Welcome to Litsy!

Wicket and I paid a visit to @FountainBookstore today so we could order a couple of books. One of the many things I‘m gonna love about living downtown is being within walking distance of my favorite bookstore.

#WicketsWorld #IndieBookstore #RVA #DogsOfLitsy

Been spending the past weekend with friends at a writers retreat. Even though it‘s a little chilly, couldn‘t resist coming out on the porch for my breakfast. I‘ve written 6,000 words so far on a new project. Hoping I can another thousand before I leave this afternoon. #AmWriting #WritersRetreat #Sunrise

Not book-related. Just some shamelessly shared Wicket cuteness for your Litsy feed. He enjoys snuggling on the sofa while his humans watch TV.

#WicketsWorld #DogsOfLitsy

‪Today was a first for the Blume family. I‘ve worked as a 911 dispatcher for almost two decades. I took my first 911 calls a few months after my son Liam was born. This morning, Liam took his first 911 calls. Sheri and I couldn‘t be more proud of him. #ProudParents #911Life ‬

I‘m getting over a cold, but the warm weather (the hi is 71 here in Richmond today) made today‘s walk with Wicket the nicest we‘ve had in a long while. I didn‘t even need my hoodie today. #DogsOfLitsy #RVA

My son Liam has officially voted in his first election! #electionday2019

So today was an important anniversary in our home. It was three years ago today that Wicket came home with us from the shelter. It feels like he‘s been a part of our family much longer than that, because we can‘t imagine our home without him. We couldn‘t love this little guy more. #WicketsWorld #Wicketversary #DogsOfLitsy

To my Northern Virginia friends: One More Pages Books is an amazing indie bookstore. Go tonight and fight to keep it going. #NoVA

https://www.arlnow.com/2019/08/01/one-more-page-books-holding-auction-to-cover-r...

God as my witness, Sheri spoke these words this morning. 💙💙💙

So, my son graduated from high school today! I‘m really proud of him. High school was a rough ride for him, but he‘s come out on the other side having found his voice. He wouldn‘t have gotten where he is without the bad and the good, and I‘m grateful for that.

I‘m officially no longer the dad of a high school student. Woo hoo!!! #graduation2019

I was so excited to see this email tonight! As a writer on Litsy, one of my biggest frustrations was that I didn‘t have a way to link to my Litsy account from my website. Ever since I joined years ago, I‘ve loved this social media above all my others, but I couldn‘t direct any of my readers to it. I know there are potential drawbacks to this change, but I‘m pumped about a lot of the improvements. #LitsyOnTheWeb

‪In my Gidion Keep books, one of Gidion‘s most constant good luck charms for hunting vampires is his t-shirt with a red bat on it. #BatAppreciationDay #GidionKeep ‬

I received a surprise yesterday evening when I was tagged in this article by the Portalist on 16 books like Harry Potter. To have Gidion‘s Hunt included in this list was flattering not just for the comparison to Harry Potter but to share space in this article with some other excellent books. Thanks to the Portalist for this. bit.ly/2UDjvQf

#HarryPotter #GidionKeep #YA

1. What does it take to get a book published? I‘ve done a presentation on this for many years when I speak at schools and thought it would be fun to share on Litsy. This discusses what I went through to write my first published novel Gidion‘s Hunt. It doesn‘t reflect every writer‘s journey. I‘m posting this in reverse order to make it easier to read from the beginning. Use the hashtag #WritingGidion to view it. #LitsyThread

#WritingGidion 2. Not surprisingly, the most important step involves reading other books…a LOT of other books. It means reading widely within my chosen market and genre, but just as important is reading outside of both. Writers who only read their market/genre typically will only echo what‘s already done and never bring anything new to the shelf.

#WritingGidion 3. Next comes a lot of thinking on what I want to write. Prior to writing Gidion‘s Hunt, I was 40k into a manuscript for an adult urban fantasy that drew on my experience as a 911 dispatcher. My relationship with that book was so toxic that when I walked away from it, I swung a wooden sword at a tree in my yard until the sword was splinters. My wife asked me what I really wanted to write. The answer was a vampire hunter novel.

