I’m happy to let everyone know that I’ve recently been interviewed by Tricia Drammeh of Authors to Watch about the short stories I published in the Strange Portals anthology last month and which she appears in as well. If you get the chance, please check out the interview. And while I’m talking about it, I’d like to thank Tricia for featuring me. It really means a lot to me and I hope I can return the favor sometime.
Archive for the ‘short story’ Category
State Fair: Finished
Posted: January 12, 2015 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: college life, contest, editing, English, entertainment, horror, ideas, literature, living and life, Ohio State University, reflections, Rose, scary stuff, short story, thesis, writing
A picture from the Ohio State Fair, which was a big influence on my own “State Fair”.
Well, it took me a day longer than I wanted it to, but I got it done. This is my final short story for winter break, and I got it done. This one’s called State Fair, and it’s about a ghost haunting a state fairgrounds who becomes infatuated with a girl he sees one day. It’s different than some of my other short stories, very literary but also very ghostly. I also think that this short story’s first draft is much better than my usual first draft, and I wish I could have submitted this one to my creative writing class to critique. I think they would’ve liked this very much.
From the moment I had the initial idea for this short story, I knew this one was different, that it was special. It’s probably why I decided to work on it over winter break. I also got to integrate many of the lessons I got from last semester and from some books I’ve been reading recently with this story, which I think might have contributed to the quality I feel this first draft has (though I still can’t keep a short story under forty-five hundred, it seems).
I’m still deciding what to do with this short story. My ultimate goal for State Fair is to submit it to a contest on campus for short stories. The deadline’s in mid-February, so I have a little time to edit and maybe get another person to take a look and give me some feedback. I got an honorable mention for my submission last year, so I think that this year I’ve got a pretty good chance with State Fair. Whatever the case, I’ll keep everyone posted and let you know how it goes.
In the meantime, I’m watching my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Oregon Ducks, and I want to see how this game ends. Tomorrow I get back to working on my thesis Rose, with the hope of getting that done by late February. I’ll keep everyone updated on what i’m doing and how things are going. Wish me luck and have a goodnight, my Followers of Fear.
Meditation and My Idea Process
Posted: January 11, 2015 in ideas, Living and Life, Reflections, short story, WritingTags: college life, editing, entertainment, horror, ideas, living and life, meditation, Ohio State University, reflections, Sahaja Yoga, scary stuff, short story, writing
I’ve mentioned several times on this blog that I do a kind of meditation called Sahaja Yoga, and I have to say, it’s been an amazing influence on my life. Not only is it really relaxing, but it’s invigorating and I feel calmer and more balanced and focused after meditation (though nothing can ever seem to take away my wild, silly side). And, during the three years I’ve been meditating, I’ve been given a lot of ideas for stories or on how to modify stories that I’ve been having trouble with.
The first time this happened was after I started learning Sahaja Yoga. I was having trouble trying to figure out this short story I was working on and make it flow as a story. I knew something was missing, but I couldn’t figure out what. At one point I just sat down, started meditating for five or six minutes, and then went out for a walk. During that walk I felt much calmer and more open minded, and I found a way to make the short story work. I went home and finished the short story within the week.
It’s been like that a lot since then, especially during classes on Sundays. I’ll meditate and while I’m cleaning chakras and relaxing, my mind will go into a very different state, in which ideas just come much more easily to me. It’s amazing. Today, I was having trouble figuring out which direction to to go with this short story I’m working on, and I was hoping that today’s class would help me figure out where to go with this story. I put myself into a meditative state and let my mind go. And about ten, twenty minutes into the class, I had it. I knew how to make this story work. And after we finished the meditation, everyone looked very happy to hear that I’d had my idea (everyone in the class is very supportive of my career, and one woman has even read all my books and reviewed one of them). I also had four other ideas for stories today, which is a bit more than usual (don’t know if they’re all related to my class, but I like to think they are).
Why does meditation make me so much more creative? Like hypnosis, meditation puts you into a different state of mind that helps you unwind, relax, and sometimes make you a bit more suggestible. I think that state of mind allows me to hold onto passing thoughts and twist and turn them into workable ideas for stories. In any case, usually after meditation I’m pulling out my little notebook and writing down my ideas, making Sunday one of my more creative days of the week.
