Another America’s Got Talent Post

Yeah, yeah…I know. Where’s the writing news, right? No worries, more news is a’comin’. BUT, for now in between writing, work, and everything else, I get to watch a little TV now and then. And let me tell you, this woman is…just amazing. My goodnees, what a voice! *sigh* I could listen to her all day.

Yeah, I Know…More Clips…

I can’t help it. It’s been months and months, and yet I still get goosebumps listening to Susan Boyle’s rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. Shivers. Seriously! I just watched it again before I posted this link, and yep…there they are…goosebumps. I hope Miss Boyle has a long and rewarding career, because I just love her voice. I only wish I could have found a better clip (the good ones all have embedding disbled…:()

Ditto Neal E. Boyd. I simply can’t watch this clip without my skin tingling. Man, what a voice!

I dunno why, but lately I’ve enjoyed opera a lot more than I used to. I tell Heather we have to go see one live. She’s not into Opera, so the tradeoff is I have to go to the ballet. But hey, you never know; I might like it.

And now you guys know why I never get enough writing done.:P

Wow! Amazing!

My wife and I are huge fans of the show America’s Got Talent. I especially like it because, unlike American Idol, every act gets a shot; not just the singers. That said, singers seem to win it most of the time. Granted, Terry Fator is a ventriloquist (sp?), but his dolls sing, so there you go.

This act blew my mind the first time I saw them. Paradizo Dance, the husband and wife team of David and Zoe. They’re still newlyweds according to the show (11 months) and they cling to each other when they aren’t performing. It’s cute.

Now watch these two, they are amazing. The guy looks big and out of shape, but he is surprisingly graceful. And strong. His lovely wife, tiny thing that she is, is strong, too. How she lifts this guy without injuring herself is beyond me. And the life from the side? Amazing! Anyway, just watch:

Isn’t that awesome? I get chills…

Anyhoo, just thought I’d share that with any non-watchers out there. Now back to writing my next book.

And The Winner Is….

Sorry I’m late, folks. I was working under an edit deadline and haven’t had a lot of time laterly. But edits are done and I thought I’d announce the winner of the Name My Website contest.

Ready? OK, here it is:

Judith! You win.

Judith suggested I name the website McAfee Land. I liked the continuity with my blog, and so there you have it. I have registered the domain with Go daddy, so now I just need to figure out everything else. Heh heh. Easy, right? Here’s a hint: Invest in Tylenol, ’cause I’m gonna be usin’ a bunch of it!

Judith, please email me at monkeyfeet73@yahoo.com and send me your address so I can get your prizes out to you ASAP.

And thanks everyone who entered. All the ideas were great!

Reminder: Today Is The Last Day for the Name My Website Contest.

Just what the title says. Want details? Go here.

Good Luck to everyone who enters. I have a couple of favorites already, but I ain’t tellin’. Not ’till Monday.

Stay Tuned!

More Weird News From The Web

Although I have to admit, I find the idea of a counter rotating planet fascinating. I’m a nerd. I know.

WOW! 230 MPG!

The $40,000 price tag is a little off-putting, though: Chevy Volt

13 Questions For Seth Harwood

Hi folks. It’s time for another interview! Today’s guest is Seth Harwood, whose debut action novel JACK WAKES UP is now available pretty much everywhere from Three Rivers Press. Having read the book myself, I can honestly say it’s an action packed thrill ride from start to finish. It’s really just an amazing book, and I’m thrilled to have Seth as a guest of McAfee Land.

Click on the image below to buy Jack Wakes Up.

Hi Seth, thanks for agreeing to do this. Before we begin I wanted to say I bought JACK WAKES UP at Barnes and Noble and read it in a handful of days. Loved it! Very, very hard to put down. Jack Palms is friggin’ awesome! All right, all right, I know that’s all fanboy stuff. But still, great book!

OK, down to business.

1) How long have you been writing? Is JACK WAKES UP your first book?
I’ve been writing hardcore for about 14 years now, since the fall of 1995. That’s when I graduated from college and started on my first novel. No, Jack Wakes Up was about the 5th novel that I wrote. The others before that are mostly shelved.

2) Give us a little info about what goes on in the book, for those who haven’t read it.
JACK WAKES UP is basically an action movie between two covers. It’s about what happens when Jack Palms, a one-hit-wonder action movie star tries to broker a drug deal in San Francisco. As he meets a crazy cast of compelling, dangerous characters, he gets pulled further and further into a wild, dangerous ride. The biggest problem though, is that he’s enjoying himself!

3) Is there another Jack Palms book in the works?
Yes. I’ve actually written two more Jack Palms books: This Is Life and Czechmate. They’re out as free audio podcasts on my website, sethharwood.com, Podiobooks, and iTunes. I actually just completed a prequel called “Young Junius” which I’ve podcasted as well.

