Wassup Blogland?

I took off a few hours early yesterday. I have gobs of vacation, and since I have the house to myself, I wanted to get some things done. Old What's Her Face* made her annual trek south to watch the Super Bowl with her brother. There really isn't much more attraction there than that, and I decided to watch Otto. (That's code for getting stuff accomplished.)

With the extra time, I stacked the deck for today. Last night, I finished my beta read and made some detailed notes for the author before sending them out the cyber-door. Then I assembled and scheduled next week's Lisa Burton Radio show. I felt so good about it I made myself a drink before bed.

This left me with some time to move my projects ahead. Otto let me sleep in a little bit, but we were still up before 7:00. I fed him, and myself, filled the humidifiers, and made the coffee. Like all days, I started with email and social media.

I moved on to The Yak guy and added several thousand words to his story. He's starting to have bigger thoughts, and placed himself in real danger for the sake of others. He only has to do it one more time, then take a group of helpless folks across a wasteland, have an epiphany, earn his reward, and it's done. It sounds like a lot when I see it written out, but travel time will have to be pared down and explained more than lived through.

I could be done in about three more writing days.

I surfed through all the sites again, picked up the mail,and found Karen O.'s awesome review of my second Experimental Notebook. Many of you are writers, and Karen is a prolific reviewer. Maybe you ought to introduce yourselves over there. She's associated with other reviewers too, and it's good to know a few. Hit the link above, and you might convince yourself to pick up my 99¢ masterpiece while you're there.

Then I picked up The Enhanced League. I wrote another micro piece about behind-the-scenes corporate evils. This project is about three tales away from being finished too.

After finishing the micro piece, I made a chart for the playoffs. I can't detail the whole event and keep reader interest. When I refer to it though, I want a cheat sheet so I can be accurate. Right now, I want to return to the television guys so they can detail the playoff structure for everyone. Then I'm going all the way to game seven of the World Series, which I'm calling the The World Championship. (This isn't Major League Baseball, and I don't want to step on their toes.) After that, I have one post-season tale that ties up some loose threads for my pseudo main character. Then it's done.

I might add another anthem piece, but it depends on how I feel after it's all assembled.

Many of you are writers, most of you are readers, here's a question for you. The Enhanced League is coming together with more micro-fiction than short stories. Would this be an issue to you as a reader? They all serve to tell a bigger tale as a sum than they do standing alone. This makes the book different than my Experimental Notebooks. Would you feel ripped off spending 99¢ on a book of mostly micro-fiction?

It's been pretty quiet in Cyberspace this week. I hope it all means you're tearing it up on your own projects, or doing something fun while I'm working. I'm not counting much on tomorrow, but may spend an hour with The Enhanced League. Yak Guy requires deeper thought, and after calling my parents I don't know how much time I want to dedicate before turning on all the pre-game stuff.

I want to end with Go Steelers, but that ship has sailed.

*Entertaining Stories, protecting my wife's identy since 2013.

Another wonderful review

Carmen Stefanescu posted a wonderful review for my second Experimental Notebook today. Check out what she has to say:

My Review

The Experimental Notebook has some hair raising stories! The creep factor is way up there as well. Fascinating and sometimes chilling, the author created enough variety here to hook people of every interest as there are paranormal stories, horror/macabre and even sci-fi. 

The storytelling is generally well paced and flows nicely. My attention was held by the author’s highly imaginative, well-written and captivating short stories…and so was my imagination.

Read more here…

One tired bulldog

And the feeling is mutual. We had a house full of company this weekend. My parents were here, my daughter came over from Sun Valley to visit Grandma and Grandpa. She also had a local friend spend the night, so there were a bunch of us. Otto’s weekend was filled with new people to pet him, extra socks to steal, snacks to beg for, and heavy duty play time.

I’m pooped too, although I never stole any socks or performed any tricks, I had the same amount of company. I wound up neglecting this blog, and it’s time to remedy that.

