The Stories of Scott D. Southard

January 10, 2013

I Want a TARDIS! My New Obsession With Doctor Who
I would sell my soul to come up with an idea like Doctor Who.

Yes, I would take an eternity in damnation, away from loved ones, baking in flames, to create a character like the man with the Sonic Screwdriver. And as I roasted, I would smile. Oh, how I would smile if that was on my resume

To think only three-months ago, I could not tell you the difference between a TARDIS and a Dalek (a TARDIS is bigger on the inside and a Dalek has a weird slimy octopus-like monster in it that likes to “ex-term-in-ate”). As a science-fiction geek, Doctor Who was already in the background for me. I knew who he was, had the basic gist of what it was about, but I never really considered giving it the time of day. I had enough sci-fi geek stuff with Tolkien, Star Trek, Joss Whedon, DC Comics, Harry Potter, Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the old one), Red Dwarf, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars, thank you very much. My cup was full, please try peddling your fantasy wares and monster costumes with zippers elsewhere.

I can even say I tried one or two episodes a few years ago. I am a fan of the TV writing of Steven Moffat (Coupling is hilarious and I love Sherlock) and when I heard he took over the running of the show (and it was one of his favorites), I decided to give it a shot; but I stopped after the episode of Daleks in WWII and when they emerged in different colors and bigger. I just didn’t understand the threat. They looked (dare I type it) silly… and in different colors? So what? They are white and red now? Whatever.

Oh how naive I was then… (more…)
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January 8, 2013

What I Learned From Having a Literary Agent
For five years, my books were represented by a big agency out of New York City. While I don’t want to name any names, I think I can safely say that this agency has a long history and has been associated with such writers as Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, and John Irving. (Yeah, I have two degrees of separation between my books and Scout!) Their clients are a who’s who of writing over the last one hundred years and as a writer and literature buff I could not have been more thrilled.

Thrilled? No, let me correct that.

I bragged! I gloated! I patted myself on the back every chance I got! I was big man on literary campus and it was only a matter of time before everyone knew my name. Start preparing the Booker prize trophy now… Wait, do they do a trophy? Or is it a medal? I have no idea (if it’s just a certificate that would be lame).

There is this wonderful Hollywood dream for artists that when someone of importance finds their work that suddenly everything is going to be streets of gold from then on and all the hard work is over. (Remember “The Standard Rich and Famous” contract in The Muppet Movie?) Well, I fell for that dream hook, line and sinker; and over the five years I was signed with this agency my career was stagnant.

Those five years are never going to come back. (more…)
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January 6, 2013

Re-Blog: Downton Abbey Post.
Tonight on PBS Masterpiece Theater, the third season of Downton Abbey begins. It’s been fascinating reading some of the articles leading up to the premiere. For example, a lot of critics seem to dismiss the second season. I think that is harsh. (Heck, critics also like to attack the new Hobbit movie. Seriously, what do people expect? Both series are not going to change! They are what they are; and I think they are great.) Of course, it can be argued that critics (and it should be) need to find something to write about. It’s their job, and controversy will always bring in readers over a nice little pat-on-the-back article… which I guess this one is! I hope you enjoy the new season.

The Stories of Scott D. Southard

Television is rarely art.

A big part of that is because of how it is made, this is especially true in America.

American television is a business model made out of light entertainment, with the hope of reaching as much of the viewing population as possible. While a creator may start with the spark of an idea, it is in the manufacturing of that idea where the art is lost; and business men take over, hoping to stretch an idea out for as long as possible, generating the highest quota of viewers and advertising sales. And through this process sadly creators can disappear (Consider Dan Harmon and Community, which I wrote about here), walking away (or forced away) from their own creations, their own babies.

