Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

On Monday I launched the first three books of my Blood of my World series.

If you want to give it a technical genre label, it’s a paranormal romance. Personally, for me, it’s a vampire love story, and there is a difference between the two because, like I’ve said elsewhere on the Web, romance is more about the fantasy of love, and a love story is typically more true to life and bittersweet as it showcases both the joys and pains of love.

Why did I write these books?

Two reasons:

1) I’ve never written a vampire book before, so it was something I wanted to do and I’ve always like the monster
2) It’s an experiment on how much an impact genre makes on book sales.

As anyone reading this knows, I have my fair share of gripes about the so-called “indie revolution” and “Kindle lottery” and all that stuff. Yet, when I look at those having crazy good success and/or getting lucky, I’ve noticed they all write in very popular genres: thrillers, mysteries, traditional romance, erotica, romantica. After loads of perusing the Kindle charts, genres outside that don’t have nearly the same amount of success unless you’re a name-brand author to begin with.

Since I’ve been self-publishing so long and have made every mistake you could along the way, it really bothers me that newbie writers are buying into the hype created by those who’ve fluked into success and/or are doing very well thanks to writing in a popular genre.

To be clear: this isn’t sour grapes. Truthfully, my fear is newbies will stake their all on self-publishing without really understanding what they’re getting into and then will find out the hard–and disappointing–way that publishing on the whole is a giant crapshoot. (It really is; ask any publisher; if we knew what would sell huge, we’d publish that all the time. There are only trends that help us out, that’s it.)

Anyway, because I’m also hard-headed sometimes, I went out of my way and wrote three touching love stories featuring a romance between a vampire and a human. Even more specific, between a vampire and a human who are 16 years old. I really want to see how much my books will move because I deliberately wrote something in a popular genre. I know from the past that my sales really picked up when I added the ever-popular zombie to my catalog. I know that my love story, April, written as Peter Fox, moves very well because love stories are pretty popular. So let’s see what happens when one goes out of their way to write a popular-genred book.

Keep in mind, I’m well aware this whole thing could blow up in my face. But if I’m right, then I think I would have made a pretty significant point about this “revolution” (which it isn’t, but that’s a topic for another time.)

I’ll keep you posted on how the books are doing, and my hope is you’ll glean some useful info as we go along on this journey together. And thank you in advance if you support one or more of the titles on either side of this screen.

ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook Mass Market Edition Now Available!

Coscom Entertainment and Source Books are pleased to present Alice in Zombieland by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook, now available at your favorite online retailer (see below) and bookstores nationwide.

Alice in Zombieland, complete with interior illustrations, is available at the following online retailers:

Paperback:

Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
SourceBooks.com
Barnesandnoble.com
Other On-line Retailers

eBook:

Amazon Kindle

Synopsis:

When little Alice follows the Black Rat down into the open grave, she falls and falls, and soon finds herself in an undead nightmare. Following the Rat, she ventures further into this land of monsters, encountering characters both creepy and madcap along the way. But there’s something else troubling poor Alice: her skin is rotting and her hair is falling out. Can Alice escape Zombieland before the Dead Red Queen catches up to her?

Have a seat at the table for the wildest tea party of your life and explore the unforgettable adventure that is Alice in Zombieland.

The last Coscom Entertainment release: The Black Cat and the Ghoul by Edgar Allan Poe and Keith Gouveia

For our full list of books, please see: www.coscomentertainment.com

September 28, 2010
Blog: Bewitched Bookworms
Web: http://www.bewitchedbookworms.com/2010/09/scotts-90-days-of-nightmare-blog-tour.html
Comment:

That’s the thing, too. The people who make it are exceptions. It’s easy to buy into the hype put up–intentionally or not–by those who are having great success publishing independently. The truth is, if it really was that easy, every writer would be doing it. I’ve long warned against the “upload and go” mentality. Some might be listening, others might not be. I’ve been around the block and have been self-publishing for six years. I know what works, what doesn’t, and when some people hit the jackpot by pure fluke (good for them, but how long it lasts is another question).

You were right to research, investigate and dig.

This whole business–I even have an essay on it–is about doing what works for you. There is no magic formula.

