The Shared Desk

What a year it has been. 2018 was the best of times and the worst of times… The Shared Desk, now recorded LIVE on Twitch at Tee’s Twitch Channel, hops, skips, and jumps its way through 2018, and looks at what was a hit, what was a miss, and what we have to look forward to in the coming year. 00:00 —  Introduction * We’re kicking off this show with premium cat butt * Sometimes you just have to ride the impulse wave and go LIVE on Twitch! * When going live, where do you look? * Geek Parenting… * So, we’re having adult beverages tonight. 05:05 —  Episode #92: Looking Back on 2018  * Let’s glance in the rearview, shall we? * Episode #86 * Big Doctor Who shout-out’s * Why was Battlefield Earth on the Hallmark Channel? * It was a mega-podcast with The Geek Wolfpack Podcast and K.T. Bryski * This was recorded before the younglings landed their respective high schools. * Conventions, conventions, conventions…. * ….and juggling projects. * Brandon questions why Tee would be writing Twitch for Dummies. * Pro Tip: Find yourself a good Tech Editor. * Episode #87 * Lani Sarem, part of an elite group of idiots in the publishing industry * 2018. Not a good year from Zuckerberg’s House. * Social Media matters. * The New York Times piece that gives Tee pause… * Changes in the Facebook approach * Episode #88 * Big jump between episodes. All the bad things were happening. * Tee’s Mom is holding up way better than Tee could have hoped. * Then Tee sticks the landing with Code.gov. * Tee misses his Dad. Hard. All for good reasons. * Finding a calm in the storm with Lost in Space on Netflix * Episode #89 * The Sea King’s Daughters launched. * Pip loves her spreadsheets! * Tee completed the fiftieth short story in Tales from the Archives. * Balticon, baby, with the Chain Mail Nerd!!! * Nerding….The Next Generation * Detroit Become Human and the writing behind it * Episode #90 * Pip was a little apprehensive about streaming, but that didn’t last for long… * While Tee and Pip streamed, Nick and Brandon work out a novel development. * Pip found Later and Canva around this time. * Tee was working towards his Dummies deadline * Big month for Pip * The Books & Braun Dossier launched. * Dope is still underway, and with the furlough, Tee has time to edit. * Mainlining Poirot on account of Kenneth Branagh * Episode #91 * Amazon devours Createspace and Tee turns 50! * Achtung, Baby!!! * Seriously,

Well, it has been quite a spell, but it does not necessarily mean that we are taking it slow this year… Welcome back to The Shared Desk, now recorded LIVE on Twitch at Tee’s Twitch Channel. So what is the difference between the live stream and the podcast, you wonder? We’re offering listeners a compact, condensed version of the show in the podcast feed for when you may have missed the show. The live Shared Desk will go longer, and be completely raw and unedited. We will also take your comments and questions as they come in. We are enjoying the whole Twitch experience, and hope you continue to listen (and reach out to us) on either platform. Alright then. on with the show, where we address the changes at CreateSpace. 00:00 —  Introduction * It’s been too long… * Memories of Germany * Did we happen to mention it’s been a week. * Where the heck have we been? * Twitch for Dummies is done! * Celebrating seven years of marital bliss * Tee reaches the Gold Edition as he turned 50. * Pip is recording audio. A lot of audio. * Oh, yeah, in September, there was an upgrade to the studio. 04:48 —  Episode #91: Achtung, Baby! (The Germany Trip) * Let’s celebrate the 50th birthday of Tee Morris! * When you’re in Germany, you’re going to mention the war. * Reminders are everywhere. * History is everywhere you go in Germany. * Oh, Bavaria… * We like beer! * We were visiting our steampunk supermodel. * You want to hear more about the trip overseas? Watch the full show at the YouTube video! (Yeah, catching the show LIVE means extra content!) 07:30 — Episode #91: R.I.P. CreateSpace * What’s breaking int he Writing World? (No, not writing advice from pretentious nitwits.) * The death of CreateSpace * We writers find ourselves, once again, here… * CreateSpace was its own entity…until Amazon decided “We can do it better.” * Yeah, about that… * Come on, Amazon. Step up! * It would have been great to have books for PhilCon, but there were two things we didn’t have: a working car, and books. * Some concerns about this takeover beyond delivery of books * Some opinions about Amazon courtesy of Hasan Minaj’s Patriot Act. * We are hooked on Amazon. We admit it. * It’s hard to deny how much power Amazon holds. * Amazon need competition. * What Tee is worried about: Quality of the Product from Amazon * An early experience with Dragon Moon’s experience with Ingram’s Spark * Devil’s Advocate: Times and technology are different. * How Amazon is handling proof copies * Amazon marks proofs as proofs. * Tee also has a bad story about booksellers selling proofs. * And here is where the “marital bliss” kicks in. * Pip Ballantine, dealer of sick burns * A mini-rant on Apple iBooks and the indie author * So far, the quality of books is fine; but we are still early in this new relationship. * Amazon is not a perfected science. Here are a few disappointments from the past… * So what options do you have outside of Amazon? * Pip is working with BookBub, and digging it so far. * Did you know about the Books & Braun Dossier? This is a thing! * We have our own holiday sale with The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh.

