Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Chimerical World Anthology Guest Post

Editor: Scott Sandridge
Featured Books
A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court
A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court
May 18 to 25, 2014
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ScottSandridge
About the Editor: Scott M. Sandridge is a writer, editor, freedom fighter, and all-around trouble-maker. His latest works as an editor include the Seventh Star Press anthologies Hero’s Best Friend: An Anthology of Animal Companions, and the two volumes of A Chimerical World, Tales of the Seelie Court and Tales of the Unseelie Court.    
   TalesoftheSeelieCourt1200X800
Book Synopsis Tales of the Seelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the first volume of A Chimerical World focuses on the Seelie Court: the court we humans seem to view as the "good" faeries. But "good" and "evil" are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us. Inside you will find 19 stories that delve into the world of the faeries of the Seelie Court, from authors both established and new, including George S. Walker, Eric Garrison, and Alexandra Christian. But be warned: these faeries are nothing like Tinker Bell.  

  Stories Included in Tales of the Seelie Court: "Extra-Ordinary" by BC Brown "Dead Fairy Doormat" by George S. Walker "Taggers" by Christine Morgan "Wormwood" by Alexandra Christian "The Harpist's Hand" by Steven S. Long "Sanae's Garden" by Chantal Boudreau "Mark of Ruins" by SD Grimm. "Birdie's Life at the School for Distressed Young Ladies" by JH Fleming "Cultivated Hope" by Jordan Phelps "Seelie Goose" by Eric Garrison "I Knocked Up My Fairy Girlfriend" by Brandon Black "The Body Electric" by Sarah Madsen. "The Last Mission" by Cindy Koepp. "The Beggar-Knight & the Lady Perilous" by Matthew A. Timmins. "The Filigreed Lamp" by Edward Ahern. "Keys" by Michael M. Jones "Like a Sister in the Proper Court" by Lisa Hawkridge "Gnome Games" by Saera Corvin "The Goat Man's Garden" by Marten Hoyle   Be sure to also see A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court, for more tales of the Fey!   TalesoftheUnseelieCourt_Cover1200X800
Book Synopsis Tales of the Unseelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the second volume of A Chimerical World focuses on the Unseelie Court: the court we humans seem to view as the "evil" faeries. But "good" and "evil" are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us. Inside you will find 19 stories that delve into the world of the faeries of the Unseelie Court, from authors both established and new, including Michael Shimek, Deedee Davies, and Nick Bryan. But don't be surprised if these faeries decide to play with their food. Stories included in Tales of the Unseelie Court:   "In Plain Sight" by Rebecca Leo "The Wunderhorn" by David Turnbull "Treehouse" by Kim Smith "I'll Watch Over You" by Angeline Trevena "The Enemy of my Enemy" by Deedee Davies. "Maestro" by Nicholas Paschall "Prey of the Boggart" by Rony Blechman. "Fear of Little Men" by Mike Pieloor.. "Faerie Stories and the Bean Nighe" by Carmen Tudor.. "Gifts" by Michael Shimek.. "Djinn and Tonic" by S. Clayton Rhodes "The Bet" by Jodi Ralston... "The Fool and his Money" by Nick Bryan "The Yielding" by J. A. Ironside. "The Tamer of Beasts" by Doug Blakeslee.. "The Last Sword of Barrow Thorns" by Matthew A. Timmins "The Rose and the Dragon" by Steven S. Long "The Brothers Doran" by John A. McColley "Wonderland" by Stephanie Jessop Be sure to also see A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court, for more tales of the Fey!


Guest Post:
Four Simple Writer Mistakes
            by BC Brown

     Writer's Block Blues
Writer's block is a myth. Writers write. Writer's block is most often chalked up to laziness on the part of the writer. Or boredom. There's always boredom.

If you do find your motivation lacking when it comes to your writing, stay calm and don't panic. But do worry. Writers write. The definition is in the very name. So if you feel yourself lacking, remember that there is nothing wrong with small steps. Doctors recommend easy exercises when a person is starting off. There isn't anything wrong with easy exercises as an author. Here are two examples how to break out of the Writer's block folly.

1.    Allowing yourself to be distracted by television? Write during the commercial breaks. You'd be surprised how much you want to keep writing, even when the show comes back on.
2.    Chained to your laptop to write? Change it up. Grab a pen and notebook and scribble notes while standing in your kitchen cooking dinner. Not relying heavily on equipment or atmosphere can help recharge writing batteries.

     All Or Nothing
Success Judging. Sales are not what you expect even after all the marketing and tweeting and facebooking and blogging. Redefine success. 

