Michael F. Stewart's Blog, page 3
October 31, 2013
Let’s talk blood, menstrual blood
This Halloween I thought I’d share something truly frightening.
I cut a scene for the second book of the Assured Destruction Series. It was a period scene. Yes, 'period' as in TOM, as in OMG I'm bleeding from my vagina. Yes, I am also a guy. There's a reason why I cut it. But I thought it was hilarious at the time. It’s funny how characters are seldom allowed to have their period, but then I suppose I don’t write about them sitting on the toilet either.
If you're interested in the series you can get book 1 free here .
So here it is, in all its glory, the period scene. I promise not to write another. For those of you who have not read Script Kiddie, there really aren’t any major spoilers here. The context is that Janus, the main character, has been trying to corner a friend, Hannah, who needs her help and finally manages to do so in the washroom. So, girls? How’d I do?
***
Thirty minutes before the bell rings I remember that I haven’t changed my tampon in forever and scuttle over to the washroom. As I enter, Hannah’s shock of black hair disappears into a stall. It’s time to kill two birds with one stone.
I hate public toilets. I only ever use them at school when I have my period and it can’t be helped. I pick a stall next to Hannah and take down my jeans. Sitting on the seat is never going to happen without burnishing it with a flame thrower first, so instead I hover with one hand reaching under me and the other braced against the roll of toilet paper. Unfortunately, the tampon falls out and bangs off the seat splattering small drops of very bright red blood on my jeans and legs before landing on the floor.
Crap.
Then I remember Hannah and that anyone else could come in at any moment.
“Hannah,” I say, straining to reach one slightly bloodied hand into my back pocket for my last tampon.
“Yes.” Her tone is dead flat.
The little bullet slips through my sticky fingers and falls to the wet and dirty ground beside my used one.
“Yes,” she says again.
“Um, it’s Janus.” I’m trying to keep the blood dripping down my leg from reaching the jeans huddled around my ankles. The strain of hovering is too much and I sit on the toilet seat.
“Ewww ...” I whine.
“What do you want?” Hannah demands.
While leaning backward I blindly fumble for the tampon. “Why don’t you want my help anymore?”
She sighs. I wish I could see her face. If I could see her face I’d be able to tell if she was lying when she answers.
“This isn’t about you,” she says.
“I didn’t mean ...” My fingers swipe at the tampon and knock it so that it rolls across a puddle and under the base of the toilet. Oh my god, no one cleans under there. That was my last tampon too. Decision time. Do I nab the tampon or try to make a pad out of toilet paper that might give me time to reach home?
I must really love school.
“Listen, leave me alone,” Hannah says. “I fixed it, okay?”
It’s the ‘okay’ question that offers me an opening. I dump the toilet paper into the toilet and jerk the roll so that it spins, layering the floor and soaking up the unidentified fluid that my tampon rolled through. It all reminds me of the ‘On top of spaghetti,’ meatball song, and how a tampon bush might spring here soon from my mushy tampon.
“How’d you fix it?” I ask. “Because I didn’t think he’d just go away. I don’t believe this guy’s going to stop.”
The door of Hannah’s stall bangs and her toilet flushes.
“Listen, Hannah, I’m just trying to help. He’s dangerous. Are you meeting him today?” I manage to slip my pinky under the toilet and the tampon comes free. I hold it up in triumph. The wrapper is covered in some brown goo. “Ugh!” I cry.
It’s all too much for Hannah. “Leave me alone,” she shouts. “I’m fine. Better than fine. I’m ready. I wish I’d never told you!”
The door to the washroom opens and shuts. I hear heel clicks. Someone else has entered as Hannah left. I really need a sink and wait in silence clutching in my hand the most filthy object I’ve ever considered shoving in myself.
I’m ready. Hannah had said. Ready for what? More than ever I’m sure she’s planning on meeting creep. I have to help her.
Finally, the other girl leaves. I fashion a quick temporary pad out of toilet paper, and then duck out to the sink, washing my hands, my jeans and the tampon as best I can. The dispenser is, of course, out of order and punching it with my fist only results in scraped knuckles. I decide that the five-second rule probably applies to tampons too and is better than wrapping toilet paper around my panties. At the sound of steps I shuffle back into the stall with my jeans still around my ankles as the door opens again.
