What to do next…

Posted on July 9, 2015 by C. A. Sanders

Watchmage is almost ready. I just sent the final copy off to the proofreader and layout artist. Now the question is: What comes next?

I could do the following:

1) go over the first draft for Watchmage #2: Cold Iron. I think it needs a lot of work (as all first drafts do)

2) Write more short stories. I’d like to do some shorts in the Watchmage world, but not using the main characters, per se. In that case, I should probably do the same for Song of Simon.

3) Start adding more content to this website. I haven’t done much on nyc history yet. I’d also like to add additional content related to Watchmage, like definitions of each Dweller type and how magic works. My editor thinks I should have an appendix for 1855 slang as well.

4) Dick around. No. If i’m not productive, I go a little nuts.

I’m leaning toward 2 or 3, maybe both.

Watchmage Update, or The Joy of Editing

Posted on June 3, 2015 by C. A. Sanders

On Saturday I got my edits back for The Watchmage of Old New York. There are cross-outs, critiques, and suggestions all over the place, and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve been sensitive when critiqued. That was knocked out of me by my first writing professor 20 years ago. Since then, I’ve learned to find the most ruthless, nitpicking, evil people to edit my work. I want someone with enough heat in them to burn out all of the impurities. If your editor isn’t ruthless, the product won’t be pure.

So far, Watchmage has been edited as a short story, a serial, and now a novel (each serial story arc gets its own novel. this is the first one). I think these are the last edits…maybe.

I love editing. I love revising. I love looking back at old work and thinking “man, I can do so much better now.” It means that I’ve leveled up, and I have a new xp total to reach.

Never fear your editor. Never get upset or discouraged by the red pen. It doesn’t mean that you’re not good, it means that you have room to get better, and this is how.

Enough with the rah rah philosophy. The update is that Watchmage is coming also smoothly, and I plan to release the first novel, The Watchmage of Old New York, this fall. Oh frabjous day, callooh callay!

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

Book Signing Anxiety

Posted on May 9, 2015 by C. A. Sanders

I’m doing my first book signing a week from today, and I’m starting to get really anxious about it. Getting really anxious is pretty much part of my MO, so it’s not a surprise. It’s still a pain in the ass.

The Poughkeepsie Barnes & Noble has a Local Authors Day twice a year, and this time I was lucky enough to get in. That’s great, wonderful, but I have no idea what to do. How long should my reading be? Do I make a poster with book pricing? I have extra copies of one of the anthologies I’m in. Do I give those away with a sale? Do I bring candy?

As far as pricing goes, I’m thinking 15$ for Song of Simon, 10$ for The Collected Works of Valerie Z. Lewis. Selling Val’s book is more important than selling mine, in my opinion.

So I’m going to brave ahead, and hope that I don’t fall on my face. If I do…there’s an IHOP nearby. I can drown my sorrows in maple syrup.

FREE GIVEAWAY!!!

Posted on March 4, 2015 by C. A. Sanders

You heard me right. I’m diving into the Goodreads swamp and offering TWO, yes two, neither one nor three (five is right out), signed paperback copies of SONG OF SIMON. Since this is a book that sells for $23.50, it’s a pretty good deal. Not to mention that it’s a helluva read.

Here’s the link for it. Enter now. Tell your friends. The more entrants I get, the better.

In addition, I’m holding a giveaway on this very website. Not only am I giving away two copies here, but the winners will also receive copies of the anthology Twisted Love, filled with stories of romance gone horribly wrong. My short story “If You Leave Me,” is in there.

If you are interested in this giveaway, just comment below, or on the official giveaway page.

You can enter both the Goodreads and my personal one. I suggest both, as it doubles your chances.

Feel free to reblog this. Again, the more entrants, the more likely that I will do this again.

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

New Business Cards?

Posted on January 26, 2015 by C. A. Sanders

I was messing around with pics and designs for new business cards that reflect my personality. I’ve narrowed it down to two, and I’d love to hear what the Internet thinks of them.

Option One:

Option Two:

I also made a Crying Benoit one, but I think we’ll leave that one out of it.

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (you’ll probably have to order it). Of course, you can always buy an autographed one from me, just send me a message. Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so people seem to like it. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

Because I had nothing else to do

Posted on January 21, 2015 by C. A. Sanders

Between building a “power point display” using an easel and printed out images, and panicking about the upcoming workshop, I decided to do this.

I’d love to turn this into promo cards, but it might be too trippy. What say you, Internet?

