If you’re a writer anywhere near Crescent City, California on September 16-17, consider attending the North Coast Redwoods Writer’s Conference.  I’ll be one of the guest speakers, and one of the things I’ll be talking about are all the amazing changes taking place in the publishing industry — and how you can take advantage of them.  (I’m going to touch on many of the same topics that Dean Wesley Smith and I talked about in our How To Be Your Own Publisher workshop — which, incidentally, we’re doing again in October.)

More information about the conference can be found here.

Me, I just wanted another excuse to visit the Redwoods, which is one of my favorite places on Earth.

It’s a little early for Halloween, but if you’re in the mood for a ghost story I’ve got a collection that might be up your alley.  Flying Raven Press has just released a collection of five stories by me — four all-new tales and one reprint — that’s available in all the major electronic formats.  The blurb from the sites, as well as links where you can purchase it, are below.

Equal parts riveting and stirring, Carter takes a staple of campfires and rainy nights – the ghost story – into surprising new territory in this collection. No gore or gratuitous splatter here – these tales are meant to raise the hairs on the back of the neck and leave the reader feeling quietly discomfited hours after reading.

On a dark night in the Virginia woods, a boy encounters a former slave protecting the Confederate sword of Robert E. Lee in the spellbinding “The Sword of Surrender.” In “All My Invisible Friends,” a grieving child psychologist who’s lost his way finds meaning again with an assist from an invisible friend. An old amusement park called “The Enchanted Grove” helps the parents of children who died tragically find closure – but maybe not for everyone. In “The Easel,” a man on an evening walk buys an old drawing easel at a garage sale and soon discovers it has a secret power. And finally, a recently divorced reporter randomly picks a town to start over with his life and happens upon a “Stone Creek Station” in the woods where no train has a right to be.

Moody. Atmospheric. Provocative. These five tales have all the makings of good ghost stories with a touch of strange thrown in for good measure.

Available Now:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes |  Smashwords

Who doesn’t like a good time travel story?  Following on the heels of last week’s mini story collection, Flying Raven Press is releasing another four-pack of short stories for your e-reader, these all centering around time travel.  But not all entirely in the way you might expect.

Here’s the official blurb that appears on the sites:

In these four riveting tales, Carter takes a classic of science fiction – the time travel story – into surprising new territory. A man finds a room where time doesn’t pass in the spellbinding “The Time Of His Life.” When a scientist becomes the first person to time travel, “The Time Traveler’s Wife” refuses to be left behind in this touching tale. A salesman on the road has a chance encounter with a girl who gives him a glimpse of his “Happy Time,” a better life that might have been. And in “Static in a Still House,” a garage sale hunter finds a baby monitor tuned into the future and makes a harrowing discovery.

Available Now:  Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

One of the beautiful things about this emerging new world of publishing is that authors can package and repackage their work in lots of different ways at very little cost, appealing to readers with different interests.  For readers who like my science fiction stories, Flying Raven Press has put out a new mini collection called The Unity Worlds at War, which includes four far future science fiction stories set in my Unity Worlds universe — three originally published in some of the leading science fiction magazines of the day plus one story called “Tarkalow Station” that’s published in this collection for the first time.  It’s available in electronic form at the bargain price of $2.99.  At nearly 30,000 words of fiction, this is the length of a short novel.

It can be purchased right now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Here’s the blurb that appears on the sites:

Whether it’s the soldiers on the front line or the bartenders who serve them, war leaves no one unscathed. These four tales set in Carter’s war-ravaged Unity Worlds universe — three originally published in the leading science fiction magazines of the day, plus one story original to this collection — will leaving you thinking about war’s effects long after you finish the final words.

