W.A. Kincade, Editor, Author, and Poet

Blog Move

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 03:04:00 +0000

It is unfortunate to have to do this, but do to technical difficulties with Facebook recognizing my blog in links, I've had to move this blog.

Please visit http://www.kincadefiction.blogspot.com for further information about me or my upcoming novels and stories.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of the Altered Realities series, A Life of Death collection of novels, and Strange Circumstances

Making New Writerly Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Thu, 30 May 2013 18:50:00 +0000

As people who know me and some clients can attest to, I can't help myself when encountering typos on websites - a habit of my profession as an editor for WAKE Editing. Whenever I came across a great new author site by J. C. Michael, I couldn't help myself again. There were a few typos here and there, nothing overwhelming though. However, the perfectionist in me had to reach out. James was very appreciative and after integrating the editing comments even asked to do a blog post on Salvation.

Thanks, James! And congratulations on getting published with Books of the Dead Press.

So check out his new site for his thrilling novel Discoredia. It's certainly on my list to be read.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of the Altered Realities series, A Life of Death collection of novels, and Strange Circumstances

Update and Reveal of Salvation, Book Two in Altered Realities

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Sat, 25 May 2013 20:18:00 +0000

I know many fans of Invisible Dawn, the first book in Altered Realities, have been patiently waiting. I want to apologize for the delay in the completion of Salvation, the sequel. It has taken much longer than I planned due to various projects and life's numerous hurdles. However, the time is growing near. In the coming weeks, I will be announcing a call for beta readers who wish to help with the final review and critique, getting a sneak peek at Salvation before its official release.

For now, I thought fans might be interested in a different sneak peek, the creation process and cover reveal of Salvation.

As to the cover's creation, I held a contest a little under a year ago for cover images to be used and received many wonderful submissions. The winner was a young woman with tons of skill. I've included the winning image she submitted here along with a bit of information about her:

Bio: Eleanor Leonne Bennett is a sixteen-year-old, internationally award winning photographer and artist who has won first places with National
Geographic,The World Photography Organization, Nature's Best Photography, Papworth Trust, Mencap, The Woodland trust and Postal Heritage. Her photography has been published in the Telegraph , The Guardian, BBC News Website and on the cover of books and magazines in the United states and Canada. Her art is globally exhibited, having shown work in London, Paris, Indonesia, Los Angeles, Florida, Washington, Scotland,Wales, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Germany, Japan, Australia, and The Environmental Photographer of the year Exhibition (2011) amongst many other locations. She was also the only person from the UK to have her work displayed in the National Geographic and Airbus run See The Bigger Picture global exhibition tour with the United Nations International Year Of Biodiversity 2010.

To find out more or contact this admired artist, her email is listed below along with a site where you can view many of her other creations.
eleanor.ellieonline@gmail.com
www.eleanorleonnebennett.zenfolio.com

The second step in this process took me to one of multiple wonderful graphic artists I've worked with in the past, and another aspiring author, Simon Critchell at SandS Creative. If you need graphics work done, Simon is dead on. He lives in Queensland, Australia, with his family, and I had the wonderful opportunity to work with him on my last novel's cover, The Golden Bulls, book two in the A Life of Death collection. The first version of Salvation he sent me was stupendous and only required a couple minute changes. He had the cover pegged.

The result of both their hard work was this:

It requires one or two small changes, but it is mostly finished. You will notice that the text on the back flap is just a space holder at the moment, but that will be altered as we come closer to the time for beta reading and I get the summary finalized. I am glad to see Salvation coming to fruition and am very happy with the current version. I have no doubt readers will enjoy the next phase in the Altered Realities series.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to let me know what you think. I'd love to hear it.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Interview with Erin Britt

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:07:00 +0000

Erin Britt, author of Celia and a recent college graduate, interviewed me recently about both my writing and editing services. It was great fun. Stop by and check it out here.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Invisisble Dawn Hits Second Place on Amazon.com!

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:49:00 +0000

I am happy to announce that Invisible Dawn is on the second day of a two-day, midweek giveaway and is currently in second place in free epic fantasy and fourth in free paranormal fantasy on amazon.com. Over eleven hundred people have downloaded it in the last day and a half, so get your copy today. Let’s get it into first place in both categories. I’m sure we could even get it in the top 100 downloaded free ebooks on all of amazon. So pass it along. Share it with your friends. Encourage them to get their copy for free today!

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Strange Circumstances is Ranked Second in Fiction Anthologies!

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:37:00 +0000

I am again happy to report that for the second day in a row, Strange Circumstances is ranked second in both its current categories on Amazon. This short story collection about fate is finally getting into the hands of readers, and I hope they enjoy it. If you got a copy and have a moment after reading it or The Golden Bulls, the other book available free right now, leaving a quick, honest review is a great way of saying thanks. Tell your friends. Let's get up to that #1 spot. The giveaway is still going through tomorrow, so everyone has a chance to get their copy of both books.

Let's break those category barriers. Strange Circumstances is even ranked #375 in all free books on Amazon. Let's break that top 100 barrier! The glass ceiling is showing cracks, so help us get the word out. We can't do it without you. It just needs another push, and you could make the difference. It's free, so enjoy two great reads for the price of none! Share the wealth!

