My Interview on Indie Author Connection

 Today, I’m sharing my interview with Ivo Lettercast on Indie Author Connection.

I share a bit about my philosophy as to what it means to be a writer and do a reading from my cosmic horror novella Nightmare in Agate Bay.

The interview was great fun and I hope you enjoy it too.

If you want to sign up for my VIP Horror Readers Club, the URL has changed. Please use this one: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/aj2s8x1slq

And you’ll get a free exclusive copy of “The Feeder”!

The Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations are a blast to write, and readers like them too: “Had me waiting on tentacle-hooks. …a charming, easy to read, creep-fest!” 

You can get a copy of Nightmare in Agate Bay on Amazon, or read for free if you are in KU.

Hope you enjoy the interview. Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

Style’s the Thing

Raymond Chandler wrote:

… the formula doesn’t matter, the thing that counts is what you do with the formula; that is to say, it is a matter of style.

While Chandler was referring to writing mysteries, I think his observation applies to all genre fiction. This is because genre fiction, commercial fiction, follows a formula. Whether we’re talking about romance, or space opera, or adventure tales, or mysteries, or sports stories, genre fiction is formulaic.

Which brings us to Chandler’s key observation: what’s important is what the writer does with the formula. And what the writer does with the formula is what he called style.

Style differentiates one urban fantasy author from another. Style is the difference between one romance writer and another. And it’s style that differentiates a writer of cosmic horror, from another writer of cosmic horror.

As readers, it’s style that draws us to one author over another. It’s style that moves me, as a reader, to give one writer five stars and another four.

The mystery formula is pretty simple. A kills B. The police think the killer is C, until the sleuth clears C and puts the finger on A.

Erle Stanley Gardner, to shake up the routine, directed his efforts towards the formula. Things such as start with a mystery, the murder should be planned, and the reader should be sympathetic to the victim. Which also means the victim cannot be killed before the story starts.

The end results were very complex plots, but his stories remained formulaic. Perhaps the epitome of the puzzle mystery.

Raymond Chandler, on the other hand, focused on the characters in his novels. Particularly that of Philip Marlowe, his detective. The end result is that Chandler’s mysteries read like literature. They are some the finest novels I’ve read. He brought Marlowe to life. He enables me to experience a California that no longer exists. A California I’d love to live in.

And ultimately it is due to style that Chandler gets five stars from me, and Gardner doesn’t.

It’s all about style. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say, and so too is style.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

Beyond the Sea

This past Friday was the official launch of Beyond the Sea: Stories from the Underground.

The concept was simple: a picture of a boat beached on a spit of sand jutting out into a lake, or a bay, or maybe the sea. Then add the imaginations of a dozen authors. And what do you get? A superbly satisfying collection of short stories.

I’m proud to be one of the 12 Underground Authors contributing to this incredible collection of tales. My story “The Boat”, is my first return trip to the post-apocalyptic world of The Rocheport Saga in 4 years. I took the opportunity to coax out of Bill Arthur a story that took place before The Morning Star, which is Book 1 of the series.

Amazon reviewer J.S. wrote of “The Boat”:

C.W. Hawes wrote a compelling short story that I didn't want to come to an end. His words came alive and I joined in with the characters in a hair-raising survival journey in a post-apocalyptic world. Great world-building and great writing!

I’m pleased and humbled by that comment. And very glad I wasn’t a drag on the group effort! :)

As a reader, I was impressed with the overall quality of the stories. As can’t be helped, some were more appealing to me than others. That’s just how it is in an anthology. Not everything will please everybody. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

Nevertheless, the overall quality is high, and that should please any reader. I’m confident everyone will find a story they’ll fall in love with.

My personal favorites, the ones that especially caught my eye, were “Hemingway’s Boat” by Caleb Pirtle III, “The Encounter” by Ronald E Yates, and “Roses for Grant” by Richard Schwindt.

Pirtle’s story is a superb example of his ability  to capture a time and place, people it with true to life characters, throw in a bit of mystery and romance, and come up with a story that grabs you and doesn’t let go. In the short time that I’ve known him, he’s become one of my favorite authors.

I enjoy a good science fiction yarn, and Ron Yates has uncorked a real goodie in “The Encounter”. And when it’s coupled with a touch of slowburn terror, it’s a keeper. His knowledge of Southeast Asia and history adds a strong sense of place and color to the tale.

Richard Schwindt, as readers of this blog know, is one of my favorite contemporary writers. I think I’d buy his grocery lists. His story, “Roses for Grant”, is a beautiful slice-of-life tale about an older middle-aged couple. Their memories and the mission they are on. In some ways, it reminded me of Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” in that the dialogue essentially carries the story. No narrator gets in the way of the couple on whom we are listening in.

Having written the above, I want to emphasize that there is something for everyone in Beyond the Sea — and what are my favorites may not be yours. Pick up a copy and see for yourself.

We the authors are donating the proceeds to Team Rubicon. A worthy organization. Check them out on their website.

You can pick up a copy of Beyond the Sea at Amazon. And when you do, you benefit yourself and the disaster relief efforts of Team Rubicon. 

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

The Boat

 

It’s been a number of years since I’ve visited the world of Bill Arthur and The Rocheport Saga.

Recently, though, I paid Bill a visit and the result was “The Boat”, a prequel story to The Rocheport Saga.

In “The Boat” we learn a bit about Bill in the days after the apocalypse and before the story in The Morning Star. 

So if you’re a fan of The Rocheport Saga, you can find “The Boat” in Beyond the Sea: Stories from the Underground, which officially debuts this Friday, May 7th.

And to celebrate the book launch, the Underground Authors are throwing a launch party!

The party starts at 5:30 pm CDT on Friday, May 7th. There will be prizes and you’ll get to meet the authors.

Here’s the link to get in on the fun:

PARTY TIME!

Hope to see you there!