Sometimes the pathway that opens is unexpected and marked with surprise and eventual delight. The surprise came with the shift from Random Acts Books but the delight is in our new venture with Boulevard Press and our first book, Warp, A Speculative Trio, just published today and continuing the tradition of Muse, An Ekphrastic Trio! George Evans and I have assembled a talented artistic team to encourage the explorations of the many pathways of fiction and to provide a unique approach to Indie Publishing for the writing community.
Joan Kocak's marvelous art photographs will continue to grace our covers and our website, infused with the magic of her love of her native northeast. Steve Parolini will continue to edit our work with his keen eye for the detail and his insight into the meaning we sometimes stumble over in our zeal to complete our stories. Ben Long's cover designs have already marked our Trio Series with a unique stamp and Ben will continue to evolve our themes as we expand the series.
While we are sad to leave Random Acts Books, our goals are now clearer and we are excited to be an author-driven, collaborative publishing platform forging the best of the storytelling tradition with creative opportunities for authentic writing. We will seek great writing and publish our ongoing Trio Series of longer short stories, novelettes, and novellas, those lengths most publishers shy away from. We will focus on the art and craft of great story rather than trying to simply please the marketplace.
We couldn't be more excited to welcome our first Guest Author, Rick Cross, and showcase his story "In Organ Cave, Where Tina Danced," along with stories by George and I. In Rick's spine-chilling tale, a soldier serving in Iraq comes home to the West Virginia hills and discovers an enemy far more insidious and horrifying than those in the desert. Rick is Senior Media Writer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and his first novel, part of the LETHBRIDGE- STEWART series for Candy Jar Books (a licensed Dr. Who spinoff) is due out this fall!
Future Trios will include Limp, A Menage a Trio, stories of the follies and perils of sex, to be published in early 2017 with Guest Author Randy Wireman, whose winning stories have appeared in Flying Island; and Caper, A Mystery Trio, our collection of whodunits with unlikely sleuths and chilling suspense, with a special Guest Author, to be released in mid 2017. Stay tuned for more announcements in our Trio Series.
I hope you'll grab a copy of Warp, buckle up, and enjoy the ride with our stories of lost time, horror in the hills, and that strange girl on the corner!
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Saturday, April 18, 2015
AWP Convention Exhausting but Rewarding
Now that we're back from the AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Convention I realize how exhausting the four days in Minneapolis really were! Michael and I learned so much and got to meet so many wonderful folks, we're still sifting through the cards, flyers, books, and notes to make the most of our newfound knowledge and contacts.
By the way, George stayed home to support his wife, a principal in our city's symphony orchestra, while she went through hell week as the symphony board continues its program of replacing long term principals with younger, greener, and no doubt much, much, cheaper players since, as one of them was heard to mutter "We aren't a world class city so we don't need a world class symphony." But that's another story for another book, right?
A few highlights from AWP:
We handed out many free copies of the book, with the press release and a business card tucked inside. The unanimous response to the physical book's cover and feel was "Wow!" So thanks again to Joan Kocak for her photo and to Ben Long for his cover design. We're now looking at more of Joan's photo's to use for our second title, Warp, A Speculative Trio. By the way, we did hand sell a couple copies and that felt wonderful.
One of the copies we handed out was to a cab driver named Jamal who took us to the airport from our condo in the Northeast Arts District. Jamal is from Somalia and has lived in the US for I think 25 years or so. He told us he raises his kids to read--they go to the library weekly--and they have no TV or video games at their house. He went on to praise our country's fabulous, free education system through high school and how he impresses on his kids the value of hard work to take advantage of that opportunity to learn and improve their lives. Oh, how we forget, don't we? While it's far from perfect, our education system with its wide availability to all, should receive more of our attention, our respect, and our funding. But that too is another story. Thanks, Jamal.
