E-PULP, ELECTRONIC PULP FICTION

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

E-PULP, e-pulp, EPULP.  epulp …are  copyright properties belonging to Mike Pettit. The term is an inclusive description of a category of electronically published genre works which includes  written genre fiction of any length ( mystery, suspense , thriller, western, political, espionage) identifying the work as an electronic pulp work  ( as opposed to, say, a paper-printed pulp work) The term E-Pulp in all its forms may be used freely without permission in perpetuity.

SAM NASH, P.I. E-PULP

The Sam Nash. P.I. Action Mysteries continue....THE CASE OF THE TWICE SHOT COP.
"'That's him, he says.' He didn't need to tell me, I would know that face any where. I watched him shoot that cop in cold blood, made me lose my stomach, then he bends over and shoots him again. Why? Why shoot the cop again? Anybody could see he was down for the count. Well, Sweet Cheeks, you're about to feel payback..."

NEGATIVE REVIEWS

Negative reviews hurt, no doubt about it. One bad review can ruin your whole day, some can ruin your career. I am a writer. I  am not a good writer, but I'm not a bad one either, I just write.I love to write and I love when other people read my work and enjoy it. I have had my share of five-star reviews and yes one-star reviews as well. After receiving a one-star review on my kindle books I feel like cutting my hands off, or tossing my keyboard in the trash, or worse, take up a second language and wander through the desert wastelands looking for the meaning of life.
My salvation has been the discovery that most critics that write negative reviews are just plain old mean people. When a mean critic writes something it is always nasty and cuts deep, beyond the lines of  civility or constructive criticism..they go for heart's blood. They want the writer to feel pain or worse, wander in the wastelands.
Writers by nature are loners, avoid outsiders, living  among their mental creations. Suddenly, exposed to a negative review, the first reaction is fear, an overwhelming urge to vomit, you have been outed, you're no good...you are a failure...oh woe is the writer.
But, if you know the critic's game you can beat him hurt him, make him squirm. How you may ask. Ignore him, or even worse thank him. He will shrivel up from the kindness, he will run and hide in the night like the roach that he is.
So, the moral of this rant? Ignore the bad stuff. Fix what you can, and move on.

#10 TOP WRITING SECRETS BY KAREN TYRRELL

How to Write a Successful Story using my #10 TOP WRITING Secrets

Do you want a story that connects with the reader? Leaving them begging for more? A story that is publishable and in big demand? … Then follow my #10 Secrets for a successful story.

Image Danilo Rizzuti/FreeDigitalPhotosnet

My #10 Top Writing Secrets
√ Create a captivating story and let the reader know from the beginning what the premise is
√ Start your story at a dramatic pivotal entry point into the plot
√ Compel your reader to care deeply about the main character from the very start
√ Express your main characters hopes and motivations early on in your story. What does your main character really want? What do they fear?
√ Connect the reader emotionally to the main POV character using sharp dialogue, personal thoughts and emotive body language
√ Orientate and anchor each new scene with SHOWING detail so the reader knows exactly where and when they are. Illustrate your scenes in the most cinematic way possible … Utilize the five senses
√ Include only scenes and characters which push the story forward
√ Amp your nouns and verbs to the max. Create strong vocabulary and images that project your story forward
√ Challenge your character to a series conflicts and a brick wall trials which they fail to achieve, until the final climax
√ Share your story with your writing buddies, let them critique it and follow the advice that resonates within you
Where did I learn the craft of story making?
In my beginner days, award-winning authors Anita Bell and Katherine Howell revealed their secrets in one-to-one private consultations. Then I completed two six month writing courses with the Queensland Writers Centre … the Year of the Edit with Kim Wilkins and the Short Story Development series with Kate Eltham. Editors Selena Hanet-Hutchins and Sally Odgers shared their editing and writing expertise with me.
Last year I won a mentorship with the Society of Editors QLD. Generous publishers have offered personalized detailed feedback … I have much to be grateful for

Why reveal my secrets today?
This week I critiqued two writing buddies stories, sharing my writing knowledge with them. We all need a critique buddy or two. We cannot see flaws in our own writing as we’re much too close.
This Saturday, I in turn will hear from members of one of my writing groups as they deliver critiques on my first two chapters. My only desire is to remain open-minded, so I can reap the benefits of their constructive feedback.
I’m on a HUGE learning curve with my writing … I’ll continue to learn, fine tune and expand my writing skills and ONLY my Writing Colleagues can HELP ME !!
How has a writing course, an editor or critique buddy helped to improve your writing?
What VIP writing lessons have you learned along the way as a writer?

