tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20160718711865190422024-03-14T06:16:52.421-04:00Smithy of the Written WordJ. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-33630120024084568142017-08-14T20:46:00.003-04:002017-08-14T20:46:54.630-04:00We've Moved!The archive is still here, but now I'm blogging at https://mrwootton.wordpress.com/blog/.
See you there!J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-44612108052094272222016-07-17T16:51:00.041-04:002022-07-17T17:00:07.573-04:00Excerpt from du Maurier's "East Wind"East WindNearly a hundred miles west of the Scillies, far from the main track of ships, lies the small, rocky island of St Hilda’s. Only a few miles square, it is a barren, rugged place, with great jagged cliffs that run steep into deep water. The harbour is hardly more than a creek, and the entrance like a black hole cut out of the rock. The island rises out of the sea a queer, misshapen crag, J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-31041799823077009622014-12-06T12:19:00.000-05:002014-12-06T12:19:45.142-05:00Origin
All the deepest magics are
bred upon the hearth.
Warm brick and whistling
kettles,
story-tongued salamanders
leaping to climb chimney walls
only to fall back down as
crumbling soot,
Almost before they have
driven us
out of Dark and into Dream
guiding here and there by
rough words, few, unsteady, and dim.
Tomorrow, behind porridge
gently steaming in the pale dawn,
a J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-86878541048771912692014-11-04T21:03:00.002-05:002014-11-04T21:05:53.034-05:00Thoughts on Creativity
Two pieces I feel are worth passing along.
First, the inestimable John Cleese:
Second, this from screenwriter Shonda Rhimes via Zen Pencils (follow link for full size):
J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-24118845431450267782014-08-19T17:27:00.000-04:002014-08-19T17:27:22.960-04:00The Digital Gold Rush
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing (DSP), Series Nine
Hey, remember the California Gold Rush?
Hundreds of thousands of people relocated to Califorinia between 1848 and 1855 from all over the world. Many came seeking gold, finding billions of today's dollars' worth within the first five years. Many others came and set up shops, selling supplies and services to the prospectors.
Who do you J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-21142026189231635672014-08-05T14:40:00.000-04:002014-08-05T14:55:44.728-04:00Her Unwelcome Inheritance Audio Book
Her Unwelcome Inheritance (Fayborn, #1) is now available in audio book format!
The production features lovely reading by Summer Jasmine Brown and is just under 6.5 hours long. It is available for $17 from iTunes and Amazon, or FREE with an Audible.com trial membership.
Here are the links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LU1NLJU/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-69317703077590991372014-05-09T11:32:00.003-04:002014-05-12T18:08:59.649-04:00Ordinary
by Sørina Higgins
my overcoat is a pelican
my umbrella is a stork
the flowers I plant have
grown down into the soil
their roots are enjoying the sun
and everything I have to say
pours back inside my lungs.
my garden is a laundry bin
my kitchen a game of chess
the dishes I feed you were
gleaned from a railroad
a transcontinental surprise
and every last sip I slip down my gorge
tastes like J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-10327004548356728842014-04-22T09:29:00.000-04:002014-04-22T09:29:04.939-04:00A Hasty Hypothesis of Curacy
(In 7 Tweets)
1/7 Ideas are humanity's only true
wealth.
2/7 When constrained by language or
locality, Ideas give rise ecosystematically to Culture.
3/7 Globalization forces Ideas and
Cultures to compete for survival...
4/7 ...resulting in both “invasive
exotic” and “endangered native” ideas just like we see with
plants and animals.
5/7 Globalization therefore reduces
culturalJ. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-54062736300942336662014-03-11T15:45:00.000-04:002014-03-13T11:52:26.355-04:00All Exposure is Good Exposure
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing (DSP), Series EightWootton's First Principle of Digital Self-Publishing – First Build Reputation, Then Earn Revenue – has some corollaries. There are all kinds of ways to build reputation, after all, and all kinds of reputation you could have. When it comes to author reputation, these concepts help us understand what is and is not worth J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-77897773350058834572014-03-04T15:19:00.000-05:002014-05-05T15:50:43.140-04:00Advice from Edith Wharton
Another unsettling element in modern art is that common symptom of immaturity, the dread of doing what has been done before; for though one of the instincts of youth is imitation, another, equally imperious, is that of fiercely guarding against it.
In this respect, the novelist of the present day is in danger of being caught in a vicious circle, for the insatiable demand of quick J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-17993355573774870172014-02-05T19:07:00.000-05:002014-03-11T12:40:41.573-04:00A Bit of Hypocrisy
Thoughts on Digital-Self Publishing (DSP), Series Seven
I have a confession to make.
I frequently agree - even volunteer - to do author interviews, but most of the time I'm not even slightly interested in reading interviews of other authors. I think that makes me a bit of a hypocrite.
It's not that I'm not interested in other authors as people. I am. I'd be happy to make their acquaintance J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-28683160261479881652014-01-13T14:24:00.000-05:002014-01-13T14:25:11.953-05:00The Fayborn Reading List (to date)
Readers of my Fayborn novels know that the story begun by Her Unwelcome Inheritance is a story full of other stories. As my namesake character in the novel puts it,
"The more stories I study, the more I become convinced that there is only one story; and that we are, all of us, engaged in telling it."
At the back of each Fayborn novel is a "Further Reading" Appendix.J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-45970135760050004222013-11-21T16:30:00.002-05:002013-11-21T16:30:52.344-05:00Wheaton's Law
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing (DSP), Series Six
Wootton's First Principle of Digital
Self-Publishing – First Build
Reputation, Then Earn
Revenue – has some corollaries. There are all kinds of ways to
build reputation, after all, and all kinds of reputation you could
have. When it comes to author reputation, these concepts help us
understand what is and is not worth worrying about.
