Posts Tagged ‘The Shape of Evil’

Building Excitement

Posted: May 24, 2025 in Living and Life, Reflections
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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Lately, my life has been nothing but growing excitement. Well, that’s not entirely true: there’s a bunch of other stuff. But work has been getting better lately after several months of insanity, and I’ve been balancing my life very well, which has allowed me to notice the excitement more clearly than if life was too busy and I was super exhausted.

And it’s not surprising that life feels like it’s nothing but excitement. For one thing, StokerCon is fast approaching, and there’s plenty I’m looking forward to with that. For one thing, as you know, I’ll be pitching The Shape of Evil to agents and editors there, and I’ve done the majority of my prep in that respect (a friend of mine who will also be pitching, and we’ll be practicing our pitches together as we get closer). Not only that, but I’m involved with a couple of panels, which I wasn’t the last time I went.

One is a virtual panel, “Understanding Historical Horror,” which I was the moderator of. I say “was,” because we filmed the panel ahead of time. As I suggested the panel (I blame “Sinners” inspiring me), I was asked to moderate and film it. And it went well! We had some great panelists–Philip Fracassi, John Langan, Alma Katsu, and John Kachuba–and we had an enjoyable hour and a half of filming and talking about historical horror: what it was, how to go about writing it, and the ethics of writing it. It will premiere during StokerCon, and will be accessible for those attending virtually.

The second one is “Authentic Representation in Horror,” which will focus on including marginalized communities in the horror community and in horror stories. As you probably know, that’s a subject near and dear to my heart, so I’m eager to talk about it with some like-minded writers in front of an audience. We’ve already spent some time emailing each other, suggesting topics for discussion and what we need as individuals to be more comfortable. That panel will also be livestreamed, so we’ll hopefully get a lot of people tuning in online as well as attending in person.

(And hopefully the anti-woke police won’t show up and cause a problem, lol.)

Add in getting to see so many friends, and it’s no wonder I’m excited for StokerCon!

Pretty much how I feel these days.

But StokerCon aside, there are other reasons I’m excited. For example, Symphony for Walpurgis is doing well. It’s only been out a little over three weeks since my latest collection released, but it’s been selling well and a lot of people have been telling me they’ve been enjoying it or expressing interest in getting copies of their own. One person in the horror community I really admire actually reached out to me yesterday to ask if she could have a review copy, which made my day! I’ll be seeing her at StokerCon, so I’ll give her a copy then.

And then there’s so much more! For one thing, we’re in the middle of Memorial Day weekend, and I’m already enjoying all the things I’m planning on doing this weekend, including getting some much needed sleep and doing a lot of projects I’ve put off till now. In fact, I’ve already made some progress with those projects, and I’ll tell you more about them when the time is right.

My Tarot cards say that for June, all troubles will pass, and lots of good things will happen in time. I can’t wait to see if that comes true!

And my birthday is coming up, which is another reason to get excited. I’m already arranging to get a nice massage on the day of, eat ice cream, and hang out with friends (not necessarily in that order and definitely not at the same time). It’ll be a nice celebration of my life and my inevitable inching towards death before heading off to a certain convention I’ve mentioned a hundred times already.

And a hundred other things are happening or will happen that just get me excited and full of zest for life and so glad I’m at this point in my life. Hell, even my Tarot cards seem to have caught something, because lately the majority of my readings have been super-positive! And if there’s something more to the cards than just pure randomness, then that’s significant!

And I’m looking forward to seeing how all these things play out. Whether it’s StokerCon and what I plan to do there, or the Doctor Who season finale, or even just trying out a new recipe this weekend. It’s nice to not only have so much to look forward to, but also to experience it when it arrives.

Makes me wonder what else I’ll get excited about as the stuff I mentioned above happens. I guess we, and especially I, will find out soon enough!

“The Shape of Evil:” The Third Draft is Finished!!!

Posted: May 18, 2025 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Well, it happened. It’s finally done. Took a bit longer than I’d hoped, but it is done. The third draft of The Shape of Evil is finally completed.

To be precise, I finished it late last night. Very late. Like close to three in the morning late last night. You see, I was up in Cleveland visiting family and drove home in the afternoon. I got home in the early evening, grabbed something to eat, and thought to myself, I wanted to get it finished this week! And I only have fifty pages to go! I might as well try!

Thus, I started working on it. And by the time I was done, it was three in the morning.

I regret nothing.

