The stories of Bryan Young

Well, I'm back from three weeks in Paris. I got plenty of writing done and am completely creatively rejuvenated. And, like a fool, instead of parlaying that rejuvenation into more writing, I'm doing conventions for the next two weekends. I'll try to keep up on the writing, sure, but I'd have a hard time passing up seeing those of you who care. CONduit is a Science Fiction convention held each year in Salt Lake City. Here's their website . They're  one of the oldest cons in Utah devoted to Science Fiction (possibly the oldest?) and I'll be doing four appearances. Saturday 11:00 am - Reading (I'll be reading a selection from Operation: Montauk and possibly a tease from my next book.) Saturday 2:00 pm - Signing (I'll be signing and selling books) Saturday 3:00 Geek Journalism (Bryan Young, Krystal Star & Danielle Uber Alles (Hello Sweetie))  Sunday 10:00 Star Trek, Star Wars, and J.J. Abrams (Julie Henderson, Bryan Young, Stephanie Roberts...

For as long as I've been a writer I've desired to see Europe. There's an old idea that women have a biological clock for having children, I think that's true of writer's and visiting Europe. From the moment I read Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, Paris is something I knew I needed to see for myself and tomorrow I'm leaving on a plane to experience it for three weeks. I'll be largely disconnected to that time. I'm using the next three weeks to write a book and collect material for another, as well as drink in every sight I can imagine. Paris is interesting to me as a filmmaker, too. I'm wondering what's caught the eye of so many of my favorite filmmakers and why they chose to set films in Paris. I have no illusions about what Paris is. I know it's not going to be the Paris I read about at Hemingway's pen. I won't run into F. Scott Fitzgerald like Woody Allen would have me believe. It's not the old, charming city that Moulin ...

I was informed last week that I was to be the recipient of the  Mayor’s Artists Award in the Literary Arts category, presented annually by the Mayor of Salt Lake City and the Utah Arts Festival. Here's the pertinent portions of the press release: Salt Lake City, UT: Since 1992 the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office has recognized individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the artistic landscape of the community. The Utah Arts Festival and the Salt Lake City Mayor’s office are honored to present the Mayor’s Artists Awards during the Festival on Friday, June 21st on the Festival Stage at 8:15 pm.  This year’s five recipients are Karen Horne – Visual Arts; Mary Ann Lee – Performing Arts; Bryan Young – Literary Arts; Frank McEntire – Service to the Arts by an Individual; and RadioWest – Service to the Arts by an Organization. (Biographies below) Bryan Young – Literary Arts  Bryan Young works across many different mediums. As an author, he’...

It's time again for a new installment of writer's rules. It's been a while, but I've been very busy. And I think this is pretty much the last bit of procrastination before I have to finish my next novel. I've got ideas for short stories and a new book waiting to come out, but I need to finish this last one before I can move on. But all of that is just a distraction from why you're here. For those new around these parts, a brief explanation is in order. A long time ago I posted a list of rules and guidelines I've been collecting in my notebook over the years as a writer. I put together the list on the blog and it was fairly popular. (You can read the whole thing  here)  But there's only so much that comes across in a simple bullet point list. I wanted to expand on it and we've been doing it two or three at a time ever since. If you want to catch up on the series: You can read Part 1 here ,  Part 2 here ,  Part 3 here ,  Part 4 here ,  Part 5 here,...

I have been incredibly busy over the last month and many things have happened. To that end, I wanted to give you all an update and let you know I'm still alive and still writing. To start with, I've been doing a lot of revising. I finished a revision of The Serpent's Head, top to bottom, and it's now with readers and an editor as we speak. This is my second overhaul of the book and I'm really excited to bring it to you guys. I'm also working with an artist about a cover, and I'm very excited about what's been planned there, too. With The Serpent's Head, we're still on track for a Late May/Early June release. Then, there's this: Yeah. Somehow, beyond all reason, I was put on a list of The Hottest Geek Guys of 2013 by The RedEye, which is in The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times . So...  yeah.  That happened. I also took a road trip to San Francisco with my son, which was a great time. We took a tour of ILM, ate in th...

I just received an email and a survey from Amazon's KDP program asking me a number of questions. Every single question was geared toward determining what I have done to market my books. From writing on this blog to hiring the lovely Consetta Parker , they wanted to know everything. What was the hardest thing about marketing? What was the most expensive? What was the easiest? What was I doing currently? Then, they started asking questions about how much money I was spending on such efforts. The email stated thusly: As part of Kindle Direct Publishing’s ongoing effort to provide you with better services and support, we would like your feedback. Please help us by taking this short online survey which asks about your opinions and experiences with book marketing and more. I think it's a prudent move for Amazon to get into book marketing, but they don't need to do a whole lot for it. All they'd need to do is hire a few readers to elevate the good stuff on the site ...

I've been catching up ever since I got back from SheVaCon, where I had a great time talking about writing. It made me realize very much that no matter how many answers I had to offer others for their writing, I would never be 100% sure of those answers in my own writing. I don't think any of us can be. We're all searching for that extra help or bit of guidance that will put our stories over the top, but we're too close to them and so we have to rely equally on our knowledge of the craft and the opinions of those we trust. But that's neither here nor there, I suppose. Also, for those interested, there's a new interview with me about Operation: Montauk at Indie Author Land.  And for you Star Wars fans, be sure to check me out on the Full of Sith podcast which seems to be taking on a life of its own that I can't explain. For those new around these parts, a brief explanation is in order. A long time ago I posted a list of rules and guidelines I've ...