Jennifer Brozek | January 2015

Bubble and Squeek for 27 Jan 2015

I'm all edits all time. Between finishing up NEVER LET ME LEAVE and getting the final proof notes on CHIMERA INCARNATE and having edits come back on my Shadowrun story, all I can give you is some Bubble and Squeek.

Article: I popped over to Clarissa Johal's journal to talk about how I put together the table of contents for APOCALYPSE GIRL DREAMING.

Book Release: Happy book release to me! APOCALYPSE GIRL DREAMING is available in ebook (physical copy coming soon). I'm so in love with this book. It's getting some great reviews.

Interview: I had an interview with Vagabond Saint. We talks about all sorts of things. It was a fun interview.

Review: I got a review of APOCALYPSE GIRL DREAMING from the Fantastical Librarian. I love it when librarians review my work. I think the Fantastical Librarian had some great things to say.

Review: This is a review of the Valdemar anthology, NO TRUE WAY, and it has to have one of my favorite lines about any one of my stories to date. "This was one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read, I feel like I will be recovering from it days from now." How can you not love that?

Review: The Exploding Spaceship reviews SHATTERED SHIELDS and had some great things to say.

RustyCon

RustyCon was interesting in the fact that I felt like I was the living embodiment of balanced karma. If something bad happened, something good happened, too. And, vice versa. Here's a bunch of good things that happened:

  • Got my first meal for free.
  • Spent a bit of time with Timothy Zahn and compared typos in published works. (His was worse by far. One of his books had his first name spelled "Tymothy" on the hardcover spine.)
  • Timothy and his wife, Anna, came to my release party. It was super keen to sign my books to people like Timothy and Anna.
  • I felt like I really contributed on all my panels.
  • Got to spend some time chatting with Katie about EGM and some future plans. Good things are on the horizon.

You get to figure out what the karmic balance to all that goodness was.

I'm almost done editing NEVER LET ME LEAVE. I have edits for CHIMERA INCARNATE waiting for me and I just heard from my editor that edits for Melissa Allen #1, NEVER LET ME SLEEP will drop in February. This gives me enough time to finish my Mech short story and start one of the other two short stories on contract. While I do everything else, of course.

Busy-busy as usual but still happy.

RustyCon 2105 Schedule.

I will be at RustyCon this weekend. Come by and see me. No shyness around me

 

Fri Jan 16 5:00:pm

Fri Jan 16 6:00:pm

Promoting Yourself- because it isn’t just about the writing

Orcas B

Writing skill is subjective, but good self-promotion can bring success. Social media is one stepping stone, but so is networking, conventions, retreats, workshops, forums, and professional organizations. Which will give you the best return for your time, and what if you’re not naturally outgoing?

A. Maire Dinsmore Alaina Ewing Jennifer Brozek Timothy W. Long

 

Fri Jan 16 6:00:pm

Fri Jan 16 6:30:pm

Jennifer Brozak Reading

Mercer B

A reading by Jennifer Brozak

Jennifer Brozek

6-11 pm APOCALYPSE GIRL DREAMING Release Party and Evil Girlfriend Media Open House.

You do not need to be a member of the convention to come. A bunch of authors will be reading. There will be food and drink. But no alcohol.

 

Sat Jan 17 1:00:pm

Sat Jan 17 2:00:pm

Writing for Computer Games

Emerald E

How to create compelling characters, worlds, and stories for computer games, and how to write dialog that players will want to read before they head out on their quest to retrieve 10 Bear Bums.

Janine A. Southard Jennifer Brozek Will McDermott

 

Sat Jan 17 2:00:pm

Sat Jan 17 3:00:pm

Craft vs Business

Orcas B

With the introduction of Indie publishing, self publishing, and POD, writers tend to talk more about the business side of publishing rather than the craft of writing.  How should we fix that.

Bruce Taylor Janine A. Southard Jennifer Brozek John Lovett

 

Sun Jan 18 11:00:am

Sun Jan 18 12:00:pm

Independent Publishing

Orcas B

Independent publishing has taken off, especially with the recent rise of the hybrid-author, who is willing to sell work traditionally but not afraid to self-publish and promote. From ebooks to POD, which stories benefit from independent publishing and how do you get them ready? Bring your questions about editing, Kickstarter, cover art, sales price, and marketing.

Dustin Gross Elizabeth Guizzetti Jennifer Brozek Thomas Gondolfi

 

Sun Jan 18 12:00:pm

Sun Jan 18 1:00:pm

How and Where do I Get Published?

Orcas B

You want a publisher, and they need your content. Great! But how do you find the right market, track your submissions, offer reprints, get into best-ofs, and generally advance your career to the next rung? From beginners to experienced authors, everyone needs somewhere to go. Or does self-publishing change all that?

Chad Brink Jennifer Brozek John Lovett Rebecca Birch

 

Awards Season

We’ve turned that corner and awards season is upon us, especially the Hugo Awards. This is a big deal in the publishing industry and one of the pie in the sky goals for me. First, to be nominated. Second, to win. Though, I think at this point, I would be over the moon to be nominated. Especially since Worldcon/Sasquan is in Spokane, WA this year—which is practically in my backyard.