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (you’ll probably have to order it). Of course, you can always buy an autographed one from me, just send me a message. Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so people seem to like it. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

Guest Blog: Author Ross S. Simon

Posted on June 18, 2014 by C. A. Sanders

What a treat! Today we have a guest blog from a fantastic author, Ross S. Simon. Simon is the author of The Snow, from Eternal Press, and Red Dhalia, from Damnation Books. He’s a helluva talent. Check out this essay on how his influences helped to hone his craft. All of his pertinent links are at the end of the essay.

HORROR ON THE WING
Ross S. Simon

Grappling with the culture of horror is about as much a part of my life and career as is absorbing it. There are elements I agree and disagree with; oftentimes a horror author, or “fright-write,” has to put the aspects out of mind that they really hate, or else, at least, mentally transmute these aspects into effective ventilations of their own angst and anxiety—often at real-life negativity—in the form of the writers’ very own expressions of horror in literature.

One of my favorite TV shows to watch in reruns, years ago, was HBO’s “Tales From The Crypt.” Okay, it was the heavily chopped-up-for-basic-cable version, but even so, it still entertained mightily. I saw, in this adapted form, the stories and their surprise resolutions of the slick and powerful caliber that kids in the early 1950s undoubtedly experienced when they were first run in the EC comic books. In “Crypt,” on television, I saw the basic paradigm for the great American short horror story.

The maniacally cackling Crypt-Keeper, with his literally grave-level puns, was also a hoot. And yet, here I look deep enough to see the bad side of horror, somehow: the Keeper puppet was created by Kevin Yeagher, the creature-effects designer who was also behind doll-of-doom Chucky, who happened to be an unbearable icon of dire terror to me while growing up. Chucky seemed to press the exact wrong button of horror in me all these years; this was one horror icon whose invocation in culture always left me not only scared but sad at the same time.

The Crypt Keeper

Here we have exposed the horror aficionado’s weak spot. Being scared stops feeling good; the line is crossed between, if you will, “scary (fun) place to go” and “safe (restful-from-motion) place to go.” When this happens, for just an instant it’s two of the “scary (fun) places to go,” at the same time, and then, forever, it’s one, big, “sad (not-fun-at-all) place to be.” This may sound a bit remedial, but one has to factor in the risk of horror violating the mentality of childhood, in particular during adolescence, which can potentially taint adulthood. With the possible exception of tainted adulthood, this is what happened to me with Chucky: his movies were popular during my adolescence. The timing could not have been worse. The suffering was excruciating.

Still, I’ve parlayed whatever traumas I’ve been handed by horror culture into my own horror work, thus not suffering a total defeat, as I can take expressive chance on displaying to all, in my written endeavors of fright, the worst fear I’ve held in very many years, that I’ve held it for very many years, and which is very real: people.

I’ve believed for the longest time that people are foul, dishonest, lying creatures, never making it clear what they want or what their problem is. Worse yet, everything there is—good, bad, having to do with me, or having to do with them—they blame me for, and only me. I can at least use horrific gods, entities, monsters and supernatural forces as an allegory for the basic essence of people as we know them, if I can’t socialize, and if I’m not allowed by people to express my point of view on certain things. Atrociously enough, despite what our Constitution says, they bar me even from that.

I know that to have the horror culture we do—which is there to entertain in such a way that the horror of real life, in most forms, is more readily approachable—is a blessing to horror authors like me. We all give a lot of original ideas a lot of the time, yet that’s as a result of having horror on the wing. In the culture of fright, there are about equal parts good and bad. In the lives of those like me, there’s a major subject—but only one—of negativity. And then, once one gets around all the horror, there’s only the good stuff. When you get back to being scared for kicks, there’s also a good time.

http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615726400
http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615728916
http://www.amazon.com/The-Snow-Ross-S-Simon-ebook/dp/B007HO6DEO/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Dahlia-Ross-Simon-ebook/dp/B00BNZAML8/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
http://www.facebook.com/samuel.ridings
http://rossssimon.com.istemp.com

Press Release for “The Watchmage of Old New York”

Posted on September 26, 2013 by C. A. Sanders

Like the one I wrote for Song of Simon, here is the one for “Watchmage.”

********************************

Press Release Announcement: The Watchmage of Old New York

Contact: C.A. Sanders, casanders77@gmail.com www.casanders.net

New York Author C.A. Sanders Brings 19^th Century Manhattan to Life With Steampunk Fantasy The Watchmage of Old New York

New York native C.A. Sanders brings his city’s history to life–with a healthy dose of fantasy—in his award-winning serial, The Watchmage of Old New York. Set in 1855, “Watchmage” follows Nathaniel Hood, a one hundred and fifty year old wizard, who is the appointed guardian and law enforcement of New York’s magical community. This community involves fairy tale creatures—called “Dwellers”—and mortals dabbling in the mystical arts.

