Elizabeth Bedlam's Blog

PSYCHEDELIC SATANICA from Sybil Oxblood Pope is available on NetGalley Now

They were sisters… and when one calls on Satan for revenge the other is more than willing to assist. With a deadly combination of black magic and teenage hormones, the girls will soon get what they asked for and more!

Available in paperback + eBook autumn 2024. Pre-orders open!

-But That's Not All-

⚰️Available on NetGalley Now is the reissue of Quinn Hernandez's collection: LIFE AND OTHER UNFORTUNATE HORRORS.

Step into the eerie realms of Life and Other Unfortunate Horrors by Quinn Hernandez, where the shadows whisper dreadful verses and nightmares take poetic form. Through chilling stanzas and haunting rhythms, Hernandez unravels tales of the macabre lurking in the ordinary, turning mundane moments into a spine-tingling horror show. 

Life and Other Unfortunate Horrors is a journey into the dark abyss, where humor slices through the existential dread like razor wire. As life spirals downward into the abyss, these verses provoke an uneasy chuckle, offering a grim camaraderie for the inevitable moment when Death arrives to collect you…

Available in paperback in late autumn 2024. Pre-orders Open!

...More books are on their way this summer watch for 'em

This is a semi-follow-up to our previous post, of standing up against the ‘woke’ elements that are rotting away society. While the previous post concerned the ostracization and public shaming of two authors for the minor offense of being white guys who looked at boobs, this post is more about the general idea of standing up against morons and hate in your everyday life. 

Like many major Western cities, Melbourne has also been overtaken by anti-semitic racist protesters who can’t even be bothered to cloak themselves in anything other than outright hate for Israel and the Jewish people while embracing the terrorist scum HAMAS. This is unbearable and disgusting and we can’t just look the other way and pretend it's not happening. If these people want to protest war, fine, but they are not. When they call for Intifada they are calling for the murder of Jews. In the past, this included bombings and violence against women children, and the elderly in places like shopping malls and movie theatres. The very protesters who claim they want to free Palestine and are concerned with starving children are calling for war and the destruction of the Jewish people. Make it make sense. 

Anyone with a minor grasp of history knows this is how radical hate movements get started, with average people turning a blind eye hoping whatever it is will go away and not ruin their day. But what the average person should realize is that radical hate groups don’t stop. They might start with anti-semitic slurs but they will move onto a new group like the Nazis moved on to include homosexuals, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the Roma, etc, and decided all needed to be wiped off the face of the earth. This kind of movement needs to be loudly rejected by the majority to prevent its roots from taking hold and spreading through our institutions any more than it already has. 

Where is all this rant coming from? So for months antisemitic stickers and graffiti have been spreading around the city (this is very disturbing considering Melbourne is often compared to places like San Fran, a haven for minorities, hippies, LGB, etc) if there is one thing I cannot turn away from it's Nazi, fascist, communist shit in my own backyard. So we (BJ and I) like to spend our walks ripping down stickers that say such loving messages as ‘FUCK THE IDF’ or “Boycott Jewish Businesses’ with a giant slash through the Star of David. It's gross and disturbing. Both of us had family that fought and killed Nazis, my grandmother’s partner escaped the death camps where the rest of his family perished. It can happen here, and this isn’t an alarmist thing. What's going on now are just seeds beginning to sprout. 

So anyway, today we saw someone that wrote ‘Fuck Isreal’ in white paint marker. I corrected this with a marker so it read ‘Don’t Fuck With Isreal’ Well then an angry man came at us like a bat out of hell and seriously lost his shit saying I need to stop graffitiing his neighborhood etc… we explained we were correcting racist graffiti, but he didn’t care. Now why was this so disturbing? I’m used to getting yelled at but I found it sad more than anything that this man was more concerned with his property values and the appearance of his neighborhood than the rising wave of racism. Also, keep in mind that houses in this very uppity neighborhood start at least a million+ so his property values aren’t in danger, however, his morals surely are. 

Well, maybe you say he was just an old angry white guy who hates everything. Sadly he was very obviously a gay man, so you’d think he would have no tolerance for hate of any kind. But no, he has his rights now so he can pull up the ladder for everyone else. What affects him is graffiti, not discrimination or hate so fuck 'em was basically his sentiment.

However, it is important to note (see my Instagram for evidence) that this neighborhood is highly known for its graffiti or ‘street art’ so this wasn’t out of place in the slightest. But again that's not the point of the story, the point is that we as a society are so concerned with ourselves and our stuff that when fellow humans actually need our support and for us to say no to hate we are nowhere to be found. 

Now I don’t know if this man is an LGBTQ+ new liberal or an old school gay who just wants to be left alone, however, you can bet he was happy when gay marriage was legalized and he was able to marry his partner (who looked shocked by his outburst). 

I was also happy when the US passed gay marriage. That is because hate and discrimination in all forms are wrong. Society took the time to let the LGBT+ community know that as a whole we accept them, we support them, and they are just as equal in the eyes of the law as everyone else. Get married if you want! Go for it. This was the same with the civil rights movement. We said no to racism and worked together to ensure people of color were not treated as second-class citizens. (Though the Left will constantly preach we are more racist now than ever before. Please note that is bullshit).

