The tree is beautiful and they call her Eden. Her branches reach for the stars. But this tree does not sprout from the dirt. Eden fills the sky, high in orbit above the blue expanse of Uranus. Eden changes humanity’s very concept of extraterrestrial life.

From the second he sets foot on Lola, Malcolm’s own future is in jeopardy. He soon finds that love, friendship, and his own mortality tremble like a leaf at the sound of Eden’s call.

EDEN, Phil Rossi’s beautifully haunting podcast, is now a beautifully haunting novella from Dragon Moon Press. Available in trade paperback, ebook (forthcoming) and collector’s edition hardcover.

“Science can’t explain what is sometimes called ‘magic.’ Magic can’t explain the wonder of EDEN.”
– Scott Sigler, New York Times best-selling author of CONTAGIOUS

Please join Phil’s Amazon Rush on December 8th. Get your copy of EDEN and help propel the celebrated author of CRESCENT up the charts.

I got back from GenCon last night. Instead of relaxing and decompressing, I ended up launching right into a game of Power Grid, which made for a nice transition home.

I spent most of the con at my booth, selling When the Hero Comes Home. If you purchased it this weekend, thank you! If you’ve read it and liked it, please consider posting a review on your blog, on Amazon or on Goodreads. Or at the very least, send me a comment and let me know!

The people around me made Author’s Avenue and the Writers Symposium a pleasure. I got to spend quality time with writers, editors and game designers. I bought shiny things. I made new friends, saw old friends, and got to meet some long-time friends in person. I got a couple exciting new opportunities, and I was able to open a few doors for others, as well. I gave writing advice. I got writing advice. I got turned on to a few new games I want to check out, and books I want to read. I wore a corset, and posed for pictures with monsters, giant kitties, and Ed Greenwood. I remained vigilant in my abstinence from caffeine. Somehow.

While I was gone, Inkpunks posted a guest post I wrote: On Seeing It Through is advice and encouragement for writers trying to survive publishing’s long wait.

Also while I was gone, Dead Robots Society posted an interview with Ed Greenwood and me. We talk about all sorts of writery topics, including our new book, editing, heroes and their journeys, tips for putting anthologies together, and the importance of treating people well.

Check out the links, enjoy, read, listen, and so on. Normal service has more or less resumed!

Next stop: WorldCon…Will I see you there?

Author J.M. Frey has written a great review of The Empress Sword by Paulette Jaxton, for Lambda Literary. You can see the review here — it contains minor spoilers.

Last week, I finally got to meet my friend and long-time writing partner Xander Briggs in the flesh. Xander has a touching story in When the Hero Comes Home, and an oddly touching zombie erotica story in Rigor Amortis.

Another new release: Spectyr by Philippa Ballantine is out now! This is the much anticipated sequel to Geist.

Rumor has it, by the way, that When the Hero Comes Home will be making an early debut at Polaris in Toronto. See this post on Erik Buchanan’s blog for more info.

Julie Kagawa blogs about WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME. (I’m fangirl squee-ing because she’s fangirl squee-ing at being in this book. Is this going to create an infinite loop and destroy the universe?)

Jim C. Hines mentions it as well. Jim and Julie both have fantastic stories in this book. If you love Jig the Goblin, you’ll love Jim’s The Blue Corpse Corps.

Finally, the ForeWord Book of the Year Award ceremony is coming up this weekend, at the ALA Conference in New Orleans. Best of luck to all the nominees!

Lots of activity this week, all regarding books and projects I’m involved with.

* Publishers Weekly calls Erin Hoffman’s SWORD OF FIRE AND SEA (Chaos Knight Book 1) a “likeable high seas fantasy adventure debut.” I edited this book for Pyr, and had the pleasure of hanging out with Erin this past weekend at Norwescon. (Preorder SWORD OF FIRE AND SEA on Amazon.com)

* Innsmouth Free Press reviewed CTHULHUROTICA, and gave my story “Descent of the Wayward Sister” a nice mention for being “exact” in its reproduction of Lovecraft’s own style. You can read my story (flirty non-explicit lesbian erotica, with tentacles — probably not work- or family-safe) in its entirety for free in the preview of the book at CTHULHUROTICA’s Goodreads page.

