C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

04/15/2011 • 5:41 AM 3

Support authors. Buy books.

FYI: I promised the big announcement today.

That post drops here

at 12:01 pm EST.

Now, to business:

Author Jeff Bennington from The Writing Bomb wrote a very helpful post for Chazz Writes comparing his publishing experience with Lightning Source vs CreateSpace.

Besides helping self-publishers out with some great information, Jeff’s written a great book. The early reviews are very exciting, so I’m not just asking that you help out an author. I’m asking that you enjoy a good book.

Jeff is trying to climb high in Amazon‘s rankings today so readers can find his novel. Get in on the ground floor and help kickstart Jeff’s career. He’s encouraging fans and future fans to buy Reunion today. The novel has received great reviews, so why not? It’s not expensive.

Check out the awesome reviews and blurbs here.

Why not buy two? I will.

For this strategy to work best, it would be great if you bought the book today, April 15, if you please. It’s tax day in the States, so console yourself and forget about that horror by reading Jeff’s cool horror story.

Please support the arts and chill with a good book. Thank you.

UPDATE: Just bought two copies of Reunion.

Can’t wait!

Createspace or Lightning Source: Pros & cons breakdown (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Author Profile: India Drummond’s Ordinary Angels (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, book reviews, Books, publishing, Writers, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, Arts, Author, E-book, horror, Horror fiction, Jeff Bennington, Lightning Source, Literature, Novel, Publish, Reunion, The Writing Bomb

10/13/2010 • 2:02 PM 2

Top 10 Reasons We Write Horror

Image via Wikipedia

1. Childhood.

2. Anticipating old age.

3. 9 to 5 isn’t as exciting as zombies breaking down the door.

4. The existential horror of it all goes down better with the sugar of a plot.

5. Halloween fetish.

6. We heard it was easier to break into horror.

7. Mom and Dad and that thing they did that we weren’t supposed to see.

8. Mom and Dad gave us Stephen King books instead of a babysitter.

9. Vengeance fantasy on siblings…and all those other stupid kids who laughed at us at the academy.

10. Horror is closest to the truth of our existence and best expresses our worldview (when we aren’t entertaining at children’s birthday parties.)

“If you go to this adaptation of Stephen King’s novel expecting to see a horror movie, you’ll be disappointed.” (makethelogobigger.blogspot.com)
Glee Halloween Episode Is The Rocky Horror Picture Show (pamil-visions.net)
[Movies] The Mist (2007) (geeky-guide.com)

Filed under: Horror, publishing, Top Ten, horror, Stephen King, Top 10 Reasons We Write Horror

10/07/2010 • 1:02 PM 2

10 Reasons We Write What We Write*

Image by gideonslife via Flickr

1. We write sci-fi because we fell in love after reading Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land.

2. We write children’s books to retain our innocence (and explore our loss.)

3. We write what we know.

4. Or we write what we care about.

5. We write horror so real-life horror is made a little less scary.

6. We write because words put pictures in our heads and, when done well, the brain doesn’t distinguish between false and true.

7. We write because we are otherwise unemployable.

8. We write non-fiction to serve.

9. We write fiction to serve up lies (that tell the truth.)

10. We write because we can’t help ourselves.

*There are many other reasons. What are yours?

How Robert A. Heinlein became one of science fiction’s giants [Book Review] (io9.com)
Writing Children’s Books: Age Levels Spelled Out (writinghood.com)
An Interview With Award-Winning Author Mayra Calvani (blogcritics.org)
Heinlein Biographer Tells All (tor.com)
Heinlein: Strangely Human (tor.com)

Filed under: Books, books, horror, Stranger in a Strange Land, why we write, why write?

06/13/2010 • 2:44 AM 0

Delicious Word for Horror Writers

EXOCULATE

(Brace yourself)

To tear out someone’s eyes

What does it say about the human race that there’s a word for that?

Filed under: Cool Word of the Day, horror, horror writers, Spanish Inquisition, word of the day

06/11/2010 • 6:50 PM 1

Where does the Darkness Come From?

Short Answer:

The darkness comes from everywhere.

Longer Answer:

Tales of horror arrive in the newspaper every day. This week a toddler was stuck in a high chair for six days while her dead mother lay on the floor in front of her. The child managed to survive because she could reach food from where she sat. The mother had suffered a chronic illness. When a child services worker rang the bell, no one answered but she could hear the child crying, she called police. They broke down the door to find a body beginning to decay and a terrified child.

When asked by an interviewer, “Where does the darkness come from?” these were my answers. Of course, we all have terrible childhoods and can draw on the thousand arrows flesh is heir to, but when done right, fiction can be the valve that lets off pressure. Fiction can make sense in a world that is plotless (though all stories that end with “happily ever after” are conveniently ended before the going gets nasty.)

I said to my wife (it’s funny but I’m dead serious, too): This is our happily ever after now. But make no mistake, this will all end horribly…unless a carbon monoxide leak kills us all in our sleep, of course.

Fiction is the lie that tells the truth. Humour can do that, too. There’s an element in the question that’s subtle and insulting, also. I wrote a short story that would convince you I’ve drowned at least one person in a bathtub. When people reacted to me with alarm, I smiled and pointed out, “It is fiction.” Perhaps they’re disturbed that I give these matters so much thought.

~Mr. Sunshine strikes again