Archive for the ‘Novel’ Category

Update on My Novels Waiting in the Wings

Posted: June 1, 2020 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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So with the completion of The Pure World Comes last night, that brings a total of three novels I have waiting in the wings. By “waiting in the wings,” of course, I mean three novels I need to edit, update and hopefully someday publish. And since some of you have been asking about those books, I thought I would take a moment to update you on each individual story, as well as tell anyone who’s unfamiliar with them what they’re about.

River of Wrath

 

River of Wrath, inspired partly by Dante’s Inferno, is about a small town in Mississippi which, one day in the early 1960’s, is visited by one of the circles of Hell. I recently got back all the beta reader copies, so I can finally begin doing some editing on this story. And given that the plot of this story deals with a lot of issues that are as current now as they were in the 1960’s (you can guess which ones), it might be a good idea to get to work on that one sooner rather than later.

In fact, I was hoping to get started on River this summer. Most likely August, if things work out for me. Seeing as I finished this one in 2018 and it’s now 2020, and the problems of racism only seem to have gotten worse since then, I think it’s about damn time.

 

 

Toyland

I don’t know what it is about Toyland, but for some reason, several of my Followers of Fear are champing at the bit for this story. My National Novel Writing Month project which I began in November 2019 and ended in late February, Toyland is a Gothic horror/dark fantasy novel centered on a boarding school in southern Ohio and a ghost there obsessed with a children’s book affecting the students. Yeah, that’s the plot. It’s bonkers, but did you expect anything else from me?

As for when editing will commence on this one, it will hopefully happen very soon. But as for publishing, that might take a while. I need some things on my end to happen before I can think of shopping this book to publishers (or consider self-publishing it. That’s a possibility as well). What those things are, I can’t say at the moment, but I deem them necessary to happen before Toyland can be released. As events unfold, I hope to have more updates on this subject. For now though, just know I’m working on paving the way for Toyland‘s publication as best I can right now.

 

The Pure World Comes

I know I finished it last night and you have probably read the elevator pitch already, but I’ll restate it anyway. TPWC takes place in 1894 and follows a maid who goes to work for a mad scientist. As I said last night, I have sent this novel off already to someone for feedback. With any luck, I’ll get some pointers on how to improve this story in the second draft and where to send it.

Speaking of which, I do hope to find a publisher for this one, but I can see it being rather successful if I self-publish it. In fact, I had an idea for that: many novels written in Victorian England were released chapter by chapter in a serial format, usually in a magazine or newspaper. Charles Dickens did this to great effect, using reader feedback after each chapter to improve the story by upgrading or downgrading certain characters and following plot lines readers found interesting. In other words, he gave the fans fanservice, and it worked for him. Anyway, after all the chapters had been released, only then would they be collected in a traditional book format.

I doubt I’ll do the whole give-in-to-fanservice thing Dickens did, but I could see myself releasing each chapter one at a time, perhaps as an ebook exclusive, before releasing the full book as both paperback and ebook. What do you think? Would that be a fun way to read a book, as well as a great callback to the publishing methods of yesteryear? Let me know.

 

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to relax and regain my creative energies, but I’m sure you’ll hear from me by the end of the week. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

“The Pure World Comes:” First Draft Done!!!

Posted: May 31, 2020 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Well, I didn’t think I could do it. But I did. At almost exactly 10:45 PM on May 31st, 2020, I finished the latest novel from my twisted imagination, The Pure World Comes.

If you aren’t aware, The Pure World Comes is a story I started writing back in April. It’s a culmination of all my love of and research into the Victorian era. The story takes place in 1894 and follows a maid who goes to work at the estate of a mad scientist. It’s part historical fiction, part Gothic horror, and part gaslamp fantasy (a subgenre I need to write an article about one of these days), with some slight elements of science fiction. All in one crazy story.

And with this story, I’ve actually broken a few personal records. First off, with Toyland back in March, this makes two novels finished in a single year. That has never happened before. Not to mention I wrote this novel in less than two months, another record. And today, I finished the novel by somehow getting forty-five hundred or so words down in one day. Yeah, forty-five hundred words. And none of these records I expected to beat until I beat them.

Am I bragging? Sorry about that. I just thought I’d mention them.

