? It's going surprisingly pretty well.  A couple of weeks ago, I literally (literally, I tell ya!) wanted to print the whole thing off, so that I could throw it in the garbage, light it on fire, and urinate on it.  I believe that's actually a common feeling writers have when they are working on a major revision.

Author Interview: Melissa Osburn

10 Questions with Melissa Osburn

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I've been writing since I can remember but have only started seriously writing and submitting stories in the last year and a half. I guess what got me started writing was my love of books. I'd read something and it inspired me to write my own stories. Some of my earlier stories were terrible fan fiction.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

The West Wind's Daughter online at Theme of Absence

The latest story has been posted at Theme of Absence.

Click to read The West Wind’s Daughter by Melissa Osburn.

Five Links Friday 8/22/14

1. Self-publishing is not easy.  At least not if you want to achieve any measurable success at it. Dereck Haines has some advice in this article: Self Publishing – Not For The Dreamers.

2. Don Yaeger has a great article on the Success blog: Don’t Dodge Your Fears—Channel Them. I couldn't agree more.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


So...where to begin.

I listened to this book in the car, mostly because I'm cleaning up my current YA novel and it's written in a style that reminds me of John Green or other similar authors.

I went in having no idea what it was about.  That's how I listen to YA novels in the car.  I don't even read the cover jacket just because I like the surprise, so I didn't even know that the book was about cancer kids until I started it.

Author Interview: James Sabata

10 Questions with James Sabata

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I’ve been writing since the day I told my first lie.  That’s all writing is.  Particularly when you become good at lying and actually think it out and make sure it all adds up.  You’re editing life.  I cranked out my first story at the age of eight, with no idea that it was fan-fiction, because I didn’t know that existed at the time.  I wrote my first “novel” at ten, filling every page in a notebook.  My mother is the only person other than me who ever read it.  I’d say that was my first in person rejection letter as well.  I’m not like a lot of other writers.  I never made the conscious choice to write.  It’s just always been there.  If anything, for a few years, I made the choice NOT to write.  The stories were still there so I started putting them down on paper and giving them to people.  Might as well share the demons in my head with others.  Publishing was a choice, but writing never has been, at least for me.

Five Links Friday 8/15/14

Happy Friday.  Here are five writing tip links for ya.

1. Don't you hate it when you get half way through your story and then get stuck?  Here is some advice from Elizabeth S. Craig has some advice for you in her guest post at Writers in the Storm: When Middles Sag.

2. If you write fantasy, you'll be better off if you Know How Your Magic Works.

'After Life' online at Theme of Absence

The latest flash fiction at Theme of Absence is online.  Check out After Life by James Sabata.

Crunch Time

I looked at the calender today and screamed.  Figuratively, of course, as I didn't want to get hauled out of the workplace by the white coats again, but nonetheless, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference only three weeks away.

Last post, I talked a little about the revisions I'd like to make, and I have been working on them.  I've got a much more solid opening scene, but I'm still getting the jitters.  I think it's time I shift focus a bit and dedicate every spare second to working on these revisions.  The last thing I want is to show up at the conference with an imperfect version of the novel.

Novel Revision To Do List

I'm looking forward to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference this year.

I'm less than excited, however, to say that I've got a lot of work to do in the coming weeks before the conference.

At the top of the list of priorities is my novel.  While I do have a completed version of it (and I should since I had been sending out queries) I've decided that it needs more work in a couple of areas. In fact, I stopped querying after listening to The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing in the car to work on the revisions.

Author Interview: M.V. Montgomery

10 Questions with M.V. Montgomery

1. How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I’m sort of a born-again writer, having done a lot as an undergraduate, then taking a break for grad school and to raise my kid. I got back into it about ten years ago, mostly by keeping a dream journal, taking notes on what I read, and participating with my students in short exercises.

2. What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

The Pearl Driver posted at Theme of Absence

The latest story is online at Theme of Absence.

