Interview with Author Louis K. Lowy

My guest today is Louis K. Lowy, a new author whose delightfully funny and wacky sci-fi comedy, "Die Laughing", is coming out this month in eBook versions, and in August for the dead tree version. It's witty and nostalgic. The action can be brutal at times but is handled with a light comedic touch. A brilliant first novel. If you want something fun and exciting, check out "Die Laughing."

In the Ether: Being Writer, Part 3 - One Writer's Journey into Marketing and Publicity

Well, as promised, here is my convoluted journey through the marketing and publicity jungle.

What works and what does not work?

I just finished reading John Locke's book. Yes, I'm one of the hopeful fools who added to his success story. Do I feel gyped? Well, like all things, it depends on your point of view.

There isn't anything in the book that people don't already know, that is if you've taken the time to explore on your own and understand the tools available. It does give a validation, of sorts, that all of this commonsense advice is worth a damn. And in the end, that's the rub. It's fine to be given theories, but we want concrete examples of someone who actually went and did it in this brave new world of social media and publishing. Well, John Locke did.

Science Fact or Fiction: Solar Power - Or Plugging in My Sweater

I took out my cell phone the other day to call someone while I was...not on the road. Definitely not. Actually, I was about to go into a theatre to watch Green Lantern, when I noticed that little message...Low Battery... I look around frantically... Okay, it's not the end of the world, there must be a pay phone somewhere. One of those old fashioned ones attached to the wall.

Plug it into your sweater.

Say what?

In the Ether: News from Southern - The Next Big Things

I was reading the Southern Review of Books today and wanted to pass on some news I found very interesting.

The Next Big Thing

I've been having discussions with people who write Speculative Fiction and we were all wondering about the 'next big thing.' Vampires and Werewolves have been done to death and if I never see another fanged, semi-human creature who sucks blood or sprouts a snout, I will be very happy.

People are looking for something else now, hopefully. But no one seemed to know what that was. At least none of those I talked to.

Then I read something in the July issue of Southern Review and found this:

In the Ether: Being Writer, Part 2 - Small Presses

There are a lot of writers out there, even more wanna-be writers breaking into the business and just as many avenues of advice on how to be a successful writer. I'm not talking about the craft of writing for which there are plenty of reference sites; I am referring to the suggestions on how to lift your book from the realms of obscurity.

Not that I'm that successful at it. I've had some minor successes and lots of…let's call them learning opportunities. Hopefully this will help someone out there who is navigating a different part of the maze. What could it hurt? The more pieces of the puzzle we have, the clearer the picture.