THE LIBERATORS

“There’s one rule in the interstellar liberation force: you never take off your helmet. Even if the atmosphere of whatever planet you are liberating from the vicious aliens does happen to breathable, there could be any number of lethal viruses or microbes. The body armor and comm equipment is first rate, and the aliens seem to be on the run. Then, one day, a soldier is forced to take off his helmet to survive. The consequences are disastrous for the liberation force, but it is no toxin, virus, or microbe that infects the military: it’s the truth . . . Carter’s warning about how military might be used in the future stands undiminished.” — The Internet Review of Science Fiction

THE BREATH OF THE GODS

Duty versus love. It’s a choice that Commander Richard Hagel, charged with overseeing a wayward planet’s entry into the Unity Worlds and everything that entails, has to make when an asteroid — and an act of terrorism — threaten to both destroy the planet and kill the woman he loves.

“”The Breath of the Gods” by Scott William Carter is another adventure tale—the protagonist is racing against the clock, since he only has a few minutes to save the woman he loves before a giant asteroid strikes the planet and destroys it.” — Tangent Online.

THE TIGER IN THE GARDEN

“The Tiger in the Garden” by Scott William Carter presents a classic duty versus honor conflict. Jose, a constable on a poor, out-of-the-way planet, is expecting a government Agent, an alien with unpleasant appearance and even worse personality. He is there to apprehend a terrorist—someone Jose knows well. The situation is complicated by the fact that the alleged terrorist is not the man he used to be, and his past crimes are irrelevant for anyone but the Agent, relentless in hunting down the members of the Resistance. Jose can either help the Agent and betray his friend, or help his friend and kiss his career good-bye.” — Tangent Online

TARKALOW OUTPOST

On a whim, a husband and wife buy a bar on a space station in a war-ravaged corner of the galaxy. When a fragile peace evaporates, their marriage is tested in ways they can never imagine — and one of them will pay the ultimate price. But in the future, can a marriage survive even death?

Buy Now:  Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Praise for Other Works by Scott William Carter:

“Carter’s writing is on target.” – Publishers Weekly

“…compelling…good choice for reluctant readers…” – School Library Journal

“Scott William Carter makes it look easy. But if anyone thinks that writing good, intriguing fiction with a clear, plain voice is easy…Well, they should try it sometime.” – Chizine.com

SCOTT WILLIAM CARTER’s first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut.” His short stories have appeared in dozens of popular magazines and anthologies, including Asimov’s, Analog, Ellery Queen, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales. He lives in Oregon with his wife, two children, and thousands of imaginary friends.

My young adult novel, President Jock, Vice President Geek, is now available in trade paperback from Flying Raven Press.  If you enjoyed my debut young adult novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, you may really enjoy this book.  You can only order it from Amazon.com right now, though it will show up at other online book sellers within a few weeks.  Here’s the cover flat, as well as more information about the book (click for a larger image):

President Jock, Vice President Geek

It was a simple plan. She would help him pass algebra. He would help her win the student election. What could go wrong?

Take one geeky sixteen-year-old girl deathly afraid of speaking to any crowd larger than one, but who desperately needs something on her application other than perfect grades to get her into Stanford. Add in a star basketball player who’s Mr. Popular to everyone else, but who’s hiding more than a few startling secrets. Throw in a crisis of identity, a scheming girlfriend, and troubled family lives. Oh, and make sure everything that can go wrong does. Then count the votes.

The result is PRESIDENT JOCK, VICE PRESIDENT GEEK, the story of two mixed up teenagers struggling to find themselves and the craziest student election ever to hit the halls of Rexton High. 

“Carter’s writing is on target.” – Publishers Weekly

Read the opening chapters.

I have a new story out, a far future science fiction tale called “A Witness to All That Was.”  It’s appeared in the July/August double issue of Analog.  The opening is below.  If you enjoy these types of stories, you should consider subscribing to the magazine.  If you have a Kindle, you can subscribe that way, or even buy single issues.

A Witness to All That Was

Scott William Carter

It was just another dead planet, as useless and wasted as their marriage.  That was what Marco thought when he saw the brown smudge of a world for the first time — and of course he felt an immediate pang of guilt for thinking it.

“Any signs of life?” he said.

