When Aaron suggested that I post about my latest release, I thought it was a great idea. I haven’t done a “mememe” post in quite some time. And since today is the end of the giveaway for my Christmas book, A Sweet and Spicy Christmas, I thought I would talk about how it all came to be. By the way, you can see how to enter RIGHT NOW AT THE LAST MINUTE here: at my website
Boy, have I been busy!
I created the little novelette, A Sweet and Spicy Christmas, from several Christmas short stories that I have had for some time. I wanted to make a sort of sampler of them all, so that is what I did. One of the stories is a spicy romance, and one is a sweet romance. The last story is a sort of horror thing that is a twist on the old Christmas story, "The Gift of the Magi," by O. Henry, pseudonym for William Sidney Porter.
The cover is also one of my creations. I thought that the ladies might appreciate a little holiday eye-candy and so the cover was born. Why do we write romance and then put a woman on the cover when we KNOW men rarely read them? (Aaron you are the exception!) I love creating covers and think this one is a hit.
I switched over from writing my beloved caper mysteries to writing romance as a little change in scenery. Sort of what I did when I wrote the YA fantasy, An Unexpected Performance. Sometimes you just gotta write what your heart wants to write, and never mind the market. Least, that’s what I think. I am actually thinking of writing a CHRISTIAN fiction novel, so what does that tell ya?
By the way, I talk about my upcoming promo for An Unexpected Performance on my latest podcast, and you can have a listen here: Writer Groupie Podcast Episode 15 there are other archived podcasts on the site as well, just look under the Writer Groupie tab.
Now, as to what’s coming up from me, there is the next episode in The Case of the Missing Body--my YA mystery series; and the soon-to-be-released, Deadly Array, which is the first in my caper mysteries featuring Shannon Wallace. If you have read my “Angel” series in the past you know what fun these books are. They are all being re-released with new names, new titles, and new covers. I might add, new and improved editing, too!
There is never a dull moment at my writing table and you never know what I might come up with next. I do so love input from fans and friends, so please tell me what you would like to read!
Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Sweet/Spicy
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Kim Smith: short stories
Just thought I would add my offerings in here for the Christmas shopping season. I have recently added to my repertoire of short stories, and have a new one up at Smashwords. It is sort of an experimental fantasy fiction entitled "Anenome Hanks". I hope you will get it for your stocking, as it is only $1.00.
If you want more of my Shannon and Dwayne mystery/adventures, there will be one up at Red Rose calledThe Christmas Heist. It is a short story as well and I am sure they will price it reasonably.
There at RRP you will find two more of my short stories, The Christmas Kiss, a sweet romance. And under my pen name, Kaycee Conners, there is Christmas Layover. That one is a spicy romance, so just saying if you are not into the love/romance/sensual thing, those are not for you.
I hope you will check out all my books this year, especially if you are a new Murderer here at Mb4. They are on Amazon for Kindle, and that will be a very good place to start shopping with that new Kindle Fire HD you get for a gift.
Didn't think I knew about that, did ya?
If you want more of my Shannon and Dwayne mystery/adventures, there will be one up at Red Rose calledThe Christmas Heist. It is a short story as well and I am sure they will price it reasonably.
There at RRP you will find two more of my short stories, The Christmas Kiss, a sweet romance. And under my pen name, Kaycee Conners, there is Christmas Layover. That one is a spicy romance, so just saying if you are not into the love/romance/sensual thing, those are not for you.
I hope you will check out all my books this year, especially if you are a new Murderer here at Mb4. They are on Amazon for Kindle, and that will be a very good place to start shopping with that new Kindle Fire HD you get for a gift.
Didn't think I knew about that, did ya?
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Getting back in swing of things
Good day to you Murderers, and let me begin with saying, I am just now getting back to the norm after a glorious week off for vacation in the fabulous North Kingdom, or God's country, or plain old Vermont (if you must say that). I filled four 4GB cards of photos, (that's like 800 shots for you who don't know) and I just really wanted to park my life there.
From another trip....
Summer swings on and the weather has been such a topic for the entire country, I think I'll skip mentioning it aside from saying, it is indeed hot.
Writing goes on for me as usual. I finished the second installment of the Case of the Missing Body (YA mystery, serial short story) and if you haven't gotten to downloading this Kindle original yet, get to hopping!!
Part ONE here:
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Missing-Body-Mini-ebook/dp/B008C9EM0U/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_2
Part TWO here :
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Missing-Body-Series-ebook/dp/B008M2I8PW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1342611481&sr=8-6&keywords=case+of+the+missing+body
My topic for you today is this: what do you think about a serial short story? Is this a good idea? Bad? Why? My idea is to get interest for my writing by keeping a continuous story going... they are short only about 10 pages each installment, and easy to read, easy to follow. Of course, it is YA and not a terribly bloody read. *I knooow Murderers, I knnnoooow*
I am also going again on a often thought of but highly disregarded book that has held me captive since the 1990's. Thank you, Amazon, for making self-publishing a great option for me for this book. And another book, that is a romance, pure and simple. Yes, I know you could care less. You want more blood, more muuuuurrrrdddeeerrrr.... haha.
