In the ink well

Dog Ear

November 13, 2014

Showdown (DOG EAR)

ou’ll remember last week’s piece, where I talked about the difficulty of getting a bookstore to move on a decision for stocking a few copies of Early Retyrement. And that I said I was going to go in and get some sort of resolution here. Well… Okay, so Sunday I went to the theater at noon and saw Fury, a good movie with a scene I’m going to comment on next week (and if you don’t like spoilers, you’d better go see it). Enjoyed myself. But I knew that I was going to drop in on that store on the […]
November 9, 2014

Erotica 101: Timing (DOG EAR)

obody likes their time wasted. People who dick with their phones at a traffic light. Or who wait in line at a fast food counter and only then look at the menu. Even one minute commercial spots are a mind-numbing waste of time. So why do you think your readers feel any different? If you are writing a novel, you have time to bleed in suspense. Characters can be developed. Clues (if appropriate) can be distributed. You can toy with foreshadowing and cast your mood with clever wording. Heck, if you are writing in 1870, you can take hundreds of […]
November 6, 2014

Backwards (DOG EAR)

f you need confirmation that you are not the only frustrated writer out there, you’ve come to the right place. I haven’t sent out a submission in months. Wife sickness and other obligations have gotten in the way. So I’m already feeling bad about that. But before all this (about four or more months back) I took a preview copy of Early Retyrement to a little local bookseller around the corner. Figured, hey, you want local writers? Nobody is more local than me? So I gave it to the owner and weeks passed. And then, two months ago, I screwed […]
October 30, 2014

Passion (DOG EAR)

o, I’m not making a reference to my series on erotica – that’s done for now. I’m just writing about, well, writing. And the passion of doing it. It used to be that I wrote every workday at lunch. It worked well for me, it cleared my head, it made me see angels (and devils). Going back to the cube was so much easier after working the magic of writing, of seeing things first that later readers would marvel and delight over (even if it was only erotica) was a head-kick. There is an angle on writing that is pure […]
October 23, 2014

Ad copy (DOG EAR)

‘ll admit to being a fan of Game of Thrones (please, the book, not the TV show). Been reading my way through it and enjoying its scope and depth (if you want to see what I’ve thought of each book, check out my booklist HERE for reviews). But this is something I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen ads for goods based on movies (James Bond, etc). Usually it’s open. In fact, in the 50’s, it would be much more obvious (with “See the thrilling new movie from MGM, in Technicolor” on the bottom of the ad). But advertisement is more […]
October 16, 2014

Pure Gold (DOG EAR)

felt jilted by one of my purest pleasures, reading. As you read in last week’s DOG EAR, I had just suffered a ham-strung horror of self-published nonsense, a book by a person who didn’t understand classic noir or basic English. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to read anything soon afterwards. Like a jilted lover, I wasn’t ready to start dating again., Then I stuck my nose in an old yellowed western and my blood flowed again. I’ll review City of Widows soon enough. It’s a great book. Why? Because it has characters who were dusty and trashy and archetypical […]
October 9, 2014

Pure crap (DOG EAR)

knew this was going to happen. And sure enough, it did. Was at a local bookstore and picked up a little self-published tome (it’s sooooo easy to self-publish now). And what have I said about writers who can get published nice and cheap? It’s why I don’t like people without training (or sense) getting hold of firearms. Some writers simply are not qualified to be published. First off, he didn’t seem to check his pagination and word-flow. Right-justification can really cause some issues, ones that might need manual correction. So occasionally you’ll see three words on a line, floating on […]
October 2, 2014

Erotica 101: Legality (DOG EAR)

o I’m happy as a clam. My manuscript has an agent, who hooked me up with a publisher. I’ve actually seen a couple of examples of cover art. I’ve talked to the editor and worked some issues. And so I’m at work and the phone rings. It’s the editor. Do I have time to talk to some folks in legal? And did I get that emailed PDF file of the current manuscript? Good. Good. Fifteen minutes later, I’m in a conference room with a spare laptop, ringing New York back, set on my end. And there’s is my editor. And […]
September 25, 2014

Erotica 101: Fire and Bronze (DOG EAR)

o here was the dilemma – I had a 13 year old historic figure who marries her uncle. He, the high priest of Tyre, has agreed to this as a protection for her against her brother the king. The brother wouldnt dare hurt them, given the uncle’s position, right? Sucker. Anyway, as I was writing the story, I saw (like a motorist seeing an obstruction on a dark road, gradually manifesting in the headlights) that there was a problem ahead. Really, what sort of man is going to take a risk like that and not seek some advantage (i.e. comfort)? […]
September 18, 2014

Erotica 101: Secrecy (DOG EAR)

nonymity or no anonymity, that is the question. Is it better to be recognized by one’s works and hailed as the writer one knows one is? Or better to not suffer the slings and stalks of those seeking one out… Me, I’m of the second opinion. Why? I don’t see an advantage to letting the information go out, not just yet. If I find myself in a Fifty Shades of Grey success moment, then I have the option. But for now? Why damage my rep, especially since my novel Indigo could easily be re-rigged for the YA market? It doesn’t […]