And yet now…. History is repeating itself. People love to casually throw around the terms ‘zionist’ and ‘colonization’ and a whole bunch of other power words as if they are not harmful, as if they cannot lead to something worse. They can. It's highly upsetting to see racism out in the open in 2024, especially when it is being spouted by the rainbow-loving far-left who are all about diversity, love, and acceptance (puke!) And yet they are supporting a group that oppresses women, has no problem murdering babies, and would gladly throw every last queer off a roof. Notice they don't want to free Palestine from Hamas. Wtf? FYI Hamas is run by an extremely wealthy group, many of who don't even live in Gaza, who stole millions in aid and supplies from Gaza citizens and used it for their own gain. So as far as I'm concerned, fuck Hamas. They don't give a shit about Palestine.

When ignorance and hatred are combined it's extremely dangerous because how can you talk to a person who has no even minor grasp of history or doesn’t know the meaning of the phrases they are mindlessly chanting? And when you try to present them with facts they claim the conversation is ‘hostile’ or they are ‘triggered’ and have to walk away. Again, worrisome. 

But anyway staying on track to wrap this up… today’s run-in with the angry man more concerned about graffiti in his backyard than Nazis was very saddening as is the online woke mob I learned about this week who went out of their way to destroy people's life at the slightest misstep. Society is rotten and divided. I can’t wrap my head around it. 

It's tiresome and I wish more people would say something, do something, you know like we used to when we saw something that we knew was wrong. We said ‘OI! Fuck off Nazis scum!’ Now we pull out our phones and watch like it's some kind of spectator sport when a Jewish student is banned from their college class by a bunch of cowards with face coverings. 

FYI I used to consider myself a feminist and a democrat but I now reject those labels because the Woke Left has redefined them to mean hate and intolerance. They like to change the meaning of words, play the victim, and the group with the most trauma wins. This is why it's always very important to vote person not party.

 I guess it's easy to ignore radicalism when it doesn’t directly affect you, but someday it will in one form or another. It's already affecting women, stripping them of rights with the rewriting of Title Nine and the criminalization of abortion throughout the US. It's affecting regular men who are more isolated and lonely than ever because of the fear of being called a rapist or humiliated for trying to simply say hello to a woman. It’s affecting Jewish people, with groups stopping students from attending class, businesses being harassed and boycotted, and the government and everyday citizens being weak and slow to respond thinking I’m sure glad it's not me, let's not rock the boat...

Reject hate in all forms even if it affects your property value. Reject self-righteous victims and those who seek to ruin lives. Reject belief systems even if they come covered in rainbows and hearts. The only belief system we should all adhere to is a humanist one based on common sense and hard science. If you see hate, don’t turn away, smash it with your boot heel. You’ll always come out on the right side of history when you stand for human decency and reject hate in all forms, even when it's being spouted by a 20-year-old white chick from Columbia. 

And please don’t get your news from social media. Cross-reference stories and even if you find the answer is something you don’t like accept it. Choose Truth and logic instead of lies and ignorance. 

Now sure where to start? You can’t go wrong with Bill Maher Probably one of the few honest, informed, unbiased people left. 

Usually, Swann + Bedlam tries to stay out of the moronic sewer that is the niche online extreme horror community, however, recent ridiculous events have compelled us to write this post, and to ask one simple question: are the people involved in aggressively canceling Otis Bateman and Stephen Cooper actually being a bunch of retarded arseholes? 

Here’s the context: Otis Bateman and Stephen Cooper are extreme horror authors who attained a small level of popularity in the indie extreme horror scene, an incestuous and tightly-knit online clique that is unfortunately filled with a lot of circle-jerkers, sad weirdos, and groupie butt-kissers who will latch like vampiric limpets onto any indie horror author foolish enough to grant them any attention. 

Swann + Bedlam stays away from this scene because we’re not joiners, we don’t circle-jerk, and we don’t pander to lifeless losers with no friends who expect small press and indie authors to constantly engage with them online. Sorry, we’re just too busy having lives and jobs to pretend to care about people on social media. 

Sadly, Otis Bateman and Stephen Cooper did not stay away from this scene. They used this scene to network and sell their books, which resulted in many scenesters kissing their butts and giving them outrageously glowing five-star reviews, even though most of their writing is - let’s be honest - average at best, though Otis Bateman does have some raw talent, with his debut work “Maggot Girl” sparkled with outsider-artist appeal and the authenticity of true enthusiasm. Recently, however, members of the extreme horror community have attacked these two authors, branding them “predators,” “vile humans,” “repugnant,” and “misogynists” who should be “exiled with the rest of the pigs” (yes, these are quotes from the hyperbolic drama queens who have denounced these authors as though they were serial killers in the vein of Ted Bundy or the Nightstalker both of whom oddly enough still have the power to make deranged women's panties wet despite being actual rapists and killers). 

