Numb is probably more accurate.

No, no… overwhelmed is more apt.

Paris Book Festival Grand Prize

Inside the Outside, my debut novel, won the Grand Prize in the 2012 Paris Book Festival. I found out a couple of hours ago and, quite frankly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this tremendous honor.  It’s nearly two o’clock in the morning as I type this and there’s no telling if I’ll ever get to sleep again. Between you and me, I don’t want to go to sleep, just in case this is all a dream.

This is the first major award for Inside the Outside and, even if it turns out to be the last, I’ll still be satisfied. Along with the honor itself, the award comes with a cash prize and a flight to Paris. I’ve never been anywhere near Europe, let alone Paris.  And to think that my first trip there will be to accept my first major literary honor…

I just can’t find the words.

General Fiction Winner

I hope folks like Will Entrekin, Kat and Cara (The BiblioBabes), Joanna Penn, and everybody else who loved this book when it seemed like nobody else would pay attention to it will enjoy this honor with me. I hope writers all over the world who are struggling to make a mark and feel like their break may never come will find some glimmer of inspiration in the knowledge that, not too long ago, I’d nearly lost all hope of ever having a writing career.

As is the case with many writers, I sought to get published through the traditional route of acquiring a literary agent who would get me a book deal. After sending out dozens of query letters and receiving dozens of rejections, I found myself at a crossroads. I believed strongly in my book and I knew there was an audience for it, so I had to decide if I wanted to keep trekking down the traditional route or if I wanted to take the risk of publishing my book independently.

Inside the Outside: A Novel

It was a terrifying decision, but, after much consideration, I decided to gamble on independent publishing. Part of my concern was the general stigma that is still attached to indie publishing. I worried that my novel, right or wrong, would be adversely affected by this stigma.

Even when I made my decision and began taking steps to move forward, I still questioned whether or not I was doing the right thing. And even after I published Inside the Outside, I still had occasional doubts. So, as much as anything else, this award offers me tremendous validation, not only of my novel, but of my decision to publish it on my own.

Of course, a trip to Paris won’t be so bad, either.

“Novelist Martin Lastrapes, whose independent novel Inside the Outside climbed the Amazon horror bestseller lists with its tale of religious sects, cannibalism, and literary terror, has signed a deal with Exciting Press to bring six new stories spanning multiple topics and genres to the digital market. Lastrapes’ short stories and flash fiction will join titles by international bestseller Nick Earls, fantasy novelist Miya Kressin, and Press director Will Entrekin to broaden Exciting Press’ already diverse catalog.”

The agreement I’ve made with Exciting Press is both thrilling and gratifying for reasons that you probably aren’t aware of.  You see, I fancy myself a novelist (which, considering I’ve only written one novel, may sound a bit presumptuous) and, for the foreseeable future, my primary goal is to write and publish novels. But, before I was a novelist, I was just an aspiring writer trying very hard to learn my craft.

The Matrix

As it is with most developing writers, I cut my teeth by writing short fiction. Suffice it to say, most of my early efforts would fit comfortably on a scale of terrible-try-again to take-this-shit-to-your-grave.

Things began to change for me in 2002, when I was studying English at Cal State San Bernardino. James Brown, the critically acclaimed novelist and memoirist, was one of my creative writing professors and, under his watch, I eventually had what I think of as my Neo-at-the-end-of-The-Matrix-moment. From pacing and character to metaphor and symbolism, it all just started to make sense.

I plied this newfound knowledge by writing more short stories, only these new stories were actually pretty good. While some of them were published and others won awards, their primary purpose, so far as I was concerned, was to prepare me for my eventual leap into novel writing.  And, at the end of the day, they served their purpose, when I managed to complete my debut novel Inside the Outside.

While Inside the Outside marked the beginning of my career as a novelist, there was a part of me that felt a bit sad to be moving away from short fiction and those stories I was most proud of. I’d come to accept them as fond memories, like the pretty girl I once met at Bullwinkle’s who taught me how to kiss.

Press Release

But now, thanks to Exciting Press, many of those short stories will be getting their time in the sun. And, while I’ve tried to articulate it for the last 400 words or so, the truth is I don’t think I can properly express how thrilled I am to have made this deal.

