Want to know what happens when a geek author goes to DragonCon?

I make no secret of the fact I’m a total fangirl and geek at heart. I know far more than a person should admit about Superman and Star Wars mythology. I have spent probably a good portion of my young life glued to the boob tube ooooh-ing and ahhhhh-ing over shows like “The X-Files,” “Supernatural,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Oh yeah, and there’s my newest obsession — “True Blood” and Eric Northman. Yum.

I’ve wanted to go to Comic Con and DragonCon for years and years and years, but I always get the same response from my friends. “Ewww. No, Angie. No.”

I finally decided, to heck with it, and I made the journey alone to Atlanta for a day this year for the 25th anniversary of DragonCon. I did it under the pretense of research. You know, because they have authors who attend DragonCon for signings and stuff.

DragonCon is the southeast’s largest comic book/sci-fi/fantasy/gaming convention. Yes, it would be fair to imagine me rubbing my hands in delight and drooling over the schedule. It’s true. I embarrass even my cat. Poor kitty.

After my day-long adventure at this year’s DragonCon, I can now safely say that you haven’t lived until you’re hanging on a street corner waiting on the light to change behind a Jack Sparrow and wedged in between a Gumby and a chick poured into a leather X-Men costume that looks dangerously close to popping off her.

I swear I tried to play it cool by walking around in my plain clothes, pretending I was just a causal attendee, but I just couldn’t stop myself from stopping and staring in fangirl delight whenever I saw a Stormtrooper walk past me, or hey, wow! Look at that epic Sailor Moon costume over there! (Jumps up and down with delight)

By the skin of my teeth, I managed to squeeze into the Q&A panel with “True Blood” stars. I mention this only because Ms. Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse books, was also on the panel. Yes, I fangirl over authors too.

It warmed my heart to see so many DragonCon guests asking Ms. Harris questions instead of the actors. Authors rule! And it made my heart leap with joy when Ms. Harris responded to one person’s question by saying, “My first book in this series was rejected 10 times before anyone wanted to publish it. Now when I think of those 10 publishers, I wish I could tell them —“ pointed at the actors beside her “— ha ha!”

What kind of world do we live in if even the Sookie Stackhouse books were initially rejected?!

Needless to say, I had a blast at DragonCon, and I can’t wait to go back next year. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could round up some fellow fantasy/paranormal authors to go with me to do a group booksigning?

That reminds me, if you haven’t read Abby Niles’ book “Defying Convention,” you are missing out. I laughed so hard before I could relate, and yes, I am gonna have to go back and read it again now that I’ve actually been to a convention. I'll probably be in stitches!

Oh, the things I will do for a Kindle

I probably shouldn’t admit this, being that I’m soon-to-be-published by Carina Press and all (you know, Harlequin’s digital imprint), but I…don’t…have…an…e-reader.

Yes, it’s true. No Kindle. No Nook. Nothing but my laptop and a passing knowledge of how to download e-books in PDF format.

It’s not that I don’t want an e-reader. I do. I really, really do. I just haven’t been able to afford one, what with the economy and trying not to sink further into debt and all. I’ve been saving up, and one way or another, I WILL have an e-reader by Oct. 31 — the day my book releases at Carina. But I’m hoping a little bit of luck and an adorable dog named Valentino will help me get one without having to dish out the extra dough.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about the many authors I love to read, and especially any romance authors who’ve influenced me through the years. I wandered over to Maggie Shayne’s website because I devoured her “Wings in the Night” books in college and continue to read them when I can find time. Aside from her vampire series, I love everything she’s done. If I see a book with her name on it, I buy it because I know I won’t be let down for a good, quick read.

As the fates would have it, Ms. Shayne is currently running a contest on her website. The grand prize is an e-reader and complete set of her vampire series in e-book form!

To win, you have to submit a video explaining why you love the series or a character or anything else you want to say about it. Hmmm. I hate being on camera. I hate having my voice on camera. And I’m a complete numskull when it comes to this kind of thing.

Did I let that stop me?

Of course not. I did it anyway.

My video is pretty silly, but I will say I had a lot of fun making it! Kudos to my best friend’s dog, Valentino, who turned out to be quite the little lead actor and a much better one than I am!

Now comes the REALLY hard part — getting enough votes to win the grand prize.

Maggie’s website explains:

Viewers will be able to view all of the videos at Maggie’s YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/maggieshayne?feature=mhee



Vote for your favorite by e-mailing the title of the video and the user name of the creator to VampireVideos@authorslifesaver.com. One vote allowed per e-mail address.

