Posts Tagged ‘blogging anniversary’

The Pure World Comes is Getting Published!!!

Posted: July 12, 2021 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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I made a nice graphic for “The Pure World Comes.” It’ll work till I get a proper cover for the story.

If you read the poem in my last post, you probably noticed a key phrase in the last stanza. How did it go again? Oh yes. Now I remember.

Behold! THE PURE WORLD COMES!

That wasn’t just some incomprehensible poetry mumbo-jumbo (though I wouldn’t blame you if you thought it was). No, this poem has been a prelude for something big.

As many of you are aware, last year as we were all in lockdown, I wrote a novel set in Victorian England. The novel followed a young maid who went to work in the home of a mad scientist. I then did another draft, sent the novel to a couple of beta readers, and then made a third draft based on their feedback. Then I started shopping the book around, seeing if I could get anyone interested.

I’m happy to say that one company did show interest. And after some back and forth of the terms, we came to an agreement, culminating today with my signing the contract. So with that said, I can now say, my novel The Pure World Comes will be published!

Specifically, the novel will be published by VitaleTek, a company that releases stories through its app Readict. Which, honestly, is kind of Victorian: novels were released through periodicals like newspapers or magazines before being collected in hardcover and paperback (I think the latter, like now, is for more commercial books). And apps like Readict can be the newspapers and magazines of today.*

Anyway, I’m super excited to have this novel come out. The Pure World Comes is a love letter to all I love about the Victorian era (and probably won’t be the last). That several people, from my beta readers to the folks at VitaleTek, thought so highly of my story and that it’s been accepted for publication only a year after being written (Rose took five) is a huge deal for me.

As of right now, we don’t have a release date. However, I can tell you that the latest draft of the novel has been sent to the company and I’m sure their editing department will be in touch soon so we can polish this novel up. I cannot wait to share this book, its protagonist Shirley Dobbins, and the strange going-ons at the Hunting House mansion, very soon.

Thanks to Ms. Keheaku and the team at VitaleTek for taking on this project; Patrick Freivald for introducing me to the company; to Ruth Ann Nordin, Tim Purvis, and Angela Misri for beta reading the book; and many more people who helped me get to this point. It could not have been done without you.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I have posts and videos to make on my other social media platforms, pizza and ice cream to eat, mead to drink, anime and movies to watch, monsters to summon, and so much more. Until next time, pleasant nightmares and God Bless Queen Victoria!

*As for whether The Pure World Comes will get a print edition, you’ll just have to wait and see.

Oh, one more thing, my Followers of Fear: there’s just over two weeks left to submit questions to the Ask Me Anything, or AMA, to celebrate my ten-year blogging anniversary. Send your question in an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com by 11:59 PM on July 28th, 2021 and you’ll get entered for a prize. I look forward to reading your questions!

Also, if you’re looking for something to read until The Pure World Comes releases, you can check out any of my previous work below. People are still discovering my stories all the time, and apparently they’re enjoying them too (thank you for the review on Agoraphobia, Jennifer Patino). Who knows? You may find something that will give you one or two…pleasant nightmares.

The Quiet Game: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo.

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

Snake: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Agoraphobia: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Mother of the King: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

“Cressida:” Getting Published This Month!!!

Posted: July 8, 2021 in Novelette, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Some of you may recall a few months back that I wrote a story called “Cressida,” a horror story centering around a mermaid. Yeah, you read that right. A horror story centering around a mermaid. Specifically, the story revolves around a young man finding out his uncle is keeping a mermaid in his basement. I can now say that Cressida will be published this month in the anthology Into the Deep from Jazz House Publications!

Ooh, look at this cover! It’s so scary and cool, it’s kind of sexy. I’m honored to have a story being released in a book with such a cover.

Also, fun fact: I got the acceptance for “Cressida” on my birthday last month. Yeah, really. I was really surprised by the timing. I had just gotten out of my birthday party at the bowling alley, got to my car, and was about to pull up the GPS app on my phone when I saw the response from the publisher. I think I almost screamed in my car. Definitely one of the best birthday presents I got that day.

Anyway, I’m really excited for all of you to read “Cressida.” While I wasn’t comfortable saying so when I finished the first draft, I can confidently say this story is some of my best work so far. Hopefully, you’ll think so too.