I almost wish I could go back in time to talk to that younger version of myself, the aspiring writer with the shaky confidence and constant fear that nobody would ever care about the stories he wanted to tell. I almost wish I could tell him that the short stories he was writing—stories which he thought would never progress anywhere beyond his computer screen—would one day become the centerpiece for a publishing deal that would put him on the same team as critically acclaimed and bestselling authors.

But, if I did that, it would ruin the surprise for this present version of myself and I wouldn’t be sitting here with a smile on my face, marveling at all the wonderful experiences this writing journey of mine has afforded me.

Jorge and Elizabeth Pires da Silveira

If you’ve found yourself on this website, then odds are you’ve either read or, at the very least, heard of my novel Inside the Outside.

The plot of Inside the Outside revolves around a teenage girl named Timber Marlow who grows up as a cannibal within a cult called the Divinity of Feminine Reproach. The cannibals in the Divinity perform a ritual called the Sustenance Sacrifice, before killing and eating their members.

Part of the fun for me in developing the Divinity was creating a group that sounded plausible to readers, even though it would probably never, ever happen in real life.

Well, this morning my brother sent me a news story with the following headline:

“Brazilian Police Swoop on ‘Cannibal’ Cult”

“Brazilian police have arrested a man and two women on suspicion of having murdered and eaten at least two women in what was described as a purification ritual.”

So, of course, I needed to know more about this Brazilian cult. After a bit of research, I found this headline:

“Cannibal Gang ‘Made Meat Pastries Out of Victims’ Flesh”

Meat Pastries

“[Jorge and Elizabeth Pires da Silveira, both 51, and Bruna da Silva, 25] arrested on suspicion of having murdered and cannibalised [sic] at least two women in what was described as a purification ritual. The trio also apparently took some of the meat and cooked it into meat pastries which they sold on the street.”

Obviously, this got me curious about how many other cannibal stories have been in the news lately, so I did a quick five-minute sweep on Google and, below, are a couple of the stranger stories I came across.

“‘Cannibal Serial Killer’ Arrested in Russia”

“Police said [Alexander Bychkov's victims] were killed with a knife. They found a diary at Bychkov’s house which described how he cut up the victims and ate their livers. Detectives believe the alleged killer may be responsible for more murders because a series of people have gone missing without trace from around the small town of Belinsk in the last two years.”

“Cannibal Mafia Bosses Ate Traitor in Spain”

Milan Jurisic

“A mafia traitor was beaten to death with a hammer and then eaten by Serbian gangsters, police believe. Officers said Milan Jurisic, 37, was killed in Madrid by criminals from the Zemun Clan, a mafia group from Belgrade. His remains were then ground up with a meat grinder, cooked, and eaten, according to a confession by another Zemun Clan member, Sretko Kalinic, nicknamed ‘The Butcher.’”

Truth is stranger than fiction, indeed.  Or, in my case, truth is pretty much right on par with fiction.

Scrivere di Canibalismo

Back in the summer of 2011, when I was a few deep breaths and a mouse click away from publishing my debut novel, Inside the Outside, I found myself consumed with insecurity.

What if nobody cared about my book?

I worried that I was setting my novel off into a big, loud, busy world, where it would get lost amongst all the hustle and bustle of life and cars and jobs and sports and movies and Facebook and Justin Bieber.

When, during it’s first week of publication, Inside the Outside made it into Amazon.com’s Bestseller List, I felt like I was in the middle of a dream. When it started collecting overwhelmingly positive reviews from readers and reviewers alike, I felt like I needed to pinch myself.  And when Exciting Writing named it the best indie book of 2011, I felt like things couldn’t get much better.

Autore di Inside the Outside

So when, just a few days ago, Mauro Corso, an Italian journalist, writer and actor, gave Inside the Outside it’s first foreign language review on his website Attore e Scrittore, I felt, perhaps, the most gratifying sense of accomplishment since it’s initial publication.

And it’s not so much what Corso said about my book (though he was very complimentary of it), but what his review represented. Where once I feared that nobody would care about or even notice my book, it is now traveling to parts of the world where I’ve never been myself, being discovered and enjoyed by readers who speak languages I might never understand.

Corso, in addition to writing a review of Inside the Outside, asked if I would do an interview, which I was only too happy to do. Below you will find the links to both the review and the interview (in English and in Italian).

