September Blogs
The September Photo of the Month is of me at a bookstore signing in Anchorage, Alaska for Marguerite Reiss's Bear Attacks of the Century. That's Marguerite in the photo with me. Gene Moe, the fellow standing behind me, was attacked without warning by a 750-pound female grizzly, almost lost his right arm (and his life), but managed to defend himself with the four-inch pocket knife I'm holding up on the table.
Friday September 30, 2005
I got a manuscript in the mail last night for the September 30 deadline of the quarterly Writers of the Future Contest. The contest is one of the best free sci-fi and fantasy writer contests in the world, and they accept manuscripts from around the globe. I have been selected three times as a quarter-finalist for the contest, which is remarkable considering it is a "blind" contest (which means my name is nowhere on the manuscript and so each story has been chosen purely on the quality of the work) and because there are probably over a thousand entries each quarter.
If this latest entry gets selected, it'll be my fourth quarter-finalist piece, which may well be some sort of record. I really don't know for sure, though.
In fact, if anyone knows what the record highest number of selections as a quarter-finalist for WotF is, please let me know.
Eventually, maybe, one day, I'll crack through to a finalist spot!
One can hope anyways...
I saw Serenity last night. I thought it was pretty entertaining...
I went to the dentist this morning and had one small cavity:( I go in for a filling on October 14th. I hate fillings.
Thursday September 29, 2005
Inspired by yesterday's bad photograph, I decided to get out in the yard today and take some slightly less bad photos, so that you can see what it's like where I live. We live in the desert (the temp will hit 98 F. today, and it's the end of September).
Here's the view to the north from my back yard right at sunset...
Here's the view looking to the west. The mountain in the background is "Dinosaur Mountain" so-named because, from a distance of about ten miles, it resembles a stegosaur's back. I often climb it and look out at Phoenix in the valley below (on the other side of the hill), which glimmers like a sea of lights in the twilight and evening hours...
And here's an Ocotillo cactus in my front yard. That's a prickly pear behind it to the right. Prickly pear ice-cream, a unique flavor found in a few ice-cream parlors in the Southwest, is made from prickly pear extract...
Here's a better photo of a prickly pear...
And here's a photo from the Dinosaur Trailhead about 200 meters from my house...
Here's a picture of my dog Steinbeck trying to beat the heat...
Of course, the cactus most often associated with Arizona is the saguaro...
And here's a picture of a giraffe...
Monday September 26, 2005
I hit a milestone today, folks. My word count for Dr. Plant as of finishing Chapter 80 tonight is 146,752. For those who don't think in terms of word count, this means absolutely nothing.
But to the writers in the crowd, this is a record for me. Before Dr. Plant, The Colorado Sequence was my longest novel at 144,161 words. Of course, Dr. Plant is nowhere near to being done. Nonetheless, I've got a weird feeling right this moment, like being out on an open highway to a place I've never been before. I think I know where I'm going...
One can hope anyways.
It's a good day.
Stacey
Saturday September 24, 2005
I've been putting together a mailing list for NPR Member Radio Stations the past few weeks. Spent a couple hours this afternoon tracking down stations in New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. Basically, what I want to do is cull together a list of 50-300 radio stations, news directors, and program directors, to which I could pitch a program.
If you are or know of any authors who would like to be interviewed on NPR radio stations around country, let me know. I hope to have my pitch letter ready by mid-November, and I'll just do a mass mailing to station Program Directors and News Directors basically saying: "Dear Producer, I am writing to suggest a story about..."
Right now, I'm thinking the story will have something to do with self-publishing and book distribution over the internet, and I have a couple authors in mind who I might ask if they're interested in being interviewed for a radio station program.
As always, I love to hear feedback from you, Constant Reader.
Have an idea for a program? Know an author who wants to be interviewed? Let me know...
Stacey
Friday September 23, 2005
Great news today! I received confirmation from author David Morrell to use his praise "One heck of a good idea for a novel" for press and promotions on Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone. David is the internationally bestselling author of First Blood, which single-handedly gave rise to the Rambo movie and marketing franchise of the 1980s.
