Posts Tagged ‘novel’

8 More Problems That Only Horror Fans Have That Nobody Else Gets

Posted: July 22, 2015 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff
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Two months ago, I published a post about problems only horror fans have and understand. Since then, I’ve thought of more problems that face the horror community, so I’ve decided to write a post about those problems and try being funny as well as educational. And I’ll probably fail miserably while I’m at it.

And now you’re thinking, “He’s going to try to be funny and educational and fail at it too? EEEK!” I wish you wouldn’t think that, I put a lot of work into this blog post!

1. Not enough Slender-Man media. If you live under a rock, Slender-Man is an Internet meme I’ve visited before on this blog, a faceless being with a tall body and long, lanky arms wearing a suit. The myth varies depending on who’s telling it, but usually he lives in the woods, occasionally has tentacles, and likes to kidnap/scare/sometimes even kill children. It started as a couple of photos made for a contest on an Internet site and has since grown and become a modern piece of Internet folklore.

Sadly, Slender-Man’s copyrighted, and not by the guy who originally created him (who is fine with any adaptations as long as they’re good), but by a third party whose identity is unknown to the public. So if you want to make a for-profit work based on good ol’ Slendy, you need to find this third party and ask them for permission. Which sucks because how can you negotiate a deal with someone you can’t find? Such is the quest to make Slender-Man merchandise.

2. We’re getting our IT adaptation…with a catch. Last time I wrote about this, I mentioned how Cary Fukunaga’s two-part adaptation of the Stephen King classic was cancelled because Fukunaga and New Line couldn’t see eye-to-eye over budget and creative directions. Well, good news, looks like New Line is still trying to make the adaptation. Just two problems: one is it’s probably going to be a single movie. Really? This is a thousand page book! Even a three hour movie will hardly get most of what made one of King’s scariest creations very good.

Even worse, the guy being courted for director is Andy Muschietti, who directed 2013’s Mama. Now a lot of people found that movie scary, but I felt that it was overall not very good. Started out great, but got slow and cliched near the end. So you can see why I’m a little hesitant over this directing choice, especially with only one movie to work with.

Seriously, why not two parts? The Hobbit got three, and it’s one book! And when Peter Jackson adapted the LOTR trilogy, it was a big, risky move. Look at how that paid out!

*Sigh* I really hope I’m surprised by this movie if it comes to be.

3. “Why not a happy story?” This actually happened to me today. I was talking to my boss and we were discussing an ice cream truck that passes through the base every day. I was trying to think of a short story involving an ice cream truck with an original and scary twist. She just looked at me with this funny face and asked, “Why can’t you write a happy story?”

Who says horror stories can’t have happiness in them? Seriously, some of them do end with the monsters gone and the main characters still alive and actually stronger for their struggles against evil. Yeah, some of them end in tragedy. But there are happy endings.

And besides, would a happy story really be that interesting? Once upon a time a bunch of schoolchildren went to play in the flower fields. They picked flowers, and one of the ones they picked turned into a handsome prince. The prince said a witch had turned him into a flower after he refused to marry her, and he would’ve died with the first frost if the kids hadn’t plucked him among the flower fields. So the prince made them all honorary princes and princesses and they were forever allowed into his castle to eat ice cream and ride the horses and learn how to dance like they do at Viennese balls.

I think I might vomit if I don’t fall asleep from boredom.

4. “But don’t you get nightmares?” Another one from my boss (in her defense, I think she ordered a copy of Reborn City today, so at least we know she’s got good taste). Yes, I do get nightmares occasionally. It’s estimated that all adults get at least two nightmares a year. Rarely do I get them from the movies I watch and books I read, though. And I’m willing to risk the possibility that one day I’ll be scared in my dreams because of one of those books or movies. Just means someone’s doing their job in making something super-scary, right?

I’ll even dream about him if it means a good scary story!

5. Horror’s so cliched. Actually, no it’s not. True, a lot of horror stories do have their tropes and conventions that appear a lot: the virgin girl, the slutty girl, the campground, the sin factor, etc. But hey, have you seen people who get upset over Bible films if there’s even a single deviation from even the most obscure text? They want the same story every time! Now that’s a lot of cliches.

And horror doesn’t always rely on cliches. There’s a lot of originality in horror, if you care to look. It Follows, I Am a Ghost, Carrie, Dracula, Interview with a Vampire. All of those were very original, thank you very much.

6. Horror has no depth. Oh, so there’s no depth in a ghost or heads getting cut off? Really? Well, where’s the depth in comedies with fart jokes? Or stories where we all go in knowing the hero and heroine will eventually hook up and that’s the only reason why we paid money for this? Where’s the depth in that?

You’d be surprised how deep a horror story can go. Anne Rice’s early Vampire Chronicles are known for their poetic philosophy and imagery. Some, including the author, has described them as “the agnostic’s search for the truth” (this is a rough quote, I may have phrased it wrong). IT, which I discussed above, deals simultaneously with the loss of childhood innocence and the rediscovery of childhood belief. And don’t you dare tell me that The Shining doesn’t explore the struggle of personal needs and desires versus the good of the group! Think about it!

7. No, I’m not sex-starved and that’s why I enjoy horror. Yeah, horror sometimes is dirty. Doesn’t mean we’re making up for something. Unless you’re the filmmakers behind the Friday the 13th remake, in which case you packed in as many boobs as possible because you wanted people to see the movie AND it was a dry spell (Ooh, new slam on that shitty movie!).

And why are you wondering about our sex lives? It’s none of your business, you perverts!

Yeah, I like these guys. So what?

8. Ghost hunting. Okay, this might just be my problem, but just bear with me, because it’s related. Plenty of people believe in ghosts, interest in horror or not. Some of us believe that it is possible to find out about ghosts using modern-day technology, which is why we support ghost hunters and even watch some of the ghost-hunting teams that have their own TV shows.

So what’s the problem? Some people think ghost hunters are snake oil salesmen and make fun of them and their shows whenever the subject comes up. For those like me who believe in ghosts and maybe even base our ghost mythologies on what ghost hunters may uncover in investigations, it’s hurtful.

Yeah, this isn’t strictly a horror problem. But it’s a problem nonetheless.

~~~

Did you identify with any of these problems? Did I miss any? Was I funny? If not, did you at least learn something?

Well, hope you enjoyed this whatever your reaction. Just thought I’d get out another list. Hopefully I won’t find any more reasons we horror fans have it tough. Have a goodnight, Followers of Fear!

The wait till DVD…oh dammit!

Working in Germany

Posted: July 17, 2015 in Living and Life, Tales from Abroad, Writing
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So I’m sure many of you are wondering what it’s like to work for the US Army in Europe. Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

Okay, how many of you laughed at that, and how many of you took that seriously?

In reality, I can go into a bit of what I’ve been doing here, as long as I don’t give away anything that could even remotely threaten national security (and that doesn’t give any information to stalkers. Yeah, you know who you are. I know you’re out there. Especially you!). So without further ado, here’s what I’ve been doing in the office lately.

So, if you haven’t heard lately, I’ve been working in the Equal Employment Opportunity office at the base in Wiesbaden, which is actually central command for US Army Europe. And guess what else? My office is the top EEO office for all of Europe. I’m not kidding, if the general needs advice on EEO stuff, he goes to the head of the office, Ms. Moya, to discuss policy (apparently she’s written the book on EEO in the Army, and is a major reason why I can even work in the Army when technically I have a disability). Besides Ms. Moya, there’s Mr. Vitiello, who is my direct supervisor and is considered one of the top EEO specialists on the continent, and there’s me. The new guy learning the ropes and contributing any way I can. It’s a small but extremely important office, and we’re busy each and every day.

And speaking of offices, I have one of my own. Yeah, I do. At the moment we’re moving some things around the larger EEO office, so mine’s become the designated storage space for all our supplies till we’re done with the moving. But yeah, for the next two-and-a-half months (perhaps longer, we’ll see) it’s my office. And I’m pretty psyched about it. I got my own key and a computer with two monitors and a nice view out one of the windows. It’s not too bad.

As for what I’ve been doing…well, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on diversity. There’s not a lot of coursework that can be taken in that subject. Well, maybe there is. It’s kind of an HR job in a way, so maybe go to business school with a focus on HR and…I’m getting off track. Anyway, it’s a big topic to talk about, especially in regards to the Army, so I’ve got a lot of reading to do. I’m happy to do it, of course. It’s not horror novels, but it’s interesting and informative, so there’s a plus.

I’ve also been writing, specifically I’ve been writing an article on the benefits of diversity in the Army that will appear in a newsletter that will be read all over Europe. I did a lot of research for the article, and now it’s going through editing phases. I’ve also been filling paperwork out and taking online courses for work (when the Internet is actually working for me. We’ve had problems with that. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another” has become a common refrain for me lately).  And in off moments, when there’s nothing to do, I find time to write, which can be scarce during these busy days.

As for the rest of the base…that’s classified. I can say that the buildings and layout are not what I expected. At times it reminds me of a camp I once visited as a teenager, where nothing seemed to be near anything else, and at other times it seems like a small community in a desert town in Arizona or the Mojave (and there’s the writer in me). When I head outside, it’s often warm and sunny, which means I sometimes sweat off my sunscreen (and that’s why I put it on three times a day). But it’s a nice place to work, and I’m figuring out where everything is slowly but surely.

Me at the office.

Me at the office.

Well, that’s all to mention right now. I’m sure as I get through the paperwork and as the Internet gets fixed and all that other stuff, I’ll get into some sort of routine and learn quite a bit more on the subject. And if I stay longer…who knows? Maybe I’ll even get my driver’s license! We’ll see what happens.

In the meantime, tomorrow I go on a trip to Frankfurt through the USO (and this time I know exactly where we’re meeting), and if I get the chance after I get back, I upload a ton of photos and write a blog post about it. Sunday I’m planning on chilling at home and finishing up this short story I’ve been working on before diving back into editing Video Rage. So wish me luck, everyone. I feel I might need it.

Guten nacht, mein Anhanger der Angst!

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: July 17, 2015 in ideas, Novel, Scary Stuff, Writing
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It’s Friday again! So you know what that means! It’s #FirstLineFriday, when I post the first or first two sentences from a potential story, a work-in-progress, or something I’ve already published. This is my seventh #FirstLineFriday post, and my hopes that this will become a trend seem not to have been disappointed (thank you Joleene Naylor for helping to spread this with me).

This week’s lines comes from a story I had the idea for earlier this week, a creepy supernatural thriller taking place in turn-of-the-century Missouri (which coincidentally is where I was born. Missouri, not the turn-of-the-century). Enjoy:

John awoke to the smell of his mother’s cooking in the other room and turned over, smiling. He had a feeling today would be a good day.

Thoughts? Comments? Errors? Let me know.

I’m hoping to get something else out later today if I can, so keep an eye out. I’ll be telling everyone what working at an Army base is like…without giving away any classified information, of course. That would be a stupid thing to do in so many different ways.

Have a good one, my Followers of Fear!

Tigress Lizzy Is Going To Be Published

Posted: July 1, 2015 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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I’m very proud to announce that one of my short stories, “Tigress Lizzy”, is going to be published this October in a very special Halloween anthology. This anthology is going to be published by the same people who published Strange Portals, the anthology I was featured in back in December. I’m very excited that I’m getting published with them again and very grateful that they liked my work so much. I’m looking forward to seeing what they produced this time.

“Tigress Lizzy” can be considered my tribute to Stephen King’s Carrie, which is still one of my favorite works by the author. It’s the story of a teenage girl who’s school life is incredibly difficult, but one day she is offered a gift that allows her to get back at everyone who has hurt her. It’s a dark and bloody work, and like Carrie it shows that when you push someone repeatedly, sometimes you cross a line and release a whole ton of horror.

At this point, the anthology is still being assembled, and it doesn’t have a name or a cover yet. However as my work’s been accepted, I’ll be getting updates regularly and posting them either here on the blog or on my Facebook or Twitter pages. In the meantime, if you’ve got something you think could go into the anthology, you can click here to get the details. They’re accepting submissions till the end of August, so you’ve got some time till then. Good luck!

All for now. I’ve got some writing to do, so I’m going to get to it. Wish me luck, my Followers of Fear!

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: June 26, 2015 in Novel, Writing
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Bit late in the day, but it’s Friday, so it’s #FirstLineFriday! On this day, I post the first or first two lines of a published work, work-in-progress, or potential story. Today’s selection comes from my first published novel, Reborn City. I hope you like it.

Zahara and her family had decided to eat out at a restaurant in North Reborn that served kosher meat, the closest they could get to halāl.

Thoughts? Comments? Grammatical problems? Let me know. Have a good weekend!

 

Time’s A Quick Bastard

Posted: June 25, 2015 in ideas, Living and Life, Reflections, short story, Writing
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I’m getting very naughty. First I’m swearing in Facebook posts, now I’m swearing in the titles of my blog posts.

Recently I had my five-hundredth idea for a short story or novelette since I started keeping a list. It was actually last night as I was getting ready for bed. I was thinking of an SVU rerun I’d watched earlier in the day and I thought of a minor character in the episode and what might’ve happened if he’d done some things differently in that episode. That birthed an idea (ah, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. One of these days I will do a post about how you’ve gotten in my head and given me so many ideas for stories). Anyway, it occurred to me that this would be my five-hundredth idea. And then I asked myself how many I’d actually at least gotten a first draft of. And today I counted.

The total count: 17. Yeah, only 17 out of 500 have at least made it past the first draft (what state they are afterwards varies). This was about the amount I expected, though I’m not happy about how little I’ve written. When I was thinking about this last night, I thought to myself, Time’s a quick bastard. It moves by so fast, and between school, the hurdles of getting a job, practicing German, the Netflix binges I keep getting myself drawn into, and everything else going on, you can’t keep up. Too bad. Some of these story ideas are really awesome.

That’s the sad part about being the author. You want to be able to write all the time, to not have to sleep or eat and the only distractions are ones you want to get distracted by and that don’t take up a lot of time. Sadly, reality is not always so pleasant, and we’ve got to deal with it how we can. As much as I would like to write more, as much as I would like to get a few more items on that list crossed off, I know that I don’t always have the time for it.

And I would like more time, definitely. I would. And maybe someday I will have more time. I know friends who’ve gotten publishing contracts or have gotten enough sales through self-publishing and they find more time to write and edit and publish and market. True, this often comes after many years of writing, when they’ve had careers, built up portfolios, had other stuff work for them. It’s something involving luck, ambition, hard work, dedication, and of course time.

Funny, time’s like money. You have to spend it to make it. Time’s not just a quick bastard, time’s a hard one to work with. And of course sometimes you don’t get the time you look for. Or you do but there’s family concerns or people want you to devote your time to other stuff because suddenly you have more of it. It’s a tough life to live, knowing that the time doesn’t always work with you in your writing career.

Still, I’m not letting time–what time I have–get away from me. After so much time, Video Rage is finally getting edited. I’ watched a documentary tonight over dinner that’ll help me with a story I’ve been struggling with for over a year. I’ve even figured out what short stories I might work on after I’ve finished with Video Rage, and what I’ll do after those are done. What little time I have, I’ll make work for me until I have more.

Time’s a quick and tricky bastard to work with. But I’m not going to let time get the best of me. Eventually, I’ll get time to work for me, so I’ll be the most prolific author I can be.

Until then, I keep doing what I’ve done since I first started my goal of writing to become published: just one word at a time, until the story comes together.

Review: “Prince Lestat” by Anne Rice

Posted: June 21, 2015 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff
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My crazy, busy life finally gave me time to read the continuation of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, so I downloaded it to my Kindle at the first opportunity and started reading. And it was awesome, and shows that even over a decade later and after a fad of sparkly vamps that many wish had never surfaced, Anne Rice and her vampire characters, particularly that rascal Lestat, can still tell a mesmerizing and heart-pounding story.

In Prince Lestat, the vampires have proliferated all over the world and the vampire world is in chaos. There is a need for the Children of Darkness to come together, and Lestat’s name has been floated as someone who could lead the change. Of course, the Brat Prince, between wandering in isolation and trying to figure out his iPhone, would rather not have that sort of responsibility thrust upon him. That is, until a horrific tragedy, worse than when Akasha rose from her sleep, strikes the global vampire community, and Lestat may be the one to put an end to this cataclysm, whether he wants to or not.

The book starts out with a quick guide to the world of the Vampire Chronicles (perfect if you’re like me and you haven’t read the books in a number of years) before sliding into the story. And at once, you are transported by Anne Rice’s storytelling, which is poetic, prosaic, melodic, sometimes erotic, and a few other -ics all at the same time. It’s wonderful seeing all these characters again and how they’ve changed over the years, and meeting a few new ones who impress themselves upon your hearts almost immediately.

The plot is also fun, exciting and mysterious, with each twist and revelation making you pause to take it in. And it’s interesting to read how the vampires have adjusted to the Internet Age. Some have adjusted quite well: Benji Mahmoud from The Vampire Armand has his own Internet radio show, which has become like a staple of vampire culture in this day and age. Others, like Lestat…well, you saw my summary above.

It’s also interesting to see some of the evolutions taking place in Rice’s style. In previous reviews of her books, I’ve mentioned how she’s incorporated science into her books where before she’s preferred to use magic and the supernatural. In Prince Lestat, she brings science into the story through two new characters who act as vampire doctors and scientists with the goal of studying vampires. You read that right, she has vampire scientists! Not what I expected either, considering how many vampires have been or are musicians or patricians or artists or whatnot. They and their work are a fun twist in the whole saga that lead to some interesting plot points, as well as making the reader rethink the whole series through their perspective.

There’s much more I could say about the book, but I’ll wrap up by saying that if Anne Rice is looking to write a whole new series of vampire books, she’s done a great job launching it with Prince Lestat. As magical as any of the other books, with enough characters to make you think you’re having a reunion with old friends and a plot that not only is intriguing and holds up on its own but with an ending that sets up for future books, which from what I hear we can look forward to.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I’m giving Prince Lestat a perfect score of 5. It’s a moving cannonball back into an intriguing universe, and I cannot wait to find out what happens in Blood Paradise when it comes out.

And I wouldn’t mind another werewolf novel. And I would really like to know what happens next to Toby O’Dare, so when can we expect the next book in the Songs of the Seraphim series? Just asking.

Character Depth in Horror Stories

Posted: June 21, 2015 in Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Last night as I was dropping off to sleep and feeling happy about setting up that new blog of mine (thanks to everyone who’s already signed up to follow that, by the way), my mind started to wander, as it usually does right before I fall asleep. This time around my mind went to horror stories (yeah, it does that quite often too), and I started to ponder character depth and development in horror stories. At some point I realized that in horror, you often have either characters who are very well-rounded and developed, or you have characters that are little more than archetypes, e.g. the Skeptical Dad, the Final Girl, The Psychic Child, The Expert, etc. And you know what else I realized, what made me get up out of bed and write this revelation down before I fell asleep and forgot? Sometimes these stories require different level of character development, depending on what the story is.

Let me explain. In certain scary stories, such as Stephen King’s The Shining (the book, not that poorly adapted Kubrick film), the characters are more than just archetypes and we get to know them very well. This is because their inner conflicts are just as important to the story as is the outer conflicts happening with the hotel. Jack Torrance is trying to keep his cool and be a good husband and father for his family after so many screw ups, while also fending off his desire to drink and the mental assaults of the hotel. His wife Wendy is trying to keep her family together while also keeping an eye on Jack in case he reverts to bad habits. And Danny, psychic and wise beyond his years, is trying to stay strong and endure the hotel’s attempts to kill him because he knows a lot is riding on his father taking care of the hotel through the winter. How they react to situations and grow as characters is just as important as what is happening within the hotel, so King makes sure they are well-developed.

Part of the terror (in the book, anyway), comes from the conflicts these characters wrestle with inside themselves as well as the ones the hotel sends them.

Meanwhile other stories don’t need as much character development. Take Insidious 3, for example (yes, I’m using the third entry in a horror film series, but bear with me). Besides main character Elise Rainier, most of the characters in the film do not get much character development. In the Brenner family, who are experiencing all these supernatural happenings, you don’t see much beyond the roles they play in the story: Quinn is a pretty girl with dreams of acting and is being victimized by a spirit, her dad Sean is the scatter-brained parent trying to keep his family together through grief and tragedy, and the annoying younger brother Alex is…well, the annoying younger brother. Despite not getting a lot of characterization though, these three characters do actually get some growth in the story: Quinn’s car accident and the spirit attacking her causes her, her brother, and her father to get out of their own little worlds and come together as a family to save Quinn’s life.

And of course, there are those stories that require little or no characterization or growth at all. This is common in slasher films, where the characters are often reduced to archetypes or roles (anyone who’s seen Cabin in the Woods knows what I’m talking about). This also happens in a short story I had an idea for recently (and that I might write as soon as I finish editing Video Rage). In this story, I decided that I wouldn’t spend time going over why the protagonist’s younger brother is a bratty kid or why the antagonists are as freaky as they are. The reason I decided this is because the events of the story are where the terror and intrigue come from, not from any inner growth. This is usually the case with slasher films as well: the events of the story are where we get our terror and excitement from, so more attention is pointed towards telling the story than going over any inner conflicts of the characters.

Half the fun of this show is seeing these two interact with each other.

What I’m driving at here is that how much character development is required from a story depends a lot on where the excitement and fear is coming from and how essential developing a character is in order to keep a reader or viewer invested in the story. In the case of a Nightmare on Elm Street film or the story I mentioned above, we’re reading or seeing the story because we know that the story’s events is where we’re going to get the excitement we paid to read/see. In the case of stories like The Shining or most episodes of Hannibal though, a major reason why we’re investing time into the story is because of the characters, not just what’s happening around them. This is especially so in Hannibal, because most of the conflicts and intrigue comes from the characters, their psychological states, and how they play against one another. We’re there not just because Hannibal Lecter is a famous and charismatic serial killer, we’re also there because we like seeing how Will Graham’s relationship with Lecter changes and evolves over time.

And knowing how much to balance of these two elements–character development and story-focus–is very important. Look at the remake of Poltergeist that came out recently. It was an awful film, and one of the many problems it had was that they tried to insert character development near the beginning of the film and failed miserably. Early on it focused on the dad losing his job and trying to find a new one, as well as mentioned something about the wife being a writer. I think the filmmakers were trying to translate this into an arc where the family tries to stay together and come together through rough circumstances, but ultimately the whole thread of the dad looking for a job and the parents trying to keep the family together fails to really get resolved or come together and ends up feeling unnecessary to the story. You’d think that it would just be enough to say the dad got promoted or transferred or a new job and leave it at that!

So whether it’s a zombie flick, a novel about a haunted house, or a psychological horror TV show, knowing the balance between character development and story-focus is just as important as creating a memorable and creepy villain or writing the story in such a way so that the story actually remains scary rather than goofy or just plain stupid (*cough* Friday the 13th remake *cough*). If you do, you’re more likely to write a good story worth remembering than you are to write garbage that horror fans sift through trying to find a nugget of gold.

I’ll certainly keep the balance in mind with the next story I write.

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: June 19, 2015 in Writing
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It’s Friday again, which means it’s #FirstLineFriday! This is when I post the first or first two sentences of a current work, a work-in-progress, or a potential work. As I know a lot of the people who follow me are also writers, I’m hoping to start a trend. Here’s this week’s entry:

Whenever it snows, I start to feel the old depression and anxiety rise up in me, and I remember those horrific three days. The worst three days of my life.

Thoughts? Grammar or spelling errors? Want to know more? Let me know, I’d love to talk about it.

All for now, I’m busy editing and doing other stuff, so I’ll get back to that. Have a nice weekend, Followers of Fear!

The Results of the Big Birthday Sale

Posted: June 15, 2015 in Living and Life, Writing
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So as you probably already know, since my birthday last Wednesday I’ve had a sale on all my books, where the paperbacks were marked down and the e-books were made free. I called it the Big Birthday Sale and it ended last night at midnight. Now, I don’t know how many of you are actually curious to ask how the big sale went. I’m sure you have better things to do with your life, especially if you have your own book out there and you’re trying to get that into people’s hands. However, I learned some very interesting things from doing this sale, the first time I’ve ever done a sale like this, and I’d like to discuss them. So if you’re not already heading to close the tab you’re reading this in, here’s how the Big Birthday Sale went.

To say the least, it was a big success. In total, I had a little under twelve-hundred books sold or downloaded over the course of five days, most of them e-books from Amazon. Not only that, but the people buying or downloading came from all over the world: the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, and even India and Japan! I’ve got readers in freaking India and Japan! I feel like JK Rowling or Stephen King, almost!

I think a big part of why I’ve gotten so many people reading was due to the Facebook ads I ran during the course of the sale. Each day I’d do a new ad, spending about ten to twenty dollars on promotional costs. This allowed me to reach a much broader and more diverse audience than I could’ve hoped on my own, and hopefully the many people who checked out my books because of the ads will be interested in finding out more about me because of the books. In fact, a good number of people already have: at the beginning of the sale, my Facebook page had 140 likes. Today, it has about 390 likes. Yeah, apparently those ads were pretty effective. Most of the people who liked my page were from India, it seems, judging by the names I keep seeing in my notifications. Interesting…maybe I’ll become one of those authors who’s really popular in another country, and I’m never quite sure why.

Anyway, I’m not sure how many of these new likes will stick around. With platforms like Facebook and Twitter, people like and unlike pages for the craziest of reasons (I once only liked a page for a soft drink so I could enter a contest. Soon as the contest ended and I lost, I unliked it faster than you can say “Sorry, please try again”), but I’m hopeful at least half of them will stick around to watch as I work on becoming a great horror author.

In the meantime, I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the Big Birthday Sale, getting books or even spreading the word by sharing my posts. It means a lot to me that you would check out my work and want to read it. And if you do end up reading my stories, please let me know what you think, whether in a comment, a blog post on your own personal blog, or a review on Amazon. Positive or negative, I appreciate feedback, and I’d love to hear yours!

Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got a few things to take care of today, and then I’m editing Video Rage so that all my Reborn City fans can get the sequel they desperately want to read. I’ll let you guys know if anything new or exciting comes up. Have a great day, my Followers of Fear!

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