Okay, I know I promised this blog would be about writers in the virtual sky of the Internet, but today I must post instead about writers in a different virtual sky – the one not in cyberspace, but “heavenspace,” or whatever you want to call that dimension beyond the physical.

I want to tell you about two writers who both happened to be my cousins, and who were both named Dian/e (a name derived from an ancient Indo-European word meaning “heavenly or divine”), and most important of all, who both gifted me with inspiration and support to be a writer myself.

They graced my life at different times.  Neither knew the other.  One died years ago; the other just a few weeks ago.  But they both lived lives of great courage and difficulty and both left me with a great legacy.

(Photo “Ladder to Heaven”
courtesy of Jolka Igolka

The First “Writer-Cousin Dian”

The first Dian entered my life as a baby when I was less than a year old. We played together as children, shared our teenage angst and fantasies with each other, and invented secret worlds of our own.  During the summer between fifth and sixth grades, Dian and I got to spend a whole week together at our grandparents’ place.

It was during that week and because of Dian that I wrote my first “novel,” fell in love with writing stories, and set my life’s goal to be a writer.

The full story of that week of writing with Dian is published on my Web site, and I encourage you to read it there. It also tells of her tragic death at age 40 after a horrible experience similar to the one portrayed in the book and movie Not Without My Daughter. I think if Dian had followed a different path in life, she would be one of today’s best-selling novelists. But she made another choice. She followed the love of a man rather than the love of writing, and ended up dying as a result.

There’s not a single time I sit down to write that I don’t think of Dian with tremendous gratitude for showing me the joy of writing fiction, and it’s partly because of her that I’ve held on to my life’s goal for all these years.

The Second “Writer-Cousin Diane”

The second Diane showed up (with the added “e”) much later, when I first met my new “cousins-in-law.” Of all these new cousins, Diane had the most time to spend getting to know me because she was confined to a wheelchair in her parents’ home. At the prime of her life, she’d been struck down by multiple sclerosis.

Diane had a brilliant, creative mind, but didn’t become a serious writer until MS stole her body’s mobility, requiring her to live more in her mind than ever before.  She started writing poetry, lots of poems, some of which were published.  Then she got an idea for a novel and focused on writing it.

Diane wrote part of the first draft of that novel using her own fingers to press the computer keys.  But then her disease destroyed the muscles in her hands.  She didn’t give up.  Instead, she found volunteers – aides, friends, high school students – who wrote down the story as she dictated it.  She finished the first draft this way.  Then began the revision process.  She would read the pages her helpers had printed off and talk them through the changes they should make to the manuscript.  She went through numerous revision cycles this way, until she decided she was done.

Then she did what most serious writers do: she sent her first novel out to agents and publishers and started on a second one.

Like most manuscripts, hers was rejected at first.  It didn’t matter; she knew the realities of the writing business and continued working on her second novel and resubmitting her first.

All the while, her body continued to betray her.  She developed cancer and had to take a break from writing while she underwent treatment.  She sent the cancer into remission, but the MS continued eating away at her neurological system.  She could no longer operate her mechanized wheelchair, much less hold the pages of her writing.  Still, she never stopped writing and submitting.

Early this fall, her MS had progressed so far that her movement was limited to mostly just a few muscles in her face.  She was put in hospice care.

The last time I saw her, she asked me, as she always did whenever we met, “How’s that novel coming, Joan?  You know, you’ve got to get it finished and sent out.”  She said we helped motivated each other to keep writing, but I suspect I got the better end of that deal.

Then one day we got the expected, yet dreaded, phone call.  Diane had died.  My sadness at her loss was bad enough, but it was worsened by the thought that she’d never see her novels published – if they ever were.

We traveled across the state to attend Diane’s funeral, and I carried with me this deep double-sadness.  It wasn’t until after the funeral, when I could talk with her two best friends and writing helpers that I found out what happened.  Diane died on a Sunday.  On each of the preceding two days, she’d received acceptance letters from publishers – both of whom wanted to publish her first novel. She died knowing that her words would, indeed, be shared with the world.  She died happily.

