|
|
|
Greetings!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. The holidays are upon us, but most importantly happy birthday to my youngest daughter. She will turn 10 this month. Ah, double digits. I feel like I am in triple digits by the end of most days. I'm getting closer all of the time.
JournalStone will see two more books published in November, Jokers Club (2nd place finish in the JS novel contest) and Demon of Renaissance Drive. Congratulations to Gregory Bastianelli and Elizabeth Reuter respectively.
Thanks to novels as good as those two, JournalStone has had record sales in consecutive months for all of 2011. We are absolutely going in the right direction, but October was stellar. October more than doubled our previous highest month and is hopefully a reflection of the quality of books we are producing. Thanks to everyone for a fabulous way to celebrate Halloween. Now let's see what we can do in November!
The 2011 JournalStone Short Story contest is complete and the winners are announced. Check out the listing a little further down in the newsletter. I have to thank Joel for running a fantastic contest. He diligently read every story and it was a painstaking task picking the top three. Thanks to everyone who participated and I can't wait to publish this anthology. There are some crazy good stories in this book, coming in December 2011. On a side note, 100% of the profits are being donated to Rocky Wood who is diagnosed with ALS. Please support ALS research by donating wherever possible.
I would personally like to thank the ITW - International Thriller Writers. They have recognized JournalStone as an approved publisher and our authors are now welcome to join their organization. We hope to have a long-lasting relationship with the prestigious group. Maybe one of our books will even win their annual award! My fingers are crossed.
We also want to welcome Rachel Coles as JournalStone's newest author. She signed a contract in October and JournalStone will be publishing her novel, Pazuzu's Girl in early 2012. I don't think this one is for the faint of heart. Loads of sensual details in these pages. I can't wait to publish it!
What a great month. I can't imagine what November might bring to top this but I will hope for greater things to come. Remember to buy your copy of Jokers Club and Demon of Renaissance Drive in November. You don't want to miss out on either one of these offerings.
Thanks everyone.
Christopher C. Payne
President |
|
 |
|
Joel's Publishing Tips
Criticism - Good, bad and indifferent?
A few weeks ago we discussed our first Writing Tip - Editing. Here is the link to that post if you missed it. Writing Tips - Editing
This week we go directly to your heart again and make an issue of criticism; it can be misunderstood.
We believe there are three basic types: Good, bad and indifferent. Let's get the most ambiguous out of the way first.
Indifferent criticism. It is the query that came back, "...not for us." or, "Sorry, we can't use this." It is the type which comes from anyone and tells you nothing. The reader found nothing terribly wrong; they just didn't like the story. Most authors wonder why they are hearing such news in the first place. It does seem pointless to have an indifferent opinion about a book and then state that fact.
However, indifferent criticism tells an author many things. The book obviously needs 'general' work; higher highs, lower lows, scarier frights, perhaps even reworking some characters to bring them more to life. Ambiguous criticism indicates the work itself is ambiguous. A story should create some reaction.
Take heart! We are talking about a story that has some room to grow. If the reader cannot focus on the elements they did not like, then overall, the work may be in good shape. But it might be best to admit that it is really a second or third draft form. It would be a mistake to only think one reader missed the point. Authors miss a lot of points too, and they are closer than anyone to their text.
To continue reading click on this link. Writing Tips - Criticism
Thanks everyone and enjoy.
Joel |
|
I want to start off by saying thanks to the authors who were on the show in the month of October and to Brett J. Talley for bravely guest hosting with us! He was loads of fun, as always, and gave us a great guy's perspective on things. Thanks also to S. Patrick Pothier for reading his winning entry in the scary story contest!
But we made it through the Halloween season and everyone is starting to get in the festive swing of things! Brush the spooky thoughts out of your head and start thinking snow, turkeys, trees, sleigh rides, and of course BOOKS!!
Stay tuned this month to hear some fun interviews:
Nov 1st - Lynn Rush, author of Wasteland
Nov 8th - Angel Haze, author of Legacies of Talimura: War of the Witch
Nov 15th - Gregory Bastianelli, author of Jokers Club
Nov 22nd - No show - Happy Thanksgiving to all!!
Nov 29th - Nichole Chase, author of Mortal Obligation
Looks like a fantastic line-up to me! Remember, the shows start at 9 pm EST! You won't want to miss it.
One more thing before I scurry off to the Reviewer's Corer! Do you have an awesome little literary fan in your home? Does he or she love to read to others? You can have them read their favorite Christmas short story on the air for our Christmas Special! If you think you have that special little one, send me an e-mail and I will contact you about this wonderful opportunity to hear your child or favorite youngster on the air!! amy@journalstone.com
Until next month, everyone!!
-Amy
Be here with us every Tuesday night 9PM EST!
www.blogtalkradio.com/journaljabber |
Reviewer's Corner!
As the weather is getting cooler, so are the books that are being released, not only by JournalStone, but all over. Be sure to check out Jokers Club, being released this month!! If you have a review of the book I would love to see it! Please send your review of Jokers Club to me at amy@journalstone.com. We would love to read it and share it with the world! Well, maybe not the entire world, but as much of it as we can possibly reach.
If you think you want to be one of JournalStone's newest hit book reviewers, please get in touch with me. I'm pretty sure by this point in the newsletter I have thrown my e-mail address out there enough for everyone to know how to contact me. BUT - just in case...here it is again... amy@journalstone.com. I hope you guys write it down.