Anyway, if you’re new here and wondering what the hell I’m talking about, The Shape of Evil is a novel I wrote last year about a 3D Printer from Hell. Yeah, you read that right. A 3D Printer from Hell. Think “Word Processor of the Gods” by Stephen King meets Gothic by Philip Fracassi with strong LGBT and disabled representation. And I honestly never intended for it to become a novel–it was originally going to be a novelette–but the story just kept growing and growing, and before I knew it, the story was a novel and I was thinking how I would get it published.

Since then, I’ve done a second draft, and then I had sensitivity readers take a look at the story, because my main character is non-binary and I wanted to make sure that I was portraying a non-binary person well. And after I got their notes back, I started work on the third draft.

All this effort is hopefully going to pay off very soon.

And man, the journey this book has gone on has been something else! Not only has the story grown with every draft (273 pages/72,500 words for the first draft, 283 pages/75,300 words for the second, and 291 pages/78,400 pages for this latest one), but it really feels like it has improved with every go-through. Especially this current draft: as I said in a previous post, I’ve been working hard to make sure the words in this draft bring out the full potential of the story. And I think it does. There were a few times where I looked over the text and was like, “Did I really write this? Just from the word choice, it looks and sounds like something come from a much better, more experienced writer!”

Well, wherever it came from, it’s ready to be pitched at StokerCon next month. If you’re unaware, StokerCon is the big convention hosted by the Horror Writers Association, and they have a session where you can pitch your works directly to agents and editors. I was lucky enough to get a slot to pitch to one of my top choices, so I’m glad I got the book done in time.

Me after my marathon editing session and before my next project.

So, now what happens? Well, I’m going to create a pitch sheet, which is sort of an informational sheet about the book, and practice my pitch between now and StokerCon. And in-between, I have a few things to work on, including the version of Hannah and Other Stories that I’ll use when I re-release it later this year. Should keep me wonderfully busy.

And hopefully soon, I’ll be able to share some wonderful news with all of you.

But I think tonight, I’ll just pour a glass of wine and put on a movie. After all, having time to relax is important. Especially when you work hard and you have so many irons in the fire.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to work on a bit more stuff before dinner and wine and the movie. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Finding the Right Words

Posted: April 6, 2025 in Reflections, Writing
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No other way to say it: it’s important to use the right words when telling a story.

That seems to be an obvious statement, but yet it’s something that needs to be stated. Depending on your audience, the genre you’re writing in, the characters you’re working with, and a dozen other factors, what words you choose when telling your story is important. After all, you can’t use complicated, SAT-level words for children’s literature, and you shouldn’t use too simplistic language for work geared exclusively towards adults. You also shouldn’t use futuristic terms or contemporary slang in works taking place in an old-fashioned medieval setting (can you imagine someone saying in a Game of Thrones book, “Dude! The calculations state that winter is only 7.8 parsecs away!”), and you shouldn’t make children sound like adults in their dialogue, though the latter can sometimes work (do you now how often I use the word “dude” myself?).

But more important than this, is finding away to put your carefully-gathered vocabulary together to keep the story together. At least, that’s how it feels to me.

As you may be aware, I’m working on the third draft of The Shape of Evil, a novel I wrote last year about a 3D printer from Hell. I’m hoping to pitch it to agents at StokerCon in a couple of months, where you actually have the opportunity to pitch novels and other works to editors and agents. And I am working hard to make sure the words in that story are compelling and interesting and work cohesively together for that purpose.

That wasn’t such a big problem with the first and second drafts. With the first draft, the point was just to get it out. To make sure it exists and has some semblance of making sense. And with the second draft, the point was to clean it up so that it wasn’t so messy and so that the future beta readers wouldn’t have too many complaints regarding either spelling/punctuation/grammar or the plot (especially since my protagonist is non-binary and my beta readers were also sensitivity readers).

As you are no doubt aware, I’m working especially hard to make the words in this book be the right ones before StokerCon in June.

But with this third draft, the point is to impress agents and/or editors enough that they’ll want to work with me in bringing this book, as well as possibly others, to publication. And with that in mind, I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself–perhaps too much pressure–to make sure those words come together and work well with one another. Like the gears in a clock, moving with one another in beautiful harmony, rather than grinding against each other to make a messy pile of word-vomit.

Then again, why am I putting so much pressure on myself? As with almost all of my books, especially the ones published with publishers, it took way more than three drafts before it was ready for publication. Usually up to seven! And even then, none of my books were perfect. They were just done.

That’s how my high school English teacher, Mr. G, put it. “No story is ever perfect. It’s just done. You’ve done all you can to improve it, and any more edits will only hurt it. Even so, it’s not completely flawless. It’s just done.”

