The Stories of Scott D. Southard

June 4, 2013

My Mad Genius Moment: The Thrill of Writing Something Radically New
On June 11, my new book MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE will be released via amazon.com in eBook and print. Currently, there is a book giveaway going on for the book on Good Reads which you can enter here (only 7 days left!).

To help prepare for the release of this odd and playful book, I thought it would be entertaining to write on the unique experience I had creating my “monster.”

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Every artist has a mad genius moment in their past that they can point to…. And if they can’t, chances are they are still in the midst of it.

My mad genius moment came when I had turned thirty. Let me paint the scene- my wife was in grad school; I was working a lousy evening temp job which made it so I only saw her one to two hours a day, if at all; my literary agent at the time was still uncertain how to represent my books, which I truly loved and thought should have been published yesterday; I was continuously hitting walls when I applied for creative writing positions on the college level; and I was turning thirty, which kept reminding me of how many writers and poets said the best work was created by people in their 20’s…. AHHHHH!!!

For any artist, feeling this level of burden and frustration, how could I not put the white lab coat on, mess up my hair and laugh loudly and evilly? (more…)
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May 14, 2013

My new book MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE to be released on June 11. And a book giveaway!
I’m pleased to announce that my new book MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE will be released on June 11. It will be available via amazon.com. Here is a description of my fun (and possibly mad) book:

The cursed and foreboding McGregor Castle is the most terrifying and haunted location in all of the British Empire. Only a brave (or foolish) soul would consider visiting it, let alone staying within its walls for five days. In other words, a perfect dare for a man like Maximilian Standforth!

Maximilian Standforth, famed playboy aristocrat and private detective, is a genius with dangerous tastes. With Bob (his trusty carriage driver, biographer, and body guard) and Maggie Collins (actress, spy, and maid) by his side, Maximilian will experience horrors and madness unlike any seen before. For it is at McGregor Castle that the team will discover more than they ever could imagine in this very experimental and genre-breaking thriller.

There is also a book giveaway for the work on GoodReads! Two readers will win a print copy of the book. The book giveaway goes through June 12. I hope you will consider entering below.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare

by Scott D. Southard

Giveaway ends June 12, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I hope you enjoy my new book!
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April 8, 2013

Three weeks until the release of A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM! A Book Giveaway!
In three weeks my latest novel, A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, will be released by Madison Street Publishing. I can not wait to share this new book with you.

Over the next few weeks I hope to be able to discuss more about the work on this site and share many different things going on around the release from editorials on other sites to reviews to interviews. If I can promise my readers one thing around this moving and humourous novel it is that it is surprising with a few neat (and possibly new) literary tricks. I look forward to hearing what readers think of it!

To anticipate this release my publisher is having a book giveaway for the novel on GoodReads. Two copies will be given to two lucky entries. To enter, simply visit this page here (http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/48730-a-jane-austen-daydream) and click on the “Enter to Win” button.

A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM

All her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

Again, you can enter the competition by just visiting this page. The competition runs through April 29.

Let the countdown begin!
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February 1, 2013

My Adventure in Self-Publishing: Taking the Plunge
I grew up with a swimming pool. My grandmother also had a cottage that was on a lake perfect for swimming. So you would think I’d be pretty used to water, maybe even brave around it, with amazing diving abilities and incredible endurance.

Nah.

When I get into water, it is like watching an old dainty woman with a hairnet covering her blue hair slowly easing her way in, inch by inch.

Maybe it’s the shock of the change in body temperature, but it has never felt natural to me and because of it all of the mad skills I should have (surrounded by water my entire life) is lost on me. I do not flip when I have to jump in, I plummet.

So in other words, I am not prone to plunging into anything. (more…)
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June 12, 2012

Upon The Ground: The WOMB Story
The twelfth story from my collection Upon The Ground is up at www.greenspotblue.com. It is called “The WOMB Story.” On a side note, part of this was inspired by something Ray Bradbury said about his memory. I’ll just leave it at that.

Here is a snippet from the beginning of the story:

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“The WOMB Story”

I can recall EVERYTHING.

I remember being three and chasing clouds with my dog and being one and being rocked to sleep by my mom (“Hush little baby don’t say a word. Momma’s gonna buy you….”), but, more amazingly, I can remember being in the womb. I remember it because it was the safest I had ever felt in my life.

It was warm.

My mom’s heart was always there and I could feel connected to it (Thump. Thump. Thump.). I was connected to nature. Life in its purest moment. I could feel hands touching the stomach. I remember kicking and the taste of my thumb and the cord and the echoes of the voices outside laughing and talking.

Those memories are what warp my dreams today.

I can’t tell my wife. She won’t understand…. Well, she will claim to understand, but she won’t. It was my wild imagination that attracted her to me in the first place. She’s a Kindergarten teacher (“You’re like a grown child.” “How am I supposed to take that?” “As a compliment. You treat everything as a new experience. I love to watch your eyes.”).

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You can read the rest of the story here. And in the Upon The Ground page you can find links to the other stories already from the collection. Thanks for reading!
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May 29, 2012

Upon The Ground: Full Of Her
The next short story from my collection Upon The Ground is up at greenspotblue.com This short story is called “Full of Her” and can be found here.

Here is a snippet from the beginning:

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“Full of Her”

She was going to do it again.

He could read it in her eyes. He could read it in her hands as they moved awkwardly with the knife and fork at the table. God, he could read it in the air, her presence before she even walked up to the table. Before she sat down across from him and looked up at him with her eyes, he knew. Everything else was just waiting for the inevitable

She was going to do it again and the only question running through his mind was what approach would it be this time.

She put her fork back down on the table and looked up at him. “Joey,” she sighed. “You’re my best friend…”

It was approach number 12 again.

–

You can read the rest of the story here. I’ve also put up links to all of the other stories via the Upon The Ground page on this site. Thanks for reading!
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April 3, 2012

Upon The Ground: Crash
Today, Green Spot Blue is sharing the second story from my short story collection, Upon The Ground. It is entitled “Crash” and can be found on their site via this link.

Here is a sample from the beginning of the story.

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“Crash”

I was riding my mountain bike to class & it was Fall & the leaves were all over the lawns & the cars & the roads & while I rode down the hill the leaves would fly up behind me like a shower & I was late for class & I was 21 & I was single & I was wondering what was the point of my life BECAUSE all I did was spend my life reading great people’s work & I did nothing & nothing & nothing & I felt alone & when the leaves flew high behind me & my mind saw the sun peeking from behind a tree & a beam seemed to shine down on me & my empty feeling left me & I rode faster & faster & as I did my depression & my lack of satisfaction & emptiness left & I felt alive as the beam & the hill carried me away on the leaves & I felt illuminated & I felt free….

Truly free….

I took a sharp right and turned my bike on to Fuller Street. I was a quarter of a mile away and I would have only been thirty minutes late if-

-That was when her car took an illegal turn and sideswiped me.

–

You can read the rest of the story here. I hope you like it.
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