featuring the Night to Dawn books and Barbara's fiction, and other goodies

Archive for the ‘Artists’ Category

Tom Johnson’s Interview with Illustrator Teresa Tunaley

I first became aware of Teresa Tunaley’s illustrations in Barbara Custer’s Night To Dawn magazine a few years back. In fact, I was so taken with Teresa’s art I went to her website and looked at the many pages of fine illustrations she had already done for book covers and magazines. It was no surprise [...]

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Artists, authors, balloons, people, Publishing, romance, science fiction / fantasy, vampires, Writing

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Lulu versus CreateSpace III

After much kvetching and discussion about CreateSpace, I’ve started to publish the NTD paperbacks through them. The latest release, Tales of Masks & Mayhem V4, saw publication through CS. Why? The short answer: money. The Global Distribution package on Lulu costs $75.00 plus whatever you pay for ISBN’s. The Pro plan of CS costs $39.00 [...]

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A Word with Word, Artists, authors, people, Publishing, science fiction / fantasy, Uncategorized, vampires, Writing

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Aspen Mountain Press – The Seamier Side of Publishing

The acceptance letter you get for your book is a dream come true for most authors, especially if the watchdog websites like P&E green-light the company. If you’re fortunate, you never have to find out any different. In the case of AMP, the other authors and I were not so fortunate.  I signed a three-year [...]

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Artists, authors, Healthcare, people, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing

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To Lie or not to Lie – that is the question.

I’m referring to one of the verbs that give me and other writers a lot of grief – the difference between lie, lay, and laid. That and certain words that mean one thing when used as a compound, and something else when used separately, can mess up an otherwise well-written tale. And so therein “lies” [...]

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A Word with Word, Artists, authors, balloons, people, poetry, Writing

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Branding and Facebook

When a workshop leader coaxed everyone to promote their books through branding, I left the workshop confused. To my literal mind, “branding” refers to a cowboy who brands his cattle, marking it as his own, or the trademark a company uses to identify its products.  Then Facebook gave me an appreciation for branding. I’ve enjoyed [...]

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A Word with Word, Artists, authors, balloons, people, science fiction / fantasy, Writing

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Forthcoming Interview and other Night to Dawn News

On September 9, 2010, Art Sippio and Ric Croxton of http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/ will interview author Tom Johnson and me about The Spider’s Web and Tom’s other NTD books. Tom will discuss his favorite character, Black Ghost. I will be discussing Dark Side of the Moon and a potential sequel; also Twilight Healer and Blood Moons and [...]

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Artists, authors, people, science fiction / fantasy, Uncategorized, vampires, Writing

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When Your Tales Contain Too Much Clutter…

Yesterday, I learned about the evils of clutter when I purchased an outdoor trashcan and attempted to load it into my Honda Fit. It looked so easy. Folding down the back seats would give plenty of room for my purchase…except so much stuff had congregated in the back seats and floor. Bending the trashcan wasn’t [...]

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A Word with Word, Artists, authors, people, poetry, romance, science fiction / fantasy, Uncategorized, vampires, Writing

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Barbara Custer Gets Awarded a Creative Blogger Award

I’ve just received word that I am the recipient of a Creative Blogger Award. I’m flattered and appreciative that my blog would be awarded in such a way. Thank you, Cynthia, for passing on this honor. There’s more! In conjunction with the award I’m going to give you five details about myself, and one of [...]

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Artists, authors, people, poetry, science fiction / fantasy, vampires, Writing

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Word Software – a Blessing or a Curse for Writers?

A lot of writing instructors advise you to show, don’t tell, cut adverbs, avoid passive voice, etc. These things matter. When I work on the Night to Dawn magazine or books, nothing makes me more frustrated than finding a potentially great tale cluttered with clichés, adverbs, and exposition. But no one addressed the eccentricities of [...]

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A Word with Word, Artists, authors, science fiction / fantasy, vampires, Writing

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Interview with Science fiction/fantasy Connoisseur Jefferson Dane

Jefferson Dane is actually a pseudonym for a father/son writing team (Chuck and Jeffrey) which began in 2003. Together, the duo has authored Flyover, Phlogiston, two short stories which have appeared in anthologies, and another, Contagion’s Shadow, is forthcoming. They do this by taking careful notes, developing them into ideas, and then running them. Tonight, [...]

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Artists, authors, people, science fiction / fantasy, Writing

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