Get it on Amazon.com in the US here. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/277-9029069-6960405?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Weston%20Kincade

Get it on Amazon.co.uk in the UK here. http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/277-9029069-6960405?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Weston%20Kincade

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

New Review of Strange Circumstances

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:37:00 +0000

I am happy to announce a new review from blogger and avid reader, Chantale, at Geeky Girl Reviews. She got a chance to read Strange Circumstances, my co-written short story collection about fate, magic, and the supernatural. Stop by and see the great reviews and books she recommends if you are looking for a new book. You can pick up Strange Circumstances on Amazon.com.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Geeky Girl Books Reviewed The Golden Bulls

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:25:00 +0000

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com

Things have been a bit busy around here, but not long ago Chantale at Geeky Girl Book Reviews read and reviewed my newest release The Golden Bulls, sequel to A Life of Death. I was happy to hear her thoughts on it and would love for others to see too. Just follow the link. Her site is great if your interested in finding a new book to read and would like a personal opinion from a fellow reader.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, the A Life of Death series, and Strange Circumstances

Release of New A Life of Death Audiobook

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:44:00 +0000

I am very happy to report that the final version of the serialized audiobook for A Life of Death is finally complete and uploaded. It's available for free, so give it a listen and let your friends know. Your support is much appreciated.

The site is taking some time to replace the summary content for each episode, so that isn't quite accurate at the moment but should update and fix itself in the coming week. The audio sounds great in my opinion. Ed Miller did a great job with the narration and sound work. And having the great Triscale song, Midnight Daydream makes it that much better. Thanks John.

You can find the new serialized audiobook for podcasts and iTunes here. Enjoy!

An entire compiled audiobook will be available soon for sale. I'll keep you posted.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

To Self-publish or Not, and What You're Getting Yourself Into

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:11:00 +0000

Over time, I've been asked by some people about my experiences self-publishing compared to when I tried to go the traditional route, in addition to other questions. It has become apparent that there are a lot of lessons that me and other authors have learned, and so we can speak from experience to help others considering independent publishing as an option. However, what I haven't seen is someone going over the basics, what's involved with independent publishing, or at least what's required to do it right. Now, this post isn't about how to write or format your books or anthologies. It is a simple explanation of what's involved and why I went down that route in the first place. While simple, the process is quite lengthy, so bear with me.

First, as I mentioned in a previous post long ago, let me say that I have never been traditionally published. I am not opposed to it, but would need to have the right publisher and publishing contract. A small publisher was interested in publishing one of my novels some time back, but I politely turned her down simply due to the cost-benefit potential; what she had to offer me as a small publisher versus what percentages she would take as compensation. Since I'd already self-published and completed most of the work she was offering to do as part of her costs, and she had little to offer beyond marketing in local book stores and fairs, I couldn't justify it in my mind. She was pleasant and a great person to talk to, and for some would have worked wonders with their books, but I'd already done so much legwork and wanted my books available online for ereaders, so our interests didn't really connect. However, let me repeat that this offer came after I'd independently published A Life of Death, the book she was interested in. (Update: The A Life of Death collection was picked up by Books of the Dead Press in early 2013 and is no longer self-published.)

This brings me to the follow-up questions that are often asked: How do you go about publishing independently, and does that end your ability of going with a traditional publisher later?

I have heard nothing but good things about authors that go independent while still trying to get traditionally published. The old belief that the submission must never have been published seems to no longer apply. Publishers even search out the independent authors now, offering the most successful ones publishing deals like Amanda Hocking, Scott Nicholson, and others you may have heard of. And they have to offer them a lot of money normally or high percentages, or both, since the sales from successful independent authors garner the author 75% of sales cost normally. Most independent authors are unwilling to take a drop to 6-25% of profits without large sums of money upfront. Those percentages of profits are the equivalent of 2-6% of the total sale per book, so you can see why they would be hesitant when the drop from 75% is so significant. However many independent authors continue to shop for traditional publication, and being able to show good reviews and a developing fan base should improve your likelihood of getting a publisher or agent, assuming you still want one by then.

To begin, you have to get a good cover made that will catch a reader's eye and have your book edited and formatted for ebook and print. I offer editing services through WAKE Editing, but also recommend Katy Sozaeva for thorough and affordable proofreads. However the marketing of your book also falls to you. You have to find the best way to market your book using the online media and social resources available. It can be done. Amanda Hocking, Scott Nicholson, Joe Konrath, Scott Rhine, and many other authors are finding their place in independent publishing and finding success. Even Rowling took her Harry Potter books and went independent once their contracts were up with the publishers. However, whether it is right for you is a different question. It takes work because you are acting as your own publisher, buying your own ISBNs, finalizing your work so it is the equivalent of traditionally published books including finding a professional editor and cover artist, and contacting book reviewers to get honest reviews and do interviews.

The alternative is waiting for years to get published, more than likely only to wind up exactly where you are now, but with lots of rejection emails and letters. Some authors get picked up and published traditionally, but you statistically have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting published by one of the big 6 publishers. That is why so many authors turn to independent publishing now and why publishers are now more inclined to look at independents than to sift through their slush piles. They know that at least the independents are willing to work in their novel's best interest and can see how the reading public is responding to the book. It helps them to decide if they'd like to approach the author or wait and see which authors with agents approach them, at least that's my understanding.

