Sci Fi Friday: A New Look at the Farside

Of all the strange things in the known universe, I find it truly odd that we see only one side of the moon. When I first heard that, I thought for sure it was some made-up BS.

But in fact it is true. While the moon orbits our beautiful blue, she never shows us her "dark side", keeping a part of herself forever secret (as all women of mystery do).

But thanks to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the lady's secrets are being revealed. We can now see the "far side" of the moon thanks to the lunar mapping.

While it is lovely of course, I must say I prefer the familiar face the moon we're used to. The far side, once revealed, lacks the pizazz of the "man in the moon" features.

Perhaps, as with a woman, the mystery was better before it was revealed …

What do you think?

Writer Wednesday: How Losing Your Virginity is Like Writing Your First Novel

"The Birthday"
by Marc Chagall, 1915

If you follow this blog, you know my fourth book, H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath was released in January (see more about that here). As I prepare to write my fifth novel, I am plagued with what has now become the familiar feeling of fear about the blank page. The worry of "can I do this" doesn't seem to go away no matter how many times I conquer the mountain of crafting a novel.

And lately there's an added feeling. At first it was a vague worry, but soon grew to outright fear.

Is the spark gone?

Is there such a thing as a well of creative energy that we draw from but which can run dry?

And that got me thinking about sex. I'll get back to the sex part in a minute, but first a bit more about writing.

While writing my first novel (Emily's House), I felt immersed in magic. Granted, Emily's House is about a girl with magical abilities and she goes to a mysterious other dimension and time travels and what not. It wasn't just the subject matter that was magical though.

The process itself was like falling into a rabbit hole. Frightful at first, yes. But oh how amazing as the mysteries were revealed. It felt like magic. I vividly recall sitting at my desk, writing feverishly, my fingers unable to keep up with my mind. It was as though I had been transported to a divine place called "Creativity", fueled by a meandering stream of the imagination.

While writing H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath (my fourth book), the dark hand of fear took hold of me. The writing was less feverish and more measured. Where was the feeling of divine "Creativity"? What happened to the meandering stream?

The process of writing was still pleasurable. In ways perhaps more so. I didn't stress so much about where to put things or if I was doing it right. I had experience to guide me.

Yet I had this nagging concern that because I did not feel the strange, mysterious upwelling of creative energy, the story was not going to be as good. Would the writing be flat?

But as I rewrote, revised, got feedback, rewrote again, revised, etc., I saw that I had, in fact, written my best novel yet. And my loyal readers agree with me. Their praise of my craft shows that my writing has gotten better, not worse.

And now what I promised. Talk of sex.

Writing a novel is like having sex.

You never forget your first time. The first time was likely awkward and fumbling. But memorable.

To a virgin, sex - like writing - is a mystery. You wonder about it, consider it. Think about it (a lot) and long for it. You imagine what it will be like (over and over again), picturing in your mind an amazing upwelling of passion that culminates in the most beautiful moment in your life.

Oh, the build up. The excruciating anticipation.

And then it happened and it was …

Nice. Or maybe just okay. For some, downright terrible.

But memorable. You always remember your first time. It was the time that the mysteries were revealed. 

The thing about first times? They only happen once.

But if sex was never as good - as pleasurable - as the first time, some may never do it again. Instead, sex gets better with experience, not worse. And better and better. So we keep doing it because it doesn't stop feeling good. The pleasure does not end after the initial mysteries are revealed. 

We discover more mysteries. It's no longer a meandering stream but a never-ending well of discovery.

The first time may be the most memorable, but practice makes perfect. For both writing and sex.

Did this article make you think about sex or writing? :-) Please feel free to share your thoughts but remember, this is a PG blog so please keep the comments clean.

Premier of the Video Trailer for H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath

Recently I posted a poll about whether or not readers paid attention to book trailers when interested in a book. The poll question was simple: "Do you view video trailers for books?" 

Interestingly, the poll came out in favor of book trailers. The final vote was 67% in favor of trailers to 33% who do not view trailers for books.

My ulterior motive for the poll was to help me decide whether or not to create a book trailer for my newest release, H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath. The majority rules! A book trailer has thus been created.

