The Stories of Scott D. Southard

April 25, 2013

My Time Lost in Books…
Like I said in my post “The Five Books That Made Me” I can get pretty sentimental about books and my history in reading when one of my novels is about to be released.

It’s like a kid going off to college! Packing the bags could be working with the editor, the drive there could be finalizing everything with the publisher, and dropping them off is the big goodbye. So that’s me this week, the parent trying to hide the tears.

Okay, I’m a little surprised this analogy is working…. What would that make the aftermath of the publishing? No idea there, but the grades are reviews, right? Perfect. Hopefully, my book won’t party too much.

A Jane Austen Daydream is set for release on April 30 exclusively via amazon.com, ending a project of years in the making. I could not be happier with the novel and I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks of it. Until then I am going to continue to enjoy my sentimentality. Care to join me? Here are ten of my favorite posts on my site around books:
Only a few days left!
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April 17, 2013

Our Dangerous Fixation With Genres
The writing world is full of factions.

Each of these factions, have their own heroes (or leaders), their own book clubs, their own book dealers, their own sites, their own rules, their own readers, etc.

Sometimes I like to imagine them as armies, each with their own distinct style and strengths and weaponry.
- The romance army is nothing more than a collection of men with long flowing hair and amazing abs. There is a good chance that their swords might be a phallic thing though, consider yourself warned.
- The paranormal army is made up of brooding men who may be vampires… or werewolves… or zombies… or ghosts. Whatever the case, they are dreamy.
- In the YA ranks you will find confused teenagers with an overwhelming sense of destiny. They will be looking for something and once they find it, watch out.
- Yes, the scifi army is full of little green men, but over the course of the battle we will all learn something about humanity back here at home.
- And you do not want to see the horror army. Seriously, just turn and run!
The funny thing is that it is more than the publishers and bookstores that have latched on to the use of factions or, more accurately, genres to organize our art. We writers do it as well as so many of us proudly declare which army we fit into. Our people.

Twitter is full of writers that introduce themselves first by name and then by their genre. And the funny thing is when you search through their followers as well as those that they follow, they are also of the same genre. Their army, their rules…

Join us. (more…)
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April 9, 2013

Writers, why does everything need to be a series?
Like a seed, a book idea begins small. So very small. Maybe it is a flash of an image, or maybe it is a question that needs to be answered. Whatever the case, it grows and grows until finally a novel emerges fully grown.

Yes, I consider writing and creating a very organic experience. And when I am done with a book, I’m happy to have one “tree.”

So I can’t help wondering why do so many writers today want to grow a forest?

–

Book One: By chance or fate the heroes meet

It was last year that I began really reaching out to other writers on Twitter. The thing that surprised me the most (besides the sheer number of all of us), is how many are focused on writing a series.

Paranormal, scifi, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, romance (the innocent to the definitely NOT innocent at all), historical fiction, adventure, etc., some are even a combination of genres; but whatever the case they are never a solo book. Traditionally published, indie published, to self-published, everyone seems to be on the series train.

Choo Choo! (more…)
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April 3, 2013

How a Great Book Cover Gets Made
Brina Williamson is the freelance artist who has made the book cover for my novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, a book I am planning to self-publish in the next month and have been documenting the experience of via this blog.

On her website, Brina has written an article detailing her process around creating this great eye-catching cover. It’s a fascinating insight into another side of a book’s design that a writer might not consider and I recommend my fellow writers check it out.

You can read her article here.
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March 21, 2013

My Adventure in Self-Publishing: Next Steps and a Vision
A good cover artist can give an author an amazing gift.

This is not about sales, audience, branding, or marketing (I’ve talked about that already in previous posts and that’s all good); this is much, much more personal.

This gift can be sharp like a knife, and it can cut right into you, your brain and your heart, in a way you would never expect nor be prepared for. That happened for me and my cover artist.

See, what my marvelous cover artist did for me was she introduced me to my characters visually for the first time. For the very first time I could see them.

There they are, right there. They could almost wave at me…

Like I said, it is an amazing gift, and I will always be so very thankful of my cover artist for it. Her name is Brina Williamson and I am in awe. (Do yourself a favor and check out her website here now to see more examples of her work and what she could do for your own books.)

For the first time, one of my creations stepped out of the home of my imagination, becoming more than a description on a piece of paper. And, to be honest, I’m one of those writers that lean towards less is more in character descriptions, hoping that my reader will fill in the gaps, making the story more personal for them (an old writing trick, take note); but Brina asked for notes from me on the characters… and… well… there they are.

I’ve seen my stories performed at readings (many times in classroom settings with fellow writers), I’ve heard my characters recreated in audiobooks and in full cast radio dramatizations (you can hear The Dante Experience here), and that was all fun… but visual is new for me. And I have such a hard time looking away from it, it’s addicting.

I’m going to say it for a third time; that image is an amazing gift and when I saw it I am not ashamed to admit I had to wipe away tears. (more…)
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March 11, 2013

Editorial Being Shared by Danica Winters
Bestselling paranormal/romance fiction author Danica Winters is sharing my editorial “”What I learned From Having A Literary Agent” on her blog today! Very cool.

