Guest Post: “Wolf Bites” by Erin O’Riordan

Introducing a brand new guest blogger this week, Erin has compiled a collection of lupine links for fans of wolfish writings, in tune with this very blog's own mascot...



'Fenriswulf is the perfect name for a publisher of quirky, eerie, dark fiction. The Norse myth of the terrifying son of Loki who is unleashed at the twilight of the gods, after his fellow wolves have devoured the sun and moon, fascinates and terrifies. Fenris even appears in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The wolves in my writing tend to be less horrifying and more sensual, but they also refuse to be leashed or tamed. In honor of fiction’s nocturnal, howling canines, I present these short bites of some of my favorite wolf tales.

“The Bella Coola Indians believed that someone once tried to change all the animals into men but succeeded in making human only the eyes of the wolf.”
-- Barry Lopez, Of Wolves and Men

“I noticed her when I went to the bar to refresh my Manhattan. She stared at me. Her eyes were piercing. They were green, I think. If not green, then yellow. Lupine…She wore a silvery gray dress with black spots. It must have been an animal print, because I could not (indeed, still cannot) shake the impression that she was covered in a silvery gray fur.”
-- “Animal Appetites” by Erin O’Riordan, Encounters Magazine Fall 2009

“Thy desires
Are wolfish, bloody, starved and ravenous.”
-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

“Badhu shook her head. ‘Hairy, with eyes the color of honey. His teeth are too large for his mouth, and sharp. He bites, and he makes wild noises. He’s one of those men who shifts between the worlds of humans and of animals. In the land where I was born, we know of men who live in the village as men, and in the forest as elephants. He is one of them, Raven. Only not an elephant, but a wolf.’ Raven snorted. ‘You sound like a Polish peasant woman, talking about werewolves. There’s no such thing. He’s just a fisherman, one who happens to like to bite.’”
-- “Fall of the Estrela” by Erin O’Riordan, Midnight Times Summer 2008

“Quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue.” -- “Speak of the wolf and you see his tail,” French proverbial equivalent of the English “Speak of the devil”

“The most curious legend about my nautical ancestress, however, regards her third child, a boy named William, also called Guillermo after the Spanish fashion. William was born later in Rachel’s life, when she was in her forties. Family legend has it that while raiding a Portuguese slave vessel, Rachel took as her prisoner a crew member who spoke no Portuguese. His name was Milos, and he was impressed by the Portuguese from the Adriatic isle of Vis, now part of Croatia. The Croatians recognize Vis for two things: its superior fisherman, and the strange legend that claims the inhabitants of Vis are werewolves.”
-- “Olivia Going Native” by Erin O’Riordan (unpublished)

“Darling it is no joke, this is lycanthropy
The moon’s awake now with eyes wide open
My body’s craving, so feed the hungry…”
-- Shakira, “She Wolf” lyrics

" ‘I’m never too tired to cook for your kind,’ Oliver said. ‘Werewolves are my favorite customers. Do you know why?’ Matthew shook his head. ‘Because you’re omnivores. You have the sophisticated palates of modern human beings, and the raw instinctual thirst for blood of ancient predators. No ingredient is off the list. It brings out my…’ He paused, looking Natalie up and down. ‘…Creativity.’”
-- “Oliver’s Famous Clam Chowder” by Erin O’Riordan. Love Bites, Torquere Press, 2008

Video trailer for “Oliver’s Good Night Kiss:”

Guest blogger biography: An adolescence of staying up late on Fridays nights, eating junk food and watching films such as Satan’s Cheerleaders has influenced Erin O’Riordan. She reads obsessively and writes compulsively. Her favorite lycanthrope is Werewolf Flanders. Erin says, "Howl at ya girl at www.aeess.com, preferably at midnight while the moon is full." '

Many thanks for that, Erin. It was great to see something new and different.

Be sure to drop by Erin's places online, or contact her, via the following:

Visit her Pagan Spirits blog
Find Erin on Facebook
and on Twitter

Where to Find Your Audience: A Guest Post by Rainy

In the first of what we hope will be a new phenomenon here at the Fenriswulf blog - featuring guest bloggers and writers with something to say - here's Rainy getting us off to a flying start with a thoughtful article on targeting your potential readership. We've shared many interesting views on promotion and marketing for the indy and self-published writer in the past, and that looks set to continue. So, take it away...

When Rainy Kaye isn't plotting world domination, she enjoys coaching others about it on her blog. She also likes fluffy kittens.

The word "platform" is making authors squirm more than ever. Because publishing houses are cutting costs, writers are turning to self-publishing, and the internet is becoming the primary avenue for marketing, artists are becoming aware of what it means to create their own platform. For some, a platform is the matter of pinpointing where their art belongs and then amassing followers of the genre.

But what about those who are carving out their own niche? Where do the entrepreneurs of the artistic world begin? Creating a platform with defined followers is hard enough, but it requires even more creativity for those who aren't following a well explored path. More work, yes. Impossible, no. Here are a few ways to get started:

What is it at the essence? No matter how creative your project is, it's still something familiar at its core. For example, it's still electronic music, a comic book, or handmade art. Forget the enthusiasm (or horror) that you've created something never seen before, and strive to find its most basic foundation.

