Tag Archives: The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh

by | November 23, 2018 · 4:15 am

Episode #91: Achtung, Baby & R.I.P. CreateSpace

Well, it has been quite a spell, but it does not necessarily mean that we are taking it slow this year…

Welcome back to The Shared Desk, now recorded LIVE on Twitch at Tee’s Twitch Channel. So what is the difference between the live stream and the podcast, you wonder? We’re offering listeners a compact, condensed version of the show in the podcast feed for when you may have missed the show. The live Shared Desk will go longer, and be completely raw and unedited. We will also take your comments and questions as they come in. We are enjoying the whole Twitch experience, and hope you continue to listen (and reach out to us) on either platform.

Alright then. on with the show, where we address the changes at CreateSpace.

00:00 —  Introduction

  • It’s been too long…
  • Memories of Germany
  • Did we happen to mention it’s been a week.
  • Where the heck have we been?
    • Twitch for Dummies is done!
    • Celebrating seven years of marital bliss
    • Tee reaches the Gold Edition as he turned 50.
  • Pip is recording audio. A lot of audio.
  • Oh, yeah, in September, there was an upgrade to the studio.

04:48 —  Episode #91: Achtung, Baby! (The Germany Trip)

  • Let’s celebrate the 50th birthday of Tee Morris!
  • When you’re in Germany, you’re going to mention the war.
    • Reminders are everywhere.
    • History is everywhere you go in Germany.
  • Oh, Bavaria…
  • You want to hear more about the trip overseas? Watch the full show at the YouTube video! (Yeah, catching the show LIVE means extra content!)

07:30 — Episode #91: R.I.P. CreateSpace

  • What’s breaking int he Writing World? (No, not writing advice from pretentious nitwits.)
  • The death of CreateSpace
    • We writers find ourselves, once again, here…
      Authors at the mercy of Amazon
    • CreateSpace was its own entity…until Amazon decided “We can do it better.”
    • Yeah, about that…
    • Come on, Amazon. Step up!
  • It would have been great to have books for PhilCon, but there were two things we didn’t have: a working car, and books.
  • Some concerns about this takeover beyond delivery of books
    • Some opinions about Amazon courtesy of Hasan Minaj’s Patriot Act.
    • We are hooked on Amazon. We admit it.
    • It’s hard to deny how much power Amazon holds.
  • Amazon need competition.
  • What Tee is worried about: Quality of the Product from Amazon
    • An early experience with Dragon Moon’s experience with Ingram’s Spark
    • Devil’s Advocate: Times and technology are different.
  • How Amazon is handling proof copies
    • Amazon marks proofs as proofs.
    • Tee also has a bad story about booksellers selling proofs.
    • And here is where the “marital bliss” kicks in.
    • Pip Ballantine, dealer of sick burns
  • A mini-rant on Apple iBooks and the indie author
  • So far, the quality of books is fine; but we are still early in this new relationship.
  • Amazon is not a perfected science. Here are a few disappointments from the past…
  • So what options do you have outside of Amazon?
  • So with all this — will we still use Amazon?
  • Old Man Morris rants about Facebook
  • Boycotting the ‘Zon? Good luck with that.
  • Here’s one good reason to stick with the ‘Zon…

28:08 —  Loot Crate Lookie-Loo

  • If it is possible to two-fist on a Loot Crate, we’re going to do just that!
  • Tee is opening September’s Loot Crate: INVADERS
    • The tee-shirt — Venom. Well played…but it’s black. And Tee is a little burned out on black tees. BUT IF YOU GO TO HANGRY GAMER GEAR…
    • A Predator bandana, and it makes Tee smile wide. (A favorite movie of his…)
    • There are a lot of statuettes, but this Alien statuette is a keeper!
    • Always good to have a blank journal from The X-Files so you can take notes of close encounters.
    • Tee’s pin is another nod to Aliens. Noice!!!
  • Pip is tackling October’s Loot Crate: CURSED
    • Her tee shirt lead —  Attack on Titan …which is not our jam.
    • Socks featuring the Gremlins!
    • Pip also has a statuette, and it is Evil Dead 2 so it stays!
    • There’s a room key from American Horror Story: Hotel ...and she can make the key her own!
    • The pin? A classic Ouija board cypher. Well done!
  • Wow…keeping everything but the shirts!
  • And the Venom shirt is going to our buddy, Hugh!

36:04 — The Wrap-Up

  • Wrapping up the podcast, but when you follow or subscribe to the stream, you get extra content!
  • Where will Pip and Tee be, you might wonder?
  • Tee is also working on getting podcasts back on track, including this one and Happy Hour from the Tower.
  • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, or if you just want to share an opinion about the show, here’s where to find us…
    • 703.791.1701
    • pip@pjballantine.com
    • tee@teemorris.com
    • …and social media, of course.

