They’re celebrating James Bond’s fiftieth anniversary over at Primer this month, and I couldn’t resist contributing a cocktail article about arguably the most famous drink recipe known to man. “Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred” has been quoted countless times in the last five decades. But is the drink itself any good? And what about Bond’s original drink of choice, the Vesper?

Here’s a quote:

Bond’s go-to drink might be the most famous cocktail recipe on earth – or at least the most-quoted – but it’s probably not the best. Bond liked his martinis dry, which meant little or no French vermouth, and the switch from gin to vodka removed a whole host of botanicals from the equation. The shaken-not-stirred part? That won’t “bruise” the alcohol (which is nonsense), but what it will do is both dilute and aerate the drink substantially more than stirring. The funny thing is: this has a much more profound impact on a gin martini, where the aeration changes the aromatic notes, and the dilution has a noticeable impact on flavor. Vodka is made to be flavorless, for all intents and purposes; all you’re doing by shaking instead of stirring is reducing the alcohol burn.

You can read the whole article over at Primer!

I was lucky enough to receive a sample of The Dalmor 12 Year scotch from their distributor, and I’ve written up my thoughts on it for Primer Magazine. While bourbon remains my true whiskey love, I’ve been known to dally with scotch on occasion (not to mention rye, Irish whiskey, and Canadian whiskey … I’m a bit of a strumpet, I guess). I’ve educated my palate enough to be able to enjoy both smooth scotches and some of the smokier offerings, and I was happy to have the chance to check out a product I hadn’t tried before.

Here’s a clip:

Bourbon and rye have made some tremendous leaps in reputation in the last ten years or so, and while there are many who will always hold the whiskies of Ireland closest to their heart (perhaps in a flask), it would be difficult to argue that there is a more highly-regarded form of whisky out there than Scotland’s most famous liquor.

You could spend a lifetime developing your appreciation and knowledge for Scotch. Many have. But to do that you need to get started, and there’s the kicker – Scotch is such high-variance liquor that it can be frightening, baffling, and intimidating to newcomers. Grab the wrong bottle, for example, and your first sip is going to wallop you with smoky peat flavors for which most people require time and effort to develop a taste. This effect has scared off more than one neophyte.

You can read the whole thing over at Primer Magazine.

As some of you might remember, a while back I was interviewed by Darrell Pitt for his blog, Writing and Life. Well, after compiling many an interview, Darrell decided that it would be a good idea to compile an eBook of what he considered his best interviews. The good news is: I made the cut, and am included in the eBook. The even better news? The eBook is free!

The book contains talk with a whole batch of really interesting folks talking about both the business and the craft of writing, from people like me who are just starting to be recognized to people who are pretty famous in their respective areas. It’s a great collection of information if you’re an aspiring author or just interested in the world of writing.

Check it out: Secrets of Succesful Authors by Darrel Pitt on Smashwords

I think I’m going to try an experiment with this blog — I’m going to ask if you fine folks, my readers, have any particular questions for me. They can be about my writing process, or about the II AM Trilogy, or pretty much anything else you can think of. Ever have a question about one of the characters or events in Blood Hunt or TBTB? Ever wanted to know where I do my writing, or when I work, or how I come up with these zany ideas anyway? Now’s your chance!

Just visit my contact form, and ask. I’ll put together the MailBlog entry in a week or two, depending on how many questions come in! Hopefully I’ll get some interesting queries!

I’ve recently been fortunate enough to receive not one but two reviews of Blood Hunt. Both reviewers liked the book quite a bit, which is always a big plus! I’m glad that people are finding it enjoyable, and are looking forward to The Children of the Sun. I’m working hard to make sure it lives up to the first two books.

The first review to come in was from So Many Books, So Little Time. Here’s an excerpt:

I really enjoyed it, it was great to get more depth on the vampire history and how the story unravels now it has these new twists. There is still violence, fighting, sex(some of it graphic but you should be used to it by now), blood and love and twists and turns throughout the book, it is just different paced from the 1st one but it still works really well.

You can read the whole thing over at SMBSLT.

The second review is an extensive one, and it comes from the awesomely-named blog Bitch Factor 10. It’s a little spoiler-y, though, so beware! Here’s a quote:

I like that we get to find out about the vampire caste system here, and Buecheler does a splendid job of establishing the various vampire worldviews. Abraham, the big baddie from BtB is ever-present in the decisions the American vampire council must grapple with, and we get to meet the movers-and-shakers– namely, Naomi, Jakob, Malik and Stephen (who provides an outsider-insider’s view). The little anarchist in me was thrilled that there were dissidents– I was mildly sympathetic to the plight of the Burilgi, but per usual, their leader is batshit crazy (but hey, that’s way of subalterns, no?).

If you’re not scared of the spoilers, you can check out the review in its entirety over at Bitch Factor 10.

Thanks to both bloggers for taking the time to read and review!

This is not the post you’ve been breathlessly awaiting. That one’s coming either tomorrow or Thursday. :)

However, there are a couple of small things I wanted to mention. First, I finally figured out how to make it so people can comment on the individual novel pages for The Blood That Bonds and Blood Hunt. Thrilling, right? [Update] A clarification: by comment on the individual pages, I mean the pages I host on this blog to promote the books (the place where you go if you click either of those two links), not every single page of each book.