Did you like this? Share it:

THE WRITERS CREED

THE WRITERS CREED

This is my keyboard. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my keyboard is useless. Without my keyboard, I am useless.          I must tap my keyboard true. I must tap straighter than my peers who are trying to out-tap me. I must out-write him before he out-writes me. I will. My keyboard and I know that what counts in war is not the taps we fire, the noise of our burst, or the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit.

      My keyboard is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its length and its width. I will keep my keyboard clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other.

      Before God I swear this creed. My keyboard and I are the defenders of my thoughts. We are the masters of our words. We are the saviors of my life.

      So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy.

E-PULP VS PULP FICTION

I'm not sure if I have coined a new word or genre or not, but I think the new low price for an Ebook is very similar to the old Pulp books and mags. Below is a history of the Pulp era. read it and let me know what you think.

Article written by 'The Vintage Library'

What Is Pulp Fiction

Term originated from the magazines of the first half of the 20th century which were printed on cheap "pulp" paper and published fantastic, escapist fiction for the general entertainment of the mass audiences. The pulp fiction era provided a breeding ground for creative talent which would influence all forms of entertainment for decades to come. The hardboiled detective and science fiction genres were created by the freedom that the pulp fiction magazines provided.

Pulp Fiction is a term used to describe a huge amount of creative writing available to the American public in the early nineteen-hundreds. Termed "pulp magazines" because of the low quality paper used between the covers, these publications proliferated in the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties to the point where they blanketed newsstands in just about every popular fiction genre of the time.
Although the pages in-between the covers were a dingy cheap quality, the covers were beautifully decorated, many times with lurid portraits of pretty women in various stages of trouble, and the handsome men attempting to rescue them.
By under-paying writers and publishing on in-expensive media, pulp publishers were able to charge 10 cents for an issue containing several stories. Low prices drew in many working-class young adults and teenagers, who could not otherwise afford some of the more pricier magazines of the day.
The low price of the pulp magazine, coupled with the skyrocketing literacy rates, all contributed to the success of the medium. Pulps allowed its readers to experience people, places, and action they normally would not have access to.
Bigger-than-life heroes, pretty girls, exotic places, strange and mysterious villains all stalked the pages of the many issues available to the general public on the magazine stands. And without television widely available, much of the free time of the working literate class was spent pouring through the pages of the pulps.
World War Two brought paper rationing and increased paper prices. Also, some believe that the real horrors of the war replaced the fictional horrors found between the cover of the pulps. The once popular magazines began to lose readership and disappeared from the newsstand, one-by-one, replaced by paperbacks, comic books, television and movies.
Today, the short story has changed into a different breed of creative writing, leaving the stories found in the pulp magazines a unique offering. But, beyond the legacy of entertaining stories, pulp fiction must be given some credit for the evolution of literature and popular fiction heroes of today. Many authors that got their start in the pulp magazines grew to be great writers that changed the landscape of popular fiction. Writers such as Carroll John Daly changed the detective fiction story from the staid whodunits popularized in Great Britain to the more "hard-boiled" version where the bad guy was bad and the detective was tough and street-smart.
Edgar Rice Burroughs was another pulp writer, who helped to define the science fiction story into what it is today. The other well-known alumnae of the pulps include Max Brand, H.P. Lovecraft, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Ray Bradbury. And of course, there were the legions of other authors, less well-known today, that had an equally important hand in forming popular fiction.
Even though some details are dated because of social, technological, and historical developments, the stories found in the pulp era are still an entertaining read. They still offer action-packed adventure, on par with any of today's television shows, and heroes who are lively, entertaining characters.
Enjoy your exploration into this vast world of fiction!

A TIME TO PLOT, A TIME TO WRITE.