So now, it would be really great if you would go to my video, watch it, and if you like it, e-mail your vote in as instructed above. And I won’t be offended if you vote for any of the others. They’re all really good!

I've been hungering for 'The Hunger Games'

I think most people have multiple personalities, and no, I don’t mean that we’re all crazy lunatics running around talking to ourselves all the time. At least, I hope we’re not all crazy lunatics. I’m talking about the way we all act around different people. For example, a mom might act differently around her kids than she does her co-workers, and so on.

I have an inside joke with certain friends that I have a secret identity. Most people know me as a mild-mannered reporter who’s a strictly by-the book kinda gal. I’ve only told a few people that I also write fiction (or that I’m a soon-to-be published romance author) on the side.

My professional by-the-book persona and my imaginative throw-the-book-out-the-window inner child rarely collide, but when they do, well, even I have to admit it’s kind of funny.

Today was one of those days. Let me explain a little:

Like any good writer, I try to read a lot to see what other people are doing, and about three years ago, I started reading the “Twilight” series by Stephenie Meyer. It had been a long time since I’d read a young adult novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Okay, so I became a little bit obsessed with it. Some of my online Twilight buddies had recommended I read “The Mortal Instruments,” series, the “Harry Potter” books, "The Vampire Academy" series, “The Hunger Games” series, and a book called “Matched.”

I finally got around to reading “The Hunger Games” because it sounded most interesting at the time, and wow! Blown away. And again, maybe a lil bit obsessed with it too.

So, can you imagine how excited I was to learn the movie version of the first “Hunger Games” book would film in my neck of the woods this summer? Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it! I was probably one of the first in line to apply to be an extra. The cast is extraordinary, too. Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson — and that’s only naming a few. Heck, I even applied to be a production assistant since I have some experience in my favor.

Did I get called to be an extra? Heck no! Did I get called to be a production assistant? Of course not.

When I heard that the book’s author, Suzanne Collins, would also be on set every day, you’d better believe I almost started hyperventilating. As excited as I was about the cast, I really want to meet the author — cause I’m weird like that, I guess.

So my reporter persona actually tried to swing an interview with her, but it was a total no-go. With the security surrounding that movie set, you’d think President Obama was in town or something. Geez. My other persona considered stalking the set, but well, I'm sure that wouldn't have gone over well with the dozens of security officers on watch.

Now, the funny thing is, three of the people I told to apply to be extras (none of whom had a clue what the books were about) all got called to be extras. All three of them! Where’s the justice in that?

By the way, one of my friends called me from the set today. He’s filming District 11 scenes with the actors playing Rue and Thresh. So jealous!

So after getting the phone call today from my friend who was on the set of “The Hunger Games,” my other persona started to pout inside. Why? Why? Why? It wasn’t fair! Why couldn't I be an extra?!? Wahhhhhh!

My day-job editor was nice enough to let me do a story on the topic of this trend of adults reading young adult novels, and I’m just starting to discover that I am not the only one out there. Oh no, there are legions of us.

So today I kicked into work gear on that story. And had a thought. Wouldn’t it be cool to talk to another YA author — a bestselling one, maybe? — and get his or her input into this topic too?

Lucky me, I snagged a phone interview with one and everything, which reinforces my belief that authors in general are really cool down-to-earth people.

I just hope I can keep my imaginative throw-the-book-out-the-window inner child under control when my work persona interviews this author (who wrote one of the books I mentioned above, and no, it’s not Stephenie Meyer). As an author myself — even if the genres are totally different — I’ll probably want to pull up a chair and start talking, author to author, but that would be highly unprofessional of me as a reporter.

Still, these are the days that remind me I sometimes do enjoy my day job.

What do you mean, it's almost 5 a.m.?!?

I just glanced at the time and realized something I've been realizing a lot lately - it's almost 5 o'clock in the morning!!! Geesh!

Where does the time go?!

I'm more than halfway through the story I'm writing now, and it sure has been causing me all kinds of headaches. I guess that's what I get for being a writer with a full-time day job, a part-time gig and a teeny-tiny bit of a social life I try to nurture every now and then. Basically, I don't sleep, or at least, not much and not on any kind of schedule that could pass for normal.