Anyway, onto the page and word counts. In terms of Microsoft Word pages, 8.5 inches by 11, with double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, the novel is 214 pages. And, in terms of words, the novel is 59,333 words. Yeah, I know I used to say novels are sixty-thousand words or higher, but it’s recently come to my attention that most publishers and contests put the cutoff from novella to novel at around forty thousand words. Therefore, I’m caving into peer pressure just this once and will designate this a novel.

So, what’s next? Well, normally I would celebrate the completion of a novel with a huge party. Mead, pizza, heavy sugars, a movie or several episodes of TV. But it’s late, and tomorrow I have a busy morning, so I’ll delay the partying till tomorrow. After that, I might take some time to recharge creatively before I attempt so much as another short story.

In the meantime, I’ve already sent the first draft of The Pure World Comes to someone who has agreed to take a look at the first draft and give me feedback. With any luck, they’ll give me some advice which will allow me to eventually get this story published.

So glad to finally finish this story, a distillation of my love of Victorian England.

I sense there are great things on the horizon.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Remember, there’s still plenty of time to send in a question for my YouTube Q&A for the first publishing anniversary of my novel Rose. Just email a question with your name and where you’re from to ramiungar@ramiungarhtewriter.com by June 17th at noon, and your question will show up in the video. And if you’re from the US or UK, you may win a download code for the audio book for Rose.

And of course, if you want to read Rose but don’t want to go through Amazon or Audible, I’m selling signed copies directly to readers. Send an email to me, and we’ll discuss the details.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, stay safe and have some pleasant nightmares.

Reminder! The Anniversary Q&A Deadline is Three Weeks Away!!!

Posted: May 27, 2020 in Living and Life, Novel
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Yes, I’m doing this annoying thing again. That thing where I remind you that something is coming up in the next couple of weeks or days in the hopes you get excited. Most likely, you’re actually annoyed by this, but then again, you signed up for this blog, didn’t you?

Anyway, as you all know by now, the one year publishing anniversary of Rose is in less than a month, and I’ll be doing a Q&A on YouTube. And guess who gets to contribute the questions? You! That’s right, you! Send in up to two questions in an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com with your name and where you’re from, and your quesiton might just show up in the Q&A. And if you submit and are from the United States or United Kingdom, you may be eligible for a download code for the Rose audio book!

So get those questions in before noon June 17th, 2020. The video will premiere the morning of June 21st, 2020. I look forward to receiving your questions.

And don’t forget, I’m still selling signed copies of Rose directly to you readers. If you’re interested, send an email to the same address above and we can discuss what is needed. Or you can get a copy through the links below. Please do check it out. Rose is a fantasy-horror novel about a young woman turning into a plant creature (and that’s just the start of her problems!). In the year or so since it’s come out, I’ve gotten some really positive feedback on the story, and I’m hoping year number two will produce great results as well. So if you do decide to read Rose, I hope you enjoy it and let me know one way or another what you think.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon, but until next time, pleasant nightmares!

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

Quick Update on the “Rose” One-Year Anniversary Q&A

Posted: May 21, 2020 in Living and Life, Novel, Writing
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So just a quick update on the Q&A next month for Rose‘s one-year publishing anniversary (as if you couldn’t tell from the title of this post). If you live in the United States or the United Kingdom and you send in a question, you could be eligible for a download code for the Rose audio book! That’s right, you could win an audio book download code!

What do you have to do? Just send an email with the following information to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com:

  • Your name
  • Where you’re from
  • Your question

Send this in by June 17th at noon and you’ll be entered for a download code. Plus your question will show up in the video!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know. This turned out to be a very short blog post. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

Rose: One-Year Publishing Anniversary is Coming Up!!! Plus, A Special Q&A!!!

Posted: May 21, 2020 in Living and Life, Novel, Writing
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My, how time flies. In about a month, we’ll be celebrating the one-year anniversary of the publication of Rose, my first novel with a publisher. And since it’s a rather special milestone, I’m doing something special to mark the occasion. More on that below.

But first, if you’re unfamiliar (in which case you’re probably new to this blog, so hello! Welcome to Rami Ungar the Writer), Rose is a fantasy-horror novel published on June 21st, 2019 by Castrum Press. The novel follows Rose Taggert, a young woman who wakes up in a greenhouse with no memory of how she got there or why, let alone the last two years. However, her problems only compound from there, as her body undergoes a terrifying transformation, turning her into a plant/human hybrid. While those in her life react to the change, she finds out that some of them aren’t all they seem to be, leading to a desperate fight for survival.