If you find yourself overly focused on sales, and we all do it, don't worry. It's natural to want to check up on your own progress. Like so many things however, the key is moderation. 

1.    Amazon Sale Rank checker? Set a schedule. Allow yourself to check your sales rank at certain times of the day. Set an alarm if necessary. Keeping in mind always that, if the alarm doesn't beep, you're not allowed to check your rank.
2.    Are you a 'goaler'? In other words, you must have a margin of success each day to feel good as a writer. No worries. We are programmed around rewards. It's a basic human driving force. If you can't just let your sales be then re-set your goals. It can be as simple as finishing a project or achieving a set word count in a day.

     Overly Complicated
Life is simple. Don't get fancy; don't try to write contrary to your existence. Many writers want only to write happy, fluff bunny fantasies. Why not take a break and write what you know? The change in medium just might be what you need to get your writing back on track again.

There is nothing, I repeat nothing, wrong with  trying new things. It may not be publishable later on, but not every project has to end in publication. It's sometimes necessary to just dabble.

1.    What is your primary plot? What is your secondary? Know those two items and then cut out everything else. Bloated plots, while they can make for fantastic reads, are murder on a writer struggling to put them on paper. Write simply. Then, when your steam is back up, you can go in and add subplots. You'd be surprised to find later than those plots you thought were so crucial in the beginning can simply be left out.
2.    Stuck in a rut? Do you only write one kind of story? Stop it. Pick something else. For example, you're a fantasy writer specializing in magic and dragons. Deliberately write a romance instead. You may find that as you write the story morphs back to a fantasy, and that is fine. The point is to get you writing, not thinking about what to write.

     Book Worm (and not in the good way)
Study-a-holic. A good writer constantly reviews their work in order to improve. But, as writers (often obsessed individuals with an eye for narcissistic perfection), we can over-review. Take a little time from hitting the books, per say, and just write. Stop focusing on lessons learned and mistakes made.

1.    Perfectionist? Stop using punctuation and capitalization. It may sound weird, but the less you focus on the technical aspects of writing, the more you can refocus on the writing itself. Punctuation and capitalization can always be added later (if at all). The goal is to get you writing, not reviewing.
2.    A re-reader? Stop. Simple don't read. Don't go back and check your work. Don't re-read to see where you left off from the last sit down. Just write. It doesn't matter if there are inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a first draft. It's your 'vomit draft' anyway. The important thing is to write.
In seven years of publishing and a couple of decades of writing, these are the four most common mistakes I've seen writers make (myself included). Despite there being four different mistakes, they all boil down to the same thing. Writers write. If you are doing anything other than putting new words on paper, you aren't doing that one task. Which is the only task.  What must come first, before all the extra that goes with being a writer, is that you must write. Everything else is just decoration.

BC Brown is the author of three novels and has participated in multiple short story anthologies. Having committed almost every ‘bad deed’ in the book of ‘How to Be An Author’, she now strives to educate other writers through humor and simple instruction.
Her latest multi-author fantasy anthology, A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court, is now available. Find all her books here.



  Editor Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottmsandridge
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smsandwrites
  Website/Blog: http://smsand.wordpress.com
  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5772749-scott-sandridge

  Tour Schedule and Activities
  5/18 Jorie Loves a Story Review
  5/20 Deal Sharing Aunt Guest Post
  5/21 Armand Rosamilia, Horror Author Guest Post
  5/21 Vampires, Witches, and Me, Oh My! Guest Post
  5/21 Beauty in Ruins Guest Post
  5/21 The Bird's Word Interview
  5/21 Book in the Bag Interview
  5/22 Bee's Knees Reviews Guest Post
  5/22 Spellbindings Promo/Spotlight
  5/22 I Smell Sheep Guest Post
  5/23 The Official Writing Blog of Deedee Davies Guest Post
  5/24 Heroic Fantasy Writers Review
  5/24 Sheila Deeth Blog Guest Post
  5/25 Come Selahway With Me Interview  

  Tour Page URL: http://www.tomorrowcomesmedia.com/a-chimerical-world-anthologies-virtual-tour/

   Amazon Links for Tales of the Seelie Court
Print Version http://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Seelie-Court/dp/1937929477
Kindle Version http://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Seelie-Court-ebook/dp/B00IAHTMAO

  Amazon Links for Tales of the Unseelie Court
Print Version http://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Unseelie-Court/dp/1937929493 Kindle Version http://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Unseelie-Court-ebook/dp/B00IAHTVSC

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