The blog tour is over for my second Experimental Notebook. Early reports are that people are enjoying my experiments. We discussed the difference between short form and novels. We revealed some of the things that inspired the stories in the book. Lisa toured around, and handed out her posters, and it was a lot of fun. A few of you made every stop, and I’m overwhelmed with that kind of response. Thank you to everyone who offered to host me, and I hope I delivered what you requested.

I sold a few copies, and flirted with one of Amazon’s top 100 lists three different times. You know how it works, you creep in and fall out. It happened three times though. I also found a bunch of new blog followers, and that’s wonderful too.

Somewhere along the way, someone called me “The hardest working person in fiction.” I wish that were true, but it made me feel really good. Maybe someday, when I don’t have to hold down a full-time job.

During all of this, my workplace imploded. I really wasn’t effected, but big changes rippled throughout the building. I am playing a pivotal role in trying to heal everything, and am making some progress.

Needless to say, there was no new fiction getting written around here. I have plans to hit the promotional stuff again in October. That gives me a few precious days to think about my own writing. It’s almost a disservice to tear back into my novel, but I have a few short fiction pieces that I could address.

Somewhere in there, I’m going to go camping again. Some way, some how, I need some of that forest time to recharge.

So Otto isn’t the only one who’s tired out around here. I still have some posts to check back on. I like to participate in the comments, and have met some wonderful people that way.

Visit with me on Sandra Cox’s blog

With us today is C.S. Boyack to talk about his approach to speculative fiction. Welcome, C.S.

Thanks for the invitation today, Sandra. It's always nice to find new places to promote my work. I'm here with something a little bit different today; it's a book of short fiction. Read more here…

 

Let’s check the reviews

Regular readers know that I’ve had my new book out on a blog tour lately. I try to reblog the posts as a way of supporting my hosts. I hope they pick up some new followers along the way.

Part of setting up this tour was the decision not to request specific dates. These hosts are all friends, and in many cases they have specific things that occur on their blogs. These might be Wednesday Wander, Thursday Doors, or any number of fun things. I don’t want to disrupt them, so I asked for a selection of dates at their pleasure. This means that some days along the tour I may have a blank, and others may double up.

I’ve waited until midday, and haven’t spotted a tour post to share, so I’m going to make one up. The tour is for The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II. Since the reviews are starting to come in, I thought it would be fun to snip some lines from them and share them here. Maybe one of the reviewers will whet your appetite for some shorter fiction.

“This is a spectacular collection of short and micro fiction. I really enjoyed the author’s first “Experimental Notebook” but this one is superb. The blend of stories from sci-fi, to paranormal and even horror, is an entrancing mixture much like strolling through a sideshow carnival and goggling at all the curiosities. Some of these stories will make you think, a few might make you squirm, but all will have you applauding at how deftly they’re delivered…I have my favorites. From the pulp-type Last Flight of the Rocketmen to the cleverly executed Documentary and oddness of Magpies (just to name a few), there is something here for everyone. Best of all, you can easily enjoy them in small doses or all at once. My absolute favorite is Holo-Barkers, a brilliant little piece that I still find myself grinning about.”

“It is hard to choose favorites for I enjoyed each story for a different reason. The following are just a few that lingered in memory after reading, although each story was well done. ‘Magpie’ was narrated simply, yet it conveyed a touch of the macabre as the predatorial birds gather waiting for a woman to die… ‘Night Bump Radio’ DJ Pete Rogers runs a late night radio show from a trailer parked on land that has a mystical history. Callers talk about things live to air, the things that go ‘bump’ in the night. As, Pete chats to his callers, what appears to be interference is heard on the line. That interference continues, becoming clearer and more audible with each call he takes. I don’t want to spoil this for anyone, so suffice it to say that I’ll be listening more acutely tonight when I close my eyes. This story was chilling… These speculative pieces hold something for everyone, and have left me eager to explore more of this talented authors work.”

” In THE EXPERIMENTAL NOTEBOOK OF C. S. BOYACK II, we are treated to a wide variety of Boyack’s talents, which include the sci-fi, horror, and paranormal genres. It’s clear these stories came from an active and creative mind, and it’s difficult to pick a favorite; each story is more entertaining than the next. But if I have to give a shout-out to one, it’s “Practical Geology.” I’m pretty sure that one’s going to stay with me for a while. If you enjoy any of these genres, you’re going to want to give this collection a try.”