I take a deep breath, finish the job, and pull on my pants which, after my scrubbing, look only lightly sprayed with blood. I flush the toilet as the bell rings. I slam open the stall door. The inevitable post-class flood of girls rushes into the washroom to discover my rats’ nest of toilet paper and used tampon on the floor. As I run out, covering my face in the hopes that no one will recognize me, a chorus of ‘gross’ peaks.
I advance against the tide to stalk Hannah.
I cut a scene for the second book of the Assured Destruction Series. It was a period scene. Yes, 'period' as in TOM, as in OMG I'm bleeding from my vagina. Yes, I am also a guy. There's a reason why I cut it. But I thought it was hilarious at the time. It’s funny how characters are seldom allowed to have their period, but then I suppose I don’t write about them sitting on the toilet either.
If you're interested in the series you can get book 1 free here .
So here it is, in all its glory, the period scene. I promise not to write another. For those of you who have not read Script Kiddie, there really aren’t any major spoilers here. The context is that Janus, the main character, has been trying to corner a friend, Hannah, who needs her help and finally manages to do so in the washroom. So, girls? How’d I do?
***
Thirty minutes before the bell rings I remember that I haven’t changed my tampon in forever and scuttle over to the washroom. As I enter, Hannah’s shock of black hair disappears into a stall. It’s time to kill two birds with one stone.
I hate public toilets. I only ever use them at school when I have my period and it can’t be helped. I pick a stall next to Hannah and take down my jeans. Sitting on the seat is never going to happen without burnishing it with a flame thrower first, so instead I hover with one hand reaching under me and the other braced against the roll of toilet paper. Unfortunately, the tampon falls out and bangs off the seat splattering small drops of very bright red blood on my jeans and legs before landing on the floor.
Crap.
Then I remember Hannah and that anyone else could come in at any moment.
“Hannah,” I say, straining to reach one slightly bloodied hand into my back pocket for my last tampon.
“Yes.” Her tone is dead flat.
The little bullet slips through my sticky fingers and falls to the wet and dirty ground beside my used one.
“Yes,” she says again.
“Um, it’s Janus.” I’m trying to keep the blood dripping down my leg from reaching the jeans huddled around my ankles. The strain of hovering is too much and I sit on the toilet seat.
“Ewww ...” I whine.
“What do you want?” Hannah demands.
While leaning backward I blindly fumble for the tampon. “Why don’t you want my help anymore?”
She sighs. I wish I could see her face. If I could see her face I’d be able to tell if she was lying when she answers.
“This isn’t about you,” she says.
“I didn’t mean ...” My fingers swipe at the tampon and knock it so that it rolls across a puddle and under the base of the toilet. Oh my god, no one cleans under there. That was my last tampon too. Decision time. Do I nab the tampon or try to make a pad out of toilet paper that might give me time to reach home?
I must really love school.
“Listen, leave me alone,” Hannah says. “I fixed it, okay?”
It’s the ‘okay’ question that offers me an opening. I dump the toilet paper into the toilet and jerk the roll so that it spins, layering the floor and soaking up the unidentified fluid that my tampon rolled through. It all reminds me of the ‘On top of spaghetti,’ meatball song, and how a tampon bush might spring here soon from my mushy tampon.
“How’d you fix it?” I ask. “Because I didn’t think he’d just go away. I don’t believe this guy’s going to stop.”
The door of Hannah’s stall bangs and her toilet flushes.
“Listen, Hannah, I’m just trying to help. He’s dangerous. Are you meeting him today?” I manage to slip my pinky under the toilet and the tampon comes free. I hold it up in triumph. The wrapper is covered in some brown goo. “Ugh!” I cry.
It’s all too much for Hannah. “Leave me alone,” she shouts. “I’m fine. Better than fine. I’m ready. I wish I’d never told you!”
The door to the washroom opens and shuts. I hear heel clicks. Someone else has entered as Hannah left. I really need a sink and wait in silence clutching in my hand the most filthy object I’ve ever considered shoving in myself.
I’m ready. Hannah had said. Ready for what? More than ever I’m sure she’s planning on meeting creep. I have to help her.
Finally, the other girl leaves. I fashion a quick temporary pad out of toilet paper, and then duck out to the sink, washing my hands, my jeans and the tampon as best I can. The dispenser is, of course, out of order and punching it with my fist only results in scraped knuckles. I decide that the five-second rule probably applies to tampons too and is better than wrapping toilet paper around my panties. At the sound of steps I shuffle back into the stall with my jeans still around my ankles as the door opens again.
