reading – Page 8 – The Stories of Scott D. Southard

July 7, 2015

EBOOK SALE! Hey Janeites! A Jane Austen Daydream is only 99 cents for the Kindle! Limited time!
“Scott Southard’s Jane is a delightful creature.” -Austenprose.com

“I consider this novel one of the best not only in regency era literature, but also in mainstream fiction.” -NovelTravelist.com

For a limited time, Madison Street is having a sale on the eBook of A Jane Austen Daydream! You can grab a copy today for only 99 cents! Here is the link: http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU

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.

“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

Published by Madison Street Publishing, A Jane Austen Daydream has also been released as an audiobook! Narrated by the amazing Louisa Gummer, you can find it on Audible and iTunes.

“A definite read for all Jane Austen fans!” -Laura’s Little Book Blog

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Permanent Spring Showers

by Scott D. Southard

Giveaway ends July 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway
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July 6, 2015

New Goodreads Giveaway! Two will win a copy of Permanent Spring Showers, new literary fiction!
Two will win an AUTOGRAPHED copy!

“What a ride this book was! I can honestly say it was an inspiring novel, and very unique! With a cast of lively, artistic characters and a spin so hard it will leave your eyes wide and jaw hanging until the very last word.” -The Booknatics

“A tour de force… the overall writing was not only original, but utterly beautiful, flowing, easy to read, witty and funny…” –BooksChatter

Funny, Smart, Sexy, and very surprising, Permanent Spring Showers is the new literary fiction novel by Scott D. Southard, author of A Jane Austen Daydream.

Professor Rebecca Stanley-Wilson is having a very bad season. Her husband has just admitted to having an affair. And it was with one of her students.

Blame it on a desire for revenge (or way too much alcohol), she then has had one of her own. Unfortunately for her, her affair was with one of the great upcoming painters of his generation. The ramifications of that one torrid evening will not only be felt across her life but over the entire art world.

“It‘s a brilliant novel, with the right amount of humor and romance, with really interesting characters and an intriguing and engaging plot.” –LibriAmoriMiei

Permanent Spring Showers is the tale of one very memorable springtime and how it impacts a group of unique artists and dreamers. From the writer who is creating a new literary movement (through outright manipulation), to the hopeful Olympian with the failing marriage, to the romantic wondering what he did wrong to drive his love from him, each tale walks the line between reality and fantasy. And waiting at the end of the line is a very important painting… and possibly the revolver used in the Lincoln Assassination.

You can check out excerpts and learn more about this new novel on this page.

Enter today by clicking below:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Permanent Spring Showers

by Scott D. Southard

Giveaway ends July 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway
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July 2, 2015

New WKAR Book Review: Eight Mile High by Jim Ray Daniels
On WKAR’s Current State, I reviewed the new collection of short stories by Jim Ray Daniels. Eight Mile High was also selected this year as one of the Michigan Notable Books.

You can listen to my new review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-jim-ray-daniels-eight-mile-high

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

You can find the novel on Amazon.com here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. (more…)
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June 18, 2015

New WKAR Book Review: Bright Shards of Someplace Else by Monica McFawn
Recently on WKAR’s Current State, I reviewed the new collection of short stories by Monica McFawn. Bright Shard of Someplace Else was also selected this year as one of the Michigan Notable Books.

You can listen to my new review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-monica-mcfawns-bright-shards-someplace-else

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

You can find the novel on Amazon.com here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. (more…)
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June 16, 2015

Please, Make It Stop: A Rant About Game of Thrones
Avast there, me hearties! Here thar be spoilers aplenty! (Wait! It’s not Talk Like a Pirate day? What was I thinking?)

Let’s get this out of the way first. We’ve all been holding off saying this for a while, but it’s time.

Game of Thrones is a soap opera.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot better after saying it.

I’ve recently found an interview with George R.R. Martin where he argues his book series is not a soap opera, maybe it was his way of preparing an argument before it came at him from outside his circle, but it is. Both the TV series and his book series… two words… soap opera.

Look, I hate to say it as much as the next person. The idea of someone truly doing something new in a very established (and usually predictable genre) is an awesome idea. He combined the history of the middle ages and fantasy… but the result is a freaking soap opera. With history almost being used as an excuse (or as a resource) for twists that help the soap opera continue.

