Tam Linsey: Food and a Post Apocalyptic World

Wow, five years Judith and Sarah? Where did the time go? I’m so proud of you both for keeping the Genre-ista’s going strong and steady, and for pursuing your own writing and publishing dreams at the same time. Way to go!

For all you readers, let me give you a little backstory. (I just said the “b” word!) Judith and I met in 2010 during an online class about platform building for writers. I was in the process of switching my writing from contemporary romance to sci-fi, and Judith was cheering me on and keeping me motivated in spite of what seemed like an overwhelming task. I was so honored when she and Sarah started Romancing the Genres and asked me to be a part of it.

Now here it is, five years later, and although I moved on, I remain in contact with my platform partner, Judith. I’ve published three post-apocalyptic novels and two short stories set in a world decimated by genetically modified weeds – yes, there is love after the world ends. 

About a year ago, Audible provided a stipend to turn book one of Botanicaust into an audiobook. Readers call my stories “thought-provoking” and “chilling” along with quotes like “I never would have imagined I would be turned on by a plant.” (That one tickles me!) Most of all, I get comments along the lines of “completely unlike anything I’ve ever read before.” Botanicaust is a crazy mix of cannibals, plant people, immortals, and Amish, but it works, love story and all.

What am I doing now, you ask? When I’m not in the garden or muddling through my day job, I’m working on recording my other books in my tiny, homemade recording studio (also known as the blanket-shrouded closet in my office.) I’m also writing an unsettling post-apocalyptic story about a world destroyed by killer amoebas - I know, first I write about green-skinned seductresses, now the Blob. But I promise, just as Botanicaust isn’t William Shatner hooking up with an alien, my new world won’t be a cheesy conspiracy theory gone wrong. And you haven’t seen the end of the Botanicaust world, either. I plan on giving you the history for the photosynthetic Haldanians, plus there is definitely more to come with Tula and Levi.

I can’t resist one last reader quote to wrap things up. “To all the little Fred Savages out there, I'm sorry, [Botanicaust] is a kissing book. But even if that's not your bag, Tam Linsey has written a solid sci-fi book you will dig.”

In closing, I want to thank you for stopping by. If you’d like to know more about my books, you can sign up for my newsletter at http://bit.ly/Botanicaust or visit my website at http://www.tamlinsey.com. Or, of course, you can also go directly to Amazon if you already know you like post-apocalyptic romance.

Tam lives in Alaska with her husband and two grown children. She lives on a half-acre lot that is more than a garden and less than a farm. When she’s not writing, you might find her in the garden, the orchard, or kitchen.

Other books in the Botanicaust series:

    

Debut Author Tam Linsey-Building an Audience from Scratch; Finding Your Maven





Tam Linsey

Discoverability. That’s what debut authors are all about. Each reader who picks up my book has discovered me. If that reader likes my writing, they may tell a friend, who tells a friend, and so on. A slow buzz begins.

Then there are those few and precious readers who become ‘mavens’. A maven is someone who falls in love with a book and takes it upon him or herself to tell everyone they know about it. The buzz becomes a roar.

We all want a maven.

So how does one go about getting a book into potential maven hands? I’m still awaiting my book’s breakout, but I think the key is putting the book into as many hands as possible. That is why Amazon’s KDP Select program has been so successful; five free days not only boosts a book’s stats, but also opens the doors for potential mavens to try a debut author. However, I didn’t want to limit my distribution to Amazon (a requirement for using KDP Select.) What if my maven prefers to read on a Nook?

Instead, I’ve been using Goodreads. Like Facebook and Twitter, Goodreads is a social media site, but with a focus on books. Groups on Goodreads often have a Read to Review option, which allows me to target readers who like my genre, and to give them a free book in return for an honest review. Even if I don’t find a maven this way, the reviews have been great. The more reviews on a book, the more credible the book will seem to potential readers. Once the number of good reviews climbs high enough, Goodreads’ Recommendation Engine may take notice and begin suggesting the book to readers. A sort of electronic maven!
 

To put my book into reader hands, I’ve also participated in Goodreads Giveaways. Goodreads will advertise free copies of your paperback book to readers (you are responsible for providing the book and the postage) and people will a.) see your book and b.) put your book on their to-be-read shelf to remind themselves to read it, even if they don’t win. I’ve had readers contact me directly because they saw my Giveaway and became excited about the book.

A couple of my readers have already taken it upon themselves to help me promote. One is a fellow Alaskan and book review blogger, The Cabin Goddess, who is both amazing and hilarious. Another simply has a lot of friends on Goodreads. Will they be my mavens? I hope so. I’m still building my audience, and will be for a long time. Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. If I’ve discovered anything, it is that the best thing I can do to sell books is to write another great book.