I take a deep breath, finish the job, and pull on my pants which, after my scrubbing, look only lightly sprayed with blood. I flush the toilet as the bell rings. I slam open the stall door. The inevitable post-class flood of girls rushes into the washroom to discover my rats’ nest of toilet paper and used tampon on the floor. As I run out, covering my face in the hopes that no one will recognize me, a chorus of ‘gross’ peaks.
I advance against the tide to stalk Hannah.
September 26, 2013
Kathy Reichs on First Lines
In a recent interview with Kathy Reichs, the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author, and inspiration for and producer of the hit FOX show BONES, I wanted to do something a bit different.
Kathy has been interviewed ...oh... a billion times so I thought it might be more fun to pick her brain on writing, particularly first lines, rather than talking about the release of Bones of the Lost. (remind me never to ask Kathy for a blurb!)
In American Book Review’s 100 Best First Lines From Novels, it lists the following as the best first lines ever written since 1970.
At #3 overall, we have: “A screaming comes across the sky.” —Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY’S RAINBOW (1973)
At #22, we have: “It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.” —Paul Auster, CITY OF GLASS(1985)
And at #26: “124 was spiteful.” —Toni Morrison, BELOVED (1987)
Want to read on? I do. And read on now to understand what separates a good first line from a great one. Here’s Kathy on writing first lines and their importance:
She said, “An opening line is like a handshake with a stranger. One way or another, the interaction makes an impression. A first line provides a chance to startle, to intrigue, to amuse – to impact a reader enough to keep turning pages.”
I wanted to see if Kathy practiced what she preached and dug up the first lines of her novels:
From DEJA DEAD: “I wasn’t thinking about the man who’d blown himself up. Earlier I had. Now I was putting him together.”
From FATAL VOYAGE: “I stared at the woman flying through the trees.”
From DEVIL BONES: “My name is Temperance Deassee Brennan. I’m five-five, feisty, forty-plus, Multidegreed. Overworked. Underpaid. Dying.”
From MONDAY MOURNING: “As the tune played inside my head, gunfire exploded in the cramped underground space around me.”
From DEADLY DECISIONS: “Her name was Emily Anne. She was nine years old, with black ringlets, long lashes, and caramel colored-skin.”
From BONES TO ASHES: “Babies die. People vanish. People die. Babies vanish.”
From BARE BONES: “As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby, the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte.”
Okay, that actually took me eight nights of compulsive reading to copy down *eye twitches*.
I love all of them, but I think my favorite is from BARE BONES. In a single line I have so many unanswered questions. I HAD to read on! And, I had to ask Kathy which was her favorite first line.
She said her favorite opening is:
“It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez, LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA.
Why? I asked.
You can read her answer with the rest of the interview over here!
Kathy has been interviewed ...oh... a billion times so I thought it might be more fun to pick her brain on writing, particularly first lines, rather than talking about the release of Bones of the Lost. (remind me never to ask Kathy for a blurb!)
In American Book Review’s 100 Best First Lines From Novels, it lists the following as the best first lines ever written since 1970.
At #3 overall, we have: “A screaming comes across the sky.” —Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY’S RAINBOW (1973)
At #22, we have: “It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.” —Paul Auster, CITY OF GLASS(1985)
And at #26: “124 was spiteful.” —Toni Morrison, BELOVED (1987)
Want to read on? I do. And read on now to understand what separates a good first line from a great one. Here’s Kathy on writing first lines and their importance:
She said, “An opening line is like a handshake with a stranger. One way or another, the interaction makes an impression. A first line provides a chance to startle, to intrigue, to amuse – to impact a reader enough to keep turning pages.”
I wanted to see if Kathy practiced what she preached and dug up the first lines of her novels:
From DEJA DEAD: “I wasn’t thinking about the man who’d blown himself up. Earlier I had. Now I was putting him together.”
From FATAL VOYAGE: “I stared at the woman flying through the trees.”
From DEVIL BONES: “My name is Temperance Deassee Brennan. I’m five-five, feisty, forty-plus, Multidegreed. Overworked. Underpaid. Dying.”