Click to read 'The Pearl Diver' by M.V. Montgomery

Five Links Friday 8/8/14: Five Cool Authors

I attended OSFest 7 in Omaha last weekend and had a great, educational time.  Yes, only I would go to a science fiction convention hoping to get educated.

While I am a big fantasy/sci-fi fan, my main objective at these types of events is to learn more about writing in those genres.  So with that motive in mind, I attend as many of the author panels as I can.  There were more authors this year than when I attended a few years ago, so I thought I'd share a quick link to the authors that really stuck out or inspired me at the event.

Quickie Book Review: The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing

The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing by David Morrell


I thought I had never heard of David Morrell until I started listening to this book in the car. Then I realized that not only I, but most of the civilized world was very familiar with him, due to a character he created. David Morrell is the author of First Blood, which introduced the world to Rambo.

Under the Bed (August 2014) Available Now

The latest issue of Under the Bed magazine includes my short story "A Reunion In Cloverbrook."  You can check it out from the publisher's site, and it should be on Amazon soon.

Under the Bed (August 2014).  Available electronically for $3.99.

Writing Confessions and my Goals for August (and beyond!)

I have to look at why June and July weren't my best writing months.  I set some specific goals and just couldn't get them done.  It wasn't like I wasn't writing, but I wasn't working on the right things.  For example, I missed some simple goals such as finishing a synopsis in June and short story in July.

I found myself sending out queries while ignoring some major flaws in my novel only because my habit was to send out a query once a week.  I found myself resubmitting rejected stories without re-editing only because I "didn't have enough time" to read them over again.  I found myself constantly avoiding real writing by browsing listings for anthology ideas and then starting something new and working on it until I got bored and moved on to something else.

Autor Interview: Lela Marie De La Garza

10 Questions with Lela Marie De La Garza

How long have you been writing and what got you started? 

I have been writing for over 60 years, I started my my third grade teacher asked us to write a Christmas story. I'd been reading since I was four and somehow had the idea that every thing I read had really happened and that someone had written it down. But when my teacher gave us that assignment, I realized that stories could be made up, and that I could do it.

Five Links Friday 8/1/14

Five Links Friday!

1. Lolly Daskal tells you What Nobody Tells You About Being an Entrepreneur in the current issue of Inc.  Read this as an entrepreneur, but also read it if you're a self-publishing author, since you really need to think like an entrepreneur to successfully self-publish.

New Flash Fiction at Theme of Absence: Little Yellow Eyes

 The latest story at Theme of Absence is online.

Check out Little Yellow Eyes by Lela Marie De La Garza.

Writing Progress Report for July

Wow, let's see how many excuses I can come up with this month...

I did write a lot, but I barely accomplished anything.  Just for fun, let's blame birthdays, class reunions, the 4th of July, and sick kids.  Could be worse, I suppose, but here are my writing status for July:

The usual disclaimer still applies, and that is that I post this not to say "Hey look at me, I'm doing stuff!" but to show my highs and lows for month, as well as hold myself accountable to my goals--in theory--and give similar writers some numbers to compare to their own, hopefully inspiring them to keep writing.

Author Interview: JD DeHart

10 Questions with JD DeHart

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I have been sketching out stories in notebooks as far back as I can remember. I started seriously writing in my teens and early twenties, sending out poems with occasional success. I think part of me always wanted to be a writer because I have always enjoyed reading good stories, but some of my English teachers have also been huge contributors to my writing. If not for a few people along the way, reading my rough drafts and encouraging me to enter contests and submit, I probably would not have started publishing. I have also had members of my family encourage my writing.

Five Links Friday 7/25

Credit losmininos under Creative Commons

Five Links Friday!

1. Michelle Weidenbenner gives 13 tips on How to Find Time to Write and Parent Children Too.

2. Here are 10 Tips on Writing – and Writing More from author, G. S. Wright.

'Trickster' now available at Theme of Absence

The latest story at Theme of Absence has been posted.

Click to read 'Trickster' by JD DeHart.

