Writer Wednesday: Calista Taylor

Calista Taylor is an amazing, multi-talented dame from the Eastern US. She just finished up her steampunk craft book for her publisher (Fox Chapel Publishing–tentative release date: May 2012) where she not only designed and created a wardrobe of steampunk clothes and accessories, she also wrote the step-by-step instructions, and took all of the book’s 175 photographs. Oh yes, and while doing that she was also designing her own award-winning cover for her self-published steampunk novel, Viridis, which has had over 20,000 downloads, and spent weeks on the top 100 free ebooks list on Amazon. She also designed the beautiful cover for book two in the series as well as helped other writer’s with their cover designs. And she’s been making websites. And she’s been raising her young family. And keeping her crazy South American dog in line (and warm with a special handmade coat she made for her). And renovating her bathroom!

Yeesh! I’m tired just thinking about it!

Recently, Calista has released both Viridis (free!!) and Devil on a Sparrow’s Wing ($2.99) as ebooks on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble.com. (You can read ebooks on a dedicated ebook reader, your computer, a tablet, or even a smart phone.) These two novels are unique stories featuring a hot-headed, strong-willed, and very feisty character named Phoebe who plays an important role in Victorian, steampunk London during a revolution. She an inventor, mother, wife, friend, business owner, and quiet revolutionary. Talk about how does she do it all!? I think Calista and Phoebe have something in common!

For those of you who have not heard of steampunk, it is a wonderful dream world created by writers where they have imagined what our world would have been like if the industrial revolution had taken longer to evolve and steampower had been able to develop more fully as a possible power source. A steampunk world is as rich and unique as its inventions. It’s a world well worth checking out.

Without further ado, I would like to introduce Calista Taylor!

What lead you to or got you interested in steampunk?

Oddly enough I was looking at corsets when I noticed the steampunk tag, and remembered seeing it as a genre an agent rep’d.  Once I looked into it further, I realized it was the perfect fit!

What do you love most about creating a steampunk world in your novels? What is the trickiest part?

I love that I’m only inhibited by my own imagination.  The trickiest part is translating what I see in my imagination, in a way that’s clear to the reader without getting too bogged down in details.

Both books, Viridis and Devil on a Sparrow’s Wing, are set in Victorian England, did you have to do any/much research for your books?

To be honest, I’ve been an avid reader of books set in the Victorian time period (Elizabeth Peters and Anne Perry are some of my favorites).  That certainly helped.  Also, there are some fantastic websites out there.  Oddly enough, the one thing I had the hardest time finding out about was what would be historically accurate for men’s undergarments during that period (when still in London).  Still not 100% sure on that one.

Lady Phoebe Hughes (the main character in both novels) is a tough yet sweet, rule-breaking woman. What was the most difficult part of creating a such a feisty character? What was the easiest?

I tend to let my characters dictate who they are and what they do, so in a way, it comes natural to write them.  I think the hardest part is actually remaining true to them, since it would often be easier to make them behave in ways that are more acceptable to a majority of readers.

There are some wonderfully steamy passages in Viridis and Devil on a Sparrow’s Wing, do you worry what people like your parents, siblings, coworkers, or friends and other family members might think if they read it? (Yeah, I’m a big chicken, what can I say?)

Yeah, I’m a big chicken too, which is why I tend not to advertise to my friends and family.  However… if they do ask, I give them the warning that there are some graphically intimate details, and ask them if they really want to read it, knowing that I wrote the book. Some skip it, but others don’t mind.

The male characters speak with a definite accent, where did you pick up their expressions and accents?

I think it’s a mish mash of my husband’s Irish accent and the way he phrases things, combined with Gabaldon’s Outlander series, and the celtic music I listen to.  I can literally hear the characters speaking in my head in their accent, so I just do my best to translate it.

Phoebe finds herself in all sorts of interesting situations. Are there ways that Phoebe resembles you?