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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by | December 26, 2017 · 10:47 pm

Episode #85: Ending a Series

Did you hear? We have a new book on the shelves! (The digital ones anyway.) With Operation: Endgame out and waiting for you to read, The Shared Desk is looking back on the ministry of Peculiar Occurrences and talks about everything a writer thinks, feels, and fears when wrapping up a series and dropping the curtain on familiar grounds.

And really, are they done with the Ministry? Well……

00:00 —  Introduction

  • Whew! It’s been a week…
  • If you want to relax, Dunkirk is NOT the movie to help you with that.
  • Okay, if you didn’t hear about it today…
    • Operation: Endgame is coming out today in all digital formats.
    • And did you know a new Christmas story is out for Tales from the Archives?
    • Audio and print books are coming in January/February 2018.
    • There’s also a special offer on 12/26 and 12/27 so download your copy now!

04:08 —  Episode #85: Ending a Series

  • You are having so much fun with this series, but now comes a time to wrap it up.
    • Nothing new for Pip with the Books of the Order.
    • For Tee, reaching the end has been proving elusive.
  • There’s a lot of time invested into a series, its characters, its world…and you wonder if you have one more book in you.
  • Is the drive and the desire there?
  • Pip was sad to see Sorcha and Raed go…but she got over it.
  • Tee’s issue with getting Operation: Endgame done — REAL LIFE.
  • Tee’s failed attempts at writing a series
    • MOREVI (which has fans on PSN and Twitch apparently)
    • The Billibub Baddings Mysteries
  • Tee may not have wanted to say goodbye to Books & Braun just yet…
  • The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is not going anywhere. The podcast and this series, however, are done.
  • Ending on your own terms feels pretty damn good.
  • Kickstarter made it clear: A demand was there.
  • Tee finished Operation: Endgame…and fell apart.
  • Achievement Unlocked: We reached the end we had planned.
  • Verity Fitzroy is making the sting of ending a series less painful.
  • Change of all kinds take place in Operation: Endgame.
  • We do resolve things in the book…mostly.
  • BIG SHOUT-OUT to our editor, K.T. Bryski who will be here next week!
  • Humble beginnings to the series and the wild ride that ensued…
  • And we’re still married…but there was that one time during Curse of the Silver Pharaoh….
  • Taking a break from now until the summer because we got stuff to do on our own!
  • How can we forget Countless Hues of Crimson? Rivaled only by this amazing work of literature…
  • Taking a bittersweet Victory Lap

26:40 — Writers Off the Clock

  • We just finished a book. LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES!!!
  • Let’s talk about some of the movies we saw over the weekend….
  • Dunkirk

    • Hans Zimmer decides to actually give us a really amazing score for this cinematic triumph.
    • Wait? you mean, things happened in World War II before Americans got involved?
    • Just brace yourself for those first ten minutes.
    • Hands down, Nolan’s best film.
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi 

    • Spoiler Alert — JUMP TO TIMECODE 42:09 TO AVOID SPOILERS
    • LAST CHANCE — 42:09 TO AVOID SPOILERS
    • Tee liked it more than Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but did not like it as much as Rogue One
    • Thoughts on the middle section
    • Thoughts on Rose
    • Thoughts on humor in Star Wars
    • Thoughts on Mary Poppins
    • Thoughts on Fan Rage
    • Thoughts from someone else about how we’ve been here before…
  • Bright

    • Bright is, according to Pip, Shadowrun.
    • It was more like Training Day: Shadowrun, but here’s the rundown of this (pretty damn clever) plot.
    • This is not high art, but it does not pretend to be anything else than what it is. AND IT WORKS!
    • Definitely rocking a Men in Black or Alien Nation vibe.
    • We talked about Suicide Squad, but this is a better film.
    • Critics are hating Bright…but Netflix is listening to the audience. 
    • Why Alien Nation was a better television show than it was a movie.
    • Is race an issue in this movie? Yes. Because LOOK AT OUR FREAKIN’ HEADLINES!

50:42 — The Wrap-Up

  • The Adventures of Centaur Cop, coming soon from Pip Ballantine.
  • We’re done for the year. So, go out, use that Amazon.com gift card, and buy our new book!
  • K.T. Bryski is coming!
  • 2017 was better than 2016, that’s for damn sure.
  • Foreshadowing for the next show — Your Author Word for 2018!
  • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, or if you just want to share an opinion about the show, here’s where to find us…
    • 703.791.1701
    • pip@pjballantine.com
    • tee@teemorris.com
    • …and social media, of course.
  • Pip’s Patreon will feature the first episode of her ALL-NEW PODCAST!
  • See you in 2018!

54:15 — The Last Word

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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by | November 16, 2016 · 4:04 am

Episode #67: Young Adult Fiction 101 — Part Two (with Scribe and Scribby)

With Curse of the Silver Pharaoh now out in print, Tee and Pip head to a renaissance festival for hilarity and sheananigans. They invited for their little merry jaunt a pair of Laurens who know a lot about writing Young Adult fiction. So even thought it is Tee’s birthday, we are giving YOU a present with this podcast for your Friday!!!