We also took part in a panel discussion (there were more than 500 different sessions, readings, and panel discussions, with over 13,000 people at the convention!) titled "Ekphrasis Goes Prose." Perfect, we thought! The panel was led by four Phd's, all women, and included not two, but three different pronunciations of the word. One pronounced it ek FRASS is, another pronounced it ek FRAY sis, and the third, with no other hint of an English accent, called it EK fras is!!! Wow, not only is the word elusive of definition, it's even impossible to reach consensus on what to call the damn thing.
So, the panelists dug into the esoteric aspects of ekphrasis (feel free to chose your own rendering of the word in your mind's ear) but, much to our surprise, they spoke only of the concept as it relates to written reflection of visual art. The common approach has for centuries been the ekphrastic poem, a poem about a painting, typically, although more recently photos could also be explicated and praised in verse. Even more astounding, one of the panelists noted that the goal of ekphrasis in prose was to "interrupt" the narrative and to represent the artwork in descriptive prose. Interrupt!!!!????
Hmmmm. Maybe someone should publish a collection of ekphrastic stories that expands those narrow views? When the panelists asked if anyone had a question, I suggested that we had decided to explode the traditional approach to the concept not only by "going prose" but also by knocking the doors off the confinement to the visual arts. After all, the actual definition of the word addresses, in its broadest sense, one art reflecting or referring to another. I noted that our collection included one story in the more traditional reference to a famous painting and two stories that moved beyond that to the world of music. I don't recall hearing any audible gasps at this, but I have to say Michael and I had been surprised that the panel had so limited its approach. At any rate, I went on to say that our in our stories, the referenced art is not only IN the story but also IS the story in the sense that the stories all, in their own way, reflect and explicate the form, shape, and STORY of the song/painting/aria.
The leader of the panel was quite gracious and, rather than scolding me for hijacking the discussion and pimping our new book, she asked where the book was available, to which I responded, "On Amazon and right here in my briefcase." Of course we gave her a copy of the book after the discussion.
We also connected with small run printers, distributors, and other small presses with variations on a collaborative approach to the business.
Most enjoyable, though, was making so many new writerly acquaintances and getting to reconnect with many of my old Spalding U grad school friends! Good to see everyone and thanks, especially, to Cate McGowan for her blurb for Muse.
Now, close this blog and go by Cate's marvelous new collection True Places Never Are.
By the way, George stayed home to support his wife, a principal in our city's symphony orchestra, while she went through hell week as the symphony board continues its program of replacing long term principals with younger, greener, and no doubt much, much, cheaper players since, as one of them was heard to mutter "We aren't a world class city so we don't need a world class symphony." But that's another story for another book, right?
A few highlights from AWP:
We handed out many free copies of the book, with the press release and a business card tucked inside. The unanimous response to the physical book's cover and feel was "Wow!" So thanks again to Joan Kocak for her photo and to Ben Long for his cover design. We're now looking at more of Joan's photo's to use for our second title, Warp, A Speculative Trio. By the way, we did hand sell a couple copies and that felt wonderful.
One of the copies we handed out was to a cab driver named Jamal who took us to the airport from our condo in the Northeast Arts District. Jamal is from Somalia and has lived in the US for I think 25 years or so. He told us he raises his kids to read--they go to the library weekly--and they have no TV or video games at their house. He went on to praise our country's fabulous, free education system through high school and how he impresses on his kids the value of hard work to take advantage of that opportunity to learn and improve their lives. Oh, how we forget, don't we? While it's far from perfect, our education system with its wide availability to all, should receive more of our attention, our respect, and our funding. But that too is another story. Thanks, Jamal.
We also took part in a panel discussion (there were more than 500 different sessions, readings, and panel discussions, with over 13,000 people at the convention!) titled "Ekphrasis Goes Prose." Perfect, we thought! The panel was led by four Phd's, all women, and included not two, but three different pronunciations of the word. One pronounced it ek FRASS is, another pronounced it ek FRAY sis, and the third, with no other hint of an English accent, called it EK fras is!!! Wow, not only is the word elusive of definition, it's even impossible to reach consensus on what to call the damn thing.