Here we see a disturbingly familiar phenomenon: a bunch of lifeless online losers go from hero-worshipping authors to ripping them apart and actively seeking to destroy their lives. So what did these guys actually do? From what we can gather, some female fans sent unsolicited nude or semi-nude photos to one or both(?) of the authors. The authors then showed the pictures to each other over Messenger and made some dark and politically incorrect jokes about them. Apparently, that’s all they did. Is it a crime to share unsolicited nudes sent by fans? We’re not sure. Swann + Bedlam aren’t lawyers. However, we do know that if you’re dumb enough to send pics of your tits to randoms online who spend their days writing about rape, torture, and death, you should probably at the very least expect them to be shared at some point. Plus, sending unsolicited sexual photos to people is considered sexual harassment, so if you want to get all self-righteous and moralistic, these fans were the ones who were originally in the wrong (and if they were male fans sending dick pics to female authors, they’d be the ones getting canceled). 

But we’re not interested in being self-righteous and moralistic. We hate that shit. We want to ask - why are people reacting with such intense venom to a pair of guys who seem to have, at worst, some bad judgment and an immature sense of humour? Are they really the scum of the earth? Do they deserve to be canceled? Arrested? Fined? Imprisoned? 

Probably not. Sadly, we seem to live in an age in which the slightest infraction against the stringent woke moral code results in immediate public shaming and annihilation. An environment akin to Stalinist Russia or McCarthy’s America. A man-made hell filled with snitches, cry babies, cry bullies, whiny bitches, self-righteous prigs, and straight-up fucktards, who use moralism and moral righteousness to bully anyone who strays from their unrealistic expectations of perfection while avoiding personal accountability at all costs.

The only way to escape from this evil milieu is to reject the paradigm. Don’t give the cry bullies any power. Give them the finger. Do like Swann + Bedlam, and don’t join the herd! And maybe consider giving these guys the benefit of the doubt. We don’t really know much about Stephen Cooper - but Otis Bateman has shown in various dealings with us to be a kind and considerate human being. (He was one of the first people to post about Elizabeth's books on Facebook which was so nice. Thank you, Travis! -E.B.) Maybe he has some human failings - like making fun of unstable chicks who send nudie pics - but don’t we all do the wrong thing sometimes? Woke people want us to live in a society without mercy or forgiveness, in which the slightest transgression equals total and permanent destruction. And that’s just plain fucking stupid.

-Lots of love,

BJ Swann + Elizabeth Bedlam

AI threatens creativity across all artistic mediums music... painting... writing... Why people are choosing to use AI to write their books or make their music instead of doing the dishes is beyond me. Why get rid of the fun stuff in life that can be true expressions of what it means to be human?

Now, if you're not a creative in a creative field or indulge in creative hobbies, you might be thinking who cares? With AI you can take that story idea that you don't have the discipline or patience to try and write yourself and turn it into a novel in less than a day. But for the rest of humanity who has spent decades and countless hours working on a creative pursuit, be it drawing big-breasted women or crafting meticulous lines of doomsday poetry, the idea of a robot coming along and sweeping all that way, plus having people fawn over it, sucks SO hard.

Where does my negative attitude come from? We've all been aware of the rise of AI art and chatbots for a while now. But sadly AI is winning awards for writing now. Something I have worked on learning how to do since I was a child, is now winning awards. Okay... so AI itself didn't win an award, it played a small part in the book. Tokyo To Dojo To (Tokyo’s Tower of Sympathy) by Rie Kudan has won the Akutagawa Prize, this is THE TOP lit award in Japan. She wrote a work that is 5% AI generated. In the book, there is a conversation with a chatbot. The author says she used AI to help pen it. UGH. Seriously? You're a writer you can't just make that stuff up?

The sad thing is she goes on to praise AI: 'If you think carefully about how to use it and face your own weaknesses, AI helps you compensate for them.' Really???? To have a weakness is to be a human. It's not a bad thing. My weakness is using too many commas. Writing, like any skill, is an endless task that you can always get better at, which is why so many love to do it. You can fill years with just writing and never reach the end. Instead, now we're having AI bots help us become 'flawless.' Gross. Flawless is fucking boring and overrated. Tell me this, what's better: a) a lineup of women who all went to the same plastic surgeon for the same narrow nose, inflated lips, and high cheekbones? Then got all dressed up in athleisure wear? b) a lineup of naturally beautiful women with assorted imperfections who all look intriguing or good in their own way because they haven't been sculpted to fantastic plastic perfection?

Do we want our writing to be surgically enhanced and devoid of humanity? Is it even art by that point?

Do we really want perfectionism in our art? Using AI to write creative fiction is a slippery slope because we know someone who is a total slacker who loves to cite famous examples of something to justify their laziness. They will cite a book like Kudan's and say it's okay to use AI to iron out their own wrinkles, expand on their potential, and create a book that is 20% AI-generated, 50%, or 100% artificial based on three lines of an idea they threaded into the machine. Now everyone can be an artist in under 5 minutes. We really are living in the gold age... of retardation.