I figured since I am putting some fun information in this little passage, I wanted to give you all a tip about your review writing - little helpful tips are good from time to time, and we can share just between us friends, right? When you are writing your review, be sure to open strong. Like any other type of writing, you have a very short amount of time to hook your readers, enticing them to read what you have laid out on paper. Make it a powerful start! More on this in the next episode of the Reviewer's Corner!! We shall meet again, right here, next month.
-Amy |
Ghosts of Coronado Bay is on sale at Amazon for $3.99. I can't even buy it for that. Now is the time to buy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Us
JournalStone is a small press publishing company, focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction in both the adult and young adult markets.
We are members of & actively support the:
HWA - Horror Writers Association
WNBA - Women's Nat'l Book Assn.
HPLHS - HP Lovecraft Historical Society
IBPA - Independent Book Publishing Assn.
SFWA - Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
|
Congratulations to the winners of JournalStone's 2011 Short Story contest. Click on the link and check out the details to the anthology, JournalStone's 2011 Warped Words: 90 Minutes to Live.
All profits generated from our 2011 anthology are being donated for the purchase of medical equipment for Rocky Wood, president of HWA.
Please support ALS research to the extent you possibly can. Tentative release date, December 20, 2011.
1st Place - John La Rue
2nd Place - Brad Carpenter
3rd Place - Bruce Golden
Additional authors that will be published. (Listed in order of appearance in the published anthology, not a reflection of standing in the contest)
Jeffrey Wilson, Brett J. Talley, Jasmine Cabanaw, Timothy Miller, Bill Patterson, Peter Orr, Nu Yang, JG Faherty, David Perlmutter, Jennifer Phillips. |
Jokers Club
Did you ever do something you were not proud of as a child? Did you ever dream that one blunder would haunt you for the rest of your life? Ever think a mistake you made as a child could leave you paying the debt with your life years later? I made more than my share of mistakes growing up, I'm just happy I wasn't a part of the Jokers Club.
Once upon a time, there was a group of pleasant, young boys. They had meetings trying to decide how to better their community, how to help their fellow man, and how to lift the self-esteem of all those around them.
This is NOT their story.
The Jokers Club had a different agenda.
Instead of planting flowers, walking the old lady across the street, and smiling at the dork in class, the Jokers Club is smoking (oh no!), removing dead bodies from the grave (NO JOKE!!), and something much, much worse (DUN DUN DUN!!!). |
|
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Will Rodman (James Franco) is on a quest to perfect a cure for Alzheimer's. Not only is this his life's work, it is personal-Rodman's father (John Lithgow) is suffering from the degenerative disease. When laboratory chimps begin to show remarkable improvements, even enhancements, from the virus/cure, Rodman is excited to share his research with a company that can put it on the shelves.
Unfortunately, his prize chimp suddenly becomes aggressive and destroys all hope he has for any outside funding, essentially shutting down his program. Afterward, Rodman and his chimp handler (Tyler Labine) find the reason for Bright Eye's aggression-she was protecting her infant hidden away in her cage. Unable to destroy the precious life, Rodman smuggles the baby chimp home, names him Caesar (Andy Serkis) and continues his research.
After a protective outburst reminiscent of his mother's final behavior, Caesar lands himself in a primate habitat where he works to lead his peers to true freedom.I was a little hesitant to go to the theater (drive-in) to watch this one. First of all, I wasn't sure the content would be suitable for the kids, but we watched a couple trailers together and they wanted to go. Also,
I didn't care much for the last "revamp" of the Planet of the Apes film. I am thrilled to admit I was extremely impressed with this movie! |
Scream 4
What's your favorite scary movie?.....
Sydney Prescott: survivor of vicious, bloody attacks is back in her home town of Woodsboro. But she isn't a teenager anymore and she has written a best-selling self-help book all about surviving and bouncing back from dark times.
Sydney expected a quick "sign and dash" book signing in Woodsboro but Ghostface had other ideas. With the anniversary of the Woodsboro murders on the calendar and all the main players in town...
Well, it was time for a remake. Don't you agree?
Sydney reconnects with her old pals Dewey and Gale (now married) just in time to be terrorized by a new Ghostface. But this time the killer isn't just terrorizing Sydney but her cousin and friends as well.
When I asked a few girlfriends to go see this movie with me they laughed. That's right, they laughed. They told me I was crazy. My husband laughed too. What? I said, what's wrong with Scream? I still am not sure why no one wanted to see it, other than a few "that's scary" comments.
Am I the only one out there that wanted to see this movie? Does everyone else think it silly too? |
Born at Midnight
What if the only thing that separates you from being human, is when you were born, at midnight?
Kylie Galen had the worst day of her life, her parents announced that they were getting a divorce, her nana was still dead, her boyfriend broke up with her and she was caught in a high school party filled with booze. To make matters worse, Soldier Dude was back, and he was the reason why Kylie had been seeing a shrink, because, well, a normal human were not supposed to see ghosts, right?
When her mother found out about the party, Kylie found herself on a bus heading towards Camp Shadow Falls, a camp for juvenile delinquents, or so she thought. Soon enough, she will discover that not only Camp Shadow Falls was peculiar, from the girl who was too pale to the boy with gold flecks in his eyes ,they all shared something in common.
They were all born at midnight.
I LOVE THIS BOOK. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