“Boyack has written another great collection of short stories. Each one drew me in and had me waiting for twists that did not disappoint. A lot of them have a science fiction and horror vibe, which keeps a great theme going throughout the collection. Even with the similar genres, every story has a unique voice and atmosphere. I would say my favorite is ‘Inheritance’ because of the multiple voices. It’s longer than many of the others, but it keeps you locked in and wondering what is going on. There is definitely an eerie mystery to that I remember long after I finished reading it.”

“I read the author’s first Experimental Notebook, and really enjoyed it. But I liked this one ever better. C.S. Boyack’s ability really shined through. I’m amazed by his level of creativity. For an author to be able to write in so many genres, from speculative fiction to paranormal to crime, he has talent galore. The EXPERIMENTAL NOTEBOOK II starts off with a bang with FEVER. Loved that story!!! I also loved THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE ROCKETMEN, which really surprised me, actually. I’m not usually a fan of spaceship anything, but the voice of the story was so well done I couldn’t stop reading it.”

“If you’re looking for a collection of short and micro fiction, don’t look past this one. C.S. Boyack excels at maintaining pace, giving us characters we can root for, and stories with loads of creativity. Highly recommend.”

“The second Experimental Notebook by C. S. Boyack is another adventure into some entertaining and downright genius short stories. The beauty of most of the stories is they grab you right in the beginning and then lead you down a path you never expected. It is a path that you are glad you traveled but where it comes out is an unusual surprise. Several of the stories were my favorites (it is hard to pick a favorite). The inheritance brought to mind the classic Victorian story with a sorry ending. Last Flight of Rocket Man was ingenious in its characterizations and story detail. Night Bump Radio was my most favorite but have to confess I was a radio jock in my youth. The scenes were well drawn, and the accuracy of the studio functions was impressive.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a variety of stories with a consistent quality of writing and spirit of surprise.”

“Boyack has an imagination like no other. His short stories are always well written and uniquely different, the attention to detail second to none. Such a wide variety of interesting topics, full of memorable characters. Every time you think you have a favorite story, you find another one!
You won’t be able to put this book down until you have read them all, and still want more.”

“I read the first Experimental Notebook of C S Boyack and when I saw this second volume, I had to read it. The author didn’t disappoint. The collection contains short stories of varying length and genre, ranging from tales that chill to experimental fiction to sci fi and more. It wouldn’t feel right to pick a favourite, as they’re all good for different reasons, and many leave you thinking about them long after you’ve read them.”

There you have it; a sample of the kind of reviews the Second Notebook is getting. It’s priced at 99 cents, and is performing well. If you think these kind of stories might appeal to you, I’d appreciate you checking them out. Halloween is coming soon, and some of them make great spooky reading.

Keeping up with my blog responsibilities

The blog tour is off and running for the Second Experimental Notebook. You probably noticed the reblogs around here. I think it's important to support those who are supporting me. I will say that every stop on this tour is custom written, and not a simple post that is moving from site to site. I did that to keep it interesting, and also to show my hosts a degree of respect.

I've been circling back and participating in the comments on those posts, and will be doing that for the next couple of weeks.

I've noted here before how I think a blog is more than just a place to reblog whatever I find online. I owe it to my followers to produce some original content at the same time. While all of this has been going on, I have been keeping busy behind the scenes.

Like most weekends, I started with a task list. I won't bore you by typing it out again, but here is a selection of what I've worked on this weekend. I made my first post over at Story Empire. This is the collective effort I posted about a few days ago. The post is about my use of living documents, if you want to check it out.

I assembled and scheduled three posts for the next few days. There are so many authors in my circle with new books coming out it's pretty exciting. Some of them will be visiting here to tell us about their projects. I also worked on various passes of three different Lisa Burton Radio posts.

