Member: -AlyssaE-

Your giveaway book 'Mezzanine' has been posted to you. Would be extremely grateful if you could, on its arrival, confirm receipt. Am not interested in reviews, just that it has reached you. Thanks.
skak

posted by skak at 3:44 pm (EST) on Jul 21, 2009

What series did you say you're reading right now?

posted by Cynara at 9:25 am (EST) on Jun 30, 2009

I couldn't, but heck, give it a try if you like. Lots of people love it, and I'm no literary purist. :-) I liked Twilight. If you're looking for dragons, give Naomi Novik a try first - her books are great, and I recently found out she's an LT Author, too!

posted by Cynara at 1:33 pm (EST) on Jun 28, 2009

You're welcome, Alyssa! :D
Don't worry, you could get it through Amazon UK, or if you don't mind waiting, I'm sure it'll come out over there eventually! ;)
...But, heh, it'll take even longer if I don't get my nose back to the grindstone! ;p
Thank you for your encouragement, it's very much appreciated.
All best wishes to you,
Sam

posted by othersam at 11:00 am (EST) on Jun 6, 2009

Hi Alyssa!
Phew! Glad there's no hard feelings. ;)
Yep: I've only had two books published so far. Fact is, while I've been writing seriously for nearly fifteen years now, I only started getting published in September 2006. So I'm just starting out!
Being a published author is my dream. Now the ball's rolling, I'm running after it just as hard as I can! My 'sinister masterplan to conquer the universe' (such as it is!) is to write a whole shelf of books. They'll all be aimed at young people, that's what I do. They'll all be fast and (I hope) thrilling. They'll, heh, probably all have /monsters/ in 'em of one kind or another! And right now the idea is that they're all going to be self-contained, 'standalone' stories. My ambition is that one day people all over the world will be able to come to that shelf in their local bookshop or library, pick out any one of my books, and be able to say to themselves "I know this is going to be good."
If it happens, it's going to take time though! ;)
I'm currently working on the third draft of my new book. It's a horror story. I don't have a US publisher for it yet, but it's due out in shops here in the UK in April of next year. The first draft of the next book after that is already written - and there are plenty more where those came from, HEE HEE HEE! :D
I'd better get back to my writing. Again, I wish you the very best of luck with yours.
Sam

posted by othersam at 7:12 am (EST) on Jun 6, 2009

Hi Alyssa!
I'm sorry, poetry's not really my thing. Besides, I make it a policy always to say 'no' when people offer to send me stuff to read, unless they're published. Partly it's a legal thing (my agent warned me it would leave me potentially vulnerable to copyright lawsuits). Partly it's a time thing (having enough trouble working on my own writing, frankly! ;p) And partly it's about not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings or, worse, squash their dreams without meaning to.
My critiquing style tends to be on the blunt side. I like to think of it as straightforward, firm, hands-on, nuts-and-bolts. But a mate of mine who wasn't quite ready for the consequences of my agreeing to read a film script of his told me once that hearing my responses to his work was 'like being mugged'! :D
This is a long reply to a simple question (again: sorry!) but I hope you understand.
All best wishes,
Sam

posted by othersam at 9:57 am (EST) on Jun 5, 2009

Whatever you do, Alyssa, I wish you the very best of luck. :)
Sam

posted by othersam at 7:35 am (EST) on Jun 3, 2009

Hi again Alyssa,
Thanks so much for the kind words!
I've written a bit about where the ideas for Black Tat came from on the Q&A page of the book's special website. Here are a couple of direct links:
http://www.theblacktattoo.com/qanda.html...
-and-
http://www.theblacktattoo.com/qanda.html...
Those go into some of the nuts and bolts of that particular book, but the general point is that I don't believe in waiting around for ideas. If you're a writer, it's your /job/ to have ideas: make them come to you, by asking yourself questions.
The first question I ask myself when I sit down to plan a book is, What would be fun? What would you, personally, most love to read in a book? Once you're up and running with that, then comes the follow-up: How can you make it work in a story?
Hope that's helpful! :D
All best wishes,
Sam

posted by othersam at 8:26 am (EST) on Jun 2, 2009

Hi Alyssa - thanks for getting in touch! :D
Sure, ask me whatever you like! I won't be offended, though it's sweet of you to ask. ;)
Best wishes from here in London,
Sam
PS: Thanks, too, for that nice review of Black Tat! :D

posted by othersam at 8:23 am (EST) on Jun 1, 2009