REVIEW: Scrivere di Canibalismo

INTERVIEW [ITALIAN]: Intervista a Martin Lastrapes, Autore di Inside the Outside

INTERVIEW [ENGLISH]: Interview with Martin Lastrapes, Author of Inside the Outside

Violence, Brutality, and Death: Dark Fiction and Why I Love It

So, when, a few weeks ago, Penn asked if I’d be interested in writing a guest post for The Creative Penn, I jumped at the opportunity.

Not long before that, Penn had read my novel, Inside the Outside, and, along with all the very kind things she had to say about it, she was interested in my ability to write dark fiction. For the guest post, she asked if I would offer my thoughts on dark fiction, why people love it, and why writers like she and I engage in it. When it was complete, I called the article “Violence, Brutality, and Death: Dark Fiction and Why I Love It.”

Here is an excerpt:

“The entertainment is the catharsis involved, the ability to give ourselves over to our greatest fears in a safe environment where we know we’re not going to die. This point, I believe, is also true for why I write dark fiction, as it gives me an active role in working out some of my own deepest, darkest fears, exorcising them on the page and leaving them to haunt the imaginations of my readers.”

You can read the rest of my guest post for The Creative Penn HERE.

(Read “My KDP Free Experience | PART 1″ HERE)

So, it’s been a little more than a week since my KDP free promotion for Inside the Outside ended and I figured it was about time I shared the aftermath. Here are my notes regarding the fifth and final day of the promotion:

DAY 5 | February 24

• 1:00am – 2000 downloads (#18 in Horror)
• 8:00am – 2046 downloads (#12 in Horror)
• 6:00pm – 2225 downloads (#20 in Horror)
• 11:00pm – 2275 downloads (#23 in Horror)

KDP Select

And that’s where I left off. After a long and busy week promoting Inside the Outside, I was exhausted and couldn’t stay awake until midnight to see what the final tally of free downloads was.

This is an important detail to have missed out on, because one of the stats I wanted to keep track of was how many books I sold (if any) after the promotion was over.  Since KDP (as of this writing) doesn’t differentiate between books downloaded for free and books paid for, I don’t know the precise cutoff. But, what I do know is that there were more downloads after I fell asleep at 11:00pm.

February 25 | Post Promo Day 1

• 9:00am – 2083 downloads (#65,229 in Kindle Store)

Since I have no real way of knowing, I’ll assume (for the sake of this post) that 2083 was the final tally of free kindle copies of Inside the Outside downloaded during the promotion; assuming this is true, there were 8 free downloads in the final hour.

One of my hopes with doing this promotion was that it would lead to book sales in the aftermath and, I’m happy to report, it did. Unfortunately, there weren’t an avalanche of book sales. I kept notes for just a few days, as needed, and here is the final note I made through February:

February 29 | Post Promo Day 4

• 11:00pm – 2099 downloads (#23,067 in Kindle Store)

Above Amanda Hocking! What?!

So, subtracting the presumed number of free downloads (2083), that means I sold 16 books at the end of the promotion through the end of February. I have mixed feelings about those 16 books sold.

On the one hand, I’m almost embarrassed to admit some disappointment; I’d hoped that maybe the momentum of the promotion would lead to books sales in the 100s.  But, on the other hand, I’m quite grateful, because February had been a particularly slow month for Inside the Outside and, before the promotion, I’d sold only 3 copies in the Kindle Store. If my math is correct (and I’m sure it’s not) that means I increased my book sales from the beginning of the month by 500%.

One promising thing about those book sales is, not long before I started the free promotion, I raised the price of Inside the Outside in the Kindle Store from $0.99 to $4.99. Along with the obvious advantage of earning more money per book, the price change also increases my royalties from 35% to 70%. This means that those folks who bought the book after the promotion ended weren’t deterred by the $4.99 price tag, which, admittedly, I felt was something of a gamble (but that’s a topic I’ll save for another post).

Inside the Outside: A Novel

But, more than the dollars and cents, I’m thrilled to know that there are now more than 3,000 copies of Inside the Outside living in Kindles throughout the U.S. and the U.K. (during the free promotion, Inside the Outside reached #38 in Amazon U.K.’s Top 100 free horror books).