I don’t know which publisher her survivors will choose for her novel or when the book will be published, but someday you’ll see on the bookstands a novel by the author Diane Groth.  That’s her.

I realize how lucky I am to have had these two muse-cousins in my life. I get goosebumps when I think about the fact they shared the same name; in fact, they’re the only cousins I have with that name.  But most of all, I’m filled with gratitude that these cousins each helped me develop the two most important qualities a writer needs:  the love of writing stories, and the persistence – against all odds – to keep writing each and every day.

My hope is that their stories will serve as a bit of inspiration for you, too.

MAJOR CONGRATULATIONS to my dear friend and writing partner in Second Life, Cynthia Hand Struloeff, whose first novel Angel Kind (tentative title) was accepted for publication by Harper Collins! Writers and readers will enjoy Cindy’s engaging blog, Writing Angels, where she writes with great humor and insight about the process of submitting a manuscript and getting it published.   And having read the first draft, I can assure you it’ll be a fabulous read when it comes out next year!

For nearly two years, I’ve been talking about all the great resources for writers in the virtual world of Second Life.  Here’s your chance to see for yourself – in one easy trip to the annual Autumn Writers Exposition.

For the third year in a row, the folks at the awesome Written Word organization in SL have invited writers and the groups and places that support them to exhibit at this month-long extravaganza that celebrates the writing community in SL.

Bird's eye view of part of AWE 2009

Nearly 100 exhibits at AWE 2009 will tell you about most of the great writing-related programs held throughout Second Life all year long, as well as many of the writers at work in-world.

I wrote a detailed post last year about the fun, networking, and “magic” available at AWE, and most of it applies to this year’s event as well – including the sky-scraping towers that offer a great overview of the scene and access to the magic carpet that takes you on a ride over the entire exposition.

Like last year, AWE is sponsoring writing contests with cash prizes for best poem/lyric and best short fiction/creative nonfiction. But new this year is the addition of a third competition – best review of a real-life live event – which is sponsored by the London School of Journalism (which maintains a campus in Second Life).  Each of these three writing contests will award L$5,000 (roughly US$15) to the first-place winners.  (Deadline for submissions to all three contests is Oct. 31.)

Also new this year is an exhibit for Story Mountain Center for Writers (the Second Life writers retreat co-founded by yours truly).  You can learn all about Story Mountain and get a free book of short prose and poetry at our booth.

Visiting the Story Mountain Center for Writers booth at the 2009 AWE in Second Life

To get to the amazing AWE 2009, after logging in to Second Life, use the SLURL for AWE to teleport to its landing point (click here for the SLURL).

Then stroll down the lanes through the exhibits, where you’ll find stories and poems you can get for free or a small price, as well as “freebie” like T-shirts and SL computers.  Discover the cafes that encourage writers to hang out there, learn about classes, programs and tools for writers, meet writers and publishers.

Not every writer, publisher, agent, or writing-related resource in Second Life is represented at AWE 2009, but the festival includes a great sampling that’ll give you a terrific overview of the writing community in SL.

If you can’t get to the exhibit itself, you can view its page of continuously updated photos on this Flickr site.

When you go to AWE, if you see something you want to make sure others know about, write about it in a comment to this post!

I get asked this question a lot:  Can a writer actually make any money in Second Life?

If I’m busy or have had a tough day, I may respond with another question:  “Can a writer make any money in any life?”

Cynicism toward the publishing industry aside, usually I answer, “Yes, of course they can,” and give some examples of how they do.

Literary fiction author Michelle Richmond made sales from an appearance in SL.

This is an important concern for professional writers – especially full-time writers.  For virtual worlds such as Second Life to become serious players in the writing and publishing industry, they have to be more than just a place to hang out.