Adjusting to new schedules is still hard. An entire summer got by us, but we said we were going to make Show #90 count, and how did we do that? How about this?! Yes, we are taking the show to Twitch, and on Tee’s Twitch Channel, bringing all the wackiness and goofiness that you expect from us, only now including video and the magic of going LIVE! If you missed the show…well, you’ll just have to listen (or watch) and see if we will decide to do it again. 00:00 —  Introduction * If you’re going to come back, do it with some panache! * Upping our game, we’re giving Twitch a shot! * The magic of going live. * We have adult beverages as we go live. Hold on to something. * Hold up, that OP Seat is Tee’s seat! * Not bad numbers for a first step out… 04:51 —  Episode #90: Catching Up and Summing Up the Summer…LIVE on Twitch! * Let’s try and get back on track… * Tee’s on deadline with Twitch for Dummies * Tee begins to regret going live with Pip. * Apart from finishing the book, Tee’s struggling with one of the Parts of Tens. * So what are your hosts drinking? Glad you didn’t ask. * Getting an opinion on how to solve this dilemma…and that was quick. * Nick Kelly doubles down and claims that Pip on Twitch is the best — thing — EVAR!!! * Pip’s summer has been all about her new project. * Pip’s Patreon is offering free stories to her subscribers! * Six women, six mermaids. * Stacia Kelly * Piper J Drake * Lauren B. Harris * Katee Robert * Åsa Maria Bradley * An epic collection of awesomeness * …and this is on top of Pip getting her Books of the Order and Shifted World rights back.While Pip * Again, the magic of going live. And Pip was worried about Tee getting inappropriate! * Pip manages to get back on track. Thank God! * Did you know about the Books & Braun Dossier? This is a thing! * Pip is getting really, really good at laying out books in InDesign. * Hey, who is in this mermaid collection? * Don’t think Tee has forgotten about Dope. * Did Tee mention that he’s still digging his new job? * He’s got a new toy for his video work. * There’s a difference between Gimli and gimbal. * What’s Dope? Well, here is the origin story behind it… * New genres, new challenges * What else is on the White Board Wall? * Death and the Falcon is itching to be written…by Pip, anyway. * MUNCH IS IN CHAT!!! * Talking a little bit about what’s happing in the publishing world… * Createspace becomes part of the grand Amazon machine * The jump was not so bad,at least for Pip. * Stacia D. Kelly introduces Pip to Later.com, and Tee digs it! * Some serious talk about Vellum, and why InDesign is still an essential tool for indie writers. * Adobe has a lot going for it, even beyond InDesign. * The problem with being hommans to floof…

A SYNDICATED SPECIAL with the Geek Wolfpack Podcast! A special episode (dropped into the Shared Desk feed via the Geek Wolfpack Podcast feed) where Papa Wolf  (Nick Kelly) and his special guest (Tee, first time in studio!)  recap the events of MAGFest 2017. Hear these two discuss the unique vibe of this festival, cosplay, retro gaming, our panels, and all sorts of insanity from this incredible Washington, DC music and gaming festival over fine, malted beverages… MAGFest Recap Notes 0:00 – Intro
1:07 – Fanboyglass – Destiny glasses 2:02 – MAGFest 
2:16 – Brie gets her cameo 2:35 – Momma Wolf gets her cameo 3:08 – Rob Aldrich at www.teachthesky.com 3:49 – Rob’s panel on the Top Ten Episodes of the Transformers Rob Aldrich presents on the Top Ten Transformers Episodes 4:11 – What is MAGFest? 4:50 – Tee’s intro to MAGFest 5:41 – Awesomecon 6:45 – The attendees are as diverse as it gets, and we love it 8:04 – Our friends at the Geektitude podcast and State of the Geek 8:14 – Locked, Loaded and Liberal 8:54 – MAGFest did a great video of our panel, Storytelling in Video Games 9:03 – Tee’s podcast, The Shared Desk 9:37 – There might be Time Travel 10:03 – Last year, Tee did “The Big Score: The History of Soundtracks in Movies and Video Games” 10:22 – Major kudos to all of the staff. The A/V crew was amazing. 11:10 – Always give thank you’s in the most public way to sound, A/V and lighting people 11:45 – Thursday’s arrival 12:20 – eBro-la is now a thing 13:08 – 4 day cons are actually 6 days long 14:14 – Battletech: Fire Storm 17:04 – The end of a con is not unlike Fat Tuesday Squirrel Girl! 17:31 – Comics & Gaming 17:51 – Thermal’s new Assassin’s Creed jacket 18:18 – Ashamei got new earrings 18:50 – Sonic Boom gets Overwatch ears 20:16 – How Tee and Rob Aldrich met (in 2003) 21:51 – Hingle McCringleberry 22:10 – Pre-Order Rob Aldrich’s “Rockaiju” 22:55 – Rob mentioned Final Fantasy VI 23:35 – Rob also mentioned Ratchet and Clank 23:38 – Nick talked about Asheron’s Call 24:04 – Xenoblade Chronicles 24:31 – Tee talked Myst 24:45 – Tee also talked Destiny 25:28 – Get a gaming crate from Lootcrate 25:35 – Smuggler’s Bounty – Star Wars themed crates 26:14 – When is the story too much? 26:36 – Overwatch needs a story mode 27:27 –