How many of those folks will actually read Inside the Outside? I have no idea. I’m certain that a fair number of those readers, like so many of us, simply enjoy collecting free stuff, and likely will never read one page of my novel. But even if a quarter of those people who downloaded the book decide to read it, then that’s roughly 750 new readers.

And that’s a number that would make my KDP free experience an unqualified success.

Inside the Outside: A Novel

On Monday, February 20, 2012, I began a 5 day campaign of offering my novel, Inside the Outside, for free in Amazon’s Kindle Store. When authors sign up for the KDP Select program on Amazon, they get a few perks and benefits, one of them being the opportunity to have a free book promotion.

In exchange, the author must make their book(s) exclusive to the Kindle Store. I didn’t come to my decision easily, but, after thinking it through and weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to give it a go.

A big part of what sold me on it was the idea that Amazon would give me 5 days of free promotion every 90 days. Of course, up until a few days ago, I completely misunderstood what that meant. I thought it meant Amazon would promote my book for free for 5 days, which sounded like an invaluable offer.

But, as I eventually figured out, it really means they’ll set your book up to be downloaded for free. I wasn’t exactly sure how rewarding that would be, but after doing some research and reading about the KDP experiences of other authors, such as Will Entrekin and John L. Betcher, I decided to give it a go.

#5 in Horror

While authors in the KDP Select program can use their 5 days at their discretion (one day here, say, or two days there), I decided to use all 5 of my days in a row. As I write this, Day 4 has ended and Day 5 is under way.

I’ve spent much of my week promoting Inside the Outside‘s free listing on Twitter, Facebook, and GoodReads. I also incorporated the invaluable help of the World Literary Cafe, while also asking for help from folks who have previously shown support for my novel, such as The BiblioBabes and Monkeycstars. And, through no connections or efforts of my own, I found that a few websites that promote Kindle books featured my free promotion, such as Free eBooks Daily.

During these last 4 days I have monitored the progress of my free promotion very closely, taking handwritten notes that, to the casual observer, may resemble that of a crazy person. While I wouldn’t dream of inundating you with the full results of my copious notes, I will offer a condensed version.

In order that you may fully appreciate my data,I don’t mind telling you that I sold only 3 Kindle books in the month of February, before beginning my free promotion.

DAY 1 | February 20

• 8:00am – 141 downloads (unranked)
• 12:00pm – 424 downloads (#37 in Horror)
• 8:00pm – 824 downloads (#9 in Horror)

DAY 2 | February 21

• 8:00am – 1033 downloads (#5 in Horror)
• 12:00pm – 1121 downloads (#5 in Horror)
• 11:00pm – 1288 downloads (#13 in Horror)

DAY 3 | February 22

• 7:00am – 1324 downloads (#12 in Horror)
• 2:00pm – 1404 downloads (#19 in Horror)
• 10:00pm – 1528 downloads (#23 in Horror)

DAY 4 | February 23

• 8:00am – 1643 downloads (#18 in Horror)
• 12:00pm – 1732 downloads (#15 in Horror)
• 11:00pm – 1997 downloads (#14 in Horror)

Which brings us to today, Day 5. I’ll be taking notes throughout the day, but I think the first 4 days alone offer a pretty good indication of my experience. The first 1 1/2 days of the promotion are where my downloads peaked. But even as the rate of downloads waned, Inside the Outside never dropped out of Amazon’s top 25 free horror books.  And, more importantly than that, my book was continuously downloaded throughout the first 4 days – and I suspect that Day 5 will produce comparable results.

So, was KDP Select free promotion a success for me? Well, I had three primary goals:

1. Expose Inside the Outside to a significant number of potential new readers.
2. Get Inside the Outside ranked in Amazon’s Top 10 Free Horror books.
3. Generate sales of Inside the Outside following the end of the free promotion.

The first two goals on my list were successfully (thankfully!) achieved. As for the third goal, well, I’ll let you know in a few days.

(Read “My KDP Free Experience | PART 2″ HERE)

The Improv

Indie authors are a lot like stand-up comedians, minus the jokes (and the two-drink minimums).

As a fan of stand-up comedy, I’ve often marveled at the journey of those comedians who have found success in their trade, both in the execution of their craft, as well as their ability to be seen and heard on a large scale.

For a lot of years, comedians would get their start doing open-mic nights at comedy clubs, gradually putting together routines that could eventually get them through a full hour set, and, if all went well, they ‘d get a spot on The Tonight Show, where five minutes with Johnny Carson was all they needed to become household names.

