Archived 2007 Elemental Musings podcasts

Incredibly busy right now with stuff from all sides, so for the time being till I can get things set up on my sites and make the changes/tweaks I want to, I've moved over/parked most of my site's pages, including an archive of my 2007 Elemental Musings podcasts for writers + creatives.

If you haven't listened to Elemental Musings before, or you want to hear me discuss writing-related subjects or interview some authors here and there, pop on over to the page below and you can choose from several:
http://www.bevwaltonporter.com/podcasts.html

There are three podcasts I haven't transferred over yet (9/13, 9/16 and 9/30), but the rest have been moved over and are ready for listening.

Here's a listing of my 2007 podcasts:

Listen to Elemental Musings, Bev's Internet broadcast for writers & creatives. Check schedule for broadcast dates and times. Available at http://www.nowlive.com/scribequill or http://www.blogtalkradio.com/scribequill.

2007 Archives for Elemental Musings internet radio broadcasts:

DECEMBER 2007
* Dec. 23, 2007 - Interview with author Dr. Dan Skelton.
* Dec. 2, 2007 - Tackling the fallacy of no time to write.

NOVEMBER 2007
* Nov. 4, 2007 - Finding your optimum writing level.
* Nov. 12, 2007- Discussion concerning the validity of the Writer's Guild of America strike.
* Nov. 18, 2007- Interview with dark fiction author and artist Gabrielle Faust.
* Thanksgiving holiday - no Elemental Musings broadcast.

OCTOBER 2007
* Oct. 7, 2007 - The importance of giving of yourself to the writing community, helping others and creating positive karma in your creative life.
* Oct. 14, 2007 - How to get interrupted less so you can write more.
* Oct. 22, 2007 - Are you ready for full-time freelancing?
* Oct. 28, 2007 - So you wanna be a writer? Work for it!
* Oct. 30, 2007 - Interview with bestselling dark fiction author Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc

SEPTEMBER 2007
* Sept. 13, 2007 - Test show for Elemental Musings
* Sept. 16, 2007 - Official inaugural show for Elemental Musings.
* Sept. 24, 2007
* Sept. 30, 2007 - Part I
* Sept. 30, 2007 - Part II

If you're an author, editor, agent or publisher and you'd like to be interviewed on an upcoming broadcast of Elemental Musings, e-mail Bev at scribequill@gmail.com

I still plan to podcast in 2008, but I've been so busy with C.S.P.A., writing assignments, editing jobs and wedding plans that my podcasting's been on hold. That will change this coming week. I feel a broadcast coming on. If you have any suggestions for what you want me to discuss and/or answer on the show, post a comment here and I'll address it. Otherwise, I'll do my usual stream-of-consciousness coverage of writing and creativity in general. :-)

This week's a busy week with something happening every night this week for me and Paul. I'm tired already just thinking about it! *g*

Today I did manage to listen to nearly five hours of audio from our most recent investigation. Captured an inhale/exhale in an empty room and Kari, one of our case managers, captured several interesting evp clips as well.

Time for bed. Night all!

Resurrection and rebirth for 2008

Over the past year or so, I toyed with the idea of whether or not I wanted to continue publishing Scribe & Quill. Not that I don't love it, but since fall of 2006 when my first book, Sun Signs for Writers (Writer's Digest Books), came out, followed by Mending Fences (Whiskey Creek Press) a month afterward, I got pretty darned busy.

I quickly discovered the easiest part is writing a book; the hard part is marketing and promotion. It's time-consuming and tedious. On top of that came the advent of two organizations I co-founded (IOHP and CSPA). Needless to say, my time became very limited. If I wasn't writing and editing, I was promoting and marketing. The latter involved some traveling, including a trip to the 2006 BookExpo America in Washington, D.C. It was all fun, but incredibly exhausting!

I needed time to work on my own stuff and pursue my own career and interests, along with tending to my personal life and relationships. In my world, family and relationships come first -- always. Then work, then some relaxation here and there. I'm prone to be a workaholic, so I had to learn last year that it's okay to take time off and enjoy life. I discovered I'm more productive when I allow myself play time.