The Process:
The one thing I'd advise anyone considering branching into independent publishing of their own books is to make sure your book was copy edited based on the Chicago Manual of Style rules. That is the bible of fiction writers and the standard all fiction editors use. Then, you need a cover. I have used three cover artists in the past, all of which I would recommend as being affordable and creating very good covers. My first novel's cover, Invisible Dawn, was created by Bradley Wind. The cover for A Life of Death and Strange Circumstances was created by Renee at The Cover Counts, and for my most recent release, the cover to the sequel to A Life of Death entitled The Golden Bulls, was created by Simon Critchell at SandS Creative. I highly recommend any of these, but there are others that are also reasonably priced with good results.

The next step is deciding whether you want it in print or just ebook. Then having someone format it appropriately for those two things or just ebook etc. Most of the books I sell are ebooks. You can do the formatting yourself, but it does have a learning curve. Or you can pay a professional editor to format it for you. Then decide where you are going to publish it. I recommend CreateSpace for print on demand. They will also get your book out to Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com for people to buy in print. Lulu also does this, but their manufacturing costs for the book tend to be higher for the same product, meaning you have to put more money in upfront and sell the books for above-average costs.

For ebook, you can use Smashwords to take your formatted copy and convert it to all of the different formats. There's also Calibre if you'd prefer to do it yourself. However, either way, I'd recommend downloading Sigil, another free software, to go through and check for errors and fix the table of contents file and other things. Then you can re-upload the fixed file to Smashwords if you want to use their service to distribute to every ebook market like Apple, Sony, Kobo, and the rest. However, they do so for a small percentage of your sales. The one they can't send yours to is Amazon.com. They've tried, but Amazon has 90% of the ereader market and hasn't been willing to work out a deal. I guess Amazon would rather you use their conversion service at KDP and sell directly on Amazon. It is free, so easy to do with the same finalized file. That will then make your books available in every format through every major online ebook distributor.

However, you then have another decision to make. Amazon offers the Prime option. For authors, this is called the KDP Select enrollment option and places your book into their lending library. You are paid a percentage of the funds allocated for that month, normally around $600,000.00, based on how many times your book was downloaded in the lending library compared to all the downloads from that month. This tends to be about the same price you'd get in sales off a $2.99 book for each download. In addition, Prime gives you the ability to do five days worth of giveaways in every ninety-day period, which is how long the contract you agree to lasts. If you don't opt out, you will start the next ninety days under contract, with an additional five days of giveaways for each book you have in KDP Select. While KDP Select is free and gives you a great way to get your book into the hands of 90% of the ereading public to help boost sales, but there is a catch. Being in KDP Select requires that Amazon is the sole distributor of your ebook - not print, just ebook. That means that you cannot distribute your book through Smashwords or any other ebook retailer so long as you are under a KDP Select contract for that particular book. Since all of those other retailers only amount to about 10% of the ereading populace, this is a bit of a quandary - cater to all, but reduce your ability to get the word out to 90% of readers as a new and upcoming author, or accept KDP Select's proprietary distribution limitations through Amazon and gain that giveaway and lending library ability. The decision is yours. (On a side note, these percentages are based on the last time I checked, which was close to a year ago. They may have changed somewhat, but can't have adjusted drastically. From what I understand, with the growing sales of iPads being used as ereaders, Amazon may hold less than 90% by this point, but they still hold a very large majority.)

Once you've uploaded it, download a copy for yourself from the KDP preview and/or Smashwords. You can read these through Adobe Digital Editions for epub and the Kindle previewer for computers. Skim through the file to ensure that there aren't any problems with how it's being viewed on the ereaders. If there are problems, you can upload a new file once you've addressed the issue and saved it. Then preview it again to be sure everything looks good.

Once it is finished, it will take Smashwords some time to get your book to all the distributors, two to three weeks normally once you've met their catalog requirements and have no errors in the file. Amazon will get your ebook up and available on their site fairly quickly, normally within 24-48 hours. However, I highly recommend that once it's up you double check everything, making sure your Summary appears correctly and without typos or errors, that it is priced accurately, etc.

While your book is then up and ready to be sold, that's when the real work begins. You have to research book reviewers like Coral at Alchemy of Scrawl, David at An Eclectic Bookshelf, and Christi at Alaskan Book Cafe. There are so many great book bloggers out there that I can't name them all here, but they are great people. Get to know them. Also get in touch with actual readers and do interviews and giveaways. You need to get your book into people's hands so that they can judge for themselves and give it honest reviews. This can be done using the Kindleboards, which is just a great place where kindle readers often go looking for giveaways and good books to read. There are also other book sites and book bloggers that have followings. The people that follow them rely on them like professional movie critics. Book Reviewers and Bloggers are the literary critics of today, and I have never found one to be anything but pleasant and agreeable. Often, their success is dependent on getting wonderful upcoming authors to do interviews in addition to giving reliable reviews for their followers. Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, and other sites allow readers and bloggers to say what they thought of a book. It's great, so get your books into their systems as quickly as possible. They all have slightly different processes for adding books, so familiarize yourself with them. Used to, you would buy a book you saw someone else reading or that a friend recommended. Now, reviews act as an extension of that word-of-mouth recommendation. Reviews can make or break you, which is why you need to have the best product out that you can create and let it speak for itself. When contacting Book Bloggers or corresponding with readers, never ask for a review only if they like it. That's unethical and just bad practice. Have confidence in your book, the thing you put so much time and effort into creating and refining. Let it speak for itself once it's in the reader's hands. If you've done your job, that's all you can ask for. The rest is up to the reader.