In the same way that publishing has seen a dramatic shift in how indie authors handle their careers, so has stand-up comedy. I’ve written before about the stigma of indie publishing, how writers had to fight off the perception that circumventing the traditional publishing world meant their work wasn’t worthy of being published. The rapid advancements of technology have made publishing a book more accessible than ever, allowing authors to cut out the middleman (read: traditional publishers) while still getting their books into the hands of the folks who matter most (read: readers).

Steve-O doing stand-up comedy

In the wake of a struggling economy, traditional publishers have largely turned to celebrities for books, hoping that their fame will help generate book sales. While this is well and good for the publishers, it doesn’t leave much room for those authors who aren’t nearly as famous as their celebrity counterparts. This is why more and more authors, in ever increasing numbers, have turned to indie publishing.

In the same way authors are having to figure out new ways to reach their audience, stand-up comedians are doing the same, as many comedy clubs around the country are booking celebrities (such as NBA star Ron Artest and Jackass alumnus Steve-O) who want to try their hand at stand-up comedy.

Recently, indie authors and stand-up comedians have found some common ground in their efforts to evolve in an ever-evolving time. Just as many authors are now publishing their own work, stand-up comedians are beginning to produce their own stand-up specials. The first comedian to really make a splash in this vain is the incredibly talented and funny Louis C.K.

In 2011, Louis C.K. performed a stand-up special called Live at the Beacon Theatre and used the money he generated from ticket sales to produce a video of the performance, which he later sold on his website for $5 dollars a download.  He posted the video on Saturday, December 10, and by Wednesday the 21st his standup special had earned over $1,000,000. On his website devoted to Live at the Beacon Theatre, C.K. writes:

Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater

If the trend continues with sales on this video, my goal is that [I] can reach the point where when I sell anything, be it videos, CDs or tickets to my tours, I’ll do it here and I’ll continue to follow the model of keeping my price as far down as possible, not overmarketing to you, keeping as few people between you and me as possible in the transaction.

Ross Luippold, associate editor for the Huffington Post, recently reported that Jim Gaffigan, another successful stand-up comedian, is making plans to self-release his next stand-up special exclusively on his website. I’ve no doubt that more comedians will follow suit and see the benefits of bypassing the middleman in order to deal directly with their audience.

Joe Rogan, for, example, the successful stand-up comedian, TV personality, and combat fighting enthusiast, has created an extremely popular podcast called The Joe Rogan Experience, where  he’s found an ideal method for speaking directly to his audience, offering them free entertainment, which organically encourages that same audience to go to his live shows where they will pay to see him perform.

The Joe Rogan Experience

Incidentally, while comedians and indie authors alike are finding new and innovative ways to utilize the rapidly evolving world of technology to connect directly with their audience, audiences are doing the same. With cool innovations, such as the iPad and Kindle Fire, audiences can read a book or watch a stand-up comedy special all on a single piece of technology. With audiences having more and more control over how and when they want to be entertained, it simply makes good sense for authors and comedians to figure out new ways to deal directly with their audience.

In the end, the similarities between what Louis C.K. did and what indie authors are doing is pretty clear. As independent artists, we create our work, fund it with our own capital, then work extremely hard to find and sustain an audience. And whatever money we generate from the loyalty and goodwill of our audience, we can reinvest into our work in order to produce more books or comedy specials or whatever and whatever.

The moral of the story is this: If you are an artist with talent, ambition, and drive, the only thing standing between you and success is you.

"The Prodigal Hour" by Will Entrekin

Will Entrekin is a Pittsburgh-based writer and the founder and director of Exciting Press, an independent publisher of digital literature.

He and I first became acquainted in the summer of 2011 when I published my first novel, Inside the Outside, and was seeking ways to help bring attention to it. Will was tremendously generous both in his praise of the novel, but also in using his various promotional platforms to help shine a light on it. But not only is Will a great guy, he’s also an outstanding writer, as evidenced by his most recent novel, The Prodigal Hour (which I wrote about HERE).