Gee, it's amazing I'm able to function enough to piece together any type of coherent story, but my critique partner reassures me this one is a keeper so far. Then again, I'm kind of convinced it takes a certain type of insanity to become a writer in the first place, and getting no sleep does have a tendency to make a person act nuts. There's a myth that the best writers throughout history have all been mad geniuses. I think I understand now. I bet they didn't get any sleep either. In which case, there's hope for me yet. Perhaps I'll finally snap and write something absolutely incredible one of these days.

That's me, always trying to look on the positive side of things.

I wonder what it will be like when I get closer to the release date for "Cry Wolf"? Oh lord, I don't think I want to even think about that right now. I think I'm going to go try and get a little bit of sleep.

It's FREE BOOK WEEK at Carina Press!!!

Starting on June 20th, every weekday, all week, Carina is offering a spectacular title for free download. And when they say free, they mean ACTUALLY free. Not "sorta free", or "free with a $50 purchase" free, but actually, totally, no strings attached FREE! So, get thee to Carina press to download a free book every day! Here are the books being offered, and the links and promo codes for your free download:

Monday's FREE BOOK is:
The Debutante's Dilemma by Elyse Mady
Just type in the promo code DEBUTANTEFREE at checkout
http://ebooks.carinapress.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=50C0978A-DAC7-44E7-B627-C26A520471C0

Tuesday's FREE BOOK is:
Demon's Fall by Karalynn Lee
Just type in the promo code DEMONFREE at checkout
http://ebooks.carinapress.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=1E5A3A07-9BC7-4449-9B8F-377C21E2F664

Wednesday's FREE BOOK is:
The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale by Christine Bell
Just type in the promo code TWISTEDFREE at checkout
http://ebooks.carinapress.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=D79D7CD6-1BAA-4D2E-AE65-FF0E42F79BE7

Thursday's FREE BOOK is:
Blue Galaxy by Diane Dooley
Just type in the promo code GALAXYFREE at checkout
http://ebooks.carinapress.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=827CC21D-6F33-437A-977B-B0F291B70367

Friday's FREE BOOK is:
Friendly Fire by Megan Hart
Just type in the promo code FRIENDLYFREE at checkout
http://ebooks.carinapress.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=E1466469-DB0C-404F-A0AA-3491BB9E9B14

Great storytelling - I wanna do that!

Last night I saw a great movie, and I was reminded again of how magical great storytelling can be.

Go ahead and feel jealous because I got to see “Super 8” before its release date…and for free. Oh, the perks of working for a media outlet. Yes, I am a movie aficionado, but for some reason, I just wasn’t feeling this one after seeing the previews, so I was especially digging the free price tag. Of course, I would have gone to see it anyway, being the sci-fi geek I am. They pretty much had me at J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg. I mean, wow.

Set in 1979, “Super 8” is the story of a group of tweenage friends who are making a zombie movie on a Super 8 camera when they witness a train derailment. It doesn’t take long before you realize something is amiss in their sleepy little Ohio town. Dogs go missing. People disappear. And the Air Force invades to clean up the train wreck and claim the little white rubix-cube looking things that are scattered everywhere.

If you are a child of the 80s, you should go see this movie. You really should. It reminded me of an “E.T.” and “The Goonies” mashup that was both nostalgic and ridiculously fun to watch.

The movie hasn’t even released yet, so I won’t spoil much and I certainly won’t mention exactly what was in the train that wrecked (hmmm). I will say, however, that J.J. Abrams has compiled an amazing story here that is fun, heart-warming and that carries a great message no matter if you’re 8 or 80. I bow down to you, J.J. Abrams. After that failed mishap “Undercovers,” you have renewed my faith in you!

The main character in the movie is arguably Joe, a young boy whose mother has just died in a work accident when the movie begins. I was 12 when I lost my mother, so when I see movies that feature kids who are experiencing that same grief, I always start squirming in my seat a little bit. Joe’s father is a cop. So was mine. As the movie progressed, I felt more and more in awe at the realism displayed by those two characters. Their interaction was oh-so familiar. I am 99 percent certain my father said some of the exact same things to me, in the exact same manner, as Joe’s dad did to him. There were quite a few scenes where I was reliving that pain and grief and confusion, which leads me to the point of this post.

When I left that theater, I felt raw. I also felt uplifted by the story itself. I was attached to the characters I had just met as if they were old friends. I had made a connection on an emotional level, both to the amazing story and to the characters. And that, my friends, is great storytelling.