From MONDAY MOURNING: “As the tune played inside my head, gunfire exploded in the cramped underground space around me.”
From DEADLY DECISIONS: “Her name was Emily Anne. She was nine years old, with black ringlets, long lashes, and caramel colored-skin.”
From BONES TO ASHES: “Babies die. People vanish. People die. Babies vanish.”
From BARE BONES: “As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby, the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte.”
Okay, that actually took me eight nights of compulsive reading to copy down *eye twitches*.
I love all of them, but I think my favorite is from BARE BONES. In a single line I have so many unanswered questions. I HAD to read on! And, I had to ask Kathy which was her favorite first line.
She said her favorite opening is:
“It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez, LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA.
Why? I asked.
You can read her answer with the rest of the interview over here!
September 1, 2013
Script Kiddie released! And only 99 cents!
Book 2 in the Assured Destruction series is RELEASED!! If you thought book 1 was fun, you won’t be disappointed in Script Kiddie.
The first book is free! And the second just 99 cents for a limited time. :)
Here’s the cover copy,
Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn't need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.
But that’s not all.
A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend--maybe even her life.
But don’t just take my word for it, here are first reviews!
Blogger Reviews
'Michael F. Stewart has penned Script Kiddie in the voice of a teen girl right down to the inner dialogue that goes on 24/7.' Crazed Mind Review.
'Another incredible book in the Assured Destruction series - possibly even better than the first!' Novel'd Tales Review.
'There are very serious themes in the novel, including internet luring, but the use of humour helps lighten the mood and keeps us looking forward to more of Jan Rose's exploits!' Overnight Bestseller Review.
Reader Reviews
‘Some books are worth the reversal of bio-clock & this is definitely one of them.’ Mayur Kulkarni (Goodreads)
'Unlike other sequels I have read, Script Kiddie seems to top its own prequel and Mr. Michael takes it to the next level! If you are too lazy to read a long review, get this: this is a very good book! I give it 5 stars. Read it if you like a fun, intelligent book.’ Sahana Reddy (Goodreads)
‘I actually enjoyed Script Kiddie more than Assured Destruction and I can't wait to read the next installment. I feel like the characters are people I know and I need to find out what happens in their lives next.’ Jessica (Goodreads)
The first book is free! And the second just 99 cents for a limited time. :)
Here’s the cover copy,
Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn't need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.
But that’s not all.
A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend--maybe even her life.
But don’t just take my word for it, here are first reviews!
Blogger Reviews
'Michael F. Stewart has penned Script Kiddie in the voice of a teen girl right down to the inner dialogue that goes on 24/7.' Crazed Mind Review.
'Another incredible book in the Assured Destruction series - possibly even better than the first!' Novel'd Tales Review.
'There are very serious themes in the novel, including internet luring, but the use of humour helps lighten the mood and keeps us looking forward to more of Jan Rose's exploits!' Overnight Bestseller Review.
Reader Reviews
‘Some books are worth the reversal of bio-clock & this is definitely one of them.’ Mayur Kulkarni (Goodreads)
'Unlike other sequels I have read, Script Kiddie seems to top its own prequel and Mr. Michael takes it to the next level! If you are too lazy to read a long review, get this: this is a very good book! I give it 5 stars. Read it if you like a fun, intelligent book.’ Sahana Reddy (Goodreads)
‘I actually enjoyed Script Kiddie more than Assured Destruction and I can't wait to read the next installment. I feel like the characters are people I know and I need to find out what happens in their lives next.’ Jessica (Goodreads)
July 22, 2013
Transmedia and Social Reading
A week ago I was invited to a interview with Publishing Trendsetter magazine. It was all pretty cool because I got to be interviewed in NYC, which I must say was new to me.
Even more cool is that they managed to edit half an hour of my blathering into something remotely intelligent sounding! If you're interested in self publishing, transmedia and the future of publishing (or at least part of my take), check out the podcast!
Even more cool is that they managed to edit half an hour of my blathering into something remotely intelligent sounding! If you're interested in self publishing, transmedia and the future of publishing (or at least part of my take), check out the podcast!
June 20, 2013
Script Kiddie Cover!!!
Have you seen it? Huh? Have you? Isn't it beautiful!!! Make it bigger and look at all the little details created by Don Dimanlig, the artist. They're all in the book, every bit of it. Even Hannibal the Cannibal Hello Kitty!