Born and raised in New Jersey, Entrekin studied fiction and screenwriting at the University of Southern California’s Master’s in Professional Writing program with best-selling authors Rachel Resnick, John Rechy, and Janet Fitch and filmmakers including Irvin Kershner, Syd Field, and Coleman Hough. He wrote The Prodigal Hour with the guidance of Shelly Lowenkopf and Sid Stebel, an author Ray Bradbury called “The greatest writing teacher ever,” and received the 2007 Ruth Cohen Fellowship, as well as a 2008 lectureship position teaching composition.

As both a writer and a publisher, Will is pretty busy these days, but I managed to pin him down long enough for the following interview. So, without further ado, here are 10 questions for Will Entrekin:

1. What would you like readers to know about The Prodigal Hour?

It’s an action-adventure novel about time travel and September 11th. Chance Sowin, a young survivor of those tragic events, moves back home hoping for a new beginning and ultimately gets way more than he imagined. It’s about faith and loss and grief and love, but I think mostly it’s about that hope that when you encounter a life-changing or world-changing moment, you realize that it’s not about right or wrong but rather about doing the best you can.

I wrote it at USC, with the guidance of Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back) and Janet Fitch (White Oleander). It’s only five bucks, and it’s in the Kindle Lending Library, so if you have Amazon Prime you can borrow it free.

2. Who are some writers that have affected your storytelling sensibilities?

I grew up on Stephen King and Dean Koontz, then discovered Neil Gaiman, Shakespeare, and Fitzgerald in college. I can’t forget Marvel writers Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza, nor whoever was writing The Hardy Boys back when my grandmother used to give me those novels for Christmas and my birthday every year. Also, Madeline L’Engle, Quantum Leap’s Donald Bellisario, Jim Henson, Rachel Resnick, Janet Fitch, Sid Stebel, Syd Field, and Shelly Lowenkopf.

Will Entrekin

3. Religion and science play out as primary themes in The Prodigal Hour. Does this particular juxtaposition of ideas come from a personal place?

Probably. I was raised Catholic but left the faith in high school. Then a Jesuit college offered me a scholarship, so I went there to study pre-med. While there, I took a theology course with a Jesuit priest who was also a Zen roshi . . . I have a lot in common with Chance Sowin, one of the protagonists of The Prodigal Hour, in terms of that formative background.

I think Chance is going through a much deeper crisis of faith than I ever did, though. Both Chance and I moved back to New Jersey homes shortly after September 11th, but my family was there to help me. Not only does someone murder Chance’s father in the opening chapter, but his mother’s long since deceased, and then his house explodes, so he’s a homeless orphan; Chance had thought he’d survived the worst of it, only to have the rug pulled out from under him. That’s a really tough position for him to be in, and a lot of the action of the second act comes from that place of losing faith but seeking something to believe in anyway, and wanting all those questions that inevitably come up answered. Why do bad things happen to good people? What’s “God’s Will”? Those sorts of questions. Not saying the novel answers them, but I think it explores the mindset of a person asking them. Chance seeks a lot of things: closure, faith, truth, love, action, family, security . . .

4. What methods and strategies have you employed in order to promote both yourself as an author, as well The Prodigal Hour?

Ah, yes. Promotion. Hard question. Because I think the most important aspect of promoting–and the aspect most likely to be skipped in much of the promotion I’ve seen–is writing a good book. I use Twitter a lot, and I play with pricing and make teasers for my books, but to be honest, I’ve lately been trying to move away from the mindset that equates sales with success. I think a lot of people get caught up in how many units they can move, how much traffic they can drive, all those sorts of things. When I was teaching at USC, one of the most common composition essays we encountered was called the well-wrought void; it was, technically, a fine essay, and seemed to be competent, but when you got down to it there was nothing of substance.

I think the most effective promotion an author can have is to produce a solid body of work. The Prodigal Hour is my most recent novel, but I’ve got several different short stories, essays, and collections–as well as another novel, Meets Girl–all available, and I haven’t sold as many books as John Locke or Amanda Hocking or James Patterson (yet?), but I’ve gotten really nice emails from readers and great reviews, and I’m damned proud of what I’ve got out there. I’m only just getting started.

5. Writing a book is such a complex exercise that I imagine no two authors do it exactly the same. Can you summarize your process for me?

