Suzi M.'s Blog

I'll start by saying I've never been wired quite right. My circuits are a chaos of logic and fiction, love and anger. In other words, I'm human. At least that's the impression I've been given.

There have been a few topics online of late which caught my interest. Normally I am not one to be offended by much. More often than not I've been called 'one of the guys' and to this day I climb trees and wear combat boots with my pretty princess skirts. Don't judge.

The first topic is Women in Horror Month. 'Why is this important?' say many people, including some women. See, that's the thing. I wish it WASN'T important. I wish all art was based solely on talent, that when I say 'Women in Horror Month' some people don't automatically assume I'm talking 'scream queens' and DVD cover models. Yes, horror actresses are part of the Women in Horror month, as are the Special Effects women, the audio women, the women on the film crew.... and the writers.

I wish for a world where I can say 'I write horror' and I don't get nervous laughter and sideways glances to make sure we're still in a public place, as if I'm somehow crazy. Jokingly I changed my answer one day to 'I write porn' and then it was my turn to look around while laughing nervously because the person seemed way too interested in what I had to say on the subject. Even Amazon labors under the delusion that I am a romance writer in spite of the fact I have never once published a romance.

So fed up was I with the reactions and subsequent non-interest in anything further I had to say about my work that I decided on an experiment. I resurrected a pseudonym I had used as a joke about 13 years ago, and I published a novella. A funny thing happened, or rather not so funny as far as ego is concerned. People loved it. People shared the links. People reviewed it without me even having to ask. My sales under my own name remained woefully stagnant while my alter ego's sales climbed, and that was before we signed on with Sekhmet Press for the full series. Had I not released the first book on my own and seen the math for myself, I could remain blissfully ignorant to the cold, hard truth: male writers are preferred for certain genres. Fine. Whatever.

So along comes women in horror month, and with it the trolls. Some days it's difficult to stay objective and remember that not ALL men feel the same as the few who open their hate holes. But damn those haters. Gleefully they stomp on women who dare to step out of the kitchen and do something more than the 'traditional role' (which by the way was destroyed when women had to work so the household income remains above poverty - but that's another discussion altogether). The worst part? Those same men who claim women just aren't as good at writing in a 'male' genre can't pick out a woman's writing versus a man's writing. My own alter ego is all the proof I need to back that statement up.

What surprised me was the level of hatred towards women in general in these 'discussions'. Honestly, it's pretty damned scary. These are the people who would be first in line to burn a woman at the stake I'm sure of it, and probably just for fun.

On the flipside of the coin, I've encountered a few women who dislike that I write under a male pseudonym, as if I can wave a wand and make equality for all happen. I wish. But no. To answer those who look down upon me for my male alter ego, it's a bit deeper than that, I'm afraid. Never judge a book by its cover, as the saying goes, right?

My pseudonym is not me hiding from the big bad world, nor is it me trying to 'trick' anyone. I'm very open about the fact I write under pseudonyms. My first titles are written under a pseudonym already (unless you think 'Suzi M' is actually my real name). So why is it a big deal if I have two other pseudonyms on top of my Suzi M? The impression I got was that I was somehow betraying my gender by writing as a man.

And that is where I have some real issue. The assumption that my writing stays the same and I just change the packaging. That would be like saying Front Line Assembly still plays industrial music as Delerium. It's not true. In fact, my writing styles between Suzi M and the others is so different as to have been seen as three separate people writing each story. Each pseudonym has its own style and voice, so wouldn't it be more of a betrayal to NOT write with a different voice when I'm putting on my mask?

And for those not familiar with Front Line Assembly or Delerium, here are some videos to demonstrate my point, and further drive home why I write under a pseudonym, i.e. two very distinct styles:

And then the same band, different musical project:

All that said, haters gonna hate. I know this. I don't have to like it any more than a hater has to like me or my plethora of man names. But I steadfastly refuse to piss standing up and I refuse to run back to the kitchen.

I took a bit of a hiatus from a lot of things over the past six months or more. Shit hit the fan, as the saying goes, and it put some things in perspective. Sometimes we need to cut loose what weighs us down, regardless of how much we love that particular albatross.