The WIP Challenge

I've been writing on a schedule this year where I'd write a new short story on odd-numbered months and work on the novels on the even-numbered months.

This has been successful for the most part, since I've manged to get three new short stories written, but I still feel like I haven't made very much progress for the year.  Part of the problem could be that all three of those are flash fiction pieces, so my annual word count is an abysmally low number.

Author Interview: E.S. Wynn

Credit Jan Tik under Creative Commons

10 Questions with E.S. Wynn

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I’ve been writing for almost my entire life. As soon as I learned how to wield a word, I was writing little stories, and by first grade I was writing short books. Everything I was writing then was very derivative of the cartoons or sci-fi shows I was hooked on at the time, so it wasn’t sale-able by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good practice and I loved doing it. I think I gravitated toward writing initially because I had a lot of images trapped in my imagination that I needed to get out on paper, and since I couldn’t draw (or at least, didn’t have the patience to learn how to do it) and didn’t have my own movie crew or studio to make movies with, I settled for the art form that gave me the leverage to do the most that I could with the simplest tools. I learned the power of words very early on, and have always delighted in using simple constructions of letters and sound to cause explosions of color and imagery within the minds of my readers.

Five Links Friday 7/18

Credit losmininos under Creative Commons

Another week has gone by way too fast.  I had a pretty productive week at work, but not so much on the writing front.  I'll make sure to make next week count.

But enough about me.  Today it's all about five links to read over the weekend.

1. Here is an interesting concept. Using the idea that agents and editors will often reject a manuscript after reading only the first page, Ray Rhamey critiques the first page of Invisible by James Patterson and David Ellis on Flog a Pro: would you turn this bestselling author’s first page?

New Flash Fiction by E.S. Wynn

Read the latest short story at Theme of Absence, 'Seconds Full Of Years' by E.S. Wynn.

Quickie Book Review: Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty

I wanted to try something a little different in the car, so I picked out this audiobook.  Actually, my wife picked this one out for me, and I'm happy she did.  I'm also lucky she supports my writing habit as much as she does.  It really helps.  But back to the audiobook, if you're unfamiliar with Grammar Girl, check out her website: Quick and Dirty Tips.  You won't find a better site for basic grammar tips and answers to your writing questions.

A Grammar lesson from The Great One

Credit Maxamegalon2000 under Creative Commons

... or should I say "The Weird One"?

If you're a Weird Al fan (and if you're not, you should be), you might have seen his latest video: a parody of "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke called "Word Crimes."

I don't tend to pass judgment very often on this site, but I'll don't mind going on record stating that "Blurred Lines" is the worst song ever written in the history of music, if you can even call it music, that is.

What I've Learned Since Launching Theme of Absence

Theme of Absence on its launch day

It's been a month now since I launched Theme of Absence, my attempt at an flash fiction ezine.  I originally planned to write a post about why I started the site, and what I'm hoping to gain from it, but I decided to instead talk a little about what I've learned so far.

One of the first things I learned was that I needed to do a much better job of tracking submissions, and more importantly, my correspondences with the authors.  I thought I had a pretty good system to start with.  The plan was to read each submission as it came in, and then either accept, reject, or shortlist.

Author Interview: Kevin J. MacLeod

10 Questions with Kevin J. MacLeod

1. How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I have been writing off and on since grade school. I never took it seriously until a few years ago when I realized that writing is the only thing that I have ever done in my life that I love to do. It was just something that I’ve always done. There was no conscious trigger. Now I just want to share.

2. What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

Do not edit your material the second that you are done. Give it a rest and write something else. If possible you should find a program that will be able to read the chapters back for you. Cyberbuddy has a clipboard feature and is free. It isn’t pretty but it works.

Five Links Friday 7/11/14

Credit losmininos under Creative Commons

Wow, it's Friday already.  Hope yours is a good one.  Here are 5 links to read over the weekend.

1. Literary agent Carly Watters give 3 Ways You Know Your Rejection Not A Form Rejection.

2. I don't write cozy mysteries, but these 10 Tips to Make Your Cozy Mystery Sell by Nancy J. Cohen are good advice for writers of all genre fiction.

'Jezebel' online at Theme of Absence

The latest story at Theme of Absence is online.

Click on over to Theme of Absence to read the lasted story, 'Jezebel' by Kevin J. MacLeod.

YA or MG? And what it means to me!

Photo by jennnster under Creative Commons

One big mistake--or perhaps character flaw--I have is that sometimes when I don't understand the need for something, I pretty much pretend like it doesn't exist.  And I think the time is coming where it's starting to hurt me.

In this case, I'm talking about the difference between Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction.  (For the sake of simplicity, not to mention my sanity, I'll continue to pretend that the category of "New Adult" doesn't exist.)

Incomplete(?) Book Review: Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives

Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives by Arthur Plotnik


I'm kind of OCD in the way that if I start reading something, I like to finish it.  That includes a movie, a television series, an audiobook, a video game (not that I have any time for those, sadly) or a pot of coffee.

But this morning, I started an audiobook I just couldn't get through.

It's a book called Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives by Arthur Plotnik and you would think that it's title alone would be enough for me to know that I wouldn't enjoy it.

Five Links Friday 7/4/14

Happy Independence Day America.  Drink beer, eat hot dogs, and celebrate just as the founding fathers envisioned.

Here are 5 links for your 3-day weekend!

1. Conflict is what sells fiction. Here are 5 Ways To Increase Conflict from Writer's Digest.

2. I still don't really understand what reddit is, but here's an interesting article I read there on YA marketing: Discussion: The Changing Face of Marketing

3. If you're just getting started writing, here are Seven Crucial First Steps for Your Writing Career

4. Here is a nice, quick guest post at Fiction University by Christina Lee making a compelling argument, and that is: All you need is a solid ten minutes of concentrated energy

5. Finally, there's some big...thing?...going on involving Amazon and something called Hachette.  Everybody is mad at Amazon....or are they mad at Hachette?  I don't know.  The only reason I paid any attention ot is is because I saw Stephen King's name thrown around as one of the rich authors who have hurt feelings.  Read the petition and it will clear everything up.  HA!  All it will do is make your head explode like a Fourth of July Firework.

Have a great, safe holiday.

'The History Buff' by Scott Childers online at Theme of Absence

The latest story at Theme of Absence is online.

Click here to read 'The History Buff' by Scott Childers.

Quickie Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

In a post-apocalyptic Chicago (we don't get a feel for the rest of the country a this point) society is divided into 5 factions based on their dominant dispositions: Abnegation, for the selfless; Amity, for the peaceful; Candor, for the honest; Dauntless, for the brave; and Erudite, for the intelligent.   When you turn 16, you take a test and then choose which faction you join based on the test results.  A select few are called "Divergent", meaning they have traits that could line up with multiple factions.  For reasons we aren't told until the end, the Divergents need to hide the fact that they tested that way and can not be discovered by the faction leaders.

Writing Goals for July

Photo by Jamiesrabbits under Creative Commons

And the year is half over.  I never believed it, but time really does speed up as you age.  My little guy turned 3 and his sister will be 1 soon.  Fun stuff.

So onward to writing.  After a slow June, I really need to hit July hard.

Here's is my game plan, in order of priority:

Writing Progress Report for June

Photo by Flazingo under Creative Commons

This was another crazy busy month, but I suppose I say that every month.

I came pretty close to hitting my goals for June.  The only one I really didn't make any progress at all on was rewriting my novel synopsis.

As far as other stuff went, here's the breakdown...

I resubmitted five short stories, received three rejections (two form letters, one personal.)  I didn't write any new fiction, but this month was set aside to work on the novel(s), so that's not a failure, it's just something I wanted to mention.

