THERE WERE DRAGONS!

 

Paul Genesse, Megan C., Ashley P., and Meghan R.--they're my coworkers and came after their shift at the hospital to hang out at The Golden Cord book release party.

 

So, my huge book release party was awesome! Over 150 came to my home to hang out, see the fantasy art gallery in my basement, and pick up some books.  Lots of books! Piles of books!

I actually got a cramp in my hand from signing so many books! Now I'm worried I won't have enough books for my upcoming book tour. What good problems to have.

It was so wonderful to see my new and old friends. Also, my mom was there, and my great friend Natalie came from Phoenix to help run the party. Natalie, my mom, and my wife Tam did all the catering. They were amazing. I owe them big time!

I wish I could have spoken with everyone longer, but the line was so long to get books and time was running  fast.  I just loved seeing everyone. I had some great conversations with friends and the children of friends, and friends of friends . . . you get the idea.

 

I'm so excited to get to writing. All five books are written, but I need to edit and rewrite books two through five. I really want to get book two out there now. I wish it was coming out soon. Sigh.

 

Anyway, thank you all for coming, and for those who couldn't come, no worries, I'll see you soon, I hope. I'll be leaving for my book tour in the morning and I can't wait. If only I didn't need to sleep . . .

 

Best wishes to you all!! Thanks for making my book tour send off incredible.

 

Love,

 

Paul Genesse, Author of The Golden Cord

Book One of the Iron Dragon Series

My School Visit to Cook Elementary

Mrs. Judy Hooper                Cook Elementary School, Syracuse, UT

Media Specialist

 

I am so impressed with the 6th graders at Cook Elementary School. They are so smart and their teachers are sharp. I spoke to about 70 kids about reading and writing. It was so much fun and I'm so happy that Judy Hooper invited me to her school. What impressed me most about the kids was their intelligent questions. I loved their energy as well. They were excited and interested and just a fun crowd. There are some big time readers and writers among them as well. One girl's fame preceded her. Jayme has read practically every book in the library and is even writing stories at the age of 12. She asked me a question about writing and I heard myself in her. She's got the perfectionist thing going , like me, and isn't happy with her work once she finishes it. I feel the same way.

My message was to revise a little more and then let it go. Also to outline and to work on a good hook, and a good ending. The hook, or first line, is just so important. A snappy opening line is critical in page-turning fiction. The kids seemed to really like my reading as well. I read page one of The Golden Cord and they were into it.

Anyway, what a fabulous time I had with those kids and the staff. Judy was incredibly nice and I now remember how cool 6th graders are. That was a magical time for me and I read some amazing books at that age. I just hope the kids will love my own book. Time will tell.

Paul Genesse, Author and Editor www.paulgenesse.com

Where Paths Meet

 

 

It was standing room only at my presentation at the ULA/MPLA Library Conference in Salt Lake City on May 1. The room was packed and people were out in the hall and on the floor up front. My presentation was done with Ruth Hanson of Reading For the Future of Utah (RFFU) and we spoke about shaping young minds with genre fiction. It was great and I really loved the crowd. Hey, I have a thing for librarians. (smile and a wink)

My friend, Mary Anne Heider helped me get the gig and I'm so thankful to her. I'm also thankful to Ruth, a great lady with a vision for the future. The non-profit she runs is all about donating books to kids. Ruth is also putting together a free CD with short stories from Utah writers called the Utah Project. It'll be ready to go soon, I think, and will be downloadable from the RFFU web site at some point. Check it out when you can.

Anyway, librarians are just a great bunch and they love books, probably more than I do, which is saying a lot. I totally want to go to more library conferences. It really helped that Library Journal and VOYA Magazine gave my novel great reviews. The reviews were awesome and the librarians really supported me at my book signing. It felt wonderful to sell that many books. Sam Weller's, a fabulous bookstore in Salt Lake, handled my signing. Shari and Katherine are really nice people. Sam Weller's has some signed copies of The Golden Cord at their store if you want to pick one up.

Also, a bunch of librarians asked me to come and speak at their schools/libraries. I'm really looking forward to doing that I have so much excitement for books and reading and love talking with people about it, especially kids. More on that in the next post. If anyone wants me to come and speak at their school or library, just let me know and we'll set up a date. I come for free and give out posters and bookmarks to the kids. I share the same vision as Ruth, we need to get more kids reading again and I'll do what I can to help.

Reading opens the mind like nothing else. I could go on and on about why it's great, but I think my favorite reason is that you get to be friends with the coolest people. Frodo and Sam are personal friends of mine and will always be close to my heart. I just love Hobbits.

Best wishes to all of you out there! And happy reading!

 

Paul Genesse, Author and Editor

Author of The Golden Cord

Book One of the Iron Dragons Series

Fantasy Festival 2008

 

 

Hello,

 

I heard Beowulf give a speech on Saturday. Yes, it was loud. The sound and power of Old English is amazing. Okay, so it wasn't the real Beowulf, but was actually a Beowulf scholar named Dr. Michael Drout. He's a J.R.R. Tolkien scholar as well, one of the leading ones in the world and has written several books on various subject. I heard him give two talks about Beowulf and Tolkien. Dr. Drout began the second one by walking in and reciting the first ten lines of the epic poem. Apparently, Professor Tolkien would do the same thing, except he would recite the first fifty lines! That would scare away a bunch of the students so he wouldn't have all those papers to grade.

 

I learned of all of these fun things at the Fantasy Festival in Salt Lake City. The one day festival brought together a bunch of interesting people who all have a love for fantasy. Gloria Jensen, the main organizer of the festival did a great job putting it together. She runs a non-profit group called Into the West and all the money went to help kids.