His endorsement of Amber Page means a lot to me. Most people in the know consider him the creator of the thriller genre.
Stacey
Thursday September 22, 2005
It doesn't have anything to do with writing, but I just called an Appliance Repair shop. We've got a leaky dishwasher.
They're sending out a technician this afternoon...
(stay tuned for more exciting details)
Tuesday September 20, 2005
I made it into the Wikipedia Encyclopedia!
Stacey Cochran Article in Wikipedia
Sunday September 18, 2005
I received my second positive review for Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone. This generous, thoughtful, and eloquent review came from Mark Jeffrey, author of The Pocket and the Pendant, which is one of the most successful self-published novels in the country of the past 18 months. Mark writes:
A fine first volume of what promises to continue to be a quantum fable of spy intrigue, adventure and thought-provoking speculation on the nature of the universe.
For starters, the realistic depiction of Amber's broken family and poverty combined with the way Amber's everyday experiences in school �rang true� lent believability to the tale. This is a key foundation of fantasy that many authors simply ignore, but which Cochran smartly builds on as a cornerstone. He has very clear empathy for Amber, her mom, her dad and their situation in life -- and thus the reader does as well. When fantastical elements -- such as the nefarious S.H.R.O.U.D. organization and the Coral Stone of the title -- are introduced, they then have immediate validity, because they appear to exist in a �real world� that we can all recognize.
Cochran also manages to weave in intellectual concepts such as quantum mechanics without getting over-complex or wordy. Young readers will be able to clearly understand these concepts through his use of something he calls �The Line� -- which physics buffs will recognize as the �weirdness barrier� between the bizarre actions of subatomic particles and the macro world at large we can all see. The Line is crossed in our observable world by certain individuals such as Amber and the Stone -- and a certain mysterious old man with a walker who figures prominently in the tale.
The motif of �universal true freedom� is explored nicely through things as simple as a stoplight which controls whether a classroom can talk or not. A metaphor for the clamping, smothering controls we've all experienced in the world, they are perhaps nowhere as vivid as in our early classroom experiences. Amber is presented as a champion of true freedom by openly defying this control mechanism, and she is certain to go on repeating her actions in ever-widening arenas with greater consequences for all.
Lastly, the classic death and rebirth of the hero motif is also presented in fine detail at the end of the novel. Cochran isn�t afraid to kill characters when needed, or have them undergo extreme transformations, even at an early age. And again, he accomplishes both believably.
So let me enthusiastically recommend AMBER PAGE AND THE LEGEND OF THE CORAL STONE for your bookshelf as a rollicking adventure and fantasy tale and speculation about the world we inhabit all wrapped into one!
- Mark Jeffrey
Author of THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT
The Official Website of The Pocket and the Pendant
Thursday September 15, 2005
I received this nice email yesterday....
Dear Entrant,
Thank you for entering the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of The Future Contest. Your entry placed in the quarter-finals for the 3rd quarter 2005 (April 1 - June 30, 2005). Achieving the level of quarter-finals means that your story was in the top 10 - 15% of all entries received for the quarter.
Judges for the quarterly judging are Dr. Jerry Pournelle, Kevin J. Anderson, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven and K.D. Wentworth. We commend your effort and hope that you will submit another entry for the 4th quarter 2005, which closes September 30, 2005.
The deadline is by postmark.
We wish you the best of luck on your next entry!
Sincerely,
Judy
Contest Administrator
This is the third time that I've had a short story selected as a quarter-finalist for the Writers of the Future Contest. Pretty cool!
The winner of each quarter receives a $1,000 first prize and may be chosen for publication in the annual anthology.
Wednesday September 14, 2005
Not too much has been going on the past couple days for me to blog about. My imagination has finally opened up on this Dr. Plant novel, and I've been writing like I haven't written in months. I'm currently at page 670 in manuscript form (about 132,000 words). My goal is to bring this novel in by New Years. I don't know if anybody will ever read a book that's over a thousand pages in manuscript format (which puts it at like 600-700 pages in printed book format), but I felt the need to pop off a long one.