Author Interview: Lance Manion

10 Questions with author Lance Manion

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

Like most abysmal things in the 21st Century my writing started innocently enough. Years ago on a now-defunct social media site I began to stray from mundane stories of my life to mundane stories of people who didn't actually exist. As Elliott Gould’s character noted to Jude Law’s in Contagion “ Blogging isn’t writing. It’s graffiti with punctuation." so technically I began writing after my second book.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

The best advice I have is not to take advice from writer's you've never heard of ... like myself. Nobody learns anything except the hard way so just go into it knowing you're probably doing it wrong. You'll look back fondly on all your mistakes.

Five Links Friday 6/27/14

Five Links!

1. The Write Life has a column looking at 6 things I do...I mean 6 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes You Simply Don’t Want to Make.

2. This one isn't specifically writing-related, but worth reading: 6 Common Mistakes in Logo Design

3. Another 6? What's with the Satanism today? Anyhow, nobody likes doing revisions. Here is an article one Writer's Digest will help with that: 6 Simple Keys To Revising Your Fiction

4. The QBC guy has a great article looking at What Successful People Don’t Worry About

5. The Passive Voice has an interesting take on the current way editors view stories.  The comments are pretty insightful as well. You and Editors

Have a great weekend.  We'll be back tomorrow with more stuff!

'Germs' online at Theme of Absence

The latest story at Theme of Absence is online now.  Check out 'Germs' by Lance Manion, as we delve into the bizarre for a change of pace.

Click here to read 'Germs' by Lance Manion at Theme of Absence

Quickie Book Review: Zero to Breakthrough: The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter

Zero to Breakthrough: The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter by Vernice "Flygirl" Armour

I took a chance with this one after reading the bio blurb of the author. This gal has literally done it all and I figured her story would make a great book on success.

The Good: Well, her heart is in the right place.  She tells some really interesting war stories and tries to be as motivational and inspirational as possible.  Her seven step plan on identifying and accomplishing goals is the heart of the book, but these steps are often vague and glossed over.

Take-away from Divergent

As the old saying goes, "read like a writer."  (Note: I have no idea if that is actually an old saying, or if I pulled it out of my you-know-what at the last minute.)  Either way, it is good advice.

I know I've mentioned this in previous posts, but I often listen to audiobooks during my commute to work.  Not only do they help make the hour-long drive more bearable, but I can usually learn something from them.  Most of the time, I'll choose books on money, leadership, or success, but I also try to pick up the occasional fiction as well.

Synopsis Blues

I think something like 99 out of 100 writers will tell you that editing is the worst part of writing.

They are wrong.

Yes, editing sucks.  It takes your creativity and stops it in its tracks, killing it like a rabid dog who...eh, I'm not sure I like where that analogy is going, so let's just say it take all the fun out of writing.

Author Interview: David Perlmutter

10 Questions with author David Perlmutter

How long have you been writing and what got you started?
I have been writing since 2006, and publishing since 2009. This only covers professional work, since I have been working on and off on an amateur level since childhood. What got me started in it was because I wanted to write the kind of stories other people were not telling, and because I started to feel that this was the only real way I was capable of making a living at anything.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
Don't give up, and remain committed to presenting a personal vision in your work.

New story at Theme of Absence - Cold Comfort

We've got the latest story posted over at my flash fiction site, Theme of Absence.  It's a story taking a look at the lengths cartoons will take to achieve equality.

You've got to check this one out.

Click here to read 'Cold Comfort' by David Perlmutter.

Five Links Friday 6/20/14

I'm back with 5 links to share...

1. I'm sure your weekend is just as busy as mine. Here are 9 Principles to Help You Keep Calm in Chaos.

2. But back to writing, Writer's Digest has a great article describing everything you need to do to build your platform and help find an agent: How to Be a Writer That Literary Agents Want.

3. And here is a look at the other side of querying from All The Write Notes: How Querying Is Like Dating - And How To Deal.

4. And of course, if getting an agent and a publisher really does seem impossible, self-publishing is really becoming a viable option. Check out Self-publishing boom lifts sales by 79% in a year from The UK Guardian.