Also, I wanted to say thanks to Asleigh for her nice review of The Blood That Bonds over at her blog, The Book Girl. Check it out!

That’s all I got for today. The big news is coming later this week!

The last time I sat down in front of a microphone to be interviewed, the term “podcast” hadn’t been invented yet, I was still working in the video game industry, and I was covering the nightmarish hellscape that some people know as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, aka: E3.

I don’t do a whole lot of video game journalism or development these days, so opportunities to get in front of the mic at major trade shows are less frequent (particularly since I try to avoid major trade shows). The good folks over at The Online Guys, though, gave me an opportunity to stand up and speak out. Or rather, to hang out on my cell phone and chat with them for about twenty minutes on what it’s like to be an author making his way through the brave new world of electronic self-publishing. We talk about my work, the way I’ve used social media to connect with my fans, and dive for a bit into how the process of producing an eBook actually works.

You can check the interview out over at their website. Many thanks to Nils, Rob and Samantha (not the one from TBTB!) for having me as a guest. It was a good time!

Seek out smart, thoughtful readers who will take notes on your work.

Believe it or not, one of the most difficult aspects of writing a book is getting honest feedback on your early drafts. Finding readers can be a difficult task in the first place, and even if you’re lucky enough to have achieved a level of popularity which simplifies that aspect, you’re still faced with the daunting task of weeding out the ones who can give you the criticism and critique that is so vital to redrafting (a process which I covered in my last blog entry). When you find someone who can give that kind of feedback — what I call a trusted reader — it’s like striking gold.

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to cultivate a small but incredibly valuable group of trusted readers who I know will deliver honest, specific, unbiased feedback on early drafts of my work. This group includes a few old friends, a professional editor whose services I periodically employ, a select few internet friends, and my brilliant wife (who pulls no punches!). I am highly appreciative of all of these folks, and I place an extraordinary amount of value on my relationships with them. Quite simply: without their input, my work would suck.

When trusted readers give feedback, it’s the type of response that delves well beyond “I loved it” or “I hated it” (or even worse: dead silence). The Blood That Bonds has earned enough fans at this point that I could quickly put together a group of readers for subsequent projects, but not all of them would be able to provide the feedback I need. Make no mistake: I’m very glad that they’re out there! I love hearing from people who enjoy my work, and the rush of receiving an “I loved your book!” email has yet to wear off. I’m not sure it’s ever going to.

I’m just not always looking for that rush. In particular, when I’ve finished a first or even second draft, what I’m looking for is criticism. Hard, heavy criticism. Criticism that hurts, that makes me want to get defensive and start justifying my choices. Criticism that leaves me thinking, “Jesus … I guess I shouldn’t quit my day job just yet.” Not every reader is able to give that kind of criticism. A lot of readers don’t want to give that kind of criticism; they just want to enjoy the story!

The thing is: nothing gets better without criticism. This is why identifying and appreciating trusted readers is so vital to any author’s work. I’m not going to pretend that The Blood That Bonds is a work of high literary art, but it’s a hell of a lot better in its finished version than it was as a first draft. My friends Caryn and Josh pointed out glaring issues with that draft which required major rewrites in the second draft. My editor Lauren went over draft two with a critical eye, pointing out not only myriad typos and grammar errors, but also giving her input on plot, pacing, and characterization. These opinions were all invaluable.

I’m currently in the middle of a feedback round on two different books: The Broken God Machine (first draft) and Blood Hunt (second draft). In the case of the former, I’ve sent it out only to the specific few people mentioned above. In the case of the latter, I’m trying something new: in addition to sending it to my trusted readers, I held a contest and picked ten readers who said they wanted to read it and fill out a brief questionnaire once done. I’ve already received five responses, and all five have provided useful information! I may well consider using some or all of them as trusted readers on future  projects. If you have existing fans, and aren’t terrified that they’ll leak your manuscript, I recommend giving something like this a shot.

Of course I can’t (and won’t) change every aspect of a book to suit the whims of everyone who comments on it. In the end, it’s my story, and certain plot details and character actions are set in stone. What I will do though is seriously consider everything they have to say, especially if more than one or two of the readers identify the same specific problem. Yes, it’s my book, but if some aspect of it’s not working for people, then that part probably needs to be either rethought, or rewritten to better accomplish whatever the goal was. This is the kind of invaluable information that can help you transform a rough first draft into a solid second draft, or take that second draft and build a polished manuscript that’s ready to be submitted to agents, editors, or publishers.

If you’re a writer, you need trusted readers. Without them, you’re going to have a very difficult time getting any kind of objective opinion on your drafts, and without those opinions, your work will never be as good as it could be. If you’re a reader, don’t be afraid to engage an author on a level beyond “I really enjoyed your book” … sending a thoughtful email with real critique in it might just land you the chance for an early look at new work. You’d be surprised how many talented authors, even ones who’ve been published before, are still actively looking for quality readers.