Perhaps. lol.  Like Phoebe, I think I tend to be strong willed, and tend to act with my heart rather than with my head when it comes to the people and causes I care about.  I guess that’s why Phoebe gets herself in difficult situations which may have been handled differently if she acted logically rather than emotionally.

If you had only three adjectives (Ack! Adjectives!!!) to describe your novels, Viridis and Devil on a Sparrow’s Wing, which three would you use?

Steamy, different, unconventional.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I love the adventures my characters take me on. The scenes are constantly playing in my head, and being a pantser, I never know where they’ll take me.  I’m completely addicted.

(Note from Jean: “Pantser” or “pantster” is writer speak for writing by the seat of your pants. In other words, sit down, start writing and see what happens rather than a “plotster” who plots the whole story out before they begin writing.)

You’ve self-published this book which is an immense amount of work. One of the issues with self-published books are the lame-o covers. How did you create such a striking and beautiful cover? Can people hire you to create a cover for them?

Thank you, Jean!  To be honest, I’d be the person that clicks on the red button and sets off a nuclear reaction. lol.  I constantly click on things to see what the buttons do, and it’s sort of the way I went about learning Photoshop and figuring out what seemed to work with designing book covers and what didn’t.  I have just recently started making covers for other writers, and I’ll admit, it’s been great fun!

Is there a third book in the works?

There is!  As long as Phoebe, Seth and Gavin are willing to take me on their adventures, I’m happy to write their story.  I also have other series in the works, and will soon be finishing my paranormal romance on Jack the Ripper.

Thank you for visiting, Calista. Best of luck with your books!

How to get your hands on Calista Taylor’s books:

Viridis (book 1):
Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Devil on a Sparrow’s Wing (book 2):
Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

These books are part of a series but can be read as stand alone novels as well.

Writer Wednesday: Pete Morin

Pete Morin, the blues guitar playin’, ex-trial attorney, ex-politician, ex-bureaucrat, ex-lobbyist, and ex-witness, and lovely novelist has made the leap from dream to reality. That’s right… Pete’s in the house! The Smashwords house! The Amazon house! The Barnes and Noble house! And your house–if you download his book.

Morin describes his legal novel, DIARY OF A SMALL FISH, as “a novel of suspense, corruption and redemption.” (Can we just say how much this book draws on his own personal tickle trunk of real life experiences? Talk about going to have rich and real detail like no other!) Okay, so back to the book… Basically, this guy who hangs out in the political arena gets his chops busted for whom he hangs out with. (A lesson most teens could handle learning, eh?) While I haven’t cracked open my epub file to get the full goods on Morin’s novel (I have critiqued his query, synopsis, as well as the odd passage so it’s not like I’m totally blowing stuff out my ears here), I have been assured that there is love, revenge, corruption, suspense, twists, turns, mourning, rule breaking, and a little bit of redemption. Can’t wait!

Curious? Check it out:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

P.S. Watch my Goodreads account for a upcoming review of Morin’s book.

IndieBound

I came across IndieBound a few months ago and have slowly, but surely, been checking it out.

What is IndieBound? Well, it is a website where you can order or find books from independent booksellers in your area. It also promotes supporting your local bookstores. If you need a comparison, it is sort of like the 100 mile rule when it comes to shopping for food. (Try and eat food that has been grown within 100 miles of where you live. Good bye bananas!) But instead of ordering from some large warehouse thousands of miles away or buying from a large, impersonal chain store, you are buying your books from someone close by.

Why buy from your independent bookseller? Here are some most excellent reasons taken from the IndieBound website:

When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:

The Economy

• Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.
• Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.
• More of your taxes are reinvested in your community–where they belong.

The Environment

Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.

• Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community

• Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.
• Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.
• More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.

Compelling, isn’t it?