He didn’t look at Kelsie when he said this.  He was afraid to look at her.  He was afraid that if she saw his eyes, she’d know what he’d been thinking.  She’d always been so good at that — reading him, knowing exactly what was on his mind.  After ten years together, most of it spent almost exclusively in each other’s company as they scoured the universe looking for treasures in the aftermath of a war that desolated ninety-eight percent of the colonized universe, you’d think he would have gotten good at reading her too.  But he hadn’t.  He’d never been.  And it had only gotten worse since they’d lost Trevor.  More and more, he didn’t think he knew her at all.

“No,” she said.

She sounded mildly irritated, and he thought maybe she was on to him, but of course she usually sounded mildly irritated.  Sometimes not so mildly.  Sometimes she sounded like she outright hated him.  And who could blame her?

He stole a glance at her.  In the cramped cockpit of the Buggywhip, wires dangling everywhere as he kept patching their poor ship to keep it running, and half the control panel circuitry exposed, Kelsie was almost invisible.  Gray uniform, gray skin, gray hollowed out eyes — even her hair looked more gray than blond these days.  All that gray blended into the circuit boards and the panel doors and the bulkheads.  God, she wasn’t even forty yet and she looked like a cadaver.

“Any energy signatures?” he asked.  The planet really did look awful — like a sweaty fingerprint on the thick glass of their cockpit window.

“No.”

“Well,” he said, “I guess we’ll start on that southern continent.  That’s likely where there was the most life, near the equator.”

She didn’t say anything.  She didn’t even bow her head — just went on staring ahead like some kind of zombie.  Or a ghost.  That’s what she’d become to him, really — a living, breathing ghost.  Suddenly he hated her for not looking at him.  He’d looked at her, hadn’t he?  He’d been able to do that much.

“Okay,” he said tersely, “I’ll set the coordinates–”

“Wait,” she said.

“What?”

“There is something,” she said, finally a little bit of life in her voice.  “It’s very faint — but yes, there’s something down there.  Something running on artificial power.”

All I can manage right now.   More to come. Wow.

*****

That’s what I wrote sitting in the lobby at the Gerding Theater in Portland, Oregon last night, and that still pretty much sums up how I feel.  Wow.

My book, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, won the Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature.  I was one of five finalists.  You can read a list of all the winners in all the categories over on the Oregonian’s website.

I know it’s a cliche to say it was an honor just to be a finalist, but it really was, especially considering the amazing books written by my fellow finalists.  I got to meet many of them last night and that was quite a treat.  I really was absolutely convinced I had no chance of winning — in fact, so convinced that I didn’t write any kind of acceptance speech.  So maybe this is the secret strategy for winning awards.  It has obvious drawbacks, though, in that once you get up there in front of five hundred people you don’t have an acceptance speech.  But I seemed to thank the right people, got a few laughs, and most importantly, kept it short, which I think everyone appreciated.

So the certificate gets hung on the wall, the unexpected cash prize gets deposited in the writing account, and then it’s back to typing away in that office behind the garage.  What else is next?  I’m going to Disneyland!

No, seriously, I’m going to Disneyland.  It’s been planned for months.  Can’t wait to have my picture taken with Goofy.

Everyone knows dragons are the vainest of all creatures. And if you’re the last dragon? You’re the vainest of them all.

* * * * *

One more free fantasy short story, again with the opening of my novel, Drawing a Dark Way, at the end of it.  This one has some stunning cover art by Joel Serrano.  (Click the image to the right to better appreciate his fine work.)  He’s definitely an up and coming artist with lots of talent; see more of his work here.

Download “The Dragon of the Dolomites” for free at Smashwords.com, or you can pay 99 cents and buy it directly for your Kindle or Nook.

And no, I don’t plan to release all of my short stories for free.  This is just a short-term promotional effort to help get the word out about my fantasies for younger readers (or the young at heart).