While I was away, I released a book titled The Murdered Metatron under the name James Glass (cover pictured to the left). I had a wonderful time writing it, and it was refreshing to cast off pre-conceived notions of how I should write it. In short, I like wearing my James Glass suit.

Apparently the readers liked me in my new skin even more. To date, this novella has been my most popular title, perhaps for two reasons: 1) It crosses many genres, from Noir mystery to paranormal to divine comedy. People can get into it. It's not horror, but it does have a few gasp moments. 2) The Metatron Mysteries (yes, it's a series) has been picked up by the awesome folks at Sekhmet Press and they have done an INCREDIBLE job of marketing the hell out of it. To give you an idea, we had 71 people interacting on the re-release party page over at Facebook in January. 71. The release party for the new installment is set for Saturday, February 15th and is looking to be an even bigger turnout than the first. Click here to RSVP.

In light of how much people liked me as James Glass, I decided maybe it was time to take a break from Suzi M and Xircon for a bit. They're not gone and they're not forgotten. They're just hibernating and may pop up now and again in anthologies. Also, I have a publishing contract to fulfill for three installments in the Metatron Mysteries, so I need to stay focused.

And speaking of next installments, check out this incredible cover for The Dispossessed from Norot Art. I can't stop looking at it, and I even licked my computer screen when Sekhmet sent me the preview (yes, I am a tactile kind of gal). But seriously, just look at these covers! I wrote the books and I catch myself thinking I need to go buy that Glass guy's books because damn, those are awesome covers.

February 15th is the release date, so get your One-button Click ready on the Amazon James Glass page.

BUT WHY DID YOU DO IT?

WHY is the best part of a mystery, don't you think? Yes, we enjoy the chase plenty, but ultimately what keeps us reading is the need to know WHY something happened. WHY did the voice of God get killed? (Hint: read The Murdered Metatron for the answer to that one.) WHY did the ghost come back to haunt someplace? WHY did a demon hang around to possess someone for 35 years? (Hint: read The Dispossessed for the answer to that one.)

So WHY did I decide to go more fulltime with my alter ego? As I mentioned above, part of it was the warm reception, and another part was the satisfaction I felt while writing as James Glass. The stories flowed more easily using someone else's fingers to write them. Expectations of what a woman would write versus what a man would write were no longer part of the equation.

A man has a blank slate to work with while a woman has predetermined templates within which she must work. It's annoying, to be honest, to try to fit the mold of what people expect of me versus what I want to do. So I broke the mold and made a man mask. It's not quite as creepy as the Kirk mask they used in the Halloween movies, but it's sort of along those lines. Point is, as James Glass there are no restrictions. I can do and write what I want with no judgements other than those made of the actual writing. I don't have to beg for honest reviews either, they just come easily and from complete strangers. I'm still trying to figure out what a 3 star review means, especially when the reviewer says how much they liked the book, but whatever. It's like a C+ to an A student with no rubric given on the assignment, I'll be honest. So please, for the sanity of writers everywhere, give constructive criticism of what you didn't like if you're going to post a 3 star, even if it's just saying 'not my cup of tea', otherwise the members of the OCD clan (as I am) will obsess over that three star review to try to figure out WHY it got only a 3 star. See what I did there? Closing the loop.

And in the interest of tightening that knot, now you can follow The Fictional Exploits of James Glass here. Find out why he hates playing host to Xircon, how he feels about the writing scene, and pretty much any and all things Glass related.

The link for my new collection of fiction went live a day early. It slid in under the radar and sat quietly in the nosebleed seats while everyone was watching the show. Then one person turned around and said, 'Hey, look!'

And it went from there. The sales started coming in, folks started to share the link, and my stomach did a barrel roll. You see, I figured after some word of mouth that the curious few would discover my writing. I don't do a lot of promotion. This release was a bit different, however. First, it's got this incredible cover by Robert W. Cook of NOROT fame.