The nice thing is that many of these places also offer online shopping. Not all, but several. So, come on out and support your Indie bookstores while they are still there. (Think of the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’. In fact, as research, I think we’d all better sit down and watch Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks fall in love one more time. <sigh>)

Writer News

Remember the other day when I mentioned that as aspiring writers we need to stand out? Well, here’s a quote from literary agent Nathan Bransford that illustrates my point quite nicely:

“To put it another way still, when a sales rep goes to a chain and tells the buyer about the books on the upcoming list, they need something to point to that makes a book stand out. They need to be able to say, “This is what makes this book different.” A unique character, a unique way of telling the story, a unique plot, a unique world, something, anything that sets a book apart from the thousands of other books that are published every year.”

In other news: Publishers Marketplace is offering a free few days with their service. (Until January 3rd when they start charging $20 a month again.)

As well, Firebrand Literary is offering a query holiday until the 15th of January.

Go forth and prosper my good friends. (And check out your local bookstores, the deals are a plenty.)

Save Your Library!

For awhile, reading Publishers Lunch everyday was like a constantly updated Who’s Who of small bookstores that were closing their doors due to the economy’s gentle slide downhill. Now that the economy is considered to be officially on the downhill slide, reading Publishers Lunch has become like reading a Who’s Who of library budget cuts.

It bothers me when libraries get cut. Especially with the increasing cost of books, the increasing demand for technology and technology upgrades, increase in staff costs, etc. How will they keep up?

Several years ago, working in a school library it became a sad state of affairs. School budgets were being cut and principals were turning to their libraries to pass on the favour. Librarians were given less resources, more work and less time to do it all. It is a proven fact that a school with a well-funded library has better test scores and higher literacy rates. So, as literacy declined, the government entered combat mode and began allocating funds to schools for a literacy program. (Not libraries.) Meanwhile, their libraries would wallow and flounder. Silly people, read your research! After a few years, the money would run out and the literacy program would shut down. Not exactly a long term solution.

Now the cuts are heading into the public domain. For example, in today’s Publishers Lunch, the news is that the governor of New York is proposing that they cut the library budget by 20%. That is a BIG cut. Particularly since “library usage has skyrocketed over the last year as more people turn to libraries for finding jobs, improving their literacy skills and for free reading materials and programs for their families”. (Michael Borges executive director, NY Library Assoc.) P.S. If you are in Albany, NY, join the Rally against the cuts in the Well of the Legislative Office Building  from 1-2:30 pm on Tuesday, November 18th.

What do all these cuts mean? It means less new books (which means less sales for the new authors as well, plus less exposure as the libraries will buy the big name authors and be less likely to spend their money on an unknown or new author), it means older equipment in libraries, less staff to shelve books, research the good books and order them, less services and programs (inter-library loans, research for patrons, children programing, special features) for the public as well as reduced hours open to the public. These are just a few things off the top of my head. What we don’t know is how this is going to affect literacy in communities. For example, in poorer communities, they may even shut down libraries (there has been talk of that already in some areas). So what does this big budget cut spell for those neighbourhoods?

You can’t cut without consequences. We aren’t just cutting a few jobs, we’re lowering literacy (and making it harder for a new writer to break out). Wow. Do you think the governor would think twice if he knew that?

The Truth: Book Awards, Bestsellers and Contest Winners

I’m going to tell you things that may shock you today. Or at least make you think ‘what the hell?’ Are you ready?

First of all the Giller Prize. A fancy, dancy book award. Turns out Giller Prize books may not even be read by the judges. Uh, huh. You heard me. They end up with more books nominated than the poor judges could read in a year. So what do they do? Well, some of them grab page one, read it, flip through to about middle, read another page, then flip to some spot near the end and read there too. If they like those couple of pages, then it wins. Yup. That’s why some award winners make you wonder.

Bestsellers. Until about two years ago bestseller lists were compiled not actually from how well books sold. There wasn’t even a way to tell which books were selling the best. Newspapers with their bestseller lists would call up local bookstores and ask what they thought was selling the best. Dear lord. I’ve heard that in the past few years things have changed and that the lists may actually be accurate. Still, it kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

And Amazon’s bestselling list (while magical in its formula–and a secret too) is also misleading. You can claim that your book was a book that sold in the Amazon top 100. Okay, yes. Maybe it did for a second. But that means pretty much nothing, according to some. It seems as though the results can be tinkered with and you can make your book launch into the bestselling 100 for a minute or two if you have the right technique. Some argue that you can’t. Basically, from what I hear, nobody’s buying it if you claim amazing stats from your book sales over on Amazon. Unless you are Dan Brown or JK Rowling.