Of course, as I’ve blogged about for nearly a year and a half, there are endless ways in which SL benefit writers — just skim through this blog’s archives to get a glimpse of the free opportunities, events, and places in SL where writers can learn and develop their skills and get to know other writers.  And of course, there are the many unique ways writers use virtual tools to support their writing.

But writers can also make money directly from their writing, and I’m not the only one saying that!  I was excited to see the topic included in the upcoming Digital Media Conference organized by the National Writers Union and Open Media Boston Oct. 16-17 in Boston.

The conference is titled, “Shall We Write for Free or Shall We Write for Pay? Writers Face the Digital Age,” and one of the sessions offered attendees is this one:

Introduction to Virtual Worlds: You’ve probably heard about virtual worlds like Second Life – online systems which allow millions of people to create online versions of themselves (called “avatars”) and pursue all kinds of creative and mundane activities in a completely human-created environment with global reach. But did you know that writers are making money in virtual worlds? This workshop will provide a general introduction to Second Life via live demonstration of the system – followed by an online presentation on writing in virtual worlds.

I wish I lived near Boston so I could attend the conference.  Or better yet, I wish the conference were also being held in Second Life, as is happening with greater frequency.  So I don’t know what the presenters — Persia Bravin, the avatar of a noted UK-based journalist for major media outlets and a key contributor to the Second Life Enquirer news organization, and Gary Zabel, UMass philosophy professor and SL innovator – will say.

Melissa Mayhue runs a literary salon in SL with links to online sellers of her own books, and also brings other published authors in for informal chats.

But if I could attend, I’d share the ways that I and many other writers have found to earn income in SL from our writing:

• Paid staff and freelance reporting for digital newspapers and magazines that cover Second Life
• Authors getting published in Second Life (self- or otherwise), where their books are also sold
• Winning one of the many writing competitions offered in SL (including this one, which has significantly increased the prize money since the date of this post)
• Adding Second Life to a book tour (if you’re a published writer), during which you can promote and sell books
• Writing freelance blog posts and articles about Second Life for other Web sites
• Setting up a permanent display for promoting and selling (via outside links) published works

FarPoint Media, owned by author Michael Stackpole, publishes books in-world

If you go to the Digital Media Conference in Boston, I’d love to hear about it afterward.  And if you know if additional ways writers are working for money in SL or other virtual worlds, please share them in a comment to this post!

One of my favorite activities each week in Second Life is the Monday “Writers Symposium” I host at Story Mountain Center for Writers.

The symposium is rather a fancy name for what we do, but it’s a convenient term for this weekly meeting where writers gather, read their work to the others attending, and then, if they wish, receive supportive, constructive feedback on the piece’s strengths and areas of improvement.

It’s sort of like an open mic, in that anyone who attends can get on the list to read their material that session.  It’s sort of like a writers’ peer group, where writers share their work and give feedback.  And it’s also a neat way to meet and get to know other writers in Second Life.  We’ve also been known to share industry news, discuss writing techniques, and play around with writing exercises.

A recent Writers Symposium meeting in Second Life

It’s always open to anyone who wishes to come – whether to read their work, or to just listen to others. Each week, new writers come to share; yet there’s also a core group of writers who’ve come regularly almost since the group started nearly a year ago at the TLE Educational Network in SL.  We have both published and emerging writers who participate, and they come from all around the globe.

Weekly Writers Symposium
Story Mountain Center in Second Life
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Second Life time (Pacific time zone) every Monday
All writers are invited to participate!

Each week is different, depending on who comes and what’s read and discussed, but in general, the symposium goes like this:

• Writers gather around the fireplace on the main floor of the Story Mountain Lodge (here’s the SLURL: Writers Symposium at Story Mountain) and tell the facilitator (usually me) if they’ve brought some writing to share.  They can share any form of written creative expression — from novels, to short stories, to memoir or other creative nonfiction, to poetry and even song lyrics — as long as it’s their original work.
• One at a time, writers read their work aloud, using voice chat.  If a writer doesn’t have voice capabilities, someone else is always happy to read the piece for them.

