Thursday 31 March 2011

Special Book signing tonight #GreyRedemption

Well, tonight is probably going to be one of those cool and yet stressful nights. It is the Habanos Brothers book signing in Vancouver. Calgary is on the ninth. Why would this be stressful? Well these people are like brothers and they will tell me EXACTLY what they think! No dressed up, he is an author after all, platitudes. They will be going off script as Donald Maass would say. No hiding behind a false  public wall of  success. This will be the bathroom mirror at 2 am, truth hard honed and real. I am looking forward to it!

Saturday 26 March 2011

Lazy Saturdays; where the hell did you go!


   I used to love Saturday morning, well my morning say around 11. Not that I am off every Saturday, shift work doesn't allow it. But on those sunny lazy Saturdays, I would get up and make my coffee. Then as C had her bath, The Piker (cat) and I would slip out onto the deck for a nice cigar to start the day and stain the oppressively bright blue sky. I could slowly catch up with the goings on in the world, reading tweets from celeb types or just those that are winning! Facebook provided its false sense of connectedness to people I haven't seen in a decade and, the news provided all the doom I needed. All was right with the world. 
   This Saturday I watched as Grey Redemption bounced up and down on Amazon. Comparable to the commodities market, watching a China Syndrome event. One of those things they should teach new authors is they can track book sales and popularity better and faster than the "in" table of any high school lunch room. Then the mundane checking to make sure all the websites are up and running, links working. Next is responding to emails, tweets, posts, and reviews. This is very rewarding, and fun to be honest. But, it is still very time consuming. I believe if someone took the time to write to me or comment, I am duty bound to write back. I really can't see that changing so I better learn to type faster! 
   Finally comes the plan, and the to do list. I have to go over everything that is on the radar and keep things on track in my head so I don't miss something vital. Like showing up in London without a Hardcover, passport, money...Sounds easy until you step into the maelstrom of ADHD that is my waking mind. Oh yes and don't forget to blog. 
   Onto the blog of what is really going on, and off the soapbox of my missed Saturday rituals. Press releases are being organized for the actual launch date for Grey Redemption. The big public release book signing will be at Chapters and most likely in Langley. Some issues being sorted out between the publisher and the conglomerate. I will be told when, where, and what manner of dress, and show up. Sounds very much like the military! London free time is filling up quickly. I really thought I would have a ton of time to do stuff but a few organizations have already booked time for meetings. One of them picks up stuff for screenplays! So excited but trying to keep perspective! 

Thursday 24 March 2011

I was ready for the humbling feedback but...

Hey everyone,

   Still sick with this damn 30 day cold, but the scotch has taken the edge off a little and I feel like I can put some thoughts to cyber-paper. Watching the book slide up and down the Amazon Canada scale has been fun today. Seeing it over a Clancy bestseller was very cool. I have enjoyed a great deal of feedback and have enjoyed reading what many of you thought very much! I write differently and I really thought more people wouldn't like the style. I love the feedback I am getting, remember I wrote this to tell a fun story not to comment on the state of the world. It is what it is, the world that is! I am not trying to make moral comment. But do remember this is fiction. The veiled threats are really pretty lame and the outright death threats are in the same vein. I got my first death threat working 21 years ago by someone scary enough to be doing time for several life sentences. So it is all a little mundane. Grey Redemption is fiction, if you see yourself in its pages and don't like it,  change. Threatening the author is pretty useless. I don't really have the capacity to worry much about it. To that end I'll be in London under my own name at the Savoy Hotel on the 10 of April.  Pretty easy target, I'll be the well dressed fat guy with the fancy watch! Tactically speaking this nasty end would just create more of a media storm around the book. But hey, what do I know! I am just a writer telling a story that was never true....Right?
   Thanks you so much for the emails and comments and posts on facebook and twitter. I really love the fact that so many of you are having fun reading my story. Truly! I am humbled and happy you have enjoyed the ride as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hated editing it! Well to more accurate I hated fixing the errors the editors pointed out!

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Feedback and Coments

Still sick with this stupid cold. Poor excuse for not blogging I know but really! I get sick for like two days and it is done. Nothing lives long in my booze filled veins! This one is a tough one. So the Google thing is fixed and #Grey Redemption is not out on the net for free. I did post to my Fan Page on Facebook so those that were a little tight could still read it for free. They fixed it and fired an intern, but I did get a bunch of feedback as a result! All of it was good, which was a surprise. I just kind of figured my style of writing would piss more people off.  Really can't come up with anything witty or sharp to say so perhaps a little more sharing. Someone asked me what was the best part of writing a book and I answered him privately but I will post the reply here in public. Having your favourite childhood author read it out loud and in character was magical! If I never see a dime for all the work it took to make it a reality, that was enough. Actually that was one of the best days of my life. Only two other days even come close.

