About the Author
Christine Cody is also the author of the urban fantasy Vampire Babylon (w/a Chris Marie Green). Until about six years ago, she was an eighth-grade teacher, but she became a full-time author who has published over thirty-five books under this name as well as the pseudonym Crystal Green. You can follow her occasionally fanatical yen for pop culture on Twitter and Facebook.
Guest Post
When I meet readers, I’d say there are two basic questions I’m usually asked, so I thought I would talk about both kinds here today.
Question one is normally a variation on: “Where did you get the idea for [this or that] story?”
The answer always differs, depending on the book. For instance, when I wrote my latest release, Bloodlands (released July 26!), I got the idea for this postapocalptic supernatural Western while watching a lot of old cowboy movies. I’d just about internalized the tropes—the gun-slinging drifter who’s looking for redemption and a return to humanity, the feisty yet put-upon settlers, the cruel rancher next door. Since my mind is more or less always on monsters or creepy creatures of some sort, I started wondering what would’ve happened had Shane been a vampire.
From that point on, I was twisting those old Western tropes into paranormal shapes. (My main character, Gabriel, doesn’t sling a gun, but he does have fangs, and he is literally lacking humanity because he’s a vampire. The settlers are survivalists who have fled the urban hubs out of utter terror and preservation. You get the picture.)
Honestly, the easiest part of writing is the creative side that readers wonder about: the brainstorming and fleshing out that bone of an idea that comes to you in the dead of night or while you’re daydreaming in front of the TV. Heck, writing the book itself is even easy when you compare it to the genuinely hard part—dealing with the business of writing.
And that brings us to the second most popular question: “How do I get published?”
First, I always recommend that you make sure the book you’ve written is in amazing shape. Second, I suggest finding a critique group, if you’re comfortable with it. Third, I think attending conferences and joining “support groups” is invaluable.
I’m lucky that I’ve found a couple of excellent support groups for my habit; I started out with Romance Writers of America, an organization that teaches the craft and business of writing. I went to chapter meetings and made lifelong friends out of my critique group. Then I found another gem—Novelists, Inc.
When a writer who has been published for a short time asks me about a worthwhile organization, I inevitably send them Ninc’s way. The newsletter is a valuable resource in and of itself, and their conferences are something no published writer should do without. Ninc is composed of authors from across the genres, and every single person can offer you information that might take your career in a different direction or even strengthen what you have going.
In October, Ninc will again be holding their conference at a resort in Florida. Okay, first of all—fun! Second of all—Disneyworld! Third of all—I know I’m going to walk away with a million ideas pounding at my mind. We’ll be exploring the future of publishing in digital, print, and Lord knows how many other options we’ll have by then. And who knows how many places I’ll find to take Gabriel the postapocalyptic vampire, thanks to the opportunities that are sure to arise….
Blurb:
The New Badlands—a desolate area in the West forged by the terrible events that altered the entire country, where a few frightened citizens retreated underground to shelter from the brutal weather . . . and from a society gone deadly dangerous.
Then the vampire arrived—and they started calling it the Bloodlands.
Not because Gabriel, the so-called monster running from his true self, was searching for his lover’s murderer. Nor because Mariah, the woman who reluctantly took him in, was willing to do anything to survive in the changed world.
No, the Badlands officially became the Bloodlands the moment a gun-for-hire who’d decided to slay every monster left in the country came after Gabriel . . .
Newsletter http://www.vampirebabylon.com/lists/?p=subscribe
Blog http://crystal-green.blogspot.com/
Website www.vampirebabylon.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/ChristineCody
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Marie-Green/1051327765
Myspace myspace.com/vampirebabylon
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