There are also other marketing avenues you can take, such as pay-per-click through Facebook and other major advertising methods, but due to their cost, I have had limited experience with them. I am sure they can help you build your Facebook site or website, but beyond that, I don't know how much they actually affect your sales or if the cost would be worth it. The results will probably differ for each person. That goes for just about every kind of marketing though. A pretty recent article I read regarding marketing can be found here by Jonathan Gunson. It might be beneficial. There are plenty of others out there though. Marketing is an artform in itself. I've tried different things over time. Some that I currently find helpful are Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite, Book-Buzzr, Google Plus, and others. These sites help you connect with readers for free. I've also used Authonomy to connect with other authors and even Wattpad. They tend to serve different audiences and purposes, but are helpful to new authors if you use them to connect with other authors and get honest peer review. The big step after that is simple, yet very hard - honestly consider the advice. If a few people are saying the same or similar things, you really should take it to heart so that you can improve your writing. Never consider your growth as a writer to be complete. You always have more to learn. Some of these marketing and social media sites have worked better than others, but that doesn't mean they won't work better for you. The best kind of marketing though, is simply writing and publishing more books. Having more books out there for people to read increases their chances of coming across one of your books. Then, if they liked the first, they'll pick up another.

While I am an author, I am also a lover of books and a reader. Like most readers, if I find an author whose books and style of writing I enjoy, I'll pick up every book they've put out, finding time to read them all. So authors and readers, rejoice in the understanding that we are one big family of literary lovers. So, help entertain each other. Put out your books for readers to enjoy. Readers, don't be afraid to try something new. You never know what you'll find.

My thanks go out to Marie, Jason, and the others who have asked similar questions. These are good questions, and I just hope I can help some authors who are considering going this route to avoid time-consuming pitfalls and know what they're getting themselves into. Self-publishing is fun, but everything rests on your shoulders. It can be difficult at times, even frustrating, but for those interested in putting in the work, I would recommend it. If you are one of these authors and found this post informative, please share it and tell a friend. If you have questions I haven't addressed, feel free to post them below and I will respond. Thanks for reading.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

New Review of The Golden Bulls

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:12:00 +0000

Another great review appeared by David King, a UK book blogger for An Eclectic Bookshelf. He's reviewed my work before, and I always love hearing his honest thoughts. Take a look for yourself, but be warned that if you haven't read A Life of Death, you'll probably be better served reading his review of it first. It can be found here.

Since David read A Life of Death, it's gotten a face lift and a price drop with the release of the sequel. Now you can get the ebook for under a dollar on Amazon.com.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, the A Life of Death Collection, and Strange Circumstances

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:03:00 +0000

I am happy to report that A Life of Death: The Golden Bulls, my most recent release, is now available in print on Amazon.com. My thanks go out to Simon at SandS Creative for his great work with the cover and my proofreaders and beta readers. Thank you all so much for your help.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

The First Reviews for A Life of Death's Sequel, The Golden Bulls

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:48:00 +0000

There have been a couple reviews of The Golden Bulls in the first month after its release, and I wanted to let everyone know about them. They are quite diverse in their approaches, but I was very happy to get them and would like to say thanks to each reader/reviewer for letting everyone know what they thought.

The first was a five star review by a reader with the Amazon username of Dr. R. You can read about it here. It was pretty good.

The second was very short, but sweet on Goodreads.com saying, "I enjoyed this book," and rating it at four stars.

The third was a very in-depth review by Bryce Campbell on his blog. This is a very long and constructive review, highlighting various things he liked and didn't. (I will say that if you haven't read the book, reading this review does have some spoilers, so you've been warned.) The formatting he mentioned is evidently only with the epub version, not the mobi, and I will be taking a look at it immediately to fix said issues. I'm not sure what caused them, but this kind of feedback always helps so other readers don't encounter the same problems. Thankfully, it is only a result of the software I used to render the epub.

There have also been other ratings at four and five stars, all of which are very helpful and I appreciate. Other book bloggers have agreed to read and post honest reviews, so I hope to hear from them soon. Take a look for yourself at all of the reviews and decide whether you'd like to grab your own copy of the book.

Thanks again to my readers, reviewers, and everyone keeping tabs on my upcoming releases. I have some things coming up I think you will enjoy and will let you know about those surprises soon.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

A Christmas Surprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 02:36:00 +0000

There is quite a lot going on currently. I even have a special holiday surprise for everyone toward the end of this post.

Firstly, the newly recorded audiobook of A Life of Death is approaching completion. Ed Miller, the narrator and audio guru, has been doing a bang-up job with it, and I'm very impressed. I will keep you posted on the actual release date of it in the near future.

