What if Ghosts were Real? -- Guest Post

The Word Nerds are so pleased to introduce today's guest post from Sebastiene Elston about her book, Dead World. The Nerds read early chunks of the book and were enthused about it then and are delighted to showcase the finished product now.

This weekend, Dead World is free in the Amazon Kindle store. And to get you ready, we invited her to share some of how her thinking went to create this book.

What If Ghosts Were Real?
by Sebastiene Elston
Believe me. If someone could prove ghosts were real, it would change everything: how we view death, it would change religions, and it would change how we live each day. Immortality, in some form, would be proven. That knowledge would have a ripple effect that would eventually effect everyone and everything alive today.

Of course, it would be just our luck if it turned out the ghosts wanted to kill the living. Ever silver lining has a cloud, and every book needs a villain.

So, while other movie monsters like vampires and werewolves have had more movies made about them than anyone can count, I’ve never seen a ghost story that was... well, big. I have never seen a novel that dealt with the idea of ghosts on a national scale, which surprises me, because a "ghost" is a villain almost everyone understands.

So, I wrote that novel: Dead World. It’s the first book in the series of the same name. Just one book isn’t enough to contain this idea.

When people ask me what my book is about, I usually say, “It’s a really big ghost story.” They nod, but I know they don’t quite understand. It’s not a huge, doorstop of a book. (It’s a respectable 102,000 words, which is pretty standard.) What makes it big is that it’s about one family trying to survive while the entire country is slowly being killed by ghosts.

And just to be difficult, I didn’t make this novel an urban fantasy, either. The main character, Amber, isn’t gracing the cover wearing a cut-off shirt, carrying a sword/gun/knife/staff/ball of magic. She’s completely normal in every respect, except that she can clearly see the ghosts. That’s it. That’s the closest thing to a superpower she’s going to get.

The response I’ve been getting from readers is has been beyond anything I expected. I’ve had complete strangers writing 5-star reviews. How did that happen?

The good news is that you can get your own copy of Dead World free today at Amazon.com. Yes, the whole thing. Don’t have a Kindle? You can download the Kindle app onto your computer for free and read it there, if you’d like. But you might want to close your curtains, first. And take my sister’s advice. She won’t read it at night.

Apparently, if ghosts were real... it would be kind of scary.

And don't forget, this weekend, you can get your copy of Dead World for free through the Amazon Kindle Store.

Blog cheating

I'm cheating on Word Nerd, taking up some blogging duties elsewhere.

Through my church, I'm co-curating content for a special blog project for writters and artists in the congregation to reflect on suffering and good things and growth through fiction, visual arts, essays. You name it.

I hope you'll check it out at http://www.injoythebleak.wordpress.com/. It's a project that's currently very important to me.

Be Here Now

When I was in 7th grade, I had the amazing opportunity to attend a "girl empowerment" seminar with my junior high science teacher. I don't remember hardly anything about the day (it's been a while since 7th grade) but I remember two things.

1. My teacher picked me because she felt I was strong enough to make a difference in the world and she felt that this would help me. (What an amazing thing to hear! I still love that teacher for sharing this with me.)

2. Be here now. Don't wish away what you are doing, or worry about what needs to happen tomorrow. Focus on what you are doing, when you are doing it.

I'm not sure about number one. I don't know that I'm a good judge of what does or does not make a difference in the world. The verdict is out.

But number haunts me. In today's society, with the economy in the tank, it is SO EASY to wish way things:

• I can't wait until Friday.
• Isn't it the end of the day yet?
• I can't wait for Spring/Summer/A Snow Day/Etc.

It's all too easy to fall into this sort of habit. And lately, I've done my fair share of it.

At the seminar, they recommended writing "Be Here Now" on a note card and place it near where you are working. Whenever you get off task, look at the note card.

Be Here Now.

And remind yourself what you are doing, why you are doing it, and stop thinking and worrying about things that are best done later or will arrive when they arrive.

This weekend, I'm going to buy some markers and note cards, and make up "Be Here Now" cards. A couple for me. A few for friends.

But now? I'm off to the next task for today. Not the one for this weekend.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's no secret that the Word Nerds are lovers of many things that are not traditionally celebrated on Valentine's Day.