Sunday 20 March 2011

#greyredemption Available on google books

So was a little concerned that publisher had put too much on google books but today I noticed only a few select chapters are available for a free read. So take a look and see if it is for you.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Glenwood St,Chilliwack,Canada

Thursday 17 March 2011

Website update

Ok so not only can I write books but I can also code in HTML. The non flash site is up and you can see it here at www.GreyRedemption.com
Some people have asked if the story in the book about the glowing tattoos is real. It's fiction is the legal statement but just for you guys.


What looks like scaring is actually an ultraviolet tattoo!

Location:Brett Ave,Chilliwack,Canada

Just setting up my mobile blog option


Thinking toward London access and figured a mobile blog option with geo tagging would be a smart way to go. This way I can keep everyone in the loop and post some cool pictures of London. So sitting on my deck enjoying a nice SLR Regios and getting used to tapping rather than typing. Ordered my promotional books today hope they arrive on time for the HB book signing in Vancouver and Calgary.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Brett Ave,Chilliwack,Canada

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Vancouver, Calgary, London and then home


Two things happened this week that were very new. My author proofs finally made it out of the dungeons at CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) and into my hands. To be very honest I thought I was prepared for holding my book. I really see how people connect this with their baby or children.  I wasn’t. I tore the packing off like a five year old riding a cotton candy high on Christmas morning. I held it, and hefted it, and thought so this is what two years of work looks like in your hand. I was a little more than emotional and am not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye. I rolled around in my emotional state for a tenth of a second and then started paging through the book looking for the backward page or miss numbered chapter. I never found it. It was perfect and fresh and satisfied I broke its spine. That sharp, short, crack told me this one was mine. I read the Thank you page and was once again humbled at all the work others did to get this into my hand. Work done out of love and friendship. Yes that pulled me back down from my lofty Author Cloud.
            The Second thing that happened was I got my website up and working. Now I can quit ranting on my Facebook page about the book. I have a forum and people can go and check things out and read reviews, or submit reviews.   The address is www.ScottDcovey.com  I have been asked why the D. So as blogs are supposed to be a sharing space I will tell all. A book of this magnitude needs a robust name and…Kidding! Scott Covey dot com was taken. By another Scott Covey who seems to be a great research scientist at UBC.  I cyber stalked him a bit. Come on he has my Name! I am the older one! It isn’t a common name either so, I am pretty sure he has stalked me too. LOL!
            To close today, I have a nasty cold and don’t feel much like writing. Special book signings are set for a launch party at the end of the Month. Another one is being held in Calgary on the Ninth of April the night before I fly to London for the London Book Fair. Very exciting times. 

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Websites and Egos

So my website is up in test mode. Well it s up for the entire world to see really, but we have left the Meta tags out so the search bots can’t find it. Kind of like trying on underwear in the lobby window I know. But hey, this is I and it won’t get much better. Truth is it could get a lot worse! So my web designer is awesome. I love what he has done. Simple, clean, and informative.  But it is done in flash. So this means it cannot be viewed on an Iphone or Ipad.  Really!?  Seriously you sneaker wearing, black crew neck sweater adorned geek. I have supported APPLE since 1980! I had a metal case Apple 1 for crying out loud. Wrote my first story using Magic Words and saved it on a 5-inch floppy disk! So now because you and Adobe has some sort of issue I have to create two websites if I want Iphone users to be able to see my website? Seriously! I have defended Apple and Mac products for more than thirty years and for my loyalty….DICK! Get over it, I know Adobe has a little bloat and I know it has security holes but work it out! I already did not buy an Ipad for this reason, as have many of my friends. While I understand this may be an ego thing, and a little money issue. WORK IT OUT! You’re stepping on your collective junk here! Memories are all we leave when we check out of this world. Being able to say I won and Adobe lost seems like a lackluster memory for such a visionary. 

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Some musings and response to private emails.


Ok, so the London Book Fair has a profile page. Guess that speaks to the amount of people that are attending. It is more than a month away and there are already over 300 authors attending. Crazy! The profile is kind of cool as it lets you interact with others in a much more dynamic environment.
On another note the book went live in the United Kingdom as well. So it is across the pond and will no doubt generate a few more private emails! Some have been very nice and others well…guess the old saying “discovery is to be disowned” is true. Too which I say “Its Fiction!” Yes it is close to some truths but all good fiction is!
Some words about my writing style and layout. Yes I am aware that it is 2011 and prologues went out of favour years ago. In defence the main character Rhys Munroe is someone you won’t initially like. You will grow to like him trust me. But if I had started the book at the bar like I had originally, many of you would have put it down after the first chapter. So I needed to provide you a context for our broken antihero. Give you a reason to keep discovering who he is and why he is. As for my usage of the English language I am proudly Canadian and proud of our mixed French/English heritage and so I wrote using the language of the land. This is not a slight to our neighbours to the south. Just drop a few of the “U’s” and keep reading.  Finally on setup. I get the standard rationale that you create great characters and put them in conflict and let the reader dress the stage. I know many of you read fiction for this exact purpose so you can exercise your creative muscle giving the location a feel and colour as you go. What I set out to do was different. I wanted to force you into the world Rhys Munroe lives in. Make you see it and feel it from his perspective. Force you into his reality tunnel. I tell you the colours, and the vibe because I want you to truly understand the mind of the Mercenary. Mercenaries just don’t brush their teeth and walk into an adjoining room scratching their balls and thinking about breakfast. Each transition is viewed as a threat, real or possible is the same thing. So yes I bounce tense around to keep you off-guard. I am overtly descriptive about scenes and feelings, so by the middle of the book you’re getting it. If you walk to your car and notice stuff parked differently, or you turn to look at the person leaving a shop, I have done my job. You have a small understanding of how these predators among us live. I really hope you enjoy living in the world thru 544 pages. Pages that don’t just have you arrive, magically in an African nation, or jump from place to place with the typical “We arrived in London on time, my car to the hotel was waiting and I took a moment to light a smoke.” Or  “Cape Town 1430 Jan. 1, 1999.” It would have been easier to do so and would have speeded up the pacing and shortened the book. However it isn’t real. While I understand this is a work of “fiction” the suspension of belief is a VERY small one. You will not find the Deputy Director of the CIA renting choppers on his personal Visa card.  Besides you’re not paying for the word count your paying for a book. The bigger the book the better value, and weapon should you need to brain someone on a train with it! See now your thinking like Rhys! 

