The Ravening, by Stewart Sternberg

Lots of preparation going on for the new magazine, but I'm taking time out from that effort to review and recommend this book.

It takes a lot for me to recommend zombie novels, but in the past year I have recommended one by Craig De Louie, another by William Jones, and now I'm going to add a third- Stewart Sternberg's "The Ravening."

"The Ravening" is a finely crafted story and well worth the read.  Here's why- it rises above theme, metaphor and all the other "herding" techniques that modern writers have come to depend on to sell their ideas to us and delivers a real story that allows his natural storytelling voice to come through and establish him as a trusted narrator. 

In novels by method writers like Stewart, their carefully controlled strategies eventually lose their grip on the reader, and it is at that moment we see their true mettle.  In "The Ravening," this event occurs very early on- on page 16 in  fact.  This is the point where Stewart the storyteller steps in to convincingly show us that he stands transcendent to the story, where we learn that he will be staying with us throughout this novel with a consistent point of view and a powerful message.

"The Smith and Wesson fired."

With that single line he defines himself as the force behind this novel.  Although the protagonist pulls the trigger, we have the very real sense that the gun fires itself.  With this sentence he defines the novel's entire metaphysical line of sight and it is both complex and convincing.  This construct is repeated in over and again throughout the novel, showing that, although the players are both present and participating in the unfolding events, the horrors of this post-apocalyptic world are the real actors. Stewart masterfully uses this nuance to define his characters by showing how they react to this terrifying new reality. The results are compelling reading. 

As the story progresses, Stewart moves beyond the stereotypes and tropes so common to zombie literature.  His characters shed their two dimensional skins (tough biker with a good heart, trembling school teacher toughening up to face an out of control world,etc., etc.) to become real people that we care about.  Oddly, the weakest character in this story is the villain.  He is carefully constructed to be the villain and I suspect that this is what diminishes his impact.  He becomes an object of oblique pity to the reader while the real villain rises up from Stewart's subconscious and begins to dominate the stage. 

That villain is the terror many authors personally face when they assume the role of all powerful creator.  It is the disconnect that the creator can sometimes feel for their created characters.  The disconnect for humanity that occurs whey they imagine themselves to be the center of the universe.  The disconnect that occurs when we imagine that we are in control of this world.

"The Smith and Wesson fired."

Stewart's own fear gives "The Ravening" its true villain.  That teachings and lectures and learning and encouraged diversity and tolerance and group values are ephemeral ghosts in a world where the weapons fire themselves, and where the dead won't stay dead.  His terrifying vision is this world where there is nothing to teach except survival, nothing to learn except not to be eaten. 

It will keep you awake at night.

Because of this, I highly recommend you buy and read "The Ravening."

The Graphic Novel

Calling All Graphic Artists!

The first edition of The Writer and the White Cat Magazine will feature a graphic novel version of the novella "Pop-Up Killers," so we're looking for a graphic artist to do the job.  Anyone interested in taking on the task can email us at editor@thewriterandthewhitecat.com  The story is 22,000 words, so we'll be running weekly installments.

We're asking for references and samples of the artist's work.

Also of interest would be anyone with a graphic story that is already finished.  If that describes you, please contact us at the same email address!

The Guidelines

Getting Down to Business

First things first- the email address for submissions for the new Writer and the White Cat Web Magazine is submissions@thewriterandthewhitecat.com.  Even more clever, the address for the editor is editor@thewriterandthewhitecat.com.  Submissions for the June magazine are open now.  The website will be open March 15 and will be http://www.thewriterandthewhitecat.com/, which is currently parked, but the emails are functional.

Submission guidelines for the first issue (which will premier June 1st, 2011) are as follows:

We are interested in receiving stories with a strong emphasis on mystery and suspense for the June edition.  Since the category of mystery and suspense cuts across all genres, we will be moving through each in turn, but for the first edition of The Writer and the White Cat Magazine we're asking for Steampunk submissions.  What, you've never heard of Steampunk?  Look it up- it's a hugely fun genre and full of creative opportunities.  We'll still accept all other genres, though, so if you have something with a strong mystery or suspense element you think we'd like, feel free to send it along.

