Alice vs. Mad Monster Party

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, animals both domesticated and wild, around where I live the sun has become as elusive as Big Foot. Still, I saw something mysterious in the sky that I can't fully explain. It was bright and shiny and round, but--no, it just couldn't be.... Of all the Comic Con news that has been spewing from every orifice in the Internet, I am most pleased with the trailer of the new Alice in Wonderland movie directed by Tim...

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GhostReader, Sowen Updates

I've been shopping around for a text-to-speech reader that I can use to convert my stories to audiobooks. I found a program called GhostReader that works fantastic, and it will only make your wallet lighter by 40 bills. The voices, while no Frank Muller or Carolyn McCormick, are lifelike and there are plenty to choose from. The software has the ability to convert entire Word docs and PDF files to MP3s. My 65,000-word novel took about 5...

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Die! Die! Die! My Bunny

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, animals both domesticated and wild, hold on to your heads, dear reader, things are about to get chocolaty ...A disturbing yet curiously satisfying video courtesy of Lernert Engelbert.Chocolate Bunny from lernert Engelberts on Vimeo.<<<<>>>>Barnes & Noble this week launched a new ebookstore, claiming to have the most ebooks available anywhere. What interested me more about this announcement...

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Monday Mashups

With Pride and Prejudice and Zombies selling enough copies for the same folks to release a second mashup Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, I've decided to put together a list of titles I'm going to start pitching to agents: Romeo and Juliet and Satan Crime and Punishment and Putrefaction The Sound and the Fury of the Brain Eaters A Tale of Two Cities Ravaged by H1N1 To Kill a Mockingbird with a Hammer Portrait of a Dead Lady Of...

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Literary Travels

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, animals both domesticated and wild, don't be afraid of the person with the bloody knife. Be afraid of the person who tries to save him. So I was listening to On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King on my way to work this morning--next to Elements of Style this is my favorite audiobook to listen to when I've finished a novel towards the end of the week and I don't want to start a new one.I was listening...

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Attack of the Kindle

Wanted to pass this article along from Publisher Weekly: Sourcebooks to Delay Release of eBook Version of Hot New YA Novel Big publishers throughout the industry have been quietly discussing postponing the release of ebook versions of their frontlist hardcover fiction after the dramatic spike in Kindle sales at the widely-despised (within the industry) $9.95 price point--but independent Sourcebooks is the first to score headlines for delaying an ebook release. The WSJ covers their decision to delay an ebook release of Kaleb Nation's BRAN HAMBRIC: The Farfield Curse for at least six months. Sourcebooks has announced a 75,000-copy first printing...

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The Summer That Never Came

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, animals both domesticated and wild, I'd like to open with a bit of advice: After receiving your meal in a dining establishment, poke your food a few times with a fork to make sure nothing squirms out ... especially in pasta where there are a lot of hiding places.It was 50 degrees outside when I woke up this morning. In the month of June, only three days went above 80, while the sun only poked out six of those...

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Daybreakers

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, animals both domesticated and wild, it's Monday! For the working world: grab your ankles until Friday.So I saw this trailer for a new film called Daybreakers. I'm a bit worn out on all things vampire, but maybe this has enough spin to reinvigorate the genre for me."Daybreakers offers an interesting twist on vampire plots. After a plague turns humans into vampires, the vampires quickly become the dominate race...

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Happy Independence Day

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, animals both domesticated and wild, have a safe and happy 4th of Ju...

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