Come Party with Splashdown Books!

Splashdown Books announces its second title, The Muse by Fred Warren. Meet Stan, a wannabe fantasy author struggling with writer's block - until an uncanny solution sweeps him to the head of a ragtag army in an alternate world. Find out more at www.splashdownbooks.com/themuse.

The Muse is now available at all the usual locations. There's going to be a launch party chat with the author and publisher on Sunday November 15th from 7-9pm US Central time - come along to http://tinychat.com/splashdown and join in the fun!

Delightful from start to finish. A story of three friends with writer’s block soon turns into a tale of everyday magic and real danger. Fast-paced chapters, great dialog, a fantastically magical climax, and a soulful inner journey—Warren does a bang-up job of keeping these themes consistent and tight...the result is a heart-warming ending that will have you reminiscing about it for days. A truly impressive debut novel.
~ Kirk Outerbridge, author of Eternity Falls, a Rick Macey Cyberthriller

A breath of fresh air: crisp, sharp and to the point, as creativity becomes a two-edged sword. The Muse is definitely a good first novel—a book to muse about—and a sign that Mr. Warren is an author to watch.
~ Walt Staples, Radio Playwright and author of Crossways comics

The Muse is great fun. Engaging, quirky characters, snappy dialog, unexpected twists, and the thrills and woes of every writer—a story that is quite possibly in itself a cure for writer’s block. A very true-to-spirit yet atypical Christian fantasy.
~ Kasey L. Heinly, Book Reviewer

An excellent read that keeps the focus throughout, with colorful descriptions and smooth dialog to open the imagination. Warren has outdone the norm...definitely a good read for any fantasy buff.
~ “Jesus Puppy,” Book Reviewer

What would you do to fulfill your artistic dreams? The Muse is unique and imaginative, a humorous yet mysterious twist on the journey to success that warns: if the deal is too good to be true, it likely is. I got caught up in the story of love and Divine inspiration, which totally took me by surprise. I loved the idea that you shouldn’t rush creativity, that it takes time to build art that entertains and gets people to think. A well-written delight, The Muse will inspire readers to enjoy their own artistic gifts and the time it takes to create them.
~ Jill Williamson, author of By Darkness Hid

A light-hearted, family-friendly page-turner, my only complaint is that I now have to start the wait for Fred Warren’s next book. The Muse does for writers what Superman did for men wearing tights.
~ T.W. Ambrose, Editor, Digital Dragon Magazine

The Muse is a heart-warming tale of friendship and family that takes an unexpected twist into an otherworldly adventure. This is a story every aspiring novelist can relate to—the struggle for inspiration.
~ Steve Rzasa, author of The Word Reclaimed

This is an engaging, slightly twisted tale of a trio of aspiring speculative fiction authors who do battle with that most dreaded foe—writer’s block. Although this may sound like something to appeal only to authors, that is far from the truth. Fred Warren’s deftly-designed characters and well-developed scenes will draw in a variety of readers and carry them along for the ride. I laughed and cried out loud and found myself wishing for certain denouements, most of which were different than the actual outcomes. Reality and fantasy blur then clear in this kaleidoscope of action.
~ Cathi Hassan, Book Reviewer, Editor at TeenAge Magazine

The Muse is Online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

For your shopping convenience, The Muse is now available for purchase through both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. The fastest way to find the listing online is to do an “advanced search” by ISBN number 9780986451713.

Or, you can click on the handy links I’ve provided here:

Order The Muse from Amazon.com

Order The Muse from Barnes & Noble

Right now, Amazon is listing the book for $9.95, plus free shipping if your order totals $25 or more. Barnes & Noble is selling it for $8.95 plus shipping.

As always, you can find more information about the book and order directly from the Splashdown Books main webpage.

The Muse is Here!

Finally, after about a year of work from conception to publication, the official release date for my novel, The Muse, has arrived!

It will be listed on Amazon.com soon, but in the meantime, there are three ways to get a copy:

1. Order from the Splashdown Books website.

2. Find a local bookstore that has access to the Ingram ipage database (most do), and search for ISBN 978-0-9864517-1-3. They’ll be able to order you a copy.

3. I think this is pretty cool–If you happen to have an Espresso book machine in your neighborhood, you can watch as it manufactures your book in a few minutes. You get the same quality as any other commerical paperback, and you’re on the cutting edge of publishing technology!

