When a Book Goes Out of Print

Cold in the Light was the third book I wrote but the first to be published. Invisible College Press picked it up in 2002 an it sold modestly. Emphasis on the modestly. This is despite the fact that I believe it was, and is, a really strong thriller. I’m very proud of it.

In September of 2017 I received word from Invisible College Press that they were closing their doors, officially making Cold in the Light “out of print” as of October 2017. The question then becomes, what next?

I see two possibilities: First, I could seek out another small press publisher who might be interested. Second, I could self publish it. Frankly, because I believe it is really good, I’d like to try another publisher who might have more marketing sense than I apparently have. I’m going to take a bit of time to look around.

Another issue that has arisen though is whether I should update the book. My writing skills have, hopefully, improved since this book was written in the 1990s. I at first just assumed I’d update and started going through it. A problem quickly became apparent. The technology has changed dramatically since the book was published. And not only that, but the geographic setting has changed. When I wrote Cold in the Light, Highway 71 was the main route students took to get to the University of Arkansas. That is no longer true.

My alternatives then became, rewrite the tech and the geography, which will require considerable work, or simply set the book in the past time in which it was originally written. I already have times and days mentioned in the book so I could easily establish a year. What do you think of the latter idea? Have you read books like that? Do you care if a thriller is essentially set in the past? Or do you want your thrillers to be "torn from today's headlines?" Before I make any further changes to the work I need to make this decision. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Inhabiting Your Setting

 Actors sometime talk about “inhabiting” a character. As near as I can tell, they mean that they try to get inside the skin of the character and live—at least for a while—as if they are that person. They want to ‘think’ like the character so their actions will come natural.

We writers generally can’t do the same thing because we are writing “many” characters. We can’t inhabit just one or all our characters will sound and act the same. What we can do, however, is inhabit the setting our characters move through. Setting has a powerful influence on character thoughts  & actions. It affects every character.

Take the woods, for example. I grew up in the country and spent a lot of time in the forest. I’ve been there in daytime, in fog, in mornings & evenings, at night. I’ve camped out. Explored. I’ve been cold and shivering there, felt awe and fear. While writing the book Cold in the Light, which was set mostly in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, I took many long walks in the woods at night to try and get back the feel for such wild climes. I was putting my characters through that kind of experience and wanted to feel what they were supposed to be feeling. I think it worked, and parts of that book made me distinctly uncomfortable while writing them.

Anyone can experience the woods, of course. But what if the story setting doesn’t actually exist? Under the Ember Star takes place on the frigid desert world of Kelmer. I’ve never been. So how did I ‘inhabit’ that environment?  First, my wife and I took a trip several years ago to Arizona & New Mexico. Lana is a photographer and took many pictures of barren, desiccated landscapes. We toured a slot canyon that showed the power of water in a desert setting. I spent a lot of time in those places, soaking in the feel. I also read a bunch of books about living in desert environments, such as Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire.

Then I did lots of imagination work related to the story. Not just on the storyline. I imagined and worked through scenarios in my head for all kinds of settings in the book. I asked questions like, what if I had been there a few hours before an event in the book took place, or a few hours after? What would the temperature be? How much dust would be in the air? Would there be bugs? Would there be any food?  How would the plants look? I followed these questions up, if needed, by Googling photos and chronicles that might help me.

A writer’s primary job is to get the reader to ‘experience’ what the characters are experiencing. Inhabiting the setting for a story is one way to do that.

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The Next Big Thing Blog Chain...

I was chained to this by David J. West (Author of HEROES OF THE FALLEN) so I’m sharing some things about my primary “work in progress.”


What is the working title of your book?

I’ve actually worked recently on two books but the one I’ve gotten the farthest along in is called The Razored Land.


Where did the idea come from for the book?

It’s a post-apocalyptic book, which I’ve always wanted to write. The concept of folks surviving after an apocalypse that destroys human civilization is an oldie but a goodie. Some great stories have been told in that kind of a setting. For my book, I added in the idea of a DNA plague that alters all kinds of life forms, including most humans. There are people who are immune to the plague, and that’s where the main character comes from.


What genre does your book fall under?

