down the writer's path

City Blogging: A new media trend in travel writing

I've resumed posting over at blogHOUSTON, a weblog dedicated to “Houston politics and current events, local media, and thoughts on the city’s cultural and entertainment options.” My niche is primarily arts and entertainment with a strong literary slant, of course. Not being up to date with the local music scene and being that rare individual in today's visual society who does NOT go to films, I generally leave those reports to the others. Thankfully, Houston is a big city with a large appetite for culture and entertainment so there’s plenty of venues and subject matter left. It's nice that all that Houston research for the travel books continues to pave the way for additional writing projects even today. Five years ago I would never have said I'd be part of a group blogging about Houston. I had barely heard mention of writers providing content material for major online corporate sites such as MSN City Guides or Expedia. For me, blogHOUSTON is a great fit. No pressure in posting, and I can share info about places and events that catch my attention.

Kevin Whited, editor and web guru for blogHOUSTON, has done a great job in executing his idea for a blog about the city. He cites the now-defunct LAexaminer.com (run by blogger/journalist/musicians Ken Layne and Matt Welch) and LAobserved.com as inspiration. Of course, Kevin's own highly praised PubliusTx personal blog had to have provided some creative sparks. I ran across his earlier blogs several years ago and we exchanged a few emails prior to the launch of bH. I followed the blog’s early days and appreciated it when he linked to this site and mentioned my work. Eventually he suggested I join them. Trust me, I was flattered. It took a while but eventually it happened. Then life became a bit more complicated and postings everywhere dwindled. But recent events have opened up new writing time and I’ve keyboarded my way back to his blog. Here are the links for last week's posts. Read ‘em and comment if you’ve a mind to.

Surprise! Gas prices are up.
Have a bloomin’ buggy weekend at BUGstravaganza!
Murder by the Book hosts a triple header that ends with Lee Child

Publishing News: Narrative Magazine expands in growth and content

Narrative Magazine, an online favorite of mine, is having one heck of a year. The readership has doubled, the magazine remains free, the contributors continue to be paid, the annual contest grows, and big things are afoot. The magazine now includes poetry, and Michael Wiegers, the executive editor of Cooper Canyon Press, has agreed to be the poetry editor. Narrative's new issue is the first to publish poetry by novelist David Guterson. You'll find Guterson's poetry along with short stories, an excerpt from Ron Hansen's novel Exiles, a profile of Ann Beattie, essays, a memoir set in mid-twentieth century New York, a coming-of-age tale by Nathanial Hawthorne, and the usual assortment of book reviews. Why free? Narrative is a nonprofit organization with a mission to use the Internet to bring readers and storytellers together online, and by the results it's easy to see they are doing a bang up job.

That's not all. In their Editor's Note, Carol Edgarian and Tom Jenk report that Narrative is now the publisher of StoryQuarterly.

This past March, Narrative had the good fortune to become the publisher of StoryQuarterly, a little magazine that’s been around as a hard-copy annual for the past thirty-two years and that last summer made its inaugural foray into the online world. SQ, as it’s called by its familiars, has been shepherded in recent years by the indefatigable, gracious, and spirited efforts of publisher and editor Marie Hayes, whose care and attention to writers is legend within the world of small magazines and in the teaching and writing community. Marie has sustained SQ as a place hospitable to all writers who care about good work and especially to writers who are starting out. As SQ moves forward with Narrative, Marie will continue to provide a guiding hand, and SQ, which has long had the welcome mat out for new writers, will open its door even wider: in the past, submissions were accepted from November through January, but beginning this summer, SQ will accept submissions year-round. A notice will go out letting you know when the new SQ submission system is online, and SQ’s editors will look forward to reading your work.

Some of our readers have asked about the editorial crossover between SQ and Narrative, and we’d like to answer several central questions now. Each magazine will maintain its own identity. A submission to one magazine will not be a submission to both. Each magazine will have its own separate submission system. There will be some overlap in staff and services, such as art and technology, and for the sake of combined strength and for the support of each magazine, there will be collaboration on projects, such as events and story collections, but each magazine will have its own character and pursue its own vision. Other questions will be addressed in a Frequently Asked Questions section to be posted in SQ and updated in Narrative this summer. An updated SQ Submission Guidelines page will be posted in the next SQ, which will go live in July, just in time for summer reading!

For those of you who hate to read online and prefer to have actual hardbound copy in your hands when reading, starting with the September issue Narrative and StoryQuarterly will be offered in print-on-demand format. The magazine also has plans for something called Narrative Backstage which sounds like it will be a lot of fun for those who support the magazine by way of donations. There will be previews of unpublished works, audio files, video footage of authors, and exclusive stories. Sounds like they've hit on a great way to thank their financial angels.

