Gareth S. Young - - 1000 Trillion Suns

Every summer, the movie studios release what they call "tentpole" movies. Normally, these are big-budget, effects-driven franchise movies, designed to prop up the studios and make them their profits for the year. I call them programmed franchises because they're not acquired with one movie in mind. The philosophy from the start is to produce at least a trilogy. So much money is invested in these movies that failure can cripple a studio. Trivia Blast!! - New Line Cinema had to merge with its parent company Warner Bros after the (relative) failure of  The Golden Compass:   Budget: $180M  Box Office: $70M ( The Golden Compass  was intended to follow the trilogy of His Dark Materials books by Phillip Pullman) Jaws   Stephen Spielberg is sometimes credited with creating the first summer "Blockbuster" movie with  Jaws .  Jaws  was the first movie to be distributed with a "wide release," meaning that it opene...

In recent years, yearning for a bigger slice of the money pie, movie studios have poured more resources into fewer films. Trivia Blast! - In 2012, 135 films made up 95% of the total Box Office in the United States. So, despite a huge increase in accessibility for fans (more theaters, online vendors), fear of losing profit dictates the movie slate and opportunities are dwindling to get an original idea made into a movie. Franchises Franchises are nothing new. When a studio hits on a money-making idea, they are not shy about green-lighting a sequel almost immediately. Generally, there are two types of franchise: "programmed" and "opportunistic". A programmed franchise example would be Harry Potter - a successful line of books purchased with the intent to make the entire series. Of course, if the first of these movies tanks, or even if it struggles later in the series, the franchise can be quietly buried and forgotten. (see: John Carter or The Lone Ranger) ...

"...to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." - Hamlet Act 3, Scene 2 Why am I quoting Shakespeare? Well, I think as writers we would be remiss if we didn't take every opportunity to hold our mirror up to nature. Our characters should not only reflect aspects of our own inner lives, but readers should be able to look and see something of themselves in them too. Writers must weave their tales with effective literary devices: metaphor, simile, allegory, analogy, imagery, and mood, painting a picture with depth. And even when the stories are set in distant futures or long forgotten pasts, the reflection in the mirror is something the reader recognizes instantly.  Recently, I read “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman. A classic of sci-fi storytelling, it follows one soldier’s journey from the first battle of a long war, all the way to the last...

Hello, Little Spartans, it's been a while hasn't it? I'm not going to sit here and give you the reasons I've not been around, but let's just say that I was taking a sabbatical and I wasn't at all kidnapped by aliens and experimented on. *WINK* But seriously, TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER! lol. No, just kidding. We can do that later. First of all, I'd like to talk about my book - MONSTERS. Hold on, stop shaking your heads. I know you know I wrote this one a while ago. In fact, some of you have even bought it.  Best of all, everyone seemed to like it.  I got great reviews and a terrific response from everyone who read the book. "Doyle was a great character..."  "...the story was well paced..."  "...unique..." "...a twisting thrill ride..." However, a few of the negative comments all hit on the same thing: head-hopping (POV ping-ponging between characters during a scene instead of shifting at a nat...

dSavannah George is another bright talent I bumped into during my involvement with the Orange Karen project. ( #teamORANGE ) She's a writer, poet, editor, artist, singer, photographer and designer, with years of marketing & public relations experience. And because that doesn't fill up her day enough she's also a teacher!  I'm exhausted just thinking about all that. Luckily, I was able to persuade her to stop by and answer a few questions before she had to run off and do ALL OF THE THINGS. :) dSavannah George Q - Hi dSavannah, tell me a little about your new story/book Well, it’s not new. I’ve been working on my novel since 1996. The main character, Jessie, is snarky, smart, sad, hopeful, searching, funny, and it’s basically the story of her trying to find her way in the world and ending up right where she started. Gareth and I had a Facebook convo the other day, and he has agreed to be my accountability partner to make sure I write a little bit each ...

Happy Labor Day! I'm back, with another Bright Lights interview, and today I'm talking with a fellow member of #TeamOrange     Tim Queeney lives up in the wilds of Maine and spends his time writing thrillers and sailing. This is a dude who knows his starboard from his...ummm...the other one. And, just to show off, he can totally do it in the dark using celestial navigation! He might be part Wizard. And just to clarify, I'm pretty sure he doesn't use celestial navigation to write thrillers... ...anyway, enough of my stupidity. Here's Tim. I'll let him do the talking... Tim Queeney Q - Hi Tim, tell me a little about your new book/story  A - It’s called The Ceres Plague. This one has my main character, Perry Helion, fighting the compelling and murderous Dr. Taylor Crandee and the shadowy cabal that backs him, known only as Paracelsus Enterprises. My last book The Atlas Fracture was set in Antarctica and this one takes place at the other en...