So, the panelists dug into the esoteric aspects of ekphrasis (feel free to chose your own rendering of the word in your mind's ear) but, much to our surprise, they spoke only of the concept as it relates to written reflection of visual art. The common approach has for centuries been the ekphrastic poem, a poem about a painting, typically, although more recently photos could also be explicated and praised in verse. Even more astounding, one of the panelists noted that the goal of ekphrasis in prose was to "interrupt" the narrative and to represent the artwork in descriptive prose. Interrupt!!!!????
Hmmmm. Maybe someone should publish a collection of ekphrastic stories that expands those narrow views? When the panelists asked if anyone had a question, I suggested that we had decided to explode the traditional approach to the concept not only by "going prose" but also by knocking the doors off the confinement to the visual arts. After all, the actual definition of the word addresses, in its broadest sense, one art reflecting or referring to another. I noted that our collection included one story in the more traditional reference to a famous painting and two stories that moved beyond that to the world of music. I don't recall hearing any audible gasps at this, but I have to say Michael and I had been surprised that the panel had so limited its approach. At any rate, I went on to say that our in our stories, the referenced art is not only IN the story but also IS the story in the sense that the stories all, in their own way, reflect and explicate the form, shape, and STORY of the song/painting/aria.
The leader of the panel was quite gracious and, rather than scolding me for hijacking the discussion and pimping our new book, she asked where the book was available, to which I responded, "On Amazon and right here in my briefcase." Of course we gave her a copy of the book after the discussion.
We also connected with small run printers, distributors, and other small presses with variations on a collaborative approach to the business.
Most enjoyable, though, was making so many new writerly acquaintances and getting to reconnect with many of my old Spalding U grad school friends! Good to see everyone and thanks, especially, to Cate McGowan for her blurb for Muse.
Now, close this blog and go by Cate's marvelous new collection True Places Never Are.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Muse, An Ekphrastic Trio: IT'S ALIVE!
Here is our press release covering the official launch of Random Acts Books' first title, Muse, An Ekphrastic Trio:
INDEPENDENT BOOK PUBLISHER, RANDOM ACTS BOOKS LAUNCHES SHORT FORMAT
COLLECTION
MINNEAPOLIS, MN APRIL
9, 2015 Random Acts Books, today
debuted its first title, Muse: An
Ekphrastic Trio, at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)
conference in Minneapolis.
An artist-driven collaborative publishing concern helmed by
authors Michael Bloom, George Evans, and David M. Hassler, Random Acts Books is
an alternative for authors and publishers, providing a shared, cooperative
infrastructure which effectively and cost-efficiently marshals the resources
necessary to publish both print and digital titles.
“Random Acts Books fills a void between traditional
publishing and the growing viability of self-publishing,” says Bloom, one of
the cofounders. “As authors and as independent
publishers, we venture to distribute stories with exceptional standards. To
assure the works can compete in the world of fast changing fiction, we’ve
contracted professional editors and artists to bring the works to life and present
a satisfying and seamless experience for the reader.”
The publisher’s first, much anticipated title is a
collaboration by the three author-owners and features one original story form
each. Muse is already receiving
advanced praise:
Cate McGowan, author of True Places Never Are, says, “I know I
like a story if I reach the conclusion and my attention lingers, wishing for
just a few more pages, a few more words in a world where I’ve lost myself. All
three stories in Muse: Ekphrastic Trio inspire my yearning for an
extended stay.”
Barbara Shoup, award winning author of Looking for Jack Kerouac says, “This trio of stories, each
inspired by a different work of art, will deliver you to the place where art is
made and remind you, again, why they are essential.”
Muse is available
on Amazon.com in both ebook and paperback, and will be coming soon to iBooks
and other outlets.
