All posts tagged curated anthologies

Wednesday Weekly Roundup

And I got them paperbacks – pocket version, compared to the other paperbacks and especially the curated anthologies – and went through them catching typo faeries and other formatting mistakes… which of course were there, damn them. Now they should be clean and ready to go, both as ebook and as paperbacks!

Last week a friend posted a question to his “writing-type followers”: “Why did you start writing? Why do you keep writing? (If you’re a pro, other than money.)” My answer was rather short: “Because I was uprooted at 13 and my worlds were nicer than reality. Hence I married Mr.Writing and still love him more than Mr.Publishing (who is failing at his job, unlike my wonderful husband!)”

I would like to elaborate on that – if I manage, since it’s still rather hot on this side of the world and my brain might not connect the dots. I mean, I have often stated, especially lately, that I’ll never stop writing, even if I don’t make a living at it, but I might stop publishing, when I have enough of fighting with retailer algorithms and social media.

Even though the more I write (and read), the more I think I’m not really that good. I read a book and go “Wow, I wish I could write that” but it’s not really me, my voice, my way of telling stories, is it? Yes, I’m evolving as a writer as well (who doesn’t?), but I still feel I’m stuck in Stage 3 and will never get to that Stage 4 I’m aiming at (for info on the Stages of Fiction Writers, refer to Dean Wesley Smith’s book).

Yes, I’d love to make a living with my fiction, but I don’t see that coming anytime soon, so even if I consider myself a pro, I’m definitely not in it for the money. I don’t get paid enough to keep at it only for that reason! So, I keep writing because I still have stories to tell, and I know that the more I write, the better I become. It’s called practice. And I already vomited my one million words of crap – almost five times over, so I should be pretty good by now! 😀

Anyhow, here come some great words of advice from Blaze Ward (I’m in his Blaze Ward Presents series, and you can read about that too): The Secret Handshake. I’m being less prolific this year, but reality is actually catching up with me – what didn’t happen last year is happening now.

Still, I’m probably on track for my 500K/year wordcount, since last week I wrote over 13K. Now I’m going to order the paperbacks for his latest BWP along with my curated anthologies.

Of which there’s another one! Blurred Timelienes is now available as eBook and paperback with special thanks to PubShare! Check it out!

Somewhere in Nevada timelines meet and diverge. Falling in one of those timeslips can change your life forever.
Starting in 1849, thousands of prospectors traveled through Nevada on their way to the newly discovered gold fields in California. Some stopped before reaching the fields. The 1859 discovery of silver ore, known as the Comstock Lode, led to the establishment of many mining towns.
Most of those gold and silver mining towns are gone today. But some are still there, and will be for a little longer, strange places where stranger things happen.
Look out when visiting them, lest you become an accidental time traveler.
The stories:
“Cascading Gold” by Johanna Rothman
“As it Happens” by B.A. Paul
“Jazz Times” by Barbara G.Tarn
“Cold Promise” by Stephannie Tallent
“A Long Way from Dodd’s Pharmacy” by C.A. Rowland
“Sneaking Hootch” by Kate Pavelle
“A Look Like That” by Richard Freeborn
“Life is Good” by Johanna Rothman
“A Gift Through Time” by C.A. Rowland
“Stranger Than a Movie” by Barbara G.Tarn

I guess I rambled enough for today… have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 04/08/2021 • Permalink

Posted in indie publishing, real world inspiration

Tagged curated anthologies, historical time travel, paperbacks, writing, writing advice

Posted by Barb on 04/08/2021

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2021/08/04/wednesday-weekly-roundup-95/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup

Last week I wrote almost 3K, starting a new story, but I was unable to finish it. Besides the Duology, I’m planning on publishing a few 5-stories themed collections, so I’m writing to complete the ones I already have. Yes, I have still unpublished stories that need to come out, so I’m adding to those themes before I go back to the Duology next month.

Unlike the previous week story, this one I’m going to finish – and maybe even reprise the other one, we’ll see. I’m still quite slow, but DayJob is getting in the way and the weather isn’t helping. I had a headache for the whole weekend because of the low clouds and the heat, not easy to create when your head feels like it’s splitting or has nails in it! 😦

But I’m taking it easy this year. I’m switching gears in all possible ways, writing in new genres and experimenting! 🙂 I must say I’m fully into JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out), unlike many other indie writers. Check this post by Kris Rusch about fear-based decision-making or FOMO and the Indie Writer.

