Wednesdays on the Trail(er)--Isis by Douglas Clegg (4)

***You will find the music player in the right sidebar and there you may turn off the auto play music before enjoying the trailer***

New Wednesday feature showcasing a favorite or newly discovered book or movie trailer in the horror and/or speculative fiction genre.  I'm cross hosting this feature with The True Book Addict.  Please feel free to join in every week, if you would like.  I hope you enjoy it!

I've had this one in my home library for a while now.  It sounds so good and the trailer makes it seems even more intriguing!

Wednesdays on the Trail(er)--Bag of Bones Mini-Series (4)

***You will find the music player in the right sidebar and there you may turn off the auto play music before enjoying the trailer***

New Wednesday feature showcasing a favorite or newly discovered book or movie trailer in the horror and/or speculative fiction genre.  I'm cross hosting this feature with The True Book Addict.  Please feel free to join in every week, if you would like.  I hope you enjoy it!

Teaser trailer for the Bag of Bones mini-series on A&E


Behind the scenes of Bag of Bones

Blog Tour and Kindle Fire Giveaway: Derek Clendening talks Indy Publishing

     Word-length requirements drive me nuts. I’ll be surprised if this post hits the typical blog post length. This is because I tend to get to my point rather quickly without having to push myself to do it. That’s generally a good thing, but it can be a curse, because traditional publishing is often about hard-and-fast length requirements. For example, don’t dare submit that novel that isn’t quite 80, 000 words. My novels The Between Years and The Breeding both clock in at about 75k.

     Story ideas strike and I worry about what I’ll do with them, partly because the short story market isn’t so hot and one is hard-pressed to find a market for a 15k story. It’s way too long for the magazine market and there are few publishers willing to take on that 15k story, no matter what it offers. Writing is part of my income and, as much as I want to write what inspires me, I must prioritize and work according to what is saleable.

     This isn’t a blog post about the evils of traditional publishing and I don’t want to say that small press publishing is a pain in the ass. I want to say that indy publishing has afforded a real opportunity to someone like myself, who has plenty of stories to tell, even if my work doesn’t fall neatly into the traditional mold. I’m also afforded freedoms to tackle topics that interest me, which I hope will interest someone else. For example I wanted to write about a pro wrestler, so I did (The Business). The real question for me was whether or not a bad person can become a good person when his life literally depends on it. This clocks in at about 8k, but I said everything I needed to say. I can’t offer this to publishers, but I can offer this to readers. It might mean something to them.

     The same goes for highly controversial topics (The Breeding). Fiction, in my opinion, should be very open, and therefore just about any topic is fair game. I don’t mind giving disclaimers to say that it isn’t for everyone. I won’t lie about or misrepresent my work to make a sale. I do think certain topics deserve to be covered and that we become more enlightened as people by exploring them and considering certain questions. Not many publishers will go for that. Indy publishing is my platform to tame the taboo.

     My dad likes to remind me how much of a niche horror and dark fiction is, but I think my work is even more niche still. I do appreciate those who come along for the ride. It can be different, hopefully interesting, and we’ll do it all our way. Don’t worry, I won’t take up too much of your time :)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Derek+Clendening

www.thehorrorofderekclendening.blogspot.com

To enter to win a Kindle Fire, leave your name and e-mail address in the comment form below. You can enter once per blog stop. Visit each blog stop to increase your odds of winning. If I crack the Kindle Top 100, I will give away another Kindle Fire. E-mail me for the tour newsletter including a full listing of tour stops at derek (dot) r (dot) clendening (at) gmail (dot) com.

Bag of Bones Read-a-Long...Week One (belated post)

Note:  If you're not participating in the read-a-long, be warned, this post contains spoilers.

Okay, read-a-long-ers....I really need to apologize to you about being so late with this post.  Last week just was not conducive to reading.  Way too busy and I think it's only going to get worse.  On that note though, I am making a pact with myself and with you that I WILL finish the reading and post on time this week.  If I don't, I'll give you my address and you can get a mob together and come after me.  ;O)

So....thoughts on the first section of Bag of Bones...being Chapters 1 - 9.  As I might have mentioned, this is actually a reread for me.  I first read it by listening on audio.  I'm really amazed at how different listening to a book is to the good old-fashioned reading of a book.  One thing I noticed was how lengthy and detailed the first part was.  I did listen to the unabridged version so there were no corners cut, but I honestly did not notice the lengthiness when I was listening.  Now, I'm not saying that I disliked it, but I did have a hard time concentrating at times.  Maybe it was me trying to avoid the sadness of the tragic loss of Mike's wife.  I'm a wimp when it comes to sad stuff like that.  I do have to say that SK is very good at portraying grief.  I do believe that Mike Noonan contains a little of himself and Johanna, his lovely wife Tabitha, so I think that SK really wrote how he would feel if he was to lose his beloved Tabby.

We're really just getting to the strange happenings in the book in the first section, but I have to say that the part with Johanna under the bed, after she had already died, was a real frightfest.  Can you imagine?! Since I have read this before, I can tell you...it only gets worse.  I think that's why this book is one of my favorites of SK's.  I just adore creepy over blatant scares.

We are introduced to Mattie Devore and her cutie daughter, Kyra.  With the phone call from Max Devore, I think you can pretty much tell what's going to go on later.  I have to say, I'm never keen about such a young woman with a man 20 years her senior.  It just seems kind of lecherous (okay, prude...make an exit), but Mike seems a good guy, albeit a little oversexed (aren't most men?) so I guess I won't hold it against him.

Of course, we have SK's usual brand of funny little quips that never fail to make me laugh out loud.  I love "V.C. Andrews with a prick" (sorry, Andrews fans).  And he's hilarious with his "I'm taking it to the next level," all the while knowing that he's not writing, but pulling out previously written manuscripts.  What a riot! And then there's the quote that his creative-writing teacher attributes to Thomas Hardy, "Compared to the dullest human being actually walking about on the face of the earth and casting his shadow there, the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones."  I think any writer can relate to that.

I have my theories too.  Even though I've read this previously, I really don't remember minute details.  Like Johanna's pregnancy and what was really going on.  I think she was having an affair at Sara Laughs and that is why she did not suggest they go there the year she died.  Maybe not.  What do you think?  What are your thoughts on this week's section?  Share in your own blog post and leave your link or share your thoughts in the comments or do both.  I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

This week we're reading Chapters 10 - 15 and updates are Saturday.  Start pre-planning your mob, just in case I'm late again and you have to come after me.  LOL!

Happy Reading!