We were a few days late on posting this, but we have posted — determined to stay on schedule! Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’re a few days late but we’ll be back in two weeks time with some more news and a new topic for you all in what will be a podcast-packed end-of-the-month. All this and more in this — the twentieth episode of The Shared Desk — where we are looking hard at the art of rejection from the toughest people to get it from — your peers. 00:00 — Introduction Hey now…two in a row! Sort of… Right now, the hosts of The Shared Desk are bit peckish. Tee welcomes back the drop-in…  On the upside, we’re working the Medifast hard! 03:00 — What’s going on in the Writing World Working title: The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences — Declassified, and the first round of invitation have been sent The Janus Affair places 7th in Goodreads 2012 Choice Awards The Janus Affair is released in Germany (and Tee lets the inappropriate humor fly) Pip revels in more incredible Cover Art Fu… Ace’s Clockwork Fairy Tales coming in 2013… …but Tee talks about the success of Aladdin and His Wonderfully Infernal Device just to get in a last word. Tee and Pip also release Christmas Tales from the Archives on Amazon and other markets. We’re planning a few consecutive episodes of Tales from the Archives as a holiday “Thank you” for the end of the month.  Wouldn’t it be great to have a personal assistant? Looking at 2013, yeah, we would. 10:17 — Nothing Personal: Rejection Amongst Your Peers A unique experience — sending out invitations to our anthology’s Dream Team Having a chat with friend-of-the-show, P.J. Schnyder, about why she’s a friend but not on the A-List Writing with friends is fun. When you’re working for an anthology, however, you need names. Author Jeff Vandermeer turned us down…but come on — COME ON — I’m just thankful I can approach him. Sometimes, you have to say “No.” Tee’s prepping for rejection (and not taking it personally) with Darkwater based on a rejection for The Case of the Singing Sword. Remember this about publishing — It’s a business. Looking ahead with Kickstarter and advice from J.R. Blackwell. Rejection is not a personal thing. 19:22 — Seriously?! Seriously. A brewing issue in geek circles: Fake Fan Girls Pip believes this whole debate began in high school. What Tee’s noticed — the debate rages about Fake Fan Girls that cosplay, but never about Fake Fan Boys? Pip takes umbrage with girls that are showing up as Lollypop Chainsaw, taking pictures of (or with) them, then complaining about how they are “fake.” Tee wonders why did the rage about out-of-shape superheroes at Comic Con disappeared while this argument rolls on? (And yes, I found out it was Men’s Fitness, not Maxim magazine) The Flawed Logic of a Fake Fan Girl Tee’s obsession with the ID Channel creeps into this rant… Do hotties REALLY WANT the attention of the average con? Pip and Tee go into a little commentary on the source material and how tough it is for BOTH sexes, but ESPECIALLY for women… When it comes to Fake Fan Girl: Who are you to judge? Celebs that step up — Fake Fan Girls? We don’t think so. Tee stumbles through awkward memories of high school… Geeks and their territorial tendencies What happens when Geekdom goes mainstream: People get upset and don’t want to cope. 34:12 — The Wrap-Up Pip’s already a confirmed guest at Dragon*Con New Archer is coming soon!!! Looking forward to the holiday We’ll be recording on Boxing Day! Screw Medifast — we’re having Christmas Pudding! Tee Morris: 2 for 2 with the Creative Commons tag… RELATED LINKS Pyr Books Nerfpunk Cracked.com and the breakdown of “Fake Fan Girl Silliness” Aisha Tyler from Archer, and her rant on the haters (Facebook) Riddle’s Me[...]

Mic check. Hello? How does this thing work again? Yes, we have returned to the mics (finally); and for this show, we are putting segments and subjects on hold to take some time to get you all caught up on what we have been doing since (ouch!) August when we last recorded. This is a catch-up show where you might not learn anything about the writing process but you’ll get a look inside the writer’s lifestyle. 00:00 — Introduction I hope we remember how to do this! Pip mocks the opening drop-in’s. O hai! We’re back!!! Welcome to the Catch-Up episode of The Shared Desk 01:39 — Life Happens…even around Dragon*Con Tee gets laid off again the day Tee & Pip get back from Authors After Dark. The good news: I saw the writing on the wall this time, and now I’m working with the American Public University System. The new job pulls me away a day early from Dragon*Con 2013. It was a neat orientation…what I remember of it… Good times at the W Atlanta and at Dragon*Con. Didn’t think D*C could get any bigger, could you? Guess what… Some lovely perks of staying at the W Could D*C be getting too big? Special props to Doc Quartermain for running a killer Steampunk/Alternative Track! Some stargazing at D*C…and Pip fangrrls again. THE GEM FROM PIP: When do you know you’re done? (And here’s Pip’s answer…at 16:22…) 13:24 — Baltimore Book Festival A terrific experience from SFWA, but not as enriching as our journey there… Some terrific panels and great people to enjoy time with like… Lianna Heiber P.J. Schnyder Rich White Ellen Datlow Getting cozy with the Nissan LEAF Winding down from the day, and we find a new love that is the music of Joe Bonamassa 17:40 — Emerald City Steampunk Expo (Wichita, KS) Pip adds a new state to her “Places I Have Visited” Abney Park and Unwoman — show-stoppers of the ECSE Pip wants to user her Rafflecopter to give away some steampunk music swag! Other cool stuff in Wichita Giant steam engines! Melissa Conroy Our First Ministry Cosplayer! 20:01 — Facebook Pages and Deadlines Pip kicks off a Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Facebook page Pip’s Deadlines First edits for Harbinger are off. Pyr Books gets their Kindred & Wings Other cool stuff The Omnibus of The Books of the Order is coming from the Science Fiction Book Club. Pip is pretty stoked about the new K&W cover art. Oh yeah…and we not only turned in the third Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel but signed a new contract! 22:29 — The Future of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (Part I) What is going to happen in 2013, either with Ace or with Kickstarter… The Anthology to Be Named Authors are signed on. Well, two are signed on. We have a wish list of writers. Two stories are ready and complete. The question is how, with who, and when. There goes December… The anthology is our bridge between books, depending on the timing of Dawn’s Early Light. How about this? A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences of RPG!!! Produced by Galileo Games Designed by J.R. (MF) Blackwell! Written by P.J. (MF) Schnyder! 27:49 — What Is Tee Working on? The steampunk reboot of MOREVI — Codename: Darkwater — is now underway. What is different between MOREVI and Codename: Darkwater This is not me pulling a Lucas. This is a whole new universe. My characters are present, Lisa Lee’s characters are not as omnipresent. No elves. Period. Smaller (much smaller) word count, and tighter plotlines. No Defiant. No parallel universe. Working in historical China with some help from Aleen the Peacemaker. The difference between a rewrite and a reboot Taking MOREVI and making it my own. Rafe Rafton…a character born for steampunk. 33:42 — More deadlines and Projects from Pip  Clockwork Fairy Tales is coming in 2013 Pip is on the “tail end” of her steampunk novella based on [...]