You can read my editorial on her site here, and also learn more about her books and her writing. I hope you will check it out.

Thanks for reading!
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February 25, 2013

A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, Coming this April from Madison Street Publishing
Madison Street Publishing is excited to reveal the cover for A Jane Austen Daydream, by Scott D. Southard. The book will be available in April of this year, the same year that Pride and Prejudice celebrates its 200th birthday.

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.
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February 22, 2013

402 Followers Proud! Thank You.
Last night, I passed the 400 mark in followers for my blog.

Wow! Seriously, I am really overwhelmed by this. Writing is such a lonely business, so to know that there are people out there that not only enjoy your work, but also like it enough to subscribe. Well, that is just breathtaking.

Thank you! Your support truly inspires me.

Other than my 402 followers, I recently passed 40,000 views on my site and my Twitter followers just exceeded 14,000. So 4 seems to be the theme for the day for me.

(Oh, and did you know you can now subscribe to my site for your kindle? I kid you not! You can learn more on amazon here.)

The next month is truly going to be a big one for me as a writer.
- A Jane Austen Daydream is set for publication by Madison Street Publishing in April. It is in editing right now and I can’t wait for you to read it. If you would like to learn more about the work, read an excerpt and see the new cover, please visit The Jane Austen Centre’s website here.
- Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare is also in editing, where I am working with the editor, Rebecca T. Dickson (you can visit her site and learn more about her services here). It is going very well. I don’t know the timeframe on this yet, but I do hope to have the book out some time in the spring.
- Permanent Spring Showers, my last novel, is still currently up on this site here if you want to read it. However, once Max and Jane have left home, I plan to begin editing the book and it will be taken down. My hope is to find a publisher for it.
So, along with this blog, this is a busy writing time. Hopefully, I can keep generating material that brings you back.

Thank you again for all of your support!
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February 11, 2013

My Adventure in Self-Publishing: The Necessary Humbling of Editing
A lot of fantasies, daydreams, and rainbows cloud the world of writing. It’s not surprising; actually completely natural since we spend so much of our time making up stories as writers, why wouldn’t we have stories about the stories?

Have you ever seen that scene in a TV show or movie in which a writer finishes a book or script? The writer may raise his hands in triumph over an old typewriter or do a little dance; then we as viewers are then jumped forward in time to their inevitable success.

We don’t see the struggle over getting the book out, finding an audience, working with an agent or publisher or, more importantly, editing. And, let’s be honest, editing is not as exciting as the victory dance of a finished book or the sparks of coming up with ideas around a first draft.

Like I said, it’s a fantasy, people. I have even been known to say to writers that much of the art around true writing happens in the editing. It is there a work is “finetuned,” perfected into a final piece. Right now, I am working with an editor on my book Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare (which I plan to self-publish later this year), and I will also be working soon with an editor from Madison Street Publishing on my novel A Jane Austen Daydream (which is set for publication this April).

So why do I love editing so much? Well, because I learned about its importance the hard way. Yes, I have an editing and writing horror story, and I am about to share it. Be prepared, this is about to haunt you like a poltergeist… a writing poltergeist. (more…)
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February 7, 2013

While You Wait…
I like to think of life as a theater sometimes. Mainly this is because I had so much experience growing up around the stage since my brother was a young actor and I was dragged along many evenings (sometimes even helping backstage with the crew).

Right now, I have two books waiting in the wings, being prepared for their performances (A Jane Austen Daydream and Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare). So while you wait for their appearances in a few months, why not check out some of the acts ready for the spotlight? I’m extremely proud of both of these books and I think you will enjoy them.

My Problem With Doors

Jacob is lost in time. He has been lost since as a toddler he first stepped through a door and ended up in a different land, in a different time. Over the course of the tale, Jacob tells of his struggles growing up in history. From the battlefields of WWI to an Afghanistan terrorist camp to the streets of Jack the Ripper to the estate of Lord Byron to a pirate ship, Jacob explores what it means to be human and if he, with his unique problem, has a purpose, a destiny. Romantic, surprising, and full of adventure, My Problem With Doors is filled with twists and turns.

You can find the book:
- In print on amazon for $15.95 here.
- It is available as an eBook (and will work on all devices) via Google Play (here) or on the publisher’s site (here).
You can read a sample from My Problem With Doors here.

Megan

Megan Wane lives in two worlds. In one she is a beloved princess and secret superhero fighting to save her dream-like kingdom of Prosperity from disaster with a magic sword firmly in her grasp; and in the other world Megan is an event planner living in a stale cubicle, lost in the drab of an uninspired 9-to-5 existence. Megan is a story about the line where dreams and tragedy meet and the repercussions of the choices we make in our precious lives.

You can find the book:
- In print on amazon for $15.95 here.
- It is available as an eBook (and will work on all devices) via Google Play (here) or on the publisher’s site (here).
You can read a sample from Megan here.
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