Random Acts Books, conceived in Indianapolis and
incorporated in New Mexico, maintains offices in Santa Fe, Indianapolis, and Key
West, Florida.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Random Acts Books' First Cover Reveal! Muse, an Ekphrastic Trio
A lot has happened since my last post about our hiring an editor for our first Random Acts Books publication, Muse, An Ekphrastic Trio! George, Michael, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Steve Parolini, our editor from Colorado Springs, who gave us perceptive and insightful feedback that we all agreed helped us truly polish our stories. Many thanks to Steve, who gave us some prodding and guidance in a larger sense, as well.
Originally, we had been referring to our first Trio simply as An Ekphrastic Trio, and it was Steve who suggested that such a title felt a bit empty and gave no real clue or feel for what the stories might be. Good point! We initially decided, briefly, on Illusions, An Ekphrastic Trio, but realized that title didn't really focus enough on the arts, and didn't make a connection with the concept of "ekphrastic," in the sense of one art riffing off or commenting on another.
We then hit on the word "etchings," with its connotations of a classic art form as well as some potentially sexual overtones along the lines of the old "Come into my bedroom so I can show you my etchings." Steve also liked those connotations and so we moved forward through our editing process working under the banner of Etchings, An Ekphrastic Trio.
Our next step, as we were fine tuning our stories under our new title, was to begin the process of cover design. We wanted to create an overall layout that could be used for all three of our planned trio's and that also reflected a bit of whimsy while nodding toward an artistic/literary target audience. As we all sifted through many different approaches to artwork, paintings, and of course etchings, I finally recalled a photographer whose work I always loved, and whose approach showed a delightful dose of whimsy! I had become acquainted with Joan Kocak's work several years ago when I went through an "art photography" phase and I bought a couple of her prints. We engaged in a lively email exchange about not only photography, but all the arts as it turned out Joan was an avid reader. (By the way, one of my favorite books, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, was a recommendation from Joan and it's marvelous!)
I contacted Joan and she offered to even work on assignment--she read our three stories as well--if we didn't find one of her existing images to our liking. I quickly rediscovered one of my favorite photos, her marvelous image of a clown marionette whose strings are worked by a woman whose hand is all that can be see. It turned out Joan had contracted the rights to a company who provided, of all things, book covers, but she was able to recover the rights and we bought the image you'll see on our first trio. We plan to use Joan's images for our other two Trio's and look forward to working with her.
But, while we loved Joan's marionette photo, we realized our title Etchings no longer seemed ideal! Back to the verbal drawing board we went until I think George made the connection between the image and our stories--or maybe he was simply inspired--and hit on the perfect word for our title: Muse, with the connotation that we poor mortals--okay at least the men--are often being manipulated, like the hapless marionette, by creatures we don't understand. Alas, each of our stories reflect such elements in the relationships between men and those who lead the dance! So at last our title reached its full evolution: Muse, An Ekphrastic Trio.
Next, we engaged Ben Long, an awarding winning graphic artist, to incorporate Joan's photo into a cover design that could be replicated for our other Trio's. Ben came up with a fabulous, simple, yet elegant design we all fell in love with, and we're proud to show it off!
We plan to release both the print and electronic versions of the book by the end of March.
Originally, we had been referring to our first Trio simply as An Ekphrastic Trio, and it was Steve who suggested that such a title felt a bit empty and gave no real clue or feel for what the stories might be. Good point! We initially decided, briefly, on Illusions, An Ekphrastic Trio, but realized that title didn't really focus enough on the arts, and didn't make a connection with the concept of "ekphrastic," in the sense of one art riffing off or commenting on another.
We then hit on the word "etchings," with its connotations of a classic art form as well as some potentially sexual overtones along the lines of the old "Come into my bedroom so I can show you my etchings." Steve also liked those connotations and so we moved forward through our editing process working under the banner of Etchings, An Ekphrastic Trio.
Our next step, as we were fine tuning our stories under our new title, was to begin the process of cover design. We wanted to create an overall layout that could be used for all three of our planned trio's and that also reflected a bit of whimsy while nodding toward an artistic/literary target audience. As we all sifted through many different approaches to artwork, paintings, and of course etchings, I finally recalled a photographer whose work I always loved, and whose approach showed a delightful dose of whimsy! I had become acquainted with Joan Kocak's work several years ago when I went through an "art photography" phase and I bought a couple of her prints. We engaged in a lively email exchange about not only photography, but all the arts as it turned out Joan was an avid reader. (By the way, one of my favorite books, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, was a recommendation from Joan and it's marvelous!)