In addition, as many of you already know, on December 15th, the sequel to A Life of Death was released in e-book, titled The Golden Bulls. As with all new e-books, readers often base whether they are going to buy or read a book based on the reviews of fellow readers . . . so please do me a favor. If you read it, jump on Amazon.com and/or Goodreads.com and leave an honest review. Really, most authors would love to hear what you think, as would other readers, so let them know after you finish a book when you have a couple minutes. It only takes a sentence or two.

Along with the new release, I'm doing a giveaway of e-books and signed copies of The Golden Bulls, so if you'd like a chance to win, stop by Katy Sozaeva's blog. It's only going on until this Sunday, so hurry and enter for your chance to win.

Now, the surprise I mentioned is an interview with an up-and-coming author. I recently got a chance to read The New Death by James Hutchings. It's a collection of short stories written in the style of H.P. Lovecraft. Some are witty, while others are quite thought provoking and say a lot about society like the play "Everyman". My personal favorites were the witty spoofs like "Everlasting Fire". One particular term he used in the story that still makes me chuckle was "flaming hobo sexuals". To understand the context, you've gotta read it for yourself, so grab a copy. The e-book's free to download right now, but I'm not sure how long the giveaway will last.

James contacted me a while back, quite a while unfortunately, but life got in the way until recently. I finally got the chance to read the copy James sent me and he consented to do a little interview. So, enjoy meeting our guest, James Hutchings:

WK: Now, James, I know you've been busy writing, but try and put yourself in the mindset of a reader. We all love a good book, as I'm sure you do too. What would you say is the first book you remember reading?

JH: The first writer I was a fan of was Enid Blyton. When I was young in Australia her books were pretty much everywhere, over ten years after they came out. She wrote books about idealised upper-class British children who either solve mysteries (the Famous Five and Secret Seven series) or have fantastical adventures (The Faraway Tree series). Actually she also wrote the Noddy books, about a little gnome of the same name, but I don't remember reading them.

WK: I've heard of the Noddy books (not to be confused with naughty), but never read them. I'll have to see where I can pick them up some time . . . probably amazon, lol. So how about now? Who is your favorite author?

JH: At the moment it's probably Jack Vance. I'm reading through his 'Planet of Adventure' series.

WK: Very cool. I hear that's a great series too. Now, I've always wondered, and maybe some day I'll have Jack Vance on to ask this question too, but I've wondered what makes other writers tick and how they began on such a solitary road as writing. How did you get your start?

JH: I did a Bachelor of Arts majoring in creative writing and media, but I didn't do anything with it after graduating. Years later I created a fantasy city called Teleleli or Telelee as a background for role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Once I finished I realised there wasn't any demand for it. My ex suggested I use it as a setting for stories instead, and that's how I got started. Along the way I realised that my poems were better received, so I'm concentrating on them now.

WK: I remember some mentions of Teleleli or Telelee in The New Death. It was quite creative and even morbid in the stories I read. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself. I've always been an Edgar Allen Poe fan, and some of your stories reminded me settings like he creates. Now, something I get asked fairly often, as I'm sure you do, is what is your inspiration for writing? So how about it; care to give us the lowdown?

JH: Some ideas just pop into my head, without me knowing where the idea comes from. An example of that is a recent poem I wrote, called 'Angel Square', about a square where angels take the place of pigeons. Other ideas come from experiences in my life. For example a while ago I found three injured birds in the space of a few weeks. I took all of them to the local vet. As I was carrying one of them, I thought that the woman at reception might wonder where I was finding all these injured birds, and that was the inspiration for my story 'Lost, Feral or Stray'.
I've written a lot about cats, based on having been a cat owner. But I'm a lot more cynical about them than some cat-lovers. One reviewer said he couldn't work out whether I loved cats or hated them.

Of course other fiction is a big inspiration. In some cases it's obvious. I've done poems directly based on stories by HP Lovecraft and other writers for example. In other cases it's more subtle: for example the city of Teleleli or Telelee is partly based on Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, partly on Terry Pratchett's Ankh-Morpork, and partly on Port Blacksand in the Fighting Fantasy series. The dialogue in Lord of the Rings had a big influence on how my characters talk.

WK: It's hard to resist having at least one character shout out in a book, "You cannot pass!" So, I certainly can understand the draw to Tolkien. Sometimes it's hard not to pull from favorite characters in other authors' books or movies. I sometimes draw from characteristics of people I know or meet, especially the quirky ones you can never seem to forget, even if it was so bad you wished you hadn't met them in the first place. Ironically, sometimes those are the best characters to watch and draw ideas from. Does your inspiration ever come from people you know?

JH: Not really. I usually start with an idea for a plot, rather than for a character.

WK: You mentioned movies earlier. Which movie or drama series do you love the most?

JH: 'Titanic', followed by 'Land and Freedom'.

WK: Titanic, now that's one I'm sure a lot of people could agree with you on. I can't remember how many girls swooned over Leo when that came out. Heck, I even remember hearing my girlfriend at the time and her mother both chattering and swooning over him in that movie at one point. While not writing or watching Titanic, what do you enjoy doing?

JH: My other main hobby is coding online games. I spent several years writing an online game called Age of Fable (www.ageoffable.net). I don't have any plans to do more on it, but it's still online, and you can play it for free. I've also done a few smaller projects. For example I did an online version of the computer game Oregon Trail.