00:00 —  Introduction

  • Missed a week, but for good reason!
  • BEST WISHES FOR PC AND JEN HARING!!!
  • We were having so much fun with Scribe and Scribby that we broke the show up into two parts!
  • So how about we get back to it?

01:57 — Episode #67: Young Adult Fiction 101 (with Scribe and Scribby) 

  • Picking up where we left off in looking over Tee’s blogpost on writing Young Adult fiction…
  • So as we are dealing with street kids in The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh, you might want to accept that they are not going to be little angels. IOW, they will not be talking like little angels.
  • Sonic Boom thought about taking on a Herculean task…
  • The conversation stems from a recent blogpost of Tee’s…
  • Quick shout-out to The Hunt for the Wilderpeople
  • Turning to the Books of Potter on harsh language
  • So where is The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh falling?
    • Checking your age range
    • Tee’s first encounter with a “concerned” parent
    • Scribby’s own encounters
  • Reading habits of the Ladies in studio
  • How a book serves as a “safe space” for teens and tweens
  • A moment of fangirl awesome as Scribe and NYT Bestseller Gail Carriger meet Mercedes Lackey
  • The discovery of gay characters for a young, impressionable Lauren Harris? Not a big deal.
    • Scribby dealing with a “No Gay” Zone at the Library
    • The Pros and Cons of Labeling
  • A quick request for voicemail at 703.791.1701 on some music trivia
  • You got a church? PROTEST OUR BOOKS!!!
  • Tee’s Final Point: The Angst Level
    • The Light versus the Dark: Comparing The Flash and Supergirl with Arrow.
    • How Stephen Amell would make the  situation in The Fifth Wave work…
    • Teens are now laughing at the angst.
  • How angst changes between teens and adults
  • Remembering the balance of angst against the good times
  • Hey, Pip, who are The Famous Five?
  • Treating angst with care
  • So…what actually did go on at Pip’s private girl’s school???
  • Another reading from The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh…
  • When it comes to S-E-X: Go gently in to that good night.
    • Scribby, there is a huge difference between a “love triangle” and a “threesome” if you are wondering…
    • Back to Gail Carriger and her handling of romance
    • The romantic ways of teens
    • Earning affections — not always so easy
    • And Tee is twelve years old, for the record
  • The real reason authors avoid sex in Young Adult: that “first time” is a little disastrous.
  • How author John Green gets it right
  • How Leigh Bardugo got it right for Scribe
  • Sex in Y.A. — more emotion, less scrappin’

34:57 — LootCrate Lookie-Loo

  • Two crates? What is this madness??? Oh, it’s the Loot Vault!
  • And do we need to remind you that Tee is twelve?
  • Loot Crate — July 2015 (Heroes 2)
    • Fresh from the 60’s, a Batman Q-Pop
    • A Star Trek air freshener (and Pip just got a new ride, so…)
    • A sweatband from Legend of Zelda for those extra-long runs!
    • From The Dark Knight, a multitool of a bottle opener and a keychain
    • A D.C. Bombshell Wonder Woman poster for Sonic Boom…maybe?
    • And with The Legion of Regrettable Superheroes, Tee’s collection is complete!
  • Loot Crate — January 2016 (Invaders)
    • A reminder of Tee’s childhood with a Q-Pop Space Invaders alien!
    • A plushie Face hugger!
    • Pip finally gets her Multi-Pass from The Fifth Element
    • A X-Files LED flashlight
    • Mini-prints from War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still
    • The X-Files tee shirt…that only Tee recognized
  • How the Vault differs from regular Loot Crates
    • All loot in the older crates are revealed
    • All crates are at a discount
  • Why is Boom in the doghouse tonight?
  • Loot Crate upgraded their pins between 2015 and 2016…and this is a good thing!
  • *sigh* Sometimes, Nerd Parenting is hard.
  • Going into details on what’s in the Vault.

45:28 — Wrapping up

  • Heading into the end of the year.
  • Pip doesn’t want to take a break. So got a question or a comment for us? Let us know at 703.791.1701 
  • What’s coming up?
    • Countless Hues of Crimson (coming in December)
    • Audio version of Magical Mechanications (coming in December)
    • Tales from the Archives: The Final Season (going live at Christmas)
  • Where are we going to be between now and the end of the year: 18-20 November, PhilCon in Cherry Hill, NJ
  • Mad love to New Zealand!
  • Kicking off 2017 in January
  • A full writing schedule, including Pip’s latest novel, coming in 2017…
  • We are getting your voicemails and email, but we’ve been recording jam-packed shows of late. We will be getting to them soon! Until then…
    • Call us at 703.791.1701 (now accessible through the Instagram app!)
    • Send me email — tee@teemorris.com
    • Send Pip email — pip@pjballantine.com
    • …or find us on social media everywhere.
  • BONUS OUT-TAKE: Some behind-the-scenes silliness

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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