So, check it out! Order a copy, and if you enjoy it, tell your friends. We’ll be posting news about the book, interviews, signings, etc, so watch this space for more!

Stories to be Featured in Digital Dragon and Every Day Fiction Anthology

If bad news comes in threes, good news for me lately seems to come in twos. I received two nice e-mails last night, the first notifying me that one of my stories (title TBD) will be featured in the December issue of Digital Dragon Magazine. Digital Dragon will also present a review of my novel, The Muse, on November 15, plus an interview with yours truly about the book. Digital Dragon is a new-ish e-zine featuring family-friendly and faith-based fantasy and speculative fiction. It’s also got one of the coolest logos ever.

The second e-mail, from the editors of Every Day Fiction, informed me that one of my flash stories published there in December 2008, “Little Piece of Cloth,” was selected for inclusion in their annual print anthology, due out in January of next year. You can check out (and still order) last year’s here. They’re having a roll-out event for the anthology in Vancouver, BC–I’m not sure if I can muster the shekels necessary to attend, but it gives me an excuse to think about taking a trip to British Columbia.

--Fred--

Interview Online at Building a Novel

Wow, my first interview…Lisa G at Building a Novel grilled me about my writing in general and my upcoming novel, The Muse, in particular. She even tossed me an impromptu writing challenge at the end. Talk about pressure! Anyhow, you can see a picture of my ugly mug and read my semi-coherent answers here.

Only one more week until the official release of The Muse! If you pre-order before November 1st, you’ll get an exclusive bonus e-story thrown in for good measure. Such a deal.

--Fred--

Sticky Situations Unresolved

I believe it was in primary school I was taught that a story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. This is sadly not always true these days. I've had the bad luck to run into many novels that cannot claim to fulfil the requirements of an ending. They left me stuck in a difficult situation right along with the protagonist, with no hope of getting out unless the author publishes another book someday - which I am however now unlikely to buy.

It seems to me that a lot of publishers are staking their bets on first-time authors who will need at least another book out to get their stories finished. But what happens if that author turns out to be a one-book wonder? What if the publisher goes under or cuts a genre in our world of uncertainties?

I do understand the writer's dilemma. It's happened to me too: plan a novel carefully, with its climax and resolution, then write and write and write until you realise you've written enough words but only reached a mid-point in your plot. When I realised this was the case, I went back and re-did the planning, so that a significant subplot could be introduced and woven in earlier on, finding its resolution at the end of Book One without leaving the reader hanging - even though the story goes on. It seems to me that many authors are not bothering with any attempt at a conclusion. The story just stops, suspended in mid-air, and I feel like throwing it across the room.

The end of a novel, in my humble opinion, is required to provide mainly one thing to its readers: Satisfaction. If it doesn't do that, what's the point?

That's why I always ask for opinions on reader satisfaction when I send out manuscripts for critique. After plot continuity and correct grammar, this is my most important criterion for technical quality as an aspect of planning. It has nothing to do with more inspirational aspects such as description, character, and emotional impact. Your writing style may be amazing, but if you don't resolve at least one of the book's major issues by the time it wraps up, you risk leaving your reader with a sensation of emptiness and unrest. Please, please, please don't do that.

NZ SpecFic Blogging Week - Ooh La La!

I have to write something here, because, well, I can't NOT, can I? Even though I only just heard about this a couple of days ago and just today became aware of SpecFicNZ, I'm certain that this is a place where I belong.

It's a long road, this writing of science fiction, and it's been a lonely one - at least in physical terms. The international online community has been my salvation on many occasions - my support network, my reviewers, my fans.

And now, where I'm almost ready to take the leap and begin release of other authors' titles under my imprint, things are starting to get exciting. Just today I had a meeting regarding a nationwide radio advertising campaign for the runup to Christmas. I just have to decide whether to create the 30-second spot myself or leave it to the professionals.

Anyway, this post is mainly for the SpecFicNZ folks who might wander in. Be sure and check out the Splashdown Books homepage now open for pre-orders on our first two books, and the Splashdown Reviews site for sci-fi and fantasy books that have caught my attention. Don't forget you can connect with me on Twitter @gracebridges, and look me up on Facebook and Youtube.

I'm also planning to hold a seminar in late November on the basics of novel structure. So get in touch if you're interested in that. It'll be real cheap and probably held in Glenfield. Fun!

In the meantime, I'm headed off to France in a couple of days, so wish me luck!