I contacted Joan and she offered to even work on assignment--she read our three stories as well--if we didn't find one of her existing images to our liking. I quickly rediscovered one of my favorite photos, her marvelous image of a clown marionette whose strings are worked by a woman whose hand is all that can be see. It turned out Joan had contracted the rights to a company who provided, of all things, book covers, but she was able to recover the rights and we bought the image you'll see on our first trio. We plan to use Joan's images for our other two Trio's and look forward to working with her.
But, while we loved Joan's marionette photo, we realized our title Etchings no longer seemed ideal! Back to the verbal drawing board we went until I think George made the connection between the image and our stories--or maybe he was simply inspired--and hit on the perfect word for our title: Muse, with the connotation that we poor mortals--okay at least the men--are often being manipulated, like the hapless marionette, by creatures we don't understand. Alas, each of our stories reflect such elements in the relationships between men and those who lead the dance! So at last our title reached its full evolution: Muse, An Ekphrastic Trio.
Next, we engaged Ben Long, an awarding winning graphic artist, to incorporate Joan's photo into a cover design that could be replicated for our other Trio's. Ben came up with a fabulous, simple, yet elegant design we all fell in love with, and we're proud to show it off!
We plan to release both the print and electronic versions of the book by the end of March.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Of Workshopping and Editing and Reviewing
At the Indiana Writers Center, I've led a workshop group for the last ten years and we occasionally have a great discussion on the different approaches to "workshopping."
This particular workshop was founded ten years ago as an outreach for the IWC and is, first and foremost, open to anyone who is or becomes a member of the IWC. Thus, in a sense, we're a very open group as opposed to most ongoing groups that can be selective in who they allow at the table. At any rate, the IWC workshop operates on a single guiding principal: each of the writers participates with the goal of doing their very best to help the other writers make their work the best it can be, based on where that writer is in the process and what they've chosen to write. In return for those efforts, we receive from the others around the table their own best efforts to help improve our writing based on our specific goals and motivations and vision--not theirs.
Of course, this approach isn't the only way--nor maybe even the best in other circumstances--to operate a workshop. Keep in mind there are three (at least) approaches one might employ in commenting on another's writing: straight critiquing (our approach), editing, and reviewing, and each has a place and value. Just as with the three modes of prose writing--narrative summary, scene, and description--and the importance of the writer's awareness and control of which mode they're using--and when and how to mix them--it's crucial that members of any group remember those workshopping principals and understand where they might be stepping over the line into another mode.
This particular workshop was founded ten years ago as an outreach for the IWC and is, first and foremost, open to anyone who is or becomes a member of the IWC. Thus, in a sense, we're a very open group as opposed to most ongoing groups that can be selective in who they allow at the table. At any rate, the IWC workshop operates on a single guiding principal: each of the writers participates with the goal of doing their very best to help the other writers make their work the best it can be, based on where that writer is in the process and what they've chosen to write. In return for those efforts, we receive from the others around the table their own best efforts to help improve our writing based on our specific goals and motivations and vision--not theirs.
Of course, this approach isn't the only way--nor maybe even the best in other circumstances--to operate a workshop. Keep in mind there are three (at least) approaches one might employ in commenting on another's writing: straight critiquing (our approach), editing, and reviewing, and each has a place and value. Just as with the three modes of prose writing--narrative summary, scene, and description--and the importance of the writer's awareness and control of which mode they're using--and when and how to mix them--it's crucial that members of any group remember those workshopping principals and understand where they might be stepping over the line into another mode.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
A Title by Any Other Title
What's in a title? Wouldn't a title by any other title still smell as sweet? A title is a title is a title, right?
