Blooming Author: Jason Beymer!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Jason Beymer's dark comedy Rogue's Curse will be available from Lyrical Press on August 16, 2010.

Tell us about Rogue's Curse. What is it about and where will it be available?

Rogue's Curse is a dark comedy set 2000 years after the Rapture. When Doban, a nasty rogue, discovers the talisman responsible for the Rapture, it embeds itself to his skin. Now the ancient prophet who created the talisman wants it back, and he manipulates the king into launching a manhunt. And (just to sweeten the pot) Doban must turn to the only woman who ever loved him—a woman he once left to die in a tomb—for help. Rogue's Curse has tons of sex, monsters, palace politics, romance, humor and adventure.

But mainly the focus is on the relationship between Mona and Doban. What has happened in the two years since he left her to die in the tomb? How did she survive and escape? And most importantly, can they set aside their differences long enough to stop a second Rapture? At its heart, Rogue's Curse is about second chances, and whether or not we repeat past mistakes when presented the opportunity.

Bottom line: 2000 years after the Rapture, the world still sucks.

Rogue's Curse will be available as an eBook for purchase on 8/16/10 from Lyrical Press (as well as other fine eBook distributers).


Click here for an excerpt.


What were your inspirations for Rogue's Curse? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

Characters. Sitting at my local coffee chain, I see so many characters. Can I say the name of the chain? Star-blmmm. The employees are very nice to me, and allow my ass to fester on the comfortable, plush chair. Some writers sit on the county transit and fill up pages while glancing around them. Not me. I'm a coffee voyeur. There's lots of us, actually. Bet you didn't know that. See that guy sitting on the chair typing? He's typing about you. Oh, I see you decided to wear your sweatpants with the word "Love" stretched across both cheeks. Bad choice. You just made it into my zombie-fashion story. Be warned: if you walk into my field of vision while I'm writing, you are fair game. I'm especially fond of inattentive parents whose precious darlings hover around my precariously perched laptop.

Before I wrote Rogue's Curse, I'd written stories for my World of Warcraft guild (yes, I brought up Warcraft. I went there), and decided it was time to write a book. Several character ideas buzzed inside my head, so I took out the laptop and turned them loose in a first draft. This was my favorite part of the process.

In general, I just want to make people laugh. If it's funny to me, I hope to God it's funny to you, too.


Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Rogue's Curse? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

My optimal environment is a loud, busy coffee house; my optimal time is morning. I get up at 5am every day and hit the coffee barn when they open. My creative batteries keep a good four-hour charge, then my head becomes a mucky mess as the day's responsibilities take shape. Oh, if I could spend all day writing! What worlds I would create (or I'd just play more xbox… Meh. It's probably better this way).

When I start the process, all I want to do is build a foundation for later drafts. I type as fast as I can, trying to stay one step ahead of my inner-editor. Once I have a solid first draft, I fill a big poster board with index cards for every chapter, juggling them into some sort of order. Then edit, edit, edit. I've found that editing on a Kindle works best for me—I use the notes feature and end up with hundreds of changes each day. Paper is good when you're still in the embryonic stages, but Kindle rocks for sentence-level edits and read-throughs.


Tell us about your "story of getting published." How long did you submit before you were accepted? How did it feel to get accepted?
I sent several query letters to big literary agents and publishing houses; I received several form-letter rejections in return. Then I sent the same query to a few small e-publishers; they sent back personalized rejections and feedback on how to improve my query letter. So I tried a new strategy: Send my queries to e-pubs, get feedback on why my queries suck, fine tune and start hitting the big names on the Writer's Market again. But suddenly…BANG…Lyrical Press accepts my query, spoils my plan and offers me a contract. I was like "What the f@#$ is this?" when I opened the email. I was accustomed to receiving "Sorry, but we are….", "Please excuse this form rejection, but…" and so on. I was elated. I hired a lawyer to review the contract, negotiated a few minor things with Lyrical (they were very flexible), and signed a contract I was happy with.


What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

Blog, tweet, beg, dance. I'm new to this. I have to rely on the kindness of strangers like you. I'm a recluse, a shelled turtle. But I'm trying to extrovert myself. Currently I'm doing a "101-Word Daily Stupor" experiment on my blog to drum up attention. Come check it out! Also I contribute reality TV show rants to Moronlife.com.

