As those of you who follow my facebook posts may know, one of my mentors, fantasy writer and Writers of the Future judge David Farland, suffered a terrible tragedy last week. His 16-year-old son, Ben, was in a horrific longboarding accident that resulted in severe brain trauma and numerous broken bones including his pelvis. He is still in a coma but is showing improvements each day.

Dave’s former and current students, his fans, and his friends and family are spearheading several fundraisers to help with the astronomical medical bills. As with many self-employed folks in these rough economic times, the family had no health insurance.

One of the fundraisers is a book bomb. If you haven’t heard of these, a book bomb is a one-day concentrated push to purchase a book (or books) by a particular author in order to help raise their visibility on Amazon and other ranking lists. The short-term benefits (a one-day bump in sales) is frequently outweighed by the long-term increase in sales due to the improved visibility.

A book bomb is being held for Dave today (Wednesday April 10). This is a great way to help his family during their recovery. For as little as $6.99 for one of his ebooks you can add to this monumental effort and make a difference. You can make a bigger difference if you buy several, maybe even some as gifts.

So support an award-winning author whose contributions as a teacher and mentor have helped thousands of writers. Buy a book. Or two.

TODAY.

Here’s his multiple-award winning YA paranormal novel, Nightingale.: 

And his recently-published Million Dollar Outlines is garnering some great reviews:

 Both photos are linked to their Amazon pages – just a click will take you there!

You can visit his website to get more details on these books: 

http://www.davidfarland.net/writing_tips/?a=208

Here’s a little more about the book bomb from the coordinator:

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As many of you know, Dave’s son, Ben, was in a serious long-boarding accident last week. He is 16 and suffers from severe brain trauma, a cracked skull, broken pelvis and tail bone, burnt knees, bruised lungs, broken ear drum, road rash, and is currently in a coma. His family has no insurance.

We are having a book bomb this Wednesday on behalf of Ben Wolverton to help his family out. You can view the event’s facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/453677124707603/

For those that don’t know, a book bomb is an event where participants purchase a book on a specific day to support the author, or, in this case, a young person in serious need: Ben Wolverton.

Many of you have expressed sympathy for Dave and Ben and have asked if you could help. Now you can. We need you to help Ben get the most out of this book bomb. Right now we are focused on spreading the word and telling others about it. If you could share this event on facebook, twitter, pinterest, your blog, or through email, please do. This is a way everyone reading this can help, whatever their financial situation.

On Wednesday, we will have the book bomb. If you haven’t yet purchased NIGHTINGALE or MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES, please consider doing so on Wednesday. If you have already purchased them, you can donate money to Ben and his family here:

http://www.gofundme.com/BensRecovery

If you have a blog and would like to do a post about this book bomb, please email  at kami_marynda@yahoo.com, and she will send you some information you can use.

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HIGH STAKES, ten fascinating tales of vampire games edited by Gabrielle Faust, is now available for the Kindle. The anthology contains stories by established, award-winning authors as well as newcomers to the world of writing: Joe McKinney, Jonathan Maberry, Jeff Strand, Gabrielle Faust, Jg Faherty, Sephera Giron, Rain Graves, David Hayes, and Michael H. Hanson, plus poetry from Bram Stoker Winner Linda D Addison and a foreward by Dacre Stoker.

The print version is scheduled for release on March 26.

I’m honored that my story, “The Games Monsters Play” resides among such a talented collection. You can find it along with all the others here:

It’s been awhile since my last post – a long while.

So I thought I’d give an update as to why.

I’m writing.

And when I write, I need to separate from everything outside the story except my job and my family. Everything else—my horses, my friends, my blog, facebook—only get minimal attention. I just don’t multitask well.

Unfortunately, mastering the skill of multitasking is a requirement for writers these days, especially those of us who indie-publish. Editor, book designer, publisher, marketer, social networker—these are all hats we must wear in addition to writer. I’ve found that whenever I change hats, though, it takes me a little while to get the new one to fit. Once it does, I’m reluctant to take it off.

And right now, I’m wearing my writer hat.