WK: Oh wonderful. I love video games, but could never quite grasp coding myself. I remember a bit of C++, but if someone hired me to do any coding I'd basically give them a ton of FOR loops interconnecting all over the place, but never really accomplishing anything. Just a little over my head. Writing and editing are more my speed. Do you have a favorite game, cologne, or anything that you just can’t live without?

JH: I could live without it, but there are a couple of computer games that I play at least once a day: 'Chessrogue' and 'Sorcerer's Cave'. Both of them are free to download, and quite 'retro' in their graphics (Chessrogue actually uses only text). But they're very addictive.

WK: Addiction . . . that's a hard one to overcome. I played World of Warcraft for a few years when it first came out. Talk about an addiction. It took venturing into novel writing and finding my love and passion for sci-fi and dark fantasy to kick the WOW habit. The result was my first book, Invisible Dawn. Fortunately, I'm happy to have discovered my passion. I always loved writing, but never thought I could write a novel until I just got it in my head to do so at one point. Thankfully, I enjoy it and hope my readers do too. If you had to choose one of your books, which would you say is your favorite?

JH: 'The New Death and others' is the only full-length book I've put out, so it's my favorite by default.

WK: Earlier I was talking about reviews and what people say about our books on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com. People probably don't realize it, but we authors read them. We thrive off them a lot of times. They give us insight into things we never realized about ourselves and our writing - at least they do for me. What was the best review or comment on any of your books?

JH: This isn't the best, but it's the one I remember most clearly. "There were several amusing parts in this poem, but it’s not consistently funny throughout, which is what I’d be looking for in a humour poem. I think the problem (as I see it) is that you’re often vague or allusive; specific details tend to be funniest." It would have been a lot more encouraging if the poem was meant to be funny.

WK: Wow! That's exactly what I'm talking about. That review probably helped you to become a better writer and told you something about yourself. I want to thank you for joining us this holiday, James. I appreciate it and hope the viewers and readers find themselves enjoying The New Death or your most recent publication, Two-fisted Tweets, both of which are free in e-book right now.

As I mentioned before, please give these books a read and feel free to pick up my newest paranormal mystery, The Golden Bulls. And remember, the best gift you can give for another reader and the author is to leave a comment. During this holiday, give a two-minute gift by saying what you thought. It would be appreciated by all. To read my review of The New Death, visit Goodreads.com.

Thanks for joining James Hutchings and myself this Christmas. Have a great New Years!

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, the A Life of Death series, and Strange Circumstances

Sneak Peek at the New and Improved Audiobook of A Life of Death

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 04:57:00 +0000

While I'm finishing writing the sequel to A Life of Death, I have been working on a couple projects. The sequel to A Life of Death, The Golden Bulls, should be out by mid to late December, hopefully in time for the Christmas holidays.

However, until then I thought I'd give everyone a sneak peek into what's been brewing in the Alex Drummond story. A great audio artist, Ed Miller, is re-recording the narration of the A Life of Death podiobook and a larger audio file of the book for purchase. The initial intro is about done, and I thought you might enjoy hearing the great new sound for this audiobook. I dropboxed the short intro with accompanying music from the song Midnight Daydream by Triscale to give you a better idea of what the finished product will sound like. Give it a listen using the following link: Master Intro!

Please let me know what you think and stay tuned for more in the Alex Drummond saga.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Vivid Dreams that Make You Say, "What?"

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:18:00 +0000

I had a doozy of a dream last night and have heard that others had some really vivid dreams too. Not sure if the phases of the moon had something to do with it or what, but thought I'd share it and see how everyone else's night went. If you had a real weird dream last night, tag it on and tell me about it.

In mine somehow I got off work for a break, evidently I was still attending teacherly workshops in my dream, and gave a stranger a ride home. I had to be back at 12:30, but somehow wound up going to a horror show with the guy and his family, all strangers. It got worse, or better depending on how you look at it, because the horror show was a cross between a play and a drive-in movie with everyone dressed up in makeup and masks like it was a Rocky Horror Picture Show spinoff.

I spotted an old middle school friend named Erik I haven't seen in ages in the crowd who has always been tall, but had evidently hit the seven foot mark over the last dozen years. Then I wound up driving home in a Fiat the size of those Rubbermaid kiddy cars with my head sticking out the plastic sunroof. To top it off, in the dream I kept panicking about being late like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, always checking my watch. Never did make it back to work. I woke up just shaking my head going "What the Hell" and refused to go back to sleep.

How about your dreams? Anyone had any doozies that freaked them out?

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:32:00 +0000

Bryce Campbell read and reviewed Invisible Dawn, the first book in my Altered Realities series. He was quite critical and highlighted both the good and bad points throughout, which is very helpful. The review is certainly worth reading because he can give you great insights into books to read on his blog. I recommend stopping by his blog and seeing for yourself.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

To Outline or Not to Outline? A New Writer's Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:42:00 +0000

I recently came across a blog post at Pen In Hand entitled "Outlines: Mapquest for novelists, or soul-killing, oxygen-sucking waste of time?" by Donna Gillespie and it was a great take on her process. To read it and see what motivated me to address the same topic, you can find her post here.

This is a topic that many writers find difficult to grasp because there are so many perspectives. This is not because using outlines is so incredibly difficult that creating one is a process that has to be mastered, at least not in my opinion. It's controversial and difficult for new writers because they simply don't know what will work best for them. It's different from one writer to the next. So here's my take and my process.