* J.M. Frey’s TRIPTYCH got a write-up in its hometown newspaper, the Puslinch Pioneer. Additionally, J.M. is hosting a TRIPTYCH fan-art contest. Details here.

* Paulette Jaxton will be signing THE EMPRESS SWORD this weekend at Hard Bean Coffee & Booksellers (36 Market Space Annapolis, MD 410-263-8770). Signings are 11:00 am Saturday, Apr 30th and 11:00 am Sunday, May 1st.

* Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris will be reading/signing their new book, PHOENIX RISING, at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, 3:00 PM Saturday April 30. While I didn’t work on this book, Pip and Tee are good friends of mine. I’ve worked on previous books with each of them… Look for me there.

* Not technically a book, but still an upcoming event: Brenda Novak’s Annual Charity Auction for Diabetes Research begins May 1 and runs through May 31. I have two items up for auction this year: Eval and Line Edit of a SF/Fantasy Proposal (query letter and first three chapters) and Eval and Line Edit of First Chapter of a SF/Fantasy Manuscript. So, basically one for the first chapter and one for the first three chapters. If you are a writer, you may find tremendous value in browsing through the list of editors and agents with items on offer. If you aren’t a writer, there are many fantastic items here — books, crafts, outings, memorabilia — to appeal to you, too. And all for a cause very dear to my heart.

* Page proofs have gone out to the contributors of WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME, co-edited by me and Ed Greenwood. Rumor has it that Scott Purdy is illustrating the cover.

One ending note: If you enjoy any of these books — or really, any books — please consider giving them a mention or a nice review on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog.

DESTINY’S BLOOD by Marie Bilodeau (Dragon Moon Press, 2010) is now available from Barnes&Noble.com.

Marie will be officially launching the novel at CAN•CON (Ottawa, Aug 20-22), where she is guest of honor.

Layela Delamores wants nothing more than to settle into a quiet, peaceful life, running a small flower shop with her twin sister, Yoma. But Layela is tormented each night by terrifying visions that she cannot remember when she wakes. When Yoma vanishes, Layela is certain that her nightly visions hold the key – but only her sister’s thieving friend, one of the last survivors of the ether races, can unlock them. Layela suspects that her friend isn’t telling her the whole truth, instead sheltering her from her own visions.

Ripped from the safety of her flower shop into a universe of smugglers and assassins, Layela must pursue her sister across space in a desperate bid to overcome the destiny of destruction foretold in her dreams.

But without full knowledge of her visions, Layela has no way to prevent them from coming to pass. And the fate of a whole world is on the line: the mythical First Star is on a path to self-destruction and the annihilation of all life. Unless Layela finds a way to stop it.

But to stop it would mean sacrificing her sister. Or herself.

Marie Bilodeau loves to make things up, which is why she’s both a performing storyteller and an author. She’s performed in bars, pubs and tea shops across most of Canada, telling modernized fairy tales, myths, and stories of nuns scratching her butt. To breathe new life into her tales and increase their audience, she’s also morphed some of her stories into podcasts. Her published works include a fantasy trilogy, the Heirs of a Broken Land series, and the space fantasy novel, Destiny’s Blood. Her short fiction has also appeared in anthologies and magazines. For more information on Marie and to check out what’s next, go to www.mariebilodeau.com.

A lot has happened while I’ve been away. Notably, the release of P.G. Holyfield’s debut novel MURDER AT AVEDON HILL. Available from Dragon Moon Press in print and kindle editions.

Catch up with P.G. Holyfield at Balticon, Memorial Day Weekend in Baltimore, MD, and around the web.