Reading aloud is one of the essential ingredients of the symposium.  It’s a great way to practice reading to an audience before you begin your book tour (grins), plus you get a different perspective of your piece and often see new ways of improving it!

• Writers share the text version of their piece on a notecard that only those in attendance receive.
• After the reading, the writer can specify what feedback they’d like – general comments, or focused only on some specific aspect.  (We have firm guidelines that prohibit destructive feedback.)
• Usually we can make time for everyone who wishes to read, though sometimes we have to limit the time per person.
• If we have extra time after everyone’s read, we share and discuss writing tips, writing exercises, the creative process — anything that will help us master our craft.

There are no attendance requirements (which means the feedback may not be as in-depth, especially for a longer work, as you’d get in a closed writers’ critique group), nor does it cost anything.

The Second Life Writers Symposium at Story Mountain is a friendly, informal group, and if you’re a writer of fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry, come by some Monday, between 5 and 7 p.m. SLT, and see what we’re all about!

Most Wednesday evenings find me with a handful of other writers in a comfy, living-room setting, where we talk and laugh with, and get advice from a writer whose career is way ahead of mine:  an author of more than 40 published novels (at least eight of which have been New York Times bestsellers) and countless short stories, and winner of a number of writing awards.

I curl up on a floor pillow or relax on a chair and spend an hour listening to stories from the world of big-time publishing, getting an expert’s advice on specific writing questions, learning an insider’s tips on how to deal with the crazed world of the modern-day publishing industry.  I also get to meet other writers and, in general, build my professional network.

A great resource that costs nothing! Plus it takes me only a few minutes to get there. But not because this author lives nearby (though, oddly enough, he was born in a town not far from me).

A typical gathering at Michael A. Stackpole's office hours in Second Life

Rather, because he hosts these friendly sessions every week in the virtual world of Second Life.

Michael A. Stackpole, a prolific science fiction and fantasy author (probably best known for his Star Wars and Battletech series), has been holding these weekly “office hours,” along with his good friend and business partner, nonfiction author/management consultant Kat Klaybourne, for almost two years at his Third Life Publishing office in SL.

I didn’t know what to expect when I first checked out Stackpole’s “office hours.”  I’d visited his Third Life Books early on in my Second Life explorations, was delighted to find a successful author with such a big presence in SL.  I heard about his office hours, but assumed these were like professors’ office hours – you know, where they sit in their office working, but can be interrupted if you have a really compelling question you can’t get answered anywhere else.

I was wrong, as I found out not too long ago from my friend Kghia Gherardi of Bookstacks (another great place for writers and readers in SL).  Quite the contrary, Mike Stackpole’s office hours are lively, interactive discussions on all kinds of writing (and some non-writing!) topics.  Participants are strongly encouraged to ask questions on any writing or publishing industry topic, but if there are no questions, Mike and Kat will share, in an easy, often quite humorous way, whatever’s currently on their minds.

Michael Stackpole as his avatar Noble Charron (left) and Kat Klaybourne as her avatar Kat Alderson sit by the fireplace in Stackpole's SL office and chat with writers every week

In recent sessions, for example, discussion topics included:

• The need to finish a draft before revising it (“Writing a novel is like being in a demolition derby — you don’t stop to flatten the dents every time you get hit, you finish derby and then fix the car.”)
• Working with editors (“Editors don’t always see the solution to the problem, but they do see a problem, and you have to pay attention to that.”)
• Writing books in series (“I’d like to strangle authors who leave things hanging on purpose so you’ll buy their next book.”)
• Learning from other writers (“Before you take advice from a writer, read that writer’s books and see if they practice their own advice.”)
• Mike’s inside scoops from conferences like DragonCon (he had to climb 14 floors to his room because the number of attendees overwhelmed the elevators)
• Kat’s marketing and publishing tips (from her expertise in business consulting)
• Which brands of single-malt Scotch are best
• Trading cards (like in sports) for artists and authors
• Accepting the fact that digital media (including e-books) are here to stay!