It's the third in the Amber Page series.
Check out this photo of David Morrell and I taken last week at The Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale. David is the internationally bestselling author of First Blood and creator of Rambo.
Photo by Kevin Crosson
Sunday September 11, 2005
An article about me appeared in October's Self Publisher News. Thanks go to editor Milton Stern, who found me and my books newsworthy.
This is the first article ever written about me as an author. Pretty cool!
Thursday September 8, 2005
I received my first advanced review for Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone today. It's the first positive review I've ever received for a novel I've written, and it comes to us from Ken Bosky at Brew City Magazine. Ken writes:
"Amber Page picks you up from page one and doesn't let go. The nonstop action and layered plot keep you turning pages until your thumb is sore. There's something to be said about a book that can hook readers from the first page and keep them hooked until the very end. Funny, smart, and unpredictable, Cochran's newest book is proof that the action thriller is still a powerful force in the book industry."
Thank you, Ken.
Also in the good news department today, the very first Amber Page merchandise is available for purchase at Amber's Cave. Products include official U.S. postage stamps, T-shirts, fridge magnets, and Amber Page stickers. I can attest to the fridge magnets being really, really cool. Buy one today! They work really well.
Stacey
Tuesday September 6, 2005
Where there is a will, there is a way...
Today, I learned how to post photographs online via a free hosting site. This is really, really cool because it now means I can post many more photos on my blog here, without overloading this site's memory capacity (which is actually pretty minimal at 5MB).
So once again, the site evolves. Instead of just doing a single monthly photo, I can add a few more from time to time....
Makes me want to get out and take some photos!
Purty kewl...
This photo here was from a trip I took to the Hawaiian island of Kauai in July 2004. The waterfall in the background is Wailua Falls. The island of Kauai was the inspiration for the setting in my as-yet-unpublished novel Dr. Plant.
Monday September 5, 2005
I am back from Chicago. The last two days were such non-stop action I was unable to check my computer or update the blog, and there were so many extraordinary moments it�s really difficult to recap them all.
One of the coolest moments came after Dennis Lehane�s speech at the Anthony Awards banquet Saturday night. The banquet was on the 80th floor of the Aon building in the Mid-American club and ballroom. I told Dennis how encouraging and inspiring his story was to all the young writers in the room. He talked about the hard years after he graduated from college but before his first book sold. It was encouraging.
This was the very first time ever that I had people who recognized me and knew my work. Everyone was so great. I�ll just do a list here and if I forget anybody, let me know:
I got a chance to catch up with J.A. Konrath, had a nice conversation with Steve Hamilton, chatted briefly with Harlan Coben, was introduced to C.J. Box by two wonderful ladies (I�m sorry I can�t remember your names, ladies; please send me an email to remind me :) I would love to chat about Madison), met the thoughtful Roberta Islieb, talked briefly with Jeff Shelby about marketing strategies, talked with David Morrell about young adult thrillers, had a very good conversation with Robert S.P. Lee, made a friend in Pat Lambe, finally got caught up with Anthony Neil Smith, had a nice conversation with Janet Hutchings who edits Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, made the acquaintance of extraordinarily nice Linda Landrigan who edits Alfred Hitchcock�s Mystery Magazine, chatted briefly with legendary Ed Hoch, had several nice chats with Louise Ure, met briefly Steve Hockensmith, served on a neat panel with Clea Simon, Nancy Means Wright, Denise Swanson, and Kathleen Ernst, caught up briefly with Simon Wood, met the one-of-a-kind James R. Winter (and, Jim, I�d be honored to introduce you, when you are up for your Anthony Award :), met James Lincoln Warren, heard the delightful Steven Torres on a panel, met the very cool Duane Swierczynski whose novel The Wheelman is coming out in October, chatted with Rebecca Swets about flooding in Hurricane Floyd, had a neat little conversation with Jason Starr just minutes before he won the Anthony Award, met and had a book signed by Karin Slaughter, met PWA president Bob Randisi, saw the always sunny T. Jefferson Parker on a panel, chatted with publisher Dennis McMillan in the book room, met Con Lehane, chatted with Barry Eisler, finally met the incomparable Sean Doolittle, had a wonderful conversation with the ever-encouraging Pat Dennis, had an interesting conversation on the shuttle ride to the airport with Pari Noskin Taichert, and met the hilarious and charming Ken Bruen.
And anyone else who I met, if I didn�t mention you, please send me a line. I really want to remember everyone, but it was an absolute blur of a Labor Day weekend. A fun blur. But a blur. . .
I had a great time, folks!
Other things worth mentioning: I carried with me 100 Claws fridge magnets. The fridge magnets list my website and have a picture of the Claws flyer on it. Also, I carried about 30 Claws flyers and about 25 Amber Page flyers. I had magazine holder racks for the flyers and the magnets were in a large Tupperware dish, on the front of which I taped a typewritten note �Free Magnets Please Take One.� I also had a large 6� x 4� Claws poster on an easel. I placed the easel and poster outside the bookroom. It�s hard to know how many hundreds (or thousands even) saw this poster. It was the single largest, most visible poster outside the bookroom.
The magnets and flyers I placed on the goodies table which was outside the Sheraton ballroom. Every one of the magnets were gone within 24 hours of my panel on Animals in Mystery Fiction. All of the Claws flyers were gone within 48 hours. The Amber Page flyers didn�t do anywhere near as well. Only about ten copies were picked up.
So, what does this tell me? What is the lesson?
1) People love fridge magnets (which incidentally are actually cheaper than a paper flyer and will last much longer [and hopefully end up on a lot of folks� home refrigerators]).
2) Either Claws is extremely appealing to mystery/crime fiction fans, or I did a pretty good job of getting the word out about it at this Bouchercon.
a) Also, the fact that I had the flyers and the magnets in a different location than the large poster might have created multiple places for people to have seen it, which might have aided its popularity.
b) I also wore a Claws t-shirt on the last day of the convention, and a very nice guy actually came up to me and said that the T-shirt was a �brilliant idea.� He really liked it.
In fact, if you're reading this blog as a result of having picked up a Claws magnet or flyer or if you saw the large Claws poster outside the dealers' room, would you drop me a line via the comment box at the top of the page....
It helps to know what works and what might could work better. And I love to hear from new people!
Stay cool, good people. . .
Stacey
Saturday September 3, 2005
Conventions begin to feel a little like running a race after about three days:) You hope to be in good shape to keep up with them.
Yesterday was an absolute blast. The day started with JA Konrath helming a panel that was the single funniest panel I have ever been to. I asked a question toward the end about writing a thriller for a young adult audience, and David Morrell said, "That's a hell of an idea."
I don't think anybody's really doing it. The closest thing anyone could think of was the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer, but those are as much fantasy as they are an international spy thriller. I think the Amber Page books may fill that niche. I wrote them as thrillers in the James Bond tradition, but I made the hero of the story a seven-year-old crime fighter named Amber Page.
David suggested that I may have to put the whole package together before an editor will take a chance on it because it's such an original idea. When you do something that no one else is doing or has done editors are reluctant to take a chance, is what he was suggesting. They'll want to see how it will play out....
All of that is to say, I think I have still have some work to do to realize the Amber Page books even though they're in manuscript format. Chiefly, I need to flesh out where they fit into the book marketplace. What kind of books are they? It was a really great panel....
All in all, yesterday was a very enjoyable day.
Dinner tonight is at the mid-American club, way up on the 80th floor. There will be a reception beforehand, and the Anthony Awards will follow afterwards.
Friday September 2, 2005
It's early Friday morning, and the second day of the convention is getting underway. I'm in the hotel lobby. There's an early morning stir as people stroll into the lobby looking sleepy-eyed. A few folks are reading newspapers. Some are drinking coffee...