Well, it’s different every time. I finished the first draft of The Prodigal Hour in December 2000, a full eleven years before I published it. I rewrote it a bunch of times, and then I went to USC and rewrote it again. Twice. While at USC, I studied with Syd Field, a famous screenwriting teacher, and I adapted the novel into a screenplay with Irvin Kershner, and I think that was most effective in breaking me out of old habits and forcing me to throw out everything but the story I was trying to tell.

It’s still different every time out, but I know, after studying with Syd, I tend to think of stories in terms of either 3-act or 5-act structure (I think most people who believe in “4-act structure” are just mistaking a mid-point plot event for an act break, which it’s not). Sometimes I outline for structure; I had to with The Prodigal Hour, for example, because by the time I got fifteen chapters in, I was juggling no fewer than four separate timelines, so I had to not only figure out where the characters were in each one but also how the timelines affected each other, and then make those effects subtle rather than totally explicit. It’s very tightly plotted in that regard. As a for example, Race and Leonard can’t get a view of Chance and Cassie’s timeline until Cassie activates her time machine.

And I’d tell you more, but spoilers.

"Meets Girl" by Will Entrekin

6. Having studied fiction and screenwriting at the Master of Professional Writing Program at USC program under some impressive authors, such as Janet Fitch and Rachel Resnick, what part of that experience most influenced The Prodigal Hour?

I wouldn’t have been able to write The Prodigal Hour successfully if not for USC, and there was no single part of my entire experience in LA that didn’t affect the work. As I wrote the screenplay, I started to get a better feel for structure, plot, and pacing, and started to write a good book, but then taking an advanced workshop with Janet and really paying attention to language just took my work and the book to a whole other level. Rachel helped me to really explore more things and take greater chances. Sid Stebel was my thesis advisor, and I honestly hope I grow up to be like him; puckish and insightful and a great teacher and writer.

I think I can mark the screenwriting workshop with Syd, where I studied structure, and the fiction workshop with Janet, where I studied language, as the ones that were most important for me as a writer. Going back to your second question, I feel like the books I grew up reading gave me access to talent, but my experience at USC and those two classes in particular finally helped me realize my real potential as a writer. There’s a glimmer of potential in my collection, but now I feel like I’m operating on a whole different level.

7. What drove you to write The Prodigal Hour?

Wanting to tell the best time travel story ever. I grew up watching Quantum Leap, and thinking about paradoxes and alternate realities. I’ve always been fascinated by those ideas. Like the Age of Apocalypse storyline in the X-Men comics that came out when I was in high school. And I just kept wanting to tell the story of the ultimate time travel paradox.

It wasn’t until Hurricane Katrina that I realized I had to ground the story more firmly, and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized September 11th was its foundation. By that point, I hadn’t yet written about what I’d seen that day, but writing about those experiences helped me understand what was going on in The Prodigal Hour story. Why someone would want to use a time machine, and what would be so life-changing as to consider that the chance to make a difference might be more important than life itself.

8. Where do you see your writing career five years from now?

I want to have an Amazon author page I’m ludicrously proud of, and I want to be some part of helping other authors have exactly the same thing. I’m not sure I think of writing as a career; there’s little in the way of security or stability in it, and most writers never actually make their living from it, anyway. I’m pretty sure Shakespeare sold real estate, for example. Which isn’t to say I think of writing as a calling or a higher purpose or really anything besides a means to tell the stories I want to tell. My sincerest hope, I think, would be that in five years, I’ll have had some hand in helping many, many readers find new stories they love.

9. What are you currently working on?

Specifically, I tend not to talk much about projects while I’m working on them. In a general sense, I’m working on a few different projects, mostly shorter work like stories, essays, poetry, and even a couple of novellas and a couple of projects not easily classifiable.

But what I’m really working on is major news, specifically that over the summer I completed the paperwork and established Exciting Press as an independent digital publisher. I never really thought of anything I was doing as “self-publishing”; I always just saw it as using any and all tools available to get people reading stories, and now I’ll be working with other authors in a similar capacity.

Late last year, legal paperwork out of the way, Exciting Press signed bestselling Australian author Nick Earls to a major 16-book deal (the press release was for a dozen, but there were four still in the works at the time). I spent the time after Thanksgiving readying six titles, and we have several more on the way to roll out in the spring and summer. Nick’s one of my favorite authors, and I’m terrifically pleased to be helping him get his backlist to Kindle, Nook, and the iBookstore. He’s been a joy to work with.

