Shadow Publications -- Stories By Paul Elard Cooley
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Thu, 05/23/2013 - 08:25
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All right, Fiendlings. Here's my "tentative" panel schedule. I say "tentative" because I'm certain there will be adjustments. There always are...
| Date/Time |
Panel |
Location |
Description |
| Friday 2100 (9pm) |
Never Have I Ever! |
Chesapeake |
Writers are called out on their tricks. Or feaux pas. |
| Saturday 1000 (10am) |
ePublishing |
Chesapeake |
Ins and outs of ePublishing |
| Saturday 1100 (11am) |
Book Signing |
Maryland Foyer |
Duh. Bring a book. Buy a book. Get it signed. |
| Saturday 2000 (8pm) |
Book Release Party |
Chesapeake |
Bring a toga, dammit. Sex and violence karaoke |
| Saturday 2100 (9pm) |
Macabre Allure |
Chase |
Why do we like the scary stuff? |
| Saturday 2200(10pm) |
DRS Podcast |
Derby |
Live DRS With Justin. |
| Sunday 0900 (9am) |
It's All In Your Head |
Parlor 3401 |
Writing psychological horror |
| Sunday 1900 (7pm) |
MyWrite Demonstration |
Chesapeake |
Demo of MyWrite App |
| Sunday 2000 (8pm) |
From Page To Pod |
Derby |
How to turn your story into a podcast |
| Sunday 2200 (10pm) |
Reading |
Pimlico |
Reading of 2nd half of Marker. Bring a toga, bitches. |
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 20:24
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This week, Terry and I discuss what it takes to podcast your fiction as well as create audiobooks for sale. Not only that, but how to make the choice between the two.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 08:46
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Justin and I try and help Terry find his plot...
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sun, 05/05/2013 - 15:39
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 09:42
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Nice little interview with two great guys and writers. Check it out.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sun, 04/28/2013 - 11:09
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Ask anyone who's read and listened to my work, and they'll probably tell you Tattoo was the gateway drug into my fictional worlds. There's a reason for that. It's a quick, nasty ride that rushes through your blood like adrenalin and leaves you gasping.
Since Tattoo was first podcast, I have put out volumes of other stories, but it still remains a fan favorite, as well as one of mine.
This is actually the third cover attempt for the story. I once again put my work in the capable hands of Starla Huchton to make it right. This is the result.
EBook covers are much like the paperback covers of old--they tend to be more important than the words contained within. Great writers can create great worlds, great words, and still manage to sell absolute squat if they have a crap cover. Here's hoping the new cover grabs more folks and inducts them into my worlds, for better or worse.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Thu, 04/11/2013 - 09:04
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Essay about the recent purchase of Goodreads.com by Amazon.
This essay is copyright 2013 by Paul Elard Cooley performed by the author, and is protected under a creative commons, attribute, non-commercial, no derivatives 3.5 license. Music by Nine Inch Nails from their album, the Slip. Please visit their site.
This has been a presentation of shadowpublications.com, where we don't believe in happy endings.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Wed, 04/10/2013 - 07:32
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Justin, Terry, Lauren "Scribe" Harris, and the Fiendmaster discuss writing "the other."
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Wed, 04/10/2013 - 07:28
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We've often heard the phrase "The Gates of Hell," but did you know the Greeks and Romans actually located it? Not only that, but built an acropolis around it?
A recent discovery in Turkey uncovered the legendary site of the "Gates of Hell." When it was discovered by the ancient Greeks and Romans, certain philosophers tested the legend by tossing doves over the gas vent. The doves flew into the air, encountered the vapors emanating from the vent, and dropped dead. Why? Because the vent spews an extremely high concentration of Carbon Dioxide.
But imagine if you had no knowledge of science and saw wild animals expire when they got near a hole in the earth. How would you rationalize it? This is yet another example of how a kernel of truth spawns a legend. Ancient humans didn't understand all that they saw and experienced in their lives. Legends and stories often grow out of the need to explain the inexplicable.