Not only that, but I’m excited to read the anthology! I’ve read some of the tweets other authors in Into the Deep have put out, and their elevator pitches of their stories have me excited. They’ll make you do what the tagline above says, and “beware what lies below.”

Ooh! I think I just felt a shiver up my spine!

So, as the graphic above states, Into the Deep will be out in less than two weeks. I’ll post links then if you want to get a copy. And if you like what you read, please make sure to post a review somewhere so others know what you think and can decide if they want to check out the anthology too.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. It’s late, so I’ll be heading to bed soon. Big thank you to Jazz House Publications for making “Cressida” part of this anthology. I can’t wait to crack open a copy and “dive” right in. Come on, that was good and you know it!

Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and may Lord Cthulhu, the High Priest of the Deep Waters, bless you from his throne in R’lyeh.

One more thing: I’ll be celebrating my ten-year blogging anniversary next month. To celebrate, I’m having an Ask Me Anything, or an AMA, on this blog. If you want to participate, send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com with your question and where you’re from and I’ll answer it. And one lucky participant will win a prize for submitting a question!

All questions should be sent no later than 11:59 PM on July 28th, 2021. I look forward to receiving your questions, Followers of Fear. Knowing you all, you’ll come up with some good ones.

Review: Fear Street Part One: 1994

Posted: July 2, 2021 in Review, Scary Stuff
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Netflix has been marketing this as the movie event of the summer, a trilogy of films based on the books by RL Stine (which I have not read, so I can’t tell how faithful it is to the books). While I’m more tempted to call the movie adaptation of In the Heights the movie event of the summer (prove me wrong!), I was willing to dive in and check the first film of the trilogy out.

It also gave me an opportunity to remind you all that in 1994, I was only a year old. Yeah, that’s right. I turned a year old in 1994. Plenty of you reading this blog are old! And you’re welcome for the reminder.

Taking place in 1994, Fear Street Part One takes place in the town of Shadyside, which is famous for its bloody massacres every 10-20 years. After a massacre at the local mall, teenagers from Shadyside get into a dispute with their counterparts from the more prosperous city of Sunnyvale. This has deadly consequences, as the violence ends up waking the spirit of Sarah Fier, a witch who cursed Shadyside over three centuries ago. And if they’re not careful, all of them will end up dead.

For a slasher, it’s not just a lot of fun. It’s well-written! For one thing, the characters are given quite a lot of development, given the film is less than two hours. I honestly forgot these kids were actors and actually believed they were these characters. Thus, I felt their pain and emotions when they went through interpersonal drama, as well as their own terror.

Not to mention, the writing for this movie was above-average. After a certain point in the plot, the film could have done a very simple, by-the-numbers plot, but they managed to include several plot twists and new directions that I wasn’t expecting. Combined with the great actors, the film not shying away from some seriously brutal violence, and a lack of distracting CGI, and the film ends up pretty good.

That being said, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was fun, but it won’t become anything classic like other horror films I could name. And some parts of the plot were kinda predictable by their tropiness. Not a bad thing, but still rather predictable.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I’ll give Fear Street Part One: 1994 an even 4. I would give it a higher score, but I don’t want to make this movie seem bigger than it is. Still, it’s an enjoyable slasher and I look forward to seeing how they continue the story in Part Two: 1978 (yeah, you’d think it’s a prequel, but technically it’s not). I’ll let you all know as soon as I see it what I think of it.

Just a reminder, Followers of Fear: my ten-year blogging anniversary is coming up, so I’m marking the occasion with an AMA! Between now and 11:59 PM on July 28th, 2021, I’ll be accepting (almost) any question you send me. And one lucky questioner will be given a special prize for submitting their question! Just send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com with your question and where you’re from. I look forward to reading and answering your questions very soon.

I look forward to hearing from you all. Good night, pleasant nightmares, and remember to look up the local fireworks ordinances in your area before setting them off this weekend. For all you know, your patriotic celebration could be illegal because you don’t have a license, like in Ohio. Some of my neighbors are going to learn that the hard way.

Announcing the Rami Ungar the Writer Ten Year Blogging Anniversary AMA!!!

Posted: July 2, 2021 in Living and Life, Progress Report
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Damn, that title’s a mouthful!