So what does this new cover look like? Check it out. --->

I know, pretty awesome, right?

What's also pretty damned awesome is the lineup in this collection.

There's a bunch of stories of mine, such as:

Scarred
Enoch’s Devil
Dead Gods Dreaming
Angels from the Ashes of a Human Fire
Samedi
Fury
The End of Love
The Four Goldfish of the Apocalypse
Dreaming of Artaud
The Stonehenge Man Incident
Beautiful Doll
and The Demon’s Tale

There's also a few stories by Xircon:

Sundogs
The Lazarus Stone (Conspiracy Edit)
The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise

Also included in the collection:

A story by James Glass titled ‘The Monster Under the Bed’

And finally The Preachings of Mr. Ministry. What does that mean? It means some crazy free verse and rantings for your head-scratching reading pleasure.

Some are flash fiction pieces, some are short stories, and still others are novella length (as in the case of The Lazarus Stone (Conspiracy Edit).

To celebrate the Summer Solstice and the Supermoon of 2013, the electronic edition is available now. The print version will be available next week, along with the ability to request autographed copies!

Click here to get your electronic copy!

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!

Questions from Lisa Woods!! Tagging Jaime Johnesee, TW Brown, and Billie Sue Mosiman for the next round! (apologies for the gratuitous exclamations!!! I haven't had my coffee yet.)

What are you working on right now?

A couple of things, actually. One is a longer version of the flash fiction short 'Scarred' that was included in the Cover Stories Euphictional Anthology a couple of years ago. Another is a story I simply refer to as 'Metatron', and the third is a fourth installment of the Immortal War Series.

How does it differ from other works in its genre?

I'll be able to answer that when all of them are completed. :)

What experiences have influenced you?

Just sitting in a room full of people mostly. Or hanging out in the train station bar and watching people walk by.

Why do you write what you do?

For the challenge.

How does your writing process work?

Process.... define 'process'. My writing process is akin to Jackson Pollack in that I throw words at the paper and write what sticks.

What is the hardest part about writing?

Writer's block. Ugh.

What would you like to try as a writer that you haven't yet?

Comedy. I'm getting there, though.

Who are the authors that you most admire?

Jaime Johnesee has the top slot right now. She's a miracle.

Who are the new authors to watch out for?

Jaime Johnesee, Melissa Leet (when she finally releases those awesome stories she's been writing and hoarding), and Bryan Hall.

What scares you?

Clowns and spiders. Worse if they're giant alien clown spiders.

Apparently all I needed to cure my writers block was a good old fashioned plague. Yeah, who knew?

The HypnoSpawn (aka my son, for the uninitiated) got it first, though my scratchy throat started before his bubbling percolating nose. Ever try to suck snot out of a 15 month old's nose with a bulb syringe (aka The Boogie Sucker)? I liken the experience to wrestling a bear while trying to fit tab a into slot b, and all the while someone is having their arms and legs sawed off with a blunt steak knife right next to your ear. And no, I'm not exaggerating.

A hundred zinc losenges later and this damned sore throat is still working on me, in spite of my orange juice consumption, and now my head is doing the floaty 'I'm filling your sinuses with an extra special surprise' dance. I can already hear my nurse mother's voice on the other end of the phone line asking 'What color?' .... Only the tissue knows for sure!

In all of this, however, it seems the writeres block is fading while my symptoms are ramping up. A good dose of DayQuil and a ticket to ride the Q Train ought to fix my creativity right up. Which is awesome, since there are way too many looming deadlines for anthologies I wanted to submit stories to, and I'll be needing to write those stories.

Take, for example, my latest post over at the Second-hand Sarah Blog.

While chatting with some friendly Facebook folks, conversation went to promoting my books. OK, I admit it, I flat out asked what the best way to promote my books would be, and some kind folks answered.

The suggestion I liked the best was funny videos about my books. Being that my sense of humor runs more Monty Python in a Kids in the Hall (or vice versa, you get the idea) kind of world, I'm opening this one up to everyone who wants to play.