The "Gates of Hell" is just another example of how a legend can be tracked back to an actual fact and then studied to determine what gave birth to the legend. In this case? Mystery solved.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 20:58
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The world is a strange place, folks. When I was writing "Keepers," a Sanskrit text was discovered that might be one of the eldest ever recovered. While writing "Scrolls," new information regarding the Library of Alexandria was mentioned in the news. And now? As Ama goes to the editor and right before Garaaga's Children: Ancients is released, they discover what appears to be a new building in Ur. Yup, can't make this shit up, folks. Garaaga's Children just keeps surprising me, as does how much of our past we are still recovering.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Thu, 04/04/2013 - 11:49
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Because I have loyal and talented fiendlings, I must showcase some of their creative endeavors.
The lovely and talented Kate Sherrod produced this sonnet in worship of Garaaga. Garaaga was NOT amused.
In the near future, I might have to let Garaaga's response flood the podwaves. Regardless, there WILL be consequences.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 18:59
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 Many of you have accused me of being a sick bastard for what I've done to your memories of muppets and The Ice Cream Man. Between "The Street" series and "Closet Treats," I've destroyed much of your childhoods. And I'll continue to do so. But dammit, no matter how hard I try someone keeps one-upping me. Don't believe this? Then check this link out. I've NEVER seen creepier easter bunnies. *shiver* Be very very afraid.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Mon, 03/25/2013 - 19:57
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In today's infocast, I tell you all about the preorder, what you're going to get for your $35.00, and engage in atrocious pro-Garaaga propaganda.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 20:49
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Here it is. The promo for the April 1 pre-sale of Garaaga's Children:Ancients. Enjoy and spread the disease.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sun, 03/10/2013 - 12:16
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Quick review of the film "Sinister". Music by Kevin Mcleod.
This presentation is copyright 2013 by Paul Elard Cooley.
Visit shadowpublications.com for more free stories as well as my rant casts.
Contact me at:
* stories@shadowpublications.com
* twitter: http://twitter.com/paul_e_cooley
* facebook: http://facebook.com/paul.e.cooley
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Fri, 02/22/2013 - 09:28
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Fiendmaster Call-In-Show!
Contained within: major announcement regarding Garaaga's Children: Ancients.
Special thanks to Sue Baiman.
Audio Production Assistance provided by:
- Allen Sale
- Dave Robison
- Richard Green
- Scott Roche
- Scott Pond
- Mike Luoma
- Tony Miller
- Jake Bible
- John Mierau
- and Veronica Giguerre
This presentation is copyright 2013 by Paul Elard Cooley.
Visit shadowpublications.com for more free stories as well as my rant casts.
Contact me at:
* stories@shadowpublications.com
* twitter: http://twitter.com/paul_e_cooley
* facebook: http://facebook.com/paul.e.cooley
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Tue, 02/05/2013 - 13:15
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 Cuneiform is the oldest known written language. When I first started writing the Garaaga's Children series, the glyph you see on the left was always in my mind. Coming up with it was a free-form exercise. I needed something recognizable on sight that would also make sense if rendered using just text.
After exhaustive searching, I managed to find a cuneiform font that I liked. What this allowed me to do was to actually render the glyph as I originally saw it in my head.
The cuneiform that makes up the sigil, for right now, is only one word: Garaaga, and it's hardly correct according to the rules of cuneiform construction. Since it's a first render pass, it will have to do, but ultimately this will be a prayer to the deity.
If you have read/listened to Keepers, Interlopers, and Scrolls, you might remember the description of the symbol that covers both the backs of Garaaga's worshippers as well as inscribed in the ancient text.
This should give you a better idea of what I had in mind and how I saw it in my imagination. I'm hopeful that I can make it look a bit more organic in the second pass. Although I have to say, this sucker would make an AWESOME tattoo.
Cheers.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Tue, 01/29/2013 - 21:02
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 Here it is, Fiendlings. The new cover for the Closet Treats ebook and podcast. The great Starla Huchton got this together for me. I'm pretty happy with it. She's also going to be doing an alternate cover Tattoo in the near future before I saddle her with the final cover of the Garaaga's Children: Ancients Volume.
Hope you like. And if you don't? Tough. You probably already bought the damned thing.
Cheers.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sat, 01/19/2013 - 12:03
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Short update on my plans for the year...
This podcast is copyright 2013 by Paul Elard Cooley and is protected under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, no derivates 3.5 license.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:15
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I bitch. I complain. When I read a book, especially one published by the so-called "real" publishers, I don't expect typos. I don't expect continuity errors. I don't expect issues with the narrative. When I find them, I get extremely angry. Why? I paid, usually top dollar if it's from a "real" publishing company, for an inferior product.
