Author! Author!

Crimson Ice by A.J. Alise
ISBN: 0-9763083-2-0
Publisher: PulpBytes
Year Published: 2005
$8.95

Following the disappearance of her sister, Rocky is hurled into a life changing adventure. The responsibility of caring for her own son, and her sister’s two children complicates everything and raises the stakes of this already tension-filled story.

With nods to the genre-gumshoe beset by insurmountable challenges, really bad bad guys, and great cliché bits that never get old-this maintains the good old detective form, while adding a new dimension - a strong, maternal woman as the hero.

ON WRITING
By A.J. Alise

I got an email from a stranger the other day, and for just a moment, I felt like a real, genuine, honest-to-God author. The correspondent had seen my interview in a small Pocono Mountain newspaper, ordered my suspense novel CRIMSON ICE, (published under my pen name A. J. Alise) read it, chased down my email address and sent me an effusive, highly complimentary letter. My euphoria lasted all day. The next day, however, my inner critic had already returned, asking me where were all of the other letters and emails, and why was this writer the only one who had responded to tell me about her enjoyment of my novel.

This is one constant of the writing life, that nagging voice that says your writing will never measure up, an opinion reinforced on the bad days by the seemingly endless rejections from agents and publishers, the days when the computer screen remains blank, and all of your ideas seem about as exciting as a bowl of cold oatmeal.

So what keeps a “writer” writing? I can’t speak for the others sitting before their blank computer screens, leather-bound notebooks or yellow legal pads, but I can speak for this one.

My mother planted the seed that grew into the belief that “writer” was an honorable, even elevated calling, not unlike the religious life. As the mother of a quickly growing family that finally peaked at ten, she nonetheless dedicated an hour each day to gathering her children around her, rocking the latest baby on her lap, while declaiming in a rich expressive voice all of the poems she had memorized during her own brief education. These ranged from nursery rhymes to Shakespearean sonnets, and this ritual was the highlight of my summer afternoons.

When I was about 6, I announced that I had written my own poem for inclusion in her repertory and presented my creation in my best imitation of her style, six lines of doggerel celebrating my love for a newly acquired kitten. My mother’s reaction made me feel as though I had sprouted wings and taken a swift flight around the room. It hooked me for the rest of my life. “You’re a writer!” she declared, hugging me, her face glowing with joyous awe. “You’ve got the gift!”

From that moment on I knew that writing was my calling. I became the class poet, the class playwright, a contributor and editor of high school and college literary journals. I got a job as writer and editor for several magazines and spent my days writing plays, articles, and stories.

But then I got distracted by the necessity of making a living and abandoned the writing life for a career that allowed me to support my son. Still the itch remained. I wrote in my “spare” time and managed to have my plays performed in local theaters. I kept my “gift” alive and percolating.

Now, finally, I can dedicate my life wholeheartedly to my writing. In the last three years I have written three novels, a bundle of short stories, revived and revised plays and other abandoned projects and perused bundles of saved letters and journals for fresh material. I work in my pajamas if I wish, sitting down at my computer with my morning coffee and going into a trance that may last all day. Some days it is as pleasurable and indulgent as eating chocolate for breakfast. Some days it is as painful as sticking needles into my eyes. But it is a passion, an obsession, an addiction that only grows stronger as it is indulged.

So, if the pain and pleasure is in the process why suffer the rejection, why not just write, why pursue the elusive goal of publication? It is not about being famous or rich (although I believe I could deal with such an unexpected fate) but is, I believe, the pursuit of validation. Yes, you have something to contribute; no, you are not spinning your wheels in a vacuum; yes, someone out there appreciates your unique vision. The spirit demands to express its own vision but also requires some nourishment and some feedback in order to survive and continue to create.

Alise grew up in rural Peennsylvania. She spends much of her time at her cabin in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, where Crimson Ice is set. She is a novelist, actor, teacher, and playwright. Her plays have been produced in various New Jersey theatres. Alise’s other writing credits include the video productions: “World Hunger Project” and “Looking at Union, New Jersey.”

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You Are Your Own Best Marketing Rep!

You Gotta Have a Gimmick!

