Posts Tagged ‘writing’

My Temporary Semi-Hiatus From Writing

Posted: October 22, 2013 in Living and Life, Writing
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It may break some hearts, but I’m taking a break from writing. And believe me, I don’t want to. I’d rather be sitting on the couch writing short stories, novels, articles, and blog posts, celebrating afterwards with whatever book or TV on DVD I have at hand at the moment.

Just a couple problems. One is that I’m a full-time student with five classes all assigning a ton of homework at the same time. I hate it, but I have to attend class and get my homework done on time. And that’s time consuming. Plus I work about ten to twelve hours a week, and I have responsibilities as resident manager of my building, and I have a ton of reading that’s piled up so I want to get through it before it’s all due back at the library and–somebody stop me!

In any case, I have too much to do to write my fiction regularly. So for the time being, I’ll be restricting my non-school writing activities to some light editing, the occasional blog post, and Weekly Exercises. Yes, I know it’s terrible. I know you want to cry. But dry your tears, it’s only temporary. I’ll probably be free to write again soon. And Reborn City is coming out soon, so there’s no reason to fret. There, all better right?

Honestly, I have no idea who I’m comforting. I’m just trying to see if I can make someone laugh.

Well, until the next post (whenever that may be), have a good evening folks.

Weekly Exercise #10 (10/21/13)

Posted: October 21, 2013 in Scary Stuff, Weekly Exercises, Writing
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It’s time once again for my Weekly Exercises. These flash fiction pieces are my chance to practice my craft. They also act as sounding boards for readers to comment on how I’m doing, and they’re my shameless plug to get people interested in my published work.

This one’s a special one, since it’s number 10. Ten weeks in a row, plugging these things out. It’s been quite fun writing them and I’m constantly looking for new ideas for an exercise (and if you have one let me know. I may just write an exercise based on a suggestion, and you’ll get a mention). For this week’s exercise, I decided to do something a little special. I wrote a piece about an obsessed fan, but I changed a few things around for this piece. It’s always nice to try something original.

If you have any thoughts, please let me know. I love getting feedback from readers, which is partly what the Weekly Exercises are for. Also, if you want to take a look at any other exercises, you can check out the Weekly Exercises page.