That's it from me, enjoy your Thursday, go and find some clues to your mystery.
From another trip....
Summer swings on and the weather has been such a topic for the entire country, I think I'll skip mentioning it aside from saying, it is indeed hot.
Writing goes on for me as usual. I finished the second installment of the Case of the Missing Body (YA mystery, serial short story) and if you haven't gotten to downloading this Kindle original yet, get to hopping!!
Part ONE here:
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Missing-Body-Mini-ebook/dp/B008C9EM0U/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_2
Part TWO here :
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Missing-Body-Series-ebook/dp/B008M2I8PW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1342611481&sr=8-6&keywords=case+of+the+missing+body
My topic for you today is this: what do you think about a serial short story? Is this a good idea? Bad? Why? My idea is to get interest for my writing by keeping a continuous story going... they are short only about 10 pages each installment, and easy to read, easy to follow. Of course, it is YA and not a terribly bloody read. *I knooow Murderers, I knnnoooow*
I am also going again on a often thought of but highly disregarded book that has held me captive since the 1990's. Thank you, Amazon, for making self-publishing a great option for me for this book. And another book, that is a romance, pure and simple. Yes, I know you could care less. You want more blood, more muuuuurrrrdddeeerrrr.... haha.
That's it from me, enjoy your Thursday, go and find some clues to your mystery.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Writing Prompts
Recently, I read an article about writing fiction using themes. You know what I mean, like, love conquers all. That is a theme. And the article went on to tell you how not to do it badly, or overdo it. It made me think about other tools available to get a story going. And there are SO many tools, including the one of using prompts. Now, I happen to love prompts. I can write an entire short story using a prompt. The thing about prompts is: you don't have to build the whole story around a prompt. It is to PROMPT a story from you. You start the story using the prompt. It is up to your mind and creativity to finish it your way.
So, here is your assignment, if you choose to accept it. It is a long weekend for most of us, and if you are not going anywhere out of town, write a short story using one of these prompts. If you do well, you could find a home for it at Amazon, or Smashwords, and you could make money at it. (everyone is making money, why not you?)
Okay, here ya go:
Leaving home for college. Use fall weather as a backdrop, to elicit mood.
Camping with your parents and use a lot of teen angst because no kid WANTS to camp with Mom and Dad.
A zoo scene. This could be thrilling like Jurassic Park, yeah?
A historical event from the perspective of someone who saw it firsthand (You will have to do some research for this- but I just listened to a podcast on NPR-books about a guy who lived through the Camer Rouge invasion and with the help of a young lady who wrote, turned out a YA book that will knock your socks off)
You do something you feel is wrong - maybe it is or isn't but YOU think it is.
Above all that, have fun. Enjoy your weekend!
Happy Memorial Day, murderers!
So, here is your assignment, if you choose to accept it. It is a long weekend for most of us, and if you are not going anywhere out of town, write a short story using one of these prompts. If you do well, you could find a home for it at Amazon, or Smashwords, and you could make money at it. (everyone is making money, why not you?)
Okay, here ya go:
Leaving home for college. Use fall weather as a backdrop, to elicit mood.
Camping with your parents and use a lot of teen angst because no kid WANTS to camp with Mom and Dad.
A zoo scene. This could be thrilling like Jurassic Park, yeah?
A historical event from the perspective of someone who saw it firsthand (You will have to do some research for this- but I just listened to a podcast on NPR-books about a guy who lived through the Camer Rouge invasion and with the help of a young lady who wrote, turned out a YA book that will knock your socks off)
You do something you feel is wrong - maybe it is or isn't but YOU think it is.
Above all that, have fun. Enjoy your weekend!
Happy Memorial Day, murderers!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Short, Tight & To The Core
© Marta Stephens 2011 all rights reserved
Several years ago, I wrote a number of short stories. Some were published online in a writer’s forum. Most of them, however, got filed away and were quickly forgotten after I began writing novels.
This past year, I toyed with the idea of dusting them off and seeing if I could turn them into something worth sharing with readers. Unfortunately, that’s as far as my interest/effort went until last week when I received an e-mail asking for submissions to a writing contest.
I thought about it for a minute or two and decided that since the deadline isn’t until late spring I’d have time to work on it. After all, I liked the story, thought it had potential, and it was certainly worth the try. Unfortunately, this task would prove to not be as easy as it initially appears to be. The maximum word count for the contest is 4,000—most of my shorts are between 5,000 and 8,000 words. The one I had in mind to rewrite was around 8,500. Never the less, I was definitely up for the challenge.
The characters in “Seeds of Murder” include the body of the wealthy widow, a hard-nosed detective, the devoted housekeeper, the greedy grown children of the dearly departed, and of course, the femme fatale!
Now, for someone who enjoys expanding stories into 90,000 words or more, cutting 4,000 words from what was an already abridged storyline seemed impossible. In truth, however, it proved to be a valuable exercise. It not only helped tighten my prose, but it helped me to focus on the plot. I constantly caught myself asking if this line or that line was really necessary. Would it make or break the plot if I cut it out? Surprisingly, 99.9 percent of the time they were worthless words that added more bulk than wow.
