Permanent Spring Showers won’t be published until October 2014, but you can already learn about my new book (and read my bio) on their website.
Check it out here!
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I’m really excited to announce that I have recently signed a contract for my new novel, Permanent Spring Showers, to be published by 5 Prince Books!
The tentative release date is October 2014.
I’ll do my best to keep everyone informed of the process as this moves forward. I can’t wait to share my new novel with each of you!
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We live in a very fast world.The days of quietly sitting and putting all your focus solely on the words in front of you are gone. Books are not even always on paper anymore! We might listen to music while we read, have conversations, text message, the TV might be on, etc. And then consider how we read things on the internet?
We are a pack of skimmers now. We skim articles, skim status updates, skim blogposts (Hello!), etc. Skim, skim, skim, SKIM! Yes, we might get the gist of what a writer is trying to say through that quick glance, and maybe that is enough, but we are just not consuming the words like we once did.
So, as storytellers, one of our new challenges is to fight to keep the attention on the page… or screen… or whatever.
We need to fight the distractions of television, movies, the internet, video games, and, well, life, getting our readers from page one to the last page with as few distracting hiccups as possible. Which brings me to my little controversial writing thought for the day…
Have we (readers and writers) outgrown “said”? (more…)
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Over the last few days, two new 5-star reviews have appeared on amazon.com for A Jane Austen Daydream! So very cool.Here is an excerpt from one of the reviews:
Aptly titled, this entertaining tale is a true daydream or reverie and the author graces his pages with not one but THREE romances for Miss Austen to consider.
The author brilliantly mashes up an authentic Jane Austen, many of her real family members, intermingles many of her own famous literary characters and tops it off with a generous helping of her most famous lines.
We are treated to a Jane, who is bright, spirited, and enjoys poking her family, friends and acquaintances with her penetrating, yet lovable wit.
You can read more reactions on amazon.com and GoodReads for my new novel. I hope you will check it out!
A Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).
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A blank page of white paper is everything.All possibility lies there and it can be a joy for an inspired writer, a dreamer. In A Jane Austen Daydream I have a holiday scene where I describe a snow-covered land as a fresh sheet of paper, just waiting for a new story to begin.
It’s hard not to get too romantic around the art of writing and creation. But there is a dark side to that white sheet as well. It demands attention, it makes you question everything, and it is always there. Never forgiving when you don’t create. And the longer it stays blank, the more it makes you question your own ability.
Why aren’t you writing? What are you waiting for? You say you are a writer, write!
These days I have a love-hate relationship with that blessed piece of paper. I have so many ideas and things I want to do, but… But I am holding off, because I am uncertain of what the right direction is to go. Yes, the best piece of advice for any writer is to write for yourself, I preach it all the time. But there are moments when a person should stop and take a few seconds to consider the direction of one’s career. That’s where I am right now. I’m just trying to figure out which snow-covered path is the best one for me to walk and I hinder… I hinder.
The blank page of paper doesn’t see it that way, of course. It is weakness, it is hesitancy. Something I have never really had in my career. So while I still feel the thrill of all possibility, I can’t help but feel like I am letting that piece of paper down. (more…)
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“This is a most compelling book. It pulls you in to a fascinating concept from the beginning…. I give this book 5 stars.” -The Voracious ReaderJust finished A Jane Austen Daydream? Do you enjoy my blog? Curious to learn what else I have written?
Time travel! Thrills! Adventure! Romance!
After winning a writing competition, My Problem With Doors was published by the new press IPublish. It is the story of Jacob who is lost in time. When he steps through a door he has no idea where he will turn up. It is an unpredictable book filled with twists and turns and excitement, and the occasional surprise cameo like Jack the Ripper. Below is one of my favorite moments in the novel. I hope you will check it out.
My Problem With Doors is available in print from Amazon via this link. The eBook is exclusively available via Google Play but it can work on any eBook reader, you can find it here (you can also read a sample). It is even available as an audiobook via the publisher’s website.