#WritingGidion 4. Worldbuilding follows, and it‘s a fun time! It‘s creating characters, settings, and rules. I did minimal character building, establishing Gidion would be a third-generation vampire hunter and that he‘d have to keep his hunting secret from his father. Dad quit hunting after Gidion‘s mom died. Funny tidbit, I established the name for Gidion‘s dad before I ever wrote the first page, but Eric goes unnamed until the second book.

#WritingGidion 5. Just because Gidion‘s Hunt is an urban fantasy, that doesn‘t mean I didn‘t need to do research. My most important research involved animal pack structures. I wanted to avoid wolf packs for influence (let the smelly werewolves have that), so I found a different animal for my vampires to mimic: hyenas. In the hyena world, the women rule, and this was why the big bad in the book ended up being a female vampire. (con‘t in comments)

#WritingGidion 6. Additional research involved exploring Richmond, VA, where Gidion‘s story takes place. For example, the opening scene takes place at the city‘s Canal Walk. I photographed the area to choreograph the opening action sequence. I made a mistake, though. My first scouting trip to the Canal Walk was during the day, so I went back at night. Years later, I revisited the Canal Walk at night to take my author headshot. (con‘t in comments)

#WritingGidion 7. A vital step in the writing process is building my music playlist. Gidion‘s Hunt gives shout outs to some of the artists in my playlist for that book, including the White Rabbits,Apocalyptica, and Metric. Metric gets the most clever shout out with my vampire nightclub named “Old World.” The design of the club‘s sign mimics the Underground signs in London. This is a nod to Metric‘s album “Old World Underground, Where are You Now?”

#WritingGidion 8. So with my research, worldbuilding, and music list all assembled, I begin writing. Typically, when I try to write at home, I get distracted, so I go to cafes and/or libraries. For Gidion‘s Hunt, my favorite writing haunt was Ellwood‘s Café, which doesn‘t even exist anymore. I‘m probably still trying to make up the money spent on all the coffee, pastries, coffee, food, and coffee I bought while writing. Did I mention coffee?

#WritingGidion 9. Writer‘s block takes on different forms for writers. For me, it‘s failing to make time to write. The process of writing doesn‘t bring in money. With a wife, kids, & dog, there are times I feel selfish for writing and not working more overtime to bring in money. I become irritable when I‘m not writing, though. My wife has said that even if I‘m not getting published, I need to keep writing so I won‘t drive her crazy.

#WritingGidion 10. Finishing a rough draft is a big deal. Many aspiring authors never cross that finish line. What trips up many writers is that they try to make their rough draft perfect. I actually still do that, but somehow, I still manage to produce. That said, I still have to do plenty of editing. It‘s not just looking for typos. It‘s deciding if a scene works, and if it doesn‘t, then do I need to revise, rewrite, or delete it?

#WritingGidion 11. So once the book is edited, I take the leap of faith and hand it over to beta readers. A beta reader is someone who reads the polished rough draft and gives the author feedback. For Gidion‘s Hunt, my two beta readers were my wife and one of our best friends Kristi Tuck Austin. They‘re both writers and don‘t let being a friend stop them from being critical.

#WritingGidion 12. After getting feedback from my beta readers, that means it‘s time for more editing. Kristi noticed the second half of Gidion‘s Hunt lost some of the charm the first half did, because I‘d left out all of Gidion‘s quirks. When I was writing that second half, I was so focused on just getting the story finished that I forgot to let Gidion be Gidion. In this portion of the editing, that was among the major things I fixed.

#WritingGidion 13. At this point, I have a finished draft of my novel. THIS is where the hard part begins. Submitting a book to lit agents & editors is like walking into a crowded room of sugar-high kids, handing them bats, and asking them to hit you. Submitting a novel requires a brief query letter and, all too often, a one-page synopsis. Gidion‘s Hunt was 70,500 words. My synopsis summed it up in 611 words.

