Category Archives: The Writing Life
"I’d like to go out of this world having brought as many good things into it as I can."
Here’s an interview I did with the Canadian Public Relations Society about how I balance my life as both a writer and a newspaper editor. It’s all about the coffee….
I’ve written plenty of books articles or columns that have come from my contacts in the writing community. And news stories have definitely led to fictional stories for me. For instance, my last published novel, The Warhol Gang, came into being after I read a couple of different articles, one about neuromarketing and one about a man who kept pretending to be an emergency responder at accident scenes. The two met up in my mind and mutated into a novel. So the two fields are a pretty combination for me.
What I'm backing: The Sword and Mythos anthology
If you’ve been following me at all, you know I’m a big fan of the Innsmouth Free Press — and not just because they published one of my stories. I love everything they’re doing with this journal, and I love that they’re pushing harder into the unnatural realm of books. The latest project is The Sword and Mythos anthology, which they’re raising funds for via Indiegogo. I’ve backed them and you should to if you care about literary supernatural fiction, especially that of a Lovecraftian bent. But if you really want a treat, help them reach $2,000 in funding by this Friday and you’ll receive a Lovecraft story by editor Silvia Moreno-Garcia called “The Atomic Flesh Cafe,” about “a letter-writing housewife in 1960s Mexico City. And Nyarlathotep.”
Come on. What more do you need than that?
Roll up the rim to write
Why did you choose to go the indie publishing route rather than stick to the traditional publishing route?
Social networking has put the steering wheel firmly in the hands of individual artists. It took me several years of being on Facebook before I realized that I was sitting in the driver’s seat of my own career as a writer. I’m using this funding campaign to help turn the key in the ignition.
ChiZine bundles free ebook with paperback purchase
I’ve been saying for a while now that if publishers want to keep selling print books they should bundle ebook versions with them, be it a DVD with epub files in the book or, more practically, a code that can be used to download the book. This could be difficult to carry out in a bookstore — the code or DVD would have to be securely sealed in the book somehow to prevent theft of the information, or stored separately from the book. Say, behind the counter. But it’s pretty easy for publishers to do from their own website. Now ChiZine has announced they’re going to do just that. Here’s their release (and note the 30% discount more than covers the cost of shipping for print books):
CZP Offers Free eBook with Trade Paperback Purchases
Starting now, you will also receive the ebook for free when you order trade paperbacks via the CZP site. As always, we’re offering a 30% discount off the cover price of all trade paperbacks. Once you complete your order, you’ll have instant access to the ebook in EPUB, MOBI and PDF formats.
This might be the first publisher I start buying direct from.
peter darbyshire 