If you enjoy good writing, give Narrative Magazine and StoryQuarterly a try. There's pretty much something for everyone.

Book Standard highlights book videos and e-readers.

Today's Book Standard E-Blast featured a story about book videos. Book videos? Don't ask me. But if you want to know more, click here. I wonder if I should spend some time conjuring up a video for my teen books? And if you've heard a little buzz about a new e-book e-reader, read this piece, but first you might want to catch up on some background info. That should give you a few things to think about over the weekend; meanwhile, I need to go back to work.

New e-book publisher, EaglesongBooks, is launched

Dick Claassen, Awe-Struck E-Books co-owner and co-editor, is the proud papa of a new venture: www.EaglesongBooks.com. Claassen is looking for nonfiction, as well as fiction stories, novellas, and novels. Have you been looking for a home for your nonfiction book? Maybe you've written an instruction book? Claassen is eagerly seeking music and nonmusic instruction books, too. Check out the submission page.

EaglesongBooks is also a publishing company with a mission. They seek stories and instructional material that embrace respect for culture, tradition, heritage, and the fragile environment of our planet. While this is a new venture, Dick Claassen is no stranger to writing, editing, or the ever-changing world of e-publishing. His latest work, CELEBRATE THE NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE, is a highly praised music instruction book. Be sure and read The Birth of a Website. You'll find he has discovered how to combine his twin passions for writing and playing the Native American flute.

And now it's time for a little full disclosure. Dick Claassen has been my editor for both DIVIDED LOYALTIES and VIDEO MAGIC. He is an absolute dream to work with and is so supportive that receiving one of his editorial letters becomes a joyous occasion. I am also delighted to be able to participate in the launch of his new publishing company. Because of the prominence of the Native American flute and the environmental and cultural themes in DIVIDED LOYALTIES, you'll find my book listed on EaglesongBooks. As if that isn't cool enough, I'm happy to announce that EaglesongBooks will publish SONG OF THE FLUTE BOY, my first novel written for middle graders.

From a short story contest, to a writer's retreat, to a gathering of web writers, there's a great, big world out there

While I try and digest the past week's activities at TLA, I thought I'd provide a few links that might give you some ideas.

WriteCraft Writer's Resource Center has been praised by Writer's Digest and listed in their Top 101 Websites for Writers for the past two years. They run a quarterly contest where writers respond to a visual prompt to write their short stories. The next contest deadline is June 15, 2005. The winner receives $25 or a $25 certificate to Amazon and their story is published on WriteCraft's site. Take a look at the Fall 2004 contest winner "I'm Thinking of a Word" by E.N. Wilson.

Ever wondered what it would be like to go on a writer's retreat? Check out Moorishgirl, to read about the author's recent trip to Hedgebrook. Laila Lalami has been blogging since 2001 and is an accomplished writer. Her blog is consistently numbered among the best of the literary blogs

Looking for a reason to go to San Diego? Why not plan on attending this year's Journalcon 2005 October 21-23. The original Journalcon began in 2000 in Pittsburgh, then Chicago and San Francisco. These were the online writers before the rise of blogging. Texas hosted Journalcon 2004 in Austin. Last year D.C. played host. Anyone who writes online for a personal website or for a public audience, anyone who blogs or journals, any web writers and any other "interesting internet people" will gather, meet, discuss and discuss and, no doubt, disagree. Subjects will range from blogging to publishing software and everything in between. In short, it's a conference for those in the "new media."

News Flash: First book review--Fallen Angel Reviews--in for Divided Loyalties

Came home last night to find an email from Fallen Angels Review saying the review had been posted on my new book, Divided Loyalties. That was a knot-in-the-pit-of-the-stomach moment. Thankfully, to paraphrase Sally Fields, "she--the reviewer--liked it. I particularly enjoyed, "Vikk Simmons has an amazing ability to make the reader care for these characters." The book is on Awe-Struck's "Coming Soon" page with a August 7, 2004 release date. August 7th happens to be my parent's 62nd anniversary. Hope it bodes longevity for my book, as well. I'm still learning all about e-books; I do know the book will be available in several formats, including those for e-book readers, on disk, and in a downloadable file to read on-screen or to print. So anyone should be able to find a format that will work for them. The publisher, Awe-Struck, has a very user-friendly site full of information for potential readers. Clink on the upper righthand "Where to Begin" section on the home page to learn about the company and their books, and how to read them. (Note: Check back for the rest of Kimberly Morris's interview tonight and tomorrow.)

The face of Divided Loyalties

Here at last: The final cover design for my YA book being published by Awe-Struck E-books this summer (August, 2004). I also heard the review copies were sent out last week. Let me know what you think of the cover.