My formula is simple, come up with a good plot and start writing. It's that simple. I don't agonize over lengthy outlines, genre conflicts, or even if I think people are going to read it or not. I believe that a writer has to be free of all the outside manias and phobias thrown up to slow a writer down. When I sit down to write I don't worry about how many will I sell, what if people don't like it, or what if I offend someone.That's all speed bump trash thrown out by the nay-Sayers that surround authors; the ones that feed off our words and would have us believe that we can't go it alone and must have their expertise to guide our careers. If a writer is serious about writing, then he leaves all that outside minutia at the cave entrance. Write the story that you want to write, bring in characters that well defined and strong enough to carry their own weight  along the story line. Be inventive, blow your mind away with each paragraph, get tingles running a goose bump marathon up and down your body. Create excitement, if you can excite yourself, then your reader will pick up on that and be excited too. Live your story in your mind, never pull back and question what your characters have done or said. Let your creations set the pace and the plot...it's amazing how they all want to live the closer you get to the last page.

THE BEGGERS CUP

The Beggars Cup©

Mike Pettit

We have begged a thousand years on this very spot.

Not one cubit left, not one cubit right.

This squat is ours, day and night.

 We have survived summer’s heat, winters cold.

My rim is chipped, my luster gone, My Master old.

 A crack down one side, a sliver missing on the other,

He with grey dirty hair, dirty feet,

always hungry, begging food to eat.

 Time means nothing, one minute a dab of rice, the next a copper.

The waiting, that’s the rub, that’s the bother

 Masters teeth are ground small from dust and sand, crooked yellow with wisdom, from lack of neither food, nor love from his fellow man

 Milky cataract eyes, unseeing from seeing too much.

 We are believed diseased, alive with vermin, that no one will touch.

Toss a coin, throw a yam, please Sire, help a poor beggar,

 mercy for an old man.

 We are never seen, never heard, a thousand feet we see each day.

No one looks down, as they pass our way, nothing offered, nothing to say.

Be gone, be on your way.

 A slippered foot, a coin of brass, a booted heel, let it pass,

a foot bare look out, competition working our corner,

treading our path.

 A stone is tossed, my rim is chipped, Master snatches it up, tastes, and spits.

A tear falls, a husk of rice catches the sorrow, an offering from ourselves, not much, but I savor it in my cup, perhaps our only meal on the morrow.

10 STEP PROGRAM TO BEING A SUCCESFUL THRILLER AUTHOR

MIKE PETTIT'S 10 STEP PROGRAM TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL THRILLER AUTHOR,

1. LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD.
2. BE YOUR MAIN CHARACTER.
3. LIVE YOUR STORY.
4. WRITE FOR YOURSELF.
5. DO NOT SECOND GUESS WHAT YOU WRITE.
6 DO NOT LET OTHERS TELL YOU WHAT TO WRITE OR SAY.
7. HAVE NO BOUNDARIES, ALL IS FAIR.
8. THRILL, MYSTIFY, CONJURE, SURPRISE, SCARE.
9. BE MENTALLY EXHAUSTED AT THE END OF THE

WRITING DAY.

10 NEVER STOP WRITING.PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

THE DRUMS OF WAR

DRUMS OF WAR
MIKE PETTIT

Oh Mothers, Oh Daughters…

Hold for now the tears of pain and sorrow.

There will be time enough for those tomorrow.

Don’t heal, don’t weep, don’t pray for those that sleep.

Oh, Hero Sons, Oh Hero Brothers, prepare for battle and greatness.

Fall upon our enemies, seek out his weakness.

Pound the Drums of War, beat thy shields of wrath.

Chant your war songs, scream your battle cries.

Your rage will clear a bloody path.

Vengeance reflects from our eyes. Prepare, oh heroes to fight and die.

Our enemy will tremble before our might,

He will run and hide, and melt away in the night.

No place to hide, No place to die,

No hallowed ground, for his ashes to lie.

Oh, Beloved America, Oh how we stand free.

Our Forefathers see how strong we are,

And know we are still loyal to thee.

We will march in triumph across the land,

 Our enemies will wonder at our strength and endurance,

And plead for a merciful hand.