Runner, the sequel to Watcher, is nearing completion. Currently at 80,000 words, the story is moving into its third and final act.

I realize this novel is way behind schedule. Without going into details, 2012 was a very difficult year for me and my family, as well as a few others close to me. A number of events, some quite tragic, made working on this story nearly impossible, and rather than have it suffer from the constant turmoil of my personal life, I elected to set it aside until I felt ready to return to Sunny’s world.

But I’m deep in it now. Sunny faces many challenges in this book, some old, some new, and like my readers, I am just along for the ride and never quite sure what might be around the next bend. Rest assured, though—even if the details of what, why, and when are a little blurry, I can see the end of the road and I know exactly where it’s going.

Unless, of course, The Chosen have other ideas . . .

As a token of my appreciation for your patience, here is an excerpt from Runner: Book II of The Chosen:

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It’s Halloween night. The streets and clubs are filled with witches and zombies and vampires, but no Chosen. If there’s any night they’d prowl among the humans, this would be it.

I’ve spent hours drifting from club to club, searching for the real monsters beneath the elaborate costumes. A silver-sequined mask is my only concession to the holiday, though my hunting blacks and black leather jacket seem to blend in well enough.

Disgusted with my fruitless quest, I walk back to the Cat Club for one last look before heading out of the city to hunt.

The place is packed. Fortunately the music is loud enough to cover the constant growl rumbling deep in my chest. My aversion to being touched by humans has increased since I returned from the wild, and it’s taking everything I have not to clear a space around me.

I spot a gap next to the wall and work my way through the crowd to lay claim to it. A couple to my right dressed as Raggedy Ann and Andy ease back to give me a little more room and I settle in against the cracked paint.

A black-caped figure to my left turns and regards me with eyes as dark as night. He flashes me a leering grin, his yellowish fangs in sharp contrast to the white of his teeth.

My breath catches, then slowly escapes.

Fake. His fangs are fake. Plastic.

Rolling my eyes, I turn away and stare out at the masquerade madness convulsing through the club.

The feel of the air surrounding us abruptly changes. I look toward the door and stop breathing all together.

A stir ripples through the masses as four costumed figures enter, drawing every gaze in the club. Their elegant 17th-century garments appear to be the real thing, with details that only my eyes are likely to pick out in the dim light.

Two stately females, blonde and brunette curls tumbling to their shoulders beneath broad-brimmed hats, glide into the room, their brocaded gold and ruby gowns sweeping the floor. Two males follow, sporting doublets and matching breeches in indigo and ivory. Their pale faces are bordered with shoulder-length hair, pointed goatees, and wide mustaches, no doubt the fashion of that time.

But it’s not the costumes that have stolen my breath.

The air shimmers around them, their auras pulsating in a tapestry of burgundy and black and grey. I’ve felt Chosen auras before, but this is the first I’ve seen them. I recognize the feel of Nicolas in them—these Chosen are of his lineage.

I push off from the wall and move toward my quarry.

As one, their haughty gazes shift in my direction and appraise me from across the room. Several lips curl, and the shorter male smiles, and with no further expression, they turn about-face and stroll out of the club.

Elbowing my way through the crowd, I reach the door and shove it open. As I step outside, I run into a broad, black t-shirted chest.

“Excuse me.” I start to push past him, but he steps in front of me again.

I look up into golden eyes perched above a hawklike nose and wide cheekbones. Full lips part and tug to one side, allowing me a glimpse of the fang behind them. Crimson flashes in his pupils and I ease back, hands up in surrender.

“Hey, I don’t want any trouble.” Instantly on guard, I yank off my mask and let it fall to the sidewalk.

The costumed Chosen behind him slip into a waiting limousine.

But they’re no longer necessary—not with this one standing barely three feet away.