That said, however, I am in the publishing game, at least for my own work. I do my best to make my ebooks as professional as possible. For the most part I succeed. However, every now and then, my editor and I will miss something. When it happens, it's embarrassing and humiliating. But I have to own up to it.
A reader recently sent me an email outlining three mistakes in the Lovers ebook. They weren't huge. And in fact, most readers that weren't as diligent would have skipped over them completely. One was a continuity error involving a lamp. The other was a name change for an extremely minor character. And really, it was just a couple of letters off. Regardless, they are errors.
So what did I do? I fixed them. Immediately. I sent the reader an offer for a free, autographed version of the corrected ebook and thanked them for their careful reading and having the guts to email me. I am republishing Lovers with the revisions as we speak. In other words, I'm doing my best to make it right.
When books are published in paper, there are no "oops" moments when you can easily retract the version out there and replace it with a fixed one. Once a book goes to print, it's over. There's no more fixes possible until the next printing. Since most books only get a single printing, those mistakes are going to be there in perpetuity and there's not a damned thing the author or publisher can do about them.
In the ebook world, however, there is a chance to fix mistakes. It doesn't take much work to correct the issues, re-export the book, and then update your sales channels. Obviously going through something like Smashwords poses additional challenges, but for Kobo, BN, Amazon, and my own channels, it's extremely easy to republish.
So why don't we? Why don't most publishers modify their ebooks when they are notified of an issue? Several reasons. Most of them subcontract out the work and therefore have to pay more cash to get a fix, or at least that's what I like to think. However, my cynical side says "they don't give a shit." Unfortunately, I think that's the real reason.
The old publishing elite out there don't understand the new digital world. They never have. Until the moldy old bastards at the top die from disease or from going out of business, we're going to be stuck with one-off, never corrected volumes of digital crap. I simply don't see this changing any time soon.
But, I'm better than that. If there's a problem with my product, I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT! I do my best to put out quality. I want to give you the best read I possibly can and that means paying attention to not only the writing itself, but the proofing, the layout, and etc.
Indie publishers are gaining acceptance, but the big five (or is it four now?) continue to tell the world we are a bunch of rank amateurs putting out crap. Yet for every mistake I find in an indie book, I find ten more in the big publishers' books. But that doesn't let us off the hook. Not at all.
We have a responsibility to police not only our own products, but the products of our fellow authors/publishers. It's important we strive for perfection.
At least that's what I'm doing. If you find a problem in my books, let me know and I'll fix them. If you like, I'll send you an autographed, personalized copy of the "fixed" ebook. I strive for perfection. I'll always fall short, but I'm doing my best.
Cheers.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Fri, 01/11/2013 - 10:59
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Tonight I "finished" my latest book: The Rider. It's cowritten with Scott Sigler and takes place in his universe. But why did I say "finished?" Well, there's a lot of work to do. This is merely "my" first draft. It has to be worked on by the other author.
That said, this one was like giving birth. It's not every day that a very successful NYT Author asks me to write a book in his GFL Universe. Some have, but not many. To my knowledge, there are 5 of us that were invited to write novellas for a few characters that show up in his stories.
My task, however, wasn't to flesh out a major character. Instead, my task was to take an extremely minor character and his sport, and transform it into a novella. The sport? Oh, boy, it's a doozie. If you're a regular reader of Scott Sigler's, you'll know after you read/listen to "The All-Pro." And if you don't, you should get your hands on all the Galactic Football League books, even if you don't like sports, because they're hard sci-fi and the worlds are brilliant.
Because I have so much respect for his stories and accomplishments, the last thing I wanted to do was submit something subpar. I struggled and struggled to build a character and his world that would give Scott's readers the experience they deserve and the quality they expect. For someone who's dreadfully insecure about their skills, this is terrifying.
When I finished writing the last sentence of the last chapter, I tweeted. I facebooked. And then...well... I panicked.
I immediately started going through the novel with a comb. I scanned through it, made a few corrections in each chapter, and kept going. Then I stared at it. Then I asked it questions. Then I walked away.
It was done. I was done. It's the first draft! It's not the last! If it sucks, I'll get a chance to fix it! Or will I?
When you're asked to write something for someone, it's more terrifying than writing something for yourself. It just is. It's worse when someone else went to the trouble of dreaming up a universe and then asking you to contribute.