Whatever the case, there’s no doubt that, in addition to all the other benefits of meditation I receive, Sahaja Yoga definitely makes me a much more creative person and gives me several more ideas for interesting stories. I never know when I’ll write any of them (that’s how many stories I have and how busy I am trying to get through just one story at a time), but it definitely means I’ll never run out of stories. And it’s another reason why I won’t be giving up meditation any time soon.
Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Tomorrow’s the first day of classes, so I’m going to finish up and call it a night. I’ve got a busy first day (2 classes, a shift at work, and a phone conference, plus Buckeyes take on Oregon tomorrow night. Go Bucks!) so I have to get as much sleep as possible if I’m going to get up tomorrow and take it all one with my usual chipper temperament. Wish me luck, and goodnight, my Followers of Fear!
Miranda’s Tempest: Finished
Posted: January 5, 2015 in Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: college life, editing, English, entertainment, horror, ideas, living and life, novel, Ohio State University, progress report, publishing, Rose, scary stuff, short story, thesis, writing
Double, double. Toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Mwa ha ha ha!
I’ve just finished the second draft of The Murderer’s Legacy, which I’ve renamed Miranda’s Tempest (after trying Miranda’s Retribution and Miranda’s Reprisal). This is the same short story I had a breakthrough on Christmas after having a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to fix that one since I wrote the first version back in May. It took me a couple of days, but I got it done. This draft is about forty-eight hundred words long, it seems I can never get a short story done without it being over 4,500 words.
A lot has changed from the original draft and the second draft. The original was set in a magical version of Victorian England, was complicated and cumbersome, and my protagonist wasn’t enough of an asshole like I wanted to portray him. This version makes magic the result of one person, and my protagonist is a total asshole, like I wanted. Plus I got to add in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Can’t complain about that.
Like all my short stories, it could stand some editing. A lot of the story involves flashback and exposition, and I’m worried that might be less in the story’s favor than I think. We’ll see what I can do. I’m hoping that I can get a few people I know to take a look at it before I edit it, maybe get some feedback. There are a couple of fantasy magazines that I think could be interested in this one if I can polish it up a bit.
In the meantime, I have one more short story I’d like to get done before I get back to working on Rose. It’s called State Fair (might change it to The State Fair later on) and its about a ghost haunting a state fairground who becomes infatuated with a girl attending the fair one day. I’m hoping to submit it to an annual short story award they have at Ohio State every year. It’s the kind of thing they tend to like, so I’m hoping they’ll go for it. But first I have to get it finished. In fact, I’m going to start working on it now, and also through tomorrow if I can, I have the day off tomorrow so I shouldn’t have any problem working on it then.
Well, that’s all for now. Have a good night, my Followers of Fear. I certainly am.
What Happened Saturday Night: Fourth Draft Finished
Posted: December 31, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: college life, editing, entertainment, holidays, horror, ideas, LGBT characters, LGBT literature, literature, living and life, Ohio State University, progress report, publishing, Rose, scary stuff, short story, thesis, werewolf, writing
As I mentioned in my last post, I was taking a break from Rose to write, edit, and rewrite some short stories. I started by doing the fourth draft of What Happened Saturday Night, which has gone through quite a number of changes since its first draft. I have to say, this might be the best draft I’ve done so far. It took it a long time to get to where it is now, but I think my classmates would have enjoyed this draft much more than some of the other drafts I’ve turned in this semester. That’s the hope, at least.
In any case, I managed to keep this story about a young girl becoming a werewolf at the same time she discovers her sexuality on the two main characters and on their interpersonal struggles. I also got to explore the sensation of being a wild beast on the hunt, and I think I got the ending just right. I may do some more edits on it before I send it off to someone to critique or to a magazine (haven’t decided which I should do first yet), especially with a small part of the climax, but I’m hoping that this might be the last time I have to do serious editing to the story.
I hope to submit this one to an LGBT literature magazine, of which there are apparently many, and some of the ones I looked at seem to specialize in a wide range of genres and formats. Maybe an editor from one of them will take a look at What Happened Saturday Night and think it’s the perfect match for their magazine. We can only hope, right?