It’s interesting that you called publishing a giant crap shoot. I called it the same in a recent interview because that’s what it really is. We kind of know what works, but it’s up to the reader to tell us what they like in the end.

Hollywood, unfortunately, has brainwashed most folks into their being a magic formula and that the writing and publishing life is all glitz and glamour. As if.

It’s about writing what you love, publishing it in a way that works for you and aligns with your goals, and then just hoping for the best.

That’s life, but it’s not a bad one by any means.

September 29, 2010
Web: The Bookish Type
Blog: http://thebookishtype.blogspot.com/2010/09/guest-post-author-scott-nicholson.html
Comment:

Child perception and adult perception are two vastly different worlds.

I remember living and breathing the Christopher Reeve Superman movies growing up. then there was a time when I did watch them for years. I watched it again as an adolescent and sat there amazed, my first thought being: Wait . . . there’s an adult story to this?

It thrills me that literature can accomplish the same thing as movies and play to both child and adult audiences and convey the same scenes and situations on two different levels. That’s essentially two stories/experiences for the price of one.

It’s one of the reasons why I love this business so much.

September 30, 2010
Blog: Spellbound by Books
Web: http://www.spellboundbybooks.com/2010/09/guest-post-scott-nicholson-who-scott.html

Comment:

Well put, Scott.

And, truth be told, most writers lead just plain ol’ ordinary lives when we’re not crafting stories. I know mine is about as exciting as watching the kettle boil. (Which, by the way, I just came from doing: boiling the kettle for coffee, not watching it.)

I went out last night with some friends for the first time in months. Seeing people aside from those I meet online is a luxury nowadays as most of my life is spent in my books, comics, and just managing a family and running a household.

Writers–on the whole–aren’t famous. We don’t get recognized on the street (that’s only happened to me once), and are pretty much faceless folks who’s “image” is our work.

But, true, social media has opened up the “who we really are” side of things and then it becomes a balancing act of showing our plain boring selves while also trying to be interesting enough for folks to check out our books and, hopefully, think we’re cooler than we really are.

Regarding being “cool”–I’m the exact opposite of cool. I’m hairy, I’m fat, I love comics and an ideal night out for me is going out with friends to talk about comics or hitting the theatre for the latest frightfest.

What a life. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

October 1, 2010
Blog: Wag the Fox
Web: http://waggingthefox.blogspot.com/2010/10/mating-habits-of-monsters-guest-post-by.html
Comment:

I understand the allure of the vampire, but I can’t see how it would ever work in real life.

The main question, of course, is if there’s fiction out there that plays to that angle or is it all about the fantasy and not about the reality? To display vampire relationships with their cons wouldn’t make for boring fiction either. If anything, there’d be more tension, if presented properly.

The eerie part, of course, is that vampires are dead despite their mobility. That’s why they’re called the undead. So one would have to be predisposed to necrophilia beforehand.

In fact, I have a work-in-progress about the above: vampire romance in the real world, without all the childish drama. Real people. Real undead. Real love.

Coming soon.

October 2, 2010
Blog: Inside of a Dog
Web: http://inside-dog.blogspot.com/2010/10/scott-nicholson-is-my-guest.html
Comment:

Awesome video, Scott. Glad I already got my copy of The Red Church.

From Dry Ice Dreams:

1.) Doesn’t self-publishing—at least in terms of self-publishing books—mean you suck as a writer and couldn’t get published anywhere?

Depends who you talk to, but that’s the general consensus. HOWEVER, you need to remember folks self-publish for different reasons, only one of which being that they couldn’t get published elsewhere. I’ll even admit that my first exposure to the world of self-publishing was initiated by a string of rejection letters but, I’ll also add, I was extremely naive about the industry, and that’s what you need to watch out for: predator vanity presses that take advantage of the naive writer who doesn’t know any better but to pay to have their work published. Basically, if someone comes after you with a “service” or some kind of “publishing package”—run for the hills!

2.) I’m confused. I thought self-publishing meant having to pay to put your work out there. Are you saying that self-publishing is free or to not self-publish or . . . ?

Pay attention because this next bit is very important and will make or break you if you decide to self-publish your work.