Actually, there is some “professorial” aspect to the origin of Mike’s office hours.  He teaches a lot of writing classes and publishes many how-to-write ebooks and newsletters, so he gets a lot of questions from his students and readers, both via email and in Second Life.  To answer as many students’ questions as possible in the most convenient arrangement for everyone, he and Kat started these weekly session.

Mike and Kat’s “Second Life” extends far beyond just the office hours, however.  They are two people who have looked below the surface and grabbed hold of the adventure and possibilities of the virtual world.

As the avatars Noble Charron (Stackpole) and Kat Alderson (Klaybourne), they founded Third Life Books, which publishes books in Second Life, brings in guest authors for readings, and sponsors classes they teach.

Not too long after their arrival in SL in 2007, Mike and Kat also discovered the fun of designing and building in the virtual world and promptly began making and selling everything from clothes and jewelry to furniture (in addition to the books).

The new location for Third Life Books: an Old West-themed sim called Wind River Territory

Until just recently, they’ve been headquartered on a Victorian-themed piece of SL real estate; last month they moved to a cool new island sim of their own called Wind River Territory, which naturally has an Old West theme (think Wind River, Wyoming).

I give a lot of credit to successful authors like Mike Stackpole who are willing to support the goals and dreams of other writers – and I’m especially delighted to see the way Mike and Kat have used a resource as accessible as Second Life to offer that support.  (It’s also great that their efforts help market Mike’s books and writing instruction – you can’t beat a win-win situation.)   I hope to see more successful authors taking on projects of this caliber in SL.

If you know of other successful authors supporting other writers in Second Life, I’d love to hear about it – please leave a comment or send me an email.

To Go to Mike Stackpole’s Office Hours:

SLURL to teleport to Wind River Territory (click link), the Second Life headquarters of Michael Stackpole and Kat Klaybourne.

When: Every Wednesday at 6 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific time zone).

SLURL to teleport directly to Stackpole’s office (click link) on the second floor of the Bookstore at Wind River), where the Wednesday office hours are held.

Protocol: Mike and Kat use voice chat to talk, so be sure to have speakers/headphones on; attendees are asked to use text chat for their questions and comments.

I used to have a love-hate relationship with Twitter. I loved it because I met fascinating people and learned things I’d never hear about otherwise.  I hated it because it could swallow whole every moment of my free time.

But ever since this weekend, the “love” part has vastly overtaken the “hate” part.  That’s because I discovered an incredible virtual resource for writers on Twitter.

"Twitterbirds" courtesy of Luc Latulippe

Quite a while ago, I overcame my distaste for all things “networking” and joined the social media scene. (You can see all the social networks I’ve joined in my far-right sidebar, “Where to Find Me Online.”)

Since then, I’ve poked along at being a good citizen of the social-networking world, sometimes avoiding it for days, other times engrossed in the conversations on Plurk, Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, etc., for hours at a time.

But mostly, I’ve just watched rather passively, growing curious about such things as this post about Twitter chats for writers on my friend Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s blog, Inkygirl.com – Daily Diversions for Writers.

Twitter chats??? Isn’t all of Twitter one big chat? Not when you combine tweets with hashtags, I learned.  Turns out, there are all kinds of topic-specific chats scheduled just about any time of any time, including many for writers.

Well, being a writer, as well as one who loves discovering resources for writers in the virtual world the Internet has birthed, I decided to see for myself why Debbie writes so highly of Twitter chats.

Wow!  What a discovery!

Screenprint of #writechat page on What the Hashtag?!