Well, I’m going to do some reading as research for the rewrite of The Murderer’s Legacy, which I’m thinking of renaming to fit with the new direction I want the story to go in. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, have a Happy New Year, my Followers of Fear and stay safe out there. Don’t party too hard. That’s my job!
My Odd and Inspiring Christmas Walk
Posted: December 26, 2014 in ideas, Living and Life, short story, WritingTags: Christmas, college life, Doctor Who, editing, entertainment, films, Harry Potter, holidays, horror, ideas, inspiration, Judaism, living and life, London, Ohio State University, progress report, reflections, Rose, science fiction, short story, study abroad trip, television shows, thesis, writing
As a Jew, Christmas isn’t really my thing. In fact, I’ve been referring to it in a half-joking manner as my month-long headache. But sometimes Christmas surprises me, as it did last night.
After watching The Interview on Christmas Eve and sleeping in much later than I had meant to, I’d pretty much been a couch potato all day, catching up on the shows I’d missed out on this semester. Since I was planning on watching the Doctor Who Christmas special, I went out for a walk and stretch my legs. And what a walk it was! The air was actually much warmer than last year, there wasn’t any rain or snow, and there was hardly any traffic! Hardly any at all! You could walk right into the middle of what would normally be a very busy street and just dance! Which I did, by the way. Several times! And nobody gave me a weird look at all…not that there was anyone really around to look. And I probably wouldn’t care what anyone thought if there was someone there, anyway.
After stopping off at the local donut shop for an after-dinner snack (and for what became this morning’s breakfast), I decided to go for a walk on campus. And it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Everything was so quiet, so empty, and there was a slight mist in the air. It gave everything a strange, magical air, and I kept expecting to see something magical pop out at me (more than usual anyway). With my earbuds popped in, I ended up dancing on the Oval to some of my favorite uplifting party songs, just because I could. I then stopped by Mirror Lake, which at this time of year is lit up with Christmas lights. I don’t normally care for all the lights, but tonight it was enchanting and I really enjoyed myself.
It was at that point that I decided to head home, especially if I wanted to take a shower before the Christmas special began. And it was also at that point that something that I’d been waiting for finally happened: if you recall back in May during my study abroad trip, I began a short story called The Murderer’s Legacy that was inspired by some of the things I’d seen and read about while in London. The story was about a nobleman living in a version of Victorian England where magic is commonplace. The nobleman is being sentenced to death (or at least a very horrific version of it) for the murder of his wife, whom he did not murder. At the end of the story it’s revealed who actually murdered her and why, but by then it’s too late for the nobleman.
Something like I saw last night. You can see how inspiring it is, can’t you?
I thought at the time that it was a pretty good story, and that it had a lot of potential. I still do. But I felt that the version I had in the first draft wasn’t sufficient, and I had to do some major editing and rewriting in order to make the story work. This became more apparent to me as time went on, especially as some of the lessons from all the creative writing I did this last semester began to sink in, namely don’t plunge the reader into a fantastic world with a million different parts and pieces to it if you have only ten-thousand words to do it and tell a story set in that world. My first draft felt like starting Harry Potter in Book 4 or 5 and being plunged into this great big established universe, rather than being slowly introduced to that world in Book 1.
The problem was, I didn’t know how to fix this story so that it was not only simpler, but flowed better and actually told a story rather than introducing the reader to a complicated world they couldn’t take in slowly. Try as I might, I couldn’t think of a way to approach this story and edit it. Until last night, that is, when standing by Mirror Lake, something just clicked and inspiration flowed. I finally figured out how to make this story work, how to tell it in a creepy way while keeping the basic idea behind it alive. Not only that, but I had all the research materials I needed at home, so looking up what I needed for this story would be a cinch.
You can imagine the size of the smile on my face as I walked home that evening. I had all the inspiration I needed to rewrite The Murderer’s Legacy into a good story. Then I realized I have no time to work on it, with a thesis and classes to deal with. Oy vey, the life of a writer in college. It’s never easy.
Well, who knows? There may be a chance for me to still work on this story before May. I’ll have an easier workload this coming semester and that means more time for homework and writing. Maybe I’ll be able to finish Rose early and work on this and all my other projects. We can hope, right?
Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got plenty of work ahead of me, so I’m going to try and get that done. Have a good weekend and (if I don’t post again before December 31st) Happy New Year, my Followers of Fear.
Snake: Six Months Since Publication. Also, a Holiday Sale
Posted: December 10, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Review, Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: Amazon, authors, big sale, college life, e-book, entertainment, holidays, horror, living and life, novel, progress report, publishing, Reborn City, review, sale, scary stuff, science fiction, short story, Smashwords, Snake, Strange Portals, The Quiet Game, thriller, writing
How far would you go for love and revenge?
Boy, do I have plenty of good news to share with everyone. Including the publication of two of my stories in Strange Portals, today is the six month anniversary of the publication of my second novel, Snake. Maybe because I’ve been so busy this past semester, but it feels like so much longer since that book came out.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Snake yet, it’s a thriller novel following a young man who dons a mask and becomes a dangerous serial killer in order to save the woman he loves. It’s gotten some very good reviews since it came out, and I’m quite proud of how it’s done. Here’s what some people have said since Snake has come out:
Rami Ungar makes a promise to (the reader) in all his writings: he WILL scare you, and if he does “his job is done.” Snake will scare you. I am a huge Stephen King fan, so this should give you some idea of my tolerance level for gore, death and mayhem – I was scared. Rami takes you into places you would never have believed possible, and manages to pull his hero (and eventually his heroine) out of them against all odds. If you like to be scared. If you LOVE to be scared. You should read this book.
Angela Misri, author of Jewel of the Thames
Quite gripping story. enjoyed a lot reading this.
Jyoti
Well, I took yet another vacation where I made my family “just wait until I finish this chapter.” This page-turning read was another great effort by Rami. He is not afraid to take risks in plot twists and turns, character development and he takes the reader on quite the journey in this book. So looking forward to his next creation!
Michele Kurland
And partly in honor of this milestone, but mostly because of the holiday season, all my books are on sale from today December 10th through December 31st. This includes e-books and paperbacks getting marked down. So if you haven’t read The Quiet Game, Reborn City, or Snake yet, this is the best time to do so. Especially if you want or need something new and different to read this month.
So anyway, I hope you decide to check out any of my books, as well as Strange Portals (which, by the way, is free to download). And if you like, or if you dislike, what you read, please let me know. Just leave me a comment or write a review. I would love to hear what you say.
Well, that’s all for now. Happy reading and happy holidays, my Followers of Fear. You are all, as far as I’m concerned, a gift to me.
“Buried Alive” and “Travelers of the Loneliest Roads” Have Been Published In “Strange Portals” Anthology
Posted: December 7, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: Amazon, anthology, authors, blogging, e-book, editing, entertainment, fantasy, horror, Joleene Naylor, living and life, paranmormal, progress report, publishing, scary stuff, science fiction, short story, Smashwords, Strange Portals, writing
Some exciting news to share with you all. I’ve been holding off until I had some more details, but it’s out now and I’ve got to share it with you all.
Last month I received word from colleague and fellow author Joleene Naylor that she was putting together an anthology of horror/paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy short stories for a holiday season release and she was looking for submissions. Despite my crazy busy life I did some editing on two short stories of mine, “Buried Alive” and “Travelers of the Loneliest Roads”, and sent them in. I’m extremely pleased, grateful, and proud to say that they both got into the final anthology!
I’d like to thank Joleene for this awesome opportunity (you should seriously check out her blog, the link for which is above), and I’d encourage you to check out the anthology “Strange Portals”, which contains works from several different authors, including AK Stein, Adan Ramie, Roxanna Matthews, Jolene, myself, and many more. Right now the anthology is only available from Smashwords as an e-book (the link to download it is right here), but it’ll be available for Amazon soon (and I’ll be updating this post when it is, so keep an eye out for that update). Did I mention it’s free to download? Well, it’s free to download. So that’s even more incentive to check it out.
Well, that’s all for now. I’m really excited, as you can understand. I’m even listening to my go-to celebration song, “Voodoo Child” by Rogue Traders, playing now, that’s how excited I am. I’m taking the rest of the night off, my Followers of Fear. You have a good one, okay?
