VODKA O’CLOCK 1623
BRIAN LETENDRE AND JOLENE HALEY
WRITING PARTNERSHIPS AND #NANOWRIMO

AMBER LOVE 07-NOV-2016 News: I now have two novels in the Farrah Wethers mystery series available. CARDIAC ARREST and FULL BODY MANSLAUGHTER are available through various channels, but Amazon seems to be the easiest for people. Please go to patreon.com/amberunmasked to sponsor the show, the site, and my work.

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BACKGROUND ON HALEY & LETENDRE

For the first time on the show, authors JOLENE HALEY and BRIAN LETENDRE come on to talk about how they operate co-writing horror stories. Brian is a writer of novels, comic book worlds in prose, non-fiction, and is a renowned podcaster. Jolene Haley is the author of YA and NA (new adult) fiction in the horror genre. They sometimes partner up together on stories so that’s part of what fascinates me about them. One of their joint projects is the novel HARROWED, the first book in The Woodsview Murders series, but they have a ton planned including another series called Orchard Pointe. Brian is a veteran podcaster and Jolene will be entering the scene soon because she found great tips in Brian’s guide to podcasting, Making Ear Candy: The Audio Confectioner’s Guide.

HORROR!!

I always declare myself a “non-horror” person but I have specific loves like the iZombie show and I recently read and loved, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in the Archie Comics horror line for SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH.

HORROR/YA INTERSECTION

Jolene explained what makes something “YA” specifically. We talked about the VOYA controversy about gay characters and the absurd notion that a non-heterosexual character automatically raises the rating to adult content.

We’ve all been involved to different degrees with anthology projects. Jolene has acted as publisher on a few anthologies which include short stories and artwork. Look for THE HAUNTED HOTEL and DARK CARNIVAL under her credits.

WRITING PARTNERSHIPS

There are logistic considerations in their writing partnership because they live on opposite coasts. They manage to meet online through Google docs and hangouts. They have different schedules and compliment each others’ weaknesses. Having a partner to hold each one accountable keeps their pace going and gets them to finished books. Brian writes in sequence and Jolene is comfortable creating high impact scenes that he builds up to.

They’ve both been participating in NaNoWriMoNational Novel Writing Month for many years. Jolene “failed” the first time she tried and still had the determination to come back. Both have turned projects that began in NaNoWriMo into finished books. In the realm of indie publishing and self publishing, there’s more control of the story, the schedule, cover design, and price. These are all areas we touched on in the conversation.

“We trust each other completely with our characters.” ~Brian LeTendre

“His strengths for writing really balance my weaknesses.” ~Jolene Haley

KINDLE WORLDS

What is Kindle Worlds? Official fan-fiction! Brian has a published novella for X-O MANOWAR which is a comic series by Valiant Entertainment. There are rules, but less than working on an official licensed comic.

LINKS:

• jolenehaley.com
• PenandMuse.com
• Brian & Matt’s comic show – SecretIdentityPodcast.com
• SeeBrianWrite.com
• Twitter Brian LeTendre @SeeBrianWrite
• Twitter @JoleneHaley

• /tag/NaNoWriMo
• Week 1 journal
• Week 2 journal
• Week 3 journal
• Writing in and out of your comfort zone
• More milestones, rewards, and goals
• My books

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.