4) Initially, it was released through Breakneck Books, an imprint of Variance Publishing. How did it find its way to Three Rivers Press?
The Palms Daddies and Palms Mommas, that’s what I call my fans, stormed Amazon on March 16th, 2008–Palms Sunday– and bought the book up to #1 in Crime and mystery. From there, I had an agent the next morning and when he submitted the book to editors, Three Rivers Press loved the book right away. It wasn’t long until they bought it.

5) You started out by podcasting JACK WAKES UP, right? Tell us a little about that; how did you get started podcasting?
Basically I wanted to get my crime novel online to generate a fan base and it seemed like audio was a great solution for how to do that. I didn’t think I would get as much traction with text-only, so when I found out about Scott Sigler and the other podcast authors I knew doing a podcast was for me. I created my own website, learned from Scott about how to make my MP3s, and started uploading my episodes to the Web. With a little help from the other podcasters playing my promos, my audience started to grow right in the first book. then we were both hooked and I knew I had to do a second book, which led to a third, and then a fourth.

6) You and Scott Sigler are podcasters extraordinaire, and I hear you have set up courses to help people learn how to do it, right? Can you tell us a little about that?
Sure, Scott and I run a class called author boot camp (http://authorbootcamp.com) where we teach other writers to use the tools that we’ve found successful in building an online author audience. We talk about social networking, new media and particularly how to create a serialized free audio book podcast. Basically we’re dying to show other authors the strategy that has made our writing careers. We taught the class twice in San Francisco, will be presenting it at a writers digest conference in New York in September and will be teaching it at Stanford in November. Our goal is to create a full online version of the class this winter.

7) How does it feel to walk into a book store and see your book on the shelf? Do you ever sign them when you find them?
That feels awesome! There’s kind of nothing like it, that walking in and seeing it on the shelf, particularly in a store when I didn’t know it was going to be there. The other day I was in a store with my wife and bang there it was faced out on the new mystery shelf. Now I have a hard time not going into stores to look for it. I always sign them! Actually, signing the books has been my favorite part of having it out in print. It’s the truth: when someone buys a book and I can make it out directly to them, that’s the best feeling.

8 ) Do you have any favorite authors? I know that’s a hard question because there are so many great ones out there, but who really inspires you?
Over my years as a writer, it’s these inspirations that have kept me going many times. People like Raymond Carver, Denis Johnson, Junot Diaz, Richard Ford, Ernest Hemmingway, Flannery O’Connor, and a lot of others brought me up along the way. Now I’m influenced by crime writers like Jim Thompson, Michael Connelly, Richard Price, Megan Abbott and so many others. Have a look at my CrimeWAV site for a lot of the contemporary authors whose work I love.

9) What has been your favorite aspect of being a published writer to date? Is there a downside?
Wow! THat’s a tough one. For the most part, this has been a goal I’ve worked toward for a very long time, so reaching it feels nothing but good. But I’d say that really getting to see what the world of mainstream publishing is like right now has been just a little bit rough. We’ve all heard that the newspaper and book publishing businesses are in a bit of a rough patch right now, most industries are at this point, but seeing it up close and getting to find some of the hard realities–things I’d like to change and find difficult to effect–these have taken my emotions on a ride. On the other hand, the upside of this has been that I’ve learned a great deal and can benefit others with the advice I’ve gathered. I also see a lot of options and opportunities for all of us to do some new things and do things differently that I think will really make a difference. So I’m excited about that.

10) What is a typical day for Seth Harwood?
When I’m working on a new novel, I get up and write right away for a few hours. That’s the best. Getting into that zone, that mode, that’s the best of the work for me. I’ll write for a few hours, then get to some emails and usually deal with my teaching in the afternoon or at night. I usually teach night classes at City College SF or online for Stanford now. Those drafting times are the best sections of this life. Lately, I’ve been getting up and just focusing on the web outreach for my book online for big chunks of the day. That’s a bit less fun, but largely still fulfilling. Still, I’m ready to get back to the writing work.

11) Do you have any hobbies? How does Seth Harwood relax after a long day?
Man, I get in the Hot Tub! And I podcast from there now, too. Check out my Hot Tub Cast™ on my site.
Nah, actually I hang out with my wife and my dog. I love reading, watching movies, playing basketball, cooking, long walks on the beach. You know…

12) So what’s next for Seth Harwood? What can we expect to see from you in the coming years?
You can expect me to blast out some serious heavy awesomeness this year on Palms Sunday 2010, which is March 28th. In fact, I’m making it a goal to knock out something big every Palms Sunday from now on, preferably in the form of a new print novel. On the podcast end, I’m doing my Celebrity Hot Tub Cast™ pretty much weekly now and I’m gearing up for a new novel podcast — Hub Heartbreak– and a new season of CrimeWAV for the fall.

