Writing for the Love

Fantasy Author Shayla Cole I'm pleased to introduce Shayla Cole, fantasy author of the Livinity trilogy. Visit her all-new website: www.shaylacole.com And I know what you're thinking... Shayla Cole looks a lot like Bria Burton . That's because Shayla Cole is me! I now have a nom de plume for Livinity . What's a Nom de Plume? It's a fancy way of saying "pen name." A pen name is a name an author uses in place of their real name. Why a Pen Name? I'm not using the name Shayla Cole for privacy reasons. I don't mind that people will know that Shayla Cole and Bria Burton are the same person. The main reason I'm using a pen name is to separate my epic fantasy novels ( Livinity trilogy and anything related to Livinity ) from my other writing projects. Explain this one more time... Shayla Cole is my new nom de plume for all things related to my epic fantasy trilogy,  Livinity . All other writing remains under my re...

Another short story published! And this one, anyone can read. " Ticket to Heaven " is now available online at Faith Hope and Fiction . I wrote this piece in 2005, a year or so out of college. It sat in my computer files getting digitally dusty, but I've always had a difficult time figuring out what I should do with it. The story is about a college-aged drug addict in-denial who encounters an old man handing out tickets to heaven. After she accepts the ticket, a miracle happens and leads her on a path to redemption. The story includes, among other things, drug use, a Bible-quoting drug dealer, and the Gospel message. Why has it been so difficult for me to find a place to submit the story? It's not because of the drug use or real-world scenarios, but because most of the magazines accepting spiritual/inspirational/Christian themes want non-fiction. I've had a really hard time finding places that accept Christian fiction. The word count was a litt...

AUTHOR ELLE ANDREWS PATT Our featured author today is Elle Andrews Patt , author of " Manteo ", a short story in The Prometheus Saga . " Manteo " is available for FREE on Kindle today, 4/13 - 4/17, so be sure to download your copy! Welcome, Elle. Tell us, what inspired you to launch / join the Alvarium Experiment? M.J. Carlson introduced me to Ken Pelham and their joint enthusiasm for the project as they explained it made me really interested in the details of the premise. The very thoughtful and thorough details of both the Prometheus character specifications and business plan that Ken and Charles Cornell had drawn up inspired me to jump up and down yelling, “I’m in, if you’ll have me! Pick me!” What are some of the benefits and challenges of writing “into” an existing framework for Prometheus as a character? How did that shape your creative process for your story? Is it different from your usual writing process? I love a structure challenge...

AUTHOR M.J. CARLSON Our featured author today is M.J. Carlson , author of " Ever After ", a short story in The Prometheus Saga . " Ever After " is available for FREE on Kindle today, 3/9 - 3/13, so be sure to download your copy! Welcome, M.J. Tell us, what inspired you to launch / join the Alvarium Experiment? When my friend, Ken Pelham contacted me prior to the 2014 FWA Conference and asked if I was interested in joining a dozen other writers in “something never done before,” I was intrigued. Since we hear so much about publishing being in a flux right now, I decided to meet with Ken and Charles A. Cornell, the co-conspirators, as it were, behind the Alvarium Experiment. In preparation for that initial meeting, Ken sent me two papers describing the concept. One was the guidelines for the character and story premise behind the saga, the other was the publishing paradigm outline – the Experiment itself. The more I read both, the more interested I be...

Today, I'm the one being interviewed. It's very fitting for President's Day as my short story takes place during the American Revolution. AUTHOR BRIA BURTON  Our featured author today is Bria Burton , author of " On Both Sides ", a short story in The Prometheus Saga . " On Both Sides " is available for FREE on Kindle today, 2/16 - 2/20, so be sure to download your copy! Welcome, Bria. Tell us, what inspired you to launch / join the Alvarium Experiment? At the FWA Conference in 2014, Charles and Ken approached me about the idea, and I absolutely loved it. The author collaboration, the story premise, and the new way of reaching readership really drew me in. Not to mention I love science fiction. What are some of the benefits and challenges of writing “into” an existing framework for Prometheus as a character? How did that shape your creative process for your story? Is it different from your usual writing process? For me, this story began wit...