Enjoy!

~~~

Katie loved the books of Emma Davies, stories of love and swashbuckling adventure on the high seas. She had probably read the Vivian Carpenter books a dozen times, cried each of the five times she’d read The Admiral’s Daughter, and when Davies’ latest book, Shanghai Bride, had come out, Katie had stayed up for two days straight reading it, pouring over the text, imagining the characters in her mind, gushing over each and every word in the book.

And sometimes, when she was alone at her apartment or at work or those rare opportunities when she was the only rider on the bus, she would kiss Emma Davies’ photo on the back of her paperbacks, kiss it like she’d never kissed anyone before. She loved the woman, blue eyes and blonde hair with pink highlights. Emma Davies loved Katie too, she knew it. Every book had been written for her, coded as a fun adventure story as well as a romance-filled love letter to Katie. Oh, when would Katie and Emma Davies be united at last? She couldn’t stand the wait!

So Katie packed up her bags and drove out to New Hampshire, where Emma Davies was supposed to live. It took some time, but Katie tracked Emma down to a lovely Victorian mansion in Concord with a brick wall encircling it. Oh, Katie wanted their wedding here! She climbed over the wall, tiptoed through the lawn to the back and was trying to unlock the back door when she felt a sharp pain on the top of her head and passed out.

When she woke up, her head hurt, she was in a dark room with only a single light bulb and no windows. Emma Davies stood before her, wearing a white silk kimono and frowning angrily. Overjoyed to be finally united with her, Katie tried to get up and hug her, but found she had been tied with chains and had a gag in her mouth. She tried to shout through the gag to Emma, but the beautiful woman only scoffed.

“Did you think that I would be happy to find you on my lawn?” she said, shaking her head. “I mean, I get how popular I am with my fans. I’ve hugged crying women more times than I can count at book signings and in the supermarket and while getting my hair done at Aveda. But honestly, if you’re going to sneak onto private property, you should know there are some consequences. So what do you have to say for yourself?”

Emma removed the gag. Katie sucked in a lungful of air. “Emma, I love you!” she cried, tears falling down her face. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Oh, I love you too.” said Emma, kissing Katie’s forehead. “I love all my fans very dearly. But the ones who go the extra mile and think their love trumps my personal space must be punished when they step out of line.”

“What do you mean?” asked Katie, but as she spoke Emma picked up a chainsaw from the corner. Seeing it, she realized what was happening. She screamed.

“Oh, don’t scream.” said Emma, pulling the chainsaw’s cord. “It’ll be quick. And besides, you’ll be remembered. Once this kimono’s soaked up your blood, I’ll frame it in my office. I tell people the bloody kimonos I collect once belonged to a little-known pirate who was a terrible sadist. It’s a hoot how they buy it up. And yours make six. One for every book I’ve written! How exciting.”

“But I love you—“ And then there was only pain.

Character Interview: Jason Price from “Reborn City”

Posted: October 18, 2013 in Character Interviews, Novel, Writing
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Reborn City

Today I do the last character interview before Reborn City comes out in two weeks. And today I’m interviewing Jason Price, CEO of the Parthenon Company and the main antagonist of the novel. Price is one of those characters that is full of himself and full of hate and power. He’s a dangerous character, and I would not want to get on his bad side.

If you would like to read my other character interviews with Zahara Bakur and Rip, click on the links.

Now here’s Jason Price:

Notes and Stats:
Sex: male
Age: 65
Race/Ethnicity: African-American
Birthday: December 12th
Eye color: Brown
Hair color: White (originally black)
Religion: atheist
Affiliation: Parthenon Company
Special Powers/Abilities: Went to the University of Michigan as an undergraduate before earning a degree in biochemistry. Later joined the United States Army as a lieutenant before being honorably discharged and joining the Parthenon Company. Later became a member of Parthenon’s board and then its CEO.
Notes from the Author: I based Jason Price on Samuel L. Jackson visually, but his character is based on a number of different villains. He’s a war-monger, a corporate executive with no conscience, a racist, and he’s just plain nasty. For a man of his age he’s still incredibly fit, his mental acuity is undiminished, his vision is unshakeable and he’s very dangerous to mess with. Go against him at your own risk.

RU: Mr. Pirce, it’s a pleasure to meet you.

Price: Where the hell am I?

RU: That’s not important. Mr. Price, I know you are the head of Parthenon Company. Could you tell me a little bit about what your company does?

Price: Parthenon is an entertainment corporation that also leads several cities whose main business is entertainment, such as Reborn City, Seattle, and Marvolo, the new adventure hotspot for families and adults. Our corporation is based in Reborn City and we’re also currently expanding our enterprises into virtual reality video games, as well as travel, new forms of music, and–

RU: Enough with the salesman’s pitch. Didn’t Parthenon used to be a weapons developer and supplier for the military?

Price: True, but after the Third World War we became an entertainment corporation. We started with Reborn City, and through trial and error we’ve become one of the biggest suppliers of fun on the North American continent and in the world.

RU: So you guys aren’t working on anything military? Nothing that might involve the Hydras in West Reborn?

Price: How’d you know about that?

RU: I’m clever that way. So you don’t deny the Hydras and Parthenon are linked?

Price: Look kid, I don’t know who you are or how you know about our involvement with the Hydras, but if you poke a dragon, prepare to get roasted.

RU: Sounds tasty. Now tell me, why would an entertainment compnany that’s supposedly left the weapons industry still be working on weapons projects, especially projects that might still be considered illegal by other city and nation-states?

Price: Oh, don’t get into the legal crap with me, boy! It’s only a matter of time before some Adolf Hitler or Osama bin Laden comes along with plans to destroy the free world. And guess who’s going to be supplying the weapons when that person does show up?

RU: Okay, better safe than sorry. I get it. By the way, can I get a tour of the Facility underneath Parthenon World Headquarters?

Price: You know too much.

RU: Yikes! That’s a gun! He’s pointing a gun at my head! Okay, time to cut the interview short! Join me next week when I give you readers a preview of the first chapter of Reborn City itself…that is if I survive till next week! Help me!

The Quiet Game: Review #5

Posted: October 18, 2013 in Living and Life, Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg cover

Last night a review for The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones appeared on Amazon. This was a very nice 4-star review, keeping the average on Amazon a 4 out of 5. And it was written by my dear old father, affectionately called Abba. Here’s what my dad had to say:

This is not my genre, but since I know the author [:-)], I read the stories.  Each one was very unique and created its own atmosphere and mood.  My favorite story was the Quiet Game but I found the ending a little confusing since I didn’t really know the literary reference at the end; what I loved was the world created in the story and the message it conveyed.  I look forward to the author’s improving his craft, and I will certainly read more.

Well Abba, since you didn’t know the reference, let me tell you that Puck is a fairy or spirit from English folklore who’s considered a very nasty trickster. Don’t cross him if you ever meet him, because he’s just as likely to give you a winning lottery ticket as he is to give you an atomic wedgie. And I’d rather not see that on Facebook.

Also, thanks for uploading that review. It means a lot to me, and there’s good news. Since Reborn City is coming out soon, you can look forward to me hounding you to read that in two weeks’ time! Yay more fiction from your son to read out of obligation as a father! I’m kidding, I bet you can’t wait to read it.

I’m always happy to hear from readers, so whether you liked The Quiet Game or hated it, I don’t mind hearing from you about it. And if you’re interested in reading The Quiet Game; Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, you can read it on Amazon and Smashwords. Have a lovely day.

The Quiet Game: Out Three Months Now

Posted: October 17, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg cover

It’s been exactly three months since I uploaded The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones onto Amazon and Smashwords. I’ve done a sort-of-but-not-quite second edition to fix the typos in the first couple of books, I’ve told people all about it, and now I’m marking the passage of time again, as I cannot believe how well it’s doing.

I didn’t really have any expectations when I first published The Quiet Game. I mean, I wanted it to do well, but with the volatile market that is self-publishing, I could be totally obscure and sell only a few copies or maybe it’ll be some strange explosion and a lot of copies will sell and plenty of people will write reviews. Turned out to be somewhere in the middle, where in the past three months I’ve sold a little under fifty copies and recieved four reviews (there are supposed to be two more but for some reason neither have appeared on Amazon’s website). The average rating right now is still 4 out of 5 stars incidentally, which I’m very happy about. My one five-star review came from Jason Haxton, author of The Dybbuk Box and owner of a box believed to be possessed by an evil spirit. It meant so much that another published writer thought so highly of my work. Then again, The Quiet Game has a dybbuk* in one of its stories, so that might explain a bit of it.

*A dybbuk, for those of you unfamiliar, is a spirit in Jewish folklore. To find out more about it, please go to Wikipedia, see various films about them, or read my book or Jason’s book.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how The Quiet Game does from here on out. And who knows? With Reborn City coming out in fifteen days, sales may increase. Wait, fifteen days? Jeez, that’s soon!

If you’d like to check out The Quiet Game, you can find it on Amazon and Smashwords. Both offer previews into what the book is like, so take a look if you’re interested.

Weekly Exercise #9 (10/13/13)

Posted: October 13, 2013 in Scary Stuff, Weekly Exercises, Writing
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Time once again for my Weekly Exercises. These flash fiction pieces are part opportunity to practice my craft, part sounding board so as I can feedback on what works and what doesn’t work when I write, and part shameless plug to get readers interested in my published fiction. Remember, the Weekly Exercises rely on reader feedback, so whatever your thoughts, it’s greatly appreciated if you leave a comment and let me know.

Also, if you wish to see my past Weekly Exercises, please follow the link to the Weekly Exercises page.