#WritingGidion 14. Submitting to literary agents can take a long time. You have to personalize each query, researching the agent and agency and carefully following their submission guidelines. I submitted the first of 63 query letters in January 2012. I received 42 rejections. 20 queries went unanswered. 1 agent asked for 3 chapters and rejected it 2 days later. Another agent requested the full manuscript, and rejected it 7 weeks later.

#WritingGidion 15. On June 1, 2013, a small press asked to see the full manuscript. Later that month (June 23, 2013), Fable Press sent an email saying they wanted to publish my book. I spent the next hour wandering around the house muttering to myself things like “Holy shit” and “Oh my God.” When my wife got home, she‘d thought someone had died.

#WritingGidion 16. After that, I had more editing to do on the book, but thankfully, not as much as sometimes happens. The biggest challenge was settling on a title for the book. The original title I‘d given it was simply Gidion. When Gidion‘s Hunt was originally published, the title was Tales of a 10th Grade Vampire Hunter. This was a subtle joke on my part, spoofing the title of Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (no relation).

#WritingGidion 17. Fable Press actually sought my input on the cover design. Given the title was Tales of a 10th Grade Vampire Hunter, I decided the cover didn‘t need to have vampires or Gidion on it. Instead, we focused on showing other aspects of Gidion, and the cover was a look at his desk at home with a box cutter (his favored weapon), his lucky shirt with a red bat on it, a rabbit‘s foot, and a calendar showing June 13 (Gidion‘s birthday).

#WritingGidion 18. Honestly, this is the fun part. We had a book release party at Fountain Bookstore, here in Richmond. I‘m still grateful for the love and support Fountain and its owner Kelly Justice gave me and my book (and the books that followed). I still get choked up about that day, because my kids finally got to see what I‘d been working towards, that all the times I chose to write instead of doing things with them wasn‘t time wasted.

#WritingGidion 19. Fable Press and I later changed the title to Gidion‘s Hunt, due to low sales. The small press believed in the book and my writing. They felt the only likely reason for why it wasn‘t doing well was the goofy title. The cover eventually changed, too, because Fable Press went out of business six weeks after I turned in the manuscript for the sequel. Gidion‘s Hunt and Gidion‘s Blood found a new home at Diversion Books.

#WritingGidion 20. All that said, I‘m gonna shamelessly place links for Gidion‘s Hunt here:

Fountain: https://bit.ly/2InrbV5

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2GRcTK2

B&N: https://bit.ly/2V5dICx


And links to Gidion‘s Blood here:

Fountain: https://bit.ly/2IpBlnZ

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TUDz00

B&N: https://bit.ly/2TQGNS9

Thanks for reading!

I joined Litsy years ago looking for a space not overpopulated by other authors. Found some fantastic friends here.

Twitter: BillTheWildcat
Instagram: billblume
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5239169.Bill_Blume
My author website is www.billblume.net

I‘ve got a page on FB, but it‘s basically abandoned. I‘ve got too many pro-Trump family members. I even deleted the app from my phone.

#HelloThursday thanks, @wanderinglynn!

One of the coolest birthday gifts I‘ve EVER gotten. My wife Sheri got a friend of ours to knit a red bat, because Gidion‘s lucky shirt has a red bat on it. She‘s insisted we have to name the bat Gidion. My wife rocks! #HappyBirthdayToMe #GidionKeep #RedBat

‪When your TBR list calls... ‬

From my wife! Can‘t wait to wear this while I‘m writing. Viva la JRW! #AmWriting #JRW18 #RVAWrites #Christmas2018

I read this book about teenage vampire hunter Gidion Keep by fellow Litten @BillBlume over the weekend and I really enjoyed it! Gidion‘s inner monologue is pretty hilarious, so if you‘re looking for a fun, fast paced YA, check it out!