Yesterday's panel on Animals in Mysteries went really well. I felt that all of the panelists brought a unique voice to the table, and the discussion made me think. The turnout was pretty good, too. There were about 50 folks in attendance, and they asked some very good questions.
I always get excited right before I have to speak on a panel, but I just try and clear my mind, listen to the other panelists and the audience, and then just try and speak clearly and be true to myself.
I attended a panel in the afternoon consisting of first-time authors. It was really inspiring to hear their stories of rejection woes in the context of their being on a panel in a packed room, and each of them had their first published novels on display at the table. Four of the five had agents. Four of the five wrote in the 1st-person pov. All five had written previous novels that failed to find a publisher, and they all agreed that there was no such thing as an overnight success. They all seemed to have worked their butts off to earn their first novel publication.
Later in the afternoon, I met Dennis Lehane and Steve Hamilton. Lehane's novel Mystic River was made into a film last year by Clint Eastwood, and it won a few Academy Awards. Lehane is the author guest of honor, and I asked him if he had a speech prepared.:) Steve Hamilton was the winner of the St. Martin's/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Contest back in like 1997, and that win was what really launched his career.
I also introduced myself to Bob Randisi, who is head of PWA (Private Eye Writers of America). I had first chatted with Bob via e-mail when my novel Culpepper was selected as a finalist for the St. Martin's/PWA award last October. Bob has written an astonishing 400+ novels in his career.
I also got positive feedback from Louise Ure, whom I first met at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore about a month ago. Louise's first novel Forcing Amaryllis was just published this past summer, and we chatted after the First-Time Novelists Panel. She's originally from Tucson, Arizona.
Too, Roberta Isleib whose novel Putt to Death (Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime) is up for an Anthony Award offered some very sincere encouragement and positive words.
I also caught up with Simon Wood, whom I first met at World Fantasy Con last fall in Tempe, Arizona.
All things considered, it was a very good first day for my very first Bouchercon.
Things really get rolling today....
Stacey
Thursday September 1, 2005
Coffee in a busy hotel lobby the first day of a big writers' convention. Ain't nothin' like it!
I've got my badge and am ready to hit the panels and book rooms. There are a lot of folks here!
Many ways to get into trouble....
Wednesday August 31, 2005
11:56 P.M. (CST)
I'm in Chicago. Had an easy three and a half hour flight from Phoenix to Midway. I'll be staying at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers until Sunday. There's free wireless in the lobby, so I should be able to stay in pretty good contact.
I'm typing this blog right this very moment, in fact, from the hotel lobby.
The convention gets underway tomorrow. I'll be on a panel regarding animals in mystery and crime fiction at 4:00 P.M.
Had dinner tonight in the hotel sports bar.
Ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill in the hotel fitness center. Lifted weights. Got the lay of the land.
I like Chicago!:)
9:21 A.M. (AST)
I leave for Chicago in about an hour.
Tuesday August 30, 2005
I leave for Chicago and the 36th Annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention tomorrow. The weather's supposed to be perfect over the Labor Day weekend in Chicago, and I'm looking forward to a new convention. I meant to go two years ago when it was in Las Vegas but had a scheduling conflict. Bouchercon is named after Anthony Boucher, one of the most influential mystery and science-fiction editors of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
Together with sci-fi editor John W. Campbell and mystery editor Ellery Queen (which was a pseudonym for cousins Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee), Boucher truly shaped the face of modern genre fiction. Knowingly or unknowingly, they laid the foundation for tastes that have shaped stories chosen for publication and the editors who choose them for a half century.
I'm curious who today's great fiction editor is... What person is going to rise through the ranks during the next two or three decades as an editor to carry the torch and help shape our culture through the writers with whom they choose to work?
The editor-writer bond is truly unique, and when it works well, miracles can happen. I believe we need editors and writers who go against the grain, who have courage and original voices, and who understand the common people that make our country what it is.