~~~

He was angry. He’d been taken from the prison system as soon as his mother had died. They said they were going to take him to the funeral service. A special treat, said Officer Marcus, for good behavior. If anything, Teddy would’ve rather had a drink and some video games to celebrate his mother’s death rather than go to his funeral and see if anyone actually showed up, let alone anyone showed up with anything nice to say. After all, Teddy’s mother had let him go to school hungry every day to pay for her drug habit. And when he started breaking into people’s homes in high school, she had given him up as a scoundrel and a menace and lied at the trial! Now at least she could finance her drug habit without having to worry about her kid.

But he was glad to get out of prison for a little while. He could see the sun without having bars around him, and maybe convince these cops to stop by McDonalds for some real food.

But then he’d been taken to a government lab and drugged. And then they’d started experimenting on him, putting weird stuff into his bloodstream. What were they trying to achieve? To turn him into a super soldier? To see how they could awaken telekinetic abilities in him? To see how much a person could be tampered with before their bodies broke down? Or did they just do it for kicks and they had a poor minority kid in the system, so why not use him? Nobody would miss him!

But at some point the experiments had worked. And now he was taking his revenge. The scientists ran in terror while soldiers came for him with bullets. Teddy let them come, let them feel his wrath. He hit them with one of his new tentacles and then started biting them with his poisonous fangs. He was a monster, but he was finally the one in control of his life instead of stupid adults who only cared about themselves.

With a crash and a bang Teddy escaped the lab onto the roof. Far away were the lights of a huge city. Jumping off the roof, crashing through the gates and hiding in the forest, Teddy slowly made his way towards the city, using the trees and rocks and the river to hide from his pursuers. Now that he was out, he thought he’d hit the town and have a little fun.

