#FabulousFridayGuestBlogger – Umm? #MarciaMeara ?

/ Marcia Meara / 16 Comments

FFGB Graphic

Sorry to say, folks, but my guest blogger for today did not send me her post, so I’m left either skipping it, like I did when this happened last week, or being my OWN “guest.” I chose Plan B. Here is an updated blog post I wrote last year for “A Woman’s Wisdom.” (I would link to it for you, but I can’t get in to that blog anymore.) So, I’m just going to run it anew here, and hope you’ll enjoy my ramblings. This is exactly how it happened for me, and something I believe in with all my heart. Enjoy!

It’s Never Too Late

We’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s never too late.” But how many of us really believe it? I suspect most of us are convinced that the dreams we once had are things of the past, and the path we ended up taking in life has led us too far in a different direction to make any of them come true now? A show of hands, please. Thought so.

Well, I’m here to tell you it just ain’t so. It’s never too late to change course, to follow that long-deferred dream, to live the life you really want to live. (Oh, and you can put your hands down, now, thanks.) But listen closely, because what I’m going to tell you is the Truth. With a capital T. You can take it to the bank. Continue reading →

#ThorsDaySmile

/ Marcia Meara / 6 Comments

Since #MondayMeme is mostly book and reading related, it stands to reason #ThorsDaySmile will be whatever the heck strikes me funny at the time. This week, it’s this picture. It just makes me laugh every time I look at it. Pass it along. There are bound to be parents out there who identify with situations of this sort. And Smile! It’s Thor’s Day!

beanbags

 

#MidWeekPOV – Rrrrring! Hollywood Calling!

/ Marcia Meara / 20 Comments

 

old-projector-clipart-1

Picture this. The phone rings. It’s a big name Hollywood movie producer. Yeah, I know it wouldn’t really be him/her in person, but humor me. Go with it. So, it’s a famous producer, and he wants to make a blockbuster movie out of your latest book. 

What do you do?

Do you do as most would? Say yes immediately, then spend three days in a delirious whirlwind of disbelief, running up your long distance phone bills to the approximate size of the national debt, screaming “Neener, neener, neener!” to every person you ever knew who pooh-poohed your writing skills?

Or do you actually take the time to think the offer through . . . and THEN sign away your rights and do all of the above?

When I started getting comments that my second Wake-Robin Ridge book, A Boy Named Rabbit, would make a beautiful movie, I asked myself that question. Not because I believed it was ever likely to happen, but just because I wondered how I’d react in that situation. Would I even try to salvage some shred of integrity and demand to retain creative approval rights over a few things? Casting, for instance. (The one thing that Hollywood is sure to get wrong 99.9% of the time.)

I’ve thought about it, and–don’t laugh, now–I just can’t see myself telling Hollywood they can take a story I’ve sweated blood over and stick (fill in the blank here with the name of whatever actor is currently a hot property) into the part of a character he doesn’t even vaguely resemble. I think that would make me even angrier than having them change the ending of my story.  Casting 5’6″ Tom Cruise as 6’5″ Jack Reacher comes to mind, and not only because the size difference is preposterous. Sorry, but Tom Cruise is not the intimdating force of nature that Lee Child’s Jack Reacher is. (Truthfully, I’m pretty sure *I* could take Tom Cruise.)

Seriously, how important would it be to you that Hollywood gets it right? That they understand your book and your characters, and cast the best actors for the roles, rather than the latest heartthrobs. Do you want to risk your precious story ending up like Interview With the Vampire? A movie that makes me double over in laughter every time I see Brad Pitt and (oops, here he is again) Tom Cruise in the starring roles. I guarantee you Anne Rice’s novel did NOT make me laugh. It’s a shame the movie does.

Of course, the book is almost always better. We all know that. But now and then, there are a few book-to-movie transitions that work well. Shouldn’t yours be one of them? I know it’s easy to say this, in the abstract, but I think if I still had a roof over my head and food on my table, I’d pass on turning over my creation to those who don’t cherish it the way I do.

What do you think you’d do? Take the money and run? Or stand firm, and demand some creative control, even if it meant the deal wouldn’t go through? Inquiring minds wanna know. 🙂

 

 

#SelfMarketing with Five New Year’s Resolutions for Authors

/ Marcia Meara / 3 Comments

Just sharing an article on resolutions that struck a note with me. Hope the five suggested are resolutions some of you can use to your advantage this year, especially if,  like me, self-marketing is not your strong suit. Enjoy!