Post-apocalyptic literature is almost a genre of its own. However, this kind of book is typically classified as Science Fiction and I’d say that genre makes up the greatest element of the story I’ve conceived. However, there are going to be some very strong horror elements in the piece.


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I don’t ever see actors playing the roles in my fiction. Not sure why. I’m not a big movie buff. If forced to choose, I might pick Colin Farrell to play the main character. Samuel Jackson might fit the primary villain, with lots of makeup. There’s also a female character that might be played well by the young woman who played the female terminator on the Sarah Conner Chronicles. She’d also need quite a bit of makeup.


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

At the end of the world, love and hate meet as enemies on the final battlefield.


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Neither, most likely. I have a small press publisher interested in it and that’s probably the route I’ll go.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The book is about half done at 33,000 words. It took about 8 months to write that much, although it wasn’t the only project I was working on. I have other commitments now before I can get back to it but I figure about another 8 months to finish. It would take considerably less if I wasn’t working a real job.


What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

There are many post-apocalyptic (PA) books out there, although some of the other elements that I’ve added in will make this book different. A Canticle for Leibowitz is one of my favorite PA books. The Stones of Power series by David Gemmell has certain things in common with my book. I could certainly name a dozen others. Andre Norton wrote some of this that was certainly an early influence on me. Jerry Ahern wrote a series called "The Survivalist" that had many elements I admired.


Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I’d have to say, “reading” inspired me to it. I love post-apocalyptic books. I love the setting and the possibilities. It gives the imagination some room to run and I always enjoy that. I want to try my hand at it.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

In my novel, Cold in the Light, I had a non-human character named Kargen who many readers really liked, even though he was basically the villain of the story. He was kind of a non-human anti-hero. I’ve wanted to write such a character again and “The Razored Land” has given me that chance. I’ve got a couple of Kargenesque characters in it. I’m having fun with them.


That's it.

Now I have to chain people to this thing so I’ll name a few people but will say only for them to do it if it intrigues them and they have the time. I don’t want them to feel any kind of pressure from it. I know we writers are busy folks and the last thing I want to do is add more pressure and stress to the mix.

James Reasoner
Oscar Case
Richard Prosch


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In the Memory of Ruins

I remember reading Dune by Frank Herbert years ago and loving the opening “quotes” he used to begin his chapters. These were all invented quotes from works of literature that Herbert created himself to give his world verisimilitude. Later, I found Lovecraft and his invented Necronomicon, and Robert W. Chambers and his imagined play, The King in Yellow. I saw that Robert E. Howard did this in horror stories such as “The Black Stone.”  I read Dean Koontz’s quotes from a “work” he called The Book of Counted Sorrows. I’m not quite sure why this kind of thing thrilled me, except that it suggested a much wider world than that contained within the stories by themselves.

When I wrote Cold in the Light, I decided to do this for myself. Each chapter contains an opening phrase taken from an invented book called In the Memory of Ruins. The piece that follows is one example, but there are also longer pieces from this “book” that begin the larger sections of Cold in the Light.

“Going up the river the explorers saw a raft,and on the raft a corpse's shell.  It came down with the current, from the far distant mountains where they were headed. Its passing left them cold with foreboding.”

One thing I did a little differently than I’d seen done by anyone before is that the chapter openings actually tell a story of their own that is separate and largely unrelated to the story of Cold in the Light itself. I tried to arrange for connections between the two parallel stories but wasn’t always able to achieve it. I do think there are places where a kind of resonance bleeds through.

What do you think of “invented” sources and quotes being used in fiction? Do you like it?  Does it irritate you?  If you read Cold in the Light, did you even notice the chapter opening pieces or did you skip directly to the story itself?  And if you haven’t read Cold in the Light, well why not? It’s only $2.84 on Amazon, and $4.99 on Barnes and Noble.

It’s available in print at both places for a bit more.

New Magazine, Old Book

Some of you may be aware that White Cat Publications has announced a new magazine called Insatiable: The Magazine of Paranormal Desires. It'll be debuting in October but they are looking for submissions for the initial issue now and are paying excellent rates. Here's the link to the submission guidelines

While you're there, check out the other offerings that White Cat has.  This is a dynamic publishing organization, new and hungry.

