by Dan Stout
It’s always fun to talk to the kind folks at the Beyond the Trope podcast. Giles and Michelle are great hosts, and we got to touch on everything from comics and TV obsessions to my upcoming release, TITAN’S DAY.
Check out the full interview on Stitcher, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts!
by Dan Stout
Man, the news is coming fast and furious lately…
The paperback version of Titanshade hit stores yesterday, and the response has been phenomenal! To celebrate, my publisher has slashed ebook price to 15% of retail!
Get yourself some face mandibles for only $1.99, but that price is only good while the deal lasts, and the clock's ticking...
by Dan Stout
Now through Jan 26th, 2020, DAW Books is giving away TEN pairs of the first two entries in the Carter Archives: a paperback of Titanshade and an ARC of Titan's Day!
by Dan Stout
A new year means a new vintage calendar to track my writing.
I use novelty stickers from my 2nd grade sticker book to mark major achievements.
I love repurposing things that brought me joy as a kid to remind me of why I love writing & storytelling.
by Dan Stout
Look at all these awesome people I got to hang out with!
Marshall Ryan Maresca, Sara Hanover, Edward Willett, Sheila Gilbert, Gerald Brandt, Dan Stout, Katie Hoffman, Betsy Wollheim, Troy Carrol Bucher (photo by Arley Sorg, Locus Magazine)
One of the best parts of being at a gathering like World Fantasy is the chance to spend time with the amazing authors and editors who make up the DAW family.
This photo was published in Locus magazine as part of their coverage of WFC — check out the full article here.
by Dan Stout
Man... once again, Chris McGrath and DAW have done amazing work.
Balancing the fun and gritty weirdness of these books is not easy, but they always manage to find a way.
Titan's Day releases on April 7th, 2020 & I'm so excited to share this story with you!
(PS: Pre-order from your local indie bookstore by clicking here! )
by Dan Stout in Interviews
As part of an ongoing celebration of upcoming debut novels, I’ll be running highlights of interviews from a number of my fellow debuts through the end of 2019. The full interviews are available on DebutAuthors19.com.
Today, we’re continuing the series with a conversation with M.A. Guglielmo, author of Summoned, a fantasy releasing from Tule Publishing Group on September 24th, 2019.
Zahara, party girl of the paranormal, floats up out of a lamp in Daniel Goldstein's apartment ready to trick an evil sorcerer into giving up his soul. But Daniel, whose Moroccan grandmother has reached out from beyond the grave to command him to raise a jinn, wants to do good—by stopping a vengeful fallen angel.
The nymphomaniacal, shopping-obsessed Zahara isn’t the otherworldly ally Daniel had in mind. A do-gooder with a dangerous quest isn't what Zahara's looking for, either.
Stuck in a magical contract with each other, the two travel to Morocco, where Zahara’s handsome friend Zaid, a jinn who's converted to Islam, reluctantly joins their quest. As Daniel and Zaid struggle against paranormal mercenaries, bumbling terrorists and their attraction to one other, Zahara is forced to join forces with the fallen angel's gorgeous but infuriating brother to stop a cataclysmic war between the human and jinn worlds.
Where did you get the idea?
The mythology behind the novel is the story of Harut and Marut, two overly proud angels—or jinn in some versions—who are sent down to earth to show humans how to resist temptation. They fail, in rather spectacular fashion, and are punished by being hung by the feet until the end of the world. According to some sources, the two gave the gift—or curse—of magical knowledge to humanity.
How long did you take to write this book?
It started out as a NaNoWriMo project in 2015, and I worked on finishing and revising it, along with other projects, through 2016. After that, I worked on standard querying, along with different pitch contests. I connected with Tule Publishing through a Facebook pitch contest hosted by the group Writers for Diversity. They're awesome—look them up and join them if you're a writer.
What did you remove from this book during the editing process?
Several characters, a middle chapter that required rewriting the entire plot, and more weak verbs and repetitive phrases than I could ever count.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I write out an outline, throw in a collection of disconnected scenes, then never look at it again after I start writing. A pantser in denial, I think.
What is your favorite part of your writing process, and why?
I love drafting and work best under time pressure. Revision doesn't come nearly as easily to me.
What is the most challenging part of your writing process, and why?
Substantive revision is the hardest. Skimming along and fixing typos and awkward sentences isn't too taxing, but confronting an enormous plot hole that has to be fixed by major book surgery is downright painful.
Can you share your writing routine?
I usually write after dinner, and try to fit in some early morning hours on weekends. I do NaNoWrimo every year to get at least half of a rough draft done on a new project. If I have time on a plane trip, or when I'm stuck waiting somewhere, I'll try to get sneak a little writing in.
Have you ever gotten writer’s block? If yes, how do you overcome it?