Actually, now that I think about it, my limited time began in August of 2005 when my first co-authored book, The Complete Writer: A Guide To Tapping Your Full Potential was published. Then I met my fiance Paul in November of 2005, which limited my time even more because I was in a relationship on top of everything else. (Incidentally, we're getting married in August of this year, so along with other changes, my name will be changing as well.)

After much deliberation (and some teeth gnashing), I decided that I couldn't just let Scribe & Quill fade away. It's been part of my writer's soul since 1997. Although I can't publish it more than quarterly -- not with all the things I have going on in my professional and personal life -- I can at least get it out four times a year. I first launched S & Q on ListBot in 1997 and it seems a darn shame to allow it to fade away in the 11th year. That just seems wrong. An abbreviated and less-frequent version seems much better than no version. At least to me.

So herewith, I'm resurrecting and revising the site as well as the first issue of 2008.

The Web site's still undergoing revisions, etc., but it's getting there. I spent quite a few hours tonight going through the site and updating various areas. There's more to be done. Much more. But it's a good start.

Scribe & Quill's first quarterly issue of 2008 will be released just any time now. I hope you'll enjoy the first offering of this year.

For now, you'll notice our new banner at the top of this note. I've also spent hours working on the site this evening. Actually there are TWO sites: http://www.scribequill.net and http://www.scribequill.org. The dot-com site is no longer associated with the original Scribe & Quill. It was yanked out from beneath me and now some person or company I don't even know owns the domain. So if you see anything going on over at the .com site, it's not the original Scribe & Quill and I have nothing to do with that domain.

Meantime, here are some updated pages you might want to look at:
To access the Media Kit: http://scribequill.net/media.html

For guidelines, visit: http://scribequill.net/guidelines.html

For advertising, visit: http://scribequill.net/advertise.html

Archived issues (from 2005-2007) can be located at: http://scribequill.net/archives.html

As of today, S & Q has an opt-in subscriber list of 6,362. I hope we will not only keep our current subscribers, but build upon that base over the year.

Before I close, I want to thank each and every one of you for your subscriber-ship and submissions. I've got a few more ideas and revisions up my sleeve for this year, but let's just take it one step at a time.

For now, I present to you the 2008 journey of Scribe & Quill. ;-)

Questions? E-mail me at scribequill@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Bev Walton-Porter

http://www.bevwaltonporter.com

Editor/Publisher - Scribe & Quill

Inscribed/autographed copy - get yours TODAY!

Limited number of personally inscribed/autographed and numbered 1st Edition copies available from my private stash! I only get new shipments every other month, so reserve yours now.

To order your personalized, collectible copy directly from me for only $12 plus FREE shipping, visit: http://www.bevwaltonporter.com and click on the special order link at the top of the page.

Sun Signs for Writers is the only book of its kind to combine creativity, writing and astrology. Even if you're not into astrology, I have some killer writing exercises in there for you!

Learn how to pump up your productivity and jump-start your creativity with this fun and practical book. Learn how to write and sell your work by hooking into your own private wells of creativity!

For more about the book, go to:
http://fwbookstore.com/product/161/writing
or stop by http://www.astrologyforwriters.com.




Get a sneak peek inside the book by clicking here!

Questions? Drop me a line at scribequill@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Bev Walton-Porter
Author, Sun Signs for Writers (nonfiction/writing reference)
Author, Mending Fences (romantic fiction)
Co-author, The Complete Writer: A Guide To Tapping Your Full Potential (nonfiction/writing reference)

[Article] Overcoming obstacles

The success story article I sold to Writers Weekly was published in this week's issue. If you get a moment, please go over and check it out:

http://writersweekly.com/success_stories/004614_04022008.html
Overcoming Obstacles through the Power of the Pen By Bev Walton-Porter

Yesterday I received a nice note from a WW reader who enjoyed the article. What she wrote really brought a smile to my face. I thanked Angela for forwarding the note and responded directly to Karen, thanking her for her message.