I’m listening to Michell Plested’s podcast interview with Dave Sakmyster over on Get Published. Dave’s new book SILVER AND GOLD was a pleasure to work on, and it was recently released by Dragon Moon Press.

I’m flattered by the mention I receive in the interview — completely unsolicited, I promise! At around 29:15:

Dave Sakmyster: The only part I don’t like, being a writer – but it’s a necessary part – is the rewriting and editing part. And… now, some people like that, but I think of it as a big chore. I understand the value of it, because that’s where, really, the polishing and all the improvements happen. I’ve got to just set myself away and have time to really go through it and really polish it up. I love the creative part, but then it’s like the other side of the brain where I’ve really got to sit and correct all the semantics and make sure the words are right and it’s flowing properly.

Michell Plested: I completely understand. I know the book I just finished editing, I don’t know how many times I’ve been through it, but I’m not sure I really ever want to see it again — even after it’s in print.

DS: That’s why I was so grateful that Dragon Moon had a great editor this time — Gabrielle Harbowy — that helped me out. I’ve been through this book a million times, I thought I had it perfect, and she took a few passes at it and found all these things that I had missed. I was, like, so glad she had looked at it before it went to publication.

My goal is always to help a manuscript live up to its full potential, and when a writer I’ve worked with takes the time to credit me for being a positive influence on the final shape of the novel, I know I’ve achieved that. Being acknowledged by the writer always feels really good.

But, this interview isn’t about me!

Michell and Dave also talk about submissions and rejection letters, writing contests, and agents. Dave talks about the author’s responsibility to promote and market his own book, and shares some good ways to go about it. Take a listen!

In other news, the release date of Chris Jackson’s SCIMITAR MOON is being moved up so that it can make its print debut at Dragon*Con. It’s still so wet-around-the-edges that Amazon doesn’t even have the cover art yet:

In addition to working with the author and editing the manuscript, SCIMITAR MOON marked my first time working with the designer, (in this case, Alex White, DMP’s new Art Director!) and providing input on the direction of the cover. This is another book that I’m proud to have worked on. I hope you’ll enjoy reading both of these books as much as I have.

Silver and Gold by David Sakmyster is now live at Amazon.com!

Historical fiction with a sprinkle of fantasy and the sparkle of a tall tale, SILVER AND GOLD follows the epic story of Delin Wetherwax through conflict, wonder and loss, against the backdrop of the gold rush of the late 1800s.

It’s a slight departure from Dragon Moon Press’s normal fare, but SILVER AND GOLD captivated me from the start. It was a pleasure to work on it with Dave. I’m proud of him, and of the book, and I’m pleased to announce its release. Buy it, read it, review it, and most importantly…. enjoy it!

CRESCENT, the creepy and fantastic podiobook by Phil Rossi makes its print debut today, published by Dragon Moon Press. Meanwhile, Phil’s latest podiobook thriller brings the chills back down to Earth. HARVEY is a twisted tale about a down-on-his-luck musician and a small town that’s more than it seems.

In between preparing for today’s live uStream concert and the rest of the Amazon.com Chart Rush festivities, Phil took a few moments to talk about the writing, editing, and podcasting process behind CRESCENT.

GH: Where did the seed of the idea for Crescent come from?

Phil Rossi: It was an odd genesis. At the time, I had just discovered Joss Whedon’s Firefly—I was in bed, with a fever, and a marathon was on the Sci Fi Channel. I alternated watching Firefly and reading one of the later installments of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Needless to say, my state of mind was well-twisted. The first glimmer of the story that came to me was the station itself—this ugly, nearly organic looking talon, hanging in silhouette over the backdrop of a blazing star. Obviously, I had to know what this place was—so, in I went. Initially, it was going to be a podcast series—from the hip, with little forethought. After about three “episodes” I knew I had a book on my hands. I proceeded to write the first draft in about 60 days. There was little planning, the experience was spontaneous, hypnotic, and just a beautiful thing.

GH: What’s been the biggest challenge in regard to bringing Crescent to
the printed page?

