My plot wall has taken on the same connotations. I stare out at it and where I use to see possibilities and exciting scenes…I begin to freak out at the possibility of writing them.

“They” aren’t kidding when they say fear is a huge factor in letting success pass you by. I don’t know who “they” are…but I’m sure they are out there and I’m sure they say it.

So what am I afraid of and how silly do I feel for being afraid in the first place? The answer to the last question is “I feel tremendously silly and foolish.” What I am afraid of is a little harder to answer, but we’ll give it a try.

• Fear of disappointing people – What if I do something that disappoints my teacher, my family and friends, my readers
• Fear of failure – what if I never manage to push myself to accomplish my weight, writing, etc goals?
• Fear of success – I would have said this wasn’t the case but when I think about it…I am..what if I finish this book and I can’t crank out another one?

Those are my main fears and I must find a way to get through them. I went over to check out Milli Thorton’s site “Fear of Writing” and am looking into her book. What do you do to over come your fears?

You’d be surprised how often the right sidekick can take a good story and push it to the next level for me.  I see it as the author’s opportunity to make a serious impression on the reader, because a funny, mean, horny, cute, or sarcastic sidekick is often the thing I remember most about a book.  Here’s an example of how the right sidekick can make even an untried urban fantasy standout from the crowd…

Over at Dirty Sexy Books we have an online book club.  Each month we tackle a new genre, we nominate books within that style, and then we vote on a single winner.  Our theme for February happens to be urban fantasy, so we put together a list of eight contenders.  The list is great, if I do say so myself, but it’s never easy for us to pick a winner.  We’re often flying blind, and while we appreciate good reviews, we rely on the covers and blurbs heavily.  I think it’s safe to say that our February winner was picked in large part because of the sidekick. 

Our winner is Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder.  The cover is particularly striking, but what’s even more rare is that it shows the sidekick, a ferret named Palimpsest.  Isn’t he cute perched on the dragon-snake-thing?  This is not the first ferret sidekick I’ve encountered in an urban fantasy (Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series comes to mind), but showcasing the ferret on both the cover and the blurb has piqued our curiosity.  It seems like such a small thing, but in this case it made the difference. 

While most books don’t feature their sidekicks quite so prominently, they can make mundane scenes magical.  Take Midian in M. L. N. Hanover’s Unclean Spirits.  He’s a cursed vampire who resembles a rotted corpse, he chain-smokes, and he cooks like a gourmet French chef.   I enjoyed his grumpy and gruff observations so much that when he did not make an appearance in book two, Darker Angels, the sequel felt flat by comparison. 

Sometimes a good sidekick can even be an inanimate object.  I particularly enjoy UF series where the heroine wields a weapon with its own name.  Kate Daniels has Slayer, and Dante Valentine has Fudoshin.  This tradition goes back to Tolkien’s The Hobbit when Bilbo acquired Sting (or even farther back if we include Excalibur).   Even when the sword doesn’t have a name, such as Merit’s katana in Some Girls Bite, I like it when the heroine treats it with respect.  I’ll never forget when Merit received her red lacquered beauty, and the way she introduced herself to it with a little speech.  I find that sharp steel is a girl’s best friend in many urban fantasies.

While animals or supernatural beings make particularly excellent sidekicks, boring humans need not apply.  If they’re present, I figure they serve the same purpose as the red-clad crewmembers on Star Trek; they’re dead men walking. Even the most beloved characters are never completely safe though, and sometimes it enhances the story to kill off the sidekick.  I know, it sounds cruel, like taking a pot shot at Bambi, but it injects emotional drama, danger, and a sense of purpose into the plot. 

These kinds of decisions should never be made lightly, and this is why I read stories instead of writing my own.  There’s always a risk that you’ll alienate the readers if you remove one of their favorites, but that can also happen when trying to introduce new characters too.  I recently finished White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison, which is the lowest rated book in the wildly popular Hollows series.  After I finished the book, I read back through the Amazon reviews, and a lot of hot, angry criticism was directed at the introduction of a ghost character who had a shared history with the heroine.  It’s interesting that Ms. Harrison introduced another new character in the same book that met with the opposite reaction.  Nearly everyone loved the small, cute gargoyle, but the ghost guy was persona non grata. 

Now personally, I have seldom met a sidekick I didn’t like, but Ms. Harrison’s latest book shows that there are exceptions to every rule.  If I could conjure the perfect sidekick it would be funny, fierce, and otherworldly.  I don’t care if the humans bite the dust, but when the trusty sword breaks, or when the faithful sidekick is slain, I’ll shed a few tears and wonder who will take their place.

_______________________

Rebecca runs the blog Dirty Sexy Books and is a book lover who has taken her fascination with sublime storytelling and pushed it to new and unhealthy extremes.

Psynde on twitter

Psynde’s Jewlery

Richelle Mead

Cherie Priest

Mark Henry

Stacia Kane

Jackie Kessler

DragonCon

My audio credits for 2009

As an added incentive to help, I’ve convinced Tom Evans to give away a free copy of his awesome book “Blocks” and his 6 Visualization Mp3s. This practical and comprehensive book and mp3s take you on a journey of the mind to help you banish your blocks forever and tap into an abundant flow of inspiration and creativity.

Please take a few seconds to fill out my survey and leave your email address on the form to be entered. I will be choosing a winner by random generator a week from today.

Thank you so much for your help and your continued support of the site!

Look for more fun and interesting contests coming!

Here is a pic of my plot wall, sadly it needs to be rotated left to right but you can do that at twitpic.

Note:

Don’t forget there is still time to nominate TaleChasing for Writer’s Digest Online’s 2010 list  of “101 Best Writing Blogs”. Just sent mail to writersdigest@fwmedia.com with “101 Websites” in the subject line (deadline is Jan. 1, 2010). Who knows they may even expand the categories to include “Best Podcasting Writers Website” and you can make it happen. If you’ve enjoyed my articles and podcasts on writing and urban fantasy, please take a second and nominate me! I promise to love you forever for it!

Promo: Digital Magic

There’s two weeks left to nominate my site for this great award.

All you have to do is write and nominate Tale Chasing for next year’s list to writersdigest@fwmedia.com with “101 Websites” in the subject line (deadline is Jan. 1, 2010). Who knows they may even expand the categories to include “Best Podcasting Writers Website” and you can make it happen.

If you’ve enjoyed my articles and podcasts on writing and urban fantasy, please take a second and nominate me! I promise to love you forever for it!

It’s tough to have friends, let alone a boyfriend, when Fate with a capital F has decided you’re supposed to rescue trapped souls across the country. Kaylee’s not exactly thrilled with this, especially since she ends up at Barclay Hall, a girl’s reformatory in School’s Out 4-Ever. Not much of a reward for battling evil and having to save her nemesis from the demon’s fire.

So will Kaylee and Davey hook up? Most definitely!

If I could take you on a walk through my ‘keeper shelf’ you’d find it loaded with paranormal romances, all the way back to Bram Stokers Dracula. Ann Rice set the modern bar for sensual supernatural romance. Before Interview with a Vampire, the most popular romantic pairing we had was King Kong and Jessica Lange, or The Creature From the Black Lagoon. I’ll take Brad Pitt over the dude with gills any day!

I believe there’s something about the supernatural, how it taps into our fear of and desire for more than the mundane lives we lead out of obligation, duty or loyalty. To be free of these restraints, unchained from the shackles holding us back, is a timeless fantasy—one that pairs particularly well with romance.

Writing young adult, for me, has been both liberating and restrictive. I decided early on that I wouldn’t “dumb” down my writing. After all, by the time I was eleven, The Stand by Stephen King was my favorite book. Why in the world would I believe today’s teens would what anything less? My books may not be 1000+ pages long, but they contain real-world issues, struggles, and emotions.

I don’t believe an author can dismiss honesty out of fear. If Kaylee has a visceral reaction, sexual or otherwise, if I’m too afraid of what a librarian might think, or what a school board might frown upon, to be honest about that reaction—then I’m not being true to my character, to the book or to my readers. I do walk a tightrope, however, about how much is shown and how much is implied, keeping my own daughter in mind and what I’d feel comfortable allowing her to read at ten.

Where I don’t hesitate, however, is in the horror. I adore horror books and films and when I approached this series, I swore I would go full-out scary as much as I could. My biggest compliment came from an adult reader, a man, who got creeped out in his hotel room reading my book. Very cool! Add to that the blossoming love affair between Kaylee and Davey, and this series becomes one I want for my own ‘keeper’ shelf!