Why not? Let's challenge the system! Embark on a new meaning for Valentine's day! Who really needs three pounds of chocolate, a bottle of wine and bubble bath? (Okay, I'll take it if my husband gives it to me. I'm not too crazy, afterall.)

Instead, I challenge you to think of what you love and match that to the loved one in your life. It could be list of special words, books, authors, significant classics, whatever. The sky's the limit here, folks.

For me, I have two very wonderful boys. This Valentine's Day, I give them the following list of words:

• Loquacious, for the wonderful stories you love to share.
• The Gourmet and The Gourmand, for the picky eater and the bottomless pit.
• Gregarious, for your fondness of people and friends.
• Ubiquitous, for the state of your Lego creations, video games and movies.
• Impish, for the way they make me laugh.

The hubby, however gets a list of books that remind me of our life together:

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• Storm Front by Jim Butcher
• Soulless by Gail Carriger

(okay, it's a little eclectic. but I think it represents. And all of the references will be lost on him. I love him anyway.)

Can I get that "j" on a triple word?

I've succumbed.

You guessed it. Words with Friends.

I have no less than 7 games going right now with friends spanning both coasts and a nice cluster in the midwest.

The irony of ironies here is that it's my mom that got me started. This is the same mom who looked somewhat upset when she learned that the primary things I use my iPad (which she got me) for was books, games and streaming Netflix and not for work.

She was having some kind of software trouble and turned to an IT guy at her work for help. Said IT happens to mention the game since my mom's got a new iPhone. And then she's mentions it to me because we like playing word games when we get together.

So I downloaded the game too.

I knew a lot of my friends played, but I didn't really know how many. Turns out, most of them. Seriously.

I've been playing games with one of my journalism profs (the one who christened me as a "word nerd"), writer friends, nonprofit friends, pilot friends. I'm not winning all the games; maybe not even a majority of them.

My mom are probably the most competitve, taking tons of time to plot moves that will keep us within points of each other. Right now I've got an 11 point lead on her, but we've got no more letters to draw and by the time this posts, I'm sure we'll be on to another game.

So, wanna play? I'm BKWordNerd.

Reading in 2011

Reading in 2011 was something that should have been reflected upon at the end of December (ahem...thanks, Bethany, for the lack of public flogging. :) )

Instead, I'll do a bit of it now instead because it was a fun conversation starter for my HRM class last Monday.

Just like Bethany's co-workers reaction to her reading habits, I tend to use the number of books I've read or pages or something like that for my ice breaker in groups. Only those that have been through that activity aren't surprised.

In the HRM class, we had to share one characteristic about ourselves and write in on our name plate. I drew a book and wrote "87; 35,294". Note the proper semicolon usage. We are, after all, Word Nerds with a passion for grammar.

(Any rules not followed were broken with cause. That should be a standard disclaimer here.)

Where was I? Oh, yes, numbers and books.

So one of my group members is suitable impressed while another says, "Oh, no, it gets crazier. Go on, show her."

What he meant was show her the Excel tracking spreadsheet that I use. It has loads of fun facts to those of us who like books. I track pages, titles, author, series name, and category. I've thought about tracking book format too, but haven't quite committed to it yet. What I'd really like to do is create an Access database so I can really get creative with my metrics.

And somewhere in the middle of that paragraph, non-readers stared to have glazed over eyes.

Same with my audience.

In truth, I'm passionate about reading. I like to collect things like number of pages, book titles, authors and series. I like to make up measurements so I can boast that I've read 1,139 titles in the last 11 years, and one month. I love finding people who feel the same way about books.

Or, at minimum, those that will tolerate my passion for it during ice breakers.

2011: 87 books; 35,294 titles, 61 books inside a series; 48 different authors; 409 pages per book (slightly longer than the average mass market paper back, the short one, not the one with the trade paper back height).

In all, a good reading year.

Thursday Funnies

Book Banter: Afterlight

Title: Afterlife
Author: Elle Jasper
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 336
Where Stacie's Copy Came From: Oshkosh Public Library

Plot Basics: Riley used to be part of the party scene in Savannah. Now she is a successful business owner (Inksomnia) and raising her 15 year old brother, saving him from the life she once lived.