PR: The biggest challenge was taking the existing manuscript and having the patience to polish and reword things as to meet where I’m at these days as a writer. I wrote Crescent two years ago, so clearly, there has been some growth in the writing department. It was a fine process, though, and I think, thanks to you Wonder Editor, I was able to achieve to the true vision of the story. The book really sings now. It’s a big, dark, and terrible machine. And I’m a better writer for the process, too.

GH: Crescent is an unapologetically gritty book, set in an unapologetically gritty world. Mature content can be such a sensitive issue that it’s hard to know where that line is sometimes, or to decide how far you want to push it. I think you’ve balanced it very well. Like in an R-rated movie, the more disturbing mature content is left more to the audience’s imagination, while the less disturbing mature content was more explicit. Were there times when you second-guessed yourself on it? Were you concerned at any point that it might hurt your chances of publication, or narrow your audience?

PR: To be perfectly honest, when I was writing Crescent, I wasn’t concerned with offending or alienating. I felt strongly about all elements of the story—none of it had been contrived or penned for effect—I rolled with where my mind wanted to go, regardless of a few scenes that actually made me feel a little less than comfortable. At that point, I didn’t have an audience, so I figured, the people that would be attracted to my work would be all in. When DMP took on the book for publishing is when some small amount of concern came in. To my knowledge, this is probably one of the more macabre tales they’ve published. I had some trepidation that, when the edits came back, there’d be a lot of red in some of the heavier scenes. I was pleasantly surprised to find the exact opposite.

GH: Did you have the character and place names from the start? How did you come up with them? Do you use placeholder names as you’re writing, or come up with the names up front… and does it mess with your perception of a character if their names change somewhere along the process?

PR: Some names I knew from the go get—for example, the protagonist, Gerald Evans—that name came to me right away. Marisa Griffin—her name was a bit more elusive and there was a stand in name for her. I don’t know that it changed my perception of the character when I settled on the right name. It was more a matter of having this strong, vivid personality and being content when I, at long last, found her name. As far as the places in the book, those were pretty concrete after my fingers bashed them out. From star systems, to planets, to pubs—there wasn’t any rehashing, at least not that I can remember.

GH: What’s your writing process like? What’s your ideal writing environment? (Computer? Notebook and pen? Outdoors? Music or silence?)

PR: Being a father, a husband, and having a full-time job, I take what I can get. It’s very guerrilla in nature. I hide in the trees and strike when I can. Typically, that’s in the middle of the night, when the rest of the house is asleep. But, sometimes—most times—that’s just not enough. Part of my commute involves taking a ferry across the Potomac River, and there’s about 15 to 30 minutes of time where I’m not driving—I try to use that time to write, as well. Lunch breaks, before work—if that time is available—I’ll sit down and get as many words out as I can. As for environment, I have a man cave I can retreat to. This is the primary spot where I write my stories and create music. As far as ambience, at times I write to music, other times, dead silence. It’s variable. Sometimes, the inspiration is so hot that I sit down and start pounding on the keys before I even have a chance to select some background music.

GH: Did you start with an outline for Crescent or a general plot structure, or did it come to you as you wrote? Has your writing process changed since?

PR: With Crescent, I flew blind. I had more time on my hands in those days, so I didn’t need to be all that efficient. Now, with my life as busy as it is, I need to capitalize on every flash of inspiration. I make rough outlines and take rudimentary notes before starting a project. I find it accelerates the writing and also preserves the ideas—at least long enough for me to crack, break, and turn them into something new. Also, creating notes and outlines is a way for me to justify working on another project while up to my eyeballs in the “current” project. I seldom go anywhere without a little notebook riding in my back pocket. It’s my security blanket.

GH: At what point along Crescent’s process did the podcasting angle arise? Did you know you were going to podcast it from the beginning?