Consider:
- Soap operas and A Song of Ice and Fire both has multiple POVs of good and questionable individuals.
- Both end every moment in a cliffhanger (You can almost hear the “stay tuned” at the end of some of the chapters in the books).
- Both have meandering plots (I feel like I should be capitalizing meandering; no seriously, all caps).
- Time seems to have its own rules. And both have marriages that seem to last for the same amount of time (and just like in soap operas most are bad matches).
- And both are not working towards a clean resolution. There is no Mount Doom in sight from what I can see.
Oh, and all of these points is before I even bring up the fact that George R.R. Martin used to work in television and was a writer on a popular fantasy-lite soap opera in the 1980s.

Game of Thrones is a soap opera with people in funny costumes and dragons and we have bought into it.

Heck, I didn’t just buy in, I bought the DVDs, the books, the shirts and even gave them as Birthday presents to people I love. (I was like: “Hi, I love cocaine, I want you to take it too. Here- Happy Birthday!”) (more…)
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June 4, 2015

New WKAR Book Review: Sweet Forgiveness by Lori Nelson Spielman
Recently on WKAR’s Current State, I reviewed the new novel by bestselling author Lori Nelson Spielman. It is called Sweet Forgiveness. In the past on the show, I also reviewed Spielman’s first book, The Life List (you can check out that review here).

You can listen to my new review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-reviewlori-nelson-spielmans-sweet-forgiveness

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

You can find the novel on Amazon.com here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. (more…)
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May 29, 2015

A Writing Interview with Jacquie Biggar’s Blog (Book Tour Last Day)
So right now I feel like that moment in a song by Queen, where everyone is supposed to hold hands and sing together. It is the end of the online book tour! Six blogposts and four interviews later and here we are. It’s that moment. Cue the drums.

Next week life returns to normal, and you’ll see that on the blog. After a breather, I want to catch you up on what I’ve been doing with my writing the last five months, I have a few writing posts lined up, and I even want to say something about the new season of Game of Thrones, because… Well… who doesn’t? Seriously, it is all over the place.

Anyway… This last interview is with Jacquie Biggar and a lot of the questions are related to my own experiences as a writer. For example in this question I take on the controversial topic of publishing today and what is the best option:

Self-publishing may be the way of the future, but I still think the market is too congested to easily find a market that way (unless you are super lucky). Usually, I tell the writers I work with to think of it as a last resort, try some other safer routes first. The dream approach is still agents and bigger publishers, and I don’t think that is going to change in the next decade.

Personally, I have had a lot of luck with independent publishers. There is a lot of passion there and I think it is because each publisher is putting their own money behind your project. It’s that personal touch. If a writer can’t find that dream agent or publisher, I would recommend talking to indie presses before self-publishing. There is still a possibility for success via that route.

You can read the interview here.

I’ll be putting up links to all of the articles I wrote and interviews on the page for Permanent Spring Showers. You can also find them by scrolling below.

This is also one of the last days to grab an eBook copy of the novel for only $1.99. You can find it on amazon for Kindle here and for the NOOK here. Now, I’m going to go lie down… I’m a little tired…
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May 28, 2015

An interview with Books Direct about new novel Permanent Spring Showers (Book Tour Day 9)
Just two days left on the book tour, which also means the book giveaway is coming to an end. You can enter on any of the sites I have been on over the last two weeks. Today, I’m on Book Direct with a new interview.

What is really cool is that Lynda Dickson who runs the site is actually reading the book right now and gave this update before my interview:

I have started reading this book and am enjoying it immensely. It’s like nothing I have read before. The plot and structure are extremely original and the writing is superb.

That quote kind of made me feel like the guy I put up in the corner of this post.

We cover a lot of the writing and inspiration behind the novel in the interview. It is chock full of my experiences and advice since I began this mad little writing adventure. One example is this answer I gave around my hopes for the work:

There are a lot of layers to Permanent Spring Showers and none of the answers are very clear since it only covers three months in the characters’ lives. It really, in a way, is a book made for book clubs and the classrooms and discussions over coffee. What does it mean to be a good person? What is a good decision? Does great art truly justify everything? What is love? Is anyone truly happy?

Heck, I love books like this, works that dare readers to come to their own decisions, not having them dished out in a nice clean spoonful. What can I say? The book makes me happy. Hopefully, it will inspire its readers as well.

You can read the entire interview, enter the giveaway, check out other reviews, and take a gander at an excerpt here.