photo credit: TwiMom 227 (Thanks!) Yes, this is completely unhinged, completely off-the-cuff, completely EXPLICIT, but it is what it is — Authors After Dark! the event that you have heard Pip and I blog about is now coming to you raw, uncut, uncensored, and absolutely off-the-wall. With special guest, AAD founder Stella Price goes into the why’s behind this incredible event, what it takes to succeed at Authors after Dark, and who is going to be attending Authors After Dark in 2013… …and yes, Crazy Uncle Charlie even makes an appearance, much to the alarm of Stella! 00:00 — Introduction In a moment of late night punchiness, Pip breaks the Prime Directive of this Parsec-Nominated podcasta Parsec Finalist . What a slap-dash opening…and we blame the previous week of Tee’s life… Unless Texas wants to sponsor a trip for us, were backing out of FenCon this year. Tee goes there concerning the Revealing Eden author, setting the tone for this madcap and HIGHLY EXPLICIT episode of The Shared Desk. 03:28 — Authors After Dark with Stella Price (and a Rogues Gallery of authors, bloggers, and good people) Straight from the Big Easy… Who is in Pip and Tee’s Suite for this Shared Desk? Carolyn Crane, author Tee Tate, book blogger Chris Tate, good guy Suzanne Butler, author Sidney Bristol, author Lia Habel, author Alex D, good guy P.J. Schnyder, author Matt, good guy Jenn a/k/a TwiMom 227, book blogger …and the incomparabile Stella Price, author and convention founder. The inspiration behind Authors After Dark: Providing a playing field that is fair. No, seriously, Stella’s got a bone to pick with RT… Who made P.J. a host?! Everyone is on equal ground at Authors After Dark, and Stella does this because she believes in the industry. And a real, honest moment is shattered… Pip and Tee give their feelings on the intensity of Authors After Dark. What makes Authors After Dark so different… Authors chime in on the AAD Atmosphere (Part One) 16:35 — First Dakota Cassidy mention (and she’s an awesome bitch!) Authors chime in on the AAD Atmosphere (Part Two) TwiMom think she’s stalking us…but little did she know…… Stella makes it clear that the super-fans find themselves in a different world at Authors After Dark. Dragging a slightly-tipsy Sidney on to the mic, here’s a new author’s perspective. 25:35 — Another Dakota Cassidy mention… (Why isn’t this woman on our show?!) Suzan looks at the AADNOLA experience as both an author and as a reader. Turning the mic over to Tee Tate who only swung by for the public signing event — what did Tee Tate and Lit Stack think of the event? Tee and Tee…but which Tee did Tee meet first?! And then there is Lia Habel’s doppelganger around AAD… TwiMom covers the process in becoming a Featured Blogger at AAD. “ARCs Up the Ass” — the new slogan for AAD It’s over….but it’s not over yet…but Stella calls the 2012 event “the best one yet” on all levels! 37:13 — Writers Off the Clock For many of us, this is our first time in “Nawlans” and so we came up with a way to describe the Big Easy. The things you see when walking down Bourbon Street… You know you’re in New Orleans when strip clubs are used as landmarks. According to Stella, there is no truth in advertising of the “Little Darlings” nightclub. If the Zombie Apocalypse breaks out, blame Lia Habel’s mom… Hey, wait a minute — what flavor are those Slurpee machines?! The things you see…in red dresses…for charity… (What IS this charity, after all?!) The 2013 Savanna event takes inspiration from New Orleans — take a shot, buy a book, HAVE A BALL!!! Pip’s perspective of her first adventure in the Big Easy — “I see dead cross dressers.” I like the way Stella says “cockroaches” — [...]