"Entrekin" by Will Entrekin

10. What advice would you give to an aspiring author who hopes to see their work published one day?

Stop aspiring.

Forget about hoping to see your work published and concentrate solely on writing the most amazing, stunning, jaw-dropping book you possibly can. Amazon and Kindle have made publishing far more simple, and from word processing to layout to photo editing, there’s free software somewhere that can help. So nowadays, anyone can publish, just like anyone can write.

Which is all the more reason you have to do it well. Focus on story and craft. Understand plot mechanics and character development. Read screenplays with great dialogue and listen to people around you so you know what conversation sounds like. Learn coding and design so you’re not just slapping an amateur cover on a badly laid-out e-book. Hire an editor, and when you do so, hire a real editor, with real qualifications as an editor. It’s tempting to just go to your friend who reads a lot and knows the difference between “its” and “it’s,” but there’s a lot more to editing than fixing apostrophes and comma splices.

Stop aspiring and write something you believe in, and feel confident about standing behind it, and then do so.

And there you have it. I’d like to thank Will Entrekin for taking some time to hang out on Inside Martin. If you’d like to learn more about Will and his writing, you can visit Exciting Writing. You can also connect with Will on Twitter, as well as Facebook.

Victorville Daily Press

On Wednesday, February 1, 2012, I went to prison.

It was a great day.

I visited the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC), Victorville, where I was invited to speak to the inmates and give a seminar on creative writing.

The FCC runs the program through their Educational Department in conjunction with the California Writers Club, High Desert (CWCHD).  When, nearly two months ago, Bob Isbill, the President of the CWCHD, asked if I’d be interested in talking to the inmates, I jumped at the opportunity.

On the morning of February 1, I drove up to the High Desert to meet Bob at his house, where I met his equally lovely wife, before he and I headed off to FCC Victorville. As we entered the doors of the visiting area, we had to pass through security, which isn’t unlike going through the airport.

Hesperia Library

I removed my shoes and belt, placed them in a small plastic tub, then stepped through the metal detector. Bob and I waited for a few minutes, until we were greeted by our escort.

The escort led us through the yard, which, honestly, was a bit intimidating on account of all the movies, TV shows, and documentaries that I’ve seen (not to mention nightmares I’ve had) about prison.

“It’s quiet right now,” he told us, as we moved through the empty yard. “But they’ll be coming out soon.”

There are 20 inmates in the writing program and, as Bob told me, there’s plenty more who’d like to get in. There is, however, a cap put on the number of inmates that can be a part of it; those who are in the program must pass through a series of hurdles, while also exhibiting good behavior, in order to be elegible. Because my presentation was regarded as a special event, they opened it up to more inmates and, in all, 85 men showed up.

Certificate of Appreciation

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a certain level of anxiety when, while I sat at the front of the chapel, I watched the inmates entering and taking their seats. It was their khaki jumpsuits that made it all sort of real for me. These were real men who’d committed real crimes and were serving real time. And I was an outsider on their turf.

Rusty LaGrange, who is also part of the CWCHD, gave me a very kind introduction, after which I began speaking to the roomful of 85 inmates. I spoke about novel writing for about 20 minutes or so, before doing a Q & A with the inmates. The men of FCC Victorville had lots of great questions and we talked for well over an hour. And while I never completely forgot where I was, I did, for the great majority of my time there, forget I was in the company of prison inmates and simply saw them as an audience of men enthusiastic to talk about creative writing. When our time was up and the Q & A came to an end, I was presented with a certificate of appreciation and a beautiful plaque.

Bob Isbill and Me

Following the Q & A, there was time allowed for a meet and greet, giving me an opportunity to speak with many of the inmates one on one. Some had questions about writing and publishing, while others simply wanted to say thank you. A few even told me they were going to ask their families to buy Inside the Outside and send it to the prison for them to read. In all, I couldn’t have asked for a kinder or more gracious audience.

As we were escorted out of the chapel and I waved goodbye to the inmates, I was immediately reminded of the two separate worlds we inhabited. While I was off to the Hesperia Library to prepare for another presentation later that evening, the inmates of FCC Victorville would go back to their daily reality of being prisoners in a federal penitentiary. I can only hope that my visit served to inspire them as much as they inspired me.

And now that I’m out, I can’t wait to go back to prison.