TAM LINSEY ICE FISHING

My mavens want more.

Tam Linsey lives in Alaska with her husband and two children. In spite of the rigors of the High North, she grows, hunts, or fishes for much of her family’s food. During the long Alaskan winters she writes novels. 

You can find her on Goodreads, on her author website at www.tamlinsey.com, or on Facebook or Twitter

Guest Tam Linsey: Science Fiction Romance – A Ball in Both Courts

I playfully claim to write post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction romance. The description is spot on, if a bit overwhelming. I could go on and on about the subgenres, but today I’d like to focus on science fiction versus romance.

Science fiction is about possible futures: humanity has reached the stars, or aliens have arrived (with their advanced technology,) or our genome has evolved to include paranormal abilities. In science fiction, readers may not care about getting inside characters’ heads, but the events must be plausible. Genetic mutation must explain superpowers, and the laws of physics had better apply to a spacecraft leaving orbit. Sci-fi fans don’t always expect a happy ending, as long as the facts behind the science add up.

Romance, on the other hand, is all about characters in a relationship and the emotional changes they undergo. The last thing the hero and heroine want is to fall in love, yet readers know that is exactly what the characters are going to do. Regardless of whether or not the physics of the warp-drive are explained, the story had better explore the angst of a heroine who kept the birth of her baby from its father, or the self-sacrifice of a hero who would die for his one true love. In romance, emotions need to rule the story. In addition, the story has a guaranteed happy ending.

To satisfy both types of readers, science fiction romance must meticulously incorporate enough science to explain the world, and enough psychological introspection to validate a character’s emotional changes. Yet, it must also resist overwhelming readers with too much of either aspect.

In Botanicaust, genetically engineered weeds have wiped out Earth’s croplands, and the world is no longer hospitable to human life. The heroine is a doctor with green, photosynthetic skin who believes humanity must accept genetic modification in order to survive. The hero comes from a remnant farming community where they believe anyone who has accepted modification is damned to Hell. Who would think they might fall in love? Science is the main source of tension between the lovers, which in turn mimics the conflict between their cultures, creating a rich and deeply emotional plot for fans of both science fiction and romance. But I didn’t include every scientific fact I discovered. I condensed the information into a few salient points about each character – like giving the villain a skin disease caused by his chloroplasts. 

Science fiction romance is a growing genre, and there are many great books that successfully incorporate scientific plausibility with a satisfying emotional experience. If you read romance, how important to you are facts? For science fiction readers, how important to you is developing a character relationship?

TAM LINSEY

Tam Linsey lives in Alaska with her husband and two children. In spite of the rigors of the High North, she grows, hunts, or fishes for much of her family’s food. During the long Alaskan winters she writes speculative fiction. You can find her at www.tamlinsey.com or on Facebook or Twitter

CLICK TO BUY

The only crop left ... is human

 

After genetically altered weeds devastate Earth's croplands, much of humanity turns to cannibalism to survive. Dr. Tula Macoby believes photosynthetic skin can save the human race, and her people single-mindedly embark on a mission to convert the cannibals roaming what's left of Earth. But when Levi, a peaceful stranger, refuses alteration, Tula doesn't think the only options should be conversion or death.
 

Levi Kraybill, a devout member of the Old Order, left his Holdout farmland to seek a cure for his terminally ill son. Genetic manipulation is a sin, but Levi will do almost anything for the life of his child. When he's captured, he's sure he's damned, and his only escape will be death.

Farewells and Welcomes

Judith Ashley

Change as a constant of life is not a new concept.

When Sarah and I invited the original Genre-istas, we asked for a six month commitment. When that was up, we asked for another six months and because that ended April 30 and May 01 started our Blog-O-Versary month, we asked anyone who was leaving to stay on for another two months.

So here we are, at that point where we say ‘Farewell’ to two original Genre-istas and ‘Welcome’ to three more (yep, we had a vacancy that we didn’t fill earlier).

Farewells:

Tam Linsey, who has consistently posted fantastic blogs on the third Tuesday of each month, writes post-apocalyptic science fiction. Her debut novel Botanicaust is due out in August. I met Tam when we were paired as ‘platform partners’ in an online workshop through 1^st Turning Point taught by Ann Charles and Jacquie Rogers. That was over two years ago! We’ve remained cyber-friends, support each other as best we can given that we live in Alaska and Oregon respectively, and write in very different genres.

