Thursday, April 14, 2011

Guest Post: Introducing Code Walker, by GL Drummond

Joining us today on Insecure Engima is G.L. Drummond, a prolific independent author, who has recently released a new book entitled Code Walker. I asked her to give us some insight into the book and then asked her a few specific questions, so have a look at what this talented lady had to say:

Code Walker overview:

In the fickle worlds created when cyberspace and reality overlap, it’s all too easy to blur and shift lines…moral lines, lawful lines, lines of code and destiny, until the surreal becomes real. Walking those lines back to the source, and rebooting the system, isn’t exactly a job for a girl who plays nice - but it does pay extremely well.

As Riley Cabot never qualified as a ‘nice girl’, life as the Code Walker is sweet.

Only thing about codes is that they break.

Excerpt from chapter Bold Moves:

Around ten AM that day, after a few hours of heavy sleep, Riley checked her mail and grinned maniacally while reading:

Subject: Re: Loose Ends

Message Body: We have an even bigger problem now, princess

"Oh, 'we' do, huh? Not from where I'm sitting, Green Eyes." A moment's thought changed her grin to a smug one, and she typed a reply.

Subject: Problem?

Message Body: From my seat in the peanut gallery, looks like it's all your baby, Green Eyes.

Less than twenty minutes later, she received a reply that made her laugh out loud, bringing TJ out and into his surf boy Avatar. "What's so funny?"

"Seth Monroe, Teej. He seems to think we have a problem." Riley grinned, brown eyes gleaming with amusement. He read the emails over her shoulder after quirking an eyebrow for permission. The AI smiled as he read:

Subject: Re: Problem?

Message Body: You owe me for Chinese, princess. I have a bad habit of collecting on debts.

"What are you going to do? That's like a challenge to your honor...a bold move, Mr. Monroe." TJ looked at her wicked grin, his changing to match it. "You've tracked him down."

"He's at the Shanghai AP right now, waiting for his flight. That tells me that Green Eyes is anal about punctuality, because his flight doesn't leave for another two hours. He'll arrive in Baltimore tomorrow. Has two layovers." Her grin faded as she blinked, then came back strong. "I owe him for Chinese? Dude, let's see about that."


Author Interview:

Tell the readers a little about yourself; Name, location, life behind the computer and all those other details!


My name’s Gayla Drummond, writing as G. L. Drummond. I live in the big ol’ state of Texas, in a small town where everyone thinks I’m nuts because I’m a writer. Heh.
When not writing, you can usually find me slaving away to fulfill the needs of several furry people, as I have a horse and five dogs. Oh, a House Hunney and a couple of kiddos too. =)
And…[leans forward to whisper] I play World of Warcraft.


World of Warcraft? Really? Hey...that's okay. I play Super Mario Brothers. Obsessively. Like twice a day. Ahem, moving right along...how old were you when you began writing?


My first attempt at a book was when I was 11 years old. I wrote, illustrated, and bound a book about different horse breeds. Then I gave it to my youngest brother, who promptly ate it.
Fame, it’s so fleeting. =)

Well, his eating your book could manifest into a good thing, if you look at it the right way. He ingested all the knowledge you presented, and hopefully something good came from it! :) So tell us...what motivated you to release Code Walker independently, as opposed to trying your hand at traditional publishing?

I’ve released all my works independently, and to be honest, haven’t considered going the traditional route since I was 11 years old, and thought that I wanted to grow up to be a writer. Since I didn’t become serious about writing fiction until I was almost 37 years old, doing that whole ‘write and wait’ game didn’t appear extremely attractive to me.


What benefits do you find in independent publishing that are not available to traditionally published writers?


The biggest benefit is control of your finished product. You write it, you decide who to hire to edit it, who will design your book cover and exactly how it will look, where you want to distribute it and how much you want to set the price at.
Traditional publishing doesn’t give you any of those options, plus I’ve read that they often force title changes, covers that don’t suit the story, and well, pretty much everyone knows they don’t bother marketing and that few books earn out their advances.

Though you've made quite a name for yourself as an indie author, there might still be a few out there that have never heard of or read anything by you before. What might they expect if they picked up one of your books?

I’d say a fun, entertaining read for most of my stories. A few are darker, but they’re meant to be, so that’s good for those who like dark. One of the things I’ve received the most compliments on by readers is the dialogue. I do it snappy. =)


When pitching movies or TV shows to producers, writers often describe them in "high concept" terms ("It's Die Hard, but on a Tram!" "Think Pretty Woman meets Blair Witch Club!"). So what's your high concept pitch of Code Walker - in less than ten words?

You had to go and ask me something I’ve never even thought about! Yikes. Uh, “Think The Matrix, just more fun!”
Crap, I failed. That’s only six words. And it’s not that great of a pitch anyway, LOL.


What is the nicest review you've gotten, for this or any other story?


All of my reviews have been nice (yes, I mean those that take a ‘this worked, that didn’t work’ approach too) – so far. I’m certain somewhere along the way, some negative ones will happen, but I’m not going to obsess over them. Not everyone has the exact same tastes in anything. One that surprised me was the reviewer’s compliment that I write like Heinlein. That totally made my day. =)

That is a high compliment indeed! So what do you hope readers will say about Code Walker?