I also got my royalty statement from Invisible College Press today, and am happy to note that the publication of Cold in the Light in ebook has given the work a new lease on life.  Cold in the Light was my first novel publication and I was, and am, immensely proud of it. It's currently discounted at Amazon at $2.84 for the ebook.  The link is here.

It's also available on Nook, at a little higher price,  here.

It's a good book.

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Bits and Pieces of News

A couple of interesting bits, at least for me.

1. My first novel, Cold in the Light, is finally available as a Kindle ebook. It's $4.99, but that is for something like 140 thousand words. If you're interested, it's HERE. It's not up on Nook yet. Not sure when the publisher will put it up. The back cover blurb is below:

Where the beings known as the Whoun came from, only a few know....
What they're going to do next is anyone's guess....

But in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, where a decades old conspiracy has started to unravel, a cop and a doctor are about to find out. Against an enemy from their nightmares, the two will have to fight, to save the life of an unborn child who isn't human, a child that will change their world forever.

In the brooding forest, they'll learn what it means to fear the dark.
...And the light.

It's a darn good book if I do say so myself.

2. Paul R. McNamee has reviewed some of the latest Orc short stories released as ebooks, including my own "Harvest of War." Check out what he has to say. (Thanks, Paul.)

"Harvest of War" is just .99 cents on Amazon, HERE.

3. I got word that my space opera, "Under the Ember Star," will be released soon. Not up yet, though. I'll let folks know. I'm excited about it, though.

4. Finals are beginning here. I get my final papers today and am giving multiple tests over the next week. May not be around all that much. Wish me luck.
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Progress and a Retrospective

I've been doing a lot of writing and I can 'see' the end of "Under the Ember Star." My pace as slowed but I know the end is in reach and I have a pretty good idea of what has to happen and when. There's still going to be some feeling my way through. In the meantime, I thought I might be lazy today and post a scene from my first novel, from Cold in the Light. I'm still very proud of this book. Kargen, who is mentioned in the scene below, is probably the best villain I ever created. I believed when I finished it that 'everyone' would love this book. You know, I still think that. Or at least I think they should. :)

Kargen's war-band followed swiftly along the scent trail of their leader, moving like an animated wind through the forest, flowing around tree trunks, leaping over fallen logs, rushing as quick as air through the night. They passed a ruined helicopter and the torn bodies of humans, one of them without a head. But they did not stop.

The kill-smell on each of the dead bore the mark of Kargen, and it injected enough of a stimulant to quiver their war-spikes and raise spines all across their heads. It made them run faster, and faster, down hills and up, until they crossed a road of bare ruts through the dark woods.

The band's warriors no longer cared about the strange odors underlying their leader's scent pattern. Blood and violence made too heady a perfume. It overwhelmed any reservations they might have had. Kargen killed, and because of that he led. They only wanted to join with him in hauling down the prey, in tearing it to froth. Their teeth hurt with the thought.

Then, as one, the band slowed, came to a drifting stop in a meadow where wild flowers of purple and white bloomed. A wetness flared their nostrils, the raw signature of a not too distant stream. And painted among the wet were the threaded fragrances of Kargen and the Mother and of humans. And, too, of a place.

A killing ground.
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Ebook News

Well, sooner than I had thought it might happen, two of my books have been released by Borgo/Wildside as ebooks for both the Nook and the Kindle. This is Swords of Talera and Bitter Steel. The rest will eventually follow, although dates for that are unknown. A couple of folks have asked me particularly about the Nook versions so I thought I'd put up the links today.

Swords of Talera for the Nook

Bitter Steel for the Nook

Both Swords of Talera and Bitter Steel for Kindle:


Killing Trail is, of course, still available on Kindle, although not on the Nook as of yet.


Cold in the Light is also available in ebook from Google Books.
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More Updates

You'd think I'd have more time to write information heavy posts since I'm off from school, but I've been spending most of my free hours lately working on the two Graphic Novel articles that I agreed to do. Good progress so far. The hardest part has been identifying other scholarly works that address the books, since graphic novels are only beginning to be taken seriously in the larger world.