I understand and agree with Donna to an extent. However, I do like outlines. My outlines probably don't meet the full definition of what her instructor, Leonard Bishop, taught her, but they help to keep me focused and allow me to reread what I've written in the outlined summary of each chapter rather than having to go back and reread everything I wrote in the book.

I begin with brainstorming about the characters, setting, and various notes I want to integrate throughout the novel. Once I collect them into a sequence of events that generally outlines where I'm going with the novel and how I'd like things to end up etc..., I begin chapter one. I always go back to the outline, adding more detailed events and planning about a quarter of the book or more ahead of where I am in the writing. Then I go back to writing, fleshing out the chapter summaries, and filling in the blanks. Once I catch up to the end of that quarter of the book, I go back to the outline, bold what I've written to easily show where I've progressed, and write out a more detailed account of my general comments for the next quarter of the book. Then, as it says on shampoo bottles, rinse and repeat, key word being "repeat." By the time I've officially written the first half of the book, the entire book is normally outlined in detail. As Donna mentioned, writing is an organic process and sometime I find myself adding things to the outline after the fact, even entire chapters. The outline isn't a permanent, fixed entity to me. It's just a way to focus and align my thoughts, jot down notes, and ensure I'm still working on the same fundamental concepts, themes, and plot line, (the tree trunk) and haven't "branched" off into another imaginary realm that is somehow intertwined.

In the end, the outline proves to be more of a visual guide for my thoughts and plans, helping the book to become reality. It inevitably changes at times when new ideas come to me or better ideas override the old. Like the tree Donna mentioned and a writer's imagination, to me an outline must flex and grow from you, staying a few chapters ahead and offering a light at the end of the tunnel to work toward.

Some writing professors from my past have been fans of outlines and some have not. One instructor of mine promoted being in tune with your surroundings and using it to support or stimulate your mind and your writing. He often took the class out next to a pond, under a copse of trees, or to various places where the events around us might bring about new ideas. He wasn't confined by the structures of an outline, but that was his style. I agree with finding a place, things, surroundings, and visuals that can give you ideas. I got an entire concept for one of my short stories from just seeing a large black and white butterfly while I was out hiking. It's wings were torn to shreds, but somehow it still managed to fly perfectly. Out of that one sight came "House Al'Amin" a supernatural zombie short story published by TPP Publishing in the Creature Feature anthology. In the end, the butterfly became a moth in the story, but the entirety of it all stemmed from that one sight.

All of these things can affect your writing, but you are the one that finds what works best for you. More than likely it will be a combination of things. In my opinion, whether you use an outline or not is up to you. I use a hybrid version that works for me. I've never seen anyone use the same method I do, but I certainly can't be the first. If you're a new writer, try different methods. Don't be afraid to give it a shot. Find what works for you. If something you try is difficult at first, try your best to understand why it's done a certain way and do it. If it doesn't work for you, change it. You can alter any idea to make it work for you so long as you understand why you're doing it. Is it faster, more efficient, does it allow you to easily find things or come back to character details? Whatever the reason, if you think it will help you to get the words on the page, modify the idea and make it your own. Find your style, but above all, put the pen to paper or open the laptop and write. The end goal is still the same, to put together your ideas and create the book, your legacy. There are many avenues to travel which will get you there. Find the one that works for you.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Columbus Day Giveaway of A Life of Death Sunday and Monday, October 7th and 8th. Tell your friends and get them a copy off Amazon.com before the sequel comes out.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Invisible Dawn Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:51:00 +0000

Just a quick update: I'm working diligently on the sequel to A Life of Death and then will finish Salvation, the upcoming sequel to Invisible Dawn. You have to write the stories as they strike you, so that's why things are a bit out of sequence now.

However, to help those that haven't gotten their copy of Invisible Dawn yet, I will be doing a free giveaway over the next three days, September 13th-15th. So please let your friends and followers know about this entertaining scifi/dark fantasy where evolution varies from one realm to the next and in a world not dissimilar from our own, government black-op agencies are kidnapping special children. Get your copy starting tomorrow, for free!

Find it here.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Contagion of the Gods Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:23:00 +0000

A recent book I edited by Scott Rhine is being given away in ebook today only. This fantasy explores the relationship between Greek gods, mortals, and the future. Magic is in the air, and in the blood. Grab your free copy on amazon.com today.

Here's my review:
I was given this book to edit and enjoyed it immensely, like I have all of Scott Rhine's books. I loved Pythias' story: his painful childhood, the political corruptions and truths still present in today's society, and the manipulative way he plays both sides for the betterment of humanity. This is an entertaining tale that I highly recommend. In addition, when I first saw the cover, I was blown away. Contagion of the Gods isn't just a pretty face, but great inside and out. Pick up your copy today if you enjoy tales of Gods, fantasy, and adventure reminiscent of Homer's story of Odysseus.

After you give it a read, help others find and enjoy such an entertaining book by leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.com.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Contest Winner Update

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:13:00 +0000

Yesterday I received an email from Kim Pyrros, one of our contest winners. It included a great picture that I wanted to share:

"Enjoying a day at the pool! Reading my new book..."