My 7th Self-Pub Authors Post

Posted: October 13, 2013 in Journalism, Writing
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It’s also my first post after becoming administrator for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. I’m a little nervous, although it is obviously not my first article for them. Actually, I’m just worried because I’m giving advice to other authors, and I’m always scared that I’ll sound condescending or rude or say something I shouldn’t in one of these posts. So far, no one’s suggested I’ve done any of that, but I worry nonetheless.

The subject of the article this time around is How to Do a Flashback. Flashbacks are a big part of a lot of novels, but plenty of authors find them incredibly difficult to do. That is why I decided to do a post about them based on flashbacks I’ve seen in novels and flashbacks I’ve written myself. Hopefully people will find the advice helpful.

I hope you like my post if you get the chance to read it. And if you have any thoughts, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you have to say. And if you’re an independent writer, I strongly suggest you subscribe to Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. It’s a wonderful site full of advice from indie writers of all walks of life and of all genres and you can learn so much on indie writing and publishing from them.

That’s all for now. I’m going to bed. Goodnight everybody!

I’m Taking Over Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors

Posted: October 12, 2013 in Living and Life, Writing
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As many of you know, I’ve been writing for the blog Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors since June. I’ve enjoyed the work and the chance to interact with so many authors, giving them advice and receiving advice in turn.

However there’s been a change recently. This week one of my fellow authors on the blog and an administrator said that she and her fellow administrator were stepping down from the roles of administrators, and she wanted to know if I was interested in taking on the job, seeing as the other author/contributors weren’t interested in taking over.

For maybe a second after my surprise wore off I was hesitant about taking the post. But afterwards, I felt that…I don’t know, but I guess it was like I had to take the post once it was offered. So I asked some questions about what I was expected to do in the post, what I could do, what I had to do, and yesterday I took over the position and added it to my resume.

Now, I’ve told a few people about this, and everyone’s been very excited and supportive. My parents have been acting like it’s a career-changing promotion. I however, am a little nervous. Besides being a labor of love, Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, of Self-Pub Authors as I call it, is a very busy blog that gets between 50 and 150 hits on average each day (and that’s on days when posts don’t get published). It’s got a wider range than my own blog, and I’m looking forward to helping it grow, but I also hope I can keep up the momentum and also be helpful and useful to the authors who read our blog.

In any case, I’ll apply my all to it, just as I apply my all to nearly everything else in my life. I’m also looking forward to working with my fellow authors and I may add an author or two later on to the blog to help with the demand.

In the meantime though, I hope to publish my first post as administrator tonight. I’m not decided what the article will be about, but I’m hoping to write a good one, so please wish me luck as I start out with this new endeavor.

Character Interview: Rip from “Reborn City”

Posted: October 11, 2013 in Character Interviews, Novel, Writing
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Reborn City

Last week I did an interview with Zahara Bakur, the protagonist of my novel Reborn City (out November 1st). Now I’m here with a interview with Rip, one of the Hydra leaders and the deuteragonist of RC. I hope he’s as friendly as Zahara was, otherwise I might be in trouble!

Also, if you want to read Zahara’s interview, please click here.

Now without further ado, let’s meet Rip!

Notes and Stats:
Sex:  male
Age: Unknown (believed to be between ages 16-18)
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Birthday: Unknown
Eye Color: Grey
Hair Color: Grey (originally brown)
Religion: Agnostic bordering on atheist.
Affiliation: West Reborn Hydras
Special Powers/Abilities: Able to produce neon-green claws from his knuckles by converting energy from his body into living matter through special glands in his hands. Because they are dependent on energy, the glands will automatically convert the claws back into energy if Rip’s energy levels are dangerously low.
Notes from the Author: In Stephen King’s The Stand, the protagonist Stu Redman was described as a quiet man. For a quiet guy, he talked a lot. That is why when I formulated Rip, I decided I wanted him to be so quiet that he would make it a point to let people know he wasn’t into long conversations. It’s led to some interesting situations, and I think he’s a better character than he might’ve been if he’d been a bit more talkative.

RU: Rip, it’s a pleasure to meet you.

Rip: Where the fuck am I?

RU: Okay, not as friendly as Zahara.

Rip: You know Zahara?

RU: We’ve met once or twice. She’s a nice kid.

Rip: That’s just what she is though. A kid. Doan know a thing ’bout the world. I gotta teach her ’bout ev’rythin’.

RU: Do you like her though?

Rip: I guess so. I doan hate her.

RU: That’s good to hear. So Rip, I hear the Hydras are getting pretty powerful in West Reborn. You must be proud of that.

Rip: It’s cool. Got a lotta hard workers in the Hydras. I should be proud.

RU: I bet you and the other leaders having powers may be a big help to that.

Rip: Ya know ’bout our powers?

