The Mortal Musings of Bard Constantine

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Perfect Book Covers: Peter Bergting

Still thinking of creative uses for this blog, so I think I'll do a weekly share on images that I think are perfect for book covers.

When it comes to book covers, I like to see at least one of three things:
1)An eye-catching image
2)A rendering of at least one of the main characters
3)An idea of what kind of book I'm buying.

I've seen this image for years, so I thought I'd share it first. I've used it as a personal avatar a few times, especially during my 'Bard of Darkness' years of writing poetry. I was pleased to track down the author, Peter Bergting, who does professional illustrative work for book covers and graphic novels. You can find his site here.

What I like about this image is that it instantly grabs your attention. The mysterious masked figure could be hero or villain. He (or she) appears powerful, and the book in hand lends knowledge or great learning to the person. And yet the individual could also be skilled in combat as well, judging by the armor. The artistic circle centers the piece, drawing the eye to the image, and the darkness of the figure stands out clearly from the background. All it needs is a title and author's name and it would be perfect for a fantasy novel featuring a mysterious, powerful hero or anti-hero.

This piece of art includes all three elements I noted from the beginning. The picture is eye-catching, the figure is perfect for a title character, and it is definitely well suited for a fantasy novel, or even a dystopian/sci fi space opera.

Make sure to check out more of Peter Bergting's work at his website.

More perfect covers are featured in my Pinterest board of the same name.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Summer Kindle Fire Giveaway!

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT! Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HD 7".

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire. Sponsor a future Kindle Fire Giveaway by signing up HERE. Ends 8/15/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Silent Empire Is Coming

I don’t collaborate often. But when I do, I prefer Stefan.

Stefan is no stranger to Dieselpunks. His work is often paired with the very idea of dieselpunk, the artistic standard bearer for the culture. I’ve had the honor of working with him on my Troubleshooter novels. His iconic images have created a visual reality to the world of Mick Trubble and New Haven, something for which I’m eternally grateful.

At long last I’m able to take a step to return the favor.

I’ve enjoyed all of Stefan’s work, but one series in particular captured my interest. It’s entitled Silent Empire. His images tickled the imagination, full of oppression and propaganda along with the bizarre and surreal depictions of dog-faced men and indoctrinated slaves listlessly performing their menial tasks under the dominion of a tyrannical government.

It was a story just begging to be told.

The result is a novella that will launch on July 1, 2013. The description:

‘Silence is essential. Question nothing. Obey everything. Those are the words that Franklin Gamble has heard all of his life. But when an encounter with a stranger causes him to question his reality, he is set on a road to discovering secrets that shake the very core of what he's been taught to believe.

Franklin is a man haunted by vision of a family he can’t remember and the growing awareness that his world is a fabrication by oppressors who control every aspect of his existence. After being contacted by the mysterious Coalition, Franklin is reluctantly persuaded to find the answers that elude him. His pursuit of truth puts him in a duel of wills against the Sovereign, the oppressive empire that uses the machine of propaganda combined with the brutal terror of their Dogmen to smother any spark of rebellion.

The Coalition reveals the Sovereign’s technological prowess that has trapped its inhabitants in a lethargic state that keeps its inner core protected by sleepwalking drones. Franklin is the only person on the inside whose mind is active enough to resist and take action. With time running out and his life at risk, Francis must choose between defiance or submission; a decision that will either further imprison him… or shatter an Empire forever.’

It’s a nod to genre-bending films like Brazil and Dark City along with social commentary on government and oppression, but explores and takes place in the setting of Diesel City, the concept that he introduced in his tome of prose and images by the same name. I thank Stefan for the honor of allowing me to put words to his images and relate a story that he had already established through his extraordinary work.

Silent Empire is coming. I invite you to accompany us on the ride.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Facing up Facebook: Promotional Hurdles

If you have Facebook author/musician/artist page, you probably know that Facebook has gone to great lengths to limit the range of your posts. This is especially the case when you include or share any links, both inside Facebook and outside.

Example: On my author page I like to share various posts and spotlight other authors and artists. A share of a writers poem received 44 views. A share of an editor's services netted 33 views. A spotlight link of another author received a meager 19 views. On the upside, a share of a story on Wattpad netted 50 views.

Compare that to posts where I shared text only -status updates, in other words. 117 views. 110 views. And one about seeing the Oblivion movie that netted 168 views. (Pay me, Tom Cruise)

It's quite obvious that Facebook doesn't want us to share links. That stinks of advertising, which in their eyes means that every shared link represents potential advertising profit going down the drain. That's why they've rolled out the 'promote your links' option that I've been ignoring. Want more views? Then pay for it like you're a major advertiser. Because Facebook needs the money, right?