PR: I knew from word one of Crescent, that I was going to podcast it. As I mentioned earlier, the original intention for Crescent was to create a podcast series—a couple of seasons, limited heavy lifting. I’m glad things went the way they did, though. Why a podcast? I had discovered the whole podcast phenomena earlier in the year and had become really enamored by it. I wanted to try my hand at doing a fiction podcast, and Crescent was it for me. Even though I knew from the go get that Crescent was going to be a podcast, I can’t say that affected the actual writing of the novel, but it was a goal. Having that goal lit a fire under my ass to complete the thing.

GH: What was the revision and editing process like? Does revising ever stop, or were you changing little things as you came across them while you were recording?

I’m going to start with the second part of the question first. Revising has to stop at some point, because we all know you can rewrite a given passage an endless number of ways an endless number of times. Knowing when to be realistic and say “done” is hugely important. For me, that’s not such a huge issue, as I always have the next project waiting in the wings for some good loving. That’s not to say I cut corners on the editing, I don’t, I just know when I’ve reached the point where I’ve done all I can. As far as the workflow with Crescent, I did the majority of my edits prior to recording the podcast. After a couple of rewrites, I handed the draft over to my first readers—a best friend and my wife– and started incorporating their comments before I started recording. However, the pace at which I wanted to record was moving faster than the rate these comments were coming in, so it wasn’t long before I was making edits and recording pretty much in parallel.

GH: What was your introduction to podcast fiction, and what inspired you to get into the medium?

PR: The first podcast novel I listened to was Jack Mangan’s Spherical Tomi—a great book. I was instantly impressed with the caliber of writing and equally floored that people were putting stuff out like this for free. After that, I dove into Sigler’s Earthcore—haven’t looked back since. I’ve long been a fan of the aural tradition of story telling and I think audiobooks are an extension of that—it was a very natural move for me.

GH: Were you surprised by the strength of the positive response that the Crescent podcast got? Was there one defining or memorable moment that stood out to you?

PR: I was blown away by the response, both by the exponential growth in listenership during Crescent’s initial release period and the incredible feedback that was filling my email box. During that time, I can’t say there was any one definable moment that stood out—it’s really been the journey as a whole that has really rocked my world. I’ve definitely received some interesting feedback that stands out—but there are things I don’t think I should repeat on this blog.

GH: One obvious difference between the audio and print formats is the lack of sound and vocal cues in print. Did you find that affecting the editorial process? Did much need to change to give the book the same punch on the page that it had in the podcast?

PR: I was pleasantly surprised that not all that much needed to be changed in the manuscript from an impact perspective. Several dramatic moments were capitalized on from a rewording perspective, but I don’t think it was a matter of making up for lack of audio cues. I created the soundtrack and scored the ambient effects as I was recording the podcast, so really, it can be said that the actual written word impacted the use of sound.

GH: I’ve said many times on this blog that the rapport between editor and writer is very important, and I think you and I really found our groove, working together on the print release for Crescent. As a writer, what’s your take on the importance of that rapport? Is it intimidating to turn your work over to an editor, as compared to asking someone you know to read through it for you?

PR: It’s hugely important to have a good relationship with an editor and I am definitely grateful for the relationship that you and I have developed during the course of working on Crescent. Trust is a big issue here—if you can’t trust the person who is tasked with making your work stronger, who is there to help see your vision fulfilled, you’re in big trouble. I wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of having a professional look at my work—rather, I was excited. Working with a professional editor has been one of the things I’ve fantasized most about taking my writing career to the next level—getting those professional eyes on my material.

GH:Now that you’ve survived it, do you have any advice for other writers, regarding the editing process, or the publishing process in general?

PR: As far as the editing process goes, my advice—be patient and enjoy it. Editing— even when you’re at the stage of solo editing—is a privilege. It’s the opportunity to take that initial draft and make it shine. Working with a professional editor is a chance, not only to make your work shine, but to howl, moan, sing, and ultimately, captivate your audience.

GH: Are you planning any promotional appearances or signings? Where can fans catch up with you?