This was the ninth appearance on the book tour and the third interview (the other two can be found here and here). I have also written six guest posts on the book. They are on a range of topics from how it feels to write an anti-romance (here), eccentric characters (here), then about passion and sex in the book (here), the importance of springtime (here), and even some advice for new writers (here).

Hey! Did you know there is a sale on the book right now!?! Just for the tour, the eBook of Permanent Spring Showers is on sale! Just $1.99, it can’t get cheaper than that! So there is no better time to grab a copy. You can find it on amazon for Kindle here and for the NOOK here.
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May 26, 2015

A Q and A with Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews about my new book Permanent Spring Showers (Book Tour Day 7)
It’s Day 7 of the book tour! Today is it is an interview with Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews. I really liked this interview. There were some great questions around the creation of the novel (inspiration, characters, etc.), but also some fun ones I could really get behind. Like, for example, do I prefer the Beatles or the Monkees. Here is my response:

The first concert I ever saw was The Monkees. That was during their big reunion tour in the 80s and my parents took me. It was a fun show, but Mike Nelson wasn’t there. I remember being disappointed by that. But The Beatles… Okay, they are one of my obsessions. A few years ago I had my brother (a professional photographer out in Los Angeles-http://www.adamemperorsouthardphotography.com/) create a family picture of my wife, kids and me as the Beatles based on the With The Beatles cover. I think you can see it on his site as an example of what he can do. That photo is one of my favorite things in my house. I got to be Lennon in that, which is awesome. Recently, my Playstation 3 died and I had to get a 4, the biggest disappointment for me is I wouldn’t be able to rock out with The Beatles Rockband anymore. That still makes me sad. I could do a mean “Dear Prudence.” Oh, and I saw Paul in concert twice. Man, he puts on a good show.

You can read the rest of this fun interview here.

This has been a really fun tour for me. This is my second interview (my first one was here). I have also written posts on numerous subjects related to the book. You can check out posts on how it feels to write an anti-romance (here), eccentric characters (here), passion and sex in the book (here), the importance of springtime (here), and some advice for new writers (here).

Just for the tour, the eBook of Permanent Spring Showers is on sale! Just $1.99, it can’t get cheaper than that! So there is no better time to grab a copy. You can find it on amazon for Kindle here and for the NOOK here.
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May 25, 2015

“Creating an Anti-Romance” A Guest Post on Unabridged Andra (Book Tour Day 6)
Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Today, the book tour kicks into its second half. There is a chance this guest post might be a little controversial, especially for those with a love for my last novel A Jane Austen Daydream (and if you haven’t read it yet, why? It is wonderful). It’s called “Creating an Anti-Romance: The Fun of Betrayals and Sex in Permanent Spring Showers.”

Here is an excerpt from the beginning:

For over a year I was the Jane Austen guy.

Before Permanent Spring Showers, I wrote the novel A Jane Austen Daydream, a fun re-imagining of her life; turning it, in a way, into one of her own tales. The reaction to the novel was really great and it spread quickly through the different Austen circles. It was even reviewed by the Jane Austen Centre in Bath!

Yet, whenever I was interviewed about the book (as well as in the many reviews) my gender would always come up. I was definitely in a world not used to a guy intruding upon. I was like the dude who was invited by mistake to the bridal shower. Chick lit (which is a term I never liked), romance, historical romance, etc., my book appeared on each of the sites around the women’s fiction genres. I’m not complaining about the attention! Not at all! Like I said the reaction to the book was always awesome. It is just that I became in many eyes a romance writer, and that was it.

I’ve never been a fan of the idea of genres. I think when an author latches on to a genre it can limit them. And when I set out to write A Jane Austen Daydream, my goal was not to write a romance novel. I had a great idea and twist (I’m all about surprises in my stories), and that book had a doozy. That is why I wrote it, and in the end it worked.

But then what?

You can read the rest of the guest post here.

This is the sixth entry in the tour and the fifth guest post. The others are about eccentric characters (here), passion (here), spring (here), and my advice to writers (here). I also gave an interview (here)

Just for the tour, the eBook of Permanent Spring Showers is on sale! It is on sale for only $1.99. So there is no better time to grab a copy! Perfect for the long drives on this holiday! You can find it on amazon for Kindle here and for the NOOK here.

Relax and enjoy a good book. You earned it.
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