So without further ado, here is the trailer for H.A.L.F., created, produced and edited by yours truly. 

Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

How will I procrastinate writing the next book now that the trailer is done?! ;-)

Manic Monday: Sitting with Martin and Ray

Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury

It's Monday morning. It's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I'm thinking about freedom, as I usually do, but more on this day of the year than most others.

It's winter but not cold outside. I'm enjoying a cup of hot coffee anyway and reading while I eat my breakfast.

It's an older novel but one I recently felt compelled to pick up. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Have you read it?

I think I read it before, maybe when I was a teen.

If I had read it, I long forgot what it was about. My guess is it may have been a book that was assigned but that I didn't get around to. Possibly made up stuff for the test and, given my fairly immense ability to make up believable shit (hence my two professions - lawyer and writer), I got away with it.

I also guess that if I did read it, I did not appreciate it. Could not yet, at such a young age, have comprehended the ways in which a book written in the 1950's was prophetic of its future in a way that is eerie. Prescient. Scary.

I also suppose that if I read it, I did not appreciate Bradbury's poetic language. His ability to capture the mood of things with just a few words.

I keep going back to the first line: "It was a pleasure to burn."

That line is amazing. Simple. Perfect. 

Haunting.

That one line is followed by what may be, for me, one of the most perfect first paragraphs I've read recently in any book of any genre.

"It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning." ~Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

I love it. I'm jealous of it. I wish I had written it.

I put the book down and ponder how fucking incredible it is that I'm reading the book. That he wrote it. And that over 60 years later, he is speaking to me across time, across space, across generations. How he is fueling my mind and inspiring me.

We never met, yet …

Yet I feel in him a kindred spirit. One who, like myself, revels in the freedom to think. To question. To wonder. To dare to ask "What if?"

And to take that next step and write it down, then to share it with others, all the while not knowing if they will stand behind you and support your right to speak it or hunt you down like a mob with torches scorching your behind just because you dared to say it out loud.

After all these years, the scariest thing for people like us, Ray and I, is the possibility that the freedom to speak will be snuffed out, fueled by the kerosene of hate and fear, burned in the embers of the last cry of freedom.

H.A.L.F. Is HERE! New Sci Fi Book by Natalie Wright

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath
by Natalie Wright

What does it take to write a novel?

For my most recent novel, the stats are something like this:

Four years, three complete rewrites, four Moleskine notebooks, hundreds of cups of coffee, three content editors, six beta readers, several bottles of wine, two different covers, a gazillion Reese's cups, a trip to the Roswell museum of UFOs in New Mexico, and hundreds of hours with my butt glued to a chair, fingers virtually numb from typing.

There may be a few exaggerations in there, but it's mostly true. ;-)

But all the hours lead to this moment of Yay! Hooray! Booyah!

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath e-book is available for pre-order on Amazon. *raises a glass and drinks* If you'd like to order your Kindle copy, click the Amazon link, hit pre-order and boosh! It'll be delivered to your account on 1/29 when it releases.

And, for those of you that enjoy the feel of paper in your paws, the paperback is available now on CreateSpace and Amazon. I've even got a spiffy coupon code for CreateSpace. Just enter this coupon code for 25% Off. You're welcome ;-)

And what's this? A hardcover is coming you say?

Yep. Hardcover baby. The firm feel and weight of a hardcover will roll your way in early March.

It's time to party. To raise the roof. To bask in the glow of pulling that manuscript kicking and screaming into the world!

I really did have a blast writing H.A.L.F. It's the most fun book I've written so far and I hope that readers have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

I'd love to hear what you think. Reviews on Amazon are a plus. Dropping me a line or comments for bonus points.

Now time to get back to work. I have four more books to write in the H.A.L.F. series. :0

From the Back Cover:

H.A.L.F. 9 has taken his first breath of desert air and his first steps in the human world. Created to be a weapon, he proved too powerful for his makers, hidden from humans and sedated. But H.A.L.F. 9 has escaped the underground lab he called home, and the sedation has worn off. He has never been more alive. More powerful. Or more deadly.