I doubt everyone leaving this movie will have the same connection I did, but the best storytellers are able to bring their stories to vivid life through characters that are easily relatable and startingly realistic — at least to the majority of readers or viewers. That is also extremely hard to do, as most writers will readily admit.

I’ve always been convinced that you can tell a good story with characters that aren’t fleshed out, but to tell a truly great story, you need to dig down deep and really develop your characters. Those are the stories — at least in my opinion — that stay with readers the longest.

Who doesn’t remember that Indiana Jones hated snakes more than anything? Ask just about anyone nowadays and they can tell you what happened to Harry Potter when he was a young lad. Who does Katniss Everdeen love more than life itself? Her little sister, Prim, of course.

There are many great storytellers among us today. I’m working at becoming one of them, but even I admit, I’m not there yet. I’m working on it though. Most of all, I’m grateful to have good examples to draw inspiration from.

Go see “Super 8.” If you don’t enjoy it, there’s probably something wrong with you. I’m just sayin’.

Other authors, and should I stalk them? Hmmm

As I’ve taken baby steps into this funny little world called e-book publishing, I’ve come to the shocking realization that (deep breath) … I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. There, I said it. And it’s true.

I don’t consider myself to be an overly stupid person (not all the time), but I never realized how much went into this process. I mean, the line edits and developmental edits — these are things we writers always hear about. I used to think of them as a rite of passage for the authors who made it, so naturally, I used to think, “Ooooh, fun.”

No, not fun! Not fun at all! (Smacking self in the head)

Thank God for line edits and developmental edits, and the editors who recommend them. But I felt like a colossal idiot when I first went through the file my editor sent back to me. Talk about head-slapping and lots of “D’oh!” moments! I felt incredibly stupid at times that I’d let some of that junk slip past me. I even wondered, “Why in the world did they accept this? Dang!”

I now can’t imagine self publishing or e-publishing anything on my own. There is a strong purpose for editors, and not just editors, oh, no.

Then there's publicity and marketing and formatting and a host of other things I've never dealt with before.

I have to say that Carina Press, thus far, has been great at guiding me through the process. I’ve heard horror stories about other e-publishers and publishers, and yes, I admit, I was a little worried. Now that I’ve been added to Carina Press’s author list (my, that sounds so important!), I’ve been hanging back and taking in all of the information being sent my way by list serv and e-mails. Information not just from Carina’s staff and editors, but from other authors as well.

I’m grateful that Carina Press is living up to its reputation, because I really do want my book to be a success. The main reason I want “Cry Wolf” to sell more than, oh, five or six copies, is because I want to write more. I’m a busy gal, and as much as I want to write 24/7, it’s just not possible. I have a full-time job, a part-time job and other various obligations. I feel more compelled to write in the little spare time I have when I know people actually care that I’m not writing. So, in my happy little fantasy world, someday I will have readers who want more stories from me. They also wear superhero costumes in my fantasy world, but the main thing is that they like my stories enough to pound their Kindles and Nooks against their pillows yelling, "More! More! More!"

Hey, no snickering! It could happen!

But this leads to a dilemma. How to market my e-book so that does happen.

Fortunately, I have a very talented friend waiting in the wings waiting to help with this. But I’ve been looking around at other successful authors and — I’ll admit it — trying to flat-out copy whatever it is they do. Author website? Check. Facebook and Twitter accounts. Check and check.

Aside from offering online classes about these things, Carina also seems to promote interaction between its authors, and I have been tip-toeing around the idea of chatting up complete strangers to steal some of their vast and varied knowledge. These are the folks who have been there, done that. These are the folks I need.

But what is appropriate and what’s not when contacting an author, especially one you don’t know and haven’t read? I’d love to settle down and read them all, but, um, did I mention I have two jobs?

Fortunately, I think most authors welcome contact of any kind, as long as it doesn’t raise red flags or ideas of, um, stalking. I’m sure if you’re Stephenie Meyer or Stephen King, you might shudder in fear at checking your inbox, but the rest of us mere mortal authors probably aren’t so overwhelmed or busy that we don’t like to collaborate on ideas or hear from a friendly person every now and then. Most people, in my experience, like to be helpful.

So, apparently, tip No. 1 at learning how to market your e-book is talk to others who have been there, done that. Exchange ideas. You never know when a great one will take seed.

I’m going to go do that. Right now. I just hope I can keep my stalking tendencies in check and don't scare anyone. Yeah, it's been known to happen…