Here it is:

What passes on the Internet these days for “self-publishing” is actually complete and utter falsehood. Companies from whom you buy publishing packages from or even don’t buy anything except a few “services” all fall under the same umbrella and it’s called vanity publishing or subsidy publishing. I’m not going to split hairs about the two because, yes, vanity and subsidy publishing are different things but at their core they accomplish the same goal: charge the writer a ridiculous “service fee” to publish their book.

Ahem. Yeah. Right.

Stay clear of those 100% of time. Even 110% of the time.

Self-publishing is utterly different. Look closely at the word: self-publishing. Need me to repeat it? Okay. I will, because many writers just don’t get this—self-publishing.

Under normal traditional publishing circumstances, a writer completes a book, submits it to a publisher, gets accepted, may or may not get an advance, and the publisher publishes the book. A no brainer, I know, but it helps put things into perspective, doesn’t it? Self-publishing means what is said: you yourself publish your book. You are the publisher. You are the one who turns it from manuscript to finished product. You. Not a service. Not another company. You.

A real self-publisher has his/her own publishing company, one that is registered with the powers that be that need to know about it in his/her own country. It’s a business they own, one they report income on, pay taxes on, write stuff off on, etc.

A real self-publisher is not just a writer, but a publishing house. They don’t go outside to other companies for that.

For printing the books and getting the covers done, these can be outsourced, but at the end of the day, you’re not dealing with another publishing company or service, but only you in terms of the one wearing the publisher title.

Capisce?

3.) Is self-publishing even a viable option for a writer or should they just stick to the traditional method of submitting to a publisher and hoping for the best?

Like I’ve said many times before: I would never tell someone to self-publish something. I do it because I love publishing and is something I’m fortunate to make a living off of. Self-publishing is a lot of work, right from the writing phase; to the editing; to cover design; to finding a printer; to marketing; and so on. If you’re one of those writers who just want to write—and even with a traditional publishing contract that kind of attitude will get you nowhere these days—then most definitely self-publishing is something you shouldn’t even go near. But if you have a niche product of some kind and not just a generic horror or mystery or sci-fi or pick-your-genre novel, then it might be something worth considering once you do market research on whatever is you might want to publish yourself.

4.) Market research?

Many self-publishing experts typically write non-fiction. Non-fiction—because it’s niche-oriented by nature (i.e. here’s a problem and here’s your solution)—is a much easier sell than fiction. The reality is, writers and artists are a dime a dozen. You and me are nobody special because of our craft and it drives me up the wall when I see stuffy writers and artists hawking their wares or sneering down on “lesser mortals” for one reason or another. Anyway . . . one of the main things these non-fiction-writing experts tell you is to find your market before you write your book and see if indeed your book is worth writing. In other words, will it sell once it’s released?

Fiction’s a different beast altogether and this is one of the reasons why I think a lot of these experts—or anyone, for that matter—ever tackle it. Fiction really is a gambler’s game. You never really know what might hit or miss with the readers.

I’ve never been one to sell out and write a story solely because I think it’s going to sell. Yes, I’ve looked at selling markets to see what’s moving (market research) and was sometimes inspired to write something, but I could never just stop and go, “Okay, vampires are hot right now thanks to The Vampire Diaries, so I’m going to write a vampire story and try and sell it.” And force myself to write one.

This is why I don’t encourage people to self-publish because most genre writers are just that—genre writers. More specifically, generic genre writers. This isn’t meant as a slight against them by any means. What I’m saying is they either write sci-fi titles or fantasy titles or horror titles or something. Under those particular categories, there’re thousands of books out there. You self-publish yours as a generic horror tale and you’ll be lost to the din in no time. What you need to do is make your book a niche, even if it was originally written under one of those broader banners. Your book needs to be—to a point—in a category by itself, not so off-the-wall that no one knows what it is anymore, but you need to separate it somehow from the other books in the genre and make it stand out.

5.) There seems to be a lot more to this than most writers think. Why do you think most self-published books end up as a failure?

Like the question says, “There’s a lot more to this than most writers think.” Most writers have their book, decide for one reason or another to self-publish, pick a service and run with it without even thinking practically about the business side to all this.

Here’s some breaking news if you want to make it as a for-real self-publisher: writing your books is 10% of it; the business side is the other 90%. This is the side that transforms the manuscript to a finished, quality book, markets the title, arranges signings with bookstores, handles inventory, the monies collected and taxes paid, etc.