I've signed a contract with Lyrical for another book, Nether, which will release next summer. It's an Urban Fantasy this time, but also a Dark Comedy in the same vein as Rogue's Curse.

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss my novel, Sue!

email: jason@beerandtv.com
Blog: http://www.beerandtv.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/beerandtv

Fresh Voice: Linda Grimes!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Linda Grimes!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
To have someone pass me on the street, do a double take, and say, "Hey, I know you—your books always make me laugh." Bonus points if it's not my mom.

Why do you write?
Here's where I should wax poetic about my love of the written word, and how I've lived and breathed literature since I was a tot, right? Which is true, of course, but that's the reason I read. I write mainly because I can't sing, and I'd go crazy without a creative outlet.

Also, I can't draw, paint, or sculpt, except metaphorically with my words. So, really, I had no choice. It was write or go crazy. (My family might argue the "or" in the preceding sentence should be "and." I'm forced to concede they might have a point.)

Your writing is witty and fun. Have you worked to achieve that voice or is it just a natural style for you?
Thanks! Being a smartass comes naturally to me, but I've worked to hone my delivery. Growing up with three brothers helped. We weren't allowed to beat each other up, so we had to learn to "use our words." Eventually it got to the point where my brothers would all say, "Please, just hit me!" whenever I opened my mouth, but by then I'd realized words were a lot more fun than physical violence.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
Gaah. That is probably the most difficult question for a writer to answer. There are so many! How about a sampling?

Diana Gabaldon (author of the Outlander series) is a perennial favorite. Her books are the most flavorful genre stew you can imagine—romance, historical, sci-fi, fantasy…you name it, it's in there. All seasoned with enough tragedy, humor, love, and derring-do to keep you reading, whatever your literary taste.

Harlan Coben—all his books, but especially his Myron Bolitar series. Pure mystery mastery. Plus, I have a crush on Win, Myron's semi-psychopathic sidekick.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series keeps me hungry for more. Harry Dresden is a smartass's smartass, and a wizard to boot. What's not to love?

Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series is always a treat to read. There's a surprise for me in every book—I like that.

There are tons more, but I'd better stop before I put a strain on your bandwidth.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?The POWER. Bwah-ha-hah! I may not be able to control every aspect of my real life, but gosh darn it, in my books what I say goes. Frankly, it can be addictive. If I had that kind of power at my fingertips in actuality, I'd be a despotic monster. But mostly benign. Or maybe not. No telling how that kind of power might warp me.

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at different career, what would you choose?
Other than singer, you mean? Since that one's been ruled out by my *ahem* singular lack of musical ability. Let's see…I've outgrown "jockey" in both height and inclination. Though I do still love horses.

Hmmm. Maybe a tabloid journalist. Or is that cheating, since it's still writing? Wait, I know! A tabloid television reporter. That way I could still tell outrageous stories about strange characters.

Or I could just go back to being an actress. Since I'd be guaranteed success, I wouldn't have to stress the auditions.

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?
Popcorn. Light, fluffy, and a little salty. Snack food for the brain.

Does that sound self-deprecating? I don't mean to be. Popping up the perfect batch without burning it, or leaving behind too many "old maids" (the unpopped kernels), is harder than you'd think, so I'm really not exhibiting low self esteem by making the comparison. Plus, everyone needs a little indulgence in life—it's healthy. When you think of it that way, it's downright humanitarian of me to write the fluffy stuff.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
Diana Gabaldon's stock reply springs to mind: 1. Read. 2. Write. 3. Don't stop. (Which is remarkably concise advice, given the length of her novels.) The "don't stop" is the most important part. Because as long as you keep going, you will get better.

Linda Grimes is an ex-actress who also used to teach high school English. Now she channels her love of words and drama into writing escapist ("popcorn") fiction. She grew up in Texas, and currently resides in Virginia with her husband, AKA the theater god, whom she snagged after he saw her rousing rendition of "If You Wanna Catch a Fish You Gotta Wiggle Your Bait" at the now defunct Melodrama Theater. The fishnet stockings apparently helped camouflage her awful singing.

You can find her on Twitter (@linda_grimes) and her blog Visiting Reality. If you'd like to sample the popcorn, check out an excerpt of her writing.

Blooming Author: Tibby Armstrong!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Tibby Armstrong's contemporary erotic romance Sheet Music will be available from Ellora's Cave today!

Tell us about Sheet Music. What is it about and where will it be available?

