Archive for the ‘Progress Report’ Category

The Quiet Game: 3 Weeks To Publication

Posted: June 26, 2013 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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new TCG cover

More good news after the SCOTUS verdict! The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, will be available to purchase in both print paperback and ebook format. I’m very excited about The Quiet Game getting published soon, as it’s been the culmination of nearly seven months’ worth of writing, designing, advertising, and just plain waiting for the copyright to come in.

For those of you unfamiliar with The Quiet Game, it’s a collection of short stories I’ve written that I’m putting out this July 17 for purchase. And some of these tales I’m going to be publishing are quite scary: in Addict, a man with sex addiction tries going cold turkey, only to be haunted by horrifying hallucinations; in I’m Going To Be The Next James Bond, several kids go into an abandoned hospital with a dark history, and find out the history is very much alive; an autistic child gets to experience true terror In The Lady Ogre’s Den; a senator finds that his ancestor’s sins are following him around in the form of a vengeful spirit in Samson Weiss’s Curse; and finally, there’s a game that’s more perilous and more deadly than any game ever played. The Quiet Game.

You can sign up for the Facebook page here, and join nearly 75 people to get instant news and updates, and you can check out the trailer below if you’re not sure whether or not you want to buy a copy. I hope you have a nice day and that the thought of my collection doesn’t scare you too badly.

Of course, if it does, I wouldn’t mind that. Mwha ha ha!

Laura Horn: Up To Chapter 40

Posted: June 25, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve been working on the Laura Horn outline for the past couple days, going on the Internet when I need information I don’t necessarily have (research is ongoing and done as needed). So far, I’ve written up to Chapter 40 of the outline. And let me tell you, it’s shaping up very well. A really great political thriller with spy themes. And Laura Horn herself? She’s getting the help she needs, slowly but surely.

It’s been a tough process just writing the outline. The many different things I have to research, plus planning out each scene to be the best as possible. Plus all the distractions that go on in my life, it’s been hard to write the outline.  But the fact that I’ve gotten this far, and that I’m probably going to get much farther by the time the day is done, is spurring me on. I might be finished by Thursday, Saturday at the latest.

I’m not sure how many chapters Laura Horn will end up being (more than Video Rage, anyway). I’m pretty sure that it won’t be Snake-length (100 chapters) but it’ll be a good length novel. And the way I’m feeling this story shape up, it’s going to be one hell of a story. One I can be definitely proud of.

“The Street Urchin’s Gift”: Published!

Posted: June 24, 2013 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
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It seems that my life just keeps getting better all the time, and God willing, it’ll stay that way. Today I logged into my email and saw that The Writing Disorder, an online magazine for fiction, poetry, and essays, among other things, had notified authors that their summer issue had been launched. Guess what? My short story is in the summer issue!

“The Street Urchin’s Gift” is a short story told from the point-of-view of a homeless boy named Fletch living in Victorian England. At the time I was writing the story, I was going for stories that involved hard choices, such as leave your family or survive a war (that was Ripple‘s theme, for the most part). Because at the time I was obsessed with this manga taking place in Victorian London, I set the story there and tried to think up a very difficult choice for my main character. And as the story shows, I think I did it well enough that the story got published.

I’d like to thank The Writing Disorder for publishing my short story and I wish them the best of luck. They were so kind to me and fun to work with and I’m considering sending another short story to them.

If you would like to check out their website, click here. For my short story, follow this link.

Laura Horn: Initial Research

Posted: June 21, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Spy novels and espionage novels are not my forte. I never attempted in my youth to write a James Bond story. Never even imagined one. And now I know why: it’s a lot of work, involving plenty of research and detective work. Just today, I looked up dates for the year 2017, the US Intelligence Community, and what causes embolisms. Makes me wonder why I made Laura Horn an espionage novel, even though it started out as a story about a girl and sexual assault victim who comes to terms with her past and her trauma through events forced upon her.

Oh wait, now I remember why I did that! I thought it would be cool to have a story that took place in Washington DC. And even better, why not make it involve the White House? That could work. It’ll involve a lot of research and guesswork, but what the hey? It’s good for the story.

So that’s why I decided Laura Horn should find herself while taking on the power struggles of DC. And it’s going to be a tough job. I’m not familiar with the workings of the US Intelligence community, or Washington DC for that matter. Let’s face it, there’s only so much you can learn from high school government classes and The Daily Show. But if I can get this novel written and do it with all the elements I want it to have–the 2016 election, the NSA scandal, a few other items that are hot right about now–I could end up writing a damn good story.

And isn’t that the point? I think Laura could be a great character, a character plenty of people could identify with, but I have to give her a great story first. And for that, I need to do a lot of work to make sure the details are right. It’s not going to be easy, but I plan to pull it off somehow and right a damn good story.