So how do actual creative people push back against the juggernaut that is AI? Become unpredictable, stop obsessing over 'genre rules', and make writing human again. One of the (many) reasons modern writing is so bland now is that people are bland and they like to follow rules that were laid down decades ago. This seems especially true for genre fiction where people seem to go down a checklist to ensure their book fits the market. Fantasy or Sci-fi: Chosen One character? Check! An evil family member like a brother or stepfather? Check! The rest of the family murdered in a brutal way? Check. Revenge? Double check. A title that is a rip-off of a George R.R. Martin Book? Oh, you bet...

Or modern horror? Hm. Let's see, we need a character with a traumatic backstory. They had an insanely bloody dramatic miscarriage after a robber broke in and their boyfriend wasn't there to save her because he was having an affair with the MC's best friend! Now she has no baby, trust issues, and lots of trauma to paralyze her from being an interesting person. But the MC also has PAST trauma from watching the same thing happen to her mother when she was a little girl! .... then in the aftermath of all this, there's a phone call.... her abusive estranged father has just died leaving her the run-down family estate. She has to go home to face her past demons... Is the house haunted? Is a killer coming back to finish the job he started all those years ago? Or maybe it's all a metaphor for the MC to face her fears and overcome her past with (of course) MORE TRAUMA. Because a negative + a negative = a positive, right? In the end, the MC is fine and has a love affair with the town sheriff who had the hots for her back in high school.... the story could end there or they could leave it open for a sequel like the killer's body goes missing or the MC becomes pregnant and it's a demon baby, etc.

Then there are all the vapid stories written by nepo-babies and rich assholes about how awesome (or how hard it is) to be a rich dick, while the average working-class student on a scholarship (or poor MC who won a prize to a fancy island, or whatever) meets the rich dick and then briefly fantasizes about also being a wealthy asshole but they never will be because they are just poor and have morals.... how boring it is to be poor and a good person... yawn

What creatives like writers need to do is stop this nonsense. AI is going to be able to clock you and write an even better campground slasher novel when this tired storyline remains the same and is written over and over and over again (please stop writing these).

Back in the day (the 90s) cool people used to be on the search for weird, unique, different stuff. Whether it was a creepy underground grindcore bad or a weird paperback that got passed around between friends from an unknown author who only ever wrote one book and then disappeared. People looked for these things not to be popular and show everyone how unique they were (most of the time. You always got posers and tourists) but most people were pretty cool. Creative people sought out other creative people to do weird projects and enjoy other undiscovered stuff. What do we have now? People obsessing over Metallica (they aren't cool! Doesn't anyone remember what assholes they were to their fans during the whole Napster shit? Fuck them. They will never get one cent from me. And their music is lame. Just listen to Slayer instead kids.) and rewriting the same storylines for their book over and over and over again and slapping 'nostalgic' 80s covers on it. The 80s were LAME everyone looked like a jerk and yuppies were constantly getting high on cocaine and running people over in their ugly beamers! Get over it. Let it go. Stop watching fucking horrible remakes and sequels to classic movies that no one asked for. (Has any seen the trailer for the remake of The Crow? WTF!?! Spoiler: He's a wigger now. How depressing is that?) and for chrissake stop watching or buying shit from Disney.

We need to grow up let go of things from the past and move forward to create new original things. If human expressions like writing, filmmaking, and drawing are going to survive AI then creatives have to get creative and stop trying to imitate the past. People need to get weird again and make weird off-the-wall shit instead of trying to copy old shit. Stop creating to get attention and praise and make something worthy of it, otherwise AI will just do it.

Crafting Compelling Fiction: The Interplay of Essential Elements

Crafting a captivating piece of fiction involves an intricate stitching of elements, each contributing its unique flavor to the narrative. From character development to setting and plot, every component plays a crucial role in shaping the reader's experience, for better or for worse.

Characterization: Bringing Imaginary Beings to Life

Characters are the heart and soul of any story, serving as vessels through which readers navigate the fictional world. Effective characterization involves not only fleshing out physical traits but also delving into their personalities, motivations, and conflicts. By crafting multidimensional characters with depth and complexity, writers can evoke empathy, intrigue, and emotional investment from their audience.

Plot: Mapping the Journey

The plot serves as the roadmap of the story, guiding readers through a series of events that drive the narrative forward. From exposition to climax and resolution, each plot point contributes to the overall arc, building tension, suspense, and momentum. A well-crafted plot balances action with introspection, surprises with foreshadowing, keeping readers hooked from beginning to end.

The Importance Of Setting

The setting forms the backdrop against which the story unfolds, immersing readers in a rich tapestry of sights, sounds, and sensations, all of which can do some serious heavy lifting when it comes to the mood and themes of your overall story.

Whether it's a bustling metropolis, the suburbs, or a fantastical realm, by vividly describing environments, writers can effortlessly transport readers to the Canadian wilderness, dusty lands, Tornado Alley, or an Asian marketplace

Dialogue: Breathing Life into Words

Dialogue injects vitality and authenticity into fictional worlds, allowing characters to interact and express themselves through speech. Well-crafted dialogue reveals personalities, advances plot, and builds relationships, offering glimpses into characters' thoughts, feelings, and conflicts. By mastering the art of conversation, writers can infuse their narratives with realism, wit, and emotional resonance. You can show us rather than tell.

