There, I said it. I am not a blogger. I am a writer yes, but I find myself unable to write about writerly things. That and the fact that I hold down a full time job while trying to write a variety of fiction leaves me with very little time to devote to a blog.
I started this blog only because everything I read about promotion said you had to have a platform and one of the best platforms was a blog. But I'm not a blogger.
I am in the process of setting up a static web site that will be my online home. I will transfer all of the interviews I've conducted as well as the book reviews I've posted to my new site once it is established. I will keep this blog up for the time being and use it to forward any traffic to my website once it's done.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Rick
R.I.P Print. Not!
It seems every week this expert or that is announcing the end of print as we know it. They paint a picture of a future where e-books and e-zines rule, where content is downloaded instantly onto our hand held devices to be pursued at our convenience.
I for one disagree. I own a kindle and will admit to enjoying the convenience of using it. It sure beats trying to hold a book open while I'm eating my sandwich during lunch at work. But it can never replace the excitement of opening a new book for the first time. The feel of the page, the smell of the paper, and the secrets within the words waiting to be discovered. No e-reader could ever replace that, ensuring that print will be around for a long time to come.
I for one disagree. I own a kindle and will admit to enjoying the convenience of using it. It sure beats trying to hold a book open while I'm eating my sandwich during lunch at work. But it can never replace the excitement of opening a new book for the first time. The feel of the page, the smell of the paper, and the secrets within the words waiting to be discovered. No e-reader could ever replace that, ensuring that print will be around for a long time to come.
5 Questions with g Elmer Munson
1.) When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think it took me a few years of writing crap before I
started to consider myself a writer. I started writing when I was young. I had
just discovered Clive Barker and Skipp and Spector and I tried to imitate their
styles, so everything was very graphic but I failed miserably at storytelling.
I thought if I threw enough blood on paper it would be horrifying, but it just
ended up being horrible. After a few years break (and a lot of college) I
returned to writing, and once I held my work in print I didn’t look back.
2.) What is the hardest part of writing?
Focusing on the current project. As I write this, I have two
novels in progress, three others plotted and waiting, one novella in editing,
and somewhere around fifteen short stories at various stages (not to mention
older stories that I go back to every now and then to see what’s salvageable).
I try to work on one thing at a time but the others just keep interrupting...
3.) How did you feel upon publication of your first
completed project?
It was everything and nothing like I expected. I felt
validated, like the many hours spent typing away resulted in something I could
be proud of. At the same time, I thought, Holy crap, I need to get writing so
the next book is even better. Maybe that’s why I have so much going on at once.
4.) In addition to writing, what else are you passionate
about?
I’m very dedicated to spending time with my family. I’m also
very into music and love being outdoors, particularly on the water. And, of
course, I love my cats.
5.) If you could ask any author, living or dead, one
question, what would it be?
I’d ask H.P. Lovecraft what it’s like to actually be insane.
g Elmer Munson is a New England writer of the strange and
unusual as well as the horrors of everyday life. He lives with his family and a
posse of various critters in a creaky farmhouse that's older than America
herself. His first novel “Stripped” is available from Post Mortem Press and his
short work can be found in various print anthologies.
Visit him at:
www.gElmerMunson.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MunsonElmerG
Twitter: @gElmerMunson
5 Questions with A.M. Harte
1.) When did you first consider yourself a writer?
A.) I've been writing for far longer than I can remember, but I honestly never seriously thought of myself as a writer until recently.
I started out as a voracious reader. I lived books, breathed books. Writing was something I did on the side, for myself, a clumsy attempt to emulate the books that gave me so much pleasure. A way to get those characters rattling around in my head out onto a page, to live out my dreams.
Throughout my late teenage years, things changed. From emailing chapters to my sister, I progressed to posting work online. I gained readers -- readers who came back every week for more. Their encouragement and support made something click in my head. It confirmed to me that I wanted to be a writer, wanted to keep writing and sharing stories.
That's when I started thinking of myself as a writer.
See, despite the romantic ideal of the lonely author locked up in a cave somewhere, inscribing words on a stone tablet fuelled only by alcohol and caffeine, I ultimately believe that writing is for readers. If you don't want someone to read that story one day, why write it down? I think that's why I only recently began to think of myself as a writer, because previously I wasn't really writing to share.
Are you a writer if you don't have readers? If a tree falls in an empty forest, does it make a sound?
2.) What is the hardest part of writing?