Deadlines, distractions, and…something else that starts with D…but who cares? WE’RE BACK and we’re kicking off August with news about the Parsec Awards, where we will be this month, and that time when you have to say “Goodbye” to the worlds you have created. 00:00 — Introduction Since when is “17″ a landmark? What the hell is Pip thinking about stepping on my drop-in’s?! Whodathunkit? We’re a Parsec Finalist for 2012!!! (And we blanked on the good people at Roundtable Podcast! Don’t hate the game, bros — hate the playas!) Flashing back to sharing the desk with P.J. Schnyder… 02:47 — Ending a Series Pip is gearing up for the big goodbye to the characters of Geist. What are the feelings an author harbors when writing that final scene in a series? Pip compares ending her adventures with Sorcha, Raed, and Merrick against her adventures with Shakespeare and Puck. How (and why) do authors grow so attached to their characters? Is this the end of Pip’s journey with The Order, or just this generation? How do authors plan a series? Well, a lot it hinges on the contracts. Wow…Tee is kinda quiet….at least, with his comments. (The drop-in’s on the other hand…) What about the Ministry? Well, if Pip gets her way… Searching for the sweet spot in a series length. Looking at The Dark Knight Rises from a writer’s perspectives. When you wrap-up, how do you handle loose ends? Bloodbaths? Suddenly, Pip’s Ace pixie-like editor sounds like a mobster. THE GEM FROM PIP: When do you know you’re done? (And here’s Pip’s answer…at 16:22…) 16:50 — Writing Advice from Crazy Uncle Charlie Taking questions from Twitter for Crazy Uncle Charlie… From @PaperBullets How do you make sure you’re showing, not telling? What are your suggestions for writing peyote-fueled dream sequences? Charlie goes deep into the philosophy of writers and the mantra of “Show, Not Tell”… …but when it comes to the peyote, Charlie keeps it brief. From @Goochi26 I finally finished my book, what do i do now? Charlie shares his own little rituals (and maybe PVC fetish) when finishing a manuscript. 21:58 — The Wrap-Up Pip is still weirded out by Crazy Uncle Charlie. (I wonder why?) The Parsec Awards 2012 We shut out the Short Story-Small Cast Award! (Bad ass!!!) It’s an award-winning podcast… …but Pip really wants one for the case with HER name on it. The Ministry then appears twice in Short Story-Large Cast. Tales of the Archives in the running for Best Anthology. …and The Shared Desk. (Wow!) And we’re up against…. The Dead Robots Society Pendragon Variety Podcast The Roundtable Podcast The Shared Desk Writing Excuses What’s coming up in August and September? AUGUST 8-11 — Authors After Dark (with a shout-out to Stella Price!) AUGUST 25 — Watch the Skies’ Steampunk Extravaganza with Sarah Hunter and Jared Axelrod & Steve Walker AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 3 — Dragon*Con (where we can stalk Lou Anders SEPTEMBER 21-23 — FenCon (once again!) SEPTEMBER 29 — The Baltimore Book Festival Tee slams the Creative Commons tag, Pip doesn’t care, but Tee revels in the glory…all the while keeping it short. RELATED LINKS Katherine Kerr Website of Alastair Stephens Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.  

  So it’s been a while since we have sat down and recorded a Shared Desk, but how about this — when we finally got a chance to record a Shared Desk, we did it with the lovely P.J. Schnyder. This episode is about tough choices we make as authors in bringing about the demise of a character. Why do we do this to our creations? Is it for shock value? Is it for impact? And do we really care in the end?   00:00 — Introduction A brand new Shared Desk, and this time we brought a friend! Who is P.J. Schnyder? The way to a woman’s heart: Meat and Explosives Letting the drop-in’s fly! And God said “Okay, Tee, enough with the drop-in’s!” 02:46 — Making Tough Choices What happened between Shared Deskepisodes Making a book trailer The Steampunk World’s Fair Balticon Blogworld and B.E.A. …or what we remember of Blogworld and B.E.A. The dangers of drinking with agents, editors, and new friends… Getting complaints — a second one from a book critic — concerning a choice Pip and I made in The Janus Affair… Do we create characters simply to kill them? Evoking the name of Joss and when he kills beloved characters in his works. When do authors cross a line? Did J.K. Rowling go too far (or not far enough) in The Deathly Hollows? Tee’s gripes on Farscape and clever twists on bringing characters back Jumping genres and discussing a gratuitous death (or was it?) on M*A*S*H* We do care about the characters we kill. Do we write for entertainment, or to make an impact? TANGENT: Waxing happily about random drop-in’s for computers and future shows… 20:51 — Writers Off the Clock Sonic Boom is away at summer camp…so we have been indulging…in watching movies… Tee and Pip are talking about John Carter. (P.J. is talking about porn, we think…) A pleasant surprise of John Carter Terrific characters A lot of charm Fantastic visuals Tee, Pip, and P.J. go into Disney’s bungling of John Carter‘s marketing This movie had a lot going for it! (Even the credit sequence was good!) Bringing it back to marketing of books — when it works, when it doesn’t, and when it boggles the mind…. What does P.J. do to relax? Shout-out to his special man, Ord The Good as Gold Tournament  How does P.J. manage her time? Shout out to Stella Price! 36:23 — The Wrap-Up Drinks to mix, food to prepare, and stuff to blow up! Time to plug away! And here’s where we drop a little surprise on P.J. Schnyder as we all wait to hear from The Parsec Awards… What’s coming up for us… Pip has Hunter and Fox out and Wrayth coming soon… Pip is aiming to start a new series in November Now that The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel is out, Tee & Pip work on Dawn’s Early Light Tee is looking up  Tales from the Archives: Volume 2 launches on April 10 with new stories from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Upcoming Conventions Dragon*Con The Baltimore Book Festival …and FenCon (once again!) P.J.’s Upcoming Conventions Otakon Authors After Dark …and maybe Dragon*Con …and Pip shows up Tee on the Creative Commons tag. Again. RELATED LINKS Linnea Sinclair’s Savvy Authors workshop Patricia Briggs M*A*S*H* (the feature film) Destined to Play (The “If you liked 50 Shades of Grey…” book) Write or Die Gimmie Shelter Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.