Erika Holt longs to ride her motorcycle east until pavement gives way to shore. She bides her time until graduation when she’ll escape the trailer she shares with her alcoholic mother and memories of her dead father. But a typical night in the desert with friends thrusts Erika into a situation more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Circumstances push the two together, and each must make a fateful choice. Will Erika help H.A.L.F. 9 despite her “don’t get involved” rule? And will H.A.L.F. 9 let Erika live even though he was trained to kill?

The two may need to forget their rules and training if either is to survive the dangers of the deep beneath them.

Countdown to Tucson Comic Con

I've been antsy. Holed up in my office, sucking down coffee as if my life depended on it, revising until I feel like my eyes are going to bleed from reading. Seriously, I've actually gotten dizzy a few times when standing up 'cause I've been staring at my computer screen too long.

I need a wee bit o' break from my manuscript H.A.L.F. before the final push to the glorious, amazing, blow the reader's mind ending. It's so close I can almost taste it. But I'm feeling tired. Sluggish even. I need reinvigorated. 

I need a comic con.

Lucky for me, Tucson Comic Con is around the corner. Just three days in fact.

I'm feeling a *squee* coming on.

My blood starts pumping as soon as I begin stacking the boxes of books in the back o' my guy's SUV-ish pukeiferous (yeah, I just made up that word) green car, aka "The Pickle." By the time I wheel my cart to the 6 feet of table I'll call home for two days, I'm giddy.

Cons and festivals are like home to me. While there, I'm surrounded by things I love. Comic books, novels, art and the artists and writers that create them. And of course I also get to spend time chatting with people who also love these same things.

Two days of communing with the tribe. Doesn't get any better than that.

And come next Monday, I'm gonna kick that manuscript's ass!

If you too are heading to Tucson Comic Con this weekend (November 8 & 9), make sure to visit my table at G17.

Writer Wednesday: Others Smell Your Stink More Than You Do

You know the saying. "The one who smelt it dealt it." In my experience that is rarely true of a person's malodorous behind. And when applied to the world of writing, I boldly assert that it's never accurate.

When it comes to our writing, we can rarely appreciate the full extent to which our prose reeks. While it is certainly true that we need to be our own first editors (and the better you become at editing, the more exceptional your writing will be), we cannot rely on our own eyes and minds to be the sole arbiters of the strengths and weaknesses of our work.

So let us be clear and establish Law #1: Every manuscript we produce MUST be read and commented upon by someone other than the writer.

Having accepted this law, we then must seek out a person or persons to critique our work. I recall clearly that at my first writer's conference back in 2009, I heard ad nauseam of the need to be in a critique group. The sounds like sound advice given Law #1 and many newbie writers run around with their hair on fire seeking out the perfect critique group.

The truth is that finding a critique group can be difficult. Many are closed to accepting new members. Still others are not a good fit. Many writers have never been in a critique group, and their writing has not suffered for it (possibly due to the constraints of a critique group/partner that I'll point out below). 

If you are in a critique group and it works for you, great. But I urge writers also to consider getting an "outside" opinion. Pushing yourself to receive feedback from a completely unbiased and skilled freelance editor may help you kick your writing up a notch.

Time for another bold assertion. Your critique group partner(s) and beta reader(s) are only slightly more able to parse out the true extent of the rotten parts of your manuscript than you are.

Why? Because they are not disinterested. Anyone that is in a relationship with you will be unable to provide an unbiased opinion.

You're not going to accept my bold assertion without argument, are you? Good. You shouldn't. I submit two pieces of anecdotal evidence for you to consider.

First, people in a relationship with one another consistently hold back the whole truth in order to preserve the relationship. This is human nature. When you ask your partner, "Do these jeans make your butt look fat?" how many would say yes even if said jeans make your ass looks like a hippo's butt stuffed into denim? The answer is very few. Any partner that said your ass looks like a hippo's butt would be considered an asshole and thus be putting the relationship in danger (whether he/she knows that or not).

We lie to the ones we love and care about to preserve their feelings, especially when we value the relationship. I submit that this is an aspect of human nature that we cannot escape, even in a critique group.