I feel a lot like Kris… blogging is so ten years ago, but I keep getting new followers, so welcome and don’t worry, I’ll be rambling once a week for a little longer! Considering that I started with daily posts… I can do weekly! I guess my blog is my newsletter, since the actual newsletter has so few subscribers.

Now I shall go back to writing… it’s definitely summer, so I might be slower than usual, but I’m planning a couple of collaboration anthologies, and putting those together takes less of my energies than the actual writing – although when I’m in the writing zone I don’t really feel the heat or whatever else is going on in the real world, LOL!

Wishing you all a wonderful summer, full of interesting readings, inspired writing and whatever else you might wish for. Have a great week!

by Barb on 23/06/2021 • Permalink

Posted in indie publishing, real world inspiration, writing projects

Tagged curated anthologies, FOMO&JOMO, indie publishing, writing

Posted by Barb on 23/06/2021

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/wednesday-weekly-roundup-89/

Sunday Surprise

And it’s a guest! And since she’s in all three of the Nightly Bites anthologies, you get three covers! But this particular interview refers to the newest anthology, Volume 3! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Joleene Naylor!

1. What is it about vampires that draws you to them?

The variety. The stories can be gothic, contemporary, historic, futuristic. It can be scary, funny, romantic. Anything you feel like doing. As to why the vampires themselves are appealing, it’s the immortality, isn’t it? If I could live forever, I’m pretty sure I’d jump at the chance. So much time to get to do all the things you want to do.

2. What is your story in the anthology about?

Jamie: Blood of Betrayal is the origin story for Jamie. A rebel in Scotland, Jamie is wounded and nearly dies in battle. He manages to return home, sick with fever, only to wake fully healed. He isn’t the only thing changed. In his absence, his wife died, and his father was murdered by the British, who then turned the lands and title over to his brother-in-law.

3. What inspired your story?

My mother, actually. Jamie is one of her favorite characters so I told her if she wanted to make his past up for me, I’d use it. She did quite a bit of research, so it seemed a shame to waste it. Plus, you meet both Jamie and his master in one of the novels (Masque of the Vampire) so it seemed like a good idea to introduce readers to exactly what their story was.

4. Do you always write about vampires? If not, what do you write about?

I can write about other things, though I haven’t been just because of the branding. I’m a lot slower than some prolific writers I know *cough*Barb*cough* . But most of my writing has a darkness to it. I find it very hard to write cheerful, happy things. I once started a poem about a bunny. I won’t go into details, but by the end I made myself cry.

5. What should readers know about you?
I’m not trying to teach you anything in my books or stories. I’m not trying to expand your worldview, or make you question your beliefs, or the way our society works. I’m just trying to entertain you.

6. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I’d like to say thanks to Barb for having me! Other than the anthology, I’m not really promoting any releases – I’d need to get the book finished first (Did I mention I’m slow?).

Last minute addition: we now have also a Nightly Bites bundle, that includes another of Joleene’s stories! Check it out!

by Barb on 22/11/2020 • Permalink

Posted in Guest Post

Tagged bundle, curated anthologies, Guest Post, Joleene Naylor, vampires, writer interview, writing

Posted by Barb on 22/11/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/11/22/sunday-surprise-259/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup

Last week I wrote a little over 5K, mostly revisions of the books I took with me for editing. I also wrote a short story, but I don’t like it and my beta-reader found many faults in it, so I doubt I’ll ever get back to it. I also started another, but meh. So I decided to go back to the manuscript I had left before my short trip to Massa Carrara to celebrate my birthday and leave it at that.

Having to follow the rules for a “marketable” story is taking the fun out of writing. Also, I’m as much in transition as the world is, so I don’t know what I want to write next. Probably next year will be a sabbatic year from publishing, and I’ll try to read more and possibly explore other genres. But there’s still four months to go, and I might change my mind four times until then, LOL!