Most writers want to write and that’s it. You need an entrepreneurial spirit to truly self-publish properly. You need to be willing to get out there, get it done, and get it done right if you want to self-publish for a living. When you achieve that, it’s a dream come true. If you don’t—like, unfortunately, most self-published titles—it’s heart wrenching, disappointing, discouraging and a million and one other emotions that could drag you to a dark place if you’re not careful.

Continued in Another 5 Questions and Answers on Self-publishing . . .

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4.5 out of 5

Long ago a war was fought between mythical creatures and humanity and, during that war, King Balor, leader of an elfin race, had an unstoppable Golden Army created for him, one that laid waste to humanity. The army marched and destroyed everything in its path. Amidst the piles of bodies and oceans of blood, the king felt great regret so a truce was made between mythical creatures and humankind. The agreement: the mythical creatures stuck to living in the forests whereas humanity could have the land. As well, the special crown that King Balor (or anyone of royal blood) used to control the Golden Army was split into three parts, which two were kept for himself, the third to humans. Also, the Golden Army was hidden somewhere on Earth in dormancy, locked away.

King Balor’s son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), didn’t like the agreement so exiled himself and waited for the right time to strike and take control of the Army and remove the humans from the planet.

Enter present day, where business flows as usual for Hellboy (Ron Pearlman) and the rest of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). That is, until, Nauda resurfaces and begins slaughtering humans as he tries to piece the crown together so he can control the Golden Army again and find out the secret location as to where the Army is hidden.

To add to the B.P.R.D.’s distress, Hellboy and Liz (Selma Blair) are having issues. She wants him more domesticated; he wants to remain free-spirited. Also, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) is taken with Nuada’s twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) and, unfortunately, she is linked to Nuada so everything that happens to him happens to her as well. Nuala wants to stop her brother for what he has planned.

The B.P.R.D. seems to have met its match, especially when things turn south and the Golden Army rises once more.

I was super late seeing this movie. In fact, I just saw it prior to this review. It wasn’t for a lack of trying either, but life happens and other movies come out and, well, the next thing you know it’s almost two years later and you’re finally playing catch up. Let me just say it was worth the wait. I was a fan of the first Hellboy and though this one carries with it the same undertone as the first, the overall feeling of it is different: the first one was more monster oriented and this one was more fantasy oriented. I felt at times like I was watching a cross between Lord of the Rings and Van Helsing.

Ron Perlman as Hellboy was pure awesome. I love the down-to-earth nature of the character plus the fact that despite him being a kind of rock ‘n’ roll tough guy, he’s really just a big kid underneath all that red.

Selma Blair was feisty and dark as always, and she and Perlman had excellent chemistry in their Liz/Hellboy relationship.

It was cool, too, to see Abe Sapien get more of the emotional spotlight this flick with him falling in love with Princess Nuala. At first I thought the dude was all about books and that was it. Looks like there’s a tender heart underneath those gills after all.

The layered storytelling was great, and there was a sense of history to the Army, the elfin race, and things on Hellboy’s side of the fence. It wasn’t just some standard good-guys-versus-bad-guys stuff. Cool beans.

The action was superb, hardcore and fun. The epic scale for some of the battles rocked, especially when Hellboy goes up against the big green guy that grows trees. Cool fight and Hellboy’s big hero moment/pose on top of the hotel sign hanging onto that baby was comical yet cool as well.

Was this as good as the first? Hard to say. Tied for sure, though the first one is still my favorite.

This sucker’s worth 4 and a half cigars in my book, though.

Recommended.

Because I’m the king of a million-and-one projects, last night I decided to create my own fanzine focusing on superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy and geek culture in general. So, being the good little nerd that I am, I opened up another WordPress account and created the beginnings of a full-fledged geek webzine (with a forthcoming print version) called Canister X, the title a homage to the ooze canister of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the X both for X-men and just simply something that’s unknown and you’ll never know what you’ll find till you look.

The project is still in its beginning stages, but a good chunk of work was done on it last night and I plan on adding more to it later today.

This will be an ongoing thing, so check the site often.

Canister X – Fanzine