So, here's another promo type post if you will, wherein I talk about myself. Egads, that sounds pretty boring even to me. But, there are some good things going on at the moment. David J. West has a review of Bitter Steel up over on his "Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart blog. Thanks to David for the kind words.



Also, Swords of Talera is now officially a "Nook Book," at $4.79. That's purty cool. At least to me. The second and third book in the series are scheduled to be released as ebooks eventually, probably in the new year.

I already mentioned here that Cold in the Light is also available as an ebook now, although apparently not yet for Kindle. It's available for only $2.84 at the Google Ebookstore. The link is here if you were wondering.

One of these days I'll put up another, more substantive post. I promise.
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A Day Off: Mostly

I’m away for a day and all kinds of things happen. Had to go into work early this morning to close out some stuff for the school year. Then the psychology faculty got together for lunch and a few beers in the French Quarter. I had a spicy rabbit stew, which was delicious but hot enough to make my tongue wince when the next bite was coming in. I cooled it down with some Bohemia, Negra Modelo, and Abita Amber.

While I was away from the net a number of things happened. First, Patricia Abbott posted my piece on writing Swords of Talera as part of her wonderful series on “How I Came to Write this Book.” You can find it here if you’re a mind to. Thanks, my friend.

Then I got a note from the talented Jodi MacArthur letting me know that I’d won a copy of what looks to be an awesome CD called A Pale Horse Named Death, and it’s autographed by Sal Abruscato. Thank you, Jodi. I’m looking forward to listening to this one.

Finally, I got word that Cold in the Light is now for sale as an ebook from the Google Ebookstore. I’d heard this was coming but didn’t expect it until next year. I actually have no idea what formats you can get it in. All I know at the moment is the link is here.

And now I’m going to try and visit a few of the 170 plus posts on my Google Reader. I won’t be making it all the way around before I crash.
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Around the Web

Stewart Sternberg did a review of Cold in the Light over at Elder Signs Press Blog. Although he didn’t just say positive things about the book, the positives certainly outweighed the negatives and I believe he enjoyed the novel quite a lot. I’ve linked to the review here, but I’ve also quoted a couple of my “favorite” pieces from the review below.

“At its heart, Gramlich’s story is an old fashioned science fiction tale from the fifties or early sixties—and that’s not a bad thing. His writing at times reminded me of Heinlein, with its muscular prose and solid pacing. Gramlich though infuses modern, edgy sensibility and carefully sets the stage for jarring action sequences with a strong cinematic quality to them.”

“In one outstanding chapter, where the heroes are preparing for a last stand in an old sawmill, it is easy to call to mind the work of director John McTiernan (Predator) or Ridley Scott (Alien).”

Thanks, Stewart, for reading and reviewing. I appreciate your honesty.

Also, Natasha Fondren is running a great series on how to format books for Amazon Kindle. Since I’m planning to publish my western collection through Amazon in July, this is spot on information and great timing for me. Check it out. I’m certainly following it with care. Much appreciated, Natasha.

Rich over at Meridian Bridge is also still running his My Personal West series of posts. I'm finding these fascinating. I did one for the series and more have gone up since, or are going up soon. The West has been on my mind a lot lately.
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Creating and Selling

I got a lot done today but only a little of it was actual writing. When I sat down to do some revisions my mind began to mimic a glacier. Sometimes it happens. On those days you push through it and I did finally make some progress. Some days that’s all you can hope for.

I also spent some time trying to think of marketing ideas. Lately, the sales of all my books have been stagnant, and no copies of Cold in the Light were sold last year through any venue. I’m not sure if any used copies were sold; the royalty statements don’t indicate those since publishers and authors get no money from such sales.

Sometimes I’ve had good luck with personal appearances. Other times not. I sold almost 20 copies of Write With Fire at a library talk I gave. But at Babel Con this year I sold only one copy of anything. I thought at first that it was because Babel Con was small this year, but I know a fantasy writer who said she sold almost 30 copies of her novel. Of course, she is 1) very attractive, 2) very outgoing, and 3) is either comfortable with pushing her own work or at least gives the appearance of being so. I’ve never been very comfortable selling things to people. I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re getting their arm twisted. I don’t like having mine twisted.