And in the year since this novel came out, it’s gotten some wonderful feedback and a couple of devoted fans, which has really made my day. And since the one-year anniversary of its publication is coming up, I thought I would do something special to mark the occasion. What will it be? Why, it’ll be a special Q&A on YouTube! If you have any questions about Rose, about writing, about my plans for the future, you can send them to me and I’ll answer them on YouTube.

Here’s what you gotta do. Just send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com with the subject Rose Question and the following information:

  • Name
  • Where you’re from
  • Your question

Seems simple enough, right? And if you get your question in before June 17th, 2020 at 12:00 PM, it may end up being answered in the video (as you can probably guess, I may reject questions if I feel they are inappropriate for one reason or another). I look forward to reading your questions.

And if you’re interested, I‘m still taking orders for signed copies of Rose. Send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com to place an order. Of course, you can still get a copy from Amazon in paperback and ebook, and from Audible in audio book form. Links will be listed below.

I look forward to getting all your questions, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

Halfway Through the Victorian England Story!!!

Posted: May 18, 2020 in Novella, Progress Report, Writing
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London Bridge and Parliament in the 1890s, right around the time this story is taking place.

Evening! Or is it morning? I’m not sure, it’s a late-night writing binge and time becomes meaningless after one of those. Anyway, as you can tell from the title of this post, I’m halfway through this super-important story set in my beloved Victorian England that I’ve been hinting and mentioning for God knows how long. And now I’m halfway through the damn thing, I think it’s time I talked a bit about it.

So, first let me tell you what this story is called. After a lot of deliberation and one or two placeholder titles, I’m calling this story The Pure World Comes. The story follows a young maid named Shirley Dobbins who goes to work for a mad scientist, and what occurs while in his employ.

In terms of genre, I think it’s a mix of Gothic horror and gaslamp fantasy (a subgenre I might need to write an article about another day). But it’s so much more than that, at least to me. It’s also a distillation of everything I’ve learned over the years about the reign and age of Queen Victoria, and I think it shows in the text.

It’s also an excuse for me to reveal the identity of the man I believe was Jack the Ripper. Yeah, that’s right, I have a person in mind whom I believe was Jack the Ripper, and I found a way to make it part of the story without shoehorning it in! Who is it, you ask? Well, you’ll have to hope the story gets published so you can find out.

And now, onto the page and word count (because of course I’m including that. You guys know me, after all). In terms of 8.5×11 pages, with 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spacing, The Pure World Comes is about 128 pages at this point. And in terms of word count, it’s 36,376 words. Yeah. You know how I consider novels as stories at sixty-thousand words or higher? I have a feeling this will be a novel by the time I’m done instead of a novella. Pulling another River of Wrath here, I guess (and yes, I will edit that soon).

Whatever it ends up being at the end, I’ll hopefully have it done by the close of May. Mid-June at latest. In the meantime though, I’m heading to bed. It’s late (or is it early?), and I need my ugly sleep if I’m going to get anything accomplished tomorrow.

And in the meantime, expect something big Thursday morning, my Followers of Fear. I have something special planned, something I think you’ll be excited for. Keep an eye out and stay tuned.

Also, signed copies of my novel Rose are still available! Send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com to inquire about placing an order.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Goodnight, and until next time, pleasant nightmares!

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: April 24, 2020 in Living and Life, Novella, Writing
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Normally I don’t do this for first drafts, especially ones that are still in progress, but I’m having so much fun with this story, and I love the opening so much, I can’t resist!

So for those of you who haven’t seen this little meme before, this is #FirstLineFriday, something I used to do quite a bit on this blog but now reserve for special occasions. Here are the rules for the meme:

  1. Create a post on your blog titled #FirstLineFriday, hashtag and all.
  2. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  3. Post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story-in-progress, or a completed/published story.
  4. Ask your readers for feedback and try to get them to try #FirstLineFriday on their own blogs (tagging is encouraged but not necessary).