Thanks for the update, Kim. I'm glad you're enjoying the new book and shirt. Looks great.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

Strange Circumstances Weekend Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:38:00 +0000

This upcoming weekend, July 21st and 22nd, is a great time to get free books, especially short stories that can be read while waiting in the doctor's office, auto shop, on your break at work, and many other places. So, here's a little information about Strange Circumstances, a co-written book by Marshall J. Stephens, David Chrisley, and myself.

The future's a gamble. Few people know what they really want, and those that reach it often find that it isn't what they expected. Strange Circumstances is an anthology of stories exploring the predictability of fate and destiny . . . or rather their unpredictability.

In the twelve twisted tales and fifteen flash-fiction pieces, Strange Circumstances explores the boundaries of our universe to see what lurks in the unknown, hidden within the mysteries of science, magic, extraterrestrials, religion and the paranormal. Amid celebrities who hit their peak and vanish, a tree that grows up from the floor of a moving train car, unspeakable conspiracy, monstrous espionage, and wicked sorcery, there is something within these pages for anyone who enjoys dark tales and twists of every sort.

The ebook will be up for free this weekend on Amazon.com.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

ol'." ol.'" or ol'". Which is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:15:00 +0000

• Does the period go before the apostrophe when a dialect-inflected word of your dialog ends the sentence?
• What if the apostrophe is actually a single quote emphasizing a word within a sentence or setting off a movie title like 'Black Hawk Down,' would the comma or period go before or after the single quote?
• How about if you have a list of them?

As an editor, I just wanted to clarify on these questions. Some of them have rarely been addressed on the web, yet they are common mistakes made by many, many writers. I ran into this problem early on in my writing and editing careers and have consistently encountered them time and again while editing other authors' works. I've researched the answers in the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and throughout the web. After a good bit of searching, I discovered that some of the answers depend on the situation and your location.

First, lets look at the first related group of questions regarding dialog.

Questions: "The dan' dog was ol'" Would you place the period before the single quotation mark being used in place of the letter or not? What if your example isn't dialect, but a plural possessive that ends the sentence? "Mom, we went to Martins' house, but they had to go. So we wound up at the Nelsons'" Where would the period or comma go?

Answer: It sounds a bit like something Mark Twain would have written, and while many authors attempt to avoid the inflection of missing letters as dialect would dictate, many writers prefer to stay true to a character's voice. However, they still wish to follow proper grammar rules as dictated by CMOS and other authorities. CMOS says always place commas and periods before quotation marks. The key here is when you have a missing letter, you are replacing it with an apostrophe, not a single quotation mark. So, according to CMOS, no period or comma should go between a word and its apostrophe. That means both examples should be punctuated like this:

"The dan' dog was ol'."
"Mom, we went to Martins' house, but they had to go. So we wound up at the Nelsons'."

If you have a tagline following it, always remember that the period needs to be replaced with a comma, but the placement won't change.

Now to answer the second group of punctuation questions mentioned at the beginning of this post.

Questions: What if the apostrophe is actually a single quote emphasizing a word within a sentence or setting off a movie title like 'Black Hawk Down' would the comma or period go before or after the single quote? How about if you have a list of them?

Answer: These are very good questions and for this, it truly depends on your location. As I said before, CMOS is basically the Bible for writers. They say that all periods and commas go inside quotation marks, both single and double.

This means that the correct way to punctuate a sentence using this example would be:
I just watched the movie 'Black Hawk Down.' The period is inside the closing single quotation mark.

The same goes for if you have a list:
We sat through an entire movie marathon and watched "A Life of Crime," "Tango and Cash," and 'Black Hawk Down.'

An additional error I have often seen people make with punctuation regarding single quotes happens when they use them to emphasize a word. For example:
I wouldn't say it was enjoyed by 'all'

Here the period again goes inside the closing single quotation mark, so it would be:
I wouldn't say it was enjoyed by 'all.'

This creates problems for some writers, especially programmers when one letter or punctuation mark can entirely change something. For instance, imagine if you are writing instructions and telling a programmer to change a section of code to "header." Because of this rule, you've just told your programmer to add a period to the end of the header command, even though that may not be what you intended. While I'm not much of a programmer, I know enough that this can entirely change the program and how it works. I don't necessarily agree with this logic, and neither do a lot of other people. Unfortunately, this is the accepted rule throughout the US.

However, as I said, your location and where you're shopping your writing matters in this case. In Britain there is an accepted system that is somewhat more logical. The accepted form in Britain requires the author or editor to determine if the quoted material is part of the sentence being punctuated or separate. So, for the cases above, most British authorities would place the commas and/or periods outside the quoted material.

Hope these tidbits of punctuation knowledge help.

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances

July Fourth Two for the Price of None eBook Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Weston Kincade) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 04:53:00 +0000

Get ready readers! For those of you with a little spare time this July Fourth Holiday, you can get two books free. If you liked Invisible Dawn and/or A Life of Death and wish to share it with friends, now's their opportunity. July 4th and 5th I'll be giving away free copies of both books on Amazon.

If you haven't read one or both of them, take advantage of this free opportunity. Tell your friends so they can get a copy too. Just follow the Amazon link above.

Happy reading!

Weston Kincade ~ Author of Invisible Dawn, A Life of Death, and Strange Circumstances