blog talk radio

Another Scorching Case Of Writer's Block

 

I’ve been having a rough few weeks and a scorching case of
writer’s block has set in. My parents (both sets) have health problems. For
that to make any sense, you must understand that I have parents who raised me and
an older couple who adopted me of sorts a few years ago. I call them Mom and
Dad. That Mom is having severe vertigo problems due to a possible serious inner
ear infection. My mother who raised me died two years ago, and now my dad who
raised me is in the hospital with a heart problem aggravated by his COPD. I
know the parents labels gets confusing. It’s like Neal Gaiman’s Coraline –  I have Mother and Other Mother. Then there
are my biological parents and cousin since I’m adopted. My birth mother died
about four years ago and I’m in regular touch with a blood relative, a cousin. I’ve
turned family into a three-ring circus.

I’m not processing all this mess very well. On top of it,
my two latest books aren’t selling. That’s a severe disappointment. I don’t know what to do about it. The weather is getting colder and
winter is coming. The cats won’t stop fighting. The books not selling well is
hitting me especially hard since I see no point in writing at the moment. Why
bother when next to no one will read my books? I’m working on a horror novel at
the moment as well as a short erotic romance story, but the words simply aren’t
flowing.

I know I’m not the only one feeling this way about my writing. A fellow horror writer on Facebook just said pretty much the same thing about his own aspirations since it’s harder for him to reach his goals now than when he was younger. One commenter pointed out that maybe when he was younger he set the bar for his goals too low. I wonder if that could be my problem. I used to be happy simply being published. Now, I want to be published by bigger, better houses, get lots of great reviews, get huge sales, and eventually win awards. Not only is a lot of that out of my hands, it’s harder to achieve. I have accomplished the first of those goals for the most part but not the others. Not yet. Maybe I just need time. In the meantime, I have no desire to write at all.

What to do?

I haven’t had writer’s block in awhile, but I haven’t
forgotten how I’ve dealt with it in the past. The best thing for me to do is to
not fight it. Just give in to it and find something else to do that I enjoy that
will improve my bleak mood. I know this won’t work for everyone. This is only
about what has worked for me. My point is to find what works best for you. If
writing through the block works, do it. If getting away from the keyboard for
awhile works, go for it. This is what has worked for me.

I’m still going to the beach nearly every day. Walking on
the beach is my primary form of 
exercise. I’ve lost 15 pounds since the beginning of summer. The
difference this year is that my husband and I intend to join the local YMCA to
use their exercise machines and the pool. I lost 15 pounds last summer and the
summer before that, but gained it all back and then some because I had no
exercise regime set for the fall and winter. So there’s something to be happy
about. I’ll likely reach my target weight (130 pounds) by next summer. Good.

I’m concentrating on my new radio show, Into The Abyss With Elizabeth Black. It’s about horror and dark
fiction, my other literary loves. My first guest will be Josh Malerman, who
wrote Bird Box, a scary-as-shit novel.
I loved it. He’s going to be on my show Thursday Oct. 6 at 4 PM EST. I still do
radio shows for Blog Talk Radio and that includes shows about erotic romance
and writing. My past guests include women from Broad Universe, Madeleine Shade
(who specializes in fairy tales), Cherry Wild and Sophia Soror (they also
specialize in fairy tales), and Melissa Keir. Doing these shows keeps me afloat
so that I don’t feel as if I’m floundering without direction.

I’m reading more. I like erotic romance and erotica
collections by Cleis Press and Xcite Books. I have quite a few books by these
publishers, and they inspire me when I write erotic fiction. I’m working on a
call for submissions for Cleis that isn’t due until December, so I have time to
come up with a story. I would love to be accepted by them again. I also enjoy
books that scare the crap out of me. I’m about to begin Snowblind by Christopher Golden, which takes place in Massachusetts
in the dead of winter. Perfect timing. I’ve also decided to reread a classic to
inspire me while working on my own horror novel, Hell Time. I’m rereading Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar.

Finally, I’ve been watching plenty of TV and movies. I’m
binge-watching Mr. Robot, and I’m on the season finale now. Rami Malek deserved
his Best Actor Emmy for playing the lead in this show. I’m also enjoying
American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare, although it’s not the best thing
I’ve seen. The new TV version of The Exorcist is very predictable but the first
episode held my attention. Nice Easter Egg with the brief glimpse of a
newspaper article about Chris MacNeil from the original movie. Lucifer is back! Love that show. My husband and I can’t get enough of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. It’s my favorite TV show.

I’ve been baking. I made lemon poppy seed quickbread, angel
kisses cookies, hobnobs (British oat tea cookies), maple candy (it is fall
after all) and lime spritzer cookies. The lime spritzers taste exactly like the
same cookies Pepperidge Farm used to make. They were sold only over the summer
and they’ve been discontinued a long time ago. I loved those cookies, and now I
can make them myself.

In a nutshell, I’ve been doing things I enjoy to take my
mind off my worries and the writer’s block. When I’m ready to write, I’ll write.
I’m not going to put undue pressure on myself since I know that will only make
the situation worse. Next week I attend a Writers Coffeehouse New England
meeting, and I intend to learn how I can get word out about Into The Abyss With Elizabeth Black, including
possibly getting it into syndication. This coffeehouse is chock full of
valuable information, and I go every chance I get. I’ve been to one before and
I learned a great deal there. After we return, I decorate the house with
Halloween gack. I have two Fargo snow
globes and a Halloween snow globe.
All three depict scenes from the movies. Those are my pride and joy, and I love
showing them off. I’m looking forward to Halloween and the fall season. I can
at least enjoy myself until this dreadful mood and block lift. Maybe my parents (all of them) will be better soon. Until then, I’ll
binge-watch more movies and TV and bake stuff. Once I begin writing, I know
I’ll be fine.