J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-63716220222111452492013-11-19T12:41:00.001-05:002014-01-27T12:51:25.033-05:00On the Supposed Unsuitability of Fairytales for Adults
My
dear Lucy,
I
wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that
girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old
for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be
older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading
fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf,
dust it, and tell me what you think J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-66983843769457735052013-11-13T13:49:00.001-05:002014-08-19T15:26:19.656-04:00The Business of Today (Part One)
Thoughts on Digital Self Publishing (DSP), Series Five
In the beginning of years, when the Internet was so new and all, and the Web Domains were just beginning to work for Man, there was a Dot-Com Idea, and he lived in the middle of a Howling Desert of Dial-up, most 'scruciating idle; and when anybody spoke to him he said "e-commerce!" Just "e-commerce!" and no more.
Remember the dot-com J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-73560011440741017852013-10-02T17:11:00.001-04:002013-10-04T13:03:22.658-04:00Authors as Marketers
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing (DSP), Series Four
All successful authors are successful self-marketers.
Occasionally, you'll see traditionally-published authors arguing
that they aren't interested in “going indie” because they don't
want to do their own marketing. This is misleading; what they really
mean is that they prefer doing the kind of marketing required by
traditional publishing J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-36321007501029165152013-09-23T19:53:00.000-04:002013-11-13T08:21:34.228-05:00It's Fayborn Fortnight! Win Free Stuff!
Dear Friends & Followers,
As you can imagine, I'm really excited about the release of my second Fayborn novel, The Eighth Square.
The digital publishing process takes about two weeks. During that time, the new book will (eventually!) be made available from all the websites, in all the formats, and on all the different platforms, that you can already get Her Unwelcome J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-25916674637070924932013-09-23T17:59:00.001-04:002013-11-20T12:26:39.588-05:00The Eighth Square
Scheduled for release on September 25!
Dodging unwelcome encounters with the supernatural is making Petra
Godfellow's freshman year very difficult.
Emissaries from the imprisoned Faerie Queen are looking for her.
Members of the Green Kingdom Militia watch her everywhere she goes.
Worst of all, servants of James Oberon keep trying to kidnap her. All
because they believe that Petra is a J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-31380291051410503542013-08-28T13:09:00.000-04:002013-10-04T13:03:22.656-04:00Industry Shifts. You Should Too.
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing (DSP), Series Three
As Jenny the Bloggess recently
pointed out, there are no "rules" for successful digital
self-publishing. Many industries have a proverbial mailroom, a place
where you "do your time" while learning the ropes and making
connections, providing ambitious/determined/persistent/tenacious
individuals a path to the job they actually want. J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-17833158932003810992013-08-22T13:04:00.000-04:002013-10-04T13:03:22.654-04:00Marketing: A Metaphor
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing (DSP), Series Two
Imagine, if you will, that you are
holding a large blanket – say an overstuffed comforter for a
king-sized mattress. Say that is made out of some very heavy and
bulky fabric, like wool or denim. Now imagine it even heavier,
because it is soaking wet.
Further imagine that the reason you are
carrying this dripping-wet king-sized comforter J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-80902405179279548872013-08-22T05:08:00.000-04:002013-10-04T13:03:22.660-04:00Limitations
Thoughts on Digital Self-Publishing
(DSP), Series One
For me, adulthood has largely been a process
of encountering my limitations, accepting them, and finding creative
ways to work around them in order to meet responsibilities and
achieve goals and desires.
One of the surest ways to stop a good thing
from happening is to suggest doing a perfect thing instead. Sure, the
perfect thing J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-25623005497805623492013-08-21T16:49:00.000-04:002013-11-13T08:24:44.663-05:00Now Available: "Her Unwelcome Inheritance" Trade Paperback
We interrupt this blog series on DSP to bring you the following announcement...
...Because Real Books Are Better.
Ebooks are great. They're convenient, inexpensive, and lightweight. But nothing beats having a real live book in your hands. Printed books never need recharging, have natural anti-glare surfaces, can be easily lent to your friends, and contribute to the J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-30888767145604098382013-06-03T10:57:00.000-04:002013-10-04T13:06:23.095-04:00The Benefit Race
for
Team Je Me
Souviens
They gathered in the pale before the
dawn
Checking stirrup and strap, harness and
helm,
Pack and saddle. They talked
Of last night's feasting.
Their cause is sober, so they drink;
The foe grim, so they jest.
Neither dour nor depressed,
Nor by some bleak humor possessed,
They are girded by what it used to mean
to be free:
They go to war.
Not J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-54846386987298939462013-01-17T08:45:00.000-05:002013-10-04T13:06:23.110-04:00The Hollow Space Under the Stair
In the hollow space under the stair
spiders breed all unaware
of an untrimmed door set in the wall
behind the paint, narrow and small.
This door opens on meadows bright -
even while the household sleeps at
night -
or, perhaps, on rainy days
where water licks at stony quays,
and houses lean across canals,
and ships return from hunting whales;
or else, broaching lands of trolls,
J. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2016071871186519042.post-64256542793687439682012-08-02T12:47:00.004-04:002013-11-20T12:26:39.597-05:00Her Unwelcome Inheritance
I'm very happy to announce that my new book is out!
It is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for Kindle and Nook for $3.
It's about Faerie. Also: supernatural stalkers, family tensions, going off to school, and what to do when people you respect suddenly reveal that they believe in something absurd and impossible.
If you don't own a Kindle or a Nook, but do ownJ. Aleksandr Woottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14662632470889043158noreply@blogger.com5