If you want a much bigger view, check this out: SCRIPT KIDDIE
If you want a much bigger view, check this out: SCRIPT KIDDIE
June 7, 2013
DIY Transmedia — Assured Destruction Case Study
Over the course of the next few weeks I’m going to explain myself. By the end of it, you’ll have a good sense of what the Assured Destruction series is supposed to be, why I did what I did and how it’s working. Not only is the book available for free, but code I use is also open source. You can do this too.
1. What am I doing with Transmedia?
First of all, what’s the story? The story is about 16 year old Janus Rose who is lonely and a loner. She works at her ailing mother’s computer recycler, but instead of destroying all the hard drives that come in, she recreates them online as new identities. When bad things start to happen to the real people behind the hard drives, she needs to stop the culprit before she becomes the next victim.
So you can see how the premise lends itself to a transmedia opportunity. That’s the first lesson. Ensure that you consider the transmedia elements right from story conception.
So what’s transmedia? It’s just a fancy way of saying storyworld, technically, going beyond one medium in which to tell your story.
So my series in total is 7 Twitter accounts, one blog (reflected on Tumblr), two websites, a Facebook page with SegaReader app, 7 graphic novel origin stories, and of course the books. The books are the ‘anchor property’ just like a TV Show like Supernatural has the anchor property of the show with the graphic novels, forums, blogs, etc. surrounding it.
It’s best shown--to see you have follow along on my blog because embedding doesn't work here!
1. What am I doing with Transmedia?
First of all, what’s the story? The story is about 16 year old Janus Rose who is lonely and a loner. She works at her ailing mother’s computer recycler, but instead of destroying all the hard drives that come in, she recreates them online as new identities. When bad things start to happen to the real people behind the hard drives, she needs to stop the culprit before she becomes the next victim.
So you can see how the premise lends itself to a transmedia opportunity. That’s the first lesson. Ensure that you consider the transmedia elements right from story conception.
So what’s transmedia? It’s just a fancy way of saying storyworld, technically, going beyond one medium in which to tell your story.
So my series in total is 7 Twitter accounts, one blog (reflected on Tumblr), two websites, a Facebook page with SegaReader app, 7 graphic novel origin stories, and of course the books. The books are the ‘anchor property’ just like a TV Show like Supernatural has the anchor property of the show with the graphic novels, forums, blogs, etc. surrounding it.
It’s best shown--to see you have follow along on my blog because embedding doesn't work here!
April 25, 2013
Interview with Raymond Benson - James Bond Author
Raymond Benson knows something about superheroes. He’s been writing larger than life franchises and tie-ins for METAL GEAR SOLID, HITMAN, and JAMES BOND for decades. It makes him the perfect author to reinvent the genre. Or perhaps, just like the Prog Rock (Jethro Tull, Yes, Gentle Giant) he loves returns to vogue every generation, it’s time for a return to a fresh, humanized hero, even if she is still super.
It’s working …
“One of the most original heroines I’ve read in a long time…” — Sandra Brown
“A mashup of the work of Gloria Steinem, Ian Fleming, and Mario Puzo, all under the editorship of Stan Lee.” — LIBRARY JOURNAL
The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes is the third book in a projected five novel series.
Raymond, can you set up the series for those who have not read books one and two, please?
It’s a story about a woman ahead of her time, fiercely independent in a world where women weren’t allowed to be so. She’s a feminist before that term was in our vernacular. And while it’s about a woman who puts on a costume and mask and fights crime—she has no superpowers, really. More importantly, it’s also a story about a woman with Alzheimer’s and her son and a story about a father and daughter.
Here’s the cover copy for the third book.
It’s 1960 in the third Black Stiletto book, and the Black Stiletto, in her civilian persona, Judy Cooper, volunteers to work for JFK’s presidential campaign, only to become involved in a devious behind-the-scenes plot that could change the course of history. In the present, Judy’s son, Martin, must deal with increasing mental health issues, his mother’s demise from Alzheimer’s, and a new woman in his life. And then there’s Gina, the Stiletto’s granddaughter, who is exhibiting evidence that she is more like her grandmother than Martin would like.
The heroine Black Stiletto isn’t much like the June Cleaver stereotype we picture from the era is she? What was her genesis? And what are you going for?