I hope they say it’s a fast-paced, fun ride with likable characters. Because if that’s the overwhelming consensus, the Code Walker crew could return for a second adventure. I do have an idea and a few bits written towards that possibility.


And finally, the most important question: where can our readers find this delightful ebook of yours?
It’s available at Smashwords, Amazon, and will be available at several other sites in the next few weeks. Takes a bit of time for a new release to propagate everywhere.


Thanks so much for appearing on Insecure Enigma today, Ms. Drummond!
Thanks for having me, Bex! =)

Ms. Drummond has graciously offered up a free ebook to one of the commenters on this post. All you have to do is comment to enter the random drawing, so do it now!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Updates

So I haven't written much lately. So much for new years resolutions and all. Sorry.

This year hasn't worked out as planned thus far. I wanted to be kicking it squarely in the groove by now and that hasn't happened yet...I won't lament it, though, because it's not as dire as last fall. I am still focused on the story, just not feeling all that inspired to write it at this point.

I am doing a whole lot of self-discovery, though...and while i'd love to be able to put all of that out here, I know this blog is open to one and all and I don't know if that's the best idea. I could choose to go private, but I don't want to shut out someone I might want to actually see it. I'm not sure how blogger permissions go at all so maybe a top-secret blog like Stacy has is not a bad idea at this point. I'd love to share this stuff - I really would...I just wanna share it with those I want to share it with...and nobody else.

Other than that stuff, i'm okay. Recovering from surgery quite nicely and blah, blah. Hope everyone else is well.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Live from the closet!

No, seriously...I'm writing this in the closet. It's my place to think and breathe when things get crazy...or a place that I can write when everyone else in the house is sleeping.

I've been thinking a lot these past few days. Thinking about the story and where it's headed, thinking about whether I have it in me to continue, thinking about other, more personal things...it's been a crazy few days.

I get down on myself a lot. Probably more than anyone else I know. I think that I'm a terrible writer, or that I am not cut out for this or that nobody cares if I pull the whole thing down tomorrow and really...that's not what it should be about. I know that. I remember the days when I first started to write BCD and other people's approval was the absolute least of my worries. I mean, for a whole year, nobody even knew of its existence but me. I kept it very well hidden, tucked away in binders and employed it as my own private sanctuary. Incidentally, that was also the most creative time of my life.

So what went wrong? How did I get from a wide-eyed 15 year old that was hopelessly in love with my characters to this approval-seeking, jaded, insecure 28 year old, who thinks nothing they write has any purpose? I second guess every single keystroke now, when I was totally content with my hand-written chapters back then. I have fallen into a trap that I really had hoped to avoid and now...well, now I don't know what the hell to do to get out of it.

I thought separating myself from the elitist webfiction folks would help me and to some extent, it has...however, there's still this gaping hole in me. There's still this burning anger in me that I am not reaching my target audience. There's still this crazy notion in my head to just stop this insanity once and for all, pull the plug on the story and be miserable within myself because I'm not getting what I want. I'm horrible about getting what I want...anyone that knows me can tell you that. If I can't have what I want, I surely do not want what I can have...and in a situation like this one, that leaves me pretty well screwed. It is not supposed to be this way. You don't even have to tell me that; I already know. What I don't know, however, is what the hell I can do to stop feeling this way.

I know I'm a good writer, damn it. I know I have what it takes to go way beyond the confines of web fiction and really make my mark on the literary world, if that was something I really wanted to do. Yet, I am so quick to tear myself down when I don't get the acceptance and accolades that I feel I am due. I beat myself up and I tell myself how badly I must suck and it's a wicked cycle that just keeps going on and on. I am miserable inside...and it's not only because of this. I have a lot of other issues as well, but it's safe to say that this whole thing really isn't helping matters.

So what do I do? What can I do? I don't really know. I guess continuing to hide in this closet, pondering what a colossal bitch I am is a good start...or, at least, something to kill some time for now.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Independence Day, LOLcats style



Proudly presenting: the prologue of this gripping tale, which can be found in print right here.









Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy new year!

Finally, a fresh start. I fully intend to write in this thing a lot more regularly in 2011. I also intend to do a whole lot more writing period in 2011. Let's just hope for my sake that it works out.

Now, to clarify the last post: I am not taking down my website, and I'm not going to stop writing it either. I'm just not going to attempt to insert myself into a medium that does not want me anymore. I thought for a while it might have been that my genre didn't mesh with theirs, though many claimed not to have a genre bias. I thought for a while that I must not be reaching the right people, though I posted and mingled and did everything imaginable to network. I thought for a while that I just might suck and that would explain the colossal lack of attention paid to anything I've done...and after some careful consideration, I've resolved that is most definitely NOT the problem. I'm just not welcome. My efforts are just not recognized. And rather than draw it out for yet another year and make myself miserable in the process, I've simply backed away.