Guidelines:

1. Video can be ANY length you want it to be, but it will have to be posted to YouTube.

2. Video should be about or feature one of my books as the topic. You can find my work here.

and here.

3. Video should be entertaining. Preferably something kind of funny, but not in a mean way. So NO pushing people down a flight of stairs for kicks, got it?

4. Video should be posted to YouTube.

5. Video link should be posted to my Suzi M author page on Facebook, found here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzi-M/54616181082?ref=hl

6. It will be a good thing to also give that page a 'Like', too.

What's in it for you? Possible internet viral-ness and my undying gratitude. OH, and there's also a prize for the person who gets the most likes for their video.

The Prize: you get featured here on the blog, complete with interview, and you get electronic copies of my entire library of writings, including the now unavailable Four Goldfish of the Apocalypse.

You will also have your video shared extensively via Facebook, G+, Pinit, and Twitter.

If you're in, get that video up and posted!

It's not every day I get to talk to a zombie, but with big love and extra special thanks to my friend Doree Anne, I not only got to chat with one, but I got to interview an actual, live (or, well, you get the idea) walker from The Walking Dead!

Specifically, William Sibley Hart aka the ankle biter in the season 3 premier of The Walking Dead (shown in the clip above, thank you, YouTube!). Being a former media chick in a not-too-distant past, I'm always fascinated by the process and the actors involved. Not only is William Sibley Hart an awesome guy, but he's deliriously interesting to chat with, so without further ado I turn it over to him!

What drew you to the part initially?

A
few years back I was working for a large coffee company, yeah probably
the one that just popped into your head. The Walking Dead was still
shooting Season 1 and was filming nearby. As an avid book fan, I have
read books on Cold Reading (think John Edwards), when a bunch of people
came in talking enthusiastically about the zombie shoot, I picked up on a
trend. Eventually saunters in, sporting dog tags that
said zombie #1 or something. I connected the dots and said something to
the effect of “You must be with that movie shoot I keep hearing about,
the zombie one.” She was of course taken aback, as I don’t believe we
had even gotten to her order yet. This gets us chatting very quickly. She is really a very lovely woman. She suggested that I try to find my
way onto the set. Well of course this piques my interest so I hunted out
the show and immediately got sucked in and fell in love. Fast forward a
year later, my philosophy teacher is incredibly hung over and just
having us do a little reading quiz, then go. This was actually really
fortunate, 'cause I had run into him while out at the bar, and I don’t think
either of us were in good shape. With my new-found time off, I got on
Facebook. I know, shocking, a college student on Facebook. I saw the
rush call on Facebook, sent in my picture, and took a nap outside my
next class. I’m sure I looked like a freaking hobo to people passing in
the hall. Literally as soon as my professor started lecturing my phone
went off. I yelled out a whoop, he was NOT impressed, showed him the
email and bolted. I may have come back once, during the next two weeks.
Season 2 finale was a lot of work, we were all out there 18+ hours a
day, to over run the farm.

What were some ways you prepared yourself to play a walker?

To
be honest, I totally bolted out the door, bag in hand before I even
considered that. I was on set, after having to pause and wait for a herd
of ~90 zombies, in full makeup and wardrobe tromp past. On set I
befriended the people around me, who gave me the zombie school run down,
AKA cheap condensation of the “official” zombie school. Seriously,
don’t play me in cards, I have a wicked luck streak. That was the first
time I had prepped, I think being hung over helped for the first day. I
am fortunate enough to be an autodidactic learner (I learn better from
self-study than from teachers) so being in the environment allowed me to
adapt fairly quickly. Basically the same principle for how an immersion
language course works. For myself, quite possibly due to the hangover I
had during my first day on set, I kinda recreate, physically, a state
of being really drunk. I find it helps create some disjointed movements
in my gait, no particular pattern, speed, etc. For biting Hershel, this
of course came to no use. As we shot it in segments, ending with the
actual tendon pulling, I already had my contacts in by the time I was
getting direction from Greg. this posed a unique problem as I couldn’t
see much more than a general outline and bright patterns on clothing. A PA  stepping in front of the light that was trained at me was what made
getting direction possible. I spent 6 hours mostly blind, unless I knew
the person by voice, I have no clue who I was talking to, all day. This
was literally during angle change for the bite itself. What you saw in
episode 3 had been declared to me as “rehearsal,” Kevin said he was
gonna wait for the full run to pump blood, etc. With all the prosthetics
on my face, I didn’t feel the gush I only noticed after I was “dead.”

