#MotivationalMonday -- Why We Write

Your Friendly Neighborhood Housekeeping Update

If you're a regular reader of the Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action blog, you'll notice that I haven't been around much during the past few weeks.

About a month ago, my family moved to a new house, and we've been in what seems a non-stop race of trying to get out of boxes and make the new place feel and look like home. Well, the good news is we're almost there, and with that accomplished, I can now return to my regularly scheduled blog posting.

After all, we can't make this the best damn writer's blog on the Internet if I don't do my part and actually put up some content, right?

Beginning Monday, we'll be back on schedule with a new #MotivationalMonday and all the rest of the good stuff like roundtables, tutorials, nuggets, submissions, new releases, The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now, and all those inspirational and informational links to keep us all on top of our game.

Oh, and just to show off the new place (and particularly the new "writer cave") here are some photos of the house and office.

The new homestead.

The desk of future best-sellers.
This is the same desk I used when I worked for the newspaper.
They let me buy it. It feels like "home" to me.

Pet installation complete. Yes, Boomer is wearing a diaper.

Movie stills... my favorite part of the office decor.

The promise I got from a fortune cookie right after the move.

"Crawling" -- a tribute to Chester Bennington

Not writing related, but timely and I think haunting. My friend and bandmate, Ellie Raine, recorded this cover of Linkin Park's "Crawling" as a tribute to the late Chester Bennington.

https://soundcloud.com/ellie-raine-653623383/crawling-tribute-to-chester-bennington

Art's Reviews Opens The Ruby Files Vol. 2

The Ruby Files Vol. 2 authors Ron Fortier, Alan J. Porter, Bobby Nash, and Sean Taylor on the latest episode of Art Sippo's Art's Reviews podcast for an in-depth look at the newly released The Ruby Files Vol. 2 from Airship 27 Productions. We also take a look back at the award-winning The Ruby Files Vol. 1. You can hear the episode at http://artsreviews.libsyn.com/at-long-last-the-ruby-files-volume-2-is-here.

NOTE: There were some technical issues with the recording near the end. Just wanted to warn ya. 

One of the most popular New Pulp characters is back!  Rick Ruby, noir PI extraordinaire, returns in a  second volume of stories from some of the best authors in New Pulp.  The first volume was one of the most popular and critically recognized books in 2012 and has remained a perennial favorite.  Now Rick is back and the stories are better than ever.In this show I interview Ron Fortier, Bobby Nash, Sean Taylor, and Alan Porter about their contributions to this new volume.   We delve into the origins of the character and the inspiration that each of the authors had for their stories.

UNFORTUNATELY, a thunderstorm landed on us towards the end of the program and the last 10 minutes of the interview was lost.  But there is so much good stuff here (including a few tangents) that I don't think the fans will mind. There are also lotsa great xtras and links that feature the work of these fine authors so check 'em out.

Visit the Rick Ruby website: http://rickruby.blogspot.com

The Ruby Files, Volume 2 is available at Amazon (paperback and Kindle), Barnes and Noble (Paperback) and as always over at the Airship 27 Hangar (paperback, and PDF, see below).

The Ruby Files, Volume 2 at Airship 27 Website: http://robmdavis.com/Airship27Hangar/index.airshipHangar.html#ruby2

[Link] Seven Tips From F. Scott Fitzgerald on How to Write Fiction

by Mike Springer

F. Scott Fitzgerald is often portrayed as a natural-born writer. "His talent," says Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast, "was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings." But Fitzgerald saw himself in a different light. "What little I've accomplished," he said, "has been by the most laborious and uphill work."

Last week we brought you Seven Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction. Today we're back with a similar list of advice from Hemingway's friend and rival Fitzgerald. We've selected seven quotations from F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing, which was edited by Larry W. Phillips and published in 1985 as a companion to the Hemingway book. As in the previous post, we've organized the advice under our own headings and added some brief commentary.

1: Start by taking notes.

Fitzgerald made a habit of recording his stray thoughts and observations in notebooks. He organized the entries into categories like "Feelings and emotions," "Conversations and things overheard" and "Descriptions of girls." When Fitzgerald was giving writing advice to his mistress Sheilah Graham in the late 1930s, he advised her to do the same. In her 1940 memoir, Beloved Infidel, Graham quotes Fitzgerald as saying:

You must begin by making notes. You may have to make notes for years.... When you think of something, when you recall something, put it where it belongs. Put it down when you think of it. You may never recapture it quite as vividly the second time.

Read the full article:
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_f_scott_fitzgerald_on_how_to_write_fiction.html

#MotivationalMonday -- Defeating the Bogey

“Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey.
What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the
possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy
tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.”

-- G.K. Chesterton