Again, the site is still there (http://bit.ly/haven-park) and I only just updated it this morning, so no worries that I won't continue this story. I just won't hawk it to the very skies to people who couldn't care less. :)

Happy new year, everyone. Hope this year proves to be the best one yet - for all of us.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

New year, new resolve: No. More. Bullshit.

It's been an eternity since I last wrote something in here. I'd love to say I had a lot going on, but other than getting married, moving into a new home and sleeping my life away, my schedule's been pretty free.

Tell me you saw the sarcasm in that. Even if you didn't, tell me you did.

I thought it was time to update this blog, though...to let you guys know where I'm at creatively and personally. I still haven't written anything of substance since July. This both shames and saddens me. I really hoped that 2010 would be the year I returned to my former creative glories, and while it started out that way, nothing earth-shattering was accomplished. You can only imagine how overjoyed I am about that.

I did learn a few things about myself, though...I learned that I have a thin skin. It doesn't take much to hurt me...in fact, a recurring theme in this blog was how much various people in the webfiction niche I tried to insert myself into hurt me by their complete disregard for anything I did. This reached its pinnacle after yet another humiliating omission that I discovered on Christmas Eve.

Now...I never expected to set the world on fire with my tales. I never thought I'd come away from the whole experience as the number one champ. I never even thought I'd be that successful. But I never in a million years thought that I could be so soundly ignored by so many people and institutions. That really crushed my fragile little ego. You might say that a person that puts their work out in the public spectrum should get used to rejection and you're probably right. They should...or, they could quietly back away, realizing that no matter what they did, nobody would give a shit.

I sound scornful. I really wanted to avoid that, but...it's the way I feel. It hurt me tremendously to not be a part of the crowd, despite my best (and I mean best, because I don't know a soul who writes and rewrites as obsessively as I do) efforts to be appreciated. It hurt me that people didn't really give a shit about whether I updated or not. It hurt me that I've yet to receive a damn editorial rating on WFG, even if it were that blasted 2-line tripe that Linda Shoelaces or whatever her name is dishes out. Everyone got so up in arms about that, but I didn't even get one so yeah. I suck balls, as far as they're all concerned...and if I sound a little bit scornful, you're just going to have to forgive me. It's just what happens when a person's been hurt one time too many.

My new year's resolution is to sever all ties with the webfiction community. I no longer want to be a part of it, nor will I chase after anyone to get the appreciation I am due. My attitude is, if you don't care, then I really don't care. I met some really nice people through my time there, and I fully intend to keep up with them, be it on FB or Twitter...but as for the community as a whole, the message has been received. I'm not wanted...so I'm gone.

Peace.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Confessions of a Madcap Creator (or: Bex Don't Write No Crap, Yo!)

I do not write crap.

I just never have. I refuse. This might be a very large part of why I don't write as regularly as I used to. If something is not up to the standard that I impose upon it, I don't bother even trying to salvage it. I'll start all over again. I want every single word to have a purpose. I want every single scene to advance the story. I want every single quirk and nuance of every single character to be clearly communicated through the text. I want a whole hell of a lot, I guess - but I would not have it any other way.

It drives me mad when I see other people's writing (and I hope no one gets offended, because I'm not directly referencing anyone with this, I promise!) and I see nothing but errors. Typos, 'there' in the place of 'their', inappropriately placed apostrophes - the whole nine yards. It makes my eyeball twitch. It screams to me of amateur editing, and a lesser quality product...and I refuse to release that sort of thing. I want to be taken seriously, and if that is the sort of thing I put out, it's just not going to happen. I have to be perfect.

This is not to say that I'm immune to typos and mixing up words (or even leaving them out altogether!) - I do this all the time. However, when the text is so littered with errors that it becomes unreadable and indecipherable...that's when I largely tune out.

So...I write with purpose, I'm meticulous about editing, I do my best to clearly communicate the world living inside my head and...I'm largely ignored for all of these efforts.

(Yes, it's going to be another one of "those" posts...you're free to leave now, but not before you roll your eyes in disgust!)

I have noticed something about webfiction, from all these years I've danced around in it: it can be incredibly elitist. Friends tend to stick together. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. You tell me I'm awesome and I'll do the same. I've seen series with no creative merit, hideous punctuation and crimes against grammar and a fugly site design to boot get praised to the very skies, by people who really ought to know better and quite honestly? It pisses me off.

I'm petty as hell. I admit this. I should not begrudge these people who probably are trying their very best. And who knows...maybe if I could get past all of my complaints, I might find a wonderfully engaging story underneath it all. But really, for thirty different people to all go on about how wonderful something is when you can barely get past the first paragraph because the typos are so bad? Come on now. If you're gonna do a cutesy little Kiss Ass Society, can you at least be a little less blatant about it? Can you at least make the effort to make yourself sound legitimate. Because really, dude...to allege things like "you've changed the course of history with this episode/chapter/installment" when all they really accomplished was proving they did not pay attention in second grade when the teacher introduced the difference between 'there' and 'their' is just...it kills me.

It just freakin' kills me, folks.