So let’s see what happens. I bet by the time I’m done researching and writing the outline, this’ll be an entirely different story than when I first thought of it. But it’ll be a story I’m damn proud of, and that’s important enough that I’ll research till the cows come home.

Wish me luck! I’ve got more work to do tomorrow morning.

Oh, before I go, the photo above of the monarch butterfly deserves an explanation. When I envision Laura Horn, I see her as an angel that’s been forced down to earth by evil forces and cries over it. Unfortunately, there’s only so many photos and illustration that feature that sort of subject material in the theme I’m looking for. So I’m doing things that are similar to my angle theme: butterflies, flowers, birds, and yes, angels. But first a butterfly, a metaphor for transformation. This story is going through a transformation and so is the main character. I hope that by the end, the transformations of both will result in something beautiful.

The Quiet Game: The New Cover

Posted: June 20, 2013 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
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Ladies and gentlemen, you remember the cover I created for the e-book version of The Quiet Game:

TQG cover

I was especially proud of this cover. I created it all by myself, using just a photo taken on a cold, snowy night, Photoshop, and the advice of experienced assistants at Ohio State’s Digital Union. So when I learned how to use CreateSpace, I wanted to bring The Quiet Game to print paperback. But at the same time, I didn’t want to give up that cool cover. It’s awesome!

So I found a cover that would allow me to keep my first cover. And here it is:

new TCG cover

You like it? I wasn’t sure what color I was supposed to use for the back cover, but when I settled on Bright Orange, I saw a Halloween motif and went with it. I also put the words on the back in a black font, so that it’ll be easier to read.

And you know what this means, right? The Quiet Game will be available in both print and e-book version! And they’ll both be very affordable. So I hope you’re able to buy a copy when it comes out in…oh, how many days was it again?…27 days! Get excited people, because it’s coming out soon.

Video Rage: The Outline Is Finished

Posted: June 19, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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So I spent most of the day working on that outline. And I finished it. Plotline, character bios, all done in a day. I have to say, the sequel to Reborn City looks pretty exciting, just from reading the first draft of the outline. There’s conflict between characters, even the best of friends, some pretty nasty battles and plot twists, and a Native American healing ceremony (Lakota, to be specific). All in 36 chapters (I guessed 37 chapters when I started, so I wasn’t too far off).

I’ll probably take a break from writing tonight to recharge, but the beginning of this 2-novel writing project is off to a great start. I’m not sure when I’ll finish VR, but I’m excited for it and I can’t wait. I also feel I’ll finish VR before I finish Laura Horn. Don’t ask me why, I just have this feeling.

Now, to make dinner! I’m hungry.

Writing The Video Rage Outline

Posted: June 19, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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With RC there weren’t many photos I could use. Not so with it’s sequel!

Recently, I read the novel Misery for the first time. At a certain point, Annie Wilkes says that when dealing with a cliffhanger, the resolution has to be “realistic” and “fair”, but she also wants this to apply to all literature. What does she mean? Well, if you’re on a plane and it’s about to crash, pull a parachute under the chair. Somewhat fair, pretty realistic. If a character with several broken bones suddenly is able to get a doctor and do experimental blood transfusions in the 19th century, then it’s not fair or realistic at all.

Paul Sheldon had a hell of a time getting the balance right, especially since he was being threatened with missing limbs if he didn’t deliver. And although I’m not in any danger of losing any limbs, I feel the pressure to make things realistic and fair with Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City. My philosophy with sequels is that you have to build up, do something better than the first book. To do that though, I find myself having to think really hard about how I plot the story as I write the outline, and I’m wondering if what I’m writing down for each chapter is any good.

I’ve often preached about sequels and how people just don’t know how to make good ones, but I have to admit that it’s hard. Most of the action of VR takes place on the road, and besides normal conflict, there’s also the conflict of relationships which I’m trying to insert. And when I add certain elements–a hunting cabin to hide in, a Lakota village with a hospital–I wonder if people will buy this or if they’ll call BS. I’d have someone critique the outline, but there’s only one person in the world besides me who’s even read RC, and I don’t want to spoil it for him by having him critique the outline.

Well, this is why I advise taking a break after writing the outline to creatively recharge those batteries. Perhaps after the outline’s first draft, I’ll be able to figure out if things need to be changed. However at this point I don’t intend on changing much…except possibly making one of the antagonists much more involved with the fighting instead of using drones and soldiers.

Wish me luck. I’ve got more work to do in the morning, where I’ll try to finish this outline. Honestly, VR could potentially be longer than RC, the way I’ve been writing the outline.

The Quiet Game: One Month To Publication

Posted: June 17, 2013 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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TQG cover

Apparently God felt like being nice to me (thank you Sir). I checked the website for the US Copyright Office, and The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, has been copyrighted. That means The Quiet Game will be coming out in one month!