I've often been quite stuck, and I've tried different techniques to overcome it. One trick that's worked for me is to put away the laptop, and grab some paper and a pencil. I scribble out a series of questions about the plot or character issue I'm struggling with and then answer them with anything that pops into my head.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Three hundred thousand words is not a reasonable word count for a first draft.
What’s your favorite writing advice?
Read your novel out loud to yourself. Yes, the whole thing. It's amazing how much it helps with revisions.
What are you working on right now?
I'm working on the sequel to Summoned, and all I can say is that I'm researching hot sports cars. Because clearly Zahara wouldn't be caught dead in the boring SUV I drive.
M.A. Guglielmo is a neurosurgeon, mother of two awesome daughters, and a life-long fan of speculative fiction. Her Italian grandmother may or may not have been able to cast the evil eye on difficult neighbors, and Maria loves telling a good story, especially if magical curses and witty villains are involved.
Her interest in Middle Eastern politics and culture inspires her to incorporate mythology and folklore from the region into her writing projects. After having the wits scared out of her by ghost tales told to her over a campfire in the Moroccan Sahara, she’s come up with a plan to travel to all the potential settings for her novels. Since those include the mountain-ringed home of the Jinn and a modernized version of the Greek Underworld, some items on her bucket list might be harder to achieve than others.
Maria was born and raised in Rhode Island, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in biology. She completed her M.D. degree at Brown University, and went on to finish her neurosurgical residency there. After several years enjoying the company of sunny friends and overcast skies in Portland, Oregon, she moved back to Rhode Island, where she’s a neurosurgeon in academic practice. She lives there with her two daughters, assorted pets, and is always dreaming of the stories that can come out of her next travel destination.
Connect with M.A. Guglielmo:
by Dan Stout
This morning’s monster is ultra sunrise, chosen to go with the awesome book swag for Sarah J. Sover’s DOUBLE-CROSSING THE BRIDGE.
Check out the book here or read the interview excerpt with Sarah.
by Dan Stout in Interviews
As part of an ongoing celebration of upcoming debut novels, I’ll be running highlights of interviews from a number of my fellow debuts through the end of 2019. The full interviews are available on DebutAuthors19.com.
Today, we’re continuing the series with a conversation with Reese Hogan, author of Shrouded Loyalties, a military sci-fi / dieselpunk releasing from Angry Robot on August 13th, 2019.
Naval officer Mila Blackwood receives dangerous powers when her submarine travels through an alternate realm of existence and is attacked by a monster. She must figure out how to use these powers to save her country from invasion, all the while unaware that her partner is a spy and her brother is an enemy collaborator.
Where did you get the idea?
I always have to have three ideas come together to really take off. This one’s root ideas were a fantasy with a WW2 feel, a soldier who returns home to find out her brother is an enemy collaborator, and people with magic tattoos who are being hunted by an occupying force (which became the marks with powers they receive in the second chapter). Everything else built from there.
How long did you take to write this book?
Approximately two years to write (not continuous), then ten months from there until publication. Atypically, I got the publisher offer before I had an agent, so that put me on a faster track than normal.
What kind of research did you do for this book?
Lots about World War 2, especially France both before and after occupation. A TON about submarines, including visiting the USS Pampanito, the submarine on which the BZS Desert Crab in the novel is based. And a lot about volcanoes—yes, there are volcanoes, too.
What did you remove from this book during the editing process?
Mostly passages where it took too long to get to the point. I’ve discovered that when I’m not quite positive of the next step my character will take, my character is doing a lot of internal thinking to figure that out when I reread. So when I chop out the internal thought process, they appear to make decisions quicker, and the pacing is better.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I write EXTENSIVE outlines, but—like that old military expression about the best plans only lasting until the first bullet is fired—my outlines go off the rails almost right away. That being said, the outlining does help me figure out the key points that I’m most excited about, and I use those as guidelines to keep the book on track.
What is your favorite part of your writing process, and why?
Over time, it’s definitely become editing. Having the story down in a workable form makes it so much easier to sit down and work with than writing those initial words. And during the editing process, you’ve already had feedback and know where its weak points are, so there’s more confidence that you’re spending time obsessing over the right things.
What is the most challenging part of your writing process, and why?
When I first start writing a new draft, I have all these ideas but I haven’t yet put together a framework for how they’ll work together. There’s a lot of self-doubt about whether I’m starting in the right place, or have too many plot threads or not enough, or whether I should write first or third person…the list goes on. There’s lots of deleting—whole chapters worth—before I start to figure out what the story will look like.
Can you share your writing routine?
