author of ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS, THE PARADOX HOTEL, and THE WAREHOUSE
I’m excited to announce that I’m signing with Bree Ogden of the D4EO Literary Agency for my first full-length novel, New Yorked.
Bree is a very smart, very cool lady, and she gets the book, and I’m thrilled to be taking this next step in my writing career.
Also, now that I have an agent, prepare for me to be insufferable. At least, more so than normal.
I wrote an article for LitReactor called Top 10 Storytelling Cliches Writers Need To Stop Using. It’s gotten more than 35,000 hits. Insane.
There’s a new podcast episode up, featuring special guest Patrick Wensink, author of the fantastic Broken Piano for President. Give it a listen.
My online marketing class starts in less than a week. It’s going to be fun! Check it out.
Speaking of classes, we’ve got a packed slate, with some really cool workshops lined up. Don’t believe me? Go take a look.
Finally, galleys are in for Kwik Krimes. Fancy!
No, I have not been compulsively checking the Amazon sales pages, hoping to see the cover for Kwik Krimes, the anthology hitting August 20 that contains my short story, ‘The Gun with Two Triggers’.
Nope, just stumbled across it completely at random.
It’s pretty sweet though, right?
Check out the latest episode of Unprintable, the LitReactor podcast. It features a special guest, literary agent Bree Ogden, and we cover a lot of good ground, re: finding an agent, publishing, etc.
We also talk about the two least controversial figures in modern literature—Orson Scott Card and Bret Easton Ellis. And also I geek out of The Hard Bounce by Todd Robinson, a book that you should be reading right now, at this moment, and if you’re not, then you are making mistakes I can’t help you with.
Also, interested in being a class facilitator for LitReactor? It’s a paid gig, plus you get access to the lectures from our instructors. Details here.
Finally, Craig Clevenger wrote a fantastic essay for LitReactor: The Safety of Transgression versus the Risk of Honesty. Also would be good of you to drop what you’re doing and read it right now.
The new issue of Crime Factory is out—and it includes my new short story “The Best Job in the World”!
This was inspired by a posting I read on Craigslist years ago, from a guy claiming to be a stripper inspector. It was almost the opening of the novel I’m writing now, and while fun, it didn’t fit the rest of the story. I was excited to be able to salvage it.
The issue is available in print, Kindle format, and also for free, if you’re into free stuff. Check out my story but then stay for the rest. There are some very groovy stories, interviews and articles from some very talented folks. Company I’m honored to included with.
My KDP experiment is over. The Last Safe Place: A Zombie Novella is, once again, available at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this blog will only ever feature collections of links to stuff I’m doing and haven’t had time to talk about otherwise. It’s cool. I have plans for original content soon. Maybe someday! Anyway…
The lastest episode of the LitReactor podcast is up. Shit gets real.
I stumbled across this blog where I am beaten to shit in the comments section over at article I wrote at LitReactor. It is great.
We’ve got a collection of very cool classes coming at LitReactor. Maybe check ’em out and sign up for one?
Also, we’ve kicked off our latest writing challenge at LitReactor: Teleport Us. Get in on the fun!
Here is an article from Mashable, about print vs. eBooks, in which I am quoted. Woo!
Over at Amazon, the sales page is up for an anthology I’ve got a story in. Somehow I was billed on the main sales page, and am next to Ken Bruen, one of my idols. I don’t even know what to say or do about this. When I first saw it I wanted to cry and vomit at the same time, in a joyful way. It hits in August. You will hear more about it between now and then.
My publishing house just re-released 12 novels from James M. Cain as eBooks. We don’t have the big three (Double Indemnity, Postman, Mildred Pierce), but we have pretty much everything else. Which, still, awesome.
Finally, the KDP window on my novella is up on Feb. 4, at which point I’ll make it available at Barnes & Noble and Kobo again. I’ll let y’all know when that happens.
More TK.
The fourth installment of my column, Adventures in Self-Publishing, is live. In it, I talk about the Amazon KDP program.
Also live: The third episode of Unprintable, the LitReactor podcast. This is our best one yet. Probably because I was a little drunk. Check it out. If you could pop over to iTunes to review/rate it, that would be greatly appreciated.
The LitReactor shop is open for business. We are selling a very handsome t-shirt and a snazzy mug. Just in time for the holidays! Nothing says love like a mug.
Hey, also, I’ve been promoted to Class Director at LitReactor, which means that I’m now in charge of developing all those online writing classes the site hosts. I’m thrilled to be doing it.
We’ve got two classes coming up that are pretty great: One with Suzy Vitello on dialogue, and one with Taylor Houston on grammar and style. Check them out here. And there’s going to be more to share in the coming weeks.
And, on a final note, this week I got my very first check for a piece of fiction—a short story that’ll appear in Kwik Krimes, an anthology of flash fiction edited by Otto Penzler, to be published by Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint.
It is gratifying beyond words to get paid for making something up in my head. Also, there’s a ton of really amazing authors in it. I don’t know why they let me in.
Kwik Krimes will hit in the spring, I believe. Don’t worry, I will tell you when.
I’m a little late posting about this, but LitReactor has a shiny new podcast, called Unprintable. And it stars Cath Murphy, Joshua Chaplinsky, and me! It’s a fun time. We talk about books and writing and goof on each other and stuff.
It’s available through LitReactor (here) and iTunes (here). The first episode includes discussion on Cloud Atlas, the iPad mini, digital publishing, and pirating. Check it out, and if you could leave it a rating or a comment over at iTunes, we’d be much obliged.
If you have any questions you want us to answer or topics you want us to discuss, you can e-mail us at podcast@litreactor.com. We recorded the second episode last night, and we’re planning to do this twice a month. So keep an eye out.
My new column at LitReactor just went live: Adventures In Self-Publishing, Part 1: Why I’m Doing It, And Also Zombies.
The gist: I took a break from the novel I’m writing and accidentally wrote a zombie novella. Since procuring a traditional publishing deal on a novella is essentially nil, I’m going to self-publish and see what happens. (Probable outcome: Become a billionaire).
Rob Hart