Nicholas Bruner
Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Young Adult Author
Top Five Songs to Inspire Science Fiction Writers
In earlier posts, I suggested Five Songs to Inspire Writers, Five Songs to Inspire Fantasy Writers, and Five Songs to Inspire Horror Writers. Now we’ll move on to science fiction.
Robots. Spaceships. Aliens. Intrepid explorers traveling to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in pursuit of knowledge and adventure. If that’s what you want to write, the following five songs are sure to provide the inspiration you need.
Read MoreLast Days of Atlantis: Special Announcement and Status Update
I’m proud to announce the upcoming publication of my new epic fantasy trilogy
The Last Days of Atlantis!
I’ve been at work on the trilogy since the beginning of COVID, and am now on the rough draft of the third book. It’s by far the longest, most-involved writing project I’ve ever taken on. We’re fast approaching the time when the first book will come out, hopefully this summer. The title of the first one is Mother Ink and you can read about it here.
Now that the books are so close to appearing, I want to start tracking for readers where I am on each one.
Plus, I get to use the nifty new plug-in I discovered that creates little progress bars to show how far along you are on your projects. Check it out below!
Read MoreNew cover for The Love Machine!
All a sixteen-year-old up-and-coming rockstar needs is a Love Machine—and Alva’s invented one.
Alva’s a genius sixteen-year-old inventor and a wannabe rockstar. He’s invented a Love Machine, but he’s about to learn the cost of using it might be higher than he ever imagined.
The Love Machine: So simple it could be included in a cringe infomercial. All someone has to do is hold a button on the device near someone’s left ear for sixty seconds. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. In return, the target falls in love with the user for one day.
But when Alva loans the Love Machine to his fellow band-mates, their dates go off the rails. One friend even winds up humiliated and beat up.
Can the boys in the band use their power for good? Or will the Love Machine ruin every relationship they try it on? And what happens if the guys have a falling out? Between being rockstars, unlucky in love, and making messes in their relationships, they might just discover a Love Machine causes more problems than it fixes. But can they fix what they break before ruining lives forever?
What I’m Reading: Book Marketing Is Dead
Book Marketing is Dead is a free downloadable book by indie author and guru Derek Murphy (available here). The thesis of his book is that the old way of book marketing–hiring publicists, sending out press releases, going to book signings or on book tours, and, except in very limited circumstances, advertising–is no longer the way to sell independently published books, if it ever was. The new way to sell books is by building relationships with readers, potential readers, and other authors in your genre, and he explains how to do this.
Read MoreTop Five Songs to Inspire Horror Writers
In earlier posts, I suggested Five Songs to Inspire Writers and Five Songs to Inspire Fantasy Writers, but sometimes, you’re trying to scare the pants off your readers. Or, to paraphrase Steven King, if you can’t scare your readers, you can always gross them out. In any case, sometimes you’re looking for songs that’ll pump you up to put the wickedest, scariest, most horrifying imagery on the page you can think of. When that’s what you need, try one of the following songs for inspiration.
Read MoreTop Five Songs to Inspire Fantasy Writers
In an earlier post, I suggested Five Songs to Inspire Writers, but as a fantasy writer, you might need something a bit different. That’s why I’ve assembled here the top five songs to inspire scenes of mist-shrouded landscapes, noble quests, and mind-bending magic. Read below to see what I’ve picked out.
Read MoreSix Reasons Every Writer Should Join a Writers’ Group
Are you looking for that secret element to improve your writing? Do you wish you knew where you could get some personalized advice on writing, editing, or publishing from someone who knows your situation? Do you just need help getting motivated? There’s one answer to all these writerly problems, and I wrote for years before I found it: the writers’ group.
I’ve now been a member of a writers’ group for eleven years, and I’ve come to believe being in a writers group is the number one thing you can do to turbocharge your writing and career. It’s so essential, I would recommend it to any writer. I’m not sure there’s another way for most writers to get out the best writing we’re capable of. Here are the top six reasons to join a writers’ group:
Read MoreTop Five Songs to Inspire Writers
I’m not one of those writers who wants music on or a lot of background noise while I’m writing. In fact, I prefer writing early in the morning before anybody else is up, precisely because of the quiet. Nevertheless, there are some songs that I like to listen to before I start writing, to get me in the mood for punching out my word count for the day. Click below to see five of my favorites.
Read More