That lesson has stayed with me fourteen years after graduating high school, and I not only try to keep it in mind while writing, but I pass it on to other writers as much as possible. And, occasionally, I’ll remind myself of that lesson when I’m working on a project and have high hopes for it. Hell, I know that no matter how much editing I do, The Shape of Evil won’t be anywhere near done by the time I’m ready to pitch it.

However, it may be far enough along that, when I pitch it, whomever I pitch it to is enchanted enough, and sees enough potential in it, that they’ll help me get it done. And then out into the wider world. And to that end, I’ll try to keep the pressure off myself, so that this metaphorical clockmaker doesn’t feel like he’s forcing the words into the clock and making them work together when they don’t want to.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I felt like I needed to get this off my chest if I was going to move forward with working on The Shape of Evil. And man, do I feel exorcised of some worries! (Though not of my demons. Those are never going away.)

I’ll be sure to check in if there’s any more news, my Followers of Fear. But until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

I’ve Written My First Short Story of 2025!!!

Posted: March 28, 2025 in Living and Life, Novelette, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Well, that took longer than I expected. But raise your glasses and let out an ear-piercing wail of terror, because I finished my first short story of 2025!

As some of you remember from earlier this month, I was originally working on a witchy Halloween story, but that blew past novelette range into novella territory, and I promised I wouldn’t write any new longer stories until the ones I was already working on were finished and had homes. Thus, the witchy Halloween story got put away for later, and I started working on something new.

And thankfully, this story managed to stay in novelette range, at just under 9,300 words. “The Manhattan Well” follows a young woman in Victorian England meeting a young man from New York who relates his traumatic experience meeting a ghost related to America’s first sensationalized murder.

This story actually has a cool story behind its inspiration. I’m a big fan of the musical Hamilton (I’m actually seeing it live for the third time this summer), and a while back, I had the song “Non-Stop” stuck in my head (I even wrote a blog post about it). As sometimes happens when I have a song stuck in my head, I looked up the lyrics.

Here’s the song in question if you’re unfamiliar or just want to jam.

So, early in the song, when Hamilton and Burr is doing that murder trial, I always thought Burr was saying, “Our client says he’s innocent, call your first witness.” But as it turns out, when I looked up the lyrics, Burr was saying, “Our client Levi Weeks is innocent, call your first witness.”

Dance and celebrate like nobody’s watching.

This led me to ask, “Who the hell is Levi Weeks?” One internet rabbit hole later, not only did I learn about one of America’s earliest true crime stories (and if you’re interested, it’s a rather cool story, so I’d check it out), but I had an idea for a horror story.

And now that the story is written, is it any good? Well, it’s a first draft. It’s not supposed to be good! It’s just supposed to exist and have potential. And on that front, it fulfills both requirements. I’ll give it an edit and see about finding a beta reader later this year. However, I have to do one more edit of The Shape of Evil before I (hopefully) pitch it at StokerCon later this year, so that’s the focus now. After that, we’ll see where we are and what I feel I should be doing.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I just wanted to share the good news with you. If anyone needs me, I’m going to go celebrate and have a super-late dinner. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and don’t throw away your shot!

“The Shape of Evil:” The Sensitivity Readers Sent Their Notes Back!!!

Posted: March 10, 2025 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Pour the libations! Light the celebratory bonfires! Chant to the eldritch wonders that wait beyond our reality and offer them sacrifices! The sensitivity readers sent me their notes for The Shape of Evil! We are one step closer to my being able to pitch this baby at StokerCon in June!

Now, for those of you who don’t know, The Shape of Evil is a novel I wrote last year about a 3D Printer of Hell. I started it thinking it would be a long novelette or a short novella, but it ended up becoming a whole freaking novel of around 75,000 words. And as I got further along with it, the idea to pitch it to agents at StokerCon, which always has sessions for doing just that, came to me. So, for the past year, that’s what I’ve been working for.

And as part of that process, I had to find at least one sensitivity reader to look it over. You see, my protagonist is non-binary. And I, despite being bisexual, am only cisgender. So, I wanted to have someone who had firsthand experience look over my story and make sure I was being both respectful to the community and portrayed accurately.

As luck would have it, I managed to find two trans horror writers who agreed to look it over. And they both got through the second draft within days of each other, with the second one getting their feedback to me earlier today. This means I’m going to be ready to work on the third draft starting next month!