*Update: As of December 9th, the Amazon link was posted. It costs $0.99 because Amazon never does anything free, but what are you going to do? Anyway, the link is here if you want to check it out. I certainly will.
What Happened Saturday Night: Third Draft Finished
Posted: December 6, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: college life, editing, entertainment, ideas, LGBT characters, LGBT rights, literature, living and life, novel, Ohio State University, progress report, reflections, Rose, scary stuff, short story, thesis, werewolf, writing
I’m not sure how I did it. I’m not sure I care to know how I did it. I just know that I finished the third draft of “What Happened Saturday Night”, formerly known as “Frauwolf”. And boy, what a writing marathon that was! I just didn’t stop writing.
After hearing the criticisms of my classmates, I went through the story, adjusting the first half or so (the half they really liked) and then completely rewrote everything past page 7 or so (the half they disliked). Throughout the editing and rewriting I tried to keep in mind that, even though this was a werewolf story, it was also a story about two people who really care about each other. A story about human interaction, in other words. And isn’t that all literature? It’s about how humans interact with each other and/or their environment. Even in ghost stories, it’s about human interaction, about confronting our fear of mortality and the afterlife.
I’d do well to remember that for future stories, and not try to create an amazing, complicated universe before working on the human aspect. Perhaps now that I’ve written it down I will.
Anyway, I also played around with some of the already apparent symbolism in the story–using a werewolf as a metaphor for awakening to sexuality, I wonder how many others have used that one? Probably a few–as well as switching the story to present tense. I actually had originally planned to do the second draft in present tense, seeing as Rose is written that way as well, but at some point I slipped back into my standard past tense. Well, it’s closer to what I’d planned, and the ending works better now than it did in the second draft, so I’m hoping my teacher approves.
And speaking of endings, when I was typing out the last words of the story, my iTunes started playing “Va, pensiero”, an Italian opera piece as sung by Russell Watson. It’s such a beautiful piece, and it seemed to fit the ending of the story so well. I think that’s a good sign for this draft.
Anyway, I sent it off to my teacher. She’ll review it and let me know what she thinks. Hopefully I’ll get some good feedback on this story. Because of the LGBT themes, I figure I could send it to a magazine that specializes in that sort of literature. I’ve already found a few that might be good fits. Fingers crossed that they like what I send them.
Well, I’m tired, it’s very late, and I’ve got more work to do tomorrow (still got a thesis to get through, after all). I’ll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight my Followers of Fear. Don’t let the werewolves bite.
What Happened Saturday Night: Critique Day
Posted: December 3, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, WritingTags: authors, college life, editing, entertainment, horror, ideas, living and life, Ohio State University, progress report, reflections, scary stuff, short story, werewolf, writing
You may also know this story by its original title, Frauwolf. It’s still the same story as well, about a girl who’s a werewolf and who is in a relationship with another girl. And its second draft got critiqued in my creative writing class.
Luckily this time I won’t have to rewrite the whole damn story again, or I might seriously turn into a werewolf myself and go on a rampage (boy, wouldn’t that make for an interesting horror movie). My classmates found this draft much easier to read and felt that the first half was awesome, that the language was superb and that the emotions between the two main characters felt real. Most of all they were glad I’d changed the story from a crazy fast-paced psycho-drama that left little time to linger on the actual story and made it more about the characters themselves.
The thing they didn’t like is that near the end of the story I add a new character, who happens to be a psychopath, and it just takes the story in a bad direction. Well, in my defense I had only so many days to finish the new draft and I was pressed for time, so when I got stuck I went with what first came to mind.
In any case, I only have about half a short story to rewrite rather than a full short story, and I have to turn in a third draft by next Wednesday. God help me, because I have an eight-page Shakespeare paper due the day before and I still have three and a half pages left. Plus I’m still figuring out where to go with this short story of mine. Boy, is my life crazy!
Well, I’m going to turn in. I’ve had a long day, I’m exhausted, and I need my rest if I’m going to tackle either of these tomorrow. Wish me luck Followers of Fear, because I have a feeling I’m going to need all the luck I can get. Goodnight, everybody.
Rami Ungar The Writer 