5. Regardless of your publishing path, make sure your novel is ready. Here are some great tips on Designing Your Novel's Premise from Social Politan.

Enjoy! I'll be back tomorrow with another interview.

Quickie Movie Review: Insidious: Chapter 2

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

The first Insidious scared the living crap out of me.  It wasn't perfect, but if supernatural horror is your thing and you love getting scared, you won't find a more frightening movie.

So it was with great anticipation that I made some popcorn, dimmed the lights, put on the headphones (can't watch a movie like this with sound on when the kids are sleeping) and prepared to get terrified all over again.

The only problem is that it wasn't really that scary.  Not like the first one, at least.  The scares were mostly the type where there is a loud noise to accompany a scary image to make you jump.  They just weren't always relative to the story this time.

The Good: This is a fun movie.  I could understand people complaining about some of the comedy, but I never felt like it was too forced or killed the mood.  When they needed to be serious they turned off the humor and got serious.  I also like the way they tie some of the final scenes into the first movie.  In some ways it like a Saw movie.

The Bad:  We'll have some spoilers here, so there is your warning.  I had two big problems with the end of the movie.  First, with the cliff-hanger.  I know it's there to set up the next movie and give you a quick scare at the end, but come one.  Why introduce this whole new story in the last two minutes of the movie.  You know what, thought, I think it would have worked to do that as a bonus scene after the closing credits.  That would have actually been pretty cool.

Anyhow, a bigger problem I had with this movie was the "big reveal" at the end.  When it was shown that (again, here is the spoiler!) Parker was a killer because his mom made him dress and act and grow up "as a girl" I just shook my head.  This was the exact same "big reveal" from The House at the End of the Street.  James Wan and Leigh Whannell really could have done better than using the same plot from a movie that came out just one year earlier.

Closing:  Watch it.  It's not the masterpiece that the first one was, but it's not terrible by any means.  If you're a fan of supernatural horror or enjoy the Saw style of storytelling, this is the 2013 movie for you.  But make sure you watch the first one first, or a lot of what you see here won't make any sense.

Author Interview: Jon Wesick

10 Questions with author Jon Wesick

How long have you been writing and what got you started?
I started writing seriously around 1997 or 1998. I was suffering from carpal tunnel like injuries and needed an emotional outlet.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
You have a pen and piece of paper. You don’t need anybody’s permission.

What is the worst piece of advice you have for new writers? 
Anything “they” always say. Everybody has a different process. Use what works for you.

What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?
My favorite fiction is writing where the author steers clear of what’s been done before. Favorite authors include Richard Yates, Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, Raymond Carver, Jim Shepard, and many others.

What tips do you have for finding time to write?
Write whenever you can.

Do you prefer to outline a story in advance or write on the fly? Why?
I wish I could outline a story in advance but I can’t. I have to walk through it to find out what will happen. I usually start with a situation and then have to work step by step to turn it into a story.

How do you deal with rejections?
Statistically. Magazines accept something like 5% of the stories submitted. With those odds you have to submit many times to get your story accepted. Also my records indicate that the stories I think are best get rejected more. The only thing to do is simply keep sending the stories out. However, after lots and lots of rejections (I calculate 60) then you may need to seriously rework your story.

What are your writing goals for the next twelve months?
My short-term goal is to finish up a major writing project I’m working on. I don’t generally describe what I’m working on until I’m done.

For the next five years?
I’d like to get books of my writing published by real publishers. Big surprise!

Is there anything you'd like to plug? Feel free to share a link.
The Speed of Regret by Ganesha Lightwave (pen name) http://www.amazon.com/The-Speed-Regret-Ganesha-Lightwave/dp/1593304153

You can read Jon's short story "Unknowable" at Theme of Absence: An Online Magazine of Speculative Flash Fiction.

Five Links Friday 6/13/14

Happy Friday the 13th!  Here are five links for the weekend.