 

Dr. Drout and Gloria Jensen  (Visit Dr. Drout's website)

 

 

Dr. Michael Drout and Author Paul Genesse

 

I was able to have dinner with Dr. Drout and it was so great to be sitting beside a Tolkien scholar. He is so smart and learned a lot about Beowulf and Tolkien by listening to him. What an interesting career he's had and I'm looking forward to reading his book and to listening to his CD where he reads the entire Beowulf poem in Old English.

 

I had a table and displayed my books. It was the first time I had copies of The Golden Cord to sell. I sold a bunch and life was good. My writing classes were fun and had such a great time. I just get so excited when I talk about writing. Also, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com sold out of books in the first three days when the book came out. Life is good and the wonderful reviews have really helped. If any of you have read the book please post a review on Amazon and Barnes and Noble's sites.

About writing, the main point I made was about creating memorable characters. Check out the Writers Symposium Ezine for some excellent tips on characterization. We went through the whole seven elements of story taught to me by Kij Johnson, taught to her by James Gunn, the famous science fiction writer and teacher.

 

You know the seven point idea:

 

A character

in a context

with a conflict

who tries

and fails

which builds to a climax

and ends with a resolution.

 

I love the try/fail cycle idea. The whole thing is a basic idea, but it helps a lot when you're putting a story together from scratch. Read Jim Gunn's numerous books, articles, and writings to learn more, or ask me sometime and I'll talk your ear off.

 

Thanks for reading! And happy writing!

 

Paul Genesse, Author and Editor  www.paulgenesse.com

 

Author of The Golden Cord

Book One of the Iron Dragon Series

The Golden Cord Book Trailer Released!

Check out the book trailer. It features original music by revideolized

and was put together by Brad P. Beaulieu. My website has links to

their sites if you're interested, www.paulgenesse.com.

 

Paul Genesse, Author of The Golden Cord

Book One of the Iron Dragon Series

Ghosts, Ninjas, and Books! Oh, my!

 

 

 

Hello

I was lucky enough to be the guest on a highly rated paranormal internet radio show on April 16, the night that my book, The Golden Cord, Book One of the Iron Dragon Series came out. It was so much fun. The blogtalkradio show is called Residual Hauntings, and it's run by Tom Carr and Russ Larsen. They're great guys and we had a fantastic conversation. They're into all the paranormal hot issues: ghosts, UFOs, and NINJAS!  Yes, they have a Ninja News segment on every show. It's pretty funny. I'm so glad they had me on the show an I look forward to going on a ghost investigation with them.

They had me on because I'm totally into ghosts and my novel prominently features ghosts. The main character is literally haunted by someone from his past. I love putting ghosts into my fiction and I've always been fascinated by movies, books, and shows about ghosts. I've also gathered a ton of ghost stories from the hospital where I used to work. The hospital is 100 years old and I've heard so many ghost stories and had a few personal experiences during the 10 years I worked there. That place is so haunted and I'm glad I don't work there anymore. If you want to hear some of the stories I had heard over the years check out the show, and also I tell a recent story, told to me by the security guard whose job it was to check the hospital after it was practically abandoned.

The show is live on Wednesday nights and please check it out. If you want to listen to the broadcast I was on follow the link to  Residual Hauntings and download the show from April 16, or stream it to your computer. I come on at around the five minute mark and my opening bit is funny, because I enjoy talking shit. I am a nurse after all . . .

Paul Genesse

Author of The Golden Cord

Book One of the Iron Dragon Series

The Golden Cord Released

 

 

The Dragon King has risen at last . . .

The Golden Cord, Book One of the Iron Dragon Series officially released yesterday, April 16, 2008. Honestly, it's kind of surreal to have the novel out after so many years of trying to get it published. I started working on becoming a writer in April of 1998. Before that I was just thinking about it and fighting the need that burned within. Did I want to join the ranks of books on the shelf at the local bookstore? I kept saying, no. Finally, I gave in and started the journey. Now, after nine years of struggle, I'm an overnight success. (grin)

I remember writing a few pages in April of 1999, then putting it away for a while as I helped build a block wall in my backyard with my best friend, Patrick. Nine years ago was when I started to actually put words on the page, using my first computer. Writing the whole five book series took over three years and I've been waiting for almost two years since getting a "yes" for The Golden Cord. It's been such a long journey from writing it, to selling it, to seeing it come out.

So, last night my friends at the hospital and I had a little party to celebrate the official release. I love the people I work with so much and without them I could not write novels. At the party I showed them the actual book for the first time, as the publisher sent me a few copies. It was so odd to have it in my hands a few days before. When the author copies came in the mail, I was sleeping, and my wife Tammy woke me up and summoned me to the kitchen. Still groggy, I cut open the box and there was my book. There was no applause, no fireworks, or crazy rejoicing, just me staring and rubbing my eyes. It was just weird to be looking at the book that I'd been waiting for all those years.

The reviews have been great and the response from people all over the country has been amazing. The book is finally out and the big release party is in a few weeks, on May 10 from 3-9 PM (see my web site for more details). You're all invited by the way. I should have a larger shipment from the publisher by May 10, as there would be few books at the party if I held it now. Then the day after the party I'm going on my book tour of the West. The best thing about the book tour is that I'll be seeing friends and family that I haven't seen in a long while. Writing the book has given me a great reason to reconnect with the people I love.

I want to thank everyone who has been with me on this journey, to those from the very beginning, to those who have come more recently. All of you have helped keep me going and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

Paul

 

www.paulgenesse.com