For the next thirteen weeks, I'm hosting author interviews from The Prometheus Saga on my blog. Look for them each Monday. AUTHOR KEN PELHAM Our featured author today is Ken Pelham , author of " First World War ", a short story in The Prometheus Saga . " First World War " is available for FREE on Kindle today, 2/9 - 2/13, so be sure to download your copy! Welcome, Ken. Tell us, what inspired you to launch / join the Alvarium Experiment? For years, writers have been hearing, “Avoid the short story! There’s no money and no future in it! Write only novels, dammit!” But there’s been a sea change, caused by online publishing. Short is GOOD again. I’ve always loved short stories and have always wanted to be included in an anthology, so over the last year or two I’d been thinking about submitting work to an anthology somewhere. I’d been following some of the cool things authors like Hugh Howey were espousing, taking advantage of the amazing flexibility of th...

I joined a blog hop! Which doesn't actually have anything to do with an award, as far as I know. It's more like a game of virtual tag with no tag backs. I was tagged by Faydra Stratton , whom I met at the FWA Conference this past October. Other bloggers tagged include Beth Salmon , Serena Schreiber and Carrie Morgan . 10 Questions from Faydra: "It's the day before Thanksgiving. Let's start off with some holiday-themed questions..."    1. What traditional Thanksgiving dish do you wish would never show up on your table again? I'm not sure that I would exclude ANY of the dishes that I consider traditional. However, there is a dish that pops up as a favorite of a select few family members that just doesn't work for me: shrimp salad. I love seafood, I just don't generally want any with my turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. 2. How do you keep writing during the holiday season? Because my "job" this past year and a half has bee...

Another October, another FWA Conference over! This is the fifth year in a row I've attended and I always walk away...well, exhausted was the first word that came to mind. But also filled with new ideas, inspired by all the amazing people I've met or reconnected with, and better informed about this business called writing. A few highlights: The food. Always absolutely fabulous. Ben Hale led a couple of phenomenal sessions, one about world-building and one about making a two-year plan. Both helpful for me in terms of Livinity , my epic fantasy novel. Bobbie Christmas spoke about the second draft and beyond. She's a well-respected Book Doctor with wonderful editing tips. That session was quite timely for me and extremely helpful. A session called Understanding Disabilities and Mental Disorders For Character Creation was very interesting and helpful for me in my editing process for Little Angel Helper , a novella with a mentally disabled character with mental di...

One of my first short stories, "The Mute Girl," was published in eFantasy March 2013 issue. This is my first e-mag short story publication. About four years ago, I wrote the story and decided that I wanted to have it published. I'd been working on my novel, Livinity , epic fantasy, for quite a while. Publishing a fantasy short story seemed like a good idea to get my name out there. I had no idea it would take this long, and even now I praise God that it wasn't published any sooner. Since that time, I've learned a lot in the submission process. Perseverance. Thankfulness to Jesus even in the disappointment of repeated rejection. I lost count of how many the piece received. I learned not to take rejection to heart. If I received feedback, I tried it out. Maybe not following exact recommendations, but I played around with whatever issues the person had with the story. The last piece of valuable advice I received was an editor disappointed in the ending. T...

My writing weekend was a great success. Saturday, I dedicated to Livinity edits. Sunday, to completing the first draft of Lance & Ringo Tails: O Brother, What Art Thou?  I also outlined the next story and began writing that first draft. Then I returned to Livinity edits, which continued into Monday. I probably got through about eight chapters instead of ten, but that's okay. I still feel great about how far the story has come. The hard part was stopping at 11:30pm on Monday night to get enough sleep for work in the morning. I did allow myself one break to watch Downton Abbey with my best friend, but other than that, all writing. Not only did I meet the majority of my goals, I received an email acceptance on a short story reprint. Thank you, Lord! It uplifted and encouraged me so much. FICTION on the WEB accepted "This Is Hollywood" for online publication. The short story reprint will appear on their website Jan 27, 2013, and it's free to read. ht...

For the upcoming long weekend, I realized that I made NO plans. Hubby works, and I get Monday off for MLK day. Therefore, I am creating a dedicated Writing Weekend. This means no cleaning, no cooking, no laundry, no phone calls, no hanging out, no couch potatoing, and only a little running (if at all). I will make sure the animals get fed. I’m sure hubby will call to make sure I’m eating. I’m very excited about the opportunity. I don’t get many three-day weekends, and we usually use them to visit family or hang out with friends or do house projects. Like most writers with a day job, life is soooo busy. ALL-THE-TIME. Weekends often become dedicated to cleaning, cooking, laundry, and long runs. It’s just dirt, I’m sure I’ll tell myself when Lance comes in from the back yard (which no longer has grass). And it will be there for me to clean up on Tuesday. To set all those things aside, I felt the need to generate some accountability by announcing the plan. Saying it aloud ...