I’m super-excited and I cannot wait to put this baby online, possibly with a new cover (I’ll let you know later in the week how that goes) and in print and e-book version (hopefully). If you haven’t checked out The Quiet Game book trailer yet, please click below:

You can also like the FB page if you want to, and I encourage you to do so. If you want to, please click here. I hope you check out the page and that you’re as excited as I am for the release.

START THE COUNTDOWN! I have to modify my book page.

The Project(s) For This Summer

Posted: June 16, 2013 in ideas, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Well, Reborn City is off to the copyright office, I hope to have a new cover for The Quiet Game sometime this week, and if God’s feeling particularly nice, the copyright for The Quiet Game will finally come in. I only have a single short story to finish up before I’m free to work on my next two writing projects.

And since you’re reading this post, I’m assuming you’re curious as to what my next two projects are. Well, I’ll tell you: this summer, I’m writing not one, but two novels! Yes, two novels. I plan to switch off between chapters, doing one chapter for one novel and then doing one chapter for the other before switching back to the first novel.

But now you’re probably wondering why I want to do two novels. The reason is that I was able to write Snake in six months. Yes, that’s the reason. That’s the fastest I’ve ever written a novel, and even the first draft was a damn good one. And let me tell you, I have a lot of stuff I wish to write. I want to write the sequel to RC, which I’ll be calling Video Rage. Actually, I kind of have to write that one. But there’s a bunch of other novels that I want to write, and if I only do one book at a time, I’ll never get to some of them in a timely manner.

Then again, if I do too many at once, I may get burnout and my work will suffer. So two seems a fair balance. With that in mind, I’ll be able to get to do more of the stories I want to write in the future. And right now, I’ll be able to work on two very interesting, very distinct stories…though the protagonists are similar in some ways. Not many, but some. Enough that they could be friends if they ever met. But they won’t.

Alright, enough rambling! Let’s go over those two novels! One of course is Video Rage, which is the sequel to Reborn City. RC, as we all know, is about street gangs in a post-apocalyptic future and their connections to a very shadowy organization. VR will pick up where RC left off, following the characters around as trouble finds them at every corner…and there will be some internal conflict that may threaten to tear our group of protagonists apart. How will they stay together? And how will they survive a world that is stacked against them? That’s the excitement of VR.

The second novel, I’ve only spoken about once. Does anyone remember that article I wrote, back around March, about some prominent rape cases at the time and how they related to a novel I wanted to write? If you don’t remember and need a refresher or you’ve never read that post, please go ahead and click this link, but it’s that novel mentioned in the page that I want to write. I feel it’s time to start on this particular story, for a number of reasons, and not just limited to the ones listed in that article.

So what is the name of this particular novel, about a girl who was raped and the travails she goes through in the novel help her heal and confront her past? I decided that it’s be best to name it after the character herself, and as for a name, I’ve decided to go with Laura Horn. Laura will confront her past, and in so doing, she will also save the nation (I plan on setting the story in Washington DC). I think it’ll be a great challenge to write and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

So Video Rage and Laura Horn. Between the two of them, I’m going to have a very busy summer. But I think it’s also going to be a very productive one as well.

Let’s get started!

Reborn City: The New Cover

Posted: June 14, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, short story, Writing
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On Wednesday, I created the cover for Reborn City out of a photograph and Photoshop. Problem was, I wasn’t completely satisfied with it. So, after much thought and encouragement from the ever-helpful Matt Williams, I turned to CreateSpace. If you don’t know what CreateSpace is, it’s a program through Amazon that you can use to self-publish ebooks, paperbacks, and all sorts of wonderful things. I’d never considered using CreateSpace because I heard it costs money, but I learned that only some services do, while others are very DIY and free-of-charge. And I like those options.

Now check out the old cover:

RC cover

Now check out the new one:

Reborn City

Same photograph, better picture. Sure, there’s no graffiti-esque writing, but this looks better, more professional. And maybe someday, if God is good to me, I can create the cover of my dreams with a later edition.

And guess what? CreateSpace also does print-on-demand paperbacks for no cost to the author, just a small percentage of royalties. Do you know what that means? It means all my books can be someday turned into ebooks and paperback editions! All you have to do is order them from Amazon!

And of course I’ll try to do this with The Quiet Game, get the cover to be customized so that it stays the cover. That’s one I can be satisfied with, I just hope I can get it onto the editions. I hope you’re as happy as I am! If I can, I’ll get the cover loaded up tomorrow, along with sending RC to the copyright office. It’s going to be fantastic!

Expect Reborn City November 1, people, and The Quiet Game this summer whenever that gosh-darn copyright is processed. Ooh, I’m so excited. Hope you’re excited with me!

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