Did you enjoy it?

Cacatne
ursus in silvis? This is the latin phrase, does a bear shit in the
woods. OMG, super 8000000x geekgasm. Words cannot begin to describe how
amazing it has been to get paid to go have a blast on set. Sure the day
may be painful, long, tiring, frustrating or any number of adjectives,
but that is momentary discomfort and very fleeting. As an adrenaline
junkie, the experience of having lots of guns fired at me (S2 finale),
put in a burning building (inside the barn) etc is totally a dream come
true. Honestly, I was shooting for a stunt upgrade, I told them they
could totally light my jeans on fire, just let me drop my thermal undies
first (it was 25 degrees out that night, I wore two sets). I’m a boy,
you better believe that some of my stupid fire related shenanigans (read
alot, most intentionally) got me light on fire. Really it’s a miracle I
made it to 18, I think my folks lost money on a bet because of it.
As I may have mentioned before, my name is Will and I’m an adrenaline
junkie. That doesn’t make me smart, it just means I accept that I will
die when it is my time and not a moment before. I choose to grab life by
the balls and make it my.... Well you get the idea. I try to live with
no regrets, if you always ask yourself what if.... it eventually turns
in to what could have been. I think we can all agree that regrets suck, I
prefer not regretting having tried it, and having learned a lesson from
the pain (And no, i’m not a super scared up guy). I could literally
write forever on this subject, it is worth every second of pain, every
scratch, nick, burn, destroyed bed stuffs (the ears can literally hold
makeup for weeks). If I never take an acting career further (I have a
golden ticket, that doesn’t mean that the box I trade it for won’t be
shit), or even if it blossoms into something, my experience will stick
with me, I am still in awe that I have had the chance to be a part of
it. Yup, that folks was another geekgasm. *lights cig*

What was your favorite experience on the set?

I
get this question a lot, you’d think it would be easy to answer by now.
Hard to pick a favorite moment from all the wonderful experiences I
have had, and people I have met. Yup, this one gonna get me all
geekgasmy again.

This question is like asking which one of your toes
will you let me cut off and then trying to pick one. To be able to work
with such legendary and talented folks is beyond an honor and leaves me
dumbfounded and excited and giddy like a damn school girl. That being
said, there are a few moments that stand out, predominately.

Folks, I
don’t recommend not sleeping for two weeks and working almost non-stop.
If you survive, you will have a myriad of memories, feelings, etc. As I
mentioned before, it was really cold (I know we’re sissies in Atlanta,
lived in a ski town for years. Big shout out to Flagstaff friends, y'all
are family and I miss you), no one was prepared for the cold. I swear it
was 25 in November, but tee shirt weather the rest of the damned
winter. The first night of filming was arduous, especially for the lady
zombies. I got jeans a shirt and a flannel shirt, many of them were in
lady clothes, skirts, dresses, etc. The intensity of the cold surprised
everyone, many of the girls were icicles. In between takes, Chandler’s
(Carl) PA runs out to bring him a jacket and some hand warmers. Without
missing a beat, this 11 year old boy turns to the closest shivering
zombie, puts his jacket around her shoulders, and gives her the hand
warmers. I don’t know about you, or your readers, but at that age I
woulda put the jacket on, pulled out my gameboy (80’s baby represent)
and ignored humanity till I had to do something. Ok, so maybe I was a
brat and had a lot to learn, my mother is OCD down to the point that
friends were basically chosen for me. Seriously, keep watch on that kid,
he’s going to go far.

What was your least favorite experience on the set?