As many of you know, I’m working on a story set in my beloved Victorian England. I haven’t settled on a name for the story, so I won’t give you the placeholder title. However, I can tell you that this story is a distillation of not just my enjoyment of the era but a representation of my thoughts and understanding on it. And this opening represents that understanding 110% percent. Enjoy:

A stream of shit and piss fell from the second floor of the Avondale house, where it mixed with the piss, shit and mud that already littered the avenue.

Fun fact: I posted this on my personal Facebook page, and someone immediately guessed this took place in Victorian England. I was like, “You’re right on the money!” Turns out, she spent some time abroad studying at Oxford (lucky), and Victorian novels were a big part of the curriculum. So of course, she knew.

But what do you think, Followers of Fear? Did this opening grab you? Make you laugh? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

And in the meantime, why not try #FirstLineFriday on your own blog? It’s a lot of fun, and a nice way to promote your work. And with that in mind, I’m going to tag one of you. Iseult Murphy, you’re on the chopping block! By the power of the tag, I hereby designate you to do this tag next Friday. I look forward to seeing what you post next week. Mwa ha ha ha!

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Hope you enjoyed the opening to the story I wrote. And in the meantime, if you haven’t heard, I am now sending signed copies of Rose through the mail to people. Send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com and I’ll give you the details on how to get a copy. Doesn’t sound like a bad proposition, does it? Especially since we’re all stuck inside these days.

I hope you all have a relaxing and safe weekend. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

“What Errour Awoke:” First Draft Done!!!

Posted: April 10, 2020 in Novelette, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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This story is set in the Cthulhu Mythos (and may or may not involve the big tentacled guy. I aim to keep you guessing).

Well, this has been a productive day. Today I finished a new story!

“What Errour Awoke” is a story set in the Cthulhu Mythos.* The story follows Taylor Molton-Reed, a graduate student at my alma mater, Ohio State. One day, while teaching a class on the famous British poem The Faerie Queene, the description of one of the monsters in the poem awakens repressed memories in one of his students of a certain Great Old One (I’ll let you guess which one until you actually read the story). The student later relates to Taylor what he remembered, beginning a chain of events involving this particular eldritch monster and its plans for the people of this world.

This story was actually inspired by my own studies in college. I read the Faerie Queene‘s first book in one of my British literature courses, and remembered one of the monsters in it quite particularly. Years later, after I’d gotten deep into Lovecraft’s canon and became familiar with many of the entities in the story, I found myself thinking back on that monster and thinking to myself, “Hey, wait a minute! That sounds a lot like such-and-such entity!” Thus the idea for this story was birthed.

I had a lot of fun writing this story. For one thing, it’s set right in the Cthulhu Mythos, and there’s a certain thrill for me when it comes to writing stories set in that world (possibly because I’m an entity right out of that world?). For another, the majority of it takes place during our current pandemic. so it was cathartic to write about. I’ve compared the coronavirus to a Lovecraftian entity in the past, so writing about it in a Cthulhu Mythos story felt especially apropos. And finally, I had a lot of fun applying something other than the writing courses from my English major to a story, and modeling certain parts of the story after the first book of Faerie Queene.

In fact, I liked this story so much, I decided to put this into that collection of short stories I’ve been working on and switch out one of the weaker stories in it. That’s how much I loved it, and how confident I am readers will enjoy it.

Now, for the stats on the story. “What Errour Awoke” totaled out to 63 pages and 17,880 words, the last 13 pages and 3,880 words written over the course of this afternoon and evening (yeah, I went on one hell of a writing binge). This puts it at a novelette, so I’m two for two on getting at least one short(er) story done per month for the rest of 2020. Hopefully I can keep that up with the next story, which I’ll likely finish in May.

Speaking of which, what’s next? Well, I’ll be reaching out to some writers I know who may be able to give me some valuable feedback on how to edit “What Errour Awoke.” And while they’re doing that, I’ll be starting work on the last story for that collection, a novelette or novella set in my beloved Victorian England. Believe me, it’s going to be a strange one. A wonderfully strange one.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. There’s a late Shabbat dinner and an Avengers movie calling my name. Until next time, Shabbat Shalom, stay safe, be healthy, and pleasant nightmares.

*Which means, if my parents ever read this story, they’re not going to get any of the references and think I made up more than I did for this story.