That line made me laugh so loudly my cat is now glaring at me 😾😆 thanks @BillBlume 😜

I‘m dressing up as Gidion Keep, the main character from my novels. It‘s for a “Dating Game with Books” at ConGregate 2018. I get to pretend to be Gidion. If the reader picks Gidion for their date, they‘ll win a free copy of my book. At my wife‘s suggestion, I‘m wearing my son‘s Converse shoes. Didn‘t shave my beard, though. Gotta draw the line somewhere. #GidionKeep #ILookLikeAHobo

YA Wednesday- Paranormal 🧛‍♂️
Whoah- this synopsis has my male 8th grade reluctant readers all over it!! Like, I really think Bill Blume must have written this one specifically for my kiddos!!! Def going to need to “hunt” (😂) this one down!

#YAWednesday
@TheFunkyBookworm

Thanks to @BiblioNyan who tagged me in this #GettingToKnowYou challenge by @Tiffy_Reads .
Fav Color: Blue
Fav Season: Fall
Fav Genre: Fantasy
Fav Hobby: Does walking my dog count?
Fav Snack: Peanut Butter Twix
Fav Drink: Mojito (when it‘s done right)
Fav Bookish Item: ereader
Tag Someone: @kamoorephoto & @Merethebookgal

Sheri & I celebrated our 22nd anniversary tonight. Love her for many reasons. That she‘s an inspiration for my writing is just part of why (a conversation with her was what led to me writing my first published novel, Gidion‘s Hunt). We went to our favorite restaurant, the Shaved Duck. The service is great; they even noticed from Sheri‘s check-in on FB that it was our anniversary and gave us dessert for free. We are so wonderfully full.

Another really fun part of the Reign of the Fallen book launch party was I got to meet Litsy friend @BillBlume IRL! It‘s always a lot of fun to meet people you interact so much with online. And Bill was nice enough to bring me a copy of his first book (tagged here) Yay!! #LitsyIRL #LitsyMeetUp #IRLitsy

Couldn‘t resist turning myself into a Funko Pop like so many others have. Decided to sport the colors of my book covers. Only thing really missing is me wearing a vest. And let‘s be honest, that dog is nowhere near as cute as my Wicket. #FunkoPop #GidionKeep #WicketsWorld

::Giveaway alert:: Early Bird Biscuit will be giving away a few copies of my books Gidion‘s Hunt and Gidion‘s Blood on Tuesday morning. They‘ll be doing a vampire theme for that morning, too. So if you‘re in Richmond, go by Early Bird Biscuit for Halloween and you might get a free book with your biscuit and coffee (we‘ll have the giveaway details for you next week). #RVA #halloween #happyhalloween #GidionKeep #vampire #GidionsHunt #GidionsBlood

‪That time I met Buffy, the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters (Spike) and gave him a copy Gidion's Hunt. That was pretty damn cool. #BuffySlays20 ‬

#BuffySummers #buffythevampireslayer #vampireslayer #sarahmichellegellar #vampire #vampires #vampirehunter #josswhedon #btvs #GidionKeep #GidionsHunt #GidionsBlood #FridayReads #YA #youngadult #youngadultbooks #yalit #AmReading #jamesmarsters #spike

http://www.billblume.net/gidion00.html‬

‪"Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" was a big influence on my YA vampire hunter Gidion Keep. Happy birthday, Buffy! #BuffySlays20

http://www.billblume.net/gidion00.html‬

#BuffySummers #buffythevampireslayer #vampireslayer #sarahmichellegellar #vampire #vampires #vampirehunter #josswhedon #btvs #GidionKeep #GidionsHunt #GidionsBlood

Since today's #Riotgrams is about "Books and Treats," I'm sharing this pic from my first book's release party. For treats, I bought some chocolate donuts with red icing from a local donut place. A half dozen of the donuts included red bats, the same shape and color of the symbol that the vampire hunter in my book wears on his t-shirt as a good luck charm. Those donuts were sooooo good. #GidionKeep #GidionsHunt #donuts #doughnuts #bookrelease

Been looking forward to Day 5 of BookRiot's #Riotgrams which focuses on Bookish Tattoos. I have none, but my wife has two. The one on the left is on her left forearm: a religious symbol for a kingdom in a fantasy manuscript we wrote together (if we ever get it published, the deal is that I'll get the same tattoo.

See the comments for details on the second tattoo.

#fantasy #epicfantasy #tattoo #tattoos