I haven't submitted a story for an anthology or for publication in forever. It's doubtful I'll ever do so since I handle my own work. But if you're working with a publisher, you usually submit a query, wait for them to agree to look at the book, and then send the book. If you're querying to see if someone wants to PAY you to write the book, and they accept, you're on the hook to provide a quality product you haven't yet created.
All this panic is to be ignored, I know. But it does mean a lot to me. And until the book is published and a success, I'm going to continue biting my nails. I hope it meets Dark Øverlord Media's expectations and I really hope it meets yours.
Until then, however, I have more writing to do in MY universe. And I'm getting back to that right now.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Tue, 12/25/2012 - 11:03
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MERRY FIENDMAS!
It's day 6 of Fiendmas. Which means it's time for Episode 2 of "After Image."
This story is available as an unabridged ebook from all major e-tailers.
Music by Kevin MacLeoud. Please visit his site.
Contact me at:
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Mon, 12/24/2012 - 15:53
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It's day 5 of Fiendmas. Which means it's time for Episode 1 of "After Image."
This story is available as an unabridged ebook from all major e-tailers.
Music by Kevin MacLeoud. Please visit his site.
Contact me at:
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sun, 12/23/2012 - 11:00
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It's day 4 of Fiendmas. Which means it's time for Episode 3 of "The Hunt."
This story is available as an unabridged ebook from all major e-tailers.
Music by Nine Inch Nails from the album Ghosts. Please visit their site.
Additional voices by Veronica Giguere.
Contact me at:
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Sat, 12/22/2012 - 08:37
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Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Additional voices by Veronica Giguere.
Contact me at:
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Fri, 12/21/2012 - 20:49
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That's right, fiendlings. This is part 2 of your Fiendmas present, episode 1 of The Hunt.
Now, just so you know, the ebook for The Hunt is already available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and etc. It'll be on MyWrite soon as well. Therefore, I guess I'll be an autographin' fool very soon.
Tomorrow, December 22nd, I'll release episode 2 of The Hunt, and on the 23, episode 3. Etc.
If possible, I'll get AfterImage to you on Xmas day or Xmas eve. Why? Because I spoil you, dammit.
If you have audio comments, complaints, etc, I'd love to hear them. Record and send them to paul@shadowpublications.com or leave comments at Shadowpublications.com or even on the Shadow Fans facebook group.
All right, enough of that. Let's meet Tony Downs and pretend we don't really know him from Closet Treats or Tattoo. Well, pretend anyway.
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Additional voices by Veronica Giguere.
Contact me at:
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Fri, 12/21/2012 - 09:08
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If you've listened to Mimes, you might be wondering...WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?
I don't normally write to prompts. It's one of the reasons I guess I'll never be part of those Iron Chef writing competitions. When I spend so much time wandering around the four series I have going, how could I possibly write something that came from someone else?
At Mile-Hi Con last year, I was having a drink with Amanda Kimmerly and Robert Stikmanz of Confabule.com. I can't remember what led to the discussion, but we were talking about traffic and clowns and what not. Rob finally stared me in the eye and dared me to write a story about mimes. Psychotic nasty mimes.
The story lay in my brain for quite some time. All sorts of crazed ideas festered and rotted. I spent time researching the history of clowns and the art of pantomime. The more I looked at things, the less sense they made. I put the story in the back of my mind and forgot about it.
When Rob and Amanda approached me about the 3000 Weeks Project, the first thing that jumped to my mind was the story about mimes. They wanted something new and original from me. And what the hell, I wanted to write a new Fiends-like tale. So I buckled down and started working on it.
I was interrupted by Scrolls, by my work on The Rider, and some really crazy weeks at work. But the story finally came around and smashed me in the head. Until I needed to find an ending... Sigh.
One fateful night, I told the Fiendmistress I was stuck. I told her the basic gist of the story and then...fireworks. "It's a Paul Cooley tale. Obviously, he's going to turn into a mime."
Bang. Boom. Cue nuclear explosion.
The story wrote itself after that. And I finished the last 2200 words in a blinding sprint. It's been years since I've felt that crazed about finishing a story. It was wonderful.