It’s been a long hot summer and it’s not over yet, so I better not make important decision while my brain is fried. So I’ll keep saying “I’m OK, I’m OK” (in an Orlando Jones voice, I absolutely love The Replacements!) or “I’m fine” even if I’m not, since I won’t be able to explain what’s wrong or what’s going on anyway. I change my mind way took quickly between excitement and exhaustion, so there. Time out. Gimme a break! 😉

I am aware I need to find my focus, but right now I don’t have the strength. I will, though, and I’m lucky to be a one-person household with a steady job, although I’m still hoping to quit and move elsewhere, but right now I can’t go anywhere and I probably wouldn’t be able to focus. I will have to learn to pivot, I guess! 🙂

The Curated Anthologies are selling, including the paperbacks, so definitely when I get a couple of weeks off DayJob, I’ll get back to doing paperbacks. By then even the new books of Future Earth Chronicles will be almost all out, so I can format the paperback so it comes out along with the ebook for the last two! 😉

But first I must finish the prequel, which I hope to do in a couple of weeks. Then I will try again to write short stories to submit. Or I will have to figure out what to write for the rest of the year. After reading about this guy who used AI and Photoshop to bring ancient Roman emperors back to life, I’m thinking it’s time I tell my Roman vampire’s story – now I even know what his emperor and his successors look like, LOL!

I’m going to end with this quote… seemingly quite fitting. By the way, I think Stephen Fry is really the reincarnation of Oscar Wilde, like Keanu Reeves is the reincarnation of Paul Mounet, LOL! And by the way, Happy Birthday, Keanu! 😀 Have a great week!

by Barb on 02/09/2020 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged curated anthologies, immortality, indie publishing, paperbacks, reincarnation, writing

Posted by Barb on 02/09/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/wednesday-weekly-roundup-47/

Writer Wednesday

And of course last week I wrote more than 20K… now that I had dived into Rogue! I even finished Draft Zero, but then, I always say I have trouble starting a story. And probably tend to wrap it up too quickly, so I’m going through it one last time before sending it off to the editor. Also because I added the flashbacks after I was done with the present, and I need to see if it flows! 😉

I have written Hal’s mother’s story and now I’ll be writing a couple of stories for anthologies (a charity anthology and a traditional market submission) before going back to Silvery Earth. About the Silvery Earth Kids, I now have more than seventy strips – six are taken for another anthology, and they will come out in black&white sometime this summer, I think – and still need to introduce a character.

I’m still busy with cleaning up, coloring and lettering, though, so I didn’t have time to do the visually impaired version yet. Tori knows she’ll get first look, though! As soon as I’m ready, hopefully sometime next month. The other two hopefully short stories will be one in 25th century Paris (that’s Future Earth Chronicles Book 5 for whoever will make it that far), and the other is going to be the Battle of Chittor from a new point of view (that’s Kristine the Youngest for whoever follows the Vampires through the Centuries).

The Future Earth Chronicles paperbacks are done, but in a weird way. If you buy all five, you’ll see they alternate cream and white paper. That’s because you can’t change that once the book is published, even if you haven’t sold a copy. Sigh. With Createspace there was only the white paper option, but still… Anyhow, I’m ordering my copies tomorrow and hopefully next week or the following I can show you how they all came out.

Speaking of paperbacks, I got my copies of the two portal anthologies… don’t they look neat? 😉 That colorful table cloth isn’t mine, I had them sent to my parents’ and opened the enveloppe at our local market…

And I believe there’s a new free story by Sarah Stegall up on the Infinite Bard, go check it out! 🙂 Have a great week!

by Barb on 15/05/2019 • Permalink

Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects

Tagged curated anthologies, Lone Wolves, paperbacks, Star Minds universe

Posted by Barb on 15/05/2019

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/writer-wednesday-368/

Random Friday

Another author who is in both curated anthologies sent me her answers. I would like to spend a few words on this one. She sent me Tethering the Sun first when I sent out the call for portal stories. Then I realized we were at the same workshop in 2017, although there were fifty people there and we barely talked. But we caught up and I requested also The Traveler from that list. So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome another workshop buddy, C.A. Rowland!

They are both out now! Click on the image for the BUY links!

1. What is it about portals that draws you to it?

I love the idea of crossing into a new world, that wonder and unsettling sense of trying to deal with something new. Portals cause growth and I like exploring that aspect of learning about something new. I also love going to new lands and getting to know them and their people.

2. What is your story in the anthology about?

In Fantasy Portals, my story is about a woman who is drawn into a painting and has to deal with what that means and the choices she must make.

In More Portals, my story is about a woman at Machu Picchu who steps through a curtain of fog and finds a completely different Machu Picchu.

3. What inspired your story?

I think art is so inspirational. I have written a number of stories based on pictures or drawings or in this case, an oil painting that I saw in New Mexico. The artist’s work has stuck with me and I finally realized there was a story I wanted to tell about one of them.