____________________

Born blonde and Polish, Jennifer Turner writes action adventure thrillers and romances. She resides in Wisconsin with her husband Eddie, a red-headed Texan, and her three children, Dustin, Molly and Matthew. Raised by an eclectic assortment of artists and musicians, her upbringing helped shape and hone her imagination and dedication to the romantic arts. Between her commitments to family and writing, she actively pursues three things–white chocolate, dark chocolate, and more chocolate. Check out her latest YA Urban  Fantasy, DFF: Dead Friends Forever.

As a special bonus, she is giving away her 3 series novella in e-book form to a lucky TaleChasing commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered into the contest to win this series. NOTE: This series is very erotic and for adults. Please keep that in mind when you enter.

And now…WereSnakes!

Some links mentioned in this podcast:

Stella and Audra’s Website
Pantheon.org

After the interview, I took a second to talk to her about podcasting some of her books. This lead to us talking about Authors After Dark, a convention held in NJ this coming September 2010 that she is the director for. I’m very pleased to announce that not only will I be on a panel to talk about promoting yourself on the net, but I will be hosting a workshop on how to turn your book into an audiobook/podcast. I’m really excited about this! This Con is a cozy 225 people so if you want to go you should register NOW! You can go here to look at the site about it and register!

Links to some of the things mentioned in the Podcast:

Laurie’s Twitter
Laurie’s blog
Laurie’s Agency – Larsen Pomada
Laurell K Hamilton
Jim Butcher
Philippa Ballantine
Tee Morris
Holly Black
DragonMoon Press

You can find Laurie’s blog here and her agency’s website here.

Luna writes non-fiction-kink based work. We do not discuss kink in depth so this is a work safe podcast.

Some important links mentioned:

Luna’s Website
Holly Lisle’s Motivational Course
Blocks – Ebook and Visualization Mp3’s
Tom Evans

I know it’s been a while since I updated. I can’t believe it myself. I have a few podcasts I’ll be putting up soon and as soon as my cold gets better a new Authors notes to catch you up on current events. Thanks for the patience.

I’m also working on turning up the dial on TaleChasing to make this place POP more. So keep your eyes open.

Looking through pictures to get my Moo cards renewed was the most inspiring. So today I didn’t add much but I added a few things like Reagan’s first impression of Dr. Ackerman’s looks as well as a few other things.

There are even a few questions in there for you to answer as well as some good books you might want to pick up. Enjoy!

Anyway, this has put both Tale Chasing and Guardians behind. I have a plan and I’ll be telling you what that plan is before the end of this month. I appreciate your patience while I have been away taking care of my mother. And she appreciates it as well.

Please check back soon.

Enjoy!

P.S. It’s a bit long but quite informational. I also apologize for the type size if it’s an issue. Just a warning.