I don't write stories about zombies, or infections, or whatever you want to call it. But I loved the idea of crowds of creepy things chasing a person. Mimes is a one-off. It's not a fiends tale, really. It's more of a horror story that I've written out of love and lust for trying something new. Hopefully you enjoyed listening to it as much as I enjoyed producing it.
So do me a favor. Go visit Confabule.com and check out the rest of the artists and writers involved in the 3000 Weeks Project. Give some cash and get some good stuff. After all, inspiration comes from strange places. And Rob and Amanda are two of the most wonderfully strange people I know.
Cheers.
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Thu, 12/20/2012 - 21:26
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It's Xmas time. That means it's time for me to start delivering your presents. The first is a Fiends tale called "Mimes." And no clowning around, it's pretty nasty. It's also part of the Confabule.com 3000 Weeks Project and will be included in the book of collected stories and artwork for the project. If you are interested, you can donate to the project at their website or using the donation doo-dad on the right.
Hope y'all enjoy.
This presentation is copyright 2012 by Paul Elard Cooley.
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Visit shadowpublications.com for more free stories, essays, and reviews.
Contact me at:
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Submitted by Paul Elard Cooley on Wed, 12/19/2012 - 09:23
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An interesting question was posed on this week's "The Dead Robots' Society." As 2012 is currently rolling into 2013, we asked ourselves what our achievements were for the year. "Do you think you were succesful" was followed by writing, business, whatever.
I read the question as "do you feel successful as a writer." And it made me think a bit.
Since I started releasing my fiction via podcast and then selling a hardcover and many e-books, I've made less money off my writing than I usually make in three days of contract work. And that was at my old, very expensive rate. Yes, it's all relative. I know.
So why the hell do I spend all these hours writing, podcasting, editing, conversing, and etc? Why would anyone work so damned hard for so little money?
I guess because I enjoy it.
Let me level with you. Thousands of folks have downloaded my books via podcast. The vast, and I mean vast, majority didn't purchase the hardcover of Fiends. BTW--if you're looking for signed, limited edition copy of said book, please visit my store. They didn't purchase it for one reason or another. Probably because I was charging too much money for what is essentially a collector's item. Or maybe because they didn't know if was for sale? Possibly because they simply couldn't afford it. So was all the money, time, and risk spent frivilously? Was it a failure?
How come I haven't sold millions of ebooks? Should I feel I have failed because Garaaga's Children, that I thought was a sure thing, hasn't managed to take off like a fighter jet? Was all that effort, the writing, the research, the editing, the podcasting, and etc, simply wasted? How I can possibly feel I've achieved anything less than 0 when I haven't even recouped the cost of a professional editor and artist for nearly every one of my books?
I'll be honest. I put way more effort into what I do than what I'll probably ever get out of it. At least monetarily speaking. I know this. I know the chances of me making a living at this are probably worse than purchasing that big jackpot lotto ticket.
There are better writers out there. I know several of them. There are stories that are much more satisfying than the ones I write. I read them. There are characters, settings, and plots much more complicated than anything I can dream up. Yup, very well understood.
So what have I achieved?
I'm a writer again. It gives me pleasure. I can act in front of the microphone, bringing my characters and story to life, and it makes me happy. I'm not as popular on the podcast circuit as I once was, but I have lots of listeners. and therefore my words are reaching them. As long as I have listeners, I'll keep podcasting, because that in itself is an achivement.
It took much longer than I'd planned to write Scrolls. I can write an entire essay on why that was, but trust me, it was extremely difficult to finish. But I did it. And the comments I've received tell me I hit the mark. I count that as a great success.
I'm almost finished with the first draft of The Rider, which is my very first science fiction novella. Getting asked by Dark Øverlord Media, by the FDØ himself, in fact, to write a novel in the GFL universe was a huge achievement.
In addition, I'm now part of The Dead Robots' Society which I consider a great honor. But don't tell Justin I said that. I didn't ask to be part of the show, I was asked. Either Justin and Terry are insane, or they think I add something to the show. Yeah, I know, they're crazy.
Basically, this year has been chock full of personal achievements. Money has not been one of them and that will either come or it won't. I work hard at what I do and I'm constantly trying to improve myself. Perhaps one day I'll figure out how to make decent money doing this. Until then, I'll just keep writing, podcasting, coding, and etc.
You keep listening, I'll keep podcasting. You keep reading, I'll keep writing. There are many more stories for me to tell. Stay tuned while I bang them out.
Cheers.
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