Theme: Uniting Threads of Meaning

Theme serves as the underlying message or central idea that resonates throughout the narrative, infusing it with depth and significance. Whether exploring love, loss, redemption, or resilience, themes provide cohesion and resonance, tying together disparate elements into a cohesive whole. Through subtle symbolism, imagery, and metaphor, writers invite readers to ponder life's universal truths and complexities.

Igniting the Fire With Conflict

Conflict lies at the heart of storytelling, driving characters to confront obstacles, adversaries, and inner turmoil. Whether it's man versus nature, society, or oneself, conflicts create tension, suspense, and stakes, propelling the narrative forward and keeping readers engaged. By escalating tensions, raising stakes, and resolving conflicts, writers ignite the emotional fire that fuels compelling storytelling.

In the intricate tapestry of fiction, each element plays a vital role, contributing its unique hue to the overall canvas. From vibrant characters and immersive settings to gripping plots and resonant themes, these elements work in harmony to captivate readers and transport them to new worlds of imagination. By mastering the art of storytelling and weaving these elements together with skill and finesse, writers can create timeless tales that linger in the hearts and minds of readers long after the final page is turned.

Why Do You Need Interesting Characters? This might seem like a no-brainer but trust me, after everything I've been reading lately, people seem to forget at least the main character has to be interesting. And I'm not talking about likable, they can be a one-man horror show but don't make them boring for Chrissakes.

I feel the need to bring this up because as a society people are overmedicated. They don't have a tough day, they have 'trauma' and they aren't sad they are 'depressed' and doctors give out medication like candy. When that happens we get a group of numb, apathetic people who write characters who are numb, tired, boring, traumatized, can't be bothered, and apathetic. Have you ever been or known an actual depressed person? They are fucking boring! Who wants to read something like that? Exactly.

Yes, your character can be depressed but writing that in an interesting way is the challenge many authors aren't ready for. They either make the character dull and self-centered or as if they are completely fine but are popping unnamed medications without side effects. Why aren't depressed characters ever overweight as a result of taking these medications? That happens a lot but no one ever mentions side effects. Hm,

Hey writers! One way to make a realistic character with some depth is to use the internet to do this old-timey thing called 'research' thanks to the web it's really fast and easy, unlike the old days when we had to photocopy pages out of the library books or write everything down by hand. Use your resources. TIP: reading message boards is really helpful when crafting a character. Learning about small details like medication side effects, the logic behind things like an eating disorder or self-harming, or what actual trauma looks like can add to the realism of your story + make it interesting.

And as much as you want to ignore it or not put in the effort when you're writing, there exists a fundamental truth: captivating characters are the linchpin of any narrative. They are the ones who breathe life into the story, capturing the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide. So why exactly do you need interesting characters? Let's delve into this essential question.

Interesting characters serve as the beating heart of your story, drawing readers or viewers in from the very first page or frame. Think about your favorite books or movies; what keeps you coming back for more? Chances are, it's the characters who have left a mark or better or worse on your imagination. Whether they're heroes, anti-heroes, or even villains, interesting characters have the power to captivate, intrigue, and resonate with audiences on a profound level.

But what sets an interesting character apart from a forgettable one? It's not just about likability; it's about complexity, depth, and relatability. Interesting characters possess layers of nuance and intricacy that make them feel like real people, with their own unique quirks, flaws, and desires. They are the ones who challenge our preconceptions, provoke our emotions, and keep us guessing until the very end. They live life outside of their head.

Interesting characters drive the narrative forward with their actions, decisions, and conflicts. THEY DO STUFF. It's the characters who face adversity, make difficult choices, and undergo personal growth that propel the plot forward, keeping readers or viewers on the edge of their seats until the final resolution.

But perhaps most importantly, interesting characters forge a deep and lasting connection with the audience. Whether they're grappling with universal themes like love, loss, identity, or redemption, interesting characters resonate with us on a visceral level, tapping into our own hopes, fears, and dreams.

So, how can you ensure that your characters are as interesting as possible? It all starts with understanding who they are at their core. Take the time to flesh out their backstories, motivations, and personalities, exploring what makes them tick and what drives them forward. Give them flaws and vulnerabilities, but also moments of strength and resilience that make them truly human. But please by all that is holy, DO NOT put all of that information into your story. You need to know everything about your character, the reader does not. Avoid info dumping at all costs. Introduce the character slowly throughout the book by showing us not telling.

Don't be afraid to let your characters surprise you. Sometimes the most interesting characters are the ones who defy our expectations, breaking free from tired stereotypes and clichés to become something wholly original and unexpected. Embrace the unexpected, and you may just discover that your characters take on a life of their own, leading you down paths you never imagined possible.

The importance of interesting characters cannot be overstated. Please stop medicating your characters! They are the soul of your story, the ones who breathe life into your narrative and keep readers or viewers coming back for more. By crafting characters who are complex, relatable, and compelling, you can elevate your storytelling to new heights and leave a lasting impression on audiences.