I’m incredibly thankful to my sensitivity readers for reading through the manuscript, finding issues and giving me their feedback, and doing so in such good time. I’ll do my best to incorporate their feedback and improve the manuscript. That way, when I pitch it to agents and editors, they’ll be that much more likely to want to help me find a home for it.

For now, though, I want to write a spooky short story inspired by Hamilton. Afterwards, I’ll start on the next draft.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I wanted to make sure you all knew that the next step in this book’s crazy journey is going to start soon, and I wanted to do it today, so I’m glad I got it done. Now, if you need me, I’m going to get ready to bed. Today I was totally drained, so I’ll need sleep if I’m going to get anything done tomorrow.

So, until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and be careful with your celebratory rituals tonight. Just Friday, I did one wrong, and my dad’s dog was turned into a cat. She turned back, but she’s still coughing up hairballs. Oops.

Getting Back on Track

Posted: March 7, 2025 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I can be a real idiot sometimes.

So, back in December, I posted about my plans for 2025 in terms of what I want to accomplish with my writing (you can read that post here). What I didn’t mention was that I had no plans to write anything longer than a novelette. I’d edit the novellas and novels I’d already written, like The Shape of Evil and the four I hope to shop around when I’ve finished editing them. But I wouldn’t work on anything longer. Just short stories and novelettes until those stories were finished and edited and published. And only after I’d gotten back to my mummy novel, Crawler, and finished the first draft of that.

(For those of you who are unaware, the Horror Writers Association defines a short story as 1,000-7,500 words, a novelette as 7,500-17,500, a novella as 17,500-40,000, and a novel is 40,000 words and up.)

So, with my plan in place, I started on a witchy Halloween story that I thought would be maybe a long novelette at most.

And that story ended up going up to 20,000 words! And it’s not even done!

Now, by that point, I had been working on the story since before New Year’s, and I was so frustrated by how busy my life has been, so I completely forgot about my promise to myself and just forged on ahead for a while. But then I found myself just hesitating, not wanting to get further when I knew it could take me another month or two, given my current life.

That was when I remembered my promise to myself. And I slapped myself in the head for not keeping it!

So, the witchy Halloween story is now on hold until I’ve finished Crawler. In the meantime, I’m going to work on something I know will be shorter.* After that, the sensitivity readers should both be done with The Shape of Evil (one’s already sent me their notes), so I’ll probably give that one more round of edits.

After that? Probably another guaranteed short story. We’ll see.

But for now, I should head to bed. I’ve got the Akron Book Fest tomorrow, and I’ll need all the energy I can get.

After I get back home, however, I’ve got a great scary story idea to look forward to writing. And did I mention the story was inspired by Hamilton?

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

*Then again, I thought the witchy Halloween story would be short. So who knows?!

My First Publishing Acceptance of 2025!!!

Posted: January 12, 2025 in Living and Life, Non-Fiction, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

Oh happy day! Not only is Symphony for Walpurgis is now available on Apple Books (see my last post), but I just got my first acceptance of the year today! God, if only I had ice cream and beer on hand, I would be partying right now!

Maybe I’ll get some when I go to see Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare tomorrow…

Anyway, I’m sure you’re all curious to know what’s been accepted for publication. Well, it’s an essay, and it’s going to appear in Trollbreath Magazine, a speculative fiction magazine that publishes a wide variety of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. They’re rather new, but they already seem to be doing well, and I’m excited to be able to help set the tone for the non-fiction pieces they publish in the future.

You can learn more about, get back issues of, and support Trollbreath Magazine by visiting their website here.

As for the essay they’re publishing, it’s “Being in the Fallout: Options to Take When Your Heroes Reveal a Dark Side.” Inspired by the allegations against Neil Gaiman last year (and which I make reference to in the essay), I look at some of the paths fans can take when their idols turn out to have really disgusting views or have committed horrible acts. The Gaiman allegations really upset me in particular, and wondering how I should treat him and his work in the wake of that inspired me to write the essay.

So, between now and March 1st, when Trollbreath’s spring issue comes out, we’ll edit the essay to make sure it’s up to snuff. I’m looking forward to the creative process and to seeing it in the final product.

You know, despite current events being a total shit show, things have been going mostly well for me. Especially in the writing department! I’ve been making strides in both writing new stories and getting Symphony for Walpurgis in people’s hands. Plus, one of the sensitivity readers for The Shape of Evil has been sending me updates every now and then, and from what they said, they like it so far.