What makes it different-and why does anyone care? Now that you've concluded what makes your project like everything else on the planet, decide what makes it different. Write down three points that make it unlike anything else you've seen, and what that means to your potential audience. These are your selling points. Even artists with a fairly common niche has to understand what makes their work the same, and then what makes it different, than others on the market.

Now, sum it up. I've talked many times about how important it is to be able to explain your work in 140 characters. This has nothing to do with Twitter; it has everything to do with the short attention span of your potential audience. If you're marketing something extremely different, you should be able to tell someone what it's like, why it's different, and why they should care, also in about 140 characters. Work this into your normal pitch. You do have a pitch, right?

Once you've completed the above-and I do mean, completed it, not just skipped down to the next steps-consider where to find your people. I know, you want to get right to the people, but if you don't know how to pitch your idea to them, then you're only going to annoy them. And depending how different your work is, you may have a limited audience, anyway. Have a perfected pitch before you even think about talking to people. Then try these ideas:

Branch out your partnership. You may feel like there are no partnerships available because your work is so different. Wrong. Check out the first step above, when you concluded what your work is at the core. Now find others who also fall into that simple niche. Remember, most people are also trying to promote their own endeavors, so they are often willing to exchange links or other promotional activities even if your projects are slightly different. Ideas don't have to be identical to be successful together.

Consider your audience's other interests. This one is not fool-proof and certainly doesn't apply to all artists. However, for some, it might be the golden ticket. Consider what other entertainment your potential audience might like. For example, what movies and TV shows would they watch, what music would they listen to, what book they would read, what locations would they hang out at, etc. Not sure what your audience would be into? Chances are, many of these answers will be the same as your own.

Go get 'em! Now that you have a solid pitch and can answer what your project is like and why it's different, as well as have an idea of who your potential audience is, go seek them out. Join standalone forums and community groups (GoodReads, Facebook, Ning etc) on not just your "essential" niche, but ones pertaining to your audience's potential other interests. When you find someone who enjoys your work, mesh into their world. Get to know their friends (don't spam!), comment on their blog (don't spam!), follow them on various social networks (don't spam!).

Finding, and then creating, your platform is never easy. Take the time to understand a few simple rules of thumb, such as why a pitch is so important, and that people usually have a pattern to their interests and tend to hang out with like-minded individuals. Then you'll not only be able to develop your platform, but meet interesting people along the way.

Thanks again, Rainy.

Additional: Rainy asks - "What creative ways have you found an audience for your project?"

Feel free to post a comment and share your views.

The Wish & the Will Comes Alive on Facebook

While the silence in the Lulu.com corner continues to be deafening, Chaz is continuing work on the surreal fantasy digital e-book series, 'The Wish & the Will' (which at least doesn't require ISBNs to get out there). The series has already attracted some interest and sold a few downloads, so Chaz is understandably keen to keep the momentum going.

As such, he has recently decided to set up a fully interactive and in-character Facebook group for readers and interested parties:

The Facebook Group is here.

Currently the principal five characters are in the process of bickering among themselves as they struggle to get acquainted with the wonders of social networking, and take each other to task both on matters related to events in the books, and elsewhere. If time allows, Chaz hopes to expand the cast of Facebook personalities to include 'bad guy' individuals and even some of the strange and sinister Daemonlords who rule the fantasy world of Middengarth.

Networking Works!

During a busy old week of being snowed in, Chaz decided to use all that time in the house to do some real networking online, meet like-minded people and even try to find a couple of book reviews. Result: success, in spades...

Facebook has been a bit of a revelation lately. At first very sceptical about its use for an unknown writer, Fenris managed to make some very interesting, and extremely helpful and kind contacts (you know who you are!), with the result that both the blog and the books are now getting some attention. In return, we'll be doing what we can to promote anybody via this very page, or on Facebook, with links, banners, or anything else that can be conceivably useeful.

Also highly recommended is the site Goodreads.com where authors and book fans can meet, talk, share views and texts.

On top of all this activity, Chaz has still found time to re-edit Venus in Saturn (again), keep on top of illustration commission works, and a new un-festive short horror story may also be making an appearance before too long. Keep watching this here space ;)

Of Swords, and Other Tools of Mayhem...

The second issue of 'The Sword of Lochglen' comic series is now just about to be released! The cover is a true collaboration between Chaz and Frang, with Frang pencilling the whole thing and doing much of the inking and colouring. As a result, 'Lochglen' now has its own dedicated webpage, located here. Currently we're only awaiting the arrival of the first set of proof issues from Lulu.com (which with the current weather could take us into 2011...though I seriously hope not!). Once the proofs have been approved, then the direct link to buy a download, or a print copy will become active on the Lochglen homepage.

Speaking of which, it appears that Lulu are current working on some new APIs to improve the digital commerce side of their services - out of all the new improvements, the addition of a 'shopping cart' for creators to place on their websites looks like the most useful so far.

In other news, Fenriswulf has now made it onto Facebook. The profile page is here, where we're looking forward to meeting lots of interesting people, and sharing opinions on comics, books and other things.