In the meantime, I will continue to watch this video, which I can’t watch and be unhappy at the same time. It’s Cab Calloway and the Nicolas Brothers doing Jumpin’ Jive. This is said to be the greatest dance number ever recorded, and I sure agree with that. Get those happy feet moving!

Alternative Media – Using Radio and Podcasts To Gain Fans

Elizabeth Black
writes in a wide variety of genres including erotica, erotic romance, horror,
and dark fiction. She lives on the Massachusetts coast with her husband, son, and
her three cats. Visit her web site, her Facebook
page, and her Amazon Author Page.
 

Her new m/m erotic medical thriller Roughing
It is out! This book is a sexy cross between The X Files and The Andromeda
Strain. Buy it at Amazon!

Ten months ago, I
began my new job as one of four hosts of a radio show called The Women Show. It doesn’t seem that long ago. This is an internet
radio show – a podcast. My first guest was Gina
Kinkade, the owner of Naughty Nights Press. I was scared to death! I had written
down far too many questions for the half hour show, but I like to be prepared.
I had a glass of champagne before the show and one during so I could stay calm.
Gina was more scared than I was since I don’t think she’d been on the radio
before. Now, she’s a regular on Marsha Casper Cook’s A Good Story Is A Good Story, with others in the Naughty Nights
Press crew. My most recent show on The
Women Show
was with some writers from Broad Universe, a networking group
for women who write speculative fiction. I’m a member.

I got my start with
Marsha as co-host, and I enjoyed myself. Her shows last an hour or more, and
she has multiple guests talking under a common theme. Those themes include
romance, erotica, horror, writing in general, screenplay writing, young adult,
and numerous other writing-related topics. Marsha was and still is a great
influence and teacher. I learned how to chat up guests to keep them talking. I
ask questions that require detailed answers rather than a simple
“yes” or “no”. I’ve never had a guest clam up on me, even
the ones who were nervous. Most of my guests have been on the radio before,
including well-known and talented horror writer Jack Ketchum and fantastic mojo
storyteller Joe R. Lansdale. I’ve also had Trent Zelazny as a guest several
times. For the fantasy lovers reading, he is the son of award-winning fantasy
writer Roger Zelazny, of the Chronicles
of Amber
fame.

I also talk about my
own writings on theses shows. Sometimes we do readings, which is great since I
get to introduce my listeners to my own work. I’ve read both horror and erotic
fiction live on the air. These readings are great practice for longer readings
in public places like bookstores and conventions. Radio is an unusual way to
get writing exposure. As I gain listeners, more people hear about my books and
buy them. I do need to talk about my own works more often so that my listeners
know I’m more than a radio host. I need them to know I also write and they may
buy my books. My problem is I focus so much on my guests I forget to hawk
myself.

How did I become
interested in radio? Well, it fell in my lap when I met Marsha, and she asked
me to co-host. I was delighted. A bit scared, but delighted. I had also read an
erotic memoir years ago called Wetlands,
by Charlotte Roche. The book received the usual type of criticism an erotic
memoir gets. From Wikipedia: “For supporters
it is an erotic literary novel; for critics it is cleverly marketed shock
fiction bordering on pornography with a previously exhibited habit of the
author of offense for the sake of offense.” Roche was a presenter
on Viva (a German equivalent of MTV) in the mid-’90s, and she had developed
quite a following. So when her book came out, it sold well. It was picked up by
a U. S. publisher and it did well in the States. Now, I understand a movie
based on the book is coming out soon. I will definitely see it. So, using other
forms of media aside of the Internet can help you develop a following in order
to sell books. Being a guest gives you exposure. Being a host does the same
thing.

I appear on The Women Show once per month. I appear
pretty much at will on Blog Talk Radio when I have a show idea to pitch to
Marsha. I am indebted to her and to Bennet Pomerantz, the producer of The Women Show.

Want to listen to
some shows? Pick any one of mine from Blog Talk Radio. Here is an archive of my
past shows – Elizabeth
Black on Blog Talk Radio
.

Below is a list of some
of my favorite shows.

Madeleine Shade –
Erotic Fairy Tales

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bennetpomerantz2/2015/08/13/the-women-show-with-your-host-elizabeth-black

Madeleine Shade,
Dellani Oakes, Melissa Kier – Erotic Romance (with host Marsha Casper Cook and
me a co-host)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork/2015/08/06/sexy-hot-romance–world-of-ink-network-hosts–marsha-cook–elizabeth-black

Valentine’s Day –
Elizabeth Black (me), Melissa Keir, Lindsay Downs, Bernard Foong, Walter J.
Bissett, and William Maltese. (with host Marsha Casper Cook and me as co-host)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork/2016/02/10/hot-sexy-romance–happy-valentines-day-a-good-story-is-a-good-story

Broad Universe –
Terri Bruce, Morven Westfield, and Trisha Wooldridge. BU is a networking group
for women who write speculative fiction. I’m a member.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bennetpomerantz2/2016/04/14/the-women-show-with-your-host-elizabeth-black

Trent Zelazny – noir, crime, horror, and dark fiction writer

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bennetpomerantz2/2015/05/14/the-women-show-with-your-host-elizabeth-black

Joe R. Lansdale –
mojo storyteller and author of the Hap and Leonard books. These books were
recently turned into a TV series on Sundance.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bennetpomerantz2/2015/12/17/the-women-show-with-your-host-elizabeth-black

Jack Ketchum –
horror writer, author of The Girl Next
Door
.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bennetpomerantz2/2016/03/24/the-womens-show-with-your-host-elizabeth-black-guest-jack-ketchum

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