I wanted to tackle more of a Batman-like character that didn’t have super powers. Judy Cooper (AKA the Black Stiletto) lives on the fringe, she is not really in normal society, living way down in the East Village, in a room above a gymnasium, like one of the guys. She steps out of a traditional role of women at that time.
For the rest of the great interview, please follow this link!/a>
Or get the book!
It’s working …
“One of the most original heroines I’ve read in a long time…” — Sandra Brown
“A mashup of the work of Gloria Steinem, Ian Fleming, and Mario Puzo, all under the editorship of Stan Lee.” — LIBRARY JOURNAL
The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes is the third book in a projected five novel series.
Raymond, can you set up the series for those who have not read books one and two, please?
It’s a story about a woman ahead of her time, fiercely independent in a world where women weren’t allowed to be so. She’s a feminist before that term was in our vernacular. And while it’s about a woman who puts on a costume and mask and fights crime—she has no superpowers, really. More importantly, it’s also a story about a woman with Alzheimer’s and her son and a story about a father and daughter.
Here’s the cover copy for the third book.
It’s 1960 in the third Black Stiletto book, and the Black Stiletto, in her civilian persona, Judy Cooper, volunteers to work for JFK’s presidential campaign, only to become involved in a devious behind-the-scenes plot that could change the course of history. In the present, Judy’s son, Martin, must deal with increasing mental health issues, his mother’s demise from Alzheimer’s, and a new woman in his life. And then there’s Gina, the Stiletto’s granddaughter, who is exhibiting evidence that she is more like her grandmother than Martin would like.
The heroine Black Stiletto isn’t much like the June Cleaver stereotype we picture from the era is she? What was her genesis? And what are you going for?
I wanted to tackle more of a Batman-like character that didn’t have super powers. Judy Cooper (AKA the Black Stiletto) lives on the fringe, she is not really in normal society, living way down in the East Village, in a room above a gymnasium, like one of the guys. She steps out of a traditional role of women at that time.
For the rest of the great interview, please follow this link!/a>
Or get the book!
April 7, 2013
Blog Tour Week 1
This week has been something of a blur. Let me tell you, it's hard to get down to work when you're refreshing your browser quite so often.
And we're just getting started.
Three more weeks for Assured Destruction to go and I'm hoping to have all the transmedia elements working smoothly soon.
It's been fantastic. Everyone is so supportive and the folks at Tribute go out of their way to ensure the tour is running smoothly and is well promoted.
If you haven't checked out the
tour, please do!
Thank you to everyone who has participated! And don't forget, it includes a giveway. Be sure to enter!
And we're just getting started.
Three more weeks for Assured Destruction to go and I'm hoping to have all the transmedia elements working smoothly soon.
It's been fantastic. Everyone is so supportive and the folks at Tribute go out of their way to ensure the tour is running smoothly and is well promoted.
If you haven't checked out the
tour, please do!
Thank you to everyone who has participated! And don't forget, it includes a giveway. Be sure to enter!
March 27, 2013
Transmedia: Extending Storyworlds in ASSURED DESTRUCTION
One in every seven minutes online is spent on Facebook. Eighty percent of people watching television do so while multitasking on a second screen.
More than ever it’s difficult to engage an audience; content is everywhere. The solution for television has been to go where the audience is. To provide value added content on the second screen to keep an audience within the story, companion websites, in-show shopping, fan interaction, etc.
Why can’t this be done for books? Is reading too solitary? Too standalone a medium? Should a story’s characters have Facebook accounts? Is it too much effort?
As an author, more and more of my young adult audience is on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, so it behooves me to put the story there too. Right? And I’m not talking about marketing on the platforms. Story. But will it work? Books are different. People don’t like to be pulled away from their novels to view video. CSI creator Anthony Zuiker did this with LEVEL 26 by adding high quality video interstitials. Let’s just say he didn’t pull it off, and I think this had a lot to do with requiring the user to switch media formats within the story in order to get the story.
Another example we can learn from is the AMANDA PROJECT by HarperTeen. This was probably ahead of its time. It was a book series with a massive blog/forum where new material was shared with fans and the audience maintained between novels. It didn’t really catch on, and again, perhaps because the market it targeted wasn’t ready for the social components. Or maybe they were thinking too big. Should transmedia help sell millions of books or just thousands? I think it also made one critical mistake. The social elements were not on Facebook or Twitter, but a blog community. This increased the marketing challenge dramatically. It required fans to sign up, worse—to find them.