13) OK, last question: give us one line from your book. Don’t put it in context, just give us the line.

Jack Palms! Let us share with you some blow!

Ha! The Czechs! Man, I love those guys!

And there you have it, folks. Seth Harwood. Seriously, if you like action-packed crime novels, then this is a must read. Go out and get it right now. Or, if you prefer, here’s the link to the Jack Wakes Up Amazon page. There, click it. Buy it. Read it. You’ll love it.

Now it’s time for me to mention my contest again. There’s still plenty of time to enter. I am giving away some cool stuff that’s gonna be worth major dough after I’m dead, so you’ll want to leave it to your kids to help with your grandkids’ educations.

OK, that might be a bit much, but it’s still some cool stuff. All ya gotta do is Name My Website. Details are here.

And as long as I’m plugging my contest, I might as well mention the CREATURE FEATURE anthology from Ghostwriter Publications. Yeah, I’ve got a story in there, so check it out.

You can read more about it in yesterday’s post, but you know I’ll be posting about it again soon, too. Heh heh.

And make sure you come back for more interviews, giveaways, news, and more. There’s lots more coming up, so stay tuned!

WOOHOO! CREATURE FEATURE is now out and ready to bite you!

YES! I’m excited. I’ve never had anything for sale on Amazon before. Click the image below to be taken to the Amazon UK page where you can get your very own copy of CREATURE FEATURE, which includes short horror stories by Guy N. Smith, William Meikle, Simon Kurt Unsworth, and more, including Yours Truly!

You can also get it by going to the Ghostwriter Publications Website and ordering it directly.

My story is called THE LAKE, and it’s about a small group of college guys who decide to spend their summer on the shores of an isolated lake in Northern Maine. But they aren’t alone…I’m gonna leave it at that.

Anyhoo, click the link, buy the book, and enjoy! There’s sure to be something in there for any horror fan. Digital and audio versions will be available Saturday, if that’s your preference, so there’s no excuse.

Coming up next, my fantastic interview with debut author Seth Harwood. Seriously, it’s a great interview. You don’t wanna miss it.

And lastly, there’s still time to enter my Name My Website contest, where you could win an autographed copy of CREATURE FEATURE, as well as some other really cool stuff. Check out the rules, etc. here.

As always, stay tuned!

13 Questions For Steven Savile

Hello again, folks. It’s that time once again. My latest guest for 13 Questions is international bestselling author Steven Savile, whose upcoming novel SILVER will be released in January from Variance Publishing.

NOTE: I just want to say this cover totally kicks ass!

Hi Steven, thanks for agreeing to do this. It’s nice to get the views of authors who have been around the block and pick their brains. I notice you’ve had quite a few books published in recent years, much congratulations on your recent success.

OK, since I know you’re a busy guy, what with the upcoming release of SILVER from Variance Publishing, why don’t we get down to business, here?

1) So tell us a little about yourself, Steven. Where are you from, what sort of books do you like to read, etc?

First of all, thanks very much, it is nice to ‘be’ here. So, Steve in a nutshell? Rolling up to 40 far too quickly for my liking, Tottenham Hotspur football fan, based in Stockholm. I started out about 20 years ago writing horror stories, then probably around 1997-8 drifted more into what I guess you’d call dark fantasy/magical realism. Spent most of the 00s doing fantasy novels, four for warhammer, two celtic ones with Slaine, then I’ve done some Stargate SG-1, Doctor Who and other tie-in stuff as well as carrying on trying to plough a very different furrow with my own work. In terms of reading, Hugh Cook, David Eddings and David Gemmell are pretty much responsible for turning me into a reader, and I’ve still got a huge soft spot for fantasy, but I don’t read so much of it anymore. Most recently I’ve read Jeremy Duns’ debut thriller, Free Agent, Matt Hilton’s debut thriller, Dead Man’s Shoes, and am half way through James Clavell’s Shogun. I’ve been reading a lot more thrillers and crime novels of late – what I used to consider my beach reads. I have had a string of curious jobs, wound up being a social science and English teacher out here in Stockholm for the best part of a decade, and finally went full time as a writer back in 2004/5 and am coming up to my fifth anniversary earning a crust making up hopefully exciting lies.

2) I read the description of SILVER, and I have to say it sounds very interesting. Would you mind telling us a little about the book for the benefit of those who have not read anything about it?

Well, hmm, that’s harder to do than you’d think. I mean, Silver is a political thriller, for sure. It’s a religious thriller, absolutely. But not in any way you’d expect. The roots are in messianic prophecies, Judaism, Nostradamus’ predictions of the antichrist, and the nature of fear and how it works in the every day world we now live in. It’s a big book. Almost twice the length of anything I’ve done before, but it’s a page turner. The core concept is that the 30 pieces of silver that Judas was paid have been melted down into a dagger and fundamentalists plan to use it to usher in the the next messiah…

3) What was the inspiration for SILVER?