I know — the word “gimmick” gets your goat. You don’t even wanna go there, right? Gimmicks are flashy. They’re used by the non-artist, the commercial author, the sleazy salesperson. I’m with ya...I get it! But ...For just a few moments I’m going to invite you, encourage you — even beg you — to rearrange your thinking about the word and the image that it conjures up and replace it with the image of possibility — the image of you sitting in a comfy chair on a sound stage of a T.V. talk show, or in a studio booth of a radio station, or sitting on a stool in a coffee house/public library/museum reading aloud from your book for a group of people who came to the event specifically to see/hear you! And what about the image of you receiving a great, big, fat royalty check for the multiple sales of your book?!

‘Cause if you’ve got a gimmick, Gypsy girl, you got it made! – Electra, Gypsy

All of these are definite possibilities - of that I’m sure. But how do you get from the image to the reality?

There are all kinds of things you can do to get noticed...The trick is finding the ones that work for you—that you feel comfortable doing and that you can afford to do. Obviously, it would take some serious bucks and a whole, WHOLE LOT of moxie to rent a theatre and put your name — or your book’s title — up on the marquis.

I would imagine that most of you wouldn’t feel comfortable pulling a “Macy Gray” (I know I definitely wouldn’t) : painting a “sign” on the front of your body saying: ”My new book gets published [on such-and-such date]” and on your rear end painting the words, “Buy it” (for those of you not in the know, Macy Gray actually did that as a self-promo pitch for her then up-coming album at the 2001 Grammy Awards). Truth-be-told, I have no idea if that boosted her record sales, but that was certainly a memorable gimmick!

Walk softly and carry a big shtick! –Lee Silber*

*Shtick: A Yiddish term used to describe a performer’s attention-stealing action or gimmick.

Memorable is what were after – well, it’s what I’m after (for myself and for all of you fellow writers out there). There is shtick and there is shtick. And there are gimmicks and there are gimmicks. They can come in “long-term” or “short-term” form. Example: Elton John’s big, wild and elaborate glasses (long-term); Macy Gray’s album plug (short-term).

Now, many of us may not want to go the route of either Elton John or Macy Gray, for whatever reason – too flashy, or raunchy, or too-too…whatever! But there can be a way to create a shtick or utilize a gimmick that feels right for you.

You just have to be willing to put yourself out there a little bit.

I’m going to throw out a few examples and you can see how they resonate with you:

Example: A book with a medical theme (non-fiction or fiction)

Every time you send an email or snail mail, do it with the theme of a prescription: have the header say: Rx. Play with writing out the ad, announcement, letter, etc. as a prescription would read. *(This idea is great to use as a pitch to T.V. and radio shows as well, i.e. offering them “just the prescription they need for a great show spot”, etc.)

Use empty prescription bottles and affix your very own Rx labels to them that promote your book. Inside place a synopsis about your book, reviews, or fill it with some fun item (i.e. candy) that will also promote your book.

Use [unused] syringes and roll a snippet of your book into it. Call it a “Title of Your Book” shot.

If the book also has a “love story” element to it – Romance – you could use candy hearts: put them in the Rx bottle or syringe with a label or note that says something like, “This book will get your heart pumping”, or “This book is the best medicine for your heart”, or “Take this message to heart: buy the book.”

When sending out reviews, headline them with Diagnosis: 5 Healthy Hearts for “Book Title”…(or whatever terminology comes to mind).

Publicize your book by creating a new “disease”, “flu”, or “fever” around it. Send out email with the name of the [new] strain, a blurb about it (along with reviews if you have them), where it can be purchased and tag-line it with something like, “This is a virus you want to catch!”

[This one’s a little bit bolder than the previous] Dress up as a doctor or nurse and pass out flyers or postcards for your book at street fairs or other public functions. If you can stand/sit/walk around the lobby of a medical conference touting your book – by all means: do it! -or- Have a “Doctor is in” booth (think : Lucy from “Peanuts”)…Tout your book, answer questions, pass out postcards/flyers/brochures; if you have your book in traditional print, do a signing…