Despite how evil that is, it only makes sense. You can look for similar actions being taken across popular social networks everywhere in the near future. Why let people advertise their work for free using your network as the medium? I don't think they care so much about small fries like me, but there's probably some major money being saved by larger businesses who have been using Facebook, Twitter, and the like as their major source of advertising. And like everything else, the little guy suffers along with everyone else. Frankly, I'm surprised it took Facebook this long to wise up.

In light of this, I tried a viral marketing experiment a few days ago. Since you can get the most views on text posts and uploaded pictures, I uploaded a picture... advertisement.

I created a simple ad for my novel series, and posted it on my author page with this simple text statement: An experiment in viral marketing. You can help by taking three simple steps. 1: Like this post. 2: Share this on your page. 3: Leave a link to your own author/artist/musician page in the comments. If successful, I'll do this again next week featuring one of you. Thank you!

I created the post on Friday. Today (Monday) I checked the numbers. The post was shared 14 times, liked 40 times... and seen by a whopping 414 people.

Understand that I'm a small time operator who just reached 500 likes. I'm not a math wiz, either -so you'll have to do the appropriate calculation for your own page and audience. But the point is that a simple shared ad increased my average likes by 300 percent or greater depending on which numbers you run it by. And obviously there were more likes than shares, which shows that not everyone participated all the way, which is the way these things go.

So is this the answer to overcome Facebook's advertising hurdle? Probably not. Unlike a direct link, someone would have to actually note the website location and type it in in order to go the the page that I advertised. In this age that's more work than a lot of people are willing to go through. But it does show that there are ways to find a loophole in the barriers that Facebook has tried to slam into place. I plan on using this option periodically to highlight authors and others that I find of interest and interact with, as well as the occasional ad for myself as well.

Like all things, take this with a grain of salt. Your own experiences may produce different results. But hopefully it demonstrates a way to help you get across to your fans, customers and followers in a more productive way.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Presenting the Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase

I'm proud and excited to be a part of an ensemble project putting a spotlight on dieselpunk culture and adding to the the mythos of neo-noir and retro-futurism. It's called the Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase. Four writers. Four stories. For free... pretty much everywhere.

Here is the official press release from Dieselpunks:

Do you need more gritty, hard-boiled noir in your life? Do you feel the urge to drag on your beaten coat, tip your fedora to just the right angle, and slum it in a smoky speakeasy? Do the grimy streets of another age call to you from deep within your blood? If so, then do I have the book for you.

Featuring works by Grant Gardiner, John Picha, Bard Constantine, and Jack Philpott, the writers of Dieselpunks.org would like to present the very first Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase.

These four tales embody the spirit of another age and are absolutely free to download.

For young hoods, the Aether Age streets of mob-plagued Chicago present a world of opportunity. And Mack and Mickey are headed straight for the top in "That Sort of World: a Tale of the Aether Age" by Grant Gardiner.

It's class-warfare in Citadel City as Pandora Driver and her Car of Tomorrow deliver rough justice to the elites and a douche named the Gooch in "Who are the People in your Neighborhood?" by John Picha.

"The Wise Man Says" by Bard Constantine introduces Mick Trubble: a hard drinking, chain smoking charmer who bites off more than he can chew... then chews like hell. The Troubleshooter takes the grit and slang of a hardboiled detective and drops it in a dystopian setting that mixes Fedoras, trench coats, flying cars and android policemen.

Our last tale is set in the World of Mañana by Jack Philpott…

The dirty streets of Roanoketown were his home and his only family, until he met HER. Now he'll follow HER into hell, tamahaak held high, and fight as a proud Indian against the Anglo Oppressors. He'll wager his life to be a true "Friend of the Spirits."

Download them here for free, or pick them up at your favorite online bookstore

Dieselpunks

iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dieselpunk-epulp-showcase/id604770...

Kobo
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Dieselpunk-ePulp-Showcase/book-xDKw0...

Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/287097

DriveThruFiction
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/111474/Dieselpunk-Epulp-Sho...

Lulu
http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-picha/dieselpunk-epulp-showcase/ebook...

GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17382357-dieselpunk-epulp-showcase

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Dieselpunk-Epulp-Showcase-ebook/dp/B00BHK925G

Why would we give this away for free?

#1 - Because we’re good people. Really. If you like these free dieselpunk stories and want to buy us a drink, we wouldn’t turn it down. In fact, if you like the stories, the best thing you can do for us is write a review at your favorite online bookstore and share the book with your friends. Good reviews bolster our authors’ online reputation and help them with future book releases.

#2 - We’re building interest in dieselpunk fiction and paving the road for other dieselpunk writers.