RU: I know a lot about the Hydras. But you can trust me. I’m not going to sell you out to anyone, like a certain man I could name who watches Reborn City from a giant rotating skyscraper.

Rip: Ya know ’bout him too? Who the hell are ya?

RU: A friend. Well, we’re almost out of time. I’ll send you back to West Reborn. Tell Zahara the weird blonde guy with the glasses said hi, okay?

Rip: Whatever. Just doan do nothin’ ya shouldn’t, or ya might meet my claws!

RU: Oh wow, they really do glow like neon, don’t they? And they seem really sharp. Well, that’s all the time we have left. Join me next week, when I do another interview, this one with antagonist Jason Price, CEO of the Parthenon Company. That is, if Rip doesn’t gut me first! Reborn City, out November 1st!

Autumn Semester 2013: The Halftime Report

Posted: October 9, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report
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It is Wednesday of Week 8 of the semester here at Ohio State, putting us squarely halfway through the semester. And as is my custom on this blog, I’m letting people know how I’m doing right now.

Love it at my school!

Right now I’m at work taking my lunch break. Work’s going well, by the way. I work between ten and twelve hours a week, and now that busy season is over, we’ve kind of fallen into a routine that’s quieter than the summer and early fall but stil busy and full of things to do. Actually some of my biggest fans are at work. The head of the Financial Aid department keeps telling me she’s going to buy two print copies of The Quiet Game when she shops on Amazon next, one to read and one for me to sign and keep in pristine condition forever and ever. She just has to find time to shop on Amazon, which is hampered by her very busy schedule. She’s also looking forward to reading Reborn City when it comes out in November, as well as some of my coworkers. I’ve got to love the people who work here!

My classes are also going well. I’m taking five courses right now, and my favorites are without a doubt my Science Fiction and Fantasy literature course and my Holocaust in History course. I learn a lot from my teachers and the discussions are always stimulating and we all have fun, especially in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy course. My one class I’m struggling with is my Biology course, but I’m meeting with my TA a lot to talk about points I’m having trouble with and improve my grades. Hopefully by the next midterm in that class I’ll be Super-Student.

Not likely, but I’ll get as close to it as possible.

I’ve also applied for a Study Abroad trip in May to Europe to see some of the more important sites of World War II Europe. I don’t know if I’ll get in yet (I won’t find out till next week at the earliest), but my GPA is high enough and one of my former teachers wrote me a stunning letter of recommendation, so I’m hopeful. I’ll let you know if I get in.

And at my apartment things are also peachy-keen. My roommate Morgan and I get along very well and we divide up our duties both as housemates and as resident managers for our complex very well. Sometimes I even cook for the both of us, though that doesn’t happen often because Morgan’s studying to be an engineer and has a bigger courseload than I do, so he’s often on his own schedule and I’m on mine. It’s sad that we can’t hang out as often, but I’m okay with it. Besides, there’s something on every night on TV, so I’ve got pleny to occupy my attention.

If I could change one thing about this semester though (besides how much I have to work on my Biology coursework or get a winning lottery ticket), I’d like to attend clubs more often. I attended a couple of club meetings for the English Undergraduate Organization and the Science Fiction club at the beginning of the semester, but somedays my homework load piles up and I just don’t have the time or the energy to go. Especially when some club meetings, like for the sci-fi club, are on the south side of campus and I live north of campus. The only place I can regularly go to that can be considered club-like is OSU Hillel for Friday night services and dinner, but beyond that nothing much. Hopefully for the second half of the semester I might find more time though. Depends on a number of factors, but I’m hopeful.

And finally, some updates on my writing. Video Rage has less than twenty chapters left till it’s completed, so I’m trying to get as much done as possible when I have the time. Laura Horn is still a long way from being completed, but the chapters are shorter than the ones for Video Rage, so I should complete that by midway through the spring semester. The Quiet Game is doing as can be expected for a first-time writer being published, which means it’s close to reaching 50 copies sold. Reborn City is still coming out on time, so that’s something to get excited about. In fact, I plan on doing a bit more advertising for it as the week goes on, so get prepared. Also, Snake is still getting its final draft looked over by author Angela Misri of a Portia Adams adventure, but it should be ready by spring or summer 2014. There’s something to look forward to. And last but certainly not least, I’m already planning what to write after I finish the first drafts of Video Rage and Laura Horn. I’m thinking I’ll do a lot of short-story writing, maybe put out another collection. I also want to write something with a big supernatural influence that is longer than a short story. We’ll see what happens when I finish the WIPs, though.

Well, my lunch break is just about over, so I’m signing off. I’ll let you know if anything happens when it happens, and I hope you have a nice day. Blog on you later!

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