WOW! We collected enough comments, questions, and overall opinions from you, the listeners, to make this show our second Listener Appreciation Show! We got some questions on Kindle, Scrivener, and Book Reviews, but we also got questions on topics we have never tackled before on mic. And Pip gets not one but TWO drop-in’s of her own… 00:00 — Introduction A quick shout out to Geek Radio Daily for their own touch on the show… Even more of YOUR CALLS, YOUR EMAILS, YOUR SOCILA NETWORK COMMENTS!  Yeah, Tee is showing the kind of love that only Soundboard can truly deliver. …and the Shared Desk Voicemail Line for the next one — 703.791.1701 04:30 —  Your Voicemail and Email Guy Barber from Cornwall, UK, sends us kudos for the audio version of HarperAudio’s Phoenix Rising and The Shared Desk, and puts in his vote for an audio version of Geist. Ben from Florida asks close on the same question as emails from Valkyrie Page and Chris Forshner on how we collaborate and the creative process between the two of us. Tee talks about Pip’s strengths and then discusses his own. How other authors collaborate against what Pip and Tee do. Melissa Hay surprises us with a call, and brings up the topic of book bloggers and how authors and publishers are keeping the peace, at least for now… Terry Arman asks us what we thought of the promo he cut for us…but has us at a loss. Nobilis Reed wants to know how we collaborate using Scrivener. P.C. Haring Calls “Shenanigans!” on our Scrivener…and we call him to the mat with some help from Phil Rossi! David from the Scrivener Crew writes us a killer “thank you” note. A discussion on the differences between Mac and Windows Scrivener A video on how to use Scrivener to create eBooks A video (or two) on tracking changes in Scrivener without “Track Changes” Our Anonymous NYT Bestseller gives inside dirt on Amazon and their own titles… Pip finds herself derailed by her bumper and a lack of breakfast. Is there anyone “big enough” to stand toe-to-toe with Amazon? Well, yes… More discussion about Amazon, and a shameless plug for The Janus Affair Rick Asplund calls in to give us BVL (big Viking love) from Chicago. Dan Dan the Artman drops a voicemail that calls forth the humbled (and slightly vaklempt) Crazy Uncle Charlie. Michael Spence mainlines The Shared Desk and gives his own opinions on shared universes. Tony Mast takes Tee to task for releasing Aladdin and His Wonderfully Infernal Device for the Kindle exclusively. Gail Carrigerwants to know what the “Shared Desk” really looks like……so here it is: And from the Great White North comes Steve Saylor, asking of working with video to promote your writing. 1:03:03 — The Wrap-Up The Second Listener Appreciation Show is DONE, and now we need your comments for Show #20! Hunger may be pushing Pip closer to PIP RAGE!!!  Where to leave your comments for us… April 10 — Volume 2 of Tales from the Archives goes live! Tee’s cheat-sheet is swiped from him…but he nails the Creative Commons exit. Some Related Links Audible Tee on ACX Balticon Brute Force Studios The League of S.T.E.A.M. Mark Yoshimoto Nemkoff Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.

  Yes we wound up being a day late on this show, but as you will hear in the end we have been anything but idle. This episode is all about Scrivener, that popular software authors swear by. Tee and Pip share their likes, dislikes, and future possibilities for the application, and then Tee shares a rant about Seth Godin and a liberal use of the C-word. UPDATE: With special thanks to Steve Saylor, we have discovered that YES, you can export your Scrivener works in digital publishing formats. Under the “File” menu, scroll down to “Compile” (keyboard shortcut is Option + Command for the Mac) and select from the sub-menu of “Compile for:” the “Kindle” option. (Click on the image for a larger version.) Well played, Scrivener. Well played. UPDATE: And with extra special thanks to Nobilis Reed, we have discovered that Scrivener has a Linux version, currently in Beta. 00:00 — Introduction A voicemail from Dan Shurette that provides Tee & Pip with instpiration The show launches with a moment’s pwnage! 01:49 — All About Scrivener And the show kicks off with Tee giving the wrong URL for Literature and Latte. Scrivener makes TechRadar’s Top Ten Most Loved Programs Scrivener ranks #9 between Lotus 1-2-3 and Solitaire. Tee reads off the other Top Ten Tee’s Metallica impersonations still hold up apparently. Also on the list — Fotoshop (for fashion models everywhere!) When did we find Scrivener? What Pip Likes: Keeping all your notes, thoughts, and research in one file The price of Scrivener — $45USD What Tee Likes: The Research Mode and the ability to import web pages What Tee & Pip Like: The Corkboard What Pip Likes: Rearranging chapters with a click-and-drag ease Pip calls for the put-down of the Courier font. What Tee Likes: Comments What Pip Likes: Customizing your workspace What Tee Would Like to See: A “Track Changes” Feature What Pip Would Like to See: More “Export Options” What Tee Likes: Project and Text Statistics What Tee Would Like to See: More people in the industry using Scrivener What Tee Would Like to See: An easy transition between Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms Getting schooled by Scrivener: A history that Tee and Pip didn’t know…. What Tee Can’t Wait to See: Scrivener for the iPad 31:22 — Seriously, Seriously: Going for the Godin Seth Godin…using his evil powers to mess with Tee’s mic So what does Tee have against Seth Godin? (Just listen….) What Tee doesn’t get: When the Press and Bloggers Rally around Seth Godin An excerpt from Seth Godin’s “Who Decides What Gets Sold” from The Domino Project  Pip finds out Godin doesn’t write books. He writes manifestos. And Tee winds up… Seth Godin is not being censored. He’s trying to take advantage of Apple. Tee then goes off…and goes…and goes…and goes…. And here’s the post that  gets Tee going EVEN HARDER… 41:15 — The Wrap-Up A moment of silence and some reflection for the Encyclopedia Britannica A call for your feedback and your voicemail. If we get enough feedback, we will bump up our Listener Appreciation show to Show #15. Comment, send us voicemail, and let’s talk! What’s coming up for us… Digital arcs are coming of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel Pip announces the wrap-up show we’ll do in 2013 concerning EXPERIMENT 2012 Pip releases her first novella, Magic by Gaslight Tee releases The Case of the Singing Sword, and makes a conditional promise concerning new mysteries from the dwarf detective. Aladdin and His Wonderfully Infernal Device still online and waiting for you at Amazon. (Other formats coming soon.) Tales from the Archives: Volume 2 launches on April 10 with new stories from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences And between Pip’s family visiting, the Steampunk World[...]