The Importance of Rising Action in Storytelling: Building Tension, Engaging Readers, and Driving Narrative Momentum

Because so many modern authors have decided not to bother with learning to actually write let's look at why rising action is important for your fiction. What is rising action and why do you need it for a compelling piece of fiction?

In the realm of storytelling, the concept of rising action serves as a cornerstone for writing compelling narratives. From ancient myths to modern novels, the rise and fall of tension propel readers through the journey of a story. No matter what people will try to tell you rising action is crucial for captivating readers, sustaining their interest, and creating a memorable reading experience.

At the heart of rising action lies the art of building tension and suspense. Like a wound-up spring, rising action gradually tightens the narrative's coil, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. With each twist and turn anticipation mounts, driving readers to eagerly turn the page in search of resolution. Whether it's a looming conflict, a hidden secret, or a ticking time bomb, the rising action heightens suspense, leaving readers yearning for the climax.

Rising action serves as a catalyst for reader engagement. As the plot thickens and the stakes escalate, readers become emotionally invested in the outcome. They empathize with the characters' struggles, share in their triumphs, and fear for their safety. This emotional connection deepens as the rising action unfolds, anchoring readers to the narrative and compelling them to accompany the characters on their journey. By engaging readers on both intellectual and emotional levels, rising action transforms passive observers into active participants in the story.

Amidst the rising action, characters undergo trials and tribulations that shape their arcs and relationships. Whether facing external conflicts or internal demons, characters are tested in the crucible of adversity. As they grapple with challenges, make tough decisions, and confront their flaws, characters evolve and grow, adding layers of complexity to the narrative. The rising action provides opportunities for characters to forge alliances, deepen bonds, or unravel secrets, further enriching the tapestry of interpersonal dynamics within the story.

Rising action acts as the engine that drives narrative momentum forward. Like a surging tide, it propels the story inexorably toward its climax, carrying readers along for the ride. Without the steady ascent of tension and conflict, the story risks stagnation, leaving readers adrift in a sea of indifference. However, with well-executed rising action, the narrative gains momentum with each successive scene, propelling readers toward the edge of their seats and the brink of resolution.

And finally, rising action serves to heighten the dramatic impact of the story's climax and resolution. By meticulously escalating tension and conflict, the rising action sets the stage for a cathartic release that resonates with readers long after they've turned the final page. Whether it's a climactic showdown, a shocking revelation, or a bittersweet epiphany, the payoff is amplified by the tension that preceded it, leaving readers breathless with anticipation and satisfaction.

So now you can see that rising action is a vital thread that binds your narrative together. By building tension, engaging readers, developing characters, sustaining momentum, and heightening dramatic impact, rising action transforms a mere sequence of events into a gripping piece of ,writing that captivates readers.

A book without a plot is like a body without a ,spine, a big mess. Lately, I've been encountering more and more books that are ambling long, mostly in the character's head, and have NO direction NO plot, and NO momentum.

When I mention this to the author they are quick to say they mean to do that. Wait, come again? These are writers who are hoping to have their books published yet they bush off the fact that their book has no plot and then wonder why they can't find a publisher to pick it up. They say things like it's boring to have a plot, who needs traditional structure, how boring, boring boring,... Well, fiction without a plot is FUCKING BORING. And before you can deconstruct the novel you have to be able to write one first. It sounds conceited and snobbish to assume you're so good you can create a 'story' with boring characters and no real storyline and expect people to hail it a genius and enjoy reading it. This is just another example of modern Prozac Fiction.

,Prozac Fiction is a term we came up with to describe meandering, self-indulgent, books that just can't be bothered. We also use it to describe modern movies and music that are flat or sometimes described as 'slow burn' ...seriously?!? Why is everything a 'slow burn' ?!?! When you pick up a detective murder mystery/ crime thrill who the hell wants an ambling slow burn with depressed, apathetic characters with no direction where nothing happens? Everyone and their art is overmedicated these days.

Back on point, so why does fiction need a plot? I can't believe I even have to go into this.

A book without a plot is like a ship without a compass—it may wander aimlessly, but it won't reach any meaningful destination. A plot serves as the backbone of a story, providing structure, purpose, and direction. Without it, readers are left adrift in a sea of words, struggling to find meaning and coherence.

At its core, a plot is the sequence of events that drive the narrative forward. It encompasses the central conflict, character motivations, and the series of actions and reactions that unfold as the story progresses. Without these elements, a book risks becoming a meandering collection of scenes without any real significance.

One of the primary functions of a plot is to engage the reader's interest and hold their attention. A well-crafted plot creates tension, suspense, and anticipation, keeping readers eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next. Whether it's a gripping thriller or a heartwarming romance, a compelling plot is essential for drawing readers into the world of the story and keeping them invested in its outcome.

Moreover, a plot provides a sense of purpose and direction to the story. It gives the characters goals to strive for, obstacles to overcome, and a sense of progression as they navigate through the challenges they encounter. Without a plot to guide them, characters risk becoming stagnant, lacking the motivation and agency to drive the story forward.

A plot allows for the exploration of themes and ideas within the context of the narrative. Through the events that unfold, a book can delve into complex issues, provoke thought, and spark meaningful discussions. Whether it's a reflection on the human condition, a critique of society, or an exploration of morality, a well-developed plot provides the framework for exploring these deeper layers of meaning.