4. Do you always write about portals?

If not, what do you write about? No, I write about places I have visited, places I’ve lived, historical stories, mysteries, science fiction and fantasy. I don’t know that I could ever write in only one genre or only one kind of story.

5. What should readers know about you?

My first mystery novel will be published in 2020, The Meter’s Always Running. The main character is a female taxi driving in Savannah, Georgia. I lived in Georgia for years and love the historic district. I live in Virginia now where the backdrop is the Civil War battlefields. I studied History in college so this is the right place for me and the area inspires me and my stories.

6. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I love ghost stories too. I stayed with my grandmother when I was small and both my parents worked. We used to go to the local graveyard where she would weed and talk about the people she knew there. I would imagine what they looked like, where they lived and what their lives were like. Those sometimes show up in my stories as well.

by Barb on 10/05/2019 • Permalink

Posted in Guest Post

Tagged author interview, curated anthologies, writers on writing

Posted by Barb on 10/05/2019

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/random-friday-357/

Writer Wednesday

As expected, last week I wrote only 1600 words, much like last October when I was jet-lagged. And many were of the webcomic/strip – now I have to draw them, color them, etc. Stay tuned…

I’m still putting together those anthologies, so I haven’t started writing yet, but I sure hope to do it this very afternoon and launch into the next Star Minds Lone Wolves Team mission! 😉

And Fantasy Portals is now available for pre-order. Stay tuned for More Portals. During the weekend I’ll work on the paperbacks so on launch day you’ll be able to choose between ebook and paperback! 🙂

And of course Future Earth Chronicles Book 5 went live, so now if you want you can buy all five together and binge-read them! 🙂

And did I mention someone was putting bundles together? Here you have two, one that I’m sharing because even though I’m not in it, it’s Unicorns (my publisher is called Unicorn Productions for a reason! 😉 ) and the other is a very varied collection for all tastes… Stay tuned for more on some Eclectica authors! 🙂

Now if you’ll excuse me, I shall go back to writing… I miss it! 😉 Have a great week! 😀

by Barb on 03/04/2019 • Permalink

Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects

Tagged curated anthologies, e-book bundles, fantasy, writing

Posted by Barb on 03/04/2019

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/writer-wednesday-362/

Writer Wednesday

Last week I reached my first 150K and the first three months of the year are not over yet. Although this week it will probably be a veeeery low wordcount because I am putting together two anthologies and revising Legends of the Moren Empire Volume 1 before sending it off to Mighty Editor. So, just a little meat on what’s already there.

I wrote 17K in English and 4K in Italian on both projects. Now the Italian one is with a beta-reader who will hopefully tell me if I nailed the revisions and if the end is not too rushed. For the Legends of the Moren Empire, I’m sure Mighty Editor will catch any problem. Yes, she’s awesome like that! 🙂

I received my proof of Otherside paperback and decided to resave the cover as CMYK – the RGB version has too strong reds! 😉 So if you get it now, it’s probably going to look better. I might order more copies closer to 20BooksEdinburgh and the Worldcon this summer. Still no links to the audio book, but will post them as soon as I have them. It’s not been 10 business days yet.

Audiobook 2 is under production and I’ve signed the contract for the third narrator. I’m very happy I found ways to communicate to the second narrator how to pronounce certain words (namely, Zindagi for now, since it was the only one that came up in the audition).

I never tried to listen to the Kindle’s text-to-speech after the first attempts, but hopefully the audiobooks will sound more like I wanted the books to sound! 😀 I also had to check the pronunciation of other words for Otherside (namely, the kukri knife, it has 3 different pronounciations and the narrator had used the American one, but she changed it to my preferred version.

All in all it was an interesting experience! I’m glad I have a few weeks before I have to check the next audiobook, though! 😉 Back to ebook and paperbacks for now – the anthologies, and then for that too I can have a couple of weeks break before preparing the next ebook. I’ll probably do all the paperbacks of the books that came out so far in May, though.