To understand what I mean about art, consider one important element that makes a good novel art. It is not merely the initial…

View original post 1,246 more words
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January 5, 2013

Live in Los Angeles? Need a Photographer?
Hi readers,

As you know, I don’t typically do something like this. But over the holiday season, I had my brother, Adam Emperor Southard, take some new headshots of me for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM and other appearances, etc. And I was so impressed I had no choice but to do this post. Yes, my brother earned my first official blog recommendation!

My bro has been a professional photographer in Los Angeles, CA for quite some time and does a variety of interesting kinds of pictures from headshots to family portraits; check out his website here to see what I mean. Last year, I even had him do a photo of my family recreating a Beatles cover that we used for our Christmas cards. Yeah, his work is that awesome.

I hope you will check out his site and consider contacting him. You won’t be disappointed!
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January 3, 2013

Two New Reader Reviews for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM!
There are two new reader reviews for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM up on amazon. Both gave the book five stars! Here are some excerpts:

…With wry humor, wit, and poignant sensitivity, Scott D. Southard has created characters that are so real that they seem to have only a tenuous hold on their fictitious world. When Jane walks, the reader walks. When Jane finds, loses, and finds love again, the reader will find herself warning, comforting, and cheering this character on.

Southard’s novel is well written and full of witty characters…. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Jane would have too.

I hope you will consider checking out my new book. You can find it in print and eBook here:
And remember- a new chapter of Permanent Spring Showers will be up tomorrow!
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January 2, 2013

What will you be reading in 2013?
Happy 2013, my loyal and wonderful readers!

Have you enjoyed my editorials on this site and my original fiction here, Permanent Spring Showers and Upon the Ground? As you plan your reading in 2013, why not check out one of my three available books? Below are their descriptions and some links on where you can find them. I hope you will consider checking them out (and did I mention how wonderfully affordable they all are as well?).

My Problem With Doors

Jacob’s life changed in a single moment when, as a toddler, he walked through his bedroom door only to find himself in the office of a British officer in Capetown, 1870. This would begin a thirty-year journey which would take him from ancient to future civilizations, and innumerable places and times in between. Through all of his travels, Jacob seeks for the purpose of his predicament while meeting pirates, poets, loves, and even Jack the Ripper.

My Problem With Doors is available as a paperback (on amazon here), an eBook (on Google Play here) and even as a downloadable audiobook (here).

Megan

Megan Wane is caught in a life of dull dreariness. She goes to work in a dead end job with a boss she can’t stand, and comes home to a silent apartment with only a standoffish cat for company. She can only get away through her imagination. And there, in her thoughts, there exists a fairy-tale kingdom with wizards and dragons. A place called Prosperity, where she is both a princess and a hero. On this day, both Megan’s external reality and her interior world will suffer tragedy that will turn her life upside down and shake her to the foundation. Can Megan turn disaster into deliverance?

Megan is available as a paperback (on amazon here), an eBook (on Google Play here) and even as a downloadable audiobook (here).

A Jane Austen Daydream

Jane Austen thought she knew everything about love, but was there something she wasn’t telling us? A self-confessed dreamer, gossip, and matchmaker, Jane emerges from a prophetic meeting with gypsies and sets out to discover her soul mate. As Jane writes through the twists and turns of her turbulent romances, Southard ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years – did she ever find love? What would the story of that love be like if Jane could write it? Binding fact with fiction, courting brace new literary twists, and written in the style of Jane Austen herself, A Jane Austen Daydream is the tale of Jane’s life as a novel. It contemplates the eventual fate of Jane’s heart, and uses her own stories to fill the gaps that history left to the imagination.

A Jane Austen Daydream is available on all major sites in print and eBook including amazon.com (here).

…and thanks for all of your support of my writing over the last year!
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December 31, 2012

An Interview With the Jane Austen Society of North America, Central NJ Chapter
I have an interview up via the Jane Austen Society of North America, Central NJ Chapter! The interview begins with a very short review on the book:

Mix one part biography and one part historical re-imagining…add witty characters and some surprises and you have A Jane Austen Daydream. This was a delightful read.