I just hope he isn’t going to kill me.

~~~~~~~~~

]]> http://www.rohmorgon.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2338 2 http://www.rohmorgon.com/blog/?p=2318 http://www.rohmorgon.com/blog/?p=2318#comments Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:45:37 +0000 roh morgon http://www.rohmorgon.com/blog/?p=2318 Wow – I am so jazzed!

“The Games Monsters Play” – a short story I wrote from the Watcher world – has been selected to appear in the upcoming vampire anthology, High Stakes!
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Here’s an excerpt from the High Stakes website describing the anthology:

“Welcome to the dark and demented world of High Stakes vampires where every game is a gamble for one’s life! This devious new anthology from Evil Jester Press promises to deliver ten fascinating new vampire tales which play upon the theme of “games”. And, as we well know, vampires are so very good with toying with their food before dining! Edited by the internationally acclaimed vampire novelist Gabrielle Faust, author of the Eternal Vigilance vampire series and most recently the ground-breaking dark fantasy adventure Revenge, High Stakes will also include an introduction by Dacre Stoker, the great grandnephew of Bram Stoker and author of the sequel to Dracula, Dracula: Undead. In addition, this anthology will open with an original poem by the Bram Stoker Award-winning poetess Linda Addison! And this is just the beginning. Set to be released in January of 2013, over the next few months this website will evolve with breaking news about the selected authors and more! We hope you enjoy High Stakes and immerse yourself in the elegant, twisted and blood-drenched world of vampires.”

The other authors selected so far are:

• Jeff Strand
• Joe McKinney
• Sèphera Girón
• JG Faherty
• David C. Hayes
• Jonathan Mayberry

I couldn’t have done this without my friends and colleagues who beta read and helped me polish this story. Many thanks go to Joshua Essoe, Eric Guignard, Darryl Miller, and Ian Vawter for their feedback and suggestions.

And special thanks to editor Gabrielle Faust and Evil Jester Press for choosing “The Games Monsters Play” to be a part of the High Stakes anthology.

I’d thought I’d be in Colorado this fall, signing books and fundraising for the Waldo Canyon relief efforts.

But such was not to be.

Other things happened, some writerly stuff, but mostly just life stuff.

I became very caught up in story submissions for a couple of anthologies. Alas, the short story I thought had the most potential for acceptance was rejected.

Oh, well. That’s the life of a writer.

A novella I received back from my editor has taken far more time to re-write than I expected. I actually have formed a love-hate relationship with this story, but I know the changes are for the better. My hopes for submitting it for the Bram Stoker Awards have faded as the deadline for voting rapidly approaches, and since a version of it has already been published, it won’t be eligible for next year. It’s too bad – it’s a pretty cool and unusual story, but my skill wasn’t quite up to telling it properly the first time around. Once I finish implementing the suggestions from my editor, the story will be much improved and a more engaging read for my readers.

All of this has slowed my progress on Runner. The story is coming along nicely, but I’ve had to move my target publishing date to the Spring of 2013. For those of you who are waiting for it, I am sorry and will make it up to you.

Keep a watch here for sneak previews and other tidbits from Sunny’s world.

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I just can’t stop thinking about the devastation and loss of life caused by the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs and the surrounding mountains, an area I left 35 years ago. It used to look like this:

Ute Pass, looking toward the Continental Divide – May 2009 ©Roh Morgon

I spent two years in the Springs and the neighboring communities of Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, and Cascade. Just out of high school, my life was wild and carefree and filled with adventures. I loved the Pikes Peak mountain area and have always dreamed of returning someday.

Ute Pass above Colorado Springs – May 2009 ©Roh Morgon

Writers frequently use settings with which they are familiar. So when I began writing Sunny’s journey in January 2009, it seemed only natural that she would head to such an ideal location for someone of her unique nature.

As she drew me into her story, the sound of the wind in the trees echoed in my mind, and my nose filled with the fresh scents of pines and summer storms. I typed, fast and furious, knowing I was only capturing a fraction of the nuances that made up her world, and hoped my memory of the area wasn’t too rusty and faded.