Last Sunday, I popped into the #writechat Twitter chat, which starts at noon Pacific time every Sunday and lasts approximately three hours.  I had no idea what to expect, but what I ended up finding was a treasure trove:

• Founder and moderator @WritingSpirit (author and creativity coach Julie Isaac) posts a discussion topic at the start; last Sunday it was “Inspiration VS. Organization. Tips & tools for each and how they work together.”
• For three hours, published and unpublished authors from around the world generate a wild text-dance of advice, comments, recommendations, links, etc., about that topic or others related to writing.
• Ask a question about writing or publishing, and an amazing number of experts will gladly provide information, advice, and support.
• More than 230 writers contributed roughly 1,700 tweets on Sunday, most of which were directly related to writing.

In the short while (less than an hour) I was online with the chat:

• I learned about many organizing, mind-mapping, and writing software programs – much of it free – that writers use.
• I picked up scores of new ideas for getting organized and inspired/motivated to write every day.
• I received gratifying reminders from published authors that an MFA is not essential to getting an agent or publisher interested in your novel.
• My Twitter “following” and “followers” lists both grew with the addition of writers I met.

So what’s so special about a scheduled online chat versus reading blog posts and books on writing tips?  In a word, synergy.

Even though the several hundred writers participating on Sunday live great distances from each other, their writer-mind-energy comes together and creates a synergistic effect that gives me the same uplift, inspiration, and renewed excitement about writing that I’d get from a physical congregation of writers sharing and supporting each other.  It’s a phenomenon Second Life residents are quite familiar with – the sense of camaraderie and connection created by interactions in the virtual world.

If you miss some or all of a #writechat session, you can find the transcript online at What the Hashtag?!, a Web site created to support the ways in which people use hashtags on Twitter.  But while you’ll get the information, you’ll miss out on that wild, flowing energy of a live chat.

Just a few of the tweets at the start of Sunday's #writchat on Twitter

Julie Isaac (#writechat’s moderator) has posted some key information about the weekly chats in a post on her blog, #WriteChat — A chat for writers on Sundays at Twitter, including a few comments from participants, such as these (all of which I concur with):

• “Mondays are less cruel now that they begin with a #writechat session the night before.”
• “Wow! Thank you everyone. My first #writechat & I have books to read, people to follow, etc. Fantastic info & lively discussion.”
• “LUV everything about #writechat, it’s a Sunday must. So glad to have found this community of smart writers.”

(When you’re there, explore the rest of Julie’s blog, WritingSpirit Resources – it contains a ton of information and inspiration for writers.)

So, if you need an infusion of support and energy from other writers, check out #writechat – or any of the other Twitter chats available for writers.

Summary of helpful links about Twitter for writers:

• Read Twitter Chats for Writers (and the wealth of resources linked there) on Inkygirl.com
• Read Inkygirl.com’s post on 10 Ways Twitter Can Help Writers
• Read Julie Isaac’s post #WriteChat — A chat for writers on Sundays at Twitter
• Get an idea of what’s discussed on #writechat by viewing a transcript on What the Hashtag?!
• Follow me on Twitter, if you’d like!

As a relative newbie on Twitter, I’ve still got a lot to learn.  So I’d love to hear from you any other ways you know that writers can find help and support on Twitter. Just add a comment to this post.

Introducing the newest scientifically-based weight-loss program (drum-roll, please):  Hanging out in the virtual world of Second Life!

Before you laugh yourself blind, let me say I’m telling you this in all seriousness.  One of the recent news stories making the rounds of the mainstream media is an article reporting on a study that shows SL users with thin, active avatars in Second Life tend to lose weight and become more fit in first life.

My personal experience supports the notion – I’ve lost a lot of extra pounds since joining Second Life a year and a half ago.  But I never put the two things together until now.  Nor am I surprised to learn that researchers are verifying this – that’s how the brain works.

Clarissa Tolsen and I freefalling 25,000 meters in Second Life (the wings were just for fun -- didn't help with the flying at all!)