The truth is quite mundane, in that I was talking to the editor and he said can you hit us with something in the morning? So I said ‘I can do that’ (that’s the writer’s mantra by the way). I had about 6 hours to hit on a core concept that fit the kind of direction Variance were heading, and that excited me as a writer.

I think we’re talking a good deal of providence, in that I knew they wanted religious thrillers, looking at what they had on their roster, so my first thought was something quite unlike the Da Vinci Code (which, like it or not I am sure Silver will be compared with again and again) but liable to appeal to fans of that kind of story. Where the Da Vinci Code was about Jesus I thought it would be interesting to look at the other side of that famous betrayal in Gethsemane. So knowing it was going to be Judas’ story, at least in part, gave me a place to start the research. From there it all sort of fell into into place.

4) When is the release date for SILVER?

January 19th 2010.

5) How is it different than your previous works such as the Von Carstein Trilogy? (Which, by the way, I intend to read ASAP; they sound great!)

Whole new avenue of storytelling. Silver is a thriller. It’s intelligent. It’s exciting. It’s hitting the zeitgeist, I guess you could say. It’s about some very real issues in our modern political world, an Israeli state, global terrorism, espionage, and the like, and while it pulls no punches it hopefully makes you think as well as simply read, and maybe it will make you look at the world a little differently. Stuff like the Vampire Wars books are just escapist fun. Sure there is a lot of scheming and shenanigans going on in them. There are similarities though, how could there not be? A lot of the vampire stuff when seen from the human perspective is about the futility of violence and war, and of course the nature of fear. That’s something that interests me as a writer, the psychology of fear and how people use it.

6) Do you have any favorite authors?

Several must buys, for sure. Lee Child is my current guilty pleasure. I enjoy a fairly broad spectrum of writers and genres, Paul Auster, Jonathan Carroll, Stephen Donaldson, Joseph Wambaugh, Jay Mcinerney, Stephen Gallagher, Raymond Fiest, that’s just off the top of my head.

7) What is it like working with Variance? Having read several of their books, I can honestly say they put out a real quality product.

Never a dull moment. The guys are passionate about what they’re doing and have got a vision for where they want the company to go. They’re putting out some great stuff and getting stronger book by book. The plans for Silver marketing wise, for instance are very ambitious. As an author you’d be hard pressed for more support.

8 ) Have you always wanted to be a writer? Was there anything else you wanted to do before you started writing?

I decided age 16 I was going to be a journalist. Age 17 I was plonking away at my first aborted novel, age 19 I had finished a novel and sold some short stories. That was always going to be the ‘career’, work was just a way to finance it.

9) Do you have any hobbies or pastimes? How does Steven Savile relax after a rough day?

Football season, it’s all about the Lilywhites, but on a general work day, sit on the couch, watch some tv, read. I work a lot in coffeeshops and generally have a pretty stress free life. It was conscious decision to go full time and live the life I wanted quality-wise over the chase for cash.

10) Describe a typical day in the life of Steven Savile.

Wake up slowly.
Check email.
Catch up on tv while still waking up.
Type up work from the day before (currently working long hand on a victoriana fantasy so it is an experiment).
Wander down to local coffeeshop, order a latte, crack open notebook and scribble for 3-4 hours while sipping and getting frequent caffeine injections.
Answer mail that rolls in during the day.
Home to cook/eat watch tv
Write from 10pm through til 2am.
Sleep.

11) If you had to pick a favorite part of the writing process, what would it be? How about least favorite?

Least favourite, I hate editing. I know it has to be done, but my brain wants to be moving on, and I see nothing but faults in my work. Favourite part, the end of a good day when the right words came. Like today. Today I added an unplanned scene which completely changes one of the characters in the victorana novel (London Macabre) and it’s great. I love it. So today, inspiration struck. Them’s the days I like.

12) So what’s next for Steven Savile? What can we expect to see from you in the near future?

Well 2010 is a really busy year release-wise, I’ve got Silver, The Power Behind the Throne, my Stargate SG-1 novel, and there’s the next project, I am writing a novel for Guild Wars the MMO being released by Simon & Schuster. London Macabre should also be out… as to what I will be writing, possibly a new thriller series, The Company Man alongside Gold, the imaginatively titled follow-up to Silver.

13) OK, how about giving us one line from SILVER? Don’t put it in context, just give us the line.

Judas wept.

And there you have it, folks. Steven Savile. Make sure you stop by his website and poke around a bit. There’s sure to be something you like there. And don’t forget to pick up SILVER, available in January from Variance Publishing.

Speaking of not forgetting, don’t forget to enter your idea for my website name into my contest. You can win some cool signed swag.

Coming up next, an interview with Seth Harwood, debut author of JACK WAKES UP, a must-read action novel I couldn’t put down.

Stay tuned!