Tag: Indie authors

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TCA Grand Opening

Guest Post by David Alderman

Grand Opening Banner2

The Crossover Alliance Grand Opening
I am so incredibly excited to announce the launch of The Crossover Alliance, a unique online publishing company specializing in edgy Christian speculative fiction. Authors who enjoy writing Christ-themed speculative fiction containing real-world content now have a home for their manuscripts. With our Grand Opening finally here, there’s a lot of exciting news we would like to share with all of you!
Now Accepting Novel/Novella Submissions:
We are now accepting novel/novellas submissions – the guidelines of which can be found on our website. Along with the submission guidelines, you can also find a brief list of some of the things we are able to offer authors here in our first year as a publishing company, including royalties, cover design, and various rights via our publishing contract.
Our First Catalog Entry:
Our first book, The Crossover Alliance Anthology – Volume 1, is now available for purchase through Amazon (and soon Nook and Apple), and DRM-free digital versions can be purchased off our own website.
Our 2015 Catalog List:
We are also excited to announce our catalog schedule for the remainder of the year. These are the books we plan on releasing between now and January 2016:
David N. Alderman’s End of the Innocence – Release August
Mark Carver and Michal Anatra’s Beast – Release September
Jess Hanna’s Adverse Possession – Release October
TCA Anthology – Volume 2 – Release November

TCA Anthology V1 Kindle CoverOur Giveaway:
In celebration of our grand opening, we are running a giveaway in which you can score a full year digital subscription to our catalog, double packs of our anthologies, and paperback editions of our first short story anthology. There are many ways to enter, and some of the ways can be repeated on a daily basis. The giveaway runs until August 9th.

ENTER HERE

Thank you very much. Exciting times ahead.

David N. Alderman is an indie author of two speculative fiction series—Black Earth and Expired Reality. You can find David’s work at http://www.davidnalderman.com. He is also the founder of The Crossover Alliance (http://www.thecrossoveralliance.com), a publishing company specializing in edgy Christian speculative fiction. He participates in National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org) each year. When he’s not writing or spending time with family, you can find David gaming on any number of different consoles.

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Guest Post – Dave Alderman

Work emergencies hindered me from getting this up sooner. Apologies.

The Distractions of Christian Fiction

Some days it feels like this world is going to hell in a handbasket. I turn on the news or I fire up my Facebook feed and I marvel at all of the ridiculous issues people are making a stink about. Everyone seems to be offended about something or someone somewhere. We’ve entered an age of entitlement issues and quick tempers. Passion has become misdirected. Instead of fighting against human trafficking, government corruption, or an increasing number of homeless filling our streets, we’re advertising, sharing, and making a huge deal about Bruce Jenner’s decision to become a woman.

Really, people?

Why is it this generation seems to have an easier time shying away from the issues that matter and instead cloister around nonsensical topics that allow them to turn away from the blood and violence and sexual slavery and instead fight amongst non-believers of their cause on social platforms?

This is one reason I have a hard time engaging in conversations with people on Facebook or Twitter. I can’t find a lot of worthy topics to latch on to. My passion is better spent writing.

If you read through the Bible – yes, I mean both Old and New Testament – you’ll see that God constantly uses believers to enact change in the world. We are His instruments, tasked with bringing Christ and His message of salvation to a broken world. Instead, we’re detracted by engaging in issues that don’t really matter.

We’re distracted, which I’ve realized is the Enemy’s number one weapon against Christians. In any great war, if you’ve succeeded in distracting the enemy, then you can pretty much take complete advantage of your opposition and secure victory.

I think the same goes for Christian writers as well. Instead of engaging issues from a Christian worldview, we’ve written clean-cut alternatives to the secular content monopolizing bookstore shelves. We’ve become distracted by a misinterpretation of the ‘who’ Christian fiction is written for.

I see a ton of Christian novels (fiction, science fiction, fantasy) that only seem to exist to see how many times the word ‘Christ’, ‘redemption’, and ‘forgiveness’, can appear in a novel. These stories cater to Christians and in many ways ostracizes non-Christians to the point where nobody but Christians want to read Christian fiction. Many of these stories are not realistic, nor are the outcomes. Not always.

Christians are shying away from writing about the real-world to instead offer up a wholesome, purified, easy depiction of the Christian life.

Too bad the Christian life isn’t easy. It’s full of heartache, it’s full of sacrifice, and it’s full of pain. A lot of it. It’s the kind of life that Christ shines the best through because He is our Healer, our Deliverer, our Savior. People who are not in trouble do not need a savior, nor do they need a deliverer, nor do they need a healer.

This is why I write what I write. I write Christian fiction but with real-world content. Drug dealers, megalomaniacs, sorcery, betrayal, sacrifice and ruin fill the pages of my fiction. And in the midst of it is Christ, coming to save a broken individual, a broken world.