I’ve probably had the best luck at selling my work online, through this blog primarily. But there’s only so many copies you can sell to your friends. I like to think I’m a creative person, but being creative in ways that generate book sales does not seem to be my forte.

Maybe the summer will give me the time to think and dream up some ideas. It’s so much easier to create than to sell what you create. I think the reason is simple. I need only myself to create. I can control my own emotions. Most of the time. I can discipline my own work habits. Most of the time. But to cross that gap between one’s self and another is a vast gulf that is not easily spanned.
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Book Roast: Cold in the Light

I forgot to mention that the Book Roast is going on all this week. That means a chance to win free books, as well as have some fun answering strange questions and feeling free to make off-the-wall remarks. So check it out.

And, especially, please check it out tomorrow, Thursday, April 16. I’ll be the grillee, or grilled, or whatever it’s called, and there’ll be a chance win a copy of Cold in the Light. Even if you have a copy drop by for a visit. I’ll be popping in and out all day to answer questions and respond to comments, which means most of my blogging tomorrow will be over there.

Chris Eldin and the Book Roast crew have done a wonderful job with this project, and I know it's been a lot of work for them. They grilled Swords of Talera back when it came out so they have also been very, very good to me.

Yeah Book Roast!
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Who Are You Trying to Impress 4

Thanks to everyone who has managed to stay with me through this series, and who have thrown in their two cents. I do think my points have been misunderstood on occasion. My whole focus is on knowing your audience. I’m not saying that using words like argent or lavender is pretentious. Far from it. I’m saying that some audiences will care and others won’t. I’m not indicating that one of those audiences is somehow better than the other, only that they are different. And I’m not saying that there isn’t a market for fine writing. I sure hope there is. I’m saying that different kinds of writing are directed toward different audiences. I’m not trying to indicate that one of those audiences is somehow superior to another. Anyway, here are my closing thoughts on the topic, though such thoughts are always subject to revision.

First, a writer doesn’t have to pick one audience to write for. They may write different things for different audiences. Jack London wrote work directed at the most literate of readers and also churned out potboilers to make money. And, a writer may in fact write for more than one audience at the same time. I think a lot of writers write for readers but also find they have to please themselves first. And, as several folks have pointed out, the readers we writers have the most experience with is ourselves, so if we’re writing for “readers” we often use ourselves as a model. We could easily have two audiences, which don’t have to be incompatible.

Second, writers can, over time, change the audience they are directing work toward. When I wrote Swords of Talera it really was for myself. Although in the back of my mind I had some thoughts about becoming a published author, I never gave a single thought to audience in the first go through of that book. I wrote it purely and simply because it was fun for me and I wanted to know what happened next. As a result, it rambled. When I rewrote it in an attempt to published it, I took out the rambling parts and tried to focus primarily on the story, because I felt that was what the reader wanted. My main audience was no longer myself, although I still wanted to please myself too.

When I wrote Cold in the Light, I tried to keep the “reader” in mind every step of the way as far as story and action went, but I personally adore beautiful language so I tried to keep the prose at a little bit of an elevated level, both for myself and for my writer peers. But I’ll tell you honestly that when I wrote that book I wanted readers, as many as I could possible get. (I didn’t get nearly as many as I wanted.)

Wings over Talera was a hybrid. I wrote the first chapters right after finishing “Swords,” and it was still written solely for myself. But after “Swords” was serialized and I went to finish “Wings,” I tried to keep in mind the readers from the magazine who had liked “Swords.” I wanted those same readers to be happy with the new book. I knew that readers outside of fantasy probably wouldn't care.

Witch of Talera was written, from the first, for readers, the same folks who had enjoyed the previous ones in the series. Of course, I wanted to please myself as well, but I wanted, needed perhaps, to hear people tell me they really liked that book. I’ll tell you, for me, it is truly a great feeling to hear someone say they spent some of their precious time reading a story that I’ve written, and that they liked it. And I’d much rather have that than have a critic discuss the deeper meaning of my prose. The most wondrous gift that any book could give me as a kid was to fire my imagination. And that’s exactly the gift I’d like to give to others.