1. Here is a post from name Alexis Grant at TheWriteLife looking at 4 Mistakes Even the Best Writers Make on Twitter

2.  Here is another inspirational post from Bruce Van Horn's site:  LifeThought: Not all of your thoughts are true!

3. Author Rachel Thompson asks Is Polite Discourse Online a Contradiction in Terms? and takes a good look at how people "discuss" important topics online.  The irony of this appearing on the Huffington Post goes unmentioned.  I'm just sayin'.

4. Here is an interview with YA author, Kelly Loy Gilbert, at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire, which is possibly the best name for a website ever.

5. And finally, for you old school DC Vertigo fans, author Brian Keene looks at his Animal Man (stealth) Doom Patrol Relaunch That Never Happened

Have a great weekend and if you haven't yet, go check out the first story at our new online magazine, Theme of Absence, which posted today.

Theme of Absence Launches Today

I'm excited to announce that we're going live with my new online flash fiction magazine, Theme of Absence, today.

I haven't tried anything quite like this before, so it will be fun to see how it develops over time.  I'll have a new story posted every Friday and will also post occasional interviews and guest posts from the accepted authors over here on the blog.

Our first story is a great sci-fi piece exploring what happens when we take physics to the limit.  Check it out and thanks for the support!

Click here to read "Unknowable" by Jon Wesick at Theme of Absence.

The Great Comic Caper Part 2

I hate comic books.

No, that's not entirely true.  It's not so much comic books themselves that I hate.  There are plenty that I really enjoyed over the years.  Preacher, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and Spawn were all a lot of fun.  Sandman was better than a lot of books I've read.

The problem is all the baggage owning them entails.  You can't just stick 'em in a box and forget about them.  You have to store them in individual bags with cardboard.  And you have to keep them standing upright in giant white boxes.  In my case, 10 giant white boxes.  Each box weight around 75 pounds, but it might as well be 375 pounds.  That's how is feels after carrying a couple of them up and down the stairs.

I really don't mean to gripe, but sometimes you just have to.  Since I had separated out all of the completed sets into smaller boxes, my 10 giant stackable white boxes have become over 20 non-stackable smaller boxes, which are now scattered all over the basement.  They're a little more exposed now too, most likely a prime target for the cats to chew on / puke on / pee on or do any other number of things that cats do.

Well, there's not too much I can do about it other than get them sold.  I'll list the full sets and single issues on a variety of places, including craigslist, ebay, and a couple of sites that buy comics.  We'll see how it goes.

I don't necessarily regret buying them, but if given the change to go back and do it all over again, I definitely wouldn't.  (Or is that the definition of regret?)  Either way, that's the test Dave Ramsey gives people when it comes to selling something.  If you could buy it today, would you?  The answer is "no" so that means the comics need to go.

I would still pick up the graphic novels to Sandman and Preacher though.  And maybe some of the Alan Moore Swamp Thing and Garth Ennis's run of Hellblazer.  That's still great stuff. 

I'll start listing stuff this weekend and post a happy-braggy post after they are all gone.

My fun and upcoming project

We went out of town today to visit my parents.  I always have a great time going back home and my two-year-old (good lord, he's almost three) absolutely loves playing with my Dad.

The one drawback to going out of town, however, is that when we get home he's usually so worn out and tired that he starts acting like, well, a two-year-old.  We rarely have temper tantrums in the Bougger household, but when the boy is that tired, all bets are off.

After finally getting our screaming little guy to bed, I found some time to type for a bit.

But I have to say this: I'm spent.

It got me thinking.  It's like "Damn.  We're busy."  When you work full time, have two young kids, write 2-3 hours a day, and try to hit the gym when you can, time is scare.  My wife might have summers off, but she's also got two or three side gigs keeping her busy.  It seems like there is never a moment to just sit down and breathe for a minute.

Still I wouldn't trade it in for anything.  I'm just saying that I'd be crazy to consider taking on anything new, right?

Wrong.