Honestly,
the aches and discomforts and pain experienced become a proud badge.
Ok, so sometimes the day gets long and frustrating, but holy shit...
Come on... It’s THE WALKING MOTHER FUCKING DEAD *yeah my geekgasms are
getting intense, this is a fun interview* It all boils down to being a
fan that got to go and play Hollywood. Every time I step on to the set,
even through the next half of Season 3 (you MAY see me in 12) I feel
like the most popular girl in school cried and pleaded to have me as her
date for prom. Every moment after is just the next best moment of my
life.

How do you feel when you see yourself as a walker on TV?

I
now know roughly what it would look like to be burned alive (inside the
barn S2 Finale), shot from a distance and up close, execution style.
While I may know what the scene looks like from my view (which if I’m
lensed is highly lacking to non-existent), I don’t know where it’s
coming, when, or how it looked on the monitor. The first time I saw the
footage of biting Scott (Hershel. Pretty sure I nicked his calf in one
of the sequential takes before the prosthetic, sorry dude) was as it
aired. I figured that it would be towards the end of the episode, based
off the amazingly, awesome prosthetic Kevin Wasner built (yes that man
truly earned his Emmy), but had no clue it was their cliffhanger/shocker moment at the very end. Since I know a lot of the
zombies, watching the show has become a recognize the zombie game.
Seriously, it’s really hard, however, when posed as a drinking game, yell
the name out and drink, none of the other zombies will play. I have
posed this at several zombie get-togethers at bars and or houses for
viewing parties. Speaking of which, if you live in Atlanta and plan on
doing Diesel Filling Station, any premier or finale, buy your entry ASAP
or go down before 3, they hit capacity at like 4:30.

When you're not a walker, what else do you like to do?

Everything
and anything, I am a a student of life and live by the philosophy of I
cannot make a decision without having some knowledge to base my opinion
about. I don’t fear the unknown for I cannot fear something that I do
not know if I would enjoy or not. I stick to fearing things I know suck.

Lately, I have been doing what I call an absorb phase. Through my role
on the show, life has blown up. Bite a guy on the leg on TV and the
rules change. Like G.I. Joe said, 'Knowing is half the battle'. I like to
at least have a little something known before I just hand out my Golden
ticket to any old scammer. The Google Fu is strong with me, as is my
thirst for knowledge. If I lived in the Garden of Eden, I would have
eaten all the damned apples in the entire place. Anyone (from my
experience) denying the gift knowledge, has something to hide that I’m
going to find out. Seriously, I went to boarding school for 2 years, I
read almost the entire library. Absorb phases can be freaking ridiculous
if I have the time to let go and soak in. Most of what I have been
doing lately is drinking down books, suggested to me by Dave Vescio. If
you saw the movie Hick, you watched him play the creepy pool shark in
the bathroom (deliberately vague, I hate knowing spoilers and won't give
any and ruin your fun). I have recently discovered the value of Twitter
and have been enjoying chatting with fans worldwide, follow me
@whart31, I try to reply to every comment, but it can be difficult.
Social dynamics absolutely fascinate me, frankly, I think anyone that
has to relate with another human being should have an interest in it.
Ego is a really powerful thing, especially male ego, we can be
bullheaded and stubborn but the day that is bad enough to smash the ego
and send you into the self help section, will change the way you view
the world. I have devoured books on topics ranging from body language,
cold reading (mentioned prior), to just regular interactions, on top of
people-watching in all environments. Funny story, my Anthropology
professor, also was a people-watcher and not as subtle as he thought he
was at 6’+ with huge Oakely sunglasses, wearing a very nice suit
(different daily), walking around the Georgia State courtyard. I pulled
him, second week of class, and asked him about it. He suggest I become
an anthropologist. Frankly, there is too much to do and too little time
to master it all, I am content with eating up as much info as I can
about things that interest me. In another life I can pick just one and
play with that, for now I am like a vampire, always thirsty for more.

Any additional comments?