Back to contests. Aspiring writers are told by some to enter contests left, right and center. Go win one. Go place in one. If you do, you’ll get an agent’s attention, plus you will have some credentials to put in your query. Thing is, apparently nobody cares unless you win. Thing is, you have to win more than your local contest. You have to win a major contest. MAJOR contest. Otherwise, the assumption is that you were simply the best in the pile of crap that came in.

Sorry to shatter your perceptions, but well, it had to be done. I hope you’ll forgive me.

What’s Hot?: Book Market

Both literary agents Kristen Nelson and Kate Schafer Testerman are spilling the beans this week on what’s hot out there in the book market. In other words what editors want to see so they can publish it. That would be calls for middle grade and basically creepy, thriller, suspense sort of stuff.

Creepy, thriller…

Yeah, I don’t write that. But if you do, it might just be your year.

(And folks, make sure you buy people new books for Christmas, the publishers are counting on you!)

Canadian Dollar and Book Sales

Once upon a time, not too long ago, people in Canadian bookstores were getting into fisty cuffs over book prices. You see the Canadian dollar began to soar to heights previously unknown. The problem is that in Canada books are marked with American prices and Canadian prices. The American price is always much lower than the Canadian price. (For example, a $3 difference for the average paperback.) It seemed as though Canadians got a bit tired of getting stiffed with unreasonable prices. And so they began throwing books back at Canadian booksellers when they wouldn’t give them the American price (in Canada). It seemed as though some folks forgot that just because the Canadian dollar was currently higher than the American dollar, it did not mean that we all got to pretend we were suddenly Americans in American bookstores and should be getting American prices. Nobody thought about the fact that these books had likely been purchased while the Canadian dollar was low and that there are usually increased costs in deliverying a book to Canada, both accounting for a higher list price. Plus, there is also the small fact that the Canadian dollar would not remain on the top of the heap forever. Eventually some books began to reflect the high Canadian dollar in regards to price and some booksellers honoured the American price from time to time. Yet, in the back of our minds, we knew it wasn’t something we could enjoy forever.

And now the time has come. The Canadian dollar, according to Publishers Lunch, has declined to its lowest point in three years. So what does that mean for booksellers and book buyers in Canada? Well, book prices are going to go back up, right?

“The plunge has been so quick that it leaves little time to react heading into the holiday season. Harper Canada ceo David Kent says that “there is a mad scramble to reprice US imported books; the difficulty is that there has been a yo-yo effect on the exchange rate” making it hard to set a new price level.” (Publishers Lunch, October 22nd, 2008.)

“If the Canadian dollar does not rebound soon more systemic repricing will be necessary though for now most executives have a wait-and-see approach. Davidar says “we’re being cautious about taking any new pricing decisions until we have a better sense of where the dollar will be in a few months’ time.” Practically speaking, broad repricing takes time. “It takes us from four to six months to change the prices on front-list titles; backlist would depend on when titles come up for reprint.” Hanson says “we are being careful about jumping too quickly. We don’t anticipate any changes through this holiday season.”" (Publishers Lunch, October 22, 2008.) That means lower prices still in effect! Yippeee!

“As Random House Canada president Brad Martin points out, consumers should be the winners in holiday buying.” [Yes!] ”"Books are even a greater value now then they were a month ago. This is a message that the entire industry in Canada should get behind as we move into the fall gift giving season.” With publishers’ margins taking a big hit, even more rides on those holiday sales. “We will have to sell more books to make up that shortfall,” Martin adds.”

So what is the moral of this story? Go buy some books! Forget about other gift ideas, books are where it’s at. To save the publishers, buy everyone on your Christmas list a book this year. I think I will.