Official Banner

It’s not enough to just write about this type of fiction. I want to publish it. That’s why I’ve created The Crossover Alliance, an online publishing company interested in pushing edgy Christian speculative fiction out into the world. Stories that the real-world can relate to. Stories of heartache and sacrifice and pain. Stories of healing, deliverance and rescue.

I have an Indiegogo campaign running right now to help raise funds for the first year’s expenses. Please head to the link – http://www.igg.me/at/TCA – to meet the team, read about the mission, and pledge to snag awesome digital subscriptions to our first year’s catalog.

My goal isn’t to prove that there is no need at all for tame Christian fiction, but that there is a serious need for Christian fiction that strives to resonate more with Christians and non-Christians alike.

IMG_0101David N. Alderman is an indie author of two speculative fiction series—Black Earth and Expired Reality. You can find all of David’s work at http://www.davidnalderman.com. He is also the founder of The Crossover Alliance (http://www.thecrossoveralliance.com), a publishing company specializing in edgy Christian speculative fiction. He participates in National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org) each year. When he’s not writing or spending time with family, you can find David gaming on any number of different consoles.

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The Grim Fall notes

WHO CAN YOU TRUST WHEN THE GODS BETRAY YOU?

Tagline for my next novel right there.

Eshu International and Clar1ty Wars are going to stew on the back burner for a while. The Grim Fall is the project that’s banging inside me demanding to be let out.

So the initial outline is complete and I’m 15K into the first draft. To explain, The Grim Fall is a post-apocalyptic quest story set in a desolate, shattered fantasy world. The Gods managed to murder each other in their final cosmic battle before they could destroy all creation, allowing for a post to this particular Apocalypse.

My goal is Lord of the Rings meets The Road. To chain High Fantasy to a cement truck and drag it through Chernobyl for a while. I’m busting with ideas on what that looks like, and what fantasy world survivors would morph into to survive in such a place.

Worldview-wise, it’s my examination into/dramatization of people’s reactions to religion’s disappointments, failures, even treacheries. (Kinda the ultimate betrayal if the ultimate thing you trust throws you under the bus.) Like the tag line asks, who can you trust when your own gods let you down? Do you trust anyone or anything ever again? Can you find authentic faith in the ruins of a scorned, broken world?

On a practical note, while letting my imagination run, I’ve had to constantly rein in The Grim Fall because the story wants to escape into the bad lands and mutate in magical irradiated solitude into something rabid and monstrous. Methinks this is gonna be one huge novel, or maybe even a three-parter. I’ll know more as I write more, so that’s a decision for later. In the meantime, I’ll keep plugging away. I plan on contacting my cover artist soon. I need some visuals to prop up the increasing page count. I’ll post excerpts as I can.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great apocalypse-free day.

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To Agent or not to Agent…

that is my question.

whether tis nobler in the mind of the writer to suffer

the slings and arrows of Amazonian inundation,

or to take arms against that sea of troubles

and by professional representation, end them?

To deadline, to outline,  to write

and no more; and by write, to say we end 

the awkward vagaries of incessant self-promotion

and the thousand natural downers

that effort is prone to.  Is it a consummation

devoutly to be wished?

Looking past the next Clar1ty Wars installment to two full scale projects, as well as considering application to this year’s Viable Paradise on Martha’s Vineyard, I’m teetering on the edge of this question yet again. Will it aid me in my pursuit of writing full-time? Or is it genuinely possible to take ‘the road less traveled’ and achieve the same?

Anyone have any experiences transitioning from indie to agented, or the reverse? Or recommend an agent that won’t shy away from my kind of fiction? I’d love to hear.

Thanks.

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Wrestling with the GARQ

The Great Amazon Review Quandary, that is

There are three facets to my confusion, a sort of Trinity of Interconnected Perplexities: the need to Market, blatant Review Inflation, and a reluctance to come off as ‘that guy’.

Of course I want to get my work in front of potential readers, but I’m just one special snowflake in a huge flipping blizzard, and I simply don’t have to the funds to hire a PR firm, or the time and inclination to incessantly pump the Social Media well.

Then, between sock puppets, paid-for-reviews, and shill-and-gush marketing, Amazon review numbers may have gone through the roof but their credibility has plummeted. I mean, how does John/Jane Doe’s 50 Shades of Western Zombie Romance Vampire Apocalypse get twice, thrice the reviews of masters like Gibson, King, Rothfuss, Tolkien, Peake, Cronin, et alia? It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that (authentic) swing.

(Side Note: I worry for western civilization when I hear people are cashing in on Dino Porn It’s rumored those two ladies paid their way through college with their writing. Good for them, I guess, but big ‘WTF?’.)