So far she had been successful at that too. Until a prank unleashing an evil that had been entombed by the very people that helped save Riley from her destructive path.

Banter Points: Combining goth and vampires is nothing new. However adding in some Gullah magic and the tattoo world adds some new twists. Riley is the take charge heroine who refuses to be a victim and doesn't let much of anything stop her.

And while she should be a cliche overwritten character, she isn't. I can't quite put my finger on what keeps her from being a cliche. Maybe it is her sassy conversation. Maybe it's her determination to not let anything get to her. Whatever it is, I liked it.

Bummer Points: At what point should Riley have questioned the whole idea of using vampires to keep her brother from becoming a vampire? True, she was trying to wrap her head around the idea that vampires exist. True, she was pretty focused on rescuing her brother, no matter what. But really, what happens to her at the end wasn't really a surprise (no, she doesn't become a vamp. That would be a little too obvious.)

Stacie's Recommendation: Definitely worth the time spent reading it. Book Two is on hold.

Book Banter -- Joe the Barbarian

Title: Joe the Barbarian
Author: Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy
Genre: graphic novel (deluxe edition)
Length: 246 pages
Where Word Nerd's Copy Came From: IMCPL
Plot Basics: Joe is a loner middle-school student, picked on at school, and always needing to keep a can of soda in reach to keep his hypoglycemia at bay. His father lost in the war, he and his mom are in danger of losing their house. One rainy afternoon, Joe's disease (or is it?) sends him on a wild quest in a magical land where he's lauded as the promised Dying Boy who will save them all.

Banter Points: I found this title through Wowbrary and it's one of the best finds I've had through that service. Combining amazing art and an equally amazing story, Joe the Barbarian is the kind of graphic novel for people who don't think they read "comic books." The idea that Joe's quest may really be low-blood-sugar hallucinations feels like an idea that could get old after a few pages, but Morrison and Murphy make it work for page after page, bringing the reader back to one "reality" and then sending them crashing back into another till it's unclear which is really true.

Bummer Points: The story actually smooths out after the first couple chapters, if you can hang on through some choppy character transitions at the beginning.

Word Nerd Recommendation: I had to quick read this before it was due at the library and then, as I was dropping it in the book drop, I thought Whoever gets this next is one lucky person. Read it.

A different sort of Writing Contest

One of my favorite writing podcasters is Mur Laferty aka The Mighty Mur. Over on her blog -- I should be Writing -- is a new sort of writing challenge:

Thanks to the movements of Mary Robinette Kowal, February is deemed the Month of Letters. She challenges people to hand write letters every day this month, and has created a site (see above) where people can exchange addresses.

I love this idea. I'm spending a bit of my weekend looking into to it and seeing what sort of letter I can contribute.

In fact, I may take Mur up on her offer and let her know what her podcast means to me.

Book Banter -- Saint City Sinners

Title: Saint City Sinners (Dante Valentine, bk. 4)
Author: Lilith Saintcrow
Genre: urban fantasy
Length: 362 pages
Where Word Nerd's Copy Came From: IMCPL e-book collection, Kindle version
Plot Basics: Dante Valentine is still on contract with Lucifer himself, but when her old Saint City friend Gabriele Spocarelli calls and is in trouble, Danny drops everything to help her. Only, she's too late, so sets herself on a course of investigation and vengeance for her lost friend. She pushes away Japhrimel -- her Fallen demon -- worried that he is not acting in the same interests she is regarding Lucifer's true plan. But what she finds in investigating for Gabe has the potential to change her whole world.

Banter Points: It's been a while since I read book 3 in this series, so it took me a while to get back into Dante's world. I love, love, love Saintcrow's world building, how Danny tosses around the new names for things and she never really stops to define them as a writer. It can be great fun as a reader to just have to learn the new lingo as you go and hang on and Saintcrow's pacing keeps the books moving like the slicboards Danny favors.

Bummer Points: Dante is rather whiny in this book. Several times (were she real and not infused with demon Power that could allow her to rip my arms off) I sort of wanted to slap her. Also, cliffhanger of the most serious kind.

Word Nerd Recommendation: It's a solid entry in the urban fantasy genre, but not a place where you can just enter into Saintcrow's world. Start at the beginning.