So what are we doing?
It’s called ASSURED DESTRUCTION.
It’s an experiment. A pretty big one. We’re creating a storyworld that will stretch across four books, seven Twitter feeds, one blog, two websites, and Facebook.
In the book, Jan Rose doesn’t destroy all the hard drives that she’s supposed to while working for her mom’s computer recycling company. Instead, she creates virtual identities using the data she scours from the hard drives, complete with Twitter accounts, avatars, and blogs.
If you want to read the rest of the post check it out at Woven Myst!
More than ever it’s difficult to engage an audience; content is everywhere. The solution for television has been to go where the audience is. To provide value added content on the second screen to keep an audience within the story, companion websites, in-show shopping, fan interaction, etc.
Why can’t this be done for books? Is reading too solitary? Too standalone a medium? Should a story’s characters have Facebook accounts? Is it too much effort?
As an author, more and more of my young adult audience is on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, so it behooves me to put the story there too. Right? And I’m not talking about marketing on the platforms. Story. But will it work? Books are different. People don’t like to be pulled away from their novels to view video. CSI creator Anthony Zuiker did this with LEVEL 26 by adding high quality video interstitials. Let’s just say he didn’t pull it off, and I think this had a lot to do with requiring the user to switch media formats within the story in order to get the story.
Another example we can learn from is the AMANDA PROJECT by HarperTeen. This was probably ahead of its time. It was a book series with a massive blog/forum where new material was shared with fans and the audience maintained between novels. It didn’t really catch on, and again, perhaps because the market it targeted wasn’t ready for the social components. Or maybe they were thinking too big. Should transmedia help sell millions of books or just thousands? I think it also made one critical mistake. The social elements were not on Facebook or Twitter, but a blog community. This increased the marketing challenge dramatically. It required fans to sign up, worse—to find them.
So what are we doing?
It’s called ASSURED DESTRUCTION.
It’s an experiment. A pretty big one. We’re creating a storyworld that will stretch across four books, seven Twitter feeds, one blog, two websites, and Facebook.
In the book, Jan Rose doesn’t destroy all the hard drives that she’s supposed to while working for her mom’s computer recycling company. Instead, she creates virtual identities using the data she scours from the hard drives, complete with Twitter accounts, avatars, and blogs.
If you want to read the rest of the post check it out at Woven Myst!
March 22, 2013
Launch Day! ASSURED DESTRUCTION
Assured Destruction has...drum roll...launched!
This series is about teen Janus Rose, who has a penchant for exploring the discarded hard drives of other people and then recreating their profiles online.
You can see the trailer.
This is a book, but one cool feature of the series is that you can interact with the characters on Twitter. Seriously, if you can handle the abuse, try tweeting @Heckleena. Have a burning question? Ask @gumpssays! All the characters interact with each other too and if you follow certain hashtags you can learn more about why Jan created this network of identities. Better yet, follow them and you’ll be able to see their origin stories in graphic novel format!
Reviews for the book are pouring in and they are awesome. I am so completely over the moon.
You can buy the book for just $2.99; click any of the links below.
Be sure to keep stopping back to Jan’s blog too. www.janusflytrap.com
Do you want to ask any questions of me? Contact me! I love hearing from readers. Better yet, join us on Facebook!
@Amazon
@iTunes
@Kobo
This series is about teen Janus Rose, who has a penchant for exploring the discarded hard drives of other people and then recreating their profiles online.
You can see the trailer.
This is a book, but one cool feature of the series is that you can interact with the characters on Twitter. Seriously, if you can handle the abuse, try tweeting @Heckleena. Have a burning question? Ask @gumpssays! All the characters interact with each other too and if you follow certain hashtags you can learn more about why Jan created this network of identities. Better yet, follow them and you’ll be able to see their origin stories in graphic novel format!
Reviews for the book are pouring in and they are awesome. I am so completely over the moon.
You can buy the book for just $2.99; click any of the links below.
Be sure to keep stopping back to Jan’s blog too. www.janusflytrap.com
Do you want to ask any questions of me? Contact me! I love hearing from readers. Better yet, join us on Facebook!
@Amazon
@iTunes
@Kobo