The real reward of being a writer is when you touch someone in some way with your writing. It's a matter of human experience and that connection between writer and reader. Aye, that's the true reward!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Overcoming Obstacles
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 03:20:45 -0600
From: Karen Carver
To: Angela Hoy

Angela

Please let Bev Walton-Porter know I found her story so uplifting. It gave me those kind of "warm chills" that always feel so wonderful. Congratulations to her for being such a great example to her children. We should never worry about the falling down stage. We all have mourning periods of varying depths and lengths. It's what we do later that counts and she went above and beyond.

Salute!

Karen

Please, no unsolicited stories or manuscripts :-)

Filed under current pet peeves is my annoyance with people who, though they don't mean ill, send unsolicited stories and manuscripts for me to read and/or look over. Unsolicited is the operative word here. As a person who used to do this myself, I now understand why it's annoying to those on the receiving end. When an unsolicited story and/or manuscript shows up, unbidden, in your e-mail box, it means that the person who sent it didn't stop to think how rude and presumptuous their action really is.

There's a reason why authors and writers don't like to see unsolicited stories and/or manuscripts in their e-mail boxes. For one thing, if you have an agent, it makes your agent nervous. Your agent wants to be sure that when your next book comes out, you won't have some other person cropping up and saying, "Hey, I had that story idea *first* and your client ganked it from me!" Story ideas aren't subject to copyright. Only specific expressions of a story are, otherwise there wouldn't be a million secret baby stories floating around out there. Still, there's always someone who wants to jump on that bandwagon and ride it for all it's worth. And while you mainly hear about those types of things happening to the bestselling authors such as Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, don't think it never happens to other authors (new and mid-list) as well. And agents don't play around; they're in this to make a living, not float about as a hobbyist.

Second, when an unsolicited story and/or manuscript pops up in your inbox, right then it seems you've been obligated by another person (without them asking you first) to read and comment on it. I don't feel comfortable doing that, mainly because I'm also a writer who isn't a be-all-end-all expert and who is also on an ever-changing journey of learning. The comments I give are just my opinion, and may vary a great deal from opinions out there in the publishing community. Just because I like your story it doesn't mean it's publishable or that the next editor, agent or publisher will like your story.

So please, don't send me stories or manuscripts, unsolicited or otherwise. I'm not trying to be mean, but I'm up to my eyeballs already with projects and I don't have any additional time to commit on submissions (solicited or otherwise) beyond the scope of what I'm already involved in. And although I've mentioned this before, I still receive stories and manuscripts in my inbox without having asked for them. Unfortunately, any stories or manuscripts that show up in my inbox from here on that aren't related to Scribe & Quill or The Bloodied Quill will be deleted, unread.

When I was a budding writer, I always thought it was mean when other people wrote or said the same thing. But the thing is, it's not. It's just the way it is. I'll be glad to answer any questions you have about the writing process (according to what I know - ymmv) and I'll be glad to refer you to writing resources that'll help you learn more about your craft, but please don't send me articles, stories or book manuscripts to read or analyze. I appreciate the inherent thought that you think I'm qualified enough to assess your work, but at the risk of sounding like an asshole, I don't appreciate unbidden surprises foisted upon me when I open my e-mail every week.

Conjuring up cats - author interview at families.com

Had an author interview posted today at the pets blog located at families.com

Conjuring Up Cats (Especially Black Ones): An Interview with Author Bev Walton Porter
http://pets.families.com/blog/conjuring-up-cats-especially-black-ones-an-interview-with-author-bev-walton-porter

Much thanks to Courtney Mroch for interviewing me! Hope you guys can take a minute to check it out sometime.

Have a great day, all!

Latest IOHP broadcast of Unknown, Unthinkable & Undead 2.17.08

To listen to the latest broadcast of Unknown, Unthinkable and Undead, the official broadcast of the International Order of Horror Professionals, click on the link below:

http://audio.nowlive.com:443/stream/miniplayer/100233662-080217-111203304316.mp3

Thanks to the always-delightful artist/author Gabrielle Faust, for being our guest tonight. To read more about her, visit her websites: http://www.gabriellefaust.com and http://www.mentalwheaties.com