No Crazy Uncle Charlie. No Writers Off the Clock. No drop-ins. This is a raw and candid conversation with our agent, Laurie McLean, on Amazon and their February power plays against the Big Six publishers. How will these shenanigans affect authors, and what can we do to avoid becoming cannon fodder in the war between Amazon and New York’s Six Sisters? 00:00 — Introduction Pulling a McGyver in order to bring our agent, Laurie McLean, on this episode Diving right into the madness… 01:03 — Amazon, Authors, and Armageddon…at a Discount! WTF AMAZON?!?! What happened last week A LiveJournal post (and plea) from NYT Bestseller Seanan McGuire On Facebook, Gail Carriger voiced her own displeasure about some Amazon strong-arming Nothing new, but this is one more stunt from Amazon that leaves its mark on a writer. Why is Amazon doing this? What happens when a book seller gets too big to control, even by the publishing powers-that-be A history (in brief) of Amazon.com and the pro’s and con’s of their success from selling books to turning eBooks and digital publishing into a viable market Tee steps back to his independent publishing past, sharing memories of Dragon Moon Press and her struggles with Amazon. MacMillan and Amazon square off in a pricing war — the beginning of Amazon’s pushback against New York. Another glimpse of Amazon’s Dark Side: The “App Testers” Reviewing the numbers on Amazon sales compared to other eBook venues Can the NYT Bestseller title still matter in a world of digital authors dominating Amazon’s charts? What matters more to an author — a full-time career in writing or the “New York Times Bestseller” title? Completely Off-Topic…. ARCHER FARMS ROCKS!!! Laurie speculates on when the honeymoon with Amazon ends… What can the Big Six or other booksellers do against Amazon? Amazon answers the challenge of brick-and-mortar stores…by opening their own? Authors are finding themselves in a war between Amazon and New York. Authors need to understand the business just as much as the art of their craft. Could Amazon be the next Apple Store success? Or could they be the next Gateway? Where can Amazon open their brick-and-mortar stores? (Where is your closest Borders?) Challenges to Amazon’s brick-and-mortar stores Will it be books…or books and other stuff Customer service in real time Pip draws a parallel between authors and Les Miserables…and Tee reminds Pip that things didn’t end well for the folks at the barricade… The fate of authors in this future with Amazon The dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket Relying solely on Google Podcasters get a reality check (and the boot) from Mevio Diversification: What authors (and agents) need to do 53:09 — The Wrap-Up Laurie’s Diversification San Francisco Writers University Joyride Books (Vintage Romance) Ambush Books (Young Adult) Where to find Laurie and other agents of awesome… Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency …and Tee fails on the Creative Commons tag. (Maybe next time.) Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.

We want to do a Scrivener show — we really do — but what a Valentine’s Day week we had. It was a week of politics and heated discussions on Facebook that ended up inspiring this week’s episode topic. With special guest Lisa-Anne Moore, authors take a look at those soapboxes we all have in a corner and ask the tough question — when do we as authors (of any standing in a career) voice our opinions, and when do we walk away from heated debates? 00:00 — Introduction Pip is trying to sing the lyrics to our theme song. One problem…. Special guest via Skype — our Skylanders pimp, Lisa-Anne Moore What have we accomplished since the last Shared Desk? Lisa nears completion of the first draft of her novel. Tee released for the Kindle (and only for the Kindle) his first novella. Pip finishes Mechanical Wings and is asked to give a nip-tuck on it which she did…in between her deep dives into Ancestry.com. A quick thank you here in the show notes to Logan Waterman for the Big Bang Theory drop-in’s. 05:35 — Authors and Opinions: When to Sound Off and When to STFU Why we brought Lisa on board this episode What happened last week Virginia wants to make vaginal probing in abortion cases a law. Lawmakers debate new contraception health coverage. No women are present. (Washington Post) Now that you know the background, here’s what happened to Pip… …and here was Lisa’s reaction to what was going on in the news and in the State and Federal forums. Lisa’s (heart-felt and honest) blogpost from Life in a Nutshell. (This is a raw and honest reaction to the Virginia bill, so be ready for this.) How did the ladies feel not about the issues, but in voicing opinions and emotions that might be “unpopular” (in a broad sense) with readers, agents, and publishers? Tee draws a line in the sand on where authors damage their careers Tee breaks the Prime Directive and drops a few names of authors that go deep in their non-writing rants Harlan Ellison, the grumpy old man of Science Fiction Ringo, Drake, Flint, and Weber — The Baen Books Mafia When should authors step up and when should they let the argument go? And while authors face the issues, the cats make their own opinions know. (Tee recommends Bissell.) When Tee made the “delete a comment” call…all very personal. Can one comment or a single blogpost completely destroy a carrer or reputation? Lisa’s manages another heated debate (thank you, Indiana) concerning the Girl Scouts. Pip reflects on starting the following morning picking up where she left off. Tee calls Pip on the lost writing time over politics. Beware the Perfect Storm of PIP RAGE!!! Tee, Pip, and Lisa talk about the authors whose politics and philosophies affect their works. The three go deeper into the topic… When authors (and other artists) use their notoriety to push an agenda When artists and commentators use their notoriety to step into a different arena The big questions authors should ask before taking a stand on current events 48:45 — The Wrap-Up Pip comes up with a GREAT description of our special guest… Places where we are going to be this year: Steampunk World’s Fair Balticon 46 Dragon*Con Emerald City Steampunk Expo Lisa-Anne’s Tuesday Special — The Fox Mill Writing Group at the Fox Mill’s Starbucks A writing group of 14 where we pwn a Starbucks in Herndon Some spontaneous comedy from the FMWG Join us on Tuesday mornings between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Where to find all three of us online… …and Tee nails the Creative Commons tag! (He celebrates by cleaning up cat pee.) Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.

