Saturday, November 7th
Come on people… do your part and
Support your local bookstore.
Archive for the Writing in Theory & Practice Category
What in the Sam Hill?
Posted in Writing in Theory & Practice on November 3, 2009 by cairnwoodPutting the finishing touches on Smoke and Mirrors today…
I expect to have it ready to send off to Penny Dreadful tomorrow…
Set in the Liber Monstrorum cycle, readers of the tales of Wolfe & Crowe and Occult Detective Landon Connors will recognize some of the players in this post- WWII supernatural thriller.
FRESH BLOOD has been spilled
Posted in Crowleyana, Writing in Theory & Practice on October 31, 2009 by cairnwoodCongratulations to the winners of the FRESH BLOOD giveaway:
Ron Brosse, Justin Miller, and… Jim Cobb
My thanks to everyone who took interest and entered the raffle.
Happy Hallowe’en and a Blessed Samhain to all.
The Cabin in the Woods
Posted in Author Spotlight, Wolfe & Crowe, Writing in Theory & Practice on October 26, 2009 by cairnwood
Dr. Landon Connors enlists the help of two FBI agents, Wolfe and Crowe from within the Paranormal Operations Division, to look into a group known as The Nightstalkers… a group who fight the forces of darkness, outside of the law… and a place that is something of a way-station for things on the other side.
In CABIN IN THE WOODS, author BOB FREEMAN introduces us to FBI agents, Wolfe & Crowe, in a precursor to a trilogy of tales that begins with Hour of the Wolf.
Available from Friday 30th October.
Fresh Blood for Halloween
Posted in Witchcraft, Magick, & Religion, Writing in Theory & Practice with tags Fresh Blood, Hallowe'en, Trick or Treat on October 25, 2009 by cairnwoodIn the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve, what better way to show my appreciation to my spooktacular fans than to offer them a chance to go Trick or Treating at my very own haunted house?
Here’s the deal… if you come up to my door and ring the bell, either by emailing me at trickortreat@occultdetective.com or by posting a comment below, you will be entered to win a signed copy of FRESH BLOOD, the Burning Effigy anthology that features my tale “Mourn Not the Sleepless Children, as well as stories by Kelli Dunlap and Dave Alexander.
I’ll be drawing not one, not two, but three names at 3pm on October 31st… and as an added bonus, each winner will receive a mystery prize along with their signed copy of FRESH BLOOD.
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Prizes will be shipped on Monday, November 2nd.
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So what are you waiting for… FREE BOOKS await.
The Bookstores Fight Back
Posted in Writing in Theory & Practice with tags American Booksellers Association, Under the Dome, Wal-Mart on October 23, 2009 by cairnwoodThe recent price war that started with Stephen King’s Under the Dome ($35 cover price and being sold for a mere $8.98 by Wal-Mart, Amazon, & Target) has led the American Booksellers Association to come out swinging. The ABA, which represents independent bookstores, has filed an official complaint with the U.S. Justice Department, charging that these three retail outlets, by way of selling Under the Dome (and other bestselling titles) at a loss are thereby engaging in illegal predatory pricing.
In a letter released yesterday, the ABA added that the practice was both “damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers.”
According to a top publishing executive, “They (ABA) had no choice. Bookstores are simply under siege. On one side, they’re facing the threat of e-books, and on the other they’re staring in the face of these three ugly superpowers.”
“I do think this massive devaluation of the industry’s crown jewels could very quickly be extremely harmful,” David Young, CEO of Hachette Book Group USA, said in an interview with the New York Times. “And I would not be alone in thinking that.”
Rock Bottom
Posted in Writing in Theory & Practice with tags Under the Dome, Wal-Mart on October 21, 2009 by cairnwoodLet’s be open and upfront from the outset of this rant. I’m a poor and struggling author. Even were I to scale the heights of the industry and achieve mid-list status I would still be poor and struggling. Sure, you have your Kings and Rowlings, your Browns and Meyers… but the guys and gals in the trenches, despite rave reviews, are writing for pennies by comparison. We write because we are compelled to… not for fame or profit, but be assured, we would turn neither away. It’s just not the nature of the business…
That’s why the current price war over Stephen King’s latest opus, Under the Dome, is so troubling.
I’m sure you’ve heard all about it. Right now at Wal-Mart.com you can preorder Under the Dome for a mere $8.99 with free shipping. I know. I ordered a copy, even knowing that this bodes ill not only for the independent bookseller, but for the industry as a whole.
Did I mention my poor and struggling status? Yes, I took advantage. I ordered the book. Would I prefer to be in a position to stick to my morals and drop $35 at Waldenbooks for Under the Dome? You’d better believe it, but then I look into my wallet and I weigh that against my desire to read the book and I err on the side that assures me that my son gets to eat next week.
And by doing so I helped to hammer another nail into a dying industry.
Doom crying? Not really… just read what the AP had to say about this book war trend:
Analysts also note that the price wars also don’t bode well for the overall book industry, which may likely cut authors’ advances and editors’ salaries.
“I don’t see an end in sight,” said Michael Norris, a senior analyst with Simba Information. “There is going to be a longer-term cost to cheap books. This book war drives out chain stores and independent bookstores.”
He noted that Amazon.com, Target and Wal-Mart don’t “value books” in the same way.
“Bookstores are invested in the future of books, but the others are not,” he continued.
In the New York Times, John Grisham’s agent David Gernert expressed his concerns with the low prices:
If readers come to believe that the value of a new book is $10, publishing as we know it is over. If you can buy Stephen King’s new novel or John Grisham’s Ford County for $10, why would you buy a brilliant first novel for $25? I think we underestimate the effect to which extremely discounted best sellers take the consumer’s attention away from emerging writers.
And so I have become a part of the problem it seems. It’s almost like an act of suicide, painstakingly slow… but no less detrimental.
What lies in store for this industry, crippled as it is by an international economic collapse?
Are we as artists destined to forever prostitute ourselves, giving away our work for little more than nothing? But we do it for the love of writing, you say… yes, but we also have mouths to feed and souls to nourish… and that’s just not going to happen in this cutthroat, discount world that the marketplace is pandering to.
The game is afoot
Posted in Author Spotlight, Writing in Theory & Practice on October 16, 2009 by cairnwood
I’ll be skulking about the Con on Saturday, doing my best to pimp my forthcoming Wolfe and Crowe occult detective series and hobnobbing with publishers, agents, and editors, because, quite frankly, it’s what we writers do… when we’re not actually writing that is.