Cascade, Colorado – May 2009 ©2012 Roh Morgon

And then in May 2009, when Watcher was nearly complete, I had a rare opportunity to visit the Springs while in Colorado on business. It would be my first visit in 35 years.

My friend Jeanne, with whom I’d first ventured to that magical land so many years before, still lived there. It felt like old times as we set off together to visit the locations in the story, to see if everything was as I recalled it.

Pike National Forest – May 2009 ©2012 Roh Morgon

And, surprisingly, it was. Even the Cascade house in which I’d lived, empty the day we visited, looked exactly as it did when I moved out. We tromped though old stomping grounds and made new discoveries (and found a castle!) and had an amazing time retracing Sunny’s steps.

It was with great sadness that I said farewell to Jeanne and Pikes Peak, promising I would return again when I had more time. The first draft of Watcher was completed two weeks later.

Lupine in Cascade, Colorado – May 2009 ©2012 Roh Morgon

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Now the area looks nothing like it did 35 years ago, or even three years ago. Sunny’s mountain and hunting area behind her house were completely destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire.

Photo by Jenny Bloom from Eagle Avenue in Manitou Springs

Photo by Kari Greer near Colorado Springs

But worse, people lost their homes, their pets, their family heirlooms – they lost everything they owned.

And two people lost their lives.

Photo by Kari Greer – Mountain Shadows subdivision, Colorado Springs

Photo by Dave Perl – Mountain Shadows cul-de-sac devastation

I’d actually been contemplating making a road trip to the Springs when I heard the news about the fire. It started June 23, and over the next two-and-a-half weeks, over 32,000 people were evacuated, more than 18,000 acres burned, 346 homes destroyed, and two people died. The estimated cost of this fire alone is $352.6 million dollars, making it the most expensive in Colorado’s history.

I can only imagine a glimmer of how those families must be feeling as they cope with their losses. My heart goes out to them, as well as to the forest and the creatures that it fed and sheltered.

Photo by Kari Greer – Humans weren’t the only ones who lost their homes

I don’t know if I’ll make that trip now. I can’t bear to see those mountains covered in ash, dotted with the black skeletons of trees and brush. Unfortunately, my imagination does paint a vivid picture of that scene. I know it’s nothing compared to the real thing.

Photo by Kari Greer – Over 18,000 acres were burned

But the devastation could have been worse. Hundreds of firefighters from all over the country risked their lives fighting this superfire and its deadly allies of blazing temperatures and rugged terrain. The valiant efforts of these men and women kept many more homes from being lost.

Photo by Kari Greer – Below Blodgett Peak with California’s Vandenberg Hotshots

Though the fire is no longer in the news, donations are still needed. Three hundred and forty-six families lost everything when their homes burned. If you’d like to help, there are a number of charitable organizations focused on the recovery from this horrendous disaster.

Colorado 2-1-1 offers an extensive list of disaster assistance centers which can help you decide where to donate.

Colorado Springs Together also has suggestions for donors.

Humans weren’t the only victims of this fire. The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region took in well over 400 animals that were displaced by the fire. Many have been returned to their owners, but there are still a number of under shelter care until they can be reunited with their families.

Local agencies are critical in times of disaster and frequently exhaust their resources assisting people in need. The Waldo Canyon Firefighters Fund benefits the local fire stations whose hard work and expense fighting the fire saved many homes and lives.

Photo by Erik Eide, Cascade Volunteer Fire Department – Working on a hotspot

Photo by Erik Eide, Cascade Volunteer Fire Department

Photo by Kari Greer – Thank you sign in Mountain Shadows subdivision

Photo by Kari Greer – Overwhelming community support at the Incident Command Post

And a final thanks from me to the photographers who graciously allowed me to share their photos: Jenny Bloom, Kari Greer, Dave Perl, and Erik Eide.

I leave you with this:

Photo by Kari Greer – A testament to the human spirit

Please donate.

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** As I mentioned in my last post, my own resources are limited. But I do write. Since Pikes Peak and the Colorado Springs area were such important parts of my novel, Watcher: Book I of The Chosen, I’m donating 50% of its net proceeds thru the end of October to help those suffering from this catastrophe. **