Five Resolutions for Authors

Can I pick your brains?

/ Aimee Easterling / 12 Comments

website

I’m hoping I’ve caught you procrastinating and willing to provide a little critical feedback today. First and most important, I’m struggling to decide on the title of my current work in progress. I know that I’ve sung the praises of running market research on titles before, but google raised their prices and I can’t quite stomach throwing $100 at deciding on a book title. So I hope you’ll take thirty seconds to follow this link and vote on your favorite title if you’re a reader of urban fantasy.

And if you’re feeling particularly bored, perhaps you’ll also check out my brand new author website and give me your thoughts on it as well. There are a few things I still want to fix, but feel free to suggest changes anyway — I want to make it professional and enticing!

In case you’re curious (or thinking of making a new author website yourself), I opted to host through InMotion and used the paid theme Precious Lite Pro to make building the site easier. My primary goal was to make a quality email-list signup page since I’m thinking of trying facebook ads, but I also want to give true fans somewhere to go for extras and other perks. Which is all a long way of saying — feel free to be harsh in your criticisms! I want it to look nice. What do you think?

#InspirationBoardSunday

/ Marcia Meara / 12 Comments

03Jul2013_032-170-800-750-80-wm-right_bottom-20-DougLittle-255-255-255-20
Great Egret
Photo by Doug Little – St. Johns River EcoTours

Sunday seems a good day to share things that inspire me, particularly when I write, so I’m hereby declaring it #InspirationBoardSunday on #TheWriteStuff. In the weeks ahead, expect to see some beautiful photos of things I find especially inspiring. (And no, they won’t all be of Chris Hemsworth as either #GunnarWolfe OR #Thor. I promise. No, really . . . I mean it. They won’t . . . hardly ever. )

The truth is, beauty surrounds us, even in times when you think the world has gone mad. I figure it never hurts to remind ourselves of that. Here in central Florida, a land known for the element of make-believe, there are still vast areas of mysterious and incredibly lovely natural habitat, where birds and wildlife still hold sway. When all else fails, I look to them for inspiration, and they haven’t let me down, yet. Hope you’ll enjoy my #InspirationBoardSunday feature, and the places it might take your mind.

florida_panther
Florida Panther

My biggest childhood fear? Being bitten by a radioactive stink bug

/ Marcia Meara / 1 Comment

Thought some of you might enjoy Ned’s latest post. If you don’t follow his blog, you really should. Laughter is good for soul and body!

Ned's Blog's avatarNed's Blog

imageFor most of us, there comes a time in our lives when we must face the truth, and accept the fact we will never actually possess any type of super-human powers. This includes the ability to fly, shoot laser beams out of our eyes, or look good in a skin-tight costume.

As a child, I spent countless hours thumbing through comic books and dreaming of the day I would be bitten by a radioactive insect — and knowing full well that, with my luck, it would probably be something stupid like a moth:

“Curses! It’s Moth Man, here to foil my evil plans! HOW CAN I STOP HIM! Hey… maybe I’ll try this porch light…”

In fact, I was so sure that I would end up as a lame super hero that, with the help of my friends, we came up with a plan to MAKE me into “Spider-man” before…

View original post 426 more words

#ImmerseOrDie Bundle

/ Marcia Meara / 3 Comments

monty-python-t-shirt-something-different-500x500

We’ve had posts about the positive aspects of selling books through bundles with other authors writing in related genres, and we’ve probably all bought a bundle of books now and then, as well. Just thought I’d share this promo bundle put together by author Jefferson Smith. It is a short term deal, though, so if you are interested, you need to act soon.

Smith uses an unusual manner to choose the books he wants to include in his bundles, and I admit, I’ve never read any of the authors before, so I can’t vouch for a thing. Just sharing the deal. Check it out here:

Immerse or Die

You might want to read the paragraph at the top of the page, to see what I mean about Smith’s method of eliminating  contenders from spots in his bundle. Odd, but possibly effective, at least if you are the type of reader who prefers a well-edited and crafted book. (And trust someone else to make that call for you.) If you decide to buy the bundle, I’d love to know what you think of the books.

You may purchase the bundle from this page, and you can even choose to have a portion of your proceeds go to a charity of Smith’s choice. The “Pay  What You Want” option floors me. I confess, I’ve never seen anything done like this, and would be interested in what some of you think of the concept.