A plot provides a sense of resolution and closure to the story. As the narrative arc reaches its climax and the loose ends are tied up, readers experience a satisfying sense of completion. Whether it's a happy ending, a tragic conclusion, or something in between, the resolution of the plot gives readers a sense of fulfillment and closure, leaving them with a lasting impression long after they've finished the book.

 Without a plot, a book would lack coherence, meaning, and impact, leaving readers adrift in a sea of words. So next time you decide to write a book, make sure to include a plot. Otherwise, what's the point? Odds are there isn't one.

Is NetGalley Worth It PRT II: The Cost 

This is PART 2 in our NetGalley Is It Worth It series. Read Part I1: Reviews Here

Everyone reads reviews so you’d think the only way to sell your book in an oversaturated market is to get reviews. But the problem is most people only want to read what their friends are reading or they want to read what everyone else is reading so they can all talk about it and be 'social' whatever that means.

Somehow reading has become a social thing. This is weird considering back in the day (i.e. the 90s and before) people would often read a book and then put it on the shelf. The end. A colleague or a friend might ask what are you reading? Then they’d respond with ‘Oh I heard that was good’ or ‘haven’t read that one’ etc…or maybe if you were 'social' you were part of a small book group. Now Influencers (ugh!) work hard to cultivate a ‘book nerd’ image yet only want what the trad. publishers or their Facebook groups are selling so they can stay popular and play nice with the algorithms.

So again, how do you get your book read as a no-name author? Reviews! Everyone knows if you can get enough glowing reviews maybe your book will go viral and you’ll become an overnight success. So how do you get those reviews? Hassle people? Spend hours you don’t have networking? Some people have no problem doing this because they are online all the time anyway. But for people who work or have an actual life offline, they don’t have the time nor do they want to spend their free time gathering reviews one by one. This is where NetGalley swoops in and says they can take care of the hassle for you, get your book read, and get you reviews before your book launches… all for a price. 

Keep in mind there are cheaper options out there similar to NetGalley but NetGalley is the biggest game in town and is used by the big publishers. This seems to lend it some credit, like, well if it’s good enough for Simon & Schuster it's good enough for me. Having a modest goal of only collecting a hundred reviews or something seems like it's doable. Okay, you decide to invest in NetGalley to try and get your book read. What does that look like?

As An Indie Author NetGalley gives you a,, pay per title plan. This allows an author to list 1 book for 6 months. This will set you back $550. This is just the bare bones. If you want to make your book a ‘featured title’ which means it will show up on the ‘Featured’ page you have to fork over an additional $150. 

So you’re already $800 in the hole (ouch!) That is if you did everything else yourself and didn’t pay for editing, formatting, or a book cover. How likely are you to make that $800 back in book sales? Not very. Sad, but most unknown indie authors publishing will probably make less than $100 this is because 1) people don’t like to pay for stuff like books anymore. It’s considered ,,risky or ,,luxurious to most to spend your hard-earned $25-35 dollars on a 150-page paperback by an unknown writer. 2) If you publish your book on KDP through Amazon you make $0.0043 (that's in 2022) in comparison in 2015 authors would have made $0.0058 per Kindle page read. So that is going down not up. Yes, you get paid less than a penny per page so if you have a novella forget about it. For perspective: I had a 179-page novella read on Kindle which amounted to about $.55.

There is also the idea if you spend it they will come- hint: they won’t. The truth is most books aren’t that good. Even books that have thousands of reads are often the product of an industrial marketing machine like Penguin or they are by an author who has been out there hustling and selling their ass on Facebook. A,, survey found that the average income for self-published authors rose 53% in 2022 over 2021, reaching a median of $12,749, which is still below the poverty line. You would make more money working full-time at a fast-food restaurant than publishing a book. Keep in mind, that number is extremely generous, I’ve spoken to my fair share of indie authors and most are lucky to sell a hundred books. It’s tough out there. If you’re getting into writing for the money, you’re making a poor life choice, both literally and figurately.

As a small press, what will NetGalley Cost you? Surely you get a discount right? We did the math and for us, the discount was slightly less than using the pay-per-title plan. We chose to go with a year-long contract as part of our Let’s Try NetGalley experiment. 

Our contract is a 12-month contract. It cannot be canceled. As you’ll see there is a crazy high ‘set up fee’ which is bullshit since you set up your account and post all of your titles yourself. So I assume a ‘set up fee’ is just a little extra chunk of change for NetGalley. The minimum number of books you can list with a contract is 5 at a time. You can negotiate to add more if you want but not less. 

Here is the break down from our NetGalley contract: 

It's probably the most expensive worthless thing you can buy as an author or small press. We got a 10% 'discount' for being an Aussie press but they also give discounts if you're part of the IBPA and probably misc other things. This is more than likely just a tactic to make you feel like they are doing you a favor of some sort considering the lack of quality control they have when it comes to reviews... Refer to our blog about the ,,uselessness of NetGalley reviews post to read more.  