Ryan E Stevenson:So how’re things otherwise?
Kimi Alexandre: I’m procrastinating writing
Ryan E Stevenson: Any reason? Just in general?
Kimi Alexandre: well i was doing holly’s motivation class and it turns out it’s mostly cause i’m afraid I’m gonna do it wrong
Ryan E Stevenson: Hey, that sounds familiar. Sounds like me.
Kimi Alexandre: heh
Kimi Alexandre: honestly i don’t know why i don’t write. i just don’t
Ryan E Stevenson: Are you willing / interested in just going for it, right or wrong being damned?
[8:28:42 PM] Kimi Alexandre: I’ve managed working out 3 days in a row
[8:28:45 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Good for you!
[8:29:00 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I WAS, but I screwed up my back. It seems to me you and I have surprisingly aligned goals.
[8:29:07 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i have to. i have to turn in a story in a few days
[8:29:17 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and i HAVE to finish Guardians. it’s not an option
[8:29:25 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Anything I can do to help?
[8:29:30 PM] Kimi Alexandre: just encourage me
[8:30:08 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i keep looking at Cherie Priest. She’s doing everything I want to do and going…why am I NOT doing what she is doing?
[8:30:23 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and the only answer can be "i’m lazy"
[8:30:38 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i want to be invited to dragoncon each year to talk about my book
[8:30:42 PM] Kimi Alexandre: books
[8:30:51 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i want to be invited to talk about Guardians next year
[8:30:58 PM] Kimi Alexandre: that won’t happen unless i get my ass in gear
[8:31:08 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i want to be on the dark fantasy panel
[8:31:20 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i’d LIKE to have it published
[8:31:35 PM] Kimi Alexandre: but i want to be among the dark fantasy novelists really badly
[8:32:08 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay.
[8:32:10 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and i’d like to not be among tee, pip’s, et all of "wondering if i can do it or not"
[8:32:18 PM] Kimi Alexandre: cause right now…i think i’m out of rope
[8:32:29 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Hmm.
[8:32:55 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I think I agree with what you’re saying. I’d like to be past the "can I do this" phase, but to address that, I’d like to point out that no doubt, Cherie Priest was there as well once upon a time, right?
[8:33:14 PM] Kimi Alexandre: she use to only be on the live journal panel
[8:33:39 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Ah.
[8:33:47 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i have to get back on a 2 to 3 week schedule again
[8:33:52 PM] Kimi Alexandre: it needs to be a non-option
[8:33:59 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Does scheduling your time work for you?
[8:34:09 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i don’t know
[8:34:31 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I’ve tried two tricks, with mixed success. The first was scheduling writing time. The second was setting what-seemed-like low word-count goals. The second worked great.
[8:35:27 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I tried Terry’s trick, saying "500 words a day". Which I can do in about 20 minutes, tops. And I was hitting it, and even though it was slower than I wanted to go, it was still progress. I found that it’s like the 5 minutes you spend on the bike / treadmill BEFORE you actually start lifting weight, if that analogy makes sense.
[8:36:11 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i was doing well when i was mandating a chapter every 2-3 weeks. putting up one i mean
[8:36:54 PM] Kimi Alexandre: I’ve lost all my cred with everyone. i have to get it back
[8:37:06 PM] Kimi Alexandre: only way I’ll get it back it so start meeting Guardians deadlines
[8:37:24 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I believe that. But I wonder if doing smaller steps will serve you better than the community. 1 chapter every 2 / 3 weeks is great, but what I worry about is you burning out if you miss one of those deadlines.
[8:37:26 PM] Kimi Alexandre: I’ve started proving to myself i can meet them by going to the gym…
[8:37:46 PM] Kimi Alexandre: I’ll go back to 1 chapter a month…2 if possible
[8:37:47 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: There ya go! So if you can transpose some of that victory over to your writing, you’re set!
[8:38:01 PM] Kimi Alexandre: because i have to manage tale chasing as well
[8:38:27 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i just can’t put a week between writing and getting the chapter and audio done
[8:38:30 PM] Kimi Alexandre: that’s what i was doing
[8:38:38 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i’d finish a chapter and get it out to the cast
[8:38:48 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and i’d put writing off until the chapter was DONE
[8:38:50 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i can’t do that
[8:38:59 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i can give it a day or two but not a week
[8:39:16 PM] Kimi Alexandre: brb. i have to get back to getting dinner finished
[8:39:50 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: np, drop me a line when you’re back.
[8:58:11 PM] Kimi Alexandre: back
[8:58:28 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i realized downstairs that i might be asked for some help in a few months
[9:00:38 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: "downstairs"?
[9:01:04 PM] Kimi Alexandre: downstairs cooking….upstairs (here) in the office
[9:01:19 PM] Kimi Alexandre: yeah i realized that i’m going to need some brainstorming help
[9:01:33 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i don’t know where all the middle stuff happens in the book
[9:01:52 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i know the next couple of chapters. i know a few candy bar scenes in the middle and i know the end
[9:03:42 PM] Kimi Alexandre: cool
[9:03:47 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: So is brainstorming something I can help with?
[9:04:09 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i’m sure LOL. nothing we are doing right now LOL
[9:04:43 PM] Kimi Alexandre: it’s like we talked about the other day. asking questions to help the other person figure things out
[9:05:05 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay. But in order to achieve that, I need to know what components you need help with. Tell me roughly where you’re stuck.
[9:06:45 PM] Kimi Alexandre: ok for example i am up to chapter 5 basically. Reagan goes to see her sister and while they are talking at an outdoor cafe she notices that there is a man near the church where she just picked up her sister across the street seeming staring at them. she also notices that she’s picking up weird vibes and slightly weird "images" from him….i’m not sure where to take that. i don’t think Reagan would just let him be..but i’m also not sure she’d run into a fight either
[9:07:25 PM] Kimi Alexandre: oh and this is after she’s been told by Ackerman and co that their are angels and demons and she basically told them to get stuffed cause their weren’t
[9:09:30 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay … random thought process begins … now …
[9:10:19 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Ackerman and Co tell Reagan that there’s angels and demons and such. Do they tell her anything about how they appear? Any characteristic to them that she might notice in this stranger? Anything that might make her wonder about the connection between the stranger and the out landing story she just heard?
[9:11:18 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: If the supernatural element of the world has been secretly fighting their war, how would they take to someone new being introduced? Any chance this stranger is an agent of some unity that wants to know what to expect out of Reagan? Perhaps, if someone’s out for Ackerman, now they’re also out for Reagan?
[9:12:02 PM] Kimi Alexandre: no they basically just told her about the watch they want her to help protect. they didn’t go into a lot of detail. she hasn’t fully accepted the job..where by they would have given her some detail by what to expect though they wouldn’t have been sure really what she could have seen….this scene will give them an idea that she can see more of their world….
[9:12:09 PM] Kimi Alexandre: this scene is here to do a few things…
[9:12:34 PM] Kimi Alexandre: a) introduce the "ghost/soul" who’s been called to help the "minor" bad guy
[9:12:51 PM] Kimi Alexandre: b) show that now the minor bad guy is aware that Reagan is on the case
[9:13:28 PM] Kimi Alexandre: c)let Reagan see that someone "weird"/supernatural is stalking her
[9:13:47 PM] Kimi Alexandre: d) maybe Ackerman and trace deserve another conversation
[9:13:57 PM] Kimi Alexandre: e) Jessica may be in the way now
[9:14:09 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and a few others i haven’t thought of yet
[9:14:31 PM] Kimi Alexandre: so number 1 you’ve already helped me see that i need another scene with Ackerman and Erin re this scene
[9:15:03 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: … okay … so how "assertive" is Reagan? Would she do something like point out to her sister the name that’s watching them? If she’s not going to run into a fight, would she at least approach him to find out why they’re being watched? That isn’t to say she could catch up to him…
[9:15:21 PM] Kimi Alexandre: (will it disappoint you to be the only one to know where this book is going?)
[9:15:47 PM] Kimi Alexandre: she wouldn’t say anything to Jessica in hopes that it wouldn’t involve her sister more
[9:15:59 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: My gut reaction was to take that lead. Nothing this opaque, but basically have Ackerman say to Reagan "supernatural beings glow" (or whatever). She dismisses him: what a coot! And then not a day later, here she is, and she’d swear she’s seeing that glow (or whatever). Is she making it up to make sense of Ackerman’s story? Was there something to it? Is she tired? That kind of thing.
[9:16:33 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Will it disappoint me to be the ONLY one to know? No.
[9:16:45 PM] Kimi Alexandre: sadly she’d want to go after the guy if the guy left while they were eating and that’s going to fuck up their "time" which is exactly what they’ve been working on…and with the subject the timing isn’t going to be good….so maybe that works for the scene
[9:17:10 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I have to admit that part of me wants it to be a surprise just like everyone else who’s consuming it, but that said, my desire to be of assistance to you is also pretty great. So I’d rather we discussed this as fully as you need to, instead of worrying about how much I know.
[9:17:45 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I think that works well. How does Reagan handle asking her sister for time, only to cut it short without much reason? Gives you a great point of conflict later, when Reagan tries to again rebuild that time with Jessica.
[9:18:02 PM] Kimi Alexandre: well honestly you’ll have hints but you won’t know unless you want to be a reader too. i can use you for breakthrough. daddy has been my best beta reader
[9:19:08 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: *nod* Side track, but worth noting: you’re fortunate that he’s a good reader for you, and I’d say exploit that resource. He knows how you write, what you want, and can give you immediate results better than anyone else can, really.
[9:19:53 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I will do whatever I reasonably can to help. As I noted before, since our goals are so aligned, it seems appropriate for us to help one another.
[9:20:48 PM] Kimi Alexandre: it’s both good and annoying that he’s such a good resource like that. but I’ve found that he was the best and quickest way to get 1 and 2 out as quick as i did. having him be my only beta made it fast and efficient.
[9:21:54 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i think what would be most helpful for me is to have you as a brainstorming/breakthrough partner to help me like you did above. have Ken be my editor. and i am happy to help you in any way i can and in anyway you are comfortable with
[9:22:04 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: *shrug* Hopefully you agree with me on this … you asked for help on Brainstorming. The way I’ve ALWAYS seen good brainstorming isn’t to say "you should have character A do action x", but rather ask questions or discuss it to let you come to that direction yourself.
[9:22:19 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Well, before we get too far into that, is that all you needed to brainstorm?
[9:22:21 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and in this world you get the best of both world. you get to help but the job of not necessarily knowing the story
[9:22:30 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: *nod*
[9:22:53 PM] Kimi Alexandre: for the moment i think that helps yeah
[9:23:03 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Glad to hear it!
[9:31:54 PM] Kimi Alexandre: here’s an unrelated question
[9:32:12 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: give’er.
[9:32:25 PM] Kimi Alexandre: do you think i should tweet when i write, tweet that i’ve written ?# of words (even like 342), or not tweet that I’ve written?
[9:32:29 PM] Kimi Alexandre: which would people rather see?
[9:33:03 PM] Kimi Alexandre: or tweet my total number of words at the end of a sitting when i write
[9:34:27 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I’d do the last one. Less strain on you (and temptation for distraction), but still gives the fans a count.