Although we'd originally capped the word count at 2,500 we will extend this to 4,000 words for the first edition.  Should go without saying for those of you who've read this blog that we're not interested in excessive gore, violence or sex.  What we are interested in are the finest, most well written stories we can find.  Again, no matter what genre we're asking for, the element of mystery, suspense or surprise is important to us.  I've invited some well established editors to help with this project and it's an excellent chance for you to profile your work.

Payment is still 5 cents per word for fiction, $50 for movie reviews.  Reprints at 1/2 cents per word.  The first edition will have 5 stories, and 3 movie reviews.  And yes, you've guessed it, the movie reviews need to be sci-fi.  The price for interviews is negotiable.

Most of you know our stance on plagiarism, but to be clear- if you submit it, it better be yours.

If we select your story, here's what we'll get: First world serial rights, first world electronic rights, the option to bu non-exclusive world anthology rights (at 2 cents per word) and the right to a limited time exclusive period in which to podcast your work.  If we decide to podcast your work we'll pay a one time fee to you of 1 cent per word for that right.

We will edit for both precision and clarity, and will always err on the side of the reader.

The next posting will cover guidelines for artwork.

New Webzine

Quality Writing on the Web

Beginning February 15th, 2011 The Writer and the White Cat will be accepting submissions for our new quarterly Web Magazine.  We will be publishing 5 stories per quarter, paying 5 cents per word.  The word limit is 2500 per story.  We'll also be publishing movie reviews at $50 each.  We'll have the submission guidelines for fiction posted mid-week along with the email address to send them to. We're interested in reviews from established authors as well, and will set payment and terms for that by next weekend.

The new website is being designed and the first issue will be published June 1st.  Payment will be upon acceptance.

We're open to mystery, suspense, horror, western, romance, fantasy, steampunk and sci-fi.   Our favorite stories are mysteries, however, so although we're open to all genres, we are interested mainly in stories that embody the elements and atmosphere of mystery. This is our first time doing this, so input from you is absolutely welcome.

Book Dreaming- Where Do You Go When You Dream?

Can She Trust You With Her Dreams?

Look at her.  Where is she right now?

If you're a writer and she's reading your book, then she has left her daily life and is with you in the world you have gifted her.  But where exactly is that?  What is she experiencing?

She's in another world you say?

Is it a world where she is more beautiful, more intelligent, more action oriented?  Is she more in your world than she is in her here and now existence?

And let me ask you this- in your world, can she smell, can she feel emotion as well as the touch of another?  Can she taste and talk?  Can she sweat, can she shiver?

And who is in control in the world you have given her?  You or her?  Does she trust you? 

You must trust her, too, since you have given her a world you built with you heart and true intent.  Or have you given her too little and disappointed her?

Two souls unite when your story becomes her dream. 

Are you safe together?

Do You Write Like a Robot?

She's Writing a Novel.

The video above was covertly filmed at a secret research facility buried deep beneath Area 51.  Using reverse engineered alien technology, an elite group of scientists who worked Monday and Wednesday nights while living on pretzels and coffee finally developed a robot capable of writing genre novels.  "It was bound to happen," said a former scientist for Coast to Coast AM .  "Robots could already play chess, perform surgery and dance like Janet Jackson.  We just took it a step higher- or lower, depending on who you talk to."

It's a dark secret in the publishing industry that as many as 7.4% of the novels they now print are, in fact, written by a prototypical novel writing robot named "Cut and Paste."  As her name suggests, this amazing piece of technology specializes in mass producing genre novels.  The genre market was chosen for the first software trial because so many genre stories are interchangeable. 

"Hard to tell them apart," said one test reader.  "But that's the way most writers make them.  If they show too much creativity, no one's going to publish them anyway.  So why can't robots write if all they have to do is stick to a formula?"

In fact, according to a recent survey, most writers are advised to keep a lid on their creativity if they want to get published.  One writing teacher paid by the publishing industry advises, "Just gender swap roles  and use canned plots like everyone else does. That way you don't have to think so much and you can write more."

This approach is so predictable it gave software engineers ideas.  Computers are great at predictability.  "If we can map the human genome," said Dr. H. Dumpty, "I think we can kick H.K. Rowling's ass.  Sure, in the beginnning we wrote a few clunkers, but 'Cut and Paste' is now a B list author at an Indie publishing house and no one is the wiser.  Everything's done through emails, and for booksignings we hire actresses and pay them minimum wage.  We can afford it because we don't pay 'Cut and Paste' royalties.  We have a good deal going."