The first things I cut were the lovely, rambling and totally unnecessary sections of imagery, long-winded descriptions, over-used tags and bites, and a whole lot of glancing around by the characters.
I also considered the structure. Beginnings are always difficult for me to decide. Where does the story begin? While the character is walking toward the building, as he’s stepping through the door, or after he’s in? Eventually I figure it out, but in this case, the original opening paragraph was 150 words long (8 lines) describing the scenery and the stately home from the protag's point of view as he's driving toward the scene of the crime. That’s right, 150 words before we read the first bit of dialogue. To make things worse, I wrote 368 words before giving the protagonist his first line. Yikes! The revised opening paragraph is a mere shadow of it at 45 words including the first four words of dialogue. I’m even considering cutting all but the dialogue and opening the story with, “The body’s upstairs, detective.” I don’t know…what do you think? Maybe not. At any rate, I still have just over 1,000 words left cut. After that it’ll be a matter of fine tuning each sentence and making those 4,000 little words count.
What’s truly interesting...no amazing, is that in spite of the drastic cuts, the storyline is still there. It’s really there and I’m loving it.
Everything else was obviously fluff.
About the author:
Marta Stephens writes crime mystery/suspense. Her books are available in paperback and e-book and Kindle formats.
This past year, I toyed with the idea of dusting them off and seeing if I could turn them into something worth sharing with readers. Unfortunately, that’s as far as my interest/effort went until last week when I received an e-mail asking for submissions to a writing contest.
I thought about it for a minute or two and decided that since the deadline isn’t until late spring I’d have time to work on it. After all, I liked the story, thought it had potential, and it was certainly worth the try. Unfortunately, this task would prove to not be as easy as it initially appears to be. The maximum word count for the contest is 4,000—most of my shorts are between 5,000 and 8,000 words. The one I had in mind to rewrite was around 8,500. Never the less, I was definitely up for the challenge.
The characters in “Seeds of Murder” include the body of the wealthy widow, a hard-nosed detective, the devoted housekeeper, the greedy grown children of the dearly departed, and of course, the femme fatale!
Now, for someone who enjoys expanding stories into 90,000 words or more, cutting 4,000 words from what was an already abridged storyline seemed impossible. In truth, however, it proved to be a valuable exercise. It not only helped tighten my prose, but it helped me to focus on the plot. I constantly caught myself asking if this line or that line was really necessary. Would it make or break the plot if I cut it out? Surprisingly, 99.9 percent of the time they were worthless words that added more bulk than wow.
The first things I cut were the lovely, rambling and totally unnecessary sections of imagery, long-winded descriptions, over-used tags and bites, and a whole lot of glancing around by the characters.
I also considered the structure. Beginnings are always difficult for me to decide. Where does the story begin? While the character is walking toward the building, as he’s stepping through the door, or after he’s in? Eventually I figure it out, but in this case, the original opening paragraph was 150 words long (8 lines) describing the scenery and the stately home from the protag's point of view as he's driving toward the scene of the crime. That’s right, 150 words before we read the first bit of dialogue. To make things worse, I wrote 368 words before giving the protagonist his first line. Yikes! The revised opening paragraph is a mere shadow of it at 45 words including the first four words of dialogue. I’m even considering cutting all but the dialogue and opening the story with, “The body’s upstairs, detective.” I don’t know…what do you think? Maybe not. At any rate, I still have just over 1,000 words left cut. After that it’ll be a matter of fine tuning each sentence and making those 4,000 little words count.
What’s truly interesting...no amazing, is that in spite of the drastic cuts, the storyline is still there. It’s really there and I’m loving it.
Everything else was obviously fluff.
About the author:
Marta Stephens writes crime mystery/suspense. Her books are available in paperback and e-book and Kindle formats.
THE DEVIL CAN WAIT (2008), Bronze Medal Finalist, 2009 IPPY Awards, Top Ten, 2008 Preditors and Editors Reader Poll (mystery).
ISBN: 978-1-905202-886-7
Tradebook: $15.99
E-book: $9.00 from Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7821
SILENCED CRY (2007) Honorable Mention, 2008 New York Book Festival, Top Ten, 2007 Preditors and Editors Reader Poll (mystery).
ISBN: 798-1-905202-72-0
Tradebook: $15.50
E-book: $9.00 from Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7812 Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Short Stories For Fun and Profit
Recently, my good friend Marta and I were discussing pulling out old short stories and revamping them for the reading public.
I think this is a good topic to post on Mb4 because as I have said before, about my own short stories you can get ahead as a writer of novels by publishing short stories first.
It keeps the fire fueled for writing as well, I might mention. Which is what I am going to be doing for a time as my third Shannon Wallace book is under consideration.
My laptop has died also, so I am going to be working on a computer that has no true office software. I am going to have to download the OpenOffice stuff. If you use it, do you like it?
Anyway, let's all pen something this week, even if it sucks. WE are WRITERS! Hear us roar!
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