I've been toying with the idea of starting up an online flash fiction site for a long time and am finally pulling the trigger this month.  I've already mentioned here in previous posts, but just in case you missed it, we're launching Theme of Absence, an online magazine of speculative flash fiction, this Friday, June 13.

The current plan is to post one original piece every Friday.  The debut story is an awesome piece of sci-fi written by author Jon Wesick.  To help promote the authors involved in the site, I'll also be starting a new feature here, where I'll be posting 10-question interviews with the authors accepted to Theme of Absence to coincide with the publication of their stories.

Anyhow, it's going to be a great summer.  I plan to put my heart and soul into this project and don't plan to half-ass anything about it.

I'm fairly confident that the plan I have to balance the work between my two websites and my own fiction will work out. It will be hard, but whoever said getting to where you want to be would be easy?

So in the meantime, click on over to http://www.themeofabsence.com and give it a preliminary look.  If you're a writer and got some unpublished flash fiction, check out the submission guidelines and consider sending something in.  And if you haven't tried writing fiction before, now is the time.  Part of the reason I started Theme of Absence is to help give new writers a chance to get published or at least to encourage them to try.

And that's it.  Check back tomorrow and have a great week.

How to sell your comic book collection in 24 hours (well, maybe 1% of it)

So here's what I did.  With a neighborhood garage sale underway over the weekend, I decided at the last minute to put my comics out there.  I put in for a vacation day Friday, my wife put together an awesome craiglist add and some great signs, and then I stayed up until the ungodly hour of 1:30 (Hey, for me that's late) taking inventory and getting everything priced out.

I made the terrible mistake of buying the overwhelming majority of my comics in the 1990s.  And none of them were superhero books, either, so I'm already at the big disadvantage of missing out on the "spontaneous purchase for the whiny kid" market.

Here is one conversation I know I would not be hearing over the weekend:   

"Whaaa, Daddy, buy me that issue of Verotika!"
"Okay, son, hope you enjoy that space-mutant-bondage story as much as I did."

Well, before I get put on any lists, I'll get back to the sales prep.  I've got ten long boxes full.  To the laymen out there, that translates to "A whole hell of a lot of comics".  Most are complete sets of DC Vertigo stuff, which is generally considered to be for "mature readers."  Some are big sets, like Swamp Thing or Hellblazer, and some are expensive sets, like Preacher.

I didn't want to split up any of the complete sets I have, so I pulled them out and put each set in a separate box.  It looked really neat:

This is about half of them...

It looked better on Friday when I had them on a couple of tables outside under a tent, but we took this picture after we had to set them up inside on Saturday to avoid the rain.  Sadly, we couldn't avoid the snakes the like hanging around outside the garage, but that's a story for another lifetime, preferably in Ireland.

So I put all the sets together at just under "ebay sold" prices, and then put everything else in two-for-a-dollar boxes.

Here's where I went wrong, at least from a garage sale point of view.  People don't show up at a garage sale planning to drop a couple hundred bucks on a complete set of Swamp Thing.  They go to garage sales to browse for a bargain.  Most of the comic collectors who came said that the prices were good--most books ended up listed at less than a dollar--but if you have the first 135 issues of Spawn, for example, in a box for $100, it's just too much for a garage sale.

Over half of the stuff I did sell came from the 2-for-a-dollar boxes.  I think I would have made a lot more money by splitting up most of the sets and putting everything out there in dollar boxes.

But that's okay.  My motive here wasn't necessarily to sell the collection, but to learn.  I have no idea what the best way to sell 1990s mature label comics is, so this was one way that didn't work out so well.  I did have interest in some of the larger sets ("Good price, but I can't afford it", "I don't want to buy it, but don't break it up, and don't cut the price") so we'll see how it goes if/when I try selling stuff online.

In the end, it was kind of fun hanging out in the garage, talking comics with people, and meeting a lot of neighbors that I hadn't met before.  I don't know if I'd do it again, but if I do I'll definitely have to do it a different way.