Book Banter: Fae Fever

Title: Fae Fever
Author: Karen Moning
Genre: Fantasy
Length: approx. 350
Where Stacie's Copy Came From: A friend's library

Plot Basics: Samhain is drawing near. Mac finally has figured out the motives of three of the parties involved in the search for the Book, including a sisterhood of sidhe-seers like herself. Now, she needs to figure out how to help keep the Unseelie behind the Wall that is crumbling.

Banter Points: The sakes are rising. Mac is growing up and away from the naive southern bell she started as. I really like how she even starts to stand up for herself in this one, refusing to let Barrons be her only allegiance. She develops some other plans and plots, which raises her in my esteem and into the category of kicking ass heroines.

Bummer Points: None really. Completely enjoying this series. And I cannot wait to see the MacHalo in use against the Shades.

Stacie's Recommendation: In case you haven't figured it out, start reading this one!

Book Banter -- One Shot

Title: One Shot (Jack Reacher series)
Author: Lee Child
Genre: thriller
Length: 462 pages
Where Word Nerd's Copy Came From: IMCPL Friends of the Library book sale
Plot Basics: In a small Indiana town, six shots ring out at the end of the work day, killing five passersby. The prime suspect -- an ex-Army sniper -- seems to have a slam-dunk case against him, all the forensic evidence the prosecutor could want pointing at him. But in his only jailhouse interview with a lawyer, he insists he's innocent and to find Jack Reacher.

Hundreds of miles away, Reacher sees the news and the suspect on TV and begins independently making his way to Indiana. When he arrives, he's convinced the evidence is too perfect, and believes that the former sniper may indeed be telling the truth. Teamed up with a young defense attorney and a Brigadier General from his past, Reacher begins pulling the threads of evidence apart and following them into corruption.

Banter Points: This Reacher book was about the only redeeming part of a recent flight home from a work trip (save for the fact that eventually, I did get home) but it's just proof as to why Reacher books are such great reading. Despite being stuck in airports, the story line was captivating enough to help pass the time and make it actually entertaining.

The Reacher series is flat-out fun, a taut combination of brains and brawn. It's great to know that Reacher will figure out who did it and then hang on through the generally violent end.

Bummer Points: I'm trying not to take it personally that Child set this murderous rampage in my state. I'm sure other readers in other places would have had the same thought if he'd set the violence there. Truth is, he kind of got Indiana right.

Word Nerd Recommendation: Great beach reads, airplane books, wherever you want pure escapist reading. And, supposedly there's a movie in the works for this book -- do yourself a favor and get to know Reacher on paper first.

The end of a writing tradition

On Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper announced that it would no longer be endorsing candidates for president.

It will continue, it says to cover campaigns, and post candidate questions and the like. But as for endorsements, they say, "We have come to doubt the value of candidate endorsements by this newspaper or any newspaper, especially in a day when a multitude of information sources allow even a casual voter to be better informed than ever before."

I suppose that's true. Maybe an endorsement isn't going to really change anyone's mind in this deeply, divided, partisan time. But, as writing goes, the candidate endorsement is a staple, the most sought-after piece and anchoring opinion piece in a newspaper.

It is a statement by a organization that "This is what who we believe in, the course we think is right and best." Are we so worried about offending people that opinion pages aren't going to say "This is who we want?"

During my college newspaper days, we endorsed during the 2000 presidential campaign-turned-debacle. We went against the grain for the campus, endorsing the other guy because we really believed he was the better choice.

It was our stand, against a tide of sentiment on campus that leaned the other way. Did it matter to the candidate that a small, weekly, college paper endorsed him. No, not really. Did we change any voters minds? I don't know. I hope somebody read it and gave it some thought. Twelve years later, I'm still really glad I wrote it, that it was our mark of belief.

This makes me sad, as a writer, to see this bastion of journalism starting to disappear.

It's unfortunate that the editors have so little faith in their readers to find it useful and so little faith in themselves to stand for something.

