Give The Gift Of Books (And Help Authors End The Year On A High Note)

Well, it's that time again. We're prepping turkeys, eyeing Christmas shopping lists, and plotting how we're going to survive the rest of the year with our combined sanity and waistlines intact. And that means it's also time for me to take a moment to gently remind folks that authors are trying to close out the year in the black rather than the red.

So if you've got folks on your list who like books (or that you just wish read a little more than they do), I have a couple of recommendations for you this year! So please take a moment to go down the list, and see if there's something for the special someones you're hoping to get memorable gifts for.

Or if you're making a list of books to get with your incoming gift cards. That is also acceptable!

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Shout Outs For Authors I'd Recommend This Holiday Season!

All right, first and foremost, I want folks to buy my books. So whether you want to get a copy of Old Soldiers for someone who's a fan of dystopian sci fi thrillers featuring alien/human hybrid shock troops, or you want to check out the Hardboiled Cat series where Leo sticks his whiskers into the darker doings of New York City in Marked Territory or Painted Cats, I would absolutely recommend you give those books to as many folks on your list as possible!

There's even a great audio preview for that first title, courtesy of Altered State Adventures, which you should check out over on YouTube!

With that said, though, I know there are regular readers here who have already read all of my work. You may even have gotten copies of my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, and subscribed to the Azukail Games YouTube channel where I regularly share free audio drama fiction. But if you've already gone through my catalog (or it's just not quite right for the people on your list), I would recommend checking out the following authors for your gift-giving needs!

Author #1: Alice Liddell

Does this not tell you everything you need to know?

Alice Liddell, also known as Lauren Masterson, is a talented author who has made her mark in a number of different genres. If you have anyone on your list who loves period dramas and gothic romances with vampires, get a copy of Succumb To Darkness. If you have someone who loves Japanese history, handmade art, and a well-researched story, consider checking out Geisha Hands instead! Fantastical mermaid romance? Yep, you can find that in her book Love of The Sea.

It's actually easier to check out her author pages Lauren Masterson and Little Alice than it is to list all her titles here. And just as an additional plug, if you are interested in learning the ins and outs of being an author, or if you enjoy cozy gaming streams, check out her YouTube channels Alice The Author and KHR Arts respectively. She can absolutely use all the subscribers (and views) you can give, if you want to make her holiday season that much better!

Author #2: Clinton Boomer

If you haven't checked this out, I'd highly recommend it!

Most folks who are familiar with Clinton Boomer's work know him as a TTRPG writer. He's contributed to the Pathfinder setting of Golarion, and he's published a lot of World of Darkness supplements (including 100 of the NPCs in the 200 Black Spiral Dancer Kinfolk supplement I wrote with him for Werewolf: The Apocalypse). However, in addition to all the gaming content he's put out, he also has a handful of other books I'd recommend folks check out!

The most popular are Team Murder Hobo: Assemble, and its sequel Team Murder Hobo: Flaming Love Icosohedron, which are essentially collections of hilarious moments between various members of an adventuring party. If you read between the lines you can find some kind of emerging plot, but mostly the books are just there for the lulz, and they make solid gifts for any fantasy or D&D lover in your life. For those who want something a little more serious, though, I'd recommend checking out his modern fantasy novel The Hole Behind Midnight. A tale of murder, detective work, and the things that happen in that nowhere-time just after the end of one day and the start of another, it's a compelling read! You can find these books, and more, on Clinton Boomer's author page.

Who Would You Recommend?

Full disclosure, I generally try to use this space to big up folks in my community whose work I think deserves a wider audience. But since Alice is my partner, and Clinton a friend of mine, I can see how this might seem a bit biased to readers out there. So let me ask you, who would you recommend for a holiday shout out? If you have an indie author whose work you think should be seen by folks, tell us about them in the comments below! What do they write, why are they good, and where can we find their books?

Let's get as many folks as we can into the hands of fresh readers!

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Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

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4 Holiday Gifts For The Writer on Your List

The holidays are upon us, and if you have a writer on your list it can sometimes leave you scratching your head about what to get them. While the best present is buying copies of their books as gifts to other people, as well as leaving reviews online (incidentally, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife is still on Amazon, and my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers was recently re-released), sometimes you want to get them something special, too.

Not only that, but you don't want it to be more of the usual. After all, most writers would be all too happy to get a pack of journals, a set of personalized ballpoint pens, or other sorts of presents, but that's the kind of thing they might expect... more importantly, it's the sort of thing other folks in their circles might think of.

So what should you get them? Well, I'm not an expert, but if you want a stocking stuffer, or just something they'll actually use down the line on one of their projects, consider some of the following items.

Practical and thoughtful, as well!

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! To be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, make sure you check out my Vocal archive for several hundred other articles about geek ephemera, weird history, writing, and more!

#1: Bluetooth Keyboard

This is #1 for a reason.

The image of the writer out and about with a laptop is iconic for a reason, but sometimes you don't want to bring your whole rig with you. Either you aren't sure if you're going to be working on something, or you know you aren't going to have a lot of space. But if you have a tablet or phone, and an Internet connection so you can reach your Google docs, then this is an ideal gadget to keep in your jacket pocket.

I have a model just like the Omoton foldable keyboard, and I was testing it recently at Friendsgiving while I was on an editing deadline. It took a bit of getting used to, but it allowed me to make some progress on my most recent TTRPG supplement guide without monopolizing an entire table to myself. One recommendation I might make, if you think someone is going to do more than just type up stories and documents using this keyboard is to go for a full mousepad version like the Geodmaer, which gives you that extra bit of functionality.

#2: A Rubber Ducky

Trust me, I'm going somewhere with this.

This entry might seem like a gag gift, but I'm very serious about this. If you're not familiar with The Rubber Ducky Method, it's something that was created by programmers. In short, you take a rubber ducky, and you walk them through every, single line of code until you've pinpointed the problem, treating them like an outside consultant. Writers can often benefit from the same process... and even if the writer on your list doesn't personally use it, everyone loves a themed rubber ducky!

If you happen to have a lot of writers and programmers on your list, you can even get a rubber duck variety pack, and choose which ones best fit your friends and family. As a final recommendation, consider giving the ducks names and personalities, then writing them on a small card to personalize them to a person's tastes that much more. It's fun, cute, and it's something they're likely to keep on their desk long after the holiday is over.

#3: Pen Holder

Kitschy? Absolutely. But well loved.

There are few weird little gifts that are better loved than a pen holder, in my experience. That is, of course, assuming the writer in your life uses pens, pencils, etc. But there are a variety of these out there, ranging from the typewriter pictured above, to the kneeling knight (my own customized squire that I gave a Warhammer 40K sheen to is Brother Pencival), to a revolver cylinder for those who want a weaponized feel for their accouterments. So you've got choices.

As an additional note, find out if the writer on your list goes to conventions, or regularly hosts book signings. These little accessories can be ideal for adding some details to your table, but if they're going to travel with this gift, make sure it's tough enough to handle a little jostling from time to time.

#4: Gamification of The Craft

Because sometimes work should feel like play.

Story prompts are things we're all intimately familiar with, whether we use them professionally or not. However, tools that turn writing into a game can be a good little exercise for the mind, especially if (as tends to happen) the writer on your list has writer friends that would show up to a game night for something like this.

The Storymatic is one such game, but for those who like things a little more freeform there are also things like Writing Dice which let you roll up a new prompt with a wave of your hand. A little on the lighthearted side, tastes will vary on this one as a gift.

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For folks who just want to do their part to help keep me making more content, please subscribe/follow me in these locations:

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Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!