Sunday 6 March 2011

Just some Incorrect Thoughts


Ok, So blogs are supposed to generate some chatter, banter, and what have you. I realize my posts have basically been updates, with nothing really to reply to. Sorry I am just getting used to this and this blog thing doesn't allow me to spell check. So I actually have to be concerned with my spelling. Thanks Sis for catching a couple! You could have followed me...LOL! 
   In order to generate some discussion I figured Sexism is a good start. Why is when a man has to go buy socks the sizing chart is like;  "fits 7 to 13."  On the other hand when I have accompanied C on her shopping trips the damn thing looks like a periodic table of elements! I mean really? Surely to whatever (that's me being PC) we should have some equality in the hosiery department. If it fits a 13 foot it is doing the to the toes creep on my little 8 and a halves! 

London Book Fair 2011

Things are moving along, perhaps too quickly but that's ok I can rise to the challenge. Made it into the London Book Fair and have a very special book signing arranged for the 9th of April. Deadlines still in front of me and none of them are in my control. As I said the other day, Courses on this stuff would be so helpful. Writing gripping scenes with great conversation and realistic interaction is awesome. Thank You Robert R. Macammon you do it better than most, and I loved your class. But really, the what happens next part of publishing is really ignored.  Anyway looking forward to London, it has been a few years old city. Staying at the Savoy Hotel as I know the area well and thought what would Rhys Munroe do? Fairmont as per usual. Course that habit will no doubt lead to an attempt on his life! So I guess with that the cat is out of the bag, Grey Dawn, the beginning of the Rhys Munroe trilogy is in the works. I am still going to work on Footsie, it is much easier writing and will be much lighter reading than the Grey series. Well as light as a foot fetish serial killer can be! LOL!

Friday 4 March 2011

Things that they don't tell you in writers school

Not that I went to writers school. But really! Ok so you write a book and as it moves through all the processes your left to watch and think ok whats next? Should be a class at the Surrey Writers Conference. It could be titled "Its in the can. What happens next." No, that really should be a period and not a question mark as I want to be told. Topics, do I pay my flight to London to attend the London Book Fair? If I get a hundred books to give away to friends and people that helped along the way do I pay duty when they cross the border? What the hell does a hundred hardbacks weigh and how much will it cost to ship? Special Book rates? Quarterly payment of royalties why is that not such a good thing? Yeah they should run a class on this stuff. 

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Websites in a rush and finding books.

It is always a tad deflating when you see you book offered as at a discount. But I understand as I never read a Clancy novel at full price, back when we were kids we would group buy it and then draw cards to see who got to read it first! Still...It ain't in the bargain bucket.
   Setting up websites that work are challenging enough, doing it quickly even more so. Having your designer work on his birthday? Priceless! Thanks Harpreet! Just want to shout that out to you!

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Selections of thoughts and adverse reality tunnels.

Ok so everyone says I have to Blog. Blog or die was the sirens call at the Surrey International Writers Conference. So here we are on Blogger. So what do I tell you...After many months of edits and rewrites and cut this cut that crap, one of my fans in the USA has the finished hardcopy before me. That's right he is reading it prior to me getting a physical copy of it. You have to love living in the North! He says its done well and the binding is good, so I can relax. Not! (Yes I know that is so 2008) I guess in the grand scheme of things this is a good thing as I have yet to get my website up. Forgive me but the past slow process went from Edsel to Lotus in seconds. Basically yeah the block proofs are good Tuesday to live Friday!! Really? So here I blog, instead of eagerly paging through the new hardcover, searching for the upside down page that I know must be there! It is a feeling akin to the sound your car makes, or more correctly doesn't make, as you drive over black ice. The speed, and forward progression in the hands of the three fates. Sisters be kind to me!