[Another bold move] Throw, or have someone throw a “Get [the book out] Well” party. Serve “thematic” food (i.e. jello – you can make a fun mold to go with the book; or serve chicken soup), or serve the food in a “thematic” way (i.e. punch in an I.V. bag – think: M*A*S*H); Read an excerpt you’re your book and then pass out a “medical chart” with all the information about your book included in it and ask people to pass it along to other people – like a “good” virus;Fun stuff: play spin the hot water bottle, or pin the heart on the patient (see if you can round up some gift certificates from stores, restaurants, etc., to use as give-aways). For party favors: Tongue Depressors –remind people NOT to depress their tongue, but to talk up your book instead (see if you can get the title of your book on them on one side, with a catchy phrase on the other, i.e. “Can’t keep anyone quiet about this book”). Invite people to come dressed up sick or injured – in their pajamas, robe, or hospital gown

Come up with your own variations on one, two, or all of the above.

Success is the child of audacity. – Benjamin Disraeli

So, whaddya think? Any of those ideas bode well with you – what you might be willing to do? Of course, you’d have to tailor the ideas to your book – obviously syringes, and prescriptions, and other things medical won’t work if your book is about the wild west, etc.

And if the ideas above completely go against your grain, you don’t have to use them. But perhaps, at the very least, they generated some ideas of your own that suit you better.

The thing about all the ideas I’ve laid out above, is that they are fun – some of them even silly. But people like fun. And the ideas above are memorable. They will make you and your book stick out in people’s minds.

So will ideas and events that are a little bit more serious or formal.

For example, if your story is set in the mid-seventeenth century, then having a dance or a tea or a music recital to background/showcase your book might be an idea for an event. Readings from your book with classical music in the background might set a nice tone. Feather-plumed pens might make great party favors. Hand-written in ink pen, on a scroll, or emailed old-style font notes/flyers might be a way to get announcements out.

Gimmicks work. They don’t have to be cheesy or over-the-top flashy. They just need to be “catchy” – shticking in the mind and the memory of your audience. They might get you a spot on a T.V. show, a book reading at a local coffee house, and best yet: sales of your book!

Author! Author!

Innerview: Fredric M. Ham

What is your ideal writing environment?

That would be at home in my study, with no background noise, no music, no television… I love the silence because it allows me to be totally immersed in my world. The ideal time for me to write is in the late evening or early morning. However, I travel extensively so I have trained myself to write just about anywhere and anytime.

What authors inspire you most?

Here are just two, John Steinbeck and Leon Uris.

What do you do when you aren’t feeling inspired or motivated to write?

This doesn’t happen that often, but when it does occur there are a few things I do. On those rare occasions when nothing surfaces or I lose the connection, I jump on my Harley Low Rider and cruise, usually down Highway A1A along the Atlantic Ocean. Since I can do voice impersonations, I will occasionally “act out” (in my study at home) the dialogue for some of the characters in my story. This definitely helps.

Any connection between electrical engineering (your primary career) and writing a mystery/thriller?

There certainly is. It’s the research, it is all about the research. I believe that a mystery/thriller should have a riveting sense of realism. I have been conducting research for more than twenty years. So it’s this discipline I have developed that allows me to dig in and find the necessary details to inject into a particular scene. I believe it’s my obligation to ensure the realism for the reader.

DEAD RIVER is your first novel. What motivated you to write it?

DEAD RIVER was inspired by an actual event, but maybe I should say events. Although DEAD RIVER is a work of fiction, it rings true with the anguish and helplessness that a family experiences when a loved one has been abducted. Equally disturbing is our tangled and incongruous judicial system that many times ineffectively deals with criminals and leaves one with a feeling of hollowness when justice is not properly served.

I always wonder this about mystery writers: Did you know how the story would end when you began writing it?

Yes. I know the beginning, the end and most of what’s in between. However, what I believe is one of the most exhilarating aspects of being a writer is discovering several details of your story as you write it.

Care to share anything about your next novel?

The working title is The Faculty Club. It’s another thriller and will have a unique blend of story elements that I will save for the reader.

Got a favorite quote?

Actually, there are two that come to mind:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Albert Einstein

“Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
Groucho Marx

Fredric M. Ham's book, Dead River (ISBN: 0-9763083-7-1, Published by PulpBytes , 2006) is available in eBook format at the DPPstore, www.dppstore.com

To learn more about the author and his novel, Dead River, please visit Ham's website at http://www.fredricmham.com/