Still, it’s the truth. In one month, on August 2nd, 2021, I will mark the ten-year anniversary of when I started this blog. And in honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I would do something fun. An Ask Me Anything, or AMA. All you Followers of Fear will have the opportunity to ask me questions and get some answers (assuming the questions are appropriate, of course).

But this isn’t just any AMA. Oh no, that would be too dull. No. This will be an AMA with a prize!

That’s right. One lucky Follower of Fear will receive a special prize for submitting a question to the AMA. And no, Iseult, it’s not a dragon bat! Not even a baby one. Trust me, even small ones would be too much for most people to handle.

Rather, this prize will be a surprise (or is that sur-prize?). You’ll have to wait till August 2nd to find out what the prize is and who the winner will be.

As for how to participate in the AMA, here are the directions. Just send an email with your question (just one question per person, mind you) and where you’re from to my email address, ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com. Use the subject “Ten Year Anniversary AMA.” Send them in by 11:59 PM on July 28th, 2021. Prize winner will be announced at the end of the AMA post.

Or posts, if this thing gets a lot of questions. You never know.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope you’ll participate and ask some awesome, silly, mysterious, thoughtful, penetrating, strange, and/or universe-destroying questions.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Rami Ungar the Writer’s Seven-Year Blogging Anniversary

Posted: August 2, 2018 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Happy birthday to the blog,
Happy birthday to the blog.
Happy birthday to Rami Ungar the Writer,
Happy birthday to the blog.

An entire year has gone by for this blog. And it feels like so much longer for some reason. Has that ever happened to any of you? And now this blog is seven years old. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for about seven years now. This blog, along with the people I get to interact with on it, has become so apart of my life, I can’t remember what life was like before I had it and all of you. This blog is a way to share my thoughts and feel like some people are cheering me on as I work on my career.

And this past year was especially awesome, writing and blogging-wise. I not only finished a third draft of Rose, but a fourth and a fifth, the last one changing a lot of elements in the story (for the better, I like to think). Plus I somehow managed to find a publisher for Rose, which means it’ll hopefully be published before it starts to get cold again (no promises, though). I managed to write and edit some more stories, and I even got Car Chasers accepted for publication (and I may have news on another short story very soon, fingers crossed). And I was able to gain, keep, and surpass a thousand followers on this blog. These are all things I hoped would happen in my anniversary post last year, and they all happened.

Not to mention the things that happened in my personal life, which I don’t talk about that much on this blog anymore but are still worth mentioning at any rate. Work has been busy, but I’ve accomplished a lot that’s been set before me, including traveling and attending important trainings for work, and even coordinating programs that are meant to improve my organization; I saw three ballets live and one on video, leading to the discovery of my obsession with the art form (I also saw a couple of Broadway plays, and that was pretty cool); I joined the Horror Writers Association, and have been reaping the benefits since; I finally got my driver’s license, after nearly ten years of on-and-off driving practice; and so much more. It’s incredible how much I’ve been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

Oh, that’s why this year felt longer. I’ve been doing so much, it felt like it went on longer than it was.

But anyway, a huge reason why I’ve been able to do so much is because of you, my Followers of Fear. You’re always there, rooting for and supporting me. I’m honestly amazed sometimes at how much this blog has grown, and the friendships I’ve been able to strike up through the interactions here. I say this a lot during these posts, but there was a time when I only got a few views every couple of days, and hardly any interaction from readers. It really means a lot to me that you’re all here, reading what I have to say and responding to it. You are all so totally amazing and I can’t thank you enough for that.

So what’s going to happen in the next year? Well, I hope to keep putting out quality material on this blog. I want to get Rose out on the market so you all can read it (and maybe give me reviews for feedback?). I want to get a car, now that I finally have a license. I plan to get more stories written, edited and maybe even published. Perhaps I’ll even start a new novel. And so much more. We’ll have to check back and see what I managed to do a year from now.

In the meantime, I’ve got a lot of fun stuff coming up, including a trip to the Ohio State Reformatory for a spooky haunted tour (that’s Sunday! Here’s hoping I get some paranormal evidence on video again). I’ll make sure to update you all on that as soon as I can. So until next time, my Followers of Fear, pleasant nightmares. Lots and lots of pleasant nightmares.

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