And now this. My first acceptance of the year! All within the first two weeks of 2025. What’s going to happen with the other 50? Actually, don’t tell me. I want to find out for myself. Still, it makes me think that if I keep working hard, things will keep working out for me this year. Who knows? By this time next year, I could be on my way to writing full time.

But in the meantime, I would like to thank Trollbreath Magazine for accepting my essay for publication, and I want to thank my critique group for giving me feedback on my essay. I literally couldn’t have done it without any of you.

Now, if anyone needs me, I’ll be reading before heading to bed. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Putting in the Effort for Those Gains

Posted: January 11, 2025 in Reflections, Writing
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As many of you know, I read Tarot cards. In fact, I try to do one reading a day, with rare breaks (such as being out of town or just a very busy day). They offer great advice and are possibly capable of forecasting the future. Earlier this week, I asked the cards, “What do I need to know this year for my writing?” This is the result I got using a five card spread.

Now, for those of you who don’t read Tarot, here’s what the cards say: while there’s a potential I’ll face disappointment along the way, if I work hard, my efforts will lead to successful gains, ultimately leading to smooth sailing for the year. The reading also mentioned previous financial successes I’ve had (in 2024, I had a small but not insignificant profit on my writing business, which was welcome), further cementing the cards’ accuracy.

This reading really lit a fire under me, because it wasn’t a prediction. It was a reminder: that only if you put in an effort and work past any rejections, will you have the possibility of things working out for you. And that’s honestly true of trying to be a writer in general. You do face a ton of obstacles, and every writer will face rejection. Even the biggest names have gotten rejected numerous names (Stephen King famously impaled his rejection letters on a railroad spike). But by continuing to give it your all, you can achieve extraordinary things.

I’ve seen this play out in real life just in the days since I did that reading. Instead of waiting for good things to come to me, I’ve gone out to make my own luck, and it’s led to results. I’ve had a few new preorders of my next book, Symphony for Walpurgis (more on that later), added a whole lot to the story I’m working on, got accepted for the Big Ohio Book Con just a little while after applying for it, and just yesterday, I found two sensitivity readers from the trans community who can give me feedback on The Shape of Evil.

Effort pays off.

So, I’ll keep putting in that effort. So that Symphony for Walpurgis and, when it’s ready to be re-released, Hannah and Other Stories, are successful when they’re available. So that The Shape of Evil lands an agent or a publisher. So that all the events I attend are successful. So that any other stories I write and edit this year can find homes as well. And, at the end of 2025, I’ll be that much closer to being able to write full time.

And if you’re reading this, you put in that effort, too. We’re not competition, after all. Authors support other authors. And yes, you will feel frustration. You will suffer rejection and disappointment. But if you push past all that, you can achieve amazing things. Like having several books out and a dedicated fanbase with a fun nickname (whazzup, Followers of Fear?).

Who knows? Maybe if you keep going, things will be smooth sailing for you, too. I know I’m going to work hard so that can be the case for me. And I can’t wait to see what pans out.

Speaking of Symphony for Walpurgis, this new collection of mine contains cryptids, malevolent spirits, and a Jewish exorcism, among other things. It’s releasing May 1st, and it’s already available to preorder as an ebook from Amazon and Kobo, with paperback versions and more stores to be added later on. If you’re at all interested, why not preorder a copy? All you have to do is click the links below, and you’ll have bought your ticket for the Symphony.

Amazon
Kobo

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

Events in 2025

Posted: January 9, 2025 in Living and Life
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Wow. It’s been a kind of crazy this year, hasn’t it? If I’m not careful, 2025 is going to leave me exhausted! Wait, what do you mean we’re not even ten days into January? Oh God, somebody get me off this ride!

Alright, enough kidding around. Besides, I’m not doing too bad so far. I actually feel really good about what I’ve gotten done today, and coming back to work after vacation hasn’t been as bad as it could have been. I just wish I had more time to devote to writing like I did on that vacation!

Well, maybe through meeting readers and other writers at events, I’ll eventually get to that point. And with that rather silly segue, let’s talk about the events I’ll be attending and/or vending at in 2024, because I’ve got a new one I’m going to be in!

First, in a little over three weeks, I’ll be at Akronomicon on Saturday, February 1st at the Emidio and Sons Banquet Center in Akron, Ohio. Formerly known as Monster Mania, this is from what I hear a small but passionate horror con, and I’m looking forward to it. If you can, please stop by. I’ll be signing books and doing Tarot readings and would love to see you. You can grab tickets through the event’s Facebook page.