Second, people abhor conflict. Especially women people. I know this because I worked as a divorce lawyer and mediator for nearly twenty years. Time and time again, I saw people (especially women people) in relationships that did not work for them; agreeing to terms that were not in their best interest; and otherwise doing and saying things that went against their own truth simply to avoid conflict. And we doubly especially want to avoid conflict with people who we are in a relationship with. Thus, it is highly likely that your critique partner will hold back on pointing out just how smelly your MS is in order to safeguard your feelings so that, 1) You won't hate them and thus continue to be their critique partner; 2)To avoid conflict with you; so 3)The preserve the quid pro quo relationship that you've established to trade critiques of each other's work.

Now if you're okay with getting feedback that points out perhaps 50% of the smelliness factor in your MS but holds back a bit in order to guard against bruising your ego or perhaps ending the quid pro quo, then disregard this post entirely.

BUT, if you have the sense that maybe at least some of what I'm saying is true, then I suggest you do the following with your current manuscript:

HIRE A FREELANCE CONTENT EDITOR.

Paid editors are not in a relationship with you. They are not your friends, family, co-workers, critique buddies or avid readers of your work. They are interested only in the words on the page (and being paid) not your vivacious personality or quid pro quo.

I have had critique buddies, beta readers and paid editors. Without question, even the worst paid content editor delved deeper into my MS and pointed out more funk than the best critique partner or beta reader. And good content editors have helped me elevate my writing to new levels with their laser sharp focus that doesn't let me get away with anything.

Another thing I should mention that is a factor here deals with paying people for work. If you rely on free advice (even if it's quid pro quo), the fact is that people are busy with things other than your manuscript. Your MS is of the highest priority to you but no one else. 

When you hire a paid editor, your MS becomes her priority for a time because it's her job. You got moved up the priority list for her, and you're top. That means that the paid editor has more energy, time and focus to devote to your MS.

As I said, I've hired quite a few freelancers over the years. Some have been very expensive and frankly not worth the money. Others have been very expensive and worth the money but, well, very expensive and thus not affordable to use over and over again for each new work.

But one company stands out and I'm going to give them an unsolicited plug here: Red Adept. I've used Red Adept three times now and each time I've been placed with a different content editor. All three have exceeded my expectations and I've always felt that the service was worth more than what I paid. How often does that happen in life?

I recently hired Red Adept for a content edit of my current manuscript, H.A.L.F. The content edit took about two weeks, and I received back nearly 2000 comments on my manuscript plus a 21 page, single-spaced letter with feedback. The editor pointed out things that I've done well and my strengths to build on. But she did not hold back in pointing out issues with plot, sub-plot, pacing and characters (as well as other issues).

I'll be honest. When I get the content editor's notes back, I often feel despair. After all, when I sent the MS I felt happy with it and thought it was nearly good to go. But when I get it back and see a comment in nearly every sentence? Well, it induces a desire for chocolate and wine (not necessarily in that order and hopefully both together).

But I let it sit for a day or two. When I go back to it, I realize that nearly everything the editor pointed out is something that I had already considered, but perhaps wasn't sure if it really needed changing. Or I was stuck in my old way of thinking about it and thus unable to see how to change it. The content editor's suggestions spark my creativity, and I'm off and running, my excitement for the story invigorated as I rework the problem areas.

To be clear, a content editor will NOT rewrite your manuscript for you. She will not take your pile of poo and rework it into a masterpiece. But she WILL point out the obvious and not-so-obvious flaws in your work and often make suggestions for how you can rid your manuscript of its stink and make it smell lovely.

Another Note: Do NOT hire a content editor to critique your first draft. That is a waste of your money and their time. DO work on the MS until you feel that you've gone as far as you can go. DO run it through Grammarly so that it's as free of typos, misspellings and grammar issues as you can make it so that your content editor can focus on the big picture. If you do this, you'll get more out of your content edit.

Finally, if you're not yet ready for a content editor but would like the assistance of a second pair of eyes, you may also consider a paid beta read. I provide affordable beta read services to writers (see my page about it here). This is NOT A CONTENT EDIT but it will be an unbiased read and critique of your MS.

Do you hire freelance content editor(s) for your work? If so and you can recommend them,  leave the name and website address in the comments for others to consider.

Next Wednesday: What to do with your content edit/paid beta read when you get it back.