I got a couple of requests for review copies of the new book and got those sent out. Helen Jones, who is hosting me today, was the big winner of the blog party contest from last week. I figured out how to send her the Amazon Gift Card and got it sent out too.

Sean Harrington is sharing the other Lisa Burton poster on his DeviantArt site today. I think the world of this artist, and encourage you to visit him and check out his gallery. He's interested in doing more cover work, and is affordable and versatile.

My wife and I managed a simple date night at a new place we haven't tried before. Very nice experience at Barrel 55 on Eagle Road. They also had a pumpkin beer on tap, so happy happy. Part of date night involved a trip to the Boise Co-Op where I grabbed a few different pumpkin beers to try.

I made a tour through various social media, and shared things as appropriate. When I finished I wound up with a few hours to myself.

I opened up the short story I've been working on, and added a thousand words on Sunday. Today I finished it with about 1500 more words. This one is called Welcome to the Freak-Show, and came in at about 8600 words. This is on the long side of what I consider a short story, and I think there is room to make it bigger. This is part of my Enhanced League project about a baseball league that doesn't care about performance enhancing drugs. (Still debating the hyphen in the title.)

I also wrote another piece for this collection. It came in at 530 words. To tell you the truth, I don't know what it is. It's kind of a monologue where the speaker is talking to you. It isn't exactly second person point of view, but it's close. It's almost an anthem kind of piece, and I shudder to think it might be like spoken word poetry. I avoid poetry like the plague. I have no idea whether it will stay or go, or whether it has any merit at all. I almost need to have someone who doesn't know baseball check it out to see if it motivates or not. I will say that I heard Tommy Lasorda's voice repeating the words as I typed it.

I kind of want to write another one, but think I should do some editing on this one first. Not too bad, approximately 3000 words of new fiction, several blog posts, and a bunch of other work finished.

Aside from that, there was Otto play, and I picked some of my Asian Pears. They were green and bitter about ten days ago. They are so juicy and sweet today. In fact, I think I should go have another one right now.

I'll be supporting my hosts for the rest of this tour, and there will be a Lisa Burton Radio post this week. I also gathered enough info for another Idea Mill post. I may hold back on that until I get to the middle of the month.

There are five reviews on the New Experimental Notebook, and I hope to get some more by the end of this week. I probably don't have to tell you how important reviews are to authors. If you liked the Second Experimental Notebook, or any other author's book, a simple review means the world. Even if it only includes “I liked it” in the comments. This is because Amazon's machine doesn't read them, it only counts them up. When we get enough reviews, Amazon will push it out to more people.

It was a great weekend. It wasn't as busy and manic as the last one when I was trying to get the book out. I got to visit with more bloggers and even found a few hours to write. Back to the paycheck job tomorrow.

The blog tour begins

Guest Promo (CLXXV) Craig Boyack and The Experimental Notebook

I have a wonderful guest visiting today. Please, welcome Craig Boyack with his latest release The Experimental Notebook. What could he write down in it, huh?

He is on a tour with a collection of short stories, and also shares with us from his writing experience. So without further talk here is our guest.

Thanks for inviting me today, Carmen. I'm here to talk about my newest book, The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II. Continue Reading here…

Rave Reviews Book club 2016 Block Party #RRBC

Welcome to the party, but I hope this isn’t your first stop. There have been prizes and fun posts all month long. There is a prize today too, and anyone can win. It isn’t limited to club members. I’m giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card. This is an E-card so it will be delivered via email. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. I thrive on comments anyway, so leave as many as you like.

There are several Grand Prizes to award after the tour ends, so leave those comments and get in the running for those too.

I volunteered to close this party out, but there is a method to my madness. I know some of you are packing bright shiny new gift cards of your own. I’m going to try talking you out of 99¢. There could be alcohol involved. You see, today is a very special day.

When you do a pre-release sale, you get to have two announcement days. The first one is when the pre-release starts. Today is the second one. This is the day the book delivers. Those first few sales really help as far as the Amazon lists go, so don’t be shy.

My second Experimental Notebook is a collection of short stories and micro-fiction. They are speculative in nature, with a little science fiction, a little paranormal, and one that might pass for fantasy.

This time, there are two stories with no speculative element. So I made sure to have extra stories. Those who only want speculative stuff are getting more than what I included in the first Notebook.

I was in a pulp mood when I wrote these, so some of them reflect that style of fiction.

Here is the link for The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II.

My hope is the Notebooks will appeal to the lovers of short form fiction, but also serve as a gateway to my longer works. If you’ll take a glance to the right, my two most recent titles have their own linked images, and there is a slideshow of all the titles.

We might as well talk about what you can find here. The right hand column includes the most popular recent posts, the categories I post under to help filter my posts, and a chance to follow my Facebook page. It’s kind of new and could use some help. Those of you who write speculative fiction might enjoy the Idea Mill category.

If you take a look at the top, there are several pages on this site. You can find out more about me, get a free Lisa Burton paper doll, (My attempt at swag since I produce ebooks), and participate in Lisa Burton Radio.

Lisa is my personal assistant, and the spokesmodel for Entertaining Stories. She’s also a robot.

She’s heading out on a world tour after this party to help promote the newest Experimental Notebook. Today she’s generously volunteered to tend bar, but refuses to open the bar until I tell you about her radio show.

Lisa is my fictional character. She has a place on this blog where she interviews your fictional characters. It’s been pretty popular and several of the RRBC members have taken part. If you want to participate, the page at the top includes an email address to make contact.

Her show has its own blog category and you can check a few of them out in the sidebar.

Now, Lisa’s downloaded the Savoy Cocktail Manual into her internal drive, and she’s been watching video of flare bartenders. She’s excited to show off her new cocktail skills. Don’t be shy, and we have clean towels in case of an accident.

Have fun, ask questions, leave a comment to get in the drawing, get tuned up and buy my new book, and let’s party.

 

***

Update:

It’s noon here in Idaho, and we just cracked two of the Amazon lists. I’m so excited you guys. Thank you so much.

An Executive Decision

I pushed my iPad away and rubbed my eyes. This task list was long and difficult, but it's nearly complete. I crossed the room and opened the windows to let the Raven of Doubt outside for some sunlight and air. Lisa Burton* was just finishing up waxing the formerly haunted biplane.

She came inside and put her gear away. “I'm ready to go, whenever you give the word.”

“That's great, but I need you at the big party on Wednesday. We can't start the tour until September.”

“I have Lisa Burton Radio on Thursday. I'll leave after that.”

“Yeah, um, sounds good.”

She placed a hand on her hip. “What's wrong?”

“It's the posters, to be honest with you.”

“Don't you like them?”

“I love them, but I'm struggling with letting my blog hosts reveal them, or doing it here first.”

“It might be fun for the hosts, I suppose.”

“Yeah, but Sean Harrington and I drive a lot of traffic to each other. It's hard for me to drive him traffic when the artwork appears on someone else's blog. He's open for commissions and does a great job. It's the least I can do to help him out.” I clicked on my iPad. “I mean, look at that great cover. It's a completely different style than your posters. That's versatility.”

“I agree. It's a beautiful cover.”

“The pre-sale is almost over. I need six more sales to equal the first Notebook. I'd like to feel like I'm moving ahead with each project.”

“I'm sure the big party and the blog tour will move some copies.”

“It will, but it won't be during the pre-sale.”

“How about this then? Reveal the posters, talk about the stories they represent, and maybe you can move some more copies before the book delivers.”

“Makes sense, I suppose. I mean, nobody's asked for any kind of exclusivity or anything. I just thought it might be fun for my hosts.”

She sat on the couch and crossed her legs. “When you go on a blog tour, the hope is to reach new readers, right?”

“Of course.”

“There is always some overlap among friends, but you get the book in front of new folks too, right?”

“What's your point?”

“Well this is a blog too. You have readers here they don't have… So why not share them with your readers too?”

“It sounds like good advice.”

“Alright, let me explain it how you'll really understand it. Who paid for the posters?”