A.) Finishing!
You start off in that wonderful honeymoon phase, where your idea is wonderful and amazing and smells like roses. Then halfway through you hit that slump. It hasn't met your expectations, it's horrible, you're wasting your life with this writing malarkey. You can't possibly inflict this crap on anyone. This is when a lot of people give up. But you need to persevere, dig in your heels. If you don't finish the book, it'll haunt you.
You muddle your way through to the end of the book, and finally realize that it's not so bad after all. Sure, not as amazing as you'd originally thought, but passable. Phew.... Except you're not done yet. Then comes the dreaded revision. Edits. Rewriting. The story loses all meaning and becomes a string of words.
Finally, finally, you hand the book over to your readers. Then you start the next book, and go through the entire cycle again.
3.) How did you feel upon publication of your first completed project?
A.) Exuberant and incredulous... and also really relieved. I feel that way with every release, to be honest.
4.) In addition to writing, what else are you passionate about?
A.) Reading. Chocolate. Yorkshire puddings. Roast potatoes. Food in general, actually. Mmmm, food...
I love languages. As a child, I was shunted around Europe a lot, so I speak four, in varying degrees of fluency. I'd like to pick up a fifth at some point...
I'm also editor-in-chief of 1889 Labs, and pretty passionate about all the crazy things we get up to.
5.) If you could ask any author, living or dead, one question, what would it be?
A.) To Neil Gaiman: Would you give me your brain?
Bio:
A.M. Harte writes twisted speculative fiction, such as the zombie love anthology Hungry For You. She is excellent at missing deadlines, has long forgotten what ‘free time’ means, and is utterly addicted to chocolate.
WEBSITE
http://amharte.com
A.) I've been writing for far longer than I can remember, but I honestly never seriously thought of myself as a writer until recently.
I started out as a voracious reader. I lived books, breathed books. Writing was something I did on the side, for myself, a clumsy attempt to emulate the books that gave me so much pleasure. A way to get those characters rattling around in my head out onto a page, to live out my dreams.
Throughout my late teenage years, things changed. From emailing chapters to my sister, I progressed to posting work online. I gained readers -- readers who came back every week for more. Their encouragement and support made something click in my head. It confirmed to me that I wanted to be a writer, wanted to keep writing and sharing stories.
That's when I started thinking of myself as a writer.
See, despite the romantic ideal of the lonely author locked up in a cave somewhere, inscribing words on a stone tablet fuelled only by alcohol and caffeine, I ultimately believe that writing is for readers. If you don't want someone to read that story one day, why write it down? I think that's why I only recently began to think of myself as a writer, because previously I wasn't really writing to share.
Are you a writer if you don't have readers? If a tree falls in an empty forest, does it make a sound?
2.) What is the hardest part of writing?
A.) Finishing!
You start off in that wonderful honeymoon phase, where your idea is wonderful and amazing and smells like roses. Then halfway through you hit that slump. It hasn't met your expectations, it's horrible, you're wasting your life with this writing malarkey. You can't possibly inflict this crap on anyone. This is when a lot of people give up. But you need to persevere, dig in your heels. If you don't finish the book, it'll haunt you.
You muddle your way through to the end of the book, and finally realize that it's not so bad after all. Sure, not as amazing as you'd originally thought, but passable. Phew.... Except you're not done yet. Then comes the dreaded revision. Edits. Rewriting. The story loses all meaning and becomes a string of words.
Finally, finally, you hand the book over to your readers. Then you start the next book, and go through the entire cycle again.
3.) How did you feel upon publication of your first completed project?
A.) Exuberant and incredulous... and also really relieved. I feel that way with every release, to be honest.
4.) In addition to writing, what else are you passionate about?
A.) Reading. Chocolate. Yorkshire puddings. Roast potatoes. Food in general, actually. Mmmm, food...
I love languages. As a child, I was shunted around Europe a lot, so I speak four, in varying degrees of fluency. I'd like to pick up a fifth at some point...
I'm also editor-in-chief of 1889 Labs, and pretty passionate about all the crazy things we get up to.
5.) If you could ask any author, living or dead, one question, what would it be?
A.) To Neil Gaiman: Would you give me your brain?
Bio:
A.M. Harte writes twisted speculative fiction, such as the zombie love anthology Hungry For You. She is excellent at missing deadlines, has long forgotten what ‘free time’ means, and is utterly addicted to chocolate.
WEBSITE
http://amharte.com
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