Book Banter: Blood Fever

Title: Blood Fever
Author: Karen Moning
Genre: Fantasy
Length: approx. 350
Where Stacie's Copy Came From: A friend's library

Plot Basics: Mac was thrust into a war between Dark and Light. The Lord Master knows she exists and has the same sidhe-seer powers as her deceased sister Alina. Now Mac wants to learn more about her bloodlines. Her life, and that of humankind, depends on it.

Banter Points: I really am getting a kick out if this series. It has a great balance between light and dark, between Seelie and Unseelie. The good guys cannot always be distinguished from the bad guys. The tensions between Mac and Jericho Z. Barrons (or at least that's his name this time) are more than the sexual tensions typically found in novels. Mac knows that there is a very real possibility that Barrons is one of the bad guys. But he is a connection to her sister's killer. Barrons views Mac as a means to finding the Fae Objects of Power, specifically the Book known as the Sinsar Dubh.

And Mac has to wonder which side she is on.

Bummer Points: The story speed picks up in this book. The writing is good. The one thing that is distracting me from the story and throwing me out of it are the out of date references. Not a big thing, but it can be jarring. And since the rest of the story is somewhat timeless, it makes me wish the editors had thought of it. The story is dependent on the setting; I cannot imagine it taking place anywhere other than Dublin. The rest of it is not dependent on a specific time.

Stacie's Recommendation: Definitely an entertaining story and while turning off the television for.

Readers are weird

I spent several days last week with my new-ish co-workers during a three-day planning retreat. We had a chance to pound out fundraising strategies for the next few months, and get to know each other better.

At some point, we were discussing some past-time activity about which I was ambivalent (swimming, I think), and one co-worker turns to me and says, "What is it that you do like to do, Bethany?" (Somehow, I think they think I'm ambivalent about everything...)

"I read books." No questions about what my favorite book or author was or anything. Just quiet. I thought about adding that I read in the neighborhood of 85-100 a year, but decided in the silence that maybe I should just keep that bit of information to myself.
Cut to the next morning at breakfast.

I was in the hotel cafe, already up and having eaten and was working on writing things. I checked my email one more time before we switched gears and I saw an email from Simon and Schuster.

"Yes!" I said. "They are sending me galley copies." Blank looks around the table. "Galleys," I explained. "Review copies of books that aren't out yet."

Nope, nothing.

The meeting started then, but I was just struck anew with how weird we readers are to the rest of the world. Getting excited about books. Some that aren't even published yet.

I know one of my co-workers at least reads on airplanes -- we talked about Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series and I promised I wouldn't give anything away. But... I guess for those that aren't so bookish, those of us proclaimed Word Nerds really are a bit obsessed.

What about you? Any times you've been struck by how odd it is to the rest of the world that you like to read?

Book Banter -- Queen of Swords

Title: Queen of Swords (Wilderness series bk. 5)
Author: Sara Donati
Length: 546 pages (ebook version)
Genre: historical fiction
Plot Basics: The adventures of the the Bonner family continue, picking up right where Fire Along the Sky ended. Hannah Bonner and her half-brother, Luke Scott, are pursuit of Jennet who has been captured by pirates. In a desperate trade, Jennet has given her and Luke's new baby boy to a seemingly-prominent New Orleans family to care for, hoping it will keep the boy safe. Reunited with Luke and Hannah after a rescue attempt, the three go to New Orleans to get the boy back. But, the city is on the cusp of war and racial tensions also run high. It will take all the cunning the family and their allies posses to keep together, stay safe and hope of returning to their beloved New York Lake in the Clouds home.

Banter Points: Finishing this series is one of my reading goals for the year and I decided to get with it right away. The book, like the others in the series, is sweeping in scope, bringing life to what could otherwise be a dusty history lesson about the War of 1812. Coming back to the characters is a bit like seeing distant family, people you are glad to reconnect with once a year or so and everybody's got great stories to tell of everything that's happened in the interim.

Bummer Points: Several times in the narrative, Donati broke away from the main characters and wrote whole chapters in italics from the points of view of minor characters or people who can witness the action when the protagonists couldn't. While once might have been effective, the multiple uses of this device just felt cheap and like the author got stuck in how to move the plot forward any other way. The whole book seemed to be a lot more "showing" instead of "telling." I don't think I envy historical authors, because this has to be a hard pitfall to overcome when there's so much about the activities and actions that are foreign to modern readers.