Only then, Oh Mothers and Daughters should you weep,

And pray for those that sleep.

The War Drum bangs out a triumphant beat,

 Then proudly put away in a shroud of glory,

 To fight again, another day.

A SELF-MADE AUTHOR

My time being an "Author" has been a series of ups and downs, highs and lows, successes and disappointments. I love to write and have five books "Published". That is not my issue. My concern is the way authors are perceived, ranked, accepted and or rejected by the "Industry. It didn't take long for me to realize that a new guy trying to break into a crowded field was almost impossible. The first line of defense one hits is the "AGENT" wall. Some obscure person in an agency decides an authors future by either tossing your baby into a pile of "Read Later" manuscripts, send out a flat rejection, cold and impersonal, or take a quick read of your query and then toss it. My experience with over seventy query letters has been zero for seventy at-bats. At first I thought it was my writing, that I was a miserable writer and should seriously consider that Walmart greeter job, or join the ranks of homeless. I dug my heels in, and took on the "Industry"...The world of "Publishing". I came to realize it wasn't my writing, but the people in the industry who guarded their place in the food chain like a fat man guards his Oreos. Terms like. "Not quite ready yet.", Not Commercial ", "Mainstream"...not viable...sorry... booked up for the next fifty years.... go away, ad infinitum.
Never one to be shunned by my fellow brothers and sisters, I went to P.O.D., Print on Demand. The problem with POD is that there is no demand unless you create the demand yourself. A POD is like a boat, you keep throwing money into it and in the end it still sinks. Five grand later, I decided to do what all capitalists do, I took my writing destiny into my own hands...I "Self Published". Oh sure, the middle man is still there collecting his portion, but it's minimal, and well earned. Now all my sales and marketing effort is in my hands, sink or swim, it's on my shoulders...and I love the challenge.
The new world order is on my side, thanks to the Internet, Amazon, Smashwords, Blogs, Face Book, Twitter...the new age of publishing has been born, and made available to all of the excellent writers who have been shunned by the mainstream publishing world. It's a new day for the authors, and the readers. The days of twenty and thirty dollar books is gone, the Buck Ninety-Nine and Two Buck read is available. The mighty are starting to crumble, the arrogant humbled, new names and faces  are popping up, a whole new dictionary of terms is being created daily.
The Industry is slow to turn their ship, their rudders stuck in the past. Meanwhile, the Self Published are gaining strength and attention from the reading public, and are welcomed. Ours is the only industry in the world where prices are going down, demand going up. It's a great day to  be a self made author.

THRILLER WRITING vs POLICE PROCEDURAL WRITING

My Suspense Thrillers take crime to the extreme in the murder sequences. I study real CSI data , review photos of  murder scenes, and have actually accompanied local Homicide Detectives to murder scenes as research. My focus in writing thrillers is the build up to the murder or crime, rather than what goes on afterwards at the scene. The story building up to the crime is what makes for a good read, the forensics afterwards is a very disciplined step by step recreation of the crime that is best left to experts. I think this is what separates a Police Procedural novel from a Thriller. The thriller builds the anticipation of the crime, and the procedural reconstructs the crime . Two totally different types of  writing thought processes

My point is that Thriller writing , while not as difficult to write as a Police Procedural, is more fun..We get to trash the place, the Police Procedural has to clean it up.

HARD TIMES SET FOR AUGUST RELEASE

Mike Pettit announced today that HARD TIMES, the sixth in the John Locke Suspense Thriller Series will be released in August 2011. The Thriller takes John Locke down into the seamy world of the twenty billion dollar porn industry where money and drugs are the rewards for those that survive and make it to the top. A prominent Hollywood producer's daughter is killed in a snuff film and Locke is pulled down into the human sewer of peep shows, back alley film studio's, and men that will kill for the thrill of it. Beautiful women seeking fame, only to be trapped  in a world of dilussion, death, drugs, and brutal murder, leaves Locke thirsting for revenge and payback

This is my response to The Writers Digest at having lost the 2011 Poetry contest.