So who do I write for? Not for critics at all. And not so much for peers, except for the fact that I am one of those peers. I have to please myself in any writing project, or else I can’t go forward. But because I really want to be “read,” I can’t say that I’m writing primarily for myself. My main audience is the kind of reader who likes to read the same stuff I do. And I’d like to have a lot of them. Unfortunately, many readers just aren’t going to like the genres I like so I limit my potential audience by that very fact. Any time you select an audience there are likely to be tradeoffs. In writing, I don’t think you can have it all.

So, some of you have already answered the question of who you write for, but if you’d like to share feel free. And even if you don’t want to tell me, I think you should always tell yourself.
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A Thank You

I got a royalty statement yesterday from The Invisible College Press, who published my novel Cold in the Light, saying that I’d earned out my advance and would now be making actual royalties on the book for the first time. I was thrilled, and I want to thank my friends here in the blogosphere because I know it was you guys who put me over the top. I’ve been amazed at the support for my work that I’ve seen here in the “sphere.” Thank you so much.

In writing news, I’ve passed the 50 page mark on Wraith of Talera, about 14,000 words. These books are not terribly long so I figure I’m looking at 225-250 pages total. It’s been going slower than I would like but actually faster than the first three in the series. Of course, this will still need revision and I’ll probably make adjustments to these early sections as the plot unfolds. I tend to polish pretty much as I go, though, so I can always hope the revisions won’t be too extensive.

I’ve had people tell me I’m prolific. I always have to laugh. I’m actually a very slow writer. I hardly ever manage more than 2 or 3 new pages a day on fiction, and that’s when I’m not teaching. During the school year I’m lucky to get a page a day, although I do quite a bit better with nonfiction. I also spend a lot of my writing time revising, revising, revising, and that has probably been the key to any publications I have gotten.

The truth is that I just spend a lot of hours at the keyboard and rarely skip a day. Even a paragraph moves you toward a finished product. Even a sentence. If there is a secret to writing, it’s to put in the time.
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As Signing Grows Nigh

My first signing for the Taleran Books is coming up this next Tuesday, July 31, at 6:30 PM in the Covington Branch Library. I know that most of you reading this aren't close enough to come, although I'd love to see anyone who can, but in case anyone is considering it the address is 310 W. 21st Ave, Covington, LA. The phone there is (985) 893-6280.

I will be giving a talk on writing before the signing, which will probably last about half an hour. My topic will be on writing, primarily on dreams as story prompts and on developing suspense. After that there will be time for questions before I do any signing. I'll have copies of "Swords" and "Wings," and also of my first book, Cold in the Light, and will be able to offer a slight discount on the Amazon cost to those who attend.

Please let everyone else know who might be interested and able to attend. I'm looking forward to a fun evening.

Back in the Saddle

I rolled back into home late last night and did nothing but rest and cuddle Lana, who I had missed about like one misses a lost limb. Today I'm blogging again and doing various errands that have gotten ahead of me, including groceries and checking out a new used bookstore in the area. (Yes, checking out bookstores is a part of my job, not a luxury.)

On the writing front, I'm a week behind but will try to start catching up tomorrow. I had a nice interview/article run on me in the Xavier University Newsletter. If you're interested it's about 2/3rds of the way down under the title "Psychology Professor Has Tales to Tell." There's a picture of me that looks like I'm preaching the gospel. (Now there's a scary thought.) Other than calling Cold in the Light Cold in the Night it's well done and quite flattering. In fact, a lot of people have said good things about me lately, including Steve Malley and some of his commentators. HA HA HA HAHA. I have them fooled!

I got my author copies for Swords of Talera and Wings Over Talera, as well as a few author discount copies that I ordered. I'd orginally planned to go up to Arkansas in July and have a signing when I saw my mom, but her hospital stay threw that off a bit. I can always go back, although I don't want to make that 9 and 1/2 hour drive again right now.

I hope by tomorrow I'll be able to get back to posting some more writing related stuff. Was good to check everyone's blog today. Thanks everyone for your overwhelming support. It means a lot.