[9:52:46 PM] Kimi Alexandre: tonight i’m working on "the corporate ladder"
[9:54:48 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Oh?
[9:55:09 PM] Kimi Alexandre: that’s the angel story. i might need to ask you to beta for that one. daddy wants no part of it
[9:55:26 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol. Okay, I can do that.
[9:55:32 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Does Wesley have a part in it? lol *jk*
[9:55:45 PM] Kimi Alexandre: sadly. no. lol. it’s before they take over
[9:58:04 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol.
[9:58:57 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I haven’t really seen enough of Angel to understand what’s going on anyway, so I can help from a pure story-driven perspective, and writing, but that’s about it. I can’t tell you if anything makes sense within the canon.
[9:59:29 PM] Kimi Alexandre: it’s ok. read it from pure story view point.
[10:00:32 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I shall do that.
[10:00:36 PM] Kimi Alexandre: ug Ryan…i got so much work to do before Jan
[10:00:58 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: January’s a little ways off… you’ve got time.
[10:01:34 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i figure by Jan is how i long i have to make some notice to get Derek (head of the dark fantasy track for dragoncon) to want me on his panels
[10:08:11 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: What do you have to do by January, to achieve that goal?
[10:08:29 PM] Kimi Alexandre: get as many episodes of guardians out as possible
[10:08:38 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay. Anything else?
[10:09:57 PM] Kimi Alexandre: not really. hopefully i’ll get more listeners but that’s provided w the guardians
[10:10:32 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Do you need to go to him, to ask? Or does he come to you and ask? I don’t know how panels work.
[10:11:24 PM] Kimi Alexandre: I’m gonna need to ask him. it would be cool if i could get a ref from Stacia and Jackie since they have been on his panels but i’m a little worried about asking them to back me up
[10:12:06 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: okay … *puts on secretary / administrative assistant hat*… Stacia and Jackie aside for a second, you’re planning on an episode every 2 weeks, right?
[10:12:31 PM] Kimi Alexandre: 3 weeks is more possible but i’m trying for 2 weeks
[10:13:33 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: okay. There’s 16 weeks between now and January. That means 8 more episodes. Is that enough? (seriously asking; I don’t know).
[10:14:00 PM] Kimi Alexandre: that would be 10 chapters
[10:14:21 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i don’t know….honestly
[10:14:34 PM] Kimi Alexandre: depends on how much more i have written
[10:14:43 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i think i can work on getting ahead of my self
[10:15:03 PM] Kimi Alexandre: and go…look…I’ve got x chapters up and I’ve got x written so ….
[10:15:08 PM] Kimi Alexandre: you know what i mean?
[10:15:35 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay. Let’s assume it is. My goal in this line of questioning is to water this down to goals that you’ll measure in a matter of days, rather than weeks or months. If 8 more chapters is enough, and let’s say each chapter is 2,000 words … that means you’d have to write about … 142 words a day. That’s not too bad, right?
[10:16:09 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I do agree with you. Although again, knowing as little as I do about con panels, I wonder if saying "look, I have x listeners" won’t be the stat that wows him. Which, of course, will also come with this work.
[10:17:42 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i’m not sure. i think it’s getting him hooked on my story that will get him honestly
[10:18:23 PM] Kimi Alexandre: which means that by jan i write and say i’m on chapter 10 (hopefully) and then by dragoncon in sept i’m hopefully at chapter what??
[10:18:42 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol. Getting him hooked on the story, or listener count, or having a set number of chapters done … I think regardless, it’s all a matter of using achievable goals to hit that mark. It’s definitely doable!
[10:18:51 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Assuming a similar calendar year …
[10:19:09 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Chapter 28
[10:19:12 PM] Kimi Alexandre: well i can totally hit 142 words a day
[10:19:28 PM] Kimi Alexandre: if i were at chapter 28 then I’d be almost done assuming i’m near the chapter math i worked out
[10:19:52 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i worked out the math to be somewhere near 32 chapters assuming i don’t add or undercut
[10:20:00 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I am certainly you can EXCEED 142 words a day.
[10:20:08 PM] Kimi Alexandre: that’s for about 80k words
[10:20:26 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: k, lemme rework my math here … *calculator*
[10:20:46 PM] Kimi Alexandre: my chapters are around 2500
[10:21:19 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: 179 words a day …
[10:21:27 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: STILL well within your capacity.
[10:21:44 PM] Kimi Alexandre: where does figuring in editing/recording go??
[10:21:57 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol. It doesn’t, into that figure at least.
[10:22:08 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i guess that doesn’t matter since i’m writing even when i’m doing recording and editing
[10:22:13 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: But how long – honestly – would it take you to write just 179 words a day, assuming that’s all you wrote? I’d have to hope you could do that in 10 minutes.
[10:22:41 PM] Kimi Alexandre: probably. my BIGGEST problem is….i feel like i have to write it perfect the first time
[10:22:59 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay.
[10:23:23 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Is that seriously your biggest hurdle? I’m not wording it that way to be demeaning, naturally; I just want to make sure, before we address that hurdle, that it is indeed your biggest hurdle to overcome.
[10:23:25 PM] Kimi Alexandre: damnit…so often i feel like these transcripts would be great for the site. sometimes i think about putting these on talechasing
[10:23:36 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol.
[10:24:09 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: (if you can) Invite me on the show, and we’ll talk it out there.
[10:24:47 PM] Kimi Alexandre: honestly….in my head….and i feel really stupid and (can’t think of the word)….
[10:25:16 PM] Kimi Alexandre: saying this…but most the time when i write….i don’t have to do much editing…some editing but not much unless i just trash the whole thing
[10:25:32 PM] Kimi Alexandre: this leads me to think that if i write…it is close to perfect the first time
[10:25:42 PM] Kimi Alexandre: so that’s what prevents me from sitting down and writing
[10:25:45 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i know this is incorrect
[10:25:50 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i know it can’t be this way
[10:25:51 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Hmm. Interesting.
[10:25:57 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i know that there is very flawed logic here
[10:26:06 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: … Yep. But is that so bad at this point?
[10:26:19 PM] Kimi Alexandre: yes it’s preventing me from writing
[10:27:08 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Here’s my thought: you’re right and you’re wrong, but you know both of those things, even if you haven’t addressed it. You’re wrong in that naturally, it’s not perfect right out of the gate. It simply CAN’T be. However, you’re right in THINKING that IF you stop waiting for that to simply happen. Accept it when you think it’s perfect, move on from it when you think it’s not.
[10:27:35 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Sounds like you’ve got the same problem you said I had, kiddo. I think we both need to "get over ourselves", and just go to town on the writing.
[10:27:44 PM] Kimi Alexandre: yup
[10:27:59 PM] Kimi Alexandre: it’s very easy to make excuses and a little harder to just do it
[10:28:04 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Yep.
[10:28:08 PM] Kimi Alexandre: "there is no try…only do"
[10:28:25 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Let me mis-quote someone here … lol, not Yoda (although I think I do a good impersonation of the little guy).
[10:28:40 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: We cannot expect radical change in our lives if we don’t experience radical change.
[10:28:42 PM] Kimi Alexandre:
[10:28:51 PM] Kimi Alexandre: ok who did you mis-quote?
[10:29:15 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I take that to mean the following: you and I can’t expect to complete our works if we aren’t willing to sit down, fight through the emotions of thinking we’re stupid or wrong or wasting our time, to put in word count, etc.
[10:29:26 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Tony Robbins. He takes a lot of heat, but the man always lights a fire under my but.
[10:29:41 PM] Kimi Alexandre:
[10:30:19 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: He has an entire seminar where he discusses how things like scientific innovation always comes with people resisting it, because it’s not the norm. More importantly, he waters it down to a much more simplistic model: if you want to lose weight, you have to work out. Working out, for most of us, is a "radical change", and we resist it.
[10:30:56 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: You and I are doing the same thing. We’re stopping ourselves from being successful because we’re afraid of the change, I think. Please bear with me here …
[10:31:44 PM] Kimi Alexandre: np
[10:32:15 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I think it’s pretty obvious that you’re afraid to get it wrong. I’m afraid of the same thing, at the end of the day. I can sit here and tell you I haven’t worked much on my novel because "I don’t know where it’s going", or "I’m not prepared". But at the end of the day, if I’m honest with myself, I’m not working enough on it because I’m afraid it won’t achieve my goals, and I seem to think I get only one shot at this. I think, although the symptoms might be different for you, the "disease" is the same.
[10:32:56 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Lots of people say "write for yourself", but honestly, I disagree with that. I don’t NEED to write my stories for myself, because I know them. I write my stories for everyone else. So to think that I’m going to attempt to tell this tale, and it’s going to go wrong and no one will read it is enough to turn me right off the idea.
[10:33:01 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Does this make sense?
[10:33:13 PM] Kimi Alexandre: totally
[10:33:37 PM] Kimi Alexandre: i don’t write for me either. i write for everyone else. same reason i watch movies i’ve seen with other people. i like watching them watch the parts i like.
[10:33:51 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: *touches nose* Exactly!
[10:33:57 PM] Kimi Alexandre:
[10:35:49 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: But here’s another component of this (and I’m talking this out for myself. I’m not being preachy, I assure you … unless you think I am…): we’re the first hurdle. We’ve both got to get over ourselves, and start working. I’d say we identify the roadblock, identify the way over it, and if we can’t get over it, identify the way AROUND it. You know what your long term goals are (get on the panel, get the book done, get people listening to it), and you know why you’re not there. I think all you’ve got left is to get around it.
[10:36:23 PM] Kimi Alexandre: *nods* agreed
[10:36:43 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Okay. *phew*
[10:37:41 PM] Kimi Alexandre: lol. what can i help you with now?
[10:38:36 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol.
[10:39:35 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I need to brainstorm too. But before I mention that in any more detail, did this conversation help so far?
[10:39:52 PM] Kimi Alexandre: this is great….and a question
[10:40:00 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: mmm hmm?
[10:41:16 PM] Kimi Alexandre: would you allow me to take out the pertinent parts of this conversation and make a blog entry out of it. we’ve done this before and i might go back and look to see if others can be salvaged but it’s too good not to use if you will allow me to. i will change your name or use it if you allow me to. i will also show you what i want to use before it goes up if you say yes
[10:41:26 PM] Kimi Alexandre: brb
[10:42:24 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Go ahead.
[10:42:26 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: I don’t mind.
[10:45:35 PM] Kimi Alexandre: back and was that an ok to using this?
[10:45:42 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Yep.
[10:45:49 PM] Kimi Alexandre: ok to use your name or no?
[10:45:50 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: don’t think I’ve said anything I wouldn’t repeat.
[10:45:53 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Sure.
[10:46:02 PM] Kimi Alexandre: want to see what i use before it goes up?
[10:46:08 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: Sure, that’d be great.
[10:46:21 PM] Kimi Alexandre: got a link you want to go to your name?
[10:47:13 PM] Ryan E Stevenson: lol. No. Never did get a webpage up. If you could link to the Dead Robots Society (www.deadrobotssociety.com), that’d be great. And as silly as this sounds, could you use my name as it appears in the chat: Ryan E Stevenson. There’s a number of semi-famous Ryan Stevenson’s, so to enhance my Google presence, I’m using my middle initial whenever I can.