You can read my interview here.

And if you need some reading for the new year, it can be found as an eBook and in print! Here are the links:
I hope you have a wonderful new year!
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December 31, 2012

My Writing Resolutions, 2013
This blog began as New Year’s resolution. While some off-handily plan to get rich or find love or have a child, etc., at that midnight hour, I declared: “I’m going to make a blog! And I’m only going to make it about me! My writing! My life! And my opinion about everything! A site on me!” (You can add the hiccup with the whiff of alcohol there.)

My first real post on the site was shortly after New Year’s last year. That post can be found here and besides the questionable look in the picture with the file (I was a Beatnik at a holiday party), I don’t dislike what I wrote… well… too much.

The funny thing is I never in my wildest dreams expected my site to find readers. If someone was to have told me that by the end of the year I would have over 29000 unique views, 257 blog followers, over 200 likes on Facebook, and 10,000 followers on Twitter, I wouldn’t believe them. Seriously, I would have been shocked.

This site was started for purely selfish reasons, I admit that (wanting to build up my writing voice to where it once was since I was coming off a long writing drought). The fact you are coming along for the ride is a wonderful surprise. It encourages me like you wouldn’t believe, and I am so incredibly flattered and inspired by your views, likes, sharing, and just reading. Thank you. And I promise I will do my best not to suck in the new year. (more…)
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December 28, 2012

First Reader Review for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM!
The first reader review for my novel A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM is on amazon! I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I’ve yet to find an author who is as adept as Mr. Southard at imitating voice. Reading this was like reading Jane Austen – and I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. I think she’d be pleased, too.
This story weaves fact and fiction effortlessly. I love the pace, the form and obvious admiration the author has for the subject. This is not your typical book, yet it’s eclectic nature is its draw. I can’t say more without a spoiler. Sometimes we just need a happy ending.
I highly recommend this book to Austen fans.

The print and eBook version are both available on amazon right now. You can find them here via my author page: http://www.amazon.com/Scott-D.-Southard/e/B002EDX5VC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
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December 27, 2012

My Online Literary Experiment: Time to Catch Up!
Permanent Spring Showers is a new novel, but it is also an experiment… an experiment around creation, instinct, and a heck of a lot of literary luck.

To begin with, I grew up a fan of Charles Dickens, and one of the things he is well known for is how he wrote many of his novels, sharing them via his papers one chapter at a time; many times while still creating them. So to start, I wondered if I could do the same thing. That was the basis right there for my challenge.

Using an old screenplay I wrote years and years ago as the starting point, I first created 25 chapter titles. Those chapter titles now are the only direction I really have in the writing. See, the book is nothing like the screenplay, only a few scant remnants remain. (I can’t even remember the last time I have even opened up the screenplay file!) If having to guess, I would say only two plotlines remain, and only that many of the original characters are still like their former selves. Everything else is so sparkly new, and many times when I start a chapter, I have no idea where the characters are going to take me next. Thrilling and terrifying.

When I started it felt so wonderfully easy, with the first chapter oddly being the shortest one in the book. It was a lie! When the third chapter reached over 25 pages I realized I might be in a little bit of trouble. I wasn’t drowning, but I was enjoying the deep end of the pool a little too much, let me say that.

To help you, the readers, feel part of the process, I’ve also been creating occasional editorial updates on the experience. I like to think of them as fun little glimpses into the mind of a writer at work. They are full of contradictions, conflicting goals, and seem to carry through them the one underlining thought, “I don’t know what I am doing or where I am going, but this is strangely fun.”

And it has been a fun experience for me.

In 2013 I will be creating the last three chapters (plus one very short epilogue) for the novel. With the end so close I thought this might be a good time for readers to consider catching up or maybe starting for the first time. You can find all of the chapters here. I hope you will consider checking it out. Below, is a brief introduction to the book and the characters in it: (more…)
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