Then, I’ll be at the Akron Book Festival at the Main Library in downtown Akron on March 8th. It’s being sponsored by their library, and it sounds like it’s going to be quite popular, like the Columbus Book Fest (but hopefully not as hot and humid). Once more, I’ll be there selling books and maybe doing Tarot readings, so if you can stop by, please do. You can find more info on their website here.

Fast forward two months, and on May 10th, I’ll be at the Halfway To Halloween Expo at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is a very popular event I’ve heard so many things about, so I’m really looking forward to it. Again, I’ll be signing books and doing Tarot readings, so if you can join me there, I would love to see you. You can find out more information on their newly revamped website.

Then in June, I have two events! The first will be StokerCon in Stamford, Connecticut on June 12th-15th. I’m so excited for this! I loved the last StokerCon I was at, and I’m looking forward to this one even more, as I’ll hopefully be allowed on a panel or two, and I’ll be pitching The Shape of Evil to agents. You can learn more about the con from the website.

And last but not least, I’ve just been confirmed for the Big Ohio Book Con in Medina, Ohio on June 28th-29th. This con is hosted by Black Cat Books & Oddities, a bookstore that’s been talked about quite a bit in local horror circles for its leanings towards the dark and spooky. I’ll be doing my thing there, so I hope to see you there! You can find more information on the shop’s website.

And that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. There will probably be one or two more before the year is out, and I’ll be sure to let you know when I’ve been confirmed for any of them.

Again, I hope to see you there. And if I don’t but you’d still like to support me, I’ve got a bunch of books available. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and car-chasing ghosts, I’ve got something for every horror fan, including some free stuff. And in case you haven’t heard, I also have a new book coming out that’s available for preorder! So, be sure to check them out and, if you like what you read, please leave a review! I’ll leave a link for my book page below.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I have a few posts planned in the future, so I’ll be writing and posting those as soon as I can. Until then, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Rami Ungar’s Books

“The Shape of Evil:” The Second Draft is Finished!!!

Posted: December 24, 2024 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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A temporary cover for The Shape of Evil. I think it captures the idea of the novel pretty well.

‘Twas the night before Christmas (and Hanukkah, coincidentally). And all the Haunted Condo, only the Rami was stirring. Because he’d finished the second draft of The Shape of Evil, AKA the 3D Printer from Hell story, and he’d only just gotten around to drinking the celebratory wine and writing the celebratory blog post.

Doesn’t rhyme, but I’m not much of a poet, so I think it’s okay.

So, as I said before, The Shape of Evil‘s second draft is now complete. And this novel, as I also said before, is about a 3D printer from Hell. I started writing it back in March, thinking it would be a novelette or short novella, and finished it as a novel back in August. Right around Thanksgiving, I began work on the second draft, and I finished it earlier today.

I would’ve celebrated right then and there, but at that point, I had to run an errand, then grab some takeout, and then do my usual routine of watching Die Hard on Christmas Eve. But now that that’s taken care of, it’s time to let you know and celebrate!

Overall, I saw a ton of improvement with the second draft. Not just with spelling/grammar/punctuation, but in finding plot holes and fixing issues I missed in the first draft. I also took out a lot of stuff that I thought worked for the first draft but, on the second go around, didn’t work. The final result was ten pages and around twenty-eight hundred words longer, at 283 pages (8.5 x 11 inch paper with 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced), and 75,300 words. That’s about two thousand words less than the first Harry Potter novel (no, I will never stop using that book as a good comparison, even if the author is now a TERF).

So, what’s next for The Shape of Evil? Well, I plan to find a beta reader who can also double as a sensitivity reader. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my main character is non-binary trans, and I’m cisgender, so I would like someone from the trans community to read the manuscript and give me feedback to ensure I’m respectful to the community. I already have a few people in mind, so hopefully one of them would be interested. And if not, I have a few other ways to find someone.

Whoever reads it, after I get their feedback, I’ll do another draft. And after that draft is done, I think I’ll be ready to pitch this novel to agents. Particularly anyone at StokerCon this coming summer.

In the meantime, I have a new short story I want to write, and I have a new collection to start the work of self-publishing. No, I am not slowing down. I’m brimming with too much drive and imagination, and am nowhere near burnout, so I’ll keep plowing on!

(That being said, I am planning on spending at least one day in the coming week or so just chilling on the couch in my pajamas and reading or watching anime. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, so no time like the present!)

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll certainly be back soon with more news for you. Until then, good night, pleasant nightmares, and to all those who celebrate, Merry Christmas! May we all get visited by three spirits (whether we want them to come or not).

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