The Hugo nomination period is open from late January to March and is open to everyone who went to Worldcon last year, is going this year to Worldcon/Sasquan, or is a supporting member.

I’m eligible for nomination in two categories.

Best Editor (Short Form): Jennifer Brozek
I work hard as an editor and would be pleased to be nominated for this category. In 2014, I edited, or co-edited, the following published anthologies: Shattered Shields (Baen Books), Chicks Dig Gaming (Mad Norwegian Press), Bless Your Mechanical Heart (Evil Girlfriend Media), and Beast Within 4: Gears & Growls (Graveside Tales).

Best Related Work: Chicks Dig Gaming (Editors: Jennifer Brozek, Robert Smith? and Lars Pearson; Publisher: Mad Norwegian Press)
This collection of women game designers, artists, and gamers brings forth a series of personal essays that look at gaming, social constructs, literary criticism, and so much more. It is a positive book on women and gaming. I’m very proud of this book and would be so pleased to see it nominated.

There you go. My best offerings for the Hugo Awards. I really appreciate your consideration. I would love to have a “home town girl does good” experience.

Goals and Events for 2015

Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I’ve got some goals and plans for 2015. With the amount of travel I have planned, I don’t think I’ll get the same word count I did as 2014. Despite the amount of stuff listed, it’s all doable. I don’t make unrealistic work goals for myself.

To Write

  • Never Let Me Leave, Melissa Allen #2 (finish edits)
  • Never Let Me Die, Melissa Allen #3 (Title tentative)
  • Outline and begin SF YA trilogy
  • 6 short stories (3 are already contracted)


Scheduled to be Published

  • January: Apocalypse Girl Dreaming, fiction collection, Evil Girlfriend Media.
  • February: Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Island, RPG Sourcebook, Rogue Games.
  • March: Chimera Incarnate, Book Four of the Karen Wilson Chronicles, novel, Apocalypse Ink Productions.
  • June: Never Let Me Sleep, Melissa Allen #1, Young adult SF-thriller novel, Permuted Press.
  • December : Never Let Me Leave, Melissa Allen #2, Young adult SF-thriller novel, Permuted Press.
  • TBA: Doc Wagon 19, Shadowrun novella, Catalyst Game Labs.


Convention Events

  • Jan 16-18, RustyCon: panelist, release party.
  • Feb 25-Mar 1, Rainforest writers retreat: 2nd session.
  • Apr 1-5, Norwescon: panelist, dealer.
  • May 22-24, Crypticon: dealer.
  • Jun 3-7, Origins Game Fair: panelist, dealer.
  • Jun 25-29, LepreCon: GoH.
  • July 30-Aug 2, Gen Con: panelist.
  • Aug 19-23, WorldCon: panlist.
  • Nov 6-8, Gamehole: GoH.

 

Metrics for 2014

Everyone likes metrics for the end of the year. Here’s some of what I did in 2014. This is why I like keeping track of everything I do. It makes me realize that I am productive and that I did accomplish a lot. Sometimes, this is a hard thing for an author to understand.

Number of days worked on freelancer stuff: 361 / 365 (284 days, answered pub industry email.) I really need to change this. Take one full day a week off or something. No wonder I had moments of feeling burned out.

New fiction words written: 230,800 (doesn’t count emails, blogs, etc…) In the form of 12 short stories, 1 novella, 1 RPG sourcebook, 2 novels.

Edited: 3 anthologies, 2 novel, 3 novellas.

Conventions attended: 8

Sold in 2014: 5 short stories, 2 novellas, first 3 books of the Melissa Allen series. (3 short stories still waiting on an answer.)

Published in 2014:
6 short stories, 1 novelette

  • “The Bathory Clinic Deal” - The Future Embodied anthology - Simian Publishing, March 2014
  • “Ley of the Land” - Time-Traveled Tales 2 anthology - Silence in the Library, April 2014
  • “Kelpie Storm” - MONSTERS! Origins Game Fair anthology - Rio Grande Games, June 2014
  • “Janera” - Athena's Daugthers anthology - Silence in the Library, June 2014
  • “Dreams of a Thousand Young” novelette - Jazz Age Cthulhu anthology - Innsmouth Free Press, November 2014
  • “For the Love of a Troll on a Mid-Winter's Night” - Night Terrors III anthology - Blood Bound Books, December 2014
  • “Written in the Wind” - No True Way: All-New Tales of Valdemar anthology - DAW, December 2014


1 RPG supplement

  • Colonial Gothic: Lost Colony, Sourcebook - Rogue Games, February 2014


2 novels

  • The Nellus Academy Incident, YA Battletech novel - Catalyst Game Labs, January 2014
  • Keystones: Book Three of the Karen Wilson Chronicles, novel - Apocalypse Ink Productions, April 2014


4 anthologies

  • Bless Your Mechanical Heart anthology - Evil Girlfriend Media, Editor, April 2014
  • Beast Within 4: Gears & Growls anthology - Graveside Tales, Editor, October 2014
  • Chicks Dig Gaming non-fiction anthology - Mad Norwegian Press, Co-Editor (with Robert Smith? and Lars Pearson), November 2014
  • Shattered Shields anthology - Baen Books, Co-Editor (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt), November 2014