Keep in mind this overpriced subscription doesn’t include any extras. If you want extra advertising or want to have your book featured that will cost you several hundred more as referenced by this cheery flyer we got in our newsletter reminding people to spend more. 

Our first round of NetGalley books is set to be released in June 2024, so we’ll see if any more reviews roll in that transfer to sales, but at the moment it's bleak. NetGalley is clearly priced for large trad. publishers who can afford to fork over 5-10k per title without expecting much in return.

 At the end of this year, we might explore the less expensive options to compare results but  I don’t feel it premature to say the NetGalley Let's Try It experiment tells us that it's an overhyped service that is not worth the money for indie authors or small publishers. 

So far we've got just about as many reviews from our ARC reader list as NetGalley and our ARC list has given us the most articulate reviews as well. The lesson? Build an ARC reader list for free and give your books to people who actually want to read what you’ve got. 

This is blog post 1 about NetGalley: Reviews 

It seems when it comes to getting readers for your book, ,,NetGalley is the biggest name in town. All of the mainstream publishers are using it. So as a,, small press we thought well, it’s expensive, but considering all the time and networking it takes to get reviews, maybe it's worth it…? After all, no one likes to buy anything these days unless people have already vouched for it. 

Well, we are about 3 months into this grand experiment and let’s say, we have our answer, don’t bother. ,,NetGalley isn’t just expensive, but despite what it looks like from the outside 99% of readers just want to get free books from big publishers and therefore are somewhat coerced into giving glowing reviews of books so they can continue to get approved for ARC copies in the future. As for the small guys, you can either

A) Approve every single reader or allow only certain groups and then approve others etc B) Not be a snob and open up your books to all readers. 

We chose to open up our books to all readers. So how’s it going several months in?

Netgalley claims to deliver reviews from readers. Has it? 

An example: One book has had 134 borrows since January. 19 actual reviews. That’s about a 14% return. Keep in mind these books are not long reads. We have 5 books available there at the moment and they are novellas, a book of short stories, and a book of poems. Thankfully we had also independently compiled an ARC reader list and have scooped up several more reviews from that as well. 

We’ll go into pricing for small presses in the next blog but keep in mind with our current contract we’re paying just under $400 a month to have 5 books on the site. The books are going to be up for 6 months at a time which is good at the rate reviews are coming in. 

Before you ask, yes, ,,NetGalley does offer additional services to help get your books noticed in a sea of big-name publishers…. For a price.

$700 Regular Placement (Request, Read Now, or Retail CTA) $500-700 Banner Ad Placement (Request, Read Now, or Retail CTA) $200 Bonus Section (cover image links to NetGalley title record)

But we'll go into overall account pricing/contract stuff in another post later on.

Now, were we hoping for thousands of reviews? No.

Did we expect reviews from the readers who chose to borrow our books? By all accounts, NetGalley presents itself in a way that yes, you will get a large review return otherwise it affects a reader’s score. On average readers are given around 55 days to read a borrow otherwise it can downgrade their score. This doesn’t seem to bother many readers apparently.

Then there is the quality of the review. Hint: there is no quality control. 

Reviews can be as simple as listing a few trigger warnings the reader personally found offensive or a reader giving it one start and saying ‘It’s weird. Like, I don’t know… ” and that’s it. 

So if you think, well, a few thoughtful reviews are better than a dozen crap reviews, it’s a toss-up which ones you’ll get from NetGalley readers. You can get really badly written nonsensical 5-star reviews and really thorough 1-star reviews, and vice versa.

There seems to be no character minimum a reader can simply say ‘I didn’t like this’ but not have to explain why, which is kinda the point of a review so other people can read them and see whether or not it’s a book they would enjoy picking up. 

And what about influencers?

 No. Most readers have no social media presence, no Goodreads friends, etc. So don’t expect a review to make your book viral. Again, it seems like the really active social readers are the ones who go for the big-name books or the ones who are experiencing FOMO.

No one cares about small press/indie work these days except for a very few. Reading is more of a weird hobby some influencers pick up as their niche and they want to review the trad pub books other people don’t have so they can feel ahead of the curve, etc. Let me tell you, most of the mainstream publications are pretty garbage these days so I can understand why they would rather get them for free instead of paying some ungodly amount in a bookstore. 

When you first load your book on the site you see a jump in borrows for the first few weeks, that’s because your book is at the top of the pile.

When the next month rolls around expect that to somewhat slow down as more and more new books are added. And reviews? They start out trickling in a few each day and then drop to nothing, once a week or so. 

Keep in mind we’ve had 5 books on there for around 60-80 days in a variety of genres including horror, humor, poetry, crime thriller, and LGBTQ+  so they are for the most part fairly mainstream popular genres. Though I have read in multiple articles one of the best genres is romance, of which we don’t have any so I can’t testify to that. 

Who can review on Netgalley?

 Anyone can open an account. There is no quality control. 

So in conclusion, is NetGalley worth it for reviews?

 No. Readers are not obligated to give a review despite borrowing the book/risking their score. And on the occasion you do get a review (rather low or high) there is no guarantee it’s going to be useful.