PROMISE!

This is a GREAT episode. I hope you enjoy it and get as much as I did out of it. I also want to thank Wndr Wolf from Wander Radio (no time to link sorry) for doing the edits. He helped me get this out to you. Do something nice for him like track him down on google.

Love Kimi

You all know about what my plans were in June about getting my health and meds straightened out. Here is it in August and it’s not fully settled but we’ve gone through some changes and in the mean time more things have hit the fan causing a delay in my projects.

So here I am to tell you about all that and give you an update.

• My sleep schedule is not fully correct but it’s better
• My food isn’t great but it’s getting better
• My psych meds have been changed and aren’t set but are holding me together…still looking for a Dr for that
• I’m off my pain meds but still having headaches daily…we’re still looking for a Dr for that.
• I haven’t been able to work out like I need to…I have nothing but excuses for that one.

And then I got thrown another curve ball. Two weeks ago my mother went into ICU. Her kidneys shut down, she wasn’t coherent, and things were just bad. I, Soulhuntre, and Tatsumi all went to Kansas for five days. She slowly got better but was still not off the sedation when I left. It was decided that as she got better and when she was close to leaving the hospital I would come back and help her and my Dad.

Her kidney’s are now functioning, she’s still being fed through IV but the ventilator came out and she’s not on all the huge lines of medication she was. It’s hard to say how long she’ll remain in ICU because we’ve now got to get her to be able to sit up as well as talk again before they can move her to a regular room and then hopefully home. My father who can’t drive again by himself until December will be needing my help to drive him around to the hospital, to errands, and to meetings.  All things considered…I think I handled this little crisis pretty damn well. I couldn’t have done as well though without Soulhuntre and Tatsumi. The support I received from my friends and my twitter pals was really great as well so thank you.

So where does that leave me and my projects, other then “behind”? Well it had been my intention to take the laptop with me to work while in Kansas. I may be gone as long as 3 weeks to a month. But it blew up on me. So I’ll be taking pen and paper and if NOTHING else writing on Guardians so that I can just crank it out to my actors and into audio form.

I’ve canceled a few voice overs I was going to be doing. I’ve made arrangements for the voice overs I can still do. I won’t be able to go to DragonCon which I’m very bummed about because I wanted to record the meetings and hang out with some of my new UF writing friends.

And I’ll be eating correctly and walking my mom’s dog alot while I’m gone to see if I can keep up with the loosing weight. The only thing I don’t have taken care of really is what happens if I run out of pain meds but I’ll be talking to my Dr. before I leave on Monday about that. I got samples for the psch meds I need so I am good on that.

This week will see me updating all the bills so Soulhuntre can do that while I”m away. I’ve made some deals with WndWolf of Wonder Radio to do some editing for me for TaleChasing and I’m going to try and get an PIP episode up before I have to go. I have a few TC eps that can go up and I’ll be taking along the Zoom for totally raw updates.

I think that pretty much covers it. It’s my intention to get Guardians back on track and going without loosing to many of you in the mean time. To keep myself sane I will repeat the wise words told to me by lots of people I admire: “If anyone complains tell them you’ll be returning their money as soon as you can….oh wait….they aren’t paying for it.”

Seriously, it means bunches to me that you are all supportive and sticking with me.

Love ya,
Kimi

Follow me on Twitter at KimiDreams if you want updates or call 201.830.1586 to leave comments.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Thanks for the patience! New Author’s Notes ASAP

Warning!!! I ramble. There is a point. I do eventually get to it. LOL

The Story up to now: Regan, a bodyguard for celebrities and socialites, escorts the mayor’s son to a museum benefit for a religious archeologist seeking more money. Before we get to find out much about the Dr or the people at the party, we find out that her contact Andre is missing, her sister goes out of her way to guilt her into coming to see her the next day and then that something is wrong that an old friend and one of the venue security think she needs to be in on. Find out what happens next in Chapter 2

Sadly and also because it’s unedited…for the moment I don’t have many show note links. If I go back and re-listen I will edit. So here are the links I remember.

KL Grady – FiveScribes
Jackie Kessler – Cat and Muse
Scott Sigler
Christiana Ellis – Nina Kimberly the Merciless
Tee Morris
Philippa Ballantine
JC Hutchins – Personal Effects: Dark  Art

Promo: The Computer King

Guardians Chapter 1

Take a listen to the following Author Cast for your update on Chapter 1.

So tired ack!
But really quick I want to point you as some AWESOME links. Take a look at all the NET LOVE I’ve been shown.

Jackie Kessler’s Cat and Muse Interview with Raegan
Karen Syed’s mention of Guardians’ Release
Dead Robots Society’s Interview w me!

And now bed. Remember to track me down if you are at Balticon to grab your extra ticket to win one of the Zunes!

Or, if you’d like to get creative and get an extra chance to win all you have to do is find some way to advertise the url and name of Guardians, then track me down at the convention and get your extra ticket. Write it on yourself, write it on a t-shirt or make a paper hat, post it on a sign on your back. I’ll even help you, several places around the Con I’ll put some temporary tattoos. Find one, wear it, and show me! And last but not least if you make such a big splash with your advertisement that I spot YOU in the crowd, I’ll come and give you 2 tickets.

Now you’re saying…but how on earth will I find you? Easy…I’m on two other panels and you can find those in the Balticon schedule. I’ll be at many of the new media and podcasting panels. I’ll be at the New Media Party on Saturday night. And I have twitter and I’ll be posting where I"m at and what I’m doing!

So…the info you need to know:
What to advertise: Guardians and http://www.guardiansnovel.com
My twitter acct: kimidreams
The drawing: Chesapeake Suite, Sunday at 6pm

Things are so crazy while I get ready for Balticon next week, and I have been trying to head off the flue that I slipped a bit on my time release. But I believe this is the best question answered so far! Check it out.

• Writing is the only thing to do
• Writing the Touch Chick
• Holly Lisle and the Case of the Exploding Cat
• Balticon Techno
• Get Out of your Own Way
• Five Reasons Authors should Podcast

This is me…raw and uncut! Enjoy!

Go take a listen as we count down the days left until Guardians is released. 17 days and counting!

• Balticon
• Scott Sigler
• Guardians
• Tee Morris
• Philippa Ballantine
• Soulhuntre
• Soulhuntre’s Flickr
• Herdwatching

Balticon May 22-25th

• Tale Chasing Live!
• Creating a Serialized Audiobook
• Best Promotion Techniques from the New Media Pros

Send in your question for next weeks Angellus Journal in the comments or call 201.860.1586

Remember to send in your questions by leaving comments here on Guardians, by email or calling 201.830.1586

You don’t have to have any experience but enjoy reading and know what you like!

We’re trying something a little new. Since some of you don’t read the blog I am reading some of the more important posts to you in my cast. You are free to skip over them but keep in mind I may add a little bit or answer questions posed in the blog so it might not be exactly the same.

We’ll have a promo from JC Hutchins and his new book coming out – Personal Effects: Dark Art

And in the second half we have a snipped version of accomplishments vs new years resolutions.

Check it out!

I am standing with 8k words in my hands, wondering if it’s good enough. This is no doubt, not an uncommon process or issue for writers. So let me tell you about how I got here.

I sent out my first chapter to about 5 people. I figured that since I’m happily on the 5th Chapter and I still wish to get earlier chapters podcast it was about time in the process to do a final edit and get it out to the voice actors. Hence the need for a few beta readers.

Each person I sent it to had some issues with my first chapter. One person in particular helped me see that I was showing the opposite of what I’d intended with my main character. This left a hearty but not impossible re-write. InkGypsy, who’s become a big supporter and very helpful, calmed some of the stress. No, I didn’t need to trash it and start all over. Yes, it could be fixed with a bit of change here and there. It was all going to be ok.

So for the last week or two I’ve been mulling over how to fix Chapter 1. Then upon talking with someone else, I realize….we might not be getting into the action soon enough. There might not be enough uf in my first chapter. Suddenly everything I have written looks extraneous and do I need to cut out large chunks of what I’ve written or do I keep it and some small change can keep it salvagable? *sounds of screams and much head holding*

My thought is…if I cut out a large amount of what I’ve written to make things happen faster….isn’t that just making a book into a short story? I want to avoid doing that. It’s a novel I’m writing not a 5k word short.

Sadly, there is no resolution to my questions yet. This post is about my process and I haven’t found the answer yet. But I felt it was good to get this out here as I’m sure there are a few others of you right now holding your heads and sighing. We aren’t lost. We’ll discover the way out.