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know that publishing is going through some tremendous changes right now, mostly brought on by the rapid rise of e-readers.  For writers, this is truly a new golden era of publishing, when we have the option of working with traditional publishers or going direct to readers — I’m doing both myself.  (For more on why this is one of the best times to be a writer, read the post I wrote last year:  “10 Reasons Why There’s Never Been a Better Time to Be a Writer.”)  If you want more information on all of these exciting changes, follow the blogs of my friends Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, both of whom have been doing a great job educating writers on all of the choices available to them now.

Which brings me to the point of this blog post.  Last year, Dean and I taught a workshop on the Oregon Coast for about 40 writers called “New Technology for Writers,” teaching folks how to start going direct with their books and stories – both electronically and through print-on-demand.  Although you can certainly learn this stuff on your own, lots of writers seem to benefit from some guided instruction over a long weekend.  It was such a smashing success that we’ve scheduled it two more times in 2011.  We’ve slightly modified it and renamed it so it’s not just about the technology, but also about everything else you should know being your own publisher.  To sign up, please contact Dean Wesley Smith.  I’m essentially the hired help on this one, so email Dean if you have questions about the workshop, accommodations, or other things.

The workshop description is below.  Feel free to pass this along to any serious writers.

How To Be A Publisher:  A Workshop for Writers

Publishing is changing and there’s no going back – and yet there’s never been a better time to be a writer.  For no cost at all, you can make your novels, stories, or other writing available to anyone with a Kindle, Nook, iPad, or other e-readers.  For under $100 – if you do the work yourself — you can make a trade paperback edition available for purchase on Amazon, B&N, and other online retailers.

Taught by professional writers Scott William Carter and Dean Wesley Smith, this three-day workshop will teach you how to create covers, how to format books quickly, how to upload all the books to the major electronic sites, some pointers on print-on-demand, how to find good help, how to set up books and expectations, how to promote, how to drive books to bookstores, layout catalogs, how to easily create and update a website, and so much more.  In other words, this workshop will teach you how to think like a publisher with detailed and hands-on help.  Starts Thursday at 7PM and goes to Sunday at noon. $350.00.   Lodging not included.

Location: Lincoln City, Oregon

Requirements: A laptop with MS Word and Powerpoint (or equivalent); laptop must have wireless capability

Dates:

• July 14th-17th, 2011
• October 20th-23rd, 2011

To sign up, please contact Dean Wesley Smith

Instructor Bios:

Bestselling author DEAN WESLEY SMITH has written more than ninety popular novels and well over 100 published short stories. His novels include the science fiction novel Laying the Music to Rest and the thriller The Hunted as D.W. Smith. With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. He writes under many pen names and has also ghosted for a number of top bestselling writers.  Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.  Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.  Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.  Visit his website at www.deanwesleysmith.com.

SCOTT WILLIAM CARTER’s first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys,was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut” and called “compelling” and “a good choice for reluctant readers” by Library Journal. His fantasy from Simon and Schuster, Wooden Bones, chronicling the untold story of Pinocchio, is due out in the summer of 2012.  His short stories have appeared in dozens of popular magazines and anthologies, including Asimov’s, Analog, Ellery Queen, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales. He also writes mysteries and romantic comedies under other names.  In addition to working with other publishers, he also runs his own publishing company, Flying Raven Press.  In his other life, he’s been an instructional technologist for over 10 years at a mid-sized unversity, administering online classes and providing training on a wide variety of technology topics – including Web and graphic desgin.  Visit him online at www.swcarter.com.

Dragons didn’t need to eat but once every full moon, so gluttony was considered the worst of their crimes. The fascinating tale of one dragon’s struggle with a rather unusual addiction . . . [Download here.]

In an effort to help get the word out about my new fantasy for younger readers, Drawing a Dark Way, I’ve made my short story “The Human Addict” available for free.  If you want to buy it directly from Amazon or B&N, for your Kindle or Nook, you can do so, but it will cost you 99 cents.  If you want it for free, head over to Smashwords.com; you’ll have to create an account, but that won’t cost you anything.  Included at the end of the story are the first couple chapters of Drawing a Dark Way.

You don’t need an e-reader, either — you can read it in PDF format on your computer.