I write a minimum of two hours a day, and I have to plan when this block will be ahead of time to make sure it actually happens, since my kids’ schedules can vary. I try to get another two hours in the evening, but it depends on how crazy my kids are at bedtime (they are 7 and 5). My husband is very good about making sure I get my needed blocks on the weekends, which is the most challenging time to fit it in.
Have you ever gotten writer’s block?
If yes, how do you overcome it? I think we all get stuck sometimes, and I think it usually relates to losing interest in your story. When this happens, I go back to the last moment in the story I was excited about and try a different direction from there.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Try not to be afraid to share your work. No matter how good you think it is, you won’t know what its real problems are until someone points them out to you.
What’s your favorite writing advice?
It’s from V.E. Schwab, and I absolutely love it: “At the end of the day, there’s one thing to do: Show up. Put in the work. Let go of the outcome.”
Reese Hogan loves nothing more than creating broken relationships in broken worlds. With a Bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in journalism, Hogan has spent the last twenty years honing her craft by taking classes, listening to podcasts, and attending writing workshops and critique groups. She is passionate about music, especially alternative and punk rock, and adamantly believes that art can reach out in a way no other form of communication can. She lives with her family in New Mexico.
Connect with Reese:
by Dan Stout in Interviews
As part of an ongoing celebration of upcoming debut novels, I’ll be running highlights of interviews from a number of my fellow debuts through the end of 2019. The full interviews are available on DebutAuthors19.com.
Today, we’re continuing the series with a conversation with Sarah J. Sover, author of Double-Crossing the Bridge, a humorous fantasy releasing from The Parliament House on August 13th, 2019.
An upstanding, grog-chugging troll sick of struggling to make ends meet devises a scheme to solve her financial woes—a heist!
Where did you get the idea?
I love to combine things that shouldn’t be combined, so when my husband and I were talking about a sitcom starring trolls, it only seemed natural to take it to the next level. Double-Crossing The Bridge is How I Met Your Mother meets Ocean’s 11 with the humor of Deadpool and characters that could have been created by Jim Henson.
What’s the story behind the title?
I’m a sucker for word play. My dog’s name is Roadie because I found him hit by a car back when I used to play guitar. So when Double-Crossing The Bridge came out of a brainstorming session, I knew it was the one.
How long did you take to write this book?
My writing process is atypical. It took about a year to get the bones all in place and another to get the story fleshed out.
What kind of research did you do for this book?
I read Donald Westlake and researched troll lore. But the best part was subjecting my husband to hours upon hours of heist movies in the name of research, frequently with our own versions of grog—scotch for him, beer for me.
What is your favorite part of your writing process, and why?
Discovering the story. I begin with a spark and write from there. Finding out what it turns into is exciting.
What is the most challenging part of your writing process, and why?
Once I know the story, I struggle to keep momentum through revision after revision. I get bored and lose focus easily, so I really have to beat myself up to get it whole and shiny.
Can you share your writing routine?
I have two young children. I only get about 30 minutes of writing in per day under normal circumstances. Some days, I don’t write at all and others, I have to steal time during naps and after bedtime. I have a dedicated writing space that is always buried, currently beneath Double-Crossing The Bridge swag, so I do most of my writing at the dining room table or hiding in a corner of the bedroom.
Have you ever gotten writer’s block? If yes, how do you overcome it?
I don’t really believe in writer’s block. I’ve lost all will to keep going, but that’s not really the same thing. In those times, I take a week or two off and set a drop-dead date. If I haven’t picked it up by then, I force myself to push through. Eventually, I get my groove back and go back to fix whatever nonsense I wrote when I was only focused on getting the words down.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Relax and embrace who you are. You don’t need to change the world overtly to have an impact on it.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on a fantasy noir about a fairy godmother who goes rogue to hunt down the serial killer who slaughtered her first princess.
What’s your favorite writing advice?
Just do it. LOL! I’m really not kidding though. There are so many routes, and different things work for different people. Whatever works for you is the right way to get it done.
What’s the book you’re currently reading?
I’m currently enjoying The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin. Next up is Shrouded Loyalties by Reese Hogan.
Sarah J. Sover writes fantasy crossover novels while raising two energetic little people. A Georgia Southern Bell Honor's graduate who grew up living near Detroit, London, Miami, and Atlanta, Sarah's background is as varied as her answers to the dreaded "where are you from" question. She's done everything from wildlife rehabilitation to data management, leaving notebooks filled with bad poetry in her wake.
Sarah resides in John's Creek, Ga with her brilliant husband Alex, two vibrant daughters, cranky old dog, and seemingly immortal snake. In addition to writing, Sarah loves craft beer, blues dancing, binging superhero Netflix shows, hobby jumping, Disney, and groove metal.
Connect with Sarah:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Buy DOUBLE-CROSSING THE BRIDGE on Amazon or through the publisher