Thanks
for having me be part of the blog. I really dig the questions, got me deeply into my
passion and even ripped more than a few geekgasms outta me. *lights
another smoke* I really gotta quit these things, anyone got suggestions
for what helped them and wants to be a part of my team fuck (can I say
that here?) being a slave to tobacco/save me lots of money by changing
my tobbacco to none, hit me @whart31 or on my fan page at www.facebook.com/WilliamSibleyHart

This post has two parts. The first deals with Women in Horror Month, which I'm giddily proud to say I am one. The second half of this post will deal with the other half of the equation, and an equally important part of the equation: the reader.

In case you didn't know, it's Women in Horror Month. What does that mean, exactly? It means we ladies get to step into the spotlight for a change and say loudly 'WE WRITE HORROR!'.Here's just a few of my titles available, with covers done by Jeffrey Kosh. Click here to get the full listing of my work.

What's the big deal? In a genre typically dominated by men, women tend to get put on the backburner when it comes to being taken seriously as horror writers. Yes, even in this day and age. I suspect it's very much related to sex (the noun, not the verb). On some deep level we all want to believe that a woman is a nurturer and a safe zone, a potential mother in each one of us just waiting to pop out a baby rather than a horror novel. In my case, I did both.

To the nay-sayers who think women are just incapableof being as scary as a man, you're right. We're much, much scarier. We plant a seed of fear and sit back to let it grow. We water that bad-boy while it's sprouting and you don't even realize it's there. When you've got a fullgrown Audrey II in your head, THAT is when we pull back the curtain and say 'Ta-da!'

And you didn't even know we were there. There's a reason there are mommy issues, people.

To that end, I've been told (by more than one source and by more than just my mom) that I'm pretty good at the whole writing thing. In fact, here's Blaze McRob's take on it.

And now for part 2: The Reader!!!

I'm going to plug Blaze McRob's blog again because it was 50% of the inspiration for this post (75% if you count the blog post about me :)). In this post, Blaze talks about Vix Kirkpatrick. Who's Vix Kirkpatrick you ask? She's a reader. Not just any reader, but perhaps one of the most famous readers I know - yes, I know Vix. She's awesome. She's also a reason that TW Brown came out with another zombie book in his series, I suspect she's the single reason Amazon in the UK loves us indie writers and publishers, and she's also a big reason I started to kick around the idea of a fourth book in the Immortal War Series. Oops, I let that slip, didn't I? Well, it's out there now and I've said it, so I guess I'll have to do it.

So where does the title come into play? What's with this flipping business? No, it's not selling the media after a few minor and possibly structurally dangerous tweaks. It's not a house, after all. "Flipping' is in reference to an interesting new way of teaching called 'flipping the classroom'. What that does is makes the student the teacher (with teacher guidance and facilitation). The students take the lesson plans and create their own learning from it using research, discussions, and presentations. Kind of neat.

In the writing world something similar has been developing for quite some time. The more interaction between the readers and the writers, the more we writers tend to start looking at our work not as a 'here it is, publisher' finite thing, but as an evolving and flexible medium where reader input is no longer out there in the ether but landed squarely in our inboxes and on our Facebook pages. It's a flipped medium. There are fan fiction sites all over the place and even some wildly popular published fan fiction. In Star Trek and Star Wars circles this has been going on for a bit with the series of officially approved novels based on the original characters and stories.

How does it affect our writing? Reader input can influence the story, or in both my case and in TW Brown's case, it can spawn another book.

But there's another (and in my mind the coolest) element to this flipped media: the reader as the celebrity. I know, right? So here we have Vix Kirkpatrick, the world-famous reader! How cool is that?

Welcome to 2013, where the students are part of the teaching process, fan fiction is legitimate, and readers are the celebrities! Now if we could get working on world peace and balanced budgets, that'd be great. :)

For those who asked for a collected electronic version of the Second-hand Sarah blog, you got it!

Now you can relive the mystery, adventure, and even the scary moments of Sarah-land in 2012 wherever you are.

Click here to buy your copy!

Don't have a Kindle? Don't need one! The collected version is viewable via both the free Kindle app for phone, iPad, and Android, as well as via the Kindle Cloud reader.

Enjoy, and happy Imbolc!
~ Suzi M