“That makes a lot of sense. There was the expense of sending you to see Sean, not to mention your wages, printing, shipping and handling, wardrobe expenses,–“

“Stop. So what are you going to do?”

“I think we'll share the posters and talk about them.”

<Squee> Lisa ran from the room to retrieve her leather map tube. She ran back in and took off the cap. Look at this one, it's my favorite.

“That's just because you're obsessed with the rocket-pack.”

“In part, but I like the whole Barbarella feel to it. I think it captures the pulp science fiction vibe you used in the story. Plus, there's my swag deal to consider. I got a new mirror, a Kindle, a new brush, and a blow drier. According to my contract, I get to keep the rocket-pack too.”

“Oh yeah, that's part of the deal isn't it?”

“That's right. I can make quick trips to the spa now, followed up with some Paris shopping, and still be home in time to feed Bunny.”

“Are you going to want the yak when we finish up The Yak Guy Project?”

“Don't be silly. He's a sentient being, you can't own him.”

“Oh yeah, how could I forget. What else do you have?”

“Check this out.” She spread the other poster across the desk.

“Wow, that turned out really cool.”

“I know, right? I think it captures some of the pulp horror vibe. Plus it makes a non-specific political comment too.”

“Yeah, I appreciate that, especially this year.” I smoothed the corners out to make sure it stayed flat. “So are we going to be housing that thing down at the beaver pond?”

“No, but I can use the bolero jacket, shoes, and bracelets again. I might wear the dress somewhere too.”

“So those are the stories you settled on. Fifteen stories boiled down to two. You could have milked that swag deal on Holobarkers. It would be a street scene with lots of cars.”

“I didn't want to get greedy. Besides, I took the old Airstream with the radio equipment you used in Night Bump Radio.”

“Well, the biplane is all ready. The tour spots are locked. You have your posters, and we revealed them here first. I have two critiques to mark up, and I've completed my task list for this weekend.”

“I picked up a growler of pumpkin beer too. When you finish those, just whistle and I'll bet the enchanted beer horns are excited.”

“You're a good personal assistant.”

*Lisa Burton is my personal assistant, and the spokesmodel for Entertaining Stories. She's also a robot.

The newest Notebook is available on pre-order right now. Don't forget to come back Wednesday for the big party and a chance to win an Amazon Gift Card. Then follow Lisa and I as we take the Second Notebook on our blog tour.

 

Time for some street-team help

First a little locator to help you all find your way:

My newest book, “The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II” is available for presale right now. This is another collection of short stories and micro-fiction with an unusual bent to them.

It will deliver on August 31st, and it’s probably best to wait for then before taking on any kind of blog tour. That way I can take advantage of those spur-of-the-moment sales, because the book delivers immediately. This isn’t a cruel thought process in my mind, because the book is only 99¢. Less than a pack of gum.

Because of the price, I don’t want to hire an expensive blog tour, or spend a ton of money on it. I think my royalty per sale is something like 35¢. The goal here is to share some stories, have some fun, and maybe build curiosity in my larger body of work.

What I’m looking for is people who would like to host me, or my assistant Lisa, on their blogs. I’m willing to custom write the pieces depending on what you think your regulars would appreciate.

The normal topics are inspiration, characters, the difference between short stories and novels, that kind of thing. Excerpts are hard to deliver, because these are all short stories and micro-fiction.

For Lisa’s appearances, I commissioned two new pieces of art. One relates to pulp science fiction, and the other to pulp horror. She can deliver a poster for your blog and talk about her role in helping me write. She can get into other topics if you prefer.

So my plea today is: Who wants to host either Lisa Burton the robot girl, or me as part of a cheap blog tour? If you do, what kind of topic would you prefer? I have a few weeks to write them up and get them delivered.

I have my keyboard all ready to go. Lisa has the biplane all fueled up and a roll of posters waiting. I even changed my banner to reflect that. Most of my regulars have my email address, and new folks are welcome to volunteer in the comments.

For the rest of you, every little bit helps. The simple act of retweeting my pinned tweet about the launch, or adding it on Goodreads is very helpful.