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Sunny’s Colorado home, the mountain she loved so much, is burning.

Photo taken by L.N. Batides June 26, 2012 from Briargate in the Colorado Springs area.

Photo taken by Dan Martinez June 26, 2012 near western part of Colorado Springs.

Worse yet, the homes of Colorado Springs area residents are also burning.

Over 15,000 acres of forest have burned. Hundreds of homes have been lost, and more than 32,000 people have been evacuated.

I cannot imagine the fear of losing everything to a roaring inferno, nor grasp the impact of watching your home, your hopes and dreams, burn to the ground.

Photo taken by J. Stewart on Night 4 of the Waldo Canyon fire.

However, I can feel perhaps a glimmer of the pain, both of those who are living this real-life nightmare, and as someone who spent time on Sunny’s special mountain during a particularly troubled part of  my life.

My heart goes out to all those who’ve lost their homes and lives in this tragedy – human, animal, and the forest itself.

~ ~ ~

This is the first post in a series I’m doing on the Waldo Canyon fire and its impact on Colorado Springs area residents.

I’d like to thank Springs locals Dan Martinez, Jake Stewart, and L.N. Batides for the kind use of their photos.

My next post will give you a glimpse of what some of the area looked like before the fire, as well as some of the devastation documented by local residents and photographers, so be sure to check back.

I’ll also provide links for those of you who would like to donate to the ongoing recovery efforts. There’s lots of ways to help. Not only do the victims who lost their homes need assistance, so do the animal shelters caring for the hundreds of displaced pets as well as the local fire stations who exhausted their resources fighting this ’superfire’.

My own resources are somewhat limited, and since I live about 1,200 miles away, there’s not much I can do to help with the cleanup.

However, I do write. Since Pikes Peak and the Colorado Springs area were such important parts of my novel, Watcher: Book I of The Chosen, I’ve decided to donate 50% of its net proceeds thru the end of October to help those suffering from this catastrophe.

I encourage any other artists out there to consider doing the same. Every little bit helps.

My last thought for the day:

Be grateful for what you have, because it can be gone with one wisp of smoke.

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Autocrit.

This online editing software will check your manuscript for overused and repeated words, overused phrases, cliches, pacing, and a few other common writing mistakes.

I ran several pages through the free wizard and was pleasantly surprised at the results.

Autocrit’s checklist of overused words showed I was guilty of a few and highlighted them in my text. The highlights made it easy for me to spot the offenders and allowed me to choose whether to change the sentence or not. It also enabled me to spot passive or weak sentences by highlighting words such as ‘was’ and ‘it’.

The sentence variation tab provided a histogram of sentence lengths, as well as word count. This is a nice tool.

Cliches and redundancies were also revealed. My text contained one cliche and no redundancies.

A number of other diagnostic tools and reports are offered in the packages available for purchase, including the ability to customize the overused words list.

I like the idea and ease of checking for these common errors myself before sending a manuscript to a human editor. Autocrit may also turn out to be a good teaching tool, and I suspect my writing will improve with its use.

Autocrit is membership-based. In addition to the free wizard (which has limits in both tool options and word count), the membership packages range in price from $47 to $117 per year, depending mainly upon word count.

There are other editing software packages out there, including Serenity, Style Writer, EditMinion, and Cliche Cleaner. I’ve read where some writers will run their work through several editing applications to focus on specific issues.

I liked Autocrit’s simplicity and am planning to purchase a membership. I recommend you check it out.

Wow. All I can say is…  it was fantastic!

Thursday, Day 1 – WHC officially started at 3:00pm. I attended panels on social networking and promoting your books on Amazon.

Highlight of the evening: participating in poetry readings with several well-known horror poets, including Linda D Addison, who later won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection for How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend.

Linda Addison with her Stoker for Best Poetry Collection

Parties: First party of the con was hosted by Cutting Block Press and KillerCon