#3 - By giving away freebies like The Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase (volume 1), we’re attracting people to Dieselpunks and growing our online community. Dieselpunks is the world’s largest and most active news site and social network for dieselpunk artists, and it’s projects like these that show how much we care about our fans.

Do you want more?

Meet our authors and check out their other works:

Jack Philpott is a born writer and artist who somehow ended up as an Electrical Engineer. Whether he's enjoying chilled Vermouth on the streets of Geneva, being catapult-launched off of a perfectly good aircraft carrier, or digging in the sandbox with his son, Jack tries to appreciate the sublime nature of the moment.

Jack's previous works include several articles for Palladium Books'® Rifter™ periodical plus the perpetually-upcoming Rifts® Delta Blues trilogy (with Josh Sinsapaugh), several fan award winning "timelines" for Alternatehistory.com (as Geekhis Khan), and regular contributions to Dieselpunks.org (as Cap'n Tony). Jack co-created the World of Mañana with Norman James in 2010. See more exciting adventures from the World of Mañana in the upcoming Twit Publishing Dieselpunk Anthology ("Cocktails on the Street of Bones") with even more stories to come... mañana.

# # # # #

John Picha was born on St. Patrick's Day 1968 in Joliet, Illinois. He was raised in Frankfort, a suburb of Chicago, but his mind always seemed to be elsewhere. The little Midwesterner was captivated by comic books, cartoons and animation, mythology and all things imagined. He made the world around him more exciting by pretending. A bicycle was a spacecraft, a bush became a dinosaur, and, of course, there was always a bath towel hidden away for a quick change into a super hero. You can find John’s full bio on his website: www.takejohn.com

It was the 1930s. Young Betty McDougal discovered how hard life could be when her family was evicted from their farm and forced to live in a Citadel City shelter. They struggled to survive. It was a time of desperation, sin, mistakes and lessons Betty didn't want to learn. Her life felt pointless until a mysterious stranger delivered her an ominous black car. It transformed her.

Pandora Driver summons the spirits of pulps past and adds dieselpunk hardware in a retro-hero tale for mature readers. It ain't Shakespeare. It's pure Pulp! There are more Pandora Driver stories headed your way, so keep an eye on www.pandoradriver.com for updates on her future adventures.

In addition to Pandora Driver, be on the lookout for more of John’s ePulp titles coming in 2013: Skyracos, Rurik, and Dead Reckoner.

# # # # #

Bard Constantine was born in Chicago, raised in Southern California, and currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. But where he really resides is in the worlds he creates in his writing. A writer of gritty futures and far-flung fantasy, he decided to concentrate on publishing when he approached the age of thirty. Although he writes in several genres, his hallmark character is Mick Trubble: the rugged, wisecracking protagonist of The Troubleshooter novels.

The Troubleshooter is the flagship title of Bard’s expanding Havenworld universe, in which humanity dwells in city-sized constructs called Havens to survive a terrifying Cataclysm that nearly wiped out life on earth. Further exploration of other Havens in this world will be coming soon.

Follow Bard Constantine’s adventures in his works: The Troubleshooter: New Haven Blues, The Troubleshooter: Red-Eyed Killer, and The Aberration. More info on Bard Constantine’s current projects and titles can be found at his official website: http://bardconstantine.com, and the official Troubleshooter website: http://micktrubble.com. He can be followed at Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bardofdarkness) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/BardConstantine).

# # # # #

The Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase is Grant Gardiner’s first foray into the world of ePublishing but it won’t be his last. He is currently working on an upcoming pulp alternate-universe adventure series, The Tales of Tommy Thunder, Scourge of the Skypirates, as well as several more dieselpunk short stories for his collection series The Tales of the Aether Age.

For more details about Grant’s projects, please visit: http://www.tommythunder.blogspot.com

Monday, March 4, 2013

The Bard Reviews: Automaton by Cheryl Davies

The Future Is Artificial

Take One: Cheryl Davies’ sci fi novel Automation takes social media, reality TV and online gaming to a whole new level –with deadly results.

Take Two: In the near future, our love of gaming and reality TV combines. Gameworld is the result: a Truman Show/The Sims-inspired digital world so realistically portrayed that the games have a hard time separating the game from reality. Each gamer controls a character in a game that operates like the most addictive soap opera. Each character looks and acts like a human being with all of our emotional intricacies in place. There appears to be no difference between the characters in the game and people in real life.

And there might not be.

The drama surrounds two of the gamers and their characters. When one gamer has relationship problems, he becomes jealous of the perfect relationship of his character. He decides to ruin it, not realizing the effect that it will have on the owner of his characters girlfriend. The dominoes fall, putting the two owners on a crash course toward one another.

The novel also has its mystery involving the true nature of the characters and the secrets of their ‘existence.’ I can’t say much without giving away the details.