They do have a good thing going.  Maybe if writers don't want to become obsolete, we should try being more creative and quit being safe.  Maybe we should inject a little risk into our prose, take a few serious chances.  Maybe we should push the market's envelope instead of letting the publishers seal ours.

Otherwise, we might start seeing 'Cut and Paste' at booksignings instead of H.K. Rowlings.

Just how predictable is your writing?

I Want to Know- Where Do You Get the Pictures for Your Blog?

She Has Copy Rights, Too

*****

Artists have Copyrights, too.  Most of us bloggers, even with the best intentions, from time to time forget that.  Jonathon Bailey wrote an extremely helpful article on this back on July 14, 2009.  Here's the address for his article: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2009/07/14/creative-commons-image-search/
I recommend every writer who blogs read it.  Most of us are focused on copyright infringement as it it pertains to writing.  We run non-commercial blogs and we do it because we love to write about all things writing related.  But after being plagiarized, I learned that pictures have to be attributed properly to be used. 

Some of you may have noticed that for months I have been buying photos to use in my blog and going backward to replace photos and pictures that I can't remember where I got the originals from (PhotoBucket, mostly) with new pictures that I purchased the right to use.  I've been using iStock Photo for this purpose, since they have a good reputation.  I've even taken down a year's worth of posts to eliminate anything that I might have questions about in deference to artists and photographers.  All that's left are postings with pictures I've bought rights to use.

Maybe I've gone to extremes here, but I'm trying to learn from the mistakes that David Boyer made.  I have to admit, his actions have made me think.  After I saw that he'd used Ben Templesmith's art on the cover of some of his books without getting permission, I started to think that this must have been accidental or incredibly stupid.  Who would blatantly steal from a famous artist and expect not to get caught?  But he did it for money, not on a non-commercial blog so in the end what he did was very, very wrong. 

So I have to ask all of you- where do you get the pictures you use on your blog?  How do you make sure you're treating artists and photographers the right way on your blog?  Is it enough to attribute the creator, or do we need to get written permission?

The Writer as God

A writer told me the truth once.

She said, "When I write, I am the God of my world and I am closest to the Divine that I can be. I form the men and women of my world from the left-over dust of my thoughts and I breathe the life of my inspiration into them."

Long hair, rich and brown. A glass of wine bled from fragrant grapes bursting with life. A slight tilt to her chin and eyes brash with a challenge to the whole world as though I wasn't even there. Drunk with the power of creation.

Beyond the porch light of her world, the demons watched, drawn by her passionate fire.

For the difference between the Divine and the Darkness is the gift of creation.

Writers create, plagiarists hide in the shadows waiting to steal what they cannot bring forth on their own.

Over the Holidays, I'd Like What Every Other Writer Would Like

No, Not Another Lump of Coal...

This year, all I want for Christmas is to be able to write for one week straight without having to deal with the rest of the world.  That includes working for a living, of course.  Bills.  Holiday colds.  That sort of thing.

I admit it, when someone says the word Holiday, I usually think of even less time to write.  It's not that I'm not grateful for friends and family and parties, I'd just like for the rest of the world to reconsider.  To think that there should be a holiday from holidays.  At least for writers.

Or bring back patronage.  It worked for artists a ways back.  It could work for writers.

And with the publishing houses investing less in marketing and promotion and expecting more and more of writers including conventions, blogging, Facebook and, yes, the dreaded twittering- when do we get time to write?  Are any of the rest of you social networked to death?  I just learned about LinkedIn.  Or something like that.  Very helpful to writers, I was told.  I admit, I covered my ears while the informant was talking.

So next year, we have to have a new holiday for writers, where all we have to do is write.  No cards to send out- just time to write.

What a present that would be!

Lisa Morton's "The Samhanach"

This Book Must Be Made into a Movie!

Lisa Morton's gift for pacing is so naturally displayed in this Halloween tale that you don't notice how quickly the suspense builds until your shoulders begin to hurt. 

*****

Here's the publisher's plot synopsis:

The Samhanach by Lisa Morton
“On a Halloween night 300 years ago, something rose out of a Scottish bog to curse the McCafferty clan. Now, in 2010, single mother Merran McCafferty finds her suburban Halloween celebrations torn apart by the arrival of the Samhanach, an ancient trickster demon. When the Samhanach tries to steal Merran’s young daughter, Merran is forced to put aside reason and accept that magic is real, and bogies really do exist on Halloween night.”