PR: The best way to figure out where I’ll be at any given moment would be to hit me on CrescentStation.net and Facebook—I’ll be making a number of appearances, both scheduled and impromptu, and the wonder that is the Internet is the best way to keep track of that.

Phil Rossi is taking over the blog today with a timely guest post. Phil’s Amazon.com Chart Rush for the print release of his novel, CRESCENT, will be this Thursday, July 9th at 1pm Eastern. You can participate by buying the book on Amazon, attending Phil’s live uStream concert Thursday afternoon, and raising awareness by embedding the promotional video on your website or blog, wearing Crescent merchandise, or dressing up your online appearance with Crescent icons.

CRESCENT is showing as live and available on Amazon now, but wait for Thursday if you can!

Why?

Phil explains, below.

Why “Rush the Charts?”

by Phil Rossi

As more authors have been attacking the Amazon.com sales rankings, this question has been rearing its head more often—it’s a good question and I think every author that does a Chart Rush has their own compelling reasons to do so. I sat down with myself the other night for an impromptu Q and A session based around this topic and that’s what follows:

Me: State your name for the record:

Me: [silence]

Me: On July 9th, 2009 you’re going to be “Rushing the Amazon.com Charts” with your debut novel, Crescent—a horror/science fiction yarn about a vice-happy salvage pilot who stumbles into the scorpion’s nest. I’d like to figure out why you’re investing so much effort in promoting this chart rush (sleepless nights, multiple interviews, email blasts, fliers, tweets, #RossiCoverMe and so on).

Me: I’ve been asking myself that same question. Let me see if I can’t shed some light: Is it a matter of exposure? Sure—on any given Amazon sales chart a rank of 25 is a lot more visible than, say, 225,000. That might get me one or five more readers, depending on who is looking at that chart at that time–but every set of eyes count. There’s bragging rights, too. Who doesn’t like to have bragging rights stored up in a mason jar for a rainy day?

Also, and perhaps paramount, rushing these charts is a way to celebrate Crescent’s journey from a podcast novel to a print book, which is the realization of a dream for me. This is a major milestone and the fans have been there along the way. It’s an exciting way of keeping everyone involved in taking this to the “next level.”

Me: The next level? Do you think a sexy ranking could lead to interest in say, a reputable agent or perhaps “big” publishing house?

Me: Do I think dancing all over the Amazon’s sales ranking will make all the difference, allowing me to move from moonlighting as a writer to doing this as a nine to five gig? No—I don’t think it will make *all* the difference. Could it help? It’s not going to hurt. A robust CV is a valuable tool and adding a successful Chart Rush is going to only to add to the accomplishments that have marked this journey—and again, these accomplishments would not have been possible without the love and support of the fan base.

Me: I see—so you look at the Chart Rush as part of a bigger picture?

Me: Absolutely. The Chart Rush is one piece of the picture. The podcast version of Crescent (and everything else I’ve put out there, am putting out there currently, and will put out there) is another piece. The public outreach, the social networking, the supporting my fellow authors, artists, and musicians—still more pieces. What is the big picture? Getting my work read and enjoyed by as many people as possible—I told the Crescent story for people to hear it and to be entertained.

Me: You’re doing a uStream “event” for the Chart Rush where you’ll be doing a concert and a reading—how did you come to decide to do that?

Me: The reason is pretty simple, and I hate to sound redundant, but I want this event to be a celebration for everyone involved. I couldn’t be more happy, thrilled, and excited for this move into the print world, and I want to share that energy with anyone and everyone who is available to be on the internet at 1:00 pm Eastern. In doing the concert thing, I get my music fix and I also get to not only play tunes off the Crescent original soundtrack, but also the Harvey soundtrack, which is my current podcast novel release.

* * *

Visit Phil’s website at crescentstation.net, follow him on Twitter at @philrossi, and tune into his latest podiobook thriller, HARVEY. And stop by on Thursday, when Phil will be back here to tell us more about CRESCENT and the process of bringing it to the printed page!