  Bleah! Between the Power Bug that Sonic Boom brought home from school and final reviews of The Janus Affair, Tee and Pip are finally back behind the mic, bringing a perspective on book bloggers, book reviews, and keeping it classy in light of a bad review. 00:00 — Introduction We’re back! (Did you miss us?) The joys of school-bred viruses The Janus Affair is now heading to press. What to expect from Wellington Eliza, and friends in the next few months… A plea to whomever sent me the drop-in’s. Working on steampunk faerie tales Elder Cat says “Oh hai!” 08:01 — Concerning Reviews We’d love to do a show on Scrivener, but writers (and now agents) keep doing some really stupid things!   Elder Cat says “Oh hai!” again… Goodreads — an online network that loves Phoenix Rising. It all started with a review…or two…. …and it ended with agents getting into the scrap. Rule #1 of Reviews: Not everyone will love you. How bad behavior affects your book Tee still hasn’t read The Night Circus on account of spam. The Tom Cruise Effect How bad reviews reflect positively on authors’ works An Authors’ WTH Moment: When Agents Attack Respecting the Book Bloggers How Book Bloggers Stand Taller than Amazon/Goodreads Reviewers If you don’t want an honest review, don’t approach Book Bloggers. Taking the fight to other networks like Twitter, Facebook, et. al. When is it a good time to question a bad review? Looking for common threads in good and bad reviews Why you must love Book Bloggers…like our girl, Mel! 33:58  — Writers Off the Clock Hold on — Tee’s got a WotC for Pip? The name of the game is Skylanders…and we bought it for Sonic Boom. (No. Really. We did!) A friend of Starla’s. A friend of ours. And her (bad) influence on the Boom… Sonic Boom was fighting back, so we were looking for and advantage. (In comes Skylanders.) And at 38:02, this happens… What Skylanders is all about How Sonic Boom plays into this new obsession Feline distractions Laying down the Law (and enjoying the results) 44:39 — The Wrap-Up Places where we are going to be this year: Balticon 46 SteampunkWorld’s Fair Dragon*Con Emerald City Steampunk Expo Pip’s upcoming releases…and her Jell-O Decorated throw-Down at Dragon*Con Big congrats to J.R, Jared, and their recent collaboration! Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.

As promised — kicking off a new year of podcasting — is comments, questions, and overall opinions all from you the listeners. Tee & Pip present the first (hopefully of many) Shared Desk Listener Appreciation show where they get questions on worldbuilding, character choices, and requests for more drop-in’s. There’s a even a quick “hello” from Crazy Uncle Charlie…. 00:00 — Introduction Nobilis Reed, our first voicemail… No normal show segments this time around. This time it is YOUR CALLS, YOUR EMAILS.  Tee tries his best to do his best Flynstress… …and the Shared Desk Voicemail Line for the next one — 703.791.1701 02:27 —  Your Voicemail and Email Doc Coleman berates us a bit for finally getting The Shared Desk going, for the lack of a promo, and for handling deadlines. Laura Nicole mainlines the first two Shared Desks, and reminisces about Podcasts of Balticons Past. Tee’s still having a blast with Soundboard, just so you know… Indiana Jim calls in with an EPIC voicemails…and Tee professes his man-love for the intrepid geekologist. He also touches on… Writing in shared universes (where Jim forgets the title of his book, and brings about the wrath of the Sarge…) Tales from the Archives Gaming and it’s place in the Writers’ World. “Cousin George” calls in…and asks Crazy Uncle Charlie about writing for homosexual characters. Nobilis Reed, raps our knuckles for his own reasons… Dan Shaurette asks about Scrivener and inspires the topic of our next show! Ben from Florida calls in and gets a pep talk from Crazy Uncle Charlie and the Mason Jar of Winning. Indiana Jim provides validation for Tee’s love of the drop-in’s. Logan Waterman sends in an email and gives Tee & Pip a question about worldbuilding and how deep to go. Pip gives her own work as an example. Is it a horse, or something else? Tee remembers Joe Murphy and Legacy of Morevi. Odin, still new to podcasting, asks about the pros and cons of being your own podcast host. 59:39 — The Wrap-Up And there we are — our first Listener Appreciation show! (We look forward to hearing from you at Show #20!) A quick mention about The 99¢ Special for Phoenix Rising. Tales from the Archives: Volume I eBooks are now available for all readers! The Janus Affair cover looks sweet — go check it out! Tee gives a heart-felt “thank you” for all the support since last Friday. Related Links The Puppet Company (who taught Tee the proper pronunciation of “Aladdin”) Liberated Syndication (LibSyn) Dreamhost Podiobooks.com Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.