*****

In this deftly crafted short novel, Lisa Morton shows such mastery of pacing and tension that when you're through you'll really believe that she can alter your heartbeat.

Because of her internationally acknowledged expert status in Halloween lore, we expect the factual precision she delivers with regard to world superstition and legend, but her buildup of powerful tension through clever placement and presentation of culturally encoded symbolism is a marvelous surprise.  The horror a mother experiences when her child is abuducted is forcefully contrasted with that same mother's life and death struggle against a creature summoned by a man wo died before she was even born.  The intriguing psychological conflict is that her main character must first believe in the demon who has stolen her child in order to confront it.

"The Samhanach" begs to be made into a horror movie.  It's main character, Merran, is a woman that I so immediately liked and cared about that I unconsciously began selecting which actress could play her in the movie while I was still reading the story.  And the visuals of Merran's decent into the Otherworld are as startling as those suffered by Alice in "Through the Looking Glass," by Lewis Carroll.

This short novel can be read in a single setting, which I thought was great because, as another reviewer said, I didn't want to put it down until I'd read the whole story.  In fact, having read "The Samhanach," I'm heading to the bookstore to find another Lisa Morton novel to read.  When it comes to reading, I like to hang out with quality people.

For more information on Lisa Morton, visit her website: http://www.lisamorton.com/

To purchase "The Samhanach," please visit: Bad Moon Books

The Good Fight

Inivite Your Publisher to Sit Down
With You-

But Not on You

*****

"Union grievance officers have recovered more than $1.4 million for NWU members and have represented members in non-monetary grievances as well."

Source: The Nationa Writers Union website.

*****

J.K. Rowlings probably doesn't need a union.  Stephen King can buy and sell the state of Maine, and Stephanie Meyers is probably looking at buying the Virgin Islands.  They can afford to to stand up for themselves.  How about you?

Let's say you sold an article a few years back to the New York Times.  You sold them First North American print rights.  You beam.  You glow.  Your friends and neighbors ask to be photographed with you and you begin to get holiday cards not addressed to "Occupant."  Things are going well.

Then, someone tells you that they saw your article on the web, or accessed it on an electronic database.  You start to think.  Maybe it's a mistake.  Maybe they misunderstood the deal.  You contact them.  They say they're exercising their rights under the contract.  You point out that the contract is for print, not electronic publications.   They hang up on you.

A quick check of your bank account reveals that you can afford to buy a new blender, but unfortunately can't afford to sue the New York Times. 

You've been proud of your independence.  You take on the world with your laptop.  Your brain and you against the world.  You're published.  By a big publisher.  But now that big publisher is pushing you around.

If you were both a freelance writer and also a member of the National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981, you could contact your Union.  If you weren't, well, you'd have a long, uphill and expensive legal fight that just might be more than you could afford.

Here's the story, taken from the National Writers Union Website of "Tasini et al vs. The New York Times Company, Newsday Inc., Time Inc., Lexis/Nexis, and University Microfilms Inc. et al":

*****

"Tasini v. New York Times


Tasini et al v. The New York Times et al is the landmark lawsuit brought by members of the National Writers Union against The New York Times Company, Newsday Inc., Time Inc., Lexis/Nexis, and University Microfilms Inc., charging copyright violation regarding the electronic reuse of work produced and sold on a freelance basis.

Background

For decades when freelance writers sold stories to American publications, it was understood by all concerned that they were selling only First North American Serial Rights which allowed the newspaper or magazine to publish the story in print one time. For freelance authors, retention of all other copyrights is crucial to their economic survival because a significant additional source of income comes from their ability to sell secondary rights such as syndication, translations, anthologies, and so forth, to other publications.

With the advent of electronic media including databases like Nexis, publishers such as Time/Warner and the Times/Mirror Company, the parent companies of Time and Newsday, have been selling freelance-authored material to electronic databases such as Nexis/Lexis without any additional payment or purchase of electronic rights from the original authors. They claim, without justification, that by purchasing First North American Serial Rights they automatically gain electronic republication rights. Tasini et al v. The New York Times et al established that they are violating the copyrights of writers."

*****

Now that's what I call a happy ending.  Oh yes, there was a financial settlement involved.  Guess how much?