With apologies to both Willie and Gertrude, I find myself thinking about titles and their importance not only for that potential buyer out there once we finish our masterpiece, but even--and maybe especially--as guideposts and north stars for us as we work through our drafting and fine tuning. We recently published a marvelous short story in Flying Island by a talented young writer who mentioned that they really struggled with titles and sometimes didn't even have a working title for a project. We chatted about titles and their importance and how they indeed can sometimes evolve as we progress, but my point was that having at least a working title can and should inspire and guide us as we work.
Speaking of evolving titles, the original title of my civil war manuscript (see these posts, Knit One, Purl Two and Unravelling the Yarn) had been Come Retribution, which had apparently been one of only four code phrases used by the Confederates during the war. While still finishing up the first draft, I had a chance to pitch a New York agent at a week-long workshop and, having never done it before, I launched into my ramble and forgot to even mention the title. When I told her the protagonist finally realized her goal had to be "to strike a single hour" from the war, her face lit up and she stopped me to ask "Is that the title?" Of course, being reasonably bright, it only took me a few seconds to catch my breath and nod "Yes, do you like it?" She loved the title and asked me to send her the full manuscript whenever I was ready. She ended up considering the novel for seven months and testing the concept with a couple editors before finally deciding to pass on it, but the name stuck.
With apologies to both Willie and Gertrude, I find myself thinking about titles and their importance not only for that potential buyer out there once we finish our masterpiece, but even--and maybe especially--as guideposts and north stars for us as we work through our drafting and fine tuning. We recently published a marvelous short story in Flying Island by a talented young writer who mentioned that they really struggled with titles and sometimes didn't even have a working title for a project. We chatted about titles and their importance and how they indeed can sometimes evolve as we progress, but my point was that having at least a working title can and should inspire and guide us as we work.
Speaking of evolving titles, the original title of my civil war manuscript (see these posts, Knit One, Purl Two and Unravelling the Yarn) had been Come Retribution, which had apparently been one of only four code phrases used by the Confederates during the war. While still finishing up the first draft, I had a chance to pitch a New York agent at a week-long workshop and, having never done it before, I launched into my ramble and forgot to even mention the title. When I told her the protagonist finally realized her goal had to be "to strike a single hour" from the war, her face lit up and she stopped me to ask "Is that the title?" Of course, being reasonably bright, it only took me a few seconds to catch my breath and nod "Yes, do you like it?" She loved the title and asked me to send her the full manuscript whenever I was ready. She ended up considering the novel for seven months and testing the concept with a couple editors before finally deciding to pass on it, but the name stuck.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Random Acts of Editing
George and Michael and I finalized our search for an editor for our first Random Acts Books publication and are moving forward with revisions to our stories. The first book to come out will be Illusions, an Ekphrastic Trio, with a target publication date next spring. In the earlier post, And Then There Were Three, I noted we were in the process of finding that editor but didn't get into much detail. The process was fascinating and enlightening to say the least.
We started by selecting seven likely editors from several sources, mostly those recommended by Joanna Penn at her great website The Creative Penn. I emailed all seven, telling them about ourselves and our concept for our company and our projects--and including samples of our writing where requested--and we got responses from five of them. Not bad. Two of the five said they were extremely busy and probably couldn't work with us for months. Of those two, one said she loved my writing sample and we engaged in a lively email discussion of the arts and have actually reached a handshake to work together on my story collection, A Quiet Polyphony, once I've completed it. Very exciting and inspiring.
We started by selecting seven likely editors from several sources, mostly those recommended by Joanna Penn at her great website The Creative Penn. I emailed all seven, telling them about ourselves and our concept for our company and our projects--and including samples of our writing where requested--and we got responses from five of them. Not bad. Two of the five said they were extremely busy and probably couldn't work with us for months. Of those two, one said she loved my writing sample and we engaged in a lively email discussion of the arts and have actually reached a handshake to work together on my story collection, A Quiet Polyphony, once I've completed it. Very exciting and inspiring.
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