A Poet's Lament       

The Ides have past, the knife of rejection protrudes from my heart, my soul cries out for reason, my wail of grief goes unanswered, my sorrow runs deeper than the Styx, my life at it's end. Oh woe is this poet, not some mindless scribe, but words from the heart, and yet..and yet, I suffer the Ides, as Caesar suffered Brutus....

Oh, my sorrow runs deep, my tears of rejection are like burning embers in my eyes, My hand hath betrayed me, my tongue a lie, my uttering burnt offerings, my future no less than the malmsy butt. my life a copper lost in the ashes of Rome. Take no pity for this scribe, he hath succumbed to indifference and mediocrity.

Art Hansl Books: Recently Captain Honor,Commander of an aircraft ca...

Art Hansl Books: Recently Captain Honor,Commander of an aircraft ca...: "Recently Captain Honor,Commander of an aircraft carrier, was fired from his command for showing raunchy films to his crew in order to provid..."

...YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH

When I have writers block and can't seem to think of what to write next, I take a quick peek at my latest sales of my earlier novels, and that usually perks me up and the words flow from my finger tips. But, my sales are down, my fan base has maxed out at an even dozen, my web page is passed over, my blog sits idle, even my "Music to Write Thrillers To, You Tube channel is playing to an empty audience. Oh, woe is me. I sat feeling sorry for myself, thinking of my failure as an author, just when I was almost healed from my terrible experience at the Circus School in Sarasota, and my short lived gig as an actor with a local community group.... they changed rehearsal night, and never told me.
Well, I can handle the truth, I tell my self. The problem is not my writing, but my marketing effort. So I fired my agent, canceled my publishing contract and I'm taking matters into my own hands. I was a fool to think I could get full shelf price for my novels up against the BIG Guys that hog the shelves. So I am going ALL ebooks. I'm going after the guys that are willing to pump out a couple of bucks for a damn good read. I'm going where I can be a big fish in a big pond, where my peers are, where the industry is going, where a guy can make a enough to buy a six-pak every now and then and not worry about the electricity being cut off, maybe pay some back alimony.  So, watch out Amazon, look out Kindle...Iron Mike Pettit is coming out with a shoe shine and a smile. Willy Loman, eat your heart out.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Mickey Spillane

BORDERS CLOSING 200 BOOKSTORES.
This is it folks, the old domino theory. The Bricks and Mortar book stores are going the way of the Berlin Wall. People are screaming for E-Books, more titles, more Authors, more...more ...more. What's going to happen next? Will B&N go down for the count, Books A Million is already looking a little thin on new book selections. What about the huge offerings from the Big Box Companies, Drug Stores, Convienance stores.... are they all going down for the count. Coming around the far turn is...Amazon, breaking away from the pack. My money is on Kindle and their Kindle Book Publishing programs. A small time guy like myself can get his novel out to the Amazon shopper with out the hassle of the New York Agent ignoring your quiries, the big Publishers are scrambling...Lions and Tigers...and e-books, Oh My. This Author is liking what he sees going on out on the street. Fire up those Kindles People, Turn on those Nooks, it's all EEEzy street coming our way

BREAK-OUT AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

There is a new Thriller author among us that is finishing up one of the best stories to come out in a long while. I have read the first forty pages and it is one of those novels that catches you on page one and doesn't let go. Although the novel is not out yet, I am giving it two thumbs up and awarding the First Annual John Locke Thriller Series " BREAK-OUT AUTHOR OF THE YEAR" Award to Randy Welch, and his novel COLD COVERS.  It sizzles.

REACHING CRITICAL MASS IN WRITING A THRILLER

 I have reached the point in my novel, The 9 Monkeys, where I have to decide exactly how I bring all the subplots back in line with the main plot. I have several subs with interesting characters that I have come to really like. Unfortunately, a couple of them have to go...as in dead-go. My main man ,John Locke, wouldn't hesitate in getting rid of all of them, they are mutts that need killing, and have relentlessly chased John for days, wanting desperately to know what he knows about the Monkey House in Saigon. It's a tough decision that has to be made before I can go any farther with the story.
What do other writers do when they become attached to co-stars or B-part players. The old marketing term may apply here, " You have to be willing to eat your young."