Scientists have validated what athletes have known for even longer:  that fully visualizing an experience has pretty much the same effect on the brain as actually having the experience.  In other words, the brain doesn’t distinguish between the ideas and practice acquired in the physical world vs. the virtual world of your imagination.

So it makes sense that an even more detailed, visually rich virtual world like Second Life can provide as fertile – or even more fertile – an environment for training the brain. After all, when you’re fully interacting with the people and environment in SL, you are at the same time visualizing (and hearing and feeling) your real self do the same things!

Many Second-Lifers I know are aware of this phenomenon and use it to their advantage.  I haven’t consciously applied the principles of creative visualization to my explorations in Second Life, but I realize now that I’ve been practicing an unconscious form of visualization in SL, with clear results in both my main activity in SL (writing-related experiences) and in just having fun.

Example: In first life, I’m afraid of heights.  Stepping to the edge of a cliff, or even a fenced bridge, can be a challenge for me.  And skydiving? (Excuse me while I roll on the floor with laughter…)  Skydiving in first life has always been at the top of my “Never, EVER, Even Think of Doing This” list.

So when I began to explore Second Life, I found my physical body reacting just as it does in first life when my avatar walked over a high bridge or approached the edge of a deep crevice: faster heart rate, clammy sweating, tensed-up muscles.  And my fears created the reality: my avatar tended to fall off every bridge and over every cliff I came near!  Then one day, I accidentally fell off a “skybox” sitting 500 meters above the SL ground.

And survived!

Skydiving at the International Spaceflight Museum in Second Life!

My next step was to fly up to about 1500 meters and then dive into a pool in the ground. After the first few times I did this, I actually began to enjoy it.  So when my friend Clarissa said she wanted to go skydiving (in SL) to celebrate her birthday, I agreed with her plan – to fly up in the sky as high as possible and then fall back down to a little pool formed by our waterfall at Story Mountain Center for Writers.

I expected to achieve the oxygen-thin realms of 4000 meters, which I thought was the highest one could go in SL.  But I kept going up . . . and up . . . and up . . . until we passed the 25,000-meter mark and decided that was high enough.  When I clicked the “stop flying” button (which turns my upward flight into a fast freefall downward), I had that panicky feeling again, but only for the first few minutes.  Then I began to enjoy, and even thrill over the experience of freefalling, watching the land rise up to meet me, and landing in the water.

Parachute opens just in time at the International Spaceflight Museum in SL

Recently, Clarissa and I teleported to the International Spaceflight’s planetarium high above the ground, and took the offer of a free parachute to use skydiving to the ground.  What a fantastic experience.

Will these experiences give me the courage to skydive in first life? I doubt it!  But what they have done is made me cross skydiving off my “never-do” list.

As a writer, though, I know the experiences I’ve had in Second Life have definitely allowed me to develop confidence and skill in areas I lacked in first life. Here are some examples:

• Watching my avatar write with focus and determination in Second Life as I write in first life has resulted in dramatic progress on my novel revision.
• Standing in front of audiences as my avatar has given me the experience to be confident in doing so in first life.
• Talking with so many published authors in Second Life has wiped away my fear of saying something stupid to an author in first life.
• Seeing my name as a writer on posters and in notices for readings has given me the courage and determination to work even harder on my first life career as a writer, and it’s resulted in the completion, submission, and even publication of new work.

And that’s just a few of the many ways my brain has captured and used my SL experiences to help me achieve my writing goals.  The bottom line is that thanks to the many experiences I’ve had as a writer in Second Life, I’m much more dedicated and disciplined about my first life career.

All of which leads me to ponder an even bigger question:  What really is reality . . . ?  But that’s a topic for another post!

In the meantime, try the new, easy, fun Second Life diet and mind-training program!

What about you?  I’d love to hear if you’ve noticed the power of visualization at work in Second Life?  Or if you haven’t.  How have Second Life experiences affected your first life’s creative endeavors?  Please share in a comment to this post.