End Take: This is a solid debut novel from Cheryl Davies. She is able to lay out her futuristic world without getting muddled in unnecessary or overloaded details, but still paint a picture that easily translates to the reader. She does well in fleshing out her characters –one wonders if it is on purpose that the gaming characters are more likable than their human counterparts. Selfish human nature and the culture of voyeurism are strong themes that she presents without beating the reader over the head with the message.

Four out of five stars

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I was tagged by a fellow writer, Brad Anderson, to participate in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. Brad is currently working on a science fiction space opera, the third book in a series called the Triumvirate Trilogy. The setting is near the tail end of a devastating war between the three major powers of this universe. Definitely seems intriguing and I'll be checking it out.

Here’s how the blog hop works. A writer/blogger gets tagged, they write an intro where they shout out & link back to their tagger, and then answer the 10 questions listed below about current work in progress. At the end, they tag five other writer/bloggers.

10 Questions About My Current Work in Progress:

1. What is the title of your book?

I’m at the very start of The Troubleshooter: The Most Dangerous Dame. It is the second full length novel in a continuing series about a hardboiled private eye character in a dystopian future world.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I've always liked the film noir style, with all of the jargon and colorful characters included. The idea rolled around in my head as I read novels like Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series and watched films like Dark City, The Matrix, and of course the biggest film influence: Blade Runner.

The idea was to take both of those unrelated genres and combine them. A blend of old and new, noir and sci-fi with a dystopian twist. So you get your slick hustlers, cool dames, fedoras and trench coats along with your flying cars, synthetic humanoids, and post-apocalyptic futures. The reader is taken along for a ride with Mick Trubble: a hard drinking, chain smoking, slick talking man whose job description is shooting trouble. In the installment that I'm working on, Mick is recovering from revelations from the last book, only to find himself engaged in a deadly game with a person who comes from his murky past. It's going to be a blast, and I can't to get deeper into it.

The Troubleshooter: New Haven Blues (Volume 1)

The debut novel

3. What genre does your book fall under?

It's hard to fit it to one particular genre, since it blends elements of noir, detective, sci-fi, dystopia and dieselpunk. But I like to call it 'dystopian noir' for short.

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

Michael Fassbender as Mick Trubble

Uma Thurman as Selene

Shahid Kapoor as Poddar

Ethan Hawke as Frankie Newman

Lance Reddick as Tommy Tsunami

Olivia Wilde as Ms. Kilby

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

30's noir meets science fiction in this dystopian tale of a man whose job description is shooting trouble..

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

Self-published

7. How long did it take you to write your first draft?

I'm just starting the first draft of Most Dangerous Dame, but New Haven Blues took me around three months for that very rough first draft. When you add in the time to almost completely re-write it, you're looking at about five months, give or take a week or so.

8. What other books would you compare yours to within your genre?

I haven't read the Harry Dresden novels yet, but from what I've read of the series, it has a similar 'urban noir' style, only those are of a supernatural angle. There's also the E.M. Faustus novels by Christoper Davison which I recently came upon, which is also a noir blended series. I'm sure there are more out there, but I haven't run across them yet.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The novel started off as just a writing exercise to try out stream of consciousness storytelling. I just took things I liked from similar themed movies and novels and ran with it. Once it was finished, I knew immediately that it had potential for a full-length novel. From there it all about shaping it and expanding the ideas and characters.

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

It's a fast paced story laced with colorful characters, dry wit, and plenty of action. What I've liked from the readers is that it's been praised by readers of old school pulp and noir as well as readers of science fiction, detective, and adventure lovers. There's also a lot of humor that readers have enjoyed. Mick Trubble gets himself in some pretty ridiculous situations at times.

All Right, Who’s Next in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop?

Victoria Selene Skye Deme is a highly talented writer and friend. Known mainly for her volumes of captivatingly surreal poetic collections, but she has a groundbreaking prose project in the works as well. In fact, she so fantastic that a major character in The Troubleshooter is named and styled after her. How cool is that?

David W Moore is a friend and writing peer that I've come to know across various online sites. He has horror novel being circulated to publishing houses at the moment, as well as a sequel in the works. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Christopher Davison is the author of a hardboiled detective series not unlike my own, although his comes with a paranormal twist. If his interview answers are as wild as his writing then we should be in for a wild ride!

I recently met C.L. Davies, who writes in the genre of science fiction and dystopia. Her debut novel was Automaton, any eye-opening take on the gaming and online relationship culture. I look forward to hearing about her other projects, as well as what's forthcoming.

Tiyana White is a writer I came across while doing a reviewer search. Her upcoming project is called Element 7, a dieselpunk fantasy novel with a very intriguing premise. I personally can't wait to hear more about it.