Richard Parry: writer, liar, superhero
Writing a new world without infodumping is like hosting a party without explaining the rules of beer pong. Here’s my secret sauce: use familiar elements, reveal info as characters need it, and assume readers are in-the-know. And don’t be afraid to bluff. Read More …
Wayne, a Canadian ex-standup comedian turned writer, talks about his transition to authorship and his Werewolf PI Series set in urban landscapes like Chicago and Las Vegas. His characters navigate a world of supernatural beings, facing off against rival werewolves, occult dangers, and a multitude of paranormal threats. With two books out and a third releasing May 2024, he shares advice on writing and editing, while admitting fiction’s challenges. Wayne can be found online through his Amazon author page and social media. Read More …
Life’s been hard these past months. I don’t want to be a downer, but the only thing missing from this apocalypse is actual zombies (and I’m pretty sure I saw those at the mall). I know money is tight. Shit is hard. Unemployment’s at record highs, and even “cheap” entertainment like reading is difficult to justify when you’re not sure how to feed your kids tomorrow. Many people aren’t coping, and finding it harder without fantasy worlds to escape to. I have three possible solutions for you. If you’re really hard up for cash, I’ve made Chromed: Upgrade free. This is my homage to Blade Runner. It’s got cybernetics, alcohol, genetically-modified monsters, wormholes, AI, and rock music. This was the thing I wanted to write when I started to do this gig for real, and you can get it for nothing. 85,000 Read More …
I’ve waxed lyrical about marketing on here before – we’re almost doing it again! Rebekah did a marvelous new cover for Night’s Favor. This book is a huge pain in the ass to do a cover for, because it’s not your usual werewolf book. It’s also not your usual police procedural, thriller, or supernatural suspense. It’s the all-y’all version of those things, and this makes finding readers a hyoooge challenge. What she came up with is the best damn cover it’s ever had. I mean, you can see what’s going on there, right? We’ve got Val, who’s looking a little fucked if we’re honest with ourselves, and the werewolf about to turn him into a Val-sized snack. This particular scene happens before the book starts, but that’s not really important. We want a werewolf, we want it now, and we Read More …
This is one of my world-famous emails, sent Friday 24 May 2019. Get on the list here. Being asked to do something different can be terrifying. There’s a thing happening in AuthorLand™ – readers want new things and authors do not know WTF to do. I, because I have very little sense, pride, or self-preservation instinct, am trying new things anyway. This week: How’s Boundless going? Terror, and A sample. Let’s dig in. Your Boundless update. Boundless is kicking ass and taking names. I’m about 11,000 words into the manuscript so far (even ignoring the ~3,000 I ditched as a result of my Meriwether experiment [that link will take you to a before-and-after shot of two versions of Boundless’s co-hero, Meriwether]). I’m having a lot of fun with it. I’ve spent more time worldbuilding this one than anything I’ve written Read More …
My Night’s Champion series is the devil’s own to market. It features (spoilers!) werewolves, but isn’t in the lane of popular genre tropes. My werewolves aren’t sexy; their murderous, and the vampires they fight do not sparkle. It’s been my eternal challenge to give this series covers that scream, “Supernatural suspense!” rather than something YA-focused (DANGER! WARNING! DANGER!) or romance (…this would be worse than terribad). I’ve updated the covers with these latest. What do you think? The third’s almost the same as it’s original, but the other two have seen quite the facelift.
I like data. It helps make better decisions, and avoid posturing and hand-wavium. A bunch of people in the author community espouse the value of permafree* book one in a longer series. The basic argument is: There’s no friction to reader attachment, thus you’ll get a higher readership. This is testable. While less people as a percentage of book one readers will read next-in-series (as speculative “purchasers” can come from outside your genre lane), the volume of readers will drive greater success overall. We can test this for science. We can also talk about the shit-show of also-boughts and how that makes advertising painful. You gain exposure on other storefronts, other than the mighty Zon. We can test this too! TL;DR: none of the promised gains worked for me, but I did see a massive spike in book 2 & Read More …