Sheet Music is a contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave coming out on August 4^th! It’s about musical superstar with secrets to hide, and the journalist determined to find them out at any cost. Here’s the blurb:

Music journalist Kyra Martin faces the toughest assignment of her career—to write a cover story about enigmatic heartthrob David Tallis. Deadline looming, Kyra plans to go undercover. When she ends up under the covers with the sexy superstar instead, can both her career and their budding relationship survive?

With a closet full of skeletons to hide, and a paparazzi-fueled divorce behind him, David Tallis despises the press. When Kyra Martin bribes her way into his life, her sexy assets have him composing a duplicitous seduction. Ensnared in a media maelstrom of his own making, can David face the music? Or will he lose Kyra, along with another piece of himself?

**OVER 18 WARNING**You can read a sexy excerpt at http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8533-50-sheet-music.aspx.**OVER 18 WARNING**

What were your inspirations for Sheet Music? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

Sheet Music was inspired from an experience I had wrangling an all-area-access backstage pass to a Peter Gabriel concert in the mid-1990’s. Although the hero in the story isn’t based on Gabriel, I had the seed of the idea when I realized just what lengths I was willing to go to in order to get inside the music scene for a publishing class assignment. I talked to people I should never have had access to, including one of Gabriel’s long-time band mates, Tony Levin (of King Crimson fame), all because I was too naïve to realize I shouldn’t be able to have access to them. I guess you could say my heroine, Kyra, gets her chutzpah from me, for better or worse!

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Sheet Music? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

First drafts, I usually invest a lot in critique partners’ comments and edits. Second draft is for layering in character back story—because the back story is often revealed to me more richly as I’m writing. As I get to know my characters better, they confide more in me. It’s impossible to have the richness at the beginning of a draft that I have at the end, so that has to be layered into the first half of the novel later.

Sheet Music was the first story I wrote from an outline. Well, I wrote the first three chapters, and then wrote an outline. I was amazed when I actually stuck to it! I think the story is all the better for it. Tighter and more focused than anything I’d written previously.

I can’t write longhand on paper. It interrupts my flow. Usually I’m at the Barnes & Noble two minutes from my house, headphones on, music blaring, enjoying a decaf, skim, mocha. I have to watch out for kindly-meant questions from local grandmothers on what I’m writing though. So the headphones help. *grins*

Tell us about your "story of getting published." How long did you submit before you were accepted? How did it feel to get accepted?

Well, this is kind of funny and kind of embarrassing. Lol. Last year I saw that Ellora’s Cave issued a call for music themed submissions. Knowing I had Sheet Music’s  plot in my back pocket, I took it out of the drawer, so to speak. The word count for the submissions was 30k. While I was writing it, I posted comments on my blog about not knowing how the story could possibly fit into 30k words. Yet, I shoehorned it into the allotted space and sent it off in April. Well, turns out I should have listened to my inner editor. The very encouraging letter I received back—very quickly—asked if I would be willing to add more to the story—it seemed like there was more story than I’d written. (Talk about a perceptive lady, my editor!)

I think it took me two weeks to add another 14k words to the novel. Those 14k were some of the easiest words I’ve ever written, I think because they needed to be in the story. By that time I also knew Kyra and David inside and out. I think it took about two weeks upon resubmission for Sheet Music to be accepted, with the comment that there had definitely been too much story for the 30k limit! So, if I’d listened to myself in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to suffer an almost rejection! Let that be a lesson to me! You can read all the sordid details on my blog at http://www.tibbyarmstrong.com.

When I got the acceptance? Oh-my! I was silent for about ten seconds and then let out a whoop the likes of which had my family running to see if someone had broken into the house! I bounced around (literally) for about twenty minutes and then proceeded to call and email everyone I knew. I was high on happiness for days. Weeks even! I still get little thrills now when I think about it! It never gets old.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

On August 4^th I’ll be giving away a copy of Sheet Music to a randomly drawn person who posts on my Facebook wall! Other plans:

• 4^th of August, I’m blogging with K.J. Reed at http://www.authorkjreed.com. 
• 6^th of August is with Kristin Daniels (the woman and author to whom Sheet Music is dedicated) on Fierce Romance at http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/. 
• 18^th of August, I’m blogging for Delilah Devlin at http://www.delilahdevlin.com/blog/.  

Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to chat with you!

Tibby Armstrong