Reactions ranging from slight suspicion to accusations of insanity greet me when I discuss all the great writing-related stuff in Second Life with both authors and readers unfamiliar with virtual worlds.

So then I ask authors: Want to meet your readers?  Introduce your books to even more readers?  And never have to leave your home?

And I ask readers: Want to meet the authors of those books you love?  Ask them your burning questions about why or how they wrote what they did?  And never have to leave your home?

Then I give them both the same answer: virtual book tours, a new and rapidly growing phenomenon that’s making the Internet a more popular book-tour stop than even the biggest bookstores in major cities.  Virtual book-tour events range from live chats on blogs or forums, to Skype video-conference appearances to face-to-face meetings in 3D virtual worlds like Second Life, Metaplace, and ReactionGrid.

Author Marjorie M Liu (at right, closest to bookshelf) answered questions and chatted with fans and new readers at an Athena Isle appearance in Second Life

Virtual book tours in general are a perfect win-win for both writers and readers: greater access to each other, and at almost no cost or travel hassle.

But the ultimate tour stop, in my opinion, is an author appearance in a virtual world like Second Life.

Just from my own experience as a reader, I’ve met and gotten to know more authors in the past year and a half in SL than in all the previous years I’ve lived (and believe me, that’s a lot of years).

For example, here are just a few of the authors I’ve met and chatted with:

L.A. Banks relaxes at Story Mountain Center in SL as she chats with readers

• Warren Adler, author of War of the Roses and many other best-selling novels
• Michelle Richmond, author of the best-selling The Year of Fog and No One You Know, both highly acclaimed literary novels
• L.A. Banks, author of the much-loved Vampire Huntress Legend^TM series, among others
• Michelle Gagnon, author of two literary thrillers, The Tunnels and Boneyard
• Mystery writers Roberta Islieb (past president of the Sisters in Crime mystery writers organization) and Beth Groundwater (a 2008 nominee for the Best First Novel Agatha Prize)
• Carleen Brice, author of Orange Mint and Honey, her novel that’s been optioned for the Lifetime Movie Network, and Children of the Waters, a new release
• Marjorie M Liu, author of the popular “Dirk & Steele” paranormal romance thriller series
• Paul Levinson, author of numerous science fiction novels and stories, as well as a number of nonfiction books, including the soon-to-be-released New New Media.

On just about any given week in Second Life, you can attend anything from formal author appearances/interviews like Meet An Author, where the most recent event featured host Jilly Kidd interviewing John Geiger about his newest hit book, The Third Man Factor, to less formal roundtable discussions with authors at places like Athena Isle Writers meetings, to very informal chats, such as those author Michael A. Stackpole holds most weeks at his Second Life office Third Life & FarPoint.

Author Michael Stackpole holds informal chats almost weekly in Second Life

For authors, virtual tours in Second Life can be a great promotional opportunity.  I know I’ve bought and read at least two dozen books in the past year that I might never have even known about had it not been for SL author appearances.

I’ve never yet met an author who didn’t express at least some surprised appreciation for the reception they found in Second Life.  And many are delighted and ask to come back.

The Internet has generated the most profound global cultural change in my lifetime, and for those who love words – either to write or read them – the opportunities to the Web offers seem to change by the day!

My guess is there’ll be increasing numbers of author book tours in Second Life and other virtual worlds in the coming months and years.  And that delights me – as both a reader and a writer!

AUTHOR MARJORIE LIU TO MAKE UNIQUE APPEARANCE:
Novelist Marjorie M Liu will discuss her latest latest Dirk & Steele novel, the paranormal romance The Fire King
on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m. SLT (Pacific time zone) on Athena Isle in Second Life. Readers are being invited to submit questions to the author for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Fire King.  For more details, see http://athenaisle.blogspot.com/ or email marjorieweb@gmail.com. CLICK FOR SLURL TO EVENT.