Word Nerd Recommendation: I still like the series and fans of big history series books should pick this up. It's also nice to see the setting in a different period (not Revolutionary or Civil Wars.)

Book Banter: Dark Fever

Title: Dark Fever
Author: Karen Moning
Genre: Fantasy
Length: approx. 350
Where Stacie's Copy Came From: A friend's library

Plot Basics: Fun, pretty, MacKalya has life brutally thrust upon her when her sister, Alina, is murdered while study in Dublin. Alina's final message reveals that her death is more than what the Garda believes it to be. Mac is determined to figure out what the cyrptic message means and heads to Ireland to investigate.

Banter Points: I actually picked up this title several years ago when it was first released in paperback. I thought it was weird and didn't finish it. Fast forward to 2012 (and several fantasy novels later) and I really liked it. It does require some knowledge of fantasy, even though Mac does not actually have any either. For example, one of the Fae she meets during the course of her investigation is gorgeous and the sort of Fae that a woman will die to have sex with. Literally die. In most novels with Fae, this is a normal convention and part of their story. To someone who hadn't read any Fae based novels, it seemed weird.

Amazing how knowledge changes perception.

Bummer Points: The story is a little slow and has a cliff-hanger ending. Thankfully, the series is complete and I have novel number two in my possession.

Stacie's Recommendation: Try it out. It reminds me of Laura K. Hamilton's series Merry Gentry Series.

Books as Commodities, part II

I'm still thinking about the "books as commodities" argument and our attitudes to volumes of the printed word.

On Friday night, I went to my first ever "Friends of the Library" bonus sale event as a new Friend of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library system. The doors of the sale were scheduled to open at 5:30. I pulled into the parking lot about ten minutes early and there was a line snaking back from the door. In the dusk and about 20-degree temperatures.

Most of the participants carried either plastic milk crates or reusable grocery totes to carry around their finds. As the doors opened at 5:30, the line poured in, veering in to the sale room and their favorite sections.

I don't want to say chaos ensued, because it was slightly more organized that that, but only slightly. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a rush for books, not even the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Unfortunately, in this sense, the books were commodities. People wanted to find the best thing they can, at a used price, because they didn't want to pay the full retail for them. Yes, they are probably regular library users and all are donors to the library, putting financial support behind their use. But, in light of the commodities argument, they were proving it true.

I only bought three things -- A Jack Reacher novel in paperback for an upcoming trip instead of checking it out in hardback, a YA hardback that I'll likely read and pass on to my high school student mentee, and an "important" book -- The Magnificent Ambersons -- which is a feat in itself, me buying a classic. When I reached the checkout line, the volunteer almost couldn't believe it that I was only getting three things, especially since everyone around me was acting out of a scarcity model.

Maybe books are changing formats. Maybe ebooks are making the publishing landscape different. But so long as we don't pull a Farenheit 451 and start burning them, books aren't scarce.

Even when we have the opportunity to pick up copies for cheap, we need to remember why the printed words is worth valuing and not devalue them to commodities.

How do you pronounce "Karamazov" ?

 Since I've said I'm going to read this book this year, I figured I should look up how to pronounce it.
There are long discussion boards about it (like this one) where Russian and non-Russian speakers weigh in.

It also makes me remember an old Square 1/Mathnet episode where they made jokes about the last name... is the Brothers KARE-a-ma-zaf or the Kare-a-MAHH-zof? (Anybody else remember this show??)

It seems like the consensus is "Ka-ra-MA-zaf" and now that means I can't delay figuring out my reading schedule for this book.



This is the Komsomolskaya metro station in Moscow. Since Dostoevsky
was exited to Siberia, an "underground" photo seemed appropriate.
Also, I've been there. This metro station. Not Siberia.



The Barnes and Noble Classic edition (for Nook) has good product reviews, so I'm likely going that route. It's far easier to do long classics as ebooks so I don't have to lug around the giant, physical tome. Some say it's not the best translation ever, but I know that I'll do better with it than 1000 pages of paper.

I started Anna Karenina last February and read two sections of it each month through May. BK is also divided into four parts, so I'm thinking the same kind of schedule unless, of course, I can't put it down.