Consistency Garners Results: Why I Post an Ad for “Rose” Every Week

Posted: April 9, 2020 in Living and Life, Novel, Reflections
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Those of you who don’t follow me on my other social media platforms may not know this, but at least once a week, usually Saturday, I post links to my novel Rose. The hope is, with enough regular mentions, people will notice the book and be tempted to read the book. If they see it often, it will worm under their skin and the possibility of entertainment they’re missing out on will nag at them. Perhaps they’ll even check it out just to see if they really are missing out.

It’s a simple strategy, but it does work. Not to the point where I’m getting dozens of new readers or reviews every week, but it does get results. For example, just this past week or so, Rose received two new ratings on Goodreads. And not too long ago, Rose received a bunch of new ratings on Amazon Canada and Amazon UK. And I think these consistent ads may have played a role in all of these new ratings.

And as I write this, I wonder if these new ratings are just a fraction of the new people reading Rose. They just haven’t let me know what they think as of yet.

This is why I keep posting about Rose. I want people to find the book. Someone like Stephen King may only need to post a couple of times about their upcoming book, and they’ll have thousands of pre-orders within hours. Less well-known but very established horror authors will post regular ads just to remind people that their book is coming out or that it’s already out or that it’s been out for a while. My philosophy is that I have to do ten times the work in order to get half of what I want. What I want is to have as many people as possible read my stories. So obviously, I’ll do what I can to get people to notice Rose.

I just can’t post everyday, because it would cost way too much money or because people would get sick of seeing Rose mentioned on my timeline. Or both.

In any case, I have a feeling that all my efforts are going to pay off even more than usual. Because COVID-19 has a lot of people isolating in their homes, they’re looking for new sources of entertainment, including books. Perhaps they’ll see Rose mentioned somewhere and think, “Hmm, that might pass the time for me. I’ll give it a read.”

Not the ideal way for someone to notice my work, but there you go.

And no matter the situation, I’ll keep writing and posting about my stories, with the hope that more people will notice and maybe want to read it. With any luck, they’ll find their new favorite horror story, and I’ll have another reader interested in my next book or publication, whenever that comes out.

And if this post has got you at all interested in Rose, I’ll post the links below. Yeah, of course I would insert an ad into this post, what did you expect? Anyway, if you’re not familiar, Rose is the story of a young woman who wakes up with no memories of the past two years. Pretty quickly, her body undergoes a startling transformation, becoming a human/plant hybrid. As those around her react to her transformation, she soon realizes they’re not all they seem, leading to a desperate fight for survival.

It’s some dark, creepy shit and you can check it out by clicking on the links below. And if you do end up reading Rose, let me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love feedback from readers, and they help me out in the long run.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. If, like me, you’re celebrating Passover, then Happy Passover (and next year in person). If you’re celebrating Easter this weekend, Happy Easter. And no matter what you believe or don’t believe, stay safe, be healthy, and pleasant nightmares to you all.

Rose: Available from the links below.

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

A YouTube Video about “Toyland”

Posted: February 24, 2020 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I know the moment I press “Publish” on this post, WordPress is going to notify me that I’ve published three posts in three days, and to “keep it up!” I won’t. I can’t blog that much! What would I blog about? My chiropractor’s appointment? The weather?

Okay, onto the subject of this post. If you didn’t know, I have a small YouTube channel. And I mean small: in the eight years I’ve been uploading videos, I’ve only uploaded twenty-seven videos, most of those in the past couple of years. Obviously, I don’t have a lot of traffic on my channel.

But I try to at least update the channel when I have something to update it with. And last night, I filmed a short video letting my YouTube channel followers know that I’d finished Toyland. I also let them know what I was planning to do with the novel in the near future and my immediate writing plans.

And I waxed eloquent about my love of Brothers Drake mead. Again, not sponsored, I just love their stuff and like to celebrate big milestones with mead.

Anyway, I thought I’d post the video here on my blog to further spread the word. If you have fifteen minutes to do so, please watch it below. And if you like it, maybe leave a like and a comment. Hell, subscribe if you’re feeling crazy. Like I said, I don’t upload that much, but when I do, I think it might be entertaining and informative for people. I’ll include the link for that below, as well as links for Rose and The Binge-Watching Cure II (if you watched the video, you know why).

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

My YouTube Channel

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

The Binge-Watching Cure II: Paperback, Ebook

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