As an Indie author I get that marketing is in my hands, but the last thing I want is to be the turd in the pool in every room, chat, forum, thread, FB/Tumblr/Pintrest/Twitter feed always pimping my books.

MybookMybookDiscountcodeLatestfivestarreviewMybookMynextbookIdeaforbookseriesMybookMybook…

Not everyone is interested in genre fiction. Buying or reading one of my books doesn’t then obligate the reader to be my Publicity Squirrel. I want to contribute to any community I’m a part of, be it physical or online, not just take. Sure, I ask folks to read and review my stuff, but it’s rude to presume or guilt them. I figure what I really need to do is write things worth reviewing.

So there it is. I’m open to feed back, recommendations and suggestions.

P.S. Book Announcement coming tomorrow.

Take Care,
Patrick T.

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‘Sozo’ Release Notes

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First off, thanks to everyone who takes a chance on my books, wanders by the blog, takes time to comment or review. Your interest is inspiring, your feedback invaluable. I can’t express my appreciation enough.

So here’s ‘Sozo’, one final title for 2014.

I’m encouraged by this short story. I had a sense of breakthrough when I finished, as if I’d I’d some how, some way, transitioned to a different place in my writing. Now this particular piece uses a rather dark palette, but I gave myself permission to write it the way it needed (wanted?) and feel I found the story’s voice. There’s a renewed sense of confidence as I look toward next year’s projects. (More on them below)

As long as I’m being honest, ‘Sozo’ might be one of those I recommend some folks not read. I’ve always maintained ‘a story is not a sermon’, but the distinction is quite severe with this one. Set in a fictional near-future America, it centers on a combat-scarred vet who returns to a nation in turmoil and finds himself caught up in a human trafficking ring. Definitely not typical evangelical family-friendly fare.

I make no claims to definitive theological, political, or psychological truths here; ‘Sozo’ is simply a story about a broken character in a ugly situation, about hard choices, and a facet of redemption. Edmund Burke’s famous quote on how evil triumphs rang in my mind every phase. The story unfolded steadily from the initial image to it’s climax.

‘Sozo’ will be available for Kindle and e-readers on Saturday, Dec. 27th. You can order it HERE.

Given the protagonist, I’ve decided to donate the proceeds from the first month’s sales to The Wounded Warrior Project. I don’t know how much that will be, but I can’t do nothing. By all means, skip the story if you want and donate directly. The men and women of our Armed Forces deserve our support.

Upcoming releases and writing projects include the next installment of The Clar1ty Wars, “Under Strange Stars”. I just received the files for the cover from Michal Oracz, and they look great, as usual. After that it’s the Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy “The Grim Fall”, as well as a novel set in mythical ancient China, working title “The Proud Cloud Racer.” On the Eshu International front, I have outlined several short story, back stories; Tam and Jace during the failed invasion of Taiwan, Poet9’s childhood in the slums of Mexico City, and the Triplets during the first African Civil War. I’m debating releasing them separately for .99, or including them in a single volume “Shift Tense”. Up in the air, that one.

Again, thank you all. May you have a peaceful and prosperous holiday and an inspired, productive new year.

Best Regards,
Patrick Todoroff

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Re-Post: Dear Writer…

In case you missed it, Chuck Wendig’s Dear Writer… is a great article. Read it. It’s crass, clever, and brutally honest. If you write, it’s totally worth your time. Caution – has bad words so beware.

I’m sure someone else has noted it, but ‘Wendig’ is just an ‘O’ (as in OMG!) away from the mythological, Native American, ravenous, demonic, flesh eating, demi-beast, (and uber-cool comic book villan) Wendigo. Just sayin’

Have a Happy Trick or Treat.

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The Barrow Lover panel #2

12" x 12" with 18" chain for hanging.
12″ x 12″ with 18″ chain for hanging.
Managed to solder the second Celtic panel for The Barrow Lover Stained Glass Giveaway. Simple design with a Celtic knot negative-etched on antique gray glass in the center. The halo is a Kelly green antique glass with a secondary ring of clear double-chip. The arms are a very cool translucent white with an unusual gold fire when in the sun, while the corners are dark gray granite glass. The third piece for the giveaway will be similar. (Different center) I should finish it late this week.

Someone commented giving away stained glass was an unusual way to get reviews. I don’t like the Shenanigans and Review Inflation that goes on at Amazon/Goodreads, etc, but I’m convinced honest reviews are important. Of course I want them. But this is also a way to say ‘Thank you’ to readers. There are plenty of other books, plenty of other things you could be doing with your time and money. That you read my stuff is an honor. To then take the extra effort to post a review is remarkable. So while I can’t give everyone a panel or even buy you a cup of coffee, I want to express my gratitude for your interest and support. Thank you.

All the best.
Patrick Todoroff