When a wealthy family’s infant goes missing without a trace, Nathaniel suspects magical involvement. His quest for answers leads him deep into New York’s magical underworld, where even a powerful wizard will find far more than he is looking for.

Later story arcs involve Dweller terrorism, a magic-smuggling operation, and a vicious killer that targets Dwellers. Sanders plans many more story arcs, and novels that expand on each story.

“The 1850s was a rough time for New York,” says Sanders. “The Irish Potato Famine led to a massive influx of immigrants unlike anything that the city had ever seen. Violence and poverty were a fact of life in some areas, like Five Points (currently Chinatown) and Corlear’s Hook (currently the Lower East Side). Meanwhile, the city’s upper class lived a life of obscene opulence. There were major gains in the arts, with The Hudson River School of painting, and such writers as Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman. I do my best to explore all of that, in addition to the mythology that comes with these magical creatures.

“The concept of “Watchmage” is that the immigrants brought their hopes and dreams over the ocean, including creatures of dream: Elves, Goblins, Trolls, and the like. Some came willingly, others were dragged against their will. Either way, they are here and it’s up the Watchmage to guide them in this New World.”

The Watchmage of Old New York is hosted at www.jukepopserials.com, where it is consistently one of the most popular serials.

About the Author

C.A. Sanders is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. In addition to The Watchmage of Old New York, His debut novel, Song of Simon, is available from www.Damnationbooks.com and www.Amazon.com He formerly covered music for such sites as Relix, Examiner.com, and Suite101.com.

C.A. has a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from SUNY New Paltz, and a Master’s degree from the City University of New York. Born in the Bronx during the dark decade of the 1970s, he currently lives in the New York suburbs. He remains confident that this is the year the NY Jets win the Super Bowl…he says this every year.

Visit his website www.casanders.net

Press Release for “Song of Simon”

Posted on September 26, 2013 by C. A. Sanders

I thought that would put my press release up here. I’m going to make a new page for Press and put it up there as well. Feel free to leave feedback. Any bloggers that would like to do an interview or review, let me know. I’m pretty flexible, and will plug the hell out of it.

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Press Release Announcement: Song of Simon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: C.A. Sanders, casanders77@gmail.com www.casanders.net

Debut Author C.A. Sanders Explores the Callous Use of Violence in Fantasy With Song of Simon

Debut speculative fiction author C.A. releases his first novel, Song of Simon, a fantasy coming-of-age with a concept rarely seen in the genre.

In Song of Simon, Sanders examines the way that violence is used in fantasy, and the psychological trauma of such so often ignored in the genre.

“I am annoyed at the way authors gorge themselves on gory, splatter-house battles. That’s all well and good, but what about the aftermath? What about the shattered minds and souls left behind? To counter this, I took a soft, American boy and plunged him neck deep in violence to see what comes out on the other side.”

Song of Simon is a Dark Fantasy about a suburban teenager, Simon Kale, who travels to a bloodsoaked, mysterious land, when God has been imprisoned by the priesthood. He falls in with a renegade priestess, Ilyana, who believes herself the Messiah and Simon the key to her victory. Through brutal encounters, death, despair, and many mistakes, Simon grows to be a man. Will he be the hero that Ilyana believes him to be, or will he succumb to the shadows of despair that surround him?

“I worked for many years as a Special Ed teacher, dealing with children and adults that have suffered horrible abuse. I understand the trauma that violence can cause to both a young mind and an old. I only hope that I do it justice in Song of Simon.

About the Author

C.A. Sanders is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. In addition to Song of Simon, he writes a popular and award winning online serial, The Watchmage of Old New York, hosted at JukepopSerials.com. He formerly covered music for such sites as Relix, Examiner.com, and Suite101.com.

Visit his website www.casanders.net

Buy Song of Simon at your favorite e-book store, LSI, Amazon, FictionWise, Borders, Kindle, available in digital, ebook and paperback. Also available from Damnation Books

Wait…Now Song of Simon is really here!!

Posted on September 24, 2013 by C. A. Sanders

Great news! Song of Simon is good to go! You can buy it as an PDF, ePub, MS REader, MOBI Pocket, or Palm at Damnation Books http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781629290430

Or you can buy it for your Kindle here http://www.amazon.com/Song-of-Simon-ebook/dp/B00FE01BUY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1380049904&sr=1-1&keywords=song+of+simon+c.a.+sanders

Print versions are soon to come, but as it is a small press (not as small as many) they will be pricey. I will autograph any print version though. to paraphrase Neil Gaiman, make every piece of art unique.

I am so excited that I might burst…and the Jets won this week too! What a great last few days!!

casandersdotnet

The Website for Author C.A.Sanders

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