Donna Hatch has filled the fourth Monday of the month spot since the beginning. Donna writes historical romance. Her latest book is The Stranger She Married. Her last post had chocoholics drooling. I’d known of Donna for several years as I’m a long distance member of Desert Rose, her home chapter and had seen her name on the chapter loop. However, Laurie Schnebly Campbell, another Desert Rose member is who connected us regarding this blog.

Click here to check out our other alumni.

Welcomes

Opal Carew joins us from Canada. We wanted to continue to build our geographical diversity as well as our romance sub-genre diversity. Opal writes erotic romance and you’ll see her first and subsequent posts on the second Tuesday of each month. You had a chance to meet Opal AKA Amber Carew on June 30^th when she was our guest. As Amber, she writes contemporary romance.

Erica Hayes, an urban fantasy author from Australia who spends time in the UK, was our guest in March. When we were brainstorming who to invite, Sarah and I said Erica Hayes simultaneously! Erica’s posts will be up the second Tuesday of the month.

Deanne Wilsted, a contemporary author was our guest in June. Deanne, who plans on writing an interactive post on different sub-genres of romance, fills our fourth Monday slot. Her debut novel is titled Betting Jessica.

Please welcome Opal, Erica and Deanne!

www.JudithAshleyRomance.com

www.FreeReadsFromTheGenre-istas.com

www.JudithAshley.blogspot.com

How a Book Trailer is Like a Wedding

by Tam Linsey

I am creating an arranged marriage - the joining together of video and audio into a book trailer for Botanicaust. (I know the theme for June is weddings, but I'm going to show my inner geek here and talk techno.) Believe me, it's as much work as planning a wedding. Both require picking the right music, arranging visual items like flowers / photo slides, and putting together words to create vows / a movie script.

Finding the right music to accompany my slideshow proved to be a lot like searching for the right man, but I've finally found a score I like. Well, mostly. I made a few changes using Garage Band software. If only a man could be so easily convinced to pick up his socks.

Gimp stands for
"GNU Image Manipulation Program"

When an image wasn't exactly what I imagined, I altered it, like a bride who wants her wedding dress to look perfect. (My images require lots of naked green skin. That's fun.) I've become pretty adept using Gimp, my photo editing software.

Fonts are another issue. Like vows, I could use the standard set, or I could do something special. The words have to be readable, set a tone, and yet be unique to the book trailer. There are several websites out there offering free fonts if you have time to browse.

Writing the script was even harder, like speaking wedding vows aloud. Am I saying it right? Do people understand me? What if I look stupid?

How many married people out there wrote their own vows? You know what I'm talking about.

So, there's my techno-analogy on an arranged marriage. Or planning a wedding. Whatever. I have a feeling when I'm finished with this project, I may just cry for joy. Hmmm, that sounds a lot like a wedding, too.

P.S. I attempted to embed a video of the Botanicaust book trailer, but I'm not sure it will work (I might talk techno, but I'm fairly new at all of it.) If the video does not play, you can also see it here. I'd love to know what you think!


© Tam Linsey, 2011. All rights reserved.

Celebrating with a Recipe for Fresh Pea Salad

by Tam Linsey

Last week, my son graduated high school. He moved from childhood to adult with the acceptance of a slip of paper. An acknowledgement that he'd accomplished a milestone. A Rite of Passage.

Rites of Passage are important because they allow us to redefine ourselves. To accept new responsibilities along with new freedoms. To go from caterpillar to butterfly in a complete change, or maybe make a quieter change in which we are the same, but with the possibility to be larger and stronger, like a crab shedding its shell.

I'm excited to see what kind of man my son becomes as he ventures into his adult life.

To celebrate this Rite of Passage, and assure he has the best chance at making it on his own, we held a celebration. Family and friends gathered to offer advice and well wishes. A few offered gifts to help him start his adult life. And we ate.

So many celebrations include food.

This month marks the one year anniversary of Romancing the Genres, so to celebrate, I thought I'd offer the gift of food - one of my favorite recipes. Many of you may have access to fresh peas this time of year, so here is my recipe for New Pea Salad. Its easy to make ahead for celebrations.

New Pea Salad

3 cups of fresh peas, blanched (or a 10 oz bag of frozen new peas)

2/3 cup sour cream

10 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled

1 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted

1/2 cup chopped fresh celery

1/2 cup sliced green onions or sweet onion

salt and pepper to taste

If you are using fresh peas, blanch them in a pan of boiling water for two minutes. Drain and immediately plunge them into ice water for two minutes. Drain completely. If using frozen peas, thaw and drain before using.

