A Few Words From a Friend

There are days when I really don't feel like sitting behind the laptop, putting words to paper or editing words already there.  Today was one of those days.  At least until a friend posted this on Facebook,

There are times when it is important to step out of one's comfort zone and read something one might not normally read. Reading my friend, Kat Yares's book, Vengeance is Mine, was definitely outside of my comfort zone but extremely worthwhile. Her novella is gripping, disturbing and psychologically complex. The book is a short, but extremely engaging, paranormal/psychological horror story. I highly recommend it! - Karen Mueller-Bryson

Those words put a smile on my face and immediately made me grab the manuscript (Beneath the Tor) I've been working on and begin revising using the pencil marks on the page to make corrections on the screen.  It's been a productive day so far and I definitely have Karen Mueller-Bryson to thank for that.  :)

I suppose it simply reminded me that even if I've read a book penned by a friend - a few positive words can go a long way to making a difference in their day.  I will remember that from now on.

In other news, Vengeance is Mine is now available at Smashwords also.  For those that do not know, Smashwords is an online bookstore that carries ebooks in a wide variety of formats so no matter what reader you own (or even if you don't own one at all), you can easily find the format you need.  I've found that many people prefer to download their books from Smashwords since they do take PayPal.

Hopefully soon, Vengeance Is Mine will also be available for the Nook, Kobo, Apple and Sony from their respective websites also.  But for now, back to work on Beneath the Tor - coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Free - One Last Time

Tomorrow, Sunday April 22, my novella Vengeance is Mine will be free for downloading to your Kindle or Kindle app.  Beginning next week, I will be making it available for the Nook, Sony eReader, Kobo reader, and available in the iTunes store for you Apple device (iPod, iPad, etc).

It's been a fun adventure having Vengeance Is Mine as part of the Kindle select program.  Because of the promotion, I've met new friends and discovered many, many new authors.  I will be using the Select program from here on out to introduce new books that I will be publishing throughout the year.

Next up will be a novel Beneath the Tor.  It's not horror - more of an alternative history fantasy.  Think along the lines of a Dan Brown story (not that I am at all comparing myself to Dan Brown).  But if you liked his books and if you liked the Avalon series of books by Marion Zimmer Bradley - you might want to watch for when this one goes live.  To give it a tag line - Mists of Avalon meets New Testament Christianity.

Stay tuned!

The Indie Author vs The Indie Movie Maker

Been pondering this for a few days.  The indie movie maker is applauded while the indie author is stigmatized.  Why is that?  What really is the difference?

Indie movie makers can sometimes make great movies.  They have won awards and picked up Major Studio distribution. And sometimes the indie movie maker makes crap or a mediocre (at best) motion picture.  And many just fall into the middle - somewhere between crap and great.  The biggest difference I see is that the indie movie maker, when they fail, is told something to the effect of 'don't worry, you're next one will be better'.  Something along those lines.  Every week in this country, somewhere there is a film festival, for the indie movie maker to showcase his work.  Heck, Arkansas alone has at least seven that I can think of, off the top of my head.

Now let's look at the indie author.  This is the person that spends hours and hours behind the keyboard crafting stories to the best of their ability.  They may decide to self-publish from the get-go, wanting to be in control of every part of their beloved book.  Or, they may have tried to get past the gatekeepers for the Big 6 and failed miserably.  Or they may be established authors republishing both their back lists (where rights have reverted back to the author) along with new stories they write.

For whatever reason, many people believe that anything self published is pure crap - 100 percent of the time - no exceptions.  And yet, some of these people are the first to flock to the film festivals to see what is new and innovative.  I mean, I don't get this.

Why are people so willing to accept an independent movie maker's work as something worth seeing, yet feel that an independent author isn't worth reading?  I'm missing something somewhere, obviously.

I will admit, I do both - along with my better half, I make short movies and I write short stories and novels.  And for the most part, the only support I see for what I am trying to do is from other independent creatives.  When I tell a person outside the film community, we make short films the general reaction is "how cool" or something like that.  When I tell someone outside the writing community I have a new book out - first question is almost inevitably "who published it?".  When I say, myself - you can almost hear their eyes rolling upwards in their head.

Why is that?

Okay, rant over.

How cool is this?

Just received an email from a lady I handed a print copy of Vengeance Is Mine to the other evening.  In part, it reads:

"I enjoyed reading “Vengeance is Mine”.  It was a book I didn’t want to put down until I had finished it.  I envy your ability to pen such a story.  I could feel Macie’s pain (not that I could share personally) but your writing made it so a person could be there with her and hoped someone could and did do something for her.  Just wanted to clap for joy at the ending!"


That truly made my day!  Amazon reviews are nice, but when a reader takes a moment out of their busy day to contact an author personally - it means the world, at least to me.

Slowly but surely I'm adding to this blog.  Decided it would do just fine for a personal website - which is why www.katyares.com is now redirected to here.  Redoing my previous website was much more work than I wanted to do - I'd rather just write story.

So today, it's write a bit, edit a bit, cook a bit and enjoy the beautiful Sunday it is.

A Matter of Will

Although I like to think of myself as a horror writer, I rarely write a vampire story.  This weeks offering is one of those rare ones - A Matter of Will.  A story of a vampire and vampire killer, but no, nothing like Buffy or anything sparkling.  I promise.

This story was first published on a now defunct website called Something Wicked Online.  I think it was the first story I was paid for - at a whopping quarter-cent a word.  But I can remember how proud I was.

The only other vampire story I've written is now in post production editing as a short motion picture.  I will be releasing the short story, The Truth of Becoming, when the movie becomes available also.  Just need to find more hours in the day to get it done.

For now, tho, enjoy A Matter of Will.  It's short and I believe you will like it.