It's the first Wednesday of the month, and so it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) monthly blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. Lately, as much as I love the book, the publishing process of my soon-to-release short story collection, “Bad Apps”, has been a challenge for me. Yet, it’s even sooner-to-release and so it’s only a matter of days until it releases! However, before that will be the cover reveal. So, I have the latest on these and the optional question of the month below!
Book Updates and Prep-Publishing Challenges
I've said before that I’m not a deadline person, as much as I try to and believe in getting things done promptly. So, I try to be as transparent as possible with my writing projects. That includes “Bad Apps”. There are often unexpected challenges for the artist, and so I’ve been getting those in the formatting and publishing preparation processes lately. Fortunately, it’s nothing too delaying. However, it’s caused me to have to skip the Book-To-Movie (BTM) for August, especially because the one I had planned involved three different stories since the movie part of the review would have been of an anthology, and so it would have taken me longer to go over each in connection with the film. So, that one will come up toward the end of September. To make up for last month, I’m going to try to post a mini movie review of a summer sci fi in the next week or so. But now for some details on the preparation progress of “Bad Apps”’s upcoming publication!
The book has been formatted for its ebook release and so it's ready to upload to Kindle Direct. But while I was formatting it with Kindle Create--an app that’s supposed to make the formatting of your manuscript easier, and it does considerably--I would discover problems with the spacing and so I had to fix that. Those are technical problems that aren’t always easy to notice in word processing software like Word but are more easily noticeable in apps like KC.
Currently, I’m in progress of filling out the web form on KDP for the book’s metadata and other details. These are details such as the book’s title, author name, and categories that shoppers can find the book under. I also have to set up the book’s keywords for Amazon and then, I believe, next comes the pricing of the book and then putting together the cover on the platform. The illustration for it is already made.
As soon as the cover is put together, I’ll be sending out downloadable copies of it to the beta readers, and then I’ll reveal it in an email to my newsletter subscribers. Once it goes out to them, I’ll be doing the official reveal on my Facebook and Instagram pages and here at the Fantastic Site! That will all be coming up this week so, Beta readers and newsletter subscribers, check your mail boxes; everyone else keep checking here, at my FB or Instagram pages throughout the week! Also, beta readers, don’t forget, you will be receiving a free ebook copy of “Bad Apps” when it releases!
If any of you aren't subscribers or did not beta read but would like an early look at the cover, you can still do that! Simply subscribe to my free author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call". But do it now, because the official reveal will be happening by early next week!
‘Bad Apps’: Synopsis (Updated)
"Bad Apps" is a collection of techno-horror short stories that encounter mobile device apps that are strange, sinister, and deadly. Many of these stories deal with the weirdly scientific, while others go right to the brink of the supernatural. Some blur the lines between reality and virtual reality, others feature handheld devices that connect to parallel universes and alternative timelines.
A young woman discovers that her computer’s search engine is reading her mind. A teenager downloads to his phone a voodoo doll app and uses it against his enemies. A streaming music video conjures up a demon. These and the many other techno-terror tales in this book show the nightmarish consequences of when technology goes too far on both the programmer's end and the user's.
IWSG Monthly Question
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| Credit: Pixabay |
Now for the IWSG’s question for September which is: Do you have a favorite character archetype you tend to gravitate toward in your writing?
My main characters tend to be based on the magician archetype. My characters under this archetype tend to be artists, computer programmers/developers or at least intellects of some sort. In addition to that they are often nostalgic in their interests and behavior while looking forward to better futures and societies, or at least they declare to. Because they are so eccentric and often seem isolated from the rest of society, they have a countercultural element to them. These kinds of characters also include the mad scientist who does a sort of "magic" when he/she goes way out with their experiments, although most of those haven't been my protagonists but more so antagonists.
Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Kate Larkinsdale, SE White, JS Pailly, Olga Godim, and Natalie Aguirre! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!
Until next time . . .
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