Bookish News and Publishing Tidbits 7 April 2012

RIASS stuff:

Arent scheduled posts great? Im currently in the air somewhere over South America, but the blog is still going strong! Heres some reading to keep you busy:

Kate Forsyth, author of the Rapunzel retelling Bitter Greens, gives us some of her favourite Rapunzel retellings.

An interview with Michael Grant, author of the'Gone'series

Is Amazon the new Google? Thoughts on Amazon SEO

Other bookish stuff:

Gosh, that copy of War and Peace'is a brick. literally:

Historical romance author Mia Marlowe talks about indie publishing:'We've banded together to form'Rock*It Reads, an eBook brand that offers readers a sort of 'Good Reading Seal of Approval.' We're committed to bringing the same high standards of writing, editing, and cover art to our indie works that we provide for our NY publishers. Check out what we offer at'our website.

How do you empty your pot of stress? Some musings on creativity and stress:'My release is writing; not writing specifically about the days events, quite the opposite in fact. I write to escape. I am a visual writer; I picture scenes in my head and describe what I see on the page. For me this has become almost a form of meditation. I enter a 'zone' whereby everything else is forgotten as I immerse myself in the regency period and the lives of my characters. If you like, I have had a hole drilled in the bottom of my pot and when I'm writing, the cork is taken out and all the tension drains away.

Studios gorge on young-adult fiction after success of Hunger Games

Anne Nesbet discusses the publishing process: Listen, theres only so much angstifying and book-business-fretting that any loved one should be expected to tolerate. The other people going through the crazy process of having a book come out for the first time are the best ones to bond with and plan with and laugh withI feel very lucky to be mixed up with such a talented crowd!

Interview with Thomas Morrissey:'Sometimes I can actually feel a force pushing me away from the computer when I try to sit and work. I have no problem thinking about writing, plotting, concepting, whatever. I get a lot of thinking done in the shower'hot water gets the blood circulating to my brain, I guess. But when it comes down to actually putting words on paper, man it's tough sometimes.

Carl Berg talks about character development for women in SFF month:''Characters that grow and change in response to great events are more likely to feel real and compelling.' So as I worked on the story, I began to think carefully about my two principals.' Aleksander had to be a product of his upbringing.' As the heir to an empire founded on war and dominion, he had rarely been told no.' And he had never been forced to view the consequences of his actions through anyone else's eyes.' I could not make him some kind of sensitive new-age guy!' So I had to walk the line between make him'true'and making him'unredeemable.' That was a challenge.

Aspiring authors, you have only a few days left to enter the Goddess Interrupted writing contest

Gunter Grasss Israel poem provokes outrage

The birth of a book (video)

What Seth Godin can teach you about blogging. (I like his no TV rule, personally)

Darth Vader and Son book trailer: