Posts Tagged ‘publishing’

45 Days Left of the Decade

Posted: November 18, 2019 in Living and Life, Reflections
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I normally don’t do introspective posts like this. You know me, if it’s not something horror or writing-related, there’s a good chance it’s related to an issue near and dear to my heart, such as disability rights and awareness. But I found out today that there’s only 45 days left of the year, and it’ll be even less once you’re reading this post. And that’s significant, because it’s not just the end of 2019 that’s approaching, but the end of the 2010’s. And that’s crazy to think about. An entire decade is ending in just over a month and a half.

So I’d like to take a bit of time and write about my thoughts concerning the ending of 2019 and the 2010’s.*

And a lot can be said about either subject. For 2019, I’m going to argue that the best things about this year were in terms of entertainment. Think about it: Avengers Endgame, The Lighthouse, Us and the fourth season of Lucifer. They were all amazing! And the rest was pretty much cringe-inducing (I won’t say anymore on that lest I break my rule about commenting on politics and certain current events).

But it’s hard to deny that it’s been a tough year, and a tough decade to boot. Depending on who you ask, things either started out good and got worse over the years, or things started out bad and got better. Or a couple other answers, but those are the main ones, I think. However you saw the 2010’s, it’s been a decade of profound change. Technology became faster and more efficient, more ubiquitous and necessary to our lives. Many peoples became more divided because of beliefs, or backgrounds, or a hundred other reasons. Leaders have changed, and with them the policies of various nations. The need to protect the environment has become stronger, and we’ve taken steps forward and backward to address that. Pop culture took radical shifts too, with horror gaining a new, hard-won respect it previously never enjoyed, and Marvel became the movie powerhouse that DC has always been. Streaming has become the new frontier. And more media is being created every day to reflect our increasingly diverse society, with much of it making into the mainstream. All along lots more remakes and reboots and sequels than anyone wanted or needed.

In short, lots and lots of change.

The 2010’s were a decade of change for me as well. Quite literally. I started the decade as a high school student who thought I had a cushy after-school job selling basketball tickets and that I was going to be a bestselling author by the time I was 25. I graduated high school, went to college and dealt with all the growth and crazy and learning that comes with it. I went on a study abroad trip, moved to my first apartment, and graduated again. I went to Germany for an internship, and then came home for the nadir of the decade, where I dealt with a horrific job search and back pain. I finally got my job and my old place. My health improved, though at some point I did develop a nasty anxiety disorder. I visited haunted locations I’d always dreamed of visiting. I got my driver’s license and my car.

At some point, I stopped being a kid and started being an adult. And along the way, I found this amazing community of writers and bloggers and readers and published books and short stories along the way, including Rose this past summer. It’s been kind of crazy.

And for the most part, the decade was good. Yeah, there were some bad times, but the good are what I remember the most. Mostly because the good was the result of my own hard work and perseverance.

And as the new Roaring Twenties approach (hopefully they’ll be roaring because they’re fun, and not because of nuclear missiles being launched everywhere), there’s something we should all keep in mind. I know the future seems bleak and scary. Believe me, all I have to do is look at the news to be reminded of that fact. But we have the power to make good things happen. I’ve seen amazing things happen just through sheer effort. And when you take a step towards what you want to see in the world, you’ll see the world come together to help you along.

So as we end this year 44 days from now and enter a new decade, just remember to keep your chin up. You have the power to make the changes you want to see. And when you take those steps, you’ll be amazed at what you accomplish.

Well, this post is getting super long. I’ll cut off here and say see you Thursday at the latest. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, pleasant nightmares!

*Normally I’d reserve this sort of post for New Year’s. However, I’ve noticed that, probably because of the holidays, those posts don’t get that many readers. So I figure I might as well get my thoughts out now before we’re all caught up in our personal lives and can’t spare any time to read blog posts.

A Word About NaNoWriMo, Toyland, and Other Stuff in the Works

Posted: October 29, 2019 in Progress Report, Writing
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So it’s about three days till National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. For those of you who are unaware, NaNoWriMo (which at this point is an international event) is a yearly challenge held every November (though some writers do it when they actually have time for it), where writers will attempt to write a fifty-thousand word novel within thirty days, or just under seventeen hundred words per day. Anyone who actually manages to get that amount wins bragging rights and a sense of accomplishment.

Anyway, I’ll be participating this year, my first time since college. And with all that writing, there’s a good chance I’ll be blogging less during that time. I do plan to post regular updates on the progress of my NaNoWriMo project, as well as any reviews of movies/shows/books I feel I need to post. And if anything pertaining to my career pops up (like something getting published or released, God willing), I’ll post about that. But in case even that’s not happening much, I’d like to leave this post so people know what’s up with me and my work while I’m neck-deep in storytelling.

It’s possibly an exercise in narcissism, to think you all are interested in that, but hell, it’s my blog. I’ll do what I want here. Onward ho!

Toyland

The one-sentence pitch for my NaNoWriMo project is, “A boarding school is haunted by a ghost obsessed with a children’s book.” It’s a Gothic horror novel with hints of the weird, and I’m very excited to be working on it. The first chapter is already half-written in my head, as well as several other scenes. I’ve gone through the outline at least seven times, so I think it’ll be free of plot holes and other issues. Whether or not it’ll be any good, we’ll see. But I’m hopeful. After all, there were plenty of times I thought Rose was terrible. And it’s doing relatively well for my first book with a publisher.

NaNoWriMo

As I’ve stated in a few previous posts, I’m taking time off from work for the first third of November to work on Toyland. The plan is to get up around seven or eight each morning, eat breakfast, write, eat lunch and read, write some more, and then knock off for the evening. Maybe see a movie if anything good is playing. Of course, I’ll adjust these plans as situations evolve. You never know when I might need a run an errand or something along those lines. Or write a blog post. Or get drawn into anime or a horror television series and binge several episodes in a row (ah, the fun of ADHD and procrastination).

After I return to work, I’ll be spending a lot of time doing catch-up and whatnot, so I may have to work late some days and not get to write some evenings while I recover my equilibrium. However, the point of participating in NaNoWriMo this year isn’t to finish the book in thirty days, but just to give me one hell of a head start. So even if during the last twenty days of November I don’t get as much as I want done, if I get plenty done during the first ten, I’ll be satisfied.

River of Wrath

Unfortunately, my beta reader has not had much of a chance lately to finish this book. And unfortunately, I need their feedback on certain subjects before I can edit this story. So it’s going to be a while till I get to edit this novel (which, coincidentally, I finished almost a year ago. October 30th, 2018 at about one in the morning. That was a fun night).

On the bright side, by the time I get to it, I’ll have plenty of energy and desire to get it done. And maybe another book or two out. I can hope, anyway.

The Short Story Collection

I’ve been busy on that, believe me. These past couple of months, I’ve spent writing and editing short stories for the collection. I just haven’t been posting every time I finish one because I wanted some of them to be a surprise! As it stands, this collection is about ten stories long. I’d like three more, two short stories and maybe a novelette or novella. With NaNoWriMo and Toyland only a few days away though, I’ll have to put it off till I’m either done with the latter or ready for a break (hopefully done with it). Fingers crossed when that time comes, I’ll be done faster than you can say, “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Rose

Yes, I have some news on Rose. As I said above, the Kafkaesque horror story of a young woman turning into a plant creature is doing very well. In fact, I got my first sales report a couple weeks ago, and it was very encouraging. With Rose getting so many new reviews in October, hopefully this’ll continue into the next quarter.

And in the meantime, the audio book is coming along swimmingly! As I said, I’ve heard the first fifteen minutes, and it sent chills up my spine! And last week, my publisher shared with me the cover art for the audio book. The way things are going, it could be out early or mid-November. And when it is, not only will I be the first to download a copy, but I’ll be making sure everyone else knows to check it out too.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in checking out Rose, I’ll leave the links for it down below. And if you do end up reading Rose, please let me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and reviews help me out in the long run.

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

 

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. If I don’t catch you around Halloween, I’ll catch you at some point during the first week of November. Until next time, pleasant nightmares and Happy Halloween!

Rose: An Avalanche of Reviews!!!

Posted: October 13, 2019 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Hello, my name is Rami Ungar, and I’m pretty much in the best mood ever. Not even that sacrifice getting loose and running to the police station can’t bring me down. Why? Well, the sacrifice’s warrants are going to prove problematic and I’m merciful with my cultists. But the real reason I’m so happy is because I’ve been receiving so many new reviews of Rose!

Now if you’re unfamiliar with Rose, first off, hi, welcome to the blog. Second, Rose is my first novel with a publisher, a fantasy-horror novel about a young woman turning into a plant creature (and that’s just the start of her problems). I wrote it as my college thesis originally, edited it on and off over five years, and then somehow got it published about four months ago with Castrum Press.

And as I said, a lot of new reviews have been popping up lately. Many of them have come from book bloggers, some of whom have left their reviews on Amazon and Goodreads as well. In fact, on Amazon Rose has over twenty reviews. Which, is a huge deal. Not only is that more reviews than any of my other works, but once you get past twenty, Amazon includes your books in that little space that says, “Customers Who Bought This Book Also Bought.” So thanks to everyone’s reviews, Rose will have slightly more visibility on Amazon in the future.

And what reviews they’ve been, too! Most of them have been extremely positive.* One blogger said, “Ungar has created a new horror monster that isn’t quite like the rest.” Another said, “Don’t let the beautiful, delicate cover fool you–this is out-and-out horror.” My job here is done.

Anyway, I’m just really thankful for all the reviews. I’m still trying to establish myself and carve out an audience. And with all these reviews, I’m hopeful Rose will be read by more people, and help me build my audience for the next book I put out there, whatever that is.

If you want to read any of these reviews, I’ll post the links below and update as more bloggers post reviews. After all, they deserve just as much exposure for giving Rose some much-needed exposure. I’ll also include links for those who want to read Rose themselves. And if you do end up checking it out, let me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love feedback, and it helps me out in the long run.

Also, thanks to Blackthorn Book Tours for putting Rose in the hands of so many reviewers. You’ve been such a big help for me lately. I hope we can do this again someday with whatever I publish next.

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

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Review Sites: Goodreads, Isobel Blackthorn, Alison’s Catty Book Corner, Power Librarian, The Book Review Hub, Whispers and Wonder (great interview), The Bookwormery, #CupidIsWatchingMe, Alex J Book Reviews, Unwrapping Words, Book, Blog & Candle, Bookshine and Readbows, A Little Fool Reads, Book Reviews & More, Tattooed Bibliophile, Iseult Murphy, Literary Retreat, Megan’s Haunted House of Books (interview and review).

*Actually, I’ve been really lucky in the review department. I’ve only had one lower than three stars, and the person who left that on Goodreads said she wouldn’t leave a full review because she only gave it two stars. Which honestly only makes me curious. What did she dislike about the novel? It’s going to bug me for a while.

Announcing My National Novel Writing Month Project for 2019

Posted: September 26, 2019 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I did say I would announce this when we got a bit closer to November. And my intuition, which is right about eighty percent of the time when it comes to this sort of thing, says now is the time to make the announcement.

As many of you know, I’ve been planning to take part in National Novel Writing Month for the first time since college, or about seven years. For those of you who are unaware, National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a yearly challenge where authors try to write a novel of fifty-thousand words or more, just under seventeen-hundred words a day. This challenge is usually held in November, though sometimes authors will attempt to do it in another month when it’s more convenient for them (in which case, it’s known as Camp NaNoWriMo). I’ve been wanting to take a crack at it again for years, but college got busy, and things never quite added up in the years 2015-2018 for me to do it.

But since last November, just a few days after finishing a novel called River of Wrath at three in the morning on October 30th, I’ve been considering it. I even picked a novel out to write about. Since around early summer, I’ve been doing light research for this story. And in a little over a month, I’l be taking a bit of time off from work so I can devote as much time as possible to writing (and maybe de-stressing a bit while I’m at home). So without further ado, let me announce my next novel, a story I like to call Toyland.

Don’t let the name fool you, Toyland isn’t whimsical or cute at all. It’s a Gothic horror novel following students at a boarding school in southern Ohio. They start noticing some weird going-ons during their fall semester. A girl with dark hair, as well as strange creatures, are seen around the school. Several odd injuries, some close to fatal, fall upon students and even faculty. There even seems to be a world within the school, one in which the laws of reality have no say whatsoever. All of it seems to trace back to a children’s book discovered in the school’s library. A children’s book called Toyland.

How’s that for a setup? Granted, there’s a good chance it’ll veer away from Gothic fiction and straight into weird territory (trust me, I outlined the whole thing back at the beginning of the summer and have done subsequent drafts since). But I tend to enjoy writing stories that stray into weird territory, so it works for me.

Anyway, I’ve just about finished up the research for the book. I’ve even watched the 1961 Disney film Babes in Toyland just so I could make a comparison between that film and the kid’s book in the story.* All that’s left is to write it. And while I doubt I’ll get anywhere near the fifty-thousand word mark (I’m many things, but not a miracle worker), I do think when the first draft done, it’ll at least be a decent first draft. Maybe something worth publishing one day.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. There’s a bed calling me in the next room, and I so desperately want to sink into it for a few hours. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Why or why not? Whatever you’re doing, what sort of story are you writing?

*By the way, that was my first time watching that film, and I didn’t like it at all. Yeah, the setting looked spectacular and the villains and side characters were enjoyable, but the plot was really unfocused and the main characters were really boring. Hell, you can see the boredom on Annette Funicello’s face as she plays the female lead! She’s like “Oh my God, someone get me out of here so I can go make beach party movies. Anything would be better than this shiny lack-of-substance.”

Also, one or two of the songs feel kind of sexist nearly fifty years after the movie’s release. Especially the one where Annette complains about being unable to do her finances. Yeah, there’s a song like that. It’s kind of cringey.

And no, I won’t watch any of the other movie or television adaptations of the Babes in Toyland operetta. I won’t even watch the operetta! I suffered enough watching the most famous adaptation, thank you very much!

Rose: Three Months Since Publication

Posted: September 20, 2019 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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A lot of people have commented to me that they can’t believe we’re already in September. They just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that we only have a third of 2019 left. And honestly, I can sympathize. This year has gone by rather fast. Though in my case, that might be because so much has happened in the past eight months. Including back in June, the publication of Rose and all that has ensued since then.

Yeah, Rose has been out three months. And what a three months it’s been!

But I’ll get into all that in a bit. For those who don’t know, Rose is a novel I wrote in college, and is the first book I published with a publisher. The novel is a Kafkaesque horror story revolving around a young woman who becomes a plant creature (and that’s just the start of her problems). Yeah, I wrote a novel around that weird concept, got it published, and as of today, it has twenty-two reviews, the majority of which are four and five stars, across Amazon’s English-speaking websites, as well as some positive reviews from folks like Angela Yuriko Smith, editor of Space & Time Magazine, and Dead Head Reviews.

Honestly, I’ve been very happy with the responses I’ve gotten from the book. For one thing, not everyone who’s reading it and leaving reviews is a relative of mine or being blackmailed, which is always a nice change of pace. In fact, quite a few readers are people I’ve never met before. They heard about the book through my many different marketing strategies (including one sponsored YouTube video), picked it up, and have enjoyed it. Or been freaked out by it. That’s also been a reaction. Someone recently notified me through Facebook that she’s been having weird dreams whenever she’s read Rose before bed. To which I say, “Mission accomplished.”

With any luck, this will all lead to more people reading and maybe leaving feedback on the book, which might make things easier for the next time I publish something.

In the meantime though, the fun doesn’t stop! I mentioned in a previous post that an audio book of Rose was in the works. Today, my publisher sent me the first fifteen minutes of the audio book. Oh God, the shivers that went up my spine! I listened to it twice, and couldn’t move for either listen. I cannot wait for the full book to be available. Once it is, I plan to advertise from here to Timbuktu, and make sure as many people who want to check out the audio book can.

For now though, I’m leaving below the links for Rose below. If you’re interested, check it out, read the reviews, and maybe pick up a copy. And if you do read it, leave me a review with your thoughts. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps me out in the long run. And if you’re reading Rose right now, I hope you’re enjoying it! Can’t wait to hear what you think.

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

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Ebooks For All: A Petition for Libraries and Their Patrons

Posted: September 14, 2019 in Living and Life, Social Activism
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Normally I don’t voice my opinions or make calls to actions on this blog, but I feel like I have to say something on this one. Earlier this week, my stepmother, who works for Columbus’s library system, asked if I had any opinion on a petition the library was gathering signatures for to send to Macmillan Publishers. I did a little research, and what I found shocked me.

Starting this November, Macmillan Publishers, one of the biggest and oldest publishing firms in the world, will not allow libraries to purchase more than one copy of an ebook they publish for the first eight weeks after the book is published. For those unaware, many libraries these days lend e-books to readers who prefer reading on tablets to paperbacks using technology called e-lending, during which patrons have access to the ebook file for a short access period, after which they’re unable to access it without renewing or checking it out again. One ebook file equals one book to check out, so libraries buy multiple copies, especially for more popular books and writers. If this change goes through, libraries will only have one copy of an ebook for readers for the two months after release.

Now lest I be accused of being biased, Macmillan cites e-lending’s effects on book sales as their reason for why they’re doing it. According to a memo released by John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan:

It seems that given a choice between a purchase of an ebook for $12.99 or a frictionless lend for free, the American ebook reader is starting to lean heavily toward free.

First off, thirteen bucks for an ebook? Of course people are going to go for the cheaper option! The majority of people aren’t rich, you know. We hae rent and car bills to pay.

Second, let’s take a look at print books, which are still more popular than ebooks. Libraries order several physical copies of books by famous authors* months before they’re released. Upwards of hundreds of people reserve copies of those books and wait months to read them without having to pay anything. However, this doesn’t seem to affect publisher sales significantly enough to put similar measures in place. And if a publisher dared to, I imagine they’d face riots. I mean, what if libraries could only order one copy of the latest JK Rowling or Stephen King book, and were perfectly honest about why? I’d imagine the offending publishers would be visited by mobs of angry wizards and blood-soaked prom queens.

And finally, the word-of-mouth effect should have a counter-effect to anything e-lending can do to book sales. The more people who are reading a book, the more people are likely to talk about it. The more people who talk about a book, the more people who will want to read it. The more people will want to read, the more people who will read, which will repeat the cycle. Allowing access to more ebooks at libraries only helps this effect, so Macmillan is kind of cutting off their own digits with this move.

This and other reasons is why the American Library Association has launched a petition asking Macmillan to reverse their decision, a petition which I support. As of writing this, the petition has a little over twenty-thousand signatures, but it’s going to need a lot more to change CEO John Sargent’s mind. So I wrote this article to help change a few minds.

If you would like to sign the petition, please click here, and make sure to spread the word. The more people who are aware of this issue, the more people who will be persuaded to help. And honestly, for the sake of the many people who like to read, including our work on occasion, we owe it to them.

You can also read this article from Slate.com if you would like to further research this issue yourself.

Thanks for reading, Followers of Fear. I hope you decide to support the cause, and until next time, pleasant nightmares.

*AKA not Rose and/or anything else by me, though if you want to help me change that, I’d appreciate that.

“Poor Unfortunate Souls:” First Draft Done

Posted: September 8, 2019 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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I meant to write this earlier but, like my last post, the day got busy. Consequently why I’m writing this now.

But to get to my point, earlier today I finished a new short story, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” And yes, that is a Disney reference, which may mean the title and some of the final lines in the story may need to be reworked somewhere down the line (is anyone here an entertainment lawyer or at least extremely knowledgeable about this subject?). The story follows a young woman who gets roped into attending a party in the Paris catacombs, and the unexpected guest who arrives at the party to throw things into chaos.

I really enjoyed writing this story. I’ve had the idea for it rolling around in my head since around college, but I only got around to writing it now. Which, in hindsight, was probably for the best. It probably would not have come out as well as it did unless I wrote it now, and having waited this long allowed me the time to educate myself on the issues of the community of the main character, one which happens to be of a minority both in society and in horror. That time spent educating myself allowed me to make the character rounded, sympathetic, and hopefully a good fictional representative for her people.

So at a little under six-thousand words, the story could be sent out to magazines or other publications. However, I think Ill keep this one for that upcoming collection of short stories I mentioned a couple of posts ago. I think it would be a good story to end the collection on, as well as the one I name the collection after (though again, that depends on if I can legally do that without invoking the cosmic monstrosity that is the Walt Disney Company). At the very least, I’ve made good progress on getting this collection finished. Though it’s still waaaay far away from being ready for release, let alone me sharing details about it.

In any case, I’ll be editing that Arthurian legend story I wrote for an upcoming anthology for my publisher, and then maybe edit another short story. After that…well, we’ll see. I’m still waiting on my beta reader to finish River of Wrath, so how that goes will affect a lot. Still, looking forward for everything that’s coming up. It should make for a fun autumn season.

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

Updates on What I’m Doing

Posted: September 2, 2019 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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It’s been over a week since I last wrote a blog post, so I just wanted to let you know I haven’t died and either become a ghost or returned to my home dimension. Of course, every blog post needs a subject, so I thought I’d update you on the many projects I’ve got going on. And believe me, it’s a lot of projects.

Rose

Now, I’m sure you’re aware that Rose has been out for about two and a half months at this point. What more could be happening with that? Plenty, actually. Firstly, there’s an audio book on the way. Yep, Rose is going to be in audio format. Now, I can’t share many particulars on that just yet, but I can tell you the audio book will hopefully be out in the next month and will be available from Amazon and Audible.

Which of course means I need to do a lot of work to make sure that the paperback, ebook, and audio book do well and get into the hands/devices of plenty of readers and listeners. Hopefully it all pays off.

And in the meantime, if you haven’t checked Rose out yet but want to, you can find it on Amazon, as well as on Amazon UK and Amazon Canada. Take a look, and if you enjoy the book, let me know what you think.

River of Wrath

Dante Alighieri, author of “Inferno.”

Some of you may recall that last year in the days before Halloween, I finished a novel called River of Wrath that was partially inspired by Dante’s Inferno. Since then, I haven’t touched that story once, but that’ll change soon. I have a beta reader who’s working his way through the book and says he’s going to be done soon. Once I get it back from him, I’ll get to work on editing it, with the goal of having the second draft done by Halloween. After that, I’ll hopefully be able to find a publisher for the story. River‘s a little too straight horror for Castrum Press, so I’ll have to look elsewhere. But I think there are plenty of publishers who might be interested in this one. With any luck, I could have River out some tie in 2020. Fingers crossed!

 

 

 

National Novel Writing Month

I’ve got something for NaNoWriMo this year, just wait and see.

As many of you are aware, November is National Novel Writing Month (though at this point, a name change should be considered, as it’s pretty much international at this point). During NaNoWriMo, participating authors try to write an entire novel of fifty-thousand words before November 30th, or about seventeen-hundred words a day. This’ll be my first year since college that I’ll be participating, and I’m almost done doing research for the book. I don’t expect to make the daily word count or even the final goal for the challenge (and even if I did, I doubt the resulting story would be high-quality. That’s what editing is for!). Regardless, I’m going to try and see what I can accomplish. I even plan to take some time off at the beginning of the month to help me get it done. With any luck, I’ll get enough done that by the time I return to work, I’ll have made significant progress on the story.

And as for what I’m writing for NaNoWriMo, you’ll just have to wait. I’ll announce what I’m working on when we’re a bit closer to November. Though I can tell you this: it’s going to be a very strange and unexpected story. Which I think means it’s going to be a lot of fun, both to write and to read.

A new short story collection is on its way!

You read that right. I’m putting together another collection of original short stories. And I know I’ve made that promise before, but this time I’ve made significant progress towards that goal. I already have several stories, novelettes and novellas on stand-by for the collection, and am working on finishing up a few other stories for it.

Sadly, at this stage the collection’s still gestating, so to speak, so it would be premature to state its contents, what it’s called or when/how I’ll be releasing it. However, as soon as I have that information, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Other

Castrum Press will be putting out a call for alternative history short stories for an anthology soon, so I’ll be editing up my Arthurian short story Mother of the King soon. Since I’m already one of their client, I hope that’ll help get the story in, but as you would expect, this sort of thing depends greatly on quality, timing and luck.

And here on the blog, I’m getting ready to write the next part in my series of marketing posts, as well as another anime recommendations list (because when you’re me, you devour anime like Scooby-Doo devours everything edible). Hopefully I’ll find time for both of those before the month is out.

 

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I think the next time I post, it’ll be after seeing IT: Chapter Two. I’m looking forward to it!

Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

The Bexley Local Author Festival 2019: My First Author Festival

Posted: August 25, 2019 in Living and Life, Writing
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My seat at the Bexley Local Author Festival. Photo courtesy of my mother., who came by to support me.

I’ve never been to an author festival or book fair or whatever you want to call them, at least not in the capacity of an author. But then a month or two ago, I spoke to the owner of Gramercy Books Bexley, one of the local bookstores, who asked if I would like to be one of the authors at Bexley Local Authors Festival.* Of course, I said yes.

I arrived at the location earlier today a little after 1:30, with extra books, my cloak (gotta sell that horror writer vibe, don’t I?) and a few props packed up in a box. The past two years the author festival has been held at the Bexley Public Library, as Gramercy doesn’t have enough room inside its store to hold all those authors. Even still, it was pretty crowded: there were forty authors in the library”s auditorium, in four rows of tables, with two authors per table. We kept having to jump over one another to get to our seats! And that was before the people were let in.

Despite how crowded it was, it was a lot of fun. I sat next to another author, Robert Turner, who was also here for the first time, and he was pretty cool guy. We talked quite a bit while we were trying to attract customers, and he told me about his book, which he summed up as “a suicide note from Judas Iscariot.” You couldn’t help but feel a little bit curious after hearing a synopsis like that (and if anyone wants to check it out, click the link here)!

And on my other side were two people close to my age who wrote memoirs about their experiences living abroad. One was a guy who lived and taught English in South Korea for two years, and what that was like. The other was a young woman who wrote about a book about the people she came across while traveling through Japan, China and other countries. They joked to attendees that they were the Asian travel section, and between the two of them, they had the entirety of Southeast Asia covered. It was kind of funny.

And now, for those of you who are wondering, how did Rose do? Well, it’s not easy to sell books in any location. The festival had a huge mix of different authors selling every type of book under the sun, from memoir and self-help to children’s books and historical romances. And believe me when I say, many folks were there to say hi to people they knew selling books at the festival. Add in that space was pretty tight, and it’s a lot to work with and get people interested in your work.

That being said, I still managed to sign and sell some copies of Rose. One even went to one of my professors from college. And for every book sold, I think about ten people got a business card, where they could find more information about me and order a copy of Rose if they wish later on. Many of the people who took cards seemed genuinely interested, so I think they’ll end up buying a copy at home. On the whole, I think you could call today a success.

And if I get invited back again next year, I think I’ll go. I had a lot of fun, talked to some great people, and maybe found a few new readers and fans. What more could a guy ask for?**

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to dream up more terrors for you all. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

*For those unaware, Bexley is a suburb of Columbus, with a range of house types and sizes and well-known for its high Jewish population. I grew up there for a number of years, and I’ve been back several times for a number of reasons since I’ve moved out.

**Plenty, actually, but I count my blessings.

Rose: Two Months Since Publication

Posted: August 21, 2019 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Review, Scary Stuff, Writing
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It’s hard to believe we’re in the second half of August, and October (AKA the Halloween season, AKA the most wonderful time of the year), is right around the corner. Soon, we’re going to have to get ready for witches and goblins and more candy than is probably healthy. But before we go into all that (as well as some of what I have planned for that month), I have to mark a milestone. That’s right, my novel Rose has been out for two whole months!

So for those of you who know, Rose is a fantasy-horror novel I wrote as a college thesis project. The novel follows a young woman named Rose Taggert who awakens with the past two years missing from her memories. She quickly undergoes a terrifying transformation into a plant-like creature, which begins a saga to ensure her survival as she realizes people in her life are hiding dark secrets from her.

It took a lot of work, about seven drafts, and more than a few anxiety attacks, but after five years, Rose was released on June 21st, 2019. And I’m proud to say that it’s been doing well. Everyone I’ve talked to who’s read it seems to like it, or at the very least, not hate it. Just this past Sunday, for example, I received two new reviews of Rose, each from very different reviewers. For example, The first came from Angela Yuriko Smith, editor of S’pace and Time Magazine, who shared her thoughts on her personal website (which apparently she read the same week she put in a garden. Now that’s synergy!). The other came from Elle Turnpitt of Dead Head Reviews, who found it terrifying and gave the novel as a whole a 4 out of 5.  Nice stuff.

Me at the reading on Sunday. Yes, I am wearing a black cloak. Does that surprise you at all?

Also on Sunday, I had my very first solo author reading* at Brothers Drake Meadery in Columbus. I’ve loved that place since my college years, and I was super excited to have my reading there (plus, the mead!). A small but very enthusiastic crowd showed up for the reading, only three of whom were related to me, and they liked what they heard. After the reading, they asked me a lot of questions (my favorite was if I’m a LARPer–I wish I had the time for that!) and a few people even bought signed copies. It was an amazing experience, one I hope to do again with them someday.

Did I mention the owners of Brothers Drake messaged me on Instagram today to let me know they’re reading it? I’m really excited to hear what they think.

Anyway, if any of this has made you curious about Rose, I’ll leave the links below so you can check it out, read some of the other reviews people have left, and then decide to get a copy. And if you do get one, please let me know what you think. Positive or negative, email or online review, I love feedback and it helps me out in the long run.

The table featuring the copies of “Rose,” which I enjoyed signing books and talking to people at.

Oh, and before I forget, I’ll be at the Bexley Local Author Festival at the Bexley Public Library on Sunday, August 25th, in Bexley, Ohio. I’ll be selling and signing copies of Rose, taking photographs, and probably not sacrificing the lives of the innocent in order to start a terrifying plague. Hope to see you there if you can make it. And if you can’t, I’ll likely be blogging about it, so you can read that. Should be a good time.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I have to torture the souls of famous personages from history who were secretly serial killers (you’ll never guess which American Founding Father is among that group) and then work on a possession story before heading to bed. Until next time, happy reading and pleasant nightmares!

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

*Sort of. I had one in college in my dorm, but given that I bribed or blackmailed most of the five people who showed up and it didn’t really result in any sales of The Quiet Game, I’m not sure it counts anymore.

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