Next week I’m going back to Star Minds Lone Wolves. Fifteen more missions of the Team and then I’ll write another Lone Wolf story, so that later this year I can do 3 box sets – the youngsters, the elders and the rest, haha! Also, in April Star Minds Lone Wolves Shorts goes wide at last, yay. KU experiment failed completely – not one download or sale – so no more exclusivity! 😉

Now I better go working to those anthologies, hoping the publishing drama of authors caught plagarizing, stealing images and going wild ends soon… Have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 27/03/2019 • Permalink

Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects

Tagged audiobook, curated anthologies, ebook, paperback, Silvery Earth, Star Minds universe, writing

Posted by Barb on 27/03/2019

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2019/03/27/writer-wednesday-361/

Writer Wednesday

Book 3 and 4 are really one split in two, so I didn’t really stop “between projects” except for the creative weekend with Cristina (so last week only 8K), that I used for my large print and illustrated paperbacks experiments. Book 3 clocked in at 47K (Book 1 is 42K, Book 2 is 44K) and I probably have as much to write in the next, then on to book 5!

Hopefully I’ll be done by the end of January when I can take a break… In the meantime have a sneak peek at the first five covers on the series page… The blurb for book 4 and 5 is very limited, I’ll make it better when I write them – it’s only a vague idea still! 🙂

Bundles Galore – Remembering Warriors is on sale for the last month of its shelf life. Grab it now at 3.99$ before it’s gone! 🙂 Other bundles are still available, but they’re diminishing… I will do another couple next year (along with the next iteration of Sci-fi July for the Worldcon). By the way, this is the last month of shelf life of Sci-fi July Redux too, so if you want to suport us, buy it now, if you can’t afford it, wait until it goes on sale closer to Christmas! 🙂

And I have one more reason never ever to get on Twitter, where people (newby writers) even attack longtime professionals like Nora Roberts! I might have not read her books, but I do know who she is, it would never cross my mind to accuse her of stealing my title/idea – which, by the way, is not copyrighted. It’s the execution that is. I hope that woman sinks into oblivion with her second book, she doesn’t deserve a career as a writer.

And if the above isn’t enough to dissuade you, here are six miths about traditional publishing (and not from Dean Wesley Smith’s blog!). But Indie Publishing isn’t easy either, especially if you put all your egs in one basket and your basket is leaking… Maybe the future will really allow us to go direct to readers with no middleman…

First The Why, Now The How: 25 Ways To Keep Making Stuff by Chuck Wendig. And How To Make A Pretty Facebook Page by David Gaughran – cause we all want a pretty Author Page, right? 🙂 I still think the Publisher’s page has problems on mobile phones, but I don’t seem to be able to find a solution. Next trip to Turin I’ll consult with my webmaster…

Now, as soon as I reach my yearly wordcount, I can stop and do another curated anthology (probably starting before Christmas, but I doubt I’ll be able to publish it this year – sometimes writers are really slow! ;)). In the meantime, you have your choice between, the two Nightly Bites, the two Sci-fi Short Stories and the Rocketpack Adventures curated by Russ Crossley. The paperback make excellent Christimas gifts… just sayin’! 😉 Have a great week!

by Barb on 05/12/2018 • Permalink

Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects

Tagged bundles, curated anthologies, indie publishing, social media, writing

Posted by Barb on 05/12/2018

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2018/12/05/writer-wednesday-346/

Random Friday

AUTHOR Barbara G.Tarn (self-interview for Curated Anthologies)

1. What is it about starships that draws you to it?

Stars! I mean, Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Minds… er… that was a self-citation, sorry.

2. What is your story in the anthology about?

A starship pilot and owner who takes people around the Milky Way. Shanell’s story continues in Pilot (Star Minds Lone Wolves).

3. What inspired your story?

Originally it was an exercise for an online workshop about someone stuck in traffic. I had a female taxi driver and turned it into a female starship pilot trying to get on a planet with her customer – and that’s the opening.

4. Do you always write about starships? If not, what do you write about?

The Star Minds series is science fantasy all over, so it has starships, space opera, everything the other Star Thingies have. Then there’s Silvery Earth, secondary world fantasy. Then there’s Future Earth, a more scientific SF (hopefully) on the future of our planet. Then there’s Vampires through the Centuries. Then… just go to www.unicornproductionsbooks.com and check it out!

5. What should readers know about you?

I’m a prolific writer who prefers dabbling in sci-fi and fantasy because she doesn’t like the current situation on this planet much.

6. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

After four anthologies, I think I’m going to do a fifth because it’s my favorite number, then I’ll just lay low and wait for invitations into other people’s anthologies. It was wonderful working with all the authors of all the anthologies and I will probably miss it and get back to it in a year or three!