To toast the almonds, place them in a heavy skillet over medium heat and stir constantly for about ten minutes or until they begin to smell good. If you chop them before toasting, be careful, because the crumbs burn long before the larger pieces toast.

Mix all the ingredients together and eat!

Without a Parachute

by Tam Linsey

I leaped out of the plane without making sure my parachute had been properly packed. There was a chance it would work. But there was a greater chance that the cord would break, or the fabric get stuck, or a myriad other things that can go wrong in a parachute jump. Luckily I didn't have far to fall.

That's an analogy to my first manuscript submission. I'd spent my senior year of college researching the novel, and began writing it as my Senior Thesis. It took me ten years to finish it. No one can take ten years to write a novel and expect to make a living at it.

Then I had loved ones read the one hundred and sixty thousand word tome and tell me it was wonderful. I felt great, basking in the adrenaline rush of my immanent success. I started calling myself a writer. I had no idea industry standards for first time authors tend to favor shorter manuscripts of around one hundred thousand words. Not to mention you should never say your mother loved it.

I'd gone over the finished product three times, which felt like plenty of revision. All I need is a beginning, middle and end, right? Not so. Stories have things like character arc, turning points, and subtext. Although I'd been an English major, I'd never heard these terms before. Granted, there are a few savant writers out there who can pull out a story without thinking of these things, but I found out the hard way - I'm not one of them.

Of course I got rejections.

The only thing I did right was go to my local library and research reputable agents for their addresses. (The Internet makes this so much easier these days!) But researching agents wasn't going to assure me my ill-packed parachute would open. And it didn't. I got 29 rejections before I paused and decided to look for a support group.

When I found my local RWA chapter, they pulled my chute out of the pack and taught me how to fold it properly, check the cords, verify the emergency release, and all the other little details. They were harsh. And they were right. They made me realize how unprepared I was. And when I was truly ready and properly terrified, I wouldn't jump.

So they pushed me out of the plane.

Guess what? My parachute opened.  I got personalized rejections (for you non-writers, believe it or not, this is a good thing.) I got full manuscript requests. I have not landed an agent, yet, but I know I will eventually hit the bull's-eye waiting for me below. Maybe even on my next leap.

© Tam Linsey, 2011. All rights reserved.

Why Wait?

 by Tam Linsey

I'm not much of one to wait for a holiday to show someone I love them. We should act in love all the year round. We read romances year round. Why wait to make someone feel loved and special? So take a moment right now, and do something for the one you love. A massage, a chore they usually do, breakfast in bed, a movie they'll love (but you might not.) You get the idea. And while you're at it, think of these quotes from some famous authors on the subject of love.

“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”

       --Robert Heinlein  Stranger in a Strange Land

"Better ten days of love than years of regretting."
        --Robert Jordan The Dragon Reborn

"Greater indeed are pleasures that are shared."
        --R. A. Salvatore Exile 

Do you have any quotes on love you'd like to share?

 © Tam Linsey, 2011. All rights reserved.

How to Make Butter Almond Toffee

by Tam Linsey

My family Christmas tradition is to make candy. All kinds of candy. We make fudge, dip buttercream fillings into dark chocolate, and boil toffee. We give these as gifts to friends and family, but all the mess-ups are ours to devour. The kids tend to get a little "clumsy" toward the end if there doesn't appear to be enough in the pile for us to keep.

Oops! That's our bunny, Toffee. 

One of the family favorites I have to make a tray of just for us is Butter Almond Toffee. If you like Almond Roca, you will love this recipe, and it is super easy to make. The only "fancy" equipment necessary is a candy thermometer, available at most grocery stores for less than $5. Don't skimp on quality ingredients. Make sure everything is top-notch, and you will feel like you've gone to heaven. Even better, this recipe is gluten free!


Butter Almond Toffee

Ingredients (makes about 1 1/2 pounds of candy)

• 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1 Tablespoon corn syrup (light or dark)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (chocolate chips work fine)

Line a 13x9x2 inch pan with aluminum foil (this makes cleanup easier) and butter the bottom. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped almonds over the bottom.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the 1 cup of butter, then add the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it reaches 290 degrees F. Watch it VERY closely at 280 because the temperature goes up fast. Immediately pour the toffee into the pan with the almonds.

Wait 2 to 3 minutes and then sprinkle the chocolate pieces on top of the hardening candy.

After another 2 to 3 minutes, spread out the now melted chocolate in an even layer and then sprinkle the finely chopped almonds over the top.

Chill until firm, and break into bite-sized pieces.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Happy Holidays!

© Tam Linsey, 2011. All rights reserved.