In this exclusive excerpt below, Jacob finds himself… well… in a very, very, very bad situation with swords and sharp lion claws. (Did I mention this chapter is all in second person?) Enjoy! (more…)
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I’m back on WKAR’s Current State today with a new book review! This time I am taking on the new novel by Morag Joss, Our Picnics in the Sun.You can hear the review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-morag-joss-our-picnics-sun
You can find this book on amazon.com here.
If you would rather read my review, you can do so below. If you would like to hear/read my other reviews, you can find them on this page on my site.
I hope you enjoy the review! (more…)
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Part two of my interview with blogger and author Nancy Christie is up on her site! (You can read part one here.) Check it out via this link!In this segment of the interview, I dive more into my life as a writer and a reader. For example in this question I am asked which three authors I would like to have a “one-on-one” with.
The idea of meeting a hero has always been terrifying for me. For example, one of the authors I would put on the list would have been Kurt Vonnegut. But I had his home phone number for years on my desk! I am not kidding, for years. It was given to me by a friend. I just never had the courage to call him and now it is, of course, too late.
I think someone needs to sit down with William Shakespeare and get the truth on the authorship question. That interview has to happen just so we can get the discussion behind us, good or bad.
Growing up, I exchanged a few letters with Ray Bradbury. I would have loved to have spoken to him in person. He was very kind to me then.
You can read the rest of the interview here. Thank you Nancy for this chance to speak to your readers!
My latest novel, A Jane Austen Daydream, can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU). -
Happy New Year faithful readers! Last month I was interviewed by novelist Nancy Christie as part of her “One on One” series. It was quite a long and fun interview, and she has turned it into a two-part series for the site!
If you ever wanted to get really into my writing head, meet the wizard hiding behind the curtain, this is that interview! The first part of her interview was released today; you can read it here. In this excerpt is my answer to the most challenging undertaking I have had as a writer:
A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM was easily the most difficult book I have ever undertaken, because I had to be true to Jane. In other words, I wanted her to be alive on the pages, which means her own dialogue and spirit had to be part of the narrative.
So first, I had to research her life and her books thoroughly. I used to be able to quote entire passages of her novels! (Not anymore, now that space is taken over by cute kid songs from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood thanks to my young daughter’s obsession with the show.)
Then I had to decide what of her life I wanted to keep and what I wanted to use for the book. See, I wanted the plot to be influenced more by her own stories than her actual life (it is a daydream).
After the plot was in place (with some very notable surprises and literary twists included), I then had to write a book where her voice would feel natural, but not too dated to scare off a contemporary reader.
Yes, it was a slow process, with each sentence and chapter written and re-written numerous times. By the end, I felt like I had run a marathon (or at least what I assume that would feel like). But it was all very worth it.
You can read the rest of the interview here. Part 2 of the interview will be on Nancy Christie’s site on January 15. Thanks Nancy!
My latest novel, A Jane Austen Daydream, can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).
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“I consider this novel one of the best not only in regency era literature, but also in mainstream fiction.” -NovelTravelist.comJust in time for holiday travels, long flights, new Kindles, and quiet evenings by the fire, A Jane Austen Daydream is on sale for Kindle on Amazon!
For a limited time it is ONLY 99 cents! You can find the book here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU).
“If asked to sum up this book in one word, I would have to choose “unpredictable”… you will, in the end, be rewarded by a quick paced novel unlike any you can ever have read, which injects new ideas and possibilities into the world of Jane Austen.” -The Jane Austen Centre
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.
“Southard has taken the facts about the great author and woven them into a credible, touching, and also entertaining portrait of a life.” -Historical Novel Society
If you would like to learn more about A Jane Austen Daydream, you can do so on this page for the book (https://sdsouthard.com/a-jane-austen-d…); read interviews, excerpts, and editorials. A Jane Austen Daydream is published by Madison Street Publishing.
“…Scott Southard’s Jane is a delightful creature. She is clever and witty and determined to do the best she can for herself, even when things take a turn for the worst….her thoughts and comments had me smiling (and even laughing) on more than one occasion.”-Austenprose.com
“…Lovely, thought-provoking novel. Fans of Austen will adore this book.” – Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.
The Stories of Scott D. Southard 