Links

Ah, the obligatory links page (sometimes known as a “blogroll”).  I’ll try to organize things a bit, but otherwise this page will be kept very basic.

Conventions

A list of scifi\fantasy or anime conventions, color coded in the following ways:  Magenta if I’ve been there as a guest, Green if I’ve been there as a panelist for a single panel, and Orange if I merely attended the convention.  If it’s the standard colors, I haven’t been there, yet, but I want to go.  (Note:  I don’t like that version of magenta, but I had to change the color when I moved this page to the new site, and that’s the only the blog offers that I wasn’t already using and showed up on this white background.  I’m guessing this set isn’t color-blind friendly, either.  If I can figure out how to install a better set of colors, I may swap them around a bit)

Other Authors

This is a list of other authors’ blogs and websites (some authors get more than one).  While by NO means comprehensive, it’s largely a list of other authors who I’ve worked with in some capacity, or who gave of their time to help mentor me one-on-one (even if just briefly, at a convention or the like) over the years.  I’m trying to include all the links I can find for everybody, so if you’re on the list and I missed one of your links, let me know.

  • Keith R.A. Decandido.  He was the editor I hired for The Kitsune Stratagem.  Here is his website, his editorial services page, his blog, and his books.
  • David Keener was the project lead, the managing editor, and a fellow author of the Worlds Enough: Fantastic Defenders anthology.    Here is his blog.
  • Martin Wilsey was another fellow author of the Worlds Enough: Fantastic Defenders anthology.  He also was the publisher through his Tannhauser Press imprint.  Here is his blog.  Oh, and he has several other books as well.
  • Allen Wold regularly runs writing workshops at conventions up and down the East Coast, several of which I’ve attended over the years.  He also helped me work out some issues with The Kitsune Stratagem during a one-on-one meeting at a convention.  Here is his website, and here are his books.

Help for Writers and Self-Publishers

I occasionally talk about self-publishing on my blog, but I’m far from the only source of help on the subject.  Here are a few links you might find useful:

Cover Artists

Technically, I’ve never worked with a “cover artist” (as in, someone who specializes in book covers).  I have, however, worked with a number of artists who occasionally do book covers, as listed below.  Just for variety (well, and to fill out this list), I’ll also include a few sites I’ve heard other self-publishers recommend for book covers.

  • Wish Pictures, the official website of Joel Christopher Payne, cover artist for The Merrimack Event.
  • No Need For Bushido, the webcomic of Alex Kolesar, cover artist for the Law of Swords series.
  • Art of Hanzo, the portfolio of Hans “Hanzo” Steinbach, who will be taking over for Alex Kolesar starting with book III of the Law of Swords series.
  • Sensevessel Studios, the business name of Enggar Ajar A, cover artist for The Kitsune Stratagem.
  • 99Designs, a graphic design company used by many self-publishers to find cover artists.  (I think the cover for Worlds Enough: Fantastic Defenders was purchased through this service, but I’m not certain about that)
  • Fiverr, a freelance services company.  It’s really a middleman for discount services of all kinds, but I know a number of self-publishers find cover artists here.  They also provide other services you might find useful.  I’ve considered them for translation services, before, though I have yet to do any translations.

Other Links and Resources

  • My mother is an internationally award-winning quilter.  You can find her website here.
  • Fontsquirrel.com is a fun little resource for anyone searching for new fonts.  All of them are free for commercial use.  All of them have a complete alphabet, at least, though a few are missing some bits of punctuation.  I considered putting this site up with the self-publishing links, but everyone needs the occasional font, right?
  • When I made the cover for “This Book Cannot Make Any Money,” I had to use stock art.  I had no budget for stock art, but there are websites out there that offer free-for-commercial-use clip art and stock art.  The specific image I used for that cover came from Pixabay.
  • I’ve also used free-for-commercial-use clip art in some of my other publications.  At least one specific piece I used came from OpenClipArt.org.
  • The Merrimack Event’s audiobook was produced by Tantor Media.