Friday, Day 2 – Started the day off with a reading by my friend PS Gifford (go Paul!). Attended some great panels: ‘Understanding the Mind of a Serial Killer’ by Dr. Al Carlisle (creepy yet fascinating), ‘Q&A with Guest of Honor Sherrilyn Kenyon (what a sweet and funny lady!), and ‘Women in Horror’ with Sherrilyn, Ellen Datlow, Lisa Morton, P.N. Elrod, and Kim Richards.

Highlights of the day: dinner with my co-panelists Jacob Ruby (Bear Weiter) and J. Scott Savage, and the mass autograph signing with…everyone!

Hal Bodner & Dacre Stoker, great grandnephew of Bram Stoker

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Sherrilyn Kenyon with her assistant, Kim

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Hangin’ out with the big kids

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Parties: Friday was the big party night, with three hosted by Dark Moon Digest, Damnation Books, and Evil Jester Press.

Saturday, Day 3 – My day started with a reading by David Farland from his newly-released Nightingale. This story sounds so cool – can’t wait to tear into my signed copy!

Panels I attended this day: Stoker on Stoker with Dacre Stoker presenting his just released The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker (very cool stuff); ‘Vampires Through the Ages’ (like I’d miss this one?); ‘Real vs. Fictional Multiple Personalities’ (more creepy real stuff from Dr. Al Carlisle); and a ‘kaffeeklatch’ (think roundtable discussion) with P.N. Elrod (fascinating lady).

Highlights? My 5:00pm reading, where I read excerpts from Watcher. I love doing readings!

And oh, yeah… the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet! It was massively awesome! I sat with David Farland and his wife, Mary (she’s so sweet!) for the dinner and ceremonies.

Several friends (both old and new) won awards: Nancy Holder, for her YA novel, The Screaming Season; Linda D Addison for her poetry collection How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend; and Rocky Wood, for his nonfiction work, Stephen King: A Literary Companion.

Nancy Holder with her Stoker for Best Young Adult Novel

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The Bram Stoker Winners

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Congratulations to these and all of the other winners!

One last award to mention: A special, one-time only award for The Most Influential Vampire Novel of the Century (since Bram Stoker’s death) was given to Richard Matheson for his 1954 novel, I Am Legend.

The ‘Black Stoker’ Award for Best Vampire Novel of the Century

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** Personal note – Though I am no expert on vampire literature and its impact on society, I was a little disappointed that the book with the most influence on me and many others, Anne Rice’s Interview With a Vampire, was not chosen. I much prefer Rice’s chameleon-like seducers to Matheson’s zombified, mindless killing machines. To me, Rice’s vampires more accurately embody the spirit of the Dracula mythology, and the subtle horror of a monster hidden beneath a suave and polished exterior is far more terrifying than a slavering walking corpse.

Parties: The Stoker Awards party continued in the con suite after the banquet. It was so cool to see everyone running around with their haunted house statues!

Sunday, Day 4 – The Last Day!  Uggh, I hate last days.

Sunday got off to a slow start with many folks recovering from Saturday night’s parties. My day began with the panel The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in Cover Art with a cool slide show. Then I just wandered about the con until my panel at noon.

It was called ‘Scaring ‘em Young: Middle Grade Horror’, and my co-panelists were Jacob Ruby (Bear Weiter) and J. Scott Savage. Bear had assembled a great list of discussion items and led the panel. Jeff, who has the most experience writing MG, was a wealth of knowledge, and I just chimed in when needed. It was a great panel (my very first!) and I had a lot of fun. I own much thanks to Bear and Jeff for making it so.

The con sadly ended at 3:00pm, though a number of folks stayed afterwards for the ‘Dead Dog Party’.

Highlight of the WHC 2012?  Meeting so many awesome people with whom I felt instantly at home. I mean, I didn’t feel any embarrassment at all about writing vampire fiction, because chances were whomever I was speaking with had written it as well, or at least written about zombies, demons, or the stuff of nightmares.

And I kept meeting people, right up until I left, like Cynthia Vespia (at the Dead Dog Party) and Angel Leigh McCoy (in the shuttle to the airport!).

Overall, this was the best con I’ve been to since my writing career began. I truly feel like I belong when I’m with this group of writers whose works get relegated to fringes of literary society. Being on the fringe can be lonely, but not when in the company of other fringe-ers!