BLOG "FOLLOW" PROTOCAL

WHAT DOES A GUY HAVE TO DO TO GET NOTICED? I bought "BLOGGING FOR DUMMIES, Followed the instructions word for word, built a blog, pretty graphics, cool fonts, nice pictures...everything it said to do. Then I signed up on Face Book and have almost 300 friends, I have a website with my five Thriller novels on the site. I have "Followed"200 Blogs and try to write on several each day....and I still can't get followers. I need to know what I am doing wrong. It's driving me crazy. Other blogger's have followings and make it appear easy to get them to 'Follow". PLEASE, fellow bloggers, can someone tell me the secret to get followers. That damn book cost $14.95, I hope it wasn't money wasted.

WRITING THRILLERS IS A GAMBLE

I am half way finished with my fifth John Locke Thriller novel. Today while typing furiously through a super chase scene, my mind went blank. I sat looking at the words, that a moment ago were pouring out of my imagination like an M60 machine gun.  I sat...and sat. What am I doing? Are people really going to enjoy reading this stuff. I was about to hit delete when  I paused, Thriller = Action = Excitement = Anticipation = Resolution =  Satisfaction. I wrote these words down and thought that if this is indeed the formula, then I would have met The readers expectation, and through creative writing, I bring all these elements into play, then I have done my job. I started thinking back on the bazillions of books I have read over the years written by legends in the mystery, suspense, and  thriller genres and I think I have correctly identified the formula. I may be wrong, It's a gamble, But I'm going with it. I know I'm not the only one that has had this FLASH of fear in the middle of  writing the next best seller =o) and I would like to hear what others have done.

A PRIVATE EYE LOOKING FOR A CLUE

One of the most difficult things for a thriller writer to do is to plan ahead to hide evidence in the early stages of the story development. Then, like leaving bread crumbs behind for the gumshoe to discover, you have to be careful where and how you spread them. I often find myself giving away the ending at the half way point in my novel. Then thirty thousand words later I realize what I have done and spend hours and days trying to back track re-hiding the clues. The investigation had been over and all the characters knew it, except for me. There are two main types of clues that trip me up. The first is the verbal clue where a sub or secondary character says something significant to the plot. The second is the placement of physical clues...and then forget where you put them, or that you even added them.
I tend to do a lot of sub plotting , braiding story lines through out the novel, and then bring it all together at the end. So far , I haven't left my private investigator scratching his head, wondering how he solved the mystery. Do others have this same problem with clues?

THRILLERS-R-ME: BRAIDING WITHIN THE THRILLER

THRILLERS-R-ME: BRAIDING WITHIN THE THRILLER: " Doctor Evil  I am 50K words in to my new novel, The 9 Monkeys, and need to expose the villain. My quandary is that I have braided three..."

AUTHOR MIKE PETTIT'S ACTION THRILLER BLOG

                                 WANTED
IMMEDIATE ACCEPTANCE OF BLOG FOLLOWERS

EXCELLENT DISCUSSIONS, OPEN MINDED, CRIMINALLY INSANE, GOOD BAD-GUYS, BAD GOOD-GUYS.

BLOG OWNER LOVES MURDER, MAYHEM, MUTTS.

AUTHOR OF THE POPULAR JOHN LOCKE SUSPENSE SERIES.

NEEDS FRIENDS WITH LIKE PERSONALITY ISSUES  THAT LOVE TO WRITE THRILLERS, MYSTERY, MACABRE.

ALL ARE WELCOME....COME TO THE DARK SIDE OF LIFE, THE LATE SHIFT, WHERE BAD PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK.

JUNGLE RULES

MAY 15th. Finally, JUNGLE RULES, is going KINDLE. One-hundred twenty-two thousand words, three-hundred- thirty pages....and a lot of action. It's loaded with SUSPENSE, MURDER, KIDNAPPING, VOODOO, JAMAICAN POSSE'S, CHINESE TRIADS, WASHINGTON WEASELS, and JOHN LOCKE caught in the middle. He's on the run, one jump ahead of an assassin. The race takes him through Miami, Key West, and down into the Islands where he goes head-to-head with one of the most psychotic killers imaginable...It will leave you breathless.