I do however, want to leave you with a few good links I’ve found:
A Novel in Three Acts Pt 1 – Stacia Kane
A Novel in Three Acts Pt 2 – Stacia Kane
A Novel in Three Acts Pt 3 – Stacia Kane
The Fear of Writing
Holly Lisle’s Think Sideways Course

Warning: This episode is recommended for mature audiences only.

Show Notes:

Promo: Acts of Desperation

Mark Henry
Jenna Black – Morgan Kingsly Series
Kensington Books
Cherie Priest
Richelle Mead
Caitlin Kittridge
Kat Richardson
League of Reluctant Adults
Stacia Kane
Jackie Kessler
Douglas Winter – Less than Zombie
Paranormal Bender Tour
Jaye Wells
DragonCon
Charlain Harris
Tracie Lords
John Waters
Powells Books
Romantic Times Convention
Mario Acevedo

I realize I haven’t written here in a while either. Part of that was because I went back and forth about the issue of “does anyone read the posts”? Because my feed contains both the posts and the podcasts I don’t know how many read the blog. (hint – feel free to speak up in the comments section if you do so I can get a count)

Of course then there are all the other life reasons. I experienced some seasonal depression, there were holidays, and amongst all of that I spent time pulling myself further into unhappiness because I couldn’t figure out why I had things I knew needed to be done, things I wanted to get done…but not the ability to get myself motivated enough to do it.

This is a problem I’ve had for quite a while. And I expend a decent amount of brain power beating myself up about it. I found myself at Barnes and Nobel in the self-help section a week ago quite by accident. On a lark I decided to look through the books to see if anyone had any big advice on how to get motivated. There were a few on procrastination and I picked up one that I’m going thru a little at a time. I’ll be happy to recommend it if I find that it becomes helpful. I’m sure I can’t be the only one out there with this issue.

(I may have just come up with a good idea how to get blog posts to those people who only listen to my feed.)

Anyway, one of the things the book was useful for was finding out “why” you procrastinate. At first I couldn’t answer this question. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what to do. I even liked doing a bunch of the things I keep putting off. I’m not really afraid of making a mistake while doing them. So why did I put off things like putting up a post or a podcast? Why did I promise myself tomorrow I’d write some on Guardians? Or the same with any number of things I put off? It’s certainly not the full answer…because there is a hint of fear that what I write won’t be good enough or that I’ll write it and find out it’s wrong and needs to be re-written (an upcoming post)….

But the answer is…I find so many cool ideas I want to pursue that I bury myself in projects. Podcasts (I help with 3 right now), my book (short stories to draw attraction until it’s finished), voice work (for pay or for traffic – I’ve got two parts I’m currently playing besides mine), working on my fitness (food, trainer, cardio and weights), interviews (I have 3 ARC’s to read and at least 6 other people lined up I want to interview for the podcast), critique partner auditions (5 currently “auditioning”…3 who’ve sent return scenes to critter), helping others in my circles (I have 3 people expecting me to eventually get around to reading their current projects and maybe crit for them), and the endless list of podcast novels and shows I want to listen to (don’t even ask me how many that is).

Are we seeing a trend? I simply get overwhelmed by the amount of things I need/want to do. I don’t look at it that way in the moment. When I’m thinking about how I don’t want to write right now or “I think I’ll edit that later”…it’s just this dread…this tiredness. But when I look at the larger picture it’s clear to me…why on earth would I want to do any of the things I have to do when I’ve picked so many things and have so many people counting on it to all be done NOW.

There are people waiting for new episodes of Tale Chasing, people waiting for Guardians to come out, people waiting for the voice work, and expecting me to interview them. There are people who are looking forward to seeing my fitness progress. And I’ve told them all I’m working on each thing right this minute. Though no one but me knows it….each track has the same deadline. The immediate future. I think that calls for a reason to feel overwhelmed.

So…what am I going to do about it now that I know what’s happening. It’s not a perfect plan and like the book says, the object is not to “cure” procrastination but to do it less. I was referred to a site called Team WorkPM. It is a project management site and I’ve found it useful to seperate the projects I have and list the tasks that need to be performed and in what order to get them done. That has a least let me get it all out of my head so I don’t feel like I might forget something. And knowing what to do next is helpful.

Another suggestion from the book is to pick something little and accomplish it. Even something so small as writing an email is enough to get the ball rolling. Accomplishment gains momentum the more you add to it, and the more you add to it the more motivated you are to get things done. Because you feel that you can, you know that you are capable.

The last note on how I’ve been working on this is the obvious. Stop adding to the pile until I get something significant done. I have already caught myself twice going … “no, now is not the time to take that on.” And to me that’s a huge success. (of course reading back on this post I realize that while my idea on how to help those of you who don’t read the blog is part of the “Podcast Project”…techniquely it’s a new thing to add to the list of things to do. Some habits are hard to break but at least I caught it.)

So….if any of this sounds familiar…I hope this entry helps you.

(as a side note: There are two podcasts recorded and set to be put up shortly. Guardians is on it’s 5th chapter and I’m at 8500 words. I’m set to re-write the first chapter and get it back to a crit partner. I’m doing well with my fitness and have done two training sessions and have a plan on how to get better progress. I’ve also managed to stay away from foods I shouldn’t eat and keep with the every 4 hours eat thing.)

But I have been working. I’ll be getting up a new podcast here shortly. Topic: Resolutions? Let’s try Goals.
There will also be a special guest host reading an excerpt from his soon to be released new book, RoadTrip of the Damned…author Mark Henry!

So if you still get me on your rss feed. I’m glad you are still around. I’ve got some exciting casts planned and a few that are already taped, I’m just waiting for some permission to post them. I’ll be putting up a DragonCon 2008 panel talk from Michelle Belanger after the afore-mentioned cast goes up!

And how is Guardians? It’s going peachy. Much writing on it has been taking place. I’m thinking of putting up a word counter on the side so you all can see the progress. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about that.

Cybrois – Promo
Anthesis – Promo
Twilight Trailer
Twilight – The movie
Stephanie Meyer
Behind the Scenes Making of Twilight – click through for more
Robert Pattinson

Thanks for your patience!!

Please send an mp3 file to kimi@talechasing.com named: Ben_yourname_audition.mp3

Ben: 30’s, confident, capable, use to getting his way, will be learning empathy over the course of the book so at first he won’t seem to understand the basic workings of humanity.

(bemused…curious…only very slightly smug for second sentence)
Line 1: I always wondered what went on in your head Reagan. Interesting that some areas are boxed specifically with my name on it.

(non-sympathetic…almost resigned…non-compromising)
Line 2: He’ll have to be sacrificed. It’s not an option to negotiate a trade.

(speaking softly as if trying not to be heard from someone near asleep…slightly surprised…almost tender)
Line 3: She’s truly amazing. Despite the reasons she has to give up on people, she still fights for them. Its…endearing.

Learn how to adapt your written work into a podcast or podiobook from the award winning folks who make it happen, and find out the special tricks of the trade that will make your podcast novel stand out.

Michael Stackpole, J.C. Hutchins, Tee Morris, MW Selznick, Seth Harwood, Christiana Ellis

Take my poll here!

A TC episode is also coming to explain why I’m asking and where I’m at! It’ll be a good one. I’m really hyped about progress!

More then anything I need to know if you’d feel gyped if an episode was under 15 mins. Thanx!

For those of us having trouble understanding our villians!

P.S. I think I’m missing episode 20 but who’s to say it won’t find it’s way in the feed someday

Here are the links mentioned in the show:

• MurVerse
• Heaven
• Hell
• Earth
• Wasteland
• Playing for Keeps
• News from Poughkeepsie
• Geek Fu Action Grip
• I Should Be Writing
• Mursbitches.com
• The Take Over
• Scott Sigler
• Podiobooks
• Evo Terra
• PG Holyfield
• Balticon
• JC Hutchins
• Earl Newton
• Rich Sigfrid
• Joss Weadon
• Buff the Vampire Slayer
• Online Writers Workshop
• Viable Paradise
• Matt Wallace
• Set Harwood
• Fossil Watches
• Metamor City
• Murder at Avedon Hill
• Magic Tree House Books
• Eugie Foster
• Zen_Jewitch
• RobinInSeoul
• Origins
• GenCon
• DragonCon
• Throwing Toasters
• Luke Ski
• Ookla the Mok
• Sudden Death
• Lulu.com
• Jonathan Colton

Babbling Writers:
Writers discuss what it’s like to podcast about the subject that is nearest and dearest to them- fiction writing.
J.C. Hutchins, Tee Morris, Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty, P G. Holyfield, Philippa Ballantine, Michael Stackpole

Once it is released to the public I’ll post a link here for you to be able to go and get if you choose.
So you’re wondering (I know you are) what’s next? Well here’s the list…

• Put up next DragonCon panel podcast
• Record SSF for @dsawyer
• Quick run through of bumpers made the other day and send out
• Create 2 promos for “client”
• Finish Mur’s Interview and release
• Make and release “gift/offer” for TC followers
• Play with Staxx Tracks and create new TC intro/outro
• Write up project HTRAB: non-fiction
• Write up project WMBDSM

And while I”m working on that short list I’ll be working catching up on Guardians and releasing it very soon! It is the current priority goal. (I’ll also be starting back on my workout plan, etc)

So I’m off to recover from being sick like dog…while I do that…head over to enter for the big giveaway celebration that Holly’s offering!

It’s going to take me a while to get to the recordings from the other panels because they will have to possibly be edited then approved by the people on the panels. But there some good stuff about urban fantasy and writing with some awesome authors.

This first panel I’m putting up is Podcasting for Promotion. It is one of the panels that I was on. Here’s the description:
Podcasting has become a powerful tool. Learn different ways to promote just about anything.
With: Evo Terra, Tee Morris, KimiDreams, Marc Gunn, Christiana Ellis

I’ll also put a button on the side bar.

I am looking for donations and in return I will make a promo using the music from my purchases FOR FREE for YOU! You can use this promo to push your blog, novel, podcast, or any of those for a good friend of yours. HELP ME HELP YOU TO HELP YOURSELF!!

*edited to remove the chipin widget*

Enjoy
Show Notes:

Tee Morris

Adventures in SciFi Publishing ( my bad I said American SciFi Writing)

Lost Socks Insanity Podcast

Scott Sigler

Mur Lafferty – I Should Be Writing

DragonCon

Ivy Riesner – Writing Cast

PJ – Tech for Writers

PC Haring

Holly Lisle – Shop

Kimi’s Tarot Lines

Kimi’s Advice Lines

Ingenio

Ink Gypsy

Renderosity

Deviant Art

Ian McLein (props to anyone who finds the beta pic)

Poser

The Devil Inside

David Mack

How to Think Sideways – Holly’s 6 month course

My calendar: Kimi’s Calendar

Flickr Pictures (soulhuntre since he’s got a pro account) : http://www.flickr.com/photos/soulhuntre/

Sadly, as you see I was unable to get up Mur’s interview and it’s on my list to do when I get back. I also was unable to finish the recording for Holly but I have it all recorded and can finish it up quickly when I get back. There will be lots to do when I get back in ever aspect of my life. Among them I spoke with an author today who is helping raise money among herself and other authors for sciatic fibrosis. I will be donating a promo for the site as well as donating a promo and some podcasting advice among the prizes being given away for their read/write-athon. There are many perks to doing this.

However, on to the reason I brought you all here. I planned to get up a short story from the Guardian Universe and even had Lisa Tobias read it for me, but I didn’t have time to edit it either. I did, however, get up a teaser of Chapter 1 and it can be found at the Guardians Novel site.

So…enjoy! Until later from Atlanta.

There will be other characters as I go but these are the last two main characters I need currently. Please send your audition to kimi@talechasing.com with the format yourname_character.mp3

Thanks!

Erin – female, mid 20’s, club kid air but is actually very wise and “old”. Major Character

At a club, she’s just been asked about her wings since she’s dressed up in goth costume:
“Thanks, they’re a bitch to take off though! I swear, if one more guy tugs on them with a comment about how he’ll help me out of them I’m liable to show him one of the deadly sins … and it ain’t lust!”

Helping her roommate (the heroine) who’s just been hurt after someone has broken in. She’s amazingly calm for the situation
“Put the ‘bad ass’ on the back burner and lay still. I’m not your sister, so let me take care of you for a few. I promise not to damaging your rep.” (last part said with a smile) (Reagan looks at her a little in shock but is in pain.) “What? You didn’t honestly think I can’t see behind your masks did you?”

Jessica – female, younger sister of main character. 20’s. She’s a “sister” – religious. Kind but not a door mat.

“Grams said I should have lunch with you. She seems to think I can give you advice that might be useful. What does she mean Rae? What kind of advice could I possibly give you?”

She’s just been told something amazing pertaining to her faith. At first she thinks she’s being made fun of.

“That’s not funny Rae. This isn’t any better than the time you told me that the “ghost” from the ouiji board was following me and then left a black rose on my desk at school! I thought you were at least trying to understand my choices.”

I’m working on the next part of Guardians and still seeking a few voice actors for some characters coming up. Things are going well with Holly’s Ebook and I’m on track to deliver to her before DragonCon in TWO WEEKS!!

Things are going a little slow with the “Thinking Sideways” workshop from Holly Lisle. Partly because I’m dividing my time between projects and the class. Currently I’m trying to get in touch with my Muse, so if you see her please let her know I’m patiently waiting for her to drop back by. It’s very much worth the time and money. A lot of it is helpful for life, not just writing. So I’m really digging it. I’m also going to use it to refine Guardians.

I’m including my entry for Mur’s Stories from the Third Wave in prep for her release of Playing For Keeps on the 25th. This was the first full-cast Stories of the Third Wave.  Love Lines producer, editor, and concept created by Kimi Alexandre. All the participants created their own characters and their own lines for Love Lines.

* Dora Holly – Kimi Alexandre
* Jason Block – Jason Block
* Amora – Ivy Reisner
* Bruno – Chad Henderson
* Shelly – Paulette Jaxton
* Julie – Pamela Templin
* Kim – Comic Book Goddess

Love Lines – A story from the Third Wave

I know…You want to know what the hell the name of the book is already. It’s called Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke. And it’s so special because it’s about dragon shapeshifters. She had a huge opportunity to do this poorly and she didn’t. She wrote about these guys so well you can not only imagine what they look like but you can see them fighting! I also loved the heroine because while she was logical and a bit skeptical there’s not a lot of hysterics or days full of denying what she’s seen. She also managed to say all those things we say out loud to the hero (even though none of them can hear us). It was nice to finally be with a heroine who was on the same page as I was. She made a realization, I made it with her, and she told him! It was also nice to meet a heroine who ENJOYS being looked after. She managed to be strong AND happy about having someone pamper her. So thank you Deborah!

As a treat for you, I contacted her and she’ll be coming on Tale Chasing soon for an interview! Now…everyone go by this book!!

Oh and keeping with the dragon theme….I have some dragon eggs…please help them hatch!

I’m not a real big fan of zombies….but this is really funny! Enjoy

One of them is the Muse Online 2008 Conference.

The Muse Online Writer’s Conference is unique and I am thrilled to see all the positive responses trickling in from everyone.

You’ll get to meet some publishers, authors of various genres, editors…all here to answer questions you may have on writing, all teamed up on one writing lounge.

Bookmark us and come back often to see who we place in our PRESENTERS webpage and who will be conducting what in our Interactive Chat Lounge on the Second Floor of the Muse Convention Hall.

More info to come each and every day.

It look like a lot of fun and very informative as well. It’s being held OCTOBER 13 – 19, 2008 and registration is now open if you are interested in joining the fun! Check it out!

This is, btw, for @BlaqueSaber who comments that most writers’ blogs don’t talk much about writing.

This interview is with Tee and Philippa as they prepare for their release of their books to Amazon on 08.08.08

I was anxious to get this interview up. So along with the show notes from PG’s interview I’ll get the show notes up for this one tomorrow as well! Enjoy!

As a side note: Currently PodPress doesn’t work with WordPress 2.6 so if you simply click on “listen” you will be able to listen to the podcast in your defaul media player on your computer. Right clicking will allow you to download it.

To make up for it a little bit, I will have a special audio file with PG and another special for later with PG and Mur together! But regardless you will have PG’s Interview very very shortly! I PROMISE!

For now…I’d like to offer you the best thing I could think of as a peace offering.

The Pitchers Pendant by Tee Morris – PDF
Digital Magic by Philippa Ballantine- PDF

• Writing and recording Chapter 1 Guardians
• Setting up GuardiansNovel.com
• Editing previous recorded Interviews to put up on TaleChasing soon
• Organizing all the volunteers for a BDSM festival next weekend
• Scheduling all the security volunteers for said event
• Helping with the scheduling of other events at said event
• Doing a final edit of my friend’s new book being released at said event – The Forked Tongue
• A complete server move for over 25 domains I’m associated with
• Planning and beginning the write of Chapter 2 of Guardians
• Taking Advice, Tarot, and “other” calls to make a little extra green
• Working out like a dog to loose some weight for the event

Whew…I’ve been busy.

Here’s what my next week and change looks like:

• Finishing placing a few spots left to fill at the event
• Organizing sheets and giving out all my volunteers their final hours for the event
• Finishing up the server move
• Taking a few extra calls for the cash
• Packing for the event
• Dying my hair before the event
• A small shopping trip to Khols before the event
• And then Thursday – Monday running around like mad and hopefully having some fun at THE EVENT!

What am I planning for after the event?

• Doing finishing edits on 3 interviews
• Putting up the PG Holyfield Interview
• Putting up the Mur Lafferty Interview
• Putting up the Tee Morris/Philippa Ballantine Interview (I did today)
• Putting up the first Chapter of Guardians
• Making some cash on phone calls so I can go to DragonCon
• Writing and putting up the 2nd Chapter of Guardians

And there you have it….where I been, what I’m doing, where I’m going. So hopefully you can understand why there has been a delay in not only podcast episodes for here…but for Guardians as well. Thank you for your understanding. Peace out

I had help editing the PG Holyfield interview and I can get that up very soon. So…it’s coming…thank you all for baring with me.

more cat pictures

It’s getting down to the wire for the event I’m helping put together so I have all that to deal with and I had no idea how much of a nightmare coordinating so many people was. I’m doing it but part of it makes me want to scream at people or tear my hair out.

I had a post in mind I wanted to write but it requires a bit more thought then these small update posts do so that will have to be put on hold as well. I just wanted to give you an update on all the things happening and tell ya I’m working on it.

The good news is, I’ve slotted the parts for everyone in Chapter 1 and I’m getting them recorded this week. My weekend is so packed with a family movie of “The Happening”, a TESFEST meeting on Saturday, and Father’s Day on Sunday I may not make my imposed deadline of July 15th but we won’t be far off! I’m started to get SO excited! I hope you are as well.

So…keep your eyes and ears open and go and subscribe to Guardian’s so you are the first to hear it when it goes live. Please also feel free to download the promo and play it if you’d like!

Next podcast coming, Interview with P.G. Holyfield

Please send your audition to kimi@talechasing.com. Make the file name with your name and the character name.

Erin – (female, 20 something, confident, seems naive sometimes, on a mission, concerned about religious happenings, no concept of time)

“A cathedral was broken into last night. They tore it apart looking for something I guess……. I wonder if they found it.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that the things you’ve been seeing, might really be there?”

Chris Murphy – (male, model, 20 something, laid back and confident)

“You can’t blame them Raegan, you do look good enough to eat in that.”

“Please tell me we can leave soon.”

Dr. Ackerman – (male, professor, religious archeologist, intelligent, not telling everything he knows, 30’s)

“I’d love for you to bring your lovely guest to view the documents I’ve just found. Once I’ve deciphered the script they are written in they promise to set the church on it’s ear.”

“I’m the one paying and you’ll do what I want. I’d tell you to quit, but we both know you won’t….now that your curiosity is piqued.”

Guard - (male, stiff and doesn’t like being pushed around by a woman)

“If you’re a bodyguard, then I wear diapers on my days off.”

“We’re sorry for keeping you waiting. If you’ll follow me, I’ll get you to your table.”

Bob – (male, psychotic, “serial killer”, bad guy)

“Feel free to fight…I like that.”

“It’s not my damn fault you gave me a body that isn’t worth shit!”

Apprentice (female, confident, righteous)

“Take care of this one, will you? I’ll be happy to send you back where you came from and find someone competant.”

“Don’t pretend you have no clue what you did! We both know you are much smarter then that. Sadly you wont be smart enough in the end.” (hushed tones)

Trace – (male, 20 something)

(embarrassed) “Me personally? Twice.” (relieved) “I’m going to be so glad when I hand him back to Ben.”

“Aww, you ruin all the fun. I was hoping you’d run after them and pull that gun from where ever you keep it.”

Ben – (male, experienced, 30 something)

“You owe me, Ragan. I know I don’t have to remind you about Bali.”

“If I thought it would have effected you, you know I would have told you. You’ve known me long enough to know I don’t put anyone willingly endanger if I can take care of it myself.”

Feel free to download and play on your site or podcast! Help me spread the word. The tentative release date for the first chapter is June 15th!

Runner up in the Guardians Promo contest was @Zen_Jewitch!

This is a podcast recorded in the car discussing Chapter 1 of Guardians with my boss (S.O.)

NOTE: This contains spoilers. Do not listen if you want to be surprised.

Chapter 1 has 2367 words and I’m finishing up the last scene in it and striving for Chapter 2. The discussion in the car prompted a good thought on how to fix my issue with it so I’m letting the last few paragraphs percalate and then I’ll give it one last beta read then put it up.

I’m fixing up GuardiansNovel.com which will be set to open with the first chapter of the podcast novel. I’ll keep you updated as it and the first chapter are set to be released.

Yesterday, I was not hitting on all cylanders. I attempted a podcast (which will be up shortly) that I wasn’t really happy with. I even gathered a few people together to talk about writing and wasn’t very happy with how that turned out either. Later on, when I was thinking about getting to that re-edit I thought back to my evening and decided that I might be better off getting to it tomorrow since it was clear that I wasn’t really happy with my performance. I was pretty ok with that and sat down with a book that I bought to help spark my creativity. I got so into it that I read for several hours. It even sparked me to want my book to be as good.  I read until I got to tired to stay awake.

This morning when I woke up somehow that great spark of hope turned inwards on itself into fear and self-doubt. I contemplated beginning the re-write and nothing I thought about writing seemed like it was going to be good enough. I managed to let my fear take over.

A book I got recently called ‘The War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield, talks about “Resistance” in terms of what keeps people from rising to their potential and fulfilling their desires. You’d think he would tell us that “fear is the mind killer”, which in some cases it is. But his feeling on fear is this:

“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do….. Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there would be no Resistance.”

He goes on to talk about other interesting ideas reguarding resistance and how to over come it. I’m not quite through with the book but I find that it has a lot of truth in it. I’m still scared of failing to write something people will like, or not writing it well enough. It’s likely going to be a fight I’ll have to work through until the book is finished and maybe even during the next one. But I do want to write this and I do think it can be really good.

So if you think you’re alone in your fear, if you think you’re alone in your fight against Resistance..y.ou’re not. I’m right there with you. Let’s fight it together.

I have maitance to do on the site with promos, along with other work on my plate. I’m trying not to let the fact that I had to take a few days off (and maybe one or two more) get me down about being behind. It happens to everyone right?

So that’s what’s up with me. What’s going on with you’re writing and projects?

I will warn you…this podcast episode has some small NWS content but it’s not that bad. If you are unhappy with alternative life-styles, don’t listen to the second half.

Here’s the deets:

Create a promo for Guardians using the blurb text on the Guardian’s page. You can use creative license with the blurb text but don’t go to far a field. Include that this is a free podcast. Tell them that novel is being done in real time, meaning I’m writing and podcasting as I go.

You are free to word it anyway you wish. Be as creative as you like. Include sound effects or don’t.

Winner Gets:

I will be doing t-shirts for Guardians. If you do the winning promo, you will get a free t-shirt and a your name in black (I can’t afford the lights yet) as well as an exclusive premium writing pen!

Deadline:

May 30th. I hope to release Chapter 1 no later then June 1st.

Of course, part of the reason I decided to save this for later is because I started reading and questioning whether I’d covered all the things they were talking about in my story and characters and that way leads to madness.

So…enjoy!

She had some people from the media who came and other VIP like people. She gave out goodie bags and raffled off some prizes. She had quite a few helpers from her friends and such and it makes me think about if I ever have one what work it will be. LOL It was good experience to have actually.

It was a three hour party, and while pretty much anyone was allowed to come, she had us check off names so she could have a decent accounting of how many people came. The raffle was held 30 mins from the end so that kept most people hanging around to possibly buy something. EVERYONE wanted a gift bag but we only gave out tickets for them to the first 200 people. So many people tried to scam them. LOL Makes me wonder what kind of stuff I could put in a goodie bag if I gave them out. Her’s was a sex/relationship book so lots of the goodies in the bag had something to do with that. No wonder everyone